BTA, I am soooo sorry for not updating for two entire months! I swear that I had good reasoning (though, you are not here to read about that…)!
So, while I was away and not updating this story, I experienced many things that have changed my perspective on these characters, so if this chapter seems very raw and emotionally messed up, than I am sorry. But I have decided to change everything and now this is the way it is going to be…
Enjoy!x
...
"Laughter is poison to fear."
― George R.R. Martin
...
Isabelle was not angry. How could she be when she had been the one to storm out of the room. She was disappointed, mainly with herself and how she had reacted. It was a kind gesture, Simon offering her the jewelry and Isabelle had ruined the event by over thinking and being dramatic. As if that was not enough, she even admitted to not being confident in their future relationship. She tried to assure herself that everything would be okay because she loved Simon and she would definitely go back to him because Isabelle would have to be dead before she lived without him. But it wasn't enough. Her emotions were still rushing through her and making all of her decisions irrational. She was already miles away from the Institute and in Central Park before she finally dropped onto a bench near the pond and began to calm down. Her chest rose and fell violently as she gasped for air, her eyes watering more and more with each racking pain.
Normally, Isabelle wouldn't be the one to apologize. She always had control over the relationship and she could easily make Simon apologize, but she just felt so bad.
"Isabelle," Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her boyfriend's voice. He was standing in front of her, face pale and stony in the moonlight.
Isabelle was so shocked to see him that she didn't even think about how he got there so quickly. She stood up, her cheeks especially cold in the night breeze with the fallen tears staining her porcelain skin, "Simon, I-"
"I'm not sure you should be the one who's crying." His voice was light, happy even.
Izzy shook her head, her gaze not leaving his, "I'm just so upset with myself. I-I freaked out over nothing and might as well have ruined everything-"
"Isabelle," Simon tried, but she just kept talking and crying over him.
"I know you probably think that I doubt this-doubt us, but I don't." She sniffed, stepping closer to him so that she could tentatively wrap her arms around his waist and hug him, "I love you, Simon. I am really, really in love with you." Isabelle took in a shaky breath when Simon opened his mouth to respond, "I know...come here." His hands traveled down to her waist and around her thighs so that he could lift her up against him and wrap her legs around his waist, "That ring I almost gave you today has been passed down for years and you rejected it. You rejected me, Isabelle. And I want you to-"
"Make up for it?" She whispered, eyes widening, "Because I can throw you a huge party and you can do whatever you want - the ring, Simon, I want you to give it to me and I will wear it-"
"Isabelle," Simon's eyes sparkled strangely even though the moon was behind him, and Isabelle was briefly reminded of a faerie's maniacal grin. Her mind switched back over to the fact that he was forgiving her so easily, "Aren't you mad at me, or insulted, anything? And why do you keep calling me 'Isabelle'-" She was cut off when he pressed his lips to hers. Izzy let out a small cry of surprise that was immediately turned into a loud moan of pleasure when he pushed her back onto the bench and moved on top of her. His hands explored her body, none too gently, which was something she noticed right away. Every other time they had had sex, Simon was incredibly soft, but now he was rough and something about the way he growled when he touched her just seemed off.
"Simon, wait-" But her whisper ended in a soft gasp when he infiltrated her. His breaths were harsh against her neck, and heat instantly spread throughout her body. But it wasn't the usual feeling he gave her that typically brought her pleasure; it was a burning heat, burning to the brink of pain. Izzy felt like her body was on fire. When she came, she screamed as the burning erupted into molten lava, spilling over her insides and throughout her veins.
"Simon!" She pushed him away hard, gasping with pain. Her cheeks were red and she clutched her arms around her middle in an attempt to relieve some of the scorching she felt, but to no avail.
"What's wrong, Isabelle?" Simon's face was hard, eyes cold. His tone was not concerned at all, but, much to Isabelle's surprise, humored. "Does it hurt?" He spat out, disgusted.
Izzy cowered away from her boyfriend, eyes rapidly filling with tears, "What is wrong with you?"
Simon stood up, but as he did so, his clothes and...appearance seemed to fade away and blend into the shadows until there was a taller, familiar figure standing before her.
Isabelle's eyes darkened with disbelief, "Meliorn."
The faerie grinned wickedly and Izzy noticed that he was slightly translucent, "Did you miss me?"
"You're dead." Izzy whimpered, "Alec killed you - you're dead."
"I am." He pulled her skirt back down to cover her legs and she shivered at how cold and feathery his touch felt, "But the Queen had one last request and, me being her knight, of course she asked me to do it. I mean, it only makes sense that she would seek revenge. Your brother killed me and the Seelie Queen was left hurt, and most importantly, furious. So what better way to punish Alexander Lightwood than to hurt him?" His eyes glowed bright in the darkness, piercing Izzy's eyes with a blinding gaze, "The death of his loved one should do the trick." His form began to fade out again and Isabelle's heart lurched with a feeling she knew all too well: fear. She leapt up from the bench, the pain in her body already starting to clear, "What the hell did you do to me?"
In his last moments, Meliorn's lips pulled into a nasty smirk, "You'll have a few months, maybe, before your body really begins to die...it'll be slow...and painful." He blinked, "I'm almost sorry that I have to do this because I really did enjoy our times spent together."
And with that, he had vanished into thin air, leaving Isabelle, alone and stung in the middle of the park.
...
Isabelle awoke with a start, the sheets tangled tangled around her body, damp with sweat. Her chest was aching and when she looked down, she saw why: her ruby pendant was pulsing and burning into her skin. Izzy grasped it, wincing when it burned her and pulled it over her head, tossing it onto her blankets at the foot if her bed, where it started to calm down. She felt a sense of relief, knowing that the previous night had merely been a dream...or at least, she hoped so-
"Izzy?" Isabelle felt a surge of comfort swarm through her body at the sound of her boyfriend's voice. She smiled warmly at him, subconsciously hoping that her hair wasn't entirely messed up from sleeping on it, "Good morning."
"It's very far off from that, actually." He stepped into her bedroom, closing the door behind him before she had a chance to ask what he meant by that, "Are you alright? I mean, last night was a little-"
Izzy shook her head, "I hardly remember it." She tried to sound reassuring, but it was the truth. The only thing she remembered was her hauntingly realistic dream and a little bit of their fight, but nothing in between that, like getting ready for bed, or going to sleep.
It was oddly concerning.
"Is that your way of asking me to put it behind us?" Simon slipped into the bed beside her, "Because I feel like we should talk about it-"
"I agree." Isabelle turned towards him and frowned when she saw the worry flickering within his chocolate orbs, "What's wrong?"
"Is that a hickey?" His fingers brushed over her collarbone, which was greatly exposed due to her scooping tanktop. Izzy looked down to see a large, red mark right where his fingers had touched. Her mind immediately went back to her dream, but she instantly dismissed the vivid thought and brought her attention back to her boyfriend and shook her head, "I think there was a demon nearby right before I woke up because my pendant was going crazy-"
"In the Institute?" Simon asked, voice doubtful. He waved her off when she tried to protest, "You've slept through most of the day and that has allowed me plenty of time to think about what I'm going to say to you later on." He stood up off the bed and held his hand out to her, "Let's go out and while we're out, we can talk."
Isabelle stared at his hand for a moment, remembering how gently it had caused her great pleasure only a few weeks before. She would give almost anything to feel worshipped by him again after how horribly the 'Simon' in her dream had treated her, "Simon." She whispered softly, "I really, really want you right now."
Shock seemed to render him speechless for a moment, but then he blinked and frowned, "Not everything can be solved with sex, Isabelle-"
Izzy cringed, "That's not what I meant. I just...I had a nightmare last night and I'm really freaked out and I just…" There were tears in her eyes and she looked up at him through her lashes, eyes pleading.
"Iz, you know we have a lot to discuss-"
"And we can do it anywhere if you just give me this one thing!" She promised him.
He narrowed his eyes, "Isabelle, no." Simon said, tone final and eyes dark. It hurt, but Izzy understood, suddenly feeling very embarrassed about her ridiculous request.
"Okay." She sat up and breathed out, still feeling very rattled from her very evocative dream, "I feel like we're being too unrealistic about each other. We're teenagers and we're in love and we don't like listening to what other people have to say about us. That doesn't always end well, Simon."
He nodded slowly, "I get it...So, you're not doubting...us, you just want our relationship to grow to be more serious before you can be completely positive about-" Simon cut himself off when his eyes traveled to her chest area again, "I'm sorry, that really looks like a hickey."
"It's not a hickey." Isabelle insisted, starting to become frustrated with his lack of focus, "Simon, pay attention!" She glared at him, "I'm trying to be more serious."
"Oh, so I was right." He said it more like a statement, rather than a question.
"Yes."
"But isn't marriage serious?"
Isabelle weighed her thoughts in her head for a moment before responding, "Not if the relationship prior to the proposition of commitment isn't serious."
"We are committed to each other, though, right?" Simon asked as if he already knew the answer.
"Of course we are." She confirmed defensively.
"That hickey is telling me otherwise." Simon looked away, but Isabelle pulled him down on top of her body, wrapping her legs around his waist to lock him in their close proximity, "Then give me a hickey to claim your commitment to me."
His brows furrowed as he hesitated, "Are we done talking?"
She shrugged, "I want to be done."
Simon grinned, "Okay."
...
"Are you being serious?" Isabelle nearly shrieked. Her expression detained any excitement, but her eyes were alight with a cautious joy, "Magnus, please tell me you're not lying."
Magnus held Clementine away from the young shadowhunter, "Well, since you don't seem to be believing me, I guess I'll ask Alec's parents to -"
"Of course, I'll watch her!" Izzy flung herself at the warlock, narrowly missing jarring contact with the baby in his arms. She pulled back, smiling brightly at Clementine, "You, Uncle Simon and I are going to have so much fun!"
"Did you just call me 'Uncle Simon'?" Simon appeared in the doorway of the living room, his arms folded across his chest for a more implied look of anger, though his lips twitched to hold off a smile, "Do I look like an uncle to you?"
Laughing, Isabelle took Clementine from Magnus and then placed her in her boyfriend's arms, "You look more like a daddy."
Magnus raised an eyebrow as the couple smiled at each other, "I hope you two aren't planning anything too soon."
"Planning what too soon?" Alec walked into the room, his face lighting up when he saw his daughter and his fiancé, "What are we planning?"
Isabelle winked at Simon, even though he shook his head, knowing exactly what she was about to do and thinking that it was a very bad idea. She ignored his warning glance and turned to her brother, grinning wickedly, "We're planning my baby shower."
Alec's face paled greatly and his jaw dropped, "Your what?"
Izzy took Clementine back from Simon, who immediately covered his face with his hands, "You and Magnus inspired my boyfriend and I-"
"Simon!" Alec turned on the other guy, face bright red with anger, "I swear on the angel-"
Izzy grabbed his arm when he took a step towards her boyfriend, "It's not his."
"What?" Everyone screeched so loudly at the same time, Clementine startled in Izzy's arms and started to cry.
"I mean, I'm not pregnant." Isabelle laughed, hugging Clementine to her chest, "Aww, I'm sorry. Please don't cry."
"'Please' doesn't work with seven month olds." Magnus said, slightly amused by the shadowhunter's failed attempts at soothing the baby. He handed her a warm bottle and then nodded to Alec, "Are you ready to go?"
Alec nodded, still eyeing Simon suspiciously, "Yeah..."
Magnus began to pull him out of the room, but he looked back at the couple and called over his shoulder, "Remember that she only likes her milk warm. Call us if you need anything!"
Izzy nodded, "I know, I know." She turned to Simon when her brother had left with his fiance, "Simon, we should go to the park!"
Simon raised his eyebrows at her curiously, "Central Park?" He chuckled when her expression darkened, "I guess we can; if you're over your whole...spill with my sister and that duck-"
"Simon, shut up!" She growled, covering Clementine's ears, "We're doing it for the baby." Her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly at him, "Just like you would do anything for me, right?"
Simon rolled his eyes, but he smiled right back at her, "Of course I would, love."
...
I just added the last part randomly, so if it seems random, then that's because it is!
Thank you so much for reading! Remember to please leave a review to let me know what you think of this fanfiction so far and also to tell me if there is anything specific that you want to see!
Thank you again,
-H.
