This is my contribution to the first day of Carry Onâs Bday Weekend! Thank you @eroticspookfest for being an amazing beta! plan on posting one or two more during the weekend. Check out the @carry-on-bday-2017 page to see other anniversary works!
The flyer in Simonâs hand seemed incongruous with the ancient walls around him, common school supplies and archaic architecture colliding. It looked as if someone had gone a little overboard with Microsoft Word Art when they had made the thing. He watched Pennyâs face as her mouth broke out into a huge grin. Oddly enough, most of the students in the dining hall looked just as excited as her.Â
âI donât get it,â Simon said, frowning.
Penny looked up from the flier, still grinning.
Simon gestured to the entirety of the dining hall.
âI donât get what the big deal is,â He said.
Penny stopped smiling and studied him carefully. Agatha stopped talking to Rhys and turned to stare as well.
âSimon what are you even saying?â Agatha asked.
âWho cares if itâs the 500th anniversary of the school? I mean sure itâs cool but, I donât see why everyone cares so much.â
âSimon, even in the Normal world this sort of thing would be big.â
âThe school has been around for half a millennium, thatâs a huge deal Simon!â Penny said.
âI thought we didnât know when Watford first began,â Simon said, embarrassed that everyone was looking at like he was an idiot.
âNo, but we do know when they started keeping student records.â
âWhich was in the year 1517. So we count from there,â Agatha added.
âWell I still donât see why itâs such a big deal,â Simon said.
âOf course you donât. If something doesnât involve food or killing then the concept is utterly lost on you.â
Simon whipped around to see that Baz had been passing by their table and had stopped to deliver his comment, sneering all the while.
âExplain it to me then, since youâre so smart,â Simon snapped.
âAll you had to do was ask.â
He sat down next to Simon. Recoiling slightly, Simon moved to put some space between the two of them as Baz ripped the flier out of his hands.
âAn anniversary, like any other holiday or birthday, means that magic will be stronger than usual. Weâll be able to say stronger spells, create more powerful potions, and make the impossible happen.â
Simon hated the way Baz talked. It was as if he could make anything sound romantic.
âAnd there will be one hell of a party. Think of the Leavers Ball, except ten times more elaborate.â
Simon felt a flicker of unease.
âIf magic becomes more powerful during an anniversary like this then wonât I be moreâŠâ Simon trailed off.
âYes, I imagine youâll go off like a firework by the end of the night. Ought to make for amusing enough entertainment.â
With that, Baz rose and went back to his own table. As he sat, Simon saw Dev and Niall snicker, their eyes sliding over to Simon. He felt his cheeks warm.
âHeâs such a prick,â Simon said, scowling.
âIgnore him Simon, youâre not going to go off just because the magic is stronger on that day,â Penny said.
But she didnât sound totally convinced of her own statement and Agatha was eyeing him as if he were a ticking time bomb.
Snow had been anxious all week long. He could feel his magic practically twitching in the air in their room at night. Baz wasnât getting sleep, which was making him snarkier during the day and in turn making Snowâs anxiety even worse. Baz hadnât meant to set all of this off. All heâd wanted to do was ruffle Snowâs Normal skepticism a bit. He was paying for it now.
âSnow, can we talk?â He asked.
Snow paused, his tie still undone and shirt open.
âWhy?â He asked, eyes narrow.
âRelax. Iâm being serious,â He said.
âFine,â He said, sitting rigidly on his bed.
âYouâre not going to destroy Watford tomorrow. So can you just relax?â
âIâm not sure why youâre trying to make me feel better but lying to me isnât going to help. I saw it written all over Penny and Agathaâs faces.â
âThen just donât go off.â
Snow raised his eyebrow, his expression angry.
âWhy didnât I think of that? Youâre totally right. Just donât go off, as if I can control it.â
âWhat usually makes you go off?â Baz asked.
âThe Humdrum,â Snow said.
Baz wished Snow meant that his uncontrollable desire for Baz was what made him go off. But he knew better, Snow went off because Baz pushed him to go off.
âI wonât bother you tomorrow then,â Baz said.
âAs if you have control over that any more than I do over my magic.â
Baz wished they were flirting, not discussing their mutual hatred.
âIâll do it, if it means youâll calm down.â Baz said.
âTo protect Watford,â Baz mumbled.
It was the day of Watfordâs Anniversary. As soon as Simon had woken up, heâd felt the difference in the magical atmosphere. There was a low hum in the air, not something he could actually hear but a tension he could feel. Part of him had wanted to throw up; another part of him had wanted to go off. Somehow, he managed to do neither.Â
When heâd opened his eyes he had found that Baz was gone, bed already made and cold. Simon felt a small flicker of disappointment, Which was stupid, he should have felt grateful. Baz was doing exactly what heâd said he would do the night before, not bother him. Still, he had wanted to ask Baz what it was like for him, the extra power. Mostly it was just making Simon feel sick, overfull and depleted all at once.
When he had finally roused himself and made his way to the dining hall, he found that the sensation was worse. He felt like he might actually pass out from the amount of magic around him.Â
âIsnât it great?â Penny was asking.
âItâs weird, my magic doesnât feel so, I donât know, tense?â Agatha said.
âAnniversaries are amazing,â Penny breathed.
Simon felt his breathing rate go higher.
âSimon?â Agatha asked, concern in her voice.
âIâm sorry, I justâŠitâs too much.â
Penny frowned and went to place a hand on his shoulder. The touch of her hand, even through the fabric of his uniform, burned.
âMerlin,â Simon moaned, backing away.
Penny ripped her hand away, eyes frightened.
âDid I hurt you?â Simon whispered.
âThen what is it?â He asked.
Pennyâs eyelashes fluttered, concern and confusion in her eyes.
âI think that IâŠwell I think that I hurt you Simon.â
âHow is thatâŠeven possible?â Simon asked.
âIt was likeâŠI could feel your magic,â Penny said.
âI could feel andâŠI could use it,â Penny whispered.
Snow had left the dining hall hours ago and disappeared. He was missing all of the ceremonies and festivities. Baz wanted very badly to go see what was wrong with him but he worried that his presence would just make everything worse for him. Was it sick, Baz wondered, to be in love with someone and know that you were the very thing that made their life miserable?
He approached Bunce instead.Â
âWhatâs wrong with Snow?âÂ
Penny finished her bite of cake and glared at him.
âWhy on earth would I tell you of all people?â She asked.
âBecause Iâm trying to help him,â Baz said.
Her face crumpled into a look of disbelief.
He tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. To come up with any excuse. But he couldnât. He was too worried about Snow to have a mask ready and in place. All of his feelings were written on his face and he knew it.
âOh my godâŠâ She whispered, studying him.
âJust tell me whatâs wrong with him,â He said.
âAll of this extra magic, for whatever reason part of it is coming from him. When I touched him, it was like my body absorbed a little more than everyone else. I-I hurt him Baz, I didnât even mean to but I did.â
Baz felt his stomach drop. There were hundreds of people out for the anniversary. All of them were using magic, more than they would normally have been able to. Baz had always known that Snow was made of magic, but heâd never entertained the idea that all of that magic could be accessible to others, under the right circumstances.Â
âI need to go check on him,â Baz said.
âBaz I donât think-â
âI donât care,â He said.
He felt like he was dying. Maybe he was, it wasnât as if he could tell. The room was a haze of buzzing, each vibration alighting painful nerves along Simonâs body. He felt like he was bleeding out. Except that he wasnât, he was losing magic, not blood. He should have realized that an event as sacred to Watford as an anniversary would do something like this to him. He was never meant to be here at all.
Tears and sweat mingled over his cheeks, his neck. He had stripped to only his boxers. He would have taken it all off, except that he was worried Baz might come back.
In the strange haze of pain and loss Simon realized that Bazâs name brought him comfort. Baz was infuriating and mean but he was also constant. Heâd stayed away just to help Watford. That had to mean he wasnât evil.Â
He knew Baz wasnât evil, deep down. The fever was breaking down all of the walls heâd built around himself over the years.
Baz was annoying, insufferable, and elitist.
Baz was the only one Simon wanted to see right now.
The door to their room opened.Â
Simon waited to feel the roiling nausea that had accompanied all the other times Penny or Agatha had come to visit him during the day. He felt none of that. Instead he felt the buzzing in the room lower slightly.
He sat up and saw that Baz was staring at him, his expression caught between horror and caution. He must not want to make me go off Simon thought.Â
âI can go,â Baz said.
âDonât,â Simon whispered.
Baz came forward slowly, giving Simon a chance to adjust to his magic in the room.
This time the magic didnât burn Simon. He felt his skin cool slightly, noticed as the buzzing decreased even more.
âCome closer,â Simon said.
Baz did as he asked, sitting on the bed beside him.
Relief was so close that Simon wanted to drown himself in it. He wanted to bury his face in Bazâs hair, to wrap his arms around his waist and pull him into himself.
But he wanted other things too. He wanted to press his mouth into the soft flesh of Bazâs cheeks, to lightly trail a finger over the length of Bazâs collarbone.Â
He wanted relief, he wanted more tension.
âBaz,â He breathed, tasting his name with magic.Â
It wasnât a spell; he was too weak to make anything out of it anyways. But he watched as Bazâs eyes went brighter, as his entire face seemed to come alive as it never had before.
âSimon,â Baz breathed.
Simon felt it. Baz had said the words with magic, both of his own and of Simonâs. It didnât hurt though, as it had with Penny. When she had tried a spell in the room with Simon, heâd felt it as though she had ripped the magic inside of him away. This wasnât like that. Baz wasnât taking any magic, he was sharing it.
Simon moved forward, unsure of himself. This connection was different than the others, it was right. He pushed his hands through Bazâs hair and sighed happily as the buzzing in the room stopped completely.
Then he realized where he was; kneeling in front of Baz on his bed, hands caught up in his hair.
He kissed Baz. It was strange that he had never considered doing it before.
Baz inhaled sharply but didnât move away. He sat there and let Simon kiss him, hands getting twisty in Simonâs curls.
Simon didnât even care that he was slick with sweat, and it seemed that Baz didnât care either. Simon murmured his agreement when Baz opened his mouth. Their tongues collided, wrapped up in each other like their magic.
âStay,â Simon panted, when they broke apart.
âAlways,â Baz whispered.
They kissed again and this time they didnât stop. Even when they heard the fireworks going off on the Great Lawn.
