Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mortal Instruments. I don't own anyone. This setting was based on an idea from a short film on Youtube, but the plot is original. Cassandra Claire owns the characters.
IMPORTANT: This is an AU and and AH, but this is a world where it is a sin and looked down upon to be straight. I know some people can't see this as realistic. I don't either. The human race would never have blossomed, you know? However, I think I do a good job at explaining how things go on. Just wait for the next chapters and you'll see. BUT.
It is a 'world reversed.' Around the like fifties people thought horribly of gays and lesbians. They think this way about straights and bisexuals here. So.
Pastor Hodge walked the stage with that smile that always freaked me out. It seemed so stressed, so fake. I looked to my right at Jonathan. He never tried to hide his boredom during Sunday ceremonies. I envied his strong backbone. Unlike him, I sat perfectly straight, the picture of grace as any gay Christian would. It was perfectly natural to me and didn't hurt my back or neck at all. Of course it'd be natural; I was a gay Christian like everyone else in here.
"My youngest daughter has just turned twelve, did you know?" Hodge clasped his hands behind his back as he walked. "My husband and I saved for two months to take her on a trip to California. It was a big deal. Now when we got there, we saw a play. The play was called Romeo and Juliet. It was about a boy and a girl defying the law, their parents, and their friends because they were 'in love.'"
He paused for effect, giving the entire room time to gasp. I had heard of the play before. We studied it in English. I found it a riveting, if not, inspiring play despite the corny lines. Everyone else saw it as the devil's work.
"I cannot believe they'd let an innocent twelve year old girl witness such sins viewed in a positive light," Hodge continued, chastising. I looked at Jonathan. He rolled his eyes. "It is quite concerning how much we are letting heterosexuals thrive. This…this disease is threatening our children's minds, their lives, and their souls. We have to keep our kid's innocence for as long as possible, but with the way the modern world is turning it has become a horribly hard task."
Everyone in the pews applauded him. I clapped along deftly, hardly listening to his speeches. A round of 'amen's chorused through the old ladies. He looked out into the crowd, meeting my gaze. Of course he did. Everyone did these days. I averted my gaze and tried to shun his words. I could feel the hate radiating from the cynical kids in front of me. A few girls even looked over their shoulders. I looked at my hand as my face heated up. Shame filled me from within.
"Let us pray for those affected by satan's influence. I hope that God will find forgiveness for their families," Hodge began to finish. I breathed out deeply. Jonathan looked at me and nudged my side. His hand held mine for the rest of the ceremony. He helped me through everything these days. Hodge finally exited the stage.
My dad went up next. Valentine Morgenstern was definitely the stern one of the family. It fit that he was on the city council. I took a breath and braced myself. He only went up there when there was big news concerning the town. My other dad, Jo, looked at me and patted my leg. I smiled tightly and kept a straight face. My dads were an odd couple. For somebody so strict, Valentine did a good job at handling my silly, sometimes ditsy dad. Jo was, in the end, a nicer person. He was more attentive to my 'girly feelings.'
"On that topic, I want everyone to know that we have a new family moving in down the street from the church. In fact, they are across the street from my house. Rumours have been spreading fast so I am taking it upon myself to state the facts. You should not be alarmed. If anything, we hope our Christian ways will influence them and their personal decisions. The couple is, in fact, heterosexual, as is their second eldest and adopted son. They have three biological kids, all born outside of breeding season. Even though it is a sin, we should not treat the kids as sins. They cannot help their, eh, parents' mistakes. If there is any problem concerning them or their ways, call me. With that being said, do feel free to welcome them as normal." Valentine walked off stage and let the choir sing as he went. Hodge dismissed up and everyone stood, hugging one another and whatnot.
"You did great, honey," Jo pressed a kiss to Valentine's cheek. He smiled sweetly and looked at me. I kept my lips closed as I smiled and nodded.
Jonathan and I walked ahead of our dads. They were a little gross despite many years of marriage. Valentine loved grabbing Jo's butt, and I just couldn't stand it. "Rough listen?" Jonathan asked. He and I were so close in age so he was basically my best friend. Sure, I had Simon, but he never saw 'at home Clary,' who was slightly weirder than 'public Clary.'
"Jon, I told you," I hissed, looking over my shoulder to make sure our dads couldn't hear. "I'm not a jig."
Jonathan snorted, giving me his classic eye roll. I hated how much he looked like Valentine when he did that. I also hated that I looked nothing like either of them. Figures. My feelings were different sometimes. But Valentine swore to me that Jon and I were born from the same father and same mother. Now that was a rarity. Most siblings were only half siblings.
I saw the house close by. "Sure you aren't, Clary. Wouldn't imagine why I'd think that," he muttered. His eyes looked in the same direction as mine. "What do you think about that family?"
Instantly, I felt my heart harden. They weren't here just to move. They came because somebody here died. "I feel bad for the boy. Isn't he only ten? They sent him to live with his aunt and uncle across the country."
Jonathan sighed. "Yes, and then he found his cousin at the bottom of their pool," he looked pointedly at me. "I guess you would know more about that, though." I stopped walking. My guilt came rushing back into my head. Jon looked over his shoulder, and his smile faded. He ran a hand through his white locks. "Shit, I'm sorry, Clary. That was too much."
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at my feet. "I get enough of it at school, Jonathan. I don't need it at home," I muttered and walked away from our front door. Simon was walking towards my house behind my dads. As they passed, I took out my pony tale holder and flicked towards Jo, but it hit Valentine instead. He paused and turned around, frowning. "Can you take my pants and shirt inside?"
Valentine dropped his smile, regarding my request with a frown. I tugged the clothes off to expose my tight shorts and tank top. He clenched his jaw and I had to hold back a grin, knowing I was pissing him off. "Clary, why do you insist to dress so…?"
"Feminine?" I laughed, putting my hands on my hips. "You know Simon's moms are both feminine."
"No wonder they are divorced..." Jo muttered. My mouth fell open with a rueful smile. That type of comment was too ignorant to not laugh at, and it came from my own dad!
Valentine regarded Simon with an eye roll. He hated him. He was my closest friend, and was a guy: enough said. "I didn't mean it like that, Clarissa."
"Sure you didn't," I mumbled. He took my man-clothes and followed Jo inside. When the door closed, I groaned. Simon laughed and jumped up on the picnic table we kept outside. I jumped up beside him, leaning back to watch the movers go from the house across from me to the van and back. "Are all parents like mine?"
Simon said, "Nope, you are just extra unlucky. Though, I think Eric's dads almost forced him to wear make up on the first day of high school."
"That was freshman year. It's almost the end of the first semester of senior year." I deadpanned, looking at him. He was soaking up the sun by squinting at it through his nerdy little glasses. I groaned loudly and closed my eyes, lying on my back. "Enough self-pity! What is the newest gossip?"
Simon pretended to be engrossed by the subject. "Oh! Well, I heard Bryce bought tickets to your brother's band for a hundred bucks just to get front row seats."
"God! He's such a perv!" I yelled loud enough for the whole street to hear. I sat up suddenly and saw Simon watching me. Across the street, however, the scene had changed. The moving van was gone, and in its place were four cars. "No – they all have their own fucking car!"
Simon sighed wistfully. "What did you expect, Clary? Look at their house!" He had a valid point. Their house used to be a church, but the years took a toll on it. It had a haunted aura to it. I loved it. It was grand and roomy. I went inside once when I visited Max, the youngest boy of the hetero parents moving in. It was enormous and decorated perfectly. "Why did they move here anyways?"
"It had something to do with Max. He begged to stay here even though the parents of Wi – of you know who moved away," I said, choking on his name. It had only been six days since he died. I took three deep breaths and shoved him to the back of my mind. "And I heard one of their older kids got expelled from school."
"Why?"
I looked at him, "I don't know everything, Simon. Go ask."
His eyes bulged out of his head. "Ask?" he laughed without humour. "No way, just look at those cars. You know somebody hot drives those things." I grinned and looked from him back to the house. One of the doors finally opened.
"Let's go find out," I hissed and jumped off the picnic table. The three other car doors opened. I scanned the backs of them. There was a tall blonde boy getting out of the black mustang. He caught my eye because his hair contrasted so distinctly from his black clothing. Then there was another tall boy with black hair, but he seemed slightly buffer than the blonde. He was also dressed in black. Finally, I saw the girl. She had long black flowing hair and was so much taller than I was. Her body had curves and a decent butt. I forced myself to stare at it in those black leggings, trying to sexualize any part of her body. But all I felt was envy. She had a great body, but the lust was missing.
I faltered in my step when the blonde turned around. I found the lust. He had stolen it all. His face reminded me of those of an angel. His jaw line was never-ending. Golden eyes popped and sparked against his plump, full lips. And his hair seemed like it came out of a model catalogue.
Suddenly, a car whooshed past my face and I fell back. "Clary! Are you trying to get hit?" Simon shouted. I took a breath, trying to force these feelings away. They were wrong. They were so wrong. Surely I was just confused. God made people to form alike groups. Nobody liked being different, so they wouldn't marry somebody different. And He said it was a sin to sleep with the opposite sex outside of the breeding month. The boy was handsome; anyone would admit that. I wasn't blind so of course I felt slightly altered.
I shook my head and continued across the street. The three kids were grouped together by the last open space of their driveway. "Maryse drives like a snail – give her ten minutes more," spoke the blonde haired kid. He saw me first and pushed off his car, studying me. The other two followed suit, watching my every move as I stepped onto their driveway.
"So which one of you got expelled?" I asked, looking from each person. Blondie's gaze held mine for far too long. I tried to force down my blush.
"That'd be Jace," the girl cocked her head towards Blondie. Jace seemed to fit his posture. He tilted his head back, observing me some more. "How did you know?"
I grinned, "This is a small town." Simon coughed from the other side of the road and I looked over my shoulder, rolling my eyes. "Simon wants to know why you got kicked out."
"Why didn't Simon ask?" the girl spoke again, craning her head to look at Simon. Her eyebrows raised in approval. Was she checking him out? That was the look Aline gave me every time I passed her in the hallway. I wasn't used to flirting, but that looked like it. I shuddered. Now that was gross.
"Wimp," I shrugged, looking expectantly to Jace. He seemed to see my gaze for the first time and chuckled. He ran his hand though his hair and looked at me with wild eyes.
"Supposedly, I 'seduced' two girls at school," he deadpanned, waiting expectantly to see my reaction. So he was the straight one. I easily could have pegged that. He radiated hetero vibes, mainly from the way he kept checking me out. My cheeks were burning.
"Supposedly?" I snorted, cocking a hip to the side as I smirked. I vaguely felt like I was flirting and tried to change my posture, but that just made it worse. Stop over thinking things, Clary. You are gay now, just like everyone else. Except Jace.
Jace laughed in surprise. Clearly, they were expecting a totally different response from me. "They caught the three of us in the closet-,"
"How ironic," I muttered. His eyes sparkled with devious mirth.
"One of the girl's moms was the principal, and the other girl tried to sue him when her dads found out," the quieter boy stated. "Look, we really need to unpack."
"Alec, don't be so rude," the girl shoved her brother's shoulder. She looked me up and down. Oh no, if she were another Aline, I'd die. After all the rumours going around at school about me, most of the girls had stopped flirting with me, but Aline was resilient. She was also a whore. "I'm Isabelle, this is Alec, and that's Jace." She gestured respectively to the boys.
"I'm Clary Morganstern. You all-," I was cut off suddenly when a hand grabbed my hair and pulled me hard. I shouted, cringing and following the hand. "Ow, hey! What the fuck?"
"Clarissa Morgenstern, what do you think you're doing?" I recognized the voice as my dad. I'd never seen Jo angry enough to manhandle me. Normally, that was strictly Valentine. Jo released her a few feet away from the group of teenagers.
"Greeting the neighbours," I said too quickly. Jo looked frantically from me to the three teenagers, who were watching this fiasco with mild curiosity.
"Do you know who they are?" Jo whisper-yelled. He looked genuinely scared. "Do you know what your father would do to you if he knew what you've done?"
I scoffed, "What have I done exactly, dad?"
He looked from the kids and back to her again. "Clary, one of those boys is a hetero! No doubt he was fantasizing about doing who knows what to you!"
"But it would be fine if she was, right?" I glared. Jo's mouth fell open, but I knew that look. He clearly wouldn't have had a problem. I turned away and blew out a long breath of air. "Right. Thanks, Dad, for watching out for me. God forbid he might think my hair looks accentuating."
I walked away, muttering curses. Jo followed swiftly behind me, shouting. Simon waved awkwardly to Jo. "Simon, you should really go."
"Right," he said. "Nice seeing you, Mr. Morgenstern."
I looked behind me at the three teenagers. They were laughing their asses off. Despite the trouble I knew I'd be in, I grinned. It was rather amusing seeing Jo being all macho. He entered before me, holding the door open. I turned around at the last second and flipped them off, to which I heard howls of laughter.
"I think it's best if you waited in your room until Valentine gets home, Clarissa." Jo made a beeline to the phone, dialling up the number I knew very well. I hadn't even seen Valentine leave. Sighing, I trudged to the basement where Jonathon and I shared our 'room.' It took up the entire basement space. His bed was in the upper right corner and mine was in the upper left. His band practice space took up below his bed while I had the couch and television below mine. It was pretty sweet except for the minor detail of privacy.
Jonathon was arguing with Sebastian over band politics. "I just don't see why Sebastian or I can't be the lead vocalist!" Jordan shouted, probably for the fifth time. He was very dense. I tried to ignore them by falling dramatically on my bed. When the continued to ignore me, I moaned loudly and sadly. Again, they kept arguing. Boys.
"Will had killer vocals. Yours are far less than pitchy," Magnus pointed out swiftly as he skipped his way over to me. That just sent Jordan off on a whole other rant. I felt Magnus' hands on my shoulders, rubbing me. I sighed happily into the massage. "Oh darling, what's got your panties in a twist?"
"Father is going to kill me when he gets home," I moaned into the pillow. There was no doubt about it. Somehow, I've managed to keep the rumours from them, but what about the truth? Valentine was so extremely positive that Jonathon and I were homosexual that he made jokes about how we'd be out of house and home if we kissed the opposite sex. Those jokes were extremely offensive, but they were also extremely true. If he didn't kick me out, he'd do something to keep from having a jig in his house.
"Our songs are meant for somebody with a high pitched voice, Jordan! We need somebody else."
Magnus continued to rub my shoulders. "Come on, Clary, it can't be that bad."
"It is," I sighed and flipped around. Magnus sat at my feet. "What's this about a new guy?"
He shrugged. "I just hope he's cute. They've got the looks but not for me." Magnus, with his lined eyes and spiked dark purple hair, was a sight to see. He was one of the louder people I knew. I enjoyed that about him, but sometimes it was a little overwhelming. He was always looking for his next one-night-stand and never a boyfriend. He was twenty-three years old while everyone else was eighteen here, besides me. I was about to turn eighteen. Either way, Magnus Bane had gotten around.
The door to our room opened and closed loudly. Two pairs of feet began walking down the stairs. I groaned and buried my face in my arms, preparing for the lecture of a lifetime. "Boys," Valentine's voice said sternly in greeting.
"Would you mind cutting your hobby time short today? We need to talk to Jonathon and Clary," Jo said in his sweetest voice, but I heard the tightness of it. He wasn't going to be on my side this time.
"Sure we'll cut our 'hobby time,'" Jordan muttered as he picked up his guitar. "Bye guys." He and Magnus left swiftly while Jonathon took his time coming over. We sat on the couch while our dads stood firmly in front of us, both glaring.
"What did she do?" Jonathon asked, looking at me snootily. I sighed. Our fathers cleared their throats.
"I know we talked about the family across the street at church," Jo began, "but your dad didn't go into detail about them."
Valentine looked down at us with disgust. "Those sticks are also liars, trying to say they are real Christians. When Clary was talking to the kids," he said with a strained voice, "Jo saw that hetero looking at you."
He and Jo shuddered. My cheeks flamed. Was he really looking at me like they thought? Or were they just being heterophobic as usual? I coughed to cover up the blushing. "We don't want you going around that family, especially you, Clarissa. We don't want that jig doing unspeakable sins to you," Jo spoke in horror, his voice small. He was honestly scared of Jace simply because of his sexuality. My eyes bulged. Jonathon couldn't hold back his laughter this time.
"Has he raped anyone before, Dad?" he asked.
"That doesn't matter, Jonathon. You need to be worried about Clary's safety. Having any man look at her in that way is offensive enough," Valentine chastised. Jonathon tried to muffle his laughter. I couldn't belief how scared they were of Jace. They truly thought he'd try to rape me. Valentine looked at me. "Why did you go over there in the first place?"
I opened my mouth to say the truth but thought better of it. Jonathon already thought I was a jig, or at the least bisexual. My dads were now worrying about the family across the street influencing my orientation. I didn't think like them, but I didn't want them angrier with me than before. Besides, if they caught wind of any of the rumours going around about me, they'd put me into 'therapy' for sure.
So I feigned to be embarrassed. I looked at them and looked away quickly twice before muttering. "I wanted to meet the girl, Isabelle." Jo and Valentine shared a look and sighed. "She's not a jig, right?"
"No," Valentine said shortly. "She's a lesbian, but Clary we don't want you seeing her. And that goes for you Jonathon. Their eldest son is said to be gay, but we don't want you affiliating with their parents or brother."
"Bu-," I pretended to be heartbroken. In reality, I thought my dads were going crazy. 'Influenced by their ways.' I was decently sure if I were straight, I wouldn't need influencing.
"That's final," Valentine snapped. "There are plenty of other respectable girls out there for you, Clarissa."
"You'll find her," Jo patted my leg and turned. Valentine nodded at the both of us and followed beside him, a hand on the small of his back. "Did you hear the Thompson's are moving out?"
"Yes, I did," Valentine sighed sadly. "It's because of those sticks, too, and you know it."
"I heard Jay Thompson almost fainted when they heard they were moving in beside…"
The door finally closed behind them and I looked over at Jonathon. He and I burst into laughter, clutching our stomachs. It was the best way to deal with our simple-minded parents. "Watch out, Clary, he's going to rape you because he's raped nobody else before and he's straight!" I fell to the floor laughing before finally sobering up. Jon offered me a hand and sighed loudly as we settled in the couch. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
"Why do they hate heteros so much, Jon?" I whispered. He looked at me with pity, knowing my feelings. With my previous actions, anyone would label me at the least bi, something my dads would still loathe. They'd hate me truly hate me. But the orientation didn't change who I was. I didn't see why they'd hate me when it hardly affected them.
No, I wasn't straight. I shuddered. I was just confused. It was a phase, as Simon once suggested. Jonathon said, "They don't understand it so they make fun of it to hide their ignorance."
I fully agreed. They hated jigs because they didn't understand them.
A/N: Ahh! I've been so excited to post this story! I'm new to TMI fan fiction. Now I haven't finished reading TMI. I know; it's crazy. I don't know why. It got a little mushy gushy for me. I'll finish eventually, but it won't impact this. AU and AH.
Who can guess the pairing besides Clace, obviously?
Can I get five chapters? FIVE! I'll update as soon as I get it!
