Simon shuffled from foot to food, and then pulled his jacket tighter against the cool November winds. He knew this was just habit, because he no longer felt cold. He looked up into the cloudy sky with squinty eyes, watching idly as a crow swooped around in the sky. He was standing outside the institute, waiting for Isabelle, Jace and Clary to come out to meet him. They were all going to hang out at around five, but it was already 5:15 and Simon had not seen them. He sighed, and he noticed that his breath did not cloud up like everyone else's. He guessed this was because since he was not warm, the air he was releasing was not warm. This was just a guess, however, since he was not the expert on vampire anatomy. Simon shuffled a bit more, and glanced around. There were people, wandering the streets, some holding hands, and it gave Simon a deep ache inside. His eyes trailed over an old, frail women with pale skin, a tall, red-haired man with a tattoo spiraling down his arm, and a teenager with short black hair and dark skin, runes traced on his arm. Simon's eyes widened and he looked away, trying to be inconspicuous. Simon glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, and saw that the Shadowhunter was approaching him. Simon closed his eyes and hoped that the Shadowhunter would just keep walking, walk on past him and not notice him.
"You." Simon heard a hoarse voice croak, and then a throat clear. "You." He repeated.
Simon slowly turned around to face the Shadowhunter, and racked his brains to think of where he could've seen him before. Nothing came to mind.
"Yes?" Simon asked slowly.
"What are you doing here?" The shadowhunter demanded, eyes narrowing suspiciously at Simon. Simon would've groaned if he didn't think it would have angered the Shadowhunter. I so don't have time for this, he thought.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Simon asked, hoping for some way to figure out what this shadowhunter possibly wanted from him.
"I'll ask the questions, vampire," The shadowhunter spit the word as if it was poison, "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting." Simon said simply, and turned away. The Shadowhunter grabbed Simon's shoulder and spun him around. Simon let him, praying that the Mark of Cain wouldn't think of this as hostile. Nothing happened to the Shadowhunter.
"Don't turn away from me, downworlder, just tell me what you're doing and I won't have to use other methods of persuasion." The Shadowhunter opened his jacket slightly so Simon could see a bottle of holy water in the pocket.
"I know how to cause pain. Trust me, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to watch you retch up blood, begging for mercy, but I need answers first." This time Simon actually did groan.
"Don't you have anything better to do than annoy innocent bystanders?" Simon asked, and the Shadowhunter snarled.
"Innocent? INNOCENT? Hardly. Vampires are murderers, all of them, and it is my suspicion that you are waiting outside the institute to kill the inhabitants. While I'm sure Isabelle and Jace and Clary(The shadowhunter spoke the last name with a sort of reverence that made Simon want to slap him) would love to kill you themselves, it is my noble duty to detain you until they can. Just cooperate and I promise I won't hurt you. Too much."
"You know, I don't think they would like to kill me that much. Why don't you go ask them?" Simon said. Maybe if the shadowhunter saw that he was friends with them then he would leave him alone.
"Please, vampire, that was an obvious attempt to get me to leave, and a terrible one. Those noble people have dedicated their lives to wiping out scum like you. You're just a filthy downworlder to them." Simon flinched slightly, and the Shadowhunter's grin widened.
"Don't try to hide from the truth, blood-sucker. You are worth NOTHING compared to them, and I'm sure they know it. Now, do all the good people of this world a favor and just cooperate. I'll try to make your death as painless as possible."
"Who ARE you?" Simon asked, exasperation seeping into his words. It was already 5:20 and Simon would not be able to resist the urge to attack the Shadowhunter much longer. Also, his words hurt. Simon always knew that he was considered less than his friends, and he was slightly scared prolonged exposure to other shadowhunters might make them see it too. Might make them see that he was a lowly downworlder, less worthy than them.
"Don't ask me my name, it is no right of yours to know." The shadowhunter said, and started pulling something out of a second jacket pocket. Handcuffs. Just great, Simon thought irritably. Luckily, before the Shadowhunter could force Simon to put them on, Isabelle came flouncing out of the institute.
"Simon, I-" She stopped and glanced from Simon to the Shadowhunter then back to Simon.
"Simon, what's going on?" Isabelle asked, and the Shadowhunter stepped forward to answer.
"It's Matthew, remember? And I just found this downworlder lurking about outside the institute, so I thought it my duty (Matt swelled up on these words, looking smug and proud) to detain him before questioning. He has been abominably rude, however, so I request some torture be done to loosen his tongue." Matt finished with a little grin, seemingly confident that Isabelle would oblige his requests. Simon bit back a witty comment and fought the smile that was forcing itself onto his face as he watched Isabelle's shocked expression.
"What is your problem?" Isabelle yelled, and Matt's smile faltered.
"Well, he could be dangerous, and it was a highly suspicious circumstance, and-" Isabelle motioned for him to stop talking.
"No. Just stop. And this downworlder happens to be my friend, and if you don't shut up and get inside I'll be sending your pieces home in a Ziploc bag. Got it?" Isabelle asked, one hand placed on her jutted hip. Matt nodded, mouth agape, but did not seem to want to move.
"What are you waiting for? Get inside!" Isabelle said, and this time Matt did move. He shot Simon a glare as he stumbled back inside, clearly thinking That vampire does not deserve shadowhunter friends. He is the enemy. Simon sighed. Isabelle turned to him, concerned.
"You okay?" She asked, and Simon nodded, his eyes down. "That was Matt, he's a Shadowhunter who lives in Idris and he's studying the history of runes. Just came here to talk to Clary." Simon nodded again, his eyes still stubbornly on the ground.
"You know what he was saying was utter rubbish, right?" Isabelle asked, and this time Simon looked up to her and laughed.
"Yeah." They gazed at each other for a bit, and I'm sure a profound and emotional moment would've developed if Clary and Jace didn't bounce the stairs and announce they were ready to go. But Simon didn't mind; he had more than enough time for profound and emotional moments, and right now he was glad to be with his friends and be normal.