I nearly fell off my stool. There, right there at the front of the class stood the guy I'd been dreaming about. Same tousled bed hair, same pink lips, the bottom slightly fuller than the top, perfect cupids bow, and the most mesmerizing eyes. The very same eyes I'd found myself drawing just a half hour earlier. And he was staring straight at me.
I could have died of embarrassment; surely my jaw was hanging open from the pure shock of it. This could not be happening. No. I couldn't believe my eyes. They wandered around the classroom quickly, seeing the backs of many peoples' heads, the girls close together, whispering and giggling giddily over the new guy. No seats. There were no empty seats, except the one next to me.
Oh god. I could feel my blood rushing to my cheeks as they flamed a bright red, he was still staring at me, as I sat having a miniature breakdown at my desk, and I could feel his eyes watching me intently. It was getting uncomfortable. Then the teacher interrupted;
"Right class, I'd like to introduce our new student Jace Lightwood" He lifted a long-fingered hand, tanned and slightly calloused from what I could see, to wave in greeting, winking at a few of the prettier girls across the room, sexy smirk on his beautiful face.
"Go ahead and take a seat next to Clarissa. Miss Fray, I assume you will show him the basics in regards to what he's missed as he will be your new lab partner for the remainder of the year."
I wanted the ground to swallow me as I squeaked in reply. What the hell was up with me? Shit, he was sauntering up the room, eyes focused on me, I just wanted to run my hands up his muscular arms, his tight black tee clung to his sculpted body, as his black skinny jeans hung low on his hips, and damn if it didn't make him look even sexier. What was I going to say to him?
"Hey, Clarissa is it?" he winked at me. I tried to keep my face impassive and not drool all over him. I assumed it was working, since the smirk slipped from his face. My fingers itched to grab my sketchpad and finish off all the sketches in which I hadn't managed to capture his beauty accurately. Instead, I forced myself to reply;
"No shit, Sherlock, this is kind of the only empty seat in here. And you can knock it off with the winking and grinning like a fool. It may work for some of the bimbo's around here" I nodded across the classroom towards Kaelie and Aline who were glaring daggers at me "but it's definitely not my thing."
"So tell me Little Red, what exactly is your thing" he asked, arching an eyebrow at me. Shit, what was I supposed to say to that? Did he seriously just call me Little Red? I'd been called some crap over the years but that was insulting.
"Listen, and listen well, Jace Lightwood. You ever call me Little Red again; I'll make sure you regret it."
"Is that a threat or a promise" he leaned in close to my ear, his lips practically brushing the outer shell as her whispered "Little Red?"
I blushed furiously and kicked out at his shin, my foot connected, hard. But he barely even winced.
"You're gonna have to try harder than that Little Red" he smirked again.
I threw open my textbook, rifling through the pages and continued to ignore his presence for the rest of class. Working on my assignment assiduously, counting down the minutes until I could escape to my art class. I could feel him, as much as I feigned ignorance, it was like there was an imperceptible electrical current buzzing through me with my need to reach out and brush my hand against him. I snuck a look out of the corner of my eye, noticing for the first time, a tiny black speck on his chest, barely visible below the neckline of his shirt. I was intrigued. Could it be a tattoo? I knew I'd like to find out first hand. I had to stop thinking like that, this guy was obviously used to having girls throw themselves at him, and I wasn't about to become another notch on someone's bedpost.
I didn't hang around at the end of class – I'd written down the homework assignment, packed up and was sat at the edge of my seat about five minutes before the bell was due… So I sat twiddling my thumbs, fighting the urge to gaze in his direction. He hadn't said another word to me throughout the whole class, I was probably more than a little bitchy towards him but guys like him just broke your heart and I wasn't planning on ever getting involved with someone like that. I'd shot up and escaped the room even as the bell echoed in the hallways and weaved my way to art where I could finally breathe. Damn, that had been awkward. And now I felt kind of awful for being so hostile towards him…
Maybe he wasn't like that at all, maybe he just came across that way till you gave him a chance and got to know him? I was pretty harsh and maybe I just judged him too soon from the shock of seeing him in person. His resemblance to the guy in my dreams was startling. So startling that I still couldn't quite believe it, it was almost as though I had the ability to see in to the future, as though I knew he was going to become a part of my life. Perhaps I should apologize… But even as the thought crossed my mind, in he walked, scantily clad girl draped over each arm. I guess I had been right in my assumptions after all. Their giggles reverberated from the walls as they strutted through the door, flicking their hair, acting like complete fools as they vied for his attention.
The art teacher collared Jace though, and I had to fight back a grin as Aline and Kaelie were hastily sent to their own seats, leaving the Boy Wonder to charm his way out of a somewhat strict talking to about being late to class on his first day. She then turned around, scouting the room for empty spaces… of which there were a few. All on my table. Damn and ass. It was times like these I really regretted not being more sociable, now I'm going to be stuck with him again, and in my favorite class too.
It passed quickly and quietly surprisingly enough… maybe he'd really gotten the hint and wasn't going to harass me. But as much as I wanted that, I also wanted to hear his honeyed voice, I loved the way he'd called me Clarissa, the way it rolled off his tongue… Shit I need to get my act together and stop drooling over this guy. I dawdled a little whilst cleaning down the desk and getting my things together, watching him though my lashes as he walked away, grabbing Aline's hand on the way out. I plugged in my headphones as I made my way outside, turning up the volume to maximum. That's when I felt the tug on my t-shirt and was pulled into a pair of muscular arms.
Jace;
I couldn't help myself. A soon as I'd walked into that classroom earlier and she'd seemed so unaffected by me, so different to the usual harem of women trailing after me, I had to know for sure if she really meant it. I'd seen her fiery hair the second I'd walked into the room, with my heightened senses I'd picked up on the barely audible gasp she'd made, and once I'd set eyes upon her, I couldn't seem to tear them away. Even at that distance I could see the spattering of freckles dotted across her nose, the surprise that seemed to register in her wide green eyes, eyes like I'd never seen before. She looked so small and delicate, perched on her stool, looking as though she was about to topple from it when the teacher introduced me. He directed me to the seat next to hers, and I couldn't stop the words tumbling from my mouth. I wanted her, from the second I'd lain my eyes upon her.
It was quite a shock what I'd received by way of a reply. I felt her eyes on me, surreptitiously watching me, I felt them on my skin like a caress, that's how strong the pull I felt towards her was. The tension crackled between us and I watched her dainty, little fingers twitch, nails slightly flecked with the remnants of green and red paint… an artist maybe? I wasn't sure. I just knew I wanted her, and she had kicked me. In the shin. Of course I'd barely felt it, but still, not exactly the reaction I'd been hoping for. Far from it in fact. I'd seen the rosy tint to her cheeks and couldn't help but imagine how they'd look flushed with desire, her cheeks, and her chest as I worked my way slowly down her body, taking her rosy little nipples between my teeth… Shit.
No other woman has ever affected me this way, and there have been more than a few. That's why, after hours of silence I'd had to talk to her. Except that's not quite how it turned out… I'd tried to distract myself with the others, but to no avail. In fact I couldn't even really tell you their names… Alana and Katie maybe? All I could think about was her. I'd watched her in art class as she'd sketched out a landscape, one extremely familiar to me. The landscape as you looked over Idris toward the hills surrounding Lake Lyn. No mundane could ever have seen it… so I had to know. I needed to know what she knew of us. The Nephilim, Shadowhunters. Or if she'd simply imagined the whole scene and it was uncanny in its resemblance to the place I had once called home.
That's why I'd grabbed her. I'd walked out with one of the other girls, but fobbed her off within a moment waiting for Clary to emerge from the doorway. And when she had I'd reached out to take her in my arms and find somewhere a little quieter in order to talk to her. But she was deceptively strong for her size, I had to use much more strength to restrain her than I thought would be necessary. I pulled her quickly around the corner, and pressed her up against the wall, aligning my body with hers. For a moment it had felt so good, I forgot why I'd grabbed her in the first place and let my mouth descend upon hers. Her lips were plump, but pliant beneath mine and she tasted wonderful. I slipped my tongue over her bottom lip, pulling in into my mouth and biting it gently as my hands wound their way through her curls, she moaned a little at that and her own hands made their way up my chest to wrap her fingers around my neck as I pressed myself closer to her. She was brushing her hips up against mine, as I broke away to breathe, and before I even had chance to react, her tiny palm connected hard with the side of my face as she slapped me.
I was so shocked that I backed away slightly, giving her the room to dart from between my body and the wall where I'd had her, moments before, moaning under my ministrations. She was full of surprises that girl. And I still hadn't gotten to ask her about her interesting piece of artwork. Fuck.