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SIMON
I’ve been looking forward to this trip to the Glowgnome Caverns for weeks now. It’s not often that I even get to go on class trips—between how rarely they occur and the Mage’s tendency to send me off on a mission right beforehand, I’ve been on exactly one in my time at Watford, and that was when we visited some tide pools in third year. It was technically just a non-magickal assignment for biology, and I bollocksed it right up on the ride home. After a spell I cast at Baz went wrong and poor Trixie’s hair had the texture of seaweed for a week, Miss Possibelf forbade magic on the bus indefinitely and no one has ever let me forget it. I can feel half the class giving me side-eye right now even though I haven’t even been present for a class trip in four years, but I guess the ban is still in place. I don’t see what the big deal is, anyway; no one needs to be casting spells on the bus. BAZ
“Here comes the not-so-magic school bus,” I say near Snow’s ear as the vehicle in question crosses the drawbridge and pulls up the drive in front of the school. The other eighth years nearby all snicker appreciatively. Taking a sip from the tea in my travel mug, I watch with interest as a deep crimson creeps up Snow’s long neck toward his freckled face. It wasn’t even really his fault about the pixie’s hair; the entire class had been punch-drunk after spending all day in the sun and then cooped up for two hours on this god-forsaken form of Normal transport that the Mage somehow sees fit to convey students about on field trips, magickal or not. We were all casting spells back and forth but of course bloody Trixie made a scene about it when her hair turned green and slimy. Some of Snow’s better work, really; had he done it to me as I’m sure he intended, I would have been furious but nevertheless impressed. And I would have made his life privately miserable for the next week or so without bringing the faculty into it and getting magic banned on the bus for the entire class in perpetuity.“All right, students,” Miss Possibelf trills, clapping her hands to get our attention while the bus parks. “As you know, the caverns are quite dangerous and it wouldn’t be the first time if someone were to become permanently lost.” I roll my eyes, because of course this is the sort of trip the Mage would sign off on. Too much to hope for that we might lose the precious Chosen One, I think and instantly regret it. In spite of everything, I can’t help knowing that if anything were to actually happen to Snow, I’d be the one who suffered most. “—roommate,” Possibelf finishes, and I realize I’ve missed something important. From the way Snow’s face has fallen, I can guess what it is, and Crowley, this is going to be a long day. SIMON
“But, Miss Possibelf!” Penny protests, bless her. Of course she wouldn’t want to be paired with Trixie, but it saves me having to put up a fight over having to stick with Baz all day. I think most of the faculty are over our antagonism, and anything I say will only make Miss Possibelf dig in harder.Apparently she’s had it with Penny’s grievances as well, though, because she folds her arms and nods toward the bus. “It’s the simplest way to keep track of who is supposed to be with whom, Miss Bunce, so there’s to be no moving seats or switching of partners either on the bus or otherwise. I’ll hear no more about it.” Dark brown eyes narrow in my direction. “That goes double for you and Mr. Pitch, Mr. Snow.”“I didn’t say anything!” I yelp, at the same time that Baz splutters an indignant objection behind me. Well, great. I exchange a despairing glance with Penny, who is reluctantly lining up beside her roommate. Trixie is making a meal over saying goodbye to her girlfriend Keris, who will probably sit right in front of her or even beside her with just an aisle in between them, for Merlin’s sake. It’s a bus ride to a day-long class field trip, not farewell forever. Penny grits her teeth and tosses her hair—back to its natural color, after being blue for a few years running—and I’m not sure which of us is going to have a worse time of it today. “Come along, Snow, unless you need me to hold your hand finding a seat,” Baz coos in my ear, and fuck it. It’s definitely going to be me. BAZ
I manage to push my way to the front of the line so that I can at least secure a seat in the back; bad enough that I’m saddled with Snow for the entire day, without adding Miss Possibelf’s watchful eye to the misery. I’d like to at least be able to insult him in peace, thank you very much. “Oi Baz, you better not fuck this up for everyone with Simon!” Gareth calls out from outside the back end of the bus. He’s waiting for the lift with Rhys. I sneer at them, then consider his words. You better not fuck this up for everyone with Simon…You better not fuck up with Simon. How can I fuck things up with Simon any more than I already have? He hates me; I’m his mortal enemy. And he’s the love of my life. I couldn’t be more of a disaster. SIMON
Agatha is sitting up front with Miss Possibelf. Since Philippa never came back after fifth year, she hasn’t got a roommate to pair up with. I try to catch her eye as I walk by, but ever since we broke up at the start of term, she’s been avoiding me. Penny has managed to strongarm Trixie into sitting behind them, so at least Trixie and Keris will have to keep a lid on their lovey-dovey antics for now. Maybe Penny can just look out the window and have a peaceful trip.I sure won’t. When I crane around the line of people in front of me, I spy Baz sitting by a window in the very back near Rhys and Gareth. He smirks and waggles his fingers at me in a mocking little wave, the wanker.“Look, Baz,” I say when I finally reach him. He’s put his satchel in my seat; of fucking course he has. “I want a quiet ride, so how about we just agree to leave each other alone and not start anything, all right?”“Hear, hear,” Gareth says, leaning over the back of his seat.“Shut up, Gareth!” we both snap at once, and for a moment I feel a rush of solidarity with Baz. Then I notice he still hasn’t moved his bloody bag. I reach for it and he slaps my hand.“Ask nicely, Snow,” he says, taking a sip from his travel mug as if he hasn’t got a care in the world. “I need to sit,” I grit out, and as if on cue Miss Possibelf yells at me from the front of the bus.“Sit down, Mr. Snow!”I grab at Baz’s satchel, but he instantly seizes hold of the strap and leans forward, waving his drink at me. “Mind your manners, Snow!”“Manners! You’re the one with no manners, giving your bag my seat, you prick! You know I have to sit here!”“Mr. Snow!” Miss Possibelf calls out again. I can tell she has no idea why I’m not sitting down, and the entire class is starting to grumble. I’m probably about ten seconds away from getting standing banned from the bus, for fuck’s sake.“Damn it, Baz!” I only swear like a Normal when I’m at the end of my rope. Baz does it to me every time. He doesn’t even look ruffled right now, sneering up at me with his long legs crossed and not a hair out of place. I’d like to mess him up—tear off his tie, pull his shirt loose, fuss his hair. That would show him. He’s so…he’s so… I yank at his bag as hard as I can, not caring what happens to it. It catches Baz off guard because his eyes widen when he’s pulled along with it, his travel mug flying out of his hand and landing on my seat. Hot tea spills all over the fabric and we meet each other’s eyes in a panic before Baz’s expression relaxes back to its usual calm. “Clean that up,” I hiss.“Can’t.” Baz uncrosses his legs and turns to look out the window. “Some numpty got magic banned on the bus.”Everyone is sitting down now and the driver has closed the doors. Miss Possibelf is leaning half out of her seat. “Mr. Snow!” Baz looks up at me with a smile like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “Sit down in the mess you made, Snow. Unless you want to sit in my lap.”“Seven snakes, Simon!” Rhys groans at the same moment that Miss Possibelf makes to stand up, and before I know what I’m doing, I plop myself down right on Baz’s lap. BAZ
I’m living a cursed life. “Get off me, Snow,” I grit. Rhys is doubled over holding his stomach and shaking with laughter, Gareth is trying to surreptitiously take a picture without Possibelf seeing that he has a phone, and this magic-forsaken bus is on the move. “I’m not sitting in the wet spot!” Snow exclaims.“I can’t breathe,” Rhys gasps. I’m excruciatingly aware of Snow’s great heavy body and broad shoulders when I lift my hand to pinch the bridge of my nose.“This isn’t even safe,” I try weakly, all too aware that I’ve never expressed the slightest concern for Snow’s well-being before. The only person who’s cared less for it is the Mage and Simon himself.“Pfft, like you care,” Simon retorts predictably. “Nothing about this is safe, anyway. Who designs mass transportation for children without airbags or even seatbelts?”He has a point. I’m in no mood for points. The drive will take hours and this bus’s shocks must be decades old. I can feel every bump in the road and Snow is bouncing away on my thighs with each and every one. He braces a hand on the seat beside my face as if that will help. “How is someone so short so blasted heavy?” I snarl. I manoeuvre my satchel—blessedly still dry—in between our bodies to ameliorate the friction before something untoward occurs. Barring that, it may keep Snow from noticing. Snow settles himself in and has the nerve to actually yawn. “‘M not short,” he mumbles, attempting to rest his head on the seat over my shoulder. “I’m a completely average height. You’re just freakishly tall.”I scoff and push his head away. Crowley, how are his curls this soft when I’m fairly certain he washes them with bar soap? “Hardly, Snow. And sit up straight. You’re lucky I don’t shove you to the floor with all the gum and fizzy drink spills.”I don’t know why I haven’t. Because I hate myself, probably. Simon actually listens and leans against the window, tipping his head back so that his neck looks a million miles long. The vibration of the bus seems to be lulling him to sleep like a toddler. We take a sudden turn onto one of the charming one-lane dirt roads that populate the English countryside and Snow, eyes still shut, winces. I let his head bang against the window a few more times before groaning in resignation. “Fine, Snow. That window is visibly knocking IQ points out of your ears and you don’t have enough to spare.” He opens one eye and looks at me suspiciously. “Lean on my shoulder if you must, but I swear to magic, if you drool on me I will take you apart.”“Do it, Simon,” Gareth stage whispers, holding up his phone. I glare until he falters and turns back around, and by then Snow has nestled his head awkwardly against the seat and begun snoring. Mouth breather. How is it even possible that he’s fallen asleep this quickly? And on top of me, of all people—for years he’s been telling anyone who would listen that I’m a vampire, and now he’s passed out cold with his impossibly long throat exposed. All I would have to do is turn my face ever so slightly… This line of thinking isn’t helping. Nothing helps. I’m cursed. Simon whimpers in his sleep and digs his massive shoulder into my chest as he presses in closer. He might be sound asleep, but I’m not going to have a moment’s peace on this blasted bus. SIMON
I wake to the clamor of everyone getting up and stretching, and the bus isn’t moving anymore so we must have reached the caverns. Baz’s cheek is resting on top of my head and he’s breathing quietly, the same soft breaths I recognize from when he’s asleep in our room. I’d know the sound of his breathing anywhere, along with the smell of his fancy soap. Cedar and bergamot fill my nostrils, and I lift my head from his slightly damp shirt—fuck, I did drool on him—to find that I’ve draped my arms around Baz’s neck and he’s holding me tightly around the waist. I leap to my feet and shake his shoulder. “Baz! Wake up, we’re here!”“I wasn’t asleep,” he claims in an offended and definitely sleepy voice. “Ugh,” he adds as he stands up and rubs at his long, fit thighs. “My legs are though, thanks to you, you enormous oaf.”I open my mouth to fire back, but the air is suddenly filled with the sound of the entire class’s not-so-secret phones dinging. I don’t have one, so I lean in next to Baz as he opens his air-drop notification. We gasp in unison and Gareth makes a hasty retreat. He’s the only one who could have done this. His seat was perfectly angled to have taken this photo of Baz and me wrapped up in what can only be described as an unconscious cuddle—Baz’s inky black hair is falling in waves over my head where he’s resting his cheek and our arms are wrapped around each other as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Most undignified of all, my mouth is wide open and I have a hank of Baz’s hair caught in the corner. I look up at him now to find him inspecting the damp lock with a look of pure disgust. “Uh…” I begin, but he shakes his head at me shortly.“Not a word, Snow. We find Gareth, stuff his phone down his throat along with that ridiculous belt buckle, and then never speak of this again.”I square my shoulders. A mission. This I can work with. “OK.” BAZ
Our quarry is all but hunching behind Miss Possibelf’s cloak, the simpering coward. Beside me, Simon catches Gareth’s eye and makes a few threatening hand gestures that should leave little doubt what payment can be expected for his fledgling paparazzi efforts. I feel a flash of warmth for Snow’s brutish enthusiasm, only to immediately remember that the only reason he’s so angry is because I’m the one he was caught, for lack of a better word, canoodling with. The photographic evidence is a slap in the face to everything he stands for.Neither of us really pay attention to Miss Possibelf’s lecture regarding cave safety—Simon, because he’s too busy growling in Gareth’s general direction, and me, because I’m drowning in self-pity. After I choke Gareth and force every single classmate to delete that photo, I wonder if I can save it to torture myself with. I probably will; I don’t have any pride left. I glance at Snow in the corner of my vision. He’s three inches shorter than me and twice as broad. He’s all muscle from the missions the infernal Mage sends him on, and he’s covered in freckles and moles from head to toe. Right now he’s standing with his feet apart, jaw thrust out and fists clenched at his sides. It’s so rare for me to see him this worked up at someone else that some magic-forsaken part of me feels a pang of jealousy.“All right!” Possibelf claps her hands and we all follow her into the lift that’s going to take us down into the caverns. There’s a flashing bulb above our heads that blinks on and off as we begin the descent. Everyone is pushing around trying to get behind us for some reason, and as the lights flash off yet again I grab the back of Simon’s blazer. He’s trying to move toward Gareth, I think, but I don’t want to lose him in the crush. Chomsky knows if there will be any light when we reach the bottom. “We’re supposed to be together!” I hiss, then bite my tongue. “Stay together,” I correct myself. “The buddy system, remember, Snow? We have to stay together.”Bodies are still swarming around us and the air is filled with a thick, rustling sound. “Yeah, OK, Baz,” Simon mutters. It’s getting colder as we descend; the caverns are deep in the earth, older than human civilisation. After about five minutes, I’ve begun to shiver in the dark, and Simon moves in closer beside me. He presses up against my chest, then wraps his arms around me, tucking his curly head beneath my chin. “What are you doing?” I whisper. There’s no real reason to be quiet—other people are talking, mostly trying to spook each other and cracking jokes to cover their own fear—but I can’t bring myself to speak at a normal volume. This is too strange, too like a dream. This whole day has been like a dream. I pinch myself and have to bite back a yelp.“Baz, you’re always freezing,” Snow tells me softly. “Even back in our room where it’s warm, and down here it’s dead cold. You let me sleep on you earlier, let me warm you up now. I’m always hot.”Isn’t that the sad truth. I wrap my arms around Simon’s waist, because I’m a constant disappointment to myself. I only get to hold him for a few moments before the lift comes to a crashing halt and the lights flash back on. Everyone turns as one to stare at us. SIMON
Merlin’s balls. The entire class—Agatha and Penny included—is gaping open-mouthed, and I still can’t seem to let Baz go. He’s so cold, I want to give him some of my heat.Miss Possibelf clears her throat and people begin exiting the lift. “Yes, all right, good. Mr. Snow, Mr. Pitch, perhaps avail yourselves of the coats hanging at the back of the lift that I instructed you to put on at the beginning of this venture, then join the class out in the caverns proper.” She coughs again, and I realize she’s trying not to laugh. “If you will, gentlemen.”Baz is as close to blushing as I’ve ever seen him, which is to say he isn’t red at all, but his features are scrunched up as if he’s in actual pain. It’s harder than I expected to prise myself away from him, but I do, stomping to the back of the lift to collect two large, puffy jackets and a couple of woolly hats. I hope they’ve been spelled to be lice-free. I give Baz a wan half-smile and a shrug as we bundle up.Out in the cave it’s dark again, although Miss Possibelf has cast a strong light spell from her wand. She asks the rest of us not to do so unless we lose our path, as she wants us all to get the full experience of being buried thousands of metres under the earth, I guess. “Everyone join hands with your partner and stay with the group,” she calls out before moving away down what must be some kind of path, and then, “Some of you may need to confine yourselves to only holding hands. These passageways can become quite narrow.”I feel my ears going red as the rest of the class guffaws. This is all Gareth’s fault, I swear. He took that picture and shared it with everyone in creation, and I only missed Miss Possibelf’s directions about the coats because I was so ticked off about it. Baz looks about ready to sink even deeper into the ground than we already are, and it’s doing my head in. I’m used to him getting angry with me, but this isn’t even him being angry with Gareth. He’s humiliated, and I’m not going to have that. I have to fix it.As for why being seen getting close with me in particular has got him in such a state, well. I’m trying not to think about it. BAZ
Snow is in one of his classic strops, making the air thick with his smoky, green-wood-smelling magic. He’s grabbed hold of my hand as if he has a grudge against it, and is yanking me along behind him while the rest of the class follows Miss Possibelf into the bowels of the East Midlands. His palm is overly hot and sweaty, and I think about telling him so but then he might let go.“Snow,” I warn. He’s getting too worked up. I don’t know how to put the brakes on him, though. I only know how to rile him up, I’ve never been able to be on the other side of things, as someone who he might turn to to calm down. “Gareth!” Snow whisper-shouts, jerking me forward even as he comes to a halt. I slam into his wide back. Gareth looks back over his shoulder, widens his eyes, and darts off to the right, abandoning Rhys, the plonker. Possibelf has magicked Rhys’s wheelchair to navigate the caverns well enough—the typical, well-worn paths and chambers, at least—but leaving him behind to escape retribution is beyond the pale. “Unreal,” Snow growls, and then we’re off. I barely have a chance to shoot out my wand and light the tip before we’re off down some random side tunnel and leaving the group behind. “Snow, you lunatic! Stop! It’s not worth it!” He drags me on heedlessly, winding around too many turns in the stone to keep track, until it’s painfully clear that Gareth has given us the slip. “And now we’re lost,” I snark, dropping Simon’s hand to catch my breath.“We’re not lost,” he objects. “All we have to do is go back the way we came.” His face falls when I raise an eyebrow at him. “We didn’t take that many turns, right? You kept track of them?”“I tried, but an oafish maniac was pulling my arm out of its socket while I tried to count steps in the darkness!” I shout.“Fuuuuck,” Snow groans, swearing like a Normal again. “You don’t think Gareth is lost too, do you? I didn’t want anything actually bad to happen to him!”Trust this fool to be worried about someone else in the midst of his own folly. “I don’t know.” Looking around, I point my wand back in what I hope to be the direction we came. “I hope you enjoyed cuddling up earlier, Snow, because if we don’t find our way out of here I may be the last human contact you ever have.”“Vampire contact,” he mutters under his breath, but he takes hold of my hand once more. “Hey,” he says suddenly.“Hay is for horses, better for cows.”He huffs. “Could you, you know…turn into a bat or something?”Unbelievable. “And how would that help exactly, Snow?”He shrugs. “Bats like caves. Maybe they know how to get out of them, with, like, echolocation or something.”I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can not turn into a bat. I can’t believe I have to tell you that.”“Oh.” When I look back at him, Snow looks abashed, but not exactly afraid. I pull us back along what I hope is the right path, but in truth I’m only guessing. “Hey, Baz?”I almost snap back with my line about horses again, but he sounds so small and sad. “We’ll get out of here, Simon. I’m not going to let the Pitch line end in some dank cavern beneath Nottingham, of all places.”“No, I just…is it really so bad, the picture Gareth took?”“You tell me. You’re the one who dragged me down here to give him a thumping over it.”Simon’s lips press into a thin line. “Because you were so upset. And it’s my fault, I’m the one who spilled your drink and sat on your lap. I had to try to put it right for you, Baz.”I sit with that a moment, squeezing Simon’s hand as we make our way by the dim light of my wand. SIMON
Baz looks worried. I want to reach up and smooth away the crease between his eyes. It’s right above his long nose, which is ever so slightly bent from when I broke it in third year. I want to know why the picture bothered Baz so much, but then I’m not sure why I’m not more bothered by it myself, really. For all that I hate him, it felt natural waking up with my head on Baz’s chest, just like it felt natural to take him in my arms in the lift. And his hand, now, growing warm inside of mine, feels like it was always meant to be there.I don’t think I hate Baz.He stops to lean against the wall and Merlin, the way his hair is curling up from the damp. He looks…I put my hand to his cheek. “Hey,” I say softly.He turns away from my touch. “Don’t, Snow. I won’t let you die down here. You’ll be back in Wellbelove’s arms before you know it.”“We broke up.” I frown and take his chin, forcing his face back around. “Baz, do you hate me?”Baz’s face crumples. “It doesn’t matter what I feel, Snow. It’s not up to me.”“You called me Simon, before.” When he shakes his head silently, I insist, “You did. When you were talking about the stupid Pitch line or whatever. We’ll get out of here, Simon, you said.” BAZ
My heart can’t take this. I think I’d give up and damn the Pitch line if it weren’t for Snow. The Chosen One can’t take his last breath in some cave on a school field trip.“I like you, Baz.” He’s trying to kill me. “I…think I like you a lot.”“You’re delirious, Snow. Oxygen deprived, or amped up on adrenaline because you don’t want to die.”Scowling, Snow steps back and takes my hand. “Ask me again when we’re safe, then. Come on, Baz. I know you can get us out of this. You can do anything.”Hardly. He’s the savior of the World of Mages. Simon is the one who can do anything. He does, all the time. Shaking my head, I bite at the inside of my cheek and take a deep breath. I smell water, I think, a large body of it. That means a chamber, and most of the larger chambers near the entry point have been mapped; we can’t have strayed too far from there. We were only running for a few minutes, I think. “This way,” I say, with more confidence than I feel. “I think we should keep going forward.”Snow beams. “Great,” he says. “Lead the way, Baz.” SIMON
I can’t believe it. The grotto Baz has led us into is glowing. The roof of the cavern is alight with the ancient work of the glowgnomes that made their home here centuries ago; an unearthly, almost neon blue light bathes the structure of the entire chamber. “It looks like starlight,” I whisper.Baz’s face is tilted up, his face frozen in wonder. The same blue light washes over his skin, moving back and forth as it reflects off the water of the underground lake. He’s never looked more beautiful. “This is the glowgnome cavern,” he says. “This is where the class was heading toward, from the other direction. All we have to do is wait.”I turn toward him. “We’re saved.” He nods, his eyes wet. I’m not sure if he’s crying out of relief or awe. Maybe both. “Ask me again.”Baz looks at me at last. “What?”“Ask me again, Baz. Now that we’re safe. Now that you know it’s not just the adrenaline talking.” He shakes his head, his lower lip trembling. “I like you, Baz,” I whisper. “I like you a lot.” BAZ
I’m not sure how it happens; I may well have swooned, but suddenly Simon’s arms are around my neck and his mouth is over mine, and I feel warmer than I have since I was human. I don’t know what I’m doing; I’ve never been kissed before, but Simon seems to know enough for both of us. He’s moving his chin and pressing up against me, slowly backing me up against the wall. I wrap my arms around him tightly and pull him between my feet as my back hits a stalagmite. I think I’m moaning, but so is he. Crowley, I’m living a charmed life.A bright light illuminates the cave and I hear a loud, communal gasp. The entire eighth year is here, and Miss Possibelf is standing at the other side of the chamber looking as though she’s suddenly decided she needs a long, student-free vacation. Half the class has their phones out, having evidently decided that this is good enough to risk confiscation for. I groan, finally finding the wherewithal to push Simon back. He’s grinning so hard that even I can’t keep a straight face. I’m laughing, and so is he, and then he’s back in my arms again, holding on as if he never plans to let go. SIMON
Baz and I stare at my tea-stained seat on the bus. “It’s probably dry by now,” I say, moving aside for Baz to sit down by the window.He picks up his travel mug, glances inside it, and tips it out on my seat. “I don’t think it is,” he says, and I throw myself into his lap.Gareth was with the class all along, as it turned out. He’s faster than I gave him credit for if he was able to fake ducking into those tunnels. “All’s well that ends well, eh mate?” he asks nervously as he takes his seat by Rhys. I flash him the V with one hand and wrap the other around Baz’s neck, pulling him down for another kiss.The air fills with the sound of dozens of phones snapping pictures, and I honestly couldn’t care less.