chapter 3: looking at you, like a star
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disclaimer: i do not own these lovely characters and anything from tmi
"Where the hell are you?" Isabelle's voice yelled from Clary's phone speaker, shattering the quiet in the room. She winced and held the phone away from her ear for a second, her eyes flickering to the bed. Raphael was resting lazily on the bed, leaning against the headboard with his legs stretched out in front of him, fixated on his phone. She hoped that the earphones he was using . Raphael hadn't glanced up at the window seat where she was sitting, so she assumed he hadn't heard Izzy's yelling.
"We've been calling you for more than two hours!" Isabelle cried. Clary sighed in defeat, accepting that Izzy's reaction was entirely appropriate, and what she deserved.
After Raphael had bandaged up her hand, she had finally decided to pull out her phone from her jeans. It was on silent, so she had no idea how many messages or calls she had missed until she opened it. A violent number of texts and calls popped up in her notifications, provoking Clary to softly swear under her breath. Concluding that she had to face the consequences of her actions, she had called Isabelle. Raphael had noticed Clary pulling her phone to her ear, and shot her an amused look before pulling out earphones. Clary was internally grateful for that, not wanting him to hear the conversation.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Clary replied.
"You're sorry? Oh, you better be sorry. Why did you run off like that? Jace left a short while after you, and he refused to say anything."
Probably went to see his stupid girlfriend, Clary thought in anger.
"Izzy, Jace and I… we broke up. He… uh, cheated on me," she said quietly.
"He WHAT?" Four voices yelled out through the phone. Clary flinched and almost dropped the phone.
"Sorry, I should've mentioned that you're on speaker," Izzy muttered hastily.
"Yeah, I got that."
"I'm so sorry, Clary," Genuine concern lined her voice.
"He's a jerk," Simon piped up.
"How are you holding up?" Magnus asked cautiously. His voice was slightly on edge, but Clary did not dwell on it.
"I'm fine," Clary mumbled, too tired to discuss how she was the opposite of fine.
"Right," Isabelle replied in a doubting tone. "Anyways, where are you?"
"Hotel Durmont."
A series of responses attacked Clary. Isabelle simply yelled "WHAT?", whereas Simon resorted to "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?". Magnus went with "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THERE?" and Alec just sighed very loudly.
"Okay, okay calm down," Clary said hastily. She noticed that Raphael still had not looked up from his phone, thankfully.
"Calm down? No, Clary. Why the fuck are you at Hotel Durmont?" Anger ran through Isabelle's words, but a hint of concern peeked out too.
"I don't know… I just had to get away from the institute, and I ended up here," Clary knew her answer would spark more questions.
"You do realise, it's filled with vampires? Like blood-sucking, will tear you throat out, vampires? Not to mention, the specific bastard that turned me into a vampire?" Simon asked, clearly mad at her too.
"Yeah, I haven't forgotten Simon. But I'm fine. None of them have attacked me, and I'm talking to you, see? Clearly alive and haven't gotten my throat ripped out-"
"Yet." Magnus gravely cut in, "I'm assuming you haven't been attacked yet because Raphael gave orders?"
"Yes," Clary glanced up to make sure the vampire in question wasn't paying attention, but still lowered her voice as she continued. "He's been… welcoming. There hasn't been a single indication that he's going to kill me."
Magnus sighed, hesitating for a second before speaking, "Clary, you can't trust him, you know that right? Raphael has many secrets, and he is all too good at hiding his true intentions. I've known him forever, and trust me when I say, you don't want to fall into his charms."
"There are no charms," Clary said defensively. "And I can manage myself."
Magnus was starting to speak, when Alec cut him off, "We know you can manage yourself," he said. "But, just be careful, alright?"
"I will. Besides, I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"That might not be the best idea," Alec muttered. "I don't think you should see Jace for another week. He's been a real asshole."
Everyone was quiet for a second, unsure how to react to Alec being upset with Jace.
"Another week at Durmont? Is that even safe?" Isabelle asked, breaking the silence.
"Of course not," Simon snapped, "Can't she just stay at Magnus'?"
"No can do," Magnus said, "I'm getting the place renovated."
"Anybody have any other options?" Clary asked. When nobody replied, she continued, "So it's settled, I'll stay here for another week – if Raphael allows it. If not, well I'll find some way to avoid Jace at the institute."
"On a bright note, when you come back, everyone's going to be too busy preparing for the ball so you'll have lots of opportunities to stay away from Jace." Izzy said, her tone slightly bright.
"And try on our new dresses? Along with hairstyle and makeup?" Clary asked, hoping to smooth over her friend's angers entirely by appealing to their interests.
"Of course," Magnus said happily, over Isabelle's yells of satisfaction.
"I'm looking forward to it," Clary replied, smiling now.
"Oh yeah, and Clary? Do make sure to come back in a week, or else we won't know how to explain to Jocelyn why you are staying in a hotel full of vampires. Or at least, we won't be able to control her anger," Simon stated solemnly.
"And we promise not to say anything to any of the adults, including Robert and Maryse," Alec added quickly.
"Right, thank you, guys," Clary said, ending the call.
"Golden-boy cheated on you?" Raphael asked, immediately after she had hung up. He got off the bed, taking off his earphones and walking towards her, his expression filled with surprise. Clary glared at him while standing up and putting her phone in her pocket.
"You were listening?" she asked, angrily.
"No, I can read your mind," he said, rolling his eyes. "Of course I was listening."
"Well, then you already know what I'm going to ask you," she said, still mad.
"Yes, you can stay another week. I'll make sure you don't get killed."
"Thanks," Clary grumbled.
"No problem. I may be a 'horrible, blood-sucking idiot' but I'm not planning for you to end up dead while you're here," Raphael said, his bored tone giving way for a tiny smirk.
"Great," she muttered.
"I have to take a shower now, but you should probably get some sleep," he said, changing the conversation.
"Uh, sure, but – and this is probably a stupid question – I was wondering if you had any food?" she asked, her voice uncertain.
"Sí," Raphael started, and Clary got hopeful, "That is a stupid question," he finished, and she sighed in annoyance. "However, I can take you out to get food."
"I'm fine." Clary said, not wanting to go out at around 11:30pm with Raphael, especially.
"Really?" Raphael asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "Last time you said that to me, you got your hand cut."
She eyed him in irritation. "I'll manage until morning," she said.
"When did you last eat?" he inquired.
Why doesn't he just let it go? Clary thought and then answered softly, "Noon."
"I'm not mortal, but I'm pretty sure you shouldn't go twelve hours without eating, especially considering you ran all the way here from your institute, and then climbed ten flights of stairs."
Clary startled a little as she thought she heard a hint of concern in his words.
"We're going out, after I have a shower," he said, in a tone that made it clear that she couldn't disagree with it.
"Fine," she replied, confused by his control.
Out of the corner of her eye, Clary saw him shake his head at her, probably in exasperation. Then without another word, he walked into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him and leaving Clary in bewilderment.
Raphael
Stupid, stupid, stupid, was the monologue inside Raphael's head. Why did I slam the door shut? Stupid. Now she's going to think something's wrong, he thought, as he took off his jacket and pulled off his shirt so hard that it ripped.
Great. He slid off his pants, and left them on the floor, his mind whirling as he stepped into the shower. The water that hit him was freezing cold, but it barely bothered him. What did bother him, was that stubborn little redhead on the other side of the door. He was unbelievably frustrated at her, this situation, his own actions.
When he had seen her, he had naturally been very shocked. He had no intention of even letting her into the hotel, until she had mentioned that she had nowhere else to go. That had made his entire mind change. She looked so vulnerable and small, and well, nobody had ever come to the Hotel Durmont for any reason other than business. So well, he did an incredibly stupid thing and invited her in.
You absolute idiot.
He couldn't afford to care about her. And he didn't, he found her annoying. Her stubbornness, while it contributed to her somewhat admirable courage, was also rather irritating. Couldn't she just accept things straight away, for once? And how was he supposed to deal with her for another week?
Groaning in vexation, Raphael turned off the water. All that time that he was regretting his actions, it had warmed up until it was almost boiling hot, making the entire bathroom steamy. He, of course, hadn't noticed it, even as he dried himself up and put on his clothes – minus his torn shirt. Not bothering to check his reflection, he walked out into the bedroom, shirtless and rubbing his damp hair with a towel.
He had expected to find Clary still on the window-seat, but instead he saw the TV was on, and he assumed she was lying on the sofa. There was that horrible vampire movie – Twilight playing. Raphael shook his head in disdain, as he couldn't believe anyone would willing watch something like that.
She probably has it on to irk me, he thought, but when he neared the sofa, he saw that she was in fact fast asleep, her legs curled up and her head resting on her left upper arm. She looked so peaceful; he didn't want to wake her up. Instead, he went and got a white shirt from his closet, pulling it on and pushing back the sleeves. He didn't care much for what he wore, if it was practical and comfortable, and not ridiculously expensive.
He glanced again at Clary from where he stood, in front of his closet door and next to the bookcase.
I have to wake her up now. And she's probably going to be annoyed. Great.
He made her way to her and sighed softly, is hovering above her shoulder for a minute. He didn't really know how she was going to react, and he wanted to minimalize any chance of an outburst. Raphael softly tapped her shoulder, saying "Clary, wake up." It took a few seconds, but she drowsily opened her eyes, and then snapped up when she registered that it was Raphael. Her hair was a wild mess, and he had to restrain himself from poking fun at her.
"Do you want to go take a shower and freshen up?"
She nodded at him, with wide eyes, and got up stumbling. Raphael repressed the urge to help her steady herself, and instead followed her with his eyes as she walked slowly to the bathroom. He noticed her wrap her arms around herself, rubbing them slightly.
She's cold, he observed, I should probably give her my jacket for when we go out. Wait, no, that would be odd. I should go ask Lily. Or should I? Would it be weird? But then if she gets sick, she would be harder to take care of. But it would be weird-
Raphael couldn't deal with this. Deciding that he might as well just get the jacket, and get away from where Clary was, he left the room. Lily's room was just down the corridor, her being his second-in-command. She usually backed him up in his decisions, but what had happened earlier with Clary tonight was unexpected. Lily had been much harsher than she usually is. One of the reasons she was his second was because she had a more lenient outlook to outsiders. He wasn't sure what had caused her to act so rude.
Raphael had reached Lily's door, and opened it without knocking, as he usually did. He had expected it to be empty, as he hadn't heard any sounds, but instead he found Lily in her bed with a blond man, both naked.
"Raphael, what the hell?" Lily asked, pulling up the blankets to cover both of them. The blond shifted slightly, and as the light fell on his blue eyes and unmistakable runes, Raphael realised who he was. He was too shocked to maintain his indifferent composure, and his face showed his surprise.
Oh, so that's why Lily was being bitchy to Clary.
"Hello, Jace," Raphael said, regaining his impassiveness.
"Hey. Haven't you heard of knocking?" the Shadowhunter said, slightly glaring at Raphael.
A dozen cutting remarks were on the tip of Raphael's tongue, but he chose to ignore them and focused on what he had come for.
"Do you have a jacket that I can borrow for Cl- our guest?" Raphael said, assuming that it would be for the best if Jace didn't know that Clary was here.
"Wait a minute," Lily said. Raphael noticed a rune inscribed into the door as he stepped out of the room and closed the door.
Ah, that's why I didn't hear anything.
In a minute, Lily opened the door, wearing an oversized t-shirt and clutching a black bomber jacket.
"Thanks," Raphael said, taking it from her. Lily looked as if she was about to say something, but instead just gave a sharp nod and closed her door, this time locking it.
When Raphael entered his room, Clary was sitting on the window seat, with an annoyed expression while texting on her phone. She looked up as the door closed shut and noticed the jacket in his hands, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"This is for you," Raphael said. She walked up to him and muttered a thanks as he handed it to her. When she wore it, it fit her almost perfectly and she seemed slightly more content.
"Now, if you don't mind, we should probably hurry. You don't want to deal with the workers on the night shift after 1 am. Their coffee hasn't kicked in by then, and they're just overall depressing."
She didn't ask how he knew that, only followed him as they made their way to the rooftop.
"Oh god, no way," Clary muttered.
In front of them stood two sleek motorcycles, both of them running on demonic energy. Raphael owned one of them, and he assumed the other one belonged to the blond Shadowhunter downstairs. Raphael went to go sit on his bike, but when he glanced at Clary, she was extremely pale.
"There's no way I'm getting on that bike," she said, trying to come across as steady, but her voice trembled ever so little. Of course, Raphael caught it. "This is way too much for night." With that she turned around and started walking towards the stairs.
"Clary?" he questioned, catching up with her. When she didn't respond, he grabbed her arm so she was forced to stop.
"Clary," he said, this time more forcefully.
"I'm sorry, Raphael, I can't," she said, and yanked her arm out of his group, and continued down the stairs.
Raphael, for the first time in a countless number of years, truly wanted to scream. Why was she so fucking stubborn? Now what, they were going to catch the subway?
And that's exactly where he found himself in the next ten minutes. On the subway. Next to Clary, in a carriage that was almost entirely empty apart from a middle-aged man, who was dressed from head to toe in black and kept shooting glances at Clary. She was pretending to not notice, instead looking out the window, but Raphael could tell it bothered her. Her jaw was tensed slightly and her heartbeat was faster than normal. This was just stressing him out, so Raphael shot the man a furious look and he sunk into his seat, covering his eyes with his black hat.
Clary didn't seem want to talk at all, and Raphael was fine with that, not being a big talker himself. They spent the entire ride and the walk to a 24-hour McDonalds (with a swinging M sign that was flashing - the restaurant quality in the neighbourhood was obviously not going to be the best) in silence. There was only one cashier and one half-asleep employee inside, but they managed to whip up a half decent Big Mac. Or at least that's what Raphael assumed as Clary scoffed down the entire thing in 5 minutes flat, barely breathing. Or maybe she's just really hungry, he thought as he watched the golden M sign reflect on her pale skin every few seconds through the scratched window.
Honestly, this place was deplorable, with every single table covered in junk, apart from the kiddies area near the playground. So that's where the two of them were sitting, the seats uncomfortably small for Raphael's legs. He honestly didn't want to spend more time than necessary in the dump, so when Clary finished and he had bought her an ice cream (even in the middle of winter, the girl was looking wistfully at the image of a soft-serve and he had thought, oh, what the hell it's a couple more cents), they were both out of there.
"Where are we going?" she had asked, rubbing a little bit of ice cream from the tip of her nose with her hand.
"You'll see," was all he said, pressing down the swirling emotions that threatened to rise up with her little actions.
He led her to a little park that was very close by, and unlike the rest of the neighbourhood, was not a total mess. It had no name, and it was rather small, but it was definitely better than the rusty McDonalds. There was a circle of trees, with a few light poles, illuminating the centre patch. Someone, probably a gang of the local kids, had strung up lights around the tress, throwing a hazy glow on the leaves.
Clary had eyed the place suspiciously when they had first arrived, but now was contently sitting down, finishing off the last of her ice cream, as Raphael laid down, his head resting on his hands and staring up at the blackness ringed by lights.
"How did you find this place?" Clary asked, softly running her hands on the grass, having finished the soft serve cone.
"I used to hang out here with my friends, before I was turned," he muttered. He couldn't believe how easily he had shared that little detail. Something about revisiting a place that held so many memories made his heart ache. And the way Clary seemed almost ethereal, the lights casting a soft halo around her didn't help either.
"What?" Clary asked in confusion, likely noticing how Raphael's gaze was trained on her.
And though he couldn't answer her in spoken words, his thoughts kept her glowing in an angelic light and they shouted "I like looking at you, like a star" as he desperately tried to suppress each escaping feeling.
Clary shrugged off his lack of answer as he averted her gaze and she instead returned to questioning him.
"How old were you?"
"Around fifteen to sixteen when I used to mess around here, but nineteen when I got turned." Again, more information. Why was he doing this?
"Do you miss it?"
"Everyday," he whispered.
"It must have been hard," she said quietly, her gaze returning to his face.
"You get used to it," he said, his dark eyes meeting her emerald-green ones. _
When they got back at the hotel, Raphael suggested that Clary should sleep, it being almost 2am and everything. She had nodded and then gotten up to go towards the window seat.
"What are you doing?" he asked, confusion striking across his face for a second.
"Uh, sleeping?" she replied, sitting down now.
"Don't be ridiculous. You are small, but you are going to be damn uncomfortable over there. Take my bed."
"Um, no thanks," Clary said cautiously.
"Oh no, don't worry," he replied, realising what she had thought. "I won't be sleeping on the bed, or if at all. I'm a vampire, remember?"
"Yeah, but still, I'm fine."
"Clary, don't b-."
"No, seriously," she said in a final tone, signalling the end of the conversation.
"Fine, have it your way," Raphael said, sighing and running a hand through his hair for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night.
"Thank you," she mumbled and then lied down, facing the window.
"Goodnight, Clary," Raphael said, turning off the lights, and staring at her darkened silhouette against the city's lights.
And as her breathing started slowing down just a little, he heard a whispered, "Goodnight, Raphael."
Maybe, just maybe, this week will actually be fine, Raphael thought, hearing Clary's slow heartbeat as she fell asleep.
peek that parallel ending from the last chapter o.o
thank you for reading this chapter!
i hope you enjoyed it :)
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