Hey, pretties! We got a happier one in this chapter :) Hope you enjoy.
K : Keep Your Head Up - Ben Howard
Requested by xXxNatalyaxXx
May you find happiness there
May all your hopes all turn out right
Ooh may you find happiness there
May you find warmth in the middle of the night
Yeah, keep your head up, keep your heart strong
Oh, no, no, no, no
Keep your mind set, keep you hair long
Oh my my darlin', keep your head up, keep you heart strong
No no no no, keep your mind set in your ways
Keep your heart strong
Cause I'll always remember you the same
Oh eyes like wild flowers within demons of change
Simon Lewis never really had any friends. At kindergarten it was okay, because kids all kind of hung out together in the sandpit and on the mat with the toys. But it was in primary school, after he got glasses and his asthma started becoming more obvious because all the boys wanted to play football and tag on the field. He didn't really mind at first, because he loved his comics and books, and he didn't mind shoving down his food quickly so that he could skip off to the library and become immersed there. When he got to middle school, it was a little bit harder. Because while all the other people—boys and girls alike—were getting bigger, he still remained quite short and weedy, and a little bit sickly. That made him a target for bullies, and he was very well acquainted with needing to pull his books out of the toilet and blindly looking for his glasses in the smelly locker room after gym class.
Magnus Bane had always shone brightly. He made friends left, right and center and never needed to worry about being the last one to find a partner in class or someone that he needed to sit next to at lunch. Everything seemed to come so easily for Magnus, the teachers loved him and he was always smiling, but when he got home, his mum would be trying to hide the fact that she was crying over money, and his father was pulling double shifts at the grocery store down the street. They had never been very well off, but they had always had enough for what what they needed. That was until his younger sister had been diagnosed with leukemia, and all of their money had been funneled into getting her the best possible treatments out there. His sister had gotten better, and she was now back at school, and with a bright smile that rivaled Magnus', but his parents were still reeling with the struggles financially. He loved his family, his adored his little sister, and he was too young to really care about money, but he had always been an empathetic boy, and his heart broke for his parents.
Isabelle Lightwood was the prettiest girl in all of her classes. Ever since she was a baby, with her big eyes and tuft of dark colored hair, people had always cooed over her. She didn't get her first haircut until she was almost ten, so her hair was long and flowing down her back, and she brushed it for twenty minutes every night until it was shining. Like most pretty, charming girls, she drew in a group of friends, and so she wasn't ever alone. But school never felt like an escape, because if she wasn't the best—if she wasn't the smartest in her classes, if she wasn't the fastest in her track team or jumping the highest in her gymnastics squad—then her mother, Maryse Lightwood would give her this tight lipped look that made her insides feel as though they were going to dissolve. Isabelle acted as though she didn't care about it, especially as she got older, and she purposefully started acting out, because she couldn't always be the best, and if she couldn't keep her mum happy, then what was the point? And especially after her youngest brother, Max Lightwood, was killed, there were hardly any smiles around her home, and she needed to look for other ways to be appreciated. That's where all the older boys came in, with their cars, and their tattoo's, and their smooth, corny pick up lines that still managed to get in her pants.
Alec Lightwood knew that he was a little bit different. He didn't look any different—in fact he had been told on multiple occasions that he was very good looking. He had similar features to his sister, with the tanned skin and the dark hair, but his eyes were a piercing blue. He was quite quiet, he liked to keep to himself, enjoying his own company, and that of his younger sister and brother. He was the oldest—not by much with Isabelle, only ten months—but he was still over protective as hell of both of them. So when they were all out for a family day at the beach, and Max had been kicking his soccer ball around, and it had bounced onto a nearby road and he had run out to get it, not seeing the car coming; he took that hard, on himself. As though it was his responsibility, and so it follows, it was his fault that Max was killed. And as if that burden wasn't enough as the years went by, he knew that he was different from the other boys in his class, because when they all started noticing pretty girls, he really couldn't care less. He liked girls, he really did. They smelt nice and they were funny and smart. But he definitely didn't want to kiss any of them, or try and see up there skirts the way the other boys did. Something was wrong with him, and it didn't matter what his sister said, he knew it.
Clarissa Morgenstern didn't trust many people. In fact, the only person she trusted for a long time was her mother, Jocelyn Morgenstern. Her father bounced them from home to home all through her childhood, never letting them stay in one place for very long. The reason for that was because he was a thief, and being in one place for too long drew attention to them. He was mean, and spiteful, and it scared Clary that he always had a gun tucked in the waistband of his jeans. Jocelyn was too afraid to leave when she was younger, because she had no idea how she would support herself and her five year old daughter. But when she was eight, Jocelyn got them away, and they ran. It was a long time before they stopped running, because every time that they thought they were safe, he would somehow find them. They stayed with a variety of people, just trying to put distance between them, and they would all expect something in return for their hospitality. He had hundreds of friends in low places who owed him favors, and they didn't care at all about his daughter or wife, they just cared about covering their own asses. They finally found somewhere that they could call home when they were safe, but that didn't mean she felt safe. She jumped at every noise, and she second guessed every greeting a stranger gave her on the street.
Jace Wayland looked as though he had everything going right for him on the outside. While he had to grow up without a mother, because she had passed away when he was only eighteen months old, his father had always been there for him and provided him with what he needed. He was a wealthy surgeon and they lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. That was until he broke one of his hands, the tendons in his hand getting torn in a rock climbing accident. That was when Jace was nine. His hand healed, but the tendons were still damaged, and sometimes he had difficulty controlling the tremor in his fingers. That wasn't okay for a top surgeon. From that point on, he became very reliant on morphine, and along with that came the alcohol. And hand in hand with that came anger. At everything. Most of all, it showed itself toward Jace. The bruises could usually be hidden, but sometimes if he fell wrong, or if he let his mouth run away on him, he would go to school with a black eye or a split lip.
Life was hard.
Everyone said that you didn't know real problems were until you got older. And that was true, childhood was meant to be when you had it easiest, but it didn't belittle the problems that they had.
And some of them would never have gotten through it if they didn't have each other, if they didn't have someone to keep them strong, if they didn't have someone who stepped in and made them aware that they weren't alone and they just needed someone to tell them to keep their high. Maybe it didn't solve the problem, but it told them that they didn't have to do this by themselves, and that there was someone who was there at their side.
Like when Alec found out what was happening with Jace, and convinced him to go to the authorities.
Or when Jace managed to break through Clary's barriers and showed her that he wasn't going to let her down.
Or when Clary stood up to the bullies who were picking on Simon, kicking one of them between the legs.
Or when Simon developed a genuine crush on Isabelle, and made her realize that she was worth so much more that the trashy boys she was trying to fill her time with.
Or when Isabelle saw through all of Magnus' smiles' and knew that he needed a true friend to just listen to him.
Or when Magnus held Alec the night before he came out as gay to his parents, and he was so scared he couldn't stop crying.
The six of them took a while to all come together. Jace had known the Lightwood siblings for a while, but it took them all a while to all actually become friends. Clary took a long time to let the Golden Boy with the charming smile into her life, she was much more comfortable either by herself or with the geeky kid with glasses and a stutter. Simon's lack of self confidence meant he was painfully shy, and it took him a long time to even gather the courage to even speak to Isabelle, muchless tell her how he felt. Isabelle had told herself for so long that she didn't care about her mothers opinion, even though it meant she had a lowered one of herself, and she didn't think that Simon could actually like her for her personality. And with Magnus and Alec...They helped each other in more ways than they could ever count.
They banded together, and they didn't let go.
They kept each other strong.
"Oi! Iz! Simon!" Jace shouted as he walked down the long hallway. "Seriously, how long does it take to order a pizza?!" He rounded the corner to the kitchen and then stopped, rolling his eyes when he saw the pair of them, making out like a couple of teenagers. "Dude..." Jace groaned closing his eyes as he waited for them to pull apart. "Really?"
"It's cute," Clary hummed out, suddenly appearing behind Jace and putting her arms around his waist. "They've been married for two years now, I think it's adorable they still act like a new couple."
"It's disgusting, that's what it is," Alec said as he joined the two in the doorway.
"You know we can hear you, right?" Isabelle grouched. Simon's cheeks were flaring red and he hid his face in her thick black hair.
"I agree with Clary," Magnus piped up, throwing one arm around Clary and the other around Alec.
"Of course you do," Alec rolled his eyes. "You always agree with Clary."
"That's not entirely true," Magnus smirked and nuzzled his fiancée's neck. Alec still tried to keep the grumpy look on his face but failed after a few seconds.
"So?" Jace asked with arched eyebrows. "Tell me you at least ordered the pizza. I'm starving." Isabelle at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Jace looked horrified. "You didn't even order the pizza?! But I'm starving! I think I'm gonna die!"
"Aw, baby," Clary mocked him as she patted his chest. "It's okay. I'm sure you can survive another half an hour without food."
"I don't know," Jace crossed his arms with a pout. Alec smirked and then looked back over at Simon and Izzy.
"If we leave you two alone, will you actually order the pizza?" He asked his sister and brother in law.
"Yeah, yeah, we'll get there," Isabelle lazily promised, wrapping her arms back around her husband and pulling him in close. Jace was still pouting, but Alec grabbed his best friend, dragging him down the hallway and promising him that he had a bag of Doritos stashed away in the lounge that they could open. Magnus and Clary followed them down the hall, their arms linked together as they talked about a movie that they wanted to see that weekend.
"Are you happy?" Simon asked, pressing a few kisses to Isabelle's neck.
"The happiest," she replied with a smile.
Alright! Now, in regards to the story idea I brought up in the last chapter, the werewolf AU. I've decided I will go ahead with that! It won't be posted for a while, but I've written a couple of chapters to see how I feel about it. The lovely FrenchBenzo and reppinda5o3 have read the first chapter, and are listening to me ramble as I try to put the story together, so a big thank you to them :)
Couple of highlights of the past few weeks for me—the song Garden and Trouble by Halsey. Shit, they're both incredible. Also, the Wonder Woman trailer! How fucking badass does Gal Gadot look?! The song Sad Song by We The Kings, I absolutely love it. And, oh my god, how have I never known about Tyler Posey's nose piercing?! Holy shit, it just made me fall in love even more. Oh yeah—and I'm going to Suicide Squad tomorrow! I'm a little bit worried because of such mixed reviews, but I hope it's good.
Please leave a review, let me know what ya'll think, any recommendations for songs or fangirling about Wonder Woman or Tyler Posey (or anything Teen Wolf related) xx