Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim The Mortal Instruments series. All rights belong to Cassandra Clare. I also, sadly, do not own VK, Furuba, Naruto, FMA, or any other manga I may decide to mention this chapter; all rights to the anime/manga series go to the respected creators.
WARNING! I will be jumping around a lot between Max and Simon. And this will be so random. Not hard to follow. And the taxi driver is kinda weird. I want him to sound, not to stereotype, but I want him to sound like super backroad Southern hick. So tell me how he sounds, k? :3
Chapter Four: Lost
Max had made up his mind. He was going to Simon's apartment. It had taken him a few days after his talk with Jace and Alec to muster up his courage, but he was going to do it. He was in his room, giving himself a pep talk. He was super nervous, but he knew that his brother was right when he had told him it would be better to tell Simon his feelings. As sappy as it had been, he knew it was right.
He was pacing around his somewhat messy room at the Institute, the Vampire Knight, Fruits Basket, Naruto, and Fullmetal Alchemist banners catching his eye. He stopped stomping around and looked into the full length mirror propped against a wall painted cream with lavender and pink butterflies and the title Loveless. His mirror had Sailor Moon stickers all over the place. He looked right into the eyes in his reflection and spoke;
"It won't be that bad. You got this. You can do it. I mean come on, it's Simon for fucks sake."
Not letting himself get distracted anymore, he grabbed his cell phone and took off.
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Simon was sitting at his kitchen table. Alone. Lost. Afraid. He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't want to screw up the friendship that he had found with Max.
"Simon. You're a man. Act like it."
With that, Simon stood and left his apartment. Hailing a cab on the street, he got in and quickly gave the address of the Institute.
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Max was moving pretty quick. He had decided to walk to let himself have more prep time. He was muttering to himself and many people gave him odd looks. He was trying to form the words that he wanted to say to the vampire.
I love you is waaay too cliche. Its too stereotypical. I need something unique.
He kept walking when an idea struck him. He turned on the next street and headed for Central Park.
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Simon sat and waited patiently for traffic to go faster so that he could talk to Max. He was nervous and the cab driver could tell, as the vampire was jittering and fidgeting nonstop in the back of the taxi.
"You ain't a tweaker are ya?"
"What? No, that's absurd."
"Well, why you jumpin' so much?"
"Because, something I do today, no matter if it goes good or bad, is going to change me and my life forever."
"So you's just anxious?"
"Yeah."
"Well that's okay. You, this one time me an' my brother were fishin' and he fell in Didn't come up for a couple minutes. I got right jittery, like you. It's kinda the same feelin', ain't it?"
"Uh, yeah I suppose so."
The rest of Simon's ride in that taxi was filled with awkward small talk with the weirdo driver.
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Max was looking all around the playground. He needed what he was looking for to be perfect. If he couldn't find one, he planned on going to a small Shadowhunter shop to get what he was after. He'd been looking for nearly an hour and just as he was about to give up his search, he saw it. Beneath the slide, sitting perfectly in the middle of a patch of green grass was the perfect stone. It was a pale gray, nearly white and a perfect little oval shape. Max walked over to the slide and picked it up. It was small and no blemishes marked its surface. It was flawless. And white. Innocent and pure. Like his feelings. He pocketed the stone and began to walk back to the sidewalk, continuing from there to Simon's apartment building.
He entered the building and went up to Simon's floor. As he walked down the hall, he thought about how he was going to tell the downworlder. He knocked on the door, and waited a moment. He couldn't hear anything. After another moment, he knocked again. When no one answered again, he felt disappointment blossom in his chest.
Where would he be? He's always here…
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Simon was glad to be out of the taxi. That driver had been driving (pun intended) him crazy. He looked up at the Institute, wondering if his plan would go over well. He sighed, not because he had to, but because it still was a good practice when he was nervous. He squared his shoulders and walked up the sidewalk. As he approached the door, he almost thought about going back to his apartment. He made his decision as he knocked on the heavy door. A few moments later, it creaked open to reveal a disheveled looking Jace.
"Oh, hey Simon."
"Hey. I didn't know you were visiting. How have you been?"
"I'm good. You're looking for Max though, aren't you?
"I'm good thanks.-chuckle- But yeah, I am."
Jace laughed. "I didn't ask because you look a bit distraught. Max left about 2 hours ago. He was headed to your place, I believe."
"Thanks!"
Simon took off down the sidewalk, faintly hearing Jace say good luck.
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Max decided to go to Taki's and get a smoothie. He figured maybe if he lingered close to Simon's building he'd see when the vampire got home. He was determined to talk to him, no matter how anxious he got.
As he sat at the bar and ordered a chocolate cherry smoothie and fries, a few Downworlders gave him odd looks. A few even whispered. He ignored them and waited for his order. He was only waiting a few moments, but it felt a lot longer to the Shadowhunter. Once his food came out, he grabbed it and went to the back booth where he and Simon usually sat. It was in the back, and people didn't really notice when someone was sitting there until they were nearly to the table. He slid into the seat and slowly began munching on his fries.
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Simon was walking back to his apartment, going the way he knew that Max would. He was close to Taki's, so he figured he stop in to see if anyone had seen Max pass by. He walked the last few blocks, thinking of how to talk to the Shadowhunter. He opened the door, and all thought flooded from his mind. Max was at their table. His head was down. His milkshake glass stood empty next to the nearly gone basket of fries. Simon walked back.
"Max."
The teen's head shot up. His eyes went wide behind his glasses. "Simon."
"I've been looking for you!" They spoke at the same time. Max blushed and Simon slid into the booth to sit across from Max.
"You first." Simon looked at Max, hoping that their discussion wouldn't be awkward.
"Uh…," the Shadowhunter had suddenly lost his courage. "I… I don't know! I'm so confused!"
Simon looked at Max with concern. Max was scaring him.
"What's wrong? I want to help."
Max stood and withdrew the stone from his pocket. He kept it hidden from the vampire. He sat again, his head down. He laid his hand on the table and set the stone down. Simon looked at it very confused and curious.
"What's the pebble for?"
"You. Will you be my penguin?"
BAM! Cute cliffhanger. XDXD Next chapter will hopefully be cute, fluffy dialogue. So, review and tell me what you thought? I hope you enjoyed chapter four!
