Stay Strong (Alec Lightwood)

Chapter 7

Charlotte followed Clary to the tall brick building with a sign that read Brooklyn Academy of Art.  "What are we doing here?"

"I'm going to show you some mundane ways of entertainment."  She took Charlotte by the wrist and practically dragged her into the building, then leading her into an art studio.  There were dozens of empty canvases and easels, and Clary led her over to one.  "Just try it."

Charlotte slowly picked up a pencil and touched the canvas.  "I've got o clue what to draw."

"Just draw the first thing that comes to your mind."

Charlotte sighed and closed her eyes.  She tried to figure out what would be easy to draw, and then it came to her: Runes.  But not a traditional rune, a decorative rune.  She opened her eyes and touched her pencil to the blank canvas as Clary did the same at the one beside her.  She began to lightly sketch out the angelic power rune, but left a wide section at the bottom open.  She then drew birds flying away from the open space, as if they were the missing piece of the rune.  

Once she was finished, she realized that Clary had gotten lost in her own drawing and was listening to music on her phone.  Charlotte looked at her drawing for a moment before taking a jar of neon light blue paint and beginning to fill in the pieces.

"Whoa, that's really good," Clary said with a smile as she took out her headphones.  "Not everyone's just naturally good at drawing.  You ever tried it before?"

She shook her head and put down the jar of paint.  She had also painted a black background behind the rune, so it looked nice.  "Never done it before."

"You should totally keep that, it's beautiful."

Charlotte smiled and nodded.  "What are you working on?"

"Skyline picture of the city."

Charlotte looked at the excellently drawn lines and curves that perfectly depicted New York City.  "It's beautiful."

The door opened, and in walked Lucian Graymark.  Clary looked away from him, back to her drawing.

"Clary," he said.  "Clary, it's time to go back to the Institute."

"I'm a little busy here," she said as she picked up a pencil.

"Clary it isn't safe-"

"I don't belong there, Luke!  I'm not a Shadowhunter, but I can't be a Mundane!  I'm not anything!  I'm not going back to the Institute right now."

"She's teaching me how to be a Mundane," Charlotte said in an attempt to help Clary. 

"I'm sorry but there's other things Clary needs to be doing right now."

Clary let out a loud groan of frustration and stormed out of the building, leaving behind Charlotte and Luke.

"Jocelyn's outside, she'll get her."  Luke looked at Charlotte's painting for a second.  "Did you make this?"

She nodded as she picked up the canvas.  "Yeah, I did."

"It's beautiful."

She smiled.  "Thank you."  She looked at the door Clary left through, then let out a sigh.  "I should be going back to the Institute, I don't have a Shadowhunter to protect me from Valentine."

Luke nodded.  "Want me to bring you there?"

She shook her head.  "I'll be fine on my own."  She quickly put on her coat then walked off into the streets of Brooklyn.  She held her canvas painting at her side and walked at a swift pace to the Institute.  When she arrived, she went to her and Alec's room, but almost fainted at the sight she saw.

Alec was laying on the bed, having something similar to a seizure, and there was a crowd of people around him.

"Alec!" she cried out as she dropped the painting and ran to his side.  She looked up at Izzy as tears began to form in her eyes.  "What happened to him?!"

"He's trying to find Jace," Izzy said as she reassuringly put her hand on her ex-parabatai's shoulder.  "He's using a parabatai stone to try and find him."

She sighed as she looked at Alec and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Hey, come with me.  I wanna talk."

"I don't wanna leave Alec."

She practically made Charlotte stand up, and they crossed the large room to the other side, where Charlotte's painting still laid on the ground.  "Why didn't you tell me you got de-runed?"

Charlotte looked at her feet and didn't speak for a moment.  "Aldertree kicked me out of the Institute."

"You know what I mean, Charlotte."

She sighed.  "I...  I couldn't face you.

"What do you mean?"

A tear formed in Charlotte's eye as she spoke.  "Just seeing Alec, it was too much.  I knew that if I saw you..."  The tear fell from her eye as more fell, and she finally looked Izzy in the eyes.  "I was afraid you'd reject me."

Izzy shook her head as tears of her own fell from her eyes, and she hugged her best friend.  "I'd never reject you, Charlotte.  Mundane, Shadowhunter, whatever you are, you're still part of our family."

Charlotte smiled as tears fell from her cheek to the shoulder of Izzy's shirt.  "Yeah," she said quietly.  "I am part of your family."

**A/N hey guys!  Wow, it's been a long time.  I feel so bad for not updating, but I've had a lot going on.  I know I say this a lot, but this time it's true.  The end of the school year is approaching, so that means studying for finals.  Plus, my best friend left me.  She was my world, all I ever wanted, and she said she can't be happy if we're still friends.  We both love Shadowhunters, and it has been very hard for me to go near any of the several fandoms we shared.  But I'm really gonna try to finish this book soon.  I promise