A Simple Life
Chapter One: The Shindig
'Well, a gathering is brie, mellow song stylings; shindig, dip, less mellow song stylings, perhaps a large amount of malt beverage; and hootenanny, well, it's chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny.' - Oz
Clary always found herself amazed by Isabelle's parent's house; she practically lived there as a teenager, sleepovers and hangovers and afternoons doing homework. Her mother was so busy with her new studio when Clary had graduated uni that she had stayed with the Lightwoods for three months before moving into her own flat, and now that she was back for Isabelle's engagement party, it was like coming home.
She had been staying here the past week, and she was with Isabelle when her best friend had told Maryse that she was getting married; she had held Izzy's hand whilst her mother complained that Simon was only in it for the trust fund and had been eager to step in and suggest that they hold the engagement party here, rather than at Simon and Isabelle's small house just outside the city, as it would be a place where Mrs Lightwood would be more comfortable. She had steadily agreed, and now the day had come; Clary had been in town, picking up last minute champagne and streamers from Isabelle's boutique, and as she juggled the bags out of the truck she tried not to get the hem of her shimmery green dress stuck in the door.
"Need a hand?"
She looked up, and was greeted by the smiling face of Sebastian, her boyfriend, who was standing at the top of the steps to the front door; she grinned at him and held out a bag.
"Always." She said, and he laughed at her shuffling movements, pulling one bag from her and grabbing her keys with his free hand, locking the truck and jogging to keep up with her.
"Did anyone interesting arrive whilst I was gone?" Clary asked, and he shook his head, holding the front door for her.
"Nope; not unless you count Isabelle's elderly neighbour- and Kaelie." He said with a pretend grimace; the thing about living in the town where you grew up was that there was no escape from the high school drama that she so desperately wished was in the past.
"Oh god; anyone but Kaelie." They grinned at each other before making their way into the party; it wasn't in full swing yet, but already Isabelle was slightly tipsy, her arm around Simon's waist, and her brother and brother in law were standing close by, laughing at her actions.
"Clary!" Simon called as he spotted her, and Sebastian took the bags from her as she made her way to Simon, letting him peel himself from Isabelle before wrapping his arms around her.
Really, Clary was responsible for this whole shindig; if it weren't for her then Isabelle and Simon may never have met. For a long time, Si was her friend; they had grown up together, and had kept in touch when Clary moved to England- it was at Clary's graduation party (hosted by the Isabelle, of course) that Simon and Isabelle were introduced; the last thing Clary expected was for them to be engaged two and a half years later.
"You look amazing, Clary." Simon said, pulling back to take a look at her; she grinned, doing a twirl, then looked over his shoulder to wiggle her fingers at Izzy. She skipped over to the pair, swinging an arm around both Clary and Simon's shoulders.
"My best girl and my best boy." She said happily, planting a kiss on both of their cheeks; Clary laughed and squirmed out of her grip, pointing at Sebastian who was currently hanging more streamers along the doorframe.
"I picked up your stuff; Maia said she would be along after her shift." Clary said, watching her boyfriend covertly. Isabelle giggled.
"As long as I get a present I don't care when she comes." She said, spinning away to talk to her other employees who had gathered in a corner; Simon and Clary shared a look.
"How much has she had to drink?" She asked him, and he laughed.
"I don't think she's had anything but champagne since I proposed two weeks ago." He grinned, and Clary laughed; she could tell that her friends were both over the moon. She glanced over at Isabelle and watched her showing off the ring once again.
"God." Clary said as Simon wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "That rock you gave her could sink the Titanic." She said, admiring the jewel as Simon laughed, his body shaking.
"Just because I beat Sebastian to the punch doesn't mean you need to get jealous." He replied, and Clary jabbed him in the gut.
"Shut up; you know we don't want to get married." She said wistfully; in truth, it was Sebastian who didn't believe in 'the corrupt institute that was only a vessel for divorce' and had sworn off marriage of any kind. But Clary loved him, and she didn't mind giving up that tiny desire to be with him. Simon sensed her discomfort, and they both welcomed the interruption that was Magnus Bane- Lightwood.
"Dar-ling." He sighed, playing almost too perfectly into the 1980's queer stereotype. "That dress is honestly so gorgeous, I think I'm blind." He said, and Clary laughed as she hugged him. Alec was slightly behind Magnus, ever the shadow to Mag's sun, but he too pulled Clary in for a tight hug.
"You look great too, Magnus. And Alec; you own a colour other than navy?" She asked with mock horror, and Magnus laughed at Alec's blush.
"I said it, didn't I, the grey looks much better on you. Very fifty shades." Magnus winked, and Simon pretended to gag. "Where is that delicious boy-toy of yours, Clary?" He asked, and Clary blushed hard.
"He's popping champagne- and don't call him a boy-toy Mags, you know he hates it." She said with a groan, but all she received was a cheeky wink in response as he headed off, with Alec in tow, to speak with Seb; probably some boring work jargon considering Alec and Sebastian worked together.
"No Jon today?" Simon asked, and Clary shook her head.
"No- he sends all his love though. He's looking after mum this weekend, then heading back out to New York." She said, trying to keep her voice even.
"How is Jocie?" Simon said gently, and Clary nodded, biting her lip.
"She's doing okay; the doctor said that her scans are looking better, and she isn't in a whole lot of pain." She said, and Simon nodded intensely. Her mother was diagosed with cancer less than a year ago, and with all the people that loved Jocelyn Fairchild, it was hard on everyone to see her hurting.
"Luke come's back from France next week though, so he's planning on bringing her up to stay with me and Seb; maybe you can come over then and we can make a party of it?" Clary said gently, and Simon beamed.
"Yes! That is a perfect plan; party with the Fairchild clan is the only way to go." He said with a grin, and Clary sighed deeply.
"No matter what happens, there is no way she will miss this wedding." Clary said, grinning at Simon. "So it's a good thing you've planned a short engagement." She teased, and Simon groaned.
"Oh, do not get me started, Fairchild." He scolded. "I thought the hard part was proposing, and now she wants to plan a wedding in three months? I'm aging before my time- look at all these greys." He said, running a hand through his perfectly chestnut hair. Clary laughed.
"You should feel lucky that your best-friend-slash-best-maid-of-honour-ever is now officially on her three month holiday." She giggled, and Simon smiled.
"Is teaching really a job again? All you seem to do is go on holiday." He quipped, and she smacked him with her sparkling clutch bag.
"Hey; you try looking after unruly teenagers for eight hours a day and then tell me it's not a job." She sulked, winking at him, and he grinned, then stopped grinning.
"Oh god; it's Rebecca's boyfriend; I can't stand that guy." Simon said, grimacing, then plastering a fake smile to his face and turning to Clary. "Better go say hello then!"
Clary laughed at his fake enthusiasm and watched him go toward his lovely sister and her not so lovely, much older, boyfriend. She only turned when she heard the doorbell go.
"I'll get it!" She shouted to no one in particular, dropping her bag onto a table and heading to the door, figuring that she was the least drunk. Making her way to the door she saw a peek of Seb and Alec with a guy that she didn't know, and she smiled as she opened the door.
Trying to keep her smile steady when she saw who it was.
"Jace." She said, putting on a sourness in her voice that she couldn't quite hide; the man in front of her laughed, moving through the door and pulling her into a suffocating hug.
"Carrot top!" He shouted, gaining the attention of the guys in the kitchen and Isabelle's colleagues. "How I have missed you." He squeezed her, and Clary pushed at his chest, blowing an errant piece of hair from her face and giving him a dirty look.
"How I haven't missed you, Goldilocks." She retorted, rolling her eyes at him, and he laughed once again; she tried not to laugh with him, but the infectious nature of his grin always got her in the end, and he winked when he saw the edges of her lips pull up into a smile; she submitted, pulling him in for a proper hug.
"How are you?" She asked, stretching up onto her toes to get her arms around his ridiculously tall stature.
"All the better for seeing you." He said, and she smacked his back. She could feel the chuckle shake through him, and pulled back to get a good look at him. "Honestly woman, you wound me. I am good though; where's the blushing bride?" He asked, looking over her shoulder, and Clary laughed.
"It's the engagement party, not the wedding you fool." She said, walking into the party with him following along close behind her. "She's not the bride yet."
"Yeah, yeah, just show me the booze and I'll be happy." He said, and Clary raised an eyebrow; he had been sober for three months. "Okay, that joke isn't funny yet, I'll save it for later. How about 'show me the ladies'?" He said and grinned as Clary laughed.
"I'll show you one lady for now." Clary said, and spotted Izzy on a chair.
"Isabelle- your favourite cousin is here." She said with a grin, and Isabelle looked up to see Jace; she pretended to sigh.
"Oh- I thought you were Gideon." She said with a grin, and Jace mocked a wide-eyed look of betrayal.
"What is with the violence- we're all family, can't we get along." He said. "Besides, being best man automatically gives me favourite cousin status." He carried on with a smile before wrapping Isabelle into a tight hug. "Speaking of- where is the nerd?" He asked, and Clary replied in place of the tipsy Isabelle.
"He's in the kitchen I think, but listen." She said, lowering her voice. "Seb is here, so play nice." She said; a dark look crossed Jace's features, but it was replaced by his usual smile in no time.
"I always play nice." He muttered, and Clary raised an eyebrow.
"My kitchen table would beg to differ." She said, and Jace raised an eyebrow in synchronicity
"Hey, it was your boyfriend, not mine, that challenged a gym owner to an arm wrestle."
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Clary replied, leading him to the kitchen and ignoring his jibe, and Jace rolled his eyes as he played along.
"Oh yeah, he's very nice- I'll introduce you when you stop getting on my nerves." He said, and Clary shot him another dirty look, but wiped it from her face as they reached the kitchen.
"Look who's here!" She said to the group, letting the men get their man hugs out of the way before moving to stand under Seb's arm; he wouldn't like it if she stood with someone else while she was there.
"There he is." Jace said with a grin, pulling Simon into a hug and wiping a fake tear from his face. "I love you, man- I'm so happy for you." He said, and Simon whacked at him, laughing.
"Don't get gooey on me now, Herondale. I'm taken." Simon retorted with a grin.
"He's not a threat Si, he already has a boyfriend." Clary said, pouring herself a glass of champagne.
"Oh really." Magnus said from his spot at the table, winking, and Simon cackled with laughter.
"I don't know what I missed but I'm glad I did; did you get here alright." He said to Jace, who nodded nonchalantly as he opened a beer.
"Yeah, my bags are in the car, I'll get them later. Who's staying the night?" He asked, and Simon shrugged.
"Anyone too drunk to drive, I'm guessing. Maryse is currently drinking her second triple scotch; I don't think she's very happy about the situation." He said with a grimace, and Jace rolled his eyes.
"That's a lot of maths for one drink- you should've asked her permission like a good Jewish boy would." He said, and Simon glared at him.
"The only permission you need from now on is Izzy's." Alec said grimly, and the whole group burst out laughing at his absurdly cryptic statement.
Clary felt a hand slide across her waist and down her back; she pressed her back against the cabinet, stopping the motion.
"Not here, Seb." She whispered gently, letting her hair hide her words. She felt his grip tighten slightly and winced.
"I haven't seen you in days." He grumbled, spreading his hand across her lower back. She sighed, downing her champagne and putting on a smile.
"Later." She whispered, then turned back to the conversation.
She couldn't help but catch Jace's eyes; burning gold, watching her as they always did. He raised an eyebrow, and she silenced him with a look- as she always had. They had had the same argument too many times, and she wasn't in the mood that night.
It didn't stop him from approaching her two hours later while the party was in full swing, and Clary was standing with her back against the living room wall; Sebastian had snuck off an hour before to watch a rugby match with some of Simon's work buddies, and the party goers were currently dancing in the dim light of the room, loud music blaring from the Lightwood's sound system.
"Hey." He said, leaning beside her with his hands in his pockets. He had that look on his face.
"Not tonight, Jace. Let's not fight." She said quietly, looking at her hands.
"Fight? Who's fighting. I've just come to chat." He said.
"Yeah, yeah; chat about how shitty my long-term boyfriend is." She whispered, and Jace raised an eyebrow.
"You said it, not me." He said, and Clary glared at him.
"I love him, Jace. Don't you see that; and he loves me. Just… try to get along, because you'll be seeing a lot more of him." She said, and Jace looked at her curiously. "Isabelle told me you're moving back down here." She muttered, hiding her smile; he had been living up in Northampton for two years, and was about to move back to London to open a new gym. He was quite a successful guy.
"Damn- I was going to take you out, surprise you and Jocelyn." He said, a pout etching its way across his lips. She grinned, but inside she knew that Sebastian would never let it happen.
"Cats out of the bag, blondie- so get on with my boyfriend, because I sort of semi-like having you in my life, I would hate to have to kick you out."
"You kicked me out of your flat when I broke the table." He said smugly, and Clary laughed.
"You admit it then; you can pay for the new one." She said, and he shook his head.
"Okay, well something Izzy- fat mouth- Lightwood doesn't know is that I've taken six weeks off of work to help them out with the wedding plans." He said, and Clary's eyes went wide.
"Oh my god… the workaholic has gone rogue- alert the media!" She yelled, trying to pull away as he flung an arm around her and shuffled her hair. She gasped with laughter.
"Okay- maybe I agreed to work mornings down at the site, but the next six weeks of afternoons and evenings I am totally free." He said, and Clary grinned.
"So- we only get seventy percent Jace input." She said, and he pretended to look thoughtful.
"Hm, I'd say eighty three, plus overtime for all the help I'm giving the maid of honour- you know, stopping her from tripping over her own feet as she walks down the aisle." He smirked, and Clary stuck out her tongue. "Are you sure you aren't an unruly year seven?" He grinned, and Clary laughed.
She had missed him badly, but she knew that no good could come of them spending so much time together, because he was one of her closest friends with a grudge against her boyfriend, and the combination didn't mix well.
"Okay, I'm going to get the cake ready." She said, clapping her hands and making a subtle attempt to leave. Jace grinned, watching her leave and knowing he had rattled her; she was easy to read, and Jace felt as though tonight he had dived back into a familiar book, the pages worn from all the times he had read it.
This wedding was something that was supposed to bring everyone closer; but there was one person that was more than happy to keep Clary to himself, and Jace was determined that this time round, he wasn't going to give up quite so easily on a girl who deserved far better.
….
First chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think; my other story 'Cigarette Burns' is hopefully going to be updated by the end of the week, but I just had to get this idea out. It's a bit more light hearted and character centric, rather than driven by the plot, so let me know what you think!