"There. Now it looks fine. No...You are making it crooked again." Jem straightened Will's tie, fixing the collar of his elegant suit. Will scowled, crossing his arms, only to mess up his violet tie for the hundredth time. With an exasperated sigh, Jem tightened it, ignoring the fact that Will choked in protest.
"Why do I have to wear this?" Will complained, holding out his arms.
"Its a Christmas party. You're supposed to look nice." Jem said as if he were addressing a small child. "You need to look acceptable. Charlotte did say to be at your finest, but I doubt she was talking about clothing."
"Then what do you suppose she was talking about."
"Your attitude! You are hated by almost all of the guests because of your manner of speaking." Stepping back, Jem nodded. "I suppose you look alright."
"Suppose? I could wear a ladies dress and still look gorgeous." Will went to instinctively move his hair out of his face when he realized it had been slicked back into a classy hairstyle, which, in other words, meant that Will hated it. Jem looked at ease, slipping his pearly white gloves onto his hands and pulling the cusp of his jacket over the clasps. A soft, pleasant smile graced Jem's mouth, which would have been absolutely charming if Will's constant glare didn't always scare people off.
"Are you ready to go out, then?" Jem said softly. Then again, he was always soft, almost shy, at the parties. Will had always been loud enough, and rude enough, for the both of them. On the other hand, Jem was quiet, scanning the crowds curiously and engaging only in bits and pieces of small talk.
"The path to paradise begins in hell." Will moved to open the door, Jem following him. "Dante is quite right when it comes to hell."
"Its warm?" Jem inquired without much interest.
"Well, the ninth circle of hell is frozen over, but that hardly is the point." Will pushed open the door, his mouth drawn up in disgust when he saw the mass of people in the London Institute main hall. "I'd rather get a million needles seared into my skin than go to another blasted Christmas party."
Women in absurdly adorned dresses gawked at the other men, waving their fans in front of them. Jessamine led a group of girls, obviously not very excited in the prospect of being surrounded by other Shadowhunters. It had seemed as if the whole place had been drenched in lace and pearls, hiding all other designs from sight. Gabriel and Gideon were in one side of the room, their stormy green eyes cutting through the room in disdain.
Jem pulled at Will's arm, biting his lip subconsciously as he looked at the overwhelming sight. "Might as well make the best of it, Will."
"Best? Hah. I'm going to go grab a drink." Will stalked off into the crowd, leaving Jem staring hopelessly behind him. Turning around, he sputtered an apology when he nearly hit into a very tall and extremely voluptuous, creepy Shadowhunter woman. She said something profusely in French before moving to greet another one of the guests.
Charlotte was nearby, her dress abnormally dressed up to the occasion. Henry, Jem guessed, probably refused to come out to the party. He isn't exactly the most sociable and I doubt he would want to come to a Christmas party. For once, Jem almost agreed with him, wondering what would be the best way to slip out and join Henry in the basement. While being blown up or set on fire would be one of the risks, Jem couldn't stand just wandering aimlessly through the party halls. At least there might be something he could do in the basement.
However, Jem just migrated towards the wall and leaned against it nonchalantly. He was lonely without his parabatai, and inwardly hoped for someone to talk to. While he was not as talkative as Will sometimes was, he still felt the need to be part of a conversation. Instead, he was passed by as if he were not there and had blended into the beige wallpaper of the hall.
Then, out of the crowd of people. Will stumbled out, his mouth reddening with blood. "I'm done with this stupid party!"
"What happened now?" Jem asked, pulling Will out of harms way. "I don't get how you manage to get hit every single year at the Christmas parties. Who was it? Gabriel? Gideon?"
"No. That monster." Will pointed at a young woman next to Jessamine, who face was twisted in a look of hatred. Will muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely like, "She's sofa king dump."
Jem sighed inwardly. "What did you do?"
"I'm not telling you. But I just don't understand how comparing two women is considered offensive." Will said placidly, ignoring Jem's look of incredulous horror.
"You did not."
"Oh, but I did." Will said smugly, wiping blood from his mouth. His hair had been mused, his tie still crooked, and now there was a small blood stain on his sleeve. Jem put his face in his hands, trying not to snap. Grabbing his parabatai by the wrist, he marched Will to the corner of the room.
"This is what Charlotte is talking about."
"What?" Will frowned.
"You angering the guests. You know, George Penhallow nearly reported you to the Clave last time for trying to put acid on the drink bar."
Will shrugged innocently. "They wouldn't give me my drink, plus he's a huge pain in the-"
"I get it. Just try to be more friendly and welcoming." Jem nudged Will good-naturedly back into the throng of people. "I'm going to be in my room."
"And I'll be at the drink bar." Will clicked his tongue before heading off to get his drink. Jem turned around, hoping that his parabatai wouldn't get into any more trouble.
