Here's where the story really starts.

Sorry for the first (intro chapter)

But I guess every story needs it.

All rights to Cassie Clare


August 19th

I wake up to someone shaking me roughly.

I slowly peel my eyes open, they feel like they have been glued shut.

Above me is Luke. His eyes are blazing and he's pacing the room, muttering things I can't understand.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes, and then stretching my arms. That's when the room swims into focus, Luke is still pacing around, and I see the clock on my bedside table.

7:03 p.m.

I jump out of bed, running to cover myself with a robe. While Luke is mumbling something about that being the most movement he has seen from me in weeks, or something along those lines.

I must have fallen of asleep.

"Yes?" I cross my arms, wondering why he decided to wake me up. I probably could have slept through the night.

"YES?" he half shouts at me, throwing his arms up in the air. "The Lightwoods will be here any minute! Hurry up and get changed." He growls.

I sigh, the dinner with our new neighbors. I totally spaced. I frown, and am about to change when Luke calls back, "And please wear something your mother would be proud to see you in." his words could have cut glass, but his voice was soft.

He walks out without another word.

I lay back on my bed, his words slicing into me. Maybe I should try tonight for her. For my mother, I need to make her proud.

I haul my body up and reach for my pill bottle on my bedside table. I stare at the yellow vessel, which is occupied by multiple tiny white tablets. I sigh once again and pop two in my mouth, allowing the medication to dance on my tongue for a minute before letting it shoot down my throat.

Pills, Check

Dressing nicely? Now that was going to be a problem.

I ended up deciding on pair of white jeans, never worn before, and a simple purple blouse that brought out my emerald eyes.

I added a simple pair of white flats and even earrings to the attire. Now this was making an effort. Luke should be proud. My mother would be proud.

I tamed my wide, messy red curls with a few brushes and included a thin layer of mascara.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a complete stranger. I looked genuinely happy. My eyes shined brightly, my cheeks are flushed, and my hair sparkles in the light. This reminded of myself a few months ago.

And that immediately put a frown on my face.

Everything seems to-

Luke calling from downstairs cut off my mid-sentence rant, "They're here!"

I checked my reflection once more as if I was giving myself a boast of confidence and headed downstairs.

Luke and five other strangers welcomed me.

"Oh Clary!" an unfamiliar voice said to me, "Look how much you've grown!" A tall, bony woman with blue eyes and dark hair embraces me. "You look just like your mother." I freeze under her touch, I wasn't use to this hugging situation and I definitely wasn't fond of it.

"Don't scare her Maryse…" a low voice chuckles from behind her. Maryse lets me go and turns to the man.

"Sorry Clary," she gives me a sheepish smile, "I doubt you remember but we first met when you were around five."

I shake my head, not remembering ever meeting these strange people.

"As Robert just stated, I'm Maryse," she turns back to me, "this is my husband Robert," he steps forward to shake my hand.

I hesitant, these people were very…um…forward.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. and Mr. Lightwood." I give them a small smile and only then do I shake his hand.

"Please call us Maryse and Robert." She says with a nice smile. Okay all this smiling is starting to creep me out. I glance helplessly at Luke behind me, curious to why he's just standing there not saying anything.

Luke notices my cry for help and motions for the living room. "Why don't we sit down and get to know each other better."

And that's when I notice the three other teenagers in the room with me. The radiant girl stands out the most of all them. The first thing I observe about her is that she looks exactly like her mother, tall, slender, long, with shinny dark hair, but instead of blue eyes, she has dark ones. She's wearing a long blue and silver dress that shows her curves nicely. A burning feeling rolls into my stomach, something I rarely ever felt. Envy. She has tall, smooth legs while I'm standing here with petite, freckled ones.

I try my best to keep my facial expressions neutral as I move my eyes to the next person; he looks very similar to her. With a thin, wiry build and dark hair, he takes his mother's blue eyes instead of his fathers. His clothes are normal, definitely the opposite of his sister's, it's very clear that is trying to down play his looks.

And finally my eyes slide over to the last brother. He stands out in the family like a sunflower in a bed of weeds. He's taller than the rest of his siblings, but instead of the darker looks like the rest of his family. He's golden, like physically golden. His blonde, curly hair shines in the light, while he's long eyelashes cast shadows over his fair eyes. But what's most different about him than the rest is, that he's leaning against the side of the door, staring intensely at me. Almost like I just peed on the floor or something crazy like that. While his other siblings are casually standing with their parents, trying to look friendly and amiable.

Only when Maryse and Robert follow Luke in the living room do I tear my eyes away from the peculiar golden boy and head after them.

Luke distributed crackers and cheese to everyone, while I worked on getting drinks. I stare at the wall of kitchen, drinks? How in hell am I suppose to know what they like?

I bite my lip in frustration, while opening the fridge.

We have literally nothing in here. Our fridge consists of leftover take out boxes and sparkling water. I sigh and grab the water, and look around the kitchen to find Luke's sash of wine.

Red or white?

Again, how am I suppose to know what the Lightwoods prefer?

I groan and grab the red bottle, muttering something to myself about taking chances, and then I swing the living room door open.

Everyone is sitting down. And when I enter the room, six pairs of eyes fiercely stare at me. This is about the time where I drop the bottle and run up to my room and hide for the next week.

But no.

I promised my mother, and myself I would tough out this dinner for Luke. That's the least I could do for him.

I place the sparkling water and the wine onto the table, "I wasn't really sure if you preferred red or white wine so I just guessed, we have white if you would rather." I inform Maryse and Robert.

I see Maryse's mouth open about to response, but another voice beats her to it. "Actually I like white better, better luck next time."

Silence.

No laughter, not even a smile from a single person in this room. My cheeks flush in embarrassment, as I cut my attention over to source.

The golden boy.

And once again, he's staring right at me. What's his problem? Do I have something on my face or something? For the first time in over three months, I'm afraid of what someone else is thinking of me. Wait what? Did I just openly admit to that?

My thoughts were cut off when Maryse jumps in calmly, "You'll make to excuse Jace, and he has a different sense of humor than everyone else." She adds a little laugh to try to make things lighter, but it didn't work.

I'm still staring at golden boy, well I guess his name is Jace, because something about him is so unsettling. He reminds me of a lion, beautiful yet deadly at the same time. He has that sort of look in his eyes that makes me itch to grab my pencils and sketchpad.

"Clary?" I whip my attention back to Luke, who, I guess, has been calling my name.

"Yes?"

"We forget to introduce you to all the Lightwoods." He nods towards the teenagers around my age.

But instead of him continuing to speak, the girl, pipes up, "I'm Isabelle," she flashes me a brilliant smile, showing off her perfect set of white teeth. I hate her already.

"Alec…" says her brother that looks just like her; he smiles slightly at me while giving a tiny wave. Nervous probably.

"Jace Wayland." Says the last sibling. Wayland? I thought their last name was Lightwood.

I guess Maryse could tell by my facial expression that I was puzzled because she explained that Jace is adopted. There's a shocker. He fits right it. *Cough* *cough*

I nod politely, displaying that I understand and wait for something to happen because right now this whole-dinner-party-being-a-breeze is NOT happening.

Thankfully that's when Luke calls us into dinner. Great, I can't wait to explore the past of Alec, Isabelle, and Jace….

Dinner is like excepted. Maryse talks most of the time about her family, where they use to live, how happy they are to be here, blah blah blah.

I wasn't really listening at all, just staring down at my pork roast and imaging that I was somewhere else. And thankfully they never really asked me any questions, just a simple yes and no ones that I was able to nail down easily.

And now I'm fixing a box of small cakes from the corner bakery, dreading what's coming next. Maryse had a BRILLANT idea that the adults would carry on their conversation at the dinner table while the kids would get to know each other!

Yay! I wish I had come up with the idea!

I groan, because once again, I'm put on food/drink duty. And I still have no idea what goes with mini frosted cakes. The Frays don't do this whole 'fancy dinner party thing' anymore.

I grab some milk and balance the cakes and a few glasses in the other hands while walking back over to the living room. Déjà vu much?

And as soon as I walk into the room, all their talking goes dead silent. Wonderful, I'm feeling right at home.

"So Clary," Isabelle starts the conversation, "I heard you do cheerleading, how's the team at St. Xavier?" she says with a boast of excitement.

St. Xavier? I didn't know they would be going to my same school. Well, I should have guessed since they lived across the street from us, but still, maybe I was hoping they'd go to private school or something along those lines.

I set the cakes and milk, adjusting them perfectly on the coffee table, "Um yeah, I was on the team, I haven't really practiced in awhile, so I'm not sure if I'll try out this year." I shrug, "But the team is very good, we made it to states last season." I add softly, not sure where this whole 'team spirit' is coming from. "Oh and Luke picked up these mini cakes from this bakery in town," I open the box, showing off eight small, water-mouthing pastries, "They're really good…. and I brought milk…. we don't really have anything else though…" I trail off not really sure what else to say.

Isabelle smiles, but it's Jace who replies, "You don't have much do you?"

Wait what? My facial expression twists into a confusion, irked visage, and "I don't believe I know what you're talking about." I answer acutely.

Jace leans back onto the sofa, as if it's his own, and throws his hands over his heads in relaxation, "Your house…is so…" he's rubbing his chin trying to come with the right word, "hollow, don't you ever decorate or clean around here?" I can see the smile playing on his lips, and I feel a burning urge to run over there and slap it right off.

"Jace!" Is the first word Alec the older brother exclaims in frustration.

I wave it off, "We don't really have the time," I clench my teeth, "Luke's at the bookstore basically all the time, and when he's not there that's where you'll find me."

I can feel the heat of Jace's stare but I keep my focus on Isabelle and Alec, and I keep my focus on remaining calm.

"Bookstore?" Isabelle asks, "He owns on in town?" I can tell she's trying to make an effort, and I like her for that.

"Yep, it's next to the brewery, the only coffee shop in town. You can't miss it. But it's pretty small so your eyes will usually go to the stores next to it first." I say glumly, remembering how my mother wanted to paint a beautiful sign for his store so it would catch customer's eyes. That was just before the accident.

Then I notice how no one has touched the cakes, so I reach for one blindly. Biting into the sweet, sugary combination of chocolate and raspberry. I smile slightly to myself as if I was sharing a secret.

"So what grades will you guys be going into?" I ask between mouthfuls.

"Alec's older so he'll be Senior this year. And Jace and I will be Juniors." Isabelle answers. Juniors, are you kidding me? "You'll be a Junior right Clary?"

I nod, keeping my face impartial, trying not to give away the amount of dread that's weighting on me right now. Why do they have to be in my grade? Why does HE have to be in my grade?

I bite down, believing I would be tasting another bit of cake when I bite down hard on my tongue. I bite my lip in frustration, while reaching for another small cake; it's a party right?

"Careful there little red, there might not be any left for anyone else," I snatch my hand back and look up to meet the beaming eyes of Jace. He's smirking slightly, enjoying all of this.

I clench my fists in anger and give him a stare that could have cut glass, "Is there another tactic you want to start using now? Because these remorseless jokes are kind of getting old." I snap at him.

"Actually I'm just getting started." A lazy smile plays on his lips.

I get to my feet, about to burst my bubble, when Isabelle joins me. "Clary, why don't you give me a tour of the house? I'd love to see it, this whole ranch style is so chic!" she spins me around, but not without giving Jace a poisoned look.

I stomp to the porch, craving to feel the fresh air on my face. Inside, I'm feeling suffocated and one more minute in there, it might happen.

I think I should tell Luke that the pills aren't working anymore. I never told him about the bookstore incident, because the truth was I was fine. I woke up a little bit later on the hardwood floor, staring up at the rafters. I didn't freak out or anything, because it happens too often for that.

I lean against the railing, sticking my head out towards the grass, attempting to keep my heartbeat calm.

"Clary, I'm sorry about Jace" Isabelle begins; I think she believes this whole thing was a sign that he was getting under my skin. She didn't know half the story. "He get's…. unfriendly when he comes to strangers." She adds.

I shrug. "I get it, I'm use to it."

"What do you mean?" she asks curiously.

"Oh it's nothing," I add quickly, "I'm just use to people acting hostile like that…it's a small town."

"Oh. Well Alec and I would never do that. I just think it's because we were raised differently."

I give her a confusion glance, "Raised differently? I thought you adopted him?"

"Yes but we did when he was about 10 years old. He lived with his father up to then." She lowers her voice, "I'm not sure how he raised him but it wasn't all bells and whistles."

I frown; maybe I shouldn't have judged him before I knew his whole story. "What happened to his father…if you don't mind me asking."

Isabelle cuts me a sad glance, "He was murdered, right in front of Jace's eyes."

My voice sinks to a whisper, "Oh." What else could I say? Change the topic? "Isabelle…"

She turns towards me, "If you never need someone to show you around town or introduce you to some people, I'm right across the street." I give her a small smile.

Isabelle's smile shinned so brightly; I almost needed sunglasses, "Thanks Clary, that would be great!"

She reaches down to hug me (again the whole problem with being short) and this time I don't freeze under her touch. This time something is different; it felt like it is an open window for new beginnings, for new changes.

That's when something caught my eyes, a flash of gold movement, as if that thing/person was trying to get away from their hiding spot.

Gold? The more I think about it, the more I realize how similar Jace's eyes and that gold movement looked to me. My only question is though, why is he eavesdropping?


Yayaya Jace is in the picture now!

We can all breathe again!

Don't forget to review, new writer and I want all your thoughts!

The more reviews, the quicker I'll put up the next chapter!