Adam worked on his studies for a couple of hours, ignoring the Shadowhunter book for the time being. Eventually he crept out of his room to seek food, hoping to find Izzy before he encountered any of the others. Jace seemed like the worst, in a way. Maryse was intolerable, but she wanted something from Adam and he could handle any interactions with her if necessary. If Jace had heard that Adam had been awful to Alec, it probably wouldn’t matter that Adam had strategic value.

Izzy had seemed more approachable than some of the others, and Alec had spoken highly of her. Adam had already consulted with her on a couple of technical things as they all monitored the ley line’s interactions with the Institute’s systems, but he didn’t expect that she would continue being nice to him if Alec told her that Adam was a difficult person who had treated him cruelly. He tapped lightly at the door to her room, entering when he heard Izzy say 'come in'.

But when he did walk in, seeing Alec there, Adam froze just inside the door, cheeks going pink. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." He took a quick step back, looking a bit panicked.

"It's okay," Izzy said. Adam looked so spooked, as though he thought Alec was going to bite him, and Izzy felt bad for him, even though she still felt protective of her brother. She looked to Alec to gauge his reaction. "Is it okay?"