Guys! The response for this story was awesome! This story will probably take priority over my other two, but y'all should still read them all! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews3
Just for future reference, more reviews equals a quicker update from me, but other than that, I don't have an update schedule - in case you were wondering!
Now, without further ado, onto chapter two! - hah that rhymes!
Their hands were on her waist, and they were standing very close to each other. She looked up to find a pair of golden eyes staring back at her.
"Well this is awkward," he said. Clary wanted to respond or, at least, move, bust she couldn't. His eyes were captivating; the color was nothing like anything Clary had ever seen before. They were golden, not like brown with specks of gold, like straight melted gold. They shined like stars, and Clary couldn't look away. She imagined being able to stare at these eyes for a couple hours so that she could paint them. She would frame them with black like his mask because it made them glow even brighter. Clary was broken out of her trance when the stranger released her waist and took a small step back.
"I'm sorry about that," she said, but it was obvious that she was still dazed. The stranger let out a low chuckle.
"It isn't your fault that a bunch of drunk girls knocked you down. I mean you are extremely lucky that they knocked you into Prince Charming, but that's beside the point," he stated cockily. He was smirking at her like the typical player he probably was; Clary didn't like players. She saw the problem already: she was mysteriously attracted to a player, and it wasn't even the first day of school yet. She quickly broke out of the trance that she was caught in and took a step back from her "Prince Charming."
"Well, Prince Charming, it looks like I must be your damsel in distress," Clary answered with a subtle hint of sarcasm she hoped he caught. He never lost his smirk or removed his gaze from hers.
"It looks that way doesn't it," he said quietly and gazed at her with a curious look that Clary couldn't decipher. She wondered what she looked like to him; she knew that the lighting made her hair look brown and she was taller than usual. He wouldn't recognize her after this night, which Clary was grateful for.
"I'm going to buy you a drink." Prince Charming broke Clary out of her train of thought. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to two open seats at the bar. Clary's hand was tingling, and she couldn't breathe from the skin to skin contact.
"I don't drink," Clary murmured so quietly that she didn't think he would've heard her. She was still a bit dazed from the tingling in her hand. No one had ever affected her so immediately. Prince Charming ordered them both a drink that Clary had never heard of before, so she assumed it was alcoholic. The bartender handed him the drinks, and he paid for both of them. Before Clary had time to protest, Prince Charming was leading them away from the bar and to a space much like Sebastian had brought her to when they first got here. Prince Charming suddenly stopped with Clary between him and the wall, turned, and handed Clary one of the drinks.
"I don't drink," she repeated, this time loud enough for him the hear her. He looked at her questioningly before placing the drinks on the table next to Clary.
"Why do you have that wristband if you don't drink?" he asked her. "It seems like a lot of extra effort to get that wristband if you don't need it."
"The guy I came with gave it to me," she answered with a sigh. She was supposed to be finding Sebastian. Prince Charming raised his eyebrows and took a step away from her.
"I wasn't aware that you came with somebody," he said seriously. Maybe he wasn't into playing his game with girls who weren't available.
"Oh, I'm not actually with him. It's complicated how we ended up together actually! I mean – he's just not my type," Clary responded before Prince Charming could walk away. His smirk was suddenly back and bigger than ever. He took a small step toward her, and Clary realized that she couldn't take a step back because of the wall behind her.
"Oh, really?" He leaned into her so that his lips were at her ear. "Whose type are you then?" he asked. Clary felt butterflies explode in her stomach, but she decided to have fun with this. She leaned forward so that her lips barely brushed his cheek and found his ear. His body tensed because this was the last thing he expected.
"Not yours," she whispered and slipped out from between him and the wall. She started walking to the direction of the entrance without looking where she was going. She could only feel the fire spreading across her body. Prince Charming had been pressed up against her, and she hated how good it had felt. She was terrified at her sudden attraction to a boy that she had just met. She didn't even know his name for goodness sake! She did not intend to come to the dance to meet a totally hot senior that may or may not be using her and literally run into another gorgeous boy that she had a freaky connection with. New York was crazy.
Clary was too busy focusing on her mystery boy to realize that she had walking right into the middle of the dance floor. A slow song had just come on, so she was walking between couples twirling in circles. She tried to maneuver around the people and get off the floor, but someone grabbed her hand before she could. She was suddenly pulled flush against non-other than her mystery boy. One of his hands held hers while the other lightly gripped her waist. Clary automatically put her other hand on his shoulder as a reflex. Their eyes locked and he began twirling them around the dance floor.
"It's incredibly rude to just walk away from someone like that, Cinderella," he said, never breaking eye contact. Clary raised her eyebrows at him.
"Cinderella?" she asked. She knew that she should get away from him; Simon would be picking her up soon. But, she couldn't seem to pull away from his gaze.
"You said yourself that you're my damsel in distress, and you're dressed up beautifully. The name only seemed fitting. I wouldn't mind knowing your real name though," he added. Clary had already decided not to tell him her name, so she directed the conversation.
"How about you tell me some things about you. How about your name? I refuse to continue referring to you as Prince Charming in my head," she responded. They were still twirling in circles, but they were in their own world with no one else.
"Good to know you've been thinking about me," he answered twirling her around again. "I'm going to be a senior at Alicante this year, and everybody knows me. This leads me to believe that you're either a new student at my school, or you go to a different school around here which is less likely because you would probably still know of me. I'm the captain of the soccer team, and I'm incredibly attractive which is why most girls swoon at the sight of me. You probably already figured that out already though." The stranger twirled her away from him, so she had a moment to breathe. When he pulled her back in, and there wasn't a molecule of air between them. "My name is Jace," he added. Jace stared into her eyes, and Clary knew that her heart was pounding in double time. He had stopped spinning them, and now they were just gazing at each other. Sparks were flying around them when Jace's eyes dropped to her lips and back up to her eyes. She sucked in a breath as he began leaning towards her, and she knew he was going to kiss her.
And then Clary's phone began to buzz. She quickly jerked away from Jace so hard that she almost fell over, but he grabbed her arm to steady her. Clary pulled out her phone and saw that Simon was calling her, and the time read 11:47. She accepted the call as she turned and started walking to the entrance.
"Hi Simon, I'll be right out," and she ended the call. She knew Jace was following her, but if she wasn't home by midnight, her mom would think she died. Clary never stayed out past curfew; she was the person that was home an hour early. She sighed before turning to meet Jace's expectant gaze.
"I have to go. My ride is here," she said quickly. "Thanks for the drink and the dance." Clary turned and ignored Jace's attempts to stop and talk to her again. She knew that if she stopped moving she would want to stay with Jace all night. She made her way outside and took a deep breath of the clear night air. She saw Simon waiting for her across the street and quickly made her way to his car.
"Hey, Fray," he said as she slid into the passenger seat of his mom's minivan.
"Hey, thanks for picking me up," she answered, taking another deep breath and leaning her head against the headrest. She was not ready for Simon's questions, but that didn't stop him from asking them.
"Are you okay? You seemed upset on the phone," he noted.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Tonight has just been a bit overwhelming, but I'm good," she answered. It was true; Clary was good. Very good.
"Overwhelming?" Simon asked. He glanced at her skeptically knowing that she wasn't telling him everything.
"Can we talk about it tomorrow, Si?" she asked. She needed the night to decide what she was going to actually tell Simon. She knew that he wouldn't understand the connection that she had felt with Jace, and frankly, she didn't want to talk to Simon about her boy situations. She also didn't know if it was smart to tell him about Sebastian; Simon could be incredibly over-protective.
"Sure," he agreed, but Clary could tell that he wanted to talk about it. Clary laid her head back and closed her eyes. She thought about the night as a whole. She could ask Simon about Sebastian because he probably had some type of reputation around school, but she didn't know if it were worth having to tell him the whole story. She could also ask about Isabelle, knowing that Isabelle was in their grade, Simon would have to know something about the girl. Clary wondered whether she and Isabelle could be friends at school, or if she even wanted to friends with Isabelle in the first place. Then her mind wandered to Jace. He's like my knight in shining armor, she thought and immediately scolded herself. She remembered that he seemed like a player meaning he was probably many girls' "Prince Charming." But then again, maybe she had misjudged him, and he wasn't really that much of player. She decided to ask Simon one question tonight.
"Hey Si," she started hesitantly. Simon looked at her with raised eyebrows. She could tell that he was waited the whole car ride to have Clary start some sort of conversation about what happen. "Can you tell me a little bit about Jace, the senior at Alicante?" Simon's eyes immediately hardened as he pulled into Clary's driveway and turned the car off.
"Why are you asking about him? Did you talk to him tonight?" he accused. Clary could tell that Simon would not be happy if he knew what happened with Jace just by the way his eyes hardened at his name.
"No, I just heard his name said a lot, and I'm just curious about why everyone seems to want to talk about him," Clary lied easily. She had actually only heard his name once, but Simon didn't need to know that. Simon relax as soon as Clary reassured him that she hadn't talked to Jace.
"Jace Herondale is the school king, player, and bad boy. Captain of the soccer team, has dated pretty much every girl at Alicante, and he's an overall asshole. I hate him and his stupid popular group," Simon huffed. Clary could tell that this 'popular group' had given him trouble in the past.
"Who else is in this 'popular group' that you hate so much?" she asked cautiously. She suspected she could guess at least one other person on that list.
"Well, Jace is like their king, then there's his right hand man Sebastian Verlac," Clary cringed subtly. Of course it was Sebastian. "Verlac uses girls like it's no big deal, and it's disgusting." Clary rolled her eyes and silently thanked Isabelle for her warning. "There's Kaelie Whitewillow and Aline Penhallow who just like to be used by Jace and Sebastian which is annoying because Aline actually used to be really nice. There's a Jordan Kyle and Maia Roberts who are the power couple of school. Jordan's on the football team, and Maia is captain of the soccer team. They've been together forever. Jace's brother, Alec Lightwood, and Magnus Bane were the power couple, but they graduated last year. Then there's Jace's sister; she's a certified heartbreaker," Simon finished. Clary knew the answer to her next question before she even asked it.
"What's her name?"
"Isabelle Lightwood," Simon answered. Clary felt like hitting her head against the car window until the glass broke. The only people she had talked to at the dance were popular. She usually hated popular people, and she never got along with them. Then something occurred to Clary.
"You said Jace's last name was Herondale, but Isabelle and Alec's are Lightwood. I thought you said they were siblings?" Clary questioned. Simon sighed, obviously not thrilled about discussing a bunch of people he supposedly hated.
"Jace was adopted, but that's all anyone knows. He doesn't talk about it to anyone really, especially not someone who isn't even friends with him." Simon motioned to himself. Clary thought about this for a second and decided that Simon had answered enough questions for her. The clock on the dash said 12:01, but, considering Jocelyn hadn't called her yet, her parents saw Simon's car in the driveway already. Clary leaned over the console and gave Simon a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for coming to pick me up tonight. You really are an amazing friend," Clary claimed before she opened her car door and step out into the cool September air. She made her way up to the front door and turned back to wave at Simon, but he didn't look happy at all. He seemed very upset actually. Clary gave him a confused look, but he just shook his head and pulled out of her driveway. Clary made a mental note to text him about it later, but for now, she had to deal with her parents.
Clary unlocked the front door and automatically knew at least one of her parents had stayed up because most of the first floor lights were on and the smell of coffee was flowing through the kitchen doorway. She made her way to the kitchen and saw Jocelyn sitting at the island reading a book and drinking her coffee. She looked up in surprise as if she didn't realize Clary had been in the driveway for five minutes.
"Hi honey! I didn't even realize it was this late already," Jocelyn claimed, but Clary knew better than that.
"Don't pretend you've haven't been watching the clock every second for the past hour or that you weren't just watching me and Simon on the driveway. I know you too well, Mom," Clary responded taking a seat next to her mother.
"You caught me," Jocelyn raised her hands in surrender. "I'm an overprotective mom, sue." Clary laughed and gave her mother a skeptical look.
"You're drinking coffee this late? Did you not want to sleep tonight?" Clary asked. She and her mother were both dependent on coffee, but Clary was always smart not to drink coffee right before bed, or she wouldn't be able to sleep. Jocelyn rolled her eyes and slid a mug of the heavenly beverage towards her daughter.
"It's decaf," she responded, and Clary smiled before drinking a large portion of her mug. Jocelyn was watching her carefully, and Clary couldn't figure out why.
"Why are you staring at me?" she asked. Jocelyn started laughing while Clary sat there completely lost.
"I'm just wondering how on earth someone of something got you to stay out until curfew! I know Simon didn't because he didn't go to the dance, but you would've come back early even if you were with him. It also couldn't have been Sebastian because he wasn't the one to bring you home. I can't help but be extremely curious about what did it," Jocelyn said. Clary was silent. What was she supposed to tell her mother? There was no way she could tell Jocelyn about Jace or what happened with Sebastian, so the said the first thing that popped into her mind.
"I met this really awesome girl. Her name is Isabelle, and I had a really good time hanging out with her," Clary said as enthusiastically that she could. Jocelyn's eyes immediately lit up because Clary wasn't the type of girl to go out of her way to make friends.
"That's great, honey! Maybe you can invited her over tomorrow since it'll be the last day before you start school. I would love to meet her," Jocelyn finished. Crap, Clary thought. She hadn't actually talked to Isabelle that much, let alone gotten her phone number. She used the first excuse that came to mind.
"Isabelle said she's going somewhere with her family tomorrow. Some before school day trip that they always do the Sunday before the first day of school. Maybe I can have her over sometime this week," Clary added and immediately regretted it. Jocelyn wouldn't let it go now, and Clary was going to have to either invite Isabelle over, or she would have to tell her mom the truth which was not an option.
"Okay then. Just let me know which day she's coming, so I can plan dinner," Jocelyn said cheerfully. She had finished her coffee, so she cleaned up her area, kissed the top of Clary's head, and made her way up to her bedroom. As soon as she heard the bedroom door shut, Clary groaned and dropped her head onto the table. It looked like she was going to be friends with Isabelle whether she wanted to or not. That meant that she would probably have to get along with the other poplar people, including Jace and Sebastian. Simon would not be very happy at all.
With that thought in mind, Clary made her way up to her bedroom and closed the door quietly. She let her hair down and washed her face before taking off her dress and stepping into the shower. For a few minutes, she just stood there under the hot water and let her mind wander. She didn't know whether she was happy or not that her mind wandered to Jace more than anyone or anything else. She couldn't stop thinking about how his skin felt on hers or how she didn't push him away when she thought he was going to kiss her. This though haunted her for the rest of her shower and, once she stepped into her bedroom, she knew only one thing.
Prince Charming had her completely wrapped around her finger, and she didn't know what she could do to fix it.
PLEASE READ THE TOP PART!
Ta-da! This was so much easier to write than Catch Me if I Fall yesterday, and I'm having complete writers block on Off Limits. If you have read or want to read those stories I would appreciate any kind of feedback or ideas, and I would love some ideas for this story too!
I don't know if I'm going to do any Jace POV in this story because I don't know if I want you guys to know what's going on in his head, but if you think I should, please let me know!
I hope everyone's having an awesome summer, and I would love to hear about any fun plans or anything! I've been really busy with vacations, and I'm going to be flying around the country for volleyball camps soon which is pretty awesome. Of course I'll make time for writing though.
I hope you guys like this story so far! I love you and your lovely ideas and comments, so keep 'em coming!
Review!
