Right Place, Right Time

☔️

"How'd it go?"
Roger asked as Simon opened the front door.

His question was soon answered when he saw tears pouring down Simon's face. His eyes were red and puffy, and his expression was a mix of anger and sadness.

"What happened."
Roger asked sternly, walking over to Simon.

Simon cried, hugging Roger.

"I-I should've listened to you Roger! You were right..."
he said, sobbing against Roger's shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears.

"Well, what happened?"
he asked, in a surprisingly calm and soothing voice.

He took Simon over to the couch so they could sit down.

"H-He....he..."
Simon stuttered.

"Catch your breath, what did he do?"

"He stood me up!"
Simon cried, covering his face with his hands as he slumped against the couch.

Roger wanted to be angry, he wanted to go find Ralph right then and there and rip out his spine to use as a baseball bat. However, Roger knew Simon needed him right now more than ever.
So he pulled Simon into a hug once more, comforting him.

He wanted to say
"I told you so."
but he bit his tongue, focusing on calming Simon down instead of lecturing him.

—————————————————————

The next day, Simon went to school. He was so angry and upset at Ralph. He hoped he didn't cross paths with him, because if he did he knows it wouldn't end well.
There was a hatred in his heart towards the man that shattered it. He couldn't believe Ralph would do this. He couldn't believe he led him on for this long. What a fool Simon was to fall so hard for such a jerk.

Simon sat in his first class, thankful that Ralph wasn't in there. Simon doodled on his notebook, not realizing how many broken hearts he had drawn.
A conversation on the other side of the classroom drew his attention.

"Did you hear what happened to Ralph?"

Simon looked up, he didn't know why he cared, but he was curious.

"Yeah, I can't believe that happened."

Simon furrowed his eyebrows.

"What happened?"
He asked.

The two girls that were talking looked over at him.

"You don't know?"

Simon shook his head, clueless.

"He crashed his motorcycle last night."

Simon's eyes widened, his heart dropped to his feet. Everything around him began to tune out except for the girls' conversation.

"He was driving down one of the backroads, headed towards where the Diner is when a drunk driver hit him. He crashed into a tree and his motorcycle burst into flames. He's in the hospital, but he's still alive; however he hasn't woken up since the crash..."
The girl explained.

Simon stared at her, his entire world flipped upside down.
He didn't know what to say.
He was so angry and upset at Ralph for standing him up, when it wasn't like that at all. Ralph was going to be there...

Simon didn't realize he was crying until the two girls asked him if he was okay. Simon nodded his head wiping away his tears.

After school, Simon began to walk home. The clouds were dark overhead.
So many thoughts raced through his mind. His anger at Ralph had dissipated. He was now worried beyond comprehension. He felt awful for being mad at Ralph. He knew he had to tell Roger what happened once he got home.

Simon then felt a few raindrops on his head. The rain drops turned into sprinkles, which soon turned into a downpour.
Simon forgot his umbrella at home. He didn't care. He walked through the rain, shivering. Tears rolled down his face.

A shadow loomed over him, as he looked up from where he was previously staring at the ground. There stood a familiar boy, round glasses flashing at him in the rain.
The boy handed him his umbrella before saying,

"You need it more than I do."

Simon watched as the boy's jacket flowed in the wind as he disappeared in the rain like a silhouette.

Simon stood on the sidewalk.
Alone and heartbroken.

He looked up at the umbrella.

His life has changed so much recently, he figured it was changing him too.

Wether it be for the better or for the worse, Simon knew that every end started a new beginning...