As soon as I walk into Geometry with Mr. Starkweather, it's like the temperature drops eight degrees. All conversations hush and turn to look at me. Kaelie makes what I have to assume was a particularly snotty comment that I can't quite catch to one of her minions and my crappy attitude gets worse.
As I walk between the columns of desks to a secluded corner in the back near a window, some kids purposely ignore me; some lean away, and some just start laughing. But when I finally take a seat and the kids stop staring, normal activities resume and I'm left to release a breath.
I took a moment to think over my current situation. Jace is here. And in a day or so, when we've sorted things out and neither of us is mad, that'll make me happier than anything else could. Unless, of course, Jace is sucked into the crowd of popular kids where they think he belongs judging by his looks. Then it'll go back to Jace on weekends, the one who doesn't understand what I go through each day, and maybe I won't even have that.
"Dreaming about Jace?" At first I was surprised. The glaring, butthead of a girl standing in front of me could read my thoughts? But then I knew it was only another of her taunts. It seemed she'd caught up on the school's newest hot gossip.
"Well, I hope you can concentrate on math today, seeing as in Jace's mind, you won't even be a though," Kaelie snaps. To be honest, it's a really terrible insult. I could do way better.
But I refrain from making the colorful jab I'd already started concocting in my mind because Kaelie is most certainly not worth my time. "Kaelie, that makes no sense. But I guess you wouldn't know that because you don't even have thoughts," Okay, I'll admit. I don't have as much self-control as I like to imply.
Kaelie's face got all screwed up and the class made an "oooh" sound. It was then I realized our conversation wasn't exactly private. Kaelie opened her mouth, most likely to curse me out because she couldn't think of anything better to say, but she didn't get a chance to say it.
"Class, if you'll return to your seats," the stressed comment from Mr. Starkweather seemed extremely directed at Kaelie, who was still hovering over my desk. In a split-second, her expression turned dreamy and Kaelie whirled around and took a seat.
Her disappearance gave me a clear view of Jace. He was standing next to Mr. Starkweather, about to be introduced, and was scanning the class. It took only a moment to realize he was searching for me. I knew the expression that was on his face. He was anxious, probably about to have a nervous breakdown, and needed comfort.
And I was prepared to give it to him. No matter how grumpy he was acting or whatever had made me mad, Jace mattered most. I was pretty much the only one who could truly give him what he needed at any given time, so there was no way I'd let him down now.
When Jace's eyes found mine and locked with them, I offered a comforting smile and relaxed a fraction. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet – scratch that. You all already know Jace Herondale, I'm assuming. I only ask one thing of you. Jace is just like you and me -,"
Mr. Starkweather was interrupted when one of Kaelie's "friends" shouted, "Except hotter!" in a voice that was obviously left unconcealed.
Jace flashed a smile at the culprit, who giggled girlishly, as Mr. Starkweather took on a look that read Seriously? "Anyway," he started, shushing the remaining whispers. "I'm sure Mr. Herondale and everyone in this school who's not totally obsessed with him would very much appreciate if you treated him like any other student."
Some people laughed and Kaelie couldn't stop making heart eyes at Jace, but he wasn't paying attention. He started making a beeline for the empty seat next to mine.
"Jacey," Kaelie called, reaching out her hand to stop Jace in his tracks. He looked confused at first, eyeing her warily. I couldn't stop the eye-roll that followed her psychotic nickname. "Sit here."
She then pushed the poor girl in the seat next to her straight onto the floor and gestured to the now empty seat.
Jace, lost for words, made a face and gestured to the back of the room and continued to make his way toward me. I pretended not to notice when he sat directly on my left side.
We still were technically in homeroom for another twenty minutes or so, which meant I was in for cheesy-Jace-discreet-conversation.
"Would you like to tell me what that Barbie Doll was just doing at your desk?" Jace asked once he was seated. I liked the way he referred to Kaelie. I really liked it.
"Not even close," I answered respectively. So Jace slyly changed the topic.
"What'd you think of the speech?" he asked.
I grinned at him subtly. Both of us kept our voices low and our eyes on the front of the classroom, where Kaelie was having a mini meltdown. "I particularly liked the part where he implied not everyone is in love with you. It's so relatable," I answered in a joking tone.
"Please. This again? I thought I fixed that with the food," he joked back.
"I never got to eat that food because of you!" we were breaching a sensitive subject at the time and my cheerful façade started to fall. The smile faded off my lips and I bowed my head.
Jace noticed my sudden change of attitude ant turned his head to look at me, too concerned to care too much about his appearance for the time. Then he looked away again.
"Here's what I know," he told me. "I know you were upset when I didn't directly acknowledge you in the hallway. As for that, I was trying to protect you. I don't think you'd enjoy it if a bunch of screaming girls tried to rip your hair out because you're my best friend. Really it's not fun.
"Also? I was currently being swarmed by a lot of crazy, hormonal teenagers. And I'm not just talking girls, either. There were boys. Plenty. Of. Boys. Seriously. What kind of aliens do you go to school with?" I had to choke out a laugh at this.
"I also know that you are totally obsessed with me. Because you kissed me."
"You freaking what?!" Suddenly Izzy was sitting on the other side of me. Jace jumped backward in shock, but being myself, I gave a tiny shriek and fell out of the chair, onto my butt. Jace tried to hold in a laugh as he helped me up, but Izzy was stricken. All the color had drained from her face.
"You kissed him? I don't believe it! Well, yes I do," Izzy said.
"How did you not know she was sitting there?" Jace asked me, purposely ignoring her.
"Five minutes ago, she wasn't sitting there," I claimed.
"It's not important!" Izzy whisper-shouted. "Why did you kiss him?"
"Yeah, Fray," Jace added, smiling sarcastically. "Why'd you kiss me?" He sat back in his chair arms crossed over his chest. Waiting.
I took turns glaring at him, then Izzy. Jace, then Izzy. Finally, I settled on Jace. "You know why," my words were filled with a little more venom than I'd originally intended. "I told you. And it's the truth."
0.o.O.o.0
Izzy followed me around all day trying to get the supposed 'truth' out of me. I kept telling her that if she wanted the truth, to get it from Jace. But Izzy was of course relentless, and I was getting a headache.
"Heeellloo," For one panicked moment, I assumed the voice was Jace coming to double the torment, or even Kaelie, to quadruple it. I was immensely relieved to see Simon's dorky face. "You look grumpy."
"I am," I snapped. Simon didn't deserve my attitude, but he was here.
"She's in love with Jace and she won't admit it to herself. Or anyone else, for that matter," Izzy so helpfully added. Simon made a flirtatious "ooOOooh" noise.
I stopped walking immediately. I'd been on my way off campus and heading home when these two idiots flanked me. "I most certainly am not!"
"See?" Izzy said as if I were a museum exhibit she was showing off. "She's denying it."
I whirled around to face them. "I'm not denying anything because you can't deny the existence of feelings that don't exist!"
"Snippy," Jace's voice came arrogantly from behind me.
I turned my attention to him. "Careful, Jace, we're still on school property. Someone might see with the school freak, which would totally ruin your reputation," I growled.
Jace narrowed his eyes at me in a calculating look; almost similar to the look Alec had given me when I talked to him in Magnus' library.
"Anyone want to tell me why she's snippy?" Jace's question obviously wasn't directed toward me, but his eyes stayed locked on mine.
"Go ahead, Iz," I speak directly to Izzy with my eyes focused in the same fashion toward Jace. "We all know you'll just tell him when I'm not here anyway."
I pushed past Jace, deliberately bumping his shoulder, but Jace didn't seem interested in hearing what Izzy had to say. "Are you jealous, Fray?" Despite what I considered a pretty serious issue, Jace maintained his playful tone.
I only scoffed as an answer. Of course I was. I wasn't jealous of Jace's success in the modeling agency – that particular field wasn't for me – or his fame. I was jealous of the way he could walk the halls free of torment. I was jealous of the way nobody thought Jace was ugly or a freak or a waste of space.
And yes, I was sure Jace had problems of his own. Nobody's life was perfect.
But mostly I was jealous of the fact that he wasn't scared of the dark.