A/N: Please enjoy and review…
Isabelle sat at the bar, watching Clary spin uncontrollably on the dancefloor, drunk out of her mind, dancing furiously in the slowly emptying club. She hadn't been sober in days, and Isabelle knew that this couldn't go on much longer. She had been staying with her, in the empty house, and every morning washed down her cereal with something a lot stronger than orange juice; it was only luck that she was a high functioning drunk, and no one had noticed yet. No one had called her out at school yet. And none of their friends except for Magnus and Maia had noticed. No one cared.
Isabelle ran a hand through her hair, not enjoying herself one bit; Sebastian had been on Clary's black list lately, and when they were at school Clary ignored practically everyone, instead disappearing to smoke behind the gym. Meliorn was god knows where, having agreed to come to the club with them, but disappearing when he realised that Isabelle wasn't in the mood. And everyone else was too drunk to be of any help to her.
She pushed herself off the barstool and moved through the throng of sweaty bodies toward her best friend, pushing past clusters of disoriented people, grabbing onto Clary's wrist and pulling her away from the sleazy guy that she was dancing with. Clary opened her eyes, blurry green meeting Isabelle's anxious look. Isabelle pulled at her friend.
"What gives?" The guy slurred, and Isabelle flipped him off, not bothered by his disgruntled noise, and dragged Clary toward the back alley. Clary barely protested, letting Isabelle drag her along, only hesitating to pull at her skirt.
Isabelle threw the door to Pandemonium closed when they reached the smoking section and looked around at the empty alley, making sure no one else was there. Then she turned to her best friend.
"What the hell is up with you Clary?" Isabelle said carefully, watching the small girl in front of her sway as she lit a cigarette. Clary blinked, grinning, and then shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Clary said around a mouthful of smoke, and Isabelle cringed.
"You know what I fucking mean, you've been acting weird all week. Look, I get that you were upset with me over Simon, and I should've told you, but why the fuck are you still acting like this?"
Clary shook her head, rubbing at her hair to flatten it down.
"Izza, there's nothing wrong. I'm all good." Clary said with a stupidly blank smile. Isabelle shook her head.
"Don't give me that; look, if you're still pissed at me, you can just say it. You haven't talked to me in days, I can't deal with you being like this anymore." Isabelle yelled, and Clary flinched.
"Iz, it's not that…" She muttered, feeling tension knot in the pit of her stomach, and Isabelle ran a hand though her hair.
"Well then what is it? I mean, it's clear that you aren't okay with Si—"
"Oh my god, Isabelle, I don't give a shit about Lewis! I couldn't care less about him, in all honesty and I'm sick and fucking tired of hearing about him."
She regretted her words the second they left her mouth, but she was too drunk, and high on something, and it was too late. Isabelle narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you being like this? Who are you right now? You know what, enjoy it. Let that fucking guy take you home, I honestly couldn't give less of a fuck right now."
Clary watched as Isabelle slammed her way back into the club, shaking. She couldn't deal with this anymore.
She headed straight back through the club and out the front door, trying to find Isabelle, ignoring the shout for her to put out her cigarette. She pushed into the open air and past the bouncers, rushing to find her friend.
"Izzy!" She shouted into the nothingness of the evening, the throngs of late night club goers giving her the side eye. She slammed her foot against the ground. Her friend was gone.
Freezing, alone, and wishing she wasn't quite so stupid Clary made her way to a small diner across the street, stumbling through the door and squinting in the bright lights, slumping into a booth and letting a surly waitress bring her coffee as she settled into the seat; she couldn't go home. She couldn't go to Isabelle's. And there was no way she was ever going to stay with Sebastian. Ever.
She lay her head on the table, letting her head spin furiously. She hadn't been sober in days; Izzy was right, she was a mess. But she couldn't slow down. She couldn't stop. And now she had nowhere to go. It was moments like this that she realised the fragile illusion of 'Clary Fray' was one that left her with practically nothing. From the outside looking in she had it all, but in reality she was alone, again.
"You come here often?"
Oh. No.
Clary looked up, and was met with the one face that she wanted to see least.
"What the fuck are you doing on this side of town?" Clary said miserably, and Jace laughed, sliding into the booth opposite. She hated herself for thinking it, but he looked good; he had a dark shirt on and a long jacket, his gold hair shorter than he used to have it. And he was watching her as he chuckled.
"I was visiting a friend." He said, and Clary rolled her eyes, tired. Of course he was.
"I'm really, not in the mood, Jace." She said carefully, lifting her head from the table and rubbing at her eyes. "Not tonight."
"I didn't come here to fight with you, Red. I just saw you here, all on your own, thought you could do with a friend."
Clary snorted.
"Friend? Is that what you are?" She watched him carefully, knowing him well enough to know that any moment he would snap. "We aren't friends. We aren't anything, anymore. You made sure of that."
Jace narrowed his eyes, leaning across the table so that their faces were closer, the menthol on his breath inescapable.
"Why do you keep pushing me away?" He whispered, and Clary shook her head.
"You know what you did." She said, and he raised an eyebrow.
"I only did to you what you did to me." He said in reply. Clary scoffed, sobering up immediately at what he was implying.
"I didn't fuck another guy." She hissed at him, getting up from her seat and chucking down some bills on the table. Jace reached out, trying to grab her wrist, but missed as she made her way out the door. Jace cursed, following her out into the night.
"Red! Look, would you just wait for a minute."
Clary flashed back to the day they met, him telling her to wait, her turning back to him. That was eight months ago, and now she knew better than to listen to him.
"Clary, stop."
She felt his hand on her arm and she was spun back to him, his eyes like fire as he watched her.
"Why do you keep doing this to me?" She said, furious, pushing at hic chest as he held her tighter. The one thing she didn't want to do was cry in front of him, and right now all he was doing was pissing her off. Jace shook his head, pulling her closer.
"Why do you keep lying to me, Cherry?"
Clary grimaced, pulling her arm from his, rubbing at it.
"What the fuck have I lied about?" She spat, and Jace stepped closer, towering over her. He tilted his head to one side.
"You. And the blond."
Clary blinked.
"Are you having a seizure, or what? Who's the blond?"
Jace set his jaw, gold meeting green as he sighed.
"Don't play dumb, Cherry, it doesn't suit you. I saw you at Bat's, with that guy. Don't tell me you weren't fucking him."
Clary furrowed her brows, pressing her fingers to her temples; she had spent the past four months trying not to think about Jace, blocking out everything he had done. And now he was here, while she was having a crisis, and the only thing he had to say to her was a load of lies.
"Jace, I really wish I knew what you were on about, because clearly you want the reason we broke up to be my fault. But I need you to know that you are full of shit. Like, completely full of shit."
"So you're telling me you don't know any tall, blond guys that like to hang out in bars on the south side." He said sneeringly, and all of a sudden Clary remembered.
She blanched.
"Oh fuck." She whispered and ran a hand through her hair. Jace seemed both angry and smug, watching her realisation and shoving his hands in his pockets.
"So can you stop being so fucking pissed off at me for Kaelie?" He asked, ready to pull a cigarette from his pocket, feeling somewhat like he had finally made his point; he was met by a hard slap. "What the…" He muttered, clicking his jaw. He looked back to Clary who was clearly fuming, her chest rising and falling like the tide.
"You slept with that bitch because of Jonathon?" She yelled at him, hitting at his arm, feeling a hot flame of fury rise up inside of her.
"Is that his name?" Jace asked, pulling her arms to her sides and holding them down, not bothering to correct her. Clary shook him off and pushed him away as hard as she could.
"Jon is my brother you fucking moron!" She yelled, taking no comfort in the look of shock that flashed in Jace's eyes; he looked like he wanted to say something. "I can't believe, I spent four months convincing myself that I had done something wrong, that it was something I did to make you hate me enough to do that to me, for you to sleep with that skank. Turns out you're just a dumbass. Fucking idiot." She spat, not letting him get a word in, and turned on her heel, wobbling away from Jace. "Don't talk to me, ever again, Herondale." She turned back to catch his eye. "Don't."
Jace watched her leave, slamming a fist against the wall next to him. Fuck.
…..
It wasn't until she stood at the door that Clary realised where she had ended up; home. She had been on autopilot, too exhausted, allowing her feet to carry her anywhere as long as it was away from Jace, and she had ended up at home. She sighed in resignation; as much as she didn't want to be there, she didn't have anywhere else. This was all she had.
Pushing the door open she tried to be as quiet as possible, shutting the door with a click and immediately pulling off her shoes, dumping them by the door. She didn't want to wake up anyone that might be in the house, so as she made her way to the stairs she tiptoed carefully. Turns out, they were already awake.
"Clarissa."
Clary froze, turning from the bannister and meeting the eyes of her father. She gulped.
Valentine Morgenstern was unbearably cold looking; Clary didn't much resemble him, with her flaming hair, and his stark white, completely flat and styled like a business man would have it. His eyes were coal black and slit like; she had never known much emotion to be contained there. He never showed much emotion at all. He was currently standing at the living room door, a slightly crumpled suit still on, and watching Clary with disdain.
"Dad." She whispered, pulling at her skirt. "I…I didn't know you were home."
Her father smiled wryly, taking a step toward her and taking a strand of her hair in his fingertips, twirling it.
"I've been here for two days; now, where have you been is the real question?"
He tugged at the hair and Clary flinched, being pulled closer to him.
"I was with Isabelle." She said quietly, looking up into his eyes. His usually tight face spread into a smirk, and he laughed. Clary knew what came next. She could almost feel his slap before it hit her face, and the force from his it was so hard that she was sent reeling, landing on the ground with a resounding thud. She remained silent as her father crouched down beside her, his hand around her throat.
"Were you with Jonathon?" He hissed, and Clary shook her head fiercely. He wasn't gripping her tightly- he knew not to leave obvious marks, but it was hard enough to scare her.
"No—" She choked out, and her father dropped her neck. She spluttered, hands against the ground, head spinning. "No, I promise I was with Izzy! I haven't seen Jonathon, I swear!"
She felt a swift kick to her stomach, her father standing up and straightening his suit. He nodded.
"Get up and go to bed; and for the love of God, Clarissa, stop dressing like a fucking whore. What would I say if one of my associates saw you?" He muttered as he headed back into the living room. Clary pushed herself to her feet and waited for him to settle, and before any more disasters could happen she was out the door, running in her bare feet away from him, away from her father, away from her life.
She could feel every stone against her skin, the cold night air turning her skin to an ashen expanse of white and veins. Her phone was dead. She had nowhere to go. So, she decided that she would rather grovel than sleep on the streets.
Her feet carried her to where she wanted to go, the surreal night air burning her bare arms, and as she approached Isabelle's door, she tried not to collapse. She had to knock, and knock. But after a minute of hammering against the large mahogany door, her best friend finally opened it.
"Who the fuck is up at this hour—" Isabelle cut off, opening the door to find Clary, her lip bleeding, freezing in the night air, make up looking more messed up than it had when Isabelle had left the club a few hours ago. Isabelle wrapped her robe around herself tighter and flung the door open, pulling Clary inside. She flicked a hallway light on, and Clary blinked in shock.
"What the hell happened to you?" Isabelle asked, shutting the door and dragging Clary along to the kitchen. Clary stumbled along with her, and once again, the second time in a week, she felt hot tears spill over her cheeks. Isabelle sat her at a barstool and moved to find a first aid kit, and Clary just continued to sob.
"I'm… I'm really sorry, Iz. I'm so sorry—I'm a mess!" Clary sobbed, rubbing at her nose and wincing at the pain that came with it. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, you know I trust you, but I just… I'm a mess." Clary repeated miserably. Isabelle smirked, standing in front of the girl in just her robe, poking gently at Clary's bleeding nose with a disinfectant wipe.
"You're telling me." Isabelle said, and Clary hissed, then hiccupped.
"I'm trying to apologise, Izzy." She said, and Isabelle dabbed at her face with a cotton ball. She set the stuff down, and tucked a piece of Clary's hair gently behind her ear.
"Clare, you know I was just angry. But when you get like this… I don't know what to do! I don't know what you'll do. I don't like it."
Clary sniffed, looking up at the ceiling and wiping under her eyes.
"I know, I don't like it either. It's just…" She trailed off, leaning an elbow on the countertop. "My mom's cheating." Clary said, and Isabelle bit her lip, moving to put on the kettle.
"Fuck." She said, and Clary nodded, smiling ruefully.
"Yeah, fuck. I couldn't deal with it. Because of her, I have to keep another secret from my Dad. And if he ever found out, I don't think he'd let me off the hook." Clary finished. Isabelle pursed her lip; she had known Clary a long time, and as long as she had known her, she had known about Valentine. No one else really knew, especially since it happened less and less ever since Valentine started working abroad, and Clary had started practically living at Isabelle's. But every now and then Isabelle would spot a bruise, or a cut, and she would know that Clary had had another run in with her dad.
"Did your Dad do that?" Isabelle asked, gesturing to Clary's face, and Clary nodded. "I thought he was away." Isabelle whispered, moving to make tea as the kettle whistled, and Clary shrugged.
"Me too. I didn't know he would be there… I only went home…"
"Because of me." Isabelle said forlornly, tapping her hand against a mug. Clary shook her head.
"Nah. That was my fault, I deserved it. I saw Jace too, though."
Isabelle sighed, placing tea in front on them and running a hand through her hair.
"Quite a night, Fray." She said, and Clary laughed.
"Yeah. You're telling me. You know what I found out?" Isabelle raised an eyebrow; where Jace was concerned, nothing good could ever happen. "Turns out that night I walked in on that girl in his bedroom, it all happened because Jace thought I was sleeping with someone else," Clary started, and Isabelle choked. "He had seen me with Jon, and decided to get revenge, or whatever." Clary said tiredly, and Isabelle almost spat out her tea.
"What the fuck? He slept with her because he was jealous? Of nothing?!" Isabelle cried, and Clary couldn't help but laugh.
"I guess that's Jace." She said carefully, and Isabelle reached out to take her hand. "God, what a little bitch." Clary said, wiping at her tears, and Isabelle laughed, because if she didn't then she knew that she would cry for her friend.
"Yeah. He doesn't deserve you." Isabelle said, and Clary just sighed. "What next?"
They shared a look; this is how it would always be for them. Stuck between two worlds- Isabelle loved Simon, but would lose everything if she was with him. Clary was choking in the bureaucracy of her life, literally at the hands of her image-obsessed-father. So they both played the game.
"I'm going to apologise to Seb, I'm going to come back to cheer practice." Clary said, and Isabelle sighed gently. "I'm going to do everything to get through this last year."
Isabelle nodded, and Clary looked to her.
"What about you? Are you staying with Meliorn?" She asked, and Isabelle shook her head.
"I can't tell anyone about Simon. But I can't deal with Mel anymore; I'm just going to tell him I'm busy with school, let him down easy. I'd rather have him as a friend than an enemy." Isabelle said, and Clary smiled gently.
"Yeah." Clary replied. "That sounds about right."
…..
The next day, Clary made it a priority to find Sebastian at school; she pulled him aside as the bell rang for them to go to Lit, waiting for the crowds to calm down.
"Remembered I exist?" Sebastian said pointedly, crossing his arms and leaning against a locker. Clary sighed, trying to look as apologetic as she could.
"Seb…"
"You're a real headspin, you know that? I don't ever know what to think around you." He continued, and Clary put a hand on his arm.
"I'm really sorry, Seb, I've just been so busy, and stressed, you know with Nationals coming up and Isabelle working us all like slaves…" She trailed off, hoping that he was taking at least some of this in. Sebastian frowned, running a hand through his hair. His cool black eyes were almost gentle as he looked at her, and Clary bit her lip.
"I do really like you, y'know." He said, and Clary looped her hand through his, dragging him away from the locker.
"I like you, too." Clary said gently, trying not to think about the fact that she had basically forgotten about him. "I'll be better, I promise. Iz gave me a firm talking to."
Sebastian finally grinned at that, and he allowed himself to be pulled along by Clary, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Trust Izzy." He laughed, and Clary let out a clandestine breath of relief. "Look, I realise I've been a bit shitty too- let me take you out, yeah? On an actual date. Not just some party."
Clary forced a smile on her face; Seb was a dick half the time, but he was also a nice guy. A far cry from the hot headed, drug dealing, unreadable Jace. She kissed his cheek.
"I would love that."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully; Meliorn and Isabelle disappeared at lunch, leaving Clary and Sebastian to themselves for once. They chatted, Sebastian playing mildly with her hair as they sat together, and Clary found herself feeling normal once again. Sebastian kissed her twice, and those were the only moments that she remembered the bruised lip that was under two layers of cover up.
She stayed at Isabelle's that night, and let her best friend paint her nails a shocking shade of green as she recounted the story of her and Meliorn's 'amicable' breakup.
"So he really didn't mind?" Clary asked, and Isabelle shrugged.
"Eh, he seemed a bit pissed at first, but I pulled the hormonal card and started crying, he ate that shit up." Isabelle laughed, swatting at Clary who had tried to reach for the bottle of nail paint. "I think he's been talking to this girl Emma, anyway. She can have him- he was cool about it in the end."
Clary bit her lip, and Isabelle noticed.
"What about Seb? Was he mad at you?"
"He… no. He wasn't mad. He was kind of nice about it." Clary said slowly, and Isabelle raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me you're actually into him?" She asked, and Clary blushed.
"I don't know, I just like that I can feel kind of normal with him. No drama, no Dad, no complication." Clary said as Isabelle blew on her nails. Isabelle tilted her head.
"I guess… just, don't let him get all over you. You know what he's like. Clingy."
"Yeah, yeah. He's fine. I think he's just a normal guy for once." Clary said, and Isabelle laughed.
"Well, he's no skunk dealer."
Clary frowned.
"Hey—last time I checked, Lewis deals too." Isabelle looked surprised, and Clary stopped for a moment- Isabelle seemed to have a good thing going, and Clary didn't want to ruin that. "Shit… you didn't know?"
Isabelle bit her lip.
"Nah, I guess I knew. I mean, he is the one who always gives me a premium score." She said, going back to finishing off Clary's other hand.
"How come I never heard about this score?" Clary giggled, trying to lighten the mood, and Isabelle just winked.
"I'm saving it for a special occasion." She said, and Clary just rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat and getting ready to watch one of the endless films that Isabelle supplied. She felt something like worry burning in her chest but ignored it. For now, everything was fine.
The next few weeks passed in a blur; Clary went home briefly when her mother called, spending an awkward weekend with the woman before packing another bag and returning to Isabelle's. It turned out that Izzy's mom was going to be staying in Milan indefinitely, so that meant that Clary would stay with Isabelle indefinitely. She didn't like to be alone in that house.
Sebastian was actually being a kind-of ideal guy; he hadn't been too handsy with her, he let her ride shotgun when they went out with his friends, and he actually started talking to her. They went to the movies nearly every week, Sebastian nearly sleeping through the films that Clary picked, and Clary also went with Isabelle and Maia to all of the friendly matches between Alicante and the other schools, playing the role of a supportive girlfriend. They went on an eventful double date with Maia and Jordan, who left the pair alone at the table for half the night to make out in the bathroom. Clary had laughed at that, and let Sebastian convince her to go up to his room at the end of the night. She wasn't going to sleep with him again. Not yet. But she liked being with him.
Jace seemed to have taken the hint- she hadn't seen him since their run in.
Before she knew it, she and Sebastian had been 'together' for a month, finding themselves having to wrap up warmer as they went out in the chilled air of late November, and they found themselves at Seelie Queen's house, sat in her basement with some of the cheer squad and a few other guys from the football team, someone passing around a blunt, Clary sat in Sebastian's lap on a beat up sofa.
Seelie left to go upstairs and make drinks, Isabelle, Maia and Jordan all leaving too, and slowly everyone filtered out until it was just Sebastian and Clary, both slightly buzzed. Clary grinned down at Sebastian.
"What, do we suck that much?" She giggled, and Sebastian grinned at her, pulling her in for a kiss. She felt his hand climb up her thigh, rubbing gently, and Clary deepened their kiss. She hadn't been in this much of a good mood in a long time. She wouldn't have to see her father until Christmas vacation, she felt like her life was kind of together, and for another she loved Christmas and the wintertime. She let Sebastian shift her so that she was straddling him, running her hands through his hair. He was so easily excited.
"I like this skirt." Sebastian broke their kiss to say, running the hem of her cheer skirt in his fingertips. Clary laughed.
"I bet you do."
Upstairs, Seelie sat on her countertop, drinking beer from the bottle and checking her phone whilst Isabelle helped Maia and Jordan fill up cups, all buzzing from the weed that Seelie had provided, smoking out the window. Seelie was texting someone, and moments later there was a knock at the door.
"Who's that?" Isabelle asked, handing Magnus a drink. She heard Clary laugh from downstairs and rolled her eyes; that girl was acting so out of character. At least she was happy. Magnus shrugged as Seelie opened the door, tugging at her cheer skirt and putting on a supposedly sultry look as she greeted the people at the door. Isabelle caught her breath.
"Hey, come in for a sec." Seelie said to none other than Simon, who was shortly followed by Jace. Isabelle gripped the countertop; Simon was a tall guy, skinny and pale, nothing really special. But the second he walked in she couldn't breathe. He was dressed in his usual jeans and a crumpled top, a long coat over him to protect him from the cold. His brown hair was messed up, and his glasses were slightly steamy, and as she caught his eye she sent him a silent message. This is where they needed to pretend.
Maia was whispering with two of the other girls on the cheer squad, Aline and Maureen, and Isabelle could hear the distaste in their voices.
"What the hell are they doing here?"
"I don't know… didn't know Seelie hung out with them."
"She doesn't, idiot, where'd you think she got the weed."
Isabelle shut her eyes, turning away from Simon's glances. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and moved to make her way back downstairs, throwing her cigarette out the open window. But as she opened the door to the basement, she knew she had made a mistake.
"Seb… shh." She heard Clary say, followed by some rustling and a laugh. Isabelle's eyes snapped up, and for the first time met Jace's.
She had seen him around before Clary and him had gotten together. He was somewhat surly, but admittedly gorgeous. But right now he looked lost, pissed off and worn out, and his attention had peaked the second Clary's voice had been heard. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had charged past Seelie, straight toward the basement.
Isabelle slammed the door shut, and this sound distracted Clary enough to pull away from Sebastian.
"What was that?" She said, and stood up from Sebastian, swatting at his hands. She pulled back on her shirt (that she didn't really remember taking off) and moved toward the door. She could hear voices.
"Don't." She heard Isabelle hiss; seconds later, the door to the basement was being thrown open, and Clary stumbled back as Jace came charging down the stairs. She slammed her back against the wall, but Jace wasn't heading toward her. Before she could say a word Jace had clocked the shirtless Sebastian, standing confused by the couch, and had swiftly made his way over to him, landing a steady punch before Sebastian could even protest. Sebastian groaned at the hit, and Clary screamed, seeing red.
"Get off him!" Clary shouted, running forward and catching Jace's arm. He shook her off, sending her to the ground, and Clary began to panic. She got back up and pulled at Jace, who had Sebastian by the neck, and began to shout. She wasn't alone for long, however, because Isabelle was right behind her, as was Jordan and Magnus. Sebastian had pulled his way out of Jace's grip and threw his own punch, his football player instincts kicking in as he dove at Jace. The two guys were wrestling on the floor, and Isabelle was holding back a sobbing Clary.
Seconds later Simon also came down the stairs; Jordan was between Jace and Sebastian, Magnus holding the black haired boy back, and Simon immediately put an arm around Jace's collar bones, holding him back.
"Enough!" He shouted roughly, and Jace pushed him off.
"I'm done, Si. I swear, I'm done."
Simon didn't let go, just pulling Jace out of the room by his neck, leaving behind a confused group of people, Jordan helping Sebastian while Seelie started to clear up the mess. Anger seethed within Clary, and while everyone else was still reeling she pulled away from Isabelle, running after the pair. Isabelle curse and ran after them too.
Simon was putting Jace into their car by the time Clary made it up there, and his eyes were flashing in anger as she approached. She shot Simon a look of warning, and in return the guy held up his hands, spotting Isabelle behind Clary and moving to talk to her. Clary marched up to Jace, watching him watch her, and slapped him across the face yet again. He didn't react, just breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling, his eyes blazing.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Clary shouted, shoving his chest. Jace let her. "Are you crazy, have you lost your mind? You could have hurt him!" She shouted, and Jace coughed out a laugh.
"I could've killed him, Cherry," He stated lowly, looking her in the eye. She caught a glance of his cut lip. "I could've killed him right there."
Clary shook her head.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Clary asked, and Jace wiped at his mouth, blood coming away. He looked down at her, unsmiling, and Clary felt the muscles in her stomach knot together, the same way they used to when he smiled at her. He set his jaw.
"Don't you get it? You're mine." He said lowly, taking a step toward her. Clary took a proportionate step back, and Jace bit back a grin.
"I think I made it pretty clear I'm not." She replied, and Jace just smiled grimly. Then something struck him, and he glanced around to see if anyone was around. He leant in close to her, close enough that he could smell the cigarettes and kush. Clary blinked.
"I never slept with Kaelie." He said, watching her face. Clary scoffed.
"Fuck you." She whispered, and he grinned.
"Gladly. But I never fucked Kaelie. I just… I wanted to get you back. I was jealous. But you know me better than that; I would never sleep with her."
Clary frowned, thinking back to that day. She shook her head, feeling herself come down and sober up in the embarrassment, fear, and confusion of the situation. She held her chin high.
"I don't believe you." She said, and Jace opened his mouth to say something. She cut him off. "Even if I did… the fact that you tried to hurt me like that, because you're so goddamn irrational that you thought my brother was some other guy… god, how could I ever forgive you?" She asked, and Jace just shook his head.
"You know how. You know us, Cherry."
Clary shook her head at the man in front of her.
"I don't know you at all."
She turned away from him, wiping at her eyes, and Isabelle pulled herself away from Simon. They made their way back into the house, Isabelle wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She didn't let herself glance back, pushing through the door to be met with Seelie sat beside Sebastian, icing his face, and Jordan leant against the counter.
"What the fuck was that all about?" Sebastian groaned, pushing Seelie away. Clary looked to Isabelle, who put on her game face.
"Fucking drug dealers. He was coked out or some shit." Isabelle said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up. Clary moved to sit beside Sebastian, taking the ice from Seelie and holding it against his face gently, stroking his cheek. Sebastian grimaced.
"I've seen those guys around." Jordan said, and Maia nodded from under his arm.
"They aren't the nicest." Maia said, and Isabelle nodded.
"Well I won't be buying from them again, I mean Jesus, he was just beating the shit out of you for no reason." Seelie said, pointing to Sebastian, who rolled his eyes.
"I got a few good hits in." He said, laughing slightly, and Clary felt a smile pull at her lips.
"Yeah." She murmured, pressing a kiss gently to his lips. "You sure did."
That night as Clary rode to Isabelle's, she couldn't help but feel both guilt and confusion bubble within her. She leant her head against the window of Isabelle's Porsche, feeling the vibrations run through her. Everything Jace had said to her was replaying in her mind, over and over, and she couldn't think straight.
Five Months Earlier
"Jace!" Clary shouted, entering Jace's apartment and dropping her bag\. Jace lived alone in a quiet part of town, in an apartment above a vaguely respectable restaurant called 'Taki's', and Clary loved it. Here she was free, free from her parents, her persona, herself; Jace never made her pretend. They had only known each other a few months, but already she knew that she loved him. It had to be love, the way she felt. She looked around the small apartment, Styrofoam container of pancakes warm in her hands. There was a dim glow about the apartment, and as the sun set outside Clary felt the warmth of the summer leak into the house. She frowned, however, as Jace had yet to answer her.
"Jace?" She called again, this time pushing into his room. She stopped still.
In Jace's bed, the one they had shared so many times, was a girl. A blonde that Clary didn't recognise, asleep in his bed. Clary sucked in a breath, dropping the container and choking as Jace's bathroom door opened, Jace stepping into the room in a cloud of steam, a towel around his waist. There was a hard look on his face as he noticed the blonde in his bed, and then he turned to Clary. His expression didn't soften. He didn't try to explain. He just rubbed his amber hair with a towel and watched her. He glanced down at the ground, then back to Clary.
"You got syrup on my carpet." He said blankly.
In that moment Clary felt a wrench in her gut and she turned away from him, from that room, and ran out of the apartment.
Clary jolted from her reverie as Isabelle slammed the brakes, the pair coming skidding to a halt as they arrived at Isabelle's house.
"Fuck, Iz." Clary said as she swung forward, catching herself on the dash. Isabelle sighed.
"Sorry, doll. I just… fuck, why did Jace and Simon have to show up? Its just… such a mess." She replied, unbuckling her belt. Clary sighed.
"No one knows you and Simon are a thing." Clary said, following her into her house, and Isabelle shrugged.
"I mean, true, but fucking Jace was hella suspicious, why did he have to do that?" She replied. Clary gulped.
"He did it to fuck with me." Clary said, and Isabelle frowned in return.
"He needs to get a grip. He could ruin everything; he could've really hurt Seb." Isabelle said, leading them upstairs to their room, throwing down their bags and uniforms. Clary hung back, trying not to think about what Jace had said.
Of course he could ruin everything; he already had.