Chapter 5:
"Try to have fun in New York. Leave all your worries here. Alright?" Alaska nodded. She would try, though she was nearly positive she wouldn't succeed.
Alaska threw her head back laughing as Alec was standing at the top of the platform, looking down terrified. "We'll catch you if anything goes wrong." assured Jace. They were at the training room at the Institute in New York trying to get Alec to successfully flip off the platform. He was having a hard time with the height.
"Alright." Alec let out a scream as he flipped off the platform landing on his back at the bottom with a thud. "I thought you would catch me." He said rubbing his back. Alaska stifled a laugh and helped Alec up. Alec untied the ropes around his body and handed them to Isabelle. She quickly tied the ropes around her and climbed up the platform.
She took a deep breath and braced herself for the fall. "You can do it!" encouraged Alaska. Isabelle swiftly jumped, flipping in the air before landing on her feet. Her jet-black hair was all over the place, but she couldn't of been more proud of herself.
"Again! Again!" Alec looked at her with wide eyes. He could barely do it the first time, why did his little sister want to go again? By the end of their little training session, Izzy was an expert and Alec managed to flip off without screaming.
"LUNCH TIME!" yelled Maryse. "Mhh." Said Alec as they all walked into the kitchen. "What are we having?"
"I don't care as long as Izzy doesn't cook it." Muttered Jace as he sat down. Izzy who was already seated in the seat in front of him stomped on his foot causing him to wince and glare at her.
Alaska chuckled. Mealtime with the Lightwoods was way different than a quiet dinner with her mother. She took her seat in between Jace and Max with Alec across from her and Maryse took her seat across from Max.
They ate and chattered all at once. "I think we're heading to Pandemonium tonight." Said Jace. "With Isabelle?" asked Maryse. Jace nodded. "If she wants to." Isabelle nodded enthusiastically; she had never gone with her brothers.
"What's the Pandemonium?" asked Alaska after swallowing a bite of her chicken. "Oh yeah. I forgot you're new here." Said Alec. Jace rolled his eyes. "It's this club, it's really weird. Filled with demons in disguise."
Alaska nodded, even though she had never fought a demon. Not for real. She's had plenty of training, but had never left Idris. Not until her mother had passed. Jace reassuringly placed his hand on her knee and squeezed knowing exactly what she was thinking. How? She had no idea.
Apparently they had to dress for the occasion at the Pandemonium. "Isn't this a bit tight." Asked Izzy looking in the mirror. "With the right shoes it would look great."
Alaska handed her some seven-inch heels and Izzy slid them on. "Whoa." Alaska laughed and taught Isabelle how to walk in them properly. "Aren't these a bit tall?" asked Izzy. Alaska shrugged. "It's my motto. Nothing less than seven inches."
Isabelle giggled. "Mind if I steal that?" Alaska smiled. "Take it." They stepped out of Izzy's room just as Jace and Alec were about to knock. "Oh- wow." Said Jace, admiring their figures.
"Isabelle. You want to go change into something a little less- uh. Revealing?" asked Alec, taking his position as the protective older brother. Isabelle rolled her eyes.
"Let's go." She said. Alec glared at Alaska as they walked passed him as if it was her fault his sister was dressed so 'inappropriately'. Jace chuckled and playfully punched him on his arm. "She's a big girl. She can dress the way she wants." He joked.
"She's fourteen."
"Almost fifteen." Alec rolled his eyes. She was still a little baby to him and he didn't like the idea of her growing up. Taking her on this little adventure was enough, and having her dress that way just added to the list of Alec's worries.
Jace and Alec followed the girls to the weapon's room, Jace taking little peaks of Alaska's bum. She wasn't in tight dresses everyday! And Alaska pretended not to notice. She actually enjoyed the attention. She stifled a laugh as she dropped one of her knives, bending over to grab it. Jace's eyes grew huge. Alaska slowly stood back up, playfully rolling her hips as she did.
Izzy giggled, but Alec just glared at her. "Come on, we have some demons to hunt." They followed him out the institute and slowly made our way towards the Pandemonium. "This place makes me nervous." Said Isabelle as they walked into the club.
"You get used to it." Shrugged Jace. "Alright, Izzy. You're with me. At all times. Jace-" Alec seemed reluctant but finally concluded. "You're with Alaska."
"My ass any good?" asked Alaska teasingly as Isabelle and Alec walked towards the other side of the club, passing the strange people. "I don't know what you're talking about." Said Jace observing some punk with half shaven off blue hair and pierced lips, nose, and just about anything.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Mimicked Alaska, using a low man voice. "I don't talk like that." He said, still not making eye contact with Alaska. "Yeah, just like you weren't checking out my ass."
"There." Said Jace pointing to a young girl, who looked about their age. She had bright pink hair and neon orange lipstick on. Her short skirt barely covered her arse, making her seem like a complete slut. But Alaska knew better.
Alaska pushed Jace towards the girl and he looked at her strangely. "What?" Alaska rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Jace knew what to do. "Go flirt with the girl. Distract her."
"Why can't Alec do it?" asked Jace, clearly annoyed. "Because Alec isn't as sexy, now go!" Alaska gained eye contact with Alec and nudged her head towards the suspect. Alec nodded and watched as I pushed Jace towards the girl.
Isabelle followed her brother to the side of the club, where they observed Jace as he aimlessly flirted with the demon. His runes were covered up by his leather jacket and buttoned up shirt, but the demon still looked a bit skeptical. 'One, two, three.' mouthed Alaska before all three of them attacked together. Jace had his knife out by the time Isabelle had wrapped her snakelike whip around the poor demon.
"Are there any more of you?" asked Alec as Isabelle sustained the demon with Jace and Alaska harshly grasped both its arms. "No, it's just me." Said the demon through its teeth.
Alaska rolled her eyes and kneed the demon in its thigh. The demon winced in pain, "don't lie." Muttered Alaska bitterly. "Its just me." Insisted the demon. "Oh how precious, you're trying to protect your mutant friends." Pouted Alaska, resting a hand against her chest.
"No one's here with me." Claimed the demon, ignoring Alaska's comment. That's when Alaska's face lit up with a brilliant idea. "Alright, then I guess you wont mind if we-" Alaska took the knife in her pocket and pressed it against the demon's neck.
The demon's gaze altered towards the man Jace was observing earlier. "That's him. Go." ordered Alaska. Isabelle and Alaska stayed with this demon. Decapitating it with only one sharp movement. It's head dropped to the ground before it all crumbled into ashes.
Isabelle lifted her head to see her brothers wrestling with a large man, which they both knew was a demon. "You go. I think I saw another one upstairs." Said Alaska. Izzy nodded and raced to their aid and she gasped as the demon grabbed her by the waist and forced her body to his front. She let out a sob as he pressed a knife against her throat. Alec's eyes widened. "No." he muttered as the blood drew from the light gash on her neck.
"It'll go deeper if you don't drop your weapons now." Ordered the demon. Jace and Alec dropped the knives and swords they had in their hands. But they weren't stupid; they had extra knives, swords and whips stashed all over their bodies.
The demon let out a chuckle, "Stupid humans and their pathetic feelings. Love is weakness, you would have my head if you didn't care for this girl so much." It said. Alec growled.
And there, right before their eyes, the demon held a shocked look before it's head rolled off his body and onto the ground. The head continued to roll until it reached the feet of Alec, who stood there in astonishment. The rest of the body dropped down to its knees before falling all the way forward to the ground. Alaska stood behind the body, looking quite proud of herself.
"Ready to go? I think we've gotten all the demons here." Said Alaska before noticing the gash across Isabelle's neck. She sighed and grasped the stele that she kept in her black-leathered combat boots and pressing it to Isabelle's neck. She swiftly drew the healing rune and the skin on Isabelle's neck that had been damaged not moments ago seemed perfectly fine.
Jace had no trouble denying the fact that a girl killing demons was hot, but there was something about the way Alaska moved when she killed them that made her seem- somewhat mature? Maybe independent? Jace couldn't describe how he felt about Alaska but he couldn't deny that he had strong feelings for her. Whether they were positive or negative? He had no clue.
"Everyone else okay?" asked Alaska. Alec and Jace both nodded, but Jace seemed to hold a smirk on his lips. "Are you sure you're alright?" Alaska asked Jace, his smirk would not wash off his face.
"Yeah," He said. "Nice panties by the way." He added. Alaska's cheeks burned when she realized her dress had risen after all of the fighting, revealing a bit of her knickers. She flattened out the dress, regaining a bit of her modesty. Isabelle smacked her 'brother' across the head causing him to chuckle a bit harder.
"Don't even pretend like you didn't enjoy it." Joked Alaska. "I'm not. I'm openly stating that I did." Alaska rolled her eyes with a smile playing at her lips as they walked towards the exit. What really fascinated her was the fact that throughout this entire time, no mundane even turned to face their way.
Alec glared at Alaska the whole walk home, but Alaska didn't seem to notice. "Thanks by the way. For saving our asses." Said Izzy as they arrived back at the institute. "She didn't save our asses." Claimed Alec. "Yeah, just yours." Agreed Jace.
"Actually, she saved all of ours." Concluded Isabelle, glaring at each of them. And suddenly, the argument was over. "ALLY!" squealed Max as he ran into the living room. He's grown quite fond of Alaska and even had his on little nickname for her.
Alaska smiled; kneeling down so Max could hug her properly. Jace noticed that her dress had risen a bit more, but Alaska noticed and pulled it back down, glaring at Jace. He sent her a cheeky wink, a wink Alaska has grown accustomed to in these past few days.
Alaska rolled her eyes playfully and followed Max to his room where he would show her the new book he had purchased on his trip to the bookstore. Max read Alaska the story and she helped and corrected him. Alaska was a big reader and she could tell Max would be too.
"Poor girl, Max. How many books have you read her today?" asked Jace from the doorway. Max held up three fingers and Jace chuckled. "Maryse needs you to take a bath now." Said Jace. Max nodded hesitantly and grabbed his clothes before heading to his bathroom.
Alaska had never seen a five-year-old boy agree to take a shower so quickly, but didn't question it. "How did you know?" asked Jace as Max grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom. "About the second demon, I mean. How did you recognize it?"
Alaska smiled. "In your last moments, you'll look to the person you care about most. In that room at least. The other demon just happened to be the only 'friend' the first demon had. " Jace stared at her in astonishment. For someone who had never hunted a demon, she was quite good.
"But those are humane feelings, not demonic. How did you know the demon would react that way?" asked Jace, who still did not understand completely. "I didn't. I just hoped." Jace nodded, still processing the new gathered information.
"I should probably go change." Muttered Alaska, passing Jace on her way out the door.
"Nah, that's okay. You look nice like this." Insisted Jace following her to her room. "Jace get out I'm changing." Said Alaska, leaning on the door frame as he passed her. Jace shook his head and made himself comfortable on her bed.
"Fine, I'll just change with you in here." Said Alaska. "No you won't."
"Wanna bet?" said Alaska, stripping herself of her combat boots, socks, and jacket. "You won't." Alaska rolled her eyes. "You underestimate me." She said. "Would you help me with my zipper?" she asked him teasingly.
He gulped and nodded, standing up slowly to unzip her dress. The zipper went on until right above her bum, so Jace had a clear view of her bare back. "I'm not wearing a bra, so you might wanna-"
"What? Close my eyes?" Alaska nodded. "Yes, that exactly." Jace covered his eyes hesitantly and waited for Alaska's word to uncover them. "There, you can open your eyes."
"No fair! You changed completely!" Alaska giggled. "You didn't think I would actually let you see me naked." Jace shrugged. "I was hoping. Plus, you didn't hold up your end of the bet, I win. "
Alaska shook her head. "I changed in front of you, you just didn't see." Jace groaned. "Damn it! Should've been more specific." Alaska had finally gotten into some sweatpants and a t-shirt of a band Jace had no idea existed.
In that moment, Jace was certain that his feelings for Alaska were positive and strong. And they grew every second that they were together. "What's this?" he asked reaching to a small dagger on the top shelf of Alaska's bookshelf.
"Don't touch it!" she said before Jace had even a chance to grasp it. "Okay, okay. Sorry." He said, pulling his hands back. Alaska chuckled at herself. "Sorry, it's just that- it was my mum's. One of the only things of hers that I still have."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea-"
"It's fine. Jace." That's when Jace did the most un-Jacey thing in the world and pulled her into a hug. "I know you miss her." He said kissing her head. She nodded into his chest, letting out a quiet sob. "Shh, it's okay."
"No its not." She said. "She should be here. With me. And she's not." He rubbed her back. "I know."
"Thanks Jace." he said, breaking apart. "You're not the cocky asshole you make yourself seem to be."
"And you're not the annoying bitch that I used to think you were." Alaska smiled. This is as sentimental as Jace got. And she knew that. At least, she thought she did. He wiped away the tears with his thumb and sighed.
They walked out of Alaska's room and stopped at the top of the stairs. "Have you gone to the library yet?" asked Jace. Alaska shook her head. She hadn't had much time to explore the institute. "Why don't I give you a tour? Make sure you know you're new home well." Alaska nodded and followed him across the hall.
They took steep steps down to a long hallway, every door in that hallway led to an empty bedroom. "Don't get a lot of visitors here, do you?" asked Alaska. Jace shook his head. "Not anymore." They both remained silent until they reached a set of doors that was twice the size of both of them.
Jace pushed the doors open to reveal a huge library. Every wall was covered with bookshelves that were filled with books. Tall ladders were leaning on the bookshelves for easier access to the books on higher levels. And just when Alaska thought it couldn't get any better, she realized there was a second floor, it was more of a balcony that went around the entire library. But there were more books up there, nevertheless.
Alaska could've squealed. She could've done a little happy dance. She could've yodeled and back flipped into the sunset, but she kept her calm. "This is absolutely beautiful." She muttered her eyes moving around the breath-taking library, trying to make out the names of each of the books.
"I'm glad you like it." Said a man as he walked down the spiral steps. Alaska had been living at the institute for three days now, and she still hadn't met Hodge. "Hodge, nice to meet you." He said walking over to them both and holding his hand out.
Alaska gladly shook it. "He practically lives in the library." Said Jace. "I don't blame him." Replied Alaska walking down the small set of steps that led to a lower level. She brushed her hands across the spines of the old books on the shelves.
"Reader, I see." Alaska nodded, but her gaze was not on the old man. It was focused on the never-ending amount of books the Institute had access to. "Why did you not show me this before?" muttered Alaska, but she didn't even wait for the answer before exploring the library.
"We should continue with our tour." Said Jace from the door. "You should've taken my to the library last." Jace chuckled and took Alaska by the wrist, dragging her out of the room.
"We'll come back later." Alaska hesitantly followed Jace around the institute, she went into every room, observed every intricate detail on the sculptures and paintings, and ran her fingers along each railing.
"And this is my room." He said, finalizing the excursion. She pushed the door open and observed the orderly bedroom. Some people say that you could learn about a person by just looking at the contents of their bedroom, but Jace's room resembled him as much as a pink butterfly resembles a man-eating shark.
"I get it." Jace seemed confused. "Get what?" She shook her head fighting off a smile. "You keep your room so tidy because you feel that the cleanliness of your bedroom is the only thing you can control in your life."
Jace looked at her curiously, he couldn't explain how she knew everything. About him. About his thoughts. About his beliefs. She just did and he didn't question it. Alaska knew why of course, they thought the same. Both Alaska and Jace had the same beliefs, thoughts. Personality even. "I'm the same." Now that Jace thought about it, Alaska's room did seem a bit too clean for a teenage girl. Jace nodded and broke the silence. "And now to my favorite room which you have probably grown fond of." He said leading her out his door.
He swung a metal door open to reveal chests and tables filled and covered with weapons. Although Alaska had seen this room on multiple occasions, it took her breath away every time.
As if on queue, they both looked at each other with the same mischievous look in their eyes. A look that clearly stated 'grab a weapon and race you to the training room'. And they did. Alaska grabbed a random dagger and some whip and Jace grabbed his weapon of choice, a long metallic sword. Alaska managed to not trip over Max's sleeping body that was enveloped in three blankets or so by the door before sprinting into the room.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" asked Alaska, twirling the knife in between her fingers. "Last time we did, I struck you to the ground." She flaunted. Jace glared at her, a tint of playfulness in his eyes. "I was only going easy." Alaska bit her lip, trying to stop herself from saying another witty comment.
That's when a brilliant strategy plan popped into her brain. She bit her lip again, this time in a sexier manner. "Do you really think you can take me?" she asked, walking towards Jace slowly. He gulped as her fingertips traced the muscles on his chest through his shirt.
"Course." Jace's mind was in too many different pieces to come up with another clever comeback. Alaska's lips brushed his before she pushed him back on to the ground, somehow pinning him down once again.
"You never learn, do you?" she joked. Jace rolled his eyes in embarrassment. If Jace Wayland blushed, he would've. "If we keep ending up in this position I won't try to." Looks like Jace found the sharp retort he was looking for.
"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" asked Isabelle from her position by the door. She was leaning into its frame looking at us in amusement. The light gash that the demon had made on her neck was covered with a large white bandage. "You guys should start getting to bed. We are training in Central Park tomorrow. And after," said Isabelle. "You and I, are going shopping."