Jace's POV
It was only a few minutes after Izzy went inside that the sliding glass door opened again and Aline appeared. I tried to snap out of my thoughts and give her a warm smile as she gracefully glided over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, but I found the gesture more effort than it should have been. I wrapped my arms around her reflexively as I looked down at her. I might have been gazing into Aline's eyes, but I couldn't help the fact my mind was still on Clary, still replaying the last moments again and again.
"Everything alright darlin'?" Aline asked sweetly with her dainty southern accent and her musical singsong voice. There was a touch of worry noticeable in the way her eyebrows pulled together. I nodded and brought my lips to hers for a gentle kiss.
"It is now." I said as I leaned my forehead against hers, though I knew that couldn't be farther from the truth. I tried to never directly lie to Aline and I felt like I was lying to her right now by not telling her what had just happened. I knew this wasn't something I could tell her and that just made me feel more conflicted about the entire thing.
Clary's POV
The door to the apartment opened and for a moment my breath caught from the small sliver of hope that Jace had come after me. I don't know why I thought he would or what I expected him to say if he had, but I love you too comes to mind. I looked up only to see deep blue eyes looking down at me. I felt the hope leave my body as defeat set in. Not only was I losing the love of my life, I probably just lost my best friend. At roughly 6 feet 4 inches Alec towered over me. His lean, moderately toned build was never intimidating though and matched well with his constantly kind, caring look that was Alec's signature expression. His straight, jet black hair just overlapped his ears and fell forward nearly into his eyes, which made it clear he was long overdue for a haircut. The five o'clock shadow that gave him a more rugged look than normal emphasized that he was also overdue for a shave. He looked more dressed up than normal, but he still wasn't dressed to impress anybody, not that he ever was. That was Alec though, while Izzy and Jace fought to outdo each other, Alec was content to be himself. With furrowed eyebrows he looked down at me.
"Did you accidentally lock yourself out?" Alec asked sincerely. I couldn't help the automatic eye roll.
"Hey, can you get my keys and purse?…Oh and my phone? They should all be on my bureau." He furrowed his eyebrows further.
"Why don't you just-" He started.
"Please…And don't mention you saw me." He just nodded with a quizzical expression and disappeared inside. He returned a few minutes later with the requested items. Once the door was closed he offered me his hand and helped me up.
"Where are you staying tonight?" I questioned hesitantly.
"My parents." Alec responded evenly. I knew Izzy planned on going back there later too. Their parents were vacationing in Greece at the moment; another one of their many exciting trips.
"Can I sleepover?" I asked sheepishly. I felt like I was in high school all over again. I couldn't remember the last time I slept over the Lightwood's house. I didn't really feel weird about inviting myself over, it was more the fact I was running away from my own apartment. Alec just furrowed his eyebrows further.
"You and Jace have a fight?" He asked with a perplexed look on his face. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah…Something like that." I muttered. Alec shook his head slowly with a look of realization.
"You finally told Romeo that you're in love with him?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question. My eyes widened with surprise as I looked up at him.
"What…No…I don't know what you're talking about." I had no idea how Alec could know I was in love with Jace, I couldn't believe Izzy would have told him.
"Sure…Sure…" He muttered. He put his arm around my shoulders and ushered me down the hall.
"…I think we need alcohol, lots of alcohol." He mumbled under his breath.
A couple hours later I was still in my dress, sitting on the ground, leaning up against a wall in Alec's bedroom. My mascara was smudged from the on and off waterworks display. I was sipping on my fifth or sixth bottle of some Jack Daniel's fruit punch cooler. Alec sat at his desk chair with a bottle of beer. He'd occasionally twirl in circles as he asked me questions. I had pretty much poured out my heart to Alec over the last couple hours and though he was very sympathetic, he seemed more interested in trying to help me move on, than help me break up Jace's engagement, which was my original idea. Around midnight Izzy found us.
"…Clary, that doesn't count either." Alec said as he popped open another bottle of beer.
"Just catch me up a little." Izzy asked as she grabbed a drink and plopped down on the ground next to me. Part of me wanted to know what happened after I left, but the larger part of me didn't think it mattered. I was still having a hard time convincing myself that I impacted Jace's life all that much.
"I was just telling Alec about when Jace came home for Christmas break our senior year…"
"Oh, I remember, you were waiting on the front step like a stalker when we got home." I shot Izzy a little sideways glare, but otherwise ignored her comment.
"…Jace gave me a huge bear hug and whispered quietly into my ear: I can't believe how much I missed you." Izzy nodded thoughtfully as she took a sip of her drink.
"If I recall, my parents brought me home at the same time as Jace and I also gave you a hug and told you I missed you." I was shaking my head at Alec.
"It wasn't the same." Izzy laughed.
"It wasn't what he said Alec, it's how he said it." She said sarcastically. Alec chuckled and I just shot Izzy a little sideways glare again.
"Are you making fun of me?" Izzy smoothed my hair and leaned the side of her head against mine.
"Just a little bit sweetie. I was just trying to lift the mood."
"Clary, I hate to tell you, but I really think you just interpreted it all as what you wanted it to be." Alec said softly as he spun his chair around in another circle.
"Don't you remember on Christmas Eve he whisked me upstairs pretty much the second my mom, Luke, and I walked in the door-"
"Holy shit, did you two hook up in his bedroom or something?" I shot Izzy another glare.
"No…Why do you always have to jump to sex Izzy?...I wrapped all his Christmas presents for him."
"It's just…we are talking about Jace…if he's not trying to get in your pants…he's probably not actually flirting with you." Izzy's voice was gentle, but her words were painful to hear all the same. She'd said similar things to me several times before, but I still hated to hear it.
"I'm with Izzy…and having you wrap his gifts definitely isn't flirting. I've been wrapping Izzy's Christmas gifts for years. If anything, he was taking advantage of you." Izzy let out with a little scoff.
"Hey!..." Izzy snapped as she launched into a quickly escalating argument with Alec, but I was too busy getting lost in my memories to pay attention to their quarrel. I couldn't explain it to them so they would understand, but I was certain Jace had flirted with me over the years and that he had to have feelings for me. I couldn't believe I had made the whole thing up in my head through a serious of misconstrued interactions.
I remembered that moment on Christmas Eve so clearly...
I remembered being locked in his bedroom with him. At one point Jace came and stood directly behind me. He was so close I swear I could feel the warmth that his body gave off, though maybe that was just my body increasing in temperature a million degrees from his close proximity. I glanced over my shoulder at him and flirtatiously asked yes and my breath caught when I realized how close his face was to me, how close his lips were to mine. He smirked and said something about watching me so next time he could wrap the gifts himself. I could feel the warmth of his breath against my face as he spoke, and smell the mint of this toothpaste and the intoxicating scent of his cologne. I couldn't help myself as I glanced at his lips and involuntarily licked my own. I swear he leaned towards me as he spoke, just fractionally, but noticeable. I felt the gentle touch as a couple of his fingertips softly grazed down my upper arm. It didn't matter what he said, it took all my concentration to convince myself he wasn't really about to kiss me and I chuckled as I turned back and made some lame excuse that he'd never be able to learn to wrap gifts, it was way too complicated.
I was snapped back to the present by Izzy and Alec laughing loudly.
"It's true Alec, you spent high school perfecting how to be a wallflower." Alec just smiled.
"So…You spent high school competing with Jace to see if you could climb higher than him up the social ladder."
"I was more popular than him." Izzy argued.
"You didn't have to sleep with the whole football team to get there."
"I did not sleep with the whole football team…" Izzy snapped defensively as she took off one of her heels and chucked it at him. He dodged out of the way, but the shoe managed to still hit his bottle sending beer spurting out in all directions.
"You're cleaning this mess." Alec reprimanded as Izzy defensively continued on without missing a beat. I tuned them out again as I faded back into my own memories of high school.
I was far from Miss. Popularity and high school can be brutal. Being best friends with Izzy helped my status, but I was a short, borderline pudgy, freckle faced, red head, with glasses and hardly any chest to speak of, not exactly popular crowd material. Of course it didn't help matters that my mom bought all my clothes without any input from me whatsoever, and I'm pretty sure she has no sense of style. Izzy tried to loan me clothes on a few occasions, but my mom wouldn't let me leave the house in them. She also wouldn't let me wear makeup to school, which was an ongoing battle between us. My mom might have finally let me trade in my glasses for contacts sophomore year of high school, but that was only a compromise for getting braces. By the time the braces came off senior year, Jace was off at college.
I really focused on what I wanted senior year; I wanted to look like the girls Jace noticed. I couldn't grow another six inches or add two cups sizes to my bra, but I spent everyday in the school gym during my free period and gave up candy and soda that whole entire school year to try to get as thin and toned as I could. I had saved up enough money from my summer job that I revamped my whole wardrobe with Izzy's help. Izzy taught me how to do my hair and makeup, though even at seventeen my mother wouldn't let me wear makeup to school, which I thought was completely ridiculous. I thought that's what I needed to do to look beautiful, like the girls that caught Jace's eye. I thought when he came home for summer break he'd see me, see the Cinderella I had become, but I guess none of that mattered; nothing seemed to change between us.
"So that's it…" I looked up to the sound of Alec's penetrating voice when I realized he and Izzy were no longer laughing and bickering.
"…That's your big argument for why you think he's in love with you too?…That's all your evidence of him flirting with you?...You need to take a pre-law class; you'd never win a case with that argument." Although I could tell Alec was trying to be delicate, he wasn't as tactful as usual. Maybe he was just losing interest; we had been sitting here for hours beating this to death. I took an exasperated breath and knocked the back of my head against the wall and closed my eyes.
"That's not all the times I thought he was flirting with me. I just picked a few…It's hard to explain." I muttered.
"Clary, you're talking about the same guy that pushed you in the pool junior year when it was only like in the mid sixties outside. You said the water was freezing cold. You were sick for like two weeks." Izzy argued. I couldn't help but smile at the memory, though I didn't open my eyes.
"Actually, he wrapped his arms around me and jumped into the pool holding me." Alec chuckled.
"I remember…Actually I just remember you irately screaming at him…Then I remember him getting sick too, mainly because he's a huge baby when he's sick."
"Clary, wipe that smile off your face. I know what you're thinking, and he wasn't flirting with you then either." Izzy scolded.
"I think he was." I mumbled under my breath.
"That's not flirting…that's…that's…Alec help me out here."
"Tormenting." Alec drawled lazily. Izzy chuckled.
"It's that too, but that wasn't the word I was looking for…He's your friend Clary, your good friend, maybe your best friend. You guys horse around and laugh and have fun together, but you're just friends. We're all your friends…" Izzy's words were soft and kind.
"…Now…We talked about Jace long enough-"
"You just got here Izzy like a half hour ago." Alec's voice sounded amused.
"And that was enough for me. How did you last so long?...You know how they say when somebody is talking about you your ears ring?...Well when somebody talks about Jace his ego inflates…Nobody wants that…Lets talk about something else…Let's talk about your love life Alec." Alec let out with a slightly hysterical sounding laugh.
"My, my, my, what?…No…No…Why me?" Alec stuttered out uncomfortably.
"We never talk about your love life."
"I don't have a love life Izzy."
"I bet you do, you just don't like to talk about it."
"Well if that's true, then I still don't want to talk about it…Why don't we talk about your love life?" Alec countered. I think Izzy and Alec tried to spend the remainder of the night getting my mind off of Jace, but I'm not sure how much that was working. Hearing about all Izzy's escapades in foreign countries wasn't really helping to keep my mind off of Jace, it just made me feel more alone. I watched the night slowly tick away, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and at some point around 3:30 Alec dozed off still sitting in his chair and then Izzy not too long thereafter. So that's where I slept, leaning up against the wall with Izzy's head on my shoulder. It was just before 8:00 when Izzy shook me awake. She's always been an early riser and it was pretty amazing she slept that late; she's usually up by 6:00 even on the weekends.
After a quick breakfast, Alec and Izzy very kindly headed over to my apartment to start moving my stuff. Like a coward, I wouldn't even go with them. I have no idea how much help Izzy thought she was going to be, she's built like a model, but it's the thought that counts. It didn't matter anyway because they were met with fierce resistance. Apparently Jace hadn't slept all night, he was worried about me and kept waiting for me to come home, which I didn't. I had turned off my cell after Izzy showed up, figuring I had everybody there that I could possibly want to talk to, so I missed the ten text messages from Jace over the rest of the night. Anyway, Jace is really grouchy if he doesn't get enough sleep. Although, any thought that his gesture was a sign that he was trying to get in touch with me to tell me he felt the same way as I did was completely killed when they told me Aline was there and had been all night. They didn't offer the information, like an idiot I asked. So Jace was holding my things ransom until I talked to him, which I had no intention of doing anytime soon. Yes I was being immature and yes I was just avoiding the inevitable, but after what happened the night before I just couldn't bring myself to face him; I wasn't ready to face the truth that he was getting married. Every time I thought about it my stomach knotted and I felt sick all over again.
I wasn't really sure how, but they managed to talk me into staying with them, well more correctly their parents seeing Izzy and Alec both still lived at home. I thought it would be really weird, but they both argued it wasn't like I intended on moving in for any great length of time, just in the transition, and it couldn't be as weird as living with Jace and Aline. I had to agree with them there. So it was decided that I was going to stay in a guestroom across from Max, which was creepy seeing I had almost forgotten he lived here; he's always vacationing with his parents.
The Lightwoods had a huge house with eight bedrooms, but only one empty guestroom at the moment. There was an unspoken understanding in the house that one of the three guestrooms was Mr. Lightwoods, even though he was hardly ever home. Mr. and Mrs. Lightwood had the weirdest relationship; I always wondered what was up with them. Most of the time Mr. Lightwood stayed at an apartment close to Yale, which is where he taught. They stayed married, but even when Mr. Lightwood was home he slept in a guestroom. They traveled all the time together though and seemed to get along fine when I saw them, but I wondered if that was just an act. Maybe after you've been married that long it doesn't matter if one of you moves into an apartment so you live closer to your high paying job as long as you spend some quality time together every once in a while. Maybe one of them snored or something and they didn't like to share a bedroom, I had no idea. Anyway, their other guest bedroom was being recarpeted, so that really only left me with the one across from Max. Jace had a bedroom there for whenever he felt like staying over, which was rare, but his mother would never take his room away from him. Izzy and Alec said they could pack up Jace's stuff and throw it in the guest bedroom across from Max's and just put me in Jace's bedroom, but I really didn't feel comfortable with that suggestion.
It wouldn't have been such a big deal sleeping in the bedroom across from Max if he didn't have a terrible crush on me since just about the moment he met me. He follows me around like a little puppy dog, the kind you have to watch out for because you never know if they're going to start humping your leg. He's only gotten worse as he's gotten older. He's fifteen now and I usually just try not to encourage him.
Anyway, next issue, clothes. Izzy was always getting free designer clothes through work. If we were the same size that would be better, but we weren't. Izzy and I headed to the store for necessities, which turned into a trip to the mall. I really only needed underwear and toiletries, but two armloads of bags later and we were heading back to the Lightwoods.
I had forgotten the Lightwoods were coming home today and what was worse was I had completely forgotten they were having a big family dinner for Jace's birthday, which he was certain to come to and not likely alone. This was also when he was sure to announce his engagement to his parents, and I just couldn't be there. When we got home from the mall Max was the first one to find me, shocking.
Even at fifteen he had to be close to Izzy's height, 5 feet 8 inches I'd say, much taller than me. Seeing Alec and his father were both over 6 foot, the kid was likely to be another giant. He has straight, choppy, layered, medium brown hair with natural blond highlights. He wears his hair on the long side though, it nearly covers his ears completely, and it always has a messy look. He has a pretty boy face with soft blue gray eyes, but he always has a touch of a mischievous look to him, much like he had now.
"Is it true? Are you moving in?" Max asked with way too much excitement as he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up clear off the ground. I dropped all the bags as I put my hands on his shoulders and let out with a surprised laugh.
"Good to see you too Max." I said with a chuckle. Izzy was already reprimanding him.
"Oh god Max, let Clary go." He dropped me to my feet and took a step back.
"So is that a yes or a no?" I rolled my eyes, but Izzy was already answering his question.
"She's staying temporarily, don't get too excited." The irritation was clear in Izzy's voice, but Max didn't seem to care, he pumped his fist in the air and let out with a barely audible yes. I just shook my head. This was going to be horrible.
"Want to go swimming?" He asked in a low voice. He sounded like he was shooting for sexy, but he just sounded hoarse to me.
"You know I would, but I didn't bring my suit." I said trying to sound disappointed.
"Don't let that stop you." Max responded as he raised his eyebrows up and down at me suggestively. I shook my head. The kid spends too much time with Jace.
"Go away pervert." Izzy snapped and gave him a push.
"Max leave Clary alone before I pummel you." I heard Alec's annoyed voice though I didn't see him and Max shot me a quick wink before he took off up the stairs. Alec sauntered around the corner and into the foyer.
"Clary baby, I heard what happened." Mrs. Lightwood, Maryse, is one of the sweetest women in the world. Alec must get his temperament from her. I hadn't even noticed her come around the corner behind me until I heard her soft-spoken voice. I turned toward her and she just wrapped her arms around my neck holding me tightly to her, too tightly, her hugs are painful. Maryse is close to Izzy's height, but heavier than Izzy. She has the same pitch black hair that Alec and Izzy have, but hers has several strands of gray throughout it. She keeps her hair short, shoulder length, and it's curly, unlike any of her kids, which is where everybody always comments Jace gets his curls from. Of course any statement like that is usually just entertained with a chuckle and an evasive agreement. While Max looks a lot like his father, Izzy and Alec look just like their mother, right down to the exact same deep cobalt blue eyes.
"What do you mean Mrs. Lightwood?" I asked sounding more defensive than I meant to. She pulled back and gave me a very sympathetic look.
"You're all grown up Clary. How many times do I need to tell you to call me Maryse?…Izzy told me you were going to be staying with us for a while. You and Jace are fighting?" Her voice was gentle and filled with concern. Luckily Izzy was quick to come to my rescue, and before Maryse could trick me into telling her my deepest darkest secrets, Izzy had smoothly told her I didn't have much time to talk about it right now, I had to get ready to head out, but I'd have lots of time to talk about it later, maybe tomorrow. Maryse seemed pacified for the time being, so Izzy and I hurried upstairs with our bags, but I knew I couldn't avoid Maryse forever.
Even though nearly all the Lightwoods now knew something was up, I didn't even stay for dinner. I slipped out. I couldn't see him. I definitely couldn't see her. I figured it would be an opportune time to head back to the apartment and get a few more things; I wanted my sketchbook is what I wanted. So once I got a text message from Izzy confirming Jace arrived at the house, I jetted over to the apartment. I slipped inside only to see Aline sitting at the couch reading some magazine that had a picture of a bride on the cover. For the love of god, they just got engaged yesterday, she ran out and bought a damn magazine already? I had the overwhelming urge to pick up the nearest breakable item and lob it across the room at her while screaming and cursing excessively, but I fought the urge. I took a deep breath, bit my tongue hard, forced a small smile, though it probably looked more like I was grimacing, and I tried not to completely flip out.
"Hey you!" She said in an excited high pitched voice as she put the magazine down on the coffee table and stood up. It took every ounce of strength I had not to turn around and storm right back out that door without so much as an explanation. Did she have to look like a Barbie doll; tall, so skinny, blonde, curvy? Of course she was so skinny it just made her chest look that much bigger. She had this medium length bleach blonde hair with loose curls, but they looked like she had taken the time to curl each one with a large curling iron. Her hair was curly every time I saw her though, it didn't look natural, but I wondered if she really took the time to do that every day. She had sky blue eyes that just popped with all the makeup she was wearing. Her lips were bright cherry red, but they always were. I hated that lipstick, especially because Jace's lips were that color half the time. I was going to make it my mission to find and throw out that lipstick one of these days. She was sweet though, sickening sweet, and always overly perky. She may look like Jace's type, but she wasn't like the other girls. I don't think I had ever seen her in anything but a dress, but she dressed fairly modestly, not slutty like the bimbos Jace usually went out with. She was from the south and that was evident in not only her southern twang, but in everything she did, her mannerisms, the way she walked, she just had this way about her, I can't explain it, but I imagine this is what they mean by a southern bell. Jace usually dated these airheads that if you looked in one ear I wouldn't have been surprised if you could see right through and out the other ear. Aline wasn't an idiot though, she picked up on things pretty fast. She didn't let Jace get away with all the crap he used to pull.
"Hey!" I said back trying and likely failing to feign excitement as well. Seconds later she was across the room and I was wrapped in a terribly tight huge. Her floral perfume was so pungent it stung my nostrils and caused my eyes to burn. I had to try to hold my breath to keep from gagging. Could she seriously breathe with that on? How could Jace stand that?
"We missed ya last night sugar." She said in her modulated bell of a voice. I absentmindedly thought of the fact she probably had a pitch perfect singing voice, where as I was practically tone deaf.
"Oh…Congratulations again." I said as I somewhat ungracefully pulled away from her. She kept her hands clasped with mine. I was subtly trying to pull my hands free, but she just tightened her grip. Could she not sense she was completely smothering me right now? I was really trying to force a smile, it's not like she did anything to me, but I'm sure it looked as forced as it was.
"Ya took off in such a rush…Is everything alright?" I took a deep breath.
"Just a little guy trouble is all…It's nothing, really. I don't want to bother you." She dropped one of my hands and waved her now free hand in the air.
"Nonsense, no bother at all…" With her hand still holding onto mine she tugged me over to the couch and sat down. The urge to just scream at her was getting harder and harder to fight. This was hard enough as it was, if she caught wind of how I felt about Jace I knew things would only get worse. I wasn't sure if I thought Jace might still realize I was the one for him, if I thought after all this blew over we might still be friends, or really what I thought, but I knew no good would come of her finding out what had happened. There was still the chance that he might tell her, but considering the way she was acting, I didn't have a feeling he had said anything as of yet.
"…We're all gonna to be livin' together, this is just the first of many heart-to-hearts…" Her hand tugged down and I found myself collapsing down ungracefully next to her. She made my skin crawl just being this close to her. I wasn't sure how much longer I could take this.
"…We're not just gonna be the best of friends Clary; we're gonna be sisters." She was smiling widely at me. I had the urge to just blurt out that we could never be friends, that I hated her because she ruined my life and I'd never forgive her. I held my breath and counted to ten trying to remind myself I had no reason to hate her except for that rock that I was suddenly aware was digging painfully into my hand. I hadn't even seen the ring, but I could feel it and I roughly pulled my hand from hers and trying to be nonchalant ran it through my hair.
"Aren't you going to be late for that dinner at the Lightwoods?" She furrowed her eyebrows at me slightly.
"I know Jace was insistin' on me to go, but it's a family affair and in all fairness his family doesn't know me none too well. I haven't even met that younger boy Max nor his father neither. I'm coming by a little later, after the meal. I thought it'd be best…I thought ya'd be there though…He said the whole family was goin'." I gave her a slightly perplexed look.
"Aline, you know Jace and I aren't related right?" I asked with an uncomfortable little chuckle. Her whole face changed. Yeah, she did not know that. Could this get any worse?
"I…I had thought…I mean he said…He always…" She just opened and closed her mouth again. This was the most unarticulated I had ever seen her.
"…Maybe I just assumed seeing as ya two lived together…Oh goodness me…Here I am carrying on…I'm not a home wrecker am I?" I laughed somewhat hysterically as I put my hand on one of hers, which took all the kindness I could muster.
"No...Jace has always been like a brother to me…Nothing more…" The last part was hard to say and I could feel my eyes prick. I was still chuckling that nearly hysterical laugh as I looked away from her and stood up. Aline didn't know me very well, but I could almost hear Jace calling me out for lying so poorly.
"…I just needed to grab some things from my room. You should go. The family is really great, I'm sure they'll love you." I took a deep breath as I stalked agitatedly down the hallway, Aline unfortunately in tow. I was really trying with all my might here to be cordial. Did she have to keep pushing the envelope? Why couldn't she just leave me alone already?
"So how'd you two end up living in this here apartment in the first place?" She asked quizzically. I shrugged. I could tell her the truth…
It was Forth of July just after senior year and once again we were all at the Lightwoods for a picnic.
"Hey short stuff, I heard you got into Columbia." Jace jested as he ruffled my hair, a wedge of watermelon in his other hand. I glowered at him for a moment, I was sure he had just gotten watermelon juice in my hair, but maybe if he wasn't just in deep green swim trunks and looking amazingly cut, or if I wasn't in a cheery red bikini and feeling I finally had worked out enough to not feel self conscious in this suit, maybe if I wasn't completely in love with him from the moment I met him, maybe, just maybe my heart wouldn't completely go into overdrive every time he touched me. I shrugged trying to keep my cool.
"Don't sound so shocked…I's smarter than I looks." I joked back.
"I didn't know you applied." He seemed more sincere with his comment.
"Well I figured I shouldn't have any trouble getting in, seems they let anybody into that school…" I said sarcastically back to him. He chuckled.
"…Plus, I figured Izzy might have said something." I said lamely, though I knew she hadn't, because I asked her not to. He just shook his head.
"You know I just got an apartment off campus." I nodded.
"Yeah, Izzy told me. That's awesome." He smirked.
"Yeah, it sucks to live on campus, having to share a dorm is awful…Your roommate kicks you out all the time to get it on with their girlfriend…or you end up being roommates with a total dork from the band that practices the tuba for four painstaking hours a day in the dorm…My last roommate was a real whack job. He had this little altar and I'm pretty sure he was sacrificing pigeons out behind the school, which was bad enough, but I think he fell in love with me because I woke up one too many times to him touching himself and staring at me." Jace cringed dramatically. I rolled my eyes.
"You know, you were probably that guy that was always kicking their roommate out so you could get it on with their girlfriend and my buddy Simon is one of those guys that plays an instrument and he doesn't practice for four hours a day, I think you're exaggerating there. I can't even believe your story about the last guy. You think everybody falls in love with you, but they don't. Thanks for the riveting overview of dorm life though. I can't wait." He shook his head and scratched at the back of his neck, he looked almost uncomfortable for a moment, which was completely uncharacteristic for Jace.
"You should live with me…If you wanted I mean…I have a spare bedroom is all I'm getting at." My jaw just about hit the ground. I almost died. Ok, so Jace wasn't asking me to move in with him in the sense of like a couple or anything, but I was momentarily stunned all the same. Izzy walked up behind me and shook my shoulder dramatically with a laugh.
"What's with Clary?" She asked sarcastically.
"Jace just asked me to move in with him." Now when I blurted that out with way too much enthusiasm even I knew I sounded crazy, but the cocked eyebrow and smirk Jace shot me just reinforced the fact.
"Ok psycho, I know how much you've been dreading living on campus, but you don't have to act quite so grateful, Jace will get the wrong idea." Izzy responded smoothly. I closed my mouth and a moment later I joined in Izzy and Jace's laughter.
I opted to go with the abridged version when I answered Aline's question.
"When I got accepted to Columbia, Jace already had the place, living on campus sounded like a nightmare, it just made sense." She followed me into my room and sat on my bed as I grabbed a duffle bag out and started putting stuff in it. I wish I could think of a good reason to get her out of my room and out of my sight, but I was drawing a blank.
"So y'all never…" She let the sentence hang. I made an involuntary noise somewhere between a chuckle and a whimper.
"No."
"Not even once." She pressed. I glanced at her.
"Not even a single kiss." Although, the words sounded more like me complaining than just answering her question.
"Oh." There was a lightness in her voice, almost an added happiness, she seemed content with that.
"Aline, I was going to change…If you could…" I said lamely as I grabbed a t-shirt out of my bureau drawer and subtly gestured towards the door.
"Oh right…" She got up and walked over and shut the door before she came back and sat on my bed again. Dammit. I was trying to get her to leave and now I was just stuck changing in front of her. Fantastic. I bet she had the body of a model, and well, I didn't. Not that I was usually self-conscious about my body, but next to her I wasn't feeling so confident. I changed my shirt quickly and just tried to pack faster.
"…So where're ya staying tonight?" I took a deep breath and looked over my shoulder at her. If I was honest with her, this was going to get even more awkward.
"I think I'm going to crash with a friend for awhile. Three's a crowd you know." I turned back to my bureau and continued throwing stuff in my duffle bag.
"Oh pish posh, I know what this is about." I turned around and furrowed my eyebrows at her.
"Oh yeah?" I asked skeptically.
"Sometimes when we suffer from a broken heart it's hard to see somebody else in love, but I know the best medicine isn't what you're doing sugar, ya can't hide yourself away from everybody and just sulk in self pity…So listen here, I have a fantastic friend that I'd like to set ya up with, he is a handsome young gentleman. Tomorrow night, all four of us are going out to dinner and I won't take no for an answer." This girl was way too chipper. I just stared at her for a long moment. Was she out of her mind?
"I-" I have no idea what I as going to say.
"Hush. No excuses…" She nodded her head definitively and stood up.
"…Tomorrow night." I couldn't find the words to fight her, I was too happy to see her walk out of my room. A little part of me was hopeful that this in someway would be painful for Jace, but most of me just knew it would be painful for me. Two duffle bags packed later, against my better judgment, I was climbing into my car with Aline in the passenger seat. I have no idea how I ended up agreeing to bring her to the Lightwoods. Having her in my car was irritating enough, but I'm pretty sure with the windows up and the AC blasting her perfume fell into the noxious gas category. Of course I couldn't cut a break, she had to sing every single song that came on the radio, and she sang perfectly.
My sprits started to lift when I saw the Lightwoods' driveway in sight. Salvation was just a few blocks away. I drove up the Lightwoods' driveway and Izzy immediately ran outside, probably to tell me Jace hadn't left yet and she'd text me when he did, though she stopped in her tracks when she saw Aline climb out of my passenger seat. Yeah, I knew that look, it was the same one I probably had on my face when I walked into the apartment and realized Aline was there. That, oh shit, I completely forgot you existed, you just ruined everything, now I have no idea what to say or do right now, look.
"Isabelle." Aline screeched as she hurried over to Izzy and threw her arms around her neck. How come this girl couldn't just say Izzy like everybody else? Isabelle was her name granted, but nobody called her that. I absentmindedly tried to recall if she called Alec Alexander, but I couldn't remember.
"Aline?" Izzy made it sound more like a question than a statement. I stood leaning up against the open car door, impatiently drumming my fingers against the frame. I might have gotten out of the vehicle, but I wasn't going far. I wanted to be able to take off in a heartbeat if Jace came outside. Being stuck in that car with Aline was hard enough, but this display of sisterly affection just made me nauseated. Not only was I losing Jace, but I could just see that I was going to lose the whole Lightwood family. Aline was sweet, she really was, and I could totally see the whole family just loving her. I couldn't deal with this right now…or possibly ever. I gave Izzy a little wave and she shot me a near panicked look. I recognized the help me look she was casting me.
"Hey Izzy, I was heading over to see Maia, want to come?" Maia was actually in Texas right now, but I was pretty certain Izzy knew that.
"Definitely…" Izzy said enthusiastically as she detached herself from Aline.
"…You don't mind do you?" Izzy questioned. Aline shook her head.
"Not at all. That one there is havin' some serious guy trouble. She needs her girls right now." Izzy nodded slowly with her eyebrows pulled together.
"I can't believe she told you she's having guy trouble." I could hear the amusement in Izzy's voice.
"I know we don't know each other nearly as well as I'd like, but I could see the pain in her eyes. She's a kind soul and I could just tell she needed a listenin' ear." I just rolled my eyes.
"That's…so…thoughtful." Izzy said hesitantly.
"Well Clary sugar, see ya tomorrow night. Ya want to all ride over together?" I was shaking my head.
"No, I think I'll come over here first so Izzy can help me get ready. She loves that." Aline chuckled.
"Well doesn't that just sound fun as can be? Don't go and make me jealous now…Alrighty then, I'll give my friend this address, have him pick ya up. Is that alright?" I nodded.
"Yeah…Sounds great." I didn't mean to sound quite so sarcastic, but I couldn't help it, she didn't seem to notice though.
"Well alright y'all. I've got a young gentleman waitin' on me, so I'm gonna head on in. You sure I can't twist your arm to come and say a quick hello." I let out with an involuntary little squeak of a chuckle and shook my head.
"Not right now." She nodded.
"Can't say I didn't try. See ya tomorrow night. I'll send my friend over here nearabout 7:00 to come pick ya up." I nodded.
"Sure." She shot me a little smile and gave Izzy another quick hug before she headed into the house with a wave of her hand. I was already in the driver's seat buckling up. Izzy had on a tight dress and heels, so besides the phone in her hand, I knew she didn't have anything else, no purse, no keys, but she was a trooper and just hastily headed straight for the passenger door without looking back. Jace would know I was here about 30 seconds after Aline walked through that door and I wasn't waiting around. I pulled out of the driveway with Izzy's door barely even shut, her belt not even buckled, as Jace rushed out the front door. I could be handling this all so much better, but I wasn't.
"Where to Thelma?" Izzy joked.
"I don't know Louise. Let's just drive." I teased back.
"Just don't go driving off the edge of any cliffs." Izzy jested.
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Thelma & Louise (1991)
