Definitions

Chapter 35: You Are My Home

Love, verb.
Yeah, I think love is a verb, not a noun. You can't have love without someone showing the emotion. You have to actively love a person for it to be called love. It's never a passive word.

Chapter thirty five: You Are My Home
We got home pretty late that night, and as usual, both Simon and I ended up in his room, talking. Simon set one of his pre-recorded videos to upload, before lying down beside where I sat on his bed, going through the photos I'd taken that day, after uploading them off my camera card onto my laptop. Something we'd learnt was that both Simon and I were needy individuals - we needed each other all the time, even if it was just the mere presence. I was worried this would impact my other relationships, not just with people like my brother, but with Freya, Em, maybe even Josh. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy my time spent with them - I did. Simon was just my favourite person, the go-to for when I was feeling any kind of emotion, and I knew I was his go-to as well.

My thoughts were distracted when I came across some photos of Simon and I, evidently taken by Josh, when we were mucking around on the wall in the gardens earlier.
"Aw," I smiled. "Josh you're a sneaky one." Simon looked up, and a smile grew on his face when he saw what I was looking at. The last photo of the set was my favourite - I was still standing on his toes, as he held me, and we were looking at each other and smiling.
"Can you send that to me?" He asked.
"Sure," I nodded, opening the photo on my phone, and texting it to him.

After that, my thoughts returned to their original track. I finished editing my photos, and after uploading a few to Instagram, including the one Simon had taken of our hands, I closed my laptop, and placed it on the floor. Then I lay back beside Simon, who pocketed his phone, and looked at me.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, taking a piece of my hair, and playing with it with his fingers.
"It's nothing important," I sighed, not wanting to burden him with the thought.
"It's clearly bothering you," he stated, seeing right through my nonchalance as usual. "You know we can talk about anything, right?"
"I just... I just don't want you to take it the wrong way," I stated.
"I won't," he promised.
"Well... Do you think we spend too much time together?" I asked.
"No," he shook his head immediately.
"I don't either," I said, feeling relieved.
"Why'd you ask then?" He wondered. "Did someone say something, or..."
"No, no one's said anything," I replied. "I was just worried you'd get sick of me." Simon smiled, and pulled my face towards his, and kissed my lips slowly and gently.
"I will never get tired of being around you, or listening to you talking, or kissing you," he said, his blue eyes boring holes in mine. "Remember, we were best friends before all of this, it's not that our relationship has changed, it's just grown into something more." He broke off as I kissed him again.
"Simon?"
"Yeah?'
"I love you."
"I love you too Jordy," he smiled. We were quiet for a while, both thinking. "Jord?"
"Yeah?"
"When... How much longer are you staying here in England for?"
"A little under two months," I replied. He frowned.
"What happens then?" He asked.
"Well, you wanna see Australia, yeah?" I smiled. He'd been looking a little sad for a moment, but at the mention of this his mood instantly brightened.
"Can we go together?"
"If you want," I smiled. "We can see if any of the others want to tag along too."
"And then what? After that?" He asked.
"Then I've got three months in Texas for the basketball/cheerleading season," I said. "Honestly Simon, you know what happens when I start playing both of those sports, my channel drops to one video a day, and I basically eat, sleep, and train, I won't have much time to give to you. If you still wanna watch me play, you could come to my finals, and then we could fly home together after that?"
"You make everything sound so simple," he smiled ruefully. "Does that mean your home is here now?"
"It's people who make a home, Simon," I grinned. "You're my home, you and the rest of the squad."
"Cheesy," he smiled. "And did you just quote Ethan?"
"Maybe," I giggled.
"I'm just scared you're gonna decide you like Texas and stay there," he sighed.
"You'll have to trust me on that one, but I highly doubt that will happen."
"Okay, I trust you," he said. We were both quiet again, until Simon broke the silence with another question. "So how long are we in Australia for then?" He asked. I laughed quietly.
"Aren't you full of questions tonight." He laughed too. "Uh, well I planned to go back after Christmas, in time for the new year," I said. "But if you wanna see some of Australia we could go a bit earlier?"
"I wanna see Sydney," he said, thinking. "And Australia Zoo. But beyond that I don't know."
"Maybe if we spend the Christmas week in Perth, where I lived, and then go to Sydney for New Years, and after that we've got a week and a bit to do Australia Zoo, and whatever else."
"What do Australians do for holidays?"
"In Western Australia everybody just goes to Bali," I laughed, "if they don't go down south, or to Exmouth or something."
"Isn't Bali in Indonesia?" He smiled.
"Yeah, but it's cheaper and closer than the eastern states," I explained. "Well, if you want real Australia, you've got to go to northern WA or the Northern Territory, but I honestly don't think your British body would be able to take on the desert at that time of year."
"Hey!" He protested.
"It's true!" I laughed. "It gets hot and the flies are unreal."
"Okay, well what's your favourite place to go?" He asked.
"Northern Queensland is amazing, Cairns, Port Douglas, Daintree, and the reef," I said, thinking. "That would work, since we're already in Queensland for Australia Zoo."
"We'll have to plan this properly at some stage," he chuckled. "When we're not both half asleep."
"Speaking of which," I laughed, rolling over, and cuddling into him. "Some sleep would be nice."
"I can't be bothered to get up to turn off the light," he stated. He reached down, and picked up one of his shoes from his messy floor. It happened to be a football boot. "Think I can get the switch with this?"
"Give it a try," I shrugged. He pelted the shoe at the light switch, and by some miracle, he hit it first go.
"Nice aim," I giggled. "Lucky you didn't hit anything else." He smiled, and leaned down to kiss my lips gently. I kissed him back tiredly.
"I love you," he said, smiling, wrapping his arms around me.
"I love you too Simon."

A/N: awwww they said I love you <3