Classes have finally started and everyone is hugging each other in excitement.
As Simon walks through the hallways, he spots a familiar face walking towards him.
Don't come this way please.
"Hey socialist, nice to see you again."
"Hi, August." Simon replies nervously.
"Just letting you know, I don't think you and Wilhelm will be talking anytime soon." He chuckled. "His mother gave him three rules he has to follow. And by the way, one of them mentions your name."
Simon was shocked at the words falling out of his mouth. He froze and August was laughing even harder now.
"Anyway, nice chat. See you around socialist." He says giving Simon a pat on the back.
Simon immediately brushes his shoulder as if August was infected with some sort of disease. But at that moment he didn't care about August, he cared about Wilhelm. Simon had so many questions.
What rules did he have to follow? And why is my name mentioned in one of them?
He tried to dismiss what he had just heard, but it was hard. So he quickly sprinted to his next class, math.
He sat down in his chair waiting for Sara to come sit next to him so he could get his mind off things.
"Hey Sara."
"Hey Simon." She replies enthusiastically.
"You excited to be back at school?" Sara adds.
"Not in the slightest. And you know exactly why. I mean, I haven't even figured out who recorded or leaked the video yet."
A prick of guilt itches her spine. "Maybe try to forget about it. It happened quite a while ago so maybe people forgot about it."
"You are so wrong Sara. Every single time I walk in and out of school, I feel hundreds of eyes staring at me along with tiny whispers like I'm some sort of celebrity." Simon exclaims. "It's horrible."
Sara nervously rubs her knuckles with her thumb. "Sorry, Simon."
"Don't worry, it's not your fault."
The teacher walks in and begins the class, but one person is still missing.
Wilhelm.
Simon stares at his grey, empty chair in front of him.
I haven't seen him in so long. It's painful not being able to speak or keep in contact with him.
Just as Simon is about to lose hope, he sees Wilhelm and his green sweater trip on a piece of paper on the ground. Luckily, he catches himself.
He bows his head, "Sorry I'm late sir. My, uh, mom called."
Wilhelm is a shit liar.
Simon catches a glimpse of his full face.
He looked more amazing than ever. His hair slightly longer than before and his eyes beamed like somehow his life wasn't falling apart. When it was.
The teacher doesn't care and tells him to sit down in his seat. Simon can tell Wilhelm is trying not to make eye contact. Because if he does, there is no doubt that when he starts looking, he won't be able to stop.
Wilhelm hadn't even caught a glance of Simon yet. He was too afraid. Instead, he tried his hardest to focus on his school work but all he could think about was Simon. His curly hair, soft skin, it made Wilhelm's heart hurt.
Simon could tell Wilhelm was struggling. He wanted to help so badly, but he couldn't. Part of him was still mad at Wilhelm for lying but the other part was guilty for not saying 'I love you' back right before Christmas break.
"Excuse me, could I please go to the bathroom?" Wilhelm asks anxiously.
"Yes, of course."
Wilhelm steps out and walks straight to the bathroom waving his hands around. Once he got there, he splashed water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror with shaky hands.
Mirrors have always given me a false sense of confidence. Whenever I look into one, all I see is a person who failed their family, friends, and future.
Wilhelm examines all his features, scanning each one in judgement. He sighs and walks back to class.
—————————————————————————
"Hey Wilhelm, come sit." August grinned.
Wilhelm sat next to Nils and August with his plate of food.
"We're throwing a party down near the abandoned warehouse." He says. "You should come join. Pretty much everyone is gonna be there. Like it's pretty rare for me to invite the whole school, but since it's a start of school party, I was feeling generous."
"Okay, yeah sure. When is it?"
"Tonight."
"Okay, cool then. I'll be there." Wilhelm replies.
"Awesome."
Wilhelm scanned the table and caught the one person he most definitely did not want to look at. But it was too late.
I couldn't stop staring at him. Once you start, it's seriously hard to stop. I just wanted to brush my hands through his soft curls right at that exact moment, but I couldn't. He looked so different, but I could tell he hadn't changed. His deep eyes and light skin made my heart pound.
Wilhelm flicked his head back around and tries to snap himself back into reality.
"Is anyone not going to the party?" Wilhelm asks.
August and Nils look at each other in confusion.
"No, I don't think so." Nils replies.
"Yeah, I pretty much invited everyone that comes here. So the party's gonna be wild." August continues.
"Nice."
I wonder if that means Simon is invited. Will he show up? Who am I kidding. I bet he's not even thinking about me right now.
Wrong.
—————————————————————————
I wonder if August and Wilhelm are talking about that party tonight. I mean, that's what I overheard anyway. I'm surprised even I was invited. I don't even think I'm gonna go. Even if I do, what am I supposed to do there? I don't wanna get high like my dad. And if I were to get drunk, what would I do? Pass out on the floor of the abandoned warehouse and wake up the next day at like 3PM? No way. I refuse to be like my dad.
Simon was overthinking so much he didn't even notice the pair of eyes on him. He could sense them but ignored it because he was so used to being stared at after the sex tape was leaked. What he didn't realise was that the pair of eyes was the one person that he least expected it to be and the one person he wanted it to be.
He was too late when he looked up though because when he went to look over at Wilhelm, he was looking down playing with his food depressingly.
Simon could tell Wilhelm was in a bad state at the moment. The way he was acting in math and his behaviour had changed a whole bunch since he last saw him. He would do anything to help him at this point but no matter what he would do, it wouldn't help.
So he decided to stay quiet so he could keep him.
—————————————————————————
Wilhelm grabbed his scarf and coat and put it on right when he heard a know at his window.
He opened it and of course, August was there.
"You ready? Let's go." He voiced.
August helped Wilhelm stumble out of his dorm and walked him to the party. There were disco lights flashing out of the warehouse and muffled cheering, clapping, and all sorts of weird noises.
Wilhelm seriously did not want to be there right now but he figured he needed something get his mind off things.
He walked in and a bunch of people greeted him and he greeted them back.
As he walked deeper through the party, he realised August wasn't kidding. Literally everybody from Hillerska was there. Like over 300 people.
He decided to sit on one of the couches and drink his life away.
He played games, got high, and totally wasted.
—————————————————————————
It had been a couple of hours so he decided to take a breather outside. He sat down on the grass observing everything around him. Listening to the wind rustle the trees, and the sound of music playing in the warehouse.
He walked off and wandered the streets alone and suddenly, somehow he ended up in Bjärstad.
Everything reminded him of Simon. No matter where he went or what he did. The whole town reminded him of Simon.
He sat down in front of a random house and dialled Simon's number into his phone.
—————————————————————————
Simon decided to not go to the party after all. He decided to stay home whilst Sara went out with Felice and her friends.
Then of course, his phone rang with an unknown number.
"Hello?" He answered.
He heard shaky breaths over the phone. "Is anyone there? Who is this?"
"Simon."
He fell silent. His body frozen. He knew exactly who this was.