If This Is All There Is

[simon]

THESE LAZY DAYS ARE WAY TOO LONG

[/color]
like razorblades under your tongue
and the city lights will burn you down
OR BUILD YOU UP HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND[/color]
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His vision was hazy and shapes flickered and morphed in front of him as his heavy feet staggered down the almost deserted street. It wasn’t often that Simon found himself in this part of the city anymore. In fact, ever since he had started dating Roxy, his only visits had been to pick her up or meet up with her. Ember was a friend that they both had in common, but from very different walks of life. Whilst Roxy knew her from the club and the gym, Simon had known her long, long before in both the normal sense and the biblical sense. When he was in with a bad crowd, so was Ember. He had watched the rebellious, feisty blonde turn her life around and it had helped to spur him on when he decided to get clean. Ember had been there for him when the withdrawals had been getting bad and when temptation had been so hard to resist. She had been going through her own tough patch at the time, but it never stopped her being a good friend to him.

Simon stared up at the large apartment blocks around him, drunkenly trying to recall which one was the home of the girl he was currently seeking out. Roxy would probably be at home, waiting for him, but his mind was far from that right now. He needed a friend, a friend who knew every little thing about him and vice versa. Romeo had Ellie to consider and Simon didn’t want to drag his best friend into something that could taint their relationship; Romeo hated cheaters with a burning intensity. However, Ember, she was more understanding. She knew that Simon was capable of much more than one slip of a one night stand and Simon knew that Ember had been with a few unknown boyfriends herself. Plus, she knew Roxy, which meant that she might even be able to help him keep his troubles a secret from the suspicious brunette.

Opting for the apartment building on the far right, Simon stumbled across the street, slurring an apology to a cab driver who had to brake hard so as not to hit him. There was no doorman at this hour, which Simon was thankful for as he slipped into the elevator and tried to focus his vision so that he could push the correct button. Ember’s apartment was one of the two on the penthouse floor and Simon pressed a sticky finger on the button and then stepped backwards from the panel on shaky legs, trying to sober himself up, unsuccessfully, as the elevator began the slow climb up through the building.

It never even crossed his mind that the girl he was seeking out may be asleep and as he tried to fix his eyes on his watch, he couldn’t decipher the hands or the numbers on the face, which meant that it was either 4:05am or 1:20am. Unless the hand that he believed was moving wasn’t the second hand, in which case, he was clueless about the time. However, his gut knew that even if Ember was asleep or even entertaining another male guest (as some of her party night often led to) she would still stop everything to help Simon. It was one of the things that he loved about his good fiery friend; she remembered how hard it was back when they were both on the lower east side and regardless of the money she had gained in the recent years, it still didn’t change her attitude towards old buddies, even the ones who had dragged her down with them.

The elevator pinged, the doors slowly sliding open. Simon staggered out of them and turned to the big, white door on the right, trying to calm himself down before knocking. He knew that if he was drunk, Ember may not be able to help him as well and so he foolishly began to pace outside of the door, hoping that deep breathing and slapping himself in the face may help. Suddenly though, the door sprung open and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

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Simon is talking to Ember Thistle with a little inspiration from 3oh!3 when they sing about Streets of Gold. There are 821 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding exhaustedly.

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[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember fumbled with the golden locket around her neck, her fingers tapping the fancy blue pen against the folder that her electric blue eyes were roving over, her brain processing every little detail of the fancy business jargon. Her blonde hair was scraped back from her face, no make up to hide the few blemishes on her pale skin and instead of the tight fitting day clothes that she loved, Ember was curled up in her pyjamas, bare toes curled under the cushions on the sofa. This was a rare sight for anyone other than her older brother, who was snoring in the bedroom across the way. Usually Ember was made up, decorated in faux leather and knee high boots and walked around with a certain nonchalant air about her person. However, when she was tucked away in her apartment, with no one to attempt to pry into her past or her future, she was almost completely different. With Andrew, she was more laidback, smiled more and joked around with her brother like every set of siblings should do. The apartment was also the only place in which she displayed the locket hanging from her neck. Some days, it was hidden beneath her shirt, concealed from any curious eyes that may fall upon it, but as soon as she was through the white penthouse door, Ember wore it proudly, as a memory that shouldn’t be.

Tonight, was one of Ember’s few nights in. Her heart hadn’t exactly been reliable lately and despite her usual reckless lifestyle, Ember knew when it was time to slow down and take a break; her break this evening consisted of finishing university assignments and looking over some business contracts in preparation for a meeting that she was required to attend the following afternoon. As well as attending college to achieve a business degree, Ember was also one of two heirs of the Grant family gun company. The second heir was, of course, Andrew and together they were both learning the tricks of the trade and running their own business deals with rich clients in order to boost their confidence and communication skills. However, communication was something Ember was already a pro in. The girl had talked herself out of more situations than she cared to remember and she had a natural talent to persuade people to thinking her way when she needed it. There had been more than one occasion where she had won over a difficult client with a flirtatious smirk and a bat of her thick eyelashes. She never intended for anything to happen in reality, but it got signatures on contracts and boosted the company’s profits without needing anyone to break into a sweat.

Her eyes travelled to the large clock on the wall and she sighed. 4:05am. Her brain told her to turn in for the night and get some sleep before the meeting, but Ember had fallen so behind in work thanks to spending the last two days sick and being nursed by her overprotective brother that she still had so much to do. She moved her feet to the soft rug and pushed herself up, the dark, caring eyes of Xander looking up at her from the large dog pillow that was positioned just outside of the ajar door that led to Ember’s bedroom. She smiled down at the animal before padding silently into the kitchen, quietly turning on and preparing the espresso machine, swapping the china cups that came with the machine for her own large ‘latte’ mug. When it came to her heart, caffeine wasn’t the best thing to throw into the mix, but milked down plenty, she was usually able to manage a few cups a day without any repercussions. Besides, tonight she had so much to do and very little energy left to do it with.

Once the drink was made, Ember carefully picked the steaming mug up in her hands, her slender legs moving her towards the large windows of the apartment where she cast her eyes on the city below. The tall, statuette blonde hadn’t always lived like this. There was a time when the roughest parts of the city were her home and her average night involved drugs and alcohol plenty. She still kept that old part of her intact, using it to remember her loyalties and to keep her grounded when Andrew reminded her of the money in her bank account. She didn’t like to look at it and rarely touched too much of it, feeling guilty for the folk she knew who didn’t even have a quarter of that amount. There was the longing to give them some of the cash, but Ember knew them and they’d blow it all on drugs and end up overdosed and dead in a dumpster on the lower east side.

She nursed the drink in her hands, her fingers absentmindedly circling the rim, the steam occasionally nipping at the sensitive skin. The deep growl from Xander made her turn around, her memories vanishing as she watched her loyal pet move to his paws, eyes fixed on the door, teeth bared. Ember didn’t feel scared though. She could handle herself pretty damn well and after placing the hot mug on the coffee table, she silently moved forward, her fingers closing around the cool butt of the registered 9mm pistol that she rarely went anywhere without. Skilfully, she knocked the safety off, just in case, and moved to the door, noiselessly taking off the chain and unbolting the deadlock. Mentally, she counted to three and then pulled the door wide open, pointing her gun directly at the head of the person standing there.

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• • •

TAGGED! Simon says
WORDS! 987
OUTFIT! Raw and Exposed
LYRICS! The Morning Afterlife - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[simon]

THESE LAZY DAYS ARE WAY TOO LONG

[/color]
like razorblades under your tongue
and the city lights will burn you down
OR BUILD YOU UP HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND[/color]
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Simon's past relationships with Ember meant that it probably wasn't the best idea to go visiting her in the middle of the night, especially now that he was dating Roxy. However, Ember had been the only person who had been there for him through thick and thin. It was slightly embarrassing to admit that a girl six years his younger was the one who had held his hand when he was getting clean. Or that it had been her who had convinced him to sort his life out to begin with, even though she was mourning at the time. Simon resented the fact that during her darkest hour of heartbreak and grief he was in no fit state to return the help that she had given him ever since they were still practically kids, roaming the street well after the midnight hour, fleeing up dark alleyways and fire escapes whenever the cops showed up, sniffing around for the dealers and the thieves.

It seemed surreal to him every time that he made the journey up to her polished and pristine apartment that this was how she lived now and that it was a totally honest life that had earned her this castle above the smog of the city; high enough up to forget about the noise of the traffic or the petty fights from street vendors. He didn't envy her though. He still saw her down at the club most nights and he could still see the pain and anguish behind the glazed eyes and nonchalant mask that she wore. Simon was one of the few people who had been around even when she was dating Robert and he had seen how it had nearly killed her – literally – when he died. He was lucky enough to know the real girl when she was away from the alcohol, smiling and talking like every other woman in the city. He remembered the rough and tumble girl who he'd been so intoxicated by once upon a time when their veins were flushed with nameless drugs and copious amounts of vodka. It wasn't a time he enjoyed remembering all too well, but he enjoyed that out of that dark pit came a bond, a friendship that he could turn to in desperate times like this one.

Quite a bit of time had passed since his last unexpected visit to the penthouse apartment and Simon was slightly aware of what the consequences could be if Andrew opened the door. He respected Ember's slightly older brother for everything that he did and how he looked after his younger sister in ways that Ember didn't appreciate, but Simon had seen and heard the way Andrew looked down on his sibling's old life and everyone in it. It was understandable. The siblings, despite their recent closeness, were both extremely different and had grown up on opposite ends of the city in totally different walks of life up until the moment they were united in their late teens. Simon was always awkward when he found himself left alone with the male Grant, who was much less intimidating than his ferocious, but gorgeous, younger sister.

The alcohol in his system was still affecting his balance and his vision. Everything was either blurred or doubled in his icy blue eyes, but somehow Simon remembered the city like the back of his hand, which he was incredibly proud of right now. He credited it to growing up on them; often walking until the sunrise around the deserted streets, convinced he was being followed or needed somewhere to hide. He'd seen a lot in his younger years and there wasn't a lot that could shock him any more. In fact, Imogen's pregnancy announcement had been the first thing in a long time that had got his head reeling and placed more than enough glasses of whiskey in his hand. However, the gun he found in his face, was not something entirely new to Simon, nor was the pyjama clad blonde standing behind it. His lips formed a slight 'o' before he started to laugh. “Jeez Ember, you freaking paranoid or what, girl?”

[/color] There was truthfully nothing funny about a skilled gun-slinger pointing the barrel of a gun directly between his eyes, but Simon was too drunk, too worked up and too out of character to suddenly care. “Expecting someone else were you, Em?”[/color]
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Simon is talking to Ember Thistle with a little inspiration from 3oh!3 when they sing about Streets of Gold. There are 825 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding exhaustedly.

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[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember knew that she was lucky. She'd had someone to save her before she passed the point of no return. Robert had pulled her back from the brink and helped her sort her life out before it was too late. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be where she was today. For years, she wanted to help one of her old friends out in the same way that he had done, but they'd all shunned her and accused her of all kinds, just because it became public knowledge that her father was wealthy and that she was entitled to half of his estate upon his death. For some reason, lower east side rebels and junkies didn't like that she'd have a few million to her name one day when they were still pumping their bodies with illegal substances and poison. However, despite the age difference, Simon had listened to Ember. By helping him, she'd been able to move on from Robert's untimely death and focus on something else other than the plans she had once had with her deceased lover.

She took none of her 'new' life for granted. She had grown up and come from the dangerous streets of the city and had outrun the cops more times than she cared to remember. The money she had in her account helped to hide the true pain of Robert's death and the blame that she put on herself for it. However, no one was lying when they said money couldn't buy happiness. Ember's wardrobe may have held the nicest fashion and her motorbike may have been finetuned and top of the range, but the blonde was far from being happy in herself. In many ways, she had regressed into a more controlled sense of being that she was back in her early teens; the business, the apartment and the clothes were all just forms of masks to keep that façade going and to hide the real Ember from the world who saw her today.

There were only a few people who really saw the real girl, catching glimpses of the past that she never spoke about when the right situation made it possible. Simon was one of those people and he was someone who Ember turned to when Andrew just wasn't able to help or understand. She loved her brother more than she could express, but he had been raised on money and the lifestyle that she didn't believe she'd ever be fully comfortable in. He listened to the stories she told, but he couldn't understand what it was actually like to fall in with the people Ember knew from her youth or how she could fall so far from her potential, only to be rescued by a hero.
However, Simon had fallen further than she ever did. When she had reached out to help him he was literally at the stage of 'say the word and I'll follow you'. He really didn't have anything left to live for and Ember helped him to overcome all of that.

There was chemistry between the old rebels, but Ember acknowledged that it was purely lust that attracted them to each other. When they hung out normally, as friends, it was one of the most relaxed atmospheres she was used to and there was no urge or passion whatsoever between them. It was only when the atmosphere was tainted with alcohol, loud music and an uncontrollable need to get laid that they fell into that dangerous bed buddy territory. However, once Simon told her about Roxy – a girl Ember often partied and worked out with – their bedroom antics came to a halt. It was for the best and Ember wanted to see Simon happy, because if he was happy then it was something else she could focus on rather than her own reality and her own problems.

Her stance was firm, she didn't falter and it was moments like this that reflected her rough and character building childhood. She relaxed her tense muscles though when she saw who the late night prowler had been. “Simon? What the hell, you ass?!”

[/color] Ember knocked the safety back onto her gun and lowered her arm, rolling her blue eyes before taking in the drunken state of her friend. “You were prowling in the hallway after 4am. Who does that unless they're up to something dodgy?”[/color] She questioned, raising her eyebrow and scratching behind Xander's ears to reassure her dog.
Simon was definitely in a rough state and she sighed softly.
Xander, having seen who their guest was and recognising the other human addressing his owner as friend, not foe, turned around and padded quietly back into the apartment, laying down on his bed and letting out a disappointed doggy sigh. It wasn't much fun for him to act protective when there was no need for it.
“What are you doing here? Did you fight with Roxy or something?”[/color] She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into the apartment, locking the door behind him before she turned to face him, arms folded and waiting for an answer. She wasn't irritated by his arrival, just concerned. It was late or early and whilst she had a solid reason to be awake and working at this hour, she had yet to hear Simon's. Part of her worried that he had slipped and that there was more to state of his than just the strong, stale smell of alcohol on his breath. She took a breath and stepped closer to the older man, worry in her cobalt eyes. “Simon? What have you had tonight.”[/color] She expected him to tell the truth, purely because as a girl who had been down the same road as him once before, she knew all the signs of the various substances without needing a second glance and she could call him up on any lie that he may even think of spinning.
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• • •

TAGGED! Simon says
WORDS! 1036
OUTFIT! Raw and Exposed
LYRICS! The Morning Afterlife - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[simon]

THESE LAZY DAYS ARE WAY TOO LONG

[/color]
like razorblades under your tongue
and the city lights will burn you down
OR BUILD YOU UP HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND[/color]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/size][/center]

There was almost an unspoken promise between the two lower east side rebels. The pair of them, despite current and past differences, would stick together through it all, no matter what got thrown at them. They both had a way of making the other listen and when reality got the better of them they had matching tempers to calm the other down. Simon knew how delicate Ember really was, even when she chose to ignore her own body’s cry of desperation and he would do everything he could to keep her out of a hospital bed. He owed the statuesque blonde quite a lot from his times with her during their rebellious youth. They’d bailed each other out of tricky situations back then and continued to do so until this very day, it seemed.

His current problem - and the reason why he was drunk - was something that Ember wouldn’t be able to ‘fix’ and he wasn’t sure that he wanted her to become too involved in his predicament this time. It could be a great gift to have someone like her ready to swoop in and fight at the drop of a hat, but his confusion about what to do now, was something that he needed to simply talk about. Besides, he didn’t want Imogen or Roxy getting hurt because of his own foolish and lustful mistakes. Simon may have regretted what had happened in this bizarre love triangle, but he didn’t regret the fact that he was to be a father (whether Imogen liked it or not) and that he was happy with Roxy (just so long as she never found out the truth!)

However, when the door opened and a scantily clad Ember stood before him, his mind raced back to old times. This was not the first time that this situation had arose; him, on her doormat, at a ridiculous hour of the morning - but it was with a different reasoning this time. In the past, this would be the point where Simon would literally jump the golden haired gunslinger and whisk her off to her bedroom for a night of unrivalled passion. The temptation may have tugged at him slightly, but Ember was an attractive girl, whose long, slender legs were completely exposed thanks to the shorts she was wearing. Not that he could forget what the material did cover though. However, he pushed the thoughts away; he was already in this predicament because of lust and his ability to keep full control of it, and he didn’t need anything else piling up on top of that. Besides, Ember didn’t exactly look friendly when her jaw was clenched and a gun was poised almost terrifyingly steady in her soft hands.

“I’m an ass? You’re the one shoving a gun in a stranger’s face, baby. What if I was a girl scout?”

[/color] His words were slurred, but Simon didn’t know that. In his mind, everything was perfectly coherent and the tall blonde was merely overreacting to something that she should have been pretty used to after eight or so years of knowing him. “Aw, come on, Em, you know me. I’m always prowling around. I’m surprised you’re not doing the same to be honest.”[/color] He genuinely was a little shocked to see Ember in pyjamas instead of some skin tight dress that left nothing to the imagination. It was still early for her when she was out partying and Simon couldn’t remember a time when Ember didn’t party. If he had been sober at this moment in time, he would have genuinely been concerned for her and panicked that she was about to have another heart attack; at the tender age of twenty one, she shouldn’t even have one under her belt, let alone two!
His blue eyes glanced down at the large dog, who wasn’t even interested in Simon’s arrival. He considered bending down to give the loyal friend a tummy rub, but there was something about Xander that scared him. It was probably how protective he was over Ember. No human would ever care the same way that the animal cared for his owner.
“A fight with Roxy, I could handle. No, this, this is something bigger and more serious than a lover’s brawl.” He made a low guttural sound when she yanked him into the apartment and it took him a few moments to find his feet again. It was still surreal seeing this place - the penthouse apartment - and knowing that one of his best friends lived in it. It was a strange place to imagine Ember being less than five years after her time on the lower east side streets.

He stepped away from her and shook his head, his tongue tracing his dry lips before he spoke again. “I’m fine. I’ve just had a little too much to drink. I promise Ember, I haven’t touched any of the old stuff. I wouldn’t do that to you, babe.”[/color] He looked around the apartment, eyebrows furrowed as his tongue ran over his lips once more. “Got anything to drink?”[/color]
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Simon is talking to Ember Thistle with a little inspiration from 3oh!3 when they sing about Streets of Gold. There are 983 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding exhaustedly.

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[Ember Thistle Grant]

As soon as Ember saw Simon, all thoughts of the business meetings and college assignments fled her mind. Ember may be perceived to most of the world as just another rich, callous blonde who cared only about herself, but that was so far from the truth that it became laughable. Ember would drop everything she was doing in a heartbeat to help a friend in need and that is exactly what she would do now.
People had put aside their time for her when she needed them and it was only fair that she did the same in return. Her bad attitude and hot tempered personality were only a fraction of who she really was and not many people were as complex as the fiery blonde girl who had seen her fair share of ups and downs over the years and vividly remembered the people who had been there for her.
Simon was high up on that list. When they were younger, he would be the one to drag her home and push her into the rundown apartment where her mom was probably drugged up to her eyeballs, with a drunken daughter to complete the pair. Simon was in a bad place too back then, but he had always kept an eye out for the young blonde - the youngest of the gang he stuck with - and made sure that no one took advantage of her after a night with too much liquor and too much danger for a thirteen year old to handle. He had been the only one to truly consider her whenever things were going on and he’d helped her out when she wasn’t quick enough to keep up or whenever the police were hot on her tail for something. It was thanks to Simon that she’d survived those harsh years without a criminal record attached to her name.

Their adulthood was a little different. Ember hadn’t needed protecting anymore and she could vividly remember the look on Simon’s face the day she’d pulled her gun and shot the target at the shooting range straight in the centre with each bullet. His jaw had taken a while to pick up from the floor and she had laughed the whole time. It had felt good to smile again without fear or worry about anyone around her.
From that moment on, things had intensified, but no one could completely fix Ember’s shattered heart, which was why the intimacy with Simon was usually rare, drunken and purely physical. She’d never felt that butterfly feeling from him, but he was there when she needed human contact of the skin on skin variety. Plus, there was none of the awkwardness the next morning and they could both lay there, hungover and both looking like a truck had repeatedly run over them without the other caring too much. It didn’t always help either of them but it became a bit of a habit when Simon first got clean and lasted right up until he began dating Roxy.
Ember was a lot of things, but she wasn’t the kind of girl who’d sleep with a friend’s boyfriend. A total stranger’s? Now that was another matter for another time, but Roxy was her friend and Simon was an even better friend and she wanted him to find happiness in a safe relationship that didn’t exist purely on a level of drugs.

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him with piercing blue eyes. “Girl scouts never come up to the penthouse and especially not at four in the morning.”

[/color] She pushed her hair back from her face and sighed softly. “And don’t call me baby.”[/color] Ember studied him carefully, curious as to how he’d gotten this drunk. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen him on the party scene with the intention of making it last all night. It was a little worrying and it was a definite sign that there was trouble in paradise.
“Yeah, well, I have an actual life to live too. Besides, I’ve not been feeling too much like partying.”[/color] She admitted quietly. She didn’t feel the need to hide the truth from Simon; he knew when to back off and let her deal with things alone, which was something Ember deeply appreciated.

After locking the door, Ember moved to the kitchen, pouring Simon a strong coffee before he had a chance to protest or move towards the liquor cabinet a little further along the hall. He needed to sober up so that he could deal with whatever it was that had caused him to turn up at such an ungodly hour. “Then what’s happened?”[/color] She asked as she forced the mug of hot liquid into his hand and led him towards the sofa, moving her things to the floor as she waited for him to take a seat next to her.

She kept her eyes on him as she curled her legs under herself, sighing in relief when he told her that he hadn’t touched anything that a bar this evening. “Thank god. And stop calling me ‘babe’ or ‘baby’.”[/color] A relapse would’ve done him no good at all and when he had everything going well for him in life, the last thing Ember wanted to see was for him to lose everything over thin white lines again. Her eyebrows almost met her hairline and she stared Simon down. “The only thing you’re drinking is the coffee in your hands.”[/color]
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• • •

TAGGED! Simon says
WORDS! 956
OUTFIT! Raw and Exposed
LYRICS! The Morning Afterlife - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[simon]

THESE LAZY DAYS ARE WAY TOO LONG

[/color]
like razorblades under your tongue
and the city lights will burn you down
OR BUILD YOU UP HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND[/color]
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The statuesque blonde may not have been the best choice for company in Simon’s current state. He was a little too used to staggering here at an ungodly hour of the morning for more of a physical reason than an emotional one, and Ember’s current attire didn’t do anything to distract him from that fact. Sure, it wasn’t as alluring as some of the dresses he had seen her in or the negligees that he knew she owned from stumbling across them in the past, but her toned and slender legs were still very much exposed and the creamy skin of her body almost radiated in the dim light of the peaceful apartment.
However, this side of Ember; the one that didn’t have the tight fitting dresses or the business like shirts and the leather jacket, was a sight rarely seen and Simon thought that his friend had never looked more beautiful than she did right now, though it could very well have been the alcohol impairing his ability to say such a thing. So, instead, he just smiled as he watched her move through the apartment, his eyes ever so slightly transfixed on the unconscious sway of her hips as she walked.

It was on nights like this that he was likely to slip back into his old ways and betray Roxy’s trust for the second time in their relationship. Maybe he wasn’t ready for all of this, or maybe it was her. No, he adored Roxy and he loved the time that he spent with her until he crawled into bed with Imogen. Once that ship had sailed, Simon found things becoming awkward and more difficult to explain. Luckily, Roxy’s trust ran deep and she had yet to grow suspicious about anything, which Simon was completely thankful for, especially now, when he knew that there was a baby on the way; a baby that was his.

A little growl in the corner caught his attention and his eyes moved to what had to be a mind reading dog. Xander looked at Simon with warning eyes before lowering himself back to his bed and closing the brown eyes that Simon knew Ember would do anything for. If she didn’t spend some time sorting her own life out soon, she’d end up becoming the dog lady of New York. He made a mental note (that he’d probably forget by morning) to talk to Ember and help his friend out as soon as he was sober and able to deal with problems and not drink them all away, like he had been hoping to do with this one and clearly failed. He wanted to see her happy again, and not the kind of happiness that he saw when she was hanging around with her brother or one of her few ‘friends’. He wanted to see the happiness that only Robert had been able to create; the kind of happiness that only ever came with love; true love.

The look she threw him was enough to make his heart stop. If anyone had perfected the glare, it was Ember. The piercing blue of her eyes combined with the fact that she really was capable of taking people down was enough to make even Bruce Willis quake in his vest. If Bond ever needed a villain to end his life, it would be Ember Grant who could pull off the personality to do so. “Fine, not girl scouts then. But, let’s face facts, you’re used to 4am calls.”

[/color] He raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a knowing expression plastered on his already plastered face. Simon ignored her ‘don’t call me baby’ comment and instead leaned back in his seat, almost content to pass out in the very spot he sat in right now. However, it was the next words that left her mouth, thickened with a New York accent that kept him awake. “I know what that means, Ember. You been back to the hospital? Told Andy? You‘re taking your meds right? I don‘t have to force them down your throat again do I?”[/color] He remembered hearing the news that his eighteen year old friend had suffered a heart attack. Once the disbelief had vanished, he was distressed that such a fate had befallen her and ever since then he had kept his eye on her as much as he could to ensure that she didn’t end up back in a critical condition in a hospital bed.

He sighed, slumping back in the seat. “I’m too drunk to deal with all of it right now. It’s…I kinda screwed up Em.”[/color] He looked down at the couch, worried about how Ember would react when he told her the news. She knew Roxy, she probably had heard of Imogen and she had a temper the size of Manhattan and a gun to accompany it. Plus, he didn’t want her to think that he’d messed everything up that she’d helped him accomplish.

He smiled apologetically and then rubbed Ember’s leg, just above the bend of her knee, but with no ulterior motive other than comfort. “Sorry Em, old habits die hard. Even harder with JD helping out.”[/color] He returned his hand to his lap, wrapping it around the warm mug as he raised it to his lips, the strong scent of coffee invading his senses and almost countering out the alcohol.
“Mm, no one makes coffee as good as you Ember. Which is freaking weird, considering you’re not supposed to drink it.”[/color] He narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on her, looking for a sign of a slip up or a twitch that would break her cool composure and give everything away.
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Simon is talking to Ember Thistle with a little inspiration from 3oh!3 when they sing about Streets of Gold. There are 1,082 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding exhaustedly.

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[Ember Thistle Grant]

As usual, nothing was simple when Simon appeared in her life. They were close friends; the closest in fact, but both of them came with their own baggage and plenty of drama and secrets surrounded them on a daily basis. Ember thought that they both handled them incredibly well, which was why, when she saw the state Simon was in and heard that there was something troubling him, she instantly wanted to grab her gun and defend her friend in any way that she could.
She hoped it wouldn’t come down to that though, and Ember would be a patient as the fiery blonde could be until Simon explained the story in full detail. She wanted to help and she would help; even if it meant missing another night of sleep to catch up with everything.

Her eyebrows raised at his ‘4am calls’ comment. She loved this guy like a brother, but just like her half biological brother, she would kick his ass if the situation required it. Anymore comments like that one and Simon would find himself floored in a way he’d never experienced from her before. “Do you really want to go down this road of conversation? ‘Cause I will hurt you.”

[/color] She warned, nonchalantly.

The panic that swept through him the moment he understood her words was strangely comforting. Despite being unnaturally independent and constantly reminding people that she didn’t need them, Ember liked hearing that people still worried about her. Her cold and sometimes hostile exterior was a defence mechanism to stop herself from getting hurt again. Trust, honesty and love were things that didn’t come easily to a girl who had grown up in a home where syringes and empty vodka bottles were classed as decorative ornaments. Robert’s death plagued mind on a daily basis and she didn’t ever want anyone to replace him, even if the memories were painful to think about.
Deep down, she liked hearing that people, other than Andrew, were concerned for the health that she so often neglected.
Her reasons for doing such “a stupid thing” were hazy. Part of it was for control, other reasons were thanks to guilt, her old rebellious streak and things that even Ember couldn’t begin to understand. Maybe the best cure was therapy, as Andrew and her father had suggested before, but she wasn’t crazy and she didn’t need to talk to some shrink about her dreams and what she had for lunch. She was a strong girl and she could handle all of this on her own. At least, that was the lie she told herself.

Casually, she pulled the band from her hair and let her fingers comb through her natural blonde waves before sighing and finding the words to reply to Simon’s worry. “Calm the hell down, Si! No, I’ve not been back the hospital ‘cause it’s not necessary. Yes, Andy knows and he’s acting like I’m a porcelain doll. My meds are all accounted for. You can count the pills yourself if you don’t believe me,”[/color] she gestured to the small yellow bottle on the coffee table and waited for his reaction. “Look, sometimes I just need a little break. That’s all. Just because I’m not in a nightclub doesn’t mean that I’m about to drop dead.”[/color] She said reassuringly. Xander trotted over and nudged her hand for come attention. She buried her fingers deep in his dark fur whilst maintaining eye contact with Simon, so as to show him that she was being honest.

She rolled her eyes. Only Simon would come knocking on her door just before the sun rose over the city, ask for help with a problem, and then say that he was too drunk to deal with it. “Seriously, I should smack you.”[/color] Shaking her head, she rubbed her tired eyes and sighed softly. “Now, drunk or not, tell me what the damn problem is! I can’t help you until you talk.”[/color]

Her blue eyes flicked down to the hand he placed on her leg. She knew that it was innocent; simply a caring hand, this time, but she could read Simon like a book. She knew that if she wasn’t careful, it might get dangerously close to becoming one of their ‘usual’ encounters. In his situation right now, and the fact that she refused to become ‘the other woman’, Ember was wary of letting anything get too out of hand. “Hm, well JD has never been a good influence on you.”[/color] She smirked softly as she looked back up at her friend.

Her eyes moved to look towards the window when he scolded her. Coffee and caffeine in general was bad for the young HCM sufferer, but she needed it to make it to class in the morning and through those gruelling business meetings in which everyone tried to kiss her ass. “I was a coffee girl before my dad gave me my own office.”[/color] She said. It was only a part lie. When she worked with her dad as his assistant, she did make his coffee for him.
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• • •

TAGGED! Simon says
WORDS! 1,000
OUTFIT! Raw and Exposed
LYRICS! The Morning Afterlife - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3 <3 <3