A/N: Some characters are going to be out of character here, so please don't hate me for that. I love them all as much as you do. This an AU story so none of them are shadowhunters or anything related to the shadow world. Please review and give me your views on this, I would love to get suggestions from you guys. So keep reading!
Summary - AU - When Clary, a teenager, becomes a victim of cyber-bullies, she and her mother move to a new place. However, her traumatic past haunts their lives. Starting over at a new school, romantic interests and the poignant lessons from an eccentric history teacher draw them out of seclusion until they realize confronting a hurtful past is essential to ensure a brighter future.

CLARY

We had left in the middle of the night, so that no one would notice. Mum had found a job at a school in a town a few hours away. She didn't want to leave the old school in the middle of the year, but the brick that came in through the window had been the last straw. It had missed me by inches, and mum had finally agreed that it was no longer safe to stay there. We left it all that night – the school where everything had gone wrong for me, my supposed 'friends', the graffiti all over our door and front yard, the place where I had tried to kill myself. And yet I wasn't relieved. They could follow me to the new place; they could ruin me there too. I had told mum that it wasn't far enough, but it was the only place she could find a job in the middle of the year. Those memories were going to haunt me my entire life, she said, whether I ran a hundred miles away or a thousand. And deep down, I know she was right. But when we finally reached, I did not feel free. I felt more caged, more controlled than when I had been there. Because they had got what they wanted, I had given in to them even though I was the one who was right, even though I had done nothing wrong.

When I slept, even though I was in a new pace where they couldn't have found me so soon, I kept imagining them outside leering, throwing stones with letters full of hate through the window. I jumped up at the smallest noises; the wind whistling outside sounded like their insults, the doors creaking reminded me of the times they'd tried to sneak into our house. I couldn't get a proper night's sleep, but there was no school the next day so I wasn't bothered. I didn't have to face that the next day itself – a new school, new people who didn't know what happened to me, who hopefully wouldn't judge me. I had made a vow to remain "under the radar" and not get noticed here, because the last time I had got noticed, it had ruined my life. If it made me look like a loner then fine, it was way better than what Helen and Aline had done to me. So this was going to be all work and no play for me – no friends, no boyfriends, and most of all, no drama.

We had unpacked and set up everything that night itself, so there was no need to do anything in the morning. I stayed inside all day, watching movies with my mum until she absolutely had some work to complete. Then I unpacked my laptop, for the first time in weeks, and opened up a word document. The cursor was blinking at me, daring me to do it. I had come to this point three times since the INCIDENT, but I had never gone further. I just didn't have the guts, and I had finally left everything behind, there was no sense in me posting this and starting the whole thing again. I shut it down with a sigh.

I put up the picture of me and mum right next to the table, where I could always see it. It was before the whole thing started, when we were all happy and Helen hadn't auditioned for that part yet.

Mum had tried to get me to take drama in the new school, but I refused. I told her that I didn't have time for it in my busy schedule, bit I think she knew the real reason why. The truth was that I couldn't bear to ever take drama again, after all that had happened. After I had seen what a girl would do just for the lead. Like mum said, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." And that was what had happened – What Helen did to me was worse than anything in hell – and all for the lead part in a Shakespeare play. If I had known what was going to happen, I would have given her the part with no hesitation. But I hadn't known.

A/N: So how was it? This is a pretty short chapter but it's only the beginning. Tell me if you like it and if it's worth -continuing! For all of you that don't know, Nowhere Safe is a movie about cyber bullying. You can go check it out if you like, it's pretty nice. Please review and tell me whatever you feel is good or should be changed! I might use your suggestions.

Thanks for reading!
-ExterminateTheButterflies