!It was the first day of autumn. The trees were now filled with bright warm colors and the smell of freshly baked cookies from a nearby bakery filled the air as Clary walked her way to her high school. Autumn was her favorite season of all; it contained the perfect combination of sun and wind, it gave everyone a new opportunity of new beginnings, and the colors of warmth and sunshine matched Clary's natural red hair. She was really looking forward to the new school year, especially since she was going to graduate and go to college next year.

Once she reached her high school, she spotted her best friend of eleven years, Simon Lewis. He looked the same as he did since elementary school: messy brown hair, dark glasses that were always sliding dangerously off his nose, infamous gamer shirts, and ripped sneakers. They had not seen each other since a few months ago, since Simon had to drive down to Florida to visit his sister, Rebecca, who graduated from college that summer. Although Clary and Simon talked almost everyday during those few months, Clary still felt a little lonely. But now, he was there, leaning on a locker that was right next to Clary's, reading a comic book. Clary felt extreme happiness, something she had not exactly felt in a long time.

"Hey," Clary said to Simon, who jumped from the sudden sound, causing him to accidentally drop his comic book.

With his hand over his heart, Simon sighed mockingly, a wide grin forming automatically at the sight of her. "You have got to stop scaring me like that." He reached down to retrieve his comic book and opened the locker that was on the right of hers, pulling out a textbook. Clary smiled at the fact that they have lockers right next to each other.

"I did not scare you. You're just too easy." Clary opened the lock on her locker door and pulled out one of her many sketchbooks and her English notebook. She turned toward him and pointed a finger. "You need to be more observant, Lewis."

"I am observant. I was just . . . too preoccupied at the moment."

"Really? Reading," Clary peered at what was on his hands, "Daredevil, one of the many series that you've already read?"

"Shut up, Fray. I was actually not reading it." Simon suddenly turned nervous, as if he did not know whether or not he should tell Clary. He scratched his temple. "I . . . I was—something spontaneous happened just a few minutes before you came."

"Really? What happened?"

"Well . . . isabellelightwoodapproachedme."

Clary was momentarily confused until she pieced the jumbled words into a coherent sentence. "Wait, seriously? The famous Isabelle Lightwood approached you?"

"Yeah. Apparently she just wanted help with some chemistry. But still! Just the fact that she even walked toward me!"

"Yeah, that's pretty spontaneous, all right." Checking her watch only to find out that they still have five minutes until the first bell rings for first period, Clary leaned her elbow inside her opened locker and sighed. "Do you like her?"

"Like her?" Simon's eyes widened. "Well—I mean—kind of?" Clary laughed. "No! I mean that she was so . . . alluring, you know?"

Clary shrugged. "I guess." She closed her locker door and looked at him speculatively. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, did you agree to helping her out with chemistry?"

"What, did you think I was ever gonna say no?"

"No, not that. I just hope that you're intelligent enough to take her out to dinner whenever she passes a test."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Of course. I'm not that stupid."

Clary nodded. "Good boy," she said while patting his shoulder.

After four periods of the day had passed by, Clary could not wait to eat her lunch, for she was starving since third period. As she walked her way to her locker, she was surprised to see that Simon was not there. Usually, Simon was always at their lockers first just because he liked to. Clary did not know if there was any other reason.

Once she reached her locker, she opened her locker and pulled out her lunch. As she was putting her brown paper bag that contained her sandwich into her green backpack, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning the other way, since Simon would always try to trick her that way, she saw the most handsome man she ever saw with her two eyes.

The man was absolutely golden, to say the least. His hair was blonde and curly, one of Clary's weaknesses, and his skin seemed to radiate hotness with its golden tone. He seemed strong, as Clary suspected that he had muscled arms and chest underneath his plain black t-shirt. It was stupid that this man seemed to be at least six feet; Clary had to look up to his face which literally stole her breath. Sharp cheekbones, strong jawline, eyes the color of the sun. She had absolutely no idea why this man even approached her in the first place.

"Hello," the man said and oh no this man is British! "I am new here and I need help finding the office. Could you help me?"

Although Clary was somewhat in a trance due to his beautifully structured face—a face that she would love to draw on a daily basis—she could not help but be skeptical of his question. "Really? You need help finding the office after already being in school for four periods?"

The man smirked slowly and put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, you got me. I just wanted to talk to you."

Clary smiled, shaking her head a little. "Why do you wanna talk to me? I'm pretty sure there are other people in the world that are much more interesting when it comes to conversations."

"Judging by this conversation, I'd say you're pretty interesting so far."

Clary laughed. "Is that pickup line supposed to work on me? Cause it's not working, buddy."

The man stepped forward. Clary felt her heart beat faster throughout her chest and neck. "Are you sure? Cause from what I'm inferring from this so-called pickup line, you didn't run away. Or better yet, slap me."

"So what you're saying is that you've been slapped due to a pickup line?"

"Now, that is one of the many stories you'll hear when I take you out to dinner."

Clary hated and loved his confident state, and she refused to give in. Just because it was fun, and honestly she had never flirted like this before. She liked it. A lot.

Since Simon could not attend lunch with Clary (for an unspoken reason which made her suspect a black haired beauty and her help with chemistry), Clary learned a lot about the new man. Jace Herondale was his name. He was a senior, like Clary, and wanted to major in English literature and journalism. Clary mentioned that she wanted to major in fine arts and humanities, for she was in love with art and its roots and progressions. Jace commented that he could see Clary successful in that particular field, which made her blush furiously. Not once did her father and brother ever showed any acceptance of her chosen field. They both believed that the field did not exactly fulfill the requirements of being a Morgenstern, which were being wealthy and powerful. Valentine, her father, expected her to show fascination towards business and making connections with powerful people who were alumni in very prestigious schools, such as Harvard and Yale, but Clary could not care less. She wanted to go to schools that were not all about money.

Ever since her mother died from a gradual progression of tuberculosis, Clary never really felt love from her father and brother. She did not know much of her mother, since Jocelyn passed away when Clary was two years old, but Clary could briefly remember the soft feel of a hug and the thump of a steady heart rate. She heavily relied on that small but precious feeling whenever she felt down. This is one of the many reasons why she preferred her last name to be Fray instead of Morgenstern. She felt that she was closer to her mother in this way.

Clary learned many things about Jace Herondale. As they were walking to Clary's locker, one thing she had learned was that for his fifth birthday, he wanted to bathe himself in spaghetti. Clary did not think she could ever laugh so hard since Simon named his band "Sea Vegetable Conspiracy".

Jace chuckled - a sound that made Clary feel weak - and became defensive. "Hey, I was five, okay? I thought bathing in spaghetti was pretty cool."

"No you didn't that it would be 'cool'," Clary retorted, still laughing. She pointed a finger at him. "You thought that you could've turned into some amazing superhero in which you could spurt out spaghetti at the bad guys."

Jace immediately stopped walking, making Clary stop and turn around to look at him. He looked incredulous of her. He shook his head, biting his lip - oh my god - and looked into her eyes. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"

Clary did not say anything, mostly because she did not really know how to respond to that. She just gave him a small smile and turned around to walk to her locker, which was a few classrooms away. Once they reached her locker, Jace said, "Hey . . . I was wondering if you're free this Satur-"

"Clary!"

Clary turned towards the voice; it was Simon, running up to her in a frantic pace. He eventually came up to her in a few seconds, panting furiously. "Clary! I have to go early."

Clary was confused. "What? Why?"

Simon sighed internally, his voice suddenly breaking. "Rebecca's in the hospital - her kidney is acting up again."

"Oh no, Simon," Clary mumbled as she drew in him in her embrace. "She's gonna be alright, okay? Go to the hospital. I'll come over after school." Simon nodded, holding her tighter. "Simon, hey," Clary pulled back and held his face. She could feel his tears on his cheeks, "she's going to be alright. Nothing's gonna happen to her."

Simon nodded again and pulled away from her, swiping the tears from his face. "Please be there," he pleaded. Clary nodded, her heart breaking at his depressed state. Simon was not usually like this. He was always optimistic; something serious must have happened to Rebecca. Rebecca's problems with her kidneys were not uncommon, but this seemed . . . more dangerous.

As Simon left, Clary leaned against her locker and put her head in her hands. She heard a soft "Hey" and turned her head towards Jace. She momentarily forgot that Jace was right next to her - it seemed that Simon just never noticed him. Jace gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Like you said, everything is going to be alright." He said softly, as if he knew what he was talking about.

Clary knew that he was right, but she still felt despair for Simon and Rebecca and their deserving parents. She could not help but lean against Jace and laid her head against his warm chest. He held her there, even when the bell rang for fifth period had passed.