Chapter 2: fiery burdens of life have already destroyed me
edited:
For a moment, Jace thought he saw a deep fury ignite deep within the short redhead's eyes and his arm backed off slightly, uncertain of himself. But then Clary resumed her composure and her eyes seemed indifferent again. She merely clenched her fists and gave Jace a glare before turning to face Mr. Graymark, ignoring all the mocking looks glanced her way. But there was something unsettling in her gaze, something wrong in that glare she gave. It was a show of pretense, or to be exact, she was wearing a mask. He observed her keenly, awed by her indifference. As the school bully (Jace is absolutely proud of this fact), he was used to seeing fear shimmering in his prey's eyes.
But what scared him the most was not her lack of fear, but the hollowness and emptiness in her emerald green eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul; that quote had never been applicable as now. This frightened him to an extent. What had the girl encounter in her life to make her.. like that? To be completely devoid of human emotions and… broken. Broken is probably the best way to describe her. Clary looked like she had been through a dozen obstacles, and nothing in the world can unhinge her further. She was no different from a walking zombie. Never had Jace met such an intriguing person, and he unintentionally and unconsciously felt a sense of fascination and drawing to this girl.
That's one interesting girl, Jace chuckled to himself, earning himself another judgmental glare from Clary. Was she pretending? Why is she so hard to read? He ran a hand through his resplendent blonde hair in frustration. Jace had always been able to read people well - girls send him begging looks of desire and admiration, boys offer him friendship but deep down resent his wealth and popularity, his father hates him to the core still, and his father's mistresses and his stepmother view him as an obstruction to the Wayland fortune. Not being able to see any tinge of real emotion in Clary's eyes infuriates him. All her pretend-glares are merely for the showcase that she is not a weak prey, this does not reflect how she truly feels.
"Well, don't you think that red mark makes a nice blusher on your face? I would say it matches your hair, Firebush." Jace attempted conversationally. He needed to know more about this infuriating girl that drove him bonkers. Not to mention the fragrance of her small body that drove him bonkers as well…
"Oh please, is that the best you can do? Firebush?" Clary said tonelessly, without turning to look at him.
"At least I didn't call you Ginger, Ginger."
"You just did." Clary snorted.
"That's not the point."
"It is."
"Or do you prefer Blossom from Power Puff Girls?" Jace's smirk was so wide his mouth felt painful.
But Clary simply said, "I don't know what's Power Puff Girls."
"What the hell? You are a girl and you are 17 and you don't know what's Power Puff Girls."
She shrugged. Euugh, Jace swears she is so infuriating.
"I'm doing you a favour, ain't I? You don't seem to have much money for makeup." Jace tried a different approach and caressed her swollen red cheek roughly.
"Well, why don't you slap my other cheek then?" Clary's voice finally has an edge of defiance as she pulled away from him.
Jace grinned and whispered seductively in her ear, "Why don't I?" Mission one of drawing emotion from Clarissa Fray: success! But instead of slapping her other cheek, Jace pressed his lips gently against Clary's red throbbing cheek, and he was extremely, extremely pleased to hear a sharp intake of breath from Ms. Emotionless Fray. Did he mention again that he's very pleased? Jace squealed in delight.
Right on cue, the bell rang to signify the end of the lesson and Jace left the classroom, without a second glance at Clarissa Fray. As he walked out into the hallway, he smiled to himself. Finally some fun and a new challenge for him to take on. Overwhelmed and giddied with bliss over his new aim in life, Jace shouted through the hallways and did a mad cowboy dance.
It's gonna be a fun year.
Ω
Clary's cheeks blushed furiously. She could feel the heat burning up and her blood flowing vigorously to her face. She grabbed her face in disbelief. Never had she been kissed in her entire seventeen, Not even her lips, or her cheeks, or her hand… or anywhere close. The impact had been so tremendous, leaving her heart hard and pounding.
Clary could still feel the tingling of Jace's soft, strawberry scented lips on her cheek. He had been so gentle with her, his breath so warm and welcoming, like he genuinely cared for her. She immediately pushed that thought aside and rid herself all these ridiculous imaginations. Nobody cares for Clarissa Adele Fray. Haven't the past seventeen years proven the fact? She thought bitterly. In a jiffy, Clary's eyes turned cold, back to her own normal bitter self, her hands caressing the scars on her wrists for assurance.
But she couldn't understand why Jace Wayland has kissed her cheek.
That question haunted her the whole day in school.
During Calculus, when Clary was still gently probing her cheek, unable to erase the delicious sensation of Jace's soft tingling lips on her skin, a voice rang her back to reality.
"Ms. Fray, the principal wishes to see you." Clary glanced up immediately at the source of the sound, to find the office receptionist beckoning for her at the front of the class.
"What did I do wrongly." She wondered aloud, the accusation clear in her voice.
"Dear Clary, you didn't do anything wrongly!" The over-friendly receptionist beamed at her, and dropped her voice to a harsh 'whisper' although it was evident that the whole class was still able to hear her, "The principal is Mrs. Wayland. She is Jace's mother. I imagine she would want to speak to you about the incident on the rooftop."
Oh right. The incident on the rooftop. Clary nodded her head and sent a fake apologetic smile at her Calculus teacher before following the receptionist to the principal's office.
Ω
The principal was dressed a tight black tailored suit with wired rimmed glasses, and her coal black hair was combed back neatly into a bun. Everything about her spelled FREAK, and Clary couldn't help smirking a little. Like mother, like son, both freaks. But Mrs. Wayland looked nothing like Jace, with her black hair and even blacker eyes.
As if speaking her thoughts, the principal smiled politely at her. "You might be wondering how different I look from Jace," Clary raised her eyebrows but wisely kept silent as the principal continued, "Indeed, I am not Jace's birth mother. I am Amatis, his stepmother. Celine was his real mother and my sister, but she died when he was bornt."
Clary's eyebrows shot up even higher. What kind of indecency is this? Who even marries her dead sister's husband? That's just plain weird. To think that Clary thought she was weird. "Formalities aside, Clary, I'm here to speak to you about Jace's incident on the rooftop." Amatis explained.
"I didn't tell the police Jace was on drugs and I won't tell anyone. I already promised Mr. Michael Wayland." Clary said defensively, her arms forming a protective barrier between the other woman and herself.
Amatis chuckled, "That's because Jace really wasn't on drugs. That is beside the point. Jace is actually suffering from bipolar disorder and he was having one of his manic episodes being super 'high' that night."
Jace Wayland? Bipolar? He had seemed so high and drunk to her. How can a rich, handsome, smart, athletic guy even have troubles serious enough to develop bipolar disorder? He seemed to lead a perfect life… and had everything Clary didn't have.
Don't judge a book by its cover, Clary thought that those words can never be more true. Jace Wayland had seemed like an asshole to her, but evidently, his life must have been tedious as well? Clary thought about all the societal expectations on him to take over his father's business in the future. Mistakes made by him were probably not tolerated, and perfection was probably the only choice designated for him. She sighed internally. What has humanity evolved into? Is there not a perfect life enough anymore? Clary used to blame her ill-fated life filled with endless bullying and debts on fate, but have humans' once unclouded souls be filled with too much poison to fatally damage even the richest of the rich, those deemed as the heirs with flawless lives?
For a second, Clary pitied Jace Wayland as much as she hated him. Then she shook aside that thought almost immediately, her gaze focused on the stern looking woman in front of her. Since long ago, Clary has learnt that having emotions for others equates to giving out pieces of her soul that will never be returned. She no longer wants to be hurt again, and she wants to die with what's left of her remaining soul.
"Why are you telling me this?" Clary questioned with genuine curiosity. After all, Amatis could have just stuck to her original story that Jace was drunk, and not share with her this gossipy bit of information.
"Clary dear, the night Jace came home after the whole incident, he seemed a lot different." Amatis smiled at that happy thought, "You have to understand. I only married Jace's father when he was eight. Before that, he had no real mother to care after him. He's been through a lot, which was how he became bipolar… But that night… I have not seen him that happy before. He seemed genuinely happy, and he was smiling the whole night. I haven't seen him like that since he was a kid."
"So?" Clary couldn't catch what Amatis was trying to drive at.
"We believe that the cause of his happiness was because of you. And I heard from Mr. Graymark that Jace had taken a special interest in you in class today."
"How is slapping me a 'special interest'?" Clary couldn't help but giving her signature roll of eyes.
"Jace usually does not take notice in people. He pretty much ignores everyone, and he orders people to do his dirty work and bullying. This is the first time he personally slapped someone."
"Am I supposed to feel honoured or something?!" Clary's voice was thick with sarcasm.
"No, what I am saying is, Ms. Clarissa Fray, you are extremely special, and I have a proposition for you…," Amatis stood up and bowed at Clary sincerely, "Jace's father and I would like you to be Jace's girlfriend."
