Summer Love F PV AngelFyre McCubbin

Simon blushed an adorably suitable amount as he carried her offstage to a thunderous chorus as the audience shouted his name. AngelFyre could not have been more proud of him. She leaned over and whispered in his ear just before he set her down, "You were incredible, Simon! Just listen to that.... they all think so, too! That is all for you, my love," and AngelFyre gave a sideways glance to Bubblegum Man who was digging frantically into his pockets at the moment. "Even the headliner himself is probably hearing that, right now, and wondering 'Just who in the heck is this Simon Kincaid and how do I get him featured on my next single?'," and she giggled euphorically. "That is your name they are chanting; not Mr. Bieber's. For as long as you live, Simon Ezra Kincaid, you will always have that."

After he had set her gently down and kissed her forehead, she placed her hand on his shoulder for balance as she was slipping her shoes back on, first on one foot and then the other. Simon had thanked Bubblegum Man for the opportunity in his usual, affable manner, but AngelFyre noted, quite happily, his smile might be even wider than usual. It was then that Bubblegum Man found whatever he had been scrounging around for in his pocket and quickly removed it, handing it to Simon. Simon was still floating on his adrenaline high and a little distracted, so he missed the card in Bubblegum Man's hand and seemed to mistake the man's gesture as a request for the headset, so Simon obliged by handing it back to him. Bubblegum Man snorted and tossed the headset to one of his lackeys while shooting up to a full standing posture for the very first time.

"Kid... no, not the hea-... hey, it's Si- Simon, right? Simon, you were terrific out there. Here is my card. Take it and call me tomorrow. You really have something, Kid. You could be the next teen phenom. Just listen to that crowd!" and he continued to hold the card out to Simon.

AngelFyre listened to the whole exchange in awestruck wonder. Simon thanked him, but was making no move to take the card. In fact, he glanced her way and she saw excitement dancing in his eyes to be sure, but she also saw a distant kind of contentment before he looked down to make certain her shoes were on and she was ready to move, presumably. He then started backing them away from the proffered card smiling widely. There was no adrenaline high preventing Simon from seeing the card this time. She knew he had seen it. Not completely oblivious to what she thought his reasoning might be in the moment for not taking the card, AngelFyre reached for it anyway and took it before the chance to do so slipped entirely away.

As the stagehand who had brought them backstage escorted them back to where he had found them, the couple was just smiling from ear to ear at one another. "Back where you started, yeh? Was a fine number you put on," he said looking at Simon and then turning to AngelFyre he finished with, "the both of you. Enjoy the rest of the concert," and then he was gone. They stood there for a minute after he had left them, just basking in what had just happened to them.

Moving close to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, she looked up to him and laughed. "Simon, you have made your life difficult tonight. You know that, right? I mean, I am not saying that you being you, there is not something even more amazing before us at some point in our long future together when we have another dress up date, but oh, my love, this is going to be a hard night to top, not that there is a need to do so. But just wow!"

*****
When they finally made it to the seating area Simon had tried so hard to get them to earlier, they were both delightedly surprised to find that someone Simon knew from his parish was volunteering that evening and was watching the show from that same area. AngelFyre was thrilled when he greeted Simon by referring to him as the local London Town Legend. Sure, she may have exaggerated that part a bit, (though to her, he WAS a London Town legend) but she just knew he was going to be a legend amongst his peer group once his London group of friends got wind of this. Who knew? Maybe one or more of his friends were in the audience and saw it for themselves. Maybe even Mia Anderson, boy howdy. Once again, AngelFyre always dreamed big.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, indeed, Mr. Edwards, she whispered while gracing him with a wide smile as he took her hand from Simon and escorted her to the front. Her interest was immediately piqued when Simon mentioned he had climbed Mt. Everest. "My maternal grandfather apparently had that on his bucket list of things to do, but life sort of happened, as it does. I hope we get a chance to talk at some point in the future about it," and she beckoned him down to her with her index finger so that she could whisper privately in his ear. "I mean no disrespect whatsoever by what I am about to say to you, so I hope no offense will be taken when I say that as a huge fan of classic American movies, you remind me very much of that fine character actor, Sir C. Aubrey Smith. He is an absolute favorite of mine," and she laughed light-heartedly, "though I am not certain he could have ever pulled off the handlebar mustache as expertly as you do."

As Mr. Edwards retreated and left them to view the show, AngelFyre looked out to the stage, still in a state of disbelief that she and Simon had been upon that very stage... performing together... not 10 minutes earlier. Simon certainly had a way of making life incredibly exciting. She was looking over everything, trying to commit it all to memory, and then a thought bubbled to the surface that needed to be fleshed out. She turned to Simon, but her thought was forgotten as soon as she saw the way he was looking at her. It was the same look he had looked upon her with while they had been in the café the day before. If the boy ever lost his ability to speak, that look alone would tell her everything she would ever need to know about his feelings for her.

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, breathing him in deeply. "Then you are in luck, my love, because I feel the same. There is no one I would rather be with either."

She was walking back to the townhome with him and was honestly still trying to process how incredible the night had been from start to finish... or at least it had been up to that point. The evening was not yet over.

It was beautiful weather wise, but one thing London proper most definitely could not do better than her home in Scotland was to drape the evening sky in a glorious celestial tapestry. Big city lights and starlight were not a match made in Heaven, unlike herself and the boy next to her.

It in no way escaped her notice the little things Simon always took care to do, like walking on the street side of the pavement. Her father always did it for her and for her mother, and her fellow had always done it with her when walking by a perceived danger. Here she was, living in her own little fantasy world after their fabulous evening, able to relax and enjoy herself completely on their walk home because she knew Simon was on top of it all... but how much of a burden was it to him actually she wondered?

"Simon, do you ever grow weary of feeling like you are responible for my safety? I mean, I know you have felt some pressure on account of my folks, especially from my father, but does it rob you of some your ability to enjoy a situation because you are sort of 'on call'? Like right now, as we walk home from a concert, for instance?" and she smiled at him. "I want you to know that I see what you do, even the little things, and I love you for it, but I do not want you ever to feel weighed down by the responsibility of it. That is where resentments can take root."

That was what had been on her mind. Endings, of a sort, seemed to be what had been on Simon's. When he asked her if there was anything she still wanted to do before her London trip ended, a vice grip immediately squeezed her heart. The answer that immediately formed itself on her tongue and slowly freed her heart to once again pump oxygen to her brain would have likely shocked him, so she kept it to herself. No point in burdening him with things that could not be... at least not then... but their time would come. Not quickly enough, but they would come.

AngelFyre knew she needed to live in the moments she and Simon did have together and be grateful for every one of them. And she was. She often thought it was a mark of how well suited they were for each other that no amount of time together could ever really be enough. It went by so quickly when with him and so glacially slow when she was not. She knew it was a waste to wish to be older and to wish that the need for such a conversation never have to take place between them again, but as she glanced over to Simon, she also recognized how she did not want to give up even a nanosecond of the what their next few years had in store for them. If it was to be anything like their first few months together had been, and not all of them as a couple, she knew it would be something to be fully experienced and enjoyed and treasured. It would be careless to wish any of it away simply because she would soon be in a position to miss him sorely in the next couple of days.

She heard the sadness in his voice and felt a lump in her own throat when he said he was going to miss her. She stopped them as she answered because she wanted to look in his eyes. "You know I will miss you, too. I have told you before, but I will say it again because it it is true... it physically hurts to be away from you. I just hate it," and because she did not want to cry, she turned away and started walking again.

After a few steps, she continued. "Yes, there is something I definitely want to do before I leave, and you can decide whether you want Aunt Maggie to join us or not," and she steeled herself for some possible resistance, but on this she would not be moved. "Simon, I want you to show me the Duck and Waffle. I was thinking we could combine it as my thank you to both you and Aunt Maggie for hosting me for a week. It will be my treat, but whether she comes along or not, it is important to me to see where you may meet your father. You know you can trust me to give nothing away to her, but I even want to know what table you sat at the night he stood you up. Honestly love, this request is more of a need than it is a want. When I leave and go back home, I will do more than miss you. I will still be afraid for you. This will give me a modicum of peace as pictures in my head are taking on more meaning as of late."

Simon's hurt and frustration coated every syllable he spoke when pondering the subject of his father's no show to their first meeting. AngelFyre was by no means a person who dealt with her anger or frustrations with physical aggression, but honestly, she thought on more than one occasion that she would very much like to wring Adrian Hawthorne's neck for hurting her beloved without, seemingly, a second thought. She would love almost nothing more than to have to never think upon the creature known as Simon's father for even a fraction of a fraction of a second, but seeing that he was the one subject who more often than not occupied Simon's mind, there was simply no escape for either one of them. Simon's hurts and troubles were her hurts and troubles. At least he would have company in his misery.

AngelFyre had no words for Simon. If there were any that could console him, she would have moved heaven and earth at this point to have secured them so that she could have shared them with him, easing his heartache. All she knew to do for him right then was to just be with him and listen to his heart flail around the subject. He had never said it directly to her, but she knew it must have crossed his mind a million times or more to wonder what the problem was with him that his soul-less, vampiric father could not....or even worse, chose not to... love him. Time and time again she would wonder how much of his burden and confusion surrounding his dhampir aura could be lessened if his father could just see him as worthy of his attention, if not his love. It was a most unfortunate confluence of events - the onset of his dhampir aura combined with the lack of acknowledgement from his father. Both were wreaking havoc on Simon's heart and mind, and it tore AngelFyre up to see him hurting so, helpless to make any of it better.

Feeling that they would offer little to no comfort, she offered, "Try not to fret over it more than you already have, love. There are still two more opportunities ahead of you to meet up with him. If he does not show for either of those, or contact you to make other future arrangements that suit his schedule better, then you can let loose the dam of self-doubt and hurt and confusion, and, I hope, anger, and begin to move on from him. But for now, you really do not know why he did not show up and as much as I hate to say it, maybe he just honestly could not. Maybe he truly wanted to meet up with you as much as you did him but "life"", and AngelFyre made the air quotes sign and rolled her eyes to punctuate the irony at the use of such a word "got in his way. It could happen, even to a vampire, I suppose."

Simon responded with a subdued nod of his head and they walked the rest of the distance to his townhome mostly in silence, hand in hand as usual. AngelFyre was regretting having asked to see the restaurant because it had completely sucked the euphoric joy from their epic evening, but he had asked what she wanted to do, and that was it.

When they found themselves at his front door and he had let them inside, it was late and very quiet. Lights were burning so they would not be coming home to the dark. That little touch of thoughtfulness brought an immediate smile to her face. AngelFyre did not know if Aunt Maggie was asleep already, but she knew she was not downstairs waiting for them. There was a comforting hush surrounding them. Everything was light, warmth, and intimacy.

They both stumbled through moments of awkward chit chat, feeling like the late hour dictated that a parting of the ways was in order, but just like the first night Simon had arrived to visit her on Spring break, AngelFyre was rapidly ticking through everything in her exhaustive arsenal to avoid having to leave his side. A crushing weight was pressing on her chest and she was biting her tongue to suppress the sobs threatening to make themselves heard.

Finally having run out of excuses to stay, AngelFyre just wrapped herself in his arms and pressed into him. "I love you, Simon. More than you will ever know," she whispered in the silence. She pulled back and leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips and then turned to run up the stairs, both of her eyes squeezed tightly shut to hold back her tears. His hand immediately covered her own hand as it landed on the bannister, drawing her attention back to him in an instant.

He looked sad, too, and maybe a bit distraught, but her fellow was always one to shine his warmth and encouragement when he could, so she saw him attempt a good rendition of his devastating smile as he said, "Good night, my love." She wanted to smile back at him. She wanted to be able to get the words 'Good night' out to him, but neither was possible for her in that moment. It made her angry with herself, but it was the reality of the moment. Not a 'Good night' for Simon could she utter. All she could leave him with was a few quick bobs of her head and then she disappeared up the stairs and into her room.

As soon as she quietly clicked her bedroom door closed, she flung herself onto the soft bed and buried her head in the pillows, crying hard for who knows how long. When her chest had finally begun to hurt from the exertion, and her tear ducts had temporarily emptied themselves dry, she sat up and tried to breathe again. Her heart hurt. Her chest hurt. Her throat hurt. Her eyes hurt. Thoughts of a long night to be spent wide awake, knowing he was so near and so absolutely far away made everything hurt.

As she sat there, she saw her pajamas laid out at the foot of the bed. Just beyond them, her eyes focused on her packed bags, lined up under the window like dutiful soldiers, ready to be transported far away, along with her, tomorrow afternoon. The whole crying cycle was making its signature moves to start all over again at the mere sight of her future reality, but she quickly hopped off the bed and decided action was what was needed to stave off the sadness. She dried her eyes and slipped out of her dress and heels, and got into her pajamas.

As she slipped her black t-shirt over head, she found some comfort in that gesture. Way back in January, the night before Simon's first broom race, the Hufflepuff prefects hosted a fantastic slumber party. She and Simon both attended, and she took note, even then, that her future boyfriend was a Hufflepuff through and through. He came to the party in a black tee and yellow and black plaid bottoms. He looked incredible, but that was just a given really. When her birthday was coming around last April, AngelFyre remembered his ensemble and asked her Grandma Ruth for something similar. Grandma Ruth delivered in spades. Multiple black tees and tanks and even some long sleeved fleece tops for those chilly castle nights now comprised her nighttime wardrobe. She also received an array of black and yellow shorts as well as fleece bottoms.

Such a silly thing, really. Just more of her schoolgirl crush hijinks probably, but Simon was much more than a crush. She knew it and he knew it, too. Better yet, he felt the same about her and for the first time in an hour or so, that thought brought a smile to AngelFyre's face. Dressing like that made her happy and made her feel closer to him. Feeling a bit better, she grabbed her toiletry bag and headed off to wash her face, brush her teeth, and brush her hair before settling in for the evening. She noticed on her way that there was no light coming from beneath Aunt Maggie's door so she tried to be extra quiet so as not to wake her.

A few minutes later as she caught a glimpse of herself with toothpaste bubbles lining her lips, it struck her that so many of the things she did were Simon centric in some fashion. A lot he knew of, but not everything. She leaned over to rinse her mouth and gargled as quietly as one can gargle, and then raised up to see her reflection one more time.

And then she had a lightbulb moment. She stared at her reflection for the longest time, debating with herself. It was, surprisingly, not an easy decision. As she dimmed the light and left the powder room, heading back to her room, she knew what she had to do.

***********
With her heart pounding like a jackhammer within her chest, AngelFyre raised her hand to knock on Simon's door. Had she not been so nervous, she would have copied the Sheldon Cooper methodology of knocking for a cute bit of levity, but she was honestly scared. This could be a really fantastic gesture which could send her soaring or one which could have her crash and burn. Standing there, hand poised to knock, she truly did not know which way it would go.

Because she was so scared and uncertain, she decided it would probably be wise to turn around and head back upstairs to her room, and she started to do just that but the ice shard that pierced her heart in that moment prevented movement in that direction. Almost as if her fist had a mind of its own, she heard and felt her knuckles rapping against his door.

Well, no turning back now.

It did not take him long to answer, and to her great relief, he did not look the least upset, but he definitely looked surprised.

She stood there in silence. Her jaw and lips were trying to form words... they were going through the motions... but nothing could be heard. Panic began to overtake her. What was she thinking? What if this one stupid moment colored the way he saw her forever? She felt her breaths begin to quicken and a hot flush of embarrassment bathe her neck and face as she started to take a couple of unsteady steps backwards. "I -... I -...," and then total desperation overwhelmed her.

She halted her retreat and bit her lip before looking Simon straight on, spilling everything out to him. "You can send me away. You probably should send me away," and she stepped forward, reclaiming the ground she had relinquished a few moments before, her eyes pleading with his, "but, God, Simon, I hope you will not. I know all of the problems this can present for us, but right now I just am not ready to be away from you. I know neither of us is going to sleep tonight, so could we please just spend it together? We can have a no kissing rule, but spending the night in your arms as opposed to alone upstairs sounds much more comforting. And if that is too problematic, I can sit myself happily on the floor 10 feet away from you at all times, but at least I will be with you." Then she looked down, taking in a very deep breath.

"Who knows, maybe I will get so comfortable...or bored... I actually will fall asleep and then you can just carry me back upstairs and problem solved," she gently teased, knowing there was no chance any time spent with him could ever bore her, "but please let me stay now, at least for a little while."

The moment he reached out to her, she relaxed. His eyes told her everything she needed to know long before his words did. She never saw hesitation in his expression exactly, but something she would best describe as calculated relief. She knew that look and knew that feeling all too well as she had just seen it in her own eyes and on her own face in the mirror upstairs not 5 minutes earlier. Part of her felt silly for even thinking he would turn her away as she was generally pretty plugged into his feelings on most things, but a part of her also felt it was wise to stop and question things once in while. Especially something as monumental as this. Taking her love for granted, and imposing her wishes upon him, or seeming to, would never be a position she would wish to thrust upon him. Thankfully, as usual, the two were on the same page.

As he led her to his bedrooom, she was more calm than she could ever have imagined. The hard part... the scary part... the threat of rejection was behind her. It was crazy to think that it was just 4 ^1/2 days ago she had first laid eyes on this room, never thinking she would be spending a night here with him.

Thank God Daddy is not a Legilimens. But that was a thought for another day. AngelFyre had never lied to her folks, but she could see where this would be a time she would. Simon was that important to her. She was not proud of that, but it was simply reality now. Some things were just for the two of them and this would be one of them.

As she climbed in next to him and felt his arms envelop her, they both lay there in silence for a few minutes, adjusting to a new reality. This is nothing they had not done before, but the setting would be the eyebrow raiser. The thought traipsed across her mind that had they attended summer camp, they could have been in the same tent together. This was not that much different she reasoned. In any case, here she was and here she would stay.

She closed her eyes and squeezed him when she felt him kiss the top of her head. She smiled because his bedding smelled just like him. It was her favorite scent in the world, even beating out lilacs and puppy's breath and the freshness of the earth after a rainfall. With her eyes still closed and just feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest... which was rising and falling just a tad more quickly than it normally does when they lay side by side in the Common Room... she replayed his words over and over in her mind. "I would never send you away. I could never. And I want you to stay." Those three sentences could... and would... sustain her long after she left him tomorrow afternoon.

After he had kissed the top of her head, she felt him reaching for what turned out to be his phone. He told her he had been looking at their photos during her visit, and then as they began looking them over, reliving the moments together, msg after msg began to light up his phone. When he told her what he was reading, and who was sending it all to him, she was ecstatic.

"Are you serious? Simon...Love.... you are famous!" and they both see-sawed between disbelief and fits of excited laughter as they saw the videos, read the messages, and pointed to the headlines. Coming back down from that thrill and settling back into his arms, she told him truthfully, "I am so proud of you. You really ARE a London Town Legend. You can let it go to your head for just this one night but then I am afraid I will need my humble Hufflepuff back," she teased him.

That diversion changed the energy in the best of ways. Everything was just Simon and AngelFyre being Simon and AngelFyre at their happiest. A lot of talking, almost as much laughing, and even some kissing, but nothing anywhere near scandalous. He asked her to promise him that they would do this once in a while in the Common Room, and with zero thought or hesitation, she agreed. "Being with you, love, is never something you need me to promise to do. You should just know it is a given fact of my life, and now of yours, that being with you, wherever and whenever the opportunity arises, will be my heart's fondest wish always."

Her head was once again resting on his shoulder, and while she could not see him, she just knew he was smiling. They talked on, and she would not know when it happened exactly, but she would discover the next morning that they both had fallen asleep holding each other.

Who knew that love could be a remedy for insomnia? Well they both did, now.

Simon's room had no windows so when her eyes opened, it was still dark, but she smiled when she remembered where she was. She wanted to look over him to see if there was a digital clock, but she did not want to wake him if he was asleep, and she thought he might be. He slept even fewer hours than she did, so any extra he might be able to get would only be good for him.

She wiggled her toes and thought about her dreams. For once, her dreams could not even come close to her reality. She softly kissed his shoulder, without moving her head, and smiled deeply when she heard him say, "I'm awake, love. The oddest," and he stopped for a few seconds as if thinking about how to say what he wanted to say, and then he just chuckled when he continued with, "noise caught my attention. Turns out it was you," and he moved the arm she had been sleeping on and turned on his side to face her, resting his head in that hand which had held her all night, a smile crossing his face.

She loved hearing the deep, sleepy, rough edges to his normally smoothe voice. She normally would have been embarrassed at the noise he spoke of, but thankfully the boy was well aware his girl was no songbird, and she had long gotten over any embarrassment on that subject with him. "Yeah, sorry about that, love. If you recall when you visited me in the hospital wing after I was knocked out in my first duel last year, I hummed before I awoke then, too." She smiled and raised herself up, resting her head in her hand, too, taking in his early morning handsomeness. "I have hummed myself awake since infancy, I am told. It is not likely to change, I am afraid, so now you know what you would be consigning yourself to for a lifetime. It is not pretty, I know, and I understand if it is a deal breaker for you, but please, let me down gently sooner rather than later," and she smirked as she leaned over to give and receive what could be their last kiss ever.

Then more seriously. "Thank you for letting me stay, Simon. It will be the highlight of a trip full of highlights. You are good for me. I slept like a baby. But now I need to go back upstairs before Aunt Maggie learns of this. I know she may not mind, but I know my parents put some pressure on her so I do not want to put her in an uncomfortable position with them. That would be more than regrettable."

As she slipped from beneath the cover and stood, she immediately missed being next to him, but she also felt just incredibly happy, so she told him so. She also told him he looked better than anyone should who just woke up. "OK. Fess up, handsome. Tell me the truth. You have an enchantment on that gorgeous mop of yours, right?"

Before she took her final leave of him, he stopped her with an obvious, but nonetheless appropriate Shakespeare quote from the famous balcony scene where the two lovers must part. "Aww. You beat me to it. That was Juliet's line to her Romeo," and then she felt a soft smile begin to turn up her lips just the slightest bit as she reached up to move her long fingers through his hair. Not to tease him or to mess with it as she might do in one of her playful moods, but more as a way to connect with him again and solidify all that they had shared in the last few hours. It was a milestone moment in their relationship and she was reluctant to to let him go. With his soft locks moving between her fingers and her gaze now locked onto his, she had just enough time to contemplate that perhaps it was appropriate Simon had quoted the line to her as really, while the parallel to the scene definitely existed, their roles had been somewhat reversed here.

She gasped, almost inaudibly, as another thought crossed her mind and her hand moved to her side. Still floating on clouds of euphoria while staring dreamily into his golden, brown-sugared gaze, she asked him for yet one more thing. Her boldness, sometimes, shocked even her, but she had had this particular request brewing in the background of her mind for a long while. Now was actually the perfect time to ask him. No other time could be more perfect actually. As his hand gently moved through the length of her hair, her fingers now played at the base of his black tee.

In barely a whisper she began, "Simon, my love, I have one more request before I go, and when I say 'before I go,' I do not mean from your room. I mean before I head back home later this afternoon," and she could have choked on the bitterness such words left in her mouth in that moment. "We are about to face the longest stretch of time apart from each other that we have ever had to endure. I thought 17 days was going to be the death of me. I cannot even imagine what fives weeks and five days is going to be like," and she looked down and blinked hard, forcing her tears to recede. She had thought quite often what it was going to be like and she did not imagine it was going to be a picnic by any means. It was going to be Hell. There was no other word for it.

Taking a deep breath and trying to smile, she looked back up, still feeling him straightening out her bed head locks while looking intently upon her. Unlike her fellow, she was not blessed with the gift of perfect hair at all times under all circumstances, but her preface to her big ask had his attention. "I know I have told you that your scent has the power to comfort me. What I would like is to take your black tee... this black tee," and she unknowingly tugged on it gently a couple of times "home with me so that when I am desperate for you, which will be always, but most especially in the sleepless dark of night, I will have this. I will just be able to close my eyes and make believe that you are there, remembering absolutely everything about this night."

A smile began to play at the corner of his lips. "And it has to be this tee, Simon. This one. And when we get back to Hogwarts, you might as well resign yourself to this being a revolving request," and she laughed with a hint of a playful gleam now sparking in her glacier blue colored eyes "but I promise to always return them to you nicely Scourgified."

One long, but sweetly tender kiss later, AngelFyre finally had to separate from a piece of herself and leave him as she hurried upstairs, hoping not to run into Aunt Maggie. Thankfully, she was not up and about, at least in the main, as the door to her bedroom was still closed. Whew!

*******

An hour later she was showered and dressed and back downstairs laughing with Aunt Maggie as she told AngelFyre stories about Simon as a little boy playing pirate at the park... with a girl, of course. "Gosh, why does that not surprise me in the least?" she smirked. "I really cannot complain about his history, you know, as I am the happy recipient of his vast experience," and she blushed while chuckling. "The boy does have an undeniable magnetism, which he loves to play up. Do you know he once told me that he started young... very young. His obsession with girls started, as he told it, the day he was born. Apparently he was able to coax a nurse in the maternity ward to scoot his crib closer to the crib of the hot babe next to him," and they both burst into a bout of knowing laughter. If anyone could have accomplished such a feat, it would definitely have been Simon.

Just at that moment, her girl-crazy dhampir joined them, and both AngelFyre and Aunt Maggie tried hard to wipe the smirks off their faces as he bounded over to them, looking even more handsome to his girlfriend than she thought possible. "Darn skippy, I am ready for the Duck & Waffle. Lead the way, handsome!"

************

The trip there was quite enjoyable. Beautiful, sunny weather which meant that her Top Gun got to sport his signature shades. Dang the boy was a hottie! Pleasant conversation in which AngelFyre eagerly got to hear a bit about Aunt Maggie's boyfriend, a relatively new happenstance that most decidedly made her own boyfriend ecstatic on behalf of his beloved aunt. And the pièce de résistance was the elevator ride up to the 40th floor. A little stainless steel plaque next to the glass lift said that the ride to the 4oth floor would take 40 seconds. Hmmmm. AngelFyre was certain it would be a bit of a thrill, but less so for her and Simon and moreso for Aunt Maggie. For one thing, Simon had been here once already so he knew what to expect. But more than that, he was a broom racer and she had flown with him a few times around the grounds. She had never clocked him, but she was pretty certain he could climb 400 feet much more quickly than 40 seconds. Still, the view was going to be extremely exciting.

As they waited for one of the two glass lifts, AngelFyre looked around the lobby. It was small, and that made sense. It was a private entrance to the Duck & Waffle, so it was nothing like what you might expect to see in a ground floor lobby of a 40 story business building. She noted an area off to the back where there was a bank of 2-3 landline phones on the wall. You did not see that very often in the age of cell phones, but she reasoned they were possibly direct lines to the restaurant. She saw an attendant standing behind a sleek, U-shaped barrier desk that was fronted with wrap around, silver metallic tiles that looked to have been etched with acid. His job she already had figured. He was there to hail black cabs... or as Grandma Ruth like to call them, hackneys... for the patrons. Not too far off from the bank of phones was the sign indicating Restrooms.

When they got into the elevator, it was pretty much as expected. Fast, but not stomach dropping fast to broom flyers such as themselves. The view was spectacular though. Not a full 360 like she had gotten from the London Eye a few days earlier, but it was still beautiful. Plus, she was with Simon. Quite honestly, he was the best view, in her opinion, in that lift or anywhere. Period.

The restaurant had the same modern decor as the lobby. Interesting, but honestly, not altogether to her taste. She did bet, however, it looked better at night. Any room, in her opinion, almost always looked better in ambient lighting. As they were being shown to their booth near one of the picture glass, floor to ceiling windows, Simon and AngelFyre let Aunt Maggie go before them. AngelFyre turned to him and only mouthed 'Where did you sit?'. He silently motioned his head to a booth almost directly behind them in the opposite direction and whispered in her ear, "The one with the woman in the purple hat." AngelFyre looked back over her shoulder to get a glimpse of it and took a deep breath. It was so far away. It would take some thinking as to how to get over there. She did not know for certain, but she felt like some sort of a vision might come to her if she could just get over there to it.

They were soon seated and looking over the menu. She smiled delightedly as there were a number of vegetarian items for her, but the thing that sounded the very best was the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Looking over the rest of it, she was curious what Simon would choose. Duck confit just did not seem to be a viable option, but her fellow had surprised her before. "This is absolutely my treat, so I want you both to get anything that tickles your fancy. It is my small way of thanking you both for hosting me for the week and showing me the most lovely time. I have a bounty of babysitting money burning a hole in my pocket," and she stopped and grinned at both of them before finishing with, "book," as her eyes sparkled with a deep sincerity. "Sky is the limit, I promise, which is perfect considering the altitude we currently find ourselves dining at in the moment."

When their orders had been taken, AngelFyre broached a subject that had come to her mind at the concert the night before, but Simon had managed to distract her with one of his loving gazes and she had lost her train of thought entirely. If the boy ever really knew of his power over her, he could be dangerous. "I don't think Simon has had the chance to mention this to you, Aunt Maggie, but we met Mr. Warren Edwards last night at the theatre. I really liked him and thought he was incredibly interesting in the few minutes I got to speak with him. His moustache is a work of art, and I do not usually like facial hair on a man. Anyway, I bring him up because I am wondering if he is married or possibly available?" and at that question, Simon, who had been taking a sip of his water, suddenly gave his best impersonation of a Roman fountain and sputtered it absolutely everywhere. Haphazardly hurrying to dry himself up and the surrounding area with his napkin, and sadly doing a half-baked job of it, he looked to her with more than a bit of surprise and concern on his face as he croaked, "Come again?" This was his polite, stock phrase for when he wanted to articulate the thought that was really running through his brain, which was 'What the absolute HELL?'

AngelFyre and Aunt Maggie both immediately looked to make certain he was okay and after they both had determined, rather quickly, that he was going to live, Aunt Maggie began the earnest task of wiping up the water Simon was only just going through the motions of dabbing at while AngelFyre dealt with her confused boy. She blinked at him, truly ignorant to what was bothering him in that moment and then all of a sudden it hit her and she just started laughing. She did not laugh embarrassingly loud for their surroundings, but she did have to bring her napkin up to her mouth to help her shorten the duration. When she had composed herself, Aunt Maggie had the table cleaned up and Simon was still looking at her, but when she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a chaste peck on his cheek, leaving the faintest lip print there, he started to laugh, too. "You big goofball! Honestly, Simon. I was asking for Grandma Ruth, not for me. I do like older men, it is true" and she reached for his hand and squeezed it three times, "but not THAT much older."

Aunt Maggie laughed and rolled her eyes at the two lovebirds and excused herself to go to the Ladies' Room. When she was out of sight, AngelFyre quickly got up and told Simon she would be back in a moment, and before he could respond, she was off to the booth with Purple Hat Lady. She slowed down as she approached and flashed her most winning, sincere smile. And it was both of those in the moment, it truly was. As she came upon the woman and her female companion, she apologized for the interruption and told them that her boyfriend had wanted a booth on that side of the restaurant when he made their reservation, but was told that seating would be based on table availability and not table geography. She added that he had wanted her to see the London Eye from there, but that section had been full when they arrived and they, much to his chagrin, had been seated on the other side of the restaurant. AngelFyre then turned a ^3/4 turn and pointed Simon out to them, waving to him as she did. To her delight, the older women both smiled and clucked about young love and also waved at Simon who flashed his devastating smile and waved back at them.

While all of that was going on, AngelFyre was surreptitiously touching the back of the leather cushioned booth behind Purple Hat Lady as well the edge of their table at different times. She even moved to other side, nearer to Purple Hat Lady's companion and repeated the same, pretending to look at the view from that angle as well. Having gotten no hit or vision of anything for her efforts, she smiled graciously at both women and thanked them both very much for indulging her intrusion.

It was not a total loss. The view of the London Eye was rather spectacular.

**********

The meal was delicious and AngelFyre was pleased that Aunt Maggie seemed to have enjoyed herself. If she could have, she would have stopped time because each second that passed was a second closer to having to leave Simon. It bugged her that nothing had come to her from being here, but she thought it was possibly due to the fact that Adrian Hawthorne had stood Simon up, so there was nothing to "sense" of him there. She would at least have a mental picture of the place and that would help comfort her when she knew he was sitting there, probably alone, waiting for the absentee father to show up. grrrrrrrrr

As they all three stepped into the glass elevator to take their trip down, something about the downward movement bothered her sense of balance that the upward movement had not. Feeling a little unsteady by the time they reached the lobby, AngelFyre excused herself and made her way to the Ladies' Room. On the way more dizziness hit her and she leaned against the phone bank to steady herself. As soon as her hand touched it, a fast tracked, deja vu experience similar to what she had experienced in the Library months ago overtook her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and while she could not focus on all of the images as they were a such a blur, she was clearly picking up Adrian Hawthorne. She felt like she wanted to crawl out of her own skin in those moments.

She rested her forehead on one of the phone handles and tried to breathe, her body visibly shaking now. It was uncomfortable, just as it had been in the Library, but unlike the Library, she was not awash in fear and dread for Simon. She was picking up a more subtle kind of threat. It was like Simon was being stalked, and when that thought hit, she had clear visions of Adrian watching Simon.

In the first, Adrian was standing across the street from Simon, about 15-20 paces behind him as he walked. Simon was wiping his eyes, repeatedly. Was he crying? AngelFyre audibly gasped as if in pain at the sight of it, but it was her pain, not Adrian's, she was feeling. Just as rapidly and clearly came a vision of Simon being watched as he stood before two shops: The Astrology Shop and next to it, Moonbeam Psychics. He entered Moonbeam's and Adrian stood outside, watching the boy through the window. The final vision had them both seated at a booth, at nighttime, most definitely inside the Duck & Waffle. Simon should have been happy, but he looked confused and kind of ticked off. Adrian simply looked aloof...emotionless. And then a flash of bright white exploded in her mind and it was all gone.

AngelFyre felt a little weak kneed, but she held fast to the phone bank, not moving. Her brain was trying to process what she had just experienced and what it all meant. As her eyes were still closed, the dizziness was beginning to subside, but she felt like she was slipping into a foreboding, dark cloud nonetheless. She could hear Simon calling out to her, but he sounded so far away.

"Simon, I am here."

She was not even aware that he got to her just before she hit the floor.