The door shuts with a slam causing Charlotte to flinch at the sound. Clary and Simon had no time to announce to Charlotte that they were leaving and told Jace to just hide the car. Clary struggles with Luke in her grasp, as Simon then rushes over to take him as well to share the weight. It was an overwhelming, weighing feeling on Charlotte, seeing them fade away in the corner of her eyes. Not only was she useless but she was frozen.

"Mundane, we're hiding the car away, then we're meeting them," Jace tells Charlotte, not noticing her unusual silence. Jace looks at the wheel, the buttons around the dashboard and all the lights that said things he didn't know about. He couldn't ask Charlotte for help, he would look stupid in front of her. He sighs, hoping for the best as he then presses the gas pedal he saw Simon press earlier. The car jumps forward, making Charlotte's head barely miss the dashboard in front of her.

"Man, what the hell was that?!" Charlotte yells, taken out of her daze. "Do you even know how to drive?!"

"Do you?!" Jace was just as delirious, with a bruise now along his forehead from slamming against the wheel.

Charlotte shuts up, her mouth turning into a fine line. It comes out in a whisper of desperation. "We can learn together." The two stare at the dashboard, hoping that if they stared hard enough it would move on its own. "I see Simon do it all the time, if my brother can drive I'm sure the two of us can do this no problem!" Jace puts his hands on the wheel again with a grimace. "Maybe I should drive."

Jace shakes his head, "No I can do this."

He puts his hands on the wheel again and hits the gas pedal again, this time without making the two hit their heads. He pulls out and goes onto the desolate streets, but Charlotte could feel her body swerve along with the car. The speed increased steadily and it worried her more. 20, 30, 60.

"We're going a bit fast-"

"You do it then, mundane!" Charlotte would laugh at him if she was not facing an inevitable car accident.

"That's what I wanted to do! We just had to park out of sight, why is this so hard?!" She turns her head back to the road and her eyes widen, grasping the insides, the handles and the seat. "WAIT DON'T HIT THE CAR!" Jace turns the wheel harshly, causing him to hit into the window and the car to slam into a tall, metal pole. The airbags erupt, pushing into their faces. Jace could only reach his arm to block some of the damage.

Charlotte groans, feeling bruised and cuts on her forehead and face. "I should have listened and got my license when they first told me," she mutters remembering when Simon and their sister would bug her about getting her license so she wouldn't have to be driven or take a bus.

Jace shakes his head, regretting that action and then holding it in his hands, feeling a headache coming on. "Come on, they're probably waiting for us." Jace looks up from his hands, seeing a faint amount of blood on them and then glances up at Charlotte who didn't move an inch. Her face was void of any emotion. "Charlotte."

Charlotte blinks rapidly and then nods. "Yeah, we gotta get to Luke." She leaps out, feeling sore but ignoring the pain as she goes around to stand next to Jace who got out on the driver's side of the car.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhmm." Charlotte lifts her hand impulsively, reaching for the bloody nose. Jace furrows his brows, backing away from her touch and then Charlotte chuckles like nothing happened. "Whelp, we better get these checked out, we don't look too good, blondie." She walks up, her steps light and almost graceful.

"These mundanes," Jace mutters under his breath in exasperation before rushing off to catch up to Charlotte.

She was quicker than he thought she'd be, making her way through the building. Charlotte didn't seem eager to get to everyone before, but now she was rushing, as if trying to find a haven, or an escape. Jace takes larger steps, overtaking Charlotte as he then opens the front door, going through Magnus' place.

"Luke will need you if he wakes up," they overhear.

"When he wakes up." It was Clary's voice, Charlotte could tell instantly.

"I'll go."

Charlotte and Jace come into the room, seeing Clary and Simon stand over a suffering Luke, while Magnus stands by the balcony.

Jace steps forward, walking in without reservation. "I'll go."

"Jace, Charlotte, what happened to you?" Magnus approaches the two, touching Jace's cheek for the shadowhunter to turn his head, but Jace flinches away from his touch in annoyance. Magnus turns to Charlotte, seeing a few cuts on her face as well as a bruise. His fingers brush against her cheek but unlike Jace, Charlotte looked up at the warlock, taking a deep shaggy breath. Magnus moves away swiftly towards the other objects he needed. Charlotte looked off into the distance, touching the part of her cheek that felt fuzzy and warm, something she hadn't felt.

"Luke's car may have found a way into a pole while I was stashing it." A look from both Simon and Clary makes Jace gruffly add, "I don't do mundane driving."

"Maybe someone who can drive should have drove," Charlotte comments, finding the cut on her cheek.

"Yeah apparently." Charlotte scoffs at Simon's jealousy, watching the mundane boy put an arm around Clary. Jace grabs a few tissues, no one realizing Charlotte lifting her finger to her lips, feeling the drop of blood against her tongue, embracing the warm metallic feeling.

Jace comes closer to Charlotte, holding up the tissue to her for her to grab. Charlotte blinks, shaking herself from her daze and reaches for the tissue. Jace turns away, wiping his own blood from his nose and asks Magnus, "what do you need for the antidote?"

"Hey, I got this."

Magnus comes between the two men, rushing through the space to get prepared, while listing the ingredients. "Phoenix eyes, moon salt, and idris fulgurite."

"One trip to the pharmacy, it'll take two seconds." Simon starts walking but gets held back by Jace.

"I think that's a little out of your league buddy," Charlotte chuckles as Simon glares at his sister, who also blocked his way from leaving. Simon was being jealous and possessive, trying to make use in Clary's needs.

"I know a guy. And uh ... I don't need him."

"Too bad. You're getting me." Charlotte rolls her eyes, crossing her arms against her chest. She couldn't comprehend how Simon could feel the need to step over into something he had no idea about. He had the right idea to leave, Charlotte thought. "We'll be right back."

"One more thing. I need Alexander."

It was hard not to think about the past argument, yet Jace still asks, "Uh why do you need Alec?"

Magnus was quick with a reply. "Virgin shadowhunter energy."

"That explains so much," Simon mutters with a joking scoff.

"You have no right to talk," Charlotte says, looking down at her hands. Clary glances at her friend ever so slightly, watching as she gave quips though she was agitated. In the years she knew her, she never saw Charlotte grow agitated with anybody or anything.

"Um, yeah, Alec. I can't."

Clary turns to Jace, forgetting her observation to plead with him. "Jace, just ask, please." Her heels click on the hard floor until her face is close to his. "You have to talk to him."

Magnus walks along the group, standing behind Jace. "Trouble in paradise?"

"You could say that," Charlotte answers for him, thinking back to Jace yelling at his parabatai and getting punched in the face by herself afterwards. To say she was on Alec's side was an understatement.

Jace sighs at Magnus' chuckle and starts to drag Simon away. "Just don't talk to me." The two disappear behind the wall, leaving Charlotte alone with Clary, Magnus, and an unconscious Luke.

"Char-"

Charlotte interrupts Clary, stepping forward towards the warlock. "Do you mind if I use your balcony? I need some air."

"Of course, make yourself at home."

Clary opens her mouth, barely forming another syllable as Charlotte walks away towards the outside, feeling a slight breeze against her. She shuts her eyes, rubbing her hands against her face. This was it. This was the last time.

All the way across the apartment, Charlotte could hear the click of Clary's heels, and slowly they were starting to irritate her. They were getting louder as she came closer.

"Charlie, are you ignoring me?" Clary asks in a weak voice, almost making Charlotte want to vomit. Why couldn't she just get some time alone? Was that too hard to ask for now that Clary needed someone by her in these moments? Charlotte rubs her temples, ignoring the forming headache. "Charlie?"

"Clary, please! Just give me a second!" She lets out a shaggy breath and turns away from Clary, facing the city line, hoping she wouldn't cry. "I get you need someone, and I'm trying so hard to be there for you because I know you lost your mom and you lost Luke for a while. But Simon needed me too, I wasn't there for him because I thought he had us, and now look at us." She turns back to Clary, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we've been kidnapped by vampires! You were kidnapped by werewolves! I saw dead bodies and demons, because you needed me, and now I realize I should have left with Simon."

Charlotte lets out a laugh, but it wasn't hearty or in any joy, but a bitter one. She could see it in Clary's face though Clary couldn't say it out loud. Of course she did not want to be alone. Who would? Charlotte could not blame her for needing someone. Everyone needed somebody just to get by, especially when they were thrown into a world they had no idea of their whole lives.

"So just please, Clary. Give me a moment alone."

Clary nods, feeling the guilt in her chest swarm around like bees in a hive, buzzing and growing. She never wanted her friends to get hurt, but Clary never realized just how much Charlotte was affected by the past events. Charlotte turns back to the horizon, her eyes feeling heavy. So tired, Charlotte was so tired and she could not seem to rest any time soon. The click of Clary's heels fade as she walks back towards Luke, leaving Charlotte alone. Charlotte couldn't see Clary glancing between Luke and her or Magnus who turned his head curiously at her outburst. She could only see the city lights and feel her thoughts drifting towards the Hotel Dumort.

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A/N: Hi guys I wanted to update quick and I'm done with school for now! So would you guys rather have quicker chapters that are shorter or longer chapters that'll take a bit more time? Just asking but since I'm done for now I can update much more! Thanks for reading!