Home is Where the Heart Is

Summary: Jace and Clary are brother and sister living with their father Valentine in New York. Their mother died when they were young, under suspicious circumstances. The Uprising has not happened yet but Valentine is planning. There is no Circle, and he is using the help of demons. Before CoG- doesn't comply with the books.

AN: Jace and Clary go to a mundane school.

AN: Sorry I haven't updated in ages but I have had exams to prepare for, really important ones and my parents took away computer privileges to get me to study.

Chapter Two:

Having pulled up to the school's front gates to see no one around them, they quickly jumped away from each other and skipped up the steps to the front door and sprinted to their corresponding classrooms. To her dismay, right before Clary entered hers she heard Jace call out to her,

'See you later, sexy'. Clary blushed, and did her best to scowl at Jace, while he turned around and walked at a leisurely pace towards his own classroom. She took a deep breath, trying to block Jace and his insufferableness out of her mind while she came up with something to tell the teacher.

Grimacing she walked in, although she may not follow the dress code to the letter, she hated being late, and having to do first the walk of shame over to her teacher's desk, and then down the aisles of chairs until she got to her seat. Slowly, and with a faked air of confidence that she had perfected over the years she made her way over to her smug looking teacher with a bored look on her face.

She stood in front of her and waited while Miss Munroe made a tsking noise and tapped her pencil on her arm; ready to make the girl she had hated for years a scapegoat, yet another reason for her to detest Jace. Had he not made the teacher's life miserable in only one year then maybe Clary would have had an easier time in her class. Don't think about Jace, you will only start down a track that you don't want to end up on, or be on, ever, she reprimanded herself, and almost shook her head in order to clear the thoughts travelling through her mind.

'Miss Morgenstern, we aren't getting off on the best start to the year, are we?' Clary shook her head, trying not to make a childish face at the teacher that refused to give her an ounce of respect, and it was all because of Jace. She was beginning to see a pattern in her life.

No? Well then you will just have to make sure that you change my view during detention tonight.' Then Miss Munroe smiled a heartless, cold smile that told Clary that this was going to be the worst year ever.

The bell rang signifying the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunch, where the only people who you had to answer to were your peers. It was much, much worse. Most teens spend their lunch breaks sitting and laughing with their friends, all the while wondering who was critiquing their outfit, or who was talking about how so and so wound up waking next to so and so after last night's party. From the outside it looked like harmless teens, going about their day happily, but on the other side of the fence every single one of those kids was sitting through enough stress to give them all nervous breakdowns by the time they were twenty. Ah, the joys of high school.

Clary was walking slowly towards the cafeteria doors with her best friend, Adelaide, a girl who never seemed to be without a smile, even when the world was crashing down around her ears. Adelaide calmed Clary, which she was always grateful for, especially now that she and Jace were on a rocky ledge right now. They were talking amiably about their summers, and how there had been a lack of excitement on both ends. They were in the middle of this conversation when a solid shoulder rammed into her from behind, almost knocking her over. She righted herself and looked up into Jace's eyes, the obvious mirth in them making Clary angrier by the second.

'Whoops! Sorry Sis, didn't see you their' he said coolly, but with a faint trace of laughter visible in his eyes, before beginning to walk away and into the crowd teeming with students. However she pulled him back before he got too far away from her.

Her blood was boiling and she clenched her fists, making little semi circles on her palm so as to not run after Jace and attack him in front of the whole school. This, however, would unfortunately not please the headmaster. However much he hated Jace he didn't condone any violence and would consequentially call her father. That would NOT be a good thing.

Instead she put all the hatred she could into one glare and narrowed her eyes at his cocky face.

'Whoa there Sis, don't go ruining your face with frown lines, it's all you have!'

Steam was practically coming out of Clary's ears by now and it took all her will power and Adelaide's strength to keep her from jumping at him, she would deal with the consequences later, if only she could see that smirk slapped off of his arrogant face!!

'Leave it Clary, he's not worth it.' Amelia tried to persuade Clary to move along, but the girl appeared to have grown roots for no matter how hard Amelia pulled Clary wouldn't move.

'You ...cocky, rude, arrogant, self-centred bastard of a prick!! You deserve whatever you get in life!!' Clary was fuming, he hadn't made her this mad in ages, but all of his previous comments were still smarting, not to mention the whole Clary-alone-for-the-summer debacle.

'What, hot sex and chicks falling all over me? Yeah I definitely deserve that.' If it was possible Jace's smirk seemed to grow even wider and more mocking, which wasn't helping Clary's mood. Her blood was boiling, singing at her to just take one punch, that was all that was needed and she would be happy to give it to him. Her resolve was hardening and before she knew it she was throwing her arm back and then forwards into his face. She felt her fist being grabbed by Jace's hand, with an almost lazy attitude, displaying the fact that it took minimal effort to stop the attack. That one move made Clary feel defeated, but she wouldn't let it show and so leaned into Jace and said,

'Just remember, Dad loves me best...' and walked away, giving one last look over her shoulder at Jace, who's face had shut down, and she could feel the anger rolling off of him, his smirking face gone.

She knew that she had taken a low shot, digging at one of the things that she knew he was insecure about, their father's feelings towards them. He had revealed this information to her one night years ago when there had been a storm and their father was out of town, prompting Clary to go to Jace's room. They stayed up all night hiding from the thunder and lightning, revelling in the absence of their father who would have told them to knock it off and go back to sleep, they weren't babies and he hadn't raised them softly.

Walking away she felt miserable about it, knowing that he probably wouldn't talk to her for at least three days, but she shook it off and sat down with her friends, and only the Clary deep down inside of her would admit to being worried if she had ruined their relationship