Chapter 1
Simon always knew he was different ever since the day he was born, he didn’t know if it was the fact that he had bright yellow cat-like eyes or if it was the fact that he was constantly obsessed with glitter, doing eyeliner, or putting an outfit together that showed off not only his musculine side but also his femine side. He didn’t mind his cat eyes in fact, Simon enjoyed them to the point that almost every year for halloween he dressed up as a cat so that if anyone asked about his eyes he could tell them they were contacts even though they weren’t. Eventually his parents started refusing his requests to be homeschooled, forcing him to wear blue contacts that irritated his eyes to the point that when he got home he took them out quickly before throwing them away, making it to where his parents constantly had to get new contacts almost every three days. The school his parents sent him to was a public school, but what he expected was kids that would welcome him with open arms and would want to be friends with him. What he got instead was kids who ridiculed him not only for the fact that he dressed up every day as if he was attending an oscar award ceremony but for the fact that he only talked to girls which made many of the boys think that he was secretly a girl himself. This caused many of the boys to start calling Simon names like Mon or Simona, but it also caused fights and bullying towards Simon which lead to not only most of the boys who bullied him in the nurses station with broken arms or legs, but it also lead Simon to the principal more times than his parents were willing to admit. “Why Simon? Why are you fighting with other kids? What did they do to you to make you put them into the nurse’s station?” His parents asked, but Simon knew his parents would never understand that he was merely defending himself from being bullied again. “I was dared to do it mom. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again mother I promise.” Simon meant what he said, but the problem was the fact that the other kids would never stop bullying him. That was something he knew from the start, but he soon met two kids who would not only accept him into their lives, but would also help defend him from his bullies.
Simon was walking through the halls, his arms filled with books for his classes because he didn’t trust them being in his locker thanks to the kids who bullied him. He wasn’t even halfway to his classroom when one of his bullies tripped him, making his books slide every which way across the hall. Simon shook his head lightly before trying to pick up his books before a hand hit the back of his head, but before he could throw a fist at the person who hit him he heard a voice of a girl scolding the bully. “How dare you treat him differently just because he is better dressed than you? Or the fact that he is the smartest one in our entire class. Instead of being mean to the guy you should take a page out of his book. Maybe why he can’t talk to guys is the fact that almost every guy in this school is an imbecile.” The girl walked up to Simon and the closer she got the more he could make out her appearance, from her reddish brown hair that turned bright red in the sun to her blue-gray eyes that changed according to her mood. Those things weren’t the only things he noticed, for instance he noticed that she wore a light foundation and concealer only covering her right cheek, but if he looked hard enough he could notice that the part she covered with makeup was swollen. Simon silently reached his hand out to touch her cheek, but she stopped him before he could, “Please, don’t. It’s nothing. I tripped yesterday and hit my cheek on a book.” Simon looked at her with a look that made her think is the boy she stood up for really worth trusting with her secret. Simon saw the girl let out a breath before she took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it before giving it to Simon and walking away. Simon watched the girl walk away towards a boy that seemed to be waiting for her. It was almost as if the boy had been watching Simon and the girl have a silent conversation, even though there was no conversation. Simon grabbed the rest of his books before rushing into class taking his seat at the back of the class. Simon silently unfolded the note the girl had written only to find the words “Meet me and my friend at the southeast exit. My friend and I will explain what you were puzzled about. Just please don’t tell anyone about what we tell you. -Cadance Chase ″ Simon looked up as he finished reading the note only to find the teacher glaring at him. “And what is the answer to the question Mr. Miller?” Simon looked at the board only to find an expression that Simon knew was meant for 10th graders instead of the young minds of eighth graders. “The answer that you’re looking for is x=22.” Simon said to the teacher before opening his math book and working ahead of the class like he did everyday because the teacher never taught them anything of importance.
Simon had finally reached the end of the day, before realizing that he needed to go to the southeast exit. Simon rushed to put his books into his backpack before rushing to make it to the southeast exit only to find nobody there. “Glad to see you could make it.” Simon looked behind him to find that Cadance was there along with her friend, who in Simon’s opinion had an odd yet beautiful head of hair. “He shouldn’t be here Kay. He’s just gonna end up calling the cops and telling them anything we tell him.” Simon watched in annoyance as Cadance slapped her friend before walking towards Simon, “Well, I trust him. When’s the last time you didn’t trust me Arien?” Simon watched as the boy who Simon now learned that his name was Arien opened and closed his mouth trying to find an answer to the question. “Exactly Arien. Trust me. I don’t think he’ll tell anyone because he’s just like us before we found each other and stood up for each other.” Simon suddenly felt warmth in his heart because of the fact that he finally found someone who finally knew what it was like to be bullied based on appearances. “I’m sorry to intrude on your little fight, but what happened to your cheek?” Simon watched as Arien tensed up a bit when Simon had asked that question, but Cadance shook her head, “Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Simon held out his hand, “Promise on my life, my dear.” Simon watched as Arien blushed at his comment before glaring at Simon making it to where Simon knew for sure that Arien liked Cadance but hadn’t told her yet and as Cadance let out a quiet giggle before placing her hand in his. “Well umm what happened wasn’t that I fell. It was that my Dad got mad and he hit me.” After she got done telling Simon what really happened she looked down at the ground before starting to tear up which Simon reacted quickly by holding her close and whispering into her ear that everything would be fine and that her father would never hurt her again. “You can’t tell anyone about what her father is doing. Not only would it affect her but it would also affect me and you both.” Simon nods his head slightly before wiping the tears off of Cadance’s cheeks before opening up his bag. “What are you doing?” Arien asked Simon while Simon brought out a smaller bag before looking towards Cadance and asking, “Hey can you sit so that I can fix your makeup so that no one sees the bruise?” Simon watched as she nodded before slowly sitting on the ground, shaking slightly still calming down from crying only moments before. Simon started to redo her makeup while studying her face being able to see so much just by looking into her beautiful eyes whose shade had turned dark blue which Simon assumed meant she was still upset. Simon took his phone out of his pocket to find out that it was already 4:30 as he scrambled to get up while trying to apologize, “I’m sorry but I have to get home or my parents will think that I’m in detention again and I really don’t want to hear another one of their lectures.” Arien and Cadance both nodded before Cadance began to say, “It’s fine we better get heading home before our parents freak out as well. We will see you tomorrow, ok? Wait, we forgot to ask about what your name is. ″ Simon turned around quickly, flashing a stunning smile before saying in a charming tone, “My name is Simon Miller, my darling.”
The next day Simon walked to school with a little more confidence than he usually did because yesterday he made friends who were like him and got bullied for no reason. “Looks like someone let a skunk into the building.” Simon heard the voice of one of his bullies before turning to see that the boy they were making fun of was none other than the duo haired boy, Arien himself. “Hey, stop making fun of my friend just because half of his hair is white and the other half is black.” Simon watched as the leader of his bullies, Tyler Renyolds, slowly walked up to Simon before hitting him hard in the shoulder before continuing to walk down the hall. Simon rubbed his shoulder before walking up to Arien and asking, “Hey, you ok? I’m sorry that they were picking on you.” Arien shook his head before looking towards the entrance, “No, I’m not ok. It’s not Tyler and his idiotic followers that i’m afraid of right now. It’s the fact that there is ten minutes till school starts and Kay still isn’t here. I’m worried that her father did something to her.” Simon nodded looking in the same direction as Arien before asking a question that Simon was too afraid to ask Kay, “Why doesn’t she tell anyone what her dad is doing to her?” Arien looked back at Simon, pale faced as if Simon had just suggested killing or harming Kay in any way. “She doesn’t tell because the one time she threatened her dad saying she would tell her dad told her that if she decided to tell he would kill not only her but everyone that she cares about including my family, me, and now you. She doesn’t want the people she cares about dying because of her, so she keeps her mouth shut.” Simon looks back towards the exit before opening his mouth once again, “Why do you call her Kay, instead of Cadance?” Simon watched from the corner of his eye as Arien shrugged his shoulders before replying, “I actually don’t know the answer to that question. When I first called her Kay, I just saw how happy she got and so it just stuck. I don’t call her by her real name unless I’m in dire need to call her by her first name which is practically never. Anyway you should know that as her friend you can also call her Kay most people can’t tell, but when people call her by her first name she tenses up ever so slightly. That almost anyone who doesn’t know much about her or hasn’t been around her much can’t tell that she is tense.” Simon looks towards the door once again, but this time when he does he sees Kay limp into the school. Both Simon and Arien can both tell that under Kay’s makeup there are more bruises than there were yesterday, which frightens both boys. “Kay, my darling angel, please come with us, so that we can fix your makeup.” Simon said before gently grabbing Kay’s hand before walking her and Arien to a janitor’s closet that no one used anymore. “I’m sorry.” Simon looked up from taking his makeup out of his bag only to find Kay crying while holding herself. “Come here kitten, Me and Arien promise that your father is never going to hurt you ever again. I don’t care if we have to forcefully take you out of that house and take you to one of our houses.” Simon holds her close before he sees Arien looking at something on Kay’s backside. Simon mouths to Arien asking what he sees and Arien mouths back that she had blood on the back of her pants. “Darling, can you please tell me why you have blood on your pants? Please Kitten, we won’t judge, I promise.” Simon watches as she starts shaking worse then she was a few minutes ago, “I’m sorry. I don’t want y’all to see me like this.” Simon looks at her concerned before asking the question that both boys already knew the answer to, “Biscuit, please shake or nod your head to answer ok?” Simon watched as she nodded before Simon talked to her once again, “Beautiful, did your father rape you?” Simon and Arien watched in fury as the sobbing girl nodded twice before hugging Simon and Arien. “Arien after school, you and I are going to her house with her and taking her clothes, bed, and any of her possessions that she wants. If her father tries to stop us I’m going to beat him up until he ends up in the hospital.” Simon watches as Arien nods before wrapping his arms around both Simon and Kay. “Simon, where is she gonna stay? I live alone in a huge mansion that once was my great grandma’s, but I’m about to have to start working in order to keep food on the table and pay the bills on time.” Simon looks at Arien before slightly nodding. “It’s fine Arien. I’ll help pay for bills and all that mess. My family’s rich so they will just be happy that I’m making friends.”
That’s how it was for a while, but some things change over time…three things happened before Simon turned twelve. The first thing that happened was Simon coming out and telling his parents that he was gay and instead of his parents accepting him like he thought they would. They gave him thirty minutes to pack whatever he wanted before they forced him out of their home because they didn’t want the disgrace of a child that they claimed he was, living in their home. Thankfully Arien and Cadance or K.C. as Simon grew used to calling her offered him to move in with them which worked because they each helped pay the bills in their own way. The second thing that happened was they met three people who soon became their best friends: Paris pisces Allen, Cindy caporicorn Crabbe, and Alex aries Advick. Paris was an open-minded, adaptable, and compassionate person while Cindy, who was born blind, was ambitious, hardworking, and enterprising even though she was born blind.
Alex however, was violent and you never knew what he was about to do, but on the inside the side that Alex never lets anyone see, he is extremely loving, passionate, and driven to protect anyone and everyone he loves. These three also started living with the trio that grew into a group of six, and they all helped each other in many different ways. Simon helped Cindy ignore those kinds of people who made fun of her because of her disability, while Paris helped Arien realize that his split personality doesn’t have control over him. Paris taught Arien how to control his split personality, that he, K, and Simon called Christopher, she showed him that Christopher couldn’t make the rules. Alex and Cadance didn’t have the best start of a friendship seeing how the first time they met and Arien made fun of him, Alex punched a wall right beside her head making her cry. After a while though they both gained feelings for each other even though neither of them would tell the other because they were scared of getting rejected. It was clear to everyone that was in the room with them that they liked each other, they could see it in their quick glances around each other and the silent jokes they would tell each other. The last thing that happened before Simon turned twelve was he enlisted into the military, because what he wanted more than anything was to prove to his parents that he wasn’t a mistake and that he would protect those that he loves no matter the cost. It was hard for Simon to leave his friends but he knew it was for the best in the long run. Even though it was hard on Simon to leave his friends they made sure to keep in contact, by sending letters and gift boxes back and forth. Simon lied to the recruiter in order to get into the military, to them he was a seventeen year old when in reality he was only a twelve year old kid who wanted nothing more than to protect those that he cared about, but he also wanted more people to actually accept him as the gay person he is. Simon signed up for four years to start in the military and he didn’t plan on getting out of the military but life had other plans.
