Closing the door, Nexus pulled out her slim, metallic pink, white-flowered cellphone from the side pocket of her bag, unrolled a pair of electric blue ear buds procured from the same pouch, and plugged them into the phone, scrolling through her music as she jogged. Finding a good work-out song, she stuffed the phone back into her backpack and broke into a gallop, freeing her mind to wonder.
Visions of her mother burst into being, one after another in an endless barrage of horror, all of which left the deceased with a look of grave sorrow. Of course she was sad - she was dead, and her daughter grew up never knowing her. That should make anyone sad. But no, that wasn't why she was melancholy, Nexus wasn't sure how she knew that, but she knew that her mother was plagued by something. Worried enough to break through the shields even the most powerful of demons couldn't scratch. That was impossible, so this must have been someone who had known her mother, known her and knew that she had a child. But who knew her mother? Everyone she had ever met assumed that she was Magnus' daughter, one or two thinking that Alec was her biological father, so then who could have known the truth? People thought that Alec had been her biological father. Her biological father. That wasn't right either - Magnus had told her that he had died before she was even born.
"Going somewhere?" A deep, lulling male voice just passed puberty called out to Nexus, reaching for her shoulder before she could walk by.
Grabbing his wrist firmly in her left hand, she twisted his arm, elbowing his ribs with her other arm. Forced on his knees, the boy looked up at her through shaggy brownish-red locks with emerald green eyes, slouching to the ground and using his height to his advantage to knock her off balance. Pushing away from the ground with the balls of her feet, she righted herself, cutting through the air with a well-trained foot inches from his chin. A large, calloused hand was blocking her from connecting, and the person it was attached to was none too gentle throwing her leg down. The boy stuck his tongue out in triumph, earning a disapproving glare from the man.
"What in the Angel's name were you thinking, sparring in front of the Mundies!" His voice was a growl, contradicting of the angelic gold locks that fell just to the back of his neck.
Nexus and the boy shrank back from the man, "Sorry Jace."
He sighed, shoving them roughly up the stairs to the New York Institute before they could cause anymore damage, its disguised spires piercing the greying sky, fat droplets falling on the faces of passersby, a small number of whom had seen a flicker that was only a weakened glamor, "Jace, is... Was I late? Before Ben so rudely assaulted me?"
Ben looked at her indignantly, "Did her hear her? As if I would touch her outside of training!"
"Touch me? Pft, you're delusional if you actually think that I, the daughter of the High Warlock of Brooklyn, would even acknowledge you outside this place!" She was going to carry on, but the sight of a girl waiting in the elevator shut her up, "Ash!"
Ash was a year younger than Nexus, but you couldn't tell by looking. Her hair was pitch-black in dim lighting, but in the proper light, it was the color of coffee, and today it was shoved unceremoniously into a gigantic knot at the top of her head. Eyes the same color as her hair brightened when she saw Nexus, glossy red lips beaming at the sight of her best friend. Nexus, a few inches taller than her friend but a few pounds heavier, practically flattened her as she jumped into her arms, sending them both falling to the floor in a tangled heap. Ben and Jace stepped into the elevator, staring at the girls with identical looks of criticism.
"Nessy!" The shorter of the two stood, assisting the taller, darkly throwing daggers at Ben, "Bennett."
His eyes narrowed, "Ashley."
Dropping the staring contest in disinterest, Ash watched Nexus remove her ear buds and switch her phone to vibrate, "So, you're going to stay over this weekend?"
Nexus was unsurprised to hear that Ash already knew the plan, "My dad called your mom. Was Aunt Izzy mad?"
Jace answered, "Isabelle was thrilled, Simon on the other hand, wasn't. You really should come over more often."
Ben looked appalled by the idea, "That little-"
"Saint? Angel? Sweet girl?" Nexus offered, more to annoy Ben than anything else. "Take your pick, I've got more."
He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'trucking mutt', but went on to say, "Maybe compared to a Greater Demon."
"If it weren't for you being Jace's brother-in-law...!" Nexus cracked her knuckles threateningly.
"Scary." He mimicked a girl fainting in fright, "As if you would lay a finger on me."
Curling her hand into a fist, she laid five on him, slugging him good in the stomach, whispering in his ear so only he could hear, "Now you know better."
He grinned, a jagged canine extending over his lower lip, murmuring back, "You're only brave because you have back up."
"Ben," Jace warned him, "if you don't stop transforming, I'll put you back out in the rain."
Retracting his teeth to normal, Ben gave his brother an apologetic look, "Sorry."
"That you smell like wet dog?" Nexus hit a nerve, smiling pleasantly as if she had said nothing wrong.
Unaffected, he shrugged, "I don't."
"You do." She informed him as if she were doing a public service.
"Well you smell like," Ben sniffed the air, trying to distinguish what Nexus did smell like, "like a girl."
"A girl? Really? I actually thought that I smelled like a cat." She snapped sarcastically.
Jace shook his head at the teens, "Every little thing gets you excited."
Just then, the door pinged open and the doors opened to reveal a gangly boy identical to Ash. He nodded at her and Nexus, turning to speak to Ben, "I watched that movie you gave me... It was horrible. There was no story, the filming was almost non-existent, and all that happened was some Mundie couple kept having sex with every person they met."
Nexus sniggered, "You do realize that Ben gave you a porno, don't you Max?"
Jace closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked off the elevator before the door closed, "Library in five."
Everyone gave him an affirmative, stepping out of the elevator. It was almost comical, becuase the door was already half-closed, and Ash stepped out like nothing, dragging her brother behind her. Nexus was about to get out next, but Ben cut her off. She wasn't having that, so she yanked him back against the wall, walking to the door only to have it close in her face. He groaned, sliding down the wall so that he was only a few inches taller than Nexus as opposed to a full head.
"This is your fault." She accused him, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed.
He snorted, "How do you figure?"
"You wouldn't let me out first, so now we're both stuck in here." Nexus looked up at the reflective ceiling, wondering if she had been cursed.
"You could have just been civil and followed me," He pointed out her hypocrisy, amused at the way her face contorted, "but then, that would make you a lady, wouldn't it?"
Fed up, and maybe a little grouchy from a lack of sleep, she shoved him as hard as she could against the first vertical surface he came into contact with. He seemed to be expecting that, becuase he easily parried her, twirling her so that her back was to him, her chest rising and falling savagely against his arms. Knowing when she was beaten, Nexus settled down, but Ben didn't let her go. She tried to turn around, but he held her firmly in place, not giving an inch.
He bent over her shoulder, his breath warm against her neck, "What's wrong with you today? Usually it takes so much more to get you this upset... That time of the month?"
She hissed under her breath, "Surely your nose would have picked that up by now... Even I gave you that much credit."
"Joking aside - "
"Who's joking? I hate you." She managed to get free of his grip, "Now if you don't mind, I -"
Her words were cut off as she was flung back against the wall, a pair of strong hands holding her there, "I didn't know you thought about me so much."
"Idiot," She looked away, "how did you reach that conclusion?"
He smirked, ignoring her last comment, "Putting emotion into a thought, even a negative emotion, means that you care enough about something or someone to spare energy on. Did you know that?"
She jerked away from him, "You caught me. I think about you every night before I go to sleep. In your dreams."
"I'd tell you to be a comedian, but you're not funny." He pressed the up button before the elevator even touched the floor.
A/N:
Aw, nothing like a little friendly hatred in the morning! But why does she hate Ben so much? I bet you wonder why. If so, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. To clarify/remind/inform, Bennett is Luke's and Jocelyn's son, born a year before Nexus. Ash(ley) and Max are Isabelle's children, twins a year younger than Nexus.
