"Oh, c'mon, what could possibly go wrong?" Clary pleaded with her mother.
Jocelyn's face was tight, worry and fear evident in her green eyes—the same ones her daughter had inherited.
"Clary—"
"Jocelyn, she'll be within a few metres of me at all times, if anything were to happen I would be there to help in seconds. You know I would never do anything, or suggest anything that would put Clary in a dangerous situation."
Clary looked gratefully over at her best friend, Jace, as he gave her mother his winning smile and reassuring eyes.
"We will have life jackets, flares, EPIRBSs—All the essentials, but you needn't worry, we won't need them," he continued, not missing a beat.
Jocelyn's eyes returned to her daughter, Clary's. She searched her face, staring into the deep emerald eyes that pleaded desperately with her. She looked over to Jace, and saw the confidence and calmness in his entire body. She could see how much the two wanted to do this.
"Josie, they'll be fine. They've been around and in the water for years. They're sensible kids," Luke, Clary's stepfather assured her softly, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Jocelyn turned to face Luke and sighed, knowing when she was beaten.
"Okay, but please be safe out there," she begged the two teenagers in front of her.
Clary's eyes widened with shock and elation.
"Are you serious?!" she squealed. "You're going to let me go?"
"Yes."
Clary squealed and hugged her mother and Luke tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried in elation before turning to her best friend.
He gave her a warm smile, showing off the slight chip in one of his front teeth.
"You ready for the race of a lifetime, Fray?" he teased her lightly, his golden eyes sparkling.
Her green eyes narrowed playfully.
"You're on Herondale."
Clary and Jace raced out of the apartment building and straight to Taki's, their favourite restaurant, where they met up with their friends.
"So, how did it go?" Isabelle asked them excitedly.
Clary and Jace pondered for a moment before smiles broke out.
"We're on baby," Clary laughed, sliding into the booth next to her gorgeous friend. Isabelle Lightwood was stunning. She had endless legs and a lithe body that was extraordinarily complimented by her impeccable fashion sense and long, raven hair.
"Okay, I would like to formally announce myself as our resident bookie, so if anyone would like to place their bets on who wins, I will be open until the hour before they race," Magnus declared.
Magnus Bane was an enigma all of his own. He had Asian features with his olive complexion and slight slant of his bright, green eyes—giving him a cat-like appearance at times. He was also flamboyant and unbelievably gay. He was never without glitter or eye liner. So naturally he chose Alec as his companion.
Alec Lightwood was Isabelle and Jace's brother, and about as straight edge and uptight as they come. Alec was gay as well, however you wouldn't know it to look at him. He rarely wore anything other than black and he would not be caught dead with glitter or make up. He was tall, near 6'3 and had dark, brooding eyes that rarely softened except for when he was with Magnus. They were complete opposites and totally in love.
"I would like to place 100 on myself, thanks Magnus," Jace said with a charming grin.
He slid in next to Simon who scoffed.
"You would," he sneered playfully.
Simon Lewis was a complete geek. He loved everything Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer… Everything you could think of he had played it, tried it, read it or cosplayed it. He was scrawny with messy brown hair and glasses that he was constantly pushing back up his nose.
"Jealousy is unbecoming, Simon," Jace teased back, his mouth stretching into a crooked grin.
Jace Herondale was basically all gold, with long-ish gold hair that curled slightly around the nape of his neck, golden, sun kissed skin and tawny-gold eyes. He had spent many hours playing football, soccer, basketball, baseball, sailing, archery, horse riding—basically doing any physical activity he could. He had built up a substantial amount of muscle and often used it to win girls over. He was cocky and smart mouthed but loyal to those he considered family. His eyes gazed over everyone at the table, this was his family; Izzy, Magnus, Alec, Simon and they finally rested on Clary.
Her eyes caught his as they gleamed mischievously. Clary Fray was his closest friend. The day he had moved in with the Lightwoods when he was 9, she had been there with Izzy. Izzy had not wanted him, saying that she already had one smelly brother and she didn't need another one 'stinking up the place'. Clary had stayed behind while Izzy stomped up to her room, shrieking. Clary had given him a smile and told him that she would come around. They played together that whole day and when Izzy finally poked her head out, she came and joined them; creating a friendship with bonds that could not be broken.
Clary had flame red hair that was nearly always a mess of curls and bright green eyes that sparkled at any given moment. There was a small smattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks that complimented her pale skin beautifully.
"Will you be using the same boats?" Alec asked them quietly.
"Yeah, definitely. I'll be in the Laser and Jace in the Tasar. We already have permission," Clary answered.
"Well that seems hardly fair, having different boats, what if one is better than the other?" Magnus asked.
"Boats are all made equal, it's just who skippers them that makes a difference," Jace replied, giving him a smirk.
"You'll get to see that when you watch me cruise over the finish line first," Clary teased.
Jace smirked and then just raised one eyebrow in response, making her flush.
"Shut up," she muttered, trying to raise just one eyebrow but instead having both go up.
Jace's smirk grew as Clary's frustration did.
"Ja-a-ace," she whined, desperately trying now to hold one eyebrow in place.
The rest of the table turned to look at her and promptly burst into laughter.
They stayed at Taki's for about an hour before all taking off to do things. Jace and Clary both went down to the harbour to find their boats and check them over.
"So I think you should get a handicap because your boat is bigger and has bigger sails," Clary said lightly as she skipped down the berths to where Jace's boat was waiting.
"I think you should have a handicap because you and your boat are so light you just fly across the water," Jace teased back.
Clary just stuck her tongue out at him as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She smiled as the face of her extremely handsome boyfriend flashed across the screen.
"Hey, Seb, what's up?" she asked excitedly.
Jace gave her a smile and she grinned back as she reached up subconsciously to twist a lock of hair between her fingers.
"Not much, just wondering if you wanted to catch up?"
"Sure, give me about half an hour or so and I'll be over straight away. Did you have anything particular in mind?"
"Would it be totally lame if I said, 'Netflix and chill'?"
Clary laughed loudly.
"Completely, but I'm totally down for it."
"See you soon. Love you."
Jace saw her whole face soften and he smiled. He liked that she had finally found someone she liked who made her smile like that. She deserved to be happy.
"Love you too, Seb," she said softly and hung up.
She turned back to Jace and beamed at him.
"We will need to hurry this up a little, I'm going to see Sebastian soon," Clary said.
Jace mock gasped.
"Are you blowing me off for your boyfriend?!"
"Yes," Clary responded dead pan.
Jace just shoved her lightly.
"How rude," he huffed.
Clary rolled her eyes good naturedly.
"Rude would be me shoving you into the water, be thankful I am such a lovely person," she shot back.
"Touchy touchy," he teased.
Nevertheless they did speed up their actions and quickly checked their boats over before leaving.
"Honey, I'm home!" Clary sang jokingly as she let herself into her boyfriend's apartment.
"Clary?" Sebastian's voice rang out from his room.
She threw her bag on the floor by the door and kicked off her converse. She walked through the living room and down the hall to his room and swung it open.
"Hey babe, how's it going?" she asked as she walked in.
"Better now you're here," Sebastian responded with a cheeky grin.
Clary smiled at her boyfriend sprawled across the queen size bed. His TV and Xbox were set up with Netflix waiting for them. She ran in and threw herself onto the bed next to her gorgeous boyfriend.
Sebastian Verlac was stunning. He had a brooding and mysterious look to him with pale skin, dark eyes and pitch black hair but in reality he was much more easy going. He reached over for his girlfriend and grabbed onto her hips, pulling her so she was straddling his hips.
"I love you," he whispered to her before leaning up to capture her lips with his.
She smiled into the kiss before pulling back and kissing the end of his nose.
"I love you too," she whispered.
He grinned at her and pulled her back down for another kiss. She giggled and kissed him back before rolling off and stealing the Xbox controller.
"My choice now," she told him.
He groaned and nuzzled his face into her neck.
"I'll just have to distract you then," he mumbled.
She snorted as she started flicking through the titles. Sebastian's lips started kissing at her shoulder and she couldn't help the smile that grew on her lips. She moved to the rom-coms to tease him and his lips travelled to her neck which caused tingles to run up and down her spine. She shifted slightly as her heartbeat sped up slightly. She finally decided on an old classic, 10 Things I Hate About You.
"I love this movie," she told him.
He just hummed over her skin as he brushed her hair away from her face so he could take her earlobe in between his teeth. She gasped lightly and faced him. He looked at her languidly.
"That's cheating," she whined.
"All's fair in love and war," he murmured.
She made a face at him and he promptly grabbed her wrists and twisted so that she was underneath him, her red hair fanning out like a halo on his pillow. She looked up at him in surprise as he held her wrists above her head.
"Is this cheating?" he asked her.
"Yes," she whispered back.
He grinned down at her and she smiled cheekily back. She then locked her heels behind his back and using muscles she'd gained from horse riding with Jace, she twisted them over so that she was now on top.
"I didn't peg you for a top, I like it," Sebastian quipped.
She blushed redder than her hair and he took advantage of her momentary weakness to sit up and pull her close to him so that she was now in his lap. His hands rested on her thighs and she blushed as she felt the heat of his hands radiate through her skin to her bones. Sebastian's mouth ducked to the hollow of her throat and he began to kiss a path down her chest to the neckline of her v-neck top.
"Seb," she breathed out softly, egging him on.
He smirked against her chest and slid his fingers underneath to pull her top quickly up and over her head. Clary blushed as she was left in her very uninteresting, plain cotton, black bra. Sebastian's mouth lowered further and she couldn't help the whimper that left her mouth. He worked furiously on her skin leaving dark purple splotches behind. Clary could feel her blood burning in her veins as Sebastian's touch left her wanting more. His hands skimmed over her bare skin and his thumbs slipped into the waistband of her shorts. He popped the first button and the drew down the zipper and started to ease them off her hips before she put her hands on his. She felt apprehension grow in her chest and a swell of nausea in her stomach. She realised she wasn't quite ready for that step yet.
"Seb, I-I'm sorry but I just, I can't. I'm not ready yet, I'm so, so, sorry, I thought I was and then I wasn't and please forgive me," Clary begged him, her eyes filled with sorrow and regret.
Sebastian's eyes flashed with irritation and frustration.
"Why Clary? Am I not good enough? Have I not been a perfect boyfriend? Am I not more than understanding of your relationship with Herondale?" Sebastian snapped.
Clary stared at him with shock.
"O-of course! It's not you! I'm just… I'm not ready," she whispered.
Sebastian growled lightly and roughly shoved her away.
"What the fuck ever," he muttered.
He stood up from the bed and ran a hand roughly through his hair, turning the Xbox and TV off. Clary was completely flummoxed by his behaviour and deeply hurt that he was so upset about being denied the final step.
"Seb?" she whispered.
"What?!" he yelled at her.
She flinched obviously at the verbal attack and shrank back, fighting back tears.
"I-I l-love you," she stuttered, pleadingly.
"Prove it," he demanded, his eyes boring deep holes into her.
Her body collapsed in on herself as a tear slid out.
"I-I can't, not in the way you want," she whispered sadly.
"Then you don't love me. I don't know what else I can do, Clary… I've waited so long for you and you just… you don't appreciate the fact that I am a man, and I have needs that you're simply not satisfying," Sebastian was trying to make her understand.
Clary's face screwed up and she frowned.
"That's crap, Sebastian. That is such crap! Jesus, I know all about guys and their needs and if they need to force or manipulate someone into bed then they're just… just, crap. That is one of the absolute lowest things you can do!" Clary shouted at him.
She couldn't believe he was pulling the 'I'm a man, I have needs' crap on her. She grew up with Simon, Jace, Alec and Magnus. They never once used that card on any of their partners.
"A frigid bitch like you would have no idea about a man and his needs," Sebastian snapped at her.
Clary felt like she had been slapped in the face. She frowned at him and reached for her top pulling it on roughly, not caring if it was backwards or inside out.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he demanded.
"I'm leaving! You've made it clear you have no interest in anything other than sex so I'm done—we're done!" she yelled at him.
Sebastian growled and grabbed her wrist, yanking her back hard as she reached out for the door handle.
"We're fucking done, when I say we are," he snarled at her as she stumbled back into him, basically falling into him.
Clary felt an icy hand of fear lock onto her heart as she stared up at her ex-boyfriend. His eyes which were normally held warmth were black with anger. She was actually scared he was going to hurt her.
"Sebastian, let me go," she said icily.
No matter her fear she was not about to let him know he was getting to her.
"And what if I don't?" he sneered down at her 5'3 frame.
"I will kick your ass," she snapped.
He just laughed.
"You're cute when you're angry," he said patronisingly.
She just glared at him, he knew how much she hated being called cute. He pulled her closer, his grip tightening on her wrist to the point of pain. He bent down slightly and lifted her up so his hand was holding her up by her ass and to avoid being dropped on the ground she had to lock her legs around his waist and he smirked at her. She glared at him.
"Let me go, Sebastian," she ordered.
He responded by slamming her hard into the wall behind them, making her whimper in pain.
"You're hurting and scaring me, Sebastian, please stop," she begged him.
He was now pressing her hard enough into the wall he didn't need to hold her up any more. Clary felt her body begin to tremble in fear and she prayed for a way out, for Sebastian to drop her so she could run or for someone to randomly drop by forcing him to stop.
"I will make you scream, baby. If you relax you may even like it," he whispered in her ear.
She felt her stomach twist and her heart stopped inn her chest. Tears pooled in her eyes and Sebastian pushed his mouth aggressively onto hers, as his fingers fumbled between er legs. She responded numbly, just barely going through the movements. She felt like she was going to hurl, right up and in his mouth.
He pulled away just briefly to whisper in her ear, patronisingly.
"Whose my good little bitch?"
She glared at him for his comment and promptly threw her head forwards into his.
"FUCK! You little fucking bitch!"
He dropped her as he reeled back and for a moment she sat there dazed before coming to her senses. She stood shakily and began to make her way to the door as fast as she could but Sebastian recovered quicker than she did and yanked her back.
His eyes were blazing and she was somewhat pleased to see blood smearing across his face from where she attacked him.
"I'll get you for that," he threatened her and she suddenly felt less thrilled.
His hand gripped around her throat and her eyes widened as it tightened and lifted, forcing her to stand up on her tip toes.
He grabbed at her shirt and pulled as hard as he could, making it tear completely off her body and she shook in fear as she was helpless to stop him. Her fingers were pulling frantically at his hand around her throat, making sure he didn't squeeze too tightly. She thrashed out with her foot though and caught him hard in the groin, causing him to collapse. He let go of her throat and she gasped for air before frantically scrambling up, to get out.
As she got to her feet, a hand reached out and grabbed her foot causing her to fall to the floor. The hand dragged her back and she cried out as she felt the carpet burn into her stomach. She was flipped over and immediately a fist landed in her face and she cried out as she tried to protect herself from a flurry of blows. Her face, head, body, arms, were all attacked until she got enough manoeuvrability to kick Sebastian in the face and kick him away. This time she didn't wait to get up. She was practically blinded from swelling and blood but she didn't stop. She threw open his door and slammed it shut, grabbing a table and shoving it against the door to buy her some time. She ran through the living room and grabbed her bag, not even stopping to grab her shoes. She could buy new ones.
She threw open his front door and slammed it shut, before running to the only place she knew she would be safe.