HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS, WTF?! 1K READS IS SUCH A HUGE ACHIEVEMENT THANK YOU SO MUCH! If you couldn't already tell, I am quaking. I never ever thought that this would turn out the way it has!
Now, to celebrate, I'm writing a special fluff chapter for you guys :D Now please enjoy my beautifully (not really) written floofy chapter that I thought of while I was writing this little thank you.
Simon's POV
"You seek Lily, I counted last time," groaned Sebastian. I swear, he doesn't stop complaining. We were playing hide and seek while Father was at work and Evangeline was at the markets. We decided to play a game that everyone could play.
"Wait, how do you play again? I only remember the hiding part," said Y/N timidly. Then, everyone started laughing and I saw her cheeks turn a soft shade of red. Now she probably feels bad for not being able to learn how to play with her parents, but it's not her fault. I'll just have to teach her.
"Well, someone counts, looks like it will be Lily. The counter counts to a certain number and then seeks and tries to find everyone else who's hiding. The first person who's found is the seeker for the next round, but we need to find everyone else first before we start the next round," I explain. The blush seems to fade slightly as Y/N nods her head in understanding, starting to smile.
"No one snitches on anyone, we are also not allowed to hide outside, in the kitchen, or else Cook gets mad, in Dad's room, Evangeline's room, or the spare room. Got it?" Y/N nods her head again and smiles.
"Ok, Lily, you can start counting. Go to 10!" says Eric, bouncing on the balls of his feet, no doubt getting ready to run as fast as he can to a brilliant hiding spot. I start going through a mental map of the house. It's so big, we can hide anywhere.
"Go, guys, shoo, I'm gonna start..." Lily teases, smiling evilly, and then turns around, hands covering her eyes, "1... 2..."
Everyone takes off at a sprint except for Tora, who's holding Aggie, and Y/N who's panicking, probably thinking of a place to hide. I feel guilty for some reason, watching her in her panicked state. I stop at the foot of the stairs and run back to Y/N, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me up the stairs. I look back for a split second to see her hair flying behind her and I grin at her.
Y/N's look of surprise quickly dissolves as we bound up the stairs, taking a sharp turn to the right. I open the spare cupboard and start moving shoe boxes and shirts on hangers around to fit us in the small space.
"Hurry, Simon, she's nearly finished," whispers Y/N frantically. I shove everything to the side, making the mental note to fix it up and move everything back to the right place before Evangeline got back.
I turn to Y/N when I hear, "9... 10! Ready or not, here I coooomeee!" Lily shouts, and I hear the sound of her feet skidding on the floorboards as she runs. I quickly beckon Y/N to follow me into the cupboard. She quickly follows me.
Usually, there is enough room for me to hide without feeling too cramped. Today, it is a tight squeeze, fitting me and Y/N in the closet. We go in together and realise we need to stand together to close the door.
I feel the fluffy vest on the back of my neck, tickling me, and Y/N wedged between me and the wall. We stand pressed together, no room between us as we look into each other's eyes. I feel her fast breaths, pushing her chest up and down against mine. I try to get my eyes adjusted to the dark, and I swear her face is a shade darker like she's blushing. I reach up to push some hair out of her face because it looks like she just went outside while it was windy outside.
She smiles, "Thanks," she whispers, and it's my turn to feel my face turn hot.
"No worries, N/N," I reply, trying to keep my heart at a steady pace and keep control of my breathing.
"Are you guys up hereeeeeeeeeee?" screeches Lily, as she bounds up the stairs.
"I don't know, that's why you wanted to seek up here." It sounds like Sebastian, as he trails behind Lily, he takes very loud steps. I hold my breath, and I watch Y/N cover her mouth with her hands. I wait until Sebastian's footsteps, more like stomps, are barely audible, until I dare to breathe with my mouth open. It doesn't take long. Eldest or not, I'm in this game to win it.
Y/N slowly takes her hands down when she sees that I've started to breathe again. She smiles, but then, her nose twitches. She scratches it and frowns. She draws a breath, and I panic. If Y/N sneezes, she'll give us away. My brain starts racing as I think of a solution, but the only options I have are 1. let her give us away 2. get a shirt to block her face or 3...
"Ach-" In my state of panic, I pull Y/N toward me and she sneezes into my shoulder, the noise muffled by my sweater. I feel her body shudder against me as I listen to my siblings' footsteps. I can hear Sebastian stomping again and I think it's all over.
"Bath! Bath!" squeals Aggie. Lily must've found Tora and Aggie.
"Ok, we'll check the bathroom. Jeez, Aggie, you're so bossy," It sounds like Chrissy's annoyed. I sigh, we haven't been found yet. I look down and Y/N all blushy.
"God bless you," I whisper to her.
"T-thank you," she replies, trying to hide her face with her hands.
"Found you!" I flinch in surprise, instinctively stepping backwards. I step on a shoebox and it moves me forward again. I hold my hands out to stop myself from falling and catch myself on the wall.
"Awww, I was positive you wouldn't find me." It's Eric, and he sounds frustrated, "I thought you would never check here."
"Well, it was Aggie's idea! She's the real genius," says Tora. I hear a sigh and footsteps. They're getting fainter. I start to breathe again, not realising I was holding my breath.
Then, I remember that I'm leaning against the wall and Y/N is between me and the wall! My heart beats like as fast as a racehorse on the track. I feel like I've lost my breath and Y/N looks like she's trying not to panic. I try to regulate my heart and I get a bad idea. Well good for me, maybe not so much for Y/N.
I keep my hands in place beside her head and I bring my head down to look straight into her eyes. Her's e/c eyes look beautiful, even in the dark. I smirk, I'm in control of the situation, even though it was completely by accident that we ended up in this position.
I lean toward her ear and whisper, "This is fun, we should do this more often."
"S-sure, I-I'm enjoying it too." Y/N nods her head quickly, her face turning a darker shade of what I assume is red. This is fun, making Y/N flustered and being in control. Wait, what am I thinking?! This is fun, playing hide and seek, but this, doing this to Y/N is a whole different sensation. It gives me a rush in my veins and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I kind of wish the feeling wouldn't stop.
I stare at Y/N, the way she's pressed up against the wall, her h/c hair falling around her, framing her face. A bubbly feeling appears in my chest and I find myself staring at her lips. I feel my face heat up and I start looking at her eyes again. They're such a pretty colour, it suits her. I couldn't think of any other colour to replace them.
Y/N reaches out and brushes my fringe out of my face, smiling timidly.
"You need to get this fringe under control, Si," Y/N says.
"Thanks, I'll try my best, N/N," I reply.
"FOUND YOU!" The wooden door is flung open and light rapidly floods the small room. Six smiling faces surround the door frame.
"Ee-" Y/N jumps in surprise and hits her head on my chin as I fall forward. We come crashing to the ground, bumping into each other and the wall on the way.
I hear a chorus of laughter as I open my eyes. I'm staring at Y/N, who's beneath me, all red and confused. I feel my heartbeat fast again and I scramble up. I brush myself off quickly and extend a hand to Y/N. She takes it gratefully, spluttering an apology.
"I-it's fine, N/N, don't worry," Dammit, Simon you're stuttering, I think to myself, trying to pull myself together.
"What were you two doing?" sings Chrissy. I feel my cheeks grow hotter and I rub the back of my neck.
"Yeah, were you kissing or something?" asks Sebastian mischievously.
"N-no, we were hiding," Y/N says, "We are playing hide and seek aren't we?"
Everyone laughs again at Y/N's confused look.
"Come on, Sebastian, it's your turn to count," says Lily.
"But what if I forget how to count to ten again?"