close to you?

Eric's P. O. V

I got dressed in a black shirt and jeans before wearing a pair of white sneakers and heading out.

I reached Simon's house and stood in front of the door freaking out.

What if I mess this up?

Taking a deep breath I pressed his doorbell and took a step back.

The door opened revealing Simon looking like an angel.

Handsome would be an understatement. He looked extremely beautiful.

I don't think I've ever seen a guy look so good before.

"hi," he said cutely.

"Hey, Simon. You look good."

*have my babies*

"t-thanks. You look great" he said moving aside and letting me in.

We stood near the door and I stared at him taking in his outfit when a voice interrupted my observation skills.

" are you going to do something?" it was Steffy. Simon's friend. Damn, does she live here?

"u-um stef. We were just saying hi"

*yeah and you look like god himself*

"let's go?" I asked as he nodded before opening the door and leading us outside.

"um.. is your friend gonna stay?" I asked once we got into the car. He sat in the passenger seat putting on his seatbelt when he looked up and nodded cutely.

"Yeah. Stef's gonna stay over today so…. Yeah," he said fiddling with his jacket's sleeve.

Only Simon can make a leather jacket look innocent.

"that's good"

*she gets to live with you ☹*

"soo.. where are we going?" he asked quietly and I didn't give him an exact reply to tease him.

" to a place" he looked at me before blinking and looking at the road.

"what place?"

*Please stop. PLEASE I BEG YOU. DON'T BE SO CUTE*

"a nice place, strawberry," I said and he nodded before slumping down in the seat.

Simon was silent for most of the ride and I didn't complain. The silence was peaceful. He looked out the window like a kid every time we passed some bright lights.

"do you mind if I play some music..?" I asked and he shook his head saying no.

We listened to the music and Simon smiled when he heard certain lyrics.

This boy certainly pays attention to every little thing.

A song by Taylor swift played and Simon lit up instantly.

"I love this song," he said as he listened to the song carefully.

It was a slow romantic song. I loved the way he smiled and sang along from time to time.

"When are we going to reach?" he asked again and I chuckled at his innocence.

"10 minutes more, strawberry* I said and he scooted back down turning off the music.

"Can you pull the glass down please?" he asked and I let the glass down a little bit.

The wind caused his hair to blow and he laughed breathing in the fresh air.

I looked at him from time to time and felt myself liking him more as time went by.

SIMON'S P. O. V

We reached after a few minutes of driving and I saw a FOREST?

*ABORT MISSION SIMON*

BYE STEF TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS

"e-eric? I-is this a f-forest?" I asked as he nodded smiling and I looked around gulping.

I get it now. This is what happens in the movies. He's pretending to be nice now and then he's going to take me to the forest deep inside and stab me repeatedly-

"trust me strawberry, you're gonna love it," he said before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the forest.

Mama. Papa. I love you.

God, I love you too.

Nick, thanks for the job-

"hurry up strawberry," he said and I followed him.

Why the fuck am I following him? Shouldn't I be running?

He leads me inside the tress and I felt my hands get sweaty. We walked through the trees until we reached an end and I could see lights???

Faint music could be heard and I felt my heart rate calming down.

He lead me to what looked like a cave?? But decorated with lights.

As we walked inside the cave I could see the lights clearly.

It was a café.

*you really thought he'd stab you*

I laughed inwardly at my stupidity as we walked inside and found a table.

Everything about the café was cute.

It was decorated with pink and purple. The lights were dim and the music was slow and faint. Not too loud. It was perfect for a .... Date.

"you know, I love this place. me and my sister always come here for milkshakes"

"you have a sister?"

"yes. Her name's Mayah"

"that's a cute name. how old is she?"

"she's 14 now," he said and I smiled.

Siblings. Must be fun to have siblings.

"do you have any siblings?"

"um.. no. I'm an only child." I said and he did not ask anything further. I was relieved at that.

We ordered pizza and milkshake. We had a small talk about college and dance and stuff. Eric was fun to talk to. He cracked jokes most of the time and respected my choices. I felt comfortable talking to him.

"uh.. eric.. can I ask you something?"

"sure, strawberry. Go ahead" he said and I put my milkshake down looking at him.

"w-why did you want to hang out with me?" I genuinely wanted to know.

"Mmmmm… because you're my friend?" he said and I could feel the disappointment settling in.

"Oh. Okay." I said and he cleared his throat making me lookup.

"do you want to know the real reason I wanted to hang out with you?"

"yeah…" because you pity me.

"because I think you're very cute Simon" he smiled and I felt my breath hitch.

Did I hear that right? Or am I hallucinating?

"u-um w-what?"

"I said I think you're very cute, strawberry" he repeated and I felt flustered at his words.

Eric's P.O.V

Simon blushed 7 different shades of red as he stared at me for a few seconds before looking everywhere else.

He really is very cute.

"thanks," he said after a while of avoiding eye contact and playing with a tissue. Everything about him looked ethereal to me. How his ring made his fingers look pretty ..which made his hand look amazing.

"l-lets order ?" he said quietly and I walked to the counter as Simon trailed behind me slowly.

Was I being too blunt earlier? Is he okay?

We ordered chicken burgers and milkshakes and the waitress gave us our token as we sat back at our table.

"um-

"yes, strawberry?"

"I noticed that I never ask. Does your body hurt after practice every day?"

*no but my heart does because I have to go away from you*

"oh, don't worry about it. It's a bit sore but nothing serious"

"thank god. But do tell me if it hurts too much. I'll help the pain go away."

*how baby?*

Eric. Get. Your. mind. Out .of .the. gutter.

"sure. no worries"

We had a small talk as we ate and I learned about a few of his likes and dislikes. He was quiet and shy but loosened up a bit as we kept talking.

I learned that his favorite color was red and that he was very passionate about dancing. He wanted to become a professional dancer and open his own studio.

"d-do you mind if I ask you something?" he said fiddling with his jacket zip and I wanted to pick him in my arms and take him home and wrap 3 blankets around him and-

"sure strawberry. You can ask me anything"

"um- nevermind." He said and I noticed a little pout on his face.

"go ahead strawberry. I won't mind. Shoot." I said encouraging him and he shook his head still pouting.

Stubborn. Aren't we?

" well okay. But please know that you can ask me anything okay?" I said and he relaxed a bit.

We ate continuing our small talk and he asked me a few questions about my favorites. I loved how he was calm and cute and I was having a panic attack inside every time he moved or did something cute.

After we finished eating, we decided to walk around the forest and admire the night sky.

"you know, I love going out at night. It feels so peaceful" he said quietly admiring the sky.

"really? I love the night too. It's so pretty" I said and he smiled, his dimple making its appearance.

"but I don't get to go out at night much"

"why is that, strawberry?"

"because steff doesn't like going out at night. She gets cold easily."

*I'll take you out at night every day sweetheart.*

"well. We can go out at night any time you want" I said and he looked at me excitedly.

"thank you… but you don't have to"

"I can, strawberry. Just trust me" I said and he went back to staring at the sky with his face slightly flushed.

Simon's P.O.V

Why?

Just why is he doing this to me?

First the compliment and now this?

He's going to make my heart explode just from his words.

We finished our stargazing session and decided to go home.

Hanging out with him today feels like a dream come true.

Being this close to him itself feels euphoric.

It was around 9 now and the night was getting colder. Eric was driving listening to the music the radio was playing. It was a foreign language song but the melody was great.

We were passing by some tall trees and I could see the night sky twinkling with stars.

I felt so happy looking at them and couldn't stop my grin. I'm sure I looked like an idiot but I couldn't stop myself.

Soon, the car stopped and I looked at Eric as he shrugged and lowered the window glass.

"let's enjoy this for a little more. I hope you don't mind" he said looking at the stars again and I couldn't feel happier.

"I don't mind," I said and looked out the window enjoying the peace.

It was cold and refreshing.

I was with eric. Stargazing. And he looked beautiful. What could be better than this?

"I'm really sorry strawberry" he started and I turned my head to look at him. He lay his head back on the seat as he spoke.

"I'm sorry that my friends were dicks to you. I feel sad as I think of it." He sighed before he continued.

"I wish I knew so I could stop all of it. You must have been hurt. I wish I was there to stop them from hurting you" he said his voice just above a whisper.

It felt like he understood the pain of being bullied on a deep level. I didn't question it and dared to put my hand on top of his.

"you don't have to apologize for what you haven't done. And you don't have to feel sorry for something that has happened in the past"

"I'm just happy that you're not like them and a very good person," I said and he gave me a small smile.

I mimicked him and rested my head on the seat looking at him.

*we going bold huh?*

Eric's P. O. V

I was glad he didn't think of me as my asshole group of friends.

He was now resting his head on the seat looking at me and fiddling with his hands from time to time.

" I hope you liked hanging out with me today," I said and he nodded.

"yes, I did. You're fun to hang out with"

"thank you," I said and we fell into silence again.

"i- I wanted to ask earlier…

Yes, baby. Go ahead.

" do- do you have a girlfriend?"

*my best man will be laro*

"no, strawberry. What about you? Any lucky guy?"

"n-no. I'm single too" he said and I felt my heart combusting with happiness.

"you're really beautiful Simon"

"h-huh?"

"I think you're really beautiful. And you look amazing today" I said and he blushed crimson red before fumbling out a thank you.

damn strawberry. you got me crushing like a school boy.