Isabelle showed up at 8:45 sharp interrupting the debate me and Simon were having about what he and Eric should call their band.
"Hi guys, thanks so much for meeting me!" Isabelle beamed.
"Wow you are a ray of sunshine in the morning" I said squinting at her in the rising sun.
"This is how I am always, gotta keep upbeat!"
"Sureee except when you're screaming in tears because you've lost a shoe or smudged your lipstick" came a voice from behind me. I span around in surprise and came face to face with Jace, Isabelle's adoptive brother and Kaelies new plaything. "I'm Jace".
"Hi, I'm Clar-" "I know and this is Simon, I just came because it's rude if I don't introduce myself apparently".
"And that wasn't rude at all" I scoffed at him, jerk.
He looked down at me a smirk growing. "Well what did you want from me? A handshake?" He held his hand out.
I grimaced at it "that hands touched Kaelie and she's touched god knows what, keep that STD to yourself please."
He pulled his hand back with a chuckle. "Don't worry it's not touched much of her...yet." He spun around and sauntered off toward where Kaelie and her friends stood.
"Sorry about him, he's ..well he's Jace. You get used to it." Said Isabelle. She eyed me with interest before linking her arm through mine. "You know Clary I think you and I could be the best of friends". She then dragged me off to class.
Our first period was double Art, the first lesson of it since the start of the year and I was excited wondering what Madame Dorothea would set us for assignments, what the class work would be. I was so lost in thoughts about sketches and painting that when I refocused I realised Izzy was looking at me amusedly.
"Whaaat?"
"I was asking how the coffee shop was?" Isabelle replied.
"Ohh it was good thanks, I go a little crazy when I don't have my coffee fix so it was just what I needed."
She just laughed and asked where I wanted to sit. I gestured to the second row and Isabelle took the window seat with me on her right and two spare seats to my right. I didn't care who sat with me my art always had my undivided attention.
Isabelle watched me pull art supplies out my bag. "Wow, that puts Mary poppins to shame, is the rest of the store in there too?" she said gently shaking my bag.
I poked my tongue out but was saved having to reply by the arrival of someone to my right. Glancing round I saw a flash of gold and had to double take. Jace was setting himself down next to me talking to Aline who was sitting in the other seat in our row.
"Hi Clary!" Said Aline enthusiastically.
"Hi Aline, have a good summer?" I asked politely.
I vaguely tuned her out as she raved about her amazing summer, our relationship was a strange one. We had been very close friends up until about a year and a half ago. We had been hanging out at my house and I had been begging for her to tell me why she was so distant, she had recently started dating Meliorn and I had initially put it down to that. However it had turned out to be more: she had come out as gay to me that day. Although I was understanding she had immediately regretted telling anyone and had distanced herself from me, dated Meliorn and used it to climb the social ladder before dumping him.
She was still nice to me I think part of her remembered our friendship and another was grateful for my reaction to her announcement and because I hadn't told anyone her secret, not Jon and not even Simon.
"Are you even listening?" Jace said.
I was shaken from my reverie but looked at Jace blankly trying to collect my thoughts. Aline only laughed not seeming offended. "Oh you get used to that, clarys always off in her own world."
I blushed and murmured an apology.
"How's Kaelie?" Said Isabelle.
Jace turned to her eyes narrowed. "She's great thanks for asking."
"Attention!" Madame Dorotheas voice broke through the weird sibling tension. "Welcome back, hope you've all had nice relaxing summers, that ends now you are all seniors and if you think this class is an excuse to skive you are wrong. Today I just want you to sketch, colour or paint me a picture of something that matters to you and I will walk around giving my advice. Begin now." And she settled back behind her desk.
I pondered this only for a second before pulling my paints and paper toward me, Jonathon had been playing around on my mind and painting was an outlet. I had sketched a vague outline and was mixing paint when I noticed Isabelle hadn't done a thing but stare at her paper.
"You know staring at it won't make it draw itself..."
She looked up at me and smiled. "I don't know what to draw that I actually have the skill to draw!" I thought back on everything isabelle had told me so far and realised one of our similarities was the deepest of affection for our families and just as I was about to suggest it Jace cut me off.
"Shoes aren't exactly difficult you know." She shot him a look that I'm sure would have made anyone else but a sibling cower.
"At least she's capable of caring about something other than herself" I snapped surprising myself and gesturing to the paper in front of him which just said "Jace" across it in bold print half of the letters coloured with pencil. "Why don't you draw your family?" I suggested turning back to Isabelle.
She looked at me thoughtfully before pulling her phone from her bag and flicking through photos quickly until she found the one she wanted. "This one?" She asked me.
It was a photo with Isabelle standing in front of a fireplace her two hands on the shoulders of a young boy who had her black hair and also bright blue eyes. A similar looking boy but much older stood to her right and Jace to her left. They all smiled at the camera looking extremely attractive. I stared for a very long time admiring the similarities between them which always intrigued me due to the fact that Jonathon and I looked almost nothing alike.
I smiled and told her it was perfect before she set to work and I returned to my own. When the bell rang to signal the end of the first period Dorothea granted us a 5 minute break and said she would be walking around to discuss our work at the end of the break. I stretched my arms above my head.
Jace
Art was not my forte, I was idly colouring in the background of my paper when the teacher announced a break. The art teacher at my last school had been tall with grey hair and a huge moustache always very serious looking with his shirt and tie. Madame Dorothea on the other hand was slightly old, dark skin a rough New York accent and was covered in various shawls, silks and chains as well as a lime green turban. Although it was strange art teacher suited her more than it did Mr Johnson.
Clary sat up and stretched eyes focused on her work, following her line of sight I sucked in a breath. A boy with dark eyes and white blond hair stared back at me. I glanced at clary curiously wondering if this man was her boyfriend.
"That's really good" I said leaning toward her. Her and Isabelle both looked at me and cocked an eyebrow at the exact same time.
"Was that a a ...a compliment?" Isabelle jokingly stuttered before engaging Clary in conversation about her own piece of work. As they chattered and gestured to things on Izzy's drawing I admired Clarys hair, it was long and waved with different shades of orange like fire. A gentle nudge of my shoulder drew my attention to Aline.
"Is anyone home" she said smiling gently.
"Yeah, just admiring the work of someone who's much better at art than me" I laughed.
She chuckled and looked over at clary's page "ahhh of course, never without a sketchbook, well I also slightly suck and hoped for a skive but oh well! What's your favourite subject?"
I blanched slightly at all the new info, something told me that Clary and Aline knew each other more than anyone let on, Isabelle's new friend didn't seem like she would hang out with that group. Aline didn't necessarily either she was kinder than the rest and never seemed like she was flirting with me or had weird motives. "History" I replied smiling.
At lunch I bumped into Isabelle in the queue. "Hello to my favourite sister".
She swivelled impressively fast on her stupidly high heel. "I'm your only sister genius, but if you wanted to show your love you could sit with me and my friends?".
"Sure and commit social suicide on my second day" I said throwing a careless glance toward her table.
"Jordan sits with us. Besides there's nothing you could do that would make your skank cut you off" she huffed in response.
"What has Kaelie ever done to you, very harsh you know" I prompted.
"I know her type, plus she was mean about Clary and Simon".
"And Simon is...?"
"Clary's friend"
"Oh rat boy" I looked over to see the mousy looking guy from yesterday his arm thrown carelessly around Clary laughing with her. The scene made me feel strangely jealous, I missed my best friend Alec. "Well he seems a little in to her..."
"Shut up you jackass!" She said before turning her back to me.
"Oh come on it's a joke! You don't have a crush do you?"
"Hardly, I don't know him."
"Yeah and he's crushing on your ginger friend".
Isabelle paid for her food and stalked off to her table. After completing my own purchase I hesitated then followed her. May as well get this over with.
Izzy looks vaguely surprised but pulls her bag off of a seat for me. I sprawl out in between her and rat boy and nod at Jordan in greeting.
"So when I was in the bathroom a girl called Seelie told me that a guy called Sebastian has a crush on me, so who is he and is it true?" Isabelle gushed 100 words per second. I was still processing when Rat boy burst out "NO".
Everyone looked at him in surprise. "He...doesn't like me or...?"
"I mean I don't know but he's not a very good guy". Simon said.
"Why what's wrong, this girl said he was extremely hot?"
"Oh but when I date Kaelie for that reason it's a huge deal".
"Dating? Now its serious". Said Isabelle.
"No I just mean pot, kettle black" I replied enjoying annoying her.
"Oh please I didn't say anything about actually dating him".
I opened my mouth to respond but Jordan cut me off "Verlac can be forward with girls, a little manslutty, except with Clary."
"Clary? You Clary?" Isabelle said pointing at her.
"Uhhh yeah we dated a little I guess". Clary replied quietly.
"A little? You guess? I'm going to need more details. Was he slutty? Did he cheat? Is it against girl code to date him?"
Clary laughed "No he's kind of fine... we dated for like 9 months, broke off just before summer he was nice and gentlemanly at the beginning but he got sort of clingy and strange. But I had my brother here, a year older and Sebastian was scared of him so... I broke things off without too much trouble."
"Interesting, why haven't you told me this before?" Asks Isabelle.
"Because today is day 2 of knowing you so it never came up." Clary laughed.
"Well that's disappointing but I'll get over it. What about now? Are you interested in anyone?"
"No thanks I'm happily single."
After this rat boy and his strange friend got into the strangest debate ever which I tuned out until the bell mercifully rang