"Simon, I heard what happened with you and your mom. Clary told me. If you need somewhere to crash for the night, you're always welcome on my couch, you know." Luke told Simon. Simon bit his lip. The Church of Talto bustled around them like moth's around a flame. Alec and Magnus stood in a corner, Isabelle sat on a bench, surrounded by people, the center of attention. Luke caught Simon's expression. "Are you all right, Simon?" He nodded. Luke looked him in the eye. "I know what you feel like right now, Simon." He told him. Simon's expression changed from upset to confused. Then he remembered. Luke's sister, Amatis. He was right. If there was one person on this earth who knew what it felt like to be thrown out for what he was, that person was probably Luke. "You know, I was thinking about going home tonight. Despite what my mother says."
Luke smiled. It was an oddly wolfish, but friendly and familiar grin. He glanced at one of the many windows in the church. "It's getting dark." He stated. "Do you need a ride home? The subway isn't a good idea at night." Simon resisted the urge to scoff. Luke knew as well as he did that he had no reason to fear any muggers on the subway. He was trying to be nice. It was a normal, Luke-like thing to do. Simon shrugged. "Sure"
Luke's truck navigated the bumpy street easily. It was silent, except for the quiet music playing from the radio. The silence wasn't awkward so much as unsettling. Simon was so nervous he couldn't keep his hands from sliding into fists. His leg was bumping up and down on the floor, his fangs threatening to emerge. Luke glanced crossways at him. His face was concerned and comforting. It was his Are-you-alright face that reminded him of whenever he or Clary had gotten hurt. Luke checked his mirror as he pulled over beside Simon's house. "Do you want me to come and help you explain things to your mom?" He asked. Simon paused, his hand on the door handle. He knew for a fact that his mom liked Luke as a friend. He was easy-going and enjoyable company. He didn't want that wrecked by Luke trying to explain things to her. The selfless, kind Simon would say no, he could handle it on his own. The macho, tough, vampire Simon would say much the same thing. Simon didn't feel like either of those people today. Instead, he just nodded weakly, just like he had tumbled off the swing set as a kid and Luke had picked him up and brushed him off, asking if he was okay. Luke pulled the door open and got out with him.
They climbed the steps towards the front door, Simon's anticipation and nervousness mounting with every step. By the time he was ready to knock on the door, it was a budding panic inside him, his heart ready to explode, if it had actually been properly functioning. Luke took a step back from the door. Simon held his breath and knocked once, twice, three times. His mom swung the door open a crack, then a little wider, her small, delicate face appearing around the door. Her soft smile morphed into a frown when she saw Simon's face. The door swung forwards to slam in his face, but Luke reached a hand over Simon's head and caught the door firmly on his palm. "Elain, wait." He said, his voice low and reasurring. She opened it a bit more. "Luke. Why are you here?" She opened the door wider. "To talk with you. About Simon." Her eyes narrowed. "How do you know about this?" She asked him. Her voice wasn't hostile, but almost. Luke just shrugged. "May we come in?" Elain just nodded and opened the door for them, looking slightly off-kilter. Luke stood in the entryway. "What do you want?" She was acting as if Simon wasn't even there. "I want" Luke began "To hear your side of the story." Elain shrugged and nodded. "I thought Simon was acting strange." She began. "I started to think that it was drugs. So I went looking through his room." She took a deep breath. "and when I looked in his mini fridge, I found blood" She shuddered. Simon was feeling smaller and smaller. "Bottles of it. He was drinking it, Luke. I thought it was some sort of cult or something." She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "And when I asked him, he said he was a vampire!" She laughed weakly. "A vampire? Insane." She chuckled again. Simon was starting to get scared. He had never seen his mother like this before. Right then, he was glad that Luke was here with him. If he was facing his mother alone, he would have turned tale and ran right there. Providing she had even let him in in the first place. "Elain." Luke said. His voice was soft, soothing. "Come sit down" She went to the couch and sat demurely, legs crossed. Luke sat in the old armchair next to the fireplace. Rebecca's cat curled around his ankle's. Becky's home, Simon thought. "So" Elain asked Luke "What did you come here for?" Simon leaned forwards in his chair, almost imperceptively. Luke's eyes connected with his mom's. "I came to ask you to believe your son. You think he thinks he's a vampire, but it's true. He is one. And one of the most decent one's I've ever met." Elain's eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open in a perfect O before she could conceal her reactions. She didn't laugh. "Are you going insane, Luke?" She asked softly. Elain was having a hard time believing this. She had known Luke for almost twelve years, and suddenly, he was acting insane. He believed her son was a vampire. She shook her head. "You're trying to tell me vampire are real. Now you'll be trying to tell me about werewolves and faeries" She scoffed, laughing. Luke visibly winced at the first part. "Elain." He started slowly. "there are parts to this world that normal people can't see." She looked at him, confused. "Werewolves, vampires, faeries, warlocks. Demons. They're all real. All the stories are true." Luke grinned a bit at the shadowhunters motto. "How do you know about this, Luke?" she demanded, her voice accusing. Simon saw Luke bite his lip, just a bit. Here we go, thought Simon. "I know about werewolves because I am one." He said cautiously, waiting for her reaction. She laughed. "You've gone crazy, Luke. Werewolves don't exist, neither do vampires." Luke waited until she finished talking, then stood up. "Some people say werewolves need a full moon to Change." He said. Suddenly, he was shrinking, elongating, sprouting fur and growing a snout. Simon had seen Luke Change before, but not in his living room, with his mother watching. She screamed. It was louder than the time she had found a cockroach the size of an oven mit in the fridge. Luke finished transforming. He looked up at her, his head cocked, ears relaxed. He had a long strip of grey on his side. Elain jumped up on the couch, her hands over her mouth. Luke, satisfied that he had gotten his point across, changed back to human. It only took five seconds or so. Luke, in his human form, was back in their living room. He sat back down, and only then seemed to notice the state of Simon's mom. "Elain. Sit down." He said, his voice firm, commanding. With a bit of a whimper, she sat down. "You… you're a monster." Luke looked slightly taken aback. "I'm not a monster. I'm the same person as before. So is Simon." Only now did she seem to start to believe him. "All the stories are true" he repeated. She nodded slowly. "Jocelyn" She asked "Does Jocelyn know about this?" she asked. Luke nodded. "She was amoung the first to find out." Elain's expression changed. "You weren't born like this?" Luke shook his head no. "Fifteen years ago, I was first bitten." "Did you have to explain it all to her? Jocelyn, I mean?" Simon could tell that Luke had planned to skirt around the entire Shadowhunter business, as a way to save Clary and Jocelyn from being questioned. That wasn't going to happen now. Quickly, he explained about Shadowhunter, Nephilim from the bible. "They're Demon hunters. That was what Jocelyn was born into. Her name is Fairchild, not Fray." He finished. "And Clary? What about her?" She asked. "Jocelyn tried to hide everything from Clary. She didn't want her to grow up like a Shadowhunter, but as a normal girl." "And you?" she asked. Simon couldn't really believe this. His mother normally didn't pry so much. It was a bit embarrassing, but Luke didn't really seem to mind. "I was a Shadowhunter as well. Lucian Graymark was a Shadowhunter, Luke Garroway is not." He made it clear that the topic was not open for discussion. Rebecca walked in through the doorway to the laundry room. The washer had been going the entire time, so Simon knew she hadn't heard anyway. Luke's head went up as she entered, as if he was smelling something. His eye's fell on Rebecca. "Simon. You didn't tell me your sister was a werewolf."