author's note: alrighty, i made it just in time for my within-a-week updating schedule! here i'm back with a weird, kind of different(ish) chapter 4. spring break just started for me, so i'll be able to update more frequently (hopefully). :D
as usual, these are the responses to your amazing reviews!
Guest: thank you! about the jace POV, we might soon :D
Meeeeeee: thankyouthankyouthankyou! will we see more of douchebag jace? hmmm;)
Hendrikaxxx: might. maybe i'll incorporate one or two at the end of this story... teehee
melissahopkin. student: like i said in my PM, there will be clace soon. don't worry.
Echomuse: here's your update ayyy
Nat2the01: thank you! i try hard:D
serry: HI AGAIN *accepts cookie*
shortcomings: aww thank you! here's your update! :D
BookWormProud: thanks! hoping you'll like this chapter x
chapter 4, here goes...
...
clary
Clary woke up at six in the morning. How, she did not know, and clearly nobody else was awake yet.
The pale orb that was the sun was slowly making its way above the trees, the burst of light tainting the sky with a soft yellow sheen. The sunbeams streamed through the windows of the cabin, casting square patches of light on the carpeted floor.
Careful not to disturb her roommates, Clary returned to her bedside table for her sketchbook. She then retrieved a handful of her Prismacolor pencils before heading out of the cabin, towards the lake.
She situated herself on a comfortable spot on the Green and faced to sit wherever she could see the rising sun. Plain color pencils weren't for a landscape like this, she knew for a fact, but art was limitless. Besides, these were watercolor pencils.
And so she began to sketch what she saw. She wasn't even halfway through the outline when somebody spoke her name amidst the faint chirping of the morning birds. "Clary?"
Clary looked up to see Alec Lightwood, brother of Jace and Izzy. Smiling, she proceeded to greet him properly, for he was less of a douche than how his brother was. Oh, how Jace stood out from the Lightwood siblings, with their inky hair and pale skin and dark beauty. His radiance was, on the other hand, a different kind, for he was one that reminded her of a lion. Or of the sun.
"Hey, Alec," She said brightly. "Didn't catch you yesterday."
He settled next to her on the grass, wrapping his arms around his long legs. "Chose not to show up."
Briefly she remembered Izzy questioning Jace of Alec's location yesterday, and he informing her of somebody named Magnus and how he was keeping his brother company. She knew that Magnus, in fact, was a rainbow-haired guy with a fascination for glitter and Lady Gaga. "So why're you up so early?"
"Dunno. To see the sun rising, I guess." He shrugged casually. "I would ask the same, but I see the reason. Did I bother you when you were in your art zone, though?"
She shook her head. "No, not at all."
They sat in comfortable silence as Clary continued working. Alec's gaze was fixed on the sky, and beyond that, the sun.
"So, Jace and Kaelie broke up," He stated.
Clary hummed in an irritated manner. "Yes, they did."
"So…"
"Breaking up with his girlfriend the day they started dating," Clary spoke, channeling her contempt towards the image of him she'd conjured up in her mind. "A smooth Jace move. He's such a—"
But didn't your stomach drop the day everyone started talking about their hookup?
"He probably did it for someone else, you know," Alec said, brushing his dark hair away from his face, his piercing blue gaze falling upon her own.
Clary snickered. "Doesn't he always? Or maybe, he did it to get over himself."
Alec's expression was wary. "He used to be one of my crushes, you know," He spoke abruptly, reminding Clary that he wasn't straight. He had confessed to her last year, and ever since that he'd trusted her. "I know, how disgusting."
Well, still that escalated quickly.
She choked. "Wait— Seriously? But you're like, his brother? How? Why?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I know. But like, still, it's possible to love him as a human, and not as a player. I had a crush on him once, and that wasn't for his looks or for his facade."
"What— What are you saying? What are you trying to tell me, Alec?" Clary asked him, bewildered.
Alec shrugged. "Give him a shot."
"Huh?"
"Just try giving him a shot, Clary," He said, unwinding his arms from his legs to lie flat on his back. The look on his face said that he was not going to say any more about that, and so leaving her frustrated. What the hell was with people and the way they cut her off with undecipherable answers?
"So you don't love him anymore," She said.
"Brotherly, yes. Romantically, no. I couldn't like him like that, anyway. It's wrong on so many levels."
Clary nodded understandingly. "But still, why?"
"Because he's a lost cause."
"Huh?"
Alec shook his head, so she returned to her drawing. Sighing inwardly, she began to sketch the waving waters of Lake Lyn.
...
Taking the faint thrum of trashy boyband music as a sign that her friends were awake, Clary walked back to her cabin and entered the doors. They were, in fact, awake, and so Clary got herself ready with them before heading towards the Main Hall with her companions.
After breakfast, people would then file into the separate camp activities that they'd signed up for. Clary had, as always, ticked the boxes for Visual Arts, Archery, and Water Sports, along with a few additional subjects.
Slathering butter onto the toast, she was well aware of the decorations from last night, which weren't taken down just yet, something Clary was fine with. What she was not fine with was Kaelie's cold stare digging into the back of her neck.
Her green eyes flickered back from where Kaelie sat. "What the hell? It's not my fault Jace broke up with her."
Maia rolled her eyes. "Jace is in love with you. She'll give you a hard time because of that."
"He isn't in love with me," Clary said, genuinely annoyed for once. Normally she would have been stammering, but this time she wasn't.
Jace Herondale is incapable of love.
Give him a shot. He's human.
I am very, very confused.
The others seemed to have knowing looks plastered on their faces, but didn't say any more. Clary didn't, either.
And so she craned her neck to search for Jace. He was a few tables away, blowing straw wrappers at his friends, oblivious to the surrounding gossip and Kaelie's chilling glare.
No. See?
Soon after breakfast, they departed the Main Hall towards their activities. Clary headed towards the art studio, which was situated somewhere up a gentle slope, directly north of the lake. Walking through the familiar, paneled doors, she smiled at the sight of the paint-covered walls, her art friends, Madame Dorothea, and finally the large CLL banner they'd made last year, hanging from one side of the room to another.
She sat down onto her usual seat in the front row, knowing fully well that Simon wasn't going to show up this year. After all, he'd formed his own band in the middle of Junior year, so of course he was going to take that band class CLL provided to absorb as much knowledge. She'd been upset when Simon had first announced it, for they'd taken art every year, but again he was passionate about his band life. Besides, he was going to be around her at archery.
Art had been full as long as she'd known, but with one spot open, somebody was most likely to take it.
Idly her fingers reached down to play with the letters she'd carved onto her desk last year, tracing the letters that spelled out C-L-A-R-Y. She'd been here long enough, she'd decided, to leave a mark so that it would stick with her forever.
Madame Dorothea briefly began to take attendance, and so Clary stuck up her hand when Dorothea called for her name. Everybody had arrived, it seemed, but it looked as if there was somebody missing. Someone in Simon's place.
"We still have somebody left," She announced at the group. "Simon left to join another class, so it seems we have Jace filling in for him."
Wait, what?
"Jace?" Clary repeated, taken aback.
"Jace Herondale," Dorothea said. "He—"
The door swung open once more, and in bounded Jace Herondale. "Here," He reported, running one hand through his tousled hair. His amber eyes then fell upon the group, scanning through the whispering girls before they landed on Clary— A grin then broke across his face. "Sorry I'm late."
"No matter," Madame Dorothea spoke, smiling at him. "This is not quite a school lesson. Welcome, Jace."
Clary covered her face with both her hands, groaning. Why…
After he'd thanked Dorothea, he began to scrutinize the space for a place to sit. Because he had to, he made his way over to the seat beside Clary, Simon's seat and sat down.
"Hey, Shorty."
"Sit somewhere else," She mumbled to him, her insides ablaze (was it anger, or what?), her eyes anywhere but his face. "I'm sure there are many others who actually want to sit with you."
The cheerful grin remained on his lips. "No."
Clary sighed. For a moment, she was simply, plainly, tired. "Why are you here? You hate drawing."
He gave a firm nod. "You are correct. But I didn't want to be around my, uh, ex, who I was forced to attend cupcake decorating or whatever with. So I saw this empty spot which your friend had recently given up—"
"Congratulations on your breakup, by the way," She quickly interrupted him, unsettled as she was once more reminded of his situation. The way he looked, the way how he didn't seem to be affected in any way whatsoever, unnerved her. "I assume you did it to get over yourself."
The brightness in his infuriating smile diminished slightly. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Dorothea's voice stopped him. "Enough chatter, Jace, Clary."
Clary turned back from Jace to look at the teacher, trying her best to focus.
"...Directness, stability, conceptual, a piece of art that can clearly state what it is doing," Madame Dorothea continued. "These points are exactly what we're going to be focusing on for our artworks. This year, we are going to be attempting exactly the same with one of the office walls here in CLL. Has anyone seen the outside wall of Imogen's office?"
Clary must have missed some crucial details when she'd been talking to Jace. Wall art? She guessed, while doing her best to ignore Jace's presence.
Everyone nodded in response to Madame Dorothea's question.
There was a smile on her teacher's face brightened. "I was planning to cover the walls today with plain paint. After that we can officially begin brainstorming the details, accordingly to what we just discussed. A weird order, I know, but we didn't want the walls to get gritty."
Clary blowed air from her nose, for painting a wall in the sun with Jace— while talking about his breakup— did sound like fun.
author's note: this was more of a... a... filler? i know it was kind of weird, but things will speed up next chapter.
so, what do you think will happen next? ;)
please review! it'll mean a lot to me x
-nicole