Clary looked up from the scrap of paper in her hand, scrawled on it was an address. In front of her was a large dark building. The twisting spires at the top have away the gothic architecture. A dirty looking sign told her it was where she was supposed to be: "The Institute". Someone had written under that "Apartments" in cramped writing. It used to be a boarding house for children attending the college preparatory school down the street, Google told her, but when the school closed the building had been made into apartments. And now, she, Clary Fray, was finally moving out of the cramped dorms of her art school into her first apartment. Clary had been desperate to get out of the dorms from the moment she moved in, they were cramped, dirty, and her ex boyfriend, Simon lived down the hall. While scanning the classifieds, an ad for a quiet, intelligent, and fun roommate caught her eye. Clary had emailed jacey07 right away and in a week had put a 3-month deposit down. Now she was finally moving in, and couldn't wait to meet her roommate Jacey. Clary pushed the buzzer for apartment 3, and the door buzzed quickly to let her in. Clutching her suitcase, she started up the long flight of steps to the door with the twisting 3 on it. Clary opened the door with her new key and looked around. There were plenty of windows in the open floor kitchen living room. The TV was on and Clary saw a boy lounged on the sofa. He stood up quickly when Clary coughed awkwardly. When she saw him fully she longed for her art supplies. The boy was all perfect angles, and golden. Golden hair, skin, even eyes. To Clary he looked like an angel and the perfect subject for her next painting.
"Hey," he said in a honey smooth voice, "you must be Clary, welcome."
The boy walked over and extended a hand. Then Clary realized the boy wasn't wearing a shirt. She blushed and shook his outstretched hand.
"Are you Jacey's boyfriend?" She mumbled, looking at her shoes.
"What?" He asked confused.
"Are you Jacey's boyfriend?" She asked louder.
A look of realization dawned on the perfect boy's face. "My name is Jace Lightwood, and I am your new roommate." He said, amusement coloring his features.
Clary's eyes widened, "You're a boy?" She gasped.
"Last time I checked," Jace laughed, "there seems to be some confusion, sit down let's figure this out," he gestured to the couch and Clary sat awkwardly.
"I thought you were a girl!" Clary blurted out, "by your ad, and email, I thought your name was Jacey!"
"Yeah, my sister made me that email a long time ago, and I never thought to change it. I was pretty sure you were a girl though," he said, running a long fingered hand through his hair, "I thought we'd get along well, you seem pretty cool, I hope this isn't a problem."
Clary blushed again, "I am so stupid!" She said, feeling tears welling in her eyes, "I spent all that money in the deposit." She looked up at Jace, "is there a cheap motel nearby?" She asked.
"Huh?" He replied, "You're not staying?"
"No," she said, "this was a mistake, I can probably move back to the dorms until I save enough money again." Clary stood up, suitcase in hand and went over to the door, "Bye Jace, sorry for wasting your time," she called. Jace just stared at her.
Clary went out the door and was almost to the door when she heard someone call out, "Clary! Wait!" It was Jace, still shirtless, running down the steps gracefully. He put a hand on her arm as he caught up to her. "You already leased the apartment, please, don't go. I think we'll get along well. Besides, I'm the perfect gentleman, I won't let the big scary city corrupt little Clare-bear!"
Clary hated that name, she grimaced at him. Then made a spur of the moment decision, "Fine, I'll stay," she said, "Until the three months are up." Jace grinned wildly. "But," she said, "there will be some rules, first, don't call me Clare-bear, we'll discuss more rules as we go, but now, you're strong," she gestured to his well toned stomach and he moved his eyebrows suggestively. "Help me move my stuff," she said pointing outside to an old truck that just pulled up. "And come meet my mother and stepfather"
Jace's eyes widened, then looked down at his bare chest. "Your parents are here?" He asked incredulously.
"Of course," she replied, "my first apartment and Luke has a truck. You told me I needed to bring a bed."
"Are there clothes in there?" Jace gestured to the suitcase in Clary's hands. She nodded. "Give me the biggest shirt in there" he commanded. Clary looked at him wearily before opening the suitcase. She looked through everything and finally found a tie-dye tank top that fit her like a dress she used to sleep in. 'How do you even art?' Was printed on the front. Jace gave her a funny look and Clary shrugged as he pulled the brightly colored top over him. It was just a bit too small.
"How do I look?" Jace posed.
Clary giggled and went to greet her parents.
AN: Hope you like it! I'll try to update with the next chapter soon though I have finals this week! Reviews always make me happy and motivate me to update faster!
