CLARY'S POV
Monday morning Clary was at her locker waiting for Simon. He had run off to find Eric after they got to school but promised he would meet up with Clary before classes started. They had actually gotten to school earlier than usual so they had time. Clary grabbed her sketchbook from her locker and was about to close it when a body leaned against the locker right next to her making a loud thud.
"I heard you've been hanging out with my cousin," Clary closed her locker door to reveal Jace. His eyes, his hair, and his skin were as golden as ever. Clary had been right when she thought he looked taller. Not only that but he was a lot buffer too. He was a lot more attractive than he had been the last time she saw him. He had definitely grown into his looks. She tried not to let this fact distract her though as she responded.
"Is that how you greet someone you haven't seen in two years?" Clary asked. "I was expecting a 'hi' 'how have you been?', maybe even an 'I've missed you.'" Clary's voice got softer at the last part and she looked away from Jace. Her gaze snapped back to him when she faintly heard him speak.
"I have missed you." He looked sad, like a lost puppy, and Clary could see that the walls she knew he always had up around people and that he only let down around a select few were beginning to fall. Clary desperately wanted to hug him, tell him she missed him too, but then it hit her that he had taken an entire week to come find her and the only reason was because she had been talking with Will.
"Well you could've started with that," Clary said and turned away. She started walking down the hall knowing that Jace would follow her.
"That's the beside the point," Jace said and sure enough he quickly appeared at her side.
"What is the point, Jace?" Clary asked not looking at him. "What do you want?"
"Why do I have to want something to talk to my old best friend?" He asked but Clary rolled her eyes.
"Because we haven't spoken in two years." Clary stopped and turned to Jace. "And because you've had a week to talk to me so far, but you didn't."
"You could've tried talking to me too you know." Jace snapped back and Clary continued walking.
"I didn't feel the need to go out of my way to revisit my past," she said and once again Jace followed after her. "Life has been just fine without the Lightwoods, without Magnus, without Maia or Jordan. Without you." Clary looked over at Jace at the last part and could see it clearly hurt him. "I'll admit there have been times when I've missed our old group of friends but I still have Simon, and I've made new friends."
"What like Sebastian Verlac?" Jace scoffed and Clary looked at him again not knowing if what she was hearing was jealousy or something else but that he said Seb's name with venom.
Clary shook her head and turned away from him. "He's my friend, what's wrong with that? Who are your friends now, Jace?" Clary stopped again suddenly becoming agitated with the boy. "You don't even talk to Alec anymore. What's that about? You two used to be closer than Simon and I. What happened?"
Jace's mouth parted slightly and all anger was immediately replaced with guilt and sorrow. He was saved from answering though when an arm was thrown around Clary's shoulder and Simon appeared at her side.
"Hey Clare, so- Jace!" Simon's eyes widened when he noticed the golden boy. "Hey, what's up? How have you been, I-"
"Jace was just leaving," Clary suddenly cut Simon off not looking away from Jace. There was hurt in his eyes but he didn't argue with her.
"Yeah," he said after a moment and he looked over at Simon with a fake smile. "It was nice to see you Si." He patted Simon on the back before turning and walking away. Clary chewed on her lip nervously as she watched him go, she was sure Simon would question her about what had happened and she really didn't feel like talking. Seeing Jace had brought up a lot of old memories, including the memory where Clary had a crush on him the entirety of their friendship.
"You wanna talk about-"
"No," Clary squeaked before Simon could finish the sentence. "Not right now. Let's just get to class." Simon nodded and squeezed his arm around Clary to comfort her. She could already tell that it was going to be a long day.
MAGNUS'S POV
"Izzy, not only are you lying to your brother and me, but you're also lying to yourself at this point," Magnus said as he sat across from a distant Isabelle in the cafeteria.
"No, I'm not," she said not looking at Magnus. "What are you talking about?"
"Isabelle." Magnus gently grabbed her jaw and turned her head towards him. "We saw that Clary and Simon are in our lunch period last Wednesday. It's Monday and you still haven't talked to them. You just stare at them from a distance." Magnus let go of the girl's jaw and she scowled at him. "You're scared."
"Am not!" She exclaimed.
"You're scared that they're not going to want to be friends again," Magnus continued. "I get it. Really, I do. But you'll never know if you don't try."
Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest and looked back over at the redhead. She sighed and turned back to Magnus. "I am not scared."
"Fine," Magnus said standing up. "Then let's go over and sit with them." Magnus saw that Isabelle was about to protest so he grabbed her arm and began to drag her through the cafeteria before she could get the chance to.
"Magnus, no," Isabelle pleaded. "Magnus stop. Magnus, you can't just- Heeyyyy..." Isabelle cut herself off as they reached Clary and Simon. The two looked up at them slightly confused and slightly surprised. "What's up, guys?"
"Nothing," Clary responded. "I didn't know you guys had this lunch."
"Me neither," Simon said.
"We just saw you guys from across the cafeteria," Magnus said. "Didn't realize you were in this period until just now."
"Okay," Clary said and glanced over towards Simon. He shrugged and Clary looked back up. "Do you guys want to sit with us?"
"Sure!" Magnus said excitedly and pulled Isabelle down next to him as Clary got up and slid into the seat next to Simon.
"So," Simon said after a moment of awkward silence. "What have you guys been up to lately?"
Magnus could hear the strain in Simon's voice as he tried to make the situation less awkward. But even Magus could admit that this was terrible.
"Not much," he said calmly. "Just had to go to a completely different school with all of our classmates because the district ran out of money. So, nothing really."
Simon chuckled but Clary remained silent. "How interesting, because my school just gained several hundred new students because the district ran out of money. So strange." Simon and Magnus both laughed but they soon turned to the girls that remained quiet next to them. Isabelle and Clary were just staring at each other, their faces completely slack of emotion.
"How have you been?" Isabelle finally asked. The question was so quiet but somehow they all heard it clearly.
Clary remained silent for another moment. Then she held up three fingers. "Three, two-" And the bell rang. The redhead stood up with her bag and didn't even wait for Simon as she walked out of the cafeteria. She joined the boy Magnus had learned was named Sebastian and they walked off. He watched as he wrapped an arm around Clary's waist and they disappeared into the crowd.
Simon sighed as he turned back to Magnus and Isabelle. It was clear that he felt bad for the way his friend had acted. "Sorry about her, I think she's just been in a bad mood today."
"Why? What happened?" Magnus wondered though he knew he'd be asking her about this later in class.
Simon stood up from the table. "This morning she had a run-in with Jace."
JACE'S POV
"You're a jackass, you know that, right?" Jace said as he entered his cousin's bedroom without any sort of warning after school on Monday. Will's head snapped up from the homework he had been doing at his desk. He raised an eyebrow at Jace who proceeded to slam the door behind him and cross his arms over his chest.
"What have I done this time?" Will questioned innocently which only furthered Jace's rage.
"You're tormenting me," he accused. "You think that by digging up the people from my past my whole world is going to come crumbling down. Well let me tell you something: it won't. I've built a reputation, Jace Herondale is a name to live up to and you think that you can just so easily break me. I won't fall. No matter how many of my old friends you become reacquainted with. No matter how often you spend time with them. No matter how much you get together with Clary." Jace didn't miss the small smirk that appeared on Will's face at the mention of Clary. "I. Don't. Care."
Jace turned on his heel and flung the door open. He was half out of Will's room when the boy spoke up. "I've never known you to be a liar." He said and Jace turned back around to see that he was standing up now.
"What?"
"Well you said you don't care but clearly you do or else you wouldn't have come barging in here as you did." He shrugged. "I don't think I've ever really heard you lie before."
"I'm not lying," Jace growled but Will looked unconvinced.
"Then tell me you don't miss them." He took a step closer to Jace. "Tell me you prefer the jocks that humiliate each other for fun. Tell me that you are perfectly content without Alec and Isabelle in your life. Tell me, cousin, that you didn't die a little every single day you didn't speak to Clary."
Jace's jaw hardened as he stared Will down. "I'm fine."
"That doesn't answer anything I said."
Jace looked away from Will for just a moment before narrowing his gaze at him. "I survived two years of school without a single one of them. I don't need them and the fact that you think that I do is a childish whim. It's a wish because you want me to be who I used to be. Well news flash, Will, I've changed. They've changed. I don't know any of them anymore and I don't particularly care to get to know them again."
Jace was about to leave for a second time when he was once again stopped by Will's voice. "If that's so true, why'd you feel the need to speak to Clary this morning?"
"How'd you know about that?" Jace asked though he already knew Clary probably straight out told him.
"If you're thinking she told me she didn't." Or not... "She's been in a mood all day so I found Simon, asked him about it. What did you talk to her about?" He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stepped forward again. "Did it perhaps have something to do with the picture Jem sent you the other night?" Will smirked when Jace reacted. He clenched his fists at his side and knew that his face was probably flush with anger. Will shrugged. "I did invite you over, cousin. Your fault for refusing."
Jace suddenly couldn't stop himself. He exploded with rage letting out everything he had so carefully locked down over the years. "I HATE IT! I hate all of this! Everything. High school. My 'friends'. Football. All of it! Freshman year I let go of everything I ever knew and though I pretended like it was great and my life was perfect I hated every single moment of it! I miss Izzy and Magnus and Maia and Jordan and Simon! I miss Clary! But most of all I miss Alec, I miss my best friend and you have no idea how much I regret everything I did that very first year of high school. No idea how hard it's been to act like I've been happy! No idea how damn mad I've been these past few years! I can't remember the last time I didn't want to just give up and break down!" Jace let out a deep breath as he walked over and collapsed backward onto Will's bed. His head was in his hands. "No idea..."
Will gently sat down beside Jace. His hand patted his cousin's shoulder. "You need to talk to them." His voice was soft and comforting. "Get them to listen and tell them what you just told me."
Jace shook his head. "There's no going back, Will. Alec, Izzy, and Magnus all hate me. Clary didn't want to talk to me. Nothing is the same. How could it be?"
"Then start with Jordan and Maia." Jace looked up at Will for his voice was full of determination. "You messed things up with the Lightwoods and I'll try to speak to Clary, figure out what's up, but for now you can try because I've hated who you became, cousin, after middle school. I want to see the old Jace come back and I guarantee that the others do too."
"They hate me."
"Then make them stop." His voice seemed strangely determined. "Become the person they won't hate again if that's who you want to be. All I can tell you, Jace, is that you need to stop moping and do something."
JORDAN'S POV
Maia: Text me when you get home.
Love you.
Jordan: Will do.
Love you too.
Jordan shoved his phone back in his pocket as he walked down the dark street. He had gone over to Maia's after school and was only just now leaving at 9 pm. The walk was only about two blocks though and Jordan had walked it more times than he could count.
He was so busy watching the lights of the street lamps that he almost missed the turn to his house. Jordan paused though when he found himself halfway across the street. If he turned he would be led home, if he kept walking straight he would be led to a place he hadn't been to since the last day of 8th grade.
He kept walking straight.
A wave of nostalgia passed over Jordan as the structure came into view. It was just a park. And yet it wasn't just a park. It was the place that he and Clary and Alec and Jace and all of them would meet at. Almost every single day from 3rd grade to 8th. Their group visits clearly dwindled as they got older but were as frequent as possible. Then it stopped. The last day of middle school was also the last time they had all seen each other and spoke with one another.
Jordan's pace slowed when he felt woodchips beneath his feet. He could see the outline of the swings and the slides. The place hadn't changed one bit since the last time he'd been here, so why did it feel so different?
He walked down to the monkey bars. They used to see who could hold on the longest without falling or letting go. Of course, it was always usually Alec or Jace who won, the others never had a chance but they still tried because it was fun. He remembered hanging upside down and the girls' hair almost reaching the ground, waves of red and black and brown. They'd thrown Clary's jacket up there once when she was still far too short to reach any of the bars; she'd ended up climbing on Simon to retrieve it.
Jordan's remembrance was cut short when he suddenly saw a figure sitting atop the monkey bars. He stopped walking several feet from it, the figure had his back to him and Jordan could see the faint outline of a jacket. He strained his eyes to make out the one word printed on the back, the street lamp giving him little help.
"'Herondale,'" Jordan read aloud and the figure twisted around. "Jace Herondale."
"I'll be damned." Jace swung himself down off the bars and turned to Jordan. "Jordan Kyle."
"In the flesh," Jordan said motioning to himself and then he stuck his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here? Last time I checked you lived a good 15-20 minutes away from here."
Jace shrugged. "Was feeling kind of restless so I went out for a ride." He glanced back at a motorcycle that was half stashed in a bush. "What about you? What are you doing out here so late?"
"Was walking home," Jordan answered. "Figured I'd take a quick little detour." Jace just nodded and Jordan looked around the park a little. He sighed. "I haven't been here in a long time."
"I have," Jace practically whispered and Jordan's head whipped back to him. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to go visiting old childhood hangouts, at least not anymore. Jordan found a strange comfort in the thought that he was though. "The summer after 8th grade I came here every Friday at 4 pm, the time we all used to meet up here. I stopped coming when school started but after Alec stopped talking to me I started again." Jace walked over to a set of three slides and sat on the edge of one. Jordan sat on the one next to him. "Last time I was here was a month ago."
Jordan didn't know how to respond to that. He was completely astonished by what Jace had just told him, especially since this was the first time they had spoken in years. He'd missed the golden boy as much as he'd missed all the others. He looked down at his hands for a moment before back up at Jace, the boy was gazing out at the trees.
"What happened between you and the Lightwoods?" He asked and Jace looked over at him for a split second before his eyes dropped to the woodchips.
"I did some shitty stuff a while ago," he answered. "They haven't spoken to me since Freshman year."
"Well, I know that," Jordan huffed and Jace raised an eyebrow up at him. "Maia told me you guys talked. I wanna know what you did though."
Jace looked as though he wanted to hesitate but it took him hardly a second before he answered. "Because of me, the entire school found out that Alec was gay. He wasn't even out to his parents yet."
"But you didn't tell."
"What?"
"You said 'because of me,' not 'I told,'" Jordan said.
"Yeah." Jace looked down at his feet. "I didn't announce it, but Alec thinks I did. I tried to fix the situation afterward but all I could do was give the captain of the football team a black eye. There's a reason I didn't make varsity my freshman year…"
"I understand why they didn't want anything to do with you. That sounds pretty bad."
"I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me either."
There was a moment where neither of them spoke. They just sat in silence as Jordan let what Jace had done sink in. He really didn't know him anymore, and yet he felt bad for him. Sure, Jace had made a mistake, and a pretty god awful one at that, but it was clear to Jordan that he felt bad about it. Almost miserable. At that moment an idea occurred to him. He didn't know how he would do it but he was already determined.
"What if we helped you?" He suggested turning to Jace.
"What?"
"What if Maia and I helped you get your best friend back? We can figure something out and within two months, by homecoming, maybe we can get them back."
"'We'?" Jace questioned.
"I miss our old group," he admitted. "So, if we're going to do this we're going to get them all back. If the three of us work together, you, me, and Maia, we can do it."
Jace was quiet for a moment and Jordan was worried he was going to reject the idea until he held out his hand to him and the corners of his lips pulled up. "Let's do it."
Nice long chapter. Hope y'all liked it. Also, I just wanna say that these first like... eight chapters I think are all the OG ones from years ago. That might be why they seem a little all over the place. It was when I was still developing as a writer. I mean, I still am but I'm better now. But yeah, I hope y'all like 'em anyway and please review!
