"Simon," Isabelle said her voice tight "What if we don't make it out alive?" Simon turned to her and forced a smile onto his face.
"Of course we will, we're together," he said softly, taking Isabelle's hand in his own. She blinked up at him; worry still swimming in her eyes. Simon squeezed her hand reassuringly. But he couldn't help but admit that their chances of living were thin.

"Simon?" Isabelle said again "Promise me we'll always be together if we live through this?" Simon slowly nodded his head and bent his head down to kiss her soft lips.

"Always," he whispered. He gathered her in his arms, murmuring words of love and comfort. That embrace could have lasted forever. Until Simon felt Isabelle's gasp radiate through his body, until he heard the wet sound of a blade being retracted from her body. The sudden smell of fresh, gushing blood overwhelmed him. The scream Isabelle made was the most terrifying thing Simon had ever heard and it scared him to the core. He could only watch in horror as Isabelle collapsed to the ground.

When I woke up again, I wasn't shocked to see Simon sat down beside me, his legs stretched out in front of him. He was watching something intently from over in the distance and was absent-mindedly stroking my hair. I sucked in a deep breath of air and relished the moment for a few seconds before stirring. Simon quickly withdrew his hand and placed it awkwardly on his lap and I pushed myself up into a sitting position similar to his own.

"You're awake then," he murmured softly, a small smile tugging up the corners of his mouth, indenting dimples upon his cheeks.

"No, you see sometimes I just like to sleep with my eyes wide open, just to creep the crap out of people," I answered, light-hearted sarcasm dripping from my tone.

"I'm sorry...About earlier" I told him tentatively, as if one small step over the line could shatter him. Simon titled his head forward in acknowledgement and retained the small smile he had on before. There was a slant of tiredness to his eyes that hadn't been there before and dark, spidery veins had formed at his temple. Simon, noticing how long I had been staring at him, stood up suddenly and heaved me up with him. It occurred to me for the first time that I was still in the alleyway from last night. But then that left the question...

"How did I find you?" Simon said, as if reading my mind "It wasn't that hard because of, you know, sexy vampire mojo," he gave me a wry grin and I burst into laughter. It was the first time in over a year I had felt so heady and euphoric, perhaps due to my grogginess or the fact I was with a guy that made my insides turn into liquid.

"Come on, let's go," I said once the laughter had subsided and began to make my way out of the alley when Simon grabbed my forearm with urgency. I twisted myself back around to face him, horror dawning on my face, expecting some form of terror awaiting me. Instead, I was met with something else, something completely unexpected. Simon watched me for a few seconds with his rich brown eyes and then the next thing I knew he had leant into me and our lips crushed together. Adrenaline washed over me suddenly, setting every nerve in my body alight with crackling electricity. Almost instinctively, I moved my hands and settled them behind Simons head, deepening the kiss. The feel of the liquid silk of his hair beneath my fingertips sent tremors of delight down my spine and the soft caress of his lips against mine made my legs feel wobbly and unstable. A strong magnetism bound us together and I almost wanted to melt into him and never detach myself from him again. Simon gently took me by the shoulders and pushed me away slightly and then we simply stared into each other's eyes for what could have been minutes or hours. At this close proximity I could see all the intricate details of his face- the flecks of gold in his rich brown eyes, the very light spattering of freckles on his nose and a small scar just above his right eyebrow. Without consciously realising what I was doing, I traced the scar with my fingertips. Simon didn't protest, just blinked down at me with his eyes telling the story of untold anguish and heartache. I yearned to fix the pain hidden in the cold capsule of his heart but instead I dropped my hand from his head and said nothing. Simon moved his lips, as if to say something, but stopped dead in his tracks. I felt his hands that were still rested on my shoulder go rigid and his whole body suddenly stiffed with tension. His face contorted into a pained, tormented expression and his eyes rolled back so I could only see the whites of his eyes.

"I saw him," he managed to spit out, just before he collapsed to the ground and stayed there, un-moving. I was petrified- my legs didn't have the will to move and all I could do was stand there looking down at him with absolute horror. My legs buckled beneath me and I slid to the ground.

"Simon, oh god what the hell," I cried out, panic settling over me like a cold sheet "Simon please get up, I'll get you home, okay?" Simon jerkily nodded his head several times, as if someone were violently shaking him. I took his hand and tenderly stroked it in what I hoped was a comforting manner "What happened?"

"I saw him," Simon replied gently, watching me gingerly as if I was about to strike him down "I saw him, in your eyes,"

"Who?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"Sebastian,"

I had always thought that the truth should always been spoken, not matter what would could entail afterwards. Maybe I was wrong; maybe it was better to be blissfully ignorant, sheltered from the truth that would shatter you.

"Simon, please tell me I'm still... me," I cried out, my voice thin and wavering "Please, please, please I don't want to be him," I grabbed him tightly by the arms, my eyes pleading with his. Simon blinked at me and said nothing for a few moments, his features coloured with poignancy.

"Of course you're still you," he told me eventually, sounding sincere and determined "No one can take that from you, okay? Not even Sebastian,"

"Okay-Yeah," I smiled half-heartedly up at him and was briefly jerked back into the memory of his lips moulded against mine "I just... Simon I-" I couldn't compose the right words to describe how I was feeling toward both Sebastian's sudden acute presence in my mind and also... how I felt about Simon. After he had almost immediately passed out after our embrace, I hadn't had much time to soak in the fact that he had kissed me. It seemed so silly that the kiss had exhilarated me so much more than the rest of the week's events had. I snapped out of my reverie and shook my head back and forth vigorously trying to clear my head. It felt as though it was swirling with a torrent of cluttered, disorganised thoughts. I bounced up to my feet and Simon swiftly stood up as well. The silence was stifling, so instead of standing around awkwardly I stalked out of the alley, expecting Simon to follow. He did, scuffing his high-top shoes on the concrete as he did so. After warming up to each other slightly, the walk back to the apartment became surprisingly pleasant. Instead awkward small talk, Simon and I discussed animatedly about a variety of different, irrelevant topics. I realised the full extent of how much of a nerd he was, but I was unfazed and strangely amused by it. We decided to take a long detour down to Central Park at one point and sat down together on one of the benches scattered around. I shifted uncomfortably on the bench—the decaying wood was chipped and jutted out in several place, prodding my side. It was already dusk. Rich, creamy oranges and purple hues were painted across the sky. The sun was a mere golden smudge, far off in the distance, already disappearing behind the trees. The lake glittered like numberless jewels of every colour, with only a few ripples disturbing the smooth surface of the water.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Simon breathed, his fingers absent-mindedly tracing the patterns of a fallen leaf he had picked up from the ground "The park, I mean," I titled my head forward in assent, my gaze still captivated by the natural beauty of the world around me. We stayed there for a while, even after night had enveloped the sky. The willow we were sitting beneath swayed peacefully in the wind. Occasionally showers of leaves splashed with golden brown tones rained down upon us from it. I finally turned to look at Simon, whose face was turned up to the sky, basking in the moons silvery sheen. The light blanched out his complexion, casting dark shadows across his face and making him look like the most ethereal and beautiful creature I had ever seen.

"Simon?" I said faintly, just loud enough for Simon to pry his eyes upon and look at me.

"Can't you see I'm trying to embrace nature here?" Simon mumbled, a smile tilting the corners of his mouth up as he joked with me.

"I thought I'd wake you up because I believe you are already truly at one with the trees," I replied in a falsely dreamy tone "and also, I'm cold,"

"I was just enjoying life without computers or game consoles- it was a really beautiful moment,"

"Really?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Oh god no, it's been hell," Simon coughed out between fits of laughter, his eyes bright and gleeful.

"You can't laugh at your own joke, that's just vain," I teased, jabbing him in the side as I did so and then ended up erupting into giggles of my own. Eventually the laughter subsided and then, for the second time that day, our lips met. This kiss was short and sweet, just the simple innocent attraction between each us and nothing deeper than that. Nevertheless I was still breathless by the time our lips parted and I realised I had been clutching Simon's hands very tightly. I unclasped them abruptly and self-consciously wiped my palms on my jeans and looked around for something to do. Simon let out a puff of annoyance and stood up, poised and ready to go. I reluctantly got up myself, still scanning the park until my eyes locked upon a figure in the distance. Judging by the way their silhouette was bobbing up and down I could tell they were making their way over to us. Simon snapped his head up, his eyes suddenly watchful and alert as the person made their way over to us. I still couldn't make out their face in the pale illumination, but when I looked up at Simon I saw a flutter of recognition flicker over his features. His senses, as a vampire, were a lot more attuned than my blunt, human (or not so human) ones so of course he could see the persons face already.

He swore venomously under his breath "We've got to get out here now," I couldn't help but think here we go again. Finally, I was able to make out the figures face. It was one of a young girl, her skin without a single crease or pore and her features still had a hint of chubbiness to them. Her hair was a pale blonde and had a coarse, straw-like quality to it. Even at this distance, I could feel the cold, cruel malevolence radiating from her, similarly to how you could sense evil pulsating from the dark.

"Simon, who is that?" I whispered, edging closer to him as I did so. Simon ground his teeth together and didn't reply, completely transfixed by this stranger. There was a blaze in his eyes I had never seen in him before; hatred so raw it was painful to look at and terrified me to the core. There was such animosity emanating from him I almost flinched away, scared not only by this strange girl but by the animal, predatory side of Simon that was emerging from him as she neared.

"I suppose pleasantries in order" the girl said coldly, coming to a stop a couple of metres in front of us. I saw there was a gap in between her two front teeth, something that would have made her look endearing had it not been for the pitiless look in her eyes. She shrugged when neither of us said anything "I'm Maureen, but of course you already know who I am,"