Hello there… thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially ClairelovesMalec! :)

Please don't hate Alec for what happened last chapter, he never meant for it and he is really, really sorry!

Alec left the bedroom, leaving Raphael asleep, feeling not only physically icky- he was desperate for a shower- but disgusted with himself. He fully expected shame, guilt, anger and disappointment- but he wasn't expecting Simon Lewis. Standing in front of him, looking extremely awkward, hands in his pockets and eyes darting around as though he wished he was anywhere but there. Alec guessed that made two of them.

"Alec… look, man-"

"Please, just-" Alec lowered his startlingly blue eyes, the colour just visible through his thick fringe of lashes. "Don't."

Simon looked relieved, but a seed of concern was still visible on his pale face.

"The door sort of, melts in and out of existence, we can't get out."

"Jesus vampire, you didn't think of breaking a window?" He scurried to the window, preparing to smash it, then looked at it thoughtfully and tried the latch. It swung open easily, a breath of cool night air rushing onto his face, setting his dark hair fluttering. It smelled of night-time, city streets, and rain. He swivelled his lithe form up and out onto the ledge, wincing a little, which caused Simon to look away, and a blush skitter down the sharp slopes of Alec's cheekbones, followed by a feeling of nausea. How could he have let that obnoxious, murderous- he snapped out of the train of thought, tears stabbing the backs of his blood-stained eyelids. The chill felt good, refreshing- though he couldn't enjoy it- lessening the discomfort of the clothes clinging to his sticky skin; sticky with sweat and blood, which he didn't mind after demon hunting, but now it made him want to throw up. "Come on, Simon, let's go." He choked back a sob.

Simon hurried over, and tried to put a hand on Alec's shoulder, but the feel of the cold, vampire fingers on his body only made him feel worse, and he jerked away. "Sorry, Simon. It's not you." He sniffed, tiny beads of almost-rain dribbling down his hairline as if the sky was crying for him. Or for Magnus.

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it-"

"I don't."

"Neither do I Alec, but I heard what happened and it wasn't your fault-"

"Of course it was my fault! I let him- I let that thing, who was going to murder you, I let him fuck me, and that's not my fault?"

"You tried to stop him, I heard you."

"Not hard enough, apparently. I could have stopped him, Simon. You know I could."

With that, he jumped. A graceful arrow cleaving the damp, dark air, hitting the ground lightly and on his toes. Swallowing nervously, Simon followed suit. Although he and Alec had never gotten that close, he liked him. He thought of the shadowhunter as a sort-of friend, and hoped they could get to know each other better, but Alec was quite a hard person to do that with. He was pretty closed off, less so since coming out of the closet, but still, and Simon suspected he'd never put much effort into their friendship because he'd noticed Simon's feelings for his sister. But he liked Alec, and it was awful to see him like this- sort of hollow, like one of those Russian dolls, but with nothing inside. He couldn't begin to understand how the other boy felt, but he knew it must be terrible.

Alec was already stalking along the pavement ahead, streetlamps throwing over him a harsh, synthetic light that reduced him all to sharp angles and bruiselike hollows, glistening in the tears he was trying so hard to hide.

"Come back, man. Seriously. I know we've never been close, but you can talk to me. I mean it." Alec turned, surprised, eyes an unsettling orange-black under the streetlights, and held out a hand for Simon to shake. He took it firmly, clasping Alec's hand tighter than he normally would. "It doesn't have to be now, or even this week, but the offer stands. And right now, you need to get home."

"I can't go home. Magnus is there."

"There's a couch at mine, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. I don't want him touching me. Or to see me, not like this."

"You will tell him, won't you?"

"I'll have to, eventually. But I don't know wh- oh, Simon? Thank you. I mean it."

"Any time."

"Then let's stop with this soppy crap. Where do you live?"

They took the subway to the apartment that Simon shared with Jordan, who wasn't there. Probably out with Maia. Their roommate relationship was an easy one; they got along well but gave each other space, they had similar interests but not so far that they never shut up, and neither were into partying, ergo making lots of noise as to offend the other. Simon knew having Alec over would be no problem- it was the people in the Institute he was worried about, they'd be frantic if Alec hadn't come home, because Magnus was there with them: but then again, he was an adult. They could call if they were that concerned. Reassured, Simon made up the lumpy couch with some spare blankets, letting Alec take a shower.

In Simon and Jordan's bathroom, Alec caught sight of his face, briefly, in the mirror. His dark, jaw length hair lay straggly and damp against skin the colour of porridge: its' usual smooth pallor washed out by the flaky, half-congealed blood that sullied his face. His bottom lip was split and painful, gashed open wider than ever before, and he couldn't meet his own eyes. Alec looked like he felt.

Fumbling in empty pockets for his stele, he realised it was gone. Left in the Dumont. There was no way in hell he was going back for it. So, no iratze.

The pounding jets of hot water stung, scrubbed away the blood and dirt from Alec's skin, but after the shower he still felt dirty, and incapable of doing anything but sleeping.

He really, really didn't want to put his clothes back on, and didn't know where he might find fresh ones, but Simon had gone bed already, and Alec didn't want to disturb him. Still, he needed something to sleep in. Wrapping the only available towel around his slim waist- a faded 'Star Wars' one- he knocked tentatively on what he hoped was Simon's door.

"Simon? It's, uh, Alec,"

The door cracked open, revealing the vampire, with sleep-mussed hair and blue-black shadows under his eyes. It had obviously been a while since he'd fed or slept.

"Hey man, I- oh!" His eyes widened at Alec's state of undress, lingering for a second on the bruises mottling his skin; shaped like harsh, clutching vampire fingers. "You need some clothes, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean, sorry to disturb you-"

"No worries," Simon hastily scoured his closet for something suitable- Alec was very tall, and muscular despite his slightness, whereas Simon was of average height and rather skinny, having been frozen by vampirism before maturing fully, a fact he quietly resented. "I'm sure I've got something."

Eventually digging out a baggy t-shirt (that said 'Keep Calm and Call The Doctor'above a picture of a TARDIS) and some sweatpants, he handed them over to Alec, who slipped quietly away with a murmur of thanks.

Lying back down on his bed, Simon tried unsuccessfully to kick the thought of blood from his mind. He could feel it; slippery scarlet skin beneath his lips, the coppery tang of- ouch. His fangs slammed painfully into his lower lip, drawing the only blood of no interest to him: his own. Simon didn't want to get up and retrieve one of his blood bottles, he wanted to sleep, but it was becoming increasingly hard not to-

"Simon?" Alec nudged the door slightly, giving him ample time to protest if necessary. "I brought you some blood, you looked really hungry, and-"

"You don't want to be on your own right now, do you?" Alec's eyes were trained on the carpet, blush tinting his pale cheeks as he admitted this was the case. "It's fine, come sit down. And thanks for the blood, I was beginning to feel a bit Dracula."

Alec looked confused, but sat beside him on the bed, and Simon couldn't help but reflect on how weird it should have been, yet the shadowhunter looked so fragile he wasn't sure that anything counted, as strange as it sounded, as real life.

"I'm sorry, I can go, you look really tired," Alec started, but Simon just lay back and looked up at the ceiling, sipping from the bottle of blood.

"Seriously, don't worry." Both boys were silent for a while, lying platonically side by side like fish fingers in a box. Then a look of thoughtfulness crossed Simon's face, and he said "When my sister was about fifteen or so, she got drunk at a party. This guy she knew was coming on to her, and she made it clear she wasn't interested, but he carried on anyway, and she didn't push him away- she didn't really know why, but afterwards she just felt so used, and like she didn't matter at all." Alec's eyes slipped shut, not with sleep, but as if he was thinking. "They had been quite good friends, but she couldn't even look at him anymore, and he never understood why, because you know, she hadn't pushed him away, but it didn't make any difference to how she felt." Alec made an odd, quiet noise. "She told me all of this, but never anyone else, I guess because she knew I wouldn't judge her, or blame her, and I don't know if what you feel is the same Alec, but if it's similar then you should know that people who really know, or care about you, won't think of you any different, even if you feel that you are."

Simon closed his eyes, and found thoughts of blood giving way to the tendrils of peaceful sleep that were slowly snaking into his thoughts and senses. It was a pleasant feeling.

"Why are you being so nice, and helping me?" Alec asked in a small, similarly sleepy voice.

"Of course I'd help you when you need it. People want to help you all the time; Izzy, Jace, all of us really. The only difference now is that you're letting me. And I guess," he mused, voice dropping to such a low whisper Alec wasn't sure if he'd heard, or was meant to hear. "I'd have wanted someone to do the same for my sister."

They didn't talk any more that night, just slipped into slumber like two children at a sleepover.

"C'mon, get up you lazy infidel!" Simon woke to Jordan yelling from outside his door. "I'm making coffee, you want some?"

"Shut up, glittery bastard," came a murmur. Simon jolted, startled for a moment to see Alec next to him, before remembering the events of the previous night. Jordan rammed on the door again, making Simon feel like Harry Potter when the Dursleys rapped on the door of his cupboard under the stairs. Alec spoke louder. "Baby, I wanna sleeeep."

Simon wrestled with the urge to laugh at Alec mistaking Jordan for Magnus.

"What?" Uh-oh. Simon supposed the werewolf had heard, and thought his roommate had called him 'Baby'. The door opened, revealing Jordan, whose eyes grew wide in shock. "Whoa, um, sorry guys, I didn't-"

Alec shot upright, startled, his black hair in disarray, sticking up at odd angles around his face.

"Oh! Um, hi Jordan…this isn't what it looks like…" Simon decided to help out.

"Alec needed somewhere to crash- just as friends, look, we're fully clothed!" He gestured wildly, all three of them starting to laugh.

"It's cool, it's cool. Just gave me a bit of a surprise, is all." Jordan grinned. "So, you want coffee too, Alec?"

"That'd be great." The shadowhunter smiled gratefully, and when Jordan had bustled off he turned to Simon. "Thanks for everything, last night I mean. I guess I needed…someone to lean on. I'm okay now."

"It's no problem, man."

They shared a look.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

They fist-bumped quickly, grinning like awkward idiots. Simon felt the need to break the soppy 'bromance' mood.

"My bed is always open to-"

"Oh, you wish." Alec shot back, reaching up a slender, toned arm to ruffle the back of his dark hair, a permanent mark coiling the length of his bicep. Simon wondered what it meant.

"It's 'confidence to trust'." He said, catching the line of Simon's gaze. "The rune. Clary made it, and put it on me the other day. Apparently she thought I could use it." Simon nodded.

"Right, I need to brush my teeth. You can borrow some more of my clothes, and uh, I'll go over to the Institute with you, if you want. I'll be over later anyway, but if-"

"It's cool, I can go. I need to stop by Magnus' on the way, to brush my teeth and change." Worry clouded over his eyes, turning the blue to a deep indigo that matched the TARDIS on his shirt. "He'll have stayed in my room at the Institute, waiting for me to get back." Once again, Alec turned dangerously pale. "I don't know what I'll tell him."

"Don't worry. You don't have to tell him right away. But do you both a favour?"

"What?"

"Be honest with him."

Alec nodded, biting at his bottom lip, then wincing as his teeth dug into the tender, barely-healed flesh, and remembered with horror that he'd left his stele in the Dumort. But nothing could be done now.

There. Done. I always thought of Simon as being the kind of guy who'd understand if someone needed help, but he might be a bit OOC. So I hope you guys understand Alec a bit more now :S poor thing. Let me know.

Love, China.