Simon's POV

"You ready babe?" I whispered to my (absolutely adorable) boyfriend, as we walked from the lunch line to our seats at lunch.

Nick had begun sitting next to Abby at lunch long ago, and just recently everyone had decided they should "switch things up a bit", so Bram and I had already been sitting next to eachother. Thus, nobody batted an eye when we sat down together.

Granted, Abby notices pretty much everything when it comes to relationships, so when Bram and I sat a little closer than deemed "platonically acceptable", she definitely went to investigate without hesitation.

I found it particularly hilarious when she went to go to the bathroom (which she never does at school for sanitary reasons) but took the long route just so she could sneak behind us, to see if we were holding hands.

She let out a tiny squeal when Abby found our fingers laced together, but proceeded to walk away, as if to not diminish the ruse.

"Abby's been acting a bit strange" Leah noticed, as the rest of the table agreed. Morgan and Anna agreed quietly, while Garrett, Nick, and I all gave examples as to why. Bram just nodded and smiled a bit. The cutie patootie.

Somehow the topic at the table had transitioned to Oreos (not that I was complaining), until Abby got back, and switched the conversation to us.

"So are we just going to NOT talk about Simon and Bram over here?" She said, nodding her head in our direction. I gave her a confused look, while Bram just stared at her and blushed deeply.

Damnit Bram. He's going to blow our cover.

Everyone turned their heads to see what it GODS name Abby was referring to.

It was then I realized that I basically had my head buried in his shoulder, and our hands were visible from the table.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I said, my voice completely stern.

"I'm really gay and dating Simon" Bram said almost immediately after. There was a suffocating moment of pure silence from our table.

"FINALLY man" Garrett burst, smiling at Bram. Everyone looked at him.

"You knew?" Someone asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Duh. A) I'm his best friend, so of course he comes to me about his giant-ass crushes, and B) it was SO obvious they were crushing on eachother. Between the not-so-secret glances at the other person, and soft smiles followed by immense blushing, it was easy to tell just how in love with eachother they were" this surprised just about everyone, considering they thought he was just an air headed jock.

"Wait so let me get this straight" Nick said, holding his hands up in confusion.

"You really can't get anything straight out of us" I said, as everyone either glared because of the awful pun, or laughed.

"You two went from virtual strangers, to boyfriends in one night?" He asked skeptically.

"It's actually a really long story, that we have absolutely no time for here" Bram said. Morgan and Abby looked surprised to actually hear him speak or loud, for more than four words.

"WaHo, tonight" Abby said, staring at me and Bram as the bell rang and everyone got up from their seats.

The few classes I had with Bram were, of course, the best ones. We shared secret looks from across the class, or basically sat right on top of eachother in English on that ratty old couch. It was nice, snuggling up to Bram in a way so that you couldn't tell our intention unless you were looking for it.

"Babe stop daydreaming and turn the page" he mumbled into my ear, so that nobody could hear the pet name. I rolled my eyes softly and complied, scooting over just enough that our knees were touching, making my heart pound.

We were in what is most commonly known as the Honeymoon phase, meaning we were drowning in the purest love ( I don't know what to say. Love was word number 666), and the best part of my day was when we shared those loving kisses.

School passed by relatively quickly, until it was time to meet everyone at Waffle House.

"This should be fun" I heard Bram say from next to me. I laughed and held his hand, as I drove away from the school.

"It'll be fine" I reassured him. He smiled.

"Oh I'm positive it will. I'm just saying the highlight of our night will definitely be when I tell them I've had a crush on you since 9th grade" he said. I felt my blush, that honestly hadn't gone away since yesterday, deepen.

"Or me calling you Cute Bram Greenfeld in my head" I said. He laughed and held my hand tighter, and I was certain we were both passed the reasonable level to be blushing when you go out in public.

We pulled into the parking lot, and sat for a moment. I brought his hand up to my mouth and kissed it quickly.

"Let's do this" he laughed as I said that, kissed my forehead, and got out of the car. We both walked into the restaurant, not hand in hand, sadly, but close enough for me to feel his body heat.

When we walked in, Nick and Abby waved us over. Leah and Garrett had yet to arrive, so we ordered, and didn't start the story.

After about 8 more minutes, Leah and Garrett walked in.

"You were my ride Simon" oh man I forgot.

"I picked her up though" Garrett said, sitting himself next to Bram, and Leah next to Abby. Morgan and Anna couldn't come, for other reasons than the author not remembering about their existence until after the scene was written.

"Ok. Now how do two strangers end up dating the very next day?" Abby asked, eager to get this show on the road.

"Ever heard of Tinder?" I said.

"Seriously?"

"No" Bram rolled his eyes and playfully flicked me. "Remember that one Creek Secrets post AGES ago, that was about the gay kid named Blue?" Bram said. It took them a moment for them to jog their memories, but eventually they all nodded.

"Well that was Bram" they all gasped. "I anonymously emailed him, saying 'hey! Me too' , and we became email pen pals" I explained. They all leaned forward as we told them about our secret relationship.

"You had been talking for MONTHS and had no idea who the other was?" Leah deadpanned. We laughed. "Oh holy lord"

Our tale had been pretty lighthearted so far, but at this next part I lowered my tone.
"And then this dickwad shows up and he's like 'yo Simon, I have proof that you're gay and I'm going to blackmail you' and at first I was like 'so what' but then I realized BLUE was involved in this, and would probably lose contact to me if this kid outed him" I said, my eyes looking down. Bran squeezed my hand gently.

"WHO DO I NEED TO MURDER?" Abby shouted

"Abby calm down it's-"

"I HAVE CROW FRIENDS WHO WILL RECOGNIZE FACES. INFORMATION SPREADS IN CROW COMMUNITIES. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS FRAM THIS MONKEY'S ASSHOLE FOR MURDERING A CROW, AND HIS EYES WILL BE PECKED OUT" she yelled. I laughed at how extra she was being.

"Abby chill. Martin was just-" shit I should not have let that slip. 

"IT WAS  M A R T I N?" Uh oh spaghetti-o.

"Let's move on" Bram said quickly. Abby looked like she was about to blow a fuse. Nick had to physically stop her from getting up and running over to Martins house right then and there.

"So the school year went by, and Jacques here had been leaving all these hints as to who he was..." Bram was saying, nudging me at the mention of my pseudonym.

"Jacques?" Abby and Garrett asked at the same time. Nick would have asked, but his mouth was full.

"Jacques a dit. Simon says. Not as clever as I initially thought, because Bram figured it out pretty soon after he started TRYING to figure it out" I explained. They all looked even more confused.

"He would sign off as Jacques, and me Blue" a few subtle "ooh"s came from them.

"And when he said he knew who I was, I INCORRECTLY guesses who he was" I said, as Garrett winced.

"Ouch" I nodded.

"We lost contact for a while, but then I got a T-shirt" I said. Nick gasped.

"The one you refused to sleep without, thus making your parents aware to your drunkenness, ultimately grounding you?" He said. I nodded.

"APPARENTLY his phone number was INSIDE the shirt, and he thought I didnt want to talk to him, but I actually was being a giant moron and hadn't found the number" I laughed. He kissed my cheek.

"You were being cute" he said.

"Cute Bram Greenfeld" I giggled. Everyone, once again, looked confused.

"I called him Cute Bram in my head" I explained.

"I had a crush on him since ninth grade" Bram topped. Everyone's jaws dropped.

"WHAT?" Abby gasped.

"And so at the carnival" I changed the subject. "I was waiting and waiting and WAITING" I said, adding more dramatic effect to each "waiting".

"I hadn't checked my email until around 8:45" Bram explained. They all shared looks of sympathy.

"So I thought 'he's not going to show up, and I wrecked one of the best friendships I'd ever had', so I got on the Tilt-A-Whirl" I said.

"Much to my demise. I hate those death traps" Bram mumbled, as everyone laughed.

"But he ended up showing up, and got on the ride. He was like 'I like your shirt' and I was like 'thanks it's Elliott Smith' and he was like 'I know' and I was like 'it's you' and he was like 'it's me' AND THEN THE RIDE STARTED" I screamed. Abby was squealing, Nick had failed to close his mouth, Leah's eyes were wide as she grabbed onto every detail of the story, and Garrett was staring at Bram like he was a total stranger.

"So then we started dating, because we both anonymously fell in love with eachother" Bram said, holding my hand, as everyone "awwwwed"

I felt a buzz in my pocket, and went to check my phone.

"Oh I have to go to dinner. Come on babe" I said, scooting past Garrett, and dragging Bran outside of the booth. "Goodbye everyone, hope you tell that story to your grandchildren!" I said, as we walked out. Bram let out a full on laugh, and got into the car with me.

"You're staying for dinner, of course" I said, pulling out of the WaHo lot and driving towards my house.

"Obviously. We still have to come out to your parents" he said, letting out a little fake shudder. I laughed. "I sure hope this won't be awkward"

"With MY parents? Yeah right" I laughed.

Nora had made paella, and better yet, ALICE was there too.

"Hey bub" She said, as I walked through the door, Bram in tow. "Who's this?" She asked. I glanced at Bram for a split second.

"This is my friend, Bram" I pushed him toward her.

"Nice to meet you, Bran" she said, incorrectly.

"Bram" he told her. She looked at him confused.

"What did I say?"

"DINNER" my mom called from the dining room. I was glad the awkward interaction with Alice was cut short, and without a doubt, Bram was too.

He glanced at me worriedly, and I gently squeezed his hand.

"You'll do great babe" I said quietly. He smiled a bit, and we both walked in. We (regretfully) dropped each other's hands before making it in.

"Oh you must be Bram! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Mom said, reaching out her hand to shake his.

"You too, Mrs. Spier" damn my boyfriend knew how to win over parents.

"Oh call me Emily. And that's Jack over there. Okay honey?" She asked, and Bran nodded. We both took our seats, and began serving the paella.

Not even one bite in did Nora ask how everyone liked the food. She got a chorus of "its good"s.

"It's very delicious" Bram said, as she beamed at him. Nora knew everyone had to tell her her cooking was good, but Bram didn't. Bram genuinely liked it.

"Thanks, Bram"

The conversation at the dinner table continued with its light and cheery mood. Everyone was laughing, and it was all around pleasant. Until, of course, Alice decided to catch up on everyone's lives.

"So Simon, find yourself a girlfriend yet?" She asked, her eyebrow raised. I saw Bram choke on his drink from the side of my eye, and I quietly laughed a little. Everyone looked at us funny.

I shot a look to Bram saying "you ready? We don't have to tell them" but he nodded, and held my hand under the table.

"Actually sort of, yes I have" I said, and my parents immediately turned to stare at me.

"You never told us" my mom said, hurt, but still excited and proud.

"I was looking for the best time" I said, and everyone looked a bit confused. I took a deep breath. "I'm gay, and Bram is my boyfriend" I said quickly. I everyone was staring at me, with expressions of awe, before jumping to action.

"Thank you for telling us Simon"

"Since when were you two a couple?"

"I'm glad you could trust us"

"I'm sorry" the last one surprised me. I looked yo my dad.

"Why?" I asked him quietly. The whole table ceased its talking, so we could hear each other.

"All this time, I've been making gay jokes" he started. My face softened.

"No dad, it's ok. It's alright" I tried to reassure him. He just looked at me, his face full of remorse.

"I'm so sorry kid" he said. I immediately got up and hugged him, and we stayed like that for a few minutes.

When I went to sit back down, the table went back into conversation. Mainly drilling Bram for any information about himself.

"So what do you do in your free time?" My mom asked, staring at him from across the table.

"I play soccer" he started, about to list more things, before dad interrupted him.

"Oh, with Eisner?"

"Uh yeah we're pretty good friends" he said, smiling. It was really hard to keep in my overwhelming desire to constantly kiss his ridiculously fucking adorable face.

"How long have you known Simon?" Alice asks. Everyone turns to us for a response.

"Since freshman year" he said confidently. He is so cute ohmygod.

"What led to you two getting together?" Nora asked. I let out a laugh, and Bram leaned back in his seat.

"That's a really long story" I warned.

"We have the time" my mom said.

So we told them.