I wake up, and there he is. He's still sleeping. It's kind of unusual for me to get up before him, so I sit here, still under my covers, pretending to sleep, and I watch. He's a fitful sleeper, always tossing and turning. Even during the deepest stage of his sleep, he still makes noise. Once, I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard a loud bump, and it seemed that he had turned over too far, fallen off, and hit the floor. He slept through it.
I hear him start to stir, so I stand up, walk over to the dresser, grab my uniform, and head into the bathroom to get ready. When I finish, I come out and see him standing in the middle of the room. He looks like a ghost visited him, or maybe it was something else, because his complexion is pale (paler than usual, anyway), and he seems pretty alert. Much too alert for someone who just woke up, unless that someone is me.
Without even turning, he asks, "Hey, Baz, have you ever heard of someone named Lia Kiirnoel?" and it's so far out of the blue that for a second, I'm stunned by the randomness of the question. Usually, his inquiries are pretty spontaneous, but they're always related to something, so I gain my composure enough to respond with a question of my own: "Well, why do you want to know? Is it for another dangerous quest that you know absolutely nothing about? Or is it something else entirely?"
He looks flustered for a second, so I hold my gaze, and, sure enough, he looks down at the wood-panelled floor like a wounded puppy and says, "Yes, it is for a dangerous quest about which I know next to nothing." Snow looks up at me, and, with his blue eyes that always seem like they're detecting every single one of my thoughts and plucking them from my brain one by one, stares at me, and says firmly, "No, I am not asking Penny. I don't want to get her involved because-" and that's as far as he can get before I interrupt him. I finish his sentence with my own words. "Because you're fine with getting me hurt, but not her. I see how it is," and he blushes because he knows I'm right. I always am, aren't I, especially since I'm his all-knowing, incredibly handsome, incredibly infuriating roommate.
"I wish you wouldn't talk like that," he sighs, exasperated.
"Do what?" I ask innocently, putting on my best "I'm curious, and that's all, please tell me what it is" face.
"Like you don't mean anything to me. You do. You mean a lot to me." I'm confused. He actually considers me a friend? He keeps going. "You know," he starts, "this summer, when I was in the care home, I realised that, instead of trailing behind you because I was suspicious, in fifth year, I was actually following you to try to get you to come back. You're what helps me sleep at night and stay sane during the day, you know?" He starts blushing like mad, and, in that instant, that split second when his timid eyes are gazing right into my fierce, grey ones, I decide to confide in him.
"Simon Snow, I like you."
He blinks, dropping his stance, and says in wonder, "But why? I've been so horrible to you during our time here." He seems utterly defeated, as though I told him that I had killed the Mage and not that I had a crush on him. He moves to sit back down on his bed. "Fuck, " he whispers, and I wonder if I've done something wrong. He notices my concerned expression, and assures me, "Don't worry; it's not you. I just need to get control of my emotions. I mean, I like you too, " He says this, and my heart leaps. "I've just never confronted the idea that I might be gay before. Even though I've never dated a girl..." His voice trails off here, and I think, 'Come on, Baz. If you play this right, well, you might get the chance to date Simon bloody Snow.' My voice comes out of my mouth on its own.
"Simon Snow, will you be my boyfriend?"