Chapter 7

A/N: So here's the first high school chapter... it's probably going to suck :/ Even though I've gotten tons of information from you guys, it's still pretty hard to picture, especially since I haven't experienced Swedish high school (gymnasium) either :P I feel so small… Anyway, I really tried to make it realistic, but it's pretty hard Just so you know, what I'm going to refer to as "the office/the little office thingy/Marianne/the place here new students go to get their schedules" is, well, the little room thingy that I can't remember what it's called but new students go there to get their schedules. I can't check right now, my sister has the WiFi so I can't be on the internet

I also attempted to make a school schedule, needless to say, it's not very accurate. Again, I didn't have access to the internet while I wrote this, so I might have gotten the subjects and stuff wrong. This interior of this school is based on how my school looks, because I'm very familiar with it :P Except that my school is yellow concrete (or cement, maybe? Ugh, I have no idea, but it's depressing) and this one is brick ;). Two of the teachers (Jonas Säfsten, Savsten here, and Camilla Ardel) are my actual teachers, same subjects, same classrooms. Although I hate Jonas and he's not my teacher anymore cuz his wife just had a daughter. We used to plot ways to get rid of him ("we'll push him down the stairs so that he gets amnesia and can't speak Spanish anymore!").. :P

This chapter is gonna have a lot of random author's notes, just so you know. And I love you. Don't forget :)

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare (who, again, is not me) owns this

The Alicante Institute was a pretty small school, made of red brick with ivy crawling up the walls. The building was surrounded by small trees, except for the side where the road and the parking lot resided. Some students were already entering, while others stayed in the parking lot to spend as much time with their friends as possible.

Clary looked at the school with awe as Jace (who had agreed to drive them all – Clary, Alec, Izzy – today) pulled in to an empty parking space. It was so different from her high school in New York – which had been huge, made of cement, and had metal detectors in the entrance to make sure no-one brought weapons to school, not at all like this brick building that could only be described as picturesque.

Isabelle waved her arm in front of the gaping girl's face.

"Hello? Earth to Clary? We have to get out now, the bell's gonna ring soon."

"Oh," Clary said sheepishly, opened the car door, and stepped out into the cool October air.

"Sorry," she added when everyone was out of the car. "This school just looks so different from my old one in New York. It's so . . ." she searched for the right word.

"Ugly? So tiny and crappy you could crush it under your shoe?" Jace offered helpfully. "Or is it just that everything pales in comparison to that who is Jace Lightwood?"

Alec snorted.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it, Jace. More like your ego is so big everything else shrinks in comparison." Alec smirked, and Jace pretended to look offended.

As they continued their easy banter, Clary and Isabelle made their way to the "little office thingy" to pick up Clary's new schedule. Isabelle led the way, and while Clary followed she couldn't help but think back to the Lightwoods reaction when she and Isabelle came down the stairs earlier this morning. Or, rather, Jace's reaction. Clary smirked a little at the memory.

It was an hour until school started, and the two girls had just begun making their way down the stairs to the living room. Izzy said something funny and Clary laughed loudly. They entered the living room, and took a left to get into the kitchen. Isabelle went first, gesturing for Clary to be silent and stand behind her, where the rest of the family wouldn't see her.

Isabelle cleared her throat.

"Hey,izzy! Where's Clary?" Alec asked, searching the part of the living room he could actually see for Clary's red hair.

"That's why I'm standing here like an idiot instead of sitting down, Alec. Now shut it for a moment. May I present: The new and improved Clary Fray!"

Clary blushed and stepped into the doorway. She heard a strange noise from the right, and turned her head towards it.

Jace was standing with his mouth hanging open, eyes practically bugging out of his head. A milk carton was lying on the floor, and the white liquid was quickly pouring out of it. That's what the sound was, Clary realized. She met his eyes, and smiled suggestively.

"See something you like?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him. Alec and Isabelle snickered. "And close your mouth, you don't wanna catch flies, do you?"

He quickly pressed his lips together, and looked away.

"Eh, I guess I'd better clean this up," he said awkwardly. Alec and Izzy gave another synchronized laugh.

"Clary! Clary, I got your schedule." Isabelle waved the paper in front of Clary's face. "You have 1st, 2nd and 5th period with me, that's (A/N: here comes proof of my extreme knowledge..) history, math and biology. You won't be having any classes with Alec and Jace, since Alec's a senior and Jace is a junior. Then you have – "

"Izzy," Clary interrupted, "I think I can look at it myself, you don't have to read it to me."

Isabelle mock sniffed, and said "Well, excuse me if I'm trying to help!"

The two of them burst into uncontrollable laughter.

.o.O.o.

1st period: History, Mrs. Herondale, 61

2nd period: English, Mr. Anderson, 25

3rd period: Spanish, Mr. Savsten, 43

Lunch

4th period: Math, Mr. Garroway, 25

5th period: Biology, Mrs. Smith, 54

6th period: Art, Mrs. Ardel, 30

Clary looked through her schedule again as she stood by her locker. It seemed okay, though she wasn't exactly thrilled to have Spanish, English and math so close together.

Isabelle had explained how it worked at Alicante high before departing to her own locker. The numbers beside the teacher's names were classrooms, and there were 6 (8 if you count the gym) different floors, aka "corridors", 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60. 20, 40 and 60 held classrooms 20-25, 40-45 and 60-65, and all subjects except for arts and crafts, science, home ec, music and PE were taught there. Then there was 0, were you had home ec, needlework, and if you went through a door at the end of the hall, PE. In 10 technology (building electric circuits, and the like) and woodwork. 30 held the cafeteria, art, music, the media room (where you could play chess and other strategic games if your math teacher was especially lenient) and a few ping pong, foosball and pool tables. 50 were the science labs, but you could also have math there. If you were a new student, needed a new schedule or were called up to the principal's office, you went to a room between the teacher's lounge and 54, seated in a corner. It was often referred to as "Marianne's" after the vice principal, who took care of stuff like that.

The corridors, except 50 (which had classrooms on one side and lockers on the other) had windows on one side, and lockers on the other, with a few doors that led to classrooms in between. Two staircases on either side of the 20, 40 and 60 corridors took you between floors, but it was a long way to go if you needed to get from 0 to 60 all the time, so all students hoped for a locker in the 40 corridor, since it was practically in the center of the school.

Clary had gotten lucky, and was no standing at locker number 434 (A/N: the best one ever, just so you know. Cuz it's mine), the first "4" a clear indicator as to which corridor her locker was in (40).

She sighed, and grabbed the books Isabelle had passed on to her earlier, and shut her locker with a bang. She was in a hurry; she was in the far end of the corridor and had to get to 61 in three minutes.

Clary turned around and took a few steps, only to run smack into a hard, solid body, and subsequently dropping all her history books.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. "Shit, shit, shi –" She looked up at whoever it was that was probably going to make her late for class, and pulled up short.

"Problem, Red?" Jace asked, and smirked. "You just couldn't resist me, could you?"

Clary glared up at him, before stepping back to pick up her books.

"Just because your ego is too big doesn't mean I willingly run into it. It was in the way," she retorted lamely. What was it with him that made her ability to form coherent sentences mysteriously disappear?

Clary was suddenly aware of their close proximity, and her gaze travelled unconsciously to his full, pink lips.

Jace stepped closer, bracing his hands against the lockers behind them, effectively trapping her against his body.

He leaned forward, until his mouth was right by her ear, and whispered "I think you're going to be late for class."

Then drew back, winked at her, and walked away.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

.o.O.o.

Jace took a few more steps into the woods, and kicked a small rock that happened to be in his way. He was skipping class – again – but he didn't care. It didn't matter, anyway. Not to him.

What did matter, on the other hand, was what just happened with Clary. What was he thinking, moving so close, feeling her body flush against his, whispering in her goddamn ear?

Oh, that's right. You weren't, he answered. Great. Now he was having little conversations with himself.

It was just that she'd been so close . . . wearing that damn outfit Izzy had dressed her in, and he'd lost it. All he could think about had been what it would be like to kiss her, how it would feel to press her against the lockers and lower his mouth to hers. Hell, that's what he'd been about to do, before he thought better of it.

But still. He'd winked at her before leaving. Why did he wink at her? It just didn't make any sense.

Except that it did.

He couldn't leave without doing something other than touching her ear lightly with his lips. Not that winking was that big of an achievement, but he knew what it did to the female kind. Most of them, anyway.

But Clary wasn't like most girls. He'd said so himself. And she was definitely not like the girls he dated.

But, god, did he want her.

He'd only known her for – what? Two days? And he already wanted her more than he'd wanted anyone ever before.

Shit.