Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX
THE MORTAL CUP

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Adrian woke up to someone jumping up and down on his bed, hands pressing annoyingly at his back. With a grunt, he forced his eyes open, letting out a groan when he saw that the sun had barely started rising. Swatting the hands away, he sat up slowly, rubbing at his eyes with his fingers. With slightly blurry vision, he peered at Jace, mouth twisting into a displeased scowl.

"What," he said, voice a low growl, "do you want, Jace?" Jace, ever the dramatic one, stopped his bouncing and placed a hand over his heart, looking offended. Adrian only blinked. The longer Jace took to answer, to harsher Adrian's glare seemed to become. Jace, with a huff, let his hand fall from his chest. When the silence continued, Adrian straightened a bit, alarm burning through him. "What happened? Did Hodge's bird die? Did Church die?"

"The cat will never die," Jace drawled, sounding irritated, "simply because I want him to, and because of that, he will continue to live out of spite." Adrian picked up his pillow and hit Jace in the side with it.

"Church is precious, okay? Sure, he hates everyone, but he hates me a little less than everyone else, and I consider that a gift." Adrian was pretty sure the only reason Church liked him was because Adrian tended to pet him for a solid five minutes each time they crossed paths, though Church still had yet to let Adrian pick him up.

"Anyway, nothing died," Jace said, choosing to ignore what Adrian had just said, probably out of bitterness. Adrian glared at him again.

"Then leave me alone, Jace, and let me sleep." He flopped back down on his pillow, pulling the cover over his head. Jace let out a loud, drawn out sigh.

"Fine," he said wistfully. "I guess we'll just have to go get the Mortal Cup without you." Just like that, Adrian was wide awake, pushing himself back up into his previous sitting position.

"Okay, I'm up," he grumbled, forcing energy into his body out of sheer force of will. He was sure he was going to collapse in half an hour or so, so he made a mental note to find the biggest mug in the Institute and fill it to the brim with coffee. "While I'm getting dressed, can you be a doll and make me some coffee?" When Jace raised an eyebrow, Adrian gave him his sweetest smile. With a roll of his eyes, Jace gave a mock bow and exited the bedroom. Adrian got dressed quickly. He figured everyone was meeting in the library, since it was closest to the bedrooms, so he made his way there, running into an irritated Isabelle and a half-dead Alec on the way.

"Does my hair look as bad as yours?" he asked when he saw Alec, who barely even seemed to hear him. He didn't respond, either, only blinking once before shuffling into the library. Adrian bit his bottom lip to keep from grinning. At Isabelle's amused expression, Adrian stuck his tongue out at her childishly, earning a small laugh from her. Linking their arms together, Isabelle followed her brother into the library with Adrian in tow. Clary and Hodge were already waiting, but Jace was nowhere to be seen. Clary frowned.

"Where's Jace?" she asked. Adrian started to shrug, only pausing when the library door opened.

"Here," Jace said, holding a large black mug in his hands. He passed it to Adrian, who made a small sound of appreciation.

"I could kiss you right now," he breathed, taking a sip even though it burned his tongue. Jace crossed his arms over his chest.

"That seems like a popular action to take as of late," he drawled. Adrian paused, shooting a glance at Clary, who had blushed scarlet. Adrian only had to glance between them once to decide that he could find out what had happened later. As of now, it was too early to inquire about it, and he needed at least three cups of coffee to deal with Jace when he was being moody.