A Light We Cannot See

By Slytherin Princess

Chapter One

New York, Morgenstern Mansion

~Clary Morgenstern~

Her legs were sore as she dragged herself out of bed. Morning rays of sunlight streamed through the window and filtered around the cluttered room. Running shoes and a number of articles of clothes were tossed around carelessly. It wasn't that she was purposefully messy, it was just that high school took up a lot of her time. Classes and soccer practice and homework.

Clary's red hair sprayed across the white pillowcase, lifting herself away from the bed Clary glared at the alarm clock before slamming her hand on the button. It was too early in the morning but it was her own damn fault for agreeing to hold practice on a Monday, two hours before actual classes start.

Getting dressed Clary reminds herself that she left a pair of workout clothes in her locker so there's no point in carrying another pair.

"Clarissa! Get out of bed and come down here!" The shrill voice of her mother drifted from the intercom in the hallway.

Shouldering her bag, Clary replied, "I'll be right down."

Walking down the stairs to the first floor, Clary ran her fingers through her tangled hair. They stuck several times and Clary cringes away from the knots. Normally she would take a shower in the morning to keep her hair manageable, but ever since Jonathan's bathroom went under repair her brother would take over her bathroom every morning. It was as if he purposefully took an hour to do his hair. He was pretentious and let all his popularity and wealth go straight to his head.

"Clary, your father and I are heading out of town for the next few days. There's a case in Phoenix that he's been called in to prosecute." Valentine was an FBI prosecutor, as such, Clary was used to her parents disappearing for days at a time. It usually meant the same thing as it always did, Jonathan would be throwing a ridiculous party in the next couple of days.

"Stay safe, mama." Clary leaned across the breakfast table to lightly kiss her mother's cheek. "I should be leaving, I don't want to be late."

"Honey, maybe you should start riding with your brother in the morning, I heard that a snowstorm is coming in later this weekend." Her mother offered. "He's picking up his friends but I can call him back to come get you."

"I'll be okay. There's barely an inch of snow outside." She was already tired and the weekend hadn't even started yet.

Maybe she could stay in one of the guest rooms while Jon made their floor into a rave. When Jon was twelve and Clary was eleven, their parents thought they could use more space to themselves and gave them the entire second floor of their house. House being a loose term to describe the ridiculously large country house. It was like having their own apartment but without having to pay rent or deal with annoying neighbors.

"Drive safely," Looking at the clock Clary realized why her mother had given in so easily. Jon was probably already at school and soccer practice would start soon.

Clary rode the twenty uneventfully minutes to school in a blur, she couldn't remember making any turns or passing another car or motorcycle. The road was abandoned and quiet. When she pulled into the school parking lot, she noted, with disappointment, that Jon and his merry band of idiots were already there. Leaning precariously against their cars. Looking at Jon and Clary you wouldn't be able to tell they're related. His white blonde hair and obsidian eyes didn't exactly match her Scottish princess look.

Clary swung her legs over the ninja, combat books splashing in a puddle that had formed under the small tire. Taking her helmet off her hair is staticy and sticking to her face while she tries to push away the angry strands.

Crossing the lot, Clary has to pass them to get inside the building but she can already tell by the unhappy look on his face that her mother had already called Jonathan. She saw Alec and Magnus look at her apologetically.

"Well, look who finally showed up." Jon said with contempt. "Mom called, something about you trying to get yourself killed."

"Hey, if I die it just means you get a bigger inheritance and a new sob story to get laid." Clary slammed her shoulder against his chest as she continued walking towards the school building. Her brother didn't try to stop her and neither did his friends.

The soles of her boots crunch the frozen leaves, her dark jeans were splattered with paint and now mud as she walked through the courtyard. She just hoped that Isabelle wouldn't see her getting dirty in the field or she might have a heart attack. Simon and Maia were more relaxed with getting messy, but then again they didn't wear hand stitched designer shoes like Izzy.

If she was forced to sacrifice something for her soul she would rather sacrifice her brother, Alec, than a pair of her shoes. If that didn't tell Clary how much she loved them then nothing would. For some reason Izzy became terrified anytime Clary got remotely dirty but when Maia did it there was just some disapproval. Slightly unfair but she was used to it.

There was a loud cough behind her and Clary could sense the prickles on her skin. Simon was looking down at the muddied footsteps Clary had made on the tiled outer hall of the school. He looked up and shook his head, baffled.

"Isabelle is going to kill you and I'm going to have to help her bury your body out in the woods." He was right, one look and Clary's head would be rolling on the outdated purple tiles. Clary smiled cooly at him, if she was going to die then she wouldn't be scared to get stabbed in the heart with a heel. That's how Izzy would do it, live by the heel, die by the heel.

Graduating from high school a year early had seemed like a good idea when she planned it. Go off to college somewhere far away from her parents and brother, get a job and call home only on holidays. That was the plan anyways, a plan that had been going accordingly until she realized that would mean having classes with her brother and his friends. Most of them were horrid, partying at every possibility. With drugs and alcohol and half naked girls. Clary found it disgusting, especially since all their horrific parties happened at her house, on her apartmentlike floor, within her presents.

Clary pushed her way through the crowded halls, she spots a couple making out against the lockers. She wondered if they thought they looked like the cover of a romance novel when in reality they seemed like two seals fighting over a ball. In this case ball meant public tongue space. Sadly, the majority of that tongue space is outside of their mouths. Good Gods, the sight made her uncomfortable.

Clary stopped at the door of the locker room, Coach Catarina stood leaning against the wall with a clipboard balanced in her hands. "Hey, Coach."

"Clary, I have to cancel practice this morning, can you reschedule it for this afternoon?" Catarina asked, her eyebrows raised in question.

"Sure, I'll send a text to the girls." Clary nodded, already pulling out her phone from her bag. Waving as she left, Clary began to compose the message for her teammates before sending it out. "I'll see you after school."

Morning practice is cancelled, we're having it at the usual afternoon time instead.

As if life was trying to smack her in the face, her Calculus class came into view when she turned the corner. Signing in defeat, Clary hitched the bag further up her shoulder. The class was empty with soft golden luminescence coming through the windows. Sitting in her desk Clary brought out her math book and flipped mindlessly through the pages. The worst part about her first class, besides the obvious reason being that it's a math class, was that so many of Jonathan's friends were in it with her.

Jordan and Sebastian. She had to admit that she could have done a lot worse. She could have Alec and Magnus shoving their tongues down each other's throats, like in English. Or Jace and Jon shamelessly checking girls out and yelling insulting catcalls to them while they blush profusely, the joys of Advanced Chem. The only real enjoyable classes of the day were her art and history since she had Simon and Izzy. Of course art wasn't as peaceful as she hoped since Jace was in there as well, but he didn't bother her and she didn't pay him any attention.

Ninety minutes of personal hell for four classes this semester and another four the next one and then it would be over. After her tireless classes she would get to play Miss Team Captain before finally heading home to do homework. She could cut back on her time spent out with her friends but she didn't like being home. Jonathan got home late, if at all, and their parents were always gone. Even when they were home they paid little to no attention to anything other than work. Clary was sure that if someone hacked her to pieces it wouldn't make a difference.

The worst part about all of it was that no matter how much effort Clary put into her studies and soccer, it wasn't good enough. Her mother would always treat Jon like an angel and her like a pair of worn out sneakers. Her parents were old fashioned, meaning as the eldest child, Jonathan gets the entire family fortune and Clary gets a small, barely livable inheritance.

Clary rolled a pen between her idle fingers, anxiously glancing towards the clock as she waited for class to start. She can feel her phone vibrating on the desktop, sliding her finger across she answered her mother's call.

"Did you get to school okay? Your brother said classes start in a few minutes and you know how important school is to him." Clary choked down a laugh, Jon couldn't give less of a damn about his grades. He doesn't need a career either, when he turns twenty-one he would officially be a millionaire, he wouldn't have to work a day in his life.

"Yeah, I've been to school for a while. Jonathan is still in the parking lot with his friends so I wouldn't count on him making it to first period anytime soon." Clary could hear her mother pacing, the familiar sound of Jocelyn's frustration putting her on edge. She doubted any of them would show up to classes for a while.

"That is an unfair accusation against your brother," Her mother breathed.

"I'm not accusing him of anything other than the truth," She bit out, knowing full well that it didn't matter how often she told her parents the truth. Jocelyn never noticed she had a daughter long enough to listen to her. "Class is starting soon. I have to go."

Jocelyn's voice was cold and impersonal. "Your father and I are leaving in an hour, but we will have a serious talk about lying when I get home, young lady."

"Have a safe trip." Clary said to the empty tone on the other end of the phone.

Clary dropped the phone into her backpack as the other students finally began to file into the room. Jocelyn always took Jonathan's side and her father followed her lead. Maybe Clary was bitter but having parents that blame her for everything that happens put her at a disadvantage. Clary dropped her head in the crease of her crossed arms. She couldn't wait to head off to college- far, far away.

Clary had been right, neither of Jonathan's friends were in her math class. There was no sign of Sebastian or Jordan, their desks in the back of the class remained barren the entire period. Deciding that it was none of her concern, Clary ducked her head towards her notebook and focused on the equations on her worksheet.

When the final bell of the day rang Clary walked behind a group of bickering seniors. She couldn't spot Jonathan's white head in between the rows of red lockers. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen any of them all day and it had been a pleasant day. Clary turned to head into the locker room for practice before she realized she left her running shoes in her motorcycle seat. She couldn't have practice without being able to run.

Jogging out into the parking, Clary craned her neck to find her ninja in the sea of multicolored cars. When she came to a halt in front of her precious motorcycle, her heart stopped. Anger building in her chest as she stared at the streaks of purple spray paint on the side of the normally black metal. Grinding her teeth, Clary already had a suspect for the vandalism.

Clary walked as calmly and ladylike as possible to the locker room, while inside she felt the urge to scream at everyone and rip things into pieces. For example, her petty older brother. The football team would be having practice at the same time as her soccer team. For once, that was a good thing and she would take it for granted.

Slamming the door shut, Clary stomped over to her locked, hands curled into tight fists. Iz jumped at her friend's open hostility, clearly not expecting it. Izzy was almost fully changed but froze with her shoes off, wiggling her socked feet.

"What's wrong?" Isabelle sat on the cement bench between the two rows of lockers.

"Jonathan messed with my bike." Opening her locker, Clary groaned in agitation as she realized that she had, in fact, forgotten her gym clothes despite thinking she had them at school just that morning. She was certain that she left her practice uniform in her locker. "Can I borrow some of your clothes? Mine have gone missing."

"Didn't you take them home the other day because they smelled like, and I quote, a smoked sweat sandwich?" Her best friend dug into her locker for a minute before looking at he apologetically. "I don't have any extras but Maureen's not here and you know her combination. She won't mind if you borrow hers for the day."

Clary signed and as she opened her friends locker there was a scowl on her face. Maureen was smaller than Clary. A few inches of height, which Clary found miraculous since she herself was too short for her age, and more than a little in the waist and bust. The shorts were close to mid thigh and the tanktop was tight but not uncomfortable. If she tugged it down to hide her midriff, the top of her breasts were exposed and vise versa. No way to win there.

"Are you serious with this?" Laughing, Iz nodded. Luckily Clary had remembered to grab her shoes from her bike and although the uniform wasn't ideal, it had the school logo and that was all the couch needed.

Isabelle eyed her as she slipped on her shoes. "You look great, I'd have wild monkey sex with you if I didn't have a boyfriend."

"Thank you?" Locking her bag into her own locker and closing Maureen's, Clary turned towards the door with a new determination. "I'll see you on the field in twenty, I just need to make a quick stop before practice starts."

As soon as her feet hit the grass outside, Clary trudged towards the football field, ignoring the cheerleading squad next to the bleachers as they rehearsed the spelling of victory for the third time. Their bodies moving in a formation as they jumped and bounced around the track.

The couch looked over at her with a confused look, checking his clipboard to make sure he had the right practice time. Catarina watched Clary for another moment as the teenage girl disappeared in the sea of football players. When her feet hit the artificial landscape of the field, the players came to slow stops around her, unsure and more than a little shocked. The ball bouncing lifelessly on the ground.

Usually the attention would bother her, but she felt too angry to care about the looks she was receiving. She was pissed that her brother would touch her bike and expect no consequences, pissed that her parents really wouldn't punish him if they found out.

Clary spotted her brother's jersey in front of her, the number 23 taunting her as she stepped towards him as slowly as her legs would let her. Which was still quicker than she normally walked in the first place. Before she could make contact with her oblivious brother, a jersey came into the front of her vision.

The mysterious player tugged off his helmet under her glare, Jordan smiled at her from underneath his lashes. He held his hands out in mock surrender, trying to calm the wild animal Clary had no doubt she resembled, she dug her nails into her exposed hips to keep from scratching his eyes out. "Okay, relax Red. I don't bite."

"Yes, because the first thing I think of when I see someone is, oh shit they're going to bite me. Get your head out of your ass, Jordan."

Her brother jogged away from the small group of boys he was talking to, taking his helmet off, the sweat dripped down his face. "Clary, what are you doing here? Don't you have homework or something?"

"I'm out hunting for elephants and how ironic of you to bring up classes, since you never seen to realize you have any in the first place." Jon doesn't react for a few drowned out moments but a grin finally spreads across his face. "You vandalized my fucking bike."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Before she had the opportunity to respond, sharp intakes of breath from behind her drew her attention away from Jon. The team was stiff with apprehension and Clary was sure that it wasn't a late reaction to her arrival. The air was charged with something Clary couldn't identify.

Clary looked up at the tall man, his arms were three times the normal size of a man his age. And Clary stared up at him and wondered if the sun had suddenly gotten dimmer. He looked down at her small frame and crossed his meaty arms over his broad chest. Clary was certain that if she wasn't as enraged, she would be scared out of her mind and promptly running away.

"This isn't your place, kid," His voice was rough and as scary as Jonathan had complained it was. His face twisted in an expression of exhausted patronization. "This is football, no place for a lady."

"I'm afraid I didn't have a choice in coming down here." Clary could feel the tension returning in her brother's body. "I'm Jonathan's sister and Mr Wayland informed me earlier that he's failing his class. He has a failing grade which, by the school rule book, means he's not allowed to play until he gets it up to at least a C." Suddenly she was happy that Jonathan had decided to skip all his classes today, or his math teach never would have told her about his grades. "Of course, I'm sure you understand, Coach."

"Yes, Miss, I understand."He looked over my head towards Jonathan and shook his head. "Morgenstern get off my field, you're out. Verlac! You're playing defense." The couch pinched the space between his eyebrows and adopted an expression of respect when he looked back to her. "Have a nice day, Miss."

Clary turned back to Jonathan as Coach Irons walked back to the water cooler in a series of stomps. A sly grin lighting up her face, he looked like he was going to be sick right there on the field. One of his friends pulled at his arms to lead him away from his sister.

"See you at home, big brother," she called after him with a wide grin.

~Jace Herondale~

Damn.

The spoiled little brat actually had a pretty hot body. Jace have never seen that much of her legs before, her being the prim and properly dressed lady her parents raised her to be. The most he had seen was a flower dress when she was thirteen and even then she had black leggings underneath. Not to be thought of as anything other than what she was- rude, aggressive and a smartass to a horrible extent and she never laughed. But looking at her in those tight clothes, burning red hair raining down around her face, and commanding attention and respect from a hardass like Irons was a major turn on.

Usually thinking about the little sister of his best friend would be weird but Jonathan wouldn't really care if he did. Jon had hit on and slept with three of Jace's cousins so Jace considered Clary fair game. Especially since he had never thought of her in a sexual way before. Now that he had seen her in the almost cliche Halloween-brand slutty version of her soccer uniform, it seemed impossible to get the image of pretty little Clary Morgenstern out of his head.

The problem with his genius plan of seducing her into his bed was that Clary and him had known each other for years and she had never shown any interest in having sex with him either. An option would be the party Jon was throwing that weekend, and more specifically, alcohol. Getting themselves tipsy enough to let their inhibitions down but not enough to actually be drunk. Making plans like that made his head hurt. Clary had been causing his migraines since she was six and this wasn't the first time she had done it without her actual presence. The girl had a gift, a very annoying gift that made him want to spoon out her shamrock eyes.

Sometimes he wondered how her friends put up with her. Rat-face he could understand, he couldn't get anything better if he tried. It was the cheerleaders and hot soccer girls that he was confused about. Isabelle, Maia and Seelie were way too hot to be hanging out with a ginger haired, leprechaun who wore nerdy shirts that were too big with anime characters and weird Pokemon references. That best friend of hers, Simon, was no better. He had glasses on his thin, overly pale nose and noodle arms.

Everything about her personality was off putting. And he had thought that it would stay that way, until he saw her walking towards the field in that outfit. He could swear that his face became a cartoon character with his eyes bulging out of his head and jaw touching the floor.

He was snapped out of his daydream of ripping off those revealing shorts and pinning her under him on a table, by her brother noless. Jonathan slammed his locked with the same force used to hold off the opposing teams during games.

Jace found himself wishing that Alec was there, he would be the most help with Jonathan's mood. Magnus would tell Jon to cheer up and chuck glitter at him, Raphael would just talk about his current girlfriend, and Sebastian would let him punch things. Jace heard the door creak and his hopes go out to Alec and Sebastian.

Jace and Jonathan may have been best friends since practically birth, Jace's dad was the Morgenstern family lawyer and the boys had grown up together playing in the Herondale firm while their fathers signed papers and confirmed contracts.

But the truth was, Jace was probably as useful in this situation as a rainbow colored unicorn shitting out bunnies. Unless that's some sort of weird fetish Jon had, which Jace didn't want to know. His prayers seemed to have been answered as Alec's raven head bobbed into the locker room and around the lockers. Jace aimed his escape as quickly as possible.

Jon's face was the color of his sisters hair, it meant one of two things. One, he was about to throw up or punch anyone who tried to talk to him. Jace didn't feel like being there for either. Jon was notorious for his reactions when it came to his sister, usually Jace would be the one calming his best friend down but when it came to Clary, Jonathan became unbearable.

Alec saw him and opened his mouth but Jace cut him off with a wave of his hand, grimacing as he looked over his shoulder at Jonathan. "Good luck, Lightwood."

Jace quickly jogged out into the hot sun from the locker room. A light dusting of early November ice and snow covered the ground gently but Jace was sweating profusely from practice. The weather was cool, the wind biting into his flushed cheeks. Practice had run late and Jace was still feeling the effects in his tense muscles.

Idris High School was the most expensive academy that anyone could get into, with the right grades and connections. Senators children, sixteen year old genius graduates, the spawns of lawyers, doctors, actors and anything in between. Both of Jace's parents were successful business people. Jace's father ran one of the largest law firms in America and his mother's headquarters for her international operations were in England. Someday their empires would be Jace's and his children would own the same high school halls that he still walks.

Jace watched the fall of snowflakes outside the windows, lost in his own mind. A small childlike figure ran straight into his chest with a huff. The assaulter stumbled back and when he thinks she's steadied herself, Clary slides down the beige lockers holding her nose and blinking heavily as she groans.

"Do you pack rocks in your shirts?" she shouted. Jace crossed his arms over his chest with a staple grin on his face as he stares down at her. "Help me up, jerk."

Jace makes a show out of it, pretending to think it over before reaching out his hand towards her. Clary grips it tightly as she pulls herself up with a cringe at her sore and quickly reddening nose. She nods her thanks before dropping his hand like it was the most disgusting thing she'd ever had feeling her.

Jace would be offended but she was no picnic herself.

His molten eyes dripped slowly over her body, taking in her soft curves and exposed skin. Her legs were covered in taut corded muscle and, to her credit, they were tanned. Jace decided that he had to know what kind of exercise she did to get tan lines that high up her legs. The tank top she wore had rolled up away from her hips, leaving Jace to trace her hip bones with his eyes.

Her jeans and shirt were still on the floor, where she'd dropped them, as she glared at him. With a roll of her eyes, she bent down at the waist to pick them up and Jace had to bite down on the skin of his knuckles and close his eyes to keep from doing something that would definitely get him slapped.

When she stood back up, a bundle of clothing in her arms hiding her flat stomach, Jace took a deliberate step towards her.

"I didn't take you for the type to wear that to practice." His eyes drop down to her tank top and he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the view from his height. Her face snapped up to his, red hair cascading down her shoulders. They stared at each other for a moment before she took a deep breath and stepped closer- invading his personal space.

She bit her lower lip and her eyes traveled down excruciatingly slow from his eyes, over the curve of his nose, and settle on his lips. Jace's breathing hitched for a moment and he passingly wondered if he would still want to kiss her if she weren't wearing those clothes. His fingers itch to touch her bare skin and when she steps slightly closer to him, his hand rises on its own to settle on her hip.

His eyes are glued to hers with industrial powered superglue. Clary lifts herself on her toes, her tongue swiping her lips. It was hot when taller, more experienced girls did it but when Clary- his best friend's little sister and the most aggravating girl he knew- did it, it was like a Victoria's Secret runway show two inches from him. Strangely enough, her size wasn't as excessively unattractive as he always thought it was.

Her hand was pressed against his chest, feeling the escalating race of his heartbeat, the other holding onto the fabric of her clothes against her chest for dear life. When her lips brushed his cheekbone, Jace's eyes fluttered closed and he could feel her hot breath against his skin.

"You couldn't handle me, Superstar" Clary slipped away from his hands with a venomous smile. "Keep your eyes up here," she points at her own.

With her charade dropped, Clary swung her jeans over her shoulder and turned to walk back to her bike. Keys twirling in her fingers. She walked away from him and damn, if she doesn't sway her hips and look good doing it.

Jace was sure there was a new light around that girl from where he was standing. A light that he was sure would get him in trouble.

Even though she hadn't technically so much as turned him on as she had flashed on every light inside his body then taken a baseball bat and busted them, Alec thought it was a sign from the universe. A sign that if he didn't fuck her senseless, and soon, she would always hold a supernatural power over his dick. Personally Jace though that was absolute bullshit but if it involved him having sex with her then he was willing to believe anything.

He hadn't seen Clary since the incident at school. That was how he was referring to it now, the incident sounded a lot better than that time I realized I wanted to fuck my best friends annoying baby sister.

She had been plaguing his mind since and he couldn't seem to focus on getting ready for the party. Since the party was at their house he was sure she was going to make an appearance.

Even now, sitting around Jon's living room table with the guys, Jace could hear muffled laughter coming from Clary's room. Jon said it was mostly because Clary's friend and Alec's sister were already in there. The rest of the decorating phase consisted of them giving up and sending Jon and his fake ID to buy alcohol.

To Be Continued...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments or any of the characters involved in this story.

This is going to take an unbelievable amount of time and effort to fix from the original version I had up. It's stupid bad, I'm actually crying. Why have people even followed this story? You can definitely tell it was written by a 15 year old who had only like three months of practical experience of high school when writing. I don't know how much of this I can take because this took two days to edit and I wanted to die the whole time.

Let me know what you think.