Disclaimer: I own nothing
This story is inspired by the song Superheroes by The Script
Clary
I didn't sleep at all. So at six o'clock in the morning, I decided enough was enough and I would just have to pull through with the day. I groan as I sit up, my back and shoulders aching. The bruises I have are sore, and the cuts I have sting.
I shower and change into a grey t-shirt and black sport leggings. Deciding to keep my hair down, I brush it out as best as I can. Then I apply make up, covering up the nasty bruise that adorns my left cheek. I can't do anything about the bruises on my wrist, so I just throw on a couple of bracelets and hope no one pays attention to it.
I open my window and silently climb down the fire escape. I land on my feet with a soft thump in the back of my apartment building. Then I start the short walk to Central Park.
It's still before seven in the morning, so I walk to Simon's area and sit down on a nearby bench. I start to think about how I saw Jace here the other night.
Who was this guy? I honestly knew nothing about him. Just what types of drinks he likes, and he seems to be easy to talk to. But he never told me anything about himself. Hopefully he isn't some criminal or sexual predator trying to kidnap me. Maybe I should keep my distance until he starts to talk about himself. I mean, I don't even know his last name, and I'm already telling him about my family issues?
"What's up, Clare-Bear?" I jump at the sound of a man's voice in front of me. I look up and see Simon standing there, violin in hand, looking down at me amused. I give him a weary smile. The look on his face instantly turns to one of worry. "What's wrong?"
"My brother's back in town." Simon looks angry. He's the only person besides me and Jonathon who know about the abuse. He takes a seat next to me, and puts an arm around my shoulder. I lean into him and let the tears I've been holding flow. I cry silently and my best friend holds me. The gesture is one I'm so unused to. It's nice to know that someone cares.
Simon stands up abruptly and looks at me. "I know a place where we can go," he says. I open my mouth in shock.
"What about busking?" He shakes his head.
"You're more important." I smile as he holds out a hand. I grab it and Simon pulls me up from the bench. We start to walk in the opposite direction of my apartment building. Into the more wealthy part of Manhattan.
"Um, where exactly are we going?" I ask, looking around at all of the expensive real estate that surrounds me. Simon smirks.
"My girlfriend's apartment," he responds. My mouth opens in shock. Who knew Simon was dating some rich chick?
We stop in front of a tall black building. I feel extremely out of place as we walk into the lobby. Simon leads me to a desk in the middle of the white and gold room. The receptionist smiles warmly when she sees Simon.
"Welcome to The Institute! Luxury living spaces in the heart of New York City. How can I help you today, Simon?" The look on my face must have been priceless, because both the receptionist and Simon laugh. "It's okay, dear," the woman says. "Your friend has been here quite a few times to see Miss Lightwood."
Before I can stop myself, I say, "Izzy?" Now it's Simon's turn to look surprised.
"You know her?" I feel my cheeks redden.
"Yeah, I met her at Pandemonium a few nights ago." The receptionist furrows her eyebrows.
"Pandemonium?" she asks, sounding confused. I turn to the woman.
"The club I work at." She nods, and then looks at Simon.
"I'll buzz Miss Lightwood and warn her of your arrival. In the meantime," She hands Simon a card, "you can make yourselves at home."
I look around the room. There's a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Gold couches and chairs are scattered through the lobby. The walls look like they're made of marble, and the floor is some sort of dark wood. There're staircases on either side of the room leading up to the apartments. And there's a huge stained glass window on the wall with the entrance. On the back wall, in giant gold lettering, there's a sign that reads, "The Institute."
"Simon! How are you?" I turn to see Isabelle Lightwood embracing my best friend and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Her long black hair is flowing down her back. She's wearing a short and strapless grey dress with silver stilettos and many rings adorning her fingers. Her makeup is done and she looks absolutely stunning. I'm a bit jealous of the woman's beauty.
Izzy looks behind Simon and sees me. Her smile grows wider. "Clary! It's fabulous to see you again!" She walks up to me and gives me a hug. I'm a bit shocked. We only met once, after all. But I return the hug. It must look ridiculous. I'm so much shorter that the woman in front of me.
Izzy clasps her hands together. "I just ordered breakfast for all of us. I hope that's okay." I nod my head and Simon smiles. Izzy grins even wider, if that's even possible at the moment.
She takes Simon's hand in her own, and they both lead the way to the elevator. I awkwardly walk behind them. It's weird, because Simon is twenty one, and if I recall correctly, Izzy is twenty two. I never knew that Simon would want to date a woman older than him. Or the same height as him.
We walk into the elevator. The short ride up is filled with Izzy talking about her morning. How she had to call in for her own boutique and ask for a sick day, and how her friendncalled and made her have to cut her morning routine in half.
"I was going to curl my hair," she says, pouting. "I really try to look my best whenever I have guests."
Even though Izzy seems like kind of a diva, she really is sweet. I'm glad that Simon found a girl he likes. They seem completely different, but at the same time made for each other.
When the elevator dings and we step into Izzy's penthouse, I gasp. I feel so under dressed in just a t-shirt and leggings. My best friends walks in like this gigantic living space is no big deal. He takes off his shoes by the door and walks to the kitchen, opening up one of many cabinets and filling a glass with water.
Izzy gently grabs my arm, and in my shocked state I jump. She laughs lightly. "I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable," she says in a motherly tone. I smile and shake my head.
"It's not that. I just feel so under dressed." I hear Simon groan loudly from the kitchen.
"Clary, you have no idea how much trouble you've gotten yourself into." Izzy squeals and starts to pull me through the penthouse and up the stairs.
"I'm been dying to give someone a makeover!" she exclaims. I'm lead into a huge room. It's really messy, with clothes and makeup all over the place. But the floor space is so big that the mess really isn't that bad.
Izzy pulls out a chair in front of a vanity and points to it. "Sit," she demands. Afraid to disobey, I scramble and sit down on the seat.
The woman examines me from all sides. She pokes at my face and gently pulls on my hair. Then she grabs a bottle of some kind of spray and sets to work.
"You and Simon seems close," she says as she puts the product in my hair. "How did you meet?" I smile at her question.
"Well, we met when I was fourteen. He was sixteen at the time." I hesitate, not wanting to give the full details of the story. "Something... happened, and left my apartment and ran into Central Park. It was the middle of the night." The something that happened was my brother hitting me for the first time. "I saw him playing his violin, so I stopped and watched. When he was done, I gave him the money I had in my pocket. He stopped me and asked what I was doing alone at night. He thought I was a lot younger than I actually was." I laugh, remembering when he asked what a ten year old was doing out and about on the streets of New York City. "We talked for a little, and we kind of just clicked. Now we've been best friends for four years."
"So that was before you started working at Pandemonium?" I nod.
"Simon actually gave me the idea of where to get a job. Both of us had the same problem: we needed money for college. He was also an assistant at some software company at the time, and busking was extra money on the side. Me, on the other hand... bartending was the only way I got any money."
"Do you have parents?" I can't bring myself to be annoyed with her personnel question.
"They gave all the money for college to my older brother." Izzy stops brushing my hair.
"What? That's terrible! Why?" I sigh, not really wanting to get into it. But Isabelle Lightwood doesn't seem to be the person who takes no for an answer.
"He got into a lot of fights, and he's dumb as an ox. So my mom and dad gave all the money to him so he could learn and board and NYU."
Izzy snorts. "Gets into a lot of fights? Sounds like my friend."
We continue to talk as she does my hair and makeup. I tell her about bartending, and she tells me what's it's like to own her own business. I tell her about how hard it is to memorize every alcoholic beverage on the menu, and she tells me about all the famous people she's met.
Izzy has covered the mirror, so I have no idea what I look like. All I know is that my hair feels tame for once.
She takes a makeup remover wipe and starts to take off the existing makeup from my face. I think nothing of it, until she gasps. "Oh my God! Who did that?" And that's when I remember the bruise my brother gave me. I cover my cheek with my hand and whirl around to look at Izzy. She looks horrified, still staring at the covered bruise on my face. "Clary, who did that?" she asks, again, louder this time.
Simon comes through the bedroom door, looking around wildly. When he sees me, he approaches me slowly. He bends down and looks up at me from my spot on the chair.
"Clary," my friend says softly. I look into Simon's brown eyes. "We're going to tell Isabelle." My eyes widen and I start to shake my head. But Simon takes my other hand and moves closer. "She can help you, Clare-Bear." I look at Simon, and slowly start to nod my head. He smiles softly, then stands up and leads Izzy out of the room.
A couple minutes later, Izzy and Simon return. Izzy has tears rolling down her face.
"Honey..." she starts to say, but instead she runs up to me and embraces me. I hug her back.
Izzy leans back and smiles at me. "We're going to make you the most beautiful girl in the club tonight." I give a nervous laugh. "You're already beautiful, Clary. You just need to see it for yourself. Then that will make you even more radiant."
Without waiting for a response, Izzy starts again on my makeup. She lightly covers my face with foundation, being extra careful around my bruise. Then she starts on eye shadow and mascara.
In the middle of my makeover, Simon comes up to Izzy's room with plates of food. I grab a plate of waffles and bacon, and devour my breakfast. We then turn on the TV in the room and watch a program for a little bit. Before we know it, it's already noon. Simon goes downstairs to order Chinese take out, and Izzy returns to my makeover.
We're interrupted one more time by lunch. I eat my mu shu pork while Izzy finished my hair. Then she puts the finishing touches on my face and starts on my nails.
The makeover took almost the entire day. When Izzy is done, it's five o'clock in the afternoon. I think if we were more focused, it could have only taken two hours, but we took many breaks to do other things in between.
"You ready to see my master piece?" Izzy exclaims dramatically. I'm standing in front of a full length mirror, waiting to be spun around. "One, two, three!" I turn around and gasp. I don't recognize the person I'm looking at. My makeup is done in a way that looks natural and cute. Natural browns and light cream colors blend on my eye lids. A light pink makes my lips look bigger. My face is contoured slightly, and my freckles actually look good against my pale skin. My hair has been curled and put up into a bun on the top of my head. A couple strands of hair fall out from the top, framing my face.
I'm still wearing what I was wearing before. Simon went back to my apartment to sneak through my window and get my uniform for me.
"Izzy... you're amazing," I manage to whisper. Izzy squeals.
"I know!"
Izzy and I go back down stairs and turn on the television. Then we watch reruns of Friends until Simon comes back. By this time it's already seven. Pandemonium is a lot farther from here then from my apartment.
I change carefully, making sure I don't mess anything up. Then I exit the bathroom and walk into the living room. The sight I see is not exactly welcoming. In the short three minutes it took for me to change is all it took for Simon and Izzy to start an intense make out session. One where Simon's shirt is off, and Izzy's bra has mysteriously disappeared.
I squeak and cover my eyes. Then I blindly make my way to the door. I grab my sneakers that are on the floor and search for the door knob. And at that exact moment, there's a loud pounding on the door. I freeze, not knowing what I should do.
I decide I shouldn't answer Izzy's door. I wait a second, still frozen in place. The person knocks again, louder this time. I hear Izzy yell, "Coming, coming!" from the living room. I keep my back turned, not wanting to see her put her bra back on.
Izzy walks to the door and opens it, not even trying to fix her appearance.
"Geez, Iz. What's going on in there?" I hear a masculine and very familiar voice say. I freeze, glad I'm in a blind spot. What the hell is Jace doing here? I scramble away from the door and position my self by the bathroom, praying she doesn't invite him in.
"I have friends over," she says bluntly. Jace laughs.
"Let me guess. Your new boyfriend, and some other guy that you've been going at, too." That's when Simon walks to the door.
"What's going on-" He stops when he peers through the door. "Hey, I know you," he says.
"Yeah, and I know you," Jace says, sounding amused. "You're that busker in the park."
"Yeah, and you're the guy my friend-"
Thankfully, I'm fast. And without even thinking, I run from my spot and launch myself onto Simon, knocking him out of the doorway and onto the nearby couch. Then I roll off of him and land behind the couch, praying that Jace didn't see me.
"What the hell?" Jace asks. I see him try to step through the doorway, but thankfully Izzy closes the door slightly and steps in front of him.
"Jace, we're kind of in the middle of something," she says casually. "Tell me what you wanted to tell me. Now." I hear Jace sigh.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go clubbing with me tonight." I hear Izzy start to respond, but Jace cuts her off. "You can bring your boyfriend and... whoever that was who side tackled him." He lowers his voice. "I'm in deep shit, Izzy. With a girl that I've been talking to. I need you to help me." For some reason I feel a pang of jealousy at his words.
Izzy pauses before answering. "Sure, I'll go with you. Where to?"
"Pandemonium," he says. I feel my stomach do a flip. "I'll meet you there at 8:30."
"Okay. Bye Jace." Izzy closes the door slowly and waits a few seconds before turning to Simon and I. Simon is still sprawled out on the couch, and my head is peeking up from behind it. Izzy looks furious.
"Why did you do that?" she yells. I'm about to responds when she says, "You messed up your hair!"
That's true. My hair came out of the bun on the impact against Simon.
Izzy marches over and grabs me, leading me back upstairs. "We have to do this quick," she growls as I sit down on the chair. Izzy starts re-pinning my hair.
"Why did you do that?" she asks, breaking the silence. I sigh.
"I know Jace." Izzy stops. I see an expression of shock appear on her face through the mirror.
"Really? How? Did you hook up with him in the past?" I crinkle my nose.
"What? No!" An expression of relief crosses Izzy's face. "He's been coming to Pandemonium for the last few nights. I've talked with him before. But last night we kind of got into an argument."
"What about?"
"He asked questions about my life, so I told him. But when I asked him questions about his, he refused to talk." Now that I say it, it sounds really stupid. Why did I get so mad at him?
Izzy sighs. "Clary, dear, Jace's past isn't something you want to get into. It's rough." I nod my head.
Izzy finishes the bun in silence. "There," she says. "If you want, I can drive you to the club." I shake my head.
"No it's fine. I'd rather walk." I hesitate. "But if you had a light coat I could borrow-" Izzy is at her closet in a flash. She throws me a light black wind breaker.
I stand up and give her a lingering hug. "Thank you," I say. She smiles.
"No biggie. Stop by any time you want!" Then her expression turns serious.
"If you need help with that brother, I know a guy who can take care of that." I laugh lightly and shake my head.
"I can fight my own battles."
I start to walk out of the room. But when I reach the door, I turn around and look at Isabelle one more time. "By the way, thank you for the sketchbook."
A/N: Did you like it? Enough Sizzy? Don't worry, I'll write more. Sorry about the lack of Clace. That's coming next chapter.
Thank you all for the ideas! They really are helpful!
I love you all! Thank you for favoriting, following, and reviewing!
BTW, I decided to write an epilogue for my other story, Abilities. So if you're interested, you can check that out!
-SneekAttack101