Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series. Everything recognisable belongs to Cassandra Clare.

Hope everyone's having a great christmas!


"Clary!" Jace shouted as his girlfriend walked hurriedly past him ignoring his hand as it brushed against her arm.

"Clary!" he repeated heavily. They hadn't talked since Clary stormed out of class a few days ago. She had locked herself inside her room, ditching class, practice, dinner; she even skipped her meeting with Iwan that she had promised him. His arm wrapped around hers, holding her back as she tried to get away from him.

"Don't do this, Clary," he whispered in her ear as he got close enough to feel the heat of her skin against his lips.

"I'm not doing anything," she replied, giving him a determined look, before smiling.

"Yes, you're closing yourself off again, I know the Academy is giving you a tough time, but you got to fight back, don't listen to idiots like Walse."

"What makes you think I care about his words?" Clary laughed, it was almost hurtful that Clary thought she could fool him that quickly, but he didn't push it.

Jace kissed her temple carefully, breathing in as his nose touch her hair. "I've missed you."

"I'm not going anywhere," she reassured kissing him lips, but the act felt cold. Jace pressed his lips together hard as she separated from him. He felt a million miles away; Clary worked as if she was in another world.

xxx

Clary let out a shaking breath as Jace left her in the corridor. She hated lying to him, hated that she had to lie to all of them, but there was no other way around it. If she wanted to find out about the New Circle, she had to do it this way.

Simon had not been in contact since he left the Academy a fortnight earlier. She had to trust him. He was her only hope at that point until she could break through the protective runes the school placed on their portals, she could not dare travel back to New York or anywhere for that matter.

Clary's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name. She turned around just in time to catch two first graders run through the corridor at full speed.

"What, Iwan?" Clary raised an eyebrow, looking at the two boys stopping before her.

"Don't use that voice on me!" he complained, "You know you're not gonna scare my away, so stop acting as you are."

Clary laughed as she nodded, "Okay, what do you want, Iwan?"

"We need your help with mundane studies. Can you explain what happens when a mundane is in contact with a stele?" Iwan asked.

"Because Max thinks they become giant, ugly monsters that try to kill you, and then they die," Iwan laughed, "but that's crazy, right?"

Clary bit her lip, "You've not learned about Forsaken before?" she asked annoyed.

"We've only been her for a few months, Clary," Iwan told her.

"Right…" Clary replied, "Well, Max is right, sort of," she explained, "Mundanes who receive a rune, which that cannot handle, become Forsaken. They usually are loyal to the one who Marked them, so they follow their commands. Their anger makes them dangerous creatures, so yes, they might kill you."

xxx

"You think something is wrong?" Isabelle whispered, biting down on her pencil.

"You don't?" Jace replied, watching the red-haired girl sitting three seats in front of them. She had walked right past them as she entered the classroom.

"I don't know? Have you been fighting?" Isabelle asked.

"Not that I know of, last time we talked she said everything was fine," Jace mumbled, thinking of the way Clary had acted earlier that day. Cold.

Clary had barely spoken with them in the past week, not to mention missed every meal the Academy offered her.

"I think you should try to talk to her, I mean, she's willingly sitting next to Rhi, something is wrong." Isabelle pointed out as Clary sat next to the mundane. Their history class was together with the mundanes.

"I'll try, but it's not that easy when she keeps lying to me," Jace shook his head, looking at Clary's red hair dancing down her back. She was talking with her roommate in quiet tones as if they were talking about something secret.

xxx

"You've skipped a lot of classes, Clary," Rhiannon told her as Clary sat down next to her.

"You can mind your own business," Clary snapped at her.

"Have anyone told you that you're not a very kind human being?"

"As a matter of fact, they have," Clary laughed.

"I'm just trying to help you," the mundane twisted her pen between her fingers.

"I don't-"

"Need my help," Rhi finished her sentence, "I know, but I want to offer it anyways."

"Well, you can stop right away," Clary hissed.

"Why did you sit down next to me if you're only here to shout at me?" Rhiannon asked.

"I'm allowed to sit wherever I want, am I not?"

"Yes, but you could sit with your boyfriend."

"Rhiannon," Clary hushed her.

"What?" She asked confused, "He is your boyfriend, is he not? Jace?"

"Yes, I mean, no, he's.." Clary struggled to find her words, "He's none of your business."

"You need to find new comebacks, Clary, you sound like a broken record," Rhi shook her head, "And if you think I stand for what you're doing to him, I don't!"

Clary looked at her confused.

"The only reason I haven't told him myself is that I hoped you would have the courage to explain it yourself, but you're only avoiding him, hurting yourself in the process." Rhiannon continued.

"What are you talking about, Rhi?" Clary asked bewildered.

"Marcus!" the girl almost shouted.

"WHAT?" Clary hissed, "What Marcus?"

"If you're cheating on Jace with him, I know it's not my problem, but that is so beneath you, Clary!"

"I'm what?" Clary almost laughed, "No, I'm not at all cheating on Jace with anyone, I don't even know who Marcus is?" Clary whispered quickly.

"Yes you do, don't lie to me, we live in the same room," Rhi told her, "I let him into your room, and he stayed for a very long time."

"Simon?" Clary asked confused.

"No, he told me his name, I saw you two in our room. Don't play stupid when we both know you're the smartest one in the room." Rhi had a weird habit of showering everyone with compliments; apparently, she didn't stop even when she was fighting.

"Rhi, can we talk about this another time?" Clary asked, feeling Jace and Isabelle's eyes watching them.

"Okay." She agreed, looking around to confirm Clary's thoughts.

xxx

Clary did not intend to tell her roommate about everything she kept inside her head. She did not need Rhiannon to be her therapist. She needed to make Rhiannon forget, even if it meant doing something unforgivable. Taking someone's memory was forbidden, but doing so to protect someone's life, Clary had no other choice.

She drew the rune on paper once more. It would work as a memory lock, similar to a warlock's power. It wouldn't steal her memories, but it would lock them away, out of Rhi's reach. She had to draw the rune on a necklace since Rhiannon wouldn't be strong enough to handle such a powerful rune getting in contact with her skin yet.

Clary drew the same beautiful rune on a small jade stone, keeping it in her hand as the girl entered their room.

"Okay, we're alone." Rhiannon tried to act cool, but her voice revealed how nervous she was.

"You want me to tell you why Simon was in my room?" Clary asked.

"Our room, yes."

"Our room," Clary corrected with a bitter sound, "Rhiannon, I hope you understand that what I am about to tell you, I don't think you want to know it."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Rhiannon asked.

"Okay." Clary nodded, impressed by the girl's harsh tone.

"Simon, or Marcus, whichever you feel fits him best, I don't care, he's helping me find out about the new circle. I assume you know what the circle was?" She told her. Clary didn't know why she bothered; she was just going to take the girl's memories away anyways.

"Yes, you're father's group," Rhiannon answered.

Clary nodded, "Yes, and now there might be people who're trying to recreate what once was the Circle. Someone who might even be inside this school, Simon is helping my gather information, or he's supposed to. So as you can see, I have better things on my mind than love affairs and school drama." Clary looked at the girl; she had gone pale.

"Are you telling me, someone in this school wants to kill people like me?" Rhi asked.

"No, I don't think so, I don't know yet, Rhi, but I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to anyone inside this school or outside." She smiled, taking the girl's hand in hers. The jade pendant connected with the girl's skin and she looked empty for a second before she smiled warmly at Clary.

Clary quickly left their room; she couldn't stay in the same room with the mundane as she was drowning in guilt listening to Rhiannon talk about her day as if nothing had happened.

"Hey." Clary felt shivers cover her arms. As if she hadn't been through enough already, Kristofer Van Der Walse stood before her giving her a confident grin.

"Get out of my way, Walse. I'm not in the mood for a fight," she told him between closed teeth.

"Too bad I'm not looking for a fight then," he smiled.

"What do you want?" Clary asked, "If you're here to try to recruit me for some New Age Circle shit, I'll have to decline."

"Nope, I'm just here to tell you that there's someone who would like to meet you," he said.

"Who?"

"I can't say, he's a very private person, but I can promise you that you don't want to miss what he's got to say."

"I'm not interested." Clary started walking away, but the words that left Walse's lips made Clary's blood freeze.

"I'll let the young Herondale know."

Clary turned around, her arm finding his face faster than she managed to think, "Do you think threatening someone I care about is a good idea, Walse?" she asked, shaking the pain in her knuckles away.

"What makes you think it was a threat? I'm just saying that you should be careful to show your feelings around here, Clary, people are watching you."


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