Finally.
As Clary looked out of the window of her train, that was the only word that came to her mind. She was finally going to Idris Academy to do what she wanted to, what her mother wanted her to.
Her eyes went to her fingers, which were unusually lean and long, those of an artist. A small scar on her ring finger made her heart pang sharply, bringing many unwanted memories. She closed her eyes, trying to stash them away in some dark, deep corner, but they weren't to be denied.
He left you. Deal with it. The rational, more prominent voice in her head said. He never did care for you.
And yet, there was a small, almost insignificant whisper which was impossible to ignore. Didn't he? Then why did he still keep looking at you when he thought you didn't know? What did his eyes say, Clary?
And despite her strong denial, his gold eyes flashed across her mind, as clear as crystal.
The way he called her Clarissa, stressing lightly on the last syllable.
The way darkness clouded his perfectly sculpted features when he was angry.
And the way his eyes looked at her blankly, refusing to acknowledge the pain that she was sure was visible on her face when he left her.
A tear sparkled on her lashes, but she refused to let it drop.
She was used to people leaving her.
…
As she pushed opened the glass door that entered to a huge glass building, Clary stepped up to the counter and pulled out a paper from her purse. "Hi. I'm Clarissa Fray." She said, handing her acceptance letter to the receptionist. "From Shadowhunter's Academy."
The woman glanced at the letter before her face broke into a very wide smile. "Welcome to Idris Institute of Music, ma'am. Can I see your Identity card?" Clary slid the laminated paper across the counter to the woman whose name tag said Kaelie. She scanned it before handing her a plastic key card.
"Your workshop begins from tomorrow morning at the University. Your room number is 2306, the balcony suite, which you'll be sharing with the other student selected from your college, –" She glanced at the computer screen in front of her, "Jacie Wayland."
Clary suddenly turned white, her knuckles gripping the counter hard. "Wh – what did you say?" Her heart thudded against chest, making it hard to breathe. There was no Jacie in her school. And there was only one Wayland.
One whom she knew quite well.
Kaelie looked up, mildly surprised. "It says Jacie Wayland." She repeated. "She's due to join today." She looked at Clary strangely before she turned her gaze back to the screen.
Clary sank onto the sofa near her, her head clasped in her hands. Flashes of unwanted memories passed in front of her eyes, making it even harder to get air in her lungs. Please, let it be a mistake. She wanted to scream, but no voice came out. I can't do this anymore.
Suddenly, goosebumps erupted all over her skin, as if her body somehow knew before her brain that he was here. She felt him long before the faint sound of his low, slightly husky voice hit her ears.
"Jace Wayland, Shadowhunters' Academy."
And that was it.
Her body seemed to work on itself as she got up from the sofa, picking up her bag and moving to the counter. She could feel his surprised eyes on her, but she didn't dare look back at him. She just couldn't.
And then, she was standing next to him, the closest she had been since the past one year. Her head swam as his familiar scent took over her senses, suffocating her.
When she spoke, however, she sounded cold and hard. Like always.
"There has clearly been some confusion here." She raised her eyebrows at Kaelie, who was typing at her computer furiously now, trying to find Jace's name in the list. "There's no Jacie in our school." Clary waited patiently, glaring at the receptionist.
Kaelie finally gave up, sighing before giving the two of them an apologetic glace. "His form here," she pointed to the screen, "says Jacie. It seems your school made a mistake while sending in the details."
Clary raised her eyebrows. "So, well, give me the keys to a different room now." Swallowing the huge lump in her throat, she continued. "He can stay in 2306."
It hurt to talk about him, but she was sure her voice hadn't shaken at all.
"Umm – about that." Kaelie twisted her fingers nervously. "We only have fifty rooms here, and each room has been allotted to specific colleges. Yours, well – we thought you were both girls, so …"
"Well, as you can clearly see, we're not." Clary snapped. "So, give me the keys to some other room." Her heart thumped, and she could feel her head throbbing. This was not going well.
"I would've for sure Ma'am, had there been some free room. But there isn't." Kaelie finally said. "You two will have to share rooms now, I'm sorry."
"Are you kidding me?" Clary gasped. "Doesn't this place have any ethics? He's a guy. I'm a girl. You want us to share rooms?" Clary felt him inhale deeply behind her, but she couldn't seem to care. "Do something, you moron! Can't you hear me?" She shouted, her nerves fraying.
Kaelie sighed, as if she had heard this a lot before. "I'm really sorry, ma'am, and had we known that he's a guy, we would've booked two single rooms for you. But you don't have to worry about your safety. There are two separate bedrooms with locks inside, and there's some pepper spray at the – "
"For Christ's sake, you bimbo, you think I'm scared he'll rape me?" Clary almost screamed, her hands itching to slap her. She suddenly realized what she had said when she felt him stiffen next to her, his hands curling into fists, but she didn't care. She couldn't stay in the same room as him for the next two months. There was a limit to which she could bear pain.
"Can't you – just change our rooms? I'm ready to stay with anybody else." Clary pleaded. "Please?"
Kaelie sighed. "All single accommodation rooms are booked, Ma'am. I understand how you feel, but nothing can be done."
You don't understand how I feel, bitch! You didn't fall in love with a man who left you, and now you want me to share a room with him? Are you fucking crazy? Clary desperately wanted to shout, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. Just like they couldn't when he left her that night in the rain.
Kaelie seemed to see the tension between the two of them, as she cleared her throat. "We do have a bedroom free in one of the double room suites, but the other room be occupied by a guy as well, so it will be the same."
Clary's head shot up, her eyes bright. She could bear with living with a stranger, not with him. Just as she opened her mouth to say yes to Kaelie, Jace beat her to it.
"That won't be necessary." He stepped up, taking part in the conversation for the first time. "I'll take up a room in some other hotel close by. Clarissa can take the suite."
Clary couldn't help but look at him at that, her emerald eyes burning with fury. His cool, expressionless eyes met hers, refusing to acknowledge the fire that burned inside them.
Clarissa felt hot all over, her hands longing to break something. She knew perfectly that he was aware that the closest hotel to Idris Academy was more than fifteen miles away, and it didn't make it easier that he was giving up his own comfort for her. At that moment, she hated him more than she ever had.
"I'm sorry Sir, but I'm afraid that's impossible. According to the rules of the University, you have to stay in your allotted rooms." Kaelie sighed, and it was clear she was losing patience. "Please, I'll have to request you to cooperate."
Jace turned to Clary, and for the first time in the evening, she noticed how he had changed in the past year. The light in his gold eyes seemed to have faded, and he looked – tired. There were dark bags under his eyes, and she was sure he hasn't been sleeping well.
"Please, Clarissa." He said, and Clary could feel hot tears burning at the back of her eyes. "Just this once."
Clary wanted to scream, to fight, to cry. She wanted to tell him how he broke her heart, the hate that burned within her for him.
But this was Jace.
And like always, he was the only one to whom she lost, no matter how hard she tried to fight.
Pulling out the room card, she placed it on the counter before walking out from the building into the open air.
She didn't let her tears fall.
…
I'm terrible.
The previous story didn't have a future, but this one does, I swear. I have it all plotted in my head, and I won't let you down.
What do you think? How's Clary? Why is her temper so bad, and from where did she get that scar? And Jace? Does he still have feelings for her? If yes, why did he leave her in the first place?
REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
LOVE YOU.