Clary stepped into her room at Luke's, feeling like the world had dropped out from under her feet. She leaned against the closed door, lip beginning to tremble quietly before the tears spilled down her pale cheeks.
Two rejections in one week, from the two men she actually cared about... Not that she should be particularly surprised; no one should ever fall in love with their best friend or brother.
But she had.
Clary moved to her bed, falling facedown on the messy covers and grabbing a pillow so she could curl around it and cry softly into her blankets.
She hadn't ever been dumped before, due to the lack of interest from any male, ever. She hadn't even had a real relationship before Jace and Simon. Her poor heart didn't even know what to do. Did she just lay there like a pathetic lump like the girls always did in the movies? Right now it seemed like the optimum choice.
She had tried and tried and tried to keep a normal face on while walking around feeling like her intestines had been ripped out, but it wasn't working anymore.
She couldn't even talk about it! Her mom was still in the hospital, Jace was almost a complete stranger, and Simon was no longer interested in being her best friend. Luke wasn't even programmed to talk girl issues, and Isabelle wasn't answering her phone. Since Clary knew Alec hardly wanted to talk about Jace or Simon with her, that left her completely out of luck.
It was a lonely position.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Go away." Clary said, her voice cracking.
"Clary, it's Jace and Simon." Luke's voice came from the hall.
"Shit." Clary said under her breath. "Hang on!" She sat up and began scrubbing her face. What exactly was her luck that the two objects of her misery happened to require her presence right when she wanted to disappear.
"Come in." She said after she had removed as much evidence of her tears as she could.
Jace sauntered in, followed by an uncomfortable-looking Simon. They both frowned when she looked up.
"Have you been crying?" Jace asked.
"I'm fine." Clary said, faking her best smile.
"I know that smile." Simon said, elbowing Jace. "It's the 'I'm-fine-now-but-I'll-kill-you-later'."
"Ha-ha." Clary laughed, hating how hollow it sounded. She got up and went to the window. "It's actually the 'Maybe-I-was-doing-something-else-when-you-idiots-barged-in'."
"We knocked." Jace offered. Clary resisted the urge to hit him.
"No, but seriously. Did you have a purpose in coming here?" She asked, beginning to get testy. Tears pricked her eyes again and she hastily turned away to wipe her nose on her sleeve.
"Well actually-" Jace began to say something sassy.
"Shut up Jace." Simon interjected, seeing her shoulders shake a little. "Clary? A-are you okay?"
"Of course I'm not okay!" Clary found herself yelling, whirling around and starting in on the two boys. "Do you think that you can just walk all over my feelings and then just expect me to spring up and be happy Clary?! It doesn't work that way!"
"Clary, what..." Jace frowned, trailing off.
"I don't really want to talk to either of you right now. I'm going somewhere I can cry and eat ice cream in peace." Clary said, pushing past them.
"Clary, wait." Jace said, gripping her arm tightly.
"No!" Clary found herself shouting. "I don't want to wait. I waited goddamn long enough for you two to make a move and look what happened!"
Jace let her arm go, face white with shock. Clary walked quickly out of the room, brushing past Luke in the hallway. She grabbed her coat off the back of the couch and slammed the door behind her.
Bewildered, Luke walked into Clary's room, seeing the ashen faced Jace and a Simon that looked like he'd done something bad and knew it.
"So, what did you two do now?" Luke sighed, kicking the door shut and sitting down on the bed.
Clary set off at a run down the street. She had to get far enough away that Jace and Simon couldn't just smell her out. Her best bet for that was to move as quickly as possible and lose herself in a crowd.
She moved quickly along the river, then cut over to the bus route. The inner city would still be running this time of day, and she could feel the sharp edge of her bus card in her coat pocket.
Running away was a reckless, stupid thing to do and she knew it. Her life was becoming a typical soap opera breakup episode. But she had to get away. Jace and Simon were complete idiots, and why not go be alone in a whole city of people? It was preferable to being alone with the men she used to trust the most.
The sky began to cloud over, and Clary pulled the hood of her jacket over her head in anticipation of the rain. She could see the bus stop up ahead. She would go to the city, then wing it from there.
The bus was deserted and smelly. The only other occupants were a couple old ladies and a sketchy looking guy, all clustered near the front. Clary took a seat in the back corner, fishing her iPhone out of her pocket.
When she turned it on, the screen was blank. No texts or calls from Luke, Jace, or Simon. Half of her felt relieved, half of her felt angry.
Pushing down the part of her that felt like ripping out as many spleens as possible, Clary plugged her headphones into her phone and turned on her angry playlist, usually only reserved for those times that she wanted to paint with tons of shades of red.
The rocking of the bus began lulling her to sleep, so Clary leaned her head back and shut her eyes. She'd ride the bus until it hit the midtown station stop then decide what to do next from there.