Heya guys :) Chapter three! The feedback is amazing guys and you have no idea I get this big grin on my face everytime I get that little alert email. Also in the last chapter i double posted it when I uploaded it and that's fixed now, so sorry about that. :)
Here you all are!
(no disclaimer since I think I've made my point in the first two chapters and unless anything changes it's not necessary)
Clary woke up the next day feeling like crap. She hadn't slept at all, too restless in the unfamiliar home. Too uncomfortable and unhappy with the situation she was forced in. To hurt by how betrayed she felt. So when she heard Jace in the other room, walking around in the kitchen, she gave up on sleep.
Jace looked up in surprise when she walked into the kitchen. He had a coffee mug gripped in his hand, she noticed, eyes still not fully alert and his hair mussed. He was so tall, she couldn't imagine that it would be comfortable to sleep on that small couch in his living room. But mostly, she noticed that he was only in his boxers, and he had a very attractive upper body.
"I'm sorry," he said, tearing her eyes away from his chest. From what she could tell, he hadn't noticed the stare, still too groggy from sleep, "I was hoping I wouldn't wake you up so that you could sleep in," there was no arrogant smirk on his face, no teasing her for seeing him half naked, or wanting more. No taunts like she would expect from him. She really, really liked sleepy Jace.
"It's fine," she grumbled, brushing past him as she opened the cabinets, "I was up already, anyway," she searched until she found the right one, taking not of it, before she picked out a snowman-shaped mug. He smiled when she saw it, but she ignored him.
She had decided at some point during the night that Sebastian wasn't the only one who should shoulder the blame of putting her into this situation, so she was going to be mad at Jace, too. Granted, she always had the option to go home, but she wasn't calling that an option anymore. She was calling that quitting, and Clary didn't have the intention of quitting, even if that meant she had to live with Jace. Besides, its not like she had to like him, or be nice to him, she just had to pretend she loved him in front of other people.
"Are you okay?" he asked, beginning to sense her sour mood. Maybe he was beginning to wake up more. Or maybe she was just getting angrier and angrier by the second.
"I'm fine," she snapped, reaching behind him for the coffee. She drank it just like that, black. Like my soul, she mused. It was something she used to say to Simon when they went to Java Jones together. The reminder once again, made her heart ache.
Would it be so bad if she went back? No, she thought, This is what you wanted. You wanted to get out of there and now you have.
Jace whistled, "You're cranky in the morning, Claire Bear," he mumbled, ruffling her bedhead as he downed his coffee, "I'm going to go get dressed," and he walked off into the other room, leaving Clary glaring after him.
"Okay," Jace said after he emerged, dressed in the same suit she had seen him in the other day. Sebastian had told her he's required to wear it to work. It must be a pretty strict school, then. All girls... she couldn't imagine. They probably all loved Jace, too. He couldn't be much older than she was and she had a feeling all ages found him attractive, "Time to make my lunch."
Clary had settled herself on the counter, thinking, but now here eyes were on him as he made a sandwich. She knew she had decided she was going to treat him badly...but she couldn't help herself from wondering.
"Jace?"
He didn't look up from what he was doing, "Yes?"
"I never got to ask that third question last night."
She could see Jace' s lips turn down, now he did look up, "Okay. Any questions in mind, then?"
It was one she had already asked, but hadn't been answered, "Why this school? I mean...there are so many schools out there, right? Why pick this one? Why lie in your interview at all?"
Jace went quiet. Clary watched him carefully, trying to gauge his expression, but it was hidden. It was like looking at a wall. She couldn't tell if he was lost in thought, or if he was just stalling himself from answering, but the silence was making her uncomfortable.
"Jace?"
He met her eyes and opened his mouth, like he was about to say something. Then her phone rang. She frowned, pulling it out of her pajama pocket. Sebastian flashed across the screen.
"Aren't you going to answer that?"
"No," she said, hitting the end button. Hopefully, Sebastian would get the hint.
Jace snatched her phone out of her hands, golden eyes running over the screen before he began typing something in.
"What are you doing?" Clary asked.
"Adding my phone number," he responded, handing it back to her, "Don't call me in the middle of class if it's not important.
Clary tucked her phone into her pocket, wishing she were better at thinking of witty, snappy comments that she could use.
Jace finished up his lunch. He grabbed a satchel he had leaning against a stool and waved at her, "Later babe," he called, "Have fun," and shut the door.
She stared after it for a moment. What now? It was early... Would Simon be up? She thought of her friend and shook her head. No, probably not. He liked to sleep in because he stayed up so late at night. Like a vampire.
With a sigh, she wandered around the apartment, opening drawers and things, taking note of where everything was. Anything she could use to waste time. She made herself another cup of coffee and changed before she decided to head out and look for somethings for Jace' s apartment, or art supplies. On her phone, she looked up places within walking distance she could check out.
The other day her brother had given her way too much money for what he had asked for. Clary had intended to give it back to him, but then he came home late and she fell asleep. It was still in her pocket, which she was now retrieving. Pay back time, right Seb? Petty, yes, but she was broke and angry. So with a small glance back at the apartment, she walked out, hoping she wouldn't get lost on her way to the store.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" people brushed by her, "Sir?" no reply. People were either rude, or deaf. She didn't care, she just wanted someone to stop and give her directions. If she wanted, she could turn around and go back to the apartment complex since she could still see it, but she didn't want to give up, and she didn't know what she would do there if she did.
"Do you need something?" a middle-aged man stopped in front of her. She gazed up at him and smiled. Finally.
"I need directions to the Alicante Shopping Mall?"
"Oh, that's close by," that's what her phone said, but she had started to worry it had lied to her. "Actually, that's on my way. Would you like me to walk with you? I work at the high school nearby, Idris. I'm on my way there now."
Clary checked the time. Wasn't it a little late to go in? "Could you? Thank you so much."
She began walking beside the man, "So are you a teacher at Idris?" was that the high school Jace worked at? She couldn't remember, but now she was going to be a little bit more cautious about what she said, just in case.
"Actually, I'm the principle there. I'm not required to go in today, but I've been working so long sometimes it's hard to kick the habit. Do you understand what I mean?" Clary opened her mouth to reply, but the man shook his head, "That couldn't be. You're young, you must have many more things to do than an old man like me."
Clary smiled pleasantly, "I'm sure you could pick of a hobby, if you looked for something."
The old man looked down at Clary and nodded, "I'm sure I could, but I'm married to the school. I think it will always be my hobby. Do you have one?"
"Yes sir," she grinned, "I'm an artist."
"How wonderful!" the man replied, "Art is an amazing thing. You look as if you would be an artist," they came to a stop outside a large, wide building with a big parking lot at the other side, "Here you are. Enjoy yourself," then the man began walking once again, without a word.
"This isn't funny Simon," Clary snapped, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder while she tied her hair up into a bun. She had actually ended up getting a lot more things than expected (which had been hard to lug home but she had managed).
"It's so funny, I don't even believe you.. It sounds like something you'd see in a movie, Clary, not in real life. Especially not to someone like you."
Clary made a face at that insult as she laid down a brown, slightly fluffy rug, "Gee, thanks," she grumbled, "I'm glad you feel that way, Simon."
"Oh, come on Clary. Is this how you imagined your life in New York?"
"Of course not!" she said exclaimed, taking a step back to view how the rug looked. Nice. She walked back over to the counter and withdrew one of the picture frames she had gotten, setting it on the coffee table. She was going to find a nice picture of Jace's and put it in, "But it's not like I had a choice!"
"There's always a choice, Clary."
She scoffed, "What? Like come home? No way!"
"Why come home at all? You could always look for a job and a place to live while you pretend to love this guy."
"That's the point, Simon," she went through her sketchbook until she found a drawing she liked, taking a pin and placing it on the wall of the entryway. The picture was of a fallen angel, the feathers on his wings beginning to shed and wither.
"But, Clary, leave as soon as you get one."
She sighed, running her hand over her face, "I don't know, Simon...I can understand quitting now and leaving home...but does that qualify as leading him on if I only stay until I find another place to live in New York?"
"So?"
"I don't think he deserves that. He may be a jerk. And trust me," she went back to her suitcase, pulling out the plastic sheet which carefully contained her favorite paintings. She didn't have a frame for them, so she pinned them up for right now with the intention of getting a frame later. The paintings were attractive abstract art that she felt added a nice splash of color against Jace's bare walls, "He's a huge jerk. But...there's something about this job that means a lot to him," she thought about his face after asking that question, "I don't know... it just feels wrong to use him as a place to stay after promising I'd do this."
"So now you want to do this, Fray?"
"No!" Clary groaned, "No, that's not what I meant. But come on...even if I'm furious, I still have morals."
"I have never seen evidence of that being true."
"Oh, shut up," she laughed, and she realized while briefly talking to Simon that she had cheered up a lot, and that sour mood she had been in this morning and most of last night had vanished, "Simon? Thanks," she didn't need to specify, he knew what he did.
"Any time, Fray. Any time."
"How's Maia?"
For a moment, he was quiet, and that made Clary nervous, "It didn't work out with her, Clary," he said in a soft voice, and she could tell that he was upset about it.
"Aw, don't worry Simon. That girl you're looking for will come along. Just wait, you'll see."
"Isn't that what Luke told you in seventh grade when you were upset everyone was taller than you?"
"Shut up!" she snapped through a scowl that he couldn't see, but her heart lightened just a little bit. This was what she needed. Simon knew just how to cheer her up, always, and now this situation to her seemed just a little bit more bearable.
On the other side of the phone, Simon started laughing, "Sorry, Fray. You make it easy."
"Okay, well, Jace will be home soon so I might as well be going. Bye Simon, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Alright, bye Clary. Bye the way, I've almost defeated the Lich King at 5% buff."
Clary laughed, "Nerd," she said, before hitting the end button.
Almost simultaneously, Jace walked through the front door.
"Were you talking to someone?" he asked through a frown.
Clary tucked her phone into her pocket and nodded, "Yeah, I was talking to Simon.. How was— what is that?"
He was holding something in his hand behind the doorway, and when he pulled it inside she saw what it was. A canvas. She had wanted to get one while she was at the store, but she didn't think she would be able to carry it home.
"I got you a present, I guess," he looked uncomfortable as she walked over with a grin.
"Thank you!" she was pleasantly surprised, "Really. That was very nice of you."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," he stepped inside the apartment, shutting the door behind him. His eyes surveyed the room, "I like the paintings," he commented, walking over to one of them, "Did you paint this?"
Clary beamed, "Yep!" she wasn't usually too proud of her work, but she had brought the ones she thoroughly enjoyed, and so it always made her excited when others like it too.
"I like it. Sebastian never told me you're an artist, though I don't understand why. You're very good," she blushed, averting her eyes. Now that praise was starting to feel a little too over the top.
"Thanks."
"I'm going to go take a shower, alright?" Clary just nodded and watched him put his stuff down before retreating into the bathroom. She walked over to turn on the TV, messing with it until she found a channel she liked.
That was when the doorbell rang. She frowned curiously, standing up. For a second, she hesitated. It was so engrained in never to open the door of someone's home, but Jace was in the shower. With a sigh, she told herself that she sort of kind of lived here now, and opened the door, smiling, "Hello there..." she saw who it was and her eyes widened in surprise, "Mr. Pangborn?"
Yet another chapter :D I'll try to update tomorrow, too. Once again thank you all so much!
(PS: to Mypettaylor1 I thouroughly enjoyed your review and I'm glad you pointed that out to me...I'm going to try to emphasize a little bit more how Clary doesn't enjoy the situation she has been put in)
