Ponophobia: Fear of Pain.
7:30. I slammed my textbook shut and stuffed it back in my bag, retreating into the bathroom. I took a freezing cold shower, the way I like it. Wrapping a towel around myself, I blow dried my hair hastily, trying to tame it so that it would fall straight. Unsuccessful. Still, it fell in waves.
In my room, I pulled on a plain black tank top and jeans, when a knock came from the door. Rachel, my adoptive older sister, opened the door. Instantly, her expression was disgusted.
"You're not wearing that to the party are you?" she asked in horror. I groaned.
"What else am I going to wear?!" She sighed in exasperation.
"Come with me," she commanded, leading me to her walk in closet. She examined some items and muttered to herself, putting them back on the racks. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, holding up something black. She threw it at me, followed by lacy white leggings. I obeyed, slipping on the leggings first, which ended right above my knee. The black dress was stylishly loose, with thin spaghetti straps that cris-crossed in the back. Rachel smiled triumphantly, then dragged me to her vanity. She tapped her lip in deep thought, then got to work on my eyes. When I finally opened them, I gasped. They were outlined with black dust, sparkles included, that made my green eyes and red hair pop out. Rachel then slipped an elastic headband with a white flower into my hair. "Totally vintage!" she squealed happily as I examined myself in the mirror. I looked pretty good. The dress ended halfway down my thighs.
"Dad would kill me if they were home," I mumbled, though I was grinning happily. Then, the doorbell rang. Rachel threw me a pair of black ballet flats, and then ran down the stairs. I followed quickly. Just as I reached her, Rachel threw the door open and standing there with his hands in his pockets was Jace. He looked up, his gold eyes gleaming like a lions.
"You must be Jace!" Rachel greeted him. "I'm Rachel," she added.
"Nice to meet you. Ready to go?" he asked me. I nodded, smiling.
"Be safe!" Rachel called as we retreated down the walkway to Jace's car. I rolled my eyes as I got in the passenger seat. Jace closed the door and entered through the driver's side.
"Um, Clary?" he asked as we set off down the road.
"Yeah?" I asked, fiddling with a strand of my hair tensely.
"Never mind," he said. I glanced over at him, wondering why he sounded different somehow. He didn't look very different. He was smirking, one hand on the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. He looked over at me. "Something wrong?"
"No," I said with a chuckle. "I'm fine."
"Ready to party hard?" he asked, his smile growing bigger.
"I can't dance," I stated.
"Guess I'll have to make you," Jace mused, looking pleased at the thought.
"No, you won't."
"What makes you so certain, Ms. Fray?"
"You'll be too busy with Reese," I explained, like it was totally obvious. "You'll make her dance, not me, and you two will spend the night together basking in your awesome-ness while I stand by the punch bowl and assume the I'm-too-cool-to-have-fun position," I told him bluntly, and added, "I'm good at reading people."
"I just met you, you can't read me that easily!" Jace defended, his eyes steely. "And you're wrong anyways."
"We'll see about that."
We had gotten to the house, and Jace parked alongside the curb. Glancing around, I noticed we weren't in the city anymore, more of a suburb type place with big rich houses. I exited the car and breathed in the cold, fresh air. Then, I followed Jace through the big gates of the house. Beyond the gates was a party of its own. People lounged in the grass, smoke curling from their noses, beer cans in their hands. There was music blasting from the open door of the house. Jace and I entered, greeted by a couple making out on the stairway steps. The air smelled of smoke and something really fruity, probably coming from the cups filled with a red liquid that everyone had. Suddenly, pale white arms wrapped around Jace's waist. He raised an eyebrow and turning around we found Reese. She left her hands on his waist, smiling hungrily.
"You came," she slurred, her voice thick. Then she turned to me and her smile seemed to falter. "And you brought Clary. How delightful." I smiled back in response. "Well anyways," she continued, looking up at Jace. "Now the fun has started. Come with me?" She asked, longing in her voice. I tried not to gag and pull her dyed blond hair out of their roots. Jace was smirking, something unreadable in his eyes.
"Sure," he responded, arching an eyebrow, "but Clary has to come too." Reese eyes narrowed and her mouth opened slightly in shock. I tried not to gasp and stifled a giggle. Reese backed away like she had been slapped.
"No deal," she said, crossing her arms.
"That's fine," Jace countered, shrugging, "this party's not very exciting anyway. Very overrated." I gasped now, my eyebrows raising, a small cackle escaping my mouth. Involuntarily, Jace grabbed the hand that wasn't covering my smirk, tugging me towards the door. I looked back at Reese. She was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at our backs. I blew a kiss at her and she stomped off. Once we got outside, I burst out laughing, causing Jace to join in.
"You're crazy, you know that?" I asked him in between chuckles when we were both in the car.
"I know, I know. It's unbelievable!" Jace exclaimed. "I'm gorgeous, funny, attractive, mean, kind, and crazy. There's no room for anything else, I think." I shook my head, laughing lightly.
"So where we headed?" I asked, watching the buildings pass by the window. Jace looked thoughtful for a while before he answered.
"You wanna go for a walk?" I could feel my face light up.
"That'd be fun." I sat in silence the rest of the way, until we got to Central Park. Jace and I set off down a trail, the moonlight bright above us.
"You do know she's going to hate me even more now, don't you?" I asked Jace, looking sideways at him.
"Ahh, I wasn't thinking about that," he said, wincing. "But guess what."
"Hmm?"
"You're supposed to guess, Clary."
"Hmm," I wondered, "you regret it?"
"No, that's not it."
"You're actually a robot from outer space?"
Jace turned to look at me with disbelief and amusement.
"No, that's not it either."
"Then what is it?" I asked in frustration
"You were wrong, like I said. I didn't leave you so I could bask in my obvious gorgeousness."
"Ohh!" I exclaimed. "You're right. But…."
"But? But what?" He asked curiously.
"I said awesome-ness not 'obvious gorgeousness,'" I pointed out.
"Oh, psh," Jace said, "I've got 'em both anyways." I rolled my eyes at him and chuckled. I shivered without thinking. "Are you cold?"
"Aren't you?" I responded. Something flickered in his eyes at my retort, but it faded just as quickly. He nonchalantly shrugged out of his leather jacket, placing it over my shoulders. I mumbled a thank you, slipping my arms through it. It was still warm from his heat.
"Hey, you wanna hang over at my place?" Jace asked, his expression neutral.
"Would your parents mind?" I asked, my heart faltering.
"Uhm," Jace said, his eyes pained, "their not home right now." I nodded.
"Just for a while."
"Of course."
The place Jace led us to was a big building with yellow CAUTION tape plastered over everything. Out on the sidewalk, my eyebrows furrowed.
"Are we in the right place?" I asked him.
"My parents don't like visitors, Girl Scouts, stuff like that," he said hastily. Judging by his tone, I decided to not ask anymore questions, even though the building didn't look very promising. When we got to the door, Jace pulled out a gold key. Inside, I started at the sight. It was a cathedral inside, a brass colored elevator in the corner.
"Jace-"
"Don't worry Clary," he said as he led me to the elevator. "This used to be a church. But they closed it down, and ah, my parents didn't want to leave it. They're very religious, you know?" I nodded suspiciously as we exited the elevator into a deserted hallway. "Let's go to the kitchen," he mumbled and led me into a nice looking kitchen. But it seemed empty, like nobody really used it. I walked over to the wide window and looked out at the lit city. Jace came and stood next to me, crossing his arms over his chest. "Clary?"
"Mhm?"
"You look really nice," he said with poise. I looked over at him to meet his eyes.
"Thank you?" I said, my voice uneven. Jace took a step closer, his eyes hard and his whole body tense.
"Clary," he said again. The sound of my name in his mouth made me heart skip a beat.
"What is it?" I asked, placing a hand on his arm. He exhaled in frustration.
"It's complicated," he said, turning away. "I just feel like… i've known you before. Like I need to get to know you and something about you just calls to me. I can't just leave you alone for a second. I-I-I don't know what I'm saying. I just know you're really important."
"Jace, you-you don't know what you're talking about," I said, though I felt the exact same way.
"Clary I've known you for a day and I already feel like we've got a connection." He turned to face me and his eyes were hungry while his expression was exasperated. Slowly, his hands reached out to lay on my shoulders. "I've never felt this way before." His hands on my skin was incredible. Like I had just been electrocuted, awakened by the feeling of his touch. And I instantly knew I need more. Just like him, I'd never felt this way before. Simon always hugged me, embraced me. I'd had a few boyfriends before, but none of them gave me this feeling, this hunger, this need. "I really want to kiss you," Jace whispered.
"Then kiss me," I whispered back. I closed my eyes and angled my head up to his. Cautiously, he met my lips with his, and I gave in, twining my hands around his neck as his arms encircled me. I immersed in this feel of his hands in my hair, his lips against mine, his body heat against mine. I could feel his heart beating rapidly, a match for my own.
And then I pulled away.
