"Welcome to New York" by Taylor Swift
When we first dropped our bags
On apartment floors
Took our broken hearts
Put them in a drawer
Everybody here was someone else before
And you can want who you want
Boys and boys and girls and girls
Welcome to New York
It's been waiting for you
Welcome to New York
"You have got to be kidding me." Clarissa Fray looked up and down at the strange blonde man standing in the apartment. Her new apartment.
His bemused expression was almost comical as he blinked at her. "What are you doing in my apartment?"
"What?" she spluttered. "I should be the one asking you that. Hold on." Clarissa picked up her phone and dialed her #1 speed dial. "Simon. You said I was moving into your friend's old apartment right?"
The stranger stared at her in confusion as her eyes widened. "When were you planning on telling me that your friend was letting his cousin live here too?" With a huff, she hung up.
"Jace Wayland, I presume?"
"What are you doing in my apartment?" he repeated, leaning back against the wall comfortably and tapping his foot.
Clarissa blushed in embarrassment. "I'm Clarissa Fray and I just moved to New York City from California. My friend Simon Lewis told me that he hooked me up with a new apartment. He didn't tell me that I would have a new roommate though." She paused. "And judging from your expression, you didn't know either."
"Well, I did want to live alone. But if I did have to have a roommate, you're not bad on the eyes," he winked. "Why don't I help you unpack."
She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm living with a womanizer."
"It won't be bad, I promise. I don't snore, according to the girls I have slept with."
"Mhm," she acknowledged, skeptical. By the time she had unpacked all of her clothes and set up her workplace, she frowned at the clock. It was six in the evening already. She walked across the hall to Jace's bedroom. It was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open and stepped in. Expecting to see him sitting at his desk, she was instead treated to a shirtless Jace stepping out of the shower.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" he asked calmly, crossing his arms—his very muscular arms—across his chest. "Or did you come in to sightsee?"
Blushing furiously, Clarissa spun around and faced the wall. "I just wanted to ask if you knew any good restaurants near here. Also, close the door fully next time you shower."
"I'm not sure a closed door will keep a hormonal woman out of my room," he teased. "You can turn around now."
He had pulled on a light blue dress shirt and was now drying his hair.
"Why are you so dressed up? Got another date tonight?" She looked down at her own attire—a "I hate Mondays" sweater and leggings—and frowned. I'm such a loser. I need to get married before I turn 30 or I'm going to be an old maid, she thought grimly.
"Well, yes, actually," Jace replied, pulling on a blazer and straightening his tie. "With you. Didn't you ask about restaurants? I know a really good one downtown but it's formal attire. Get dressed, honey." His elevator eyes roamed up and down her lazy day outfit. "On second thought, I think I'll have to plan your outfit for you. Since you obviously have no sense of fashion."
Before she could protest, he barged into her closet and started searching through her dresses. He muttered occasionally to himself before he found an elegant red gown. "This one will do. Pair it with some black heels and gold earrings and you'll be stunning."
"Are you sure you're not gay?"
He huffed indignantly before returning to his own room. "Don't worry about locking your door when you change. I'm not sure there's anything I want to see, anyways." Jace closed his own door shut before Clarissa could respond.
"Is it too late to move out and find a new apartment?" she moaned to herself. After putting on the outfit that Jace had designated, she grabbed her curling wand and fixed her hair. She put on some black eyeliner and swiped on some bright red lipstick. A few minutes later, she heard Jace knocking on her door.
"Clarissa! The reservation is at 7:30 so we need to get going."
"You're so impatient," she grumbled as she stepped out. Hearing no response, she looked up and met Jace's gold-speckled eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed once as he swallowed.
"You look stunning," he said simply, his voice sounding a little husky.
Clarissa blushed. "Thanks. You look great in that suit, too. Very classy."
"May I?" her roommate extended an arm and she took it. "My car is parked in the parking garage downstairs."
He guided her toward a shiny new BMW and she gave it an approving look. "I spent two years saving up for a car like that and I ended up spending the money on a vacation to Hawaii with my ex."
"Ex? He must have been dumb to let go of you."
"'Let go'," she repeated. "That's a nice substitute for 'dumped'."
Jace's expression tightened but he didn't respond. He opened the passenger door for her before sliding into the driver's seat. He handed her his iPhone, which was connected to the car via an auxiliary cord. "Go ahead and pick whatever music you want to listen to."
She gave him a sly grin. "Really?" She scanned his music quickly before gasping. "You actually have Taylor Swift on your phone!" Within seconds, "You Belong With Me" was playing shamelessly out the open windows. "No shame," Clarissa said defensively when he looked at her weirdly.
"Not going to lie," he said slowly, "Taylor Swift is my jam."
She gasped before giggling. "Me too! Jace, we're basically soul-mates," she teased, turning away before she could observe the strange look that flitted across his face.
When they arrived at the Italian restaurant, they were guided toward a table lit by candlelight. "So," Jace asked, "what brings you to New York?"
"I work as a doctor and they opened up a new clinic here, so I decided to transfer. San Francisco got kind of boring. How about you? How long have you been living in that apartment?"
Jace nodded thoughtfully. "You seem like the kind of person who would want to help others. I actually moved here three months ago. I was working as a CFO at my dad's company but I'm taking a break."
"You can just 'take a break' as a CFO?"
"Well." Jace shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "To be honest, it really is just a euphemism for getting fired. My girlfriend cheated on me and I became unmotivated to work. My dad kicked me out because I wasn't fulfilling my responsibilities. I moved here to get over her, and then I'm planning on getting my job back."
"Ambitious," Clarissa remarked, eating a forkful of her salad. "Are you over your girlfriend then?"
Jace paused before answering. "I just got the last push I needed to forget her, so yes."
She cocked her head in confusion, her brown curls almost falling into her food. "Care to elaborate?"
"Maybe one day," he responded cryptically. He smirked at her disappointed expression.
"Fine, be mysterious," she pouted. Her phone beeped and she read the new text she had received. "Looks like I might have to cut our 'date' short," she said apologetically, showing him the text.
From: Simon Lewis. "Hey, if you have nothing better to do tonight, come over to my house and we can marathon 'Prison Break'."
"He only said to go if you have nothing better to do," Jace responded, his voice unintentionally taking on a whining tone. "And I'm fairly certain that you have better things to do."
She sighed. "Alright, 'Prison Break' can wait until after dinner then."
"And I actually agreed to go a rave tonight," her roommate quickly added. "So unless you want to walk home, you're going to have to accompany me to that."
"You have got to be kidding me," she complained, taking a furious bite of her pasta. "Day one and my roommate is already blackmailing me." However, she sent off a quick text to Simon. "I'm ditching my best friend for you, so this rave better be good."
He watched her for a minute before smirking. "Let me take a wild guess and say that you've never been to a rave before."
She glared at him for a minute before relinquishing. "Is it that obvious?"
"Well, your room is freakishly neat and you have piles of research papers on your desk instead of Vogue magazines. That kind of screams workaholic."
"And this is why I'm still hopelessly single."
Jace glanced at his roommate again. "I'm sure you'll find a lot of eligible bachelors in your time in New York."
"That's the hope, anyways. Maybe I'll find a cute doctor in the clinic."
"Maybe you don't even need to look that far."
"What do you mean?"
The waitress stepped in and handed Jace the check. Clarissa rolled her eyes. "There is no way I'm letting you pay for my food." She snatched the receipt and raised an eyebrow at it, before handing it back. "On second thought, I don't think this was meant for me."
He took it questioningly and read the note on top in cursive. "You're cute. If you ever decide to ditch your date, call me: (212) 315- 1991."
"Don't worry, babe, I would never ditch you for her," he joked, pulling out his credit card. "Alright, are you ready to go?"
"Yep. You were right, by the way, this restaurant is wonderful."
"It seems I have good taste."
Five steps into the rave and Clarissa already wanted to back out. "There's so many people here," she whispered to Jace. He caught her when a drunk girl almost accidentally tripped her.
"Trust me, it'll be fun. Let's go to the dance floor. Are you any good at dancing?"
"Not at all," she responded adamantly.
"What about drinking? Can you hold your liquor?"
She repeated her earlier sentence and Jace ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Clarissa, you're no fun," he complained.
"Sorry. This is what you get for dragging a doctor out of her comfort zone," she laughed.
Jace put a hand on the small of her back and continued guiding her deeper and deeper into the crowd. Suddenly, his hand met resistance and Clarissa started backing up.
"What's wrong?"
"No way," she murmured softly in response. She turned heel and started walking towards the bar.
"Shot of whiskey please?"
Jace slid into the bar stool next to her. "I thought you said you couldn't drink."
He sat there silently as he watched her down the alcohol and ask for more. Three drinks later, he stopped the bartender who was about to hand her another shot glass. "You give her any more whiskey," he threatened firmly, "and I'll make sure you lose your job." Jace turned his attention back to his roommate.
"It's my ex. He's here," she confided hysterically, collapsing against his shoulder. "I didn't know he was in New York. You might be over your ex-girlfriend but I'm still hung up on Sebastian."
Jace froze. Sebastian was a regular at many of the parties that Jace had gone to. And as far as Jace knew, he was definitely someone to avoid.
"Oh my god, he's coming this way. Hide me," Clarissa muttered, her words slightly slurred.
"Clary!" a tall, black-haired man approached them, a pretty brunette by his side. "I didn't know you came to New York."
She reluctantly turned and forced a smile. "I just got here."
"Well, it certainly is nice to see you. I'm sorry about the way things ended between us, but I'm glad to have run into you again. Would you like to dance?"
Jace snaked an arm around Clarissa's waist and patted Sebastian's shoulder with his other hand. "Actually, she's taken."
"Jace Wayland, is it? I've seen you around. I also heard you have a new girl every night. Do you think you could spare my ex for a few minutes though? I'd really like to fix the way our relationship ended." Sebastian reached out and pulled Clarissa's hand. "Let's go outside to talk, baby."
"How about no." Jace grabbed Sebastian's hand and loosened it from Clarissa and pulled his roommate behind him. "Come on, Clarissa."
He guided his slightly tipsy roommate to the dance floor. "Is it okay if I put my hands here?" he asked, hands hovering tentatively around her waist.
"Mhm," she murmured, leaning into him. "Thanks for saving me. You smell really good."
Jace laughed as he watched her bounce around awkwardly. "No wonder you said you couldn't dance."
"Shut up, Wayland. Let's see you dance."
As the crowd slowly thinned, Clarissa headed back to the bar. "Hey, can I have another shot of whiskey?'
The bartender nervously glanced at her. "I really don't think that's a good idea. Especially considering your boyfriend."
"You're supposed to give me alcohol, not deny it. Are we back in the ages of prohibition?" she complained loudly.
"I'm glad to see you value your job," Jace said, gliding next to Clarissa and giving the bartender an approving look. "Clarissa, you've already had too much to drink. Let's go."
He guided her towards her car and seated her next to him.
As he drove home, she suddenly rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for today, Jace. It was fun. And you saved me from Seb."
"I enjoyed our date, Clarissa," he responded sincerely. He helped his drunk roommate up the stairs to their apartment and led her to her bedroom. When she collapsed into her bed, however, she dragged Jace with her. Surprised, he landed on bed right on top of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't go."
He winced at the awkwardness of the situation. "Clarissa, I'm Jace, not Sebastian."
"I know," she said softly and kissed him.
When Clarissa woke up the next day with a pounding headache, she trudged out of her bedroom to the kitchen, where Jace was already seated with breakfast.
"So, how much do you remember about last night?" he asked hesitantly.
She nonchalantly grabbed a glass and poured milk into it. "Nothing at all," she lied.
Hope you liked the first chapter! Like I mentioned in the summary for this, I was challenged by my friend to write one-shots of Clace based off of pop lyrics. I'll be taking suggestions from you guys for the future chapters though. Thanks for taking the time to read!
~BubblyFanatic