Alright, I wrote while I was away on vacation, and I'm not exactly sure if you people will like it. It includes some Isabelle/Simon fluff, as well as a rather cruel treatment of Maia, who is still one of my favourite characters.

Warning: This fic earns it's T rating, containing quite obvious sexual references. Nothing explicit though, I promise!

summerchic40: Yes, I will be updating "The Power of Sparkles" very soon (hopefully within the week). I just have so many ideas for other fics!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, obviously.

"At first Isabelle thought it was her imagination teasing her. She did have a tendency to sense things that weren't really there, particularly when it came to a distant thumping. She was on the brink of falling asleep again when she heard the scream."

Scarred for Life

She gazed at the midnight sky above her, at the sea of stars that floated about in the darkness. Long fingers were laced between her own, their coldness comforting against her warm skin. "Nothing in the world could be more perfect than this night," Simon told her.

Isabelle felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards, even higher than they had already been. "You're wrong," she said, rolling onto her side to face him. "Every moment would be perfect as long as you're with me."

Simon shifted in the grass, turning so that their noses were inches away from each other. He looked as if he were about to say something, but all thoughts of that statement were dashed as their eyes met. Isabelle could swear that she heard his breath catch, even if he didn't have any. "You're so beautiful," he said softly.

Bringing her hand up to touch his face, Isabelle smiled, mesmerized by the deep emotions that showed themselves in his handsome eyes. "Not as much as you," she breathed, and right after she said that, they brought their faces together simultaneously. She could feel their lips about to touch…

BANG!

Isabelle's eyes flew open. Of course, she thought, that at the pinnacle of her dream she would be so rudely awoken by the Institute's door slamming. And by whom? Mom and Dad were away in Idris for some totally unknown reason (well, the reason may have been known, but not to Isabelle). Jace and Clary were away for the weekend with Jocelyn and Luke somewhere in Europe to celebrate Jocelyn's birthday (Isabelle was still wondering why she hadn't been invited to tag along). All that left…

"Alec," she said, "obviously." Long night with Magnus, perhaps. After all, what other reason would there be for Alec to have been coming home late at night? He spent practically every second that he wasn't out demon-hunting at the warlock's apartment. Isabelle didn't even know what the hell he did when he was there, and she didn't really fancy finding out.

What time was it, anyway? 2:39 her clock read. Now, 2:39 in the morning was a little too late for Alec to be coming home in Isabelle's opinion. Well, he did come home much later sometimes when he was out with Jace, Clary, and Isabelle demon-hunting or partying. But this was a different matter. He was alone. He could've been hurt. He should've just stayed with Magnus instead of returning to the Institute slamming doors and waking up his little sister from very pleasant dreams—er, instead of walking the streets late at night with hidden dangers lurking about.

Isabelle yawned. The creak of the elevator could be slightly heard as it rose up. Oh well, she thought. What does it matter? He's home safe. Then she yawned again, but wider and louder this time, before her head fell back onto her pillow and her eyes shut tight.

Simon and Isabelle stood with their hands clasped tightly together, looking apologetically at the person in front of them. Correction, Simon was looking apologetically at the person in front of them while Isabelle was resisting the urge to snicker victoriously, which resulted in her giving a short but uproarious "Ha!"

The person before them dropped to her knees and clawed at Simon's feet. "No! Please! Simon!" she wailed, tears streaming down her face.

"Sorry, Maia," Simon said. He wiggled his feet away from the crying girl. "This is just the way it has to be."

Maia stood up slowly, her face red and wet with tears. "B-b-b-but S-simon, why?" she asked, grabbing his shoulders and staring at him in disbelief.

"Maia, listen," said Simon, exasperated. "It's not that I don't like you, because I do. Just not in the way that you would probably like me to. The truth is, I love—"

BANG!

Isabelle groaned as she was woken yet again from another very pleasant dream, this one seemingly better than the first. What was wrong now? That last sound definitely wasn't the Institute door slamming.

The answer to her question came in the form of another loud BANG! followed by some thumping. At first Isabelle thought that it was just her imagination teasing her. After all, it was 3:52 a.m., or so her clock told her. She did have a tendency to sense things that weren't really there, particularly when it came to a distant thumping. So she ignored it. She was on the brink of falling asleep again when she heard the scream.

Isabelle's mind jolted awake when she heard the resounding cry that seemed to shake the building—and also seemed to be coming from down the hallway.

Alec.

Throwing back the covers, Isabelle leapt of bed swiftly. She grabbed her whip from the bedside table and wrapped it around her wrist. She stopped for a quick moment to fix her hair (she had to look just a teensy bit presentable for whatever thing she was to decapitate), then snatched up her stele, just in case her brother was in need of an iratze.

Another loud scream erupted from down the hallway. "I'm coming, Alec!" she yelled, racing across room.

Isabelle stumbled out into the hall, tripping on her long nightgown. She bolted down the corridor, brandishing her whip, to her brother's bedroom. As she stood before his door, Isabelle paused for just a second to wonder what sort of thing had gotten into the Institute. But she didn't wonder for long, because this was her brother that was in danger, and because she was wide awake and hungry for the kill.

BANG! BANG! came more sounds from the other side of the door.

Isabelle reached for the knob and yanked it to the side, only to have the door rattle unstably. Damn, it was locked, which was odd because hardly anybody ever locked their doors in this household, especially now that she and Alec were the only ones home. Plus whatever else was in the room.

Another sharp cry rang out and what sounded like a lamp crashed to the floor, accompanied by more of that rhythmic thumping. God, what the hell was in there? "Hold on, Alec!" She took a step back, and with one swift flick of the wrist had her whip wrapped around the doorknob. She pulled on it with all her might, and the door came smashing down.

Isabelle jumped over the broken door, whip raised. "Alec!" she cried. Then she saw what—no, who was with her brother and what they were doing.

She screamed.

"How long has she been like this?"

"Since two days ago. I…I don't know what's wrong with her." Alec was nervous standing there with Clary and Jace, mostly because they were questioning him about Isabelle's strangely miserable form. She sat on the couch in the library, staring into space with a blanket draped around her shoulders.

Jace crouched down to her level and rapped his knuckles on her forehead—Alec dismissed the hollow sound that was emitted—and grinned. "Everything seems all right to me."

Clary shoved him lightly in the head. "Nothing happened while we were away, right?"

Alec thought back to two nights ago and suppressed a shudder. The memory of that night was still so clear! Of course, he thought, that at the pinnacle of that…special moment his sister had to so rudely barge in and disrupt his, er, pleasure. "Uh, n-no, nothing happened," he lied.

It was quite obvious by the look she gave him that Clary didn't believe a word he said. She sat down beside Isabelle and placed an arm around her. "Isabelle?"

There was no response.

Clary cleared her throat. "Isabelle, did anything happen while we were gone? Anything that we need to know about?"

Still nothing.

"Anything that had to do with Alec and his love life?" Jace asked, smirking.

Isabelle came to that time. She turned her head slowly to face Alec. Her eyes grew very wide then and her mouth fell open. She jerked sideways. "A-a-alec…M-m-m-magnus…b-b-bang! BANG! BANG! BANG!" she screeched, not stopping her repetition of the word BANG!

While she continued, Jace snickered, putting a hand his face to cover the wide smile that was spreading across his face. Clary was trying not to giggle, but ended up falling off the couch, doubled over in laughter. Alec paled, blushed, then paled again, and sank to his knees, covering his face.

Several agonizingly long minutes went by for Alec, and when the mixed emotions of terror, glee, and embarrassment passed, Jace went and clapped him on the shoulder. He smiled and asked quite nonchalantly, "Getting laid feels amazing, doesn't it?"

And Alec ran.

If you didn't enjoy it, let me know in a review. If you did, also let me know in a review, and you get a cookie.