In the End | Claudia & Simon

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

Simon felt like he was going to explode. Lately, the stress of his seventh year was becoming too much to handle. Between school, Quidditch, art club, his relationship with Jessie and friends, he was having a hard time balancing everything. This year was overwhelming; he felt like his life was moving forward so fast he was close to lose control. It was a frustrating feeling. He and Jessie had a lot of good days but they had a fair share of their bad days too. Simon wasn't sure what to do, it stressed him out the more he thought about it so he usually avoided those thoughts. 


The half vampire pushed the wooden doors open quickly and slipped in, trying to remain unnoticed by anyone in the hallway. As soon as he entered the large, normally empty abandoned classroom, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was a familiar head of hair facing the opposite direction. 

“Oh.” He breathed in, already knowing who the perfect head of hair belonged to. Claudia Watkins. Even thinking of that name still made his face red. Since school had started things between them had been incredibly awkward. Simon wasn’t sure how to act around her so he typically avoided Claudia. 

His eyes darted to the floor, “Hi. Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be here...” he said quickly, embarrassed for existing all of a sudden. This used to be a spot where they would frequently mess around. Simon sometimes trekked to the abandoned classroom to get away from everyone, to draw, to smoke. It was a nice place to get away from the chaos for a bit but he hadn’t run into Claudia there yet.

@claudia    

[Deleted]

Claudia could barely contain herself. Nate was so stubborn and it felt like he never listened to her or cared about what she wanted. Granted, she wasn’t sure in the grand scheme of things she really cared about what he wanted either, but nonetheless he was supposed to be her boyfriend, that should mean that he at least pretended to care about her. She almost couldn’t believe she ever let herself get into this mess. If she had never let herself get distracted with boys she never would have fallen at rehearsal and then her career wouldn’t be in ruins. Without dancing what did she have? Sure, she could still dance, but even with her ankle healed she could tell her technique wasn’t the same. And her career in the muggle world was done. She didn’t really care about the muggles as much as she cared about the prestige. It wasn’t enough to be the best in her own world, she wanted to be the best everywhere; but now there was no way that would happen. And instead, she had Nate.

She had come to the first place she thought of, the abandoned classroom that she had once used as a makeshift studio. Coincidentally, it was also responsible for getting her into this mess not only with Nate, but with Simon as well. And it really all started with Simon, didn’t it? She uncovered the mirror on the back wall and kicked her shoes off. It wasn’t the same, but at least it was a distraction. She began to stretch a little bit before she heard the door open. A part of her thought it might be Nate coming to find her and apologize, but when she heard the voice, she paused. “Oh hey.” she replied, trying to keep her voice sounding casual. Simon was about the last person she wanted to know about their problems. “it’s fine, I didn’t lock the door so…” she shrugged, but picked up her shoes and moved to the side to put them back on so she could go.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

Simon stayed near the door, not daring to walk any further into the abandoned classroom than he already had. Claudia Watkins felt more like a stranger to him as of late. It was a feeling he hated but a part of him knew that it was the only option. Jessie and Claudia wouldn't ever be friends. To be fair, having them in the same room sounded like an extremely awkward situation, especially with the addition of his friend Nate Forrestor. This year was weird though. He felt like he was drifting away from some of the people he cared about most. Claudia being one of them. They were very complicated feelings he preferred to avoid most days.

The half vampires expression softened as Claudia started to gather her things. He waved a hand at her. ”No, you stay. You were here first, I can leave.” he said quickly as she started to slip her shoes back on. He felt guilty that she felt like leaving so fast after seeing him, but he wasn't going to leave straight away. The brave lion inside him wouldn't allow him to be a complete coward.

His heart hitched to chest as he down on his lip and ruffled a hand through his messy locks. Simon suddenly felt nervous, hell, he never got nervous. His voice shook at first, "H-Haven't talked in a while. How have you been?" he asked, icy blue eyes falling to the snake to look her over. Not in a salacious or flirty way like he would in the fast, more in a casual, conversational way. He refused to let things get awkward only because of him, he'd try to be a friend if he could, although he probably wouldn't mention the encounter to Jessie if he could help it.

@claudia  

[Deleted]

Clauia could not believe that there was a point in the world where she would have been thrilled if Simon walked into this room and found her there. She would have acted cooler and never would have even thought she would think about leaving. If anything she’d kick him out. But if she was being honest with herself, which she rarely was these days; she was just exhausted. She was too exhausted to fight with him about who this place belonged to and she didn’t even want to try. However, he quickly said that she was here first so he would leave, however, she was going to leave anyway. Something felt weird about being in here after she was found. It was like she had been caught. Plus she didn’t want this to get back to Nate, she didn’t want to give him something else to fight about.

Simon continued, stating that they hadn’t spoken in a while and asked how she had been. She looked up at him from her chair and debated for a second being honest, but she quickly pushed that thought out of her head. “I’m fine. Great, actually.” she wasn’t sure how convincing she sounded, but wasn’t the whole point of agreeing to date Nate to make Simon jealous? “You?” she asked, preparing for the stabbing in her chest to start when he would say how happy he was with someone who wasn’t her.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

Simons eyes matched hers when she looked up at him from the chair and gave him a simple answer to how she was doing. He wasn't sure if she looked "great" right now. He sensed sadness but he knew Claudia well enough that she'd deny it if he said something about it. Especially now. It had been many months since he had been so close to the snake, he could smell her. Bloody hell, he missed her so fucking much it hurt. And it felt oh so wrong. Images of Jessie flooded his mind but for some reason he pushed it aside. Old habits were hard to break.

Simon swallowed, "I'm okay." he answered simply but honestly. There wasn't much emotion to it because it took a lot to feign nonchalance in that moment. A sigh passed his lips, "If I'm being honest, seventh year has been entirely too overwhelming...there's all the uncertainties about leaving this place for the real world, y'know?" he said, feeling like he was saying too many words. This was the most he had said to her since everything had happened between he and Jessie, as well as her and Nate. The whole situation was so fucked up.

"Looks like your ankles fully healed..." he commented, feeling lame for saying it. The half vampires eyes trailed down to the floor before he ruffled his hair in the mirror, more out of a fidgety nervous habit. Fuck this was awkward. He meant to leave but for some reason his feet weren't making the effort to take him elsewhere.


@claudia  

[Deleted]

Her heart broke when his eyes caught hers, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she looked up to him but eye contact wasn’t it. She remembered looking into those eyes, leaning over him as they talked late into the night, or seeing the look in his eyes when they ran into that boggart last year. It broke her to think about that too. Hadn’t his worst fear at the time been hurting her, and hers being hurt by him? It was just about more than she could handle so she looked back down at her shoes quickly, blinking a few times to try to clear the tears she could feel out of her eyes. She began to feel that awful tingling in her nose and coughed so she had an excuse to cover her face and bump her nose with her inner arm, trying to make it go away.

“Yeah, it’s different than I thought too.” she agreed. She had figured she’d be focused on dance with the promise of a residency upon her graduation, now she had everything to figure out again. She actually had to pay attention to her grades now, at least a little bit. She couldn’t fail out of her NEWTs, then she’d have absolutely nothing to fall back on. He commented on her ankle and she nodded, though, it had healed a long time ago. “Mum works wonders.” She nodded. Her mother was a healer and able to set it right in just a few days, but getting the support and bone strength back would be another story. “Any idea what you’re going to do yet?” she asked. She wasn’t sure what made her want to further the conversation, but she did, desperately.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

Eye contact with Claudia was on a whole other level. He wasn't expecting her to take his breath away with one look, he caught himself having to look away more than once but somehow he craved eye contact at the same time. It was polar opposite compared to how they used to be in this very classroom. Not too long ago they'd practically have staring competitions. These days he couldn't think of anything more awkward, but he didn't want it to be that way.

Simon nodded his head in agreement when she said that this year was different. His lips curled up softly at the thought. He felt lame about mentioning her ankle when he was fully aware that it had been injured over the summer...back when they were still talking. He remembered on that same day she came to his house feeling like her world was over. Those somehow seemed like "simpler" times. The half vampire sighed when she asked what he was planning on doing after graduation and he shrugged, "I'm going to try to pursue quidditch, but that's only if someone scouts me. So, maybe work on tattoos freelance or something." he said, feeling slightly self conscious.

His icy blue saucers fell back onto the radiant snake. "How 'bout you?" he asked her curiously, knowing it was a complicated subject a couple of months ago due to her injury. He only asked because she asked him. There was still an overwhelming sense of sadness, or something that was off, in that moment he couldn't push aside, so he breathed in before asking softly, "You okay, Claud?" The word Claud fell from his lips and it felt foreign, like he wasn't supposed to say it. 

@claudia  

[Deleted]

Simon said he was going to try for Quidditch and fall back on tattooing if that didn’t work out. Claudia nodded, they both were fitting career options for him. “Well I’m sure you’ll get scouted, you’re good.” she said quietly. She wasn’t sure why she decided to say something so nice to him, but it was the truth. She had no doubt he’d be good enough to accomplish his goals. At least one of them would. She had just about finished putting her shoes back on when he asked about her plans. She shook her head as if she wasn’t sure what the answer was. “WADA I guess,” she admitted, referring of course to the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. At least she’d be able to dance professionally on some level. Probably a more fulfilling level: she liked to tell herself. She’d much rather have the affections of wizards than muggles anyway.

Then he asked the one thing that she had figured was forbidden to ask in this situation. If she was okay. He had just about broken her heart and chose someone else over here after having promised he’d never hurt her and now he was asking if she was okay?
“Certainly. Never better actually. Best year of my life.” she said completely unconvincingly with a sigh, standing up and throwing her bag over her shoulder.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

Their small talk was awkward. He wasn't sure where to stand or how long to look at her before looking away or at the ground. That was weird. Claudia felt like a stranger and he hated that. Not too long ago he felt like he knew the snake better than anyone. That was no longer the case.

The half vampires tittered on the heels of his feet as his lips made a straight line when she said she she was good, better than ever, stating it was the best year ever. He held his breath in his throat before opening his mouth and tilting his head to the side because she didn't sound convincing. At all. Simon could sense something was wrong but he knew he wasn't supposed to say anything about it. Then again, when did Simon ever do anything he was supposed to do?

His icy blue saucers fell down to Claudia, attempting to meet her gaze. “I don't believe you..” Simon told her bravely as she started to leave, enjoying the rush that it gave him to defy her words. There was a thrill he got every time; it was like playing with fire. Simon stood straighter, shoulders back, attempting to soften his face as he opened his mouth to speak again, ”Are you mad at me?” he finally asked her quickly, well aware it was a stupid question. Of course she was mad at him.

@claudia

[Deleted]

Did he really just ask if she was mad at him? Claudia wasn’t a physically violent person, but she had never wanted to punch Simon in the face as hard as she could more than she did right now. What did he expect her to say? Did he really need a reminder that he had convinced her to let her guard down and that he promised that he would never hurt her just to turn around and start dating someone else the same summer? Sure, she hadn’t made it easy on him either… keeping Nate around probably wasn’t the best idea. But she had been so conflicted and she didn’t want to give up either of her friends. Besides Simon and Nate, and occasionally Sofia, but not so much recently… she didn’t have any friends.

“Now why on Earth would I be mad at you? We’re the best of friends aren't we? Perfect relationship.” she didn’t really want to keep this sarcastic attitude up, it was exhausting. But she couldn’t let herself say anything else either. She couldn’t admit that yes, she was furious at him. That she was jealous and hurt. Did he want her to just come out and say that she had fallen in love with him and then had her heart broken by him? That sure as hell wasn’t going to happen. She’d rather relive the fight she just had with Nate than tell him that.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

"Yeah, sure.." his icy saucers rolled to the back of his skull jokingly. Simon knew she was pissed at himself, too. They hadn't spoken more than a couple of words since summer. Probably more his fault. They were good at avoiding each other and/or eye contact if they shared a class together. Truthfully, he got used to pretending that she didn't exist. That was the polar opposite to how they were a year ago. There was a time, not too long ago, he remembered telling her his deepest secrets and dreams. The thought of her flashed before him more frequently than he'd want to admit. Simon got used to avoiding Claudia so Jessie wouldn't feel insecure, or to avoid a fight. Nate was still a mate but he was at a negative amount of integrity points after the summer stunt. To be fair, Simon wasn't too far behind him but Nate had been on the Naughty List far before he had.

Simon stepped toward the door. It wasn't in an attempt to block her from exiting, but he also didn't want her to leave. He tried to allow his face to soften, "You have every right to be angry with me, but for the record, I'm angry with you, too." he told her as matter of factly, attempting to keep a light tone, because he wasn't trying to fight with her. He tried to keep a nonchalant expression but his face broke out into a crooked smile, because he was nervous and feeling awkward all of a sudden. He was actually fucking angry at her though...

During their sixth year, she always pretended like she wouldn't date anyone, like she was 'too busy' and it would be a distraction, but she went and dated Nate, El Diablo. It was a mind fuck to him because he didn't think Nate would decide to 'get serious' ever, either. Life was just weird man. Simon was over it, and people, he wished he could just get away. 

@claudia  

[Deleted]

Claudia didn’t care if he wasn’t buying any of her fake nice act. She didn’t really want to let it all out on him here and now in this empty classroom but it didn’t seem like he was going to give her much of a choice. She wasn’t sure what it was about today but it felt like nothing could go right. She had come in here to cool off after a fight with Nate and now she found herself confronted with the one person she didn’t want to fight with. She never liked fighting with Simon. He stepped between her and the door and she sighed, resigning herself to the fact that this was going to happen now, whether she liked it or not. He said that she had every right to be upset with him, but he was mad at her too. She looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “Oh really? What do you have to be upset about? Last time I checked you were the one telling me you would never hurt me. I felt safe with you.” she shook her head, not raising her voice but really wanting to. “and then you chose someone else.” she didn’t know what he had expected of her. Did he expect her to sit and wait for him to be done with Jessie and come back to her? Nate was far from the perfect partner, but regardless of the reason, at least he chose her.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

November 2025

Simon's jaw clenched. He was silent as she spoke angrily, digesting each and every single word that fell out of her mouth. When she said that she once felt safe with him, it struck him in the gut. Simon knew he fucked up before, but now it was confirmed. He wasn't sure if their friendship was repairable with how he treated her, but he didn't feel like she was Miss Innocent either. They both had their faults.

He waited a moment before opening his mouth. At first he was going to hold back because he knew what he was about to say wasn't something someone should be saying when they were committed to someone else, but he didn't care. Simon's icy saucers bore into her heatedly, and he shook his head in disagreement. "I chased you all through fifth and sixth year like a lost puppy and you always treated me like a distraction, or another option." he told her, taking a breath before continuing. "As soon as I decide to date someone who actually gives me attention without hiding behind closed doors, you go around and date my 'best mate'. I always wanted to be with you, Claudia, but you weren't emotionally available until I wasn't." he told her harshly, though he did feel bad for how he made her feel because he knew she was hurting. Simon wanted to apologize but he was too damn stubborn to do it while they were heated.

@claudia

[Deleted]

Clauida didn’t look at him as he spoke. She felt his hand physically reach into her chest and pull her heart out when he reminded her that he chased her for years before she even started to think of him as anything more than stress relief. He was right about that. She regretted it now more than she ever thought that she would, but there wasn’t anything she could do to change the past. She wasn’t ready, he was right. She wasn’t available and she was stubborn and selfish. “You knew how hard it was for me to open up to you. And you couldn’t give me a few more weeks to get to that place before you jumped into a commitment with someone you knew I hated and hated me?” that was probably what got to her the most. She may never have said it, but it was clear to everyone in the world that Jessie was the last person Claudia wanted to see Simon with. Of course Little Miss Perfect got the one guy she had possibly loved.

“Do you know why I started dating Nate? Because he asked! He didn’t skirt around our relationship he just made it happen…” sure, she had never asked Simon either, but he should have known better than to expect her to ask. He knew her better than anyone, communication wasn’t her strongest trait. Plus, she had a whole relationship with Nate that had nothing to do with Simon. Sure, Simon has escalated it recently, but they had been hooking up separately long before it all came into the open.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

Simon didn't like where this conversation was starting to turn. Her words made sense and it was pissing him off. He missed his shot because he didn't take it. Nate took that shot, scored, and shagged all the cheerleaders too. Simon felt his chest caving in and his heart was beating out of his chest, he didn't know what else to say. Simon's expression faltered, eyes falling to the floor. He swallowed before his eyes met hers before straying away again, "I know I fucked up. Having her staying with my sister over summer made her an easy option. The...timing was off." he told her lamely, unsure of why he was feeling so defensive because he knew he was wrong. It was the stubborn lion in him.

His eyes carefully fell over her, daring to meet her gaze if she'd allow him to. I regret choosing her over you because I miss what we had...and what we could've had." he told her weakly because he was a piece of shit for admitting it out loud. It sounded so much worse coming from his mouth. Especially confessing the information to her of all people. Simon wished he could turn back time. A part of him never wanted to try relationships again. Life was easier as Friends with Benefits, shagging with no strings attached. Though those strings sure attached with them...

He bit his lip, "I'm sorry, Claudia. I never meant to hurt you." he finally told her, finally having the feeling of running away but his feet were planted to the ground. Fuck, he didn't know what he was doing anymore. This was not his plan tonight. All he wanted to do was smoke and paint, now his mind was completely fucked.

@claudia