I've been trying to dredge up some inspiration - for anything - through listening to PJO fanart videos. It didn't work, but at least I've got this chapter planned out, so here it is.

This took a really long time to write and it's really short but...

Naïve

SADN

A moment of awkward silence followed Jon's outburst. It made a nice change, he thought bitterly, to see the Lightwoods eye him like a wounded animal with a liability to lash out. It was certainly better than the outright disdain they'd dished him.

He saw Jace swallow.

Forcibly shoving down the uncharacteristic rush of anger - at least, it would have been uncharacteristic once upon a time - he levelled his breaths, flattening his palms against the table. "Any other examples of times like this?"

Maia and Simon shared a mutual glance.

"What?" He cut out irritably. He wasn't here for covert glances and vague replies. He wanted answers. "Spit it out, Rat-face."

Simon sent him a red-eyed glare worthy of the rodent he'd been named after. That was a nickname they'd both thought was long buried.

Therefore Jon could barely suppress his amusement when Jace whispered fiercely to Isabelle: "I told you he looked like a rat!"

"Are you going to let me talk, or stand there insulting me whilst Clary's chances are dwindling day by day?"

The last traces of a grin slipped from the blonde's face. "Spit it out, Simon."

His face contorted into a scowl.

There was this one time that I called Clary to cancel on her for the trip to the travelling circus we'd planned with Maia. I phoned her to say that I had a date who'd badgered me to take her to it alone. And it was pretty obvious that she wouldn't be too happy if I took Clary as well; everyone knows that Maureen hates Clary.

So I phoned her perhaps the day before, on Friday night, as it'd been arranged after school that day. When she answered she was clearly tired - it was almost eleven o'clock - but she'd gotten to the phone unusually fast. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I have to take note of it now.

"Clary Morgenstern," she answered, slightly out of breath.

"Hey, Clare," I said, "I'm really sorry but I can't make it to the circus tomorrow. Maureen's making me take her instead." There was a moment of silence. "Clary?"

"I'm still here," she burst out. "Don't worry; I understand." She still sounded upset.

"You can go without me," I coaxed. "Maureen can't exactly throw a hissy-fit if we 'accidentally' run into you and Maia. We are best friends, and it would be too much for her to ask for us not to stop and chat."

"Don't worry," she repeated. "Maia's already cancelled. Besides, I have homework to do. See you on Monday, Si."

"Okay-" I tried to say, but she'd already hung up.

"That wasn't an example of Clary acting odd," Jace pointed out scathingly. "That was just you being an asshole, Rat-Face."

Simon's face twisted but Isabelle - ever the peacekeeper - intervened. "He has a point, Simon," she reasoned. "Anyone would be hurt if you cancelled on them to go out with some girl. Especially if their other friend had just cancelled as well."

At Simon's accusing look, Maia flung her hands up in surrender. "I was out with Jordan!" She exclaimed. "At least I didn't ditch her for someone who hates her guts!"

Jon turned to Magnus, desperate for some speck of normalcy. "You haven't commented much, Magnus-" Which is very uncharacteristic of you "-what do you think?"

Magnus met his desperate gaze innocently. "Oh, I was just trying to reconcile the fact that Sean secured himself a date with everything else I know about him. It's not fitting in."

"My name is Simon!"

"Whatever."

"Just shut up, both of you," came Alec's first words of the evening. He looked up at Jonathan and looked just as weary as he felt. "Speaking of odd phone calls, Jon, did something about Clary ever seem off in your... sporadic-" Jace scoffed, "moments of correspondence?"

Jon considered it.

I remember about a month into my time in Germany, none of the friends I'd made were around so I called Clary, despite it being about one in the morning over here. I was surprised when she picked up, but I brushed it off. Why wouldn't she? We hadn't spoken in ages.

"Hi Jon!" She said brightly, well, as bright as one can be at ungodly hours of the name.

"Hey Clary," I said in response. "How have you been in the last week?"

"It's been three weeks since we spoke, Jon," she corrected me. I don't think I noticed the way she phrased it as a reprimand, not at the time. She was quiet for a beat, then she chirped: "I finished another sketchbook."

I remember being torn between whether I should chuckle at her classic behaviour, or shout and get angry at the connection to Jocelyn (I refuse to call that woman my mother). So I just said "That's nice," and she noticeably sobered up after that.

"So how's Germany treating you?" She asked, more serious now, but still with a spark of cheer.

"Good," I said distractedly. I've never liked having to answer questions like that: it's boring and difficult summarising your life in a few sentences. "I made a new friend."

"Oh?" You could hear her interest through the phone. "What's he like?"

"Uh, cool." I said in response. How are you meant to describe a person without making them sound like any other? "He's funny, but not too smart. Clary, I need to go, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," she said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I'll be waiting."

I hung up.

"Again: that just sounds like a perfectly normal conversation between two awkward siblings in different countries." Isabelle insisted.

"Yeah," Maia butted in, "except Jon and Clary are, like, the least awkward siblings in history. Besides, didn't you note the fact that this conversation was at one in the morning?"

"Point taken."

"We need to take all the points we can," Alec said. Jon was glad he seemed to have taken to lead. From the looks of it, he'd had the least connection to Clary - emotionally, at least - so he could probably think the straightest.

"I was wondering when Jon's part of the story would come in," Jace said thoughtfully, leaning back on the back two legs of his chair and casting his gaze up to the ceiling.

Something - a question - clicked in Jon's brain. "Speaking of when something would come in," he said slowly, the realisation coming as slowly as the dawn. "When do you Lightwoods come into the story?"

Simon waved a dismissive hand. "They didn't turn up at school for at least two months after you were gone. They had it difficult, because they started right in the middle of the school year. Jon glanced up at the Lightwoods, who nodded the truth of the statement.

A loud crunch woke everyone from their consuming thoughts. Magnus had put out a box of cookies and was eating one, very noisily. "Why?" Maia asked, slightly caught off guard.

Magnus surveyed them all imperially, as though it was obvious. He swallowed the remnants of his cookie and reached for another. "If we've got another month to go before the Lightwoods even arrive, this story recounting will take a while."

It's probably awful, and if it is, my sincerest apologies.

Review?