Distractions - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Why did she keep letting Clary convince her to go along with ridiculous and stupid ideas that weren't her own? There was a reason why Roslyn, Brad, Jay, Gino, and most of her friends didn't let her go camping, hiking, or anywhere that she could possibly find a way to make a decision that could blow someone/something up or destroy something/someone in a way that could not be fixed; at least without one or more of them there with her.
"Clary, remind me again why I'm going along with this ridiculous idea when I know I'm going to get grounded the next time I see Brad, Jay, or literally any of my friends if they find out about this?" Everest asked tensely. She flinched at the vine that grazed her cheek as she followed her sister through the back tunnels of Renwick's.
"Because you're chaotic neutral and you like going on adventures." Everest nodded. Those were both very true.
"Just like the Goonies," Everest added in a sing-song voice.
"Yeah, like the Goonies." Her sister handed her a seraph blade. "Keep hold of that. I know you prefer your gun, but even though you have special bullets that can kill demons, it doesn't mean you should use it all the time."
Everest took the blade, though she grumbled as she did so. "What are we even doing?"
"We're looking for—MOM!"
Clary broke into a run as she opened a pair of double doors. Everest blinked as she saw the graffiti on the walls. She peered closer at the mural of two silhouettes of teenagers in front of a background painted to look like shattered glass. She knew that mural—she had helped paint it, she was pretty sure at least. She stared at the bottom right hand corner of the mural and smiled softly. She had helped paint that mural, along with Gino, Roslyn, Marcus, Leo, and Eloise. They had painted it to represent their inability to conform to stereotypes and society's expectations—hence the two boys kissing in the mural and the shattered glass painted rainbow.
"Everest! We found her!" Clary cried, breaking Everest from her memory.
"Who—oh. Oh!" Everest ran towards her mom who was encased in some kind of green cocoon or something. "She's—she's alive, right?" As many issues as Everest and her mom had, she'd never wish the woman dead.
Clary's hand gripped Everest's and she looked up at her big sister. Clary swallowed before answering. "Yeah Ev. She's alive." Everest's hesitant smile dropped at the uncertainty in Clary's words. Clary didn't know if their mom was alive or not, she was only saying that to make Everest feel better.
The doors slammed shut and Everest whirled. Jace and Michael were breathing heavily.
"Where's Luke?" Everest asked, her voice half an octave higher than normal.
"We left him fighting Blackwell," Jace said hurriedly. Everest gaped at him, words that were no more than panicked whispers barely leaving her lips.
"Excuse me!?" Clary screamed.
"He told us to leave him," Jace said sternly as he placed a rune—maybe the Lock rune, Everest didn't really know—on the doors.
Things, probably demons, slammed against the doors and Clary ran forward. Everest was too busy trying not to fall down to follow. She steadied herself and dug in the front pocket of her bag until she found the small bag of candies she kept there. For medical purposes, of course.
"—Pull yourself together," Everest heard Michael snap as she tuned back into the panic.
"That's not how that works?" she told him, her words slightly slurred by the lemon Cavendish and Harvey in her mouth. "Wish it was, but it's not how that works at all."
Jace pulled Everest towards him and Clary, his hand not leaving the purple haired girl's wrist. "Clary, Everest, if you don't help us no one survives. You understand? We will get Jocelyn home. Look at me! We will find a way to wake her up! Do you believe me?"
"Get ready!" Michael warned.
Everest nodded and tore her wrist from Jace's grip. She handed Clary the blade and drew her gun. She ignored Michael's incredulous stare. Was it really that uncommon for Shadowhunters to use firearms?
"Clary, now! We can't wait any longer," Jace snapped.
Clary stepped into the middle of the room and searched for the Cup in her bag but came up empty handed. "Uh, we have a problem."
Jace and Michael whirled to face her but Everest had reached her first. She held out the tarot card containing one of the most important pieces of Shadowhunter history with a sheepish smile.
"I put it in my bag when we first found Jace's dad," she offered.
Clary and Jace shared a look far too close to the one Everest's parental figures shared when she did something exasperating. Clary took the card and did her "special Clary power" thing, the Mortal Cup in her hand after a few moments.
"I still think that's cool," she whispered. It echoed in the room.
"Demons, I command you! Find Valentine!" Clary shouted, her voice taking on an odd, and very bad, British accent as she did so. (It was something that had happened ever since Everest took Clary to visit her friend from the exchange program in her friend's home country, Britain. Everest didn't know why, but it was a thing that Clary did.)
The demons kept attacking the door with just as much force as before.
"Demons, find Valentine!"
Michael held out his hand to Clary. "Let me try." Everest opened her mouth to protest, but Clary shot her a look. Right, this was part of her sister's kind of plan.
"Come on," Jace urged when the man did nothing.
Michael's seraph blade slashed across his arm and his face flickered. Faces weren't supposed to do that. Jace was muttering "no" with a distressed expression and she had to stop herself from hugging him like she would a child. Michael Wayland was no longer in the room; Valentine stood in his place. Bald head, creepy eyes, sadistic smile and all.
He raised the Mortal Cup in triumph and called out, "Demons, attack my enemies! I command you!"
Nothing changed. Quite literally, absolutely nothing changed at all. Really fugly things, the same as what attacked Jace in the other dimension, poked their heads through the cement wall, allowing their screeching to fill the echoey room. Everest winced at the noise.
"Knock it off guys!" Clary called, far too casually for someone who might be eaten by a demon in a few seconds.
The screeching stopped and the demons disappeared to who knows where. Everest didn't want to find out where they went.
"You're not the only one who knows how to cast a glamour," Clary snarked.
Valentine's 'Mortal Cup' had turned into a 'World's Best Dad' mug. Everest loved the irony dearly and would be borrowing the concept of tricking people with irony for one of her WIPs.
"You pretended to be my father," snarled Jace.
"I wasn't pretending, Jace," Valentine said quietly. He almost sounded like he cared, almost. He lacked the compassion and care that most normal, non-psychopath parents have.
"You murdered him. You're a liar!" roared the blonde.
Jace's blade was pressed up against Valentine's throat and the man began to talk far too fast for Everest to keep up with. All she heard was a lot of "I'm your father" and something about "truth."
"Jace! Jace, don't listen to him!" Clary cried. "He's my father, and Everest's. We know that for a fact."
Everest's nose scrunched up. "I'd listen to Clary, Jace. I don't think you want to be related to a psychopath named after a stupid holiday."
"Yes, that's true. That's a fact. I am your father Clary. And Everest's." Everest was a little hurt to see the confusion on his face as Valentine said that. "And Jace's. Think about it. Why are you so drawn to Clary, Jace, and Clary, why are you so drawn to Jace? You are meant to be. Blood calls to blood, no?"
Valentine pushed Jace's seraph blade away in the boy's shock. Jace was breathing heavy and looked like he was going to cry. Everest was going to get him a slice of pizza once they got back. Or maybe a full pizza. She hadn't decided yet.
Valentine began walking to a mirror that Everest was fairly sure hadn't been there before and ran his stele over it, a neon pink—which didn't seem correct—Portal appeared. (She still had to get her stele from her pencil pouch, she realized.) He turned back to the three, who were in various states of shock and confusion.
"Ah, my dear family, together at last. A lost mother, found. A brother and...two...sisters, finally reunited."
"I hate this," Everest said with finality. "A lot. I hate this a lot, a lot actually."
Jace broke from whatever trance he had been in before. He ran at Valentine with a shout and the man was once more held at seraph point. Or was it sword point? Seraph blade point? Blade point? Who knows?
"You won't kill me. You won't kill me. I said that you were weak and I meant it. What's wrong Jace? Can't kill the man who raised you?" Valentine taunted.
"I can!"
Clary ran forward, but Valentine flipped Jace around so that his own blade was pointed at his neck and Valentine held him dangerously tight.
"Go ahead, Clary. Two for one. We can't even fight back, huh? No?" Valentine mock frowned. In his smugness, Valentine didn't see that Everest had snuck behind the mirror Portal that wasn't for ghosts to come through. Jace did.
"Come with me, son. You know that you love me. Your sisters are more than welcome to join us. And bring your mother along. We can find a way to get her moving again."
Trigger Warning: Everest uses a gun in the next paragraph! Skip to bold lines if you need to!
Jace managed to break free from Valentine's grip and he stumbled towards Clary. Valentine still hadn't seen Everest. Before he turned to face the mirror, Everest's finger slid onto the trigger, the safety off. She breathed out and just as the man was turning, she fired. The casing clattered to the ground and the rune etched bullet buried itself just under Valentine's ribcage. He grunted in pain, stumbling towards the Portal. He pressed a hand to his stomach and stared at his youngest child in shock, though there was a hint of pride in his eyes. Everest didn't like it.
Trigger Warning Over!
Valentine gave the three of them one last glance before he stepped back into the Portal, his smirk barely there, being replaced by a grimace instead. There was a thud and they turned, weapons raised, only to see Luke barreling in, his clothes torn and filthy. He ran to Jocelyn and stood by her side, a small smile on his face.
"I shot Valentine, right?" Clary, Jace, and Luke looked at her. "That was the real Valentine right? I shot the right Valentine?"
Clary slowly stepped towards the shaking eighteen year old, setting her blade on the ground. She held her hands out in front of her and Jace watched, dazed. Clary gently took the gun from Everest, clicking the safety back on (the one thing she could do with a gun), and set it on the ground too. She gripped Everest's hands and gave her best attempt at a smile.
"Yeah, you shot the right Valentine."
"Good," Everest mumbled, her voice wavering a little. "I don't like shooting the wrong people."
"Have you shot the wrong person before?" Clary asked gently.
"Twice," Everest mumbled. "One was Lydia when she got to the Institute and looked like Valentine."
"What was the other?"
Everest hesitated. "I accidentally shot Luke in training."
Clary sighed in relief. "I'm so glad that's what you said. I thought you were going to say something worse."
Everest gave her big sister a tense grimace before stepping backwards. She shook her head when Clary stepped forward. "I'll be in the front when you're ready to go."
"Stay here," Clary insisted.
Everest shook her head again. "I'll be in the front."
Her hands pressed into her thighs as she left Renwick's, her lips pursed and her eyes wide as she tried to stop her tears. She didn't like having to shoot people. Yeah, she had a gun license and she was a good shot, but that didn't mean she enjoyed shooting people. She only learned how to shoot a gun and defend herself when she nearly got assaulted when she was fourteen. Age fourteen was a sucky year for Everest.
As Everest sat on the steps and waited for the others, she stared up at the sky and came to a realization. She would probably have to hurt or even shoot people to protect her friends and family during whatever was going to happen next. So she told herself that she would do what she had to to protect the people she cares about, no matter the cost.
...
Everest sat in the corner of her room, knees pulled to her chest, and humming to herself while she rocked back and forth. She wore her noise cancelling headphones, though they were half off her ears, and had changed into cotton shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She was fairly sure she looked like she was having a psychotic break, but she didn't care. Everest's real person count had gone from six to eight in less than a day, she had learned that she's related to Jace, dealt with an alternate universe, found out that one of the guys she liked was engaged, and had a meltdown earlier. She was exhausted and she deserved to be able to break down dammit!
The door, that was already half open, opened further and she saw a pair of dress shoes approach her.
"Cupcake?" a slightly muffled voice said. "What're you doing down there?"
Her vision was filled with the face of one of four people she did not want to see; Magnus's. His face was less glittery than usual and he wore a very professional looking suit. Everest looked away from him, her humming halting suddenly.
"What's wrong, Cupcake? How can I help?"
Everest shook her head, dislodging her headphones even more. "You can't," she said, her words muffled by the collar of her shirt that was in her mouth. She most definitely looked like she was having a psychotic break.
"I could probably find a way to help if you tell me what's wrong," Magnus prompted.
"Unless you can find a way to get Alec to not marry Lydia and for you and him to both somehow like me and be okay with both being with me and dating each other because you two obviously like each other, you can't help," she said as quietly as she could.
It was silent, not even the sound of rustling fabric filling the room, and she glanced at the warlock. He was staring at her with wide eyes and his jaw dropped. She paled as she realized that she hadn't said it quietly enough.
Everest scrambled to her feet and ran from the room as fast as she could. She barely made it five feet out of her room before she ran into someone.
"Woah, Everest are you okay?" It was Alec. Of course she ran into another person that she didn't want to see.
She shook her head and ran past him, her tangled hair flying around her head as she turned a corner. She passed Jace and Clary (the other two people she didn't want to see) whispering furiously to each other but when they called out to her, she kept running. Everest ran until she left the Institute and got three blocks away.
She had her first bout of good luck in a while and managed to get a taxi. She shakily told the driver the address she wanted—no, needed—to go to and within half an hour she was there. She paid the driver and stumbled up the driveway. Her frantic knocks echoed through the neighborhood and the door opened quickly.
Brad pulled her inside, embracing her immediately, and she clutched his shirt tightly. The man lifted her easily and carried her to the living room, cradling her in his lap like she was a child again. And she felt like a child again too as she sobbed into her father figure's chest and he cuddled her close as he tried to comfort her as best he could.
Eventually her sobs turned to loud sniffles and Brad shifted so that she was curled up in his lap in the sitting version of bridal style. He gave her a sad smile as his large hands carefully wiped away her tears and Everest leaned into his palm.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
"I hate feelings," she told him. "Like a lot. And the messes Clary gets into and brings me into too. I hate those too."
"Hate is a strong word. What's a better one?" Everest tilted her head as she tried to come up with a word that wasn't 'hate' but still accurately conveyed her feelings.
"Abhor. I abhor feelings and the messes that Clary gets into and brings me into too."
Brad chuckled lightly. "I should have known you'd say something like abhor. You're a writer, I shouldn't have expected anything different." Her lips quirked. "Why do you abhor feelings?" he asked, focusing on the first issue she expressed.
"I like two guys but I think they like each other, and not me. Then when I was trying not to freak out because my life is an absolute mess right now, one of the guys came in and asked if I was alright and if he could help. And I accidentally told him that unless he could magically have him and the other guy like me and want to date me as well as each other, he couldn't help me," Everest rushed out.
Brad let out a slow exhale as he mulled that over. "Did he say anything?"
"I don't know. I ran out of the room and took a cab here before he responded."
Brad opened his mouth, then closed it, and then opened it again. At last he said, "Funnily enough, despite not being biologically related to me, you have still managed to inherit my same reaction I had when I first told Jay that I liked him."
Everest stared at her father figure for a moment before subconsciously mimicking his fish impression for a while. "I did?"
Brad nodded, chuckling a little. "Yeah, you did. When I first told Jay that I liked him, he was too shocked to say anything so I ran out of the café. Not my finest moment."
Everest shook her head. "No, I think your finest moment was when you put your phone and wallet in the toaster instead of your bagel and almost blew up the apartment."
The man gaped at her, mock outrage filling his features. "I'll have you know it was all fine! No one got hurt!"
She raised her eyebrows. "You're right. No people got hurt, but the kitchen died."
"It was fine."
"I was there. It was not fine."
Brad sighed in defeat and scooped the eighteen year old up as he walked to the kitchen. He sat her on the counter and dug around in the cupboards for a while before he turned to her with an armful of ice cream toppings.
"We're having sundaes." He shrugged at her furrowed eyebrows. "What? They've never failed to make you feel better when something happens." She shrugged too. That was true.
"Which ice cream flavor?" she asked, leaning over to open the freezer. She nearly fell in.
"Moose tracks," said Brad, grabbing the spoons and bowls.
"The superior flavor," she agreed.
They served themselves rather large ice cream sundaes and curled up on the couch with Disney movies playing. After two movies, Jay and Harper came home from somewhere.
Jay stopped dead in the doorway. "What happened?" he asked cautiously as he saw Everest's still blotchy face, red eyes, and messy hair. "Does someone need to be given a Dad Lecture?"
Harper snickered behind her hand when Everest frantically shook her head.
"No!" Everest said quickly.
"I think Everest's good, Dad," said the fourteen year old with a laugh.
Her dark coily hair was braided back into a bun and, not for the first time, Everest admired Harper's ability to be patient with her hair. Everest really only did five things with her hair (ponytail, bun, French braids, Dutch braids, and three strand braids) and she got incredibly frustrated with it most of the time. And her hair was only a bit wavy rather than the tight coils Harper's hair was.
The man seemed to deflate as he made his way to the kitchen, stopping to press a kiss to Everest's head and Brad's cheek. "Just thought I'd check. Offer is always on the table, just so you know."
"We know," said Everest and Harper in unison. They really did know. After all, Jay reminded the two girls that he was always more than willing to give someone a Dad Lecture anytime they wanted him to at least twice a week.
The man chuckled and soon he and Harper joined Brad and Everest in watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with very large ice cream sundaes. Everything was alright for the moment, even if it was just while a few Disney movies played. Everything was alright and Everest smiled.