Always Find Your Side.

I can’t get this idea out of my mind !!! Y/n and Simon who are childhood friends but unfortunately seperated because of him going into the SAS, but never forgetting each other, one day when he’s back home he sees all the families tapping them out and then he sees y/n after a long time and they tap him out 😭😭😭😭😭

Ah yes, I remember this idea and I still love it so much. @itsscromp Dividers are also from @cafekitsune. Childhood friends y/n x Simon | Platonic.

Always find your side.

Warning: Not beta read, slight blimp of violence, mention of abuse.

You and Simon have been friends for years. Simon lived a quiet life, he was a shy kid. He wasn't tall, he was skinny and he was a bullies dream target. He wasn't much when he was a kid which made school as much of a hell as home was.

He was starting a new year, heading back to the same school that he'd been attending since pre-school.

Tommy parked the car and grinned and ruffled Simon's hair. "Get out. If you get into trouble, you're Dad's problem."

"I know..." *Simon mumbled and got out and grabbed his backpack. Tommy pulled away from the curb and left Simon to head inside. Slowly dragging his feet up the stairs, tugging his hoodie up.

Kids talked along the stairs, girls giggled and the high school equivalent of "couples" roamed around.

He slipped under the radar, slipping through the big glass doors of the school and looking around the halls. He saw old faces from last year and kids in his grade. He didn't ever talk to them and kept moving.

Pulling his hood back into place again as he searched for his locker. He quickly moved toward the locker where the janitor must have removed the ink on it.

He sighed and went for his lock and code when an arm wrapped around his neck. He grimaced and grabbed on as he was tugged back. "Hey little Ryry. Long time no see."

He squirmed and kicked, but his bully had always been bigger and fuller than him. "Let.. go-"

The bully grinned and tugged Simon back and up, gripping the side of his face with the hand he kept him in a headlock with.

"I just missed you, no need to go so fast." He tugged down Simon's hoodie. Simon grimaced and chewed the inside of his cheek, remembering Tommy's words.

The halls filled and kids barely paid attention. Most know to just keep walking and move on. The bully licked his finger, spitting on the fat finger and wiggling it toward Simon's ear.

Simon squirmed and grimaced. "Get away from me-"

The bully chuckled and slid his finger into Simon's ear, twisting it around and shoving it as hard inside as he could. Simon grabbed his wrist, squeezing and trying to push him away.

"Hey!" The bully looked across the hall as someone stepped forward from a group of kids and stood in front of the two.

"That's gross mate, let him go." You said firmly and gripped your backpack.

The bully huffed. "Newbie getting cocky?? You know what we do to newbies?? Don't we, Ryry."

"I said, let him go." You armed your book bag and gripped it tight. The bully scoffed. He took his finger from Simon's ear and shoved him. Simon gasped, stumbling and tripping on his shoelaces, smacking against the ground.

The bully snickered and walked off, leaving you to help the boy. "Hey, you ok?" You bent down and reached out for him. Simon grimaced and sat up, quickly doing up his shoes.

"I'm fine..." He dusted himself off. "You're new around here.."

"Yeah, I moved here a couple months ago. What grade are you in??"

"Ten..." He fixed his sleeves and hoodie.

"Cool, I'm Y/n!" You smiled and held out your hand.

Simon blinked and looked at your hand. "Simon..." He didn't shake your hand or anything.

"Well, stay safe, I'll see you around Simon." The bell rang and you quickly rushed off to find your classes. Simon tried not to think about you throughout his classes. His bully watching him, boring holes into his skull.

Until he reached PhysEd he didn't see you. He walked into the locker room and put on his gym outfit, walking out into the room seeing the kids running warmup laps.

He scratched at his scrawny arms, tucking his forearms against his side's. He didn't like wearing so little.

"Simon! Get in the run! Come on!" His teacher called, motioning widely for him to get in.

He groaned and trotted up, joining the circle. You noticed his head of fluffy short hair and rushed to run at his side. "Simon!" You smiled.

"I guess we share a class together!"

Simon looked at you, somewhat surprised. "Hello?" He raised an eyebrow.

You snickered. "At least you aren't alone now."

He hummed, and went back to his run. Throughout PhysEd you didn't leave him alone. You were the new kid and he was the outcast. That's how it sort of pieced together. The two of you hanging out all day as much as you could.

You sat together at lunch. Even though Simon was very shut down, you didn't push him. A part of you told you, you had to be gentle with him.

But you worked for it. Throughout the next three years you came to be friends with Simon. Your main time to spend together came from school and breaks, as Simon had a curfew of 4:45 to be home and no later. You'd already seen him near a panic attack at having to rush home.

You briefly saw his older brother pick him up once. But from what you could sense, his family wasn't in a good situation.

You walked up to Simon's locker, smiling when you saw him. "Hey Simon!"

Simon kept his head down, scuffing his feet. "Y/n..."

"Hey, you ok?" You tilted your head and checked on him.

Simon shoved his hands in his pockets, hiding his face away from you. You frowned softly, reaching out for his hand. You saw the bruises on his knuckles and fingers. The black and blue up his wrists and under his sleeves.

"Simon, show me your face."

"M'no..."

"Simon," You said softly, slowly reaching for his hood and pulling the side back. You saw the bruises speckling all up his cheek and around his eyebrow and cheekbone.

"Simon... We should get you to the nurse."

"No. You can't..."

"Simon, you're hurt."

He pushed your hand away but you had none of it. You gently took his hand and hugged him. "You can trust me..." You whispered and squeezed him gently.

Simon hesitated before leaning into you. His body is tired and wanting to rest. You slowly rocked him. "If you skip PhsyEd we can do homework in the classroom together instead..."

"Yeah?"

"Of course."

He nodded against your shoulder and hid his face. And you held him as long as he needed, damn to the school bell.

You and Simon had now gotten to your final year of school. You were excited. Both of you would be able to get out and finally try and figure yourselves out.

And then 9/11 happened. Just as the new school year started. That rocked the both of you when you heard it. The school day had stopped as the news played over the tv and radio.

Simon got quieter again after that. You didn't connect the dots at first from the incident, but Simon kept his head down and stayed away from you.

He had been spending more of his time at a part time job after school as well. You two were close, but something was off about Simon. You two were quietly eating lunch, Simon staring down at his barely touched meal.

"Something is bugging you??" You asked. Finally catch him in a moment to talk.

He looked up at you. He shrugged a little and picked at his food some more.

"Simon... What's going on in your head??" You grew concerned. You didn't know what it was but part of you was afraid it was something you wouldn't be able to stop if you didn't ask.

Silence followed for a bit. You were about to ask again when Simon finally spoke. "I'm leaving..."

"Leaving??" You frowned. "Where are you going??" Was he going to run away? Vacation? Moving...??

Simon sighed softly. "I signed up for bootcamp..."

You blinked, surprised to hear that. "What?? Bootcamp??" You put your plate down. "When are you leaving?"

"Soon... A couple months.." He kept his gaze down.

"Simon, why didn't you tell me this?? Is this why you are trying to avoid me?"

"I just... Didn't want you to miss me. So I thought maybe if I avoided you a little more you'd forget about me."

You laughed softly. "Simon, why would I forget you?? You're my best friend. I will never forget you."

Simon was quiet. You both sat at the table quietly. "So, you really want to do this, don't you?"

"I do."

You nodded. You couldn't help being worried for Simon. He had been working on bulking up a little bit, and he was a strong witted character. But you worried as a friend. What if he got shot, injured, or killed? You couldn't bear to lose him.

"Ok, then I support that decision. Are you going because you want to serve, or get away from... Him?" You leaned closer and reached out for his hand.

"Both... But I want to serve."

Simon wanted to serve. After 9/11 it pushed him over the edge of a decision and he signed up. He was old enough to scrape into bootcamp.

When Simon packed up and got ready to leave, you texted him to meet up. Before he left you met him. It was a cold, rainy day, but you didn't mind trudging out through the puddles and dark clouds to find Simon.

He had his bags and umbrella, standing at the corner of the road. You fixed your rain coat and quickly rushed across the road.

"Simon!"

Simon waved at you. "Hey."

"Hey! Sorry, I'm wet, can I hug you??"

He nodded, and you eagerly hugged him tightly. Simon wrapped an arm around you, "Stay safe."

"You too, don't die, and stay up to date! I want to hear about all of it!" You smiled up at him.

Simon nodded as the bus showed up. He picked up his bags and started down the sidewalk.

"Wait, Simon!"

He paused and turned back to you.

"Just, call me! I want you to text me as soon as bootcamp is over!"

Simon pursed his lips and nodded. You watched him get on the bus, rain pouring down on you. You stayed there and waved as the bus left.

"Goodbye!!" You waved.

Simon and you did talk. After he got through bootcamp and was accepted he could talk to you a lot more. He would text and email when he could. But slowly, as Simon ranked up the texts started to slow.

You also moved on with your life. Getting a sturdy job and trying to build your life. But you never forgot each other.

Simon still remembered you, but he didn't know if you remembered him.

You remembered him every day when you did your work. When you saw military signs you thought fondly of Simon. You sent him email after email over the course of two years.

And he never responded. His office was collecting dust and his computer shoved in a cardboard box. Emails piling up over the years he was missing.

You eventually gave up, unsure if he was just busy or didn't care to talk anymore.

Vernon walked over. He grinned and kicked Simon in the stomach. "Wakey wakey, Riley~"

Simon choked. His chains rattled and his wrists chaff. He looked up at him, blood leaking down his mouth. He laid his head in the ground, his wrists squeezing behind his back.

"Come on, Riley. Give us a bark." Vernon taunted. He stepped on Simon's head, digging his heel in. Simon grits, biting into his gag. Blood leaked into his eye and he squeezed his eyes shut.

He thought of you. That's one of the things that kept him going. It kept him from breaking. It kept him going.

Vernon's taunting words were static ringing in his ears as he remembered you.

He never forgot you. Even when he lost his family. He had nothing left. He couldn't confide in anyone. He couldn't trust anyone. He felt completely alone.

He stared down at his phone and rubbed his face. He hadn't emailed you in over four years. He didn't even know if you remembered him. He wouldn't blame you if you'd have forgotten such an insignificant boy in your life.

"Hey, don't know if you remember me. There's a ceremony happening back home. Don't know if you want to come down, you don't have to."

He stared at the email. He groaned and sent it, feeling his heart practically twist up in his chest.

He didn't get any reply back in the days leading up, so he assumed you'd forgotten or deleted it. He wouldn't have blamed you if it went to spam.

He dressed up in his uniform and fixed his collar, taking a deep breath. Back home, the soldiers lined up, ready for the usual ceremony and happy reuniting of families.

They all sat or stood around the area. He couldn't spot you from his view. He didn't expect you to come. He was foolish.

He stood there firmly as the general and captain spoke. The ceremony lasted a bit, but his feet were used to the pain.

Eventually families were allowed out. Children shrieked and ran to their fathers. Sisters and brothers ran to their siblings and hugged them tightly. Wives and husbands immediately went to tap out their lovers.

Simon continued to look ahead, hands firm at his sides.

He mate next to him hugged his little brother and walked off. People slowly flooded away and soldiers spared thin. Simon had no family, he had no friends, he had no one who could tap him out.

He'd once again stand around until the captain could tap him out at the end. He was waiting for chairs to empty and families to leave. Waiting for the area went quiet as people packed up and they cleaned.

The general would talk for a bit and the captain would come over. They'd thank him for his duty and finally tap him out so he could wander.

As people walked away, you picked up your bag and wandered through the people. "Excuse me. Sorry, sorry. I'm just gonna sneak through here." You said as you wormed past people.

You walked into the concrete and looked around, spotting him. One of the last men standing there firmly.

You smiled and walked in front of him. Wow, he had changed so much. Shaved his head, taller, much stronger. Scars all over his body from what you could see showing under the uniform.

Simon spotted you, keeping his face still. Wow, you have changed. Was that you?? It was. It really is...

You took a deep breath and kept still. You stood in front of him. "Hey Simon." You tapped his chest.

Simon relaxed his joints slightly. And without hesitation you rushed into his arms. Simon smiled, squeezing you tightly.

"I missed you..." You whispered, squeezing his uniform. "I missed you so much."

Simon squeezed you back and hid against you. You smiled warmly, and slowly rubbed his back. "I got your email." You whisper.

"Thought you'd forgotten about me..." He mumbled against your shoulder.

"Simon... I told you I'd never forget about you. Not my best friend."

His heart swelled and he smiled against your shoulder. He squeezed you and then put you down gently.

You wiped a few tears and looked up at him. "It's so good to see you buddy. You look good."

"I look like shit... Couldn't sleep on my flight..."

"Oh hush, you look good!" You gently patted his arm. "Come on, let's get something to eat." You took his hand and led him away.

Simon blinked, surprised. "What??"

"Come on, you're hungry aren't you??"

Simon hesitated and then nodded. Yeah, actually, he was hungry. Now that you mention it.

"Well, there's Five Guys not far from here." You chime and smile.

Simon finally chuckled and smiled, squeezing your hand and rushing to follow. "You really didn't forget..."

"I'd never forget buddy, I love you, y'know."

Simon's lip wobbled. You were truly the best. Just... The best.

"Yeah..." He rubbed your knuckle. "I love you too.."