"OUR mom has been so overprotective lately," Clary complained for the hundredth time as she swung her legs back and forth from the top of Simon's van with Aurelia, Simon, and Maureen around her.
Nodding in agreement, Aurelia added, "And she pulled us into a life-threatening hug today." She leaned back dramatically. "I think I almost died from lack of air."
Clary nudged her sister in amusement, "Losing circulation and losing air are two completely different things."
"Oh, I'm sorry if she squeezed your arms too tightly," Aurelia mocked playfully, "But my face was smashed into her shoulder and she wouldn't let me back up to breathe."
Smiling mischievously, Clary teased, "That's what you get for being a short stack."
Aurelia pushed her sister playfully before grumbling in faux-annoyance, "Sorry my genes decided to make me short. And besides, you're only two inches taller than me. Two inches. So don't mock my 5-foot height."
"You're not the shortest person to exist, Lia," Simon reassured. "Besides, you have your perks don't you?"
Grinning, her mind flashed back to when they had to hide because they graffitied a wall. Hiding her was extremely easy. "Oh, yes I do," Aurelia mumbled, satisfaction dancing through her eyes.
"Anyways, do you remember in Aliens, when the alien queen was defending her eggs from Ripley?" Simon inquired, making Aurelia roll her eyes. She had noidea what they were talking about. She usually tuned them out whenever they talked about stuff like this.
"In this scenario, is our mom Ripley or the alien queen?" Clary asked, humoring Simon with a lopsided grin. Maureen looked tortured, causing Aurelia's heart to clench slightly for the girl. It must be painful watching Simon be hopelessly in love with Clary while Maureen herself was hopelessly in love with Simon.
"Both," Simon chuckled.
Maureen looked at them in confusion. "What?"
Same Maureen, same.
"A mother defending her young," Simon explained.
"Defending us from what?" Aurelia questioned curiously. "I mean, Clary spends all day in an art studio and I spend most of my day with her while occasionally going to work out."
