A single scream and the demon started to liquidate itself right in front of me. Black slime spread all over my clothes. My hair was a bigger mess that it usually was and I already knew that my clothes were ruined. The slime burnt patches of the fabric and made my skin itch. Dried blood and demon-slime were a horrible combination. It was Friday night and I stood in a dark alley between two mundane nightclubs. For them, I'd look like a crazy person. They wouldn't understand what was happening. If it wasn't for the glamour, I'd look like a crazy person to them. Hard to believe, that just a few months back, I was one of them. Normal. A simple mundane. I bowed down and grabbed the Stele that I dropped in combat. It was time to return to the Institute. Time to report to Alec.
Mundanes passed by. It was a weird feeling that they couldn't see me, but it was also very comforting. I mean, seriously. Didn't we all have a moment in which we simply weren't in the mood to talk to people? Yeah, being covered in demon slime triggered that emotion. The mundanes were so happy, hanging out with each other. Partying, dancing, drinking and celebrating. A few months back, my evenings looked exactly like that. Sometimes I played groupie for Simon's band, other times we would sit on his couch for hours and watch Star Wars. Usually, I painted when other people partied. Sure, sometimes I visited parties with my friends. Yeah, friends. Or so I thought. After I disappeared into the shadow world, they didn't even bother to call me. Not that I cared much about it. I didn't even realize that I lost my friends, until Jace asked me what I did for fun, when I was a mundane. Maybe the other shadowhunters were to blame. They were my family now and losing one of them would hurt so much more than losing fake friends. Sometimes I missed my old life and today was one of those days. My boyfriend, Jace, grew up as a shadowhunter. While I grew up well-protected by my mom and Luke, he was trained to be a killer. In my old life, my mom interrogated every boy that tried to date me. Boys took me to fancy restaurants or events. My boyfriend on the other hand took me on one date and it was awful. An evening I'd like to forget. We tried to do things like normal couples so often, but every time I tried, demons showed up or the shadow world was in danger. When duty called, we had to obey.
I missed him, badly. We hadn't been alone in weeks. We ran from one mission to another. God, I couldn't even remember our last kiss or the last evening he visited me in our bedroom. He traveled to Idris with Alec a week ago. I would never admit it, but I whined about it all week long. Since Simon decided he didn't want to hear every sad detail of my love life, Izzy had to listen to my complaints. Just thinking about it made me roll my eyes. Since when exactly was I /that/ dramatic?
The streets of New York were packed, as always. The way back to the Institute felt so much longer than usual. Blame the fact that I was so damn exhausted from running around all week long. I could barely remember the last night I got a full time sleep. But when I finally made it into the building, I was damn relieved. Nobody really seemed to notice me, except for Izzy. She smiled at me, but her expression changed into disgust. The black slime dripped from my clothes on the floor. I really hoped nobody I liked had to clean this mess up. Shadowhunters just crossed the room randomly. They pretty much ignored me, because it was a really busy day.. Hell, this damn week was incredibly busy. Next to Izzy, Alec was having a phone call. She seemed to be busy with her screens, while he was just gushing to his boyfriend Magnus. I was surprised that he wasn't here yet. Hell, just the thought of Jace's return made me want to run to his bedroom. Of course, I wouldn't do that, because A) I didn't want to seem like an overly clingy girlfriend and B) I looked like a hot mess and the smile started to hurt on my skin. If it wasn't for that, I would have waited for Alec to get off the phone, but I felt really uncomfortable.
„What the hell happened to you?" Izzy's facial expression was a mix of shock, disgust and amusement. I walked over to her and just let out a groan. „A demon attacked me. It was pretty fat. When I stabbed it, it covered me in /this/." An amused glare sparkled in her eyes, when she took a step back and looked at the whole extend of this mess. „Clary, your looks are a crime against fashion." She huffed. „Have a shower, before your boy sees you. He was looking for your earlier."
I smiled like a thirteen year old girl that just found out that her crush liked her too. The worst about it? I also felt like it. Now it was my turn to spin around and walk away, which I did, until Izzy raised her voice again. „I have a blue dress. It would look perfect on you. Doesn't suit me. Go get it." I laughed. When Izzy talked about dressing up, I felt like she was my pimp. She always dressed me like a hooker. Just thinking about it made me feel like a slut. It sent shivers down my spine. Maybe It was just the feeling of the slime running down my back. „You have no idea how badly I need this shower, Iz."
Of course, I knew I didn't have to dress up to impress him. He fancied me when I was wearing tight leather outfits just as much as he fancied me in sweatpants and his t-shirts. When I was younger, my mom told me that men had to love me with all my rough edges. If they didn't, they weren't worth it. Not that I needed to worry about this, when it came to Jace. He loved everything about me. He was part of this world. Part of my world. Still, I was only a girl that sometimes loved to dress up for her boyfriend. My usual clothing style was considered boring and ordinary by the others. Magnus even called it innocent. Izzy on the other hand wore clothes that I considered underwear. The worst part about it? She looked perfect in them and I enjoyed her confidence.
When I said that I needed the shower, I had no idea how much I needed it. It took me forever to wash off the blood, slime and dirt. It took me even longer to defend my hair and get dressed. I liked the dress Izzy gave me. It wasn't revealing at all and certainly no dress I would have expected in her closet. Surprisingly, it fitted me perfectly. I also took some of her makeup and even applied a dark red lipstick, before I fought with my hair. I won and put it up in a ponytail, before I left the bathroom. I knew how stupid it was, but maybe I just wanted to feel normal again, just this once. Maybe I wanted to feel like a girl meeting up with her boyfriend, instead like a wife that's waiting for her sailor husband, returning after an eternity on a ship with zero network connection.
I walked like a stork to my room, before I collided with someone. Mundane-Clary would have fallen on the ground, being all clumsy. Shadowhunter-Clary had no problem, standing still. When I looked up, I looked directly into the most beautiful eyes I knew. Golden. Jace. He was home. Said boyfriend grabbed my wrist and pulled me into my room. I had a hard time keeping up with his pace and almost tripped after he let go off me. Jace closed the door behind me and I immediately felt his arms around my waist. It was like an ancient dance. He pulled me so close that I was able to hear his heartbeat. I reached out for him, wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to reach his face. The moment our lips finally met, I felt like exploding. It was like someone opened a cage filled with butterflies in my stomach. My knees were weak. Suddenly, I felt so warm. So worked up. Well, that until he touched that one damn spot on my waist and I winced.
Jace let go, like I burned his hands. He arched a brow and turned around. The golden boy locked the door, before he walked back to me. „Sit down." He ordered. This wasn't his boyfriend voice. It was his bossy voice. I hated this voice. But I obeyed nonetheless. This was the wrong time to pick a fight. So, I sat down on the edge of my bed and looked at him.
He sat down next to me and pushed me back, in a laying down position. Jace looked down on me, looking so worried. There was something about his eyes that I couldn't quite explain. They simply displayed his feelings so well. „Are you hurt?" His voice was high pitched and I just shook my head, way too fast. No way in hell that he'd believe me. „I'm fine. I just fought a demon and it covered me in his slime. I think I only have some small cuts. Nothing to worry about." I raised my hand and ran my fingers over his cheek. I tried to trace his features slowly, but I ended up just cupping his cheek. For a few seconds he closed his eyes. It looked somehow like relief. He still didn't seem very satisfied.
„Take your dress off and let me take a look at those cuts. You wouldn't wince if it was nothing." He was right. They hurt. I knew that he could be very convincing. I knew that not obeying him was a bad idea. What if that bloody slime actually was poisonous or something like that? I looked up at him and sat up, before I leaned over for a kiss. He gave in and I felt the same sensation in my stomach. Raging butterflies and a foggy brain. Couldn't think straight.
When he broke the kiss, I just looked up at him and nodded. „You need to help me, though. Bloody zipper." He tilted his head a little bit. He hesitated a second, before he unzipped my dress and pulled it over my head. Well, it wasn't the first time he saw me in underwear and I really didn't feel the need to cover my body. He sucked in a breath, before he trailed a spot on my shoulder. „It's not poisonous, but it irritated your skin and even burnt some parts. I doubt it will leave scars, but you should keep an eye on it." There were red patches all over my body. I hadn't even noticed them until now. God, how tired was I, that I didn't notice that I was hurt? Now I felt like an idiot. Jace got up from the bed and walked over to my closet. He looked through it and grabbed a shirt and a bottle that I never noticed before. Jace threw the shirt, I catched it. He gave me one of the shirts I /borrowed/ from him, but I didn't put it on yet. When he returned to my bed, he started applying a few drops of the liquid on my wounds. My arms, legs, my stomach and my back. Once he was finished, he leaned over and placed a small kiss on my neck.
„What was that?" I eyed the bottle, but he just placed it on the nightstand.
„It's kinda like medicine, it eases the pain from demon wounds. You need to rest after it, though. It's quite exhausting for your spirit." He handed me the shirt, that I almost forgot about and I put it on. It was way too big for me, but he looked more than satisfied. „It suits you better than me, which is an achievement you should be proud of. This rarely happens, when it comes to attractive people like me." He chuckled and reached for my scrunchy, pulled it out and watched my hair fall back over my shoulders. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of his fingers, playing with my hair for awhile, until a yawn escaped my mouth. When he stood up, I was afraid that he would leave, but instead he just took his shirt and jeans off, before he slid into my bed.
„Let's get you the promised rest, won't we?" I looked down at him, before I turned the light off. His hand immediately found mine, our fingers intertwined, as I rested my head on his chest, while his other hand drew circles over my back. Before I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but smile. For the first time in over a week I actually felt like sleeping. Finally, I was relaxing
„I missed you." Was all I said, but he already drifted off to sleep, the red lipstick still smeared all over his lips.
It seemed like I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep well alone anymore.