Requested by: no one
Y'all, finally, I've done it! Here you go. Enjoy my hard work.
BTW, this isn't Simon Petrikov, this is Simon Laurent from Infinity Train. I've got some plans for our good ol' SP, though.
Also, HUGE apologies to everyone else who wanted to read this. I headcanon Simon as straight, so I can't really imagine him liking other genders. Or those who lack gender? You get my point. Anyway, sorry!
Another thing, when the title says 'Simon × reader', I mean that Simon is going to be in love with the reader, but reader won't reciprocate those feelings. Simon is kinda...cuckoo crazy for Cocoa Puffs, and I don't condone falling in love with psychos. Just to make that clear.
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3rd person pov
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You woke up from your daze, groggy and sore. You had been sleeping near a tree.
Dang, you felt better than you've felt in a while.
You sat up and remembered your situation: you were in a origami-thing car with Grace and Simon, and...oh, right. Hazel had just left with Amelia, and Grace was crying crocodile tears because of it. It was when you, also in the middle of crying, were comforting her that you suddenly passed out. Now, why did you pass out again? Oh, right. Sleep exhaustion.
You looked around and saw Grace laying down. Everything was red, including things around her. Also, Grace didn't look...normal. She looked like she was in a daze of some kind. You looked up to see Simon walking away from her, crushing a few of the origami denizens under his feet in the process.
"Simon?" You exclaimed in confusion. You saw Simon freeze for a second before looking back at you. He saw that you hadn't even noticed the tape you had coming out of your head.
Without a word, Simon walked towards you, and looked at you carefully, almost apologetically. He then took the end of the tape you had coming out of you, and put it through the little box thing he had in his hand.
"I'm sorry, but you'll thank me later" were the last words you heard from him before you passed out again.
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You tugged on your lavishly soft bedsheets, feeling warm and not wanting to get up. You instead jolted out of bed at the realization that you hadn't felt this quality of mattress in years. Your eyes shot up and scanned the room. This...was your old room. Your old home. With all of your toys and useless fancy trinkets. You remember now, your parents were very rich.
"I'm home? But how..." You thought to yourself as you stood up and walked out of the room. You then went down the stairs subconsciously, really wanting a snack.
That's when you heard it. The voice you never thought you'd hear again.
"Hey, sweetie. Can we...talk?"
It was your mother. You looked around to find the dining area, where you were just entering. Well, not just you. Younger you. Eight years younger, to be exact.
"Of course, Mom. What's up?"
"Well, me and your mother wanted to discuss something with you." Your dad said. Gosh, it had been a while since you've heard their voices.
"Alright..." younger you said, starting to sound unsure.
"Well, you know how me and your dad have stopped...getting along so well?" Your heart dropped at your mother's words. No...not this memory! You didn't want to see this again!
"Yeah?"
"Well, we're deciding that..." your father started before getting interrupted by your mother.
"We're getting divorced."
"Amber!"
"We can't sugarcoat this for her, Randall!"
"But we could've tried! She's ten, Amber."
"You guys are...divorcing?" you said, your voice getting shaky.
"Yes, but we want you to know this has nothing to do with you, okay? We still love you and we always will-" your mom's speech was cut off by young you running away up the stairs of your mansion, to your room, where you could think and cry in silence. Younger you heard your parents crying out for you in the distance, but you didn't care.
You started crying from this memory as you followed younger you up the stairs. You saw the door slightly opened, hearing your sobs from inside, but when you went to open the door further, your hand glitched out, getting covered in static, making you yelp. The whole memory went to static and you ended up in another part.
Now, it was showing you at the train station, with your luggage in one hand and your ticket in the other. You had already gone earlier to tell your best friend Grace that you were leaving, but she wasn't there, so you just hurried to the train station.
The train finally pulled up, but it didn't look like a normal train. It was all sparkly, but not too sparkly. It wasn't fancy or anything else that you were already sick of. It was cool. Normal and inviting. You stuck out a hand to reach for it, leaving your luggage in the process, and you got on the train. The real you stood there in recognition of the memory, but no clear captivation of the situation at hand. Is this a fever dream? You didn't know, but you sure as heck didn't want to stick around to find out. Suddenly, something, or rather, someone snapped you out of your thoughts as they grabbed your hand and squeezed it. You looked to the side and saw none other than Simon, the last person you saw before waking up in this fever dream-like trip down bad memory lane.
"Simon? What...just happened?"
"Don't you see? The train knew how much pain the world put you in and sent you here with me. It's almost like it was destiny."
"Wha-" you barely had time to ask him what that meant before you were shifted off to the next memory. A memory almost as painful as the previous one.
"So what are we going to do today?" You asked. Not you, but again, a younger you. You were in a car that was very vast. Filled with all sorts of artifacts far and wide. You knew this place all too well. It was the lair of someone who you used to call a friend. A certain Miss-
"-Kitty?" You called out. You looked around, everywhere, to see where she could be.
"Peekaboo, darling." There she was. She had hidden in the red chair in front of the television.
"Miss Kitty, you're such a jokester." You joked, doing this at her antics: 💅 (if you know, you know).
"I know, Kitten. Now, could you help me with these tapes?" She requested. You did as she said, helping her out with picking up some tapes.
You saw a peculiar one that Miss Kitty left on the floor, all alone. You went to pick it up, when suddenly, Miss Kitty yowled.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT! I mean...don't touch that one, Kitten."
"But why, Miss Kitty? It's on the floor too." You inquired.
"Well, I...like to keep that one there. It belongs to someone who was...very important to me."
You gasped jokingly. "Is it my tape?"
Kitty laughed at your comment. "No dear, yours is somewhere else. But it's very important to me, too." She said as she booped your nose with her paw, making you giggle.
You looked behind you one more time to see the tape again and chuckled. "Who would name their kid 'Simon'?" You whispered under your breath as you giggled.
After that, the memory went to static again, and showed you another part.
"I would say that this haul was successful." Miss Kitty said, delighted.
"Yeah! Look at all this cool stuff we got!" you exclaimed.
You two were on the train bridge, about to go home, carrying all of your cool stuff. Miss Kitty always said 'it's not conning, it's bargaining.'
Tears started to well up in your eyes as you knew what was going to happen next. As if resulting just by your tears, the bridge to the other car started separating. You dropped some of the stuff as you reached out to Miss Kitty.
"Miss Kitty, what's happening? We're getting split up!"
"Just jump over, Kitten! It'll be fine!" Miss Kitty beckoned you from the other side.
"I can't! The gap is too big now! You jump over!" You yelled.
"But Kitten!" Kitty said, looking at you, and then looking at her stuff. Was she really trying to decide if her stuff was more important than you? You two had been together for all this time, and she was honestly deciding between you and her loot?
"Forget the stuff! Let's just run away together and start a new collection! We can collect...marshmallows or...something! Just DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" You yelled desperately. Both you and the younger you were in tears already.
"I-! I'm sorry, Kitten..." Miss Kitty said as she looked back at her stuff, not even giving you a second glance.
"Kitty? Miss Kitty, what are you doing?! Don't leave me here! SAMANTHA!"
That was the last thing you heard before it all went to static. You broke down, sobbing on your knees. Why? Why would anyone want to make you relive such memories?
You suddenly heard a voice, almost as shaky as yours, in disbelief. "You...knew Samantha?"
You looked back to see Simon, also in tears. You opened your mouth to try to explain when he cut you off. "You knew Samantha, and you never told me?!"
"I...I was afraid that it would worry you."
"But why would you keep something like that from me?!" Simon yelled in a mix of desperation and rage.
"Don't blame me! You kept your affiliation with Samantha secret, too! It wasn't until we met her in that cabin that I found out you knew her." You argued back. Simon held back, knowing you made a solid point.
"I...didn't want to worry you either."
He admitted. He then started walking towards you and put a hand on your shoulder.
"So she abandoned both of us...typical. But that doesn't matter anymore. As long as we have each other." Simon said as he smiled at you.
"I guess..." You answered. "I mean, Hazel might have left, sure, but even if it's just the three of us, at least we're still together, right? We can do anything! As cliche as that sounds..." You said confidently, putting your hands on your hips. Simon just smiled and shook his head, as if you had just said something ridiculous. Cute, admittedly, but ridiculous.
"You mean just the two of us, right?" Simon questioned.
"No, the three of us. Me, you, and Grace." You emphasized.
"No, Y/n." Simon said sternly, his eyes darkening. "Grace betrayed us. It's just us now. She lied one too many times. At least I know you won't keep any more secrets from me, right?" he said, slightly more cheery.
You couldn't believe your ears. Grace had betrayed you? No way! She had always been loyal. She's been your best friend for YEARS, on and off the train. You knew her too well for her to do something like that.
Suddenly, you heard your dear friend's voice, but in a memory you hoped Simon would never see.
"We just...won't tell Simon. He doesn't need to know. So we can't let him see the shell, okay?" You and Simon turned around to see Grace comforting Hazel in her turtle form, Simon looking pained to have to see this memory again.
"Why do you remember this?" Simon asked you, sounding slightly hurt. You didn't even have time to explain when suddenly, you entered the picture, looking shocked as ever to see Grace comforting what looked to be Hazel as a...turtle null?
"Wha?" Memory You breathed out in confusion, staring at the scene. Grace looked at you with alarm before Hazel tackled you in a hug.
"Y/n! Please, please, PLEASE don't tell Simon! He's gonna kick me to the wheels, like Tuba! Please!" She begged, tears streaming down her already red and puffy face. She clutched onto you as if her life depended on it.
"Please, Y/n. For Hazel." Grace pleaded. She knew how much you didn't like keeping secrets.
"You know how much I don't like secrets." You told her, Hazel's face getting sadder and more desperate by the second.
"But! I'll do it...for Hazel. What's one secret between friends?" You smiled empathetically at Grace, and she sighed in relief, sending a thankful smile back to you. Hazel returned to her human form and started jumping up and down in front of you.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Y/N! You're so kind!" She hugged you again, and you couldn't help but shed a few tears at thinking how scared she had to be right now. You couldn't ever have imagined someone so young having to fear death so early on.
"Of course, Haze." You said, hugging her back. Grace came over to give you all a hug.
The wall became static again, and Simon stared at you in disbelief again. "You...you were in on it, too?!"
"I wasn't with Grace on the whole 'lying about how we knew Hazel was a null' thing, but I...was in on the rest of it."
Simon sighed in relief and chuckled slightly. "Of course you didn't lie to me like Grace! You're too kind for that! Everyone lies to me. Samantha, Amelia, Grace. But not you. I mean, we kept our pasts secret from each other, how is this any different?" he chuckled again.
"Ok, why are you being so forgiving to me?! You weren't like this with Tuba. Or Amelia! They were being the voices of reason, and you shut them out! So WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS?!" You finally snapped at him.
The whole area suddenly turned to static, and what came next wasn't in your memories at all. It was...a nightmare, at least to you. Not so much a scary nightmare, but a corny, cringy-ish nightmare. Neither a dream or a nightmare. Just a weird dream. This was, like, almost straight out of every single cliche romcom ever. Almost.
It was a park. The sun was setting, making everything pink. There was a huge tree near where Simon was standing, and the leaves turned upwards to look like a heart. You also saw that, on the tree's trunk, there was a heart carved on it, and inside the heart was written 'S + (your first initial).' All the other trees were like that, even with the carvings on the trunk. You were on a white cobblestone pathway, leading up to Simon. Strangely enough, he was standing on a huge throne, reminiscent to Grace's from back at the Apex (imagine that he was standing like he did when he was huge in The Origami Car, but smaller). So this was a corny, cringy nightmare with a menacing undertone. Well, not really an undertone, per se. Because, to all of this, everything was on fire. Like, not everything, but most of the scenery. The heart tree leaves, every blade of grass in the background. Everything behind you and Simon was burning. If there were any music in the background (which I'm sure there could be, I mean, One-One tweaked Amelia's memories so he, Tulip, and The Cat could see them better), it would be a somewhat intensified version of the Apex theme.
In the three-ish minutes you took to gather all of this in, Simon spoke, finally answering your question from earlier.
"You wanna know why I'm so forgiving with you? So fond of you? So...undoubtedly trusting of you, even when I'm not usually like that for others? It's because I love you. So, so much. A-and we even have so much in common! We like the same genre of books, we're in the Apex together, we both got abandoned by the same person...but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I know you won't leave me."
You stood there, listening to Simon's love confession in shock. You were feeling so many emotions right now, the most prevalent being confusion. After analyzing the situation for a while, you spoke.
"You...love me?" You spoke softly, a tint of pink covering your cheeks. Simon only smiled and nodded, his blush darkening as well.
"That is...the stupidest timing to say that ever." You deadpanned at him. At that exact moment, everything except you and Simon went back to static. "You really think I'm gonna reciprocate feelings for a murderer? You killed Tuba, how do you expect me to just forgive you and fall for you so easily?!"
"I...I didn't. But no matter. Once we go back to the Mall Car and take over the Apex from Grace, all will have been forgiven. Water under the bridge right? Worst case scenario is I have to trap you in here with fabricated memories of only us, right?" Simon admitted, maybe a little too much.
"WHAT?! I am NOT going back with you. Not after everything you've done. Did you...you did this to Grace, didn't you? Not exactly this, but you made her see her memories and pass out. Were you...hoping to TRAP ME IN MY MEMORIES?!" You yelled, furious.
"Yes? That's what I just said. Well, that was the worst case scenario, to be exact."
"UGH! Lately, you've been changing, Simon. In a bad way. You've been getting more aggressive and distant, less...trusting. Less trustworthy. I tried to stay optimistic at first, happy that it was just going to be you, me, and Grace, like the old times! But this isn't like before. You're not like before. I thought maybe...I could still change you for the better. Maybe, you'd change on your own! But, you didn't. You haven't. So I refuse to come back to the Apex with you. I'm gonna stay here and help Grace. My true best friend." You declared, sternly and seriously. Simon looked shocked and very hurt at first, his face then darkening as he chuckled, his voice taking a darker tone.
"Oh, N/n, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this. But you leave me no choice." That was the last you heard from Simon, a scowl on his face, before everything went black. Your own best friend, ex-best friend, had just trapped you in memories he made for you and knocked you out in real life. The last thought you remembered having was 'oh boy. How am I gonna get out of this one?'