"You should just give in already" Isabelle said, popping a grape in her mouth. They're purple, her favorite. Clary was shuffling through her iTunes Library on her computer while Isabelle sat on Clary's L-shaped couch, eating grapes.
Clary looked back to her. "Give up what?"
"The whole 'hard to get' thing, it's getting old. Not just for you two but for everyone else."
"Everyone else?"
Isabelle nodded. "Oh can you put Chelsea on?"
"By The Summer Set?
"Please," Isabelle said and grabbed another grape from the bowl in her lap. "Just drop the act and get together."
Let's take this back two-thousand five,
Drinks are poured and girls so fine.
"What act?" Clary asked, appalled. "I have no clue what you're talking about!"
Isabelle gave her an annoyed look and got up from the couch. She placed the bowl of grapes on the couch cushion and walked over to Clary's bed. She looked at Clary with a blank expression. Clary stared back.
So many dimes got dollars signs
And there she goes right on the spot.
They continued staring until Clary cracked. "Isabelle!"
Isabelle grinned. "Yes?"
"Can you explain to me what act I'm, well… acting?"
"Are you really that dumb, Clarissa?" Isabelle sighed. "It's like you want him to chase after you and he is. But he's going to get tired of running sooner or later and that means he's going to give up on you. And both you and I know you don't want that."
"I never said for him to chase me." Clary said quietly.
"But he is. He wants to. But like he said earlier, he's not going to get over you any time soon. You have time to get yourself together but don't keep him waiting for so long or its going to ruin everything including your friendship."
"I hate when your right." Clary said, sighing.
"I know. It must be hard too, because I'm right all the time." Isabelle grinned making Clary laughed.
Gotta taste so sweet
I swear this beat will make you want to drop.
"So?" Isabelle asked, getting up from Clary's bed and walking to the chair next to Clary. She sat down and looked at the computer screen.
"So what?"
"When you going to drop the bomb?"
"What bomb?" Clary asked, acting dumb.
Isabelle gave her a look and Clary laughed. She shrugged. "I don't know yet."
"Soon though?" Isabelle asked.
"Soon." Clary promised.
She wears a new dress everyday
No she won't stop,
"Oh!" Isabelle jumped up from the chair and ran behind Clary.
"What?" Clary asked, turning around to watch her best friend. Isabelle grabbed the bowl that was sitting on the couch and skipped back to the chair she had just vacated. Clary started to laugh. "What?" Isabelle asked, innocently. "I love my grapes."
Makin' the crowd scream
(I can't hear anything)
Clary laughed harder. "Yes, this I know."
Isabelle grinned like a little girl getting her first stuffed animal and then popped a grape in her mouth.
Clary reached out her hand to take a grape but Isabelle smacked it. "No."
Clary put her hands up as if to surrender. "Fine, fine."
But Hey (Hey)
It's Miss L.A. Again, Again
"You know the dance is just in a few days now. We should go shopping."
Clary rolled her eyes. "Isabelle," she groaned. "I told you I wasn't going to go. I told you we weren't going to go with the plan. Did that not process through your head?"
"No it did not, thank you for asking." Isabelle said, carefully pulling a grape from its stem. "We are going shopping. We are going to buy you the most gorgeous dress out there and we are going to go to the dance whether you like it or not."
Chelsea, Chelsea
Tell me you love me
Clary stared at her friend. "You can't make me"
"Oh, but I can." Isabelle said, popping the grape into her mouth. "You have absolutely no faith in my powers in manipulating you to do something you don't want to do. On Saturday, we will be at the dance having the time of our lives. You can either go willingly, which is the easy way, might I add. Or you can go unwillingly, which is the harder way. Either way, we're going." She picked another grape off the stem and smiled up at her friend. "I can let you think about it, if you need to."
Chelsea, Chelsea
Are you feeling me now?
"You're incredible" Clary said, getting up from the computer chair.
"I've been told, but in a totally different way then from what you mean."
"Oh my God! Isabelle!" Clary shrieked mortified. Isabelle laughed. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"I was just informing you. You are probably never going to use that word again because now you'll think of me and my sex life." Isabelle grinned. "My work here is done."
Chelsea, Chelsea
I think it's about time we get down, get down
I want more
Clary rolled her eyes. "I think I've lost my appetite."
"Speaking of appetite," Both girls turned to the stairs. "Mom said she's making steak and potatoes for dinner." Sebastian said. He walked to Isabelle and picked a loose grape out of the bowl. "Are you staying?"
She nodded, smiling. He smiled at her. "I'll tell mom." He turned to go but stopped and looked at Isabelle. "I've actually heard you're more than incredible."
Isabelle's mouth dropped open. Clary gagged. "Oh my God, get out!" She screamed. Sebastian chuckled and shrugged, walking up the stairs. Both girls stayed quiet until they heard the door close.
I wrote her a song
Not Delilah, not Kelsey
"Oh God," Clary gagged again. "That is purely disgusting." She looked over to her friend when she didn't say anything. Isabelle's mouth was still hanging open in shock. Her finger was on a single grape as if she were going to pick it up and pop it into her mouth, like all the other times.
"Isabelle?" Clary poked her cheek, lightly. Then harder when her best friend didn't respond.
"Ouch!" Isabelle said, rubbing her cheek where Clary had poked. "That hurts, you know."
Clary stepped back and folded her arms across her tiny chest. "Are you putting you sex life out there for any guy to know, including my brother?"
"What? No! How could you think that, Clary? I don't want people thinking I'm a whore." Isabelle put the bowl of grapes on the small table in front of her and stood up. "I can't believe you just said that. Do you think I'm a whore, is that it?"
"No!" Clary said. "That's not what I'm implying at all."
Had them both in my palm
But I dropped them both for Chelsea
"Sure, okay." Isabelle said walking away past Clary's bed to the bathroom. She closed the door hard. It wasn't exactly slamming it, but probably the next step down from it. Clary pouted. She didn't mean what Isabelle had thought she said. She walked passed her bed, which wasn't made, to her bathroom door. She knocked on the green door, quietly but hard enough to be heard. She knew Isabelle was going to open the door eventually. She just didn't know when.
"Isabelle…" Clary mumbled. "Open up. I didn't mean it, you know that."
There was no response from the other side of the door. She put her ear on the wooden door to maybe hear any movement, but she heard nothing. "Isabelle, I'm sorry."
Hey, hey. What'd you say,
You've been looking good today
The door flew open, Isabelle standing with her hand on the door knob. "I knew you were sorry, Clary. I just had to check my face for when we went upstairs." She giggled.
Clary rolled her eyes. "You just had me begging for your forgiveness and you weren't even mad in the first place?" Isabelle nodded, innocently. Clary just walked away, shaking her head. Isabelle followed her friend to the staircase and walked up the stairs with butterflies in her stomach.
As soon as Clary opened her door to the kitchen, she saw no one. "Sebastian?" She called out but with no response. Isabelle then did the same and with the same results. They walked through the kitchen and no food looked prepared and no one was in sight.
"Didn't your brother say your mom was making dinner?" Isabelle asked. Clary nodded and finally spotted a piece of paper on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and read it out loud. "Mom had to go help dad with his car so she didn't make dinner. I'm over at Jace's. His aunt is making dinner and invited us over. Be over by 7. Sebastian."
Clary put the paper down and looked at her best friend with worried eyes. "No," she whispered. "I can't go over there! Especially after these couple of days. I'll die in there."
"No, Clary, you got to go! It's like fate. Plus I'll be there with you. You're going to be fine. Let's just go." Isabelle encouraged. Clary looked at her unsure. But without a single word, Isabelle had Clary down the hall and out the door to Jace's front door.
"No, no, no, no. Isabelle!" Clary tried to get out of Isabelle's grasps but it didn't work. The front door was open within minutes and Clary had to try her best to compose herself.
The girl that opened the door, the other two girls didn't know. She had blonde hair to her shoulders, an ear bud in one ear, and holding her iPod. She gave them a look to introduce themselves because it was obviously she wasn't going to say anything. Clary could hear the music from her earphone buds, blasting. The song sounded familiar but she couldn't quite recognize the words to it. It sounded a lot like…
"Is that You Me at Six?" She found herself asking. The girl looked surprised but nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Clary shrugged. "Just a guess"
The blonde spoke again. "You look familiar."
"I do?"
She nodded. "But I don't know from what…"
"Well, I've gone to some of their concerts. I don't know if that helps."
"No," she shook her head. "It's not that. I've seen your face somewhere. Somewhere here."
Clary shrugged, confused and maybe a little creeped out. "Well on another important note, who are you?" Isabelle asked. Leave it to her to make a rude impression.
"I'm Aline." She introduced herself but said nothing else. Clary could tell Isabelle was not satisfied with her response but didn't push it. The girl looked impatient.
"Oh, I'm Clary and this is Isabelle." The girl's eyes lit up when Clary had introduced herself.
"I know now!" Aline exclaimed, pointing to Clary. "You're the girl. The girl in the picture that's on Jace's nightstand." Clary's eyes widened in surprise and she heard Isabelle gasp. "That's why you looked so familiar. You're the girl he likes."
"I'm going to faint." Isabelle mumbled to Clary. She looked at Isabelle, desperately. "You guys must be with the other guy, right? For dinner?" She smiled. "Come in." She moved away to let them pass by, but Clary and Isabelle didn't move. She smiled again as she backed away from the door. "Just make sure to close the door when you finally come in." And with that, she disappeared into the kitchen.
"Oh my…" Clary started. "God!" Isabelle shrieked. "Clary, you have to do it tonight. Tell him how you feel, please! I'm begging you. If you don't, hell, I will."
Clary shook her head and walked inside the house. She didn't go to the kitchen or the living room. She walked straight up the stairs where she knew he'd be. Isabelle called after her but she didn't stop. Once at the stop of the stairs, she heard music coming from Jace's room. It was loud enough to hear the words of the song.
In the brightest hour of my darkest day
I realized what is wrong with me.
Can't get over you. Can't get through to you.
It's been a helter-skelter romance from the start
She knew the song. She knew it really well. She knew it was by Jace's favorite band. She knew there must have been reason why this particular song was playing, but maybe not. She didn't want to read too much into it. She stood there, in front of his door listening to the song.
Take these memories that are haunting me
Of a paper man cut into shreds by his own pair of scissors.
He'll never forgive her...he'll never forgive her...
Her hand was on the door knob and she had enough adrenaline rushing through her body to open the door. But something was telling her to wait. That is, until she heard Isabelle's footsteps coming up the steps behind her. She knew she had to do it now. Now or never.
Because days come and go but my feelings for you are forever.
She opened the door with no knock or warning. Her brother, she knew, was in the room but she didn't search to find exactly where. She looked straight at Jace, who was lying on his bed, surprised by her entrance.
Because days come and go but my feelings for you are forever.
The music suddenly stopped. There was no speaking or moving. She glanced at his nightstand next to his bed and there was when she saw it. The picture Aline described of her. But it wasn't only her; it was of him as well. She remembered when that picture was taken. It was a couple of years ago and they were just friends then. But now…
He caught her staring at something and looked to the picture. She looked back at her with a blank expression on his face. "I need to talk to you," was all she said and walked back downstairs, past Isabelle, and out the front door.
"Who was at the door, sweetie?" Imogen asked her daughter as she put the last piece of garlic bread on the tray. She then opened the oven door and slid the tray in.
"Two girls" Aline said. Imogen waited for more of a response but she knew she wasn't going to get one. That's just how her daughter was. Imogen turned the small knob on the oven and it binged signaling it had turned on.
"You start school next week" She started. "At the local middle school down the street." She heard a groan coming from her eldest daughter. "Mom, come on. Why do you I have to go to school here? I really don't want to. What if I get homeschooled or something?"
Before she could finish, her mother was already shaking her head. "No, I want you to meet new people and be more social and going to the school will help."
"Or I could refuse to make friends" Aline mumbled. Imogen rolled her eyes knowing very well her daughter was going to put up a fight about it next week. She rather not have it now, though, due to the fact they had guests. "We'll talk about it later." She finished and Aline didn't say anything.
They suddenly heard the front door open quickly and then close. Imogen looked at her daughter but all Aline did was shrug. Maia then came around the corner to the kitchen with Mr. Sprinkles in hand. "Hi honey" Imogen said, smiling. Though it was only 6:45pm, Maia was already in her pajamas. After 6pm, she usually got tired.
Maia waved tiredly and put her thumb back in her mouth. Her curly hair was a mess but her mother didn't want to deal with it right now. Or maybe she should just comb it out…
The front door open again but this time closed with a slam. She wondered who was coming in and out of her house. Well, not her house, but the house she's staying in. "Maia, can you do mommy a favor?" She asked, stirring a wooden spoon in a plastic bowl. Maia looked at her and nodded. "Can you go see who's outside?" The little girl nodded again and shuffled her way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door. Imogen heard it open and close lightly. She sighed and continued to prepare the meal.
When Jace closed the front door, and maybe a little too hard, Clary was no where to be seen. It was dark out already so he squinted a bit until he saw a head of red hair sitting on the curb near his mail box. He didn't say anything, yet. He just walked across the green grass to her side and sat down. She didn't say anything either. He looked at her, patiently.
Finally, she looked over at him. "Hi" She whispered. Jace grinned and fought every nerve in his body not to just kiss her right then and there.
"Hi" he replied back. He heard her take a deep breath in. "Jace, I…" She stopped and looked at the ground. He didn't want to rush her so he waited. After a few seconds, she tried again "Jace, I like you…a lot. And you obviously feel the same way, since, you know, you told me." She fidgeted with her fingers, which she usually did when she got nervous. "But I don't know if you're ready."
He gave her a questioning expression. He didn't understand what she was saying. "I meant, with everything going on… your grandma is in the hospital, you have your cousins staying with you along with your aunt. Plus, there's football season and it's your junior year. You need to focus on school so you can get into a good college and get a good job, so you can make –"
He stopped her by leaning in and catching her lips with his. He reached up to touch her cheek again like he had the first time they kissed in her room. This is real, she thought. She felt his finger brush her cheek and predicted that was going to be her favorite thing in the world. He pulled away slowly. "I don't care, Clary. I waited long enough for you. I want to be with you, now."
"Me too," She said, smiling shyly. He grinned ear to ear and kissed her again. With every kiss, Clary felt she was going to faint or spontaneously combust. She loved it.
"Jace?"
The two teenagers pulled away from each other and turned around. "Maia? Hey baby" Jace cooed. He opened his arms so the little girl would sit in his lap. She put her thumb back in her mouth and walked over with a stuffed animal in her arms. She was in her pajamas. They had little cartoon characters on it but in the dark, Clary couldn't make out what kind. She crawled into Jace's arms and looked at Clary.
"Maia, this is Clary." He introduced. She smiled and took her thumb out. "Clary this is Maia, my little cousin." Clary smiled this time.
"Hi Maia." She smiled. The little girl smiled and waved to her. Maia turned to Jace. "Mommy said to come in"
Jace nodded and looked at Clary. She smiled at Jace and nodded. "Okay, Maia. Let's go inside." The little girl jumped off Jace's lap and ran half way across the lawn and turned around to watch the two teenagers stand up from the street curb.
Clary watched Maia skip the rest of the way to the front door of the house. She started, following the small child until Jace grabbed her arm. She stopped and looked at him, questioningly.
He smiled at her shyly. "So what is this then?" He got closer to her and Clary's heart started racing.
"What's what?" She asked dumbly. Jace smiled and let his hand fall down to her hand. He intertwined their fingers and reached for her other hand with his other and did the same. They were about an inch about from each other. Clary wasn't sure if she should close the rest of the space but before she could decide, Jace did.
"This," He whispered. A shiver went down Clary's spine. She swallowed and looked up at him. "Whatever you want it to be."
He raised his eyebrow with a smile playing on his lips. She then realized what she said. "You know I don't mean it like that, Jace." She blushed a bit, looking down at the ground. She felt Jace's fingers not intertwined with her own anymore. With his index finger, he lifted her chin so she could see his golden eyes. It was dark outside but she could still see the twinkle in his eyes. She smiled.
"I got an idea." He said, smiling. She raised both her eyebrows. "Is your brain alright?"
He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Saturday night is the dance. Be my date?"