Chapter 228 - Look At Me

Simon carefully pulled Conner away from the electric wires that the human had lightly received current from. He placed his hand on Conner's neck to check the pulse and looked up at Melanie, who looked utterly worried and anxious. 

"Is he alright?" asked Melanie. 

"He will survive," replied Simon, before muttering under his breath, "If not we can have a date together by digging the ground and saying our farewell." 

"What?" Melanie didn't hear what Simon said over the sound of the splattering rain and her focus on her friend. 

Simon offered her a bright smile as if he was the one who had been electrocuted by the wires before he said, "I was telling you that we should find a place to stay for the night. Just so that we don't get caught or fall sick. Not to mention, it would be hard to escape from here with Conner in this condition."

Melanie being obedient, gave him a nod, "Okay. Let us go." 

She was about to offer her help to lift Conner from the ground when Simon raised his hand to stop her, "Do you plan to drop him like a bag of potatoes? Let me handle him." Saying this, with ease, he lifted Conner, placing him over his shoulder. "There we go, now let us walk before being caught." 

Together, they left the spot and sometime later found a cave-like place far away from the centre of Veteris. Melanie asked him, "Are you sure you won't get into trouble?

"Hm? What is that?" Simon turned his head in the left and right direction, alerting Melanie to do the same. 

"What is it?" questioned Melanie, preparing herself to face the guards who would come to catch them. 

"Ah, yes. It must be the sweet concern that you are now developing towards me," replied Simon, and Melanie's face turned sour. This person had no place or time when speaking about things like these. Here they were in a problematic situation, and he was talking about unnecessary things. She rolled her eyes and heard him say, "I didn't know you were going to fall for me this quickly. I must tell you, that's progress." 

"You must be dreaming with your eyes open to think I have fallen for you. This isn't some romantic story, where two people meet and instantly fall in love," replied Melanie, while picking up the dried grass she found in the corners of the cave. She placed it between the stones that they had created a circle, while Simon brought sticks and twigs. 

"I always dream with my eyes open, you never know what you might miss," replied Simon, and he pulled out the lighter from his pocket. 

Melanie watched Simon flick open the lighter, watching the flame slowly starting to burn the dried twigs and grass. Compared to Roman Moltenore, she had seen Simon smoke less. She was glad he had the habit, else they would not have been able to have a fire this quickly, and the weather had strangely turned chilly, where her blouse stuck to her skin and her hair stuck to her face. 

"Why are you helping us?" asked Melanie, her curiosity getting the best of her. 

"You want to know?" Simon questioned her back, and she nodded. They sat near the fire, facing each other with the light of the fire, which was hidden, and one would not be able to discover the light. "Come closer," he said to her. 

Melanie stared into his eyes, the bright green eyes had turned dark. 

On the side, Conner had been made to lean against the wall with his legs stretched out, and he continued to stay unconscious. Outside the cave, the light drops of rain continued to fall from the sky to the forest ground, with a gentle breeze that passed through the forest where they were, sweeping the temperature from one side to another. 

Melanie noticed the way Simon's flaming red hair looked redder, and some pieces of his hair had stuck on one side of his face. He brought his hand to his face before pushing his hair, which led to most of his hair moved away from his face except for one piece that came to rest on his forehead. 

Simon closely watched her, similar to a crocodile that sat still, waiting for its prey to come near to it so that it could find an opportune time to capture the prey. He noticed the way her eyes warily looked at him, and the more wary she turned, the more thrilling he found the chase to be. 

Melanie leaned in closer, and Simon leaned in as if pulled towards her. He said, "It is for you. Everything is for you." And maybe she would have believed his words, as they were spoken in such seriousness, but when one corner of the vampire's lips pulled up, she turned suspicious. 

"Is it necessary for you to prank me even now?" she asked him. 

Simon replied, "When did I prank you? How rude that when I confess my intentions to you, they are brushed away as a prank." 

"You always do that. Did Ms. Dante tell you to help us out? I know the Elders are not people who would ever help us humans. Especially when they know we are people who belong to the hunter's family." 

"She didn't. I did it because I wanted to. It would be difficult if you were to get caught and then see Conner being killed and bla bla bla. I am just doing it for my own selfish reasons, so that I can have you for myself," came the direct words from Simon, and when he said that, even Melanie, who always kept a straight face in front of him, couldn't stop her heart from skipping a beat. 

Melanie cleared her throat, looking away from his gaze, that felt like it was piercing through her. "I don't think you should say things that you don't mean… And you already know," she looked back at him, "That I have feelings for someone." 

"Are you sure about it?" challenged Simon, and a subtle frown came to appear on Melanie's face. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him, her lips set in a thin line while she waited for him to reply. Melanie noticed how Simon's eyes moved from her eyes to look at her lips. In his presence and the fire in front of her, her cheeks turned warm. 

She shook her head and quickly stood up from where she had been sitting on the back of her heels. What just happened?! She asked herself. Did her heart betray her?

Simon watched how Melanie turned flustered, and he enjoyed the sight in front of him. And because of his continuous gaze on her, she almost lost her footing before standing upright. He said, "You should walk on my side, than near where Conner is. I can assure you that I will catch you if you fall." 

Melanie turned her face to look in the direction of the uneven wall of the cave while having her back facing Simon. She squinted her eyes and then turned back to look at the red-headed vampire, "Why are you being cheesy?"

"Because I like you?" came the instant reply from Simon. He said, "I wasn't joking when I told you to quickly fall for me. You might deny that you don't like me, but you can't deny the fact that I am the one who has been occupying your thoughts lately, while your thoughts about Conner have taken a backseat. Am I wrong?" 

"It is only because you know how to annoy me," replied Melanie, feeling her heart flutter, and she wondered what was going on.

"I can hear your little heart beating in your chest like a little chirping sparrow. So sweet," commented Simon, his daunting eyes looking at her. 

"That's because I have—"

"Because your heart is turning sick and needs love from the right person?" asked Simon, and Melanie stared at him. 

"That was so cheesy. Is this how you seduce the other girls?" asked Melanie. Did he get bored with the other girls that he had decided to play with her? 

Simon chuckled, taking not a speck of offense from Melanie's question, instead, he enjoyed her replies. He said, "Well, you could tell that it worked on them. But then I didn't have to use too many lines to get them to like me. A smile goes a long way. You and I could be a great team, a couple." 

And now the vampire was putting thoughts in her head, thought Melanie. She turned to look at Conner, who was still unconscious. She asked Simon, "Why do you want to cause trouble for me?"

"Your life seems dull like a blank canvas. I decided it was time to fill colors in it, than wait for the gray life that might not suit you," replied Simon in a solemn voice. Melanie was slightly confused about whether he was serious or poking fun at her. "I will be very good to you. I am good to you," he added the last line. 

"You had everyone believe that we were going out and then I had your fan girls commenting on me," accused Melanie.

"They are just jealous of you. They know I am an amazing lover," replied Simon to her. 

"You exposed my feelings for Conner and to everyone, when I was still taking my time and he didn't have to know about it. I would have eventually let the feelings go!" she quietly whispered, her words coming out rushed, and she glared at him. 

Simon's lips twisted, and he said, "Let us be honest here. You needed a strong push. If I hadn't revealed the truth, you would have continued to pin your hopes on him, and it would be a never ending, unrequited feeling. Now you know how he feels and it makes things easier. Humans are such complicated creatures."

"You were one before." 

"I like me better now." 

An exasperated sigh escaped from Melanie's lips. She closed her eyes, then remembering something, she opened her eyes. In a whisper, while hoping Conner wouldn't wake up now, she said, "You offered to help me if we were friends. Why are you hitting on me?" 

Simon tapped his finger across his leg, taking a second more to answer her, "At first you looked pitiful. Maybe you didn't say it verbally, but I could see your eyes pinning on him. Believe me it was cute, but pitiful. After some time, I wondered what's so great about him when he doesn't even notice you." 

As much as the truth was bitter, did he have to put it that way? Melanie replied to his words, "It was in the past. I decided to move on from how I felt before."

"Mm," hummed Simon, who continued, "After a while, my attention shifted from both of you to just you, and I wondered…" his voice trailed. Melanie stared back at him, their gaze not breaking away from each other, where the silence filled itself with the wind that was outside the place where they had now taken shelter. 

Simon said, "I wondered how it would feel, to be looked at by someone the way you looked at Conner. To be loved with whole heart. To be paid complete attention and care for the person even though the other person is unaware."

Melanie felt something struck in her heart, and she didn't know if it was the shadow created by the flames and darkness in there or if it was the ambience, but for some reason, it felt like what Simon uttered were his actual thoughts. 

This time, Simon didn't smile, and instead, he looked right into her eyes with no humor in them.

Not knowing how to react to his words, Melanie cleared her throat and asked him, "What did the guard mean earlier, about the traitor…"