Beyond Repair

17. The New Guy

|Jace POV|

I turn around and see the server for Starbucks shouting my name as he holds out my coffee. (*a/n: Hehe, I'm mean, scaring the shit out of you lot*) I walk over to him, and shake my head a little.

"I don't want it," I say, pushing the cup towards him. "You can have it."

"I can't do that," he answers, reaching his arm out with the coffee in hand . As he does, his sleeve inches up a little, revealing what would look like a scar or maybe a tattoo to a mundane, but I'm not a mundane.

"What's your name?" I ask, taking the coffee even though I don't really want it.

"Marcus. Why?" he questions, raising an eyebrow at my weird behaviour. "You're seriously weirding me out, bro. First you pay with a twenty, a frickin twenty, for a coffee and don't want cash back, then you don't even take the drink that you spent twenty bucks on. And then, you ask me my name, when the only reason I know your name is because I had to know to write it in your cup. What's up with you?"

"Nothing. Nothing's up with me," I answer, racking my brain for a way to get him to talk to me about his Mark. "When does your shift finish?"

"Uh, about fifteen minutes from now," he says, after he glances at his phone for the time.

"Cool. I'm going to sit and wait for your shift to end, Marcus, because I need to talk to you about something important," I reply, running my hand through my hair.

"Marcus! I need help at the register!"

I look over at the ever growing line by the registers. "Go. I'll talk to you after."

"About wh-"

"Marcus!"

"You should really go," I say, and walk over to an empty table for the second time.

Fifteen minutes and a whole coffee later, Marcus is pulling off his apron and walking over to me, looking very unsure about my sanity.

"Ready?" I ask, pocketing my phone.

"Yeah...," he replies, sticking his hands in his pockets.

We walk out the Starbucks, and lead him in the direction of the Institute. "I've got a question for you, but it may sound really strange."

"It's possible that it won't sound any stranger than anything you've said today," he muttered.

I ignore him and continue, saying, "I want to see your arms for a second."

His face goes slack, and starts to back away from me. "What do you want from me?" he whispers hoarsely.

"Wait. Don't go! I'm one of you," I blurt out. Walking towards him slowly, as one may approach a frightened animal.

"But what if...what if I don't know what I am?" he chokes out, unable to look me in the eye.

"Well I do. It's understandable that you're scared. I know what you are, and it may sound a little crazy at first, but what you are is something so amazingly powerful that you won't have to be scared anymore," I say, and go to take off my jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm showing you something," I respond calmly. I place my leather jacket on the ground carefully, and then put my arms out for him, so he can look at my Marks.

He reaches out a shaking hand and traces the rune for 'quiet'. Without looking up at me, he says, "W-what are these?"

"They're my Marks," I answer, pulling my arm away gently.

"Your...marks?" he asked, confused.

"It's something that signifies that one is a Shadowhunter," I say, pulling my coat back on.

"A what?" he asked.

"By the Angel, you don't know anything!" I say. I think it through quickly, and then continue. "Come with me. I've got to show you the place where there are more of us."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he says cautiously.

"Confident. They're my friends," I say.

"All of them?"

"Well...yeah. Most of them," I say, thinking about Simon. I'm not really sure what we are. We seem like friends sometimes, but other times we detest each other. It's rather confusing.

"O-okay," he stutters.

"It'll be okay," I say calmly as we take the last steps to the front of the Institute.

"W-what is this place?" Marcus says, tilting his head back to look at the top of the tall building.

"The Institute. It's a place for people like us," I answer as I start to climb the steps.

"How do you know it's safe?" he asks, still looking up in awe as he climbs up the stairs after me.

"I live here," I reply, turning around to look back to him, seeing that he was right behind me. I unlock the door, and then step into the elevator after Marcus.

When the doors open, I see that everyone is in the living room. Clary, Isabelle, Melissa are sitting in the corner, whispering and laughing. Simon, Alec, and Sebastian are looking at something on the table, and Josh and Magnus are in a deep discussion on the couch. They all look up at the sound of the elevator opening.

When Alec sees Marcus behind me, his eyes widen. I give him a warning glance, and say loudly, "Hey guys!"

"Hi Jace and....new guy," Simon says, looking over at me confusedly.

"Uh, guys this is Marcus," I say.

A loud chorus of 'hi Marcus' goes around the room, but everyone still looks confused.

"Jace why in the name of the Angel did you being a mundane into the Institute?" Alec asks me incredulously.

"He's not a mundane," I answer calmly.

"Yes he is, Jace. Look at him!" Isabelle says. She looks over at Marcus, and adds, "No offence."

"He's not a mundane. Marcus is a Shadowhunter."

Mwahahahahahahaha. BTW, how about that cliffhanger, huh? I'm brilliant. Anyways, keep commenting, because I love reading them, sharing, because it's cool, and reading, because it's what we all love!!!

-EMMA XX