OMG New Story Time! Yaaayy! So I tried Gilmore Girls and it didn't work so well. Time to go back to the loverly world of MI! Meaningless Words got great feedback so I thought I'd try again! Here we go!

Disclaimer: If I owned Jace Wayland I would not waste my time writing this...

It's official. Hell had frozen over. Pigs were flying. The world had just turned around, upside down, and sideways. Clary Fray knew this all had to be true because if this were any normal universe, than she would under no circumstances be standing in front of the big stone gate rising up above her.

"Winchester Academy for Diplomatic Children" it read. In Clary's mind, it should have said "The school where diplomats dump their kids". Her mother and stepfather, Luke, had just dropped her off at Winchester, and Clary wished nothing more than to be able to just turn around and hop in the rental car that was now somewhere on it's way to JFK International Airport. Her parents had left her begrudgingly, but the family knew it was necessary, if not required.

Clary's mother was the head of the CIA, and her stepfather was the president's director of intelligence. Two high profile parents, but the Clary just thought of them as Mom and Luke. They had been facing increasing pressure from those above them to stop Clary's online schooling and send her to Winchester Academy. Winchester was the norm for children of diplomats, and it was decided that it was about time Clary attended.

Clary's mother, Jocelyn, and Luke were far from thrilled about the change in her education, but they had to admit it was probably beneficial. Jocelyn and Luke traveled so much that Clary was alone more than she was around her parents.

So now the petite redhead was stuck with her many bags, glaring up at the entrance to her new school and, unfortunately, home. She hiked up her shorts before she dug into the pile before her, and somehow managed to hold all of her belongings at once, albeit some were perched precariously on top of the pile, and some were dragging on the ground. She consulted the map and information packet she received about a week ago, and determined her dorm was Bassett, one of the smaller ones on campus. Luckily, Bassett was also on of the closest dorms to the entrance, so Clary didn't have to lug around her bags for very much longer.

She reached Bassett, which was yet another building in a long line of imposing-looking stone ones. Clary would have walked right past it if it weren't for the shiny bronze plaque outside the door reading "Bassett Dormitory Hall". She swiped the key card that was mailed to her on the black box outside the door, and somehow managed to push the door open while balancing her belongings.

She trudged down the hall to the elevator and, once inside, pressed the button for the 4th floor. Clary dropped her bags on the floor inside the elevator and massaged her neck. At least there weren't stairs…

The elevator dinged and she gathered her things again, proceeding to carry them down the hall until she found her room. 418. She turned the key and kicked open the door. She didn't even take her surroundings in before she dropped all of her stuff on the nearest of the two beds. She sat down in a chair across the room, and blew out a breath before looking around her new room. There were two beds, and the one that didn't have her luggage piled on top had a colorful bedspread and decorative pillows thrown over it, whereas Clary's only had the standard blanket and sheets that Winchester supplied. There were two armchairs in the room, an entertainment set with a TV, two closets, and a bathroom. When the school was financed by some of the most powerful people in the country, it could afford the finest.

Just as Clary was wondering how much the TV alone cost the school, the door to her dorm stormed open and a petite girl with choppy, yet styled, dark hair and heavy make up burst in. Clary only had time to notice that the girl was wearing a dress she recognized off some runway before the girl gave a frightened little jump. Obviously, she didn't expect some stranger to be in her room. "Umm, excuse me? Can I help you?" Her eyes flickered to mound Clary's luggage overflowing from the bed to the floor.

"Err… I'm Clary Fray. You're new roommate?" It came out sounding like a question.

The girl let out a frustrated sigh and stalked over to the bed that was clearly hers. She sat down and scooted back, banging her head against the wall "I knew it would happen eventually. All these mid-term transfers, and of course they stick me with a newbie." She shut her eyes and Clary heard her muttering something along the lines of "Not even a newbie who knows how to dress."

Clary didn't know what to say, so she just awkwardly stood there until her new roommate rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed. "Well I'm going out. I hope you find somewhere to stash your stuff before I'm back. We have class tomorrow, and don't expect me to look at that pile of old luggage for the rest of term." And on that note, the girl left as quickly as she came. Clary realized she didn't even learn her roommate's name. She lay down tiredly on the bed and grabbed her pillow. Shoving her face into it, she let out a muffled scream. This would be a long year.

Stone. Clary was quickly realizing whoever designed Winchester had a thing for stone. Stone buildings, stone columns, stone arches, it was all stone. So not only was her life looking gray, so was the scenery. Just another wonderful reminder. As Clary walked around Winchester campus, some of the students smiled at her, and some even said "Hi." She didn't respond though. Making friends wasn't her thing. Clary usually stuck to her small group of friends, and rarely, if ever, ventured outside of it.

When she was younger, before her parents became who they are today, she had Simon. But Clary hadn't seen Simon since last summer when he and his mother were being shipped off so that she could be the headmaster of some fancy private school. Simon was the only person who actually knew Clary, who she was and the way her mind worked. He pushed Clary to make friends, and once upon a time she might have even been considered social. But here, she didn't have Simon to help her out of her shell.

Clary had pulled out her school-supplied map, and was trying to locate the places she would frequent. She had already been to her dorm, visited the main academic building, and now she was trying to find the dining hall. She only found it when massive crowds of students started to flock to one building, and Clary realized it was lunchtime.

She figured she might as well get something to eat, and moved through the crowd making it to the lunch line. She looked down at her tray, and was less-than surprised to see the food at Winchester was a notch above most school lunches. What did you expect when it was financed by the nations best and brightest?

Looking around, she only saw one empty table. She debated sitting with someone, but she was fine being alone, and didn't fell the need to make friends just yet. She made her way to the empty table and sat down, feeling the closest to content she'd been since she got there. Probably just because she was alone. However, a few minutes into her meal she felt eyes on her.

She turned her head to see an extremely tall, raven-haired girl standing off to the side of her table and looking at Clary.

Clary thought she'd be brave for once and make the first move towards conversation. "Hi." Superb vocal skills she possessed. The other girl looked slightly uncomfortable as she approached Clary, lunch tray in hand.

"Hey, um… do you mind if my friends and I sit here as well? We sit here most of the time…" Clary didn't really see a reason to say no, so she gestured to the empty seats around her.

"Go ahead." The tall girl jumped in excitement and gave a little squeal.

"Yay! Okay, be right back." She left in a storm of perfume and bangles with Clary watching after her. She ran over to two boys and a girl. One of the boys had a shock of dark hair that partially covered his eyes, and, like the girl who talked to Clary, he was extremely tall and good-looking. They both had ice-blue eyes, and Clary figured them for siblings. The other girl had mousy brown hair, tied into braids, and a smattering of freckles that spread under the rim of her turquoise glasses.

Clary's eyes rested on the second boy last. She couldn't see his face, only a mop of golden hair. He stood hunched over, in a position indicating disinterest, even boredom. The first girl was gesturing towards the table with her hands, and while the other two looked over at her, the golden-haired boy didn't even turn in her direction. Clary saw him shake his head, and walk away to sit at another empty table, his back to Clary. Weird.

The two girls and the remaining boy came over to Clary, and she busied herself unnecessarily in her sandwich, avoiding eye contact. She could tell the three were looking at her, but she didn't look up until one of them spoke.

"So um… you new or something?" The first girl asked. Clary looked up to see the tall girl looking kindly at her. "My name is Isabelle, by the way."

"Oh, yeah," she held up one finger while chewing. After she swallowed, she continued, "Err… Clary." It was times like these when she remembered why she didn't make friends. Meeting new people was a painful experience and Clary hated it. "My name is Clary. I, uh… got here this morning."

Sensing they weren't getting anymore out of the redhead, the second girl cut in. "My name is Maia. You'll love it at Winchester. It's really great." Clary nodded. "Isabelle and I have been coming since first year, in sixth grade. Broody over here is Alec." She gestured the boy next to her

Alec, as he was apparently called, looked up and nodded his head in acknowledgement before going back to picking at his food. Clary sensed he wasn't much of a socializer either. Isabelle leaned in. "Don't mind him. He's just pissed 'cause our other friend wouldn't eat with us."

The two girls settled in to a pleasant chatter, and Alec chimed in every once in a while. Clary surprised herself by adding her own comments in towards the end of lunch. Isabelle and Maia were nice, and Alec wasn't unpleasant, just quiet. However, Clary saw him keep casting worried glances to the blonde that was with them earlier. Clary felt herself trying to get a glimpse of the elusive guy at the table by himself. She was holding out hope, for some unknown reason, that maybe she wasn't the only one at Winchester who didn't make friends easily. She might have found a fellow loner.

All those thought were shot to hell when Clary saw a girl, who she quickly recognized as her roommate, walk over to him. She leaned over him, and he put his hands on her hips as they started making out in the middle of the very public lunchroom. Most definitely not a loner.

And there it is! Love it? Hate it? No Clary and Jace action just yet, but it's coming, don't worry!

I take good and bad reviews. Flames and fans alike! (My attempt at being clever there didn't really work...) Smooches!

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