I was sitting at my kitchen counter, sketching in my notebook when I was interrupted by my phone ringing. I looked at the caller I.D, it was Simon.

"Hey Simon", i said into the phone.

"Happy birthday Clary! So, how does it feel to finally be 16?"

"You know, it doesn't feel any different than yesterday other than getting cards from mom and Luke."

"Yeah but it's still a big deal! We should go out tonight to celebrate. What would you say about going to Pandemonium?"

"Yeah that sounds fun-", I start to say as mom and Luke walk in the front door, bringing in all the groceries. "Let me just check with my mom", I say to Simon. "Hey mom can I go out with Simon tonight?"

"Sure honey, just as long as you're not out too late. Did you hear that Simon?" she said coming over to speak into my phone. "I want you guys back home no later than 11."

"Sure thing Mrs. Fray. 11 it is", said Simon while laughing.

"Cool. So you'll pick me up?", I asked Simon while getting a kiss on the cheek from mom and and my hair ruffled by Luke.

"Yep. I'll text you when I'm on my way. See you later Clary".

"Bye Simon", I said as I hung up. I started to clean up my pencils and art supplies as soon as the call was over, hoping to have as much time as possible to get ready for a night out. After I had eaten, I received a text from Simon saying that he was 10 minutes away. I was opening the door to wait outside as mom called out to me.

"Clary! Before you go, can we talk for a minute? It'll be fast."

I stopped and closed the door, slowing as I walked over to the couch where she was waving me over to. "What is it mom?"

"Come and sit for a second" she said as she patted the spot next to her. I did as she asked. "Luke and I were thinking that we should go on vacation, the three of us. Just until school starts again. I just thought you should know before you go out because we'll be packing all day tomorrow, and I didn't want you to freak out over the sudden change."

I sat there for a second, frozen, thinking about what she said before I responded "why go now? We only have like, 2 weeks before school starts up again, and Luke finished all the work that needed to be done at the farm already right?"

Her smile looked forced as she said "well, yes, but I still think it's a good idea to get away for a little while. Just think," she said with forced enthusiasm, "relaxing in a quiet place with no traffic, just the three of us. You could even paint some nice landscapes out there." She sighed loudly, "I just haven't been able to get much painting done with all the distractions down here, and thought it would be better at the farmhouse".

"Ok mom," I said. "If you think it will help you paint, then I guess we could go. But I need one thing in return."

Mom's face lit up. "Anything."

"I need to be back two days before school starts so I can go to Simon and Erik's back to school party."

Mom beamed. "It's a deal." we hugged, then I stepped out the door. I only had to wait a minute before Simon's van pulled up to the curb. I hopped up into the passenger seat, and had barely even strapped in when Simon stepped on the gas.

"Wow, somebody's excited to get there."

"Sorry", Simon said while he scratched his neck. "We only have until 11, so I thought we should get there as fast as possible."

"Good thinking speed demon", I said as I sank down into my seat.

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Even though it was still fairly early by New York's standards, Pandemonium was already packed when we pulled up. As we got out of the car, we could feel the vibrations of the beat; the music was so loud. I was surprised that they haven't had any major complaints about the noise.

"I guess we better get into line before it gets any longer", said Simon, taking clary's hand and pulling her into the line with him. Pandemonium is the only nightclub that puts on a teen night, which they run once a week, which usually brings a huge swarm of rowdy kids. Getting in is always a hassle because so many other people come out, but to us it's worth the wait because it's a real nightclub, so it's always a raging party complete with music and dancing and drinks. The drinks are non-alcoholic of course, but it's alright because they're cheap enough that we can afford to go once a week, even with the cover fee. After waiting for a little while, the bouncer let us in and it was time to get our party on. We were swaying to the beat, feeling the heat from all the other people around us. Eventually it was too much for Simon, and we escaped the throng of bodies by going to the bar.

"Do you want a drink? I'll pay, my treat" Simon asked me.

I nodded and looked at the drink list. "What are you having Simon? I can't decide".

Simon grinned and replied "I'm having 'The Root of my Problems'. It's root beer mixed with chocolate ice cream. I don't think you'll like that one though".

"No I wouldn't, that sounds awful." I debated between two drinks, one called 'Sunset', which is a mix of orange juice, cranberry juice and sprite, and 'Bubble Cream', which is sprite and vanilla ice cream. I decided to get the 'Bubble Cream' so that both Simon and I would have a drink with ice cream in it. Simon and I sat at the bar and sipped our drinks while watching the other partygoers. There was always a good mix in the crowd. You can see the different groups of people keeping to themselves. The jock and cheerleader types are usually in the middle of the dance floor, mixing a good amount into each other's group. Then you have the arts kids trying to outdo each other's dance moves. There's also small clusters of groups of friends, and lastly the 'scene' kids. They're usually the easiest to pick out because of their brightly coloured hair and flashy tattoos. One small group in the 'scene' group caught my attention. They were covered nearly head to toe in dark black tattoos. The dark haired boy was chatting with the girl while the blond boy stood off to the side and just inspected the crowd. I couldn't see him very well because all the people in between us, but even from here I could tell he was good looking. He was turning my way when Simon snapped me back from my thoughts

"Earth to Clary!" said Simon waving his hand in front of my face.

"Sorry Simon, I was people watching."

Simon smiled. "That's alright. I was just wondering if you wanted to go back on the dance floor."

"Sure".

We moved our way back to where we were dancing. I looked to see if I could spot the cute blond but he had disappeared. We kept dancing for a while, enjoying each other's company and the music. It wasn't until later that I looked around and noticed the place had emptied out a bit. I looked at the time and let out a small yelp.

"Simon! It's 12:40! My mom is going to kill me! We have to leave!"

"Oh my gosh Clarry, I hadn't even noticed! Lets go!" We ran as fast as we could out of the building and into Simons van. We peeled out of the parking lot and took off down the road. The roads weren't as busy as during the day, but now the nightlife traffic was out, and it took longer than expected to get back to my house.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Simon asked me.

"No, it's ok. It's after 1, so I'm kind of hoping my mom has fallen asleep and I can sneak past her."

"Ok. Good luck" Simon said to me as I got out.

"Bye Simon. Thanks for tonight." I closed the door as quietly as possible, hoping to not wake anyone. I tiptoed up the stairs and unlocked the door as quietly as I could, but it still wasn't enough, because whether she had been sleeping or not, mom was ready for me.

"Clarissa Fray! Where have you been?" she shouted at me. I noticed Luke standing off to the side of the room and gave him a pleading glance to get me out of this mess, but he shook his head. I sighed and looked away. "The deal was that you were to be home at 11. It's 1 am! No calls, no texts, I didn't even know where you were! What if you and Simon had crashed and were dead in a ditch? How would I know?" Her face was getting redder the longer she went on.

"I'm sorry mom. We didn't realise how late it was. I was going to call you on the way home when we were slowed down by traffic but I thought you might be sleeping and didn't want to wake you" I said with as much innocence and apology as I could put into my words.

"I worry about you you know?" she said as she enveloped me into a big hug.

I nodded into her shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry".

"I'm still not over this but it's late and we all need to get to bed" she said as she let go of me. "We'll talk about this in the morning".

"Ok", I said wiping my face for tears I hadn't felt. "Night mom, night Luke" I said as I headed to my room.

"Goodnight Clary" Luke and mom said in unison.