Sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I suppose I've just been working hard at other things. But that's no excuse because you lot matter just as much as anything else. Anyway, hope you enjoy the update and please leave a review!
CLARY'S POV
A few days later on Friday, it was the first football game of the season. Both Freshman and Sophomore year, Clary and Simon had gone to the first game if none others. They didn't intend to break that streak Junior year. So, Clary strolled up the stands dressed in Idris colors, Simon trailing behind her. They took their seats amongst some people that they knew and talked casually as they waited for the game to start. This year, due to the consolidation, the school thought it might be fun if the first game consisted of the school's old players vs it's new players. Needless to say, it was less fun and more detrimental.
The school was split into two. Each half rooted for their own school's team despite the fact that they were now one school. At least this meant that Clary likely wouldn't have to see the Lightwoods or any of them. Always look to the bright side... right?
Soon enough, the game was starting. Clary cheered loudly for Sebastian, Rafael, and Meliorn when she wasn't chatting with Simon. The evening actually ended up being rather fun. Football games always were, but this time there had been something in the back of Clary's mind telling her that something was going to go wrong. But as halftime approached, that little voice seemed to be wrong.
"Hey look." Simon pointed across the field to the bleachers on the other side. "Isabelle and Magnus, no Alec."
"Your point." Clary raised her eyebrows at him and he rolled his eyes.
"No point. I just noticed them is all." Simon turned his gaze back to the field.
At that moment, Sebastian scored a touchdown. The crowd started cheering as he turned to them bowing. He did a little dance before he caught Clary's eye and winked. She laughed at his idiocracy. The halftime alarm went off and the football team began to disperse. Much of the crowd did the same as people went off to talk to their friends playing in the game, to pee, or to buy some snacks. Clary jogged down the bleachers to do the former.
"Nice play out there," she said when she reached the fence. Several players including Meliorn, Raphael, and Sebastian sat on the bench on the other side.
"Anybody else notice that we're losing?" Raphael asked turning his head back so he was looking at Clary.
"Oh shush." She lightly whacked him. "You guys are technically the same team so it doesn't even matter."
"It matters." Meliorn nodded, and he received the same whack that Raphael had.
"It's okay." Sebastian shrugged. "We'll pick up. But hey, Clare, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you. I kind of wanted to go all out for it with the halftime band but then Raphael reminded me that you would've killed me." Clary's eyes widened as she realized where this was going. This could not be going where she thought it was going, could it? "So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. Just you and me."
"Like on a date?" She didn't know how she found the strength to speak, but those were the words she came up with.
Seb chuckled a little. "Yeah, like on a date."
This was impossible. Sebastian was just a friend. And hadn't he been interested in Isabelle just the other day? Clary was realizing that she was taking too long to answer and so she blinked a few times. She didn't want to ruin their friendship on the one hand. On the other hand, she'd never dated before and it might be nice. Before Clary could manage to even open her mouth for an answer though, someone spoke up for her.
"No." The voice was high, concerned. The voice belonged to William. Clary turned to him with her hands on her hips as he walked up to them. "No, I'm actually thinking that that's not the best idea."
"And why not?" Clary glared at him.
"Well." Will clasped his hands together. Clary could actually see the wheels in his head turning as he came up with an answer for that. "It's simple, really." He glanced between the two a couple of times before leaning back a bit. "Hey, Jem. Help me out."
The silver haired boy took a step forward and smiled awkwardly. "Well, it's not a good idea for the sole reason that..." He stopped. His mouth opened and closed several times until Will sighed and turned to him.
"I thought you were good with making stuff up on the spot."
"Yeah, well not always!"
Will rolled his eyes. "You can't date Sebastian because Tessa is in love with you."
"Tessa... is dating Jem," Clary said.
"What's your point? She could be bi, you don't know."
Clary tried to think of something to say but came up with nothing. Instead, she just nodded to Will then turned around to Sebastian. "You know what, Seb? Yeah, I'll go on a date with you."
The boy smiled but before he could say anything, their coach called them all over and he had to go. Behind her, Clary heard Will and Jem arguing.
"Tessa?" Jem questioned. "Why did you say it was Tessa?"
Will shrugged. "I don't know. It would've been weird if it was me. And you're dating Tessa so it couldn't have been you."
"I really don't understand you sometimes," Jem sighed.
"Yeah, me neither." Will rubbed his own chin.
Clary took a deep breath so that she wouldn't rip off either of their heads. Then, she grabbed both of them by the ear and began dragging them underneath the bleachers. Once there, she released them and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What was that?" Clary demanded.
"Umm, I believe that was you trying to go all Vincent van Gogh on us," Will snarked as he rubbed his earlobe.
"Oh shut up. Jem, explain."
The other boy scratched the back of his neck and grimaced. "I don't really know how." Clary raised a threatening hand to which his response was backing away. "Okay, okay, okay. Just calm down. We just didn't want you dating Sebastian because..." he paused glancing over at Will, "it'll mess things up."
"Mess what up?"
"All we're saying," Will cut in, "is that you used to have the biggest crush on Jace and it would just be so cute if-"
"Hold up," Clary cut him off. She scoffed and looked away from the two boys. "What do you mean? I never had a crush on Jace..."
"Clary you used to have a habit of hiding your diary in the exact same spot every time my family came over to your house, you have no secrets from me." Will's expression was deadpan serious to which Clary's jaw dropped.
"Nonetheless," Clary continued feeling awfully naked right then, "that doesn't mean that I still have a crush on Jace. Nor does it mean that I'm even interested in becoming friends with him again. So, I would appreciate it if the two of you didn't try to control my life. Thanks." Clary smiled sharply at the two before turning on her heel and leaving from beneath the bleachers. She found Simon and sat with him as they waited for halftime to end.
"You alright?" Simon asked.
Clary opened her mouth but immediately closed it knowing that Simon could always tell if she's lying. "I've been better." When he raised an eyebrow, she turned away from him. "So, Sebastian asked me out. Like on a date. Will showed up right as he did so and tried preventing me from saying yes."
"Did you? Say yes, I mean."
Clary nodded. "Yeah, I figured why not." Simon said nothing and so Clary looked over at him. He was staring out at the football field where the band was still playing. "What?"
"Nothing." Simon shook his head. They were both silent for another couple of minutes. "Why did you say yes? It's Sebastian."
"Like I said, I figured why not." Clary crossed her arms over her chest. She was feeling a little aggravated now. "And what do you mean by 'it's Sebastian'?"
Simon stammered. "He's your friend and he's a jock. Plus, you've never dated before, Clare. Are you sure you want to start with someone like Sebastian? He's usually a nice guy, but he only likes girls for one thing."
Clary was more than aggravated. She was actually becoming mad. Because yeah, she did know that Sebastian tended to get around. She knew how his mind worked. Like Simon said, he was her friend. But it had been her decision and she didn't like people pissing on her decisions.
"You know what," Clary said then, "I'm actually getting tired. I think I'll just head home now."
"Clare, come on."
"Come on what, Simon?" She stood up. "Would you drive me home?"
Simon waited a moment, then stood along with her. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go."
Thankful, Clary started down the bleachers. Halftime was almost over now and the football players were walking away from their coaches to get ready for the second half. It was then that Clary locked eyes with Jace. She kept on walking, but it took her a second to tear her gaze away from his. And even after everything that Will and Jem and Simon had just said to her, it was only when she saw Jace that she started second-guessing having said yes.
It was past midnight, but Clary couldn't sleep. She sat at her kitchen table thinking things over. She tapped her pencil against the notebook in front of her as her mind whirled. What to draw? What to do? Throughout the night, she had picked up her phone and typed out the same message to the same person. She always ended up deleting it and pushing her phone away from her.
Clary hit her head on the table and left it there. She was tired, but not mentally which really sucked because all she wanted to do was sleep. Instead, she picked her head back up and tried to draw again. It was nearly an hour later when her phone went off.
From Si:
Go to sleep
I can see the light on in the kitchen
From Clary:
It's a Friday
I'll sleep when I want
From Si:
Fine, be stubborn.
You're only hurting yourself...
Clary rolled her eyes and didn't respond again. She set down her pencil, closed her notebook, and turned the lights off in the kitchen. Then, she opened up the front door and left. The streetlights made it bright enough that she wasn't completely blind, the moon was no help tonight since it was barely a sliver of silver. Clary turned to the left in order to avoid walking past Simon's house. He wouldn't be too happy to find out that she was out so late.
Instead, Clary found herself walking towards the park. In the middle of the night, it was the only place she could think to go. As she passed block after block, she thought about the fact that if she turned she could end up at Maia or Jordan's house. She continued forward until she saw the park.
Clary sat down on a bench. She tucked her legs up underneath her and closed her eyes against the breeze. It was a nice night.
"So, then." The voice would've scared Clary to hell if it hadn't been so soft and calm. She opened her eyes as Jace sat beside her. "I'm really not the only one that comes here anymore? First Jordan, now you. Who's next? Magnus?" Clary only stared at him. "Didn't mean to bother you, really. I just don't sleep most nights. If I'm not holed up in my room rewatching some tv show, I'm here."
"It's one am," Clary said and Jace smiled. Her heart flipped.
"Yeah, it is Morgenstern. So, what are you doing out here?"
"It's Fairchild now, Herondale."
"Right." He nodded his head. "I knew that."
"But to answer your question." Clary turned away from him. "I couldn't sleep either. Not tonight."
"Why not tonight?"
Clary couldn't tell him that Sebastian had asked her out. She couldn't tell him that she was beginning to regret having said yes. She couldn't tell him that he was why.
"I just couldn't."
Jace didn't question her further thankfully and the two fell silent. Sitting side by side brought back memories. She thought back to the dozens of times when the two of them would come to the park together. They loved their entire friend group, but somehow they just had more fun one-on-one. It was days like that when Clary had really felt that she had a crush on him. Stupid, she thought, it had all just been stupid and childish.
"Can I ask you something?" Clary said still thinking about those days. She also thought back to the other day when Magnus told them that Jace had had a crush on her. He nodded. "When we were kids in elementary and middle school, did you... did you like me?"
He wasn't looking at her but his eyes widened noticeably. Scratching his head and still avoiding her gaze, he spoke. "Why do you ask?"
His reaction made her smile. "Magnus said something the other day. It seems that he thinks you used to have this massive crush on me. I was just curious."
"Well, I mean." Jace's voice rose an octave and Clary's smile widened. "There may have been a very short period of time where my interests in you extended beyond the bounds of mere friendship." He glanced over at her. "It may have been a little longer than just a period of time." At that, Clary laughed. "What? What's so funny?"
"Nothing." She shrugged. "I don't know. Just the idea of you ever having had a crush on me seems weird." Something occured to her then and she narrowed her eyes. "Weren't you dating that one girl Kaelie for like five months in seventh grade?"
Jace nodded. "Yeah, for a while there I was trying really hard to get over you. Honestly, I liked you for a while."
"When'd you stop?"
Jace's eyes met Clary's but he said nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows and, after a moment, turned away. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off.
"What are you kids doing out here?" Both Jace and Clary whipped around to a police officer holding up a flashlight at them. "Park's closed."
"Right, sorry officer." Clary stood up and was soon followed by Jace.
"Past your curfew too. I'd get home if I were the two of you. And fast before I change my mind about letting you go."
"Of course, sir, won't happen again," said Jace. The police officer started off in the other direction and as soon as he was gone, Jace started laughing.
"Shut up, he could hear you." Clary hit his stomach. "I really should be heading back home though." At that, Jace stopped laughing.
"Right, me too." Clary began to turn around but was stopped when Jace said something else. "By the way, have fun on your date with Sebastian."
She spun on her heels. He stood there staring at her with his hands in his pockets. "How'd you know about that?" she demanded. He was the one person she didn't want to know.
He shrugged. "Guys talk in the locker room."
Clary took a step closer to Jace but then stopped herself. She found that she wanted to come up with some excuse. She wanted to tell him it wasn't true. But it was, and there was no excuse just the matter of fact. So, Clary just ran a hand through her hair. She shivered a little from the cold of the night.
"Right," she said not knowing what else to say. "I probably should've figured that." She started to turn again but then immediately turned back to Jace. She took a few quick steps back over to him. "What do you think of him?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Of who? Sebastian?" Clary nodded. Jace thought for a moment. Clary was close enough to him that she could smell him: mangos and soap. She supposed some things never change because that was what he always smelled like. When Jace finally replied to the question, he met Clary's eye. "I guess if I'm being honest, I think you're too good for him."
"As opposed to being good enough for who?"
Jace smiled a little, clearly knowing what Clary was alluding to now. But instead of giving her the answer, he just shook his head. "Nobody, I suppose."
Confused, Clary didn't have anything else to say. And when she didn't speak for another few moments, Jace started to back away.
"I'll see you later, Fairchild," he called.
Just as his figure was becoming a silhouette, Clary shouted back to him. "This doesn't mean that we're friends by the way." Jace turned to her raising an eyebrow. "This little talk, conversation, whatever. It doesn't mean that everything is fine between us or that we're friends. I just wanted to make that clear."
"Good to know." The golden-boy grinned. "Just means I have to work a little bit harder."
