Hey Guys! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I have made this chapter longer at the request of one of my readers and I will aim to make them longer in the future. Enjoy :)

Chapter 3

The rest of the class wasn't too eventful, she had art class after which she was actually looking forward to, drawing was one of the only things she was quite good at and the people in her class were nothing like Izzy so she even managed to start to enjoy it slightly.

When break came she just wanted to seek out Jonathan to see if his day was going better than hers, of course she had no doubt it would be. Jonathan was just better at making friends than she was and she had no idea why.

She made her way to what seemed to be the main social area and what she saw made her heart sink and her stomach turn inside out. Jonathan had his arm around Izzy who was giggling happy and clearly trying as hard as she could to flirt her butt off.

There was no point interfering she figured so before her brother had a chance to spot her, she took off running and trying to stop the tears from spilling from her eyes. It was stupid she realised, this Izzy girl had only been in one class with her. Her brother probably didn't even know what happened and yet she couldn't help feeling betrayed.

Suddenly she felt herself collide with someone.

"Wow watch where you're going!" They exclaimed.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't see you." She stammered as she looked up into a pair of golden eyes. That's when she really took a look at who she had walked into, there was no denying how beautiful he was. He had golden-blond hair to match golden eyes and it was easy to make out a washboard stomach and hard abs through his thin shirt. He smirked, knowing all too well that she was checking him out and clearly he knew just how good he looked. So he was one of them guys.

"Whatever." He laughed and rolled his eyes, "The ladies just can't get enough of Jace Herondale." The rest of his friends and well most of the people nearby laughed at her, she felt her cheeks beginning to burn again. She had been embarrassed twice so far and it wasn't even lunch, it would definitely be a long today.

"Maybe that would be true if you weren't such an arrogant bastard." She snapped, not sure were the confidence came from but this time her voice didn't crack and certainly a few people turned. A few even looked scared for her.

"Oh is that right? Listen here redhead, you're new here so you clearly don't know how things work. I'll let you off this once but don't get in my way again, am I clear?" He hissed in her face.

"Crystal." She shot before pushing her way past everyone and walking away, she wasn't really sure where she was going - not that it really mattered. Eventually she found a quiet corner where she sank to the floor sighing and waiting for the bell to go for the next class.

At lunch she sat alone in the quiet corner she had found. She couldn't bear to face her brother, nor did she feel like bumping into Jace again.

Finally the final bell went and she rushed straight out of the school gates without looking back. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going?" Said the person who she now realised was Jonathan.

"Home, where does it look like?" She snapped back, still upset with him.

"Well you could have waited for me you know. Also where did you go at lunch and break? I looked for you."

"Yeah, sure looked like you were suffering."

"Is this about Isabelle?" He exclaimed, when she didn't say anything he continued, "Seriously Clary, she's brilliant and she's, well how should I say it, extremely hot."

"Yeah, whatever." She sighed, really not interested in hearing Jonathan going on about that stupid bitch.

"What is your problem? You don't even know her." He asked her angrily.

"Well she didn't know me when she decided to be a complete bitch to me in gym, did she?"

"Oh come on Clary, she probably wasn't being horrible, you're over-exaggerating. It's not her fault you're no good at gym." He sighed at her. She just turned her head away, she couldn't even look at him. How could he say that? He was supposed to be her big brother, protecting her from these exact people.

"Clary I'm sorry..." He started.

"Forget it Jonathan. Just leave me alone, okay?" She sighed before walking on ahead herself. He didn't try to catch up, he just let her run off.

When she got home she walked in, slammed the door shut and ran up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut before falling to her knees and crying out all the tears she had been keeping in all day, for Isabelle, Jace, Jonathan, school, life, Simon, everything. She heard her parents talking downstairs but didn't bother to pay attention to what they were saying, she tuned everything out. When she heard a knock at the door she screamed for them to go away and afterwards no one came back. Jonathan was probably downstairs telling their parents all sorts of crap about why she was upset, making her seem unreasonable and weak. Which maybe she was but for different reasons.

Eventually she had no more tears to cry and just sat on the floor sniffling, that's when she realised how stupid she was being, she should be getting on with it instead of acting like a pathetic bitch. She was going to email Simon about her day but she just decided to phone him, he wouldn't judge her for crying and he wouldn't make fun of her.

He picked up after a few rings.

"Hello? Clary?"

"Yeah it's me." She sighed.

"Oh it's good to hear from you, how are things in New York?" He clearly knew something was wrong but didn't want to be the first one to bring it up.

"Oh Simon it's awful, the people are so horrible and Jonathan is friends with them and they all hate me. I miss you so much." She sniffed, feeling the tears come back.

"How could anyone hate my Clary?" He tease before his tone turned sombre once more, "God Clary, I wish I could just come hug you right now."

"I wish you could too." She whispered, they went silent for a few minutes before Simon spoke again.

"We are going to see each other again though, right?" He whispered, almost sounding scared of the answer.

"Yeah Simon, we will. Maybe you could even come to New York some day and stay over, I could show you around." She suggested though he would probably tell her how insane that was.

"I'd like that." He told her instead.

They talked about anything and everything for quite a while until she heard a small tap at her door.

"Simon, I'll talk to you again soon, okay?"

"Okay, I love you Clary." He said and she wasn't sure exactly what kind of love he meant but she just had to take it as friendly love.

"I love you too Simon, bye."

"Flopped onto her bed sighing as her room door opened.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Her mom murmured when she came in and sat down next to her.

"I don't know what Jonathan told you but I'm willing to bet it's a load of crap so ignore it."

"Oh come here." Her mom said, pulling her into her arms and holding her tightly against her chest.

"You don't get it Mom you just don't get it."

"Clary, I think you'll find-" her Mom started before she was cut off by her Dad.

"Come on Jocelyn, you can't baby her forever. She's a big girl, she needs to learn to handle this stuff. Not everyone in life of going to like you and there's nothing you can do about it." Her Dad stated, as if she wasn't even in the room.

"Valentine! How can you possibly say that?" Jocelyn exclaimed.

"Jocelyn, are you really going to argue with me? It's the truth and you know it." He laughed before walking out and closing the door again. She could sense something was off and couldn't decide what.

"Mom, what was that all about?" She whispered.

"What are you talking about? Everything's fine, I'm going to make dinner." Her Mom said quickly then walked out and went downstairs.

Why was everything such a mess?

On her second day at Alicante High School she decided to stop hiding and instead went into the canteen for lunch. She made eye contact with Jace and he just laughed, he wasn't so bad she figured. He seemed more concerned about his social image than actually causing her any trouble. She wasn't sure where to sit when Jonathan walked up behind her and startled her with his offer.

"Hey Clary, why don't you come sit at our table?" He pointed to a table which both Jace and Isabelle were sitting at. She wasn't sure what to say, on the one hand she was sure she would rather put a knife through her eye than sit with them but it was her brother and she couldn't really say no. She simply nodded and followed after him, she sat right next to him and all the eyes turned to focus on her. She looked at Jonathan, expecting him to introduce her but he did no such thing.

At the table there was Jace and Isabelle that she knew, near them sat a strange boy with eyeliner and glittery clothes on who was sitting beside a quiet boy with black hair and black clothes. The glittery one waved cheerfully while the dark haired boy sat silently shooting death glares at everyone - she began to understand the phrase "if looks could kill".

"Ah you again." Jace said, smirking at her. She couldn't tell if this was good or bad.

"Yeah, me again." Clary sighed quietly under her breath.

"You know, I didn't actually catch your name." Jace said, never removing that annoying smirk from his face.

"Shame." She replied but when Jace raised his eyebrow at her she continued, "It's Clary."

"Clary, interesting name. You know, I believe you've met my sister Izzy. I'm sure you two will be great friends." At this both she and Izzy shot him matching glares before turning them on each other. Jace just laughed.

Why was he teasing her like this? Pretending to be nice when really he was doing no such thing and clearly everyone at the table knew it. She ate her lunch as quickly as she could and walked out of the canteen. Jonathan didn't even try to stick up for her, when it was obvious they were being mean to her.

As she was leaving she heard Jace run up beside her.

"What the hell do you want?" She snapped before he could get a word out.

"Feisty red head, I like it." He laughed and stroked a piece of her hair. She moved it out of his grasp.

"Look if you're just coming to tease me you may as well get lost."

"You know, if things were different, I might actually say you were cute." He said so quietly that she thought she was hearing things. She turned to look at him but he was already sitting back down at the table.

This time she actually waited on Jonathan after school, they walked home together in silence. Neither having anything to say to the other, it was just as well because she feared she would snap and start shouting at him if he did. Once she was home she found out that apparently the awful part of the day wasn't completely over.

"Welcome home, how was school?" Mom greeted them but without waiting for an answer she continued straight on, "Your Father and I realised that our old friends the Lightwood's still live here so we are going to visit them for dinner tonight, I think they actually have kids around your age that to your school I can't remember their names but it's not important. Go and get ready, we're leaving in half an hour."

Jonathan's face had a strange expression on it but when she asked he shrugged her off and went to his room. She decided she may as well get ready, if she had to suffer through this then she may as well look good at the same time.

She changed into one of the only two or three dresses she owned, it was black and came to just above her knees, she picked a pair of black shoes to go with it before redoing her makeup and brushing out her hair, she actually managed to pin it up for a change. She put on her emerald green coat that her Uncle Luke had gotten her for Christmas a few years ago and went downstairs to where her family were getting ready to leave. Surprisingly, Jonathan seemed to have made a big effort for this dinner she had no idea why, no one else seemed bothered though so she just went along with it.

"Everyone ready to go?" Her Mother asked, when they all nodded she went out to the car and left their father to lock the door.

They took their first drive as a family since moving to New York through the busy city. Finally the car drew up beside what looked like a rather old building at a first glance but after really looking at it, you could see how beautiful it actually was.

"Wow, how come we've never met these friends before." She whispered in awe.

They just laughed in response. They went to the door and rang the bell, it didn't take long for it to be answered by a woman with raven black hair.

"Jocelyn, Valentine, it's lovely to see you and your beautiful children. Well to this institution we Lightwoods call home." She beckoned us in.

"Thank you Mayrse, it's great to see you again too." My Mother replied with a smile as she walked in, "It's a beautiful house you have here."

"Thank you, I assume your new house is coming along well?"

"Yes, it's great being here in the city. We're settling in well."

Easy for Mom to say, unlike her mother, Clary hated every moment in this awful city. She just wanted to be back home with Simon, where no one made fun of her, no one deliberately tried to make her feel bad. She just wanted out of this city.

What happened in the next moment made her want to leave even more.

Jace and Isabelle were sitting in the Lightwood's living room along with a boy she has seen in the canteen earlier that day and another little boy who couldn't have been more than ten. Suddenly Jonathan's dressing up made sense, he obviously knew Isabelle's last name and had tried to impress her. She wished she could punch him for not telling her but it was needless to say that this was not the time or place.

"Clary! What a wonderful surprise!" Jace exclaimed with a smirk when he saw her.

"Oh so you two know each other?" Her Mom asked.

"No Mom, we don't know each other at all." She told her through gritted teeth much to Jace's delight though she wasn't sure what he was finding so great out of this situation.

"Alright then," Mayrse coughed, trying to clear the awkward silence, "Robert should be home any second now, and he will be delighted to see you all I'm sure. Why don't you take a seat in the living room while I make us some coffee.

Jonathan went straight over to sit next to Isabelle who welcomed him with a huge exaggerated grin, she just rolled her eyes at him. That girl looked like a heartbreaker and if Jonathan got hurt then she could only say she told him so.

She took a seat by herself and inwardly groaned when Jace got up and walked over to sit beside her. How could someone so beautiful be so irritating?

"Seems like your brother is getting it on with my sister." He said in a way of greeting.

"Great." She replied sarcastically with a dramatic eye roll.

"Well, you are quite something." He chuckled, it seemed more to himself so she didn't bother with a response. She had no idea what he was talking about really, was he still mocking her? Did he actually like her? If he liked her could she ever like him back? So many questions, she screamed at her brain to stop. How dare she imagine being with Jace she thought.

She was about to speak, maybe try to at least make an effort to talk to Jace when a man walked into the room.

"What is happening here?" He exclaimed when he saw my Mom and Dad.

"Hello Robert, it's good to see you." My Dad said, standing up to shake Robert's hand. She figured this must be the Lightwood children's dad, he looked very angry and she couldn't figure out why.

"Valentine, if only I could say the same." Robert replied without shaking Dad's hand then walked out of the room.

Everyone in the room fell into a shocked silence, Dad's face was bright red and showing a mix of embarrassment and anger. It was really uncomfortable and they could all hear the furious whispering from outside in the hallway.

"What the hell are they doing in my house Mayrse?" Robert snapped at his wife.

"Robert. Valentine and Jocelyn have been friends with us for years, they moved into the city recently, it's only decent to invite them over." Mayrse replied in a calmer manner.

"You know fine well that-" Robert started before my Mum stood up and cut them off.

"Robert, Mayrse, we should probably get going. We didn't want to cause any problems." She said, as she opened the door.

"Nonsense, Jocelyn. I-We invited you here," Mayrse corrected herself awkwardly, "So you must stay, please just have some coffee and a biscuit."

"Mayrse." Robert warned in a harsh tone.

"If you don't like it Robert then leave." Mayrse snapped before walking away into the kitchen, Robert stormed out leaving everyone except the four adults confused.

Even Jace had lot the constant smirk from his face, she turned to him with a questioning look but he was as lost as she was. The boy with the glasses came up and sat next to Jace who - for the first time since Clary had met him - actually showed affection, ruffled his hair and showed a real genuine smile.

"Clary, this is Max. He's my little brother, technically." He introduced him, she didn't bother asking what he meant by 'technically', it felt rude.

"Hi Max, I'm Clary." She smiled at him warmly, he was just so cute!

"Do you know how to read this?" He asked her shyly and held out a book that had a Chinese sort of manga look to it.

"It looks very pretty, I'm sure we can figure it out. Why don't you come over and I'll help you?" She suggested. She looked up at Jace, expecting to see disapproval there; she couldn't be sure if she was out of line by suggesting this as she barely knew any of them. She was happily surprised though to see a real smile on his face, not just a smirk but a real, loving smile that almost made her heart stop.

She sat with Max, helping him through his strange book while Jace watched on fondly, giving a few comments here and there. It was the first time she felt truly happy since she had moved here, so of course something had to ruin it.

"Max, come on over here and see something else." An icy voice cut through their reading.

"Izzy, Clary is showing me how to read my book. It's amazing." Max told her proudly.

"Well, I can do that." She told him coldly, it was clear what she was trying to do.

"But you told me yesterday you didn't want to help me and-" He started, she felt bad for him. He was clearly confused by his sister's sudden coldness, it was awful that she should spoil her brother's fun for some bitchy argument with Clary.

"Well now I've changed my mind, come on."

"What's your problem Isabelle?" Jace spoke up for the first time since Isabelle came over.

"Shut up Jace, I'm not the one with the problem."

"No, I think-" He argued back. It was clear that Jace was fond of Max, it brought out a side she never thought he had.

"Jace, just shut the hell up for once. No one cares what you think. You're not even my real brother. You can't tell me what to do." She snapped. All four of them fell into an uncomfortable silence before Isabelle dragged Max away, he wasn't protesting anymore. Clearly realising that it could only make things worse.

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