Simon Quotes

“This is how a faerie loves: with her whole body and soul.
This is how a faerie loves: with destruction.
This is how a faerie loves: with a gift.”
― Cassandra Clare, Pale Kings and Princes

“I knew Derek didn't lack empathy—he couldn't forget what he'd done to that kid who attacked Simon. But it was like what he held some weird list of checks and balances, and if you got on the wrong side, like Tori had, he had no problem 'kicking you on the curb,' to face whatever fate waited.
"No," I said.
"It isn't up for negotiation. She's not coming."
"Okay." I stood and brushed off my jeans. "Come on, Tori."
When Simon rose, I thought he was going to stop me. Instead, he followed me to the door. Tori caught up, and we made it into the next room before Derek jogged out, catching my arm with a wrench that yanked me off my feet.
I winced and peeled off his fingers. "Wrong one."
He dropped my arm quickly, realizing he'd grabbed my injured one. A long minute of silence, then, "Fine." He turned to Tori. "Three conditions. One, whatever your problem is with Chloe, get over it. Go after her again, you're gone."
"Understood," Tori said.
"Two, get over Simon. He's not interested."
She flushed and snapped, "I think I've figured that out. And number three?"
"Get over yourself." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“ "It's a workshop. Nothing but tools."
"So why would it be locked?" I asked.
"I'd love to say it's suspicious," SImon said. "But if this Banks guy had kids around, then I'm not surprised. My dad isn't exactly Mr. Handyman, but he kept a lock on his toolbox. You know parents, Paranoid."
"Yeah," Derek said. "Especially after their son flattens his fingers trying to nail a drawing to the wall."
"Hey, I'm not the genius who suggested it." Simon glanced at me. "Tape wouldn't hold it, and Science Guy explained that the paper was too heavy for the adhesive. So I got some nails."
Derek rolled his eyes.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ "It's me," whispered a familiar voice.
"Der—"
Thwack. He stumbled, Liz behind him, a sturdy branch raised.
"Liz, it's—"
She hit him again, a home-run swing between the shoulders, and he went down with an oomph and an oath. She recognized the voice—or the curse—and leaned over, getting a look at him.
(Liz) "Whoops."
(Simon) "I'd say he deserved that, always sneaking up on people." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ “I could use the fresh air. I think that put my brain to sleep.”
She pointed at the text as if it was a piece of rotten meat.
“Physics?” I said. “You must need a more advanced text.”
“No, it’s just boring.”
I picked the book up and double checked the title, to make sure I hadn’t misidentified the subject.
“Boring?” I said. “How can physics be …?”
I looked up to see she’d already left the room. Simon pointed at the text, grinned and faked a yawn.
“Hold on,” I said, striding after her. “Physics is not boring. Maybe you just need me to explain it better. Chloe? Chloe!” ”
― Kelley Armstrong, Belonging

“As we sat, Derek pulled a handful of energy bars from his pocket, and gave me one.
"Oh, right. You must be starving." Simon reached into his pockets. "I can offer one bruised apple and one brown banana."

***

"You guys are weird," Tori said.
Simon sat on the crate beside me. "That's right. We are totally weird and completely uncool. Your popularity is plummeting just by being near us. So why don't you—"
"Chloe?" Derek interrupted. "How's your arm?"
"Her—?" Simon swore under his breath. "Way to keep showing me up. First, food. Now her arm." He turned to me. "How is it?" ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“ "I'm not going anywhere. I'm joining your little gang of baby heroes on the quest to find Superdad."
Simon and Derek exchanged a look.
"No," Derek said.
"No? Excuse me, it was Rae who betrayed you guys. Not me. I helped Chloe."
"And was it Rae who tormented her at Lyle House?"
"Tormented?" A derisive snort. "I didn't—"
"You did everything you could to get Chloe kicked out," Simon said. "And when that didn't work, you tried to kill her."
"Kill her?" Tori's mouth hardened. "I'm not my mother. Don't you dare accuse—"
"You lured her into the crawl space," Derek said. "Hit her over the head with a brick, bound and gagged her, and locked her in. Did you even check to make sure she was okay? That you hadn't cracked her skull?"
Tori sputtered a protest, but from the horror in her eyes, I knew the possibility hadn't occurred to her.
"Derek," I said, "I don't think—"
"No she didn't think. She could have killed you with the brick, suffocated you with the gag, given you a heart attack from fright, not to mention what would have happened if you hadn't gotten out of your bindings. It only takes a couple of days to die from dehydration."
"I would never have left Chloe to die. You can't accuse me of that."
"No," Derek said. "Just of wanting hr locked up in a mental hospital. And why? Because you didn't like her. Because she talked to a guy you did like. Maybe you're not your mother, Tori. But what you are..." He fixed her with an icy look. "I don't want around."
The expression on her face...I felt for her, whether she'd welcome my sympathy or not.
"We don't trust you," Simon said, his tone softer than his brother's. "We can't have someone along that we don't trust."
"What if I'm okay with it," I cut in. "If i feel safe with her..."
"You don't," Derek said. "You won't kick her to the curb, though, because it's not the kind of person you are." He met Tori's gaze. "But it's the kind of person I am. Chloe won't force you to leave because she'd feel horrible if anything happened to you. Me? I don't care. You brought it on yourself." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“Tears sprang to my eyes. I blinked them back, grabbed some tissue, and started awkwardly trying to daub leftover dye into my pale eyebrows, praying it would make a difference.
Through the mirror, I saw Tori walk in. She stopped. "Oh. My. God."
It would have been better if she'd laughed. Her look of horror, then something like sympathy, meant it was as bad as I thought.
"I told Derek to let me pick the color," she said. "I told him."
"Hey," Simon called in. "Everyone decent?"
He pushed open the door, saw me and blinked.
"It's Derek's fault," Tori said. "He—"
"Don't, please," I said. "No more fighting."
Simon still shot a glare over his shoulder as Derek pushed open the door.
"What?" Derek said. He looked at me. "Huh."
Tori hustled me out the door, brushing past the guys with a whispered "jerk" for Derek.
"At least now you know never to go dark again," she said as we walked. "A couple years ago, I let a friend dye mine blond. It was almost as bad. My hair felt like straw and..."
And so, Tori and I bonded over hair horror stories.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“ "We're your official search party," Tori said. Complete with bloodhound."
She waved at Derek, who was brushing off his jeans.
"I left a note," I said to Derek. "I told you whee I was going and what was doing."
"He got it," Simon said. "Didn't matter."
Derek glowered. "You think leaving a note makes it okay to do something—"
"Don't say stupid," I warned.
"Why not? It was stupid."
Simon winced and murmured, "Ease off, bro."
"That's okay," I said. "I'm used to it."
I looked up at Derek. He wavered for a second, then crossed his arms, jaw setting.
"It was stupid," he said. Risky and dangerous. Those guys could be out here with guns—" ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“ “Chloe isn’t flirting with that guy,” Simon said.
“Course not.”
“I mean it. She’s—”
I glanced back at him. “I’m not blind. She’s only paying enough attention to him to be polite. He’s the one flirting, which is bugging her and that’s why I’m pissed off. She’s trying to eat her fries and he’s interrupting.”
Simon chuckled.”
― Kelley Armstrong, Belonging

“ "I'm really glad you found me," my voice cracking.
Simon squeezed my hand. His lips lowering to my ear, whispering, "I—"
He went rigid, head lifting.
"Hey, Simon," Tori said behind me.
"What is she doing here?"
Derek jabbed his thumb at me. "Ask her. I'm not getting any answers." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“Derek stopped short. I smacked into his back—not for the first time, since he insisted on walking in front of me. I'd been tripping on his heels and mumbling apologies the whole way. When I'd slow down to let him get farther ahead, he'd snap at me to keep up.
"We're almost there," Simon said.
He was behind me—sticking to the curbside, walking as close as Derek. While normally I wouldn't complain about Simon being so close, I had the weird sensation of being blocked in.
As we started forward again, I tried dropping back with Tori, who lagged behind, but Simon put his finger on my elbow and steered me back into place.
"Okay," I said. "Something's up. What's with the walking blockade?"
"They're protecting you," Tori said. "Shielding you from the big bad world." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Awakening

“ "I must have been sound asleep if I missed all that shouting," SImon said.
"What shouting?" Derek said.
"You mean that Chloe just told you that she followed a ghost onto a roof, and you didn't blast her all the way to Canada?" ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ "Was it okay?" he asked.
I smiled. "Better than okay."
"So I won my pass to date two?"
"You did."
"Good"
His face lowered toward mine and I knew what was coming. I knew it. But when his lips touched mine, I still jumped.
"S-sorry, I—I"
"Skittish as a cat," he murmured.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ “Watching my back? Like you watched Chloe’s with those gangbangers?”
“That was a mistake. I was running and I thought she was right behind me.”
“Did you check?”
“What?”
“Did you check?” he repeated. “One glance over your shoulder to make sure she was still there?”
I didn’t answer.
He shook his head. “I’m not accusing you of letting that girl grab Chloe so you could get away. I’m not accusing you of seeing her in trouble and deciding to do nothing about it. I know you didn’t look back. You never thought of it.”
“I was scared, okay? You want me to admit that? Fine.”
“Chloe would have looked back for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course she would. Because Chloe is good and perfect.”
“No, because she thinks of others. I would have looked back, too, if you were behind me. Even Derek would have. Why? Because we’re a team now. We need to have each other’s backs. No matter what.”
― Kelley Armstrong, Disenchanted

“ “You still taking him for his house-breaking lesson tonight?”
I flicked an eraser at him. He ducked it and threw me a grin.
While I was getting my Changes under control, we’d decided I should try once a week. While Simon was joking about house-breaking, that’s kind of what it was like—take me outside regularly, where I’d attempt to perform a bodily function, and hopefully train my body to do it on a schedule. So far, I felt like a month-old puppy, struggling to control my bladder before it was ready to be controlled.”
― Kelley Armstrong, Belonging

“(Derek) "No casting? No practicing?" He shook his head. "Don't tell Simon that."
"Don't tell Simon what?" said a voice behind us.
We turned to see Simon step out of the doorway.
"That Tori doesn't need to use incantations to cast," Derek said.
"Seriously?" He swore. "You're right. Don't tell me." He picked his way across the roof. "Better yet, don't tell her that I need incantations and weeks of practice, and I still suck." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ "Now, do I dare ask what you guys are doing hiding out up here? Or is it going to make me jealous?"
Simon was smiling as he said it, but Derek glanced away with a gruff "Course not."
"So you weren't having another adventure?" Simon lowered himself on my other side, so close he brushed against me, hand resting on mine. "It sure looks like a good spot for one. Rooftop hideaway, old widow's walk. That is what that is, huh? A widow's walk?"
"Yeah. And it's rotting, so stay off it," Derek said.
"I did. So, adventure?"
"A small one," I said.
"Oh, man. I always miss them. Okay, break it to me gently." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“As Simon went to see if Andrew was up, I wandered into the kitchen, where Derek was eyeing a rusty can of beans.
"That hungry?" I said.
"I will be soon."
He prowled the kitchen, flipping open cupboards.
"So you don't want me asking Andrew about that kid?" I said. "You trust him, though, right?"
"Sure."
He took down a box of crackers and turned it over, looking for a 'best before' date.

***

"Is he drinking the ketchup yet?" Simon swung into the kitchen. "Ten minutes, bro. Andrew's on his way—”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“Simon appeared at the doorway behind Tori and Derek. He waved to me and mouthed "run while you can."
Not a bad idea. I snuck around them and zipped out the door to where Simon waited. Then I glanced back at Tori.
"Don't worry about her," he said. "Probably the most fun she's had in days." He led me into the next room. "Sadly, I can't say the same for Derek, and as soon as he stops arguing long enough to notice you're gone—"
"Hey!" Derek called. "Where are you two going?"
Simon took my elbow and steered me at a jog through the house as Derek's footsteps pounded behind us.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“Simon kissed me and I just stood there like someone had cut the cord between my brain and my muscles.
Finally, the connection caught and I did kiss him, but awkwardly, some part of me still holding back, my gut twisting, like I was doing something wrong, making a huge mistake, and—
Simon stopped. For a moment, he hovered there, face above mine, until I had to look away.
"Wrong guy, huh? he said, his voice so soft I barely caught it.
"Wh-what?"
He eased back, and his eyes went blank, unreadable.
"There's someone else," he said. Not a question. A statement.
"S-someone...? A boyfriend, you mean? From before? No. Never. I wouldn't—"
"Go out with me if there was. I know." He took another step back, the heat of his body fading, the chill of night air moving in. "I don't mean a guy from before, Chloe. I mean one from now."
I stared at him. Now? Who else...? There was only one other guy—
"D-Derek? Y-you think—"
I couldn't finish. I wanted to laugh. You think I like Derek? Are you kidding? But the laugh wouldn't come, just this thundering in my ears, breath catching like I'd been smacked in the chest.
"Derek and I aren't—"
"No, not yet. I know."
"I—I don't—"
Just say it. Please let me say it. "I don't like Derek." But I didn't. Couldn't.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“ Will you for_me?
I stared at the two hands, trying to figure out the missing word until a loud sigh came through the door.
"Either the answer is no or my drawing sucks."
"Hold on." I quickly dressed and opened the door. Simon was leaning against the wall.
"So?" he said.
"I'm having trouble with one part." I pointed to the hands.
"Give," he said.
"Ah." I read the note. "Will you for...forgive me? I looked up at him. "I think that's supposed to be my question."
"No, you did the right thing. You realized it wasn't what you wanted, and you said no. I'm the jerk who stomped off and left you alone in the forest. I'm sorry. Really sorry." He paused. "So...are we okay?"
Relief made my knees wobble. "We're okay. But I am sor—"
He held up a hand to cut me off. "I can't get mad at you for confirming something I already suspected. I gave it a shot. I didn't work out. I'm not going to say I'm fine with that, but..." He shrugged. "I like you, Chloe. And it's not a girlfriend-or-nothing kind of like, so I'm hoping we can skip the we-tried-dating-and-it-blew stage and jump straight back to where we were, if you want that."
"I want that." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“A whisper of fabric as Derek dressed. Then a hand on my waist, a light touch, tentative. I turned and Derek was right there, his face above mine, hands sliding around me as I titled my face up—
"What the—?"
We both jumped—again. Tori stood there, staring at us, Simon behind her, grabbing her arm.
"I told you not to—" Simon began.
"Yeah, but you didn't say why. I sure didn't expect..." She shook her head. "Am I the last one to know everything around here?"
Liz raced in. "What's going on?"
"Derek's ready," I said. "We need to move." ”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

“Chloe. Always Chloe with him and his brother. I know I sound like a whiny brat when I complain, but I think I have a good reason. I’d just discovered that I was a witch and my mother was a bitch—the murderous kind. I was now on the run with three kids who didn’t want me along.
No matter how hard I tried to keep up and help out, the guys only cared about Chloe. If I ran in front of this bus to push her to safety, they’d race to her side to see if she was okay. Probably give me crap for bruising her when I shoved her out of the way.”
― Kelley Armstrong, Disenchanted

“ “I’m going to tell myself that you’re just cranky because Chloe’s at the mall with Tori, and you weren’t allowed to go. I could point out that if you did go, you’d be even crankier, and you’d make everyone miserable. Especially me.”
“You wouldn’t have to go.”
“Sure I would. I’d need to run interference when Tori asked how a new shirt looked and you told her the truth.”
“I’m honest. Honest is good.”
“Not when it comes to girls and clothes. You need to gauge their reaction first. If they aren’t happy with it, you suggest they try something else, even if it looked fine. If they love it and it looks like hell, you say it’s not bad and hope they try something else.” ”
― Kelley Armstrong, Belonging

“(Tori) "In the real world, if we’re attacked by some Cabal goon, we’re going to use our fighting powers.”
(Simon) “But Chloe doesn’t have fighting powers.”
(Tori) “Sure she does. She has a poltergeist. Well, when Liz is around. And when she’s not, Chloe has the awesome power of zombies at her fingertips.” Tori waved at the woods behind our rented house. “Raise a dead bunny. It can nip my ankles while I’m throwing you down.” ”
― Kelley Armstrong, Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions

“Westcliff turned to the black-haired man beside him. “Hunt, I would like to introduce Matthew Swift—the American I mentioned to you earlier. Swift, this is Mr. Simon Hunt.”
They shook hands firmly. Hunt was five to ten years older than Matthew and looked as if he could be mean as hell in a fight. A bold, confident man who reputedly loved to skewer pretensions and upper-class affectations.
“I’ve heard of your accomplishments with Consolidated Locomotive Works,” Matthew told Hunt. “There is a great deal of interest in New York regarding your merging of British craftsmanship with American manufacturing methods.”
Hunt smiled sardonically. “Much as I would like to take all the credit, modesty compels me to reveal that Westcliff had something to do with it. He and his brother-in-law are my business partners.”
“Obviously the combination is highly successful,” Matthew replied.
Hunt turned to Westcliff. “He has a talent for flattery,” he remarked. “Can we hire him?”
Westcliff’s mouth twitched with amusement. “I’m afraid my father-in-law would object. Mr. Swift’s talents are needed to built a factory and start a company office in Bristol.”
Matthew decided to nudge the conversation in a different direction. “I’ve read of the recent movement in Parliament for nationalization of the British railroad industry,” he said to Westcliff. “I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter, my lord.”
“Good God, don’t get him started on that,” Hunt said.
The subject caused a scowl to appear on Westcliff’s brow. “The last thing the public needs is for government to take control of the industry. God save us from yet more interference from politicians. The government would run the railroads as inefficiently as they do everything else. And the monopoly would stifle the industry’s ability to compete, resulting in higher taxes, not to mention—”
“Not to mention,” Hunt interrupted slyly, “the fact that Westcliff and I don’t want the government cutting into our future profits.”
Westcliff gave him a stern glance. “I happen to have the public’s best interest in mind.”
“How fortunate,” Hunt commented, “that in this case what is best for the public also happens to be best for you.”
Matthew bit back a smile.
Rolling his eyes, Westcliff told Matthew, “As you can see, Mr. Hunt overlooks no opportunity to mock me.”
“I mock everyone,” Hunt said. “You just happen to be the most readily available target.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Daisy has a unique spirit,” Westcliff said. “A warm and romantic nature. If she is forced into a loveless marriage, she will be devastated. She deserves a husband who will cherish her for everything she is, and who will protect her from the harsher realities of the world. A husband who will allow her to dream.” It was surprising to hear such sentiment from Westcliff, who was universally known as a pragmatic and level-headed man.
“What is your question, my lord?” Matthew asked.
“Will you give me your word that you will not marry my sister-in-law?”
Matthew held the earl’s cold black gaze. It would not be wise to cross a man like Westcliff, who was not accustomed to being denied. But Matthew had endured years of Thomas Bowman’s thunder and bluster, standing up to him when other men would flee in fear of his wrath. Although Bowman could be a ruthless, sarcastic bully there was nothing he respected more than a man who was willing to go toe-to-toe with him. And so it had quickly become Matthew’s lot in the company to be the bearer of bad tidings and deliver the hard truths that everyone else was afraid to give him.
That had been Matthew’s training, which was why Westcliff’s attempt at domination had no effect on him.
“I’m afraid not, my lord,” Matthew said politely.
Simon Hunt dropped his cigar.
“You won’t give me your word?” Westcliff asked in disbelief.
“No.” Matthew bent swiftly to retrieve the fallen cigar and returned it to Hunt, who regarded him with a glint of warning in his eyes as if he were silently trying to prevent him from jumping off a cliff.
“Why not?” Westcliff demanded. “Because you don’t want to lose your position with Bowman?”
“No, he can’t afford to lose me right now.” Matthew smiled slightly in an attempt to rob the words of arrogance. “I know more about production, administration, and marketing than anyone else at Bowman’s…and I’ve earned the old man’s trust. So I won’t be dismissed even if I refuse to marry his daughter.”
“Then it will be quite simple for you to put the entire matter to rest,” the earl said. “I want your word, Swift. Now.”
A lesser man would have been intimidated by Westcliff’s authoritative demand.
“I might consider it,” Matthew countered coolly, “if you offered the right incentive. For example, if you promise to endorse me as the head of the entire division and guarantee the position for at least, say…three years.”
Westcliff gave him an incredulous glance.
The tense silence was broken as Simon Hunt roared with laughter. “By God, he has brass ballocks,” he exclaimed. “Mark my words, Westcliff, I’m going to hire him for Consolidated.”
“I’m not cheap,” Matthew said, which caused Hunt to laugh so hard that he nearly dropped his cigar again.
Even Westcliff smiled, albeit reluctantly. “Damn it,” he muttered. “I’m not going to endorse you so readily—not with so much at stake. Not until I am convinced you’re the right man for the position.”
“Then it seems we’re at an impasse.” Matthew made his expression friendly. “For now.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Becoming aware of her presence in the doorway, the men looked up. Westcliff rose from his half-seated position on the desk. “My lord,” Daisy said, “if I might have a word with you?”
Although she spoke calmly, something in her expression must have alerted him. He didn’t waste a second in coming to her. “Yes, Daisy?”
“It’s about my sister,” she whispered. “It seems her labor has started.”
She had never seen the earl look so utterly taken aback.
“It’s too early,” he said.
“Apparently the baby doesn’t think so.”
“But…this is off-schedule.” The earl seemed genuinely baffled that his child would have failed to consult the calendar before arriving.
“Not necessarily,” Daisy replied reasonably. “It’s possible the doctor misjudged the date of the baby’s birth. Ultimately it’s only a matter of guesswork.”
Westcliff scowled. “I expected far more accuracy than this! It’s nearly a month before the projected…” A new thought occurred to him, and he turned skull-white. “Is the baby premature?”
Although Daisy had entertained a few private concerns about that, she shook her head immediately. “Some women show more than others, some less. And my sister is very slender. I’m sure the baby is fine.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “Lillian has had pains for the past four or five hours, and now they’re coming every ten minutes or so, which Annabelle says—”
“She’s been in labor for hours and no one told me?” Westcliff demanded in outrage.
“Well, it’s not technically labor unless the intervals between the pains are regular, and she said she didn’t want to bother you until—”
Westcliff let out a curse that startled Daisy. He turned to point a commanding but unsteady finger at Simon Hunt. “Doctor,” he barked, and took off at a dead run.
Simon Hunt appeared unsurprised by Westcliff’s primitive behavior. “Poor fellow,” he said with a slight smile, reaching over the desk to slide a pen back into its holder.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Whether it’s a hospital or wherever… we can deliver to anyone with a phone book.”
A phone book.
Such a simple and basic answer.
When the chef picked up the phone and said, “Russia Sushi, how can I help you?” did she take him literally?”
― Ryohgo Narita, Durarara!!, Vol. 3