Hi guys! I'm posting again! I love you guys, so many people have followed and favorited When He Cheats. I love TMI so much, I'm actually going as Clary for Halloween! I used to think that fanfiction authors were kinda crazy for being so excited about reviews, but now I totally get it. I LIVE for my reviews! Yay! DISCLAIMER: No matter how angry I am about it, I don't own Clary, Jace or the rest of the gang. Cassandra Clare does. When is she gonna publish more books?! I know that there are no more planned books, but there really should be. I need more!
Clary's POV
I kissed Jace passionately, looking up at him with a blissful smile. He looked down at me, his features soft and loving, the walls around his heart long since broken down. "Try it again." he says gently, reminding me that we are supposed to be training. I sigh exaggeratedly, picking up my knife and throwing it at the target. It buries itself in the dummy's left shoulder, tip first.
"Damn." I mutter, going and trying again. I get so close, but it isn't working for me.
I shake my head, memories from before Jace cheated spinning through my head. I am different now. I don't love him anymore, and I don't suck at throwing knives. I've grown, both physically and emotionally. I am not that little girl anymore.
I trained with Alec and Izzy with the Levitate rune. Alec's the best at it. He is good at not going all out right away. He is getting the basics first.
As soon as I applied the rune on Jace, he rose into the air and tried to do one of Alexa's complicated flip sequences. He wasn't too bad at the flips, but he lost concentration on levitating and flew into the wall, and then fell on the floor. I smirked down at him.
"I'd like to see you do better." he joked, laughing off his failure.
"Sure!" I accepted the challenge he posed to me. "Alexa!" I call. She looks over from where she is practicing difficult twists in mid air.
"Yeah?" she calls in response.
"I want to show Jace us doing better." I replied innocently. She grinned.
"Absolutely."
"Why don't we do the battle sequence?" I suggest. She just nods. "Okay, Jace, so this is a battle sequence we made up if we are surrounded by demons." He nods. Alexa tosses me a seraph blade, and I name it. "Raziel." After she names her blade, we stand back to back.
"Ready? Go." In unison we spring up, executing a perfect flip, then holding out our blades we fly around in the circle, slashing our "demons", then when we meet up again we hold each other's hand that isn't holding our seraph blades to flip around, descending on each of our "demons" together, making quick work of each of them. Finally, we fly high into the air, almost hitting the ceiling of the training room and make our exit. When we walk back into the training room, everyone applauds. At one time or another, they'd all stopped training and started watching the routine.
"And that is how you defeat demons surrounding you with just a seraph blade, a stele, and a friend. Easy!" Alexa declares. I laugh.
"Maybe not easy. But definitely effective." I correct. "So Jace, since I am currently training you, why don't you try the same thing with Alec? Alexa and I will provide the runes and the blades." I smile devilishly. They have no idea how many hours of practice that took.
"Um, sure? Could you remind us of what you did?" Jace says uncertainly.
"Of course!" Alexa says, acting helpful. "First it's a front flip, then you each fly around half the circle with your blade out, then hold hands and go on each demon one at a time. Just make quick work of them, because you don't want the other demons to recover from the slash. Then just fly high and leave the room. Simple." She turns to me so she can let out her evil smile, then her face is a mask of innocence and helpfulness. I snicker quietly. This should be amusing. Alec nods.
"It doesn't sound too difficult." he chimes in quietly. "We'll do it."
I nod, tossing him my seraph blade. Jace gets Alexa's blade. Since we both have steles, Alexa applies Alec's rune and I gently grab Jace's wrist and turn it over, drawing the rune over the veins. He smiles at me when I finish, and I quickly let go of his hand, a flush rising to my cheeks. I turn to Alexa so I can hide it, and when I turn back my face is normal again. Alec and Jace are standing back to back, ready to start.
"Go!" Alexa commands. Their rise into the air isn't bad, but the flips are wobbly and lopsided at best. Finally they fly in the circle. Alec's control isn't too bad, but Jace is bad at the curves. He keeps having to stop, and as a result Alec is waiting for Jace when he finishes his loop. Jace grabs Alec's hand and they fly carefully to each fake demon and slash at it. But they have trouble flying together, which results as a very funny erratic flight pattern. But the best part comes at the end, when they fly to the ceiling to escape. Alec stops at a good height for him but, since Jace is shorter, Jace kept flying up, accidentally pulling Alec with him. Alec hits his head on the ceiling, and we all are cracking up.
Since Alec is now angry with Jace, he shoves Jace towards the door, following behind. A disoriented Jace unfortunately flies into the wall, because the door is lower and he forgot to descend. Alec makes it out successfully, as Jace floats to the floor and stumbles out of the training room. Magnus, who has been watching all of us training and practicing with his magic, starts walking towards the door to see them when he trips over a mat and just stays on the floor, laughing and laughing. Simon, who has been practicing using his vampire strength, follows suit, hitting the mat without pause in his laughter. The boys walk back in, suitably cowed.
"Okay, so it's harder than it looks." Jace admits.
I am the first one to recover from my laughter. "That actually wasn't too awful. You have no idea how long it took for Alexa and I to get the hang of it. It just takes practice." Jace nods, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "For now, we should get back to regular training. You were good at rising in the air, so let's go to the circle. Try it again." I order. Still overcome with small fits of giggles, the rest of the Shadowhunters, accompanied by one warlock and one vampire, go back to their training.
Jace rises and begins twisting around, trying his best to fly in a circle. He does have a bit of trouble, although eventually a smooth flight emerges. "There you go!" I call up to him. The height difference makes me uncomfortable, so I rise up to his level. "Now that you've gotten the hang of flying around, let's have a quick race."
I yell down to everyone on the ground. "We are all going to have a race with the Levitate rune! Magnus and Simon, you will be the judges." Jace and I fall to the floor as everyone gathers around me. "Have Alexa or I apply the rune for you." I add, turning to Izzy as she comes to get the rune. I apply it carefully, making sure not to use up too much of my strength with it. Glancing at my own rune when I finish, I quickly assess that it doesn't need any more power. Once everyone is runed, I announce the racecourse.
"First we run to the wall, then we take off and fly to the ceiling first, touch it, then fly out the door to the other side of the wall. Then do a front flip and fly back into the training room and touch the front wall. That's the end. But there is one catch. We will be racing in pairs, holding the other person's hand at all times. The winning pair gets out of training for the rest of the day." I smile deviously. Alexa seems pretty pleased with the rules, and she comes over to me and slips her hand in mine. I pull it out of hers, immensely pleased with the last part of the rules that I have not told them. "I will not be participating. Brad won't be participating either." I let the bomb drop, listening to the protests. "And I will be assigning partners." Alexa throws her hands up, frustrated. She shakes her head.
"Don't you dare set me up with Jace." she warns. I snicker.
"It would be so funny, though…" I smirk. She glares at me, knowing her fate is sealed. Jace looks a little hurt at Alexa's obvious aversion to him.
"All right!" I say, louder this time. "These pairs have been selected for the amusement of the spectators and other competitors. They are… Drumroll please!" Magnus and Simon drumroll on their laps. "Alexa and Jace! They have been selected as a pair because Alexa hates Jace and Jace isn't the most capable with the Levitate rune. They were also selected for my amusement because they will have to hold hands! Yay!" I cheer, excited for the race ahead.
"Nooo!" Alexa yells. "Why, Clary, why? I hate you!"
"No you don't. You love me." I respond smugly. She childishly sticks her tongue out at me, and I laugh, secure in the safety of our bond. Isabelle looks on, a little jealous.
"And! The other pair consists of Izzy and Alec! They were selected because they work well together and I want them to beat Alexa and Jace." I say, not at all ashamed at my hopeful views of the race. Simon and Magnus are cracking up, and I grin at them, knowing exactly how this race will go. Grumbling, Jace and Alexa make their way to the starting line, holding hands reluctantly. Iz and Alec seem very happy about their pairing, laughing at Jace's expression, holding hands without the slightest part of Jace and Alexa's clear uncomfortableness.
"Everyone ready? Go!" I sweep my hand down, watching as the pairs begin to run towards the wall. Alexa and Jace outpace Alec and Izzy, but as soon as it is time to take off, Alec and Izzy have a clear advantage. Being brother and sister, they are used to working together. They take off in unison, flying to the ceiling with no difficulty. Seeing their lead, Alexa flies at top speed to the ceiling, trying to drag Jace with her. He instinctively resists, his training kicking in. Groaning, Alexa slows and waits for Jace to catch up. In the meantime, the brother-sister pair have already touched the ceiling and are halfway to the door.
Jace and Alexa finally get it together, flying to the ceiling, and heading out the door. Alexa's pure speed dragging Jace, who has long ago figured it out and let Alexa pull him, is beating Isabelle and Alec. However, when it is time to flip, Jace can't be pulled. He flips slowly, thereby inevitably slowing Alexa's flip. Their competitors have no such trouble, flipping quickly and capably. Eventually, Jace and Alexa finish their twists and race after Alec and Isabelle. It is very close, but the siblings put out a last burst of speed, hitting the wall an instant before my parabatai and Jace do.
"And… Isabelle and Alec win! Brother and sister for the win!" I announce like a sports anchor. Magnus cheers. Simon, who had become incapacitated with laughter at Alexa and Jace's antics, justs laughs harder, if that's possible. "They also get the rest of today's training off, if they want it. If they don't, they each can choose one person who does want it to take it." Alec and Isabelle conferred in whispers. Finally, they broke apart.
"We want to give it away." Izzy announces. "Mine will go to Clary."
"Yes!" I cheer. Any excuse to get out of training. Jace walks towards Alec, an expectant grin on his face.
"Thanks." he says to Alec quietly. I notice his expression, clearly expecting to also get out of training so he can talk to me privately or some such notion. But I am mostly absorbed in an expression on Alec's face, one I haven't see there much. It's an evil grin, and it is directed towards Jace. I soon understand who he is going to release from training with me, and a similar grin spreads across my face. It's not Jace.
"Mine goes to…" he pauses dramatically, the malicious smile growing even more. As I anticipate the reactions of the others, my expression matches his. He glances at me, and can tell that I know who he plans on giving his get-out-of-training free pass to. He nods at me, giving permission for me to do whatever I want during the time they will all be training. "... BRAD!" he yells, overly pleased by Jace's face when he processes the meaning of the name and Alec's nod. Then again, so am I.
Jace just shakes his head and tries to walk out of the training room, upset and frustrated. But Alexa beats him to it, blocking his way using the Levitate rune to fly in front of him. "Ah-ah, pretty boy. You are not leaving this room until we all finish training." she says, wagging her finger in his face mockingly.
Alexa's POV
I hear Clary's voice in my head, asking me to tone it down a little. I'm not really surprised. I let my gaze soften a little. Surprisingly, Jace looks confused. "What was that?" he says slowly, gesturing between Clary and I. I look at him a little funny, hiding my surprise at his figuring out our telepathic connection. "You two just communicated silently." he elaborates at my expression. I sigh, exasperated.
"If you must know, we have a telepathic connection."
"How?" everyone demands in unison. Everyone except Clary, who has a look of resignation. I shrug at her.
"So you guys obviously know Clary can create runes. I can strengthen runes. Working together, we can do a lot. Bound as parabatai… We are potentially unstoppable. So a telepathic ability shouldn't be what you focus on. And no, we will not be giving you guys telepathic connections." I stop talking for a second to catch my breath, then forge on before they can interrupt. "And I give permission for Clary and Brad to go to her room, as long as Clary gives me the parabatai rune. I am not sure if I will want to feel how you feel now." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively. Clary laughs, brushing off the suggested notion and coming over to draw the rune. When she came to this institute, I couldn't have cracked a joke like that, because she would just blush intensely and start muttering.
Now my resilience had rubbed off on her, and she could just laugh at the jokes. "Oh, Brad!" she calls. He comes over, open desire in his eyes. Clary grabs his shoulders, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. But just as their lips brush, she pulls away and drags him out of the room.
"Tease!" he yells, allowing himself to be pulled. Jace looks after him with sad eyes.
"Hey! Earth to Jace! Let's just train a little more. I think we deserve to cut it off short. After all, we are going to Stratosphere tonight." I wave my hand in front of his face. He snaps out of his trance.
"What's Stratosphere?" Izzy questions.
"The Miami Pandemonium." I respond shortly.
She squeals. "We're going clubbing?!" I smile, distracted by her enthusiasm.
"Yes." I laugh.
"Has Clary told you about my makeovers?" she questions.
"Yeess?" I respond cautiously, hoping that the response I am dreading doesn't come.
"You're getting one!" I sigh inwardly. Damn.
"Yay." I say limply in a fake enthusiastic voice.
Clary's POV
After a relaxing few hours out of training, Isabelle barges into my room. "You're getting a makeover!" she declares.
"Fine." I say, although inwardly I'm dreading it. Izzy has an impeccable fashion sense, but she isn't very kind in dealing with her customers. She pulls hair and pokes you in the eye several times. But whatever. She pulls me into the bathroom and throws all sorts of products on my face. I just let her. Half an hour later, she is finished and she was successful in making me look badass. When I walk out of the bathroom, Alexa looks up from her phone and whistles at my face.
Izzy has made my face look sharp and angled, confident, but with an element of vulnerability that no guy could resist. And my hair she has just completely amazed even me with. She brushed it out, then conditioned and straightened it, letting me discover that when my hair is straight, it goes down almost to mid-thigh. Finally, she curled it, leaving me with red ringlets down to my waist. She goes into her closet, and starts digging for something. I sit down on the bed, hoping she won't try to put me in something pink, poofy, and glittery. Finally, she pulls out a black dress. I put in on, and Alexa whistles again. It fits perfectly. It looks like it is made out of leather, but it is really made out of a very soft fabric. It goes down to about mid-thigh, revealing my tan, toned legs. It is sleeveless and has a crossed back, which is simply brilliant. It sets the rest of the dress off perfectly.
I note how nicely it hugs my curves, showing them off without being uncomfortably tight. The fabric is revealed to be stretchy, making it the perfect dress for a Shadowhunter like me going demon hunting at a club. Not to mention it's sexy as hell.
"What do you think?" Izzy asks, a hint of worry in her voice. I turn and hug her, reassuring her of my feelings on the dress and restoring our friendship.
"I love it. It's like it was made for me." Izzy shifts.
"It kinda… was." she admits. "When we found you, I had it custom-made. I thought that it would fit your style. Was that okay?" she asks anxiously.
I smile. "Relax, Izzy. It's perfect." She smiles in return before dragging Alexa into the bathroom. When she comes out, she has minimal makeup, mostly making her face look completely natural yet perfect. Her hair falls over her shoulders in waves, her piercing violet gaze accentuated with the shine of her skin. Izzy gives her a white dress. She puts it on and I whistle. She looks amazing. The dress has three quarter lace sleeves and a lace bottom at about mid-thigh.
"Great. Amazing. Incredible. Isabelle, you've outdone yourself." I compliment. Izzy fits me in knee high black boots and Alexa in nude color high heeled sandals. She then quickly outfits herself in a dress similar to the one she was wearing when we met. White flowing sleeves with her gold snake whip bracelet peeking out, and a knee high bottom, adding cute sandal flats. It is a dress that not many teens could pull off, but Isabelle hit the mark easily. "You look great." I remark.
"Thanks, but the fun part has not come yet. That will be watching how the boys react to our clothes." she says with a devious smile that betrayed her Shadowhunter nature. I laugh, responding quickly.
"I completely agree. That's always the best part. That, and watching how our boyfriends react to us being bait to male demons. The female ones never come clubbing." We all laugh together.
"Let's do this." Alexa says, and a look of friendship passes between the three of us. We link arms and leave Isabelle's room together.
Hi guys! It's me, Annie! I hope you guys like this chapter. I have gotten so many reviews and I love it. It is hard to get good feedback from your friends.
Shipitsohard: I love that idea! I will probably use it. Clary looking sexy was already part of the plan!
Author Autumn: Sorry I didn't take your suggestion about shurikens with runes. I feel like Clary's best weapons are a seraph blade and stele. But thanks!
ShadowhunterQueen101: I did take your suggestion of showing old Clary, it did a lot to show her new personality. Thank you so much! It did a lot to continue the story fluently.
Thank you guys for reviewing. I love feedback, whether it is negative or positive. So! I hope you like this chapter! R&R! Thank you guys for supporting me, it means a lot. Until next chapter! ~ Annie