TDA Meets TLH

26: Emma

"Why are we here, again?" Lucie asked.

"Because Cristina needs to get her mind off Mark." I stated.

Lucie, Cordelia, Anna, Cristina, and I, were all at the mall, shopping. Cristina had been depressed over Mark, these past few days, and she refused to leave her room. I had been bringing her food to make sure she didn't starve. I thought she needed to get out, so I dragged her along with all the other girls, to the mall. The Clave would not be happy that we were doing mundane things, but to be fair, the Clave was never happy. Currently, the five of us were in "Forever 21"

"Oh yes." Lucie said, and shot a sad look at Cristina.

"Oh, this store is very pretty!" Cordelia grinned. "Why can't we have stores like this in 1903? You two are very lucky."

"Look at this! Isn't it pretty?!" Anna exclaimed.

She held up a short black crop top, with rips in it. I smiled to myself, it was something Isabelle Lightwood would wear. They were more alike than I had thought.

"It's a bit revealing, don't you think?" Lucie asked.

Anna laughed. "You know that I do not care about that, Lucie. If somebody does not like what I'm wearing, then they should not look at me."

"I agree." I added in. "Don't you think, Tina?"

She only nodded, looking lost in thought. I sighed sadly.

"Don't be sad, Cristina." Cordelia comforted. "Mark will come to his senses and see what he gave up. I am sure of it."

Cristina smiled at her, but said nothing. It had been two days since I had heard her speak. Mark was doing as bad as she was. He barely left his room, and when he did, he didn't talk to anyone. I understood why he broke up with her, though. He was doing what he thought was best for Cristina. He was giving her a better chance at life.

"Do you want to look for anything?" I asked Cristina.

She shook her head, and I looked at the other girls, helplessly.

"What is Mexico like, Miss Rosales?" Anna asked, trying to get her to talk.

"It's really hot and crowded." Cristina spoke, for the first time in two days. "But I love it there. It's my home. Though, I don't think I'll go back when the year here is over."

"Really?" I perked up.

"Yeah." She said. "I don't belong there, anymore. Plus, I have too many bad memories from there. I may love it there, and it may be my home, but I want to be somewhere else."

"Yay!" I exclaimed, but then thought of something. "But what about your family?"

"They'll understand." Cristina said. "I hope."

We all chuckled, and she smiled. I felt victorious, we were making progress. We all left "Forever 21", and went into "Victoria Secret". When we walked in, Lucie and Cordelia looked horrified at all the bras and underwear, and Anna was grinning gleefully. She was starting to become my favourite.

"What--what is this place?" Lucie asked, wide eyed.

I laughed. "It's called Victoria's Secret."

"I understand why it is a secret." Cordelia said, looking around, astonished.

"I love it in here!" Anna exclaimed. "I want to try on everything!"

She then raced away, grabbing bras off off every rack. I chuckled.

"Is she always like this?" I asked, amused.

Lucie laughed. "Yes. Her father always get's angry with her, for being such a rebel."

"I can see why." I chuckled. "Do you two want to try on anything?"

They both looked uncomfortable.

"It's not exactly proper..." Cordelia trailed off.

"Oh who cares! C'mon Cordy!" Lucie linked her arm through Cordelia's and they both ran off after Anna.

Cristina and I watched them go, chuckling.

"What have we done?" I asked, amused.

"I have no idea." She smiled.

Cristina and I then browsed through the racks. Long story short, we spent an hour and a half in "Victoria's Secret", since Anna wanted to try basically everything on. She ended up buying a lot of bras and underwears, I couldn't even count how many. Lucie and Cordelia both bought two sets each. Cristina and I only bought one.

"That was fun!" Anna grinned, as walked out of the store.

"It was, in a strange way." Cordelia agreed.

We all chuckled, and then we went home. When we walked into the Institute, all the boys were sitting in the living room. Mark's eyes immediately found Cristina, and they stared at each other, sadly.

"What were you all doing?" Matthew asked, curiously.

"We went bra shopping." Anna grinned happily.

All the boys looked very uncomfortable, at her words, and turned pink.

"I regret asking." Matthew shuddered.

Us girls laughed.

"Oh grow up, Matthew." Cordelia rolled her eyes, amused.

He only shivered again, and looked at James, who looked very uncomfortable. I looked over at Julian, to see that he was looking back at me, seeming amused. At his stare, I pulled up my sweater. I wouldn't want anyone to see the hickeys he had left on my neck. They would be tough to explain. I looked back over at Cristina, to see that her and Mark were still staring at each other.

"Cristina, do you want to help me make dinner?" I asked.

She and Mark snapped out of their trance, and Cristina mumbled a yes, and followed me into the kitchen.

"Thanks." She sighed, as she put her bag down. "I can't even be around him, without doing that."

"You mean that stare you two were giving each other, that looked like you wanted to rip each other's clothes off?" I grinned, teasingly.

Cristina rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Yes, that."

"Don't worry." I shook my head. "It's like Cordelia said. Mark will realize what he's lost and come back to you. Just wait."

She sighed. "I don't know if I can."

"You're Cristina freakin Rosales. Yes, you can." I grinned.

She laughed. "What would I do without you, Emma?"

I only laughed. "I don't know."