CPOV
I walk down the empty hallways, trying to re-locate the office, when someone grabs me. I immediately start panicking before telling myself to calm down. My attacker starts to turn me around slowly, and I meet cold, brown eyes. Brandon's eyes.
"What the hell do you want, Brandon?" I seethe with gritted teeth.
"I think we both know the answer to that, Clary," he answers, an evil grin slowly creeping onto his face.
"I think you're mistaken," I say in an even, monotone voice.
"Come on, Clary, think," He taps me on the side of my head, and I crash my forehead into his, sending him reeling backwards.
"You're right, I do know. I also know that you can't always have what you want. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems the world is not a wish granting factory." Brandon growls at me, and I await the attack I know he's planning. After a quick moment of thought, he lunges at me. I duck as his fist comes flying out at me, raising my hand up and stopping the blow.
Brandon is wide-eyed, seeming to be startled by my sudden strength and speed. After Brandon left, Sebastian made sure to teach me everything he knows about fighting. I raise my leg, kicking Brandon in the gut. He doubles over in pain, reaching out at the lockers to steady himself.
I see a flash of gold out of the corner of my eye, and Jace is now standing in front of me, his back facing Brandon. He quickly inspects me for any bruises or injuries. When he finally sees that I'm alright, he turns to Brandon, kicking him where the sun doesn't shine before grabbing my arm, pulling me towards the office – I think.
"Are you okay, Clary?" Jace asks, concern lacing his words.
"You mean besides my psycho ex- boyfriend trying to rape me? Yeah, I'm great." I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Jace glares at me.
"That isn't what I meant,"
"Really, then what did you mean?" I ask. I know I'm just taking my anger out on Jace, but I just can't fight the words that are rolling off my tongue.
"Why are being such a bitch to me, Clary? I'm just trying to help you," Jace says, every inch of his voice filled with the anger I'm sure he feels inside. Suddenly, black edges into my vision, my head becoming dizzy. "CLARY!" I hear Jace call out, but I'm already gone.
JPOV
I grab Clary, just as she's about to hit the floor. I pick her up bridal style, walking to the nurse's office. Clary snuggle her face into my chest, grabbing at the collar of my shirt. She sighs, and I can't help the smile that stretches across my face.
I walk into the nurse's office, and Mrs. Taylor immediately turns to face me, smiling. She then looks at Clary's unconscious form in my arms. She rushes over, and I lay Clary down on the little bed.
"What happened?" Mrs. Taylor asks me as she takes Clary's temperature. How can I answer that? I can't explain the fight without explaining why they were fighting. Maybe I could just tell her that we had an argument. I mean, technically I'm not lying, just not telling the whole truth.
"Um, we were arguing, and then she passed out." I tell her, my voice not wavering once.
She nods, but opens her mouth to speak once again. "Did she seem stressed out, at all?"
"Not really, she just looked kind of angry."
"Okay, and what were you two fighting about?"
"Nothing of importance,"
"Then why do you seem so reluctant to tell me?"
"Listen, I'm not telling you a damn thing. If Clary wants to tell you, then that's fine by me, but if not you're out of luck."
"Do not raise your voice with me, Mister. Also, what were you two doing in the hallways?"
"We were sent to the office," I reply with a half-hearted shrug.
"Alright then, is there anyone you would like to call for her?"
"Her brother, Sebastian. He's in class right now, though."
"That's alright, I'll call for him to come down." I just nod my head, taking a seat next to Clary on the bed.
SPOV
"Sebastian Verlac to the office," a voice calls over the intercom. I slowly get up out of my chair before making my way out the door, and continuing on to the office. I reach the door, and pull it open, causing the secretary to look up from the papers on her desk.
"Hello, I was called down to the office?" I ask politely, wondering what's going on.
"Ah, yes, your sister is in the nurse's office. She fainted in the hallway. Luckily, Mr. Lightwood was there to help her.
"Yes, thank you," I say, quickly getting directions before heading towards the nurse's office. I walk in and see Clary laying on a bed, her face resting in someone's lap. I look up and see Jace looking down at Clary, stroking her hair with his fingers.
I clear my throat and Jace's head pops up. "Why'd you call me up here? And shouldn't Jonathan and Jordan be here, too?"
"No, I promised Clary I wouldn't tell anyone, but seeing as you already know, I figured I should call you down."
"What're you talking about?"
"She told me about Brandon. I think everything with him was just stressing her out, and she just passed out because was overwhelmed."
She told him? She didn't even tell me about everything until I found him trying to rape her in the living room. It hurts that she trusted Jace to tell him when she barely knows him, yet she wouldn't tell me her big brother since she was twelve.
I can't focus on that right now. I have to find out why Jace asked for me, and what the hell all of this has to do to with Brandon. "What do you mean everything with him was stressing her out? What's going on?"
"This morning, when I was fight with him, was because he went up to Clary and hurt her. Then, as I was walking down the hallway, I saw them fighting. He was kind of threatening her, and she was fighting him."
"Why were you in the hall?" I can't help it, my curiosity always gets the best of me.
"We were sent to the principal's office, and before you ask why, she went off on the teacher."
"Why the hell would she do that?"
"She seemed to want to do it for fun," he replies, and I know he's telling the truth, but because Clary is Clary, and smart-mouthing people is what she does best.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"I suggest we find Jonathan and Jordan tell them, and then head over to the police station."
"We can't," he replies, guilt washing over his face.
"Why?" I ask, suddenly very confused.
"I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone, at least not until she's ready for someone else to know."
"Why would you promise her something like that?" I ask angrily, because when you promise Clary something, she will remember, and she will never forgive you if you betray her trust.
"She asked, and it's not really my secret to tell. Although, she promised that if she didn't tell anyone by the end of two months, then we could start telling people, and that with Brandon pulling all of these stunts that she would probably need to tell people sooner."
"Alright, then we need to ask her what she's going to do, because I was quiet about everything after he left, but he's really pushing his luck with me."
"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"
"Same reason as you, I promised Clary I wouldn't."
CPOV (Right after she passed out)
I'm with Brandon, we're sitting on the hood of his car. We're having a picnic, looking up at the stars that fill up the sky.
"Clary," he says, and I look over at him, smiling brightly. "I love you." I let those three words sink in, panicking. We've only been dating for a few weeks, I'm not ready to tell him that I love him.
"Brandon, we've only been together for a few weeks," I say softly, reaching for his hand, but he jerks it away from me.
"What are you trying to say, Clary?"
"I don't love you, Brandon. We've only been together a short while. I'm not going to lie and tell you I feel something that I don't truly feel."
"Why are you being a bitch about it, you should feel grateful."
"Grateful? What am I supposed to be grateful for?"
"You should feel grateful that someone actually love you," he yells, and I feel tears sting at my eyes.
"My family loves me, and if you really did love me then you wouldn't say all of these horrible things."
"Wake up, Clary, not everyone in the world will love you."
"I didn't say I want everyone to love me, just that my family does." I shout at him, tears now flowing freely over my face. Though, they are ones of anger now instead of pain.
"Clary, you are such a little bitch," with that said, he brings his down, and hits my jaw.
I wake up screaming, and try to get up, but find myself being held in someone's grasp. I look up and see Jace looking down at me, and a wave of guilt washes over me. I pull myself into a sitting position wrap my arms around Jace for the second time today.
Someone clears their throat, and I turn around to come face-to-face with Sebastian. I pull away from Jace, giving him a grateful smile, before turning around to face Sebastian. When I see his face I run over to where he is standing, holding him close and crying into his chest.
The nurse comes rushing into the office, a worried expression crossing over her features. "I heard a scream, and I thought I should come check it out. Are you alright, dear?"
"She's fine, she was just a bit frightened." Seb mumbles into my hair, drawing circles on my back.
"Alright, well, I'll be in the teacher's lounge. You all feel free to leave when Clarissa is feeling better." She turns and walks out the door, leaving the three of us standing there. I turn out of Sebastian's embrace, going back to sit on the bed I had just previously been lying on.
"What happened back there, Clary? You freaked out on me." Jace utters, looking me in the eyes.
"When you said that, it just brought up some bad memories," I tell him, hoping he doesn't question me, but Jace is Jace, and I know that's asking too much.
"What memory?" He asks, going rigid, his body tensing up under my gaze.
"It was the first night he hit me. He told me he loved me, and I wasn't ready to tell him. I told him that, and he asked me why I was being such a bitch. So, when we were arguing, that just triggered something, and I passed out."
"Wait, when did you all fight?" Sebastian asks, looking between the two of us for an explanation.
"Um, it was right after I had fought with Brandon. I started yelling at Jace, and he asked me why I was being a bitch when he was only trying to help. After that, I just passed out."
"You called her a bitch?" Seb growls, and starts toward Jace.
"Hey," I rush over to get in between the two of them, putting one hand on each of their chests. "I was being pretty harsh. He just wanted to check on me, and I started running my mouth to him. I really was being a bitch to him."
"He still shouldn't have said something like that to you. Clary, I have a right to be angry about this. I'm supposed to protect you, no one is going to talk shit to you if I have any say in it."
"Okay, listen to me, I'm alright. Look at me, you taught me to protect myself, if I wanted Jace to take a beating, I could've done it myself." His eyes soften, and he nods ever so slightly.
"Alright, well, I think we should all just get back to class now. Text me if you need anything." He hugs me, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before exiting the room.
"Hey, Jace?"
"Yeah?"
"How do I get to the office from here?"
"C'mon, Red, I'll take you." He wraps his arm around my shoulder, careful to avoid the spot where Brandon had grabbed me. I lean into his touch without thinking, and we make our way to the office.
Jace opens the door, and I walk through, him following behind me with his hand pressed up against my back. I inwardly smile, I may have been under exaggerating when I said I have a small crush on Jace. The principal's head snaps up when we enter.
"Mr. Lightwood, and I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you, dear. What's your name?"
"My name is Clarissa Morgenstern, but I prefer Clary."
"Well, Clary, my name is Mr. Aldetree. What can I help you with?"
"Um – Mr. Starkweather sent me here." I reply sheepishly, looking at my feet.
"Why did he do that?"
"Let's just say I don't know how to keep my mouth shut."
"Well, Clary, I'm giving you a warning. Now, Mr. Lightwood, why were you sent here?"
"Same reason," Jace replies with his signature smirk.
"How many times have we discussed this? You have detention, Mr. Lightwood."
"That's not fair, Clary didn't get detention." Jace argues, his smirk disappearing from his face.
"Yes, because she is new to the school."
"Okay, can we just not talk about me like I'm not here? That'd be greatly appreciated, thanks." I say, getting annoyed at the fact they are speaking about me like I'm not standing right here.
"Clarissa, I think you've just earned yourself a spot in detention alongside Jonathan."
"When did Jonathan get detention?"
"You just saw me give him detention. Do you have short-term memory loss?"
"Can we just go now?" I ask irritably, getting tired of dealing with Mr. Aldetree.
"Yes, Clarissa, you are both dismissed," he says with a sigh.
We walk out and down the long hallways, and I look at everything. From a scratch on a locker to the bricks that make up the building. There are designs everywhere, pictures of different symbols that all have different meanings. This school truly is beautiful.
"First period only lasts five more minutes, do you want to go ahead onto second?" Jace breaks me out of the trance like state I'm in, and I smile up at him, giving him nod of my head."
We walk to our second period together, and we make it there just after the bell rings. I take a look inside of the classroom, and my jaw drops. Guitars line the walls, there's a piano in the corner of the room, a stage and a few microphones standing upon it.
"This is amazing!" I exclaim, twirling in circles around the room.
"Glad you like it," he says, watching me move. His gaze follows me, and I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks. The door opens, and Jonathan strolls in with Sebastian. Jonathan pauses to look at, raising an eyebrow. Damn him, and everyone else that can raise an eyebrow!
Soon enough the rest of the class starts to file in. The tables are made for four people per table, so I just sit down with Jace, Jon and Seb. I'm next to Seb, across from Jon and diagonal from Jace. I get a bunch of glares from the girls in the class, and a bunch of guys look at me with a lustful look in their eyes.
"Alright, class, we have two new students joining us. If you would, please come introduce yourselves." The teacher says. Seb and I make our way to the stage, and we both glance at each other, telling the other to go first. I give him the puppy dog eyes, he rolls his eyes at me, but goes first anyways.
"Hi, my name is Sebastian Verlac," he says, nodding at everyone.
"Hello, my name is Clary Morgenstern." We both just go back to our seats before can be asked any further questions.
"Okay, so, who wants to sing first today?" Jonathan raises his hand, and the teacher points at him.
"Mrs. Wayland, don't you think we should let our new students go? I mean, you both play music, why not show everyone how good you are?" I glare at Jonathan, but Sebastian just shrugs.
"I think that a very good Idea, Jonathan," Mrs. Wayland replies.
I get up from my seat once again, and Sebastian follows me. I raise my eyes to his, asking a silent question, and he nods his head at me.
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window, darling,
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold on to this lullaby
Even when music's gone
Gone
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La (La La)
La (La La)
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La (La La)
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound...
Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh.
We finish the song, and the room erupts with people applauding. I put down the guitar I had picked up, heading back to my seat.
"That was truly amazing. You two really do make a good pair. Did that song mean anything to you all?"
"Yes," we say at the same time, and he shoots me a look that say 'let me answer first'.
"I would protect Clary if it meant giving up my own life. Because, what kind of brother would I be if she was hurt, and I knew I could have done something? That guilt would kill me, so knowing she's safe keeps me sane." I feel tears sting my eyes, he's always known the right thing to say. I quickly blink away my tears as the Mrs. Wayland turns to me.
"Family. Family means everything, blood relation or not, it's the most important thing. Because without family, how would we learn to love? Who would we want to keep safe? There would be no value in living if there was no one there to love you, or to worry about, and vice versa."
"Very well put, both of you." With that, she starts teaching today's lesson, and I can't help but feel a rush of happiness with my new life. I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up.
Ah! That was so much fun to write! I hope you all like this chapter, because this is probably my favorite one so far. Also, thank you guys for all of the reviews, follows and favorites. Can we try and reach 60 reviews by the next time I update? PLEASE?
DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Mortal Instruments, The Fault in Our Stars, or the song Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars.
Until next time, my lovelies.