Emma was getting impatient. Though she was glad the institutes were moving out of the dark ages and into the 21st century the wait between getting a text message about a meeting in eight hours and the actually meeting was eight hours. Eight complete hours of waiting, for some reason getting a fire message from Idris must be less instantaneous it seemed to be followed by a more immediate arrival of guests. She wouldn't be simultaneously excited and anxious about visitors to the Los Angeles Institute if these particular visitors weren't Clary Fairchild Morgenstern and the Jonathan "Jace" Herondale but they were and the anticipation was unbearable.
Perhaps if Julian her best friend and parabatai and herself were on speaking terms, if she
had made more of an effort to form a bond with any of the newly acquired Shadowhunters or had re-established any kind of relationship with Mark she would have someone to help her get through the day. Mark had just returned from a five year absence but prior had been like a big brother to her. Before he was abducted and forced to roam the night skies with an eternal brotherhood of vicious hunters he had been her first crush. Since he hadn't aged while in captivity he was now not only ruggedly handsome but also her age, single and living under the same roof as her. To complicate matters he was also Julian's half brother by blood. Julian whom she lovingly called Jules that despite being her best friend and bound to her soul with magical angelic runes as her parabatai, was also someone whom she was fairly certain she was in love with. Not just that she loved him like he was part of herself but she was pretty sure she was desperately falling in love with him. Of course falling in love with Jules was entirely and utterly against the rules, which was part of the problem the other part being a certain newly established LA Shadowhunter in training that seemed to have designs on Jules as well. This new admirer did not have great timing since Jules was now acting weird, pushing her away and she couldn't even begin to bring up the subject on if he returned any preference to said new girl.
Emma was so torn lately she had dived even deeper into uncovering the mystery of her parents murder, in which every newly discovered clue and disturbance in Los Angeles was leading her to believe was the work of an ancient evil fairy clan that was involved in dark, demonic magic. You would think all this simultaneously happening in her life would leave little room for Emma to think, worry or fret over petty things like her heart breaking but it was the opposite. When a teenage girl is in this much turmoil with no one to talk to it was like every day was an eternity and every possible outcome and scenario ran through her head constantly. Each day she seemed to determine a different and more terrifying end result to her investigations and love life. Last night, she had dreamed Jules and Mark in a double ceremony married two gorgeous fairies who then turned to attack her as she lay helplessly on the ground she saw the entire family of Mark and Jules' the Blackthorns along with her only semi-confident in the Institute her instructor Diana looked down on her with no pity as the fairies marked her body with the same symbols left on her parents remains. The dream ended as she turned to ash knowing she would never get revenge and she would never be mourned. Emma shook her head hard
trying to shake the memory of the dream and glanced at the clock on her phone for the hundredth time waiting for Clary.
She had to talk to Clary. Maybe a girl's perspective especially from a fellow shadowhunter that had fought impossible odds on the fields of battle and love was what she needed. Though in her current state of despair Emma doubted even that would work.
In all fairness Clary had always told Emma she could reach out to her with anything at anytime and a thousand times Clary had written her a text but had deleted if before sending. Even though Emma and Clary only ran into each on an occasional basis Clary had always made an effort to talk to Emma, to ask after her and offer her any advice. Emma desperately hoped she would have the courage to pull her aside and get her advice on at least one of her million issues but Emma wasn't good at opening up. In the past Jules had always been able to tell what was going on and knew exactly what she needed to help her with any emotional distress. The idea of going to Diana mortified her, as she reported to the clave and her thoughts on Jules would be interpreted as breaking the law to the Clave. It was a most absolute rule you do not fall in love with your parabatai. Period. She usually didn't have to so freely volunteer her innermost thoughts to others as was planning on doing today. Also in the past, she never had so many strong, confusing feelings to begin with, she had lived with one emotion controlling her life over the last half a decade, revenge.
Emma had been sitting on the front steps of the institute for the greater part of an hour, even though their guests still weren't expected for another ten minutes. She looked down to notice her nails had been bitten down to nubs and she had a corner of her t shirt bunched up where she had been unconsciously wringing it out. She jumped in surprise when the door opened behind her and Julian stepped out into the LA twilight that was descending on the institute and the ocean in front of them. The light was basking everything in the few remaining rays of golden sunset surrounded by varying shades of color the darkest a deep cobalt blue.
"Surprised you?" Jules asked.
Emma just threw him a sharp look that said don't test me today. She was still sore from the cold shoulder she had been getting from him the last two and a half days. Ever since they had been fighting in the training room and she had pinned him down with her knees each one braced against one his shoulders. She had leaned down to smile and whispered in his ear "Got you!" When she subconsciously began leaning forward staring at him taking in his scent and the feel of him under her. He had went stiff and looked her right in the eyes moving both his hands behind each of her knees. She had felt so flushed and awkward and was almost certain he could read the longing in her eyes. She was pleading with him silently but her mind and eyes begged, "Do something, say something. We are as alone and closer to each other physically than we have been in weeks." Instead he pulled her legs out from under her as he quickly pulled himself back with both elbows so that she landed on her back between his legs. He abruptly stood up by not so gently brushing the rest of her weight off of him in one fell swoop and stormed out of the training room. She had been so stunned she didn't even yell a witty remark or move to stop him has he gave her one last glance before the door slammed in between them. His look had been so distraught had he known what she was thinking? Had he been disgusted that his parabatai had leaned in to touch his lips with her own? Or had he had a similar feeling and unable to process it left? At first, for some unknown reason Emma had convinced herself the latter were true. She knew Jules, she really really knew and understood him. She wasn't torn apart alone, they both were, right? She had to be right she had told herself and like any sticky situation that Jules and herself had gotten themselves into she was going to find a solution. She was determined to discover a way they could explore their feelings without breaking one of the cardinal rules of being a Shadowhunter. That train of thought lasted maybe two hours by
at dinner that night Julian had been so distant and cold. His behavior so inexcusable the last two days ignoring her completely. Then to top it off multiple times she had caught him laughing and overtly flirting with every female shadowhunter that was not related to him and was not her that he crossed paths with in the institute. Always in front of her somehow which seems impossible considering what a large building they live in that she had basically just given up. Given up on her theory and compiled a list of new ones in which Jules felt nothing for her romantically. She had completely given over to the idea that not only would she never find out if she was falling for Jules he had no interest in being part of her trial run at love.
"What have I done?" Jules finally followed up with. "Just came out for a breath of fresh air." His tone was dripping with sarcasm and he wouldn't meet her ruffled his hand through his wavy, chocolate locks giving Emma an unneeded, in her opinion, view of his lean and muscled arm.
"Nothing." Emma sighed in a resigned voice, which was really, really not her typical nature. Once upon a time Emma gave up on nothing, now she was just so exhausted mentally and physically by it all she, she felt as though she was constantly throwing in the towel. At her tone Jules actually scanned her face undoubtedly taking in the circles under her eyes, the hair pulled back loosely from her face. Not her customary tight high pony to keep her straight blond mane under control while battling demons. She had no idea what her expression held just knowing if it was any reflection of her inner thoughts and feelings it was a mess.
"Just anxious to see Clace." Emma added trying to sound slightly more upbeat and less distraught.
"Clace?" Jules replied utterly confused.
"Apparently it's what the noobs call Clary and Jace." Emma stated matter of factly she couldn't help but smirk.
Emma had recently refused to call the newly ascended anything but noobs. Which was really better than most the monikers the established Shadowhunter descents had given them.
So much had been changing in their Shadowhunter realm, the Academy was pumping out newly turned Shadowhunters some from the mundane world, otherwise from previous established families that held left the world of Shadowhunting over the past several centuries. Thank the Angel demon activity was at an all time low. So many inexperienced fighters out there often meant a routine mission could easily get you injured by one of your own hunting party. Jules had so much more patience than Emma for the new recruits. They had wished for more fighters their age when they were kids but she had grown up in or around the institute with just the handful of Blackthorns and the occasional visiting Shadowhunter up until almost adulthood. Now having new faces and personalities pushed on you some of them permanent additions to the LA Institute in a short period of time had felt like a violation to Emma. The only fresh recruit Emma had bothered to tolerate was Seth who had grown up in LA son of a tv producing father and grandson of a somewhat famous black and white film star. His grandmother had been trained as a Shadowhunter but had fled at ten years old after her parents had been eaten in front of her. Unexpectedly he'd talked Emma into watching mundane films with him. Before he had discovered his calling as a Shadowhunter Seth had wanted to become a motion picture director. Watching the movies and pointing out the multitude of mistakes in fight scenes had become Emma's new guilty pleasure. An added benefit was her new found mundane vocabulary drove the Blackthorns and Diana crazy.
"Noobs?" Jules exasperated. His response brought an even bigger smirk to her face she forgot she had just caught on to this word over the last few days after a long discussion on the incorrectness of video game fight scenes she had had with Seth and his friends. Jules just sighed behind her but seemed to relax a little, seeing that Emma was at least amusing to herself. That was something at least, he understand she wasn't in a great state of mind but her smile suggested she still had hope. Or at least Emma thought she did, for now at least.
Out of nowhere a portal appeared and Clace was emerging holding hands.