CHAPTER 9: HARDTAIL
[S1E4 Raising Hell (Part II)]
Margo, Jace and Clary were currently waiting in line at the Hardtail nightclub.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Last time we were here, this place was crawling with vampires." Clary spoke up.
Jace rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. Margo took notice of the leather jacket he wore and cursed herself for not bringing one on this chilly night. "Relax, all Downworlders hang out here. We just came on vampire night."
"Right. And, when is all this going to sound normal to me?"
"I don't know." Jace turned to Margo, who had been awfully quiet and who hadn't perked up at the first opportunity to patrol the perimeter with the Lightwood siblings. Something was off with her, Jace could tell. "Go, you okay?"
The brunette's head popped up as she heard her name, her eyes immediately finding Jace. She hesitated at answering but just as she opened her mouth to do so, Alec and Isabelle joined the trio. Margo's eyes scanned Alec for a few seconds before turning to the ground again. Jace noticed.
"All clear," Alec informed.
Isabelle stepped over to stand by her parabatai, linking arms with her. "Do you think red's my color?" she asked, grazing her hand over the ruby necklace Hodge had given her.
Margo rolled her eyes. "Babe, with a body like yours, everything's your color."
Isabelle seemed content with her answer. "Good point. Damn, I made this necklace look so good." She frowned, hating the thought of parting with it.
Alec grunted from behind her. "Will you take it off? I'm certain Magnus Bane doesn't want drool on his ruby when we make the exchange."
Isabelle smiled mischievously, nudging her parabatai. "You know, I wouldn't be so sure. Most men like it when I admire their jewels."
It was a good double entendre but Margo only gave a small smile to the comment, her thoughts still hanging heavy above her.
"Can you just give it to Jace?"
Isabelle giggled, unhooking the necklace and passing it back to Alec to pass to Jace. "You're such a buzzkill."
Alec, who hadn't glanced at Margo, was suddenly staring at her. The girl had barely acknowledged him since his temper tantrum back at the Institute.
When the five Shadowhunters walked into the club, it was clear that this was the biggest party of the year. The music was lively, the people were toxic - surely Magnus Bane had to be here.
"Blend in," Jace advised, "Keep your weapons ready."
Whilst Clary and Jace headed off to find Magnus, the Lightwood siblings and Margo stared between themselves. "I need a drink," Margo mumbled, quickly stepping away from the two and making her way towards the bar.
She rested her forearms on the tabletop in front of her as the bartender made his way over. "What can I get you, gorgeous?" he politely asked.
"Vodka diet coke," Margo replied, "Please."
He nodded, turning his back to her to make the cocktail. She was unaware of Alec's lingering eyes on her. He sighed from a few yards away before making his way towards her.
Alec leaned his elbow on the counter, turning to Margo. "Are you okay, Go?" he tentatively asked.
She nodded her head, keeping her eyes on anything that wasn't the boy next to her. "Fine."
"You sure?"
She knew he didn't like to talk about feelings but at this point, she couldn't have given less of a fuck. "Are you okay?" she turned his question on him.
His eyes filled with confusion. "Yeah... I'm okay," he answered slowly.
"Really? Are you?"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
She growled, "You're not-" She cut herself off when the bartender slid Margo's drink over to her and accepted her five dollar bill as payment.
"Here you go, doll."
"Thank you." He eyed the two of them suspiciously before turning to the next customer. Margo turned back to Alec. "I thought you started acting different since Clary got here. But, that was just when I noticed it, wasn't it? It's been like this for a while, Alec, and I've been oblivious to it."
"To what?" He was starting to get frustrated. With frustration came anger and with anger came the raising of voices.
Alec hadn't ever raised his voice at Margo, at least not for something serious. He sometimes yelled at her when she spilled food on him or played a prank on him - that was mostly when they were younger.
"You tell me."
"Margo, I haven't been acting different."
She scoffed. "Really? So, you want to tell me why we're not like we used to be? You want to explain to me why everything Izzy says suddenly seems to get on your nerves? Or why Jace's interest in Clary somehow offends you? What's up with you, Alec?" Margo desperately asked.
He frowned, suddenly feeling himself raise his voice. "Nothing is up with me. Maybe I'm just stuck being the adult around here because all of you guys are acting like children. You know, maybe if you did something useful - you know, other than flirt all the time - we'd all be getting somewhere."
His words stumbled out of him before he could stop. The liquid courage he'd consumed just minutes before was now taking its toll. He didn't realize what he was saying or why he was saying it.
But Margo understood perfectly.
She pursed her lips, glaring at Alec, the one person she'd never expect would use a weakness against her. "You know what, Alec?" She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes as she blinked furiously. "Go fuck yourself."
She made a quick exit, leaving her drink untouched at the bar. Isabelle caught up to her, unaware of what had just transpired between her older brother and her best friend.
"Go," she called out to her parabatai, feeling an ache in her own heart. She was feeling the full extent of the parabatai bond - all intense, overwhelming emotions Margo felt, Isabelle did too. "Margo." She grabbed her best friend's bicep, pulling her back to face Isabelle.
She sniffled, tears falling out of her eyes as she used the back of her hand to try and stop them. She was having a hard time breathing. She could feel her chest tighten and her lungs fail to provide her with a sufficient amount of oxygen. "Iz," she simply said before letting her emotions take over.
The tears rolled down her cheeks freely as she clung to her best friend, trying to tame her uneven breathing. There the two girls stood, in the middle of a nightclub, wrapped up in a hug.
"Margo, what's wrong?" She was afraid to ask... afraid that she already knew the answer... afraid that she had guessed correctly.
"A-Alec," Margo stuttered, hiccuping as she sniffled.
Isabelle closed her eyes, sighing and shaking her head. She knew it.
She'd never seen Margo so emotional. It was rare for her to even let a tear slip in private, let alone in public. But, here she was, bawling her eyes out as her best friend rubbed her back.
Isabelle guided Margo towards a secluded corner of the club, grabbing a few napkins off a vacant table and dabbing away under Margo's eyes.
Her crying had subsided in the span of twenty minutes, all thanks to her parabatai. Isabelle had rubbed her back, spoken soft, encouraging words to her, and held her hand until she stopped crying.
Margo was sure she looked like a mess now. Her face felt blotchy and her nose stuffy. Her under-eyes were surely swollen a bit from all the water she had unwillingly let loose. Her hands shook. She stared at the ground for a moment until a woman wailed from a few feet away. "Look out!"
Margo's eyes followed where the woman's hands were pointing, eyeing Magnus Bane as an arrow flew through the air, hitting a man behind him. His eyes widened in shock.
Margo looked back at Isabelle, who led her towards Clary and Jace.
As Jace glanced back at the two, he took notice of Margo's ill condition. She shook her head at him, letting him know not to ask, at least not now. He nodded, moving to secure the perimeter.
A head of raven-colored hair swooshed past Margo, hunching down beside the man he'd just shot with an arrow of his. "Who are you?" Margo heard Magnus ask as he eyed Alec. He turned to walk through the portal he had created moments before but Clary caught his arm.
"Magnus, wait! You're my only hope."
"Valentine found us. I warned your mother this might happen." Magnus slipped past her grip as he entered the portal, leaving only a button in Clary's possession.
Jace returned, stating, "The area's secure. Looks like he was the only assassin."
Alec leaned down to glance at the man. "He has a Circle rune on the base of his neck."
"They found us," Isabelle whispered.
Jace agreed. "It's not safe here. We have to go." Margo followed after Isabelle as Jace hurried Clary.
The five Shadowhunters exited the club, more than half feeling overwhelmed by emotions.
Clary moved in front of Margo and when she stopped, so did the brunette. "Clary, Go, we have to move," Jace urged as Isabelle walked over to her two girl friends.
"I'm catching my breath," Clary informed. Margo remained silent, simply staring ahead at Clary.
Alec and Jace stopped a few feet away, the former of whom completely lost his shit. "You know what? This is great. Not only did Magnus not get the girl her memories back, he took the necklace. This is fantastic..."
"Alec, the girl... Her name is Clary and I highly suggest you keep your voice down," Jace growled.
"Why? What, are you afraid I'm going to upset her? We have risked our lives again and again for this girl, and where has it gotten us?" Jace avoided looking him in the eye. "Nowhere. We're no closer to getting the Mortal Cup. And we've lost the Institute's necklace."
Clary seemed to gain her breath back then. "Hey, I am right here," she snapped at Alec, "And I don't care about your damn jewelry. I'm sorry you're going to look bad in front of your bosses, okay? But my mother is still missing and my last chance at finding her just disappeared into thin air."
Isabelle grabbed her friend's hand. "Clary, it's going to be fine." She glanced between Margo and Clary, her two heartbroken friends.
Margo looked at the redhead, deep in thought. If one of them needed to be strong right now, it was Clary. After all, Margo was just useless, according to Alec.
"No, it's not!" She ripped her hand out of Isabelle's. "People are dying because of me. And Magnus? Magnus will never come out of hiding again while Valentine is still after him." She let out a heartless laugh. "We're never going to find him. And I will-I will never get my memories back."
How had a night full of so much promise end so terribly?
At the beginning of the day, Isabelle and Margo were inexplicably excited for this night, but now that they were there, both were miserable.
Margo caught Clary's hand, grabbing the button Magnus had left in Clary's possession. "You give up way too easy," she commented before grabbing Isabelle's hand and leading her a few feet away. "Ready, parabatai?" She looked up, catching the brown eyes of her best friend.
She smiled softly, nodding. Though she hadn't told her, Isabelle thought Margo was fucking strong - she could withstand all of Alec's shit and somehow still come up on top. She'd stopped her hysterics because she knew that there was an important mission at hand. The traces of dried tears on her face didn't make her look weak. They made her strong.
Margo grabbed Isabelle's hand as her parabatai did the same. They held the button between them, each using their steles to draw a rune on the other.
"What are they doing?" Clary asked.
Alec cleared his throat. "Parabatai tracking. Be quiet and keep your distance."
"The button belonged to Magnus. Together, Margo and Isabelle can pinpoint the location using that. When parabatais track, their power grows stronger. They're going to track Magnus together," Jace informed her.
Clary hesitated before replying. "This whole parabatai thing seems oddly intimate, if you ask me."
"You don't know the half of it."
The pair of girls closed their eyes, clasping their hands together, button in between, and concentrating. They parted not long after, both letting out content sighs, feeling drained of energy.
"Got him," Margo confirmed, preparing herself for the battle that was to come all too soon.