"you stupid son of a bitch!" a loud slam knocks the hungover boy out of his slumber and he jolts awake, groaning in pain afterwards. "what the fuck were you thinking?" the door to his bedroom swings open and simon is greeted by the sight of his angry best friend.
"pipe down, my head hurts." he grunts before sitting up, his head heavy and eyes still drooping.
"pipe down?" the slightly older boy grits out, his eyes holding fire as he enters the room and leans against the doorframe. "simon, this is the third time one of your mistakes has lead to this."
"it's no big—"
"no big deal?! you fucking lost the one thing that was a source of income for this household! how the fuck are we meant to live to now?!" simon can feel the anger radiate off his best friend who stands there with clenched fists and a heaving chest.
"look josh, i'll fix it—" he tries to make his friend understand but he refuses to listen.
"no, that's what you always fucking say. that restaurant was not only yours to give! i had a fairshare in running it." josh's voice is loud, simon knows his neighbors can hear about yet another mistake he made.
"i–"
"do you ever see me bet a fucking building over millwall? no because i'm not a fucking wanker like you!" his anger gets the best of him as he picks up a photo frame on a nearby table, swinging it across the room.
"josh, i fucked up. i was drunk—"
"that still doesn't give you a reason to give away something that was ours!" the older boy yells angrily, simon knows it's best to stay quiet at these times. he once faced the consequences of talking back, he was sure he didn't want another bruise on the side of his jaw anytime soon.
"i'm sorry." simon whines, his eyes watering up and heart clenching. he always created such a mess, a mess that his friends still put up with even though they could just leave.
"fucking hell." josh exhales trying to calm himself before looking at simon. "i'll talk to them, was it deji yeah?"
"yeah, he was the one who made the deal in the first place." simon nods, wiping his eyes. "i'll come with."
"ok but if he disagrees, we need to find alternate jobs quick." josh nods, his anger now subsided. he straightens up from his previous position. "did vikk and tobi take you out yesterday?"
"yes." the brunette boys answers truthfully causing the latter to sigh. "please go easy on them, they were just trying to help."
"you're a fucking dumbass, you know that?" he turns around, leaving the bedroom. "be ready in ten!"
—
the london traffic really hurts simon, full of annoying slow drivers or impatient assholes who couldn't go without touching the horn every two minutes. it pains him to sit in the passenger seat of josh's car and wait for the car infront of him to move.
"twat!" josh flips someone off as he moves past the car, muttering about how much he hated driving. "ethan said that the dude is really chill, will probably agree if we convince him well."
"i don't even fucking remember him." simon admits, slouching in his seat.
"your drinking is a real big problem, you know?" the older boy asks, giving simon a sideway glance.
"i'm aware, dad." he rolls his eyes.
"wouldn't have to be your dad if you decided to fucking grow up." the older shoots back, parking in a spot once they reach their destination.
simon opens the car door and is about to move out when josh holds his arm and yanks him back inside, causing him to slam against the car seat aggressively.
"what the fuck—"
"don't fuck this up more than it already is." and just like that josh flicks his forehead before leaving the car while simon struggles to keep up.
the restaurant is empty for once, odd for the both of them since they were pretty successful and received customers at a regular rate. simon wonders how the news got around that he had lost that building because of a football team.
when both of them enter, they are greeted by the sight of a dark skinned boy leaning against the wooden wall, body clad in grey sweats and a shirt that says tank in bold white letters. simon recognizes the boy as deji.
"oh hey." deji speaks once he notices the two boys making their way through the empty restaurant.
"hi, i'm josh and you already know simon." the older of the two speaks up while simon stands back remembering josh's word to not fuck this more up.
"of course i remember him. did you guys come here to take a final look at my restaurant?" the latter's voice is teasing and simon bites on his tongue knowing there was no way that boy would agree to give it up.
"the thing is, you took advantage of this boy here." josh seems to be in no mood for fucking around as he crosses his arms and talks to the other boy.
"oh? is that what you want to call it? because if i recall, simon here himself bet to give this place up." deji fires back, now straightening himself and stretching.
"simon here does not know what he does half the time, so i think you should reconsider the bet and—"
"listen, a bet is a bet. there's no going back." the boy makes his way past josh and is about to walk past simon as well just before he grabs his arm.
"deji please, we'll do anything other than this." simon pleads, his eyes watering due to his his frustration getting the best of him.
"i—" deji hesitates, something flashing in his eyes before he shakes his head. "you created this mess yourself, simon." just like that he brushes past the crying boy before exiting the restaurant.
"well done simon, now we are unemployed and soon to be broke." josh mutters, his tone frustrated. "good fucking job."
"i'm–" simon starts but is interrupted by a sob emitting from the back of his throat.
"great, now you're gonna cry your way out of this." the older boy rolls his eyes before shoving the latter away and moving past him to leave. "find yourself a ride home, i need to leave before i end up doing something i will regret."
just like that simon is left alone in the empty building, crying his eyes out. he hates himself. he hates alcohol, it makes him do stupid shit. he wishes he wouldn't make dumb decisions whilst drunk ever again.
"some good friends you have." a sudden voice startles the crying boy out of his thoughts and he lets out a little welp before turning around. he is greeted with the sight of someone familiar, it takes him time to recognize the stranger but when he does he scoffs.
"are you fucking stalking me?" he asks, his voice raspy due to crying.
"you wish, babe." the brown eyed boy smirks, examining simon's tear stained face and raising his eyebrows. "my brother wanted me to check a place he won because some drunk idiot gave it up because of a football match."
"oh."
"guessing by your state, you're the drunk idiot?" the boy asks moving closer to simon with an amused smirk etched on his face.
"deji's your brother?" the brunette boy asks the first thing that comes to his mind.
"of course." the latter nods, the smirk still present as if teasing the older boy.
"i can see the resemblance." simon rolls his eyes. "i'm guessing being an asshole runs in the family?"
"hey, don't call deji an asshole for some dumb shit you did. i mean who bets a restaurant over a fucking shit team?" jj laughs loudly. simon won't admit but he did have a nice laugh.
"watch your mouth, leeds is a—"
"— a shit team, next please." he interrupts the talking boy, still laughing.
"jide?!" both the boys turn around to face a very distraught deji making his way through the entrance. he straightens up when he sees that simon was stil present. "oh am i interrupting something?"
"no, me and your friend simon were just discussing how dumb he is." jj replies, moving away from the annoyed boy.
"deji, i fucked up please understand." simon has returned to pleading again as soon as he saw deji.
"you shouldn't have bet." the younger boy says. "plus we even signed a contract, fam."
"but you don't get it! i'll be broke!" he whines, rubbing his eyes in exasperation.
"find another job." deji nods. "i'll call you when we need to talk to the property dealer about this property now being mine."
"this is bullshit! i can call the cops on you."
"for what? claiming a property i was promised?"
"yes! you can only claim this as yours when you buy it from us." simon argues, trying to protect what little was left of his dignity.
"please." deji laughs, pushing past the distressed boy again.
"i'll do anything! please! don't take this from my friend at least!" he doesn't care how desperate he sounds, he'll beg on his knees if that's what it takes to get the place back.
"wait anything?" jj is the one to speak up this time.
"jj..." the younger brother warns.
"yes, anything." simon turns to jj now, his eyes pleading and heart heavy.
"okay, you can have it back." simon doesn't know if the latter is joking or not but from the way deji pushes him shows that he wasn't fooling around.
"w-what?"
"jide shut the fuck up." deji interrupts but the older boy shushes him.
"this is my place as you promised, little brother." jj smirks, leaning against the wall. "i can do anything with it."
"yes i agreed to hand this to you but that does—"
"it does though." he argues back making simon more confused than he already was. he raises his eyebrows before making eye contact with the black haired boy.
jj's eyes suddenly seem very warm and understanding, different than when he was teasing simon. they seem friendly, the look in his eyes is enough to send a shiver down his spine. he doesn't know why but he feels his heart beat increase and breathing stagger. it's a weird feeling and he wants to get rid of it but the more he looks into jj's coffee coloured eyes, he feels himself suffocating.
"it's all yours simon, only if you promise to do whatever i ask for, whenever i ask and wherever i ask."
—
simon returns to his flat with a smile on his face. he knows he signed up for something so wrong but he doesn't care. jj made his intentions clear when he met him at the club, yet there was this part in simon's heart that gave him hope that jj wasn't half as bad as he came off last night.
"you seem happy for someone who ruined his own life." tobi speaks up the moment simon enters the door causing him to roll his eyes.
"he's right though." a tired vikk speaks up from his spot on the couch. sometimes simon really hated sharing the flat with three other boys, since half the time they acted as his dads and treated him like a child.
"weren't you going for swimming today?" he asks ignoring the boy's previous statements.
"nah, too tired fam." vikk replies, yawning again.
"tired from what? touching kids?" simon teases resulting in a pillow being thrown at him while tobi laughs behind the kitchen counter.
"i would laugh if i wasn't angry at you." josh's voice causes the younger boy to turn around and smile at him. "stop smiling, cunt." he grumbles before making his way into the living room.
"joshua—" simon grabs the older boy's shoulders and pulls him towards his chest. "i know you're pissed." he tightly hugs the boy causing him to suffocate.
"get off me you prick—"
"do you still wanna kill me when i tell you i got the restaurant back?" he asks, his voice teasing yet soft.
"no fucking way." tobi says joining in the group hug, crushing the two boys.
"i don't believe you." josh's mumbled voice rings through causing simon to laugh.
"oh josh, but i did get it back. you can see for yourself tommorow." the latter confidently claims, patting the older boy's back quite hard.
"ow you cunt! ok get off me i believe you, leave me." josh struggles against the two boy's grasp.
"no wait! i wanna join!" vikk rushes and smashes into the group causing them to loose their footing and topple over, harshly landing on the floor with josh at the bottom.
"how though?" josh whispers.
"i have my ways." simon smiles before he is interrupted by the door opening and a familiar giggle ringing throughout the flat.
"doggie pile on josh!" the new person yells before jumping on the screaming boys.
"eTHAN! FUCK SAKE I THINK YOU BROKE MY BONES."
—
thoughts??