I Will Survive

Clary looked up from her tear-stained pillow, frowning as the song from the radio punctured her ears. it had come to her attention about halfway through.

I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor.

...kept trying hard to mend
the pieces of my broken heart

She sighed: that sounded familiar.

and I spent oh so many nights
just feeling sorry for myself

I used to cry

Clary sniffled. Why oh why had he done that to her? How could he have trampled over her heart like she was nothing?

But now I hold my head up high

Clary stopped her sniffling and raised her head. That was different. Since Sebastian had broken her heart, all she had wanted to do was curl up and hide away.

Clary let the rest of the words wash over her.

and you see me
somebody new
I'm not that chained up little person
still in love with you
and so you felt like dropping in
and just expect me to be free
But now I'm saving all my loving
for someone who's loving me

Hmm...perhaps that's why he'd showed up today. To make sure that she still wasn't fixed, to make sure she was still a huge gaping mess. Yeah, big man. A sudden anger and indignation bloomed in her chest, replacing the terrible ache. What right did he have to do that? Any rights he may have had concerning Clary went up in flames the day he screwed some girl after telling Clary that he would only ever love her.

Bastard.

Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to break me with goodbye
Did you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive
oh as long as i know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive (oh)

The song finished and Clary found that she was smiling. So, maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all...

O_o

The next morning, Clary left her house with the same grin on her face that she had fallen asleep with.
Her mother nearly dropped her mug of coffee at the sight and Clary had winced internally.

Had she really been that bad?
Well, she reasoned with her self, she had just had her heart broken. But you learn from that, right?

Sebastian had been a jerk. A player.
And she knew she would never fall for one such as him again.

She was walking down the street, her piping hot espresso in hand, too blissfully happy in the fact that it was a Sunday and she had nothing to do to pay much attention to her surroundings.

Which is exactly why, three seconds later, she slammed into a strangers chest, effectively drenching them both in ridiculously hot coffee.
'Oh shit!' She cried, stumbling backwards. Her heel caught on a crack in the uneven pavement and she began to fall backwards, arms flailing.

Seconds before she slammed into the hard New York concrete, strong hands grasped her waist, pulling her upright again. Clary looked up, about to thank and apologise to her savior when she stopped, trapped suddenly by a pair of brilliantly gold eyes.
The eyes belonged to a boy, probably only a year or so older than herself, and he was beautiful. More beautiful than Sebastian.

Where Sebastian was white hair, pale skin and dark, dark eyes, this boy was all gold, his hair like golden silk, curling just below his ears, The planes and angles of his face sculpted in a way that made her hand twitch, itching for a pen and paper.
'You spilt your coffee on me,' the boy said pleasantly, releasing her. Mortification swept through her, and she felt the blood rush to her face.

'Uh - sorry,' she managed lamely, then winced as the boy raised an amused eyebrow. Not wanting to be laughed at, Clary forced her scattered thoughts to come together and work as one so she looked less of a babbling idiot in front of the gorgeous boy who still stood in front of her, lips twitching.
'If it's any consolation, it got on me as well.' Clary spread her arms out to show her sopping shirt, then as his eyes raked her her figure, quickly realised what she was doing and closed her arms around her chest, blushing furiously.

'And, I'd barely taken three sips of that coffee,' she grumbled, glancing at where the styrofoam cup lay abandoned on the sidewalk.
The boy laughed, but she thought that this time it was with her.

'How about I buy you another one, to make up for it? We can get some napkins as well, clean up a bit.'
Without hesitation, Clary returned his infectious grin and nodded.
'Ok,' she said. 'I'm Clary by the way.'
She stuck out her hand and he took it. His grip was warm and firm and sent goose-bumps up her arm.
'Jace,' He replied, smirking.

And as Clary and Jace made their way to a diner called Taki's, a single line from a certain song played over and over in her head:
I will survive.

What'd you think? I was listening to Cake's version of I Will Survive when writing this, but listed the original by Gloria Gaynor because I thought it was more fitting to have a lady singing, especially since it was from Clary's point of view.

DISCLAMIER: I am not Cassandra Clare. She owns the characters and the Mortal Instruments Series...but you already knew that, didn't you? ;)

Please review!

Blue.