Jace POV

Izzy grabbed Clary by the hand and lead her over to us. "Clary, this is my brother, Alec."

"Nice to finally meet you," Alec said shaking her hand, and she smiled at him.

"This is Magnus, he is amazing," Izzy said with a grin, and Magnus winked at her.

"Thank you, Izzy. It is a pleasure to meet you, Clary." Magnus said.

"Nice to meet you," Clary said in a warm voice.

Izzy turned to Jordan. "I'm Jordan, nice to officially meet you." Clary hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand.

"You too." She said.

"And... you know Jace already," Izzy said. Clary looked over at me and nodded.

"Hi..." She said.

"Hi," I replied softly.

"OK, now introductions are done, why are you here, and what do you want?" Izzy demanded.

"I told you yesterday that we had band practice," Alec said, and Izzy smiled at him sheepishly.

"Whoops, I forgot." She shrugged, "C'mon girls, let's go have some drinks around the fire." The girls started heading for the door.

"Wait," Jordan said, stepping in front of Maia.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You girls did well up there. I mean not as good as us but, you know," He smirked, and Maia scoffed at him.

"We could out play you any day, mate," Maia said, and the girls agreed.

"Is that so?" Jordan looked at us before turning back to her. "So you wouldn't be afraid of a little wager then?" He asked.

"Bring it," Maia replied.

"Ok, Battle of the Sexes, our band against yours. Next Saturday, here, in front of the whole school." Jordan said.

"OK, and the terms?" Maia asked.

"We will play, taking it in turns, and the crowd will vote for the winners. The losers will be the winner's servants for a week." Jordan raised his eyebrow.

Maia took a step closer to him. "I'm in."

"Guys, are we in?" Jordan asked turning to us. The boys cheered and his eyes landed on me," Jace?" I looked to Clary and she looked away. Hesitantly I nodded.

Maia turned to the girls, "Clary?" She looked a little panicked, and Izzy pulled her to the side. After some animated back and forth, they joined the group.

Clary walked up to Jordan and held out her hand, "Make it two weeks and you have a deal."

"Deal!" Jordan grabbed her hand and they shook on it.

"Ok," Izzy said, "You guys can have first practice. We will take the room tomorrow afternoon and Sunday. Boys can have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We will take Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Everybody happy with that?" We all nodded in agreement. "Good, c'mon girls, let's grab a drink."

The door shut and the boys waited a moment before launching into a game plan. I phased out, still in shock that Clary was my mystery girl. Karma was being the ultimate bitch. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn't realised the boys had stopped talking and were all looking at me with concern.

"What?" I asked.

"You OK?" Jordan asked.

I'm fine." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"No, you're full of shit." Alec snapped. "Now you can either sit around being miserable, or you can tell us what is going on so we can help you."

I was taken aback, Alec rarely got angry at me. "I don't know," I shrugged, but Alec glared in response. " I haven't been sleeping well, and all this stuff with Clary is messing with my head."

"Tell us about it," Jordan said, pulling up a stool.

"Where do I begin?" I said.

"The start is usually a good place," Magnus said.

I told them everything from what Sebastian did, to the day with the sketchbook. My failed apology, to the stairs incident. "A week ago, I was jogging in the park when I heard a girl singing. I didn't know who she was, but every night since, I've dreamed of her voice. Today I realised it was Clary." Jordan let out a whistle. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, what do you want out of this," Magnus asked.

"For everything to be ok? Maybe even for us to be friends." I said.

"Only friends?" Alec asked.

"Yes!" I said, "Can you stop implying I have feelings for her."

"What?" Jordan asked, a shocked look on his face.

"Can you blame me," Alec asked, "We've never seen you like this over a girl before."

"He's got a point, mate," Jordan said.

Was it possible? Did I have feelings for Clary? I shook my head, refusing to go there. "I'm sure it's just the guilt." I sighed. "How do I fix this?" I put my head in my hands.

"We'll help you," Jordan said and the others agreed. "For now, let's focus on winning this battle."

After a long rehearsal, we ventured downstairs for a drink. The boys went out and sat with the girls, while I hung back in the kitchen. I took a long sip from my bottle, and leaned against the counter. I started thinking about my recent interactions with Clary. How her dying her hair had upset me, the way she rejected my apology, and the closeness of our bodies on the stairs. I was definitely attracted to her, but did I have feelings for her? I barely even knew her.

Someone entered the kitchen startling me. I whirled around, dropping my bottle in the process. Clary stood hesitantly in the doorway.

"Shit!" I bent down and started picking up the shards of glass. She bent down beside me and began mopping up the liquid with a tea towel. Together we cleaned up the mess.

"I'm sorry for startling you." She said softly. Her cheeks were flushed and she had removed her jumper, revealing a cropped British India t-shirt. I swallowed and looked away.

"It's ok," I replied, wringing my hands. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I just came in for a drink." She said. I moved over to the fridge, taking out two ciders and handed one to her.

" Somersby?" She asked.

"Have you ever had it before?" She shook her head.

"I've never had friends before, so I haven't tried a variety of alcohol. Jonathan and I used to steal Father's vodka, I still do sometimes." She leaned against the counter and took a long sip.

"Do you like it?" I asked, and she nodded. We drank in silence for a moment before she spoke again.

"I think Jonathan would have loved it here." She said with the ghost of a smile. "Everyone would have loved him."

"Who is he?" I asked.

"My best friend, my partner in crime, my protector," She looked at me, and must have seen the confusion in my expression. "My brother. Didn't you read my questionnaire?"

"No, sorry." She shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Thanks for the drink." She said raising her bottle, and with that, she left the room.

I finished my drink and headed upstairs. I had completely forgotten about the first-week questionnaires. I rummaged through my desk trying to find the sheet. I then grabbed my bag and emptied it on the floor. I frantically looked through all my papers before finding the crumpled worksheet.

1. Favourite Colour? Why? Orange, I painted my bedroom wall with it. My own personal Sunset.

2. Favourite Pastime? Art. Drawing, painting, creating, you name it.

3. Favourite Season? Autumn, I love the colours.

4. Favourite Drink? Black Coffee, 3 sugars. Can't function without it.

5. Favourite Song? Why? Dear Maria, All Time Low. Jonathan's Favourite.

6. What do you dream of being? An artist. I want to inspire people.

7. Tell us about your family? Mum, warm, bright, artistic, but childlike. Father, cold, stern, military, always on the move. Brother, warm, funny, protective, best friend, dead.

8. Greatest Childhood Wish? To stay in one place.

9. Ambitions for after school? To get into a good art school.

10. Why did you choose this program and what are you hoping to get out of it? It is joined with arts. I am hoping to fine tune my crafts and score a scholarship. Jonathan loved my voice.

My hands shook, and with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I dropped it to the floor. Her brother was dead. There wasn't anything I could do to make up for what I had done.

Hey guys. I hope you had a great festive season. Thank you to all the readers, without you there would be no reason to write. And a special shout out to my beta reader, you're the best! Please leave a review and I will return with more ;) Also, who do you think should win the battle of the bands?