A/N: Hello to anyone reading this. This is a concept for a story I have been working on for a while along with my other story, I Would Fall (Which will be updated in the next week). I hope you enjoy, hopefully I shall continue both more regularly; reviews are always welcome and let me know if there is anything you would like to see from me.
Chapter 1: The Opening
On the cold September morning, as the miserable winds whipped through the streets of the tiny town on the outskirts of New England, there were only two signs of life in the town centre: one was the sweetly fragranced flower shop, dirty white exterior outshone by the pale golden honeysuckle that clung to the walls, and the interior bustling with early shipments and the whirlwind that was the beautiful raven haired shopkeeper; the other was rather the opposite- a small tattoo parlour named The Open Ghost, run by a surly blonde with introverted tendencies and a talent with a needle. No one knew the owner well, barely any of the town's people had ever set in the establishment, and the shop had only been open a matter of weeks so it was curious that it was open so early.
The town of Alicante was a tight knit community, with most businesses being old souls run by families that had deep roots in the place, however the florists was modern and sweet, embraced by the town folk, and as long as The Open Ghost caused no hassle, they would be cautiously accepted.
"Jace!" A feminine voice shouted toward the apartment above the shop. "Get your ass moving! We're opening early today."
"As usual." Jace responded, appearing from the door that lead to the apartment above; a sight of golden hair and matching eyes clad in tight fit black jeans, heavy boots and a long sleeved jumper- the winds of New England were not accepted kindly by Long Island natives, no matter how cold New York could be. "Where's Alec?"
"Picking up an order, but, look, that doesn't matter, we need to talk." The ebony haired girl turned from the bouquet of lilies and waterweed she had been fussing with and faced Jace, leaning against the countertop and sighing, causing Jace to raise his brows.
"I get that you don't like it here- I get that you're used to city life and rush hours and, I don't know, different clubs every night, but you need to stop being so surly. Seriously, I'm pretty sure you're scaring the customers out."
Jace laughed and crossed his arms.
"It's not exactly my fault if I have frightening good looks." He smirked. Izzy scoffed in return and began rushing around the store again.
"As if Jace- you haven't been out with anyone since we got here, you've barely been out at all… maybe you could make a fresh start here, you know? Maybe find a nice girl and stick to her."
Jace turned around so that she couldn't see his grimace, heading into the back to bring in the custom orders.
"You know that won't happen Iz, that's just not me."
Isabelle Lightwood sighed at her brothers retreating figure before heading to turn the shops sign to the cheery 'OPEN' side, silently wishing things were the way they were before.
Jace sat behind the counter, watching the clock tick past, counting the seconds before he could leave the dreary place. His siblings had left him in charge while they went on deliveries, most likely just making an excuse not to be around him. Otherwise it was surprising how many people in the town required flowers on a regular basis.
He didn't hate the shop, in fact his pride flared up every time he took a step inside, proud to have been a part of starting an actual business, and the career of flower arrangement was far less wan than he expected, especially since he mainly took care of the financial side of the store whilst Isabelle took care of the actual arrangements. In reality the job was easy sailing; 9 til 5, mostly female customers and enough pay to regularly drown your sorrows- yet he was still unsatisfied.
Here he was, 19 years old and alone, living with his siblings in the middle of nowhere. He missed the bustle of the city and the constant noise, the clubs and bars and 24 hour parties; he missed the people he called friends, no matter how fake or parasitic they were- they knew how to have a good time and they hung onto his every word like apt followers. Most importantly though, he missed his family, the people who mattered who he had left behind.
Even if they were gone for good.
Shaking himself from his reverie Jace looked up and out of the large front windows, hoping to catch a snippet of someone else's life to pass the time. The streets remained empty- most people were at their boring small town jobs, or looking after their boring small town children. Nothing remotely interesting happened around the shop, and the only thing that piqued Jace's interest was the tattoo parlour across the street.
The Open Ghost. A strange name for anything- he had never stepped inside the shop, nor had he really wanted to after the results of his previous attempts at getting inked, however something about the place intrigued him. It hardly seemed open, and it had only arrived in town a month or so after he and his siblings had moved in. The owner was a tall, blonde man- 'hot as hell' according to Izzy- who apparently lived with his girlfriend. Their arrival had been sudden, and almost overnight what was previously a bookstore owned by a middle aged woman was now a matte black building with spiral calligraphy announcing the parlours opening.
Jace had only seen the owner once before, he had been talking to Izzy whilst Jace watched from the window, and Jace felt curiosity get the better of him so, when the said owner of the said mysterious store exited his shop to have a cigarette, Jace didn't bother stopping himself from staring.
He exited the tattoo shop, ripped up denims on and arms bare in a short sleeved black shirt, trails of black ink clinging to his arms like veins. Jace couldn't make out the shape from where he sat, but even from afar they were mesmerising- striking black swatches on deathly pale skin. Jace finally found the name of the parlour oddly fitting, seeing as the owner himself looked like a ghost.
As if picking up that he was being watched, the blonde man lifted his head and looked around, dragging from his cigarette as his dark eyes scanned the street- eventually resting on the florists, almost looking directly at Jace, who remained unstirred and continued to stare unabashedly at the man.
The tattoo shop owner smirked knowingly, sharp features stretching outward, before stamping out his cigarette and returning back inside. Jace leant back in his seat, curiosity not quite satisfied as all he had learned about the shop was that the owner was pretty inked; considering he owned a tattoo parlour that would not have been hard to deduce.
The chime of the back door opening distracted him, and he turned to see Isabelle and Alec walking in, Alec with a crate of yellow carnations. He smirked at the bright flowers in contrast to his brother's sombre style, and rose to help him unpack. Alec nodded at him, a man of many words, before Izzy descended on him with questions.
"Did anyone come in?" She asked, pouring small amounts of water onto carefully maintained potted plants. Jace shook his head, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Izzy suck on her teeth.
"I'm sure they'll be in tomorrow, it's not even close to closing time anyway." He attempted to reassure her.
"Oh no, it's not the customers I'm worried about, we have plenty of orders- it's you; I was hoping maybe you'd have some human interaction today, rather than sitting alone as usual."
"I wish you'd stop doing that Iz." Jace warned, anger bubbling inside him. Alec exited to the back room quietly and Isabelle faced Jace.
"Stop what? Telling you to quit moping around! If you just tried, just a little bit to be more… more…" She stumbled on her words, and Jace moved closer to her, waiting for it to come out.
"More what, Izzy! Come on, just spit it out- I know what you're thinking. 'More like the old Jace', right?" Isabelle looked at her feet.
"Don't go quiet now. I know you and Alec are fed up, but what do you expect of me? After everything that's happened? Do you want me to just… become that arrogant asshole again- I can't do that. I can't stick around with you and be the same person I was. I hated myself. You hated me. Look where I got us- stuck in the middle of nowhere, alone. I've been through it in my head already Izzy. I just want things to stay quiet now." Jace finished his rant and turned away from her, going to sit on the floor behind the counter with his eyes closed, listening the slow breaths of his sister.
After a minute he heard her moving, and she came and sat beside him.
"I miss them too." She said, leaning her head back against the counter. "Every day. Mom. Dad. Max." Her voice cracked as she mentioned our little brother, and sweat began to form on my head.
"What happened to them was crazy, okay. It was horrible and evil and, and the most heart breaking thing- but do you what else it was?"
Jace gulped.
"It was not your fault."
Jace opened his eyes and looked over at her, placing a long arm around her and squeezing her tight. The guilt was unbearable inside him, but he couldn't bear to see her like this, so he relented, speaking quietly.
"Okay Iz." She looked up, eyes glistening. "I'll put in… more effort. I'll go on rounds if you like, I'll hand deliver." Isabelle smiled, wrapping her slim arms around him.
"That's all we need Jace. It'll be okay." Jace nodded, and was about to get up when the front bell chimed, signalling the door opening. Isabelle wiped her eyes and untangled herself, rising to greet the customer.
Standing just inside the door was a wispy girl, barely 5"5, with startlingly red hair. She was wearing a baggy grey dress that reached her ankles and a large black coat. Her eyes were downcast, looking at a sheet of paper Isabelle assumed was a shopping list. Moving to greet the girl Isabelle sensed Jace rising beside her, and she hoped he would stick to his promise and not frighten her.
"Hi." Isabelle said brightly, causing the girl to look up and analyse the ebony haired girl with wide, green eyes. "How can I help you?" She smiled, and the small stranger tugged her lips up into a soft smile.
"I'm here to pick up an order for Jonathon Morgenstern. He says he placed it a week ago… if that helps any…" She spoke gently- her voice like the chilling winds outside, almost detached from the conversation, with careful articulation.
"Of course, I'll go get that, Jonathon was it?" The girl nodded, and Isabelle left the room- giving Jace a sharp look to which he responded to by raising his brows.
The redhead walked carefully around the edge of the shop, placing the slip of paper into a backpack Jace had previously not seen, and admired some of the flowers on display, Jace watched her carefully, her unusual behaviour as she moved toward the less popular flowers- the dying irises in the corner. The skin of her face was very pale, which made her colourful features striking, and he saw her scrunch up her eyes curiously.
"Wisdom." Jace said into the room; surprising himself and startling the girl. She looked confused, and Jace wished he hadn't said anything, but then she nodded, replying.
"Eloquence. It's a blue iris, if I'm right?" Jace nodded, surprised at her knowledge, however knowing that he obviously didn't look like a flower expert, he dropped his judgement.
"They're beautiful." She said, looking back at them. Jace blanched slightly.
"They're dying." He replied carefully. He saw the corner of her mouth tug up to the sides, and felt it was his turn to be confused.
"That doesn't make them any less beautiful." She stated- her mesmerising voice matter of fact.
Jace kept quiet, not knowing how to react, and was thankful when Isabelle came sweeping into the room, a bunch of assorted white flowers mixed with vibrant green foliage in her arms.
"I'm not sure if these are okay- apparently the brief just said 'lots of white and green'." Isabelle stated, slightly apprehensive, as she dropped the bouquet onto the counter and Jace tapped out a price. The girl approached the counter and simply nodded, examining the flowers.
"These are perfect- thank you, how much do I owe?" Isabelle relayed the price and Jace stood back as the girl handed across a handful of notes. He didn't want to listen to any more of the small talk that Isabelle usually had, so he committed to staring out of the window again- the blonde haired man was out again, leaving his shop and locking the door. Jace watched him carefully, and was still staring out of the window in time to see the wise, red haired girl leave with her bunch of flowers. Watching her leave, he felt continually more like a stalker, however he felt his attention paid off as he saw the girl go and stand beside the white blonde; their hair startling in contrast made a pair that could draw anyone's attention, and he wondered how they knew each other as the man placed an arm across her shoulder- which was considerable lower than him- and guide her down the street, a small smile on his face.
Jace heard Izzy calling him from the back and he tore his eyes away from the scene, distractedly following her voice.
What a curious end to a curious day.