Chamber by Chamber // Snowbaz

We're Magic in a Normal World

Otp Prompt: Baz is a Jock and ruthless on the pitch. He has a reputation to uphold... so what the hell is he supposed to do when he falls for Simon; the resident nerd (and his rival) in Watford high? Non-magic high school AU (Ask on Tumblr)

I am utterly fucked. I'm just walking down the halls when I see the familiar thatch of bronze curls and blue eyes. Simon bloody Snow is ten feet away from me, talking with his sidekick Penelope Bunce, laughing about something (some nerdy science joke, no doubt). When he laughs, his eyes crinkle at the sides and his nose scrunches and all I can think is fuck me fuck me fuck me. His moles are all scattered around his face, and I can't help but nearly swoon as his laugh floats down the halls. It's the end of classes and I have practise; I'm just going to get out of the halls and onto the pitch as fast as I can. Classes are hard enough with him. Watching him laugh in class makes me want to be the one making him laugh. It's torture.

Of course, he abruptly stops laughing when his eyes land on me, a ghost of a smile still on his lips. As he gets closer, I sneer at him and hit his books down onto the floor. Penny just rolls her eyes and Simon growls at me. He growls. What a nerd. I look down at his books on the floor and I can hear Dev and Niall snicker behind me. In his books that fall, I see his normal school books, plus another one about magic. What an adorably cute nerd that I would like to spit on and then snog. "Oh poor Snow. I see you've finally gone loony, reading about magic. What an utter nerd." He glares up at me and I see the blush spread across his cheeks. The adorable twat.

"Shut up, Baz." He says it in what would be a threatening tone if he wasn't picking his books up off the floor.

"Maybe we should get you a stick and you can zap me away. Oh, Snow. I'm petrified." I laugh humorlessly as I step around him, resisting the urge to turn around and help him and tell him I'm sorry.

"What a loser." Niall says beside me. I have the urge to tell him to shut up. Instead, I simply nod my head, leading us down to the football pitch.

Usually, I can lose myself on the field. I can forget about blue eyes and bronze curls and just play the game. But today as I'm kicking the ball toward another teammate, I spot someone off to the side of the field. As I look over to see who it is, I stumble over the ball and get a face full of grass. I can hear someone's laugh from all the way across the field... not only is Simon standing there, but he's doubled over in laughter. The tosser.

"Pitch! What's wrong with you? Get your head in the game!" I shake it off and keep practising, but it proves to be bloody hard when your enemy that you're in love with is watching your every move. Suffice it to say, I'm not doing my best during practise.

Under any other circumstances, I would have no problem telling Simon Snow that I'm in love with him. But the thing is, I can't be gay. I mean, it's obvious enough that I am gay. But I just can't be. I can't tell anyone about it- I'll be teased mercilessly for the rest of senior year. And if by some chance people didn't care I was gay, I still couldn't be with Simon. He's a nerd and I'm a jock (even if I do read as much- probably more than Simon. I just don't tell people about that). We're on two different tracks headed two different directions. And even if by some miracle people were accepting, and it didn't matter that we were different... Simon hates me. And even if people were accepting, it didn't matter that we were different, and Simon didn't hate me, he's still very bloody straight. He dates Agatha Wellbelove for years before she finally called it quits.

Everything is just stacked up against us. And even as I see that Simon is still watching me, I keep reminding myself of all the reasons it wouldn't work. If fate is a thing... it sure as fuck seems to be stacked against me.

At the end of practise, the guys head to the locker room, but I hang back a bit. I want to know why Simon was watching the practise. I stroll over to him like every atom in my body isn't telling me that I want to run into his arms. "Snow," I sneer. His face falls and I can't help but wish I wasn't so cruel. "What are you doing here, you twat?"

"I was just-" I cut him off.

"You were just what? Admiring the team? Next time, Snow, take a picture. It'll last longer." I always go for the lowest blow. I don't know why I do that. But if teasing him is the only time I'll ever get with Simon Snow, I'll bloody well take it. I start to turn away from him and walk away.

"Why do you hate me?" He spits it out like he hadn't meant to. When I turn back around, his face looks like he wishes he could push the words back in. He's still holding his books (like the bumbling nerd he is) and he looks down at them.

"What?" I spit and raise an eyebrow. Simon Snow, do you want me to not hate you?

"Why do you hate me? I'm serious Baz, I want to know. I never did anything to you. So why do you hate me?" Because you made me love you. His voice quivers when he asks me. I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and tell him that I never hated him. But that pesky reputation I have to uphold is more pressing.

"Why does the Earth revolve around the Sun, Snow? Because it's just what it does. It's what it's supposed to do. I hate you because it's just what I do, and it's what I'm supposed to do. Happy?" He thinks for a second, and I don't think I realized just how close we were getting. Taking unconscious steps toward each other.

"No. I'm not happy," He reaches up and brushes away a strand of hair that fell down into my face. It's like he doesn't even realize he's doing it. And I realize just how tense I am as my whole body sighs under his touch. "Because I don't think jocks and nerds need to be enemies, Baz. I don't think we need to be enemies." He's much closer now, and I have to tilt my head down to look at him. It isn't fair. It isn't fair that I went to the same high school as Simon bloody Snow, and that I fell in love with him of all people, even when we were destined to be enemies. It isn't fair. But it's also the way it has to be. His eyes are full of hope, and once again, I'll be the one to kill it.

"Simon, I-" I start to tell him that it's just the way it goes. But before I can even move on from his name (I can't believe I really said his name. I'm a bloody idiot sometimes)(or maybe a genius), he pushes his lips to mine, and all words are lost on my tongue. I guess that's the thing about Earth and the Sun. They have to crash into each other eventually.

Now I get why you read all of the magic books, Simon, I want to say to him. (I only don't because currently my lips are busy with something else).

Because this is magic. We are magic.