After three more days in Max's presence, Simon made a bold decision. So far he had left the evidence gathering to Jeff and Charlie, but if he was going to get over Max, he had to face the problem head on. 

There was one obstacle, however. Most of the time, Simon alerted his friends when Max left the house, so they knew when and where to follow him. However, if he wanted to join the chase, they had to find another way of tracking him. Luckily, Jeff and Charlie didn't see this as a problem and helped Simon get a few days of freedom. 

At the moment Simon was at Charlie's house, or rather his grandmother's house, where he was staying since he wasn't from Haverford and, like the other older students, didn't want to live on campus. She was a lovely elderly woman who spent most of her time watching soap operas or crocheting, and always had cookies baked for Charlie and his friends. 

"Thank you, Grandma." Charlie smiled gratefully at the old woman, who placed a plate of vanilla cookies on the table. Their scent filled the entire living room, making the cosy house even cosier. 

"Thank you, Mrs Turner."

"Just don't eat them all at once or you'll get a stomachache," she warned them, but you could tell she was pleased by their words of thanks. 

"Don't worry, Grandma," Charlie reassured her and she left the room with a smile on her face.  

"Your grandmother is great," Simon judged once the two of them were alone in his room. 

"I know." 

Simon took one of the cookies from the plate and quickly discovered that as good as they smelled, they tasted even better. He couldn't suppress the sound that described their delicious taste. Charlie laughed and took a cookie as well. 

"You're going to leave this place ten pounds heavier," he laughed as Simon reached for another cookie as soon as he finished the first one. 

"I don't care," he assured him. The one person he wanted to look good for no longer had eyes only for him, so why try? 

Charlie obviously had a superpower to sense when Simon's mind wandered to Max, because he said, "You're going to be single soon. Maybe you should get yourself a baker." 

Simon laughed at his choice of words. "Other than you?" He hinted at his last name. 

His friend rolled his eyes, but the humorous mood didn't leave him. "I've got some good-looking cousins." 

"I don't think they'd be interested in someone like me." Charlie kept trying to encourage him and reassure him that there was a life after Max, but it was hard to believe. Simon had been happily taken for the last year, or so he thought, and he couldn't imagine being single again. 

"Simon," Charlie addressed him, snapping him out of his self-destructive thoughts as he was wont to do. "You should really stop these negative thoughts. And I'm not talking about the ones about Max. Just because he cheated on you doesn't mean there's something wrong with you." 

Simon honestly didn't think there was anything wrong with him until he found out about Max's betrayal. He had never been someone with low self-esteem, but he hadn't been too cocky either. He just knew he wasn't ugly and at the same time he had no problem being the first to approach someone in a bar if he saw someone he was interested in. For some reason, though, he didn't think he could do it again. 

"He's ruined me," he sighed aloud. No matter how he looked at his situation, he always felt the same way. Max made him feel like the most loved and wonderful person in the world, but as much as he had a positive effect on him, the negative one was just as strong. 

"You can't rely upon him," Charlie argued. "How you feel about yourself shouldn't depend on his opinion or behaviour." 

"I know that." Simon assured him. He didn't have to say 'but' for Charlie to figure out the rest of the sentence. The brunet frowned and placed the unfinished cookie on the plate in front of him. "Simon, when Jeff and I say you can have anyone you want, we mean it." 

And here was another problem. Even if Simon believed he could have anyone, he wasn't sure he could do it without feeling like he was cheating on Max. It was a stupid thought, but even though he already knew about Max's true self, Simon's feelings didn't just disappear. Even though he could feel them fading away, they were always something that kept him attached to the good memories with him. 

Simon sighed and decided to share his moral problem out loud. "Right now he's probably out with someone else, enjoying the exchange of bodily fluids, and here I am thinking about the fact that I can't even imagine touching someone else like that." 

Charlie frowned, but something in his expression changed. That something also suggested that he was thinking hard about something, and Simon waited to see what would come of it.

"I've got an idea," Charlie finally said after a moment. "You can say no and I'll understand. I don't want to force you into anything, but if it's something you need to find out in order to move on, I'm available." 

"What do you suggest?" This time it was Simon who frowned. 

"You said you couldn't imagine being with anyone else," he stated, waiting for Simon to nod. "You'll have to try it some day, won't you? Whether it's in a few days or a few months. So... if you want to try kissing someone, I can help you with that." 

Simon's eyebrows shot up when he finally realised what Charlie was suggesting. "You want me to kiss you?" 

"Only if you want to." Charlie threw up his hands in defence. "It won't change anything between us, of course. You're my friend and I think of you only as my friend, I swear." 

Simon knew that if he thought about it too much he would panic unnecessarily, so he answered before his brain had fully processed what was happening. "Okay." 

"Okay?" Charlie repeated. 

"Let's try it," Simon nodded again. 

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, making no move to approach him.

"Honestly? No, but you're right. I'll have to do it sometime and I'd rather do it with someone I know and trust than some stranger in a bar." He shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.

For a second Charlie seemed to consider his answer, searching his face for something, probably a sign of panic, but when he didn't find it he decided to move closer. "You can stop whenever you want," he assured Simon. 

"I trust you, Charlie." Simon moved closer as well and suddenly they were sitting close together, their knees touching. Simon was starting to feel nervous now, but he wasn't going to back down. Instead, he lifted his hand and put it on the back of Charlie's neck. Charlie took that as permission to touch him as well and wrapped an arm around his waist. But Simon decided to go further and before he knew it he had his leg over Charlie's and was suddenly sitting on his lap. 

"It's now or never," he muttered, leaning in close to Charlie, his eyes tracing Charlie's lips. The brunet leaned in as well, tilting his head to the side but leaving it to Simon to bridge the last inch between them. 

Their lips met in a soft kiss. No tongue, no pressure, just a gentle meeting of lips. 

There was no emotion at first. No passion, no fire, no butterflies. It wasn't until Simon opened his eyes and pulled away that the emotion he'd been expecting, but hoping wouldn't appear, enveloped him. Guilt. 

Charlie read him like an open book again. "I'm sorry." 

Simon frowned, and Charlie's words snapped him out of his momentary panic. "Don't be. You were right. I needed this. I'm just mad at myself." 

"You're mad at yourself because you're a good person who can't cheat?" 

"I'm mad and stupid," Simon assured him, still sitting in his lap. 

Charlie chuckled, and his laughter brought a small smile to Simon's face. 

"Do you have some kind of plan up your sleeve to make me feel normal too?" he asked in a hopeful tone.  

"I think it already exists, it's called the five stages of grief," Charlie replied. 

Simon thought for a moment, but try as he might, the only stage he could remember was anger. "Which ones are they again?" 

Charlie laughed and began to list, "Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance." 

"Which stage do you think I'm in now?" Simon was angry, but at the same time he still couldn't believe what was happening, not to mention that he ended up in tears more often than he wanted to. 

"Actually, the funny thing is that people often misunderstand the stages of grief. They're called stages, but you can actually feel them all at once, you just feel one emotion more than another sometimes," Charlie explained, but after a second he added: "But you're honestly closer to acceptance than you think." 

Simon frowned. "You really think so?" 

"Uh-huh," Charlie confirmed. "Well, for one thing, you're still sitting on my lap." Charlie smiled and Simon automatically did the same. "And secondly, you're determined to face something that you're sure is going to hurt you, but will help you move on. You don't realise it yet, but you are ready to move on." 

The opportunity to face the most painful thing came to Simon sooner than he expected. 

Simon's neighbour, Mrs Hutcherson, whose cats Simon looked after when she went to visit her grandchildren, was more than willing to help, although he didn't explain all the details of his situation to her. Nevertheless, she promised to let him know when Max was going somewhere and that she would try to stall him so that Simon would have time to come to their apartment building to watch him. 

The moment the promised message arrived, he, Jeff and Charlie were in the car on the way to his flat. Simon huddled in the back seat so he wouldn't be seen, even though Charlie's car had black windows, but he was still watching everything closely. 

It took them a few minutes to accidentally drive past Max, who had apparently decided to walk somewhere, and so as not to look suspicious, Charlie made it to the end of the street before turning the car around and driving back to where he'd seen the cheating bastard. 

Max reached the end of the street, where he stopped and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He frowned, then put it to his ear. The trio watched him from a car parked nearby and they all remained silent, as if afraid he might accidentally overhear them. 

After a few minutes, a taxi appeared and pulled up on the pavement in front of Max. "This is going to be fun," Charlie declared with a mad grin, and as soon as the cab pulled away from the curb he started the car and stepped on the gas. Simon had only seen stakeouts in the movies and never in his life had he thought he'd be following someone in a car, but here he was. 

"Oh my God." Jeff laughed as Charlie stepped on the accelerator to catch the orange light and then made a sharp right turn. 

"You're crazy," said Simon, who didn't think it was as much fun as his friend. 

"I promise I won't kill anyone," Charlie said, and his words did nothing to calm Simon, quite the opposite. 

"Charlie used to steal his parents' car so he could compete in street races," Jeff revealed, turning back to Simon. Today was obviously a day of many shocks. 

"I stand by what I said, you're crazy," Simon repeated. 

Charlie laughed and looked over his shoulder at the blonde. "Don't worry, I don't do that anymore. I've learnt my lesson. The last time I competed was when I was 16." 

"I'm afraid to ask when was the first time." When Simon was 16, he had his first kiss. When Charlie was 16, he apparently took part in an illegal race for the last time. Simon shook his head in disbelief. 

"Looks like it's stopping," Jeff said, ending their conversation and drawing their attention to an important point. He was right, the taxi in front of them slowed gradually until it came to a complete stop in a busy street. There wasn't a free parking space nearby, so he just pulled over while Max got out and continued on his way. 

"I'll find a place to park. You go ahead." Charlie instructed, watching the same thing and then quickly turning to Simon. "I've got a hoodie and a hat somewhere in the back, put them on." 

Simon's heart was pounding with adrenaline, but he automatically followed Jeff as he got out of the car and moved to the same side of the street as Max. 

"Come here." Jeff suddenly pinned him against the wall of a random building and leaned in so close that anyone passing by would have thought they were making out. Simon had no idea why he did it, but he decided to trust him.  

"Last chance to back out, Simon," Jeff said and Simon frowned, not knowing why he'd said it now. Still, he assured him. "I can handle it."

"Okay," his friend agreed, pulling away from him, but he was still in front of him and their shoes were touching. 

"Look to your left." Simon did, and then froze. Max was passionately kissing some petite blonde guy and the hand he could see from this angle was almost entirely under his shirt. He wasn't worried at all about being in public. 

Although Simon couldn't react, Jeff immediately took his phone out of his pocket and took several incriminating pictures. 

It wasn't the first time Simon had seen Max with someone else, but it was just as painful. He felt a lump form in his throat and his breathing quickened in panic. 

It wasn't long before his vision became hazy. Jeff noticed and gently took his face in his hands and turned it towards him. "Focus on me." 

Simon nodded silently, not daring to say anything out loud. 

Actually, he didn't dare react in any way, afraid of making a scene that would draw Max's attention to them, so he just breathed deeply and concentrated on calming down. 

"They're gone," Jeff said after a moment, and Simon opened his eyes, which he hadn't realised he'd closed. Confused, he turned his head automatically and realised that Jeff was telling the truth. The place where Max had been standing with the unknown guy was empty. 

"What did I miss?" Charlie's voice reached them a few seconds later. 

"We have another picture," Jeff explained, taking a step back so Charlie could see the state Simon was in. 

"Simon," he addressed him. When he didn't immediately respond, he stepped closer and took his chin, turning his face towards him tenderly. "Simon," he tried again. 

"How could he..." He didn't finish the sentence before his voice broke and he let the tears escape. Jeff and Charlie reacted immediately, pulling him into a tight hug. 

That evening Simon took another successful step towards healing his heart.