Yo yo I updated for you! Just, for you. Yes you, the one in the onesie! ;) Jokes aside I love you guys! (The song they perform is open for interpretation, but I like to think it's one of Lennon and Maisy's songs, but if anybody has other song's that they think fit, I'm happy to hear them!) 21:54, oh yeah!
Clary
It feels like a whole stadium has turned up, when of course, they haven't. I lip my lips nervously and steps towards the front, joining where Phin is already standing with a mic in hand. I can almost feel the excitement buzzing off her like little sparks of energy. It's her first performance. She looks to me expectantly and I step up towards the mic. I adjust the capo on my guitar before strumming the first few chords. I scan the crowd and I spot Jonathon's blonde hair almost straight away, he pulls a funny face at me and I resist rolling my eyes on stage. I can't help but grin widely as I start to sing, making eye contact with Luke across the room, overwhelmed that he came like he always used to. Phin gives me the look and joins in singing her harmonies. I forget the room and pretend it's just me and her, and I can't help but feel proud.
Jace
"Wow" Izzy whispers from beside me, voicing my thoughts, although she's probably admiring the singing or the cute sister, not the redhead. Maryse also looks entranced by the music. I can almost feel the room collectively agreeing that this is the best act tonight. I mean, Max was good with his little attempt at drum playing with his adorable boy band, but he's my little brother. I'm inclined to like his act. However, it was nothing good compared to this act. The clear admiration that Clary's sister has for her is astonishing and her sister has an amazing voice for age too. They blend so well, making the harmonies sleek and flowing, as if sung by one voice. Clary's voice is amazing too, I'm definitely making her sing for this music project…and play the guitar, she's good at that too…The lights make her eyes twinkle and she suddenly looks up and makes eye contact with someone in the audience, smiling. I have an overwhelming wish that she was smiling at me….Everyone starts clapping and cheering so I shake myself awake, clapping along with everybody else.
"I think somebody's crushing" Alec teases from beside me.
"What? No." I scoff. "Definitely not"
Simon
She's still in there. My Clary. I caught a brief glimpse of the past when we argued in the car. It brought back so many memories of our childhood together: Luke's farm, movie nights, sneaking in to see each other, the sleepovers…I feel ashamed thinking about it now, what with how easily I let our long standing friendship slip away. Maybe if there's a way to get her to talk to me, talk about what I've been missing these years and then, maybe-maybe there's a chance we can make it back to friends again.
Clary
"That was so cool!" Phin shouts, excitedly jumping up and down. "Did you see them standing up!? I think they really liked it!"
"Liked it? We loved it!" A dad says, packing his guitar away as we were the last act.
"Really!?" Phin asks.
"Yeah, kiddo, you have a great talent"
I've never seen Phin so happy before. I pack my guitar away and sling it over my back, watching Phin give a Max a whole rerun of the performance.
"That was amazing" A voice says, I turn to see Jonathon and grin at him.
"How's the hangover?" I tease, knowing that there is a fifty, fifty chance he has one.
"Pfft, it went away days ago." He says, "But, don't change the topic, you have a great talent. You should get a record label, I'm serious! It'll help you get away from here and let the world know how amazing you are."
"And I'd be more than willing to sign you on" An Asian looking man with excessively glittery hair adds, handing me a business card.
"I know who you are Bane" I say coldly, for this guy was the top drug dealer and always means bad business.
"Hey, hey little Morgenstern, I don't mean any harm! I own a record company and I'm willing to give you a deal"
"A drug deal or…?"
"There is more to me than what I sell to get out of debt. You should know something about misconceptions by now."
I sigh.
"Anyway" He clears his throat. "I spotted an intriguing blue eyed boy here earlier and I must get his number" He announces and disappears off.
"You should consider it" Jonathon advises, walking back into the busy hall with me. I spot the Lightwoods over in the corner, complimenting Phin.
"Did you take a bike here?" I ask.
"Yeah. Why? Do you wanna ride?" He asks, slyly. The last time he took me for a 'ride' we ended up speeding away from cops, I thought I was going to die!
"No, definitely not." I say, assuredly. He laughs.
"Well I may aswell go, goodbye and well done" He says, pulling me in for a hug. When he pulls apart and leaves, I meet the scowling eyes of Simon. He's the only one of the group looking my way, the others didn't notice the exchange. I smile back at him and he turns away, meeting some desperate desire of Isabelle.
"Clary!" Luke calls, coming up to me. "That was brilliant as always! I've just seen Simon and oh how much you've all grown!"
I smile.
"Hey Luke, thanks for coming!"
"Anytime. Is Valentine here?"
"Oh…no, he's busy"
He frowns.
"He didn't come to watch?"
"No."
"Oh, it's just that I thought...because he always…never mind, he must be caught up at work."
"Yeah he's been working double shifts all the time"
"I understand. Do you need a lift home? How did you get here?"
"Maryse Lightwood took me, her son was performing as well"
"Ah little Maxwell, of course." He says, making his way over to the Lightwoods. I follow him and stand at the edge of the group, shying away from the spotlight.
"That was really good." Alec compliments me, giving me a shy smile. I smile back in much the same way. I meet Jace's eyes and the intensity in them makes me blush and quickly look away.
"I understand Phin wants to stay over for the weekend" Maryse states, turning her attention to me. I roll my eyes.
"Of course she does"
"Would you be willing to let her?"
"Oh" I say startled. "Erm…sure. Shall her pick her up tomorrow instead?"
"Don't be silly, you can stay too. Honestly, it's fine and I enjoy having you around. All the other teenagers are sleeping over too-"
"You see, I don't really-"
"Get along with them? It's fine, I'll set you up in the spare room. It wouldn't do well to make you go all the way home alone now would it?" She insists.
"Okay" I agree, secretly wishing a hole could open up and swallow me. This isn't going to end well…
It's late, but we're all drinking hot chocolate in the living room by the roaring fire. Phin is giggling with Max, roasting marshmallows over the fire and laughing as she gets marshmallow on her face. I'm surprised to find I'm comfortable amongst the family, although I'm pretty certain most of the room either have no idea who I am, think I'm going to keel over at any second or hate me. The last one is mainly reserved for Isabelle, but I can tell Alec is wary of me. Maia and Jordon are content sharing a hot chocolate, it's pretty cute. I'm happy for her; at least someone should get a fairytale ending. Jace, Alec and Isabelle are on their phones, Simon is still reading Iron Man and Maryse and I are contently watching the rest of the room.
"Hello" An unfamiliar voice calls from the door. I turn to see a man with the same dark hair and deep blue eyes as Alec. One would assume he's their father.
"Hey" Jace and Alec both respond briefly looking up from their phone and back down again, simultaneously.
"Robert" Maryse greets and he takes the seat next to her on the sofa. I notice that Isabelle is the only one who doesn't greet him; instead she shoots him a glare which he looks sheepish at. That's strange….My phone bleeps in my pocket and I take it out, curious. Four missed calls and twenty texts from Valentine. My heart plummets in my chest as I open one of them.
'You are so dead' - Valentine
The simple sentence is enough to make my blood run cold and I hurriedly snap the phone shut. Jace raises an eyebrow.
"Okay so you can stay here for the night" Maryse says, showing me into a spare room. I smile.
"Thank you"
"No problem and that door leads to the bathroom, you can use it if you want. There should be a spare toothbrush, shampoo etc. Oh and I got some of Izzy's pyjamas for you, but they might be a bit too big." She says, presenting me with a cotton pink tank top and shorts. Yeesh.
"Thanks" I say, despite internally grimacing at Isabelle's choice of pyjamas.
"Right, so I'll leave you to it" Maryse says, leaving the room. I take a shower and put the horrid things on. I don't bother with make-up as my face has healed of any bruises by now. The pyjamas make me feel very exposed as I always wear long tops and trousers to bed so Phin doesn't see the scars. In these, I can see them all. I dry my hair using a hairdryer I found and comb it through, giving the frizz ball a more wavy quality.
After the struggle, I sink down onto the bed, previously unaware of how exhausted I was. I analyse my mottled skin, tracing the long scare running along the back of my leg. There are various cuts and bruises lining both of them, all in different stages of healing. Each of them carry a story of their own. My arms look much the same, although the lower part of my left arm is bandaged up. There are few more thin, and some thick, scars lining my arms. It doesn't look that bad, well compared to my stomach anyways. My stomach is the real shocker as it takes most of the abuse all the time. I lean back and spread my arms out along the bed, basking in the sheer size of the thing. I decide to call it a night and crawl under the covers, falling asleep quickly in the cocoon of warmth.
"Hey, how are you doing Fray?" Simon asks through the phone. I smile at his voice. I'd missed it, even if it had only been a few days since we saw each other.
"I missed you, Si"
"I missed you too. Can I go see you?" He asks hopefully.
"…I don't know. I'll have to ask dad, he's still upset. We all need time to recover...and it's only been a few days"
"I understand. How is your shoulder?" He asks, indicating the bullet wound.
"It hurts like hell, but I'm fine."
"You know, I still can't get over the fact you were shot. I mean, how cool is that? Shot with a real gun!"
I laugh a little, Simon always knew how to make me smile.
"You know" He continues "You're a real super hero now. The worst battle scar I ever got is a bite from Yossarian."
"A tragedy I'm sure."
We talk until Simon has to go for dinner. A part of me dies a little as I put the phone back onto its holder. The house is too quiet now and I hate it.
"Who was that?" Dad asks, coming from the kitchen into the hall.
"Simon"
"Okay" He replies simply and gravitates back to the TV. I hope he gets better soon, I'm struggling to look after Phin. I don't want to talk to him about it yet because he's so upset…
Riing, riing. I finish tucking Phin into bed and sprint down stairs, heart accelerating fast. I bet it's Simon again! I skid into the hall, just in time to hear, "Sorry, she doesn't want to talk right now". I stare mutinously at my dad as he disconnects the call.
"But I do want to talk!" I complain. He merely looks at me with the same levelled, cold expression that he has adopted since the incident.
"I say you don't want to and what I say goes" He finalizes, and pushes past me up to his bedroom without another word. I dial Simon's number in, but Phin wails from upstairs and so I sadly put the phone down and head back upstairs, away from my only lifeline…
'This time I'll get there', I think as I race down the stairs to pick up the house phone. A flower of hope blossoms inside my chest when I see that dad hasn't picked it up. I pick it up myself, triumphantly.
"Hey Simo-" I start, but am cut off as I find myself being propelled backwards, I cry out as I smack onto the ground, dazed. He's standing there, phone to his ear. 'You know, Lewis, there really isn't much point in calling. She doesn't want to speak to you. This will be the last time you call.' He says, before dropping the phone into the holder. Suddenly, he violently rips the line from the wall and smashes the phone to pieces.
"Hey! Stop it!" I protest, but he ignores me and continues crushing my only contact with the outside world…
"Hey Simon" I begin, relieved to finally be able to call him. Da-Valentine finally gave me a mobile so that he could 'keep an eye on me'. My face is still smarting from his recent warnings.
"So you finally decide to talk to me now? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me!" Simon spits venomously.
"Simon, I-"
"I don't want to hear it" He seethes and disconnects. I stare at the brand new phone before disconnecting it and chucking it across my room in anger, sliding down the wall in a fit of tears. I put my head in my hand and rock back and forth, crying loudly, at the noise Phin wakes up and starts screaming her head off.
"SHUT HER UP, OR I'LL DO IT MYSELF!" Valentine booms from downstairs. I push myself up and limp across the room, sinking down next to Phin on her oversized bed.
"Shh, shh" I whisper, soothingly, stroking her hair. "Don't cry" I say, but can't stop my own tears dribbling down my face. She quietens down and so I tuck her back into her bed. I sing her a shaky, tear stricken lullaby until her eyes droop to a close. I kiss her forehead and put my head in my hands. I wish mum was here, I can't do this by myself…
I shoot up in the bed, drenched in a cold sweat. I wipe fresh tears from my blurry eyes and scramble into the bathroom. I calm myself down and splash some water over my face. My throat feels dry so I decide to go downstairs for a drink. Unfortunately I get lost pretty soon, but as I walk past a corridor I swear I can hear the sound of crying. I frown and creep down the corridor, stopping at the door where the sound is most prominent. I peak inside to see the dark hair of Maryse, facing away from me with her head in her hands, clutching an engagement ring. I wonder whether I should comfort her about the problem, but decide that I wouldn't know how to and so, guiltily, I continue back down the corridor. I think about it as I search for the kitchen, but whatever the problem is, it's not my place to know.
I eventually find the kitchen and fill up a glass, revelling in the cool liquid as it soothes my parched throat. I hurriedly finish and start making my way back up to wherever the room is, feeling suddenly intrusive. When I wind up in an unfamiliar corridor, I panic, forgetting where I am.
"Lost?" A voice asks and I turn to see Simon in his X-Men pyjamas. I almost laugh at how comical we must both look.
"A bit" I admit. Simon nods.
"I'll take you back to your room" He offers, leading the way. He looks back at me as I pass through a patch of moonlight and his eyes widen. I frown, and then remember the shorts I'm wearing and the vivid bruises visible.
"Simon it's not what-"
"Then what is it?" He asks, astounded. I bite my lip, anxiously.
"Please" He pleads. "Just tell me."
"…okay" I agree, and for the second time I know this won't end well. "But only in my room" I say. He nods and now walks faster down the corridor.
"You must come here often" I observe.
"Yeah, I have been here quite a lot since the…thing with Izzy"
"DTR"
He rolls his eyes.
"I tried to, but she said she didn't trust me enough to be sure"
"Oh"
We've reached my door, Simon immediately goes to switch the lights on, but I stop him.
"Please, it'll be easier in the dark."
He frowns but agrees and lets me lead him into the solely moonlit room. I sit down in a patch of moonlight at the foot of the bed, he joins me and sits next to me, our legs are stretched out before us and it seems oddly familiar.
"Do you go to the fights often then?" He asks.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"…I thought that was what you did now, you know, illegal fighting."
I close my eyes and breathe in deeply.
"I have never ever fought in an illegal fight"
"But then how-?" He starts, but stops when he sees my vulnerable expression. "Oh." He says in realisation "Who did this to you?" He asks, softly, as if not wanting to scare me. I stare ahead, not wanting to look at him.
"Valentine"
He gasps, drawing in a sharp breath.
"You're dad!? You can't be serious? But, he was so nice and kind and-"
"What someone was does not change who they have become now. You know that he is a Morgenstern, that I am a Morgenstern. I didn't know that I was. Mum made him take her maiden name for a reason, but…" I sigh. "His brothers sought him out at the pub where he would drown his sorrows and they persuaded him to join them again. He grew violent and…"
Simon silently grasps my hand with his. I rest my head against his shoulder as I recount the story from the very start. I tell him everything, not wanting to leave any details out. He is surprisingly quiet, but squeezes my hands at some of the worst parts. I draw my confidence from him and tell him, perhaps, my worst secret.
"There is nothing that he hasn't taken away from me"
Simon does move to look at me at that.
"You can't mean…"
I nod, tears brimming in my eyes and he pulls me towards him, face muzzling into my shoulder.
"Oh god Clary…" He mumbles and grips me tight, like I could blow away from him at any moment. He has his own tears that I can feel against my neck. "I am so sorry. I was so selfish, I never realised, I never thought that-" He says pulling back enough to look at me.
"It's not your fault" I reassure him, leaning back against the bed.
"You can't go back-"
"Simon-"
"I'm not letting you go back to that-that demon!"
"Don't you think that if I had a choice I'd already be out of here, safe with Phin!?"
"Don't tell me he's destroyed her too"
"No. No he hasn't. I've been lucky so far, I've been able to protect her by appeasing Valentine, but I'm afraid that my luck won't hold for much longer."
"You're a saint, you know that?" He says, pulling me to his side. "Not many people are able to take all of this on and bring up a kid who's so well behaved."
"I'm not a saint and I'm not going to pretend it's easy or that I haven't changed."
"You haven't changed, you're still my Clary."
"Then you're still my Simon" I whisper, eyelids drooping. I fall asleep in Simon's arms, bathed in the moonlight from the window and a great weight released from my chest.
