You thought you knew your best friend, Simon. For years, he had been the one constant in your life—the person you texted first when something funny happened, the one who knew all your favorite snacks and songs, and the person who would show up at your door without question if you said you were having a bad day. He was steady, dependable, and familiar. Or so you believed.

That illusion shattered in the most unexpected way. It wasn’t a dramatic revelation or some earth-shattering confession. It was simple. Casual. A moment that might have slipped by unnoticed if you hadn’t been paying attention. You were both in your room, sprawled on the floor with half-eaten pizza and an old movie playing in the background, the kind of night that had happened a thousand times before. He laughed at something you said, leaning back on his hands, and that’s when you noticed it—the glint of silver as he stuck his tongue out to make a face at you.

A piercing. On Simon.

At first, you blinked, thinking maybe the light was playing tricks on you. But then he smirked, slow and knowing, letting the little barbell catch the light again. Your stomach flipped, a coil of surprise and something warmer curling low in your chest. You weren’t sure why it affected you so deeply, but it did. That tiny piece of metal felt like a secret you weren’t supposed to know, a hidden edge to the boy you thought you had all figured out.

It wasn’t just the piercing—it was the layers of Simon you were discovering. He had always been a little private, but there were habits that now made more sense. Like the way he wore his mask—Ghost’s mask, as he jokingly called it—even around the house sometimes. A black balaclava, a skull-print face covering, always hiding part of his expression. You had thought it was just a quirk, maybe left over from his love of tactical gear and late-night gaming sessions. But now, with the piercing glinting in the low light, those habits felt like glimpses into a side of him you’d never truly explored.