CHAPTER 11 – Homework

Kirsten miserably trudged to the front of the class while the rest of the students filed out. Mr. Tanner scrawled the homework questions at the top of the packet of worksheets, handing them to her with a sympathetic look that Kirsten ignored as she took the papers, looking away quickly from the name Mr. Tanner had also written at the top of the page.

Joanna Devereau.

Kirsten walked out of chemistry class with the pages clutched gently in her hands so as not to wrinkle them. She had a pile of Jo's homework at home, perfectly arranged on her desk. Jo's homework was the only clean, organized thing in her whole room. Kirsten was strangely obsessive-compulsive about it; she kept it in chronological order and according to subject. But when your best friend goes missing for three weeks, you tend to not worry about your own strange behaviour.

Alex was waiting for Kirsten, leaning against the lockers across the hall. He skipped class most days now, but always showed up to walk Kirsten silently to her next class, or all the way home at the end of the day. Kirsten took one look at him – shaggy brown hair falling in disarray over his eyes, eyes that were deeply shadowed, and the closed expression on his face – and there was a painful tightness in her chest.

But everything was fine. Of course Joanna would be back. Yes, Kirsten was fine. No need to talk about anything. Joanna was fine, and she'd be back soon. What was there to talk about? EVERYTHING WAS FINE.

Pretending everything was fine was the probably only way she was going to survive this without going crazy. But looking at Alex, she knew everything was not fine.

Kirsten was a girl of action, if nothing else. Her personality was bright and loud, and she wore clothes to match. Looking down at herself, she knew she'd fallen apart in the past few weeks. But then again, she'd always known that Joanna was the strong one. Yet no matter how badly this had affected her, she didn't care. What she cared about right now was the boy standing in front of her.

She grabbed Alex's arm and dragged him down the hall. For the first time in days her stride had a real purpose. He kept up easily as usual, and without resistance. It was only when she turned to walk into their world history class that he froze.

"C'mon Alex," she said determinedly, her fingers digging into his firm forearm as she pulled. "This has got to stop. You're coming to class." He didn't say a word.

"This is not a healthy way to deal with a break up!" Kirsten exclaimed. Now Alex gave her a pointed look. Kirsten rolled her eyes. "I know, I know." Okay, so she didn't get broken up with, but still. She touched his bruised knuckles with her other hand. "But this is not a good way to cope."

He stared into her eyes, and it was then that she realized how close they were standing, only a foot apart. His eyes were dark and fathomless, and they held her while the rest of the world passed by in a senseless blur. She dropped her hold as he reached up and brushed an unruly strand of her blonde hair away from her face. She was fairly sure she'd stopped breathing.

"Kirsten," he said, his voice quiet and rough. "Don't worry about me."

That was it. He turned and walked away, and by the time Kirsten had snapped back to herself, he was gone and the bell was ringing shrilly, the halls empty.

"Damn," she muttered, and not only because she was late for class.

"Do you ever stop reading?" Joanna looked up from her book. She was nestled in a leather chair next to one of the ten-foot-tall windows in the library while it poured rain outside. It was hopefully the last of the spring showers as June approached. It had been rainy or gloomy every day since the day Asher had found her.

She'd been deeply absorbed in a novel when Asher had wandered in, glancing at her as he browsed a shelf.

"Nope," she replied with a smile. Remington had given her free range of the library, and she had a pile of books on her nightstand, too. She always managed to fall asleep with one in her hand. She doubted her love of books would ever change. She used to love school, and she supposed she still did because she always enjoyed Remington's classes, and even Asher's impromptu lessons during training or at dinner. She still grinned at the mention of Salvos demons. Asher really knew how to tell a story.

She watched for a moment as he peered at the books in front of him, looking completely at ease as he plucked two volumes off the shelf. He walked over to her and took a seat in the chair across from her, tossing one of the books in his hands on the small coffee table between them. His artfully mussed hair gleamed almost silver in the grey light.

"That one's good," he said.

"How long have you been at this Institute?" she asked suddenly. She wasn't too shy to ask questions any more; she'd gotten over that weeks ago. And she realized that even though she considered him a friend – strangely enough, because technically he was her kidnapper. She smirked at that – she didn't really know that much about him, other than general Shadowhunter knowledge. She was curious.

"A couple of years," he said, opening the book he was still holding.

"Years?" she exclaimed in surprise. He nodded, raising an eyebrow. She'd expected a couple of months at the most. That's what it sounded like when Remington had talked about him coming here. "Where were you before?"

"Calgary Institute," he replied. "In Alberta."

"Why'd you leave?"

"Remington told you," he said. "My mom sent me here."

"But why?"

"I was having some problems at school." His expression almost perfectly neutral as he answered, but she could tell this was something he did not want to talk about. She'd been learning how to read body language and pick up on little things. Asher himself had taught her most of the tricks, and there was something about the tightness in his eyes told her to leave it alone.

"When's my mom going to be back?" she asked, changing the subject. Not that she didn't want to know what was going on with her mother. She saw him relax subtly.

"She got held up in Toronto. Something happened with the Seelie princess," Asher replied with a shrug. "Remington didn't say much about it."

"Faeries?" Joanna questioned. Asher nodded, and Jo frowned. "The Seelie Court is in Toronto?"

"No," Asher said. "The Seelie Court isn't really in any country. It just has entrances all over the world."

"Right."

"Really, haven't you been studying, Joanna?" he mock-scolded. She laughed.

"Yes," she said indignantly, playing along, and Asher grinned. Eventually her gaze shifted back to the window, silence falling between them. She watched as the waves of the ocean pounded against the rocks, sending up a white spray. It was beautiful, despite the bland grey sky. Alex would have loved the view. Kirsten would have wanted to swim, of course. The smile slipped off her face.

"Why am I here, Asher?" she asked quietly. She tore her gaze away from the water and looked at him. Asher looked up from the open book in his hands and met her eyes. He was about to say something when he suddenly shifted his gaze over her shoulder.

"All in due time, Joanna." It was Remington. Joanna looked over her shoulder at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Everything will be explained when you're ready."

Hey everybody! Thanks so all who reviewed/read! Sorry this took so long to update! And I know this is a short one, but more is on the way very soon!
And yes, everything will be explained when you're ready :P

- Cat