Disclaimer: Anything from the Mortal Instruments belongs to Cassandra Clare.
Clary, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus had been at Magnus' apartment for over an hour already and they still hadn't decided on what they were going to do.
Isabelle handed the popcorn bowl to Clary. She wasn't paying much attention, though, and the bowl slipped through her fingers, kernels landing all around her.
"Clary," Isabelle said softly, picking the bowl up. "You need to stop thinking about him. He isn't worth it."
Clary opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Magnus appeared out of nowhere, as though from thin air.
He stared at her impassively. "Clarissa," he said finally. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "I understand your need to have a mess everywhere, as evident by your room, but this is my apartment." He looked up. "And I try very hard to keep my mess organized, but that doesn't involve food. Now clean that up."
Clary numbly began to pick up the individual popcorn.
"So what are we watching?" Alec asked as he glanced at the shelf full of DVDs. He took out one of the boxes and turned to Magnus. "You have all the seasons of Gilligan's Island?"
"Of course," Magnus said, plucking it out of Alec's hands. "But we'll save that for one of our more private dates."
"I don't really feel like watching a movie, you guys," Clary said. She had gathered all the popcorn and stood up to take them to the trash in the kitchen. She knew she was being mopey, but she couldn't help herself. "Aren't you guys supposed to be preparing yourself for the game, anyway?"
Isabelle twirled around. "Actually, yes! I brought over all the face paint and ribbons so we could fix ourselves here. But since you're not going I was only going to do myself."
"I wanted to watch a movie," Alec mumbled.
"You're right, Iz." Magnus got that mischievous look in his eyes, and Alec backed away a little. "I don't know why I didn't think of that before, but we should all go completely spirited up!" He turned to Alec with a broad smile on his face. "Starting with you."
Alec immediately got a terrified look on his face and put his hands up. "Wait, I don't think I want that. It – it's just not – well, you know, I don't like that stuff on my face and...it's really hard to take off..." he trailed off as Magnus grabbed his hand and hauled him to the bathroom.
"So I guess that just leaves me," Isabelle said. She said to Clary, "Are you sure that you don't want to go? It'll be really fun. Everyone will be cheering and yelling and having fun. And then the half-time show when they do the battle of the bands, that's the best!"
Clary's heart constricted a little when Isabelle mentioned the band; it reminded her of Jace with the band hat on.
"No, it's okay. I'm not really a football type of person anyway. I'll just be bored and put a sour mood on the night." With that Clary went to the kitchen and threw away the popcorn.
"That headband would look fabulous on you!" Magnus' muffled shout echoed through the apartment. Clary smiled inwardly, wondering how Alec was probably feeling like he was being tortured.
Isabelle followed after her and leaned against the counter. She looked at Clary pointedly. "Give me a good reason as to why you don't want to go to the game," she demanded.
Clary was taken aback, just earlier she had been very understanding and now she was being aggressive. Clary looked back defiantly. "I'm not required to go, so if I don't want to go just because I don't want to, then I don't have to," she retorted as she walked out of the kitchen.
She heard Isabelle sigh behind her. "Clary, Jace isn't even all that great! He's just a man-whore."
"This isn't about Jace," Clary snapped and then sat down on the couch.
Isabelle stood in front of her and crossed her arms. "Oh, really? So then what is it about?"
"I already told you: I don't like football games."
"I can tell when you're lying," Isabelle said, and after a few seconds added, "but fine, I can't force you to go." At that moment, the doorbell rang and Clary shot up to get it. She walked to the door where a giant Marilyn Monroe cut-out hung. Must be Magnus' inspiration, Clary thought.
The bell rang again just as she opened the door, and was met head-on with a radiant, smiling Ivan.
"Are you guys ready to go?" he exclaimed. He was dressed in a plain white shirt and a beige jacket with dark jeans. The jacket only emphasized his golden brown hair and Clary was once again struck by how gorgeous he was and how much he had changed. He smiled awkwardly and Clary noticed she had just been standing there for a good ten seconds without saying anything.
"Oh, sorry," Clary sputtered, "Come on in." She opened the door more to let him pass and they walked over to where Isabelle was. "They're all still getting ready and there's been a change of plans -"
"Hey, Ivan," Isabelle cut in, drawing out his name flirtatiously. "Did I ever tell you that I really dig the surfer boy look?" Clary shot her a confused look. She thought Isabelle was trying to get with Simon.
Ivan shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "I'm actually tan because I'm part Brazilian and my long hair is to cover up my eyebrows."
Clary started laughing, then. Isabelle was shocked at her outburst and Ivan held a knowing look in his eyes. Suddenly, Clary brought her hand up and brushed Ivan's hair out of the way. Sure enough, his eyebrows still looked like big, bushy caterpillars; they were probably the biggest she'd ever seen.
Isabelle gasped. "Have you ever thought about using tweezers?"
Before Ivan could answer, Magnus walked out with a very colorful Alec. Alec had the number 17 painted on one cheek in red and on the other was a little sword, to represent the 'Shadowhunters'. No one at school knew what they were exactly, just that they were some type of warriors. His hair had a red stripe going down the middle and he was wearing the red school shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He didn't look particularly happy, either, but Magnus was practically beaming. His hair was spiked up with red and blue glitter and his shirt was the same as Alec's. Ah, such a happy couple.
Then Clary was reminded of Jace and his girlfriend and a sick feeling settled in her body.
"Hello, Clary's little friend," Magnus said to Ivan. Alec merely glanced at him. "Are you still coming with us since our ginger is ditching us?"
Ivan looked at her and Clary explained, "That's what I was going to tell you before Isabelle interrupted. I don't like football and I just really don't feel like going, so I'm just going to head home."
Ivan spoke without missing a beat. "Okay, I won't go either. We can hang out and have our own fun." He smiled.
"Oh, this one's a keeper, Clary!" Magnus exclaimed. "You guys go ahead and have your fun, we won't interrupt," he said suggestively.
Clary rolled her eyes. Ivan was her ex-boyfriend and currently one of her best friends, but that's all he'll ever be for her. Nothing more, nothing less. "Whatever, Magnus. So do you guys want to head out already?"
"Actually, I still need to get ready," Isabelle piped up, holding up her bag of paint and make-up.
"Right," Clary said, "Okay, so I guess we'll be leaving. Come on, Ivan," she said as she walked towards the door.
Everyone said their goodbyes and Clary and Ivan soon found themselves on their way to a park.
"I'm telling you, I only walked by the Hollister store and they offered me a the job right there and then," Ivan was telling Clary as they climbed out of his car.
"You're lying," Clary said, laughing. She wasn't really into it, though. It felt like she was just going through the motions.
"I'm not. I would've taken it, but I'm only 16, and I'm not allowed to work yet," he said with a grimace.
They were making their way to the playground and seeing as how there were no kids there, they sat down on the swings.
"You can always go back in a couple of months when you turn 17," Clary responded as she looked up at the sky. It was only 6 pm and the sun was just starting to set; it was times like these that she wished she had her sketchbook so that she could just draw the beauty of it. "So they wanted you as a cashier?"
He turned to her and flashed a smug grin. "Actually, the lady thought I would make a good model."
Clary rolled her eyes. "You sound like Jace right now." Clary decided right there that she and Jace were just friends, if you can even call them that, and so there was no reason for her to have those stupid feelings about him going out with another girl. It's not like they liked each other, anyway. She continued, "You should definitely bring that up next time you see him, he would be so jealous."
Ivan looked at her blankly and then suddenly stood up and went behind Clary and began to push her gently.
He didn't say anything for a while and then she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck. "Clary, Souhaitez-vous sortir avec moi?" he asked in a whisper.
Clary was shocked into silence. For a moment it felt like all her breath had left her entire body. She stopped swinging her legs and her grip tightened on the chains of the swing. Her swing was slowing down and she noticed that Ivan had stopped pushing her.
She'd known Ivan for so long and they had already gone through the entire process: strangers, friends, best friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and then back to strangers when he left. Now he was back and they were best friends again, and she didn't think that she could repeat that process with him. The more she thought about going out with him, the more she felt like it would be going out with Simon, who is like her brother. The thought made her somewhat queasy, but then she remembered that she hadn't had a boyfriend for a very long while.
And a boyfriend would help you get over Jace, her subconscious informed her. Not that she needed to get over him since they weren't anything to begin with, but something about that thought, that she would have someone else to focus on made her feel somewhat elated.
But this was Ivan. Couldn't she have another suitor? Well, there was Sebastian, but he wasn't really serious, she suspected.
Ivan interrupted her thoughts. "I know you think that we can't be together again, for some reason, but Clary, listen, I never stopped loving you. I thought about you all the time when I was in Florida, and now that I'm here with you, all I can think of is how amazing it would be to be with you again."
Clary looked down as Ivan stepped in front of her. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head. He looked down at her with his light brown eyes and asked, "Do you think you could give me another chance?"
Something about the way he asked, the way he looked at her with his sincere eyes, and the way he still acted like when they were in middle school made her want to say yes. And then she realized she couldn't say no. It was her fault they had broken up in the first place and she felt like she owed it to him to see if they would have ever worked out if he hadn't left.
He was about to pull away when Clary suddenly smiled and said, "Yeah, I think we could give it another go."
Ivan broke out his signature blinding smile and lifted Clary off of her swing. He wrapped his arms around her waist and before she could even grasp what was going on, he brought his lips down to hers. She was shocked for a second, but then placed her hands around his neck as she willed her lips to move. For a second she was disappointed that she didn't feel any sparks, like she used to, but she told herself it was because she was taken off guard and the next time would be better.
Clary had a fleeting thought about what it would feel like to kiss Jace, who was much more experienced, to feel his blonde hair between her fingers instead of Ivan's brown locks, and to have Jace's skilled, artistic hands holding her instead of Ivan's callused ones, but then brushed the thought away when she realized that she was thinking about another man while kissing her...boyfriend.
As they parted, and Clary looked into Ivan's gleaming eyes, she finally admitted it to herself: She only had an irrational crush on Jace; they weren't anything to each other, not even close friends. Besides, he was a player, he probably went through four girls a day – and she wouldn't be one of them.
