~Jace~
I hate Clary Morgenstern.
And no, this isn't one of those 'Oh I claim to hate her but I've been in love with her forever' deals. I truly hate the girl.
When I was a small child, I remember that someone...I think it may have been my Sunday School teacher...told me that hate was a strong word and to be careful using it because it would hurt me more than it would the other person. Well, Miss whatever your name was, I'm sorry to say but in this case you're wrong, and it applies.
Though I'm not entirely sure the basis of the hatred I have for her, or that she has for me. It pretty much started the day I met her when I was dropped off at the Lightwoods by my social worker when I was eight. I remember so vividly, her standing there next to Isabelle staring at me with these wide green eyes that made me so uncomfortable that I had to look away. It wasn't that she was being mean, as much as it was that it felt like she was trying to see all the way into the depths of my soul. The one that had been all but burnt and scorched away with the death of my parents. I didn't even want to be there, let alone let anyone see that part of me, and yet no matter how hard I tried it felt like she was just dragging it out of me without having to say a word.
We never got along after that.
For years we taunted and teased each other mercilessly, and I'm pretty sure that I did a superb job of making her life hell in school by getting all the "cool kids" to pick on her. Whether it was because of her red hair, the freckles, how short and skinny she was, because her mom married the man she had always called 'uncle', because she liked art...pick a reason, I'd used them all against her.
Not that she didn't push right back with the endless number of pranks she pulled on me, and crap she did that ended up getting me in trouble. The worst being when she had convinced Seelie Queen, student council president and goody two-shoes on her way to being valedictorian, to say that I was the one who knocked her up instead of having to admit that she got drunk at a party she wasn't supposed to be at and had no clue who the father was. It was in no way the truth, but of course being the football captain and well known school player when it came to the ladies, everyone assumed that it was true...including my adoptive parents Mayrse and Robert.
It wasn't until the baby came out looking decidedly Asian, that she was forced to apologize and admit that she was pretty sure that the baby's daddy was Eddie Chang, who was our schools resident druggie that prided himself on being held back twice and having the lowest possible GPA. Not the finest moment for her when she got lectured on wasted potential and having attempted to destroy the potential of someone that wasn't even involved.
Clary never caught the blow back on that one. I'm not sure why, or how, but it never ended up coming out that it was her idea in the first place and as much as I wanted her to pay for it...I kept my mouth shut, just happy for the whole thing to be over with.
I've managed to pretty much avoid being around her unless necessary since then, which is why when I told Izzy what happened with Starkweather and she claimed to have the 'perfect idea' for me and Clary to get married before I went for the meetings, I told her that it would be a cold day in hell before I would ever marry Clary.
Though now, sitting here in their living room listening to them bicker back and forth over whether Clary needed to dress up or not to go get our marriage license, I can't help but feel bad for saying what I did to her last night. If I had even the slightest idea that those were the words Sebastian used when he broke things off with her, I would have never said it. There's a big difference in hating someone and wanting to hurt someone. And hurting Clary was never part of my plans.
I knew that the wedding had been called off, but never bothered to ask any details because I just didn't care. But now that Izzy told me, I'm surprised that the girl seems to be as well adjusted as she is. I have to give her credit for being able to bounce back and move on with her life like she has, and considering the fact that she's about to save my ass, be thankful for the fact that at least she's still a free woman.
"Izzy, come on, it doesn't matter what she looks like, can we just go already" I yelled down the hall getting irritated at the hold up...which apparently was currently centered around whether it was appropriate or not for Clary to wear sneakers.
Suddenly I see Clary dash down the hallway towards me where she quickly hides behind my back as I'm leaning against the corner of the wall between the living room and the hallway. Just as I see Izzy coming out of Clary's room twisting something around on her fingers, Clary grips the back of my shirt and whispers "hide me".
"What's the matter Shorty?"
"She's coming after me with the eyelash curler...I swear it's a form of torture, make it stop."
Being the classy asshole that I am, I laugh with a smirk as I step away from her. "She's right here Izzy."
It's a good thing that lasers can't shoot out of someone's eyes, because I'm pretty sure with the glare Clary's giving me right now, this entire town would burn to ashes.
"Jackass" she mumbles, as she steps away from the wall waiting patiently as Izzy comes around the corner, curler in hand before she holds Clary's head in place while she works her magic. She looks absolutely no different than she did before Izzy did...whatever it was she just did...but the utter look of discomfort on her face was rather satisfying.
Hey, I may feel bad about what I said last night, doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly start being nice to the chick. Not that the whole ordeal could have been that bad...she seems to have mostly gotten her way since she's in a casual pair of black jeans, with a cream colored sweater and some boots, when I'm sure Izzy probably had a fancy dress laid out for her. Which would have left me woefully under-dressed since I've just got on a pair of black jeans, a black long sleeve shirt, and my leather jacket. It may be the beginning of spring, but this cold snap just doesn't seem to want to end.
"Are we ready now?" I ask, heading towards the door.
"Yep, just let me get my purse and the camera!" Izzy yells, running back to her room.
"Izzy, we don't need freakin pictures of us picking up a piece of paper" Clary says, rolling her eyes as she comes to stand next to me, eying me up and down.
"See something you like, Shorty?"
"Ugh, not in your wildest dreams Herondale" she spits out my name with disgust.
"Oh sweetheart" I say, putting my hands against the wall on each side of her, backing her up against the wall with my body, "might want to watch your tone, that is after all going to be your name for the next month...better get used to it"
I'm endlessly amused by the blush that creeps up her cheeks at our close proximity and the way I whisper the words in her ear. What can I say, I'm a guy and my ego is only boosted more by the fact that I can affect a girl who holds only hatred for me.
We're interrupted by Isabelle clearing her throat. When we both look over at her, we're blinded by the flash of the camera.
"What the hell!?" I yell, reaching out to grab the camera from her hands, just as she stashes it in her bag.
"That one's for the grand-kids...now let's go" She says, pushing us out the door and down the hall until Clary stops dead in her tracks a few steps away from the stairs.
I look back at her to see what she's doing and she's standing there wide eyed, a look of complete horror on her face.
"Izzy..." she says, seething "you never said a damn thing about children"
Izzy laughs, grabbing her arm and pulling her along "Relax Shortcake, I was kidding."
After a ridiculously long line at the court clerk's office obtaining the license, which took much longer than necessary in part due to Izzy and her insistence on taking a hundred different pictures, we made our way to Taki's for lunch. Our order hadn't been placed for more than a minute when Izzy started in on the wedding planning.
I was sitting next to Clary in the booth, with Izzy sitting across from us...a big binder full of magazines and papers flipped open between us, a pink legal pad at the ready for all of her notes. So typical of Isabelle.
"Okay, now, I'm going to ask questions and you two just feel free to answer them. If you disagree on something, we'll come back to it. First things first, where do we want to have the wedding?"
"Does it matter?" Clary asked, sipping at her sweet tea "I mean, it's not like we can be picky when we only have until Sunday"
"Jace?" Isabelle asked, looking up at me in question.
"Rooftop garden at the office" I said, a grin on my face, knowing that Izzy had probably already thought of that.
"You have a garden at work? Isn't it going to be too cold?" Clary looked at me, incredulously.
The garden had been my mothers pet project and had been completely abandoned after her and my fathers death. Michael had no idea it existed so he didn't know to take care of it. But the fleeting memories of sitting out there rolling a ball around while my mother babbled on and on about the different types of flowers had never left my mind. It was the very first place I went when the business was handed over to me, one week after graduation.
"Yes, I do. And no, I already checked, it's supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees ...next" I motioned for Izzy to continue.
"Colors" Izzy, said with a bright smile on her face.
Knowing where she planned on going with that if we didn't specify, I quickly blurted out "anything but pink"...at exactly the same time as Clary. At least we agree on that much.
Izzy jotted it down on the paper, furrowing her brows in concentration. "Alright, flowers"
Once again, Clary and mines answers were simultaneous. "Chrysanthemums". We both looked at each other and laughed briefly before I turned back and noticed Isabelle rolling her eyes at us.
"Next on the list...reception or no reception...since it's going to be small and last minute I wasn't sure..." Izzy was interrupted by Clary as she put her hand up to keep me from talking.
"No reception. There's no way in hell I'm going to put on a freaking happy face and dance around with this asshole just so that you can have a few pictures...the wedding itself is bad enough."
"Alright fine" Izzy said with a sigh "I guess we're done for now then."
"Well, hold on a minute" Clary said, putting her hand over Izzy's binder to keep her from closing it. "What about the cake. If I have to marry him, I'm at least getting a damn cake"
Izzy let out a little chuckle... "Oh, don't worry, the cake will be a surprise, but will be exactly the flavors that are your favorites. Once we're done dress shopping, I'll deal with that."
Gathering all of her things together, she whisked Clary out of the booth announcing that they were on the hunt for a wedding gown, but that I wasn't welcome because it's bad luck to see the bride in her gown before the wedding. I had to laugh at her and how seriously she was taking this whole thing. As if luck would matter, it was a fake marriage, what the hell did we need luck for?
Thank you all so much for your reviews...I may just have to update twice today. Not promising it will always be like that since I have other stories going as well, but since you're all super awesome and all, I can spoil you just this once.
Aubrey Kelly & - Yep, definitely not your typical arranged marriage story, more like...marriage of convenience. Glad you are both enjoying it, and yes, Sebastian is an ass.
KyKat- I know, it was a little disappointing, but when you've been with someone so long and it ends, sometimes it takes a while for the rational mind to catch up to everything. I know I didn't make it super clear in the chapter, but it was the same day she caught him. Had it been several days or a week later, I have no doubt she probably would have slapped the hell out of him, lol. As for things looking up...guess you'll just have to wait and see :)
Keep reviewing and let me know your favorite parts, I love hearing what you all think! Look for the next chapter upload in about 8 hours or so.