Distractions - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Everest walked into the Institute with coffee in one hand and her shoes in the other. She had arrived the night before only to find the Institute still in one piece, learning that nothing had actually happened. Everest had been annoyed, but she had accepted the situation and had started working on one of her many side projects. The next morning, she had left early again to get coffee and a blueberry muffin—thinking she deserved at least that much. However, Clary didn't seem to think so because she had texted her to get back to the Institute because Alec took her necklace or something.
Everest followed the sound of her friends' voices and ended up in one of the training rooms. Clary and Izzy stood next to each other, both looking slightly disgruntled, Jace was in workout clothes and extremely sweaty, and Alec was standing in front of an unfamiliar woman with a minorly startled expression.
"Mother. Welcome back, we didn't expect you," he said hugging the woman.
So that was Maryse Lightwood. Everest had heard plenty about her since she had met Izzy, and not all of it was very kind. Everest stayed in the doorway, hoping that she wouldn't be roped into whatever situation was sure to go down. Unfortunately for her, Jace had no intentions of letting her stay in the shadows once he saw her.
"Purple!" he called out to her, causing Maryse, Izzy, Alec, and Clary to all turn to her. "Don't just stand there, come socialize."
"Bleh," she muttered as she went to stand between Izzy and Jace. "You're kinda terrible sometimes, you know that?"
The blonde just chuckled and ruffled her hair causing her to freeze in place for a moment in surprise before her arm started moving faster than her brain could process. She swung her right fist and hit Jace in the cheek. He stumbled back, his face contorted with shock and his hand pressed to his cheek. The others in the room stared at her in shock as well, though there was an underlying layer of pride on Izzy, Clary, and Alec's faces.
"Don't touch my hair?" Everest said, though she said it like a question, somewhat sheepishly as she shrugged her shoulders and grinned lightly.
"Where did you learn to punch someone like that?" Jace asked, not seeming even a little mad the girl had just punched him in the face.
"Brad and Jay," she smirked. "They insisted on teaching me how to defend myself once they learned I, and I quote, 'face the dangers of the world far too often.' At least I can safely say that not only have I managed to defend myself against creepy men in alleyways, I have also managed to punch a dyed blonde without breaking my hand."
Jace rolled his eyes at her jab at his hair, but said nothing, knowing that he wouldn't win.
Maryse cleared her throat and Everest blinked, forgetting she was there.
"Oh, hello." Everest waved to the woman.
"Who are you?" she said in greeting.
"Mom," Alec began as he placed a hand on Everest's shoulder. She jumped, not expecting the sudden touch. "This is Everest. Everest Fairchild."
The woman seemed shocked at her name. "I didn't know Jocelyn had a second daughter."
Everest smiled softly. "Apparently neither does Valentine or the Circle. Everytime we encounter them, I'm either ignored or get comments like 'I don't know who you are, girlie' or 'who are you.' It's a little insulting, really."
"Anyways," the woman cleared her throat again. "We'll talk about the Institute later. Right now, we have a bigger problem. The Seelies have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why. My guess is they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk."
"I have Seelie friends," Izzy said, rather helpfully in Everest's opinion.
"Yes, I know about your friends. Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word...do you think there is such a thing as harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures? Maybe you told him...them...something they shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it."
Everest couldn't find it within herself to keep her mouth shut just them. Neither, it seemed, could Jace.
"Wait, wait. I don't understand. You're laying all this on Izzy for having a friend in the Downworld?" Jace looked perplexed.
"Ridiculous customs? Creatures?" Everest gave Maryse Lightwood an angry look. "What right do you have?"
Maryse looked at her in surprise. "Excuse me?"
Everest ignored how Izzy and Alec were shaking their heads at her, trying to get her to stop. "You're blaming this situation on Izzy for having relations outside your family, accusing her of insulting the Seelie race by not knowing or ignoring a custom or tradition of their kind. But you yourself are insulting them. You are calling their customs ridiculous and calling them creatures. You are the one insulting the Seelies, whether that be your intention or not." The purple haired girl took a deep breath, steadying her slightly shaking hands by pressing them against her thighs. "And for the record, I think it's rather stupid that you want to stay separate from the Downworld. You have a better chance of avoiding a war with four races against one if you get to know them."
Maryse scoffed. "What would you know about the Downworld? You were raised a Mundane."
"I was," Everest agreed. "But I've had ties to this world since I was four, even if I didn't know it. Someone I am very close to and call my brother is a vampire, my best friend is a Shadowhunter and I've known her since I was seven. I've known Magnus Bane for a very long time, and you know what?"
Everest tilted her head to the side as she stared Maryse down. Normally, she wouldn't be saying anything like this, but she had no patience for people who insulted others because of who they were. "I have Seelie friends too. One of my best friends, who I've known since I was four, is a Seelie. And nothing terrible has ever happened because I teased him. So calm your accusations down and maybe let somebody explain themselves before you start jumping to conclusions. If you keep accusing everybody within eyesight, soon you'll have nobody and your children will no longer respect you as much as they do."
Everest left the room, her coffee and her sister's shoes abandoned on one of the benches.
...
Alec P.O.V.:
Alec stared in the direction the purple haired girl went long after his mother and siblings had left. He had never heard anybody stand up to his mother like that before; they were all too scared to. Alec had to admit, he was a little impressed with what she said, though he had no idea she had a vampire brother or a Seelie best friend. 'How could I though?' he asked himself. 'I've only known her a week.'
"Well, that was a window into the weird," the redheaded girl said to Alec. "What did you do to piss off your mom?"
"I'd guess, for a start, all the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over too well with the Clave." Alec walked away from the training room, towards where the bedrooms were.
"And what about Everest? Did she have no part in any of the missions either?" Clary sounded angry, though he had no idea why she would be.
Alec paused at her words, but shook his head and continued walking. He kept walking until he reached the door at the end of the hall. He hesitated, not entirely sure if he wanted to do this, but then he squared his shoulders and knocked.
He heard a shuffling sound followed by a crash and a curse.
"Shit," he heard Everest say as she approached the door.
Alec raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance. Her shirt swapped for a hoodie and her jeans were swapped for a pair of cotton shorts, her hair nearly entirely out of their braids. Everest's arms wrapped around her stomach defensively and she looked up at him.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Umm," Alec blanked for a moment. "Izzy and Jace are going on a mission, so Mom wants me to train Clary and you. I don't think you need it, but you are more than welcome to join in if you'd like."
Everest's gaze was almost unnerving as she went over his words in her head. She shrugged. "Sure, why not. But let me change first."
Alec nodded and was about to walk away when Everest stopped him.
"You can come in, you know. You don't have to stand outside or walk around waiting for me."
He turned back to her and saw that she was smiling from the doorway, the door wide open now. Alec hardly paused as he followed after Everest into the room. He sat in the desk chair that had been rolled to the corner of the room. He wondered why, but then he saw the pouf and crate contraption at her desk.
"What's with the contraption?" he asked.
"I don't like chairs or benches." Everest shrugged in reply. "That's my solution."
"Why not?"
Everest smiled softly. "When I was fourteen, my brother and I—yes the vampire one—were trying to climb a wall, but then some woman appeared and threatened him. She shoved me into a chair and held me down while shouting at my brother and telling him that she'd kill me if he didn't go back to some hotel. He left to save my life, but then the woman tied me down to the chair properly and broke my leg in multiple spots. I was stuck outside in that alleyway for a while."
"So do chairs remind you of that day?" Alec was concerned, he wasn't going to lie to himself. He didn't know why, but the thought of Everest hurt made him angry and scared.
"Yeah, at least when I sit in them. However, I also don't like them because of how motion-restricting they are, I haven't since I was little, but yeah, I mainly don't like them because of that day."
Seeing as Everest was changed in a tank top and biker shorts, Alec stood up and led her to the training room where Clary waited. He passed the two of them a stick and they started to train.
"Looks like we're stuck with each other. For what it's worth, I think your mom was too tough on you out there," Clary said as Everest blocked her strike.
"Mothers are like that," Alec grunted.
"Our's isn't." Everest's face twisted in slight disagreement, but Clary didn't seem to notice. "Go ahead. Knock me on my ass. You'll feel better."
"Does that extend to me too?" Everest asked, blocking and striking at her sister. Clary nodded and Everest grinned.
"Don't make me say you're right about something. Plant your feet wide." Alec moved Clary's feet with his stick.
Everest swung her stick towards Clary and Alec stepped back, watching as the purple haired girl attacked her sister. There was no doubt in his mind that Everest Fairchild was good at fighting, it was obvious by the way she punched Jace earlier and the way she was fighting now. However, he still had no idea how she had survived the encounter with the Circle members back at Magnus's lair. She hadn't had a blade and he didn't think that she had punched them and won—not with the men having Seraph blades and her with a child behind her. He had seen the outline of something in what seemed to be a holster beneath the oversized button up she had been wearing, and again when she walked into the training room, but he didn't know what it was.
Everest's phone rang and she stopped her attack to answer it. However, just as Clary relaxed, Everest swung one last time and stopped her stick inches from the redhead's neck. She smiled in victory.
"I win," she said, handing the other girl her stick as the ringing got louder. "I'll see you in a few, I've got to take this."
Alec stared after her as she left, noticing how Everest's left hand tapped on her thigh as she walked.
"Are you staring at my sister's ass?" Clary asked him. Her expression didn't seem angry, more curious and—to his disappointment—it resembled Izzy's when she tried to set somebody up.
"No," he said simply, dodging her attack.
"If you say so," Clary said, still smirking.
Everest's P.O.V.:
"Hey, Lyn," Everest greeted as she walked into her room. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," the other girl replied. "I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright with everything that's been going on."
Everest had told her friend about how her mom was missing, Raphael being alive, her and Simon being kidnapped, and just how chaotic her life had been in the last week or so.
"I'm alright. I mean, I haven't died or broke down yet."
"And how much coffee have you had?"
"I drank my entire mauve mug the other day."
Everest could already picture the disapproving look on Roslyn's face. "Why did you have that much coffee?"
"Nightmares."
"Do you want to talk about them?"
That was what Everest loved about Roslyn Henry so much. She never pushed anyone to talk or to explain themselves—though Everest did anyway most of the time—and she didn't get mad when she, Gino, or anyone did something that wasn't good.
"Not now," Everest told her. "Maybe later though."
"Alright. I just wanted to call and check in on you. Will you be free to meet up anytime soon Glitz?"
"I don't actually know."
Roslyn sighed. "Okay, text me when you're free and won't be at risk of having your sister drag you away to some death stunt."
Everest laughed. "Will do. Bye!"
"Bye!"
Everest flopped onto her bed and groaned when she realized that she was still in her sweaty clothes. She rolled off her bed and onto the floor with a thud. Using the side table as a support, she pulled herself up and made her way to the closet. She pulled out a pair of leggings, a white sweater with a rainbow around the middle, and a pair of white Vans. She was putting her hair into a bun when a knock at her door startled her.
"Come in!" she called.
The door opened to reveal Alec, still in his workout clothes and looking very annoyed.
"Your sister's missing."
Everest gaped at him. "What?"
"Your sister is—"
"Missing I heard that. How did she go missing?"
Alec rolled his eyes. "She walked out the front door while I was on the phone and I can't find her."
Had it been a different situation, Everest probably would have laughed. But, Clary was missing and Everest had no idea where she could be.
Everest threw her phone in her bag and walked past the blue eyed boy, running a hand down her face in exasperation.
"Stupid sisters doing whatever their stupid hearts want," she grumbled to herself. "Stupid, stupid ideas running stupid people's brains. Stupid artsy nerdy sisters who draw all day and have no—" Everest cut herself off and her face lit up.
She turned on her heel and looked at Alec, who looked very amused by her mumbling. "I think I might know where she is."
His face became neutral again and he became alert. "Where?"
"I think she might have gone to the Brooklyn Academy of Art."
"Why would she go there?" Alec's face was scrunched up in confusion.
"Because she's an artsy nerd who gets a little predictable at times."
Alec nodded and grabbed his bow, slinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go then."
The two walked out of the Institute and Everest suppressed the sigh that threatened to slip between her lips. She couldn't believe that her sister had just left. Actually, scratch that. She could. She couldn't believe that she left without even telling her.
Everest's phone dinged in her bag and she swung it to her front and dug in it while still walking. She pulled it out, smiling softly at the case. It read 'This phone belongs to a writer, not a mass murderer. Please don't call the cops' and made her smile whenever she saw it. She opened her phone to see a text from Clary, or 'Spicy Ritz Cracker' as her contact read.
Spicy Ritz Cracker
At the Brooklyn Academy. Ran from Alec, don't tell him please.
I'll buy you coffee for a week.
Chaotic Mess
I won't. But what if he already knows?
Spicy Ritz Cracker
He told you I'm gone didn't he?
I'll buy you coffee for a week if you tell him he's a meanie
Chaotic Mess
I'll hold you to that
Alec looked over at her as she laughed at her phone. He raised an eyebrow as she turned to him.
"Clary says you're a meanie."
He blinked and Everest handed him her phone. He shook his head as he read the messages with a small smile.
"Looks like she owes you coffee," he told her.
Everest nodded eagerly as she took her phone back. Alec chuckled at her ecstatic expression. She grinned as they approached the redhead. Her phone started to ring and as Clary dug around for it, the people around her started to check their phones, Everest included. Alec put his hand on her arm and pointed at her sister. Everest nodded and the two walked up to Clary, the purple haired girl feeling rather stupid.
"Why'd you run out? And what's the point of an invisibility rune if you don't silence your phone? That was childish, sneaking out like that." Alec was frustrated with the older Fairchild, it was obvious to Everest.
Clary ignored him as she answered the phone. "Simon. Hey. I know I should have called you right back. I'm really sorry, are you okay?"
Everest frowned. She didn't know Simon had called Clary or that something was up with him—she hadn't even been told he left, having to figure it out on her own. Why hadn't he called her too? And why didn't Clary tell her something was up with Simon? She felt the all too familiar feeling of hurt settle on her shoulders. Did Simon not trust her enough, or was it just that Clary and he were closer so he called her first? Did he just not think of her, or was it a conscious decision to not call her?
"Hang up. That's it, we have to go. Right now." Alec's words snapped her out of her quickly spiraling thoughts and she shook her head. It wasn't the time to debate the inner workings of other people's minds.
"No. I'm on my way to the loft. There's something there that I think could help find Mom."
Everest threw her hands up and groaned in exasperation. Alec looked to her in concern. She didn't get told anything! Not about memory eating demons, not about her mom going missing, not about Clary thinking she had a way to find her, not about anything!
"I'm fine," Clary told Simon. "I'm with Alec." There was a pause before Clary looked at Everest and smiled. Everest didn't even try to return it, knowing her sister would notice that her box of negativities was slowly overflowing if she tried to smile. "I'm with Everest too. And I'm pretty sure she can take an alleyway thug, Simon."
Everest nodded in agreement and Alec looked down at her. "I can punch somebody, as you saw earlier, and I've also got a few other tricks up my sleeve when it comes to getting men to back off."
"Like what?" Alec's eyes were filled with curiosity and Everest almost told him.
"That'd ruin the surprise," she smiled innocently.
Alec's eyebrows raised. "That's the same smile Izzy gives me when she's hiding something big. Forgive me if I don't trust your 'way of getting men to back off' not to kick my ass at some point."
Everest laughed. "That's fair. I'll give you a hint though. My friend calls me 'Shots' for a reason. And it's not because I drink." Alec seemed to ponder that for a moment before he shrugged.
"I'll figure it out later."
Clary hung up and Alec looked at the people around them, all living their lives.
"Mundanes. Look at them. Running around like ants." He started walking and the twins were left to practically run to catch up. "Let's go."
"Why do you always look so miserable?"
"I don't," Alec disagreed with Clary.
"He doesn't," Everest shook her head at Clary.
"He does. It must be hard being in love with Jace and he's straight and everything."
Everest gaped at her sister. There were so many things wrong with her statement. One, Alec was not always miserable. Two, it wasn't okay to just assume someone's orientation, even if it could be correct. Three, Clary and Alec weren't even close enough to stand being in the same room for longer than 45 minutes, much less for Clary to say what she just said.
"Excuse me? What?" Alec looked just as shocked as Everest at Clary's words.
"What's the big deal? I was there when the memory came out. Busted, no?"
Everest closed her eyes in frustration. When it was a little calmer, she was going to have a conversation with her sister about how it wasn't okay to assume people's orientation, or to just say that it was no big deal that someone—who might be straight—could have just come out in one of the worst ways possible. She couldn't believe that Clary had just said that possibly being outed was no big deal. She had been there when Everest came out to her mom and Luke. She had seen how terrified she had been. Hell, when she came out to Clary, Everest had automatically curled up and started crying when she hadn't said anything—thinking she was disgusted and angry with her.
"We're Parabatai."
"Alec, just say it, you'll feel better. You're in love with Jace," Clary kept pushing.
"Forget it. You know what? You're in love with Jace." Alec rolled his eyes and walked faster.
"Oh, okay? The middle school comeback? Nice Al—" Everest cut her sister off.
"Clary! Stop it," she said, her hands shaking slightly as she pressed them against her thighs. "Just be quiet and stop this conversation. Stop it before you say something even worse or more hurtful."
Clary froze as Everest's voice faltered slightly. Everest knew it wasn't her sister's intention to say something hurtful, but she had and it angered and disappointed Everest. Clary looked at her sister and saw her hands pressed against her thighs and her pursed lips. She nodded and started walking again, leading the way to the back alley shortcut to the apartment silently.
"You alright?" Alec asked as the two followed Clary at a slower pace.
Everest nodded. "Yeah. I just need to have a conversation with Clary about being considerate and not assuming things. And about not downplaying or saying that coming out isn't a big deal. Because it is, and I thought she would understand at least a little, but apparently she doesn't."
Alec gazed at her curiously. "What do you mean? Why would she understand?"
"Because she was there when I came out to our mother and Luke. She saw how incredibly terrified of rejection I was." Everest smiled softly, making sure to keep her older sister in view. "I was 13 when I came out to my friends and family as Pansexual. I was terrified because my mother could barely accept me for me as it was, and I didn't want to have to deal with her treating me like more of an outcast than she already did."
"What happened? Does she accept you? Or does she still treat you like an outcast?"
"Define accept me. Because if you mean not commenting on my orientation and ignoring me when she learns I'm dating someone other than a cis man, then yeah, she accepts me."
Alec frowned. "She shouldn't treat you like that. It's not right." Everest smiled bitterly at his words.
"Yeah, well. A lot of things about Jocelynn Fairchild aren't right. Everything dealing with me is just the tip of the iceberg."
...
The alleyway was overgrown with weeds and littered with trash. Everest scrunched up her nose at the sight. However, the sound of Simon and Clary talking brought her out of her disgust.
"Yeah, it's just a cold. Not the end of the world," Simon told the redhead.
"The world's been ending for a thousand years. You get used to it," Alec deadpanned. Everest snickered behind her hand. "Now we need to move."
"Yeah, the loft's just across the alley," Everest told Alec.
"All right. We need to be careful. There's eyes all over this place and everyone in the Shadow World's looking for you."
"They don't even know I exist. How could they be looking for me?" Everest asked, slightly bitter. She was glad she wasn't a super big target, but it stung a little that she wasn't acknowledged as Clary's sister.
"Doesn't stop them from knowing you're close with Clary. That's enough for them." Alec let her walk in front of him as they followed behind the other two.
"I guarantee you, no one's gonna find this shortcut. I used to take it back in middle school to see the twins. You might know the Shadow World, but trust me. I know Brooklyn." Simon puffed out his chest and Everest rolled her eyes.
"Gino literally found this shortcut before you."
"Yeah well. He's like got magic or something. It doesn't count," Simon argued.
"Is Gino a warlock?" Clary asked curiously.
"Nope." Everest didn't say anymore on the topic. "And for the record Rat Boy, Roslyn is the one who showed Gino the shortcut. You just followed them."
Simon ignored her as they approached a wall. Simon hopped over it in one try and Everest let out a low whistle. Clary looked impressed, and Alec was watching in disbelief.
"That's not normal," Everest told him in an overly happy tone as she walked around the wall like a normal person.
"If that was meant to reassure me, it didn't."
"It wasn't." Everest smiled at him, forcing her frustration into her box of negativities. "Not one bit."
"You're a little odd Everest," Alec told her with a small smile.
"Thanks I think."
As they entered another alley where all the walls and gates were covered with ivy, Everest spotted a familiar vine plant snaking its way up the gate Alec was about to touch.
She grabbed his wrist just before he was about to touch the plant. He looked at her in surprise. "Poison Ivy. Don't touch the gate." She looked around at the other plants creeping up the alley way a little closer. "Actually, don't touch anything. At least not without very thick gloves on."
He gave her a grateful look as they approached a ladder, also covered in Poison Ivy. Everest paused and dug in her bag for a moment before pulling out a pair of gloves. She offered them to Alec who took them gratefully. She put on a pair and they started to climb. She was incredibly allergic to the plant and she had no idea if Alec was, so it was better to be safe than sorry. And besides, even if he wasn't, there were still two benefits to giving him the gloves. One, he wouldn't have to touch the nasty ladder rungs, and two, she was able to see him with an expression other than mistrust and contempt on his face. He was cute when he smiled.
Everest's eyes widened and she shook her head to get rid of that thought. She probably shouldn't be thinking about those things, especially not then.
"Have you been doing parkour or something?" Clary asked Simon.
"You two have gotten a lot better at this," Simon told the twins, ignoring the question.
"Could say the same about you," Everest said.
"Climbing a fire escape excites mundanes. I'll never understand these people," Alec grumbled behind her.
"That's fair," she told him. "If it makes you feel better, we don't even understand ourselves."
"Again, it doesn't."
"Woah," Clary breathed out. "I don't remember it like this."
Everest stared at the walls covered in tags she now knew as runes. She had been able to see them since she was about 12, but after she had asked her mom about them when she was 9 and she had been lectured for hours before her memory went blank, she never mentioned them again. Seeing the runes again made her realize that she had stopped getting her memories taken away when she was 12, which was probably why she was able to see them since then.
"These are runes and wards of protection cast by a warlock," Alec told them.
"Dot," the twins said together.
"Some of these have been here for years." Alec mused as he looked at some particularly faded ones.
"A lot of them since before we were 12," Everest said quietly enough that no one heard her.
"The only difference is that now I can actually see them."
Everest snorted. "There's more differences than that, Ritz."
She leaned against the only wall without vines on it, one arm across her stomach protectively and the other ready to grab her gun if need be.
"Yo, Clary! Everest! What are all these tags?" Simon called out. The three looked to him in surprise.
"You can see the runes?" Alec narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, kinda hard to miss."
"For a Shadowhunter. They should be invisible to most mundanes. When did you get the Sight?"
"I don't know. But whoever drew these should take some lessons from Clary. Their work is pretty sloppy," the boy joked as they stepped closer to him.
Clary traced the heart where she and Simon had painted their initials in a heart. Everest rolled her eyes at the memories that surfaced. She hadn't wanted to be at their pretend wedding, but she was dragged by her sister from the park where she was supposed to be playing with Roslyn and Gino. The only plus to that day was that she got to throw stuff.
"This is from when Simon and I were engaged to be married." Everest smiled.
"That's what being engaged means, Ritz."
"You were engaged?" Alec turned away. "I'm almost certain I don't want to hear this story."
"We were eight years old," Simon said.
Alec nodded his head once. Everest knew the expression on his face well—after all, she wore it more often than she would like. It was an expression that said 'of course, just go ahead and ignore what I said.'
"That was a whole other world ago," Clary said sadly and Everest patted her shoulder before trying to open the door.
"Flaw one in your plan Simon!" she called. "Door's locked and unless you want me to shatter or pick the lock, we're gonna have to find another way in."
"Here, let me try."
Simon turned the doorknob and pulled. Everest was about to call him out for pulling a 'push' door, but the door was ripped off its hinges. Her jaw dropped. That most certainly wasn't normal. Jumping a wall, sure, she could push that off as years of practice. Being able to see the runes, that could be blamed on Dot not being there anymore. But Noodle-Arm-Simon ripping a push door off its hinges by pulling? That wasn't anywhere near normal. Even for her wacked up life.
"After you," Simon waved the twins in. He stopped Alec from entering though. "After me."
Everest's nose scrunched up at him. "Simon? Are you on any meds or drugs or steroids?"
"No! Of course not!"
Everest shrugged. "It seems like it. You're acting funny, and that's coming from someone who genuinely has to take Class 3 drugs to be somewhat considered a normal, functioning person."
Clary laughed. "You really need to stop explaining it like that. You make it seem like you take street drugs, Ev." She turned to Alec, who had begun staring at Everest like she was saying the sky was purple and made of hedgehogs. "She takes stimulant medication to help manage her ADHD. She's not on drugs, don't worry."
Alec shook his head and continued into the loft.
"Holy crap girls. Who torched your loft? Yeah, I can see this too." Simon gazed around in disbelief.
Everest turned slowly in a circle as she took in the mess that was Clary's room. Everything was burnt to a crisp. None of Clary's drawings, art supplies, clothes, or anything that made up Clary's life was left. She turned and walked out of the room, her shoes making louder steps than usual in the destroyed home.
She stopped outside her room, hesitating. Did she really want to see her room destroyed? Remembering the safe hidden in her room, she pushed open the door. If nothing else, she was going to get the stuff in her safe.
Everest's room was even worse than Clary's, and she was glad that she kept all of her writing stuff, photos, and all of her most important belongings in the safe when she wasn't home. And even more glad that Roslyn had reminded her to do so before she left. Her previously soft fuzzy rug was nothing more than ashes, her bed nothing more than a metal frame. Her records and record player were melted beyond repair, her posters and pictures on the walls nonexistent. Her clothes were nearly all destroyed, but there were some of her favorite items still intact towards the back. She shoved those into her bag and opened the safe.
All of her writing and project stuff, photos, the notebook she got from Raphael when she was 9, all of her paperwork that allowed her to carry a gun, all of her medical stuff, and all of her bullets and her second gun all laid in her safe. Everest sighed in relief as she carefully placed all of her stuff in her bag, clipping her second gun and another magazine on her left hip—just in case.
She left the room to group up with Clary, her bag much heavier than before. As she stepped out from the doorway, a shadow moved. She froze and reached for her gun. But she wasn't fast enough. Something slammed against her temple and she stumbled, black spots filling her vision. She fell to the ground as someone kicked the back of her knees.
Her vision faded entirely as she was picked up. Everest was really hating how much she was getting knocked out. A lot.