better than me - minishaw

peach (lobotomy)

harry.

He liked Simon and he wasn't good at hiding it. He was the last person to even realise it, maybe even Simon knew, the rest definitely did. Vik, somehow, had known for quite a while.

You wouldn't expect the loner kid that plays video games 24/7 to able to understand people so simply but that was Vik's talent. He was awful at everyday things like tying his own shoelaces but he was truly a genius. He managed to balance video games and school perfectly and although he wasn't popular, he still had a good group of friends.

Harry suspected that Vik had known at least for the past few days. With Simon getting so close to him out of a sudden and then asking Vik for help on figuring out his sexuality, he was bound to find out.

At first, Harry denied it, not wanting for it to be true. Simon was just another friend, right? But he knew that wasn't true, Vik was his best friend too and he didn't have the constant urge to kiss him as he did with Simon. With Vik, he wanted to play video games, maybe talk about serious things if it was very late at night. With Simon, he wanted to hold his hand, kiss him, make him feel better.

It was very different and Harry was finally understanding. The constant tickling each other was maybe turning too constant. His hugs were longer, his smiles were brighter.

Peach (Lobotomy) by Waterparks was playing in the background and he just wanted to rip his brain out of his head. Harry threw himself back into his bed, realising that he was utterly and completely fucked.

"you're why I'm sitting here,
hating myself for needing someone so bad,
and feeling dumb dumb dumb dumb,
god damn.

mind your head, I've lost my mind,
from thinking about, thinking about you all the time.
mind your head, has lost its sight,
from thinking about, thinking about you all the time"

It was maybe two in the morning or sometime close to it so Harry was at the point where he didn't care anymore and just needed to talk to someone. He texted Vik, whom he knew was still awake because it was a Saturday night, he had to be playing video games.

A few minutes later, he got a text back from Vik, asking him if he needed something, after all, it was pretty late.

vik barn

What is it, do you need anything Harry?

nah mate its ok,,, well, I mean, remember about before? well you're right and I hate it and now I can't stop thinking about him and,, wHY DID YOU MAKE ME REALISE THIS

It's a good thing, trust me

i don't like you >:(

Well, I dislike you too, you're the one texting at this cursed hour

uh,, you got me there-

See, I always win.

fuck you

Goodnight

.•*

That Monday, two weeks after the last time the two of them had actually hung out together excluding band practice, Harry was eating his sandwich next to Vik, having an inkling that something was wrong. He still hadn't seen Simon anywhere, he was beginning to get a little worried. Simon usually had lunch with JJ and the rest but today he was missing from his spot.

Small things like these were usually nothing to worry about but JJ had a strange expression on his face that made Harry very uncomfortable. It was true that his and Simon's friendship had been on the rocks lately which lead him to believe that something bad had occurred.

Harry quickly finished his sandwich and excused himself from Vik and the Cals before running to the music room. He could only hope Simon was there because he wouldn't know where else to find him.

When he turned the corner, he heard the crashing of cymbals and immediately relaxed. Simon was there, he was okay. Harry quietly opened the door and indeed he was there, drumming his life away.

He patiently waited until Simon finished the song and saw him sitting in the corner. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Honestly? I was just looking for you. Did anything serious happen today?"

Simon's face immediately darkened, proving Harry's theory. "How the fuck did you know"

"I'm intuitive I guess. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really, I just had a fight with JJ and now I don't know what to do. I mean, I have football in a while and I don't really know if I can stand seeing him. I want to punch him in the face so fucking bad but I can't."

"Do you wanna just stay here this afternoon? We can practice together, we still have to do it anyway if the band's ever going to improve," Harry was already planning on staying late that afternoon, he was going to try to improve at bending, he still hadn't gotten the hang of it.

"Sure."

.•*

Maths couldn't have passed slower. Harry had nearly dozed off when he was suddenly poked in the back with a pencil by Vik.

"What the fuck do you want, that hurt!" Harry hissed at him, low enough for Vik to hear but not to warrant attention from the teacher.

"Mate, where did you even go to at lunch, we all have questions," Vik told him and he saw that the two Cals were also looking at him with questioning looks.

"Oi fuck off, it doesn't matter, just went to the bathroom"

Vik shot him a look that said that he didn't believe him and then turned to the Cals. Harry heard him mutter something about Simon and just groaned and softly banged his head onto the desk. Vik knew everything but the Cals didn't, there was no reason why they had to. But Vik was probably telling them everything anyway, they would figure it out soon.

That was when the bell rang and Harry had never been quicker to leave a classroom. He reached the music room in less than a minute but it wasn't empty as he expected it, George and Alex were there for some reason.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Alex said and stuck out his tongue at him, provoking Harry to do the same.

George just rolled his eyes and Harry noticed it was the first time he had seen them, his stupid sunglasses weren't there for once. He had striking blue eyes and they were pretty -- just not as pretty at Simon's. Those were the kind that took your breath away and sparkled when he smiled on those rare occasions.

"We were just picking up the bass, Phil let me borrow it for a while to practice. Alex was just helping me with the amp and cables" George shrugged and turned to leave and that's when Harry realised how he looked at Alex.

He saw how Alex was wearing George's sunglasses on his head and how the tips of his ears were pink. That's when everything clicked. The way Alex would constantly annoy him to get his attention, the way George jumped whenever someone would touch him unless it was Alex, the way they would react whenever someone mentioned the other's name. They were absolutely adorable and Harry wished they would get together, wishing his best friend felt the same way about him.