Disclaimer: Anything from the Mortal Instruments belongs to Cassandra Clare.
Clary hurried down to where Simon and his band mates were waiting in Eric's car. She slid open the door to the ugly yellow van and climbed in. She pushed Matt aside and sat down upon the ripped seats.
"God, Eric," Clary said, adjusting herself so the protruding springs wouldn't poke her. "I thought you said you were going to fix this van already."
"Well, if you want to give me some money right now to fix it then I will gladly accept it from you," he said dismissively from the front passenger seat. Eric was a somewhat good friend to Clary, more to Simon, but he sometimes acted as though she were more of an annoying little sister. She was used to it, though, so it didn't faze her so much.
A while later, they pulled up to the Shadow High School parking lot and Simon, who was driving, cautiously tried to avoid hitting any of the wandering students.
"Jesus, just because it's the first day of school doesn't mean that everyone's allowed to run around like headless chickens," Simon yelled after almost hitting a girl.
They all got out of the car, Matt practically pushing her out. She glared at him once they were standing on the parking lot which he ignored.
Clary walked up the front school steps with Simon by her side, his friends had gone off to talk with some girls with too much make up and way too little clothes, the types of girls they usually talked to.
Clary glanced around once they made it inside. They were in the cafeteria which was basically a giant room with a high ceiling, round tables scattered around, and hundreds of students crowded together in the limited space. It could be considered a club if it was night and there was music, Clary thought, with how close everyone was pressed up against each other.
She saw a few people she knew as they passed through and nodded her head in greeting, but didn't bother to start a conversation with anyone. Clary preferred it that way, she only really needed Magnus and Simon, anyway, she assured herself. Everyone else was like a small phase in her life, just people she could talk to to pass the time when she was bored in class.
"Clary!" Simon's slightly annoyed voice brought her out of her wandering thoughts. He stared at her with a look that she had become very familiar with, which meant that he had been talking and she hadn't been paying attention. "I don't understand how you can go AWOL all the time without noticing what's going on around you."
She nudged his shoulder. "Don't be jealous because my creative mind holds wonders you could never even possibly begin to imagine." He scoffed. "Anyway, what were you saying?"
"Oh yeah, Magnus said he's going to be late and he'll see us in lunch," he said.
She resumed walking towards the doors at the opposite side of the cafeteria, for the groups of people around her were making her feel like she was being suffocated, pulling Simon along with her by the wrist. "Yeah, I figured he would," she said as she passed the doors and made her way down the hallways. "He always feels a need to stand out."
"Where are we going?" Simon said after a while of being pulled this way and that. Clary stopped and turned to face him, contemplating.
"I don't know," she finally said. She reached into her neon green backpack and pulled out the bright yellow paper that had arrived in the mail a few days earlier. She quickly scanned the list, looking for her last name. "Room 154 with Ms...Gay...rod? I think that's how you say it." She shrugged.
Simon scowled. "I wish I had homeroom with you. I have to go to room 306 with Mr. Gerard. I don't think he likes me even though I was practically the best in Auto Tech last year."
Clary laughed out loud. "Simon, you caused the fire alarm to go off last year because you set an engine on fire."
He straightened up and looked around to make sure no one was hearing. "That is confidential, Fray." He groaned when she kept on laughing. The warning bell rang and he looked up, surprised. "Already? Wow, that was fast. Alright, Fray, I'll see you later." He turned and walked away. She smiled and went towards her homeroom as well.
.
Homeroom and the first two periods passed by quickly for Clary, possibly because classes were shortened for the day. She had finally made it to her third period which was US history. She chose her seat towards the back. As soon as she settled in, she saw Simon walk in. Her face lit up, happy that she'd finally gotten a class with him. She gestured for him to come over to her when he saw her.
He sat down on the desk next to hers. "Let me see your schedule," Clary immediately demanded. He handed her the thick beige paper with the giant 11 in the corner. Clary gripped his arm, startling him, then she said, "This is good. We have third, fourth, and fifth period together." She smiled widely.
He sighed, relieved. "I'm glad, I seriously thought we weren't going to have any classes together and then who was I going to talk to about anime and names for my band?" he inquired.
"Hmm, you guys should go with something ironic, like 'The Nameless' or the 'The Indecisive'," she suggested.
Simon pursed his lips in thought. "Not so bad, Fray." He ruffled her hair. "You're not completely useless after all." She narrowed her eyes at him before swatting his hand away.
.
As soon as lunch came by, Simon and Clary went to meet up with Magnus. As they rounded the corner, they saw him sitting at one of the tables. He was impossible to miss, really.
He was wearing bright purple jeans, a rainbow studded belt, and a black shirt with a picture of Marilyn Monroe made entirely of glitter. He had a green gauge in his right ear and his hair was spiked in all directions and held in place with glitter. He was also wearing the contacts that made his eyes look like that of a cat's.
This sight wasn't what slowed down both Clary and Simon, though. It was the people who were sitting next to him. On his right was a guy with midnight black hair and piercing ocean blue eyes. Clary guessed he was Alec since he and Magnus were holding hands. He looked slightly uncomfortable, though, Clary noticed. What was more intimidating for her was the girl sitting to the left of Magnus. Her hair long, black hair nearly touched the chair she was sitting on. Her body was model worthy, too. Even sitting down you could tell she was tall and willowy.
As they approached the table, an amused Magnus said, "Simon, put your eyes back in your head and quit staring at me, it's rude, no matter how gorgeous I am."
"I wasn't looking at you," grumbled Simon. He sat next to the girl and waved at her. Clary had to sit next to Alec.
"Where are your manners? Honestly, I didn't know you guys could be so rude," Magnus reprimanded. He raised the hand that was attached to Alec's. "This is Alec. Isn't he adorable?" Alec blushed muttering 'hi' before turning his head down.
The girl giggled. Magnus gestured towards her. "And this lovely lady is Isabelle Lightwood, Alec's younger sister." Then he pointed at Clary and Simon. "This is the artistic redhead I was telling you about, Clary, and that is her geeky friend - " he was cut off by Isabelle.
"Simon," she smiled. "I know."
Simon's shy smile grew bigger at the acknowledgment.
Clary put her hand up. "Hi, and do you guys know each other?" She looked back and forth between each of them, confusion taking over her face. She and Simon had been best friends for ten years and she was pretty sure she knew all of his friends.
"Well, kind of. Lightwood, Lewis?", Simon said. Go on, Clary's expression seemed to say after she didn't understand what he was talking about. "We had homeroom together this morning."
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "So all three of you were together this morning?"
Isabelle grimaced. "Four of us, actually."
Clary furrowed her brow. "Why was Magnus with you guys? His last name is Bane."
"Not me, you bimbo. Though I could have been with them considering I appointed myself their guide for the year," Magnus said cheerfully.
"The year?" Clary asked.
"Mostly Alec, really. I was left to look for my classes on my own, but I don't mind. It's a good way to meet new guys." She smiled mischievously. "And I meant my other brother, Jace. He was with us, too."
"He tripped me as soon as I walked in the room," Simon added, annoyed. "Good thing not a lot of people were there, yet."
"I helped him up," Isabelle quipped. Simon seemed embarrassed by the fact. "My brother can be a total jackass sometimes." She sighed.
"Most of the time," Alec said. Speaking up for the first time. "He's like that to everyone, though."
Clary imagined this Jace as an ugly, skinny kid who had self-esteem issues. Those were usually the ones that tried to prove that they were better than anyone else. Despite his problems, Clary couldn't help but hate him already for messing with her best friend.
"No offense, but I hope I never meet him. I hate people that are like that."
"It's very likely you won't. He's a senior," Alec said. Clary felt relieved. She didn't have a class with
Alec or Magnus so she probably wouldn't have a class with Jace either.
"Claary," someone with a deep voice sang in her ear as they covered her eyes from behind. She grabbed the hands, trying to take them off her face. She searched her mind for who it could be and only came up with an answer when she heard Simon groan.
"Sebastian?" she guessed.
He took off his hands and wedged himself between her and Simon, grinning widely. "You guessed right." He smiled at everyone and waved hi, his eyes widening when they reached Isabelle and then finally resting on Clary. "Hello, there, my little ginger." Clary scowled, hating it when he called her that and he kissed her cheek. She pulled back.
"Are you guys going out?" Isabelle gestured at both of them.
Simon scoffed, causing Clary to shoot him a look.
Sebastian shrugged. "I guess you could say that."
"No, you cannot say that. Because it's not true," Clary replied.
"What she means is that that," he pointed at Sebastian, "dark devil wishes to go out with our Clary. But she rejects him time and time again," Magnus clarified.
Sebastian put his arm around Clary's shoulder which she shrugged off. "She'll come around eventually."
"It's been an entire year," Simon said. "I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen."
"I know it's not going to happen," Clary sighed. Sebastian was a good guy, but not the type of guy she wanted. He was hot, sure, but she wanted a guy who she could be with and talk to. Whenever she talked to Sebastian she'd get annoyed and bored. In fact, she got tired of him the day they met.
.
Turned out Isabelle also had fourth period with Simon and Clary. They sat next to each other at the back of the class.
"Why don't you go out with Sebastian?" Isabelle asked. "He's really hot." They weren't doing anything in class so Isabelle had begun to talk. "Sure he seemed persistent, but he could be a good lay."
Simon's eyes bulged. "Excuse me! No, Clary would never think of doing that with Sebastian. In fact, she's not going to be doing any type of 'laying' with any guy until she is finished with college and is a successful woman."
Clary glared at him, her cheeks burning. "Shut up, Simon. What I do with a guy and when I do it is none of your business and I'm not waiting until I'm done with college or whatever." Simon stared at her in disbelief. She turned to Isabelle. "And no, I'm not going to get with Sebastian just for that. I don't like him like that. Never have, never will. I think he only wants to get with me to up his status, I guess."
She furrowed her brow. "I don't want to be rude, but didn't you say you're like an art geek or something? How does that further his popularity rank in school?" Simon laughed at that.
Clary sucked in a breath of air. "Yes, art is my passion, but that's not the only thing I do. I'm on the school dance team, Dance Bravo," she said with pride.
Isabelle's expression turned to one of surprise and happiness. "Really? Oh my gosh, I never would've thought." She shook her head a little and said, "I'm in it, too!"
To say Clary was in shock was an understatement. "How? Aren't you new? I mean, the auditions were in May and you..." she trailed off. There was no point in stating the obvious.
Isabelle grinned. "Yeah, I know. But my mom is a very well known lawyer and she argued with the dance teacher to let me join. So yeah, I auditioned and I got in." They spent the rest of the hour listening to Isabelle talking about how amazing it was going to be being dance buddies.
.
Clary hated her fifth period class. It was her homeroom and also her French II class with Madame Gayraud which was apparently pronounced Gay-roe. She had humiliated Clary when she told her to introduce herself to the class by telling them her name, her age, and a bunch of things Clary didn't yet know how to say. They were also only allowed to speak in French which pretty much made her speechless for the entire hour.
She was glad when she finally arrived to her last class: art. It was the only place in school she felt that she could let go and be who she really was. She sat towards the front because she liked the art teacher and she preferred to get a closer look at the lessons. The bell rang and everyone settled into the seats they had chosen. Clary didn't want to seem selfish, but when she worked she liked to use the entire table, which was originally intended for two people, so she put her backpack on the chair next to hers and pretended that it was taken so people wouldn't sit there.
"Okay, kids. Some of you may think this will be an easy class," Ms. Rahl began. "But I will warn you right now that it is not. I want you guys to appreciate art and to take it seriously. Don't try to play around and do nothing." Just then the door opened and in walked the most gorgeous boy Clary had ever laid her eyes on. The only thing she could think of was, oh my god.
He stood tall and confident, glancing at everyone as though he hadn't just arrived late and disrupted what Ms. Rahl was saying. Clary stared in awe as she heard all the girls in the class audibly gasp and some sigh. He was wearing all black, but it didn't look emo, just sexy. His muscles flexed when he adjusted his backpack and then ran his hand through his wavy, blonde hair. Everything about him seemed so perfect, that Clary had an instant urge to grab her tools and immediately start to draw him down to the smirk that was playing at his lips. What captivated Clary the most, though, were his eyes. They were golden as well, like his hair and almost everything else about him. He was like a golden angel that was sent down from the heavens so that everyone could marvel at God's finest work. Clary stopped herself. Where did that come from? she thought.
Ms. Rahl herself seemed stunned, but for a different reason. "Excuse me. Are you here to deliver something or are you lost?"
He stared at her, still smirking. "Actually no, I am not lost, and the only thing I am bringing is myself which will probably be the best delivery you will ever receive." He winked which caused some of the girls to giggle.
She raised her eyebrows. "Well then, would you mind introducing yourself to the class?"
"It would be my pleasure." He turned to face the rest of them. He spoke with a tone that suggested that he thought himself to be better than everyone else. "I am Jace Lightwood and I am new to this school, though it will definitely not seem so in just a few days. Most of you have probably already heard about me and my outstanding achievements so there is no use in me presenting myself further." He grinned.
Clary was frozen in shock. This was Jace? This was the guy that had tripped Simon? Well, he didn't look anything like Clary had thought he would. In fact, he was the complete opposite and it was very obvious he didn't have self-esteem issues either. She looked him over again, this time instead of seeing him as perfect she saw him as a repulsive human being. He was the type of person that cared only about his looks and put down other people just for fun. She couldn't believe that he was in any way related to Isabelle and Alec. They didn't even look related, for that matter.
"Very well, Jace. It's too bad that you came in late or else you would have heard the first part of my introduction. I won't have people playing around and coming into this class whenever they want," Ms. Rahl said. "First impressions are very important, Lightwood, and yours has earned you the opportunity to sit in the very front of class where I can keep my watchful eyes on you."
"You wouldn't be the first one to want to keep your eyes on me," he replied with a devious tone. Clary scowled. She couldn't believe how arrogant he was and how daring he was to speak to the teacher like this. Ms. Rahl narrowed her eyes and looked around the classroom.
She pointed towards Clary. "You will sit next to Clary for the rest of year, Jace." Clary looked around frantically. What? No. There must be somewhere else he could sit, she thought. She felt her hope go down as she realized that the only spot available was the one next to her. Your own stupid fault for being so selfish, she chastised herself.
"Wait, Ms. Rahl I'm actually saving this spot for someone," she sputtered, trying to get herself out of sitting next to Jace.
"For who? No one is absent," she said, crossing her arms.
"Oh, don't worry," Jace said as he came towards her. "Being around me isn't so horrible," he whispered, sitting down and scooting over to get closer. She moved her own chair to move farther away.
"Quiet, Jace," Ms. Rahl said. He turned to face the front of the class while looking at Clary out of the corner of his eye. Clary avoided him. Ms. Rahl continued speaking. "Like I was saying, you will be respectful of myself and others," she then shot a look at Jace and he chuckled. "Since today is just for you to get used to your classes you can do whatever you want as long as it's art. And no talking."
Clary pulled out a blank paper from her backpack and a pencil. She was glad for the distraction from Jace. She put the pencil to the paper and began to sketch. First a line here and then a curve there. When she finished she straightened up and began to look for any flaws.
A voice disrupted her thoughts. "That's actually decent." He slid the paper over to his side of the table and looked at the bluebird she had drawn.
"Thank you," she said stiffly then snatched it back from his hands. He put his own up in surrender and grinned.
"I see it's true what they say about red heads. You all have a feisty attitude don't you?" Clary glared at him. He put an elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his hand inquisitively. "This is different. Usually girls are nervous around me or trying to get nearer. You seem to do neither." He leaned closer. "Do I make you uncomfortable, Clary?"
Clary stiffened and pulled back. "There's no reason for me to be uncomfortable," she lied. Despite her feelings toward him, she was still an artist and that part of her was pleading for her to look him straight in the face and just stare at his perfection. "Have you ever thought that maybe you're not every girl's type?"
He let out a short laugh. "Based on past experiences I would have to say that is a lie. I am every girl's type. But not every girl is mine," he added.
"I think I can guess which are your type," she said, imagining girls like Aline who was at the moment ogling Jace from where she sat in the row behind them.
"I'm actually not that predictable. You would be surprised to find out what type of girls I like," he said with an amused tone.
"I - " Clary started, ready to tell him what she really thought, but then stopped herself. Why was she having a conversation with Jace? And especially about this topic? She didn't want to know him."You know what? I don't really care what types of girls you like. Now if you would please stop bothering me, I would like to finish my drawing." With that she pushed herself even farther away from Jace and continued her art.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see him looking at her in confusion. Clary felt her cheeks go red. She felt she was coming off as irrational to Jace and he probably thought she was weird, but she didn't want to talk to him and if she had to distance herself in this manner then so be it.
A few minutes later, the bell rang and Clary all but ran out. She could feel Jace's eyes on her back, but she resisted the impulse to turn around and glare at him. She hurried along to the front of the school where she knew Simon was going to be waiting for her. When she saw him he was already waiting with Eric and the guys.
She grabbed him by the arm. "Let's go, Simon."
He went along without resisting, the rest following behind. "Hey, Clary. Why are you so eager to leave?"
"I have to do stuff at home," she muttered wanting to get away from school and Jace. Sure, he was hot, but she wasn't into the arrogant type, especially not to the extremity that Jace was. And the way he was leaning so close to her did make her uncomfortable. She didn't want to be associated with a guy who was probably a player and rude to everyone he met.
"Alright. Hey, do you think Isabelle might like me?" Simon asked.
Clary rolled her eyes and laughed. "Only way you'll know is if you ask her out."
He looked stricken. "I...uh...I'll think about it."
Even though Isabelle was related to Jace, she was glad that she now had her as a friend. Sure, all she seemed to talk about was guys and clothes, but she seemed like a good person and Simon apparently liked her. She just hoped that having Simon, Magnus, and her new friends would be enough to make up for the fact that she would have to endure Jace and his inappropriate commentary for the rest of the year.