Simon heard his phone ring, and he set his laptop aside.
He saw the name that flashed across the screen.
Isabelle Lightwood.
She never called, why would she be calling now?
"Hello? Izzy?"
"Hi Simon!" she greeted. In a friendly way. A bit too friendly.
"Hi...Why are you calling?" he asked, raising an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it.
"No reason!" Isabelle tried masking the obvious lie, but it was rather obvious. For all her skill with weapons, fighting, fashion and flirting, she really was bad at her people skills. Well, the entire Lightwood family seemed to be lacking in those. "Just to - uh - make conversation."
"Are you sure there's no ulterior motive?" Simon inquired. "You called just to 'make conversation'?"
"Yup."
"Swear," Simon demanded, knowing how seriously Shadowhunters took swears. "On the Angel."
He heard Isabelle's breath hitch. "I can't do that."
"Then you're lying."
"Am not!"
"Then swear!"
"Fine! You win, you idiot." Isabelle finally gave up. Simon chuckled to himself and mentally high-fived himself.
"So," Simon's voice went serious now. "Why are you calling?"
"I - oh gosh, this is so embarrassing…" Simon could imagine Izzy blushing on the other side of the line and smiled softly.
"Just spill it."
"I -" she took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I have feelings for Clary."
Thereit is Simon thought.
"Oh." he really couldn't say much else. What was there to say? He knew Clary had developed some feelings, but he didn't know about Isabelle, and he had much less expected her to call him for advice. He just hoped that -
"I hope she isn't another 'people I date because my parents won't approve'." Simon warned.
"What? No! She isn't like that, I'm not like that! I'd never hurt someone I cared - much less Clary, of all people." Isabelle rushed to point out. Her voice dropped low. "I'm serious Simon. I like her."
"I figured." Simon replied simply.
"And I'm really confused right now because I didn't even know I could like girls, or that I ever would. I don't know what I am - and now - I mean - Clary and I haven't spoken about it since, and I don't want to make things awkward and -" she paused, but then let out an exasperated cry. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot: she's Jace's girlfriend! " the dark haired girl sighed, and then a loud 'thump' was heard.
"What was that noise, Isabelle?" Simon asked.
The Shadowhunter exhaled loudly. "Nothing, it's Alec's arrow on the wall. We're in the Training Room."
Simon furrowed his brow. "But wait - does he know?"
"Yes."
"But since he's Jace's parabatai, doesn't that make lying to him harder or something?"
"Sort of - anyway, let's get down to the matter at hand. What do I do, Simon?"
"I don't know, Izzy." Simon said endearingly. "I really don't know. Talk to her I guess."
"Thanks. I know I shouldn't be dragging you into this -"
"It's fine, Isabelle, really. I don't mind. You can come to me any time." he reassured her, but now his voice had gone sad - well, he'd gotten kind of sad. Not sad but, worried.
"Bye Simon."
"Goodbye."
Once he hung up, he plopped down on the bed.
He kept replaying something Isabelle had said over and over again in his head.
"I didn't even know I could like girls, or that I ever would. I don't know what I am."
He wasn't sure what he was, either.
When he had read The Hunger Games, in the last book, Katniss goes over everything she knows is true, to maintain her sanity.
Simon tried giving it a shot.
My name is Simon Lewis. I am (and will forever be) sixteen. I'm a vampire. I'm married to Raphael Santiago. I like anime, rock music, and my favourite food is (was) pizza. My sexuality is -
He couldn't go on. What is my sexuality?
That thought gave way to another thought, and another, and another…
I mean, I have loved girls before, but not guys...and I've never gone out with any guys...or kissed any guys until Raphael...so that makes me...bi? Demisexual? Kinda gay? Wait, is Raphael gay?
Just then, Raphael walked into the room.
"Hi Simon." he greeted, and proceeded to peck Simon on the cheek, which would have made the vampire blush from head to toe if he still could.
"Hello."
"Well someone's gloomy." Raphael observed, hanging his jacket and undoing his shirt buttons.
"Hey Raphael," Simon avoided the subject, though he didn't move into a completely unrelated one. "Can I ask you a question?"
Raphael hummed an mmhhmm , and Simon gulped before asking.
"Are you - are you gay?"
Raphael's fingers froze on his last shirt button. "What?"
Simon repeated the question, slowly. "Are you gay?"
"Why are you asking?" Raphael slipped his shirt off, and then continued undressing.
Simon got a little flustered, and started mumbling."Well, I was thinking, and - you're the first guy I've ever liked, and the first guy I've ever kissed, and I know that you have loved dudes - and girls too; but that could make you bi, or pan, or -"
"Simon, Simon, Simon...slow down." Raphael cut him off, and got into bed with the young vampire, pulling the sheets over them. He begun tracing patterns on the back of Simon's hand. "Let me explain one thing. We vampires are an old people. As long as there's been humans, there's been vampires. We are as old as the fey, and as old as warlocks. We are very, very old. And because of that, we've been around long before humans put names on things like romantic and sexual attraction, and we've been around long before humans made rules and laws about names for things. We do not label ourselves, as such - 'gay', 'straight' - that is relatively new. We have been having relations with both men and women and anything in between since the beginning. I don't want you to stress about this. It's fine to be whatever you want to be, like whoever you like, and kiss whoever you want to kiss. No one's going to judge." Raphael finished, and tilted Simon's head so they were looking at each other in the eye. "As long as you only kiss me."
He pressed his lips to Simon's, smiling against his mouth as they kissed, letting his hand move the hair away from the younger's forehead.
"Stop getting so lovey-dovey." Simon grumbled when they broke the kiss, and turned over in the bed. Raphael chuckled and pulled him close to him by his hip, spooning him, and pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck.
"You know you love it." He murmured, and in a few minutes he was asleep.
It took Simon a while longer to fall asleep, but he felt Raphael pull him even closer to him, and slowly, he too succumbed to sleep.
"We will attack on the day before Raphael and the brat come back. This way, they won't be able to retaliate soon enough, but they'll be home in time to see the wreck I make of their clan, and of their beloved 'Dumort'. I'll make sure they pay." Archard added this in a malicious tone, as a grin stretched itself across his face. "Axel, you have the blueprint, right?"
"Y-Yeah." he stuttered. He took the blue paper out of his bag, and stretched it on the table, where a few vampires loomed over it. He knew the vampires that had attacked Simon the other day - Glenn and Harry. Jade was there too, leaning more on one foot than another. Her leg had been severely injured, and though she tried to hide it and insisted she was strong enough to fight, he could tell how, when she walked, she had to avoid flinching.
"Okay, so you'll lead us to the hotel, right?" Glenn asked. He was wary of Axel, and wasn't confident in him. Axel shrugged it off.
"Yeah."
But then, a thought, a memory, flashed through him briefly.
Kaden sat on his bed, reading a book (again). His eyes looked up when he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Axel kissed him gently on the lips, and then pulled back.
"Huh." Kaden said.
"What?"
"No sex today?" the blonde observed.
"Nope." Axel then had an idea, and he grinned slyly. "Why, do you wanna?"
"No. Just saying."
"C'mere," the brunette said, and pulled Kaden to him by his shirt, spooning him from the back.
"What's this?" Kaden giggled, putting his book on the bedside table.
"Can I not be nice every now and then?" Axel feigned being hurt, and pouted.
"Not that, it's just not very...you."
"Fuck off." Axel replied rudely, but he could see the smile on Kaden's face. Axel laughed and turned his head to kiss him.
He shuddered slightly and concentrated on the matter at hand. Unsuccesfully.
Piercing blue eyes burned into his memory the rest of the day.