Jace Wayland was probably the hottest male person the the U.S.A.
Actually. Scratch that.
He's the hottest person in the world.
And he's not married.
That's what had attracted Isabelle Lightwood, when he had offered her a job during the summer after her sophomore year. But she hadn't known she'd get pulled into the strange world of Shadowhunters. It wasn't everyday that a supposed mundane and her brother turned out to be hidden Nephilim. Well, Isabelle certainly hadn't expected it, at least, and she didn't think Alec had either.
Izzy had come to Jace for a simple job for quick cash, instead, she'd become one of the head honchos at the New York Institute. Seriously, Wayland people were important people. They had alotta pull with the higher-ups. That was what kept Izzy interested in the job. There always seemed to be something going on around Jace, whether the latest gossip or the best kills on a hunt.
Surprisingly, three years later, with Izzy and Jace both 19 and the only possible couple in the building, they weren't together. Jace had his hopes set on some red-head, and Izzy... Well. Isabelle was Isabelle, and she never could bring herself to actually date Jace. It was too.. Awkward. Yeah, that might be a good word for it.
Maybe, in her heart, Isabelle thought she was waiting for the right person. Or maybe she just didn't like Jace, the sarcastic golden boy that was the definition of hot... And knew it. Well. Didn't like him that way.
Now. Jace and Izzy were good friends. And she trusted him. But when he came bouncing into the Institute, flounced up to Isabelle, and asked her if she'd like to go to California with him, Izzy wasn't quite sure what to say. Izzy knew Jace. There was something behind this idea. Some plot hatching in the almost-not-teen's mind. The scary thing was, Isabelle wanted to say yes.
Well... Instead of saying "Sure, I'll go," the first thing that came out of Isabelle's mouth was, "Is Alec going?"
Jace looked at her like she was crazy, his golden eyes still shining with excitement. Alec was the overprotective-older-brother type, even though he was only a year older than the two of them. Both would die if they voluntarily dragged Alec on a vacation. Vacations were supposed to be chances to get away from annoying overprotective older brothers.
"Okay," Izzy replied, Jace's look clearly the only answer he was going to give her. "What about the Institute? I mean, can Alec run everything? You know we have a training session with some Nephilim from Idris in a few days."
"Magnus is coming, probably," Jace replied, sounding annoyed with all the questions. At least he didn't give her the crazy look. "And Chamomile."
"Oh," Izzy responded.
Jace looked at Isabelle expectantly. "So...?" he prompted. "You know, millions of people would love to get me alone on a trip to Cali. Beaches - Disneyland - Shopping."
Honestly, Izzy didn't hear a word Jace said until he said 'shopping.' Her ears seemed to perk up and her eyes locked on him. "I'm in."
"Knew you'd give in." Jace winked at her. "See, I didn't even have to take off my shirt."
Izzy rolled her eyes and kicked at his shin. Her boot collided with Jace's leg and he gave a yelp. That satisfied Izzy quite enough. "You're an idiot."
"Possibly," said Jace, "But an idiot that everyone wants. Besides, could an idiot come up with all my witty comments?"
Isabelle kicked at him again, but Jace seemed to expect it this time and hopped gracefully away. She glared at him and growled.
"Ladies. Chill. You're both pretty, just keep calm and carry on. With your lives, that is, not your fight."
Isabelle turned to glare at Magnus. She gave him a pointed look before turning back to Jace. Just as she turned, Jace raced up, tugged on a strand of her hair - painfully - gaining a yelp from Izzy, and ran off.
Izzy glared at him for a heartbeat before giving chase. Despite her high-heeled leather boots, the dark-haired Shadowhunter had no trouble keeping up with Jace as they raced through the institute. Though Jace was stronger, and faster, and just naturally best at anything, Izzy was an excellent sprinter. (Gotta keep those boys off you, you know.) Not to mention her hardened muscles from training.
They continued the hunt upstairs. Jace flying silently up the steps with Izzy gliding gracefully after him. Runes for silence, stealth.
When Izzy turned around the corner, Jace was suddenly gone. Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Isabelle began contemplating whether or not to search the rooms. Eventually, she decided she might as well.
Boldly walking up to the first door, Izzy threw it open, only to be attacked by a broom. Killer brooms. Well, you never know... Isabelle hoped Jace wasn't anywhere close enough to heard the muffled yelp that managed to escape from the Shadowhunter's mouth as a few brooms and other cleaning supplies fell out of the closet.
Izzy heard a chuckle and the slim figure of Alec strolled up with his hands in his pockets and a towel draped over his bare shoulders.
"Haven't you ever heard of shirts? They're wonderful things, you know," Izzy quipped. "Not everyone wants to be blinded, here."
"I just took a shower," Alec replied calmly. "I didn't want my shirt to get wet from my hair."
"And since when did you start caring about your clothes?"
Alec looked away, not meeting Isabelle's gaze.
"Hmm?" Izzy pressed, now starting to enjoy bothering her brother.
"SinceMagnusstartedmakingme," Alec said quietly, in a rush.
Izzy couldn't understand all of the hastily mumbled words, but she got the gist of it. "Uh-huh, and -"
"Anyway," Alec cut her off. "What were you doing in the broom closet?"
"What people usually do a broom closet, maybe?"
"You have no idea how wrong that sounded, Izzy," Jace said, coming up from behind the dark-haired Shadowhunter. Isabelle whirled to glare at him.
"You!" she snarled. Ugh. And he was wearing his customary smirk, too. Jace was mocking her now. Oh, he'd pay.
"Yes, I suppose you can call me you, but then of course, that means I can call you me, and that would be quite confusing, wouldn't it?"
"Do you want me to go with you to California or not, Boy?" Isabelle growled at him.
"Alright, alright. I relent." Jace held up his hands defensively. "Don't bite my head off."
"Oh, I wouldn't dare," Izzy said, her tone dangerous. She sneered at him. "Your dad would kill me for getting the floor dirty."
A bell sounded from somewhere in Institute, and Jace said, "Doorbell."
"Nooo." Isabelle drew the word out, adding on an accent so it sounded more like naw rather than no. "I thought it was a kitten," she said sarcastically as the trio started walking. They passed the kitchen, and Alec paused to grab a bottle of water before continuing his journey with Izzy and Jace to the front door.
"So, you're going to California?" Alec asked, raising a eyebrow at Izzy.
"Uh... Yeah?" Isabelle's voice rose to a questioning squeak as she spoke.
"With yours truly," said Jace, walking up to Isabelle and throwing his arm around her shoulders.
And Jace, just to be a jerk, added, "It's for our honeymoon."
Alec, however, was taking a swig of water just as Jace said that. The result was a very much damp and very much not-laughing Jace. Izzy, however, was trying to get a six-pack from laughing so hard, and even Alec was chuckling a little, despite having spit water all over his parabatai.
"You know," Izzy said. "Despite that comment, Alec already got you back for me. Who's laughing now, huh, Jace Wayland?"
"You know," Jace mused, still dripping water all over the place, "I've never actually seen someone do that before."
The doorbell rang again just as the trio reached the entrance and Izzy gave an annoyed, "Hold on!"
"What do I hold on to?" The person on the other side of the door shouted.
"Definitely Cammy," Izzy muttered.
"OPEN THE DOOR ALREADY!" Chamomile yelled just as Jace opened said door.
"Chill, Girl," Jace said.
The tall blonde warlock sauntered calmly into the Institute. As she passed Jace, she whirled and kicked him in the side.
"Ow," Jace said, only half-meaning it.
"You're dripping wet," Cammy observed.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious."
"Hey, Camon," Alec said, called Camomile by the nickname he'd given her. "That would be my fault." He raised the water bottle in a toasting gesture and took another swig.
"Hi. And I don't even want to know," Cammy replied. She turned to look at all of them and seemed to decide, after giving Alec a peculiar look, that it was better not ask why he wasn't wearing a shirt like someone who wanted to blind children. "So," she said finally, regaining her composure. "I'm gonna stay here while you two are gone. Where do I stay, and when do you leave so I know what time to write on the party invites?"
"Follow me," said Jace, walking deeper into the Institute. "And tomorrow, at one."
"What?!" Izzy yelled. "I need to pack! Jaaaaaa-ceeeeee!" She turned the name into a whine. With that, Isabelle ran ahead to go pack for their trip. Then she came flying back. After slapping Jace on the shoulder, she ran, once again, towards her room to pack everything she would need for California. Including rocks. Because Angel knows everyone need rocks for trips to Cali.
I know I've kind of left this off at an awkward spot, but that's because I shortened this chapter. It's not because I don't have enough inspiration, but because I wrote a lot of this all in one piece and when I divided it into chapters, that's how this came out.
Note that a lot of these chapters will be really short, but updates should be much, much more frequent than my other stories. So please, bear with me.
Anyway, thoughts? I know some characters, Isabelle, for example, may be a bit out of character, but I'm quite sure they'll get better. And Alec still isn't wearing a shirt. I'll leave with that image in my reader's heads.