All right, I wrote this chapter before the Jeremy POV one, planning on writting an intervening chap but nothing really fit so, sorry for the mix-and-match perspectives, more Chlerek to come soon!
Wow the other chapter was received well, thanks for the compliments Lizzie, HorsesandVampires, Silverbird, Suzi and Nelly and everyone else who reviewed! I'll keep em coming.
"I'm not going." I crossed my arms. My sibling and sibling-in-law stared at me, Chloe with a look of exasperation, Derek with a look of panic. "We went over this this morning guys. I don't have a date, you two are probably going to go make out somewhere within ten minutes of us getting there and I am not doing the guy-standing-alone-and-trying-to-look-cool routine."
"Actually…" Chloe hesitated and I looked at her, a tendril of fear shooting through me. While she was one of the nicest people I knew, she could also be downright devious when she wanted to. "When you said you didn't have a date this morning I asked Haven if she would come with us."
I winced. Blind dates had about the same chance of success as catching a butterfly during a tornado. I glared at her and stomped up the stairs to get dressed. I could picture Chloe and Derek deliberating on how to best placate me and locked my door just in case. I so did not want to deal with Chlerek right now.
It hadn't taken me too long to get over Chloe, settling for a brother-sister relationship instead of boyfriend-girlfriend. But even after a year I still felt the small twinge of jealousy, they were attached at the hip, usually literally, and since being around their super stupidly deep lovey-doveyness I didn't want to get into any more shallow relationships. It'd feel fake next to them.
I dove into the depths of my closet to retrieve the suit I'd bought on a guys shopping trip with Nick, who was kind of the Simon of The Pack. Nick Sorrentino came from an absurdly rich family and his dad Antonio didn't care that his only son had no intention of working a day in his life. When we went to check on a suit that was being tailored for Nick and he asked what kind of dress clothes I had at home I'd laughingly said 'khaki pants.' Nick took it upon himself to immediately rectify the situation.
The 'steel gray' Chanel or something (all those designers blend together after awhile) suit had been the only thing we could compromise on, with a double-breasted jacket it wasn't a normal boring suit and I liked the feel of the lighter fabric. Nick had liked the color and only agreed to the almost somewhat reasonably priced designer suit when I caved and let him get it tailored to fit me. He was determined to spoil me completely since he saw our family's dynamic as a carbon-copy of The Pack—with Chlerek instead of Clena and me instead of him—and knew what it was like to be the third wheel.
I just prayed that I wouldn't have any more growth spurts (although a few more inches would be good for basketball… like 6'3") but the tailor said he would leave a few inches sewn into the hems just in case. I pulled on a darker gray silk t-shirt, also courtesy of Nick and his wallet, and finished the ensemble with my nice Chuck Taylors—honestly, they were barely scuffed at all… mostly… sort of.
The Simon in the mirror looked about as happy as a cat in a bath and I mussed my hair completely for the bed-head look. I knew that I had to wear the shirt and suit or Chloe would send me right back upstairs but I was going as casual as humanly possible with everything else. I rolled my shoulders, trying to get the suit to settle correctly and to my annoyance it did, stupid tailor.
On my way to the door I glanced down at a sketch in progress, a completely vague male figure that was supposed to be a study in drawing clothes. I looked in the mirror, then at the sketch, then at the door.
I've got time. I plunked down at my desk and pulled one of my softer charcoal pencils out of the desk. Every now and then I'd stand and look over the suit, the way it fell, the weight and movement of the fabric, where light reflected the most prominently, etc. I sketched quickly, smudging shadows with my fingertips and cleaning up edges with my big white eraser.
I was just getting to the finer details, cuffs, buttons, hems and shoe detail, when a knock on the door interrupted me.
"Yeah?" I called, not looking up.
The knob turned partway and stopped, locked.
"Just a sec." I leaned over and unlocked the door, letting Derek in.
"I thought you might be drawing." He shook his head ruefully as he looked over my outfit. "I don't know how you manage to get away with that. Chloe would have my head on a platter."
"Get away with what?" I asked innocently, cleaning the charcoal off my hands with a wet wipe.
Derek rolled his eyes and gestured to his outfit, then mine. He was wearing the pitch black suit Elena had taken him to get for when he started going to counsel meetings with her and the forest-green (I'm an artist okay? I know colors.) button down shirt Chloe had bought on a whim.
"Looks like you got away without a tie." I nodded at the shirt where he'd unbuttoned the top few buttons, probably to breathe.
"I definitely drew the line at the tie." He scowled down at the suit and loafers like they had personally offended him.
"Go you! Open purse, remove balls." I grinned and ducked when he scowled some more and swatted at me, still getting my hair flattened.
"Get your ass downstairs before I send Chloe in after you." It was his turn to grin when I shot out of my chair. If Chloe saw my outfit while we were still in my room she'd make me change shoes and comb my hair for sure.
"Boys?" A familiar feminine voice floated up from the first floor and I blanched, bolting for the stairs.
I was halfway down when I remembered I was supposed to meet my date and skidded to a halt—which is not easy to do on stairs. I glanced back towards my room, hoping to make a break for it through a window or air conditioning vent, but an irritatingly solid werewolf was right behind me, arms crossed and glaring.
"Aw man." I muttered and stomped down the rest of the stairs.
"Well he's making enough pouty noises for his own introduction, but Haven, this is Simon." Chloe smiled and waved a hand in my direction.
I gave the stairs one last wistful glance but a low growl from Derek squelched that idea. I pasted as much of a smile as I could manage on my face and resigned myself to my fate.
"Nice to meet you." 'Fate' said in a low almost contralto voice.
I raised my eyes reluctantly, though the voice definitely perked up the interest of the male in me. But sadly the girl was unremarkable looking, someone I wouldn't have given a second-glance at in the halls. The only thing that kept my stomach from sinking to my toes was something about her smile. I gave her that second glance, going over her with my artist's eye. She was average height with a lean build and the least determinable ethnicity of anyone I'd ever met. The only features that stood out at all were her voice and her eyes, eyes the color of light honey.
"Simon, this is Haven Smith." Chloe finished the introduction and the girl gave me another smile; mischievous and a little lopsided with only one dimple on her right cheek and I felt the my Simon-senses tingling like they had when I first met Chloe, telling me there was something more to this girl than met the eye.
I steeled myself for the familiar look of surprise or confusion when she looked at my eyes, and the difference between them and my blond hair. It didn't come. Haven looked me over, eyebrows drawn together as if in deep contemplation. Her expression didn't change when she saw the clear Korean features of my eyes combined with the dark blond hair from my mother's Swedish contribution.
"He'll do." She said to Chloe with a grin and a wink my way. "But I think I'm getting the better end of the deal." She stage-whispered.
"You won't think that after he opens his mouth." Tori walked into the room and smirked when she saw us. "Check out the nerd brigade, it's almost like picture day in middle school."
I raised an eyebrow at that. I definitely had not worn a thousand dollar suit to picture day.
"Tori, Haven, Haven Tori." Chloe gestured to each appropriate girl. "You heading out?" This was directed at Tori.
"Hell yes, prom was bad enough the first time."
"I'm surprised you can even remember it, considering how much alcohol was in your system." I pulled the innocent look when Tori turned to glare at me.
"Anyway. Jerk. I'm going over to Michael's for the night."She grabbed her keys and waved on her way out the door.
It sucked that even Tori had a significant other when I didn't. Life is a cruel mistress.
"Well that's one less nuisance to deal with." Derek steered me around and towards the door. "Time to go, dinner first right?" He asked hopefully over his shoulder.
Chloe shook her head ruefully. "Do you really think I'd take a grouch like you to the dance on an empty stomach? I'm not completely crazy."
We got into the back of the limo Chloe's dad had insisted on renting and Chlerek immediately took up the whole back seat. I let Haven get in ahead of me and took the opposite empty side when she was comfortable.
My 'date' was dressed almost as casually as me in a pale gold cocktail dress. Both she and Chloe had opted for the not floor-length style, going for the knee-length floaty skirt instead. But while Chloe's pumps were normal impractical strappy prom heels, Haven was wearing slightly less impractical ballet flat-type shoe things and her wavy hair was loose around her shoulders.
"You're being unnaturally quiet Simon, it's making me nervous." Chloe poked me with her toe.
"Sorry, just tired." I ran a hand through my hair and tried to remember how to talk to girls. I hadn't really tried since failing spectacularly with Savannah the year before.
"I saw your art at the senior showcase." Haven said to me. "Pretty powerful work, very Frank Miller." She gave me that smile again when my eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Yes, girls read comics too, shocking I know."
"It wasn't so much the general idea of girls reading comics that surprised me as much as the material. Frank Miller is pretty stylized stuff." I leaned back against my seat, trying to get into chatty mode.
"True, but I think he balances the content with that stylized look. If he drew like Disney then Sin City would be like Happy Tree Friends."
"I'm definitely more interested in the cinema aspect but I have to say that if Frank Miller's drawing style is anything like the movie Sin City then his style fits the content of his comics perfectly." Chloe contributed, relaxing into Derek's side.
"I think that was as much a reflection on Robert Rodriguez's style as Miller's. But the tragic edge to his characters translated well to film." Haven slanted a look across the car at me, assessing my reaction.
"Sure but the content got a little buried with all the action and focus on Hollywood aesthetics." I countered.
"They wouldn't have had anyone but Frank Miller fans at the theater if it hadn't been Hollywoodized. We Americans don't like our standards of beauty to be challenged." Haven shot back, the flash of good-humor in her eyes taking any edge off of the words.
"Oh thank god." Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "We're at the restaurant."
I blinked, I had completely lost track of time and hadn't even realized we'd left the neighborhood yet. Even with my nap after the show the lack of sleep was really messing with my head.
"Where are we?" Haven asked, frowning at the street with multiple restaurants lining it.
"Wasabi." Chloe grinned up at Derek. "Get ready to love me forever."
"Uh-oh." I said as we pushed open the doors to a Japanese-ish restaurant with a mini food conveyer belt running through the middle of it.
We had a table along the belt but near enough to the kitchens that most of the patrons wouldn't see the massive amount of carnage left by Derek's werewolf appetite. The conveyer belt turned out to be double decked with hot dishes on top and cold dishes on the bottom. Chloe had reserved a table at the end of the belt, right before it vanished into the kitchens so Derek could take as many dishes as he wanted without starving the other customers.
"Inside or outside?" I asked Haven, stepping back so she could choose to be by the belt or the aisle.
"Are you planning on eating from the belt or the menu?" She asked.
"Definitely belt."
"Then outside, you can pass me plates, I'm sure you'll eat faster and more than I do." She grinned up at me and I felt an automatic smile tug at my own lips. It must be the dimple, I'm a sucker for dimples.
We all settled, girls next to the aisle—a switch from the usual arrangement and one that obviously grated a little with Derek's protective wolfy streak.
"I love..." He said to Chloe, but his eyes kept flicking to the conveyer belt, tracking the dishes he wanted to grab when they came within reach. "You are… just…"
"Start eating." Chloe ordered with a laugh. "You can fawn on me later."
We all oohed and ahhed over the dishes, daring each other to eat the unidentifiable ones and me and the girls combined trying to out-eat Derek. A lost cause if there ever was one. The waiter had to clear dishes from our table every ten minutes or so as each one had three or four bites worth; one steamed dumpling or a small handful of edamame in the shell. Three spicy crawfish were on one plate and one piece of sashimi sushi on another. There were also tons of little cakes and puddings and other desserts that came by and Haven dared me to try a reddish soup with round floating pieces in it that turned out to be cherries in a sour reduction.
It was the most silly fun I'd had since starting my senior project and I found myself slipping comfortably in the relaxed group. Haven fit right in with us, countering Derek's occasional sarcastic comments easily and chatting with Chloe like they were old friends. I found myself acting naturally around her, usually I flattered girls and never argued or got confrontational but Haven was like Chloe; sharp-tongued and quick-witted and I surprised myself by starting several heated debates with her. She wasn't someone that I'd pick for a date but I definitely was hoping to make friends with her.
Maybe there's hope for me after all. I thought to myself, feeling more Simony than I had in awhile.