#i mean like. short fat freaks who trip over their feet dude

[pezpenser205]

pictured: one of the manlikers in question

i do not understand manlikers at all bc the more conventionally attractive a man is the less attractive i find him

[newcaswell]

Secrets

A glimpse into the lives of Simon and Wade shortly after they became friends.

~

Simon had been the one to find a way to climb on the roof of the school.  He’d led Wade to the seventh floor of the school, which was unused, by picking a lock to the staircase, and proudly shoved open a window he’d clearly already jimmied.  The rest of the trip was excessively dangerous, requiring a climb of at least ten more feet between two close walls over a six storey drop.  Somehow Simon, despite his just-a-hair-short-of-5-foot stature, made it look easy.

Wade’s lanky frame had a bit more trouble with the climb, but Simon was stronger than he looked- or Wade was in serious need of a date with a nutritionist.  “Fuck, that’s high,” said Wade as he glanced back over the guard wall of the roof.  “I really hope we don’t have to go back down that way.”

“Nah.”  Simon picked up a piece of chipped roof tile and chucked it at the door to the roof.  “This side o’ the door’s actually got a lock I can mess with.  We’ll go down the easy way.”  He turned and smirked at his taller friend.  “Wimp.”

“You call me a wimp as if I’ll try to prove you wrong.”

“I know I would.”

“That’s because your height does nothing to warn anyone about the size of your ego.”

Simon swatted at Wade, and Wade laughed.

The roof was still and silent.  There were no birds near, there was a gentle breeze, and the sun was setting just off in the distance, painting the sky a soft pink.

Wade’s eyes turned to the sun, but they locked onto something else.  Seated on the guard wall of the roof was a figure.  It trembled in the breeze and was leaned too far over the edge for anyone’s comfort.  The breath hitched in Wade’s throat.

“Holy shit,” mumbled Simon.

Wade bit his lip and glanced at the older boy as he hurried forward.  The figure lifted its head to the sky and pushed off.  Simon reached the wall and gripped the ledge.  He then turned and beamed at Wade.  “You gotta check out this sunset, man!”

Wade flinched.  In a sound only he could hear, a body cracked against the pavement below.  He looked solemn.  This was probably why there was no lock on the door leading to the roof.

Simon’s grin split wider, and he hefted himself upwards.

Wade balked and rushed the ledge.  “Oh my god, Simon, what are you doing!?”

“Easy, Lurch, I ain’t about to jump.  I can’t fuckin’ see.”  Simon swung his leg up onto the ledge.  It was wide, so it wasn’t as if he was on a balancing beam, but the wrong move or a stiff wind could have sent someone Simon’s size over easily.

“So I’ll find you a box, please come down!”  Wade found the ledge just behind his friend, ready to leap the moment Simon stumbled.

Simon stood up on the wall and gazed out over the sun.  “Shit this feels good.  You gotta come up here and try this.”

“No way!  And you shouldn’t even be up there!  If somebody sees you, you’re gonna be in deep shit!  If you fall-”

Simon turned and arched a brow at him.  “I’m not gonna fall, Wade.  I do this shit all the time.”

Wade huffed in frustration, but he didn’t have time to dwell.  The shadow of Simon bubbled and crawled away to reform the figure again, but the head was no longer facing the ground.  It stared at Simon.  Wade’s chest gripped his heart like a vice.  “Don’t.”

Simon faced Wade fully and scrunched his brows together.  “Woah, okay.  Easy.  Geez, I’ll come down.  I’m just havin’ a little fun.”  He sat down and swung his legs back over to the safe side.  Wade held his hands up to help him down.

The figure slid behind Simon before Wade could blink.  Something within it like appendages lurched forward, and Wade shrieked.

It pushed him.  Simon tumbled forward into Wade’s arms, faceplanting his chest.  “Ah, fuck!”  He pulled back and nursed his nose.  “Do you seriously have like zero percent body fat or some shit?  Ow!  S’like hittin’ a brick wall!”

Wade chest exploded with relief, and he clung to Simon as if letting him go would end him back over the ledge.

Simon struggled against the hold.  “Come on, Wade, I’m not suicidal, damnit.  Don’t freak out on me, it’s just wind.”

Wade sighed.  “Wind that could have pushed you off.”  He let go and turned away from the wall, and the figure.  He couldn’t talk to it right now; Simon was watching.  Instead, he sat down and leaned back against the wall.

Simon blinked down at him.  “You okay?”

“Not really.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Also not really.”

“‘Kay.”  Simon spun around and parked himself right next to Wade.  “Man, I could seriously nap up here.”

Wade fought his unease and snorted.  “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Simon crossed his arms.  “Well you’re a little spoil sport today.”  He settled back and looked up at the purpling sky.  “So I didn’t just bring you up here to freak you out, by the by.”

“I should hope not.”

Simon pouted.  “I guess I just... wanted to talk to somebody.”

“And we had to do it on a roof?”  Wade asked.

Simon sighed.  “Heights calm me down!  I don’t...”  He shrank against the wall.  “I don’t feel so small up here.”

Wade slowly smiled.  “You’re not that small, Simon.”

“I’m four eleven, Wade.  I barely make some theme park ride heights,” Simon said, deadpan.

Wade snickered at him.  “That’s not what I mean.”  He leaned his head back against the wall.  “So what did you wanna talk about?”

Simon went pink.  “I dunno.  Anything I guess.”  He looked up at Wade.  “I don’t know a lot about you, and you don’t know a lot about me, we just... hit it off, or whatever.  I guess I just feel like sharin’.  We’re-”  He took a breath, like he wasn’t sure of his next words.  “We’re friends, right?”

Wade’s smile grew, and it was making him less anxious about the figure looming above them.  It hadn’t moved.  “Of course we’re friends.  You’re kind of my only one if you hadn’t noticed.”  He turned his attention to his lap.  “So what do you wanna know?”

Simon bit his lip and turned to his own lap as well.  “We could play twenty questions or whatever.  And jus’ not stop at twenty,” He offered.

“You know that’s twenty questions each, right?  We’ll be here all night.”

Simon’s pink cheeks darkened.  “You know what I mean!  We don’t gotta hold to twenty!”

Wade laughed and pulled his legs to his chest.  “Do you want me to go first?”

“No, I wanna.”  Simon shifted his position to cross his legs and face Wade.  “Favourite colour.”

Wade arched a brow.  “Cop out.”

“I panicked.”

“Light grey.  It reminds me of winter.  And my grandmother.  You?”

“Red.  Reminds me of, uh... fireworks.”

Wade snickered.  “You don’t have to have a reason for a favourite colour.”

“Well you said it, and it was all deep and shit.”  Simon turned his head away to think.  “You got any pets?”

Wade shook his head.  “No.  Animals, uh... don’t like me much.  Cats sometimes do, but mom’s allergic.”  Wade could have told him how animals could sense that there was something off about him and preferred to stay away, but he kept that to himself.

“Aw, that sucks.  Cat’s are the shit.”

“They are.”

Simon gestured at him.  “Your go.”

“Right. Um.  Do you have a favourite band?”

“MSI, maybe.  Potentially Bon Jovi.”  Simon leaned on his hand.  “You got a girlfriend?”

Wade snorted.  “We just went over how you are literally my only friend.  A girlfriend is a stretch.”

“Hey, well, ya never know.  People dig creepy sometimes.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Simon shook his head.  “Nah.  I look like I’m twelve, so nobody bothers.  Also I’m super gay, dude.”

Wade blinked.  “O-...Oh.”

Simon fidgeted.  “You’re cool with that, right?”

“I mean, I’m bi, so.  I’d be a hypocrit if I wasn’t.  I just didn’t realise.”

Simon relaxed.  “Awesome.  Do you like anybody?”

Wade went pink.  “U-...Uh.”

Simon grinned.  “That’s a yes!  Oh come on, who?”

“I-It-”  Wade’s colour deepened.  “I don’t wanna talk about it...”

“Oh come on, Wade, that’s not how this game is played!”

Wade threw his hood over his head.  “It’s stupid!  And it’s not gonna happen, so I don’t-”

Simon whined and leaned into Wade’s shoulder.  “Come on, dude, you act like I’m gonna tell everybody!  Is it a teacher?”

Wade only made a noise and drew the strings of his hoodie to close the hood around his face.

“Holy shit, it is!  It’s not Mrs. Leon is it, because she’s super married.  Shop teacher?  Or are you a fox hunter and goin’ for Mr. Chakrabarti in fifth period?”

“It’s Mr. Dossey!”  Wade pressed himself into the wall.  “God, he actually treats me like a human being, okay?  Not some scary kid, and he-he understands the shit I go through.”  Wade peered out from his hood.

Simon was stifling a laugh.

Wade’s face reddened even more.  “What!?  I told you it was stupid!”

Simon snickered.  “No, dude, just-”  He laughed, “He’s totally my uncle.”  Wade gave him an incredulous stare.  “Simon Dossey, man.  Not just a coincidence.”

“Oh god, that’s worse!”  Wade drew the strings closed again and laid on his side away from Simon.

Simon continued to laugh and threw himself over his friend.  “Okay, okay, come on.  Not that big of a deal.”  He leaned on his arm.  “Though Tory’s also super gay, so you got that goin’ for ya.”

Wade groaned through the fabric of his hoodie.

Tory Dossey was their English teacher.  He was also the man who started to see the same ghosts and demons that Wade did after their first major interaction.  They’d been spending more and more time together so that Wade could teach Tory how to deal with the things he was seeing.  Wade had somehow spread his curse to Tory, so it was the least he could do.  The feelings that Wade had growing for the man were not from his ability as a teacher, but from what he became with the pretense was gone- what he became when he was afraid.  Wade had never met a stronger man.

And Simon was apparently related to him.  Wade only hoped that his ‘gift’ wouldn’t keep spreading.

Simon cleared his throat.  “Your go, man.”  He patted Wade’s shoulder and sat up.

Wade followed suit and pulled his hood down.  “Right, right.  Do you have any siblings?”

Simon shook his head.  “Only child, far as I know.  Mom had a bunch of siblings, but I never saw ‘em.  They’re all in New York and didn’t really talk to us.”

Wade’s brows knit in concern.  “‘Had’...?  Are they gone?”

“Nuh uh, you only get one question at a time, nosey.”

“Oh.  Sorry.”

“Do you have any siblings?”  Simon asked.

Wade bit the inside of his cheek and inhaled through his nose.  “Uh... yeah.  One.  I’ve got a brother.”

Simon winced.  “That didn’t sound like a good thing.”

Wade shrugged.  “He doesn’t really talk to us,” He parroted.

Simon bit his lip.  “Well.  Sorry for bringing it up, then.”

“It’s okay.  I brought up siblings.”  Wade shifted his feet, rubbing the toes of his shoes together.  “I... wanna ask about that past tense, but you-you can’t say no.”  Wade had a feeling that he knew where this was going.  He wasn’t able to talk to the two figures he’d seen around Simon since they met, but he could tell by their demeanour that they were family.  “I can ask something else.”

Simon went still.  Wade held his breath.  Simon’s eyes found the roof.  “No it-...  It’s gonna come up eventually.”  He took a deep breath and sighed, leaning away from Wade and putting his head against the wall.  “My-... mom is dead.  Dad is too.  E-Earlier this-”  He froze and wrenched his eyes shut.  “T-This year.”

Wade’s chest bottomed out.  “S-Simon-”  

“D-Don’t apologise, I just-... I need a minute.”

“Of course...”  Wade watched Simon.

The smaller boy tried to keep himself from crying, and the two foggy forms that Wade had seen around him since they met swarmed.  They coddled the blond, hovering appendages over his shoulders and trying their best to wipe away tears that rolled right through their forming fingers.  Wade could feel their positive vibes flowing off of them, and Simon calmed down as a result.  Simon hissed at himself.  “Sorry.”

“Simon, your parents dying is a very good reason to cry.  You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”  Wade ducked his head.  “My uh... My dad died before I was born...  I can’t really say I know how you feel, because I don’t.”  He ducked his head and leaned on his knees.  “My stepdad was a jerk, but he left us so I don’t have to worry about him.”

Wade never got to live while his father was alive.  But that didn’t mean he’d never met him.  His father stayed behind to watch him and his brother grow, refusing to move on.  His purpose in life was his boys.  To Wade’s knowledge, he was probably still around.  He’d left with Lorne when he moved away, even though Lorne couldn’t see or hear him.

Wade flinched.  He hadn’t spoken to Lorne in years.

Simon bit his lip.  “That still sucks.  Sorry, man.”

“It’s okay...”  Wade cleared his throat.  “Was, uh... Tory related to your dad then?”

Simon sniffled and rubbed an eye.  “What?  No, uh.  Shit.  I mean like, he’s basically my uncle.  Damascus, the guy who’s taking care o’ me, s’his brother, and I took his last name and faked some shit so I could go to school.  Nobody checks that stuff.”

Wade arched a brow at him.  “You-... Is that even legal?”

Simon snorted.  “Absolutely not,” He said.  “But like I said, nobody checks.”

Wade shuffled his feet closer and hugged his legs.  “So... What’s your real last name?”

Simon nursed that lip and smiled at him.  “Promise not to tell?”

“Of course.”

“Nicotera...  Simon Nicotera.”

Wade let himself smile back.  “Nice to meet you, Simon Nicotera.”

They turned away from each other again, and Simon looked up at the sky.  It looked like a weight had gone from him, and Wade knew it was likely because of the two spirits pushing out as much pain from him as they could.  All spirits that he knew of had the ability to force emotions onto people or areas.  It was why many places said to be haunted made people feel uneasy.  Most of the spirits were uneasy.  But a few, like Simon’s parents, and Wade’s father, pushed only the good.  He wished he could tell Simon how much his parents still cared.

Wade squeezed his eyes shut.  He wanted to talk to Simon about everything in his life, but he was terrified; What if Simon shunned him the same way everybody else did?

“Do-...”  Wade clenched his fists.  “Do you want to hear something secret about me...?”

Simon glanced over at him.  “Yeah.  I mean, you don’t have to, if you don’t wanna.”

Wade inhaled and lifted his head.  “I really do.”

Simon shifted and faced Wade once more.  “Go for it, man.  Secret’s safe with me.”

Wade watched Simon’s curious and concerned face for a few seconds.  “Do you know why I don’t have any friends?  Why nobody likes me?”

Simon tilted his head.  “Because you’re super tall and kinda goth, and people are dicks?”

Wade snorted.  “I wish that were it,” He said.  He closed his eyes and took a breath.  “Nobody likes me because I talk to the dead.”

Simon’s face went blank.

Wade felt something cold grip his heart.  “It’s why you f-find me in corners a lot, or like, with my head in my locker.”  He watched Simon’s gaze turn stone and drop to the rooftop.  Wade panicked.  He was losing him.  “I-It’s why I got so nervous when you got on the wall here, because-”  He moved to gesture above them, to the spirit that hadn’t stopped looming, but Simon stood up.  “Simon?  W-Where are you going?”

“Home.”

Something in Wade shrivelled and died.  “Simon, wait-”

Simon made it to the door and began fiddling with bobby pins in the lock.  “That’s not funny, Wade.”

“I’m not- I’m not saying it to be funny, Simon, it’s the truth.”  Wade scrambled to his feet and followed.  “I told one guy that his sister wanted him to keep playing guitar and stop being a jerk, and he decked me and told everybody I was a freak.”

A bobby pin snapped and Simon hissed.  “Damn.”  He ignored Wade.

“S-Simon-”

Simon glared daggers at the door and tried another bobby pin.  “I tell you somethin’ not even Damascus knows about me, and you pull out some bullshit story? Fuck off.”  The second pin snapped.  “Fuck!”

Wade’s eyes reddened.  “Please don’t go, I’m not lying to you!”

“Shut the fuck up!”  Simon threw his broken bobby pin on the ground.  “I know where you’re fuckin’ goin’ with this, and you’re full of shit!”

Wade went rigid, and the dam broke.

“This is the part where you tell me my folks are still around, right!?  So you can tell me that they still love me, and they’re proud, and I’m gonna just believe you like some fuck in an episode of the goddamn Ghost Whisperer!”  Simon turned from Wade and the door and made his way back to the ledge where they’d climbed.  “You don’t need to pull that shit to make friends, Wade!  I was your fuckin’ friend!”

“Simon please-!”

“Tell him he needs a haircut.”

Wade flinched and jerked his head to the voice.  The wispy forms of Simon’s parents had grown clear.  It took two seconds of catching the ice blue gaze under the blonde fringe to realise that Simon inherited most of his looks from his mother.  “Your mother wants you to cut your hair!”

Simon froze at the wall.  He turned back to Wade and looked insulted.  “Fuck you, Wade.”  He turned back to the wall and hefted himself up.

The shadow of the roof spirit darted along the border of the roof and skidded to a stop in front of Simon, planting its hands on Simon’s shoulders.  With  shriek that Simon couldn’t hear, it shoved.

Simon toppled back on the roof.  The spirit was protecting him from falling.  It didn’t want anyone else to die that way that it had.

Wade took a step closer.  “Simon, please listen...”

“No!”  There was a horror in Simon’s eyes as he sat up and tried again, but the spirit kept him from staying on the wall.  “M-Make it stop!  I want to leave!  It’s not real!”

Then, whispering started.  He heard Simon’s mother again, and his father, and the spirit from the roof- a girl- echoing in his head at once like his own thoughts.  They were trying to help.  “Your mother’s name was Rita!”

“Shut up!”

“Your father’s name was Chris, Simon!  They named you after your grandfather-”

“S-Stop talking!”  Simon shrieked as he tried to fight the force of the being on the ledge.

Wade’s head filled with information Simon hadn’t told him, and he dropped to his knees from the load.  “You’re a genius.  You’ve always understood engineering and chemistry since you were little, and you built a rocket when you were nine without any help!”  He took in a shuddery breath.  “Y-You left home when you were thirteen because your parents were being blackmailed!  Y-You thought you cost them money they didn’t have, s-so you... you ran away, and you made fireworks and bombs, and you sold them to make money to send to them!  You gave up being a kid so your family could keep going!”

Simon gave up fighting the ghost and spun around, fear and heartbreak on his face.  “What do you know!?  What do you fuckin’ know about me!?”

“I know that you’re the bravest person I have ever met!  You defied the mob to help your parents, you lived by yourself for three years, and you still want to keep going despite all of that!  I know that you’re the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I don’t know what I’ll do if you think I’m some freak like everyone else does!”

Simon face was a mess.  It was red, tears were streaming down his face, and his nose was running.  “It c-can’t be real...!  If it’s real, that m-means they’ve been watchin’ me!  They know shit I’ve done, they know the things I made probably killed people!  They died because of me, okay!?  I wasn’t home!  I couldn’t protect them!”

Wade swallowed a lump in his throat.  “S-Simon...”

“Simon Nicotera, you would have died with us.  Do you really think that’s what we wanted?  You being away from home is the only thing that kept you safe.”  Wade turned and looked at Simon’s father.

“You don’t have to get so angry all the time, baby...”  His mother hovered over Simon’s quaking form.

Wade huffed and gripped his hair.  “H-He can’t hear you...”

Simon lifted from the roof and glared.  “Stop talking to them!”

Simon’s mother rose and her form shuttered.  In and instant, she was before Wade again.  “Can you let him hear me?”

Wade bit his lip.  He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.  This was something he hadn’t done in years.  He lifted his hand to her face.

For Wade, everything went black, like falling asleep.

Simon’s glare didn’t lessen as Wade’s arm dropped, and his distraught, empty look was replaced with a serene, familiar one.  “Simon, calm down.”

Simon’s rib cage tried to cave in.  It was Wade’s voice, but the accent, the tone- the kindness- was a brand he hadn’t heard in three years and thought he would never know again.  He tumbled back into his butt and shifted away.  “S-Stop it!”

Wade’s body stood to his feet and carefully and walked toward Simon.  Simon continued to crab walk away until he hit the wall.  Wade’s form stopped a few feet from the sobbing mess against the wall.  “You’re panicking, baby.  You need to breathe.”  He knelt down on his knees, and a soft smile graced his face.

Another sobbed ripped from Simon’s throat.  “S-Stop-  us-sing h-her voice...!”  He covered his face.

Wade’s head tilted to the side.  He sighed and closed his eyes.  “You and I in a little toy shop,”  he sang.

Simon’s eyes widened behind his hands.

“Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got,”  Wades’s hand reached out and placed itself over Simon’s hands.  “Set them free at the break of dawn ‘til one by one, they were gone.”

Simon trembled and lowered his hands and stared at Wade in fear, but somewhere in his red, swollen eyes, there was exhausted relief.  When Simon was little, and he got angry or scared, his mother would sing him her favourite song to calm him down.  Sometimes she would sing it to herself around the house, and Simon would hide around corners and listen.  He’d never told anyone about the song.

He couldn’t deny it now.  This wasn’t Wade anymore.  This was his mother.

Her smile creased Wade’s face, aging him.  She pushed Wade’s fingers through Simon’s hair.  “Back at base, bugs in the software, flash the message:”

“S-Something’s out there...!”  Simon sang at his mother.  It was broken, and he’d never really been able to sing, but he always made the effort for her.

His mother beamed and continued.  “Floating in the summer sky,”

“Ninety-nine red balloons go by,”  They sang together.

Simon sobbed and scrambled forward, yanking at Wade’s hoodie and throwing himself into his mother’s hold.  She closed Wade’s arms around Simon and rested her head utop his.  “You’re so, so strong, Simon...”

“I’m s-sorry...!  I’m so sorry!”  Simon buried his face in her borrowed chest, not caring how solid and boney it was.  “I want you b-back!  I want you back so bad, what do I have to do!?”

Rita pulled back enough to look into his eyes.  “It doesn’t work that way, baby...  Your daddy and I are gone.”

Simon’s face twisted into one of agony.  Then, his distraught gaze turned furious.  “I’m g-gonna get the fuck that did this...  I’m gonna find him and blow him to fuckin’ pieces.”

Rita pursed her lips.  “Language.”  She lifted her borrowed hands and cupped Simon’s face.  “And you will do no such thing.  You don’t need to get tangled in this mess like we did.  You’re free from our fate, and you have a wonderful man taking care of you now.  Don’t throw it away for revenge, or so help me I will ground you in the afterlife, do you hear me?”

Simon gave a little sob and squeezed his eyes shut, nodding.

She smiled again.  “There’s my good boy.”  She leaned forward and kissed Simon’s forehead.

Simon let out a broken laugh.  “T-That’s super weird right now, mom...”

Rita laughed.  “Well it’s the best you’re gonna get right now.”  She leaned their foreheads together and looked him in the eyes.  “This boy is so scared for you, baby.  He’s afraid he’s lost you, and he needs you more than you know.”  She took a deep breath.  “And you need him.  He’s trying to help you; you just have to let him.  Let people help you.  It’s not you alone against the world anymore.  Okay?  Don’t be afraid to ask for things.”

Simon sniffed and nodded.  ”...Okay.”

“Don’t be afraid of what you feel for Damascus either.  We know that you’re not replacing us, and we know that he’s what you need right now.  Don’t be afraid to let him know that.”

Simon swallowed the lump in his throat.  “I-I’m so scared, ma...  I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to... function like a normal person anymore.”

Rita laughed.  “Baby, you were never normal.”

Simon arched a brow at her.  “Gee, ma, rub it in.”

“That’s not what I meant.”  Rita brushed Simon’s hair out of his eyes and tucked it behind his ear.  “You have always been my little genius.  You’re so smart, and you love so strongly-  You have so much in that small body of yours that you are overflowing.  You’ll get past this.  I know you will, because you are my son.  You’re my little rebel...  I just wish you’d cut your hair.”

Simon’s lip trembled, but he smiled wide.

Rita pulled her son into another embrace.  “I have to give your friend his body back now, Simon.”

Simon’s eyes widened, and he looked at her in shock.  “D-Don’t go-...”

Rita beamed again, cupping his face and kissing his forehead one last time.  “Who the hell said we were goin’ anywhere?”  She rested her hand over his heart.  “We’re always here when you need us.  We’ve always been here.”

Simon sucked in air.  “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.  More than you could ever know.”

The maternal look left Wade’s eyes in a flash, and Wade toppled backwards.  His chest heaved as if he’d been holding his breath underwater.  Simon swallowed again and shuffled forward, shaking hands hovering over Wade’s form.  “...You okay...?”

“Guh-...G-Gonna be sick...”

“Oh shit.”  Simon hurried forward and raked his hands through Wade’s hair to pull it out of the way.  It took seconds after that for Wade to vomit.  Simon flinched and rubbed Wade’s back.

Wade coughed his stomach empty and his throat broken, a cold sweat building over his body.  Eventually, the heaving ceased, and Wade shivered in Simon’s hold.  “F-Fuck...  Haven’t d-... done that in years...”

Simon pulled his knee up and stood, giving his hand to Wade to help him up.  “Think you can stand?”

Wade took the offered hand and wobbled into a shaky stance.  “I think so...  It’s wearing off, possession aftershocks don’t last long for people like me.”  He reached up and wiped his damp brow.  “I seriously need to get back into practice though.  I don’t usually... throw up.”  He looked embarrassed.  “Sorry.”

Simon stared up at him in disbelief.

Wade bit his lip.  “W-...What?”

Simon dove at Wade and threw his arms around his chest, burying his face in the solid, boney chest again.  “‘Swear to god, stop apologising!”  He pulled back enough to glare from beneath Wade’s chin.  “I sat there and called you a liar when you trusted me with something important.  If anyone’s gonna apologise, it’s gonna be fuckin’ me.”

Wade tensed in the hug, but he returned it as desperation set in.  Simon hadn’t left.  He wasn’t afraid of him.  Everything was going to be okay.

They stood there for a few moments before Simon grumbled against Wade’s chest.

Wade blinked down at him.  “What?”

“I broke all my bobby pins...  We’re gonna have to go back down through the window.”

Wade snickered at him.  “Now what did those pins ever do to you?”

“Shut up.”

Wade smiled and sighed, glancing up and finding that the dark figure on the wall was still there.  She was less shadow now and more tangible, her long, dark hair spilling far past her shoulders.  Her eyes looked saddened, but she didn’t seem as scared as Wade had felt from her before.  “You don’t have to fall anymore,” He called to her.

Simon turned to where Wade was speaking.  “Uh... w-who’s there?”  He stepped away from Wade but kept his hand on his arm.

Wade bit his lip.  “I don’t know her name.  She hasn’t really said anything yet.  She’s the one who wouldn’t let you up on the ledge.  She didn’t want you to fall-”  He gave her a soft look. ”-Like she did.”

Simon looked breathless.  He stared at the empty space beside them where Wade could see someone, but he saw nothing.  “I’m... sorry I scared you,” He said, unsure where to look.  He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.  “Still gotta get up there to get out though.  I can’t get the door unlocked with broken bobby pins.”

Wade grinned at him.  “We can if we ask nicely.”  He turned back to the girl.

Simon watched nothing happen for a few moments.  Then, he heard an audible click, and the door to the roof swung open.  He gapped at it.

Wade shoved his hands on his hoodie pocket.  “Thank you.”

Simon gestured a rigid hand at the door.  “That woulda been nice to fuckin’ know before I made us climb through a window.”

Wade laughed.

They walked back down the stairs in silence.  Simon lead the way, and he barely lifted his eyes from the ground.  When they got outside, Simon sighed deeply and looked at the sky.

Wade rubbed his own arm.  “Are... Are you okay...?”

Simon snorted.  “Well, I just had a worldview get fuckin’ wrecked.  I talked to my mom for the first time in years.  Think I’m handlin’ that pretty well, considering.”

Wade swallowed a nervous lump.  “Are-... Are we still on to study tomorrow?”

“Oh definitely.  I’ll see ya.”  Simon smiled and turned to walk to the bus stop.

Wade’s home was in the opposite direction.  He bit his lip as he turned away, scuffing his feet against the sidewalk.  Were things really all right?

~

The next day, Simon wobbled out of bed with his hair in every possible direction.  He grumbled in the bright, warm light of Damascus’ home.  A gentle breeze spilled into the room from the small, opened window on the other side of the room.  “Deeeee,”  Simon whined. “S’coffee on?”

“Coffee and toast, little man.  How you holdin’ up?”

Simon sat on the couch at the coffee table.  “Like a damn dandelion in a stiff breeze.”

Damascus grinned.  “Do I get a wish?”

“Blow me.”

The guffaw that followed filled the room with more warmth.  Simon grinned despite himself, but he covered his ears.

“Jesus Christ, D, gimme my fuckin’ coffee before you go bein’ loud!”  Simon said.

Damascus snickered and set a cup down in front of Simon, as well as a plate of toast.  “Buzzkill.”

“Loser.”

“You can’t match socks.”

“You have a rocketship themed duvet.”

Damascus gasped in mock horror.  “Hey, rocketships are cool!”  There was a knock at the door.  Damascus stood up and moved for the door, glancing back at Simon.  “This isn’t over.”

Simon stuck out his tongue.  “You’ll never defeat me, Batman!”

Damascus laughed and tugged open the door.

Wade stood there and blinked at Damascus, looking confused.  “Uh.”

Damascus blinked back at him but he smiled brightly.  “S’up?  Who are you?”

“I’m here for-...  Is-Is Simon here?”

Damascus’ smile widened.  “Oh yeah, he’s just wakin’ up!  Come on in.”  Damascus moved out of the way to let Wade in, and he saw a string trailing from Wade’s hand.  “Whatcha got there?”

“O-Oh, its a- um-”

Simon stood up and smiled as Wade walked in.  “Wade!  Hey, man you’re early-”  He stopped.

Trailing from Wade’s hand was one red balloon.  Simon stared at it, rounding the table to get closer.  Wade looked tense and nervous, and Damascus stepped away to shut the door.

Wade cleared his throat.  “It’s... a gift, I guess.  I’m sorry, this was probably dumb.”

Simon’s smile returned.  “No way, man.  It’s perfect.”  He reached out and accepted the balloon, freeing up Wade’s hand and hugging him tightly around the waist.  “Thanks, Wade.”

Wade relaxed in the hold and hugged him back.  “Any time.”

Damascus smiled wistfully at them for a moment before pouting.  “Aw, I want a balloon.”

Wade glanced at him and smiled sheepishly.  “I mean, I have more.  I bought a bag,”  He said, reaching into the bag he always had on him and pulling out a bag of deflated red balloons.  “I just figured inflating them all would be... really inconvenient to transport.”

Damascus’ eyes lit up.  “Fuck yes!  Simon, you have the coolest friends!”  He snatched the bag and sat down on the floor, pouring the balloons onto the table before taking one and inflating it.

“Damn straight, I do.”  Simon watched Damascus with a measure of affection before turning that same affection to Wade.  “Seriously.  Thank you.”

Wade smiled back and nodded.  “I was hoping you’d like it.”  He glanced back at Damascus and giggled.  “I’m guessing this means we’re not studying any time soon.”

Simon cackled.  “Not if Damascus has anything to say about.”

“Simon!  Thank fast!”  Damascus pegged the balloon at Simon’s head, and it bounced painlessly away.

Simon flinched, but he grinned.  “Oh shit, it’s on now.”  He darted for the table and grabbed a balloon, working to blow it up and get his revenge.  The helium balloon escaped to the safety of the ceiling.  Damascus was inflating another one by the time Simon finished his and chucked it at Damascus, who dodged.

Wade laughed and took in the waves of deep warmth coming from Damascus and his home.  Something about Damascus was so pure and good that all of his previous nerves about Simon were gone.  There was nowhere better that Simon could possibly be right now.

A balloon was rocketed into his chest, pulling him out of his head.  Simon looked guilty and pointed at Damascus, who looked appalled.  Damascus grinned at Wade.  “Run while you can, Wade!”

Wade’s face split in an ecstatic grin.  He ran for the table and snagged a balloon.  “Hell no, that was a challenge.”

All of the balloons eventually found themselves full and being thrown around the small apartment.  The warm home filled with laughter as the battle raged on, and the one helium balloon found its way to the window.  It ducked under the wall, twisting and flipping in the wind.

In the light of dawn, that one red balloon drifted into the sky.

~