So, my precious readers. I would like to thank you all so much because really you guys are the shit! People are already saying that they like my story and I haven't even really done much. Thank you all sooooooo much.
I got one review that said it was great even if the idea is overdone. I suppose that the whole concept in general is overdone. But I do things differently. That's all I can really say. I try to think of original ways for certain events to happen. I even include a little bit of foreshadowing :O If you've read any of my other stories, you'll find that I usually have an interesting plot.
Okay, bye, loves. Enjoy!
Only three more classes, Clary thought. She only had to endure three more hours of boredom and torture before she could kick back with Simon and watch whatever horrible movies were no television.
She had been attending the Academy since as long as she could remember and she had long since gotten used to the unusually long schedule. Her days consisted of eight classes and lunch in the middle. That's basically all she's known, but for some reason this day had been exceptionally tiresome for Clary. She was beyond eager to get it over with.
Her next class was photography which she was not looking forward to. She chose it as one of her electives because she figured it would be easy and fun, but that was surely not the case. Clary had quickly discovered that she was better off just sticking to her sketchpad. Not only was she an absolutely terrible photographer, but every other Monday her teacher, Mrs. Gail, would assign an impossible project for the students.
It's alright, Clary told herself. She would just do her best as usual and get her typical B or C.
She arrived late to the classroom earning a glare from Mrs. Gail. Clary believed that Mrs. Gail held a secret resentment towards her. She was an attentive student, always trying her hardest, but the teacher had a particular distaste towards painters and sketch artists. Mrs. Gail believed that their art was based only off of what they saw, unlike photography, where beauty is captured in rare forms. That wasn't true about artists, but the woman refused to accept otherwise.
As Clary settled into her uncomfortable plastic chair, she did her best to focus on her teacher's infamous rambling. She was explaining the details on their current project, and then she dropped a word that Clary absolutely dreaded. Partners.
"Headmaster Souza (A/N: Sorry. I have the Darkest Powers series on the brain at the moment.)told me that I was not doing a very good job on emphasizing teamwork. I told him that this is a class for nature photography and the only relationships you are required to form is with yourself and the land around you. He told me that if I wanted my paycheck I had to follow his orders. Therefore, for this project you are required to pair up with one other person."
Clary sighed inwardly and bit back her spiking anxiety. She knew almost everybody in her grade by name, but most of them she had never carried a conversation with. For as long as she could remember, her main target had always been Simon. She had seen the ways girls backstabbed and betrayed one another, and she was never willing to join that crowd. Sure, she talked to people other than Simon, but all of her chats had been made up of mostly drab pleasantries.
She watched as her peers immediately ran to one another. Clary seemed to be the only one not excited about the partnering. She slumped in her seat, accepting the fate of working alone. No matter what the teacher said, there was an odd number of students in the class, which meant that one person would be working individually. Considering that the class consisted of only girls, Clary was positive that she would be that lonely person.
"Hi Clary," a velvet voice said from behind. Clary reluctantly turned in her chair. It would be an understatement to say she was shocked to find Isabelle Lightwood addressing her.
"Uh, hi," she stammered awkwardly. Isabelle wasn't one of the obnoxious popular girls that Clary couldn't stand. In fact, she stuck mostly to just hanging out with Jace and her brother, Alec, but she was certainly intimidating. She was tall and graceful with long, dark hair that hung below her waist in a braid. Her eyes were equally dark and shining down on Clary with amusement. Isabelle Lightwood was strikingly beautiful and had a certain ferocity that would set any female on edge.
"We're working together," Isabelle insisted, catching Clary completely off guard. Clary's green eyes widened and she looked down at her hands. What could Isabelle want with her? Sensing Clary's hesitation and uncertainty, Isabelle continued on. "Come on, Clary. I don't bite, not unless you piss me off. Besides, I've seen your work and we both know that you could only benefit from teaming up with me."
That was very true. Whereas most of Clary's pictures came out blurry and unidentifiable, Isabelle was practically a professional at wielding a camera. Which only brought Clary back to questioning Isabelle's intentions. They had never really spoken before and Isabelle has gone to the Academy just as long as Clary. "Uh, Isabelle, I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Call me Izzy!" She grinned, flashing perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. "We're going to have to meet up after school."
Clary didn't necessarily remember agreeing, but it would be rude to decline. Plus, did she really want to work by herself? "Why?" Clary asked.
Isabelle rolled her eyes and jerked her chin to the front of the classroom. Clary turned to see a black and white photo of some type of valley projected on the screen. "The only thing that Mrs. Gail is going to be letting us do during class is take notes on the history of Ansel Adams."
Once again, Clary knew that Izzy was right, but she was still uncomfortable with the idea. "Your room or mine?" Isabelle pursued.
Clary pictured her room in her head and cringed. It looked as if a tornado had hit it. She would have been fine with Simon seeing it, because he was Simon. But Isabelle Lightwood was a different story. "Uh, yours," Clary answered.
"I should warn you," Isabelle said. "I share a room with my brother, Alec."
"What? How?" Clary had never heard of that happening. Boys and girls had a good amount of freedom at the Academy, but their dorm rooms were on opposite sides of the campus.
"I have my resources," she snickered mischievously. "See you after school. Meet me in front of the girl dorms!" She flung her hand in the air as some sort of wave and then strode eloquently back to her seat.
Clary sighed. So much for crappy movies with Simon.
-#*#-
Jace sauntered lazily to his seventh period class: painting. He was a generally prompt student, but today he wanted to be late to that class. He wanted to gain the attention of all of his peers, but more specifically he wanted to gain Clary's attention. She was the only one in that room who held his interest at the moment. Unfortunately, her fairly rat-looking friend, Simon, was in that class as well. He would be waiting eagerly to break up any conversation Jace intended to have with Clary.
Poor guy, Jace thought. He was whipped for the little red head and she couldn't even see it. Maybe if he grew some testicles he would be able to build up the nerve to tell his best friend that he was in love with her. Jace almost hoped that he would. If Clary rejected him, then maybe Simon would not feel such a fervent urge to protect her.
Unrequited love was something Jace had always found amusing.
Once he finally reached the door to the paint room, Jace took his time turning the knob, opening the door. He knew he had all eyes on him as he strolled to his table in the back of the class. He slipped on his signature arrogant smirk, and as he turned to sit down he planned to make eye contact with Clary, to let her know that she was the target of his affection now.
Only she wasn't looking at him. She was engaged in conversation with the rat-boy. Would she really rather look at him with his thick-rimmed glasses and boring black hair, rather than Jace in all of his golden glory? He knew that the girl felt nothing romantically towards her best friend, but it still irritated Jace that she would not pay any attention to him.
"Wayland, you're late!" barked the slightly manly teacher, Ms. Decosta.
"Really? I thought that the rest of the class was just early."
The teacher glared at Jace, then shrugged it off, instructing the class to go get their paints.
Jace watched as Simon stood from his stool. Clary tugged on his sleeve and asked him something. Simon nodded and set off towards the counter in the back, leaving Clary sitting alone.
Jace smiled as he recognized the perfect opportunity. Jace sidled to her table and slid onto the wooden stool that Simon had previously been occupying. "Hey Fray," he said casually.
Jace could see Clary falter slightly as she realized who had taken the seat beside her. Was she nervous? He smiled in satisfaction. It was about time he earned a proper response from her.
"Oh gosh, Jace." Clary said, placing a hand over her chest. "You scared me. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
Jace arched an eyebrow at the apparently oblivious girl. "I made no effort to be sneaky."
She waved a hand in the air, as if to dismiss whatever he had just said. "I was just…in my own little world," she explained.
Jace smirked. It was genuinely cute how she lost herself inside of her own head at times. He wondered if it was because she preferred her thoughts over the world around her. Jace usually did, though he would never admit it out loud.
"I see how it is. All of us in the real world aren't good enough for you?" he teased.
The delicate little redhead smiled politely at him and shook her head as if to say that wasn't what she meant at all. Then, her eyes traveled over Jace's head, looking past him. The corners of his mouth tilted down into a frown. "No. Simon's good enough."
Jace finally realized what—rather, who—it was that had caught her attention, and Jace turned with a grimace.
"Oh, Wayland. What a surprise," Simon said with a sneer.
"A pleasant one, I'm sure."
"Nah. I'm not a big fan of surprises."
Jace scoffed, but the emotionless arrogance remained on his face. He stood from the stool and gave a nod to Clary. "It was nice speaking to you, Clary," he said before returning to his seat. If only what he said were true. He had barely gotten ten words out of the girl!
-#*#-
"So, what's on the agenda for today, Fray?" Simon asked as he walked her back to the dormitories. "We gonna get high in the woods? Sneak some booze past the dorm matrons and throw a crazy party?"
Clary giggled, imagining her and Simon trying to sneak alcohol into her room. She could see their failure as clear as day. Then, remembering her previous engagements, the laughter abated and Clary sighed. "Sorry, Si, I can't hang out today."
Simon's brows furrowed. "Why not?"
Clary released another sigh, already dreading the later events. "I have…other plans."
Simon stopped walking, body going stiff. "Fray, please don't tell me you made plans with Jace Wayland."
Clary hastily shook her head, feeling her unruly red curls sway along. "Of course not. I actually have to meet up with Isabelle Lightwood."
Simon relaxed and fell back in step beside Clary, a goofy grin replacing his unease. "Isabelle Lightwood?" he asked incredulously, voice taking on a hint of admiration. He is such a guy, Clary thought. "Since when are the two of you friends?"
"We're not," Clary replied simply. Simon fixed her with a bewildered look and she threw her shoulders into a shrug. "We're working on a project together."
The two friends arrived in front of the girl dorms and Simon tried for a gallant bow, only managing to look like a complete nerd. Clary sputtered a laugh and waved him away. "You're such a geek," she said.
Simon grinned and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "Good luck, Fray!"
Then he left and Clary looked around nervously for Isabelle. She spotted her leaning patiently against a tree in the courtyard. She headed over to Isabelle, waving shyly once she reached her. Isabelle clapped her hands together and smiled that dazzling smile, immediately making Clary envious. "Clary! I was beginning to think you were going to bail on me!"
Clary merely shook her head and gave Isabelle a small smile that hardly compared to Isabelle's.
-#*#-
"Jace, don't you think a full day of rejection is enough?" Alec asked, trying to be gentle yet make his point clear. Jace, on the other hand, was in no mood to be gentle or kind. He wanted to take his frustration out, but he didn't have the means to do so; the Academy's gym had been shut down for maintenance for the past week. Jace was almost feeling withdrawals from his lack of working out.
"She hasn't rejected me, Alec. If it wasn't for her dumb friend stepping in every second I try to talk to her, I'm sure I would have her swooning by now."
"Maybe," Alec chuckled. "the reason Simon keeps interrupting is because he knows that Clary doesn't want to talk to you."
Jace scowled and shot an icy look at his adopted brother. They were actually very close, but it always felt as if Alec was rooting against him. "Why are you and Izzy so eager to see my failure?"
Alec grinned. "Something needs to shrink that enormous head of yours."
Jace flopped down sideways on Alec's bed, his legs hanging over the edge, feet still touching the ground. He groaned in agitation and raked his hands through his golden hair. He wasn't used to not getting what he wanted. He had tried for girls who played hard to get, girls who had completely brushed him off, but Clary was different. Jace couldn't really tell what she was feeling. During both of those encounters that day she appeared mildly indifferent, polite even. He hated that he couldn't read right through her, couldn't tell if she was only putting on a façade. She was like one of his father's books that Jace had been dying to open. Where had this sudden urge come from, anyways?
"Listen, you're life must be pretty damn good if your main concern is that you can't get the girl you want."
"I will get her," Jace claimed, filling his voice with the anger and disappointment that he would only ever allow Alec to hear.
"Alec!" Isabelle shouted from the other room. Jace could hear the deadbolt like behind her. "I have company! Come be social!"
Jace smirked, glad that Izzy didn't realize that he was there as well. "Great," Alec grumbled. "Probably her latest chew toy—I mean boyfriend."
"Alec," Isabelle said again, voice closer to the boys this time. Seconds later she appeared in the doorway. "Come say hi to—" She cut off when she noticed Jace, eyeing him warily.
"Hey Izzy," he greeted.
"Jace," she said. "I didn't realize you were here."
He grinned. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
Instead of laughing and scoffing as Jace expected, Isabelle only gave a meek smile before turning her attention back to Alec. "Never mind. I see you're busy." She turned on her heels, and grabbed the door shut behind her, but not before Jace caught a glimpse of fiery red.
Jace jumped off of Alec's bed and sprung towards the door. Hope was blossoming in the pit of his chest. He knew there was absolutely no way that Simon would be there, in Alec and Isabelle's home. But then again, he had never really expected Clary to be either. It looked like fate was on his side. Isabelle may have been acting like she hated all that Jace stood for when it came to women, but in the end her loyalty still lay with him and if he wanted alone time with Clary, he would get it.
"Well," Alec muttered. "This just got interesting."
BLEH! I have no idea why this chapter took me so long to write. But, as I was pulling an all-nighter, I decided there was nothing better to do! Here ye are me loves. I apologize for its utter lack of action or fluff, but a good story builds up to that.
No, just so you guys know, Jace is not suddenly in love with Clary. For now, he still views her as a play toy. We all know that will change, but the question is how and why does it change! And when do Clary's feelings for him change?
DUN DUN DUN. I know, so suspenseful, right? No? Oh well, I tried. I promise this will get better, just bear with me.
In the mean time….REVIEW!
At least it was longer this time. I think.
