"What the fuck?!" Clary cried out, pushing away from Jace and scrambling to find the ground, holding her arms up in front of her. Her face was pale and her mouth fell open and Jace felt rage run through him as he leapt toward the bank of the watering hole. He couldn't get up fast enough, scrabbling at the side to look for something to help pull himself up but the grass was slippery and there were no exposed roots for him to get a grasp on. He finally managed to get himself up, but the person had already disappeared. "Jace?" Clary called out in confusion, but Jace was already running after the person, not caring that he was only in his briefs. Jace burst out from the trees and bushes that surrounded the watering hole, just in time to see the same SUV that they had seen in town peeling away from the side of the road and speeding away. Jace watched it go, and he let out a frustrated growl, kicking at the grass in front of him.
"Fuck!" He snapped out, his chest heaving as he took in a few deep breaths. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, and he had an urge to punch someone really hard. That quickly dissipated though when he realized that he had left Clary back in the water hole.
Beautiful, kind Clary who had let him into her life without a second thought and had most definitely not signed up for this.
Jace turned around and jogged back, pushing away the branches and rushing over to where Clary was struggling to pull on her clothes, face pale and shoulders shaking a little. The material was sticking to her wet body as she attempted to pull on her pants and Jace sighed as he reached out to try and help her when she nearly lost her balance.
"No!" Clary snapped, jerking away from his touch as though he burned her, and Jace's jaw tensed as his hand fell back to his side. Clary saw the way his expression fell, and she let out a sigh. "Sorry, I'm not—" she paused and looked down, jerking up her pants properly so that they were finally on. "I'm not...Mad at you, I just don't get why there was a perve watching us." Jace pursed his lips and sighed. "What?" She asked, looking confused.
"It wasn't just some perve," Jace told her quietly, feeling guilty. "It was paparazzi."
"Pap—what? Why?" The wrinkles on Clary's forehead smoothed out as she realized the answer to her question, and she looked up at Jace with wide eyes. She didn't exactly look taken advantage or as if she blamed him, but she did look scared. "Because of you. Because of who you are," she sounded almost sick. Jace swallowed thickly and nodded. Clary looked down at her hands, where she was holding her shirt. She let out a heavy sigh and then pulled her shirt on, wriggling it around until it fit properly, although the dampness from her skin and her bra immediately started soaking through.
"I'm so sorry, Clary," Jace began, feeling a little nervous as he looked at her. He wasn't sure how she was going to react.
This was his fault.
He was the one that had brought this drama into her life.
"I usually don't have any issue with them, because I never go out really," Jace said helplessly as he shrugged. "And I never thought that they would follow me out here, I mean, it's not like I flew on a public airline, I came on dad's plane. I've got no idea how they found out that I was here..." Clary didn't say anything, she was just watching him, her eyes still a little wide, and her hands still fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "I'm so sorry," he repeated, because there really wasn't much else that he could say. Clary's eyes dropped down to the ground, where Jace's clothes had fallen off the log that they had been on before, probably in her hurry to get herself clothed. She was quiet for a long time before looking up with a pained expression on her face.
"Do you think that they're going to get out?" She blinked. "L-like...On the internet and stuff?" Jace wished that he could tell her 'no', but the pinched look on his face answered the question for her. Clary jerked her head in a nod and took in another breath. And then another and another and another, to the point where Jace was worried that she might start hyperventilating, and he quickly moved forward, grabbing her shoulders and giving them a squeeze.
"Deep breaths, okay?" He told her quietly. He used to get panic attacks when he was younger, just after things happened with Kaelie. After having such nasty things said about him so publicly, he felt himself beginning to curl in on himself, feeling the weight of the world closing in around him. It was something that he learnt to deal with, when he was away at 'rehab' and once he got back, he saw a therapist for quite a while. "It's going to be okay, you just need to slow down your breathing, okay?" He was exaggerating his own breathing to try and get Clary to copy it, but then her eyes shot up to meet his.
"It's not going to be okay, Jace! Those pictures...I'm in my bra and underwear! My friends—my family are going to see that!" He saw her face flicker as another thought came to her, eyes getting even wider. "My clients! What if they get my name?! Then every time my clients search for me online, they're going to see those photos!" Her breathing was getting erratic again, and Jace squeezed her shoulders again, this time a little firmer than before to force her attention back to him.
"Clary, you need to breathe," Jace tried to keep his voice calm. "If you keep doing this, then you might pass out, and that's just going to add to the problems we have right now." Clary seemed to listen to that and she began slowing her breathing down, matching her inhales and exhales to his. Once she did, she let her head hang. Jace slowly let go of her shoulders, remembering the way she had pushed him away before, and not wanting to crowd her. When she looked up, she appeared a lot calmer than before. She licked her lips and swallowed before beginning.
"I'm not mad at you," she reiterated. "I just...I didn't expect this. I didn't..." she exhaled heavily through her nose. "That must be horrible for you, to deal with that all the time. I can't imagine what it would be like growing up like that." Jace's heart pounded at that, because the sympathizing tone in her voice was just another reason why Jace could feel himself falling in love with her. She hadn't wanted any of this and it was completely his fault, and yet after pulling herself together, she felt bad for him. She felt sorry for him.
"Don't worry about it," Jace said off-handedly, caring a lot less about than about her. "Did you want to go home? Did you want me to take you to a friends?" He really wasn't sure what who she would want to be with right now.
"Okay. Home," Clary nodded shakily. "Up to mum and dads house." Jace felt himself cringe inwardly, because he couldn't imagine either of her parents would be happy to see her after what had just happened. But he nodded, because if that was who Clary needed for comfort, then that was where he would take her. He got dressed while Clary stood there with her arms wrapped around her torso, as though protecting herself. The tone had completely changed from when they had first come to the water hole; they had been laughing and joking and touching each other happily. Now they were walking with a good meter between them, completely silent as they returned to Clary's car. Clary didn't say anything as Jace walked around to the drivers side and she tossed him the keys over the top of the car before getting in.
They drove the short distance back to Clary's home without saying a word. The radio had been on when they had driven there, so it had started back up when Jace had turned the engine on. Clary had leaned forward and abruptly turned it off, before leaning back in the passenger seat and clasping her hands together in her lap, the car completely quiet. Jace turned down the main driveway, and then directed the car toward the big house where Jocelyn and Luke lived. Clary got out of the car before Jace even turned it off, and she walked quickly toward the front door. Jace took his time, turning off the car, getting out, locking the car even though it was probably unnecessary and then slowly walking up to the house. Jace took off his shoes before tentatively walking toward the kitchen area.
Jocelyn was in there, an arm around Clary, and the other arm holding a phone to her ear. She was talking to Luke, asking him to come to the house, and Jace followed uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot. Jocelyn got off the phone and then held out her arm toward Jace. He frowned in confusion and she gave him an expectant look.
"This happened to you as well, sweetheart," she said kindly, and Jace took a hesitant step closer to her. Clary turned her head from where it was resting on her mothers shoulder and gave Jace a watery smile. That made Jace feel a bit better, like he had been given her permission, as he stepped closer and let Jocelyn wrap an arm around his shoulders as well, hugging her to him. They were quiet for a few minutes before Jocelyn pulled back and looked at the two of them. "Alright," she began. "You two sit down and I'm going to pour you both a big glass of wine and get something to eat."
"We already ate, mum—"
"Nope, you're going to eat again. Food always helps," Jocelyn interrupted her. A small, genuine smile broke out on Clary's face, and Jace felt a little better. They sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen and Jocelyn went over to the cupboard to get wine glasses out. The front door opened and there was the sound of loud footsteps and then Luke came into the kitchen. Jace's body tensed up—he expected Luke to look absolutely furious, but he just look concerned as he gave Clary a tight hug. His eyes were angry, but it was controlled as he looked at Jace over her head.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" He asked firmly and Jace shook his head.
"No!" He replied adamantly. "No, I avoid them at all costs." Luke stared at him for a few moments before nodding and sighing. He pulled back from Clary and kissed her on the forehead.
"This is horrible, and an absolute invasion of privacy," Luke stated. "But..." he took in a deep breath, rubbing his hand up and down Clary's back comfortingly. "But it's something to be expected if you two are serious. It's not okay and it's not fair, but it's the truth." Clary sighed and looked down at the glass of wine that Jocelyn had slid over to her. She looked over at Jace, and he saw the indecision on her face, before she looked back at the wine glass.
Okay, so my top songs this week are as follows;
1) Walls - Louis Tomlinson. 2) Alanis' Interlude - Halsey and Alanis Morissette. 3) Venice Bitch - Lana Del Rey. 4) Fake Love - BTS. 5) Too Young - Louis Tomlinson. 6) Always You - Louis Tomlinson. 7) Mikrokosmos - BTS. 8) Caught Up In Your Storm - Mickey Guyton. 9) 8TEEN - Khalid. 10) Heebiejeebies - Aminé and Kehlani.
The song that my husband hasn't stopped playing is Dionysus by BTS. We've been on a total BTS buzz lately, totally jumping on that train, even if we're a little late. My hubby's faves are Suga, Jungkook and Namjoon—he completely swoons everytime Suga comes on stage or starts rapping. Haha. Mine would be Namjoon, who I, admittedly, swoon over everytime he comes on screen, and then Jungkook, even if he's too pretty to even exist.
In one of my reviews, KnivesOut recomended Anne With An E which I have actually watched before although I haven't finished yet, and I definitely want to recommend to you guys! I remember reading the books when I was younger and loving them, and there's just something about this series that has brought it all back. I've also started watching Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood when me and my husband are high, and I'm super into it. Haha.
I think my weekly updates are going to slow down a bit for a few weeks, although I think I had a good run! So I'll be doing previews of the next chapter if you leave a review and let me know if you want one or not.
Also, feel free to hit me up on my socials;
Tumblr: SereneCalamity
Twitter: CalamitySerene
xx
