As the week went on, Simon found it harder to concentrate at work. He knew that he needed to tell Baz about Agatha, and that was becoming increasingly obvious when she actually showed up at The Daily Grind one day. She had never gone to the shop before, so he knew that something was up the moment she stepped in through the door. His boss, Ebb, turned to him and smiled, pointing at Agatha as she saw Simon standing behind the counter and quickly made her way over.
"That your girlfriend?"
Simon shook his head. "Nope, but I have a feeling she's about to talk to me about my boyfriend."
Ebb nodded in understanding and disappeared (to wherever Ebb managed to run off to), leaving Simon alone at the counter to face Agatha by himself.
He put on his best smile as she approached the register. "Hiya, welcome to The Daily Grind. What can I get you?"
Agatha stuck her lip out in a pout. Simon had probably found it attractive at one point in time, but certainly not right now. "It's me, Si."
He'd always hated that nickname. Simon was the one thing that was his. It was written on his arm when he was first dropped off at a care home. Simon Snow.
"I'm supposed to say that to everyone who comes up."
"Oh, right. Well then, now that that's out of the way... have you spoken to Baz yet?"
Simon rolled his eyes. "No. I haven't, uh, really seen him. Recently. Like to talk about it."
"Right. Well--"
The door chimed, signaling that another customer was coming in. Simon glanced at the door, silently trying to lure the customer to the counter so he could take their order instead of dealing with Agatha. Any customer would do––he would even take a grumpy woman running late as long as they interrupted this oh-so-awkward encounter. Unfortunately, the customer that walked through the door was not a customer at all––it was Baz. Simon tried to hide his annoyance because he would really, given it were any other time of the bloody day, be elated to see his boyfriend come in, but now it seemed that his presence would just add to the awkwardness.
Baz saw him and smiled a bit (as big of a smile as he could muster in such a public place) as he walked up to the counter. Simon tugged on the curls that hung out from the top of his visor as Baz joined the "queue."
Agatha turned to tell the new customer that she was just about done "ordering," but when she saw that it was Baz, her eyes got big and her smile was back in full force. She even started to twirl her hair around her fucking finger, like that would get Baz's real, undivided attention.
"Oh, Baz! Hiya," she giggled. "Fancy seeing you here, huh?"
Simon swore that he saw Baz sneer for a second, but he quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He had more important things to focus on––like somehow ending this encounter before it got out of hand.
"Snow," Baz said, looking straight through Agatha.
"Baz."
Agatha looked between the two of them as they stared at each other. It looked like she was trying to figure out some sort of complicated equation. "I'll just sit over there. Give you two a minute to discuss, you know, whatever comes to mind?" She winked at Simon like that would help him understand what the fuck she was doing, and sauntered off to find a table, her hips swishing dramatically as she walked away.
Baz approached the counter, glaring at Agatha from the corner of his eye. "I didn't know she frequented this cafe."
"She doesn't. She's just...she wants me to talk to you."
Baz raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What about?"
"I think she wants me to be her wingman? Talk her up to you, get you to ask her out. She said something about a double date."
"I imagine that a double date would be quite awkward, considering that I would be both of your dates."
"Well, yeah. I imagine so. She thinks I'm dating a girl, though. I haven't really...told her? About us, I mean. Not that I'm ashamed or embarrassed or anything. It's just that we have a weird history and now I think she fancies you and––"
Baz shot him a look, a look that meant you're babbling.
Simon blushed. "Right. Sorry."
"You've nothing to apologize for, Simon. I've known her since we were young. I know how she can...well, how she can get when she wants something."
Simon stared at him for a moment, trying to digest his words. Wants something kept running through his mind. He knew Agatha wanted him to play wingman or what have you, but the thought of her wanting Baz made him feel a bit queasy. Baz wasn't something that she could want. Not now. Not when things were going so well in this relationship. The problem was that he knew Agatha pretty well too, and he knew exactly how she got when she "wanted" something. For a moment, she had wanted Simon, so they had gone out. She had the world wrapped around her finger. She could make the stars align if that's what she wanted, or she could tear everything apart. She had looks, money, power, and more. She was dangerous if left unchecked, and even more dangerous if she thought she could try and force her way into Baz's heart. Simon simply wouldn't allow it. He'd been pushed around enough, but he wasn't about to let Agatha fuck up everything he'd built with Baz. Being with Baz was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he certainly wasn't about to let the likes of Agatha Wellbelove come strutting in and blow everything up.
Baz must've noticed that he was getting fidgety and riled up, because he smiled softly like he understood exactly what was going on his Simon's head. "It'll be okay."
"You know her," Simon said through gritted teeth. "You know perfectly well that it won't."
"We'll manage."
"You aren't even surprised? That she's interested in you?"
Baz shrugged like he was trying to be casual, but Simon could see that there was something else going on. Something deeper under that cool exterior.
"I suppose I knew. My father tried to set us up recently."
"What!?"
Baz glared at him, reminding him not to get too loud or obvious with Agatha nearby. Simon took a deep breath, trying to collect himself. Trying to relax his hands which had somehow turned to tightly-wound fists.
"It's not like it's going to work out. I'm gay, remember?"
Simon opened his mouth to say something, but then another customer came in and he knew that he had to get back to work. "Just order something, yeah? I can't talk about this now. Not at work."
Baz nodded and pulled out his wallet.
While he ordered his drink, Simon couldn't help but think about how much he was dreading the rest of this conversation.