Veronica
"Thank you," Veronica said to Luke, nodding at Alec before addressing Mrs. Parker. "And I hundred percent agree. I am inappropriate with no sense of self control," she began, looking down to the ground.
She noticed from the corner of her eye Alec giving her a suspicious glance.
"You must forgive me, I am practically an orphan after all," she continued. "Fatherless… motherless... I can't imagine the kind of sick person that would pick on me…" she said, slowly looking up to Luke, batting her eyelashes.
Luke appeared sympathetic.
"This is utterly ridiculous! I never once picked on her," Ruby said, pointing her snotty nose in the air. "She thinks she's above all the rules here, and doesn't care about anyone but herself." Yola placed her hand sympathetically on her daughter's shoulder.
Everyone else in the room appeared taken aback. "Miss Parker…" Luke began.
"The last straw was when she lied about sneaking around with my boyfriend. She is so fake!" cried Ruby, pointing her hand at Veronica in awe.
"The only thing that's 'fake' in this room is your choppy highlights," Veronica replies, appearing unphased. Ruby and her mother gasped, and Alec looked up at the ceiling in what Veronica could only imagine was prayers to Raziel.
"Now now girls," Luke announced, shaking his head as he appeared to be sorting through his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "Two days suspension for the both of you. That will give me enough time to properly analyze the situation and develop a better plan of how to cope with the tension between the two of you. Whether that will be changing around your class schedules or alerting your teachers to be aware of this- I'm not sure yet. One thing is for certain though: physical violence is not condoned at this academy."
Ruby and her parents were expectedly outraged. Veronica attempted to bite her tongue, but she couldn't help herself. "But this is literally a school where we learn… to be physically violent."
She heard Alec sigh beside her, but Luke surprisingly gave a soft smile. "Yes, and you girls are quite good fighters. However, instead of using that gift recklessly, you have to learn how to direct that ability to help the world and to become powerful shadowhunters." He stood up from his chair, disregarding the protests from Ruby's parents.
"This decision is final and is not to be discussed today. When Ruby comes back from her suspension, we can further discuss this matter." Luke gave the three Parkers a curt nod. "Thank you for your understanding."
The Parkers made their way out of the room, led by Yola who was muttering something under her breath. She probably only didn't say anything out loud to not create too much beef with the Consul. Veronica attempted to make eye contact with Ruby, who she received a glare from in return. Veronica only smiled back. Ruby's father was the last one out the door, and he offered Luke a nod in goodbye before shutting the door behind them.
"Consul, please stay a moment." Luke said, stopping Veronica and Alec from standing next. "There are other, more urgent things that we must address." He told them, mainly looking at Alec.
Alec looked from Veronica to Luke. "Oh, um, go on."
"It has come to my attention that Veronica has been skipping class…" Luke began, walking over to where the two of them were seated.
"Well, that's not very surprising," Alec said, giving Veronica a knowing glance.
"Not only that," Luke continued, pulling an envelope out from his pocket. "These photos anonymously appeared on my desk," Luke said as Veronica watched him hand Alec the envelope before taking a seat in a chair beside them.
Veronica attempted to look over Alec's shoulder as he took out the photos, but he faced them out of her line of sight- sticking his free hand out and moving backward as he noticed her trying to get a peek.
He seemed surprised at first, then confused, before composing himself suspiciously calmly, sorting through the photos. "I see," is all he said.
"Well, what is it?" Veronica urged on, looking between Luke and her oldest brother.
Alec and Luke seemed to be having a conversation with just their eyes. "Veronica, wait outside," is all he said.
"No," Veronica said, standing up in clear confusion. "Show me that," she said, attempting to grab the photos from her brother.
"I said, wait outside," he responded harshly, pulling back from her reach. "Magnus is outside ready to open a portal. Go grab your stuff, we're heading back home."
"You mean back to the institute?! Will somebody tell me what's going on for once."
Alec seemed to have finally snapped, huffing out breath and facing his sister. "Dammit Veronica, just follow instructions for once in your life. Take Magnus with you to grab your stuff from your room, and meet back here once you guys are done. Goodbye." Veronica stood there for a moment, staring at Alec in somewhat hurt. "I said, goodbye," he said in finality.
Veronica let out a huff, analyzing Luke and Alec one last time before waltzing out of the room and slamming the double doors behind her.
Magnus
Here we go again, Magnus thought, watching as Alec's youngest sister slammed the office doors behind her. He had seen many angry Lightwoods in his days, along with many upset Herondales. This girl in particular reminded him of a certain Herondale Lightwood, both in appearance and in her annoyingly stubborn personality.
"What's going on, cupcake?" he said, catching her attention.
"Don't call me that!" was her only response, as she continued her waltz down the hallway.
She sure has changed a lot since she was ten, Magnus thought, as he took a few steps after her. Admittedly, he had been eavesdropping against the door throughout the entire meeting. There wasn't much else to entertain himself with while waiting, except for the ghastly portraits of the blab prior Deans of this raziel-forsaken place.
Therefore, Magnus was aware that Alec wanted him to go with Veronica to get her stuff, and he intended to see his love's request through.
"Hey cupcake, wait up!" He said, beginning to speed walk after her. She clearly wouldn't slow down for him, and Magnus certainly wasn't in the mood to go for a jog.
With a simple snap of his fingers, Magnus appeared in front of Veronica, sticking his hand out to stop her. She appeared annoyed, her eyes glancing to the wall as she avoided eye contact. Her eyes were the same shade of blue as Alec's.
"Okay cupcake, you're clearly not happy with whatever happened in there. Want to talk about it?"
Veronica simply shoved past him.
"I'll take that as a no," Magnus said, sighing as he continued to keep up with her stride.
"You know, whoever designed this place really deserved a raise," Magnus said in an admiring tone, looking around at the high ceilings and stone walls. "They really captured the essence of what life in a prison would feel like. This place feels more prison-y than the prisons that I've been in myself."
Veronica turned to face him for a moment. "You've been to prison?" Magnus was glad to have finally caught her attention.
"All warlocks have been through that phase," he winked a cat eye at her.
Veronica rolled her eyes, not watching where she was going as she turned left at a corridor, colliding with another student.
"Ugh, watch where you're going," she instinctively said before actually looking at the boy who she had collided with. He was tall, with tousled blonde hair and a crooked smile, wearing the same uniform tie as Veronica. She immediately blushed.
"Veronica Lightwood.." the boy said in a cocky tone, looking her up and down as he smirked at her. She crossed her arms. "I missed your pretty self at my party last night- we all did," he said chuckling, leaning against the brick wall. "Where were you, anyway?"
"None of your business, you creep," Veronica responded, and attempted to keep walking again before he put his hand out to stop her at the shoulder. He didn't seem to notice Magnus standing on the other side of the corner.
"Let me guess.. you were busy with your 'besties' by the lake," he smiled. Magnus didn't like this Shaggy-looking guy. Veronica offered him no response.
"Oh Ronnie, don't be like that girl," he said, turning her to face him again. "What's a guy gotta do to get a girl like you's attention? I've already bought you pods and shit like that, and I don't even get a smile in return?"
Veronica appeared to be disgusted. "I don't owe you shit," she said, shoving his hand off her shoulder, then proceeding to wipe herself off. He stood up more straight in response, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Don't you start acting all high and mighty on me girl. Do I have to remind you of what I caught you doing last weekend? I would hate for a rumor to get around…"
Veronica hesitated. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Topher. Now get out of my way before I have Magnus here cast a spell on you," she responded.
Magnus didn't miss a beat, excitedly stepping up from behind the corner. Topher immediately stopped leaning against the wall, sucking his breath in in surprise. Magnus tended to have that effect on people. Afterall, he is the High Warlock of Alicante.
"What was that about casting a spell?" Magnus added on, sounding excited to put this unhygienic looking teenager in his place.
The boy cleared his throat, forcing an uneven looking smile. "M-Magnus Bane." He hesitated, turning to Veronica. "I-I," he began, stumbling for something to say, but came up with nothing. "I'm going to be late to class," he said after a moment.
"That's funny- class started ten minutes ago," Veronica said, her voice sounding confused.
He cleared his throat, saying nothing else in response before continuing down the hallway.
"That's what I thought," Veronica shouted after him, squeezing her fists as she continued waltzing down the dim hallway.
Here we go again. Magnus thought, rolling his eyes as he tried to keep up after her. She was surprisingly fast for someone not very tall.
Veronica
"So, who was that hunk," she heard Magnus say from behind her.
Veronica wasn't in the speaking mood, but couldn't completely ignore the man after he had helped her avoid an ugly situation. "Christopher," she replied.
"Ah, yes. Yet another creative shadowhunter name."
Veronica sighed. Typically, under different circumstances, she didn't mind talking to her brother's fiance. Right now though, she was too caught up thinking about what in the Raziel Alec and Luke must be discussing right now. Was her report card in that envelope? Sure, she had been skipping classes, but even if her grades were bad they wouldn't be keeping it a secret from her.
"You know Cupcake…"
"What?" she said, stopping as she arrived at her dorm room door. She turned to Magnus in clear annoyance. He returned with the same energy this time.
"You know, it's not my fault that you like getting involved in all of this… teenage drama. I have been alive wayyy longer than you have and have seen these things go down way too many times- believe me. I was alive during the teenage angst of Romeo and Juliette- and no, it wasn't just a story. It was the 16th century, and I was eating at this high-class Italian restaurant when…"
Veronica chose to tune the rest of Magnus's ramble out, opening the door to her dorm room. It was a mess, as expected. Her roommate Mya was bad about picking up after herself, and so was Veronica. Veronica cautiously stepped over Mya's strown clothes, making her way over to her side of the room. She scanned the room, making sure there was nothing she wouldn't want Magnus to see. She passed by half empty cereal boxes and chip bags on the desk, quickly sliding a stray juul into an open drawer.
She turned to Magnus, who had stopped speaking and was looking around the room with his eyebrows curled in pure astonishment. "Somehow your room has managed to make the vibe of this school even worse." He walked further inside, examining a Timothee Chamalet poster board on the wall. "Ah yes, what is a teenage girl's dorm without a picture of the latest Hercules plastered on the wall."
"You know Magnus, you can just wait outside. I'll just be a second," Veronica said, not appreciating his judgemental tone. She pulled out her suitcase from underneath her four-poster bed.
He walked over to the small closet, its sliding door partly open. He bent over to pick something up, holding it up in the light. "How charming," he said, standing back up straight. Veronica stood up to look at Magnus, noticing he was holding up an almost-empty handle of Tito's.
"Put that down," she said, feeling like she was directing a curious child. She began disorderly shoving items into her duffel bag, trying not to accidentally grab anything of her roommate's.
Magnus continued to stroll around the room, still holding the bottle of Tito's in his left hand. "You're already living the college dorm life at fifteen," Magnus commented. He stopped by the window, his eyes squinting in thought as he overlooked the academy's lake.
"Except I'm not. In college people aren't constantly monitoring what you're doing," she commented back, zipping up her black duffel bag. She walked nearby Magnus, opening the drawer of her desk. She ripped out a piece of paper from a pink notebook along with a pen. She decided to write a quick note to her roommate Mya, telling her that she's leaving but to check snapchat for an explanation.
Veronica sighed, adjusting her duffel bag on her shoulder.
There was a knock on the door, before it was immediately swung open. On the other end was Alec, and standing behind Alec was Luke.
It only took Alec a moment before he expectedly began with disapproving comments. "Veronica Lightwood," he began, hand still leaning against the doorknob. "How do you live like this?! This place is a mess!"
Veronica rolled her eyes, walking toward the door. "Can we just go now?"
However, Alec would not let it up. "Clothes… everywhere! I can't even see the floor!" His eyes were wide in disbelief. He let out a strangled breath of air. "Is that… are those chips on the ground? Veronica! You know this school must have rats."
Luke looked offended behind him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"And-" he gasped. "Magnus Bane!" he said disapprovingly, placing his hands on his hips. "Drinking? This early in the morning? What's gotten into you!"
Magnus looked down to his left hand, where he still held the bottle of Tito's. Veronica felt tempted to laugh but was hoping he would take the blame just for her roommate's sake. She was leaving the academy anyway and Alec was already pissed at her either way.
"Yeah, for shame Veronica," Magnus said, clearly just trying to deflect himself from Alec's scolding path.
Veronica crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at the both of them. She was still upset with Alec for kicking her out of the office earlier, and him scolding her only further infuriated her. "Are we done here?" she said bluntly.
Alec sighed, pursing his lips clearly trying to maintain his frustration until they got back to the institute. He made a gesture to Magnus, and his fiancee immediately understood to open up the portal.
Alec walked over to stand by Magnus and Veronica. He turned to Luke. "Thanks again, Luke," he said, as Magnus opened the portal.
"Of course Alec. Say hello to Clary and the others for me," Luke said in a suspiciously lighthearted tone.
"I will. We'll keep in touch," Alec said, lifting his hand as a wave. He grabbed the large duffel bag from Veronica, although she didn't want his help at the moment. He gestured for her to take a step through the portal. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and took a familiar yet uncomfortable step into the swirls of nothingness.