I hope you like it!!!

Livvy had disappeared again. Ty had been in the library of the Scholomance studying for an exam coming up, and when he left to go back to his room, she was gone. If she just gave him some kind of warning before she left, he would be fine. But he didn't like surprises or the unexpected, and if he doesn't know when Livvy will leave beforehand, it makes him anxious.

Ty turned the volume on his headphones up, drowning the loud colours and thoughts inside his head. Everyone tells him that colours can't be loud, but they are to him. It's the only way to describe the constant pounding in his head when everything is too bright, too loud, too extreme. Kit never told him that colours can't be loud. It was as if Kit knew what it was like for Ty, but he that wasn't the case. Kit just didn't judge him for having different opinions than everyone else.

When Kit had first left him, Ty tried not to think about him; it only added to the commotion going on inside of his head. But his efforts were futile, and Ty discovered that if he allowed himself to think about Kit, it was louder than everything else whirling around in his mind like a Spinning Teacup Ride, and therefore they didn't bother him as much.

It had been two years, seven months and eleven days since Kit had gone to go live with Tessa and Jem. Ty and Kit were both eighteen years old now; Kit's birthday was in January and his own was in March. Ty had never understood why birthdays were a big deal, but he celebrated and tried to do what Julian did when it was someone else's birthday; congratulated them and acted happy, but all he ever wanted was to go listen to his music and read, or work on solving a mystery with Livvy.

Footsteps that weren't Ty's own echoed throughout the empty hallway. Ty couldn't actually hear the footsteps; he felt them in the ground. He took his headphones off of his ears and hung them around his neck to better identify the footsteps. Julian had gotten him Bluetooth headphones for Christmas in 2013—the second Christmas since Ty had moved to the Scholomonce—and they were now one of Ty's most prized possessions. It was much easier to listen to music without the cord getting in the way, especially when he slept while listening. His restless mind was always far more awake when he was trying to fall asleep than when there was nothing that had to get done.

Ty headed in the direction of his assigned room, hoping that Livvy would be waiting for him there. Then the unwelcomed surprise would be over and he could relax.

Suddenly Ty felt a gust of air behind him, and turned around just in time to see someone run past him, a blur of dark colours against the wood of the building. It was hard to make out the person's characteristics, but Ty didn't recognize the dark hair that brushed against his face or the bright hazel eyes that had caught his own before he could avert his gaze.

"Sorry." Ty thought he heard her mumble as she rushed past, her quiet voice resounding through the length of the empty hallway. Where was she going? A small voice in the back of Ty's head urged him to follow her and find out, only to be opposed by a more Julian-like voice reminding him that it wasn't any of his business. Ty knew that they weren't actual voices, just reflections of his consciousness taking the form of words that Ty would understand. He thought about Livvy, possibly back in the room that he couldn't call his, and felt guilty for thinking about trying to solve a maybe-mystery (That's what Livvy and Ty called something mysterious that can't actually be identified as a mystery) without her, which he immediately beat down. There was no guarantee that Livvy was in that room; it was more likely that she would be somewhere in the mountains, exploring. Ty made up his mind and started walking. Livvy could always find him anyways, no matter where he was.

The girl, running as fast as she was, had probably made it fairly far, so Ty picked up his pace and started jogging lightly. Luckily for him, the ground was dusty, and footprints were just barely visible. He followed them to the next hallway intersection and turned left, then another left, and then to the right and out a door into the warm summer air.

It was mid-June, so the temperature was a bit higher than usual, around 10-20°C—still not warm enough that Ty didn't want to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt. He was wearing a faded grey short-sleeved shirt with a dark navy-blue sweater overtop; jeans kept his legs warm.

Ty looked around him, trying to locate the girl. The view from his side of the mountain was magnificent. He could see the Romania spreading around him in all directions; the rolling hills and swift green fields were part of the view he was so accustomed to and, he had to admit, fond of. The colours of the flower-covered meadows were bright though, and it hurt to stare at them, so Ty averted his gaze to his closer surroundings. There was still a bit of un-melted snow, even in June, hardened to ice. The sun beamed down on the range, and the peaks of the mountains not hidden by the fluffy, white blanket of clouds shone like icicles, stabbing at the clear blue sky.

"What are you doing?" Ty whipped around at the sound of the girl's voice again, taking his headphones off in the process. In front of him, standing just a few meters away, was a short brown-haired girl, maybe a few years younger than him. She stared at him with crossed arms, but she didn't look mad—just defiant and inquisitive.

"I-I was just wondering what you were doing." Ty suddenly felt as if he were intruding and didn't know what to do. Livvy would. Or Kit. "You ran past me in the hall and I—" What was a good excuse for following a stranger through a school on a mountain? "I was curious." Ty averted his eyes, staring at a beauty mark on her chin.

"Well, I was just coming out here to think. And to just... do stuff. What did you think I would be doing?" Her arms were uncrossed now, having realized that Ty didn't mean her any harm.

"I like solving mysteries," Ty stated, not sure how to answer her question. What would he say to avoid sounding creepy? Oh, I was following you out here because I wanted to know the world-changing secret that you are definitely hiding. Yeah, no.

The girl laughed. "And you thought I was mysterious? Trust me, I have nothing to hide except for stacks of books and a lot of shyness."

"You don't seem very shy."

"Well, I happen to be in a good mood right now, and I somehow know how to be social when I'm in a good mood." She seemed to be amused by Ty, but he couldn't see what he had done that was funny. "I'm Violet." Ty looked up to see that she had stuck out her hand and was looking at him expectantly. When someone holds out their hand, you take it in your own, Livvy's voice echoed in his head, reminding him what to do. He carefully took Violet's hand in his own and shook it quickly, hoping he was remembering to do the right thing. Now tell her your name.

"Ty," he replied, his voice shaking. He swallowed, not sure what to do next. Wait, was I supposed to tell her my full name? Starting to panic now, Ty added, "Tiberius Nero Blackthorn."

Her eyebrows lifted slightly, and Ty's breathing got shallower and faster. "Violet Aurora Hazelfield," she replied with what Ty guessed was her full name. She smiled gently at Ty and he relaxed; people smile when they want to be friends, right? Well, they at least smile when they don't want to be unkind to you.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Ty tried to make conversation; not something he was a fan of, but apparently, it's polite.

"I come out here as often as I can. It's my sanctuary from all of the classes and essays that go on in there." She gestured at the school with her left hand. "I mostly read or listen to music or play my keyboard. Come on, I'll show you where my spot is!" She started walking away from Ty, in the direction of the edge of the mountain. Ty ran up and matched his pace with hers, fidgeting with the Heron pendant around his neck. What did he say now? Did he just keep walking in silence, or did she want him to ask a question or comment on the view or something? If only the Scholomonce had a class for how to be social.

"How long have you been at the Scholomonce?" Violet kept walking, but it was clear she was addressing Ty. Unless she was asking herself that question. Do people do that? Do they have conversations with themselves?

"Um... two years and eight months. I came when I was fifteen." Was that the right answer? He didn't know. Should he have told her his age, or was it fine that he said how old he was when he first came? "I'm eighteen now," He added, deciding to take the risk. Everything was becoming too bright for him again, and he was very aware of the birds chirping in the scarce trees. Would it be rude to put his headphones back on? Keep your headphones off when you're having a conversation. If Livvy would want him to keep his headphones off then he would, even if it hurt. He wouldn't be out there much longer, and then he could them back on and go play with Irene.

"What about... you?" Ty hoped that was okay to ask. Well, she had asked him first, hadn't she?

"I came January this year, when I was fifteen, but my birthday was just a bit ago, so I'm sixteen now," she responded smoothly. She didn't seem to be as shy as she claimed; she kept doing the right things and asking the right things. Or maybe she wasn't and Ty just didn't know what the right thing was.

"Here we are!" Ty looked ahead of him at where they had arrived. Violet had called this place "Her spot" which Ty didn't really understand. How could she own a spot in the Carpathian Mountains? Julian probably would have been able to make an illustration to show him what she really meant.

Ty decided not to dwell on the thought and gazed at the area around him. It seemed ordinary enough; there was a stunning view, but practically anywhere on the mountains was beautiful. The snow was completely melted here, and a few flower buds that Ty had never seen before were poking up from the grass, which was so long that it reached up past his knees. He would have to research them later. The two Shadowhunters were standing before a singular tree that reached high into the sky, as if it were trying to match the height of the mountains surrounding it.

"Robinia Pseudoacacia," Ty muttered under his breath, naming the Black Locust tree he was currently examining by its scientific name. It was identifiable by the bright green of the rounded leaves—different from a Honey Locust, who's leaves have more of a pointed shape. Thorns about the size of the end of his pinky finger jutted out from the grooves in the tree. The fact that it had thorns as well as details in the bark showed that it was young, but old enough for the bark to have started to take shape. The height of the tree was unusual; they normally weren't this tall while thorns still remained.

"Sorry?" Violet seemed confused, the reason for which Ty wasn't sure. "What did you say?"

"Robinia Pseudoacacia. More commonly known as a Black Locust." She still seemed confused, and was looking at Ty in search for more information. "The tree."

"Oh! Yeah, how did you know? Are you a tree geek?"

"What's a tree geek?" Violet kept doing saying things that confused him. Tree geek, "Her spot," not looking at him while talking. It made his head spin, but maybe he could learn from her. And anyways, the strange things she said just made her more of a mystery.

"Um... just someone who's fascinated by trees and knows a lot about them, I guess." Why was she guessing? What was she guessing about? Ty had so many questions, it was hard to keep track. "But anyways, let's go up!"

"That doesn't seem very safe. What if we fall?" Couldn't she see all the possible casualties of climbing up there? The wind had picked up, which could cause them to fall; they could get stabbed by thorns; she could fall on top of him and then they would both go tumbling.

"We're Shadowhunters, Tiberius Nero Blackthorn. Did you not learn how to fall properly from a tree during your training?" Oh. Yeah, he had. Every Shadowhunter was required to learn that. Violet turned back towards the tree and started going up, carefully avoiding the sharp thorns threatening to impale her. Ty sighed before stepping closer to the tree and grabbing hold of the lowest branch. Why was he doing this? He didn't know this girl, and he hadn't even seen her around the school before! For all he knew she could be a demon disguised as a human. But he also felt a sort of pull towards her, as if she were familiar to him. Her presence and the way she acted calmed him, and he didn't know why. It was sort of scary, but also thrilling and exciting and new.

Ty stared at the thorns intensely, maneuvering in a way to avoid them without having to be in a position that put his life at risk. He tried to avoid looking down, not for the fear of getting dizzy and falling, but because he didn't want to think about anything other than the sharp fragments of wood threatening to stab him in the eye if he leaned just an inch closer.

Ty sensed Violet stop climbing about two meters above him, and then her feet disappeared from his peripheral vision. Great. He climbed with additional haste, not wanting to be left alone hanging from a branch far away from other people. Well, except for Violet. But it would be a very difficult task for her to try and pull him up to wherever she was without either of them falling and/or getting stabbed with a multitude of thorns.

As if she could sense Ty thinking about where she had gone, Violet poked her head out above him, her hair framing her face as she looked down at him. "What's taking you so long?"

"Trying not to get stabbed by this tree, thanks."

"Well, hurry up! We still have to get to class after this. Lunch only lasts so long." Right! Ty had forgotten that there were still classes after this. How could he not have remembered that? He had been following the same schedule for two years, yet somehow this strange girl made him forget what time of day it was. And the sun was shining right above them and into his eyes, very obviously showing that it was the middle of the day. What was happening?

"Ah!" something stabbed Ty in the forehead, and he immediately brought his left hand up to hold it, reflexes taking over from his brain. A thorn, Ty thought, but he didn't see any blood visible on his hand, nor was there a thorn in front of his forehead.

"Ty? Are you okay?" Violet's head appeared above him again, this time a worried expression plastered on her face.

"Yeah, I'm—" Without getting a chance to finish his sentence, another painful feeling bloomed in his head, this time spreading outwards to his whole body. He felt sort of queasy, and he started losing feeling in his arms. Ty recognized this feeling—it was the one he got when something was happening with Livvy.

"I'm coming down there!" Violet started scrambling down from her perch. "Don't move." Ty's head was spinning out of control, his whole body was tingling and going numb, all except for the feeling he had felt a scarce amount of times over the past couple of years. It had happened whenever Livvy disappeared, not by choice, and wouldn't tell him where she had been taken. But something about the feeling reminded him of Kit.

"Who's Kit?" Violet was beside him now, he realized. She was trying to loop his arm around her shoulders. How did she know about Kit? Ty hadn't mentioned him to her...

What was she trying to do? She had worked them into a position where Ty was sort of flopped over her, and thorns were stabbing into both of them. Ty was way bigger than her; she wouldn't be able to carry him by herself. But Ty didn't have much longer to think about that; his consciousness was being dragged away by an invisible force, the world around him being replaced by a moonlit field and a small village. There was a goat licking his face (a freaking adorable goat), a flash of a baguette being thrown at his face, the feeling of water covering his whole body, a strange craving for bagels, and a noise, one that would stay in Ty's memory forever. It was not a particularly beautiful or calming sound, but it was familiar and comforting to Ty (for some reason):

I'M GONNA SWING FROM THE CHANDELIERR, FROM THE CHANDELIEEEEER

AS WELL AS

SHAWTY HAD THEM APPLE BOTTOM JEANS (JEANS)

BOOTS WITH THE FUR (WITH THE FUR)

THE WHOLE CLUB WAS LOOKIN' AT HER

SHE HIT THE FLOOR (SHE HIT THE FLOOR)

NEXT THING YOU KNOW

SHAWTY GOT LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW

I'm not going to keep doing stuff with the music, I was just in a strange mood when I wrote the first two chapters, just saying.

(And thank you SO MUCH if you are reading this!! [I won't leave a bunch of long A/Ns, don't worry])

~K3