The Last Hours

9: Matthew

"Are you ready?" James asked me.

We were in my room, getting ready for Aunt Tessa and Uncle Will's ball. Amelia's family was coming, so I was making sure that I looked nice. As soon as I had found out that they were coming, I was instantly excited. But half of me felt like I was turning my back on Alexa.

"Yes, let's go." I replied.

We walked out of my bedroom, and down to the ballroom. The walk was short, and as always, my breath was taken away once we got there. There was witchlight lamps strung about everywhere, and the room was a shining golden colour.

"This is amazing." I said.

"It always is." James said with a smile.

He had been much happier since he and Cordelia had made up. I knew though, that it was still killing him that she was seeing someone. I didn't want to know what would happen when her boyfriend came here.

James and I walked over to Christopher and Thomas Lightwood. They were dressed in their formal clothes, though I guessed Christopher would rather be in his lab coat. He and my father were always together, trying to invent the next big invention.

"Hello Thomas, Christopher." I said to them.

"Hello Matthew." Christopher said, his blue eyes were bright.

The famous blue Herondale eyes had gone to Aunt Cecily's children. Though only Anna didn't have them, she had Uncle Gabriel's green ones. I often heard from girls, that those pretty blue eyes were wasted on Christopher, but he never minded what they said. Christopher had always been in his own little bubble.

"James, do you want a drink?" I asked.

When he didn't answer right away, I looked over to him. James looked as if he had been put under a spell, he was staring at something hazily, that was across the room. I followed his eyes and landed on Cordelia. She was wearing a purple gown, and she did look quite pretty. Thomas picked up on what James was staring at, and he said:

"So you fancy Cordelia now, James?" He said with a smirk.

That snapped James out of his trance. He immediately blushed very hard, and that only made Thomas smirk more.

"Yes, don't say anything about it." He said shyly.

I then suddenly a head of long black silky hair. Amelia, I thought to myself happily.

"I'll catch up with you boys later." I said, and then rushed off to find Amelia.

I finally found her standing by the drinks. She was wearing a bright red dress, and her hair was falling straightly down her shoulders. That's something Alexa would have worn, I thought to myself.

"Miss Penhallow." I said while walking up to here.

"Mr. Fairchild." She replied.

"Please call me Matthew." I said.

"Then you must address me as Amelia, as well." Amelia said.

I just smiled, and she gave me a light smile back. By the angel she looked like Alexa. The same cheekbones, the same smile, the exact same shade of brown that their eyes were.

"Why are you staring at me like?" Amelia asked.

I snapped out of my trance. "No reason, you just remind me of someone."

"Who?" She asked intrigued.

"Um well it's actually quite an odd story. Would you like a drink?" I changed the subject quickly.

I then went to go lean against the table. Apparently I leaned too much on it, because I knocked the table over. All the drinks fell on the floor with a crash. Amelia started to laugh hysterically, and Aunt Tessa then ran up to me.

"Are you alright, Matthew?" She asked me right away.

"Yes, I'm sorry Aunt Tessa. I just leaned into the table too much." I said very embarrassedly.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'll get someone to clean it up." Aunt Tessa said with a warm smile.

I turned back to Amelia, who was almost in tears from laughing so hard. I then started to laugh as well. Pretty soon, we were in tears from laughing so hard, and people were staring at us but I didn't care.

"By the angel, that was funny." Amelia said in between laughs.

"It was." I agreed, while still laughing.

After an hour of dancing, and eating, we decided to go out onto the balcony to get some air. The balcony looked over most of London, and it was beautiful.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked Amelia suddenly.

"Yes." She said in a not very happy tone. "An older sister, her name is Crystal."

"Do you get along?" I asked.

"No we do not, she's too much of a goody-two shoes for me." Amelia said while crinkling her nose.

I laughed. "Funny, my brother Charles and I are just like that as well."

"Well maybe your brother and my sister should get married. They seem perfect for each other." She laughed.

I laughed as well. Her laugh was also like Alexa's. By the angel, I had to stop comparing her to Alexa. Amelia wasn't Alexa.

"Do you live here at the Institute?" Amelia asked me.

"Most of the time. Since my parents are mostly in Idris, I live here, because I am Parabatai with James. Also because my parents are very close with my Aunt Tessa and Uncle Will." I explained.

"I lived in Idris up until this year." Amelia said.

"Do you like it here so far?" I asked her.

She gave me a cheeky smile. "Right now, I'm liking it quite a lot."

I blushed and looked away. Wait, what? I never did that. By the angel, this girl was having a big affect on me.

"Amelia, it's time to leave!" A voice called from behind us.

"I have to go. I'll see you again, Matthew." She said.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

"I just am." Amelia said.

She then leaned up and kissed me on the cheek, and left. As she left, I felt a smile creep up onto my face.