It turned out that Clary and Jace were about as good at ignoring awkward moments as they were at ignoring each other. That is to say, they were really good at pretending that moment at the coffee shop had never happened. Jace, in particular, was good at pretending that he didn't notice how evasive Clarissa was of his questions.
Understanding Clarissa Morgenstern was a challenge.
Challenge accepted.
"Okay, okay, this is a hard one." His voice was dead serious. There was a scratchy tone to it, that made him sound slightly nervous. Clarissa took a deep breath. Prepared herself to come up with an answer. Their eyes met. "What," he drawled, making her more nervous, "is your favorite animal?" His voice remained even but his mouth morphed into a smirk and his golden eyes were laughing at her.
"I hate you." She glared at him. Clarissa couldn't stand him when he was like this.
Jace grinned. "Now who could hate this face?"
"Me." She deadpanned.
His face sobered a bit, and he feigned a pained expression. "Oh, how you wound me. Now please, answer the question. I can't take the suspense any longer."
Clarissa rolled her eyes. "A fox."
Jace snorted and wrote her answer down. She wondered what he found oh so amusing this time. "Why because it's hair is the same color as yours?"
She smiled sweetly at him. She retorted in a high-pitch frilly voice. "No, silly. It's because they have long bushy tails, and they can sneak around." He laughed harder at that. "Especially," Clarissa voice took on a slightly darker tone, "when they want to rip someone's throat out." She bared her teeth at him and tried not to laugh when he unconsciously scooted away from her. Go She looked at her phone. Six o'clock. Time to meet her brother for dinner. "Listen, I…"
"You have to go. I know." Jace shook his head. "Are we ever going to get this project done? Because, no offense, I have better things to do than spend time with the new girl," his hands made air quotes in the air, " 'getting to know her.' I have other places to be."
She should have known. Simon had warned her. "I have to have dinner with my brother," despite her best attempts, her voice didn't remain steady. "Maybe," she glared at him, "since you are so… eager to finish, we can have lunch tomorrow to get this over with as soon as possible."
Clarissa didn't give him a chance to reply. She only stormed out of Java Jones, refusing to look back. She didn't see the look on his face.
She didn't see that she was giving him exactly what he wanted.
"How was your day at school?" Jon asked with a grin as soon as she walked into the house.
She rolled her eyes, shrugged. "Fine."
Jonathan's green eyes were laughing. "Just fine? Tell me more. Where's the detail? The drama?"
Clarissa couldn't help the snort that escaped her. "You're so stupid sometimes." She smiled at him good naturedly to let him know that she was kidding. "Where's my food?"
"Aww," he grinned at her and served some spaghetti on her plate, "so that's why you keep me around." Clarissa noticed how much happier her brother had been since they had moved. She loved how they could banter and tease each other. Sometimes, she would catch Jon looking at her and smiling for no reason. It was never like that before.
They both began to feast on their spaghetti, sitting across from each other on their small kitchen table. "This is delicious, Jon." Clarissa complimented, trying to keep a straight face when she noticed half of his face was painted with spaghetti sauce.
"I know. I slaved all day, just to make sure your taste buds were satisfied. It isn't as if we haven't had spaghetti a hundred times over already."
"You know what I meant."
Jon shook his head. And smiled. Again. "Alright, so are you going to tell me where you've been hanging out after school? I'm pretty sure it gets out at three, not six."
"I'm working on an art project." Clarissa hoped he wouldn't press. She knew her brother wouldn't like this.
"And you couldn't work on it at home?" She met his incredulous look.
"It's with a partner." Clarissa grit out. Please, just let it go.
"Pray tell, who is this partner?" Jon's voice was getting darker.
"Why do you care? It's just a stupid project." She bit back.
His green eyes narrowed, mirroring her own. They were both leaning across the table. "You know why, Clarissa. Now tell me who it is."
She swallowed. Closed her eyes. Prepared herself for the explosion. "Jonathan Herondale."
Jon nearly flipped the table he stood up so quickly. "A boy."
"Yes a boy." God, why did he have to be like this. It's not like she was going to tell him anything. "It's not a big deal Jon, honestly, just calm down."
His fists were clenched together so tight his knuckles were turning white. He took a long deep breath. Clarissa closed her eyes, bracing herself for the explosion that was sure to come. "You're right." Wait, what? Her eyes popped open in surprise, Jon was shaking his head. "You're allowed to make friends and talk to boys Clarissa. That's why we moved here isn't it? To be normal."
Still blinking, she slowly nodded her head. Jon really was getting better at controlling his anger. Clarissa was proud of him. "Yes Jon," she spoke making direct eye contact and smiling, "that's exactly why we came." She tapped her finger to her chin thoughtfully, "That means you should be in high school too."
Their happy moment was gone now, and Jon's voice was laced with warning, "Clarissa, drop it." She knew this was a sore subject for him.
She shook her head. "I'm serious. I mean, Jon, you should get your diploma. You're only a grade ahead of me, you're the smartest person I know, and it wouldn't be that hard to register you." Clarissa knew that Jon would go far with a diploma. She also knew he would take care of her first.
Jon looked down at the floor. "We wouldn't be able to put food on the table. One of us has to have a job, Clarissa."
She ignored the fact that her cheeks were burning from his indirect insult. "So you switch to part time, and I get a part time job too. Easy."
"It would still be tight…"
Clarissa widened her eyes and let her lips sink down on her face. "Please, Jon. You shouldn't miss your senior year, and I really want my older brother there with me. You could even play football. I know we can pull together the money. Please, please, please."
Jon contemplated for a moment, closing his eyes. Clarissa didn't stop staring at him, silently begging him to say yes. She knew he wanted this, so, so badly. He deserved to finish school too, after all that they had been through. The suspense was killing her. Jon opened his eyes but gave nothing away. His face was totally blank, and his voice monotone when he spoke, "Now I'll have even more chances to embarrass you."
Both of their faces broke out into a grin.
The day had gotten just a little bit better.
AN: Reviews are very welcome, good or bad, as long as it's constructive criticism. Thank you for reading. Not edited so I apologize for any mistakes that were made.
