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DRU
Dru loathed that her relationship was an open secret.
It was the worst of both scenarios: once everybody knew, the secret kisses and forbidden glances across crowded rooms stopped being sexy and became pathetic. Plus, she couldn’t post her pictures with Ash on her insta.
This one in particular was too cute to not share with the world. Ash was a hellishly handsome fella, but he always managed to make a fool of himself in selfies. They had had a picnic a few days before, and Ash’s face was muddy with vanilla ice cream. He’d crumpled his nose as Dru kissed his cheek and took the picture.
She added it to the folder.
Why do you put yourself through this? Thais asked every time Dru complained about the secrecy. The truth was, Dru would’ve ended things with Ash a long time ago if she didn’t see it pained him as much as it pained her. Ash didn’t talk about his mom often, but when he did it was to point out how dangerous she was.
She’s mad because I’m friends with the Lightwood-Bane kids, he had rushly explained on the phone once. Dru didn’t see him for an entire week after that.
Did it anger her? Of course. It was frustrating. There were days it weighted so much in her it made her want to punch and kick and scream . Nightmares of The Queen soaked in blood showing up at her door woke her up more often than she’d like to admit. Was that enough to finish things with Ash? Sometimes Dru thought it should be, but when she messaged him Nightmare at ridiculous hours of the night, he immediately replied, do you want to talk about it? And she knew no amount of bad dreams would make her want to break things off with Ash Morgenstern.
She got a notification: @kitkat_heronstairs started following you
Letting people treat you wrong has never been like you, Kit had told her the other day. Funny he still had that kind of faith in her when not even she thought that way anymore.
Ugh, Kit. She didn’t know how she felt about his return. It had been a nice conversation, shockingly. His smile hadn’t been as fragile as it used to be in LA.
Would Ty and Livvy think the same, though? The twins always seemed to tear down Kit’s walls better. None of the Blackthorns had dare to bring him up in conversation yet.
She forced herself to put her phone down, decided to finish her current biggest enemy: her math homework. She was halfway through the second problem when her phone buzzed.
Look outside your window.
Dru stared at the text message for a few seconds. When curiosity took the best of her, she stood up from her bed and lurked on the street.
There was a red mustang perfectly parked beside the sidewalk. A figure dressed all in black was standing next to it, wearing a Michael Myers mask, facing her.
Dru turned her head to the mirror on the wall and laughter took hold of her. She had her red and dark green striped sweater on, the one she used to cosplay Freddy Krueger for last year's Halloween.
She hurried down the stairs and opened up the door to find the mysterious figure in front of her. She reached for the mask to reveal Ash Morgenstern behind it, green eyes shining.
Dru grabbed him by the arm and pulled her boyfriend inside the house. She pinned him against the door and kissed him. He tasted like sweat and vanilla and Dru smiled against his lips.
“Hi,” he said out of breath, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Hi,” she rub her nose against his. That won her a soft laugh that made her heartbeat faster than any kiss in secrecy ever could.
“Dru?” a small voice made her jump. “Are you done snuggling with your boyfriend? Julian wants to know how’d you like your pizza.”
Tavvy’s expression had the contempt only ten year old’s could give at people without it being rude. Dru’s cheeks were burning. She ignored them.
“Tell Julian I’m going. Give me a minute, would you?”
Her younger brother nodded and left.
Dru and Ash locked eyes with each other for a few seconds before busting out laughing. She rested her forehead on his shoulder. Ash relaxed under her touch, which made her feel fuzzy inside.
“God.” He sounded breathless. He did that a lot around her.
“I know,” she sighed, “we should really go see Julian before he orders something with pineapple.”
“There’s nothing wrong with pineapple.”
“A, you’re wrong, and B, you’re lucky I like you so much or I would vetoed you from this house for even implying pizza with pineapple isn’t a crime.”
i Like you i Like you i Like you i Like you i Like you i Like you I Lo—
“Well,” he said grinning, an all encapsulating and bright and absorbing and ridiculous and lovely grin, “lucky me, indeed.”
ASH
For Ash, going to the Blackthorn’s was like waking up in a completely different dimension.
He carried himself through life with grace. His image was flawless: a rich boy, neither naughty nor naive, who succeeded at everything he put his mind on. The perfect and shiny son for Alicante’s perfect and shiny Queen. Model student, soccer captain, loyal friend.
A prince.
He spent every waking moment making sure that that image prevailed. Practiced smiles and calculated conversations. Strategy was everything he had to back him up. Close examinations of every interaction, reliving them word for word, evaluating if they had been as successful as intended while he gathered all the information needed to make sure the next one was too. People would bear just so many mistakes, his mom had taught him. And she hadn't been happy with him lately.
But at Brocelind 2310, Ash couldn’t bring himself to follow his own rules.
The first time Dru had brought him to dinner with her family, he thought he was going to pass out with anxiety. For the Blackthorns, family was sacred. For Ash, it meant tense dinners with his mother and hiding in the supermarket as he stared at the redhead girl who bought the same peanut butter as him.
He'd been scared Dru’s siblings would see right through him and declare him unworthy to call himself her boyfriend. That his entire façade would be exhausting to them. That they'd make Dru see that too. It scared him so much he’d thrown up at practice earlier that day.
Now, he was eating pizza, sat between Drusilla Blackthorn and her brother Ty. And he was calm. He was cheerful. Ash liked watching his girlfriend’s family talk to each other. They joked and they laughed and they enjoyed. It was wild to him.
For just a few hours, Ash could pretend this was something he'd had his whole life. That it didn’t startle him. That he hadn't been starving for something like this his whole life.
“How’s football— wait, no— soccer going Ash?” Emma asked. She’d ordered pinnacle in her pizza. Ash liked her.
“You know, same old stuff. But at least this year’s line up is pretty promising. The first years are very committed, and we got a new kid playing offense. He’s been great so far, good speed, good coordination. He seems to be merging well with the team too. You might know him, K—”
Dru kicked him under the table.
“—actually, now that I think about it, he’s also new in town. You’ve probably never heard of him.”
Julian and Emma shared equal confused expressions, but Ty had gone very still. Dru observed her brother with caution.
Once again, Ash wondered the story between Kit Herondale and the Blackthorns.
After dinner, Dru took him to the living room. She had told him about a film she was really excited to show him. It’s set in the woods, it has zombie goats and lots of blood!!! You’re gonna hate it so much. They sat on the floor with popcorn and played the movie.
A while ago, a guy had went out of his way to tell Ash how fortunate he was for having a girlfriend who watched so many horror films. It’s the perfect date! When she gets scared, you can just put your arm around her and make her feel safe!! Show her you’re a real man! It was one of the most stupid things Ash had ever heard.
To watch horror films with Dru was to get encapsulated in a moment in time where nothing else existed. She watched movies with a critical eye, letting herself get abducted scene by scene. So, when she held out her hand to ask him to go with her, Ash never knew how to refuse. She laughed and commented and protested and let herself be vulnerable for as long as the movie lasted.
Ash loved she let him be a part of it.
“You were right,” he said as the credits rolled, “I hated it.”
Dru laughed, as he knew she would.
“Zombie goats are the best input from modern cinema and I’ll die on this hill.”
“Terrible decision, really. I stand with flying sharks.”
“Don’t you dare saying Sharknado is better than zombie goats!” she said scandalized, barely keeping her mouth from smiling. “Seriously, Ash. First the pinnacle, now this—”
He pulled her closer and kissed her.
She exhaled, making his entire body shiver.
“Fine, you win.” He whispered. “Zombie goats are better than Sharknado.”
She smirked. “Nice try, rich boy, you’re gonna come here next week to watch the sequel.”
He groaned, but his heart raised at the rhythm of next week next week next week next week ne—
They stayed silent, laying on the floor shoulder to shoulder. Dru was suspiciously quiet. Ash played with her fingers, giving himself something to do while she figured out what to say next. Her frowned eyebrows told him she found it harder than expected.
“I don’t know what to do, Ash.”
There it was.
“About what?”
Dru sighed.
“Ty.” She sat up. “This whole situation with Kit is like torture for him. And I don’t know why.”
“It’s the same with Kit," he told her quietly. “We all know they have some sort of history, but we can’t get a word out of him. He gets all elusive and avoidant when Ty comes up in conversation.” He recalled Kit a few days ago, wild-eyed and at the edge of panic, begging Ash to let him escape from the Pandemonium café, as if being in the presence of Ty Blackthorn hurt him physically. “What even happened between them?”
“God, I wish I knew.” Dru finally looked at Ash. “They used to be best friends . They met when they were ten. Ty loved the hell out of the ground Kit stepped on. Then, one day, they went together to the woods and when Ty came back, he was alone. Next thing, Kit packed his bags and moved to who-the-fuck-knows-where. I hadn’t seen him in three years before this week.”
“Have you talked to Livvy?”
“Yes, she’s just as worried and without ideas as me. If we could just get them to talk—” Her eyes opened all of the sudden as she passed a hand through her hair. “That’s it! How it didn’t occur to me before? Ash, when did you say it was your mother’s gala?”
“In two Saturdays. Why?”
She crawled to him and took his hands.
“You said she asked you to bring people, right? We could take them.”
“Wait, what? Are you sure it’s the best idea?”
“It’s the only idea. You can take your friends from the team, I’ll tell Ty he can bring Anush and ta-da! We lock them in a closet or something, we can work out the details later.”
“Dru, we can’t meddle in their lives like that! You should’ve seen Kit the other day at Pandemonium, he was shitting himself just ‘cause Ty was there.”
“That’s exactly why we have to take this in our own hands! Whatever happened between them… they need to solve it. But they refuse to have a conversation. We have to take the initiative ourselves.”
“Dru…”
“Please.” Her grip tighten. “Please, Ash. Ty and Kit, they… they need this. This is killing them both. Ty locks in his room more and more each day, he is barely eating, he isn’t even talking with Livvy. I can’t just stand here do nothing. We can help them, Ash. We have to.”
Dru's eyes had become a tormented sea, desperation the only discernable emotion. Ash wanted to say yes immediately, because he never found himself wanting to say no to her, but he held back. Dru loved her brother, she wanted what was best for him. Just as Ash wanted what was best for her. He'd be damned if he went ahead with the plan without being cautious. That's how they worked, after all: as he did all the second-guessing, she fearlessly jumped into situations to find out first hand how to get what she wanted. He was mostly thoughts, she was action and bravery.
“This could make everything worse,” he said, “you know that, right?”
She bit her lip.
“It’s worth the shot, isn’t it?”
Ash nodded slowly. Fine. There was one more thing they had to talk if they were going to do this.
“My mother will be there,” the words tasted like poison, “if we go, we can’t go… together.”
He lowered his eyes, incapable of looking at her.
She hold his face, putting him closer.
“I know. I know she can’t know.”
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out.
Her smile was so sad it made him hate himself.
“Don’t be. It’s not fair for either of us. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.”
He let his breath out.
“Okay. We’ll find a way to make it work. We’ll make them talk.”
She threw her arms around his neck and he felt his facade cracking a little bit more. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.