Distractions - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Gino and Everest laid atop Simon's van in silence. There was no need for words at the moment, and neither had any words that would make each other's hurt go away anyway. Gino had no words that could make the unintentional pain that Everest's mother had inflicted go away, nor could he say anything that would make the pain that surrounds Everest's birthday disappear. Everest had nothing to say that could take away Gino's pain; nothing that could take away the hurt of losing his mother and siblings to a group of law enforcement in California. There was nothing that she could tell him to ease the pain—she had hardly any ability to deal with emotional hurt and pain herself, much less the ability to help others through their pain.
But, the silence was just what they both needed, even if it was broken by the sound of people and loud music from the club. The silence gave them a form of company, the feeling of not being alone.
That silence was broken by the sound of someone shouting up at the duo. "Hey Glitz! Hey G! Get your butts down here!"
The two sat up and looked down at Roslyn. She looked so out of place amongst those dressed for clubbing, what with her leggings and oversized t-shirt. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, caramel strands falling out as she looked up. Gino and Everest hopped down from the van, neither caring how messy their hair was nor how Gino's shirt had become unbuttoned at some point as they had watched the stars.
"You two look like you just made out," she told them. Everest's nose scrunched up and Gino fake gagged.
"Ewww! Lyn! That'd be disgusting!" the purple haired girl whined.
Roslyn shrugged. "Let's go. I hate clubs and I want ice cream."
Gino chuckled and hugged the shortest of the three. "If you need me, call me and I'll be there in 10 minutes," he whispered into her ear.
She hugged him back, nodding her head into his shoulder. "I will. And the same goes for you mister."
They went their separate ways, Gino going back into the club to dance his problems away, and the girls back to Roslyn's house to have a weekend away from all the problems that normally controlled their lives. On the way back, Everest suddenly shouted.
"On your left! Turn left!"
Roslyn turned sharply, exhaling even sharper before turning to the girl in the passenger seat. "What the hell was that!"
"There's a Dairy Queen and I want a Blizzard," Everest explained. Roslyn relaxed and nodded in agreement.
So, the two got the largest Oreo Blizzards they could get. And then they were on their way once more. It was nearly midnight when they got there, but that didn't stop them from putting on a terrible movie and raiding the fridge for leftovers to go with their ice cream.
"How're you?"
Everest didn't move from her spot in the nest of blankets she had made in the corner of the sectional. "Well, it's my birthday, I got dragged to a club, my mom hardly keeps the counters or even the table and couch clear enough for me to sit on, and it's my birthday. You?"
Roslyn just hummed. "My parents ditched for the weekend, my brother's at his friend's house for the night, and I get to hang out with you all weekend."
"Sounds like your day's been better than mine so far."
"But now you're here and with me."
"And now my day's gotten better."
By the time the movie was over, they had both fallen asleep. However, it wasn't long until Roslyn woke to soft whimpers.
"No...don't...please don't..." Everest was curled in a ball, her purple hair in a tangled halo around her as her head shook back and forth.
"Glitz, please wake up. You're not there Glitz. You're at my house, you're not there anymore." When nothing happened, Roslyn cradled her friend in her arms in an attempt to calm her down. "Come on Everest, you can do it. You can wake up. You're not there anymore, you're safe now. Come on Glitz. I believe in you, you can wake up. I know you can."
Slowly, Everest stopped whimpering and her breathing slowed. As Roslyn kept rocking back and forth, Everest's eyes opened. At the sight of her closest friend with tears in her eyes Everest sighed.
"I'm sorry Lyn," she whispered.
Roslyn just shushed her. She repositioned herself so that the other girl's head was in her lap. "It's alright Glitz. I understand. There's nothing to apologize for."
Everest shook her head slightly. "I woke you up."
"It's alright Everest," she insisted.
There was a beat of silence before Everest spoke, her voice wobbling slightly. "I was back in the alley, I was 14 again. He was there too. We were just having fun, seeing how high we could climb the fence around the abandoned mall. We weren't even doing anything illegal either. And then-" she cut herself off with a suppressed sob.
"Shh. It's alright, you don't have to tell me the rest, Glitz." Roslyn started rocking once more.
Everest ignored her words. "Then she just appeared. She shouted at him and he shouted back. She, she pushed me into an old chair, and held me down. She told him to go back to some hotel or I'd die." Everest's voice cracked. "He...he left. And then she broke my leg and left too..."
Roslyn hugged the girl close, ignoring how the purple haired girl's tears stained her shirt, and how her own fell on Everest's hair. They sat in that position for hours until the sun came up and they physically couldn't stay there any longer. The brunette looked down and saw her friend was still awake.
"I'm gonna start breakfast if you want to shower," she suggested.
Everest nodded, slowly removing herself from the embrace. Roslyn handed her her bag with a smile. In the doorway, Everest turned.
"Thanks Lyn. For everything."
"Anytime Glitz. Anytime." The two smiled at each other before going their separate ways.
As Everest waited for the water to heat up, she frowned at her reflection. Her hair hung in tangled knots around her head and her face was red and blotchy from crying. As she turned to get in the shower, the lights caught on the scars covering her stomach. She ignored them, not wanting to relive those memories, and instead stepped under the scalding water. She scrubbed the remnants of the night before away, all the tear tracks and smudged makeup. She scrubbed at her scalp, desperately trying to get all the product out of her hair.
When the water ran cold, she turned the water off and changed into her usual outfit of leggings and a sweatshirt. After contemplating what to do with her hair for a few minutes, Everest decided she was too lazy to dry it. So, she just threw it in two French braids and called it good.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she almost ran into Roslyn's younger brother Ryan. Ignoring his presence, she stepped around him and walked towards her friend's room.
"Everest!" Ryan called. Everest sighed, but turned around anyway.
"Yes Ryan?"
"Why do you look like your fish just died?" The boy's head was tilted and he looked genuinely curious and dare she say it, slightly concerned.
"It was my birthday yesterday and my sister dragged me to a club," she deadpanned.
The boy's eyes widened and he mumbled out a "sorry" before darting into his room. Everest shook her head and continued to Roslyn's room. That boy had hardly any sense of boundaries, but he knew to leave the girl alone around her birthday. She loved kids, they were fun to be around and they had the most interesting conversations, but sometimes, 11 year olds with no boundaries were too much for her to handle. Especially around her birthday.
She tossed her stuff on Roslyn's bed, following the smell of blueberry muffins and bacon to the kitchen. She gave her friend a smile and hopped on the counter, snatching a piece of bacon from Roslyn's hand right before she was about to take a bite.
"Hey!"
Everest shrugged. "There's more bacon."
"But that piece was mine," Roslyn pouted.
Everest handed another piece to the girl. The brunette shrugged and ate it in two bites before dishing up the rest for the two of them. Roslyn didn't dish any up for her brother, and Everest didn't set any aside for him either. She had seen the handful he tried to hide behind his back.
Everest's eyes found the coffee pot and she immediately poured a mug much to her companion's amusement. The two ate their breakfast in silence only broken by the sound of really terrible country music blasting from Ryan's room.
"Your brother needs to get a better taste in music," Everest told her.
"I've been telling him that for 3 years. I'm just waiting until he breaks his speakers," Roslyn frowned towards the stairs. "On a different note, do you have everything ready for graduation?"
"Mostly. We just have to make the glitter bombs and get the football team to help us and the drama kids set up the cannons."
Roslyn laughed happily. "This will be the best graduation ever!"
"It'll be so worth the two month delay," Everest agreed.
The girls spent the weekend building and setting up glitter bombs to release at their graduation. It had been delayed two months due to the teachers all mysteriously losing the supplies for the graduation. The Seniors had so graciously offered to take over the decorations for the ceremony and, seeing no way around it, the principal agreed. So now, the Seniors had a whole glitter and chaos filled plan to make graduation fun. And the best part was, the teachers had no idea what they had planned.
The next evening, the two were just about finished with the glitter bombs when Everest's phone started blaring God is a Woman. With a grin, Everest answered on speaker.
"Hey Sunny!" a voice chirped.
"Hey Dusk what's up?" Everest responded, frantically shaking her head no at Ryan's cat who was about to knock over the glitter bombs, again. Roslyn dove for the cat, just barely managing to grab it and not set off any bombs.
"Nothing much, just wanted to ask if you had fun at Pandemonium the other night." The smile in Everest's friend's voice was audible.
Roslyn snickered quietly in the background. "No, no I did not. The only reason I was there was because my twin sister dragged me there and the only reason I survived was because I ran into Gino who saved me from the Colorful Hell. And how did you know I was at Pandemonium?"
"I was there too, duh."
Everest's face lit up in understanding. "You were the blonde in white weren't you?"
"Got it in one," the other person laughed.
Everest's phone lit up again as another person tried to call her. "If that's it Dusk, someone else is trying to call me."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later."
"Bye." Everest properly looked at the number trying to reach her. It was Simon, or Rat Boy as his contact said. She hit the speaker button before answering.
"Hello?"
"Everest! I'm so glad you answered! Clary's not answering her phone," Simon rushed out.
"Simon, slow down. What are you talking about?" Everest blinked in confusion.
"Clary hasn't answered her phone in two days and I'm worried."
"Okay..." Everest and Roslyn gave each other a look. "You do know she doesn't have to answer her phone every time right? And that she has things to do?"
"She's never gone this long without answering her phone Everest! Not without warning," Simon was well and truly panicking now.
"And what you—what do you want me to do about it?" Everest already knew the answer and was starting to tidy up the glitter bomb mess.
"I'm gonna pick you up and we're gonna go find your twin."
Everest sighed as the boy hung up. "Looks like I'm leaving early."
Roslyn nodded. "Looks that way. You get your stuff together and I'll pack these up in boxes."
Everest packed her bag, taking more care than she would admit to pack her laptop, notebook, and pencil bag with clothes surrounding them to protect the items. There was no way she would allow even the slightest possibility for them to break. When she finished, she and Roslyn stood on the porch waiting for the impossibly distinct van to pull onto the street.
"I'll see you later Lyn!" Everest called, getting into the van.
"See you Glitz!"
Everest gently placed her bag at her feet as Simon drove away. She adjusted the seat so that it was practically leaning all the way back before laying down, seatbelt ignored. Simon gave her a once over to make sure she was alright before turning his eyes back to the road. 'Over protective brother figures,' she grumbled in her mind.
"Is there glitter in your hair?" he asked.
"Yes." Everest saw no point in lying. There was pink and blue glitter in her hair from when Roslyn knocked a bottle on her head while trying to get to the silver. She had just gone with it, redoing her French braids and changed shirts.
"Why is—you know what? I don't want to know," Simon shook his head.
"Smart choice." With that, the car was silent.
After nearly 10 minutes, they slowed to a stop. As Everest got out, she looked up at the church in awe; it was beautiful. There were stained glass windows that gleamed in the moonlight, and the bricks were covered in vines. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel and the purple haired girl adored the sight. Judging by the look on her companion's face, he did not agree.
As Simon called Clary, Everest continued staring at the building. She heard a rustling sound in the bushes and, being the impulsively curious girl she is, decided to throw pebbles at the bushes. She threw around two handfuls before the doors opened. Her twin sister walked out in a leather dress that hugged and showed off her body, followed by the same blonde boy in leather that Clary had bumped into outside Pandemonium. Everest's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight, but relaxed when she saw her sister was unharmed.
"Who's that with her?" Everest asked Simon.
"Who?" Simon looked at her as if she were insane. Everest frowned, but shook her head in dismissal.
"What do you have on Clary?" Simon handed the redhead his jacket, a worried expression on his face.
Clary smiled at him lightly before turning and giving Everest a hug. "Everest! You're okay. I was so worried when I couldn't find you when I woke up, and none of them knew who you were," Clary rushed out, nearly squeezing the life out of her twin.
"I'm alright, Ritz." She pulled away and gave her a look. "Did you get a makeover? Cause I know you don't own anything like this."
Clary waved off her question with a shrug. She narrowed her eyes at her hair. "Is there glitter in your hair?"
"Yes." And Everest didn't say anything further. Instead, she went back to throwing pebbled. Though, this time she threw them towards the doors and the boy Simon apparently couldn't see.
Jace POV:
As he followed after the redheaded girl, Jace grabbed a seraph blade. He had seen someone behind the boy who had come looking for Clary and he wasn't taking any chances with her safety. Jace frowned lightly when he remembered there was another person with the boy. She had purple hair and had been throwing rocks at something in the bushes. And that was after she had stared at the Institute like she could see it. Her actions combined with Clary's sudden appearance just made the whole situation all that more interesting.
"You're not going to kill them are you?"
"Protect the humans, kill the demons. You'll get it eventually." "Jace flashed her a smirk as they left the Institute.
"So, why can't Simon see you?" Jace noticed how Clary had left the purple haired girl out of her question, but didn't mention it.
"It's a glamour. It's a rune that makes me invisible to mundanes. It's a shame really, cause, well...denying them all this." Jace gestured towards himself. The purple haired girl's mouth turned up just the slightest, though it would have been something that the boy next to her had said, so he dismissed it.
Jace watched with his arms crossed as Clary interacted with the two. 'So her name's Everest,' he mused in his head. He held back a laugh when Everest answered Clary's question without an explanation. Everest started throwing rocks again, though this time they were thrown his direction. He didn't think anything of it however, because she hadn't looked at him or given any hint towards her being able to see him. So, Jace didn't think anything of the occasional rock that hit him instead of the bushes and walls next to him.
"Clary Fairchild!" a man's voice shouted from the bushes.
Both girls and Jace turned towards where the voice came from. There was a man standing with a seraph blade pointed towards the redhead.
Jace attacked the man from behind, holding him in a headlock.
"You give us the girl and we'll let you live."
"You're in no position to be making rules," Jace muttered.
Jace ignored the gasps and exclamations that came from Clary, and the questions that came from the boy. He and the man fought, sword against fists, until Jace grabbed the blade and got ready to end the fight.
"We'll never stop hunting her," the man choked out.
"This is for my father." And with that, the man was dead.
Jace!" Clary shouted, running towards him.
"Excuse me?" The boy raced after Clary, and Jace couldn't help but notice how the purple haired girl looked pale and how her right hand was frozen at her hip, as if reaching for something.
"Is he dead?"
"Is who dead?" Simon exclaimed, and Jace's frown only lifted slightly as the mundane reared back in shock when the dead body materialized in front of him.
Clary sighed, looking frustrated. "Can you deglamorize, or whatever, so my best friend doesn't think I'm losing my mind?"
"But then you could join the club," Everest muttered under her breath.
Jace deactivated his glamour rune and frowned again as the mundane asked another question. "Yeah, we really don't have luxury right now, kid. Everyone back inside."
"Clary who is this? Your meth dealer?" Jace and Everest snorted. That was the most ridiculous thing Simon had said yet.
Clary pointed to the body, eyes wide and panicked. "I've seen him before. At the police station."
"He's a member of the Circle. Clary, he's here for you." Jace waved his arm in the direction of the body. He ignored how Everest began to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet slightly and how she started to tap her fingers against the van, but he knew it wouldn't last long; it was too repetitive and would get annoying soon.
"He's with the people who took my mother," Clary snapped.
"Right, and your little friends here led him right to you. He's here to capture or kill you."
Then, the mundane interjected himself again. "That's a dead body there."
"And here I thought that you became immortal after having your Spleen, Kidneys, and Stomach all destroyed," Everest shook her head. "Of course that's a dead body, Rat Boy."
Jace chuckled lowly, but Simon continued on as if the girl hadn't spoken. "We have to call Luke."
Clary frowned sadly at her friend. "We can't trust Luke, Simon. We can't."
They were running out of time, Jace knew this. "Clary, I need to keep you safe. I promise you, I promise you that I'm going to help you find your mother. But you're one of us, you're a Shadowhunter."
"What are you talking about? Clary, you don't know this guy, right? Come with me. I can get us help," Simon protested.
"Clary please," Jace was practically begging at this point.
"Clary come one."
The redhead looked towards the other girl who had been watching the conversation like a ping pong match. She shook her head and put her hands up. "Don't look at me. I'm not gonna get involved in this. I'll just follow you."
Clary looked between the two boys, and Jace could see the gears turning in her mind. Now, she just had to pick who'd she follow. Jace could only hope she'd choose him.