little santiago (shadowhunters) - SLOW UPDATES

chapter eight

c h a p t e r e i g h t ; first day and elizabeth's eighteenth

Elizabeth had a love-hate relationship with school. She hated that she had to wake up early, but she loved learning. This year would be different, because her two best friends had already graduated. She was friends with some people in her debate class and art class but it wasn't the same as Simon and Clary.

She hadn't been able to see Simon or Clary lately. Simon was still adjusting to the vampire lifestyle, Elizabeth had convinced Raphael to help her best friend. And Clary was busy trying to get her mom back and save the world from her evil father.

"Man, do I not miss those uniforms," Manuel commented as his sister walked into the living room trying to shove last minute items in her backpack.

Elizabeth glanced at her uniform. Personally, she liked wearing uniforms. And as a senior, they had more leeway in accessories. So she spent all night sewing a light purple ribbon on the edge of her jacket and gluing jewels around the pockets. Her socks matched the purple on her jacket, and her shoes were combat boots she bought a month ago- when everything was normal.

"Do you need a ride?" Ester asked her daughter.

"I was actually going to grab some breakfast at school. The seniors wanted to meet up to talk about senior meetings throughout the year. I'm meeting Valerie a couple blocks away, and she just left her mom's, so she'll be there soon," Elizabeth said.

"Is that new?" Her mother asked. Elizabeth glanced down at the chain around her neck.

"No," Elizabeth lied. "Abuela Rosa gave it me a couple years ago before she- Mom, I'm going to be late for the first day." Rushing out the door, she shoved the necklace in her shirt, something she had forgotten to do before leaving her bedroom.

"How is he?" Elizabeth asked Raphael. She wanted to keep tabs on Simon, without forcing herself on him. But she was also trying to get to know her grandma's brother.

"He went home," Raphael stated.

"What?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "You let him go home? Is it safe for him to go home?"

Raphael nodded. "If I didn't think it was safe, I wouldn't have let him go. I promised you I'd watch over him, didn't I?"

"Is it safe for me to-?"

"It's up to you, Elizabeth," Raphael interrupted. "But remember, he's a new vampire. It could take weeks for him to be around mundanes and not be tempted to feed."

"And you let him go home?"

"He was going stir crazy," Raphael explained. "Let him try and get back to some normalcy. Once he realizes it's not normal, he'll be back. It always happens."

Elizabeth nodded. "Abuela mentioned you today," she said changing the subject. "I was telling her about Manuel, he's my older brother. He's at NYU for business. We both start school next week, and she was telling me that when she was nervous about going to school, you'd walk her to class when your parents dropped you two off. And you'd never leave her side until she was laughing and playing with other kids. Manny did the same thing, until I was nine."

"You have an older brother?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah. He's- he's three years older than me. He looks more like my mom's side of the family than he does my dad's side."

"And your dad is Rosa's son? Did she have any more kids?"

"No, my dad was an only child," Elizabeth explained. "So Manny and I are the only grandkids on my dad's side."

"How often do you see her?"

Elizabeth frowned. "Not as often as I should," she answered truthfully. "My dad visits all the time on Saturdays. Every Saturday as the same time, sometimes he eats with her during his lunch break from work."

"Is she- is she okay?" Raphael asked.

"She is," Elizabeth assured him. "It just hurts to see her in the way she is. Last time I saw her, she didn't recognize me or my brother. She barely recognized my dad. And then she brought up mi abuelo- his name was Esteban, and we only lost him three years ago."

Raphael hugged Elizabeth. "I'm sorry. I wish I could visit her and not ask you these questions."

"Maybe you could! There's no exact time for visiting hours at the nursing home she's at. And they let almost everyone visit. Just as long as you don't use their beds or showers, you can visit her."

"It's too risky."

"You're a vampire and I have blood moving through me. It's a risk for me to be here," Elizabeth joked. "I think she'd love to see you. She'd remember you, but I don't think she would spill anything." Elizabeth smiled. "Think about it, I have to go. I have school tomorrow."

"Wait! Before you go," Raphael stood up, Elizabeth turned around. "Before I left home, I took a couple of my parents things. This was my mother's and my sister was the one who chose the pictures to go in it. It's my parents, Rosa and I when we lived in Mexico," Raphael handed Elizabeth a locket. "And a picture of her quince, and what I'm told, her husband was her chamberlain." Elizabeth smiled as she opened the old locket. A picture of her abuelos when they were her age, and her abuela's family. "Feliz cumpleaños."

⁂

Elizabeth listened to her classmates talk. They had also decided to meet during lunch too, because some seniors hadn't shown up on time.

"I know it's way too early to think about graduation and our senior trip, but we need to start fundraising," Tessa, one of the seniors stated. She has been their class president for years now. It wouldn't be a surprise if she'd be the president in the future. "Also, it'll be best if we just try and keep everyone in the loop on any decisions. It's our senior year, and we all need to be happy on how we leave this school."

"No matter how we leave, I'll be happy," someone said from the end of the table. Elizabeth glanced over not recognizing them.

"Well, that concludes this meeting. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, don't be shy. We'll meet again soon."

Elizabeth was one of the last few that left the classroom. She was making her way towards the cafeteria when someone called her name.

"Elizabeth, right? You're friends with Simon and Clary? They graduated last year, didn't they?" A girl asked. Elizabeth couldn't remember her name.

"Yeah," Elizabeth responded. "I'm sorry, do I know-?"

"Oh, right! I'm Lennox," the girl- Lennox smiled. "I was actually wondering if you had anyone to sit with at lunch."

"I don't," Elizabeth replied. "Would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to."

one word: lennox
love them.

is this a shadowhunters fic? lol
at this point the shadowhunters
characters are just background
characters haha.
but they're there!!