hello world. enjoy the next chapter!

I opened my eyes to stormy skies and the feel of fog on my skin. I sat up, my head spinning. I looked around and tried to get my bearings. It looked like I was in one of those civil war recreations, but in the 1800's. Heh. Wouldn't that be crazy. I stood up this time, ready to find out where the hell I was, when it started raining.

"Awesome," I muttered. I took shelter in one of the shops that was closest to me, which was coincidentally a men's clothing shop. I took one step in before I realized that something was wrong. Not one person had looked at me weird. It was obvious that I was out of place here. Shouldn't there be people telling me off for ruining the vibe? And speaking of the whole recreation idea, shouldn't there be other tourists around? Unless…

No. No way. It was impossible. Time traveling was just a thing in books and movies, not real life. Although, I thought to myself as I took a good look at the clothing around me, you did just see something not normal kill Jenna. At that thought, I choked back a sob.

Okay, so let's say I did time travel. Now I would have to find out what time period I was in. looking around, it seemed like my initial guess of the 1800's wasn't that far off. I stormed out of the shop to see a stack of newspapers that seemed like they had blown away. Picking one up, I quickly located the date

10th of May, 1879

No fucking way.

Feeling eyes on me, I looked up to see two boys standing across the street at the beginning of a bridge. I stood up straighter, not wanting to look scared or intimidated. Fake it till you make it, my brain whispered. I looked around again, confused. They seemed to be the only ones that were actually looking at me. Everyone else seemed to mold around my body, ignoring me without purpose. For a moment, I just stood there, waiting. Were they gonna make the first move or should I? When it had been a solid minute and they still hadn't moved, I took the initiative and started walking towards them. When I was almost there, I heard the taller, dark haired one say to his partner;

"What is she bloody wearing?"

I crossed my arms.

"Excuse me?"

The boy who had spoken looked up, and I definitely did NOT blush. The boy in question was quite possibly the most attractive person I had ever seen. He had jet black hair like mine, with bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce through me and know all my secrets. After I had given him a solid up-and-down look with my eyes, I stepped back a little and raised my eyebrow. Emma always said that I looked mysterious and seductive when I did it, and I hoped to god that she was telling the truth and not just being weird.

I then looked to the person next to the beautiful boy. It seemed to be a boy about the same age as pretty boy here, with shimmering silver hair and matching silvery eyes. I blinked.

"Are those contacts?" I asked before my brain could tell me not to. I clapped a hand to my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that," I quickly tried to rectify my mistake before I stopped myself. Since when did I care about what people thought of me? I tilted my head at the boy. There was something about him that just made you want to care and be his friend. Thankfully, both boys laughed, although the dark-haired one's seemed forced.

"It's alright," the silver haired boy said, holding out his hand, "my name is James Carstairs, but you may call me Jem."

I raised an eyebrow at his hand before remembering that I was in the 1800's and that was the custom at the time. I took it and gave it a small shake. After much debate on whether or not I should curtsey, I decided not to and instead gave a small nod.

"My name is Adalaide Barnes, but you can call me Ada," I replied as politely as I could. I turned to the dark-haired boy and looked up into his blue eyes.

"And who might you be?"

The boy smirked down at me, seemingly amused.

"Will," he said shortly, not putting his hand out or anything. I gave a small nod. I was about to ask more questions, when a cold wind blew and reminded me of what I was wearing. I looked down at my leggings and sweater, before looking back up at the boys whose eyes had followed mine. With an eyeroll I snapped my fingers. Both boys looked up again, Jem blushing.

"I don't suppose you boys would help me find some… suitable clothing?" I asked hopefully. I had no money on me, and even though Jem and Will seemed to be the only people who could see me, I wanted something that covered me more. Something that would keep Will's eyes from drifting, preferably. Or not. Winkey face.

"That brings us to our next question; what are you wearing? And why is it covered in blood?" Will asked.

The question threw me for a loop. I blinked and suddenly I was back in my house, cradling Jenna's bloody body to my chest. A hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality and I looked up. Clearing my throat, I realized I had to be strong. If I had in fact gone back in time, maybe there was a chance that I could go back to right before Jenna died and save her.

"It's a long story," I finally answered, looking into the silvery eyes of Jem. He must've seen something in my face that so desperately wanted him to drop it, because he nodded and stepped back. I tried to give him a small smile, but the adrenaline was wearing off and reality was starting to crash down. It was overwhelming, and I felt myself stumble. The last thing I saw before the world going dark, were Will's shining blue eyes and someone's arms catching me as I fell.

I woke up with a jolt. My eyes shot open, but I didn't move my body. I didn't want anyone to know I was awake yet. I could vaguely hear a conversation outside my door. Silently, I crept over to the door and pressed my ear against it.

"You know we cannot just take people in. She may not even be a Shadowhunter!" a female voice spoke admonishingly.

"So you suppose we should have just left her there, all bloody and wearing ridiculous clothing? And you saw her stele. Only Shadowhunters have them," a voice that sounded like Will retorted.

Ridiculous? These leggings were $60! I looked down and realized with a faint shock that I was wearing a… nightgown? What? I rushed away from the door to the full-length mirror that was standing on the far wall. Jesus Christ, I looked like a fucking doll. Someone had gotten all the blood off me, but I had small scratches all over my face, arms, and legs. I lifted my dress and saw that they were on my stomach as well.

"Great," I muttered. I was still wearing my bra and underwear that I had on earlier, and I threw out a silent thank-you to whoever undressed me that they left them on. I giggled to myself when I thought about how confused and affronted they had probably been. With a sudden jolt, I realized that I was wearing a necklace. I slowly took it off and turned it around. It was the same necklace that had transported me here. I quickly turned it around. There was still the inscription on the back: Samyye sil'nyye iz vsekh voinov - eto dva - Vremya i Terpeniye. Huh. If only I had google translate. I walked back over to the bed, where, sure enough, on the table next to the bed, was my phone. I picked it up and turned it on. Sigh. No connection. Not that I really expected there to be any, but still. One could always hope. I looked at it for a little while, trying to figure out what language it was before giving up. I flipped it back over to look at the front. It was in the shape of a circle, with swirly designs all over it that led to an eye in the center. Where the iris would usually be was a single green gem that seemed to almost glow in the sunlight that shone out from the windows. Overall it was a very rustic-looking piece that looked like something Emma would wear. My heart sunk at the sudden thought of my friends. Would they miss me? Would they come looking for me? What would the news say? Would that one super cute boy in my math class notice I was gone? Would he care?

I shook my head. That was off-topic. I slipped the necklace back over my head, where it rested comfortably between my breasts and under the neckline of my smock- I mean nightgown. I slipped back over to the door to try and hear the rest of the conversation.

"Should we go check on her?" I heard another female's voice say.

"Perhaps you should. You are a woman after all," Jem's calming voice replied.

After a few moments of silence, I saw the doorknob turn. With a speed I only used when I was in trouble and I was trying to get the fuck outta wherever I was, I jumped back into the bed and pretended to be asleep.

"Hello?" a soft voice said, the one that had been talking to Jem. Curious as to who it was, I turned my head and opened my eyes. I was met with the sight of a young woman with brown hair and grey eyes, and a kind smile. I could only stare. It was like I was in a reenactment, and the whole thing was still kinda freaking me out.

"Oh, you're awake. May I come in?" the girl asked with a smile that made me feel better already. I nodded slowly and sat up in bed. I caught another glimpse of myself in the mirror and noticed that they had taken off my makeup and my dark circles were showing. Lovely.

"My name is Tessa, and you're in the London Institute." She took a seat in the chair beside my bed that I hadn't even realized was there.

Wait. Did she say London? The boys earlier had accents, but I just assumed that they were transfers or something. But this girl had an American accent like me.

"Are you from America?" I asked, my voice scratchy from disuse.

The girl looked surprised, but she nodded.

"Yes. You are too, I see. I'm from New York."

I nodded. "I'm from Virginia," I said, hoping to find some common ground with this girl who seemed so calm and collected. She reminded me of Mackenzie, always looking out for everyone and always caring about other people before herself.

"Oh, that's lovely. I've always wanted to visit there, but it's a dreadful amount of money."

I gave another nod.

"You must have a million questions. I know we do," Tessa said with a smile. She reached up to the necklace that was laying daintily on her collarbone and held it protectively.

"I do. The main one being how I got here," I said looking down at my hands. The girl reached across and put a hand on mine. I looked up into her stormy grey eyes that were so different from Jem's, yet with the same kindness.

"All will be explained. I will send Sophie to help you get dressed and she will take you to the parlor, where we can all talk."

I stiffened. "We?"

"The rest of us. Will and Jem will be there, who I believe you have already met, along with Charlotte, who is the head of the Institute, and her husband Henry. Hopefully Jessamine will be there, but one never knows with her…" she trailed off, seemingly unsure. Then she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, that was terribly rude of me. You'll love them all, I'm sure." And with that, she stood up and walked towards the door. And then, with a final smile and an "I'll send for Sophie," I was alone.

I just sat in my bed for a while, thinking.

Just what the fuck had I gotten myself into?

I was pretty sure that they were all Shadowhunters since I had overheard Will and that other woman talking about it. But what even were Shadowhunters? Besides the fact that they had a pretty badass name, I knew literally nothing about them. Suddenly, a thought struck me. Jenna had given me a- what was it called? A stele. I looked around the room for it and came up empty-handed. I crawled back onto the bed and started rocking back and forth. I had just lost the one thing that I truly had from my old life. Jenna had said it was important, and I lost it.

My self-degrading was interrupted by a knock on the door. I looked up and wiped away my tears. Taking a deep breath, I sat up straight. Time to be a bad bitch.

"Come in," I said as strongly as I could muster.

The door opened to reveal a girl with brown hair and dark hazel eyes. She was very pretty, and when she turned around fully, I saw a long scar that that ran down the side of her face. I tilted my head. I had always liked scars; they told a story that no one else knew. They helped you learn from your mistakes. I had one on my thigh from when I was playing softball as a child and I had slid all the way into a rusted old fence. It was pretty painful, but I enjoyed showing it off and telling stories about it. Plus, it always got laughs and lots of how did you not see the fence there? 's. I had learned long ago to not hide my scars and to be proud of them, but the girl that had just entered seemed to want to hide it, as she kept her face turned to one side.

"Are you Sophie?" I spoke up gently.

"Yes, miss, that's me. I'm to get you cleaned and dressed up and to take you to the parlor."

I nodded and stood up. I walked over to her, where she was holding up dress after dress. In the end, she chose a dark blue one with long sleeves that loosened up after my elbow. It had a low neckline, but I figured that I had worn lower. She helped me step into it and laced me up in a corset that made me laugh. She looked up over my shoulder in the mirror and gave me a questioning look, before looking back down.

"I'm sorry, I've just never worn one of these before," I clarified. She looked back up.

"I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to question," she quickly apologized. I frowned a little bit.

"It's okay," I said quietly. "You must have a bunch of questions."

Sophie tightened the last part and I lurched forward a little.

"Jesus," I muttered, putting a hand on the mirror. I could've sworn I saw a smile cross her face, but it was gone too quickly for me to be sure.

"I think we all have questions, miss."

She directed me to a vanity, where I sat down and she started to brush out my curly hair.

"Oh, let me do that. It can get a bit frizzy if you don't wet it first." I stood up and walked over to the bowl of water that was by my bed and dipped the brush into it. I handed it back to her, since she looked a little affronted that I had taken it from her.

"Sorry," I said, cringing slightly. That probably wasn't proper of me. Oh well.

"It's alright miss. You know your hair after all," she said with a small smile as she continued to brush my hair back.

"So what questions do you have for me?"

She looked up sharply.

"I should wait until Mrs. Charlotte knows, she is the head of the Institute."

"Oh, come on Sophie. Not one question?"

The girl hesitated.

"I won't tell Charlotte, or whoever," I goaded lightly.

She gave a small smile.

"Alright miss, one question." She carefully parted my hair and put it up into a perfect bun. Setting the brush down, she pulled out a few strands near my face so that my curls framed my face, before asking her question.

"Where did you come from?"

I met her eyes in the mirror.

"I came from a small town in Virginia, in the year 2018."

I saw Sophie's eyebrows shoot up.

"A different year? In the future?"

I nodded.

"So you traveled back in time?" she asked, astonished.

I nodded again. "I'm still trying to process it myself. I have no idea how I got here, but I think it has something to do with my necklace," I said, pulling it out from under my dress to show her.

"I just remember the jewel glowing green, and then boom, I was here."

Sophie seemed to not know what to do with that information and to be honest, I didn't either.

"Well miss, let's go talk to the others. Perhaps they will be able to help you," Sophie said, standing me up and walking me to the door. I tucked the necklace back into my dress and followed her to the parlor. I stopped in front of the door.

"Sophie, what if they don't know how to help me? Or they don't like me?"

The girl gave me a soft smile. "They'll like you miss. And trust me when I say that they will do everything in their power to help you."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Sophie, for everything."

She looked surprised but smiled brighter.

"Of course. Now in you go."

I took a deep breath and lifted my chin. Fake it till you make it. Okay. I could do this. I put my hand on the doorknob and opened the door, stepping into the room that would change my life forever.

thank you for reading! I tried to make the chapter longer and have more action. pls favorite, follow, and review- I love hearing what y'all think :)