Okay, so...I had a really, really, really, really shitty day. Not the worst I've had, not by far, I actually managed to get myself out of bed and somehow drove to work, although through anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, I don't remember much. So I had a horrible, horrible day, but then I came home and my husband had brought me roses, and chocolate, and my favourite lollies—and not just my favourite lollies, but he went through all the packs at the shop to find the one with the most of the pineapple lollies, which are my favourite of the favourite. Then we watched almost three hours of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams videos, and fell more in love with Garrett Watts.

And now I feel a lot better. A hell of a lot better.

So much better that I wanted to do something to make you guys happy as well :)

Here's an update...

"How's it going over here?" Dorothea asked as she came over to stand behind Clary, looking at the canvas she was working on. "This looks incredible," Dot noted as she traced her hand over a curve of purple and blue paint, her fingers an inch away from the canvas so that she didn't touch the drying paint. "I can see you've been working hard on this piece...I know you work hard on every piece that you do."

"Thank you," Clary mumbled as she swiped a few strands of hair away from her face.

"And I make that comment because I know how many pieces you've already got together for the exhibit coming up...And also because it looks as though you're not sleeping," Dot commented, touching Clary's shoulder gently. Dorothea was completely different from any other professors at the University. Clary had never not got on with any of the other professors that she had had, but there was just something about Dot that made her really connect with her. Sometimes they would even go out for coffee after class, and there had been a time when Dot was out at a club with a couple of her friends and Lydia and Clary had seen her and danced with her.

"I'm getting enough," Clary replied, lowering her paintbrush as she turned her head to the side to look over her shoulder at Dot. Dot raised an eyebrow and looked over the top of the easel to where Lydia was painting. Unlike Clary, Lydia's talents didn't exactly lay in painting. She was merely taking this class as a side course to make sure she had enough credits to pass when she graduated, given she had fooled around so much in her first year at university, but she really came to life when she was behind the camera, so another artistic course came hand in hand with that. It also meant that Lydia didn't wear herself to the bone like Clary did, staying up all hours and worrying about the canvas in the corner of the room, paint smeared over her sheets because she had painted until she literally dropped onto her bed.

"Is she getting enough sleep?" Dot asked Lydia, who returned her gaze with a knowing look, and Dot shook her head. "Make sure you're getting rest. I know that you're under a lot of pressure, especially with the exhibit coming up, but you're right on track to have everything ready."

"I've still got four pieces that I haven't finished," Clary sighed, putting her paintbrush down and running her stained fingers through her hair.

"And you've got a few months to get those finished," Dot reassured her, before looking up at the clock that hung on the far wall. "Start packing up, and try to get some rest tonight, okay? And, also—" she tugged at Clary's shirt, which was stained with paint. "Make sure you're soaking your clothes, you don't want to sacrifice your whole wardrobe." Clary gave her a wry smile as Dot walked away, clapping her hands to draw the attention of the class. Dot was telling her class to start packing things up so that they wouldn't be late for their next classes, but luckily for Clary, she didn't have any, so she took her time cleaning up.

"Babe," Lydia came over, checking Clary with her hip. "There's drinks down on the second floor today, in our apartment building. You gonna come?"

"Nah, I think I'm just gonna go up to the apartment and work," Clary replied, wiping her hands over her face.

"Oh—come on! That's all you've been doing for the past couple of weeks!" Lydia pouted. "I want to go out and have some fuuuun."

"Then you go," Clary rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'm not stopping you."

"It's just never as fun without my favourite redhead there," Lydia pointed out.

"You live in an apartment with two other redheads," Clary laughed. "And a brunette. I'm sure they would love to go out and get drunk with you." Clary carefully picked up her canvas, carrying it over the other side of the room where there were racks for them to start drying. She had two other pieces at home that she could work on, so she didn't need to try and carry this one back to the apartment.

"Yeah, but those two are fake redheads," Lydia pointed out with a roll of her nose. "I really should have taken a page out of yours and Simon's book," she continued with a grumble as she carried her own painting, following closely behind Clary. "Saved up for a year so that I could afford to live somewhere with only one other roommate. Honestly. Living with a bunch of girls looks so fun when you see it in movies. And in reality, it's just a constant fight over who gets to use the bathroom first and who slept with the other chick's ex-boyfriend." Clary raised her eyebrow at that and Lydia nodded. "Yup. Shanae ended up getting it on with Riley's ex. I'm surprised you guys didn't hear the screaming up in your apartment."

"Well, I've been playing my music pretty loudly at night, trying to get out of my head while I'm painting. And Simon's working some long ass hours at that accounting firm, trying to get in good with the boss," Clary replied. "So when he get's home, he practically just passes out."

"In good with the boss? Or in good with the daughter? I heard he sorta has a thing for her," Lydia grinned.

"Yeah, he mentioned that," Clary laughed as she scrubbed her hands in the paint stained sink. "Good for him. Hopefully she's nowhere near as clingy as Maureen."

"We can only hope," Lydia scrunched up her nose. "Anyway, I've got a class now. You're heading off home now, right?" Clary nodded. "Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Clary nodded and leaned forward to give Lydia a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"Bye, babe," Clary fare welled her as she joined together with the rest of the students that were leaving the art room. It was just after two, and she had no work tonight, and no classes until eleven the next day. So if she got home within the next half an hour, she could spend a solid eight or nine hours in her room, get some sleep, and then still be able to do some painting in the morning. Maybe Dot and Lydia were right, and she was working herself too hard, but she couldn't help it. The exhibit was only a few months away, and the pieces that she submitted were going to be what her final grade was marked on, and given how important this degree was for her, she was getting a bit stuck in her head. She was almost home when her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Come over?

Part of her wanted to go over and see Jace, it had been a few weeks since she had seen him. There had been some texts exchanged, but they had both been busy, Jace with his club and Clary with school.

I want to, but I'm really busy. Painting and shit. Got the exhibit coming up and I'm kind of freaking out about it.

Jace knew what she was doing for her degree, and sometimes when they were getting high together, she would start rambling about the latest piece she was working on, and sometimes she would sketch pictures for him and leave them lying around his apartment. She thought that he must've thrown them away, which was fine, because they definitely weren't her best work given how spaced she generally was, but she found them one day—all of them—piled up in the drawer of his coffee table. It was kinda of sweet for him to keep them.

I understand.

Clary twisted her mouth and scrunched up her nose, feeling a bit strange at the disappointment that settled at the bottom of her stomach. She had kind of hoped that he would push a little harder to see her, but then it wasn't as though they ever did anything except get high and watch movies and eat together. She was pretty sure he had absolutely no trouble finding a dozen other girls his own age to do that—and a whole lot more—with.

Simon wasn't at the apartment when she got back, which was to be expected. He had classes until four and then he would be going straight to Lightwoods Accounting. There was a half finished piece of pizza on a plate on the coffee table, and Clary rolled her eyes, knowing that it would have been Raphael who left it there, since he was the only one with a key to the apartment who left food and drink lying around the apartment. She rolled her eyes as she picked the plate up, throwing away the pizza in the trash and washing off the plate. Then she went down to her room, plugged her phone into the speakers and turned Zara Larsson up loud, and started painting.

She vaguely heard Simon coming in at some point, although she had absolutely no idea what time it was, and her phone buzzed a couple of times as well, indicating that she was getting messages, but she ignored it. By the time she fell into bed—not caring that there was wet paint on her arms and even some in her hair—her whole body felt numb and her fingers felt as though they were cramping. She could barely keep her eyes open, but still reached for her phone to check the messages before falling asleep.

Don't work too hard.

And don't stress out too much, your art is incredible.

Clary blinked at the messages from Jace, one of them received three hours ago, with the second one half an hour after that. There was one more message, as she skimmed her thumb over the screen, and despite how tired she was, she smiled and chewed down on her lower lip.

Come over soon, I miss finding your weird drawings everywhere.

She stared at the screen for a few minutes before dropping it back onto the bedside table and rolling over, falling asleep instantly.

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, or today is that day for a lot of you, the 10th.

Please be kind to each other, people have so much going on in their heads that just isn't obvious from the outside.

Much love xx