Chapter 3

Simon sighed and tipped the rest of his black coffee down the sink. He didn't feel like coffee this morning- He was too nervous. Rent day was in three weeks time and his shabby shit of a flat he called home was on the line.
"You got 3 weeks Lewis! Three weeks or you're out on your ass!" That very sentence had resounded in Simon's nightmares all night. It stole away his daydreams of romance and music. The outlook in his life was bleak unless he could magically create $1000 in 21 days. At 9:30 he had to be at the Red Lounge Burlesque Club for a huge job opportunity. They were offering $500 a week for a pianist. He could play quite well; he'd learnt how when he was a kid, but ever since he was 15 had been a bassist for his high school band The Mortal Instruments. Now almost 6 years later he was jobless.

Today at this Audition it was crucial played his heart out on those piano keys either that or he was homeless.
"Si?" It was his sister, Rebecca.
"Never heard of knocking?" He smiled at his sister, who had just appeared in the kitchen doorway. Rebecca wandered over and hugged him.
"Ready to go?" Simon nodded and gave Rebecca a quick squeeze.
"Where are you even going" The chestnut haired girl asked her brother as the both made their way to the door.
"An interview!" Simon mumbled tugging on his cream corduroy jacket. Rebecca rolled her eyes at Simon's vagueness. Simon saw his sisters eye roll and chuckled. "Just drop me off on main street I can walk from there." He got in the car and smiled. "Thank you Becks!"
"What are sisters for?" She started up the car and pressed on the gas, propelling them both down the road in her beat up Chevrolet
"What are you being interviewed for? Oh go Si, you haven't been dealing again have you?" The worry in Rebecca's voice was evident.
In the past Simon had often been in trouble for drugs. That was, in reality, where is money problems started. He was young, 17, fresh to the world. Fresh to the world of weed and coke! Back then he thought he was "cool" but now it was a stupid waste of money that never amounted to anything more than a year in rehab and a criminal Simon thought about it he could never remember how he'd even gotten into that crap in the first place, never mind how it had come to wash away his life. It was just one big down-hill spiral to nothingness!

"Si!" Rebecca tapped his shoulder "You better not be off to the fucking cop shop again!" He looked over at her. Her gray eyes ached with anger and despair. She'd lost her brother to the feds before and she sure as hell didn't want to go through it again.
"Becka chill! For god sake! I promised I'd never do shit like that again didn't I?" Becka nodded at her brother remembering the day he'd been released from Florida State Rehab For Young Adults. He was so thin, his skin gray and sickly stretched over his weak protruding bones. Luckily, now he's buffed out a bot. Becka guessed it was because he was eating better and going to the gym. At first he wouldn't talk to her, In fact it had taken months to even acknowledge her, but after a while he came around and slowly began treating her like a sister again. Becka couldn't blame him, she was the one who turned him in.
"I'm going for a JOB interview!"
"Good, it's about time you straightened out your life!" Becka pulled up outside the coffee house on main street. "Good luck!".
Simon just smiled and hopped out. As he walked down the road he shoved his shaking hands in his pockets and walked. The club was only a few minutes walk from here. The Red Room Burlesque Club was a diamond among coal! It was home to possibly the most beautiful girl in North America- Isabelle Lightwood- or so he's heard. He could tell being a virgin in a Burlesque club was going to prove a challenge.
Thinking back, Simon should have told Becka about his financial troubles, he shouldn't have hid them. He was afraid, though, afraid to disappoint. Afraid to seem defeated by his past. He wasn't going to let his old self be his only enemy! Oh no! It was going to be the lesson. Here today was a new, smarter Simon Lewis. The Simon Lewis who was going to get the job, pay off his rent, then debt, then buy basic household items! He had wanted, for months now, to clean up his act and this was his opportunity to do so. Determined: that was his mind-set, determined and ready. Ready: from what lay ahead.

Soon he approached the heart shaped doors. Looking up he saw the un-illuminated red lights, and her. Isabelle Lightwood "The Sparkling Diamond". His friends were right she was beautiful. However, behind her ebony eyes there was an emotion that didn't quite match the sexy smolder upon her face. Guilt… maybe… treated? Simon wasn't sure, maybe it was part of an act of innocence whores often adopted- either way- he was going to sleep with her, that he was sure of!
Simon was just about to walk in as he heard the voice of an angel singing. Each note sung to perfection and the emotion was evident in her voice so much it almost brought him to tears. Being the curious man he was Simon pursued the sound to a gloomy looking alleyway with a door at the end. Above the door a light flickered "Stage Door" it read. His hand trembled excitedly as he reached for the handle and turned. Click! With a screech the door swag open revealing a darkened corridor. The sound of the girl singing now was louder and clearer than it had been before. Again Simon's curiosity got the better of him and he followed the voice until he came to the back of a room. It looked like a theater- yet it was filled with tables rather that rows of seats. Before him, the grandest stage he had ever seen towered high and in the center at the front was the singer.
"And Life is like a dream! Dream!"
She was perfect! Curvy not twig thin like the others. Every part of her seemed strong and bold and womanly. On top of her head was long raven hair tied to the side in a messy bun. Her pale pigment drew contrast and made the rosy lips and cheeks stand out like a rose in a bush of thorns. Everything about her seemed to radiate allurement. She owned the stage she stood upon, every word and note oozing with understanding and feeling. The way she performed was… enchanting. This was Broadway star stuck in some hogwash back street brothel!

"I will not cry, I will not think
I'll do my dance, I'll make them drink
When I make love, it won't be me
And if they hurt me, I'll just close my eyes
And see!"
The goddess in front of Simon did not once falter. Everything she did seemed practiced to perfection from the way her lips moved to the way her eyes told the story of her sorrow. He believed she hated her life. He saw the passion she dreamed of. He felt her pain. For the first time in his life, he wanted this girl under him! He wanted she in his bed! He wanted to fuck her until she screamed his name. He was done being a virgin!

Simon shifted to get a better view and knocked into a table sending the chairs crashing to the floor. Instantly the girl stopped singing.
"Who's there?" She asked frantically.
"Um… er.. me… I'm.. Ugh, I'm Simon…" He wanted to fall into a ditch and be buried alive right now- he wanted that nothing more. Then she'd gone from the stage and so had the mic.
"We're not open yet! You need to leave before i call security!"
"Oh um..no need i eh… I'm here for the auditions!"
"They're at 10:30! You're 45 minutes early~" She replied as the music stopped and she reappeared at the top of the steps.
"Um.. i am?"
"Yes!" She snapped, descending "You are!" As she came closer Simon swore as he felt his heart begin to race.
"Um sorry?"
"Apology accepted." Then her lips slipped into a smile. "Why don't i get you a drink and i'll let the boss know you're here!"
"Oh, ok?" She sashayed around to the other side of the bar and pulled out two glasses.
"What can i get you?" Simon looked her in the eyes and realized! This was no Broadway star… This was Isabelle Lightwood...


So this was chapter 3, thought it would be fun to write this chapter through Simon's point of view! TeeHee! Anyway, let me know what you think, I lovvveeee to read all of your wonderful reviews! Let me know what you like and most importantly what i can do better :)
Love you always, Gee!