Author's Note: I had a lot of fun getting deeper into vampire Simon's head when I wrote this chapter. I hope you enjoy! Also, I enabled anonymous reviews, which I didn't actually realize were disabled. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I am not Cassandra Clare and do not own any of these characters.
In Another Life
"Most of them don't even know, amigo," Raphael said, trying with little success to soothe Simon's nerves as they walked to the hotel. Simon grunted, unconvinced.
Raphael talked more on the way, but Simon wasn't really concentrating on the words. He was more than a little preoccupied thinking of their method of entry into the Hotel Dumort. He remembered Clary having said something about vampires not needing the stairs to get in; they just flew. The last time Simon had flown had been with Clary on a vampire motorcycle as a rat. This experience would be quite different. For one thing, Simon wouldn't have a motor. Raphael hadn't given him any instructions or hints as to how the flying thing would work, and Simon was too embarrassed to ask. He hadn't known Raphael for very long, and the last thing he wanted to do was expose a weakness. He had to think about his pride.
Simon was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to notice when Raphael stopped walking. The vampire let out a sharp whistle to get his attention. Embarrassed, Simon backed up to where Raphael was standing, not wanting to look him in the eye but knowing that he would have to if he wanted to know how to fly up to the top floor. They were standing in front of what looked like any other apartment building in the neighborhood, distinguishable only by a small sign that was easily missed if you didn't already know where it was. Simon cleared his throat and looked at Raphael expectantly. He nodded and turned with a smile to face the building. Raphael crouched, not unlike an animal preparing to pounce on their prey, and pushed off from the ground. Simon watched as the force of Raphael's spring carried him to the roof of the building. He looked over the edge of the roof and gestured for Simon to follow.
Oh shit, Simon thought. He copied Raphael's crouch and hoped that there would be enough force behind his jump to carry him all the way, as Raphael's had. The only thing worse than asking how to fly would be epically failing at his first attempt at what seemed to come very easily to others of his kind. With a deep breath, Simon pushed off and sprang into the air. He gasped and watched as layer after layer of brick passed in front of his eyes. Before he could think about what was happening, he cleared the roof, shifted slightly, and landed gently next to Raphael.
"Good job, amigo. Not bad for your first time," Raphael smiled at Simon and gestured towards a door in the middle of the roof. "Let's go."
They walked through the door and into a dark stairwell. Raphael jumped to the landing, not bothering to use the steps. Simon was slightly concerned that his clumsiness would still affect him, even though the change had completely corrected his vision. He thought that having all his flaws corrected would be too good to be true. At the bottom of the stairs they entered the main room where the vampires congregated the majority of the time. Simon likened it to the living room of a house: it was the place where most of the social activities of the family took place. There were several couches and chairs around the room in rich, jewel-like colors. They might have been antiques, but that wasn't the kind of thing Simon liked to focus on during his free time. That was a "Mom" sort of thing.
As he walked across the room, Simon could feel over a hundred pairs of eyes following him and felt more than a little out of place. He looked around the room; feeling slightly panicked when he realized Raphael was no longer at beside him. Simon found him in the middle of a group for very attractive female vampires. He didn't know what to do; the last time he had been inside this building was the night they had turned him. The terror of that night came rushing back as he remembered the hungry look in the eyes of the vampires as they closed in on him, preparing to drain him of his life. He also felt certain hostility towards them for having taken what he didn't want to give: his life. The memory also filled him with a longing for what had been. His breath, the beat of his own heart, the feeling of Clary's warm skin on his own. At least he still had the sunlight. He knew every single vampire in the building resented him for that, especially the ones who longed for their forgotten humanity. He needed to get out of that room.
He walked along the wall, heading to the nearest door. Simon found himself in a long hallway filled with rooms on either side. Some doors were open, some were closed, and most had sounds coming from them that suggested to Simon that intimate activities were taking place. He reached a concrete stairwell at the end of the hallway and all but flew down it, trying to get as far away from the crowd of vampires as he could. He finally reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a door that had once been painted a deep red with faded white lettering that read "Lobby". Simon had never been so happy to see a door in his entire life.
He pushed it open a crack and peered into the dark room. A quick scan told him that it was unoccupied. He closed the door behind him, shutting out both the light and the noise from the other parts of the hotel. Simon was relieved to be out of their scrutiny; he just wasn't in the mood to be stared at like some sort of specimen in science class. At least Clary, Maia and Luke had adjusted quickly to his new ability. Clary had stopped making a big deal out of it after about twenty-four hours, which was fine by him. On policy, Simon tried not to draw too much attention to himself, which was another reason that he didn't want to be in the room with all those vampires. Being around them was like being the first kid in school to get braces all over again. Miserable.
His feet made tracks in the thick layer of dust as Simon scuffed across the landing to the banister. He absentmindedly traced a pattern in the dust as he looked over the room. He was at the top of what had, at one time, been an impressive stairway; the kind that would have been in Gone with the Wind or some other girly movie like that. The stairs terminated after six or seven steps. As Simon stared past them to the floor below, he had a flash of the room from a different perspective; one much higher than where he stood now. Simon looked up at the ceiling, but saw nothing other than old fashioned molding.
Moldy molding. He chuckled to himself at the lame joke. Another thought hit harder than he would have liked: Clary would have laughed. So would Maia. Simon shook his head as though he were trying to get rid of both thoughts. He didn't know how to deal with the conflicting emotions these thoughts brought on. He needed to focus on something else.
Simon leaned out over the rail to take further inventory of the room. As he looked down, the young vampire realized this would a perfect time to test out his new coordinative abilities. No one was around to laugh if he looked stupid, and it wasn't like it would harm him if he landed wrong. He was already dead and his new body came with turbo-healing powers. He had watched it happen to others and himself. The only thing that concerned him was landing on a weak area of the floor and falling through to the lowest level. That would make more noise then he intended and the last thing he wanted was for a more experienced vampire to see him ridiculously testing his abilities. Simon had every intention of keeping the fact that he very much felt like a kid on Christmas morning to himself.
Once he was confident that he was above a sturdier part of the floor, Simon took a deep breath and hoisted himself over the rail. The fall was exhilarating and he landed softly on the floor in a deep-knee-bend-kneel. Amazed, Simon stood on somewhat shaky legs and triumphantly examined the spot where he had landed. Not a mold spore out of place, Simon thought confidently. He had to use every ounce of will power not to call Clary and tell her of his feat. She was probably with Jace anyways. Simon surprised himself by emitting a low snarl. He had never thought of vampires growling before; that seemed like something better suited for a werewolf like Luke. Or Maia. As Simon walked around the perimeter of the room, examining what was left of wallpaper and paint, his thought wandered to what Maia would be doing that evening. He would much rather be where she was – wherever that may be – than alone in this old hotel, surrounded by the things that had killed him.
Simon's attention was suddenly and instinctively drawn to the door at the top of the stairs, before any human would have heard an approach. Another growl built in his chest as he realized that his solitude was about to be interrupted. He was across the room and through the nearest door faster than it would have taken a human to snap their fingers. Simon silently jumped down the stairs on the other side of the door and moved to the shadows on the far end of the room. Standing absolutely still, abandoning even the habitual movement of breathing, Simon heard the door from the Lobby open and several vampires leap from the landing just as he had. Every muscle in his body was tense as he listened for their next move, which would determine where he would go as well. With much relief, he heard the group move in the opposite direction of the door he through which he had exited. It was only then that Simon examined not only his surroundings, but his posture. He was in what could only be described as a defensive crouch, ready to spring if threatened. As he consciously relaxed his muscles, Simon couldn't help but wonder at what his reaction would have been had those other vampires entered his room of refuge. Part of him didn't really want to know.
He was in the former laundry room of the hotel. The rooms upstairs were in much better condition and upkeep than the ones he had been in on the main level. Simon figured they did that so anyone looking in on the street or basement level would continue to assume the hotel was abandoned and empty. Pretty smart. He walked through the lower level, wandering in and out of rooms until he came to the kitchen. Suddenly, Simon was weary. He jumped on top of a counter and lay on his back, stared at the ceiling and thought about the previous times he had been in this part of the hotel. The first had been when Clary carried him out as a rat. She had explained to him later how they broke into the hotel. He had used the same route when he came after watching Clary and Jace kiss in the Seelie Court. It had been his last act as a human. Thinking of what led him to make that decision and the consequences he was now dealing with caused that knife in his gut to twist once more.
Enough. Simon sat up with a new resolve: he had to stop dwelling on what had happened and what would never be between he and Clary. He really thought he had dealt with those feelings, but seeing her with Jace that afternoon had been like tearing the wound open again. And honestly, what he had with Clary was something that Jace would never be able to touch. Simon remembered how Clary had reacted when he tried to explain that the romantic part of their relationship should stop. She had almost come unglued at the thought that he didn't want to be her friend anymore. He knew that he would be unable to continue through life without her, and that she felt the same way about him. This realization brought Simon more comfort than he had ever experienced.
A sound by the door drew Simon's attention. There was a beautiful female vampire watching him. He wondered how long she had been there and was immediately grateful that he hadn't been talking to himself. Had he?
"You're Simon, the new one," she stated.
"Uh, yes. Yes, I am." Simon had never been what one might call suave, and becoming a vampire hadn't helped him in that area one bit. At this moment he was desperately wishing he could channel James Bond, because she was definitely Bond Girl material. She was incredibly beautiful with long dark hair that made her skin look even paler than the other vampires' he had seen. She was wearing a tight red, short sleeved shirt, a black leather miniskirt, black fishnets and knee high boots. Her green eyes seemed to be boring into him. She smiled and began walking toward him.
"I saw you come in and the next thing I knew, you were gone." She pushed her lips into a small pout.
She had noticed him? Simon was absolutely stunned. "Yeah," he began, pausing for a moment to clear his throat and collect his thoughts. "It was too crowded for me. I needed to escape for a while."
"And escape you did." She was standing next to him and he was drawn in by her intoxicating scent. She hopped up onto the counter next to him, so close that their thighs were touching. "I'm not much of a social butterfly myself, so I thought I would come find you. You're a good hider."
"Best in my elementary school class, three years running." Simon thought his eyes would bug out of his head when she laughed at his lame joke. She tossed her hair back and he was mesmerized by her neck. He realized she saw him staring at her and was embarrassed.
"It's ok," she said. "I like you looking."
Simon was completely and utterly speechless.
She laughed again. "You seem pretty tense, Simon. I think I should help you relax."
He swallowed even though his throat was completely dry. "What did you have in mind?" Simon really wanted to find out. He never thought he would be the kind of guy to randomly make out with, must less hook up with, a girl he didn't know. Of course, he wasn't a typical guy anymore. And hadn't he just vowed to stop dwelling on the past? Obviously, a large part of that was to move forward. No time like the present.
"Oh, I've got something that'll make you feel good," she said, leaning closer to him, her hand resting on his thigh. Before he could see it coming, her lips were on his. She gave his lower lip a gentle tug with her teeth. "Want a taste?"
Simon couldn't do anything except nod.
She brought her right arm up to her mouth and bit down on her wrist, her eyes never leaving his. When she took her arm from her mouth, he could see that her fangs had left two punctures. She flexed her muscle and blood began to ooze from the wound. The scent hit Simon like a ton of bricks. Instinct took over as he grabbed her arm and brought it to his own mouth. As he looked into her eyes, he licked a small amount of blood. She made a sound of pleasure low in her throat and Simon went into a tailspin. It was, he imagined, what a first hit of cocaine would be like; he'd had a small taste of ecstasy and wanted more. Much more.
Simon groaned as he placed his lips on her wrist and began to suck the blood from her marks. The sound that came from her lips as she watched him take her blood was the most arousing noise he'd ever heard. The effect of drinking another vampire's blood was dizzying. He felt the room begin to spin and all the hurt and frustration of the past month melted away. As she leaned in and ran the tip of her tongue from the base of him neck to his ear, his last coherent thought was No time like the present.
