Hello TMI fans!

Once again, I am very sorry about the mistake in Chapter 16 (I chose the wrong document to upload, yeah, yeah, yeah) and I hope this chapter makes up for it, considering I plan on a lot of drama soon.

In this chapter I'm going to have a lot of reminiscing about Rose's parents, and also some Sebastian moments.

How is it that I love him so much and yet I hate him with a passion all at the same time?

Anyways, enjoy!

- EasyIsTheDescent

Disclaimer: All of TMI and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare, not me.

I'll get over it with time.

"What is going on?" Liam asked, curious.

We were lounging around on the sofa of the Penhallow's living room, a book in my hands, with my feet propped up on Liam's lap. Sebastian was sitting across from us, reading as well. Liam was currently polishing a large, menacing blade that he said had been a gift from his brother. I tried to make sure my toes weren't too close.

"I don't know, but if Isabelle isn't back in two minutes, I'll grab the rope and you can grab the duct tape." I announced, and he rolled his eyes.

Isabelle had gone to answer the front door reluctantly, as no one else stood, and from what I could hear, she was arguing with someone.

"Clary!" Isabelle yelped from the door, and I was instantly on my feet, just from the name.

"Sebastian, Liam, don't let her go upstairs!" She yelled, and before either Liam or I could move, Sebastian was in front of Clary, blocking her path.

"Clary, what are you doing here?" I gasped, walking over to her.

"It's a long story," She explained, and I tried to ignore the dread that appeared now that she had arrived. This was Clary- she was my friend.

"So this is the famous Clary," Sebastian was smiling, "I don't think-have we met before?"

"Oh by the Angel," I groaned, "Find some original material, why don't you? You're just as bad as your cousin!"

Sebastian looked startled.

"Clary, you need to go home." I turned to her, and her eyes narrowed.

"You all sound exactly the same!" She argued.

"And with good reason, Clary! You have no idea what you've done by coming here, against the Law, I presume," Izzy nodded, confirming my suspicions, "And if Jace sees you here, it won't be pretty."

"Whatever Rose, I just want to know where Jace is."

"He's upstairs," Sebastian replied, and Isabelle and I sent him similar glares.

"Sebastian! Shut up." Isabelle groaned.

"But she's his sister. Wouldn't he want to see her?" Sebastian asked, confused.

No one seemed eager to try and explain that relationship.

"Just go Clary," I sighed, "Just do what you want to do, as always."

She sent me a hurt look, but I met it with a blank expression.

Clary ran upstairs, and at that moment Ethan walked out of the kitchen. "What the hell is going on?"

"Don't ask," We all said simultaneously, and from the anger that was coming from Isabelle, I took Liam and Ethan's arms, leaving her alone with one ill-fated Sebastian.

When we got upstairs, Aline was coming out of one of the rooms, and I noticed as she brushed past us that she was buttoning the top of her shirt.

"Hello, lacy bra," Ethan said enthusiastically, and he strained his neck to see over my shoulder as I placed a hand over the top of his head, turning him away.

I pressed my ear up against the door, and the two boys followed suit, Liam's head above mine and Ethan's head below.

"What in the name of the Angel, Clary, are you doing here?" Jace was asking.

"I have the feeling those two were kissing," I announced.

"Funny, I thought Aline was a lesbian," Ethan murmured, and I smacked the back of his head.

"Ethan Tyler Nightlock!"

"Well, now that he says it-"

"You two are horrible!" I hissed, trying to hear the conversation.

"What's going on?" A voice asked, and we whirled around with equally guilty expressions to face a confused Alec.

"Listening for termites?" Ethan suggested, and Liam put a hand to his temple, as if he had a headache.

"Okay then," Alec muttered, and he walked into the room where Clary and Jace were before I could object.

With a shared look, we all hurried downstairs, not looking forward to the wrath of Jace that was about to go down behind us.

We passed Isabelle on the staircase, and I meant to warn her, but I knew it was no use.

When we walked into the living room, Sebastian was sitting on the sofa, looking a little pale, and Max was sitting in an armchair across from him, reading.

Ethan joined him, and I made my way over to Sebastian, sitting next to him, and Liam sat on my other side.

"Did Isabelle get ahold of you?" I whispered quietly, and he nodded, still looking a little ghastly.

"Chewed me up and spit me out," He confirmed, and when I glanced at Liam, he looked a little pleased.

Oh, jealous boys.

Though I honestly couldn't blame him.

There was something about Sebastian that sent a shiver down my spine.

We could hear yelling from upstairs, and a minute later Clary ran downstairs and out the door, not even acknowledging us.

Jace must have done something bad.

Not only that, but a minute later, I heard a shatter from upstairs, and I jumped, prepared to go find what happened, but Liam held me back.

"Alec and Isabelle are with him," He whispered, and I nodded.

That night was quiet.

We ate dinner with Aline and Sebastian, who I had spotted walking Clary back to wherever she come from after Jace had yelled at her, and nothing very eventful was said.

I stayed away from the wine.

After we finished eating, Liam and I walked back to the room we shared together (much to Maryse and Robert's disapproval) and I sighed in relief the second the door shut.

"It's always an adventure," Liam commented, and I rolled my eyes.

"That's the word for it," I muttered, and we sat there in silence.

"So did you know the Penhallows before you met the Lightwoods?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I met them, they knew my parents. It was the Lightwoods that I didn't know. My parents never trusted them after they were in the Circle, so imagine the surprise when we were sent to live with them," I murmured, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"So what were you parents like?" He asked quietly.

"Hmm…" I started, "Well, they were nothing like me. Too nice," I explained, and he smiled, "My mother was a free spirit. She always had a smile on her face, never got mad if she caught is doing something we weren't supposed to do. A wonderful cook, strong Shadowhunter. We looked a lot alike, brown hair and brown eyes."

"She sounds like a wonderful mother," He commented quietly.

"She was," I smiled. "My dad was her perfect match. He was less of a free spirit, a bit more practical, but crazy all the same. He was Ethan's idol. He had brown hair like me, but these awesome blue eyes that I always envied," I paused, biting my lip, "And he loved my mom more than anything in the world. He died protecting her, but even that wasn't enough."

Liam and I sat there for a while, before he broke the silence.

"My mom was a terrible cook," He laughed, "My brother and I used to hide in the mornings until my dad woke up just to avoid whatever it was she attempted to make. But she was a great mother, very nice to everyone she met. She looked like me, with brown hair and green eyes."

I smiled slightly. We both looked like our mothers, which was kind of a relief, in an odd way. He understood what it was like to look at yourself and be reminded of that person you loved, that person that wasn't there anymore.

"My dad, he was a fun person, but very firm. He was an active participant in the Clave for a long time, especially after my mom was killed," Liam continued, "He looked like my brother, with blonde hair, but he had blue eyes, too."

"What's your brother like?" I asked quietly. I don't remember how we got into this conversation, but it seemed like both of us enjoyed talking about our parents, considering it wasn't something we did often.

"Chris is an idiot, for starters," He admitted, and I laughed, "But he's a good big brother. He took over as the head of the Institute after our dad died. He's always been the party animal, the prankster, but he changed after our parents were gone. It wasn't until he met Evelyn that I actually saw him be himself again."

I nodded thoughtfully. He spoke with such admiration whenever he talked about his brother.

"Well, you now know about Chris, Bryce, and Victoria Darkstrider," Liam announced, and I grinned.

"And you now know all about Jacqueline and Deacon Nightlock," I added.

I knew my parents would have approved of him.

Jace is always in a bad mood.

I used to think whenever I said that, that I was over exaggerating, especially whenever we would have sibling moments, but it's true.

Jace Lightwood is always in a bad mood.

"I'm pretty sure it was that fight with Clary that did him in," Isabelle was saying.

We were sitting on the front steps of the Penhallow's house, painting our nails. It seemed like an odd place, but Isabelle insisted on the silence.

"I don't know what to do with either of them," I admitted, and she nodded in agreement, passing me the black bottle I had been asking for.

It was nice to be wearing denim shorts and a loose black tank top, leaving my runes for everyone to see. It made me feel like a true Shadowhunter, like I belonged.

"You mean considering Clary is out of her short little mind?" Isabelle pointed out, and I laughed.

"Precisely," I agreed, and though I felt bad about saying things about Clary behind her back, it was true. She was reckless, she did do things that mainly concerned what she wanted, and no matter what she did, she was never going to be as much of a Shadowhunter as us. We had been in this life since the day we were born. There was no rune, no bloodline that could replace that.

"So how are you and Liam doing?" Isabelle asked as she painted her toenail a blood red, her foot bent at an impossible angle.

"We're good," I grinned, amused by her girly antics.

"It's nice, you know," She said softly, "How in love you two are. I don't think I'd ever find that."

"You may be right."

She looked up in shock. She wasn't expecting me to agree.

"There may not be a guy out there that deserves you."

She grinned, but the smile didn't necessarily meet her eyes.

"It's just," She glanced around, to make sure no one was watching, "Ever since what happened with my parents, I haven't been able to picture a love like that, you know?"

I fell silent.

Isabelle had found out when she was thirteen years old that Robert had cheated on Maryse, and I was the only other person that knew.

I'm not even sure I had wanted to know.

"Isabelle!" I called, walking through the hallway.

No response.

I had been looking for her for ten minutes now, we were supposed to be training together. She was thirteen, and I was about fifteen, but it didn't mean she wasn't a pretty experienced fighter.

"Iz, where are you?" I muttered, and I walked up to her door.

I heard a muffled sound from inside, but I recognized it instantly.

Sobbing.

"Iz," I opened the door and poked my head in, alarmed, and I saw her sitting in the middle of her bed, her head in her hands.

"Rose?" She looked up, and I saw her face was red and puffy, her mascara running down her cheeks.

"Isabelle, what's wrong?" I shut the door behind me, hurrying to her side. I sat down next to her, wrapping my arms around her.

"I… I can't tell you," She sniffled, and I shook my head.

"The hell you can't, I'm your best friend, your sister. You can tell me anything." I argued determinedly, and she looked up at me through dark, watery eyes.

"You can't tell a soul, Rosie."

"Then I won't," I whispered, and she sighed.

"M-my dad, h-he cheated on Mom," She whimpered, and I made a choking noise as I held back a gasp. Maryse and Robert had always struck me as a happy couple, though the only reference I had was my mom and my dad, and they loved each other more than anything.

"What?" I whispered, and she nodded.

"Mom told me, she t-told me that h-he cheated on her, and that I can't trust boys, because they'll only h-hurt you, and-"

"No, Iz, she's wrong, not all boys-"

"But that's not the point! If my dad cheated on my mother, who he loved so much, then what's to say that other guys won't do the exact same thing?" She sobbed, and I held her tightly, resting my cheek against her hair.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay," I murmured, and she rested her cheek against my arm, her skin wet and cold from her tears.

"I love you, Rosie," She whispered, and I felt touched. She had never told me that before, none of my new siblings had, though I knew it was the truth.

"I love you too, Iz. And no matter what happens, it doesn't matter what guys are around, you will always have me," I promised.

We never told anyone about what happened.

"Well you don't have to picture it," I said, snapping out of the memory, "Because it's right in front of you." I waved my bare foot in front of her face as proof, and she rolled her eyes, smacking it away.

"You deserve it, Rose. You deserve to be treated like a goddess, and if you aren't, I will be throwing that Australian's ass on the barbie," She announced, and I laughed.

"Oh the irony of it all."

"Damned right," She grinned, "Poetic justice is my forte."

"You, Isabelle Sophia Lightwood, are a frightening woman. Stereotypical, too," I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"I could say the same about you, Rose Marie Nightlock."

I winked at her, and I studied my nails triumphantly. They looked perfect, or at least in my mind, anyways. They were a glossy black.

"We should get inside, the sun went down a while ago," I explained, and she nodded. We grabbed the bottles of nail polish, and I took them upstairs, while Isabelle went to meet the boys in the living room.

Coming out of the bathroom, I ran into something hard, and I looked up in surprise to see Sebastian, smirking.

His hand was on my arm, and his cold grasp gave me a feeling that made me want to cringe away.

"You may want to watch where you're going," He warned jokingly, and I shrugged.

"If I must. But it's so much more entertaining to have the handsome hero save me from plummeting to the ground, is it not?"

He grinned, but the flash of white in the dim hallway did little to assure me of his kindness. "But what if I'm not the hero? What if I'm the bad guy?"

I looked into his black eyes reluctantly.

Another shiver.

"We're Shadowhunters," I whispered, "It's in our blood. We're always the good guys."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are we?"

"Interrupting something?" A pleasantly familiar voice inquired.

Low. Sexy. Australian accent.

Liam.

"Not at all," I replied, and Sebastian turned away from me, inclining his head in greeting as he passed Liam.

Liam approached me, slightly worried.

"Did I ever tell you I love you?" I whispered, and he smiled.

"It may have come up once or twice in conversation."

I rolled my eyes, and he wrapped an arm around me as we walked downstairs, entering the living room.

Ethan, Isabelle, and Max were on the couch, Ethan propping his feet up on Isabelle's lap, much to her displeasure. Max had his nose in some sort of comic book or manga, as usual.

Alec was lounging in an armchair by the fireplace, bored, while Aline was probably off in the kitchen, finding a snack.

"Where's Jace?" I asked worriedly. I probably knew the answer to that question, and I'll be damned if it didn't annoy me. He couldn't stay away from Clary for like, ten minutes?

"Wallowing in his own sorrows?" Alec offered lazily, and I walked up behind him, smacking his head.

"Ouch," He muttered, and I smirked triumphantly.

"Where's Sebastian?" Liam asked, and I turned around.

He wasn't in the room.

"Wallowing in his own sorrows?" I offered sarcastically, and Alec glared at me.

"Now what sorrows would he have? Did you reject him?"

"I'd certainly hope so," Liam muttered.

"He's probably out for a walk," Aline interrupted, having appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, "He does that sometimes."

An hour or so later, Sebastian had appeared, but Jace was still nowhere to be found.

Max was upstairs, probably sleeping, while the rest of us lounged around, excluding Isabelle, who stood by the fireplace, worried.

"It's late," She fretted, "He ought to be back by now."

"Jace is a big boy, Iz," I reminded her, "He can take care of himself upon occasion, should he find a need and a mind that is sober enough for the task."

Suddenly I felt a sharp pang against my chest, coming from my necklace, and I looked up at Isabelle in surprise.

"Did you feel that?" I asked, motioning towards the ruby red pendant on her neck.

She nodded slowly. "That's odd."

"Must be me. I have an electric personality, you know," I informed her, and she rolled her eyes.

"That's my book." Someone said, and we looked up in surprise to see Max standing behind me, glaring at Sebastian.

If there was one thing that the Lightwoods shared, it was their signature look.

That look that results in the I-want-to-crawl-under-a-rock-and-die feeling to be exact.

"Why are you reading Max's comics?" Ethan asked, amused.

"I like the pictures," Sebastian replied simply, and Max took his book back, moving to sit beside me. I moved over to make space, and he wedged himself between me and Ethan.

"I'm getting some coffee," Sebastian announced, standing, and when he asked if we'd like any, we all refused politely, leaving him to exit the room alone.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" I asked, giving Max my best disapproving maternal look.

It wasn't a very good one.

"There were noises up on the hill. They woke me up." He explained, and his brow furrowed. "Hey Rose?" He asked, and I motioned for him to continue.

"Do people ever climb the demon towers? Like, for any reason?"

Aline laughed, telling him no, they didn't.

"But someone did. I know I saw-"

"You probably dreamed it, Max." Ethan said softly, and I sighed.

"Come on, bookworm, let's get you to bed," I picked him up effortlessly, and he giggled, squirming.

One sharp pang from my necklace.

And the window blew open.

It gets pretty intense in the next chapter (or at least I believe so) so if that makes anyone excited...

Kick ass.

Read and Review!

Besitos!

- EasyIsTheDescent