𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

Hodge's talk lasted for the entirety of dinner. No one else dared to utter a single word until the man was finished, so the only other audible sounds were their chewing and their breathing sharply when the situation requried. By the time he had finished, Isabelle and Aria were already sharing their favourite bobba tea, a pink and a purple straw in the same cup.

"Well, I think it's kind of romantic," Isabelle spoke, as she swallowed.

"What is?"

"That whole business about Clary's mother and Valentine being married. He's back from the dead and he's come looking for her. Maybe he wants to get back together," she explained herself under everyone's attentive looks.

"I kind of doubt he sent a Ravener demon to her house because he wants to 'get back together'." Alec had always been the voice of reason among them, so it did not surprise Aria when he tried to find a rational explanation for everything that was happening around them. He had not looked at Clary or Simon a single time since they had sat down to eat.

"It wouldn't be my move," Jace agreed. "First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes."

Aria could not help but let out a sarcastic chuckle, knowing full well that that was not Jace's style either. In fact, he would send the ravenous demons first, if he even took the time to apologise at all. The boy's eyes travelled to her own again, and she forced herself to maintain eye contact. She refused to let him know that he intimidated her. A chill travelled down her spine just from thinking how they had got to that place when it had not been two days since they had last kissed.

"Considering that this is the man who rained down the destruction of Idris, who set Shadowhunter against Downworlder and who made the streets of the Glass City run with blood, I highly doubt it."

"That's sort of hot, that evil thing," Isabelle argued, earning a nod from Aria by her side.

"So why does Valentine want this Cup so bad, and why does he think Clary's mom has it?" Simon said, speaking for the first time since they started eating. Aria could see that he was trying to look as intimidating as Jace and Alec were, imitating their postures from time to time, but it was clear that he melted every time Clary looked at him.

Clary suddenly turned to Hodge, "you said he wanted to make an army. You mean because you can use the Cup to make Shadowhunters?"

"So Valentine could just walk up to anyone on the street and make him a Shadowhunter? Would it work on me?"

"Possibly," Hodge conceded. "But most likely, you're too old already. The Cup works on children but an adult would either be entirely unaffected or outright killed."

"A child army," Isabelle said softly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Well, that would be only for a few years," Aria tried to reason. "Kids grow fast. Then, they could be a force to contend with."

The conversation continued for some more minutes but, then, Jace said the only thing they were all pleading he did not say: he wanted to come up with a plan. Hodge, of course, dismissed the idea as soon as he heard the words, prompting Aria to let out a relieved sigh.

"I am skilled," he protested. "I am experienced."

"I know that you are, but you're still a child. All of you are."

Jace looked at Hodge as if he could stand up and cut his throat right there and then. If there was something more than being unable to fight was being treated as a child and dismissed because of his age. He knew he was good, one of the best perhaps.

"Hodge is right," said Alec. His eyes were hard but Aria knew that he was afraid. He was afraid of what Jace could do, he was afraid for Jace. "Valentine is dangerous. I know you are a good Shadowhunter, the best our age probably. But he is one of the best there ever was. It took a huge battle to bring him down."

"And he didn't exactly stay down, apparently."

"But we're here," he tried to fight, tried to get Alec to reason even if he knew it was most likely impossible. "We're here and because of the Accords, nobody else is. If we don't do something-"

"We are going to do something," Hodge concluded. "I'll send a message to the Clave. They can have a force of Nephilim here by tomorrow. They'll take care of this."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," Aria spat, tired of the discussion. "You just have to shut up and not do anything stupid."

The table fell silent for just a moment. Jace and Aria were glaring at each other, their eyes hard as they thought about what the nearest escape would be if any of them threw a knife at each other. Isabelle, Alec and Hodge looked at the girl surprised. They knew Jace and Aria had had their fair share of fighting over the years, but it was usually in adrenaline-charged scenarios and not over dinner. Simon and Clary, on the other hand, were silently trying to discern what the relationship between the two of them was and why they seemed to hate each other while everybody else had a pretty good relationship.

The conversation continued around them but Aria did not focus on it again until she heard the name of the Silent Brothers and how they were going to be called to the Institute. The Silent Brothers were, probably, the only thing basically all of them were afraid of. They were creepy and brought an aura of gloom around them every time they stepped into a room.

"The Silent Brothers are archivists, but that's not all," Hodge explained. "In order to strengthen their minds, they have chosen to take upon themselves some of the most powerful runes ever created. The power of these runes is so great that the use of them—. Well, it warps and twists their physical forms. They are not warriors in the sense that other Shadowhunters are warriors. Their powers are of the mind, not the body."

"It doesn't sound that bad to me," Simon intervened. "I'd rather have someone mess around inside my head than chop it off."

"Then you're a bigger idiot than you look," Jace threw at Simon. Aria, forcing herself not to throw a glass at Jace's head, took the drink from Isabelle and took a big gulp from it. She, however, nearly choked when she heard Jace saying that he would stay with Clary while the Silent Brothers worked.

Isabelle let out a laugh at the sight as Alec looked at her with amused eyes, making her blush. On the other side of the table, Jace was trying to throw Simon out of the Institute, which Isabelle seemed clearly happy to do, while Clary claimed that she was not hungry and walked out of the kitchen.

"What's with you two? I would rather not have you fighting around the halls," Hodge asked, looking at both Aria and Jace.

"Ask her."

"What do you mean 'ask her'?"

"You're the one that can't keep herself from commenting on every single thing I say," the blond boy looked at her, his voice harsh now.

"You're the one who can't stop talking shit," she responded. From the corner of her eye, she could see Alec tense. He did not like conflict. In fact, he was the first one to look for a way to avoid it, but he did not have one at the moment. He was just ready to get in between them in case they started to physically fight each other.

"Accept that you're jealous already and save us all time."

"What if I am, Jace? What the fuck is all this? Risking your life for a girl you don't know, bringing a mundane into the Institute knowing full well you should not, offering to go with her to the Silent Brothers when we all know you're terrified of them?"

"You didn't seem to care about me and Clary when you were about to kiss that stupid friend of hers!"

"I wasn't going to kiss him! Honestly, we've lived together for most of our lives and you don't even know me! You can't keep trying to excuse your actions by attacking mine!"

"And you can't keep being a little girl, throwing a fit every time something you don't like happens!"

Their voices were already higher than they had been before and their yells could probably be heard from outside the Institute, where Isabelle was still trying to get Simon to leave without Clary. Hodge had made it very clear for them that, even though he was not too keen on them having any sort of romantic involvement with each other, he would not intervene as long as that did not affect the order of the Institute. He, however, was not sure how to act now.

"You're so lucky that I don't have a dagger with me right now because I would throw it right at your face just to shut you up!" Aria yelled back. The two of them took a step closer to each other, putting Alec and Hodge alert.

"Go get one, I can't wait to see you embarrass yourself once again."

Aria was about to outright punch Jace in the face just to wipe that smirk off of it, but Alec caught her by the waist and pulled her back before she could try anything.

"If you like her at all, you'll be smart enough to stay away from her because you fucking know that you will break her heart just like you break every other girl's." Her throat hurt from yelling so much but, sometimes, that was the only way to get Jace to hear them. 

"That's enough!" Hodge's voice raised above them just as Jace opened his voice to answer. "I warned you about this. What will happen if you need to fight side by side?"

"As long as he doesn't open his mouth," Aria replied, at the same time that Jace claimed that it would be fine as long as she did not cry. "You must be delusional if you think I'd shed a tear for you, Jace Wayland."

"To your bedrooms, both of you. And I hope this fighting gets fixed by tomorrow morning."

"How can we fix it if we are in our own rooms?" Jace retorted, clearly showing that he did not like being bossed around.

"To one of your bedrooms then. I don't want to hear you fighting any more, do you hear me? You better fix this." Hodge left the room, leaving only Alec with them. Both Jace and Aria turned to look at him, expecting him to take their side, but he simply shook his head and claimed that he was with Hodge on this one.

Jace and Aria looked at each other, rolling their eyes at the same time. Not too long ago, both of them would have burst laughing but, now, things were far too tense for that. Seeing that Alec had left as well and that Isabelle was nowhere in sight still, they had no choice but to listen to what they had been told.

"My room or yours?"

"I don't care as long as we get this over with fast."

"The Angel forbid Clary spends too much time without you hovering around, huh?" Aria spat, walking out of the kitchen and towards her own room. The door was closed and the windows open, the chilly air of the night making the room cold. Aria, however, did not close it. She liked hearing the noises of the city, they made her feel grounded and quieted her thoughts a bit.

She opened her dresser and took a look, looking for a hoodie to wear. In the process, she took out a big black one that had been there for years now.

"This is yours, by the way." She didn't even look at Jace when she handed it to him. If she had, she had been his look of surprise and the tinge of regret momentarily clouding his vision. It was gone as soon as it came, however.

"Didn't think you still had this. I gave it to you years ago."

"What do you think I did? Throw it away?"

She put on a hoodie of her own, her hair getting rumpled in the process. She did not mind, nonetheless, since Jace had seen her looking far worse. She would not give him the satisfaction of letting him think she wanted to look good for him, even though she desperately wanted to.

"You sure you don't want it?" he asked, trying to get Aria to understand that she could keep it if she wanted to.

The girl shook his head, "give it to Clary. She doesn't have anything to wear."

"Would you stop with Clary already? I don't get why you're so jealous," he scoffed, sitting in Aria's bed, in front of her.

"For fuck's sake, Jace. Because I fucking like you, is that so difficult to understand?"

"You have seen me with other girls and you never said a word."

"Because we were nothing!" she exclaimed, already tired of the same conversation. "But two weeks ago you told me we could try to take this seriously and for what? To forget all about it as soon as another pretty girl walks by?"

"What do you want me to do? Kiss you while thinking about her? How would that be fair?"

"You could've told me! That night, when we slept in your room, you could've told me you liked her!" Aria's eyes stung but not in a million years would she allow herself to cry over Jace in front of him, especially not when she was right.

"You think I wanted to find her hot? I wanted to forget about her because it would be too difficult to be with her!"

Jace's eyes darkened for a second upon realising what he had just said. You see, he had a habit of speaking before thinking, which usually put him in a lot of trouble.

"Oh so I was the easy option? All these years you've kissed me just because I was here?" Aria's voice quivered, but she dug her nails harder into the palm of her hand to keep herself steady. "Would you have liked me if I were in Idris? Or if I were a girl walking down the street?"

"What's got you so insecure all of a sudden? You didn't use to be like this."

Aria got up from the bed, unable to stay there any longer without slapping the boy across the face. "You, Jace! Why is that so difficult to believe!?"

"I warned you not to catch feelings! That I didn't know how to do this!"

"The problem was not catching feelings for you, those have been there a long time. The problem was believing that you ever had them!"

"And what do you want me to do!?" his voice was now higher than ever. In fact, Aria was sure that Isabelle and Alec could hear them arguing from their rooms, but neither of them cared.

"I want you to be a fucking man and, if you like that girl, take care of her. Because having your heart broken by you is worse than being stabbed."

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Aria did not exit her room anymore that day. After Jace walked out, slamming the door behind him, she got into bed. Her breathing was still quick and her hand hurt where she had dug her nails, so hard that she had little specks of blood in them.

The conversation couldn't have gone any worse. Not only had they not fixed anything but, instead, they had spent twenty minutes reproaching each other for even the smallest things. 

She picked up a book, but seeing how she was completely unable to concentrate, she simply lay down and looked at the ceiling until someone knocked on her door, making her sit up. She expected Isabelle to walk in, but her eyes opened in surprise when, instead, it was Alec who poked his head through the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure. Everything okay?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you," he muttered, shyly stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. It was, certainly, not the first time he was in Aria's room, since there was a time in which they used to quiz each other while walking around the room, but it was the first time that the atmosphere was so heavy. "The Silent Brothers are already here."

"They came?"

He nodded, "Hodge called for them, Jace and Clary are with them. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, Alec," she gave him a reassuring smile as Alec took a chair and put it near the bed.

"I know you're not. That argument was pretty... intense."

"Did you hear it?"

Alec nodded again, "it was hard not to. I've never heard you yell at each other so much. It sounded serious."

"I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to..." Aria began to excuse herself, but stopped mid-sentence when Alec put his hand on her leg and looked at her with a self of pity and respect on his face.

"Hey, Jace can be a lot. I'm glad you stood up to him. Someone had to."

"Thanks, Alec. I really do appreciate your words."

Aria could not remember the last time that Alec had shown her physical affection. Sure, he let out a supportive comment or two from time to time but, mostly, he tried to stay out of everybody's business. That was why this moment was so important for Aria, because Alec had gone out of his way to take care of her, which really meant a lot, especially because no one usually took care of him, since he was the oldest.

"He'll come around, okay? You've been pining after the other for forever now, a bit annoying really if you think about it," he joked, making Aria laugh. "He'll soon see that you're the only one willing to follow his mad plans."

"Yeah, well, at least now I can extend my life expectancy a few years."

"Are you having a pyjama party without me?"

Very much unlike Alec, Isabelle did not even bother knocking on the door or enter cautiously. She simply opened the door and stepped inside with a pillow in her hands and her long black hair carefully tied into a ponytail.

"The Silent Brothers really do make the Institute feel heavy, I needed company."

"Shit, Alec, we can't gossip about her anymore."

"Have you ever been told you're not funny, Aria?"

"This is the first time, honestly."

Isabelle took a seat on Aria's bed, beside her, while Alec remained on the chair he had chosen when he first came into the room. It was true that the sole presence of the Silent Brothers cast a shadow of gloom all over the Institute that was difficult to ignore if you were alone, so Aria did not mind having both siblings over. They had not done that ever since they were like ten or eleven.

Their talk lasted for a long time until both Isabelle and Aria fell asleep, their hands tangled. Alec covered both of them with a blanket and walked out the room, careful not to make a noise so as not to wake them up.

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"Who the fuck is it?" Aria murmured as the sound from the elevator woke her up quite early in the morning. Isabelle was still there, sleeping peacefully, so she left her sleep and walked out of the room, still in her pyjamas to check who it was that came so early in the morning, especially knowing how loud the elevator was.

She stood in front of the elevator doors, waiting for them to open, only for them to reveal Simon. The boy wore a similar t-shirt to the one he had worn the previous day, a sentence Aria did not really understand across the chest. He was clearly shy but stepped out of the elevator nevertheless.

"Clary stayed here yesterday and... I didn't know where to..."

"You really shouldn't be here, Simon," Aria warned him. "Mundanes are not supposed to enter the Institute."

"I'm sorry, I can... go if you want me to."

"It's okay, you're already here. Isabelle is still asleep though, if you wanted to see her."

Simon shook his head, "no, no I didn't. I mean I do not not want to see her but I didn't come to see her."

Aria laughed at the sight of the boy's nervousness and, walking ahead, beckoned him to follow her. "Come with me, I'll make you breakfast and see if Clary's around."

Aria led him to the kitchen, trying not to let her body betray her when Simon muttered that, if Clary was around, she would surely be with Jace. Once in the kitchen, and once she had managed to get out of Simon that he did like cereal, she set two bowls in front of them and sat one across the other.

"So, Simon. How long have you liked Clary?"

The boy choked on