Distractions

Thirty-Seven: Flirtatious Babes

Hey y'all. It's been a minute, I know. But here's another chapter and I'm really proud of this one. It was such a blast to write and it when I had the time to write between comps/games/other performances/practice and classes, everything just flowed. I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I do.

Let me know what you think of seeing the more carefree side of our favorite characters in between all the drama and angst

Trigger Warnings:  Descriptions of weapons, mentions of death, mentions of grief, mentions of addiction, mentions of drugs, mentions of recovery/recovery struggles, death (off page), descriptions of extreme violence (off page), mildly graphic description of injuries, vomiting, mentions of torture/violence in shows (true crime) (no descriptions graphic or otherwise)

Everest ran through the Institute, leaping down stairs, flying around corners, dodging people, and scanning frantically for Jace. She huffed irritably when he wasn't in any of the main Institute areas. She ran a hand down her face as she ran for the last area of the Institute she hadn't checked yet: the greenhouse she had only found out existed a week ago. She skidded to a stop just inside the doors. Sebastian was sitting on a dark green bench a little ways inside the greenhouse. She really hoped he knew where Jace was.

"Hey Sebastian," she greeted, hoping she didn't look or sound like she had just run around the entire Institute and the courtyards trying to find Jace.

"Hello Everest," he greeted politely, a small smile on his face. "What's up?"

Somehow, it felt strange to hear Sebastian, who had spoken so formally and politely earlier, say something as simple as 'what's up'.

"Do you know where Jace is?"

He shook his head. "He left ten minutes ago to run an errand."

She huffed again and facepalmed with an echoing smack. Of course he had. "Of course," she grumbled, shoulders sagging. "Thanks anyway."

"What did you need him for?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I can't figure out what a couple kinds of weapons are and I was going to ask him so I actually got an answer because he's absolutely terrible at checking his texts."

"I could try to help if you'd like?"

She brightened. "That'd be great!" She sat next to him on the bench and pulled a pen from her bun, turning to him with a serious expression. "So let me preface this by saying that I most likely know exactly what these weapons are called, but my brain has decided not to give me the information. So please don't think I'm stupid or incompetent or a bad Shadowhunter or anything. I just can't remember the words."

"I'm not going to think any less of you," he promised earnestly. "What do the weapons look like?"

Trigger Warning: Descriptions of weapons, mentions of death, mentions of grief

"The first one is a really long, curved Japanese sword—" She stretched her arms as far as she could for emphasis, "—that some girl at the L.A. Institute favors based on what Mia has told me. It's really sharp too, but it's a single edged blade, good for slicing."