TDA Meets TLH

32: Emma

"No, no, no, I look absolutely horrible in this."

I sighed. "Lucie, you look stunning."

She shook her head. "Red is not my colour. Blue is. Red is Cordelia's colour."

I sighed again. I sat in the dressing room of some dress boutique in the mall. Lucie and Cordelia were taking forever to pick out a dress. Cristina had settled on a yellow gown, Anna; a green one, and for me; a black one. Livvy and Dru had both gotten purple ones, but in different shades. The five us were sitting in the dressing room, as Lucie and Cordelia tried dresses on.

"We've been here forever." Dru whined.

"Dresses are a big deal to Lucie and Cordelia." Anna said, chuckling.

"Clearly." Livvy sighed.

"I don't mind." Cristina said, to no one in particular.

"I'm starving." I said. "I want dinner."

"I think Jules is making it." Dru said.

A pang went through me at his name. I couldn't believe that James, Matthew, Lucie, and Cordelia had walked in on us kissing. I don't even know how it happened. We were talking, and then suddenly we were kissing. We needed to be more careful, I knew. I felt anxiety run through me, knowing that we shouldn't even be together. But it was Julian, and I couldn't resist him.

Cordelia walked out of her dressing room, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was wearing a bright red gown, that made her red hair look even brighter. She looked stunning, and I smiled.

"You look beautiful!" Livvy exclaimed.

Cordelia blushed and smiled. "Do you think this is the one?"

"Definitely." Cristina smiled.

"James will love it." Anna winked, and Cordelia only blushed.

Cordelia went back into her dressing room, and Livvy turned to Anna.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Cordelia fancies James. You mustn't tell anyone." Anna said quietly.

Livvy and Dru both grinned, but only nodded their heads. I studied Anna, for a moment. She was very pretty, and her pixie cut totally suited her. I knew that she was interested in women, and I wondered what the Clave thought of that, in 1903.

"Do you have a girlfriend back home?" I found myself asking her.

She shook her head. "No, I do not. I did, but we broke things off."

"What does the Clave think about it?" Cristina asked curiously.

"They hate it, but I do not care." Anna said airily.

Cristina and I chuckled.

"You know, Alec Lightwood is dating Magnus Bane, and they adopted two kids." I stated. "Isabelle's brother."

Anna brightened. "I am excited to meet him, tomorrow, and to see Isabelle again."

Just then, Lucie walked out, wearing a light blue dress. The blue brought out her eyes, even more. She looked just as good as Cordelia. We all smiled at her.

"That's the one!" Dru clapped her hands excitedly.

Lucie smiled. "Do you think so?"

"You look lovely." Anna smiled.

Lucie and Cordelia ended up buying the dresses, and we finally were all able to go back home. When we walked in, we saw that Julian had made pizza, Mark helping him. It smelled wonderful, and my stomach growled. We all sat at the dinner table, I sat beside Julian and Cristina. I noticed that James and Matthew were giving each other glances. About halfway through dinner, Matthew stood up, and we all looked at him.

"I cannot contain this any longer." He started dramatically.

He then looked down at Cristina, softly.

"My dearest Cristina, I have to tell you, I have fallen completely and utterly in love with you." Matthew confessed.

My mouth fell open, and I dropped my pizza on my plate. Everyone looked shocked. Cristina, beside me, was blushing; looking surprised.

"You are the most beautiful lady I have ever seen, and I feel for you, deeply." Matthew finished.

"Oh, by the angel." Cristina breathed, blushing.

I looked over at Mark, who looked like he was going to be sick. He was very, very pale.

"You like Cristina?!" Dru exclaimed. "Why not me?!"

"You're thirteen, Dru." Julian pointed out. "That's why."

James then burst out laughing, as did Lucie and Cordelia. Matthew then started laughing, and I felt confused.

"Why are you all laughing?" I asked.

"He's joking. I dared him to do it, earlier." James sounded amused.

"Oh, good." Cristina sounded relieved. "I had no idea what to say."

"Mark looked as if he were about to die, though." Matthew mused, smirking at Mark.

Mark only blushed, embarrassed, and avoided Cristina's eyes. I chuckled at him. I wished that they would get back together, Mark really seemed happy when he was with Cristina. The stupid Clave and their stupid rules. They had screwed Mark and Cristina, and Julian and I over. After dinner, I followed Julian into his art studio, wanting to talk to him. I closed the door behind us, and we only stood there silently.

"I need to talk to you." I said finally.

Julian sighed. "I already know. We need to be more careful."

"What are we going to do, Jules? We can't hide this forever." I said.

The panic started to set back in, the one where I knew that one day the Clave would find out. We both knew what would happen, then.

"Forget about the future, Em." Julian moved so we were face to face. "Just think about now. We can do this, you and I."

"But what are we going to do ten years from now--" I started.

"Stop." He cut me off. "Please just enjoy now. I don't want to think about that."

I sighed, and slowly nodded my head. Julian smiled, and my heart melted. He then leaned in, and kissed me softly. His lips were soft against mine, and my hands linked themselves around his neck. I was so lost in Julian, and I felt fireworks being set off inside of me.

Maybe he was right. Maybe we could make this work.