august felt like she had rubbed her eyes raw. she had fallen asleep in math class, drooling all over her homework. she was startled awake by the bell, and stumbled her way out of class. thank god it was lunch, or else she wouldn't have had the strength in her to get up.

she barely got any sleep the night before. since halloween was just around the corner, she was up all night watching old horror movies.

to say august was a big fan of horror movies would be the understatement of the century. she was an adrenaline junkie and lived for a good scare. she was constantly at the revival cinema watching old movies, mostly horror, but she was a sucker for a good romance here and there.

she couldn't help but smile when she saw a group of seniors tormenting some freshman, dressed as zombies, fake blood pouring from their mouths and off their clothes.

she snapped her locker open, but realized she forgot her textbooks in class.

she groans and rests her head against her locker, muttering, "fuck this."

she closes her locker and cracks her neck.

she's having a real shit day.

august turned to head back to class, but was met with simon tripping in front of her. she took a step back, making sure he didn't slam into her.

"hi! s-sorry," he stuttered, eyes wide and out of breath.

not to sound like a stalker, but he had been watching her. he's had the biggest crush on her since the seventh grade, but he's never had the strength to say anything. she's always been in her own world, and he never wanted to weasel his way into it. he was an observer, and she kept to herself. over the years, he gathered that she enjoyed her own company.

he wasn't having very much fun during class, equations and formulas boring him. he found his eyes drifting over to august every few minutes, and eventually, they were glued to her.

she was fast asleep, soft breathes escaping her lips. he saw that she had already done all the work for class, and debated copying it. he voted against it, knowing no matter what, he still wouldn't understand a thing being taught.

when the bell rang, it jolted both him out of his staring trance, and her awake. he felt like a fool daydreaming about her when she was no less than five feet away from him.

he turned away, rubbing his hands over his face.

his crush was unhealthy, but he couldn't help it.

after rushing to jot down the last few notes before they were erased, simon spotted august' books. he saw her walking out of the class. she must have left them behind.

he bit his lip. he wasn't going to just leave them there.

he was going to do the friendly thing and bring them to her.

she'd need them after all.

anybody would do it for her.

:)

hiking his bag over his shoulder, he scooped hers up and chased her down the hall.

"'cuse me, sorry, coming through," simon grunted, pushing his way through the hall. he spotted her by her locker. she cursed to herself and turned around.

he pushed his way past two passing people.

and he tripped. terrible timing.

she looked up, furrowing her eyebrows. she took a step back as he stumbled to regain balance.

"hi, sorry. uh," simon held out his hands, which held her notebooks, "you left these. in class. i thought you might need them."

august huffed, taking them. she gave him a grateful smile and hummed, "shit, thanks. i literally just noticed i forgot them. you're a lifesaver."

simon felt his cheeks flushing. he rubbed his neck. "i wouldn't say lifesaver."

"well, we have that test tomorrow. i need my notes to study."

"fuck, i forgot about that."

august let out a breathy laugh, placing her books inside her locker. "you're simon, right?"

"you know my name?" simon had to pinch himself to keep his jaw from dropping.

she raised an eyebrow, questioning, "yeah? i've known you since middle school. you know my name, right?"

"well, yeah."

his eyes travel to the inside of her locker. he notices the sketches on sticky notes pasted all around her locker. there were knives, spiders, and horror killers.

"you're a horror fan?" simon commented. he meant for it to be a statement, obvious from the drawings, but it came out questioning.

august closed her locker, leaning against it. "the biggest. I was up till three in the morning watching scary movies. that's why I'm so tired."

"shit, I thought I was alone," simon chuckles. "I'm a fan too. according to my mom, tarantula was the first movie I ever saw. it gave me nightmares for weeks, but now I watch it religiously."

"a classic!" august laughs. "it's so hard to find good horror movies. nothing's original anymore, just rip offs.did you hear that halloween is playing at the revival theater downtown?"

"the 1978 one?"

august nods.

wait...

perfect.

no, it's too good.

c'mon simon, just do it.

taking a deep breath, simon crossed his arms and leaned against the locker. he tried to look cool, but his sweater caused him to slide a little. he caught himself quickly, clearing his throat. "would you, uh...would you maybe want to go with me? to see it? like, on a date?"

he gulps, pursing his lips. he can't read her expression as he asks her out.

he's impressed with himself. it's not a complete disaster.

"yeah, i'd like that," august smiled after a moment, standing up straight.

simon felt a shiver of relief run down his body. he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"oh thank god," he huffed, standing up straight and chuckling. august laughed along with him, her heart fluttering.

"I thought you were going to say no."

"are you kidding? you're simon kaviloda. i've had the biggest crush on you since freshman year."

"get the fuck out of here. i've had a crush on you since seventh grade."

"oh my god," august blushed deeply, hiding her face with her hands.

"well, at least that means our date definitely won't end in disaster."

simon my bb

- happy days <3