Hey, everyone! I told you I'd be updating soon! So, you guys chose option A! Yay! I'm really sorry if you chose option B, but I promise that you'll love this story just the same! You guys don't know how excited I am for this story! Seriously! I'm liked, pumped to be writing this! More information on what this story is going to look like at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments, or it's characters. I simply own the plot expressed in this story.
Chapter 2:
Once again Jace found himself fidgeting in his clothes, wanting nothing more than to rip them off. They were just small enough on his ever growing body to make him slightly uncomfortable. But what could his parents do? The kid grew like a weed, and his parents had bought these pants and sweater only a month ago.
"Jace," his mother said, half exasperated, half amused. "Will you please stop wiggling for a minute so I can take you picture?"
Jace flopped himself down on the couch with all the grace of a seven year old boy. "You don't need a picture of me, Mom."
Celine resisted the urge to throw up her hands. "Jace," she said with the type of forced patience that came with repeating yourself. "This is a big day. It's your first day of kindergarten."
"No. I'm not going," Jace said with a cross of his arms.
Celine was about to argue with him, but stopped when she saw tears rim her normally tough as nails son's eyes. "Oh, honey. What's wrong?" she asked as she sat next to him.
Jace wiped a quick hand against his cheeks, always trying to appear tough. "They're going to make fun of me, Momma."
Celine pulled Jace onto her lap and ran a hand over his blond locks. "Why would they do that, my dear?"
Jace sniffled. "Because I'm older than they are."
Celine pulled away from Jace enough to force him to look her in the eyes. "Jonathan Christopher Herondale, you listen to me. There is nothing wrong with being a little older than the other children. All it means is that you're a little more mature than they are."
Jace sniffed again. "They'll make fun of me."
"Then that will just prove that you're more mature than they are. Don't you worry about it, honey. If anyone gives you too much trouble, then you tell me and I'll go in and kick their butt."
Jace giggled a little. "Mom," he laughed.
"What?" Celine played along. "You don't think I could take them?"
Jace looked her up and down with a pensive expression. Finally, he said, "No. You're kind of wimpy."
Celine burst out into uproarious laughter. "Wimpy?" she mocked. "I'll show you wimpy. Come here!" She reached over and grabbed him, trying to tickle him but he jumped up before she could catch him. He ran around the house, giggling and she chased after him.
Their play came to an abrupt halt when Jace ran head first into his father. "Whoa, there," Stephen said, setting a steadying hand on his still giggling son. Stephen looked up and quirked an amused eyebrow at Celine. Later, she mouthed. With a nod of his head, Stephen refocused his attention on his son. "You weren't going to leave without your special show-and-tell item were you?"
Being the first day of school, each student was encouraged to bring in something special to them and then they could show it to the class. Jace's mouth fell into a little "O" shape. "No!" he said. "I forgot!"
Stephen gave his son a loving smile and said, "That's what I thought." He pulled his other hand out from behind his back, revealing a small stuffed falcon.
"I can't believe you forgot Valentine!" Celine exclaimed with mock horror. Jace reached out and snatched the falcon out from his father's hand and hugged it to his chest. Celine crouched down in front of him so that they were eye to eye. "Can I take a picture of you if Valentine gets to be in it?"
Jace nodded silently. With a smile, Celine took his hand and stood him in front of the fireplace. She turned the camera on and smiled. "Say, 'Cheese!'" Jace complied and gave the camera a toothless grin.
Celine set the camera back down and walked over to Jace giving him a tight squeeze. "I have to go get ready for work, honey, but your daddy's going to get you on the bus. Okay?" Jace nodded. Celine plopped a loud kiss on his cheek. "You have a great day, Jace. I love you!"
Jace turned slightly red. "I love you too, Momma."
With one last teary-eyed smile, Celine stood up and walked over to her husband. She gave him a kiss on his cheek and whispered something in his ear that Jace couldn't hear. Stephen responded with a solemn nod and a squeeze of her hand. Then he turned to Jace. "Ready to go, kid?"
Jace perked up, excited to spend time with his father. He was definitely a man's man-he loved spending time with his dad, helping him fix things. That doesn't mean he didn't love getting spoiled and babied by his mother.
Stephen took Jace's hand and walked him over to the door. Jace picked up his Power Rangers backpack and tried to put it on himself. This was quite difficult with the combination of Valentine in his hands and his long, uncoordinated arms. Stephen laughed quietly to himself and helped Jace slip the straps onto his shoulders. Jace tried to seem annoyed, as though he didn't need the help, but secretly he was grateful.
With one of Jace's hands claimed by his father's and the other clutching onto his best friend, he made his way down the driveway just as the bus pulled up. At the end of the driveway Stephen let go of Jace's hand and ruffled his hair. "You be good today, okay, kid?"
Jace nodded. "Yes, Dad."
"Love you, Jacey."
Jace blushed once again, hoping no one on the bus heard. "Love you too," he mumbled, then ran off toward the bus.
The kindergarten classroom was bright and filled with anything and everything having to do with education. The students were sitting in a circle on an overly bright carpet, each of them clutching something tightly to their chest. Jace was seated next to a quiet boy who he had met once before. His name was Alec Lightwood and their parents were very close friends. Beside Alec was his twin sister, Isabelle. On Jace's right was an obnoxious girl named Aline. Jace had tried to ditch her several times, but she was persistent.
None of these people were the ones that had all of Jace's attention though. Directly across from him in the circle was a very tiny girl with a mop of fire atop her head. She was the girl Jace had seen in the restaurant over the summer-the one with the cooties shot. Jace had tried to catch her name, but Aline had been talking to him and he had missed it. He would get it this time though. They were all going around the circle, saying their name and talking about the precious item in their lap.
Jace decided that he didn't like their teacher, Mrs. Verlac. She had a funny accent that only came through here or there. Plus, she had made Jace say his age in front of the entire class when they had gone around and introduced themselves. On the bright side, no one had said a word about it. It turns out he isn't the only seven year old in the class.
Jace's focus snapped back to attention when the first person went. He had to pay attention, so that he could catch her name. The first person to go was someone named Magnus Bane. He was tall, about as tall as Jace, and had eyes that reminded Jace of a cat. Jace found that funny, because Magnus's show-and-tell item was a picture of his pet cat, which he called Chairman Meow.
After Magnus were a few loud girls that stood out to Jace in absolutely no way. Then a quiet boy stood up on shaky legs. He had been talking to the girl all day. His name was Simon and he had wire framed glasses and messy hair that fell in his eyes every time he pushed it back. He had a pin with a Star of David on it. He mumbled a story about how it had belonged to his father, who had died two years ago.
Then it was her turn. Jace leaned forward in anticipation. She cleared her throat and looked around with nervous eyes. Her eyes locked on Jace's for a split second before flitting away. "My name is Clary Fray," she stated in a strong voice. "And this is my sketchbook." She help up a spiral book and turned it around so that everyone in the circle could see. She kept the cover forward so no one could see the drawings inside. "My mom is an artist. She taught me to draw when I was three. She helps me with my pictures."
Mrs. Verlac gives Clary a warm smile. "That's very nice, Clary."
Clary. The name echoed in Jace's head. He decided that he really liked that name.
A few more people went, and then it was Jace's turn. He stood up, his legs not shaking in the slightest. He was confident, completely unfazed by all the pairs of eyes on him. "My name is Jace Herondale." He picked up Valentine and held him up for everyone to see. "This is my falcon, Valentine. My mom-" Jace was interrupted by someone snickering.
It was a boy who had already gone. Jace thought he remembered hearing that his name was Sebastian. "You're seven years old, and you still play with stuffed animals? Those are for girls!"
Jace felt tears sting his eyes, but he refused to let them spill over. "No they aren't."
Mrs. Verlac told the boys to stop, but Sebastian wouldn't listen. "Are you a girl, Jace?"
Jace tilted his chin up, trying to appear strong. "No."
"Jace is a girl!" Sebastian taunted.
Jace couldn't take anymore. "Mrs. Verlac, can I go to the bathroom?" he blurted out. He didn't wait for a response before he ran out the door, glad that the bathrooms were just across the hall. Jace burst through the door to the boys room and sank to the floor. He couldn't keep the tears back anymore. They leaked down his cheeks and quiet sobs racked his small body.
He jumped when the door burst open. He tried to quickly wipe the tears away, but stopped in surprise. A girl had come in. Actually, Clary had come in.
Jace quickly went back to wiping at his eyes, not wanting her to see him cry. "You aren't supposed to be in here," he sniffled. "This is the boys room."
Through blurry eyes he saw Clary shrug. "I'm already in trouble for running out. If Mrs. Verlac didn't have a mess with Sebastian then I'd be in worse trouble."
Jace sniffed again. "Why are you in here?"
Clary looked uncomfortable. A soft blush crept up her cheeks. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," she said.
Jace narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you care?"
Clary tipped up her head in confidence. "No one deserves to be treated that way. Besides, I really like Valentine. He's cute."
Jace smiled a little. "Thanks." He looked down at the sketchbook in her hands. "Can I see some of your drawings?"
Clary hesitated, then nodded, handing him the book. Jace flipped through them. They were really good. Probably more at the level of a fourth grader than a kindergartener. "You're a good drawer," Jace stated, handing the book back to her.
Clary blushed again and mumbled a thanks.
Unsure what to say in the silence, Jace blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "You're hair is different."
Clary folded her arms over her chest. "Like you're one to talk, Goldilocks."
Jace and Clary were locked in an intense staring contest, until they both suddenly burst into laughter. Soon they were both on the floor because they were laughing so hard. Clary leaned her head on Jace's shoulder in an attempt to breathe again. "I meant it in a good way," Jace clarified once he was able to speak. "I think your hair is pretty."
Clary blushed again. "Thank you," she mumbled. Then she stood up and brushed herself off. "We should get back before we get into trouble."
Jace nodded and stood up. "Clary?" he said just before she opened the door. She turned around to look at him. Jace caught her off guard by wrapping her in a tight embrace. "Thank you. You're a good friend."
Clary laughed and hugged him back. "You should meet Simon! I think you'll like him."
Jace opened the door and they both walked out. "And you should meet Alec and Izzy. You'll like them."
They were both wrong. Alec was not a big fan of the feisty redhead, and Simon looked at Jace as competition for his best friend. However, Clary and Izzy, they did like each other. Mostly.
Later that night, when Jace got home, he shoved Valentine into the back of his closet, where he would forget about him for years. Then, at the dinner table, Stephen and Celine asked Jace about his first day of school. He told them it was awful, but merely shrugged when they asked why. Then he distracted them from the topic by telling them he made a friend named Clarissa Fray.
He was much too young to notice the knowing look they shared.
Howdy, y'all! Are you guys as upset as I am over a sad little Jace? I mean seriously, can I use that rune for a broken heart now? :( I digress...I hope you guys are okay with a few more young Clary and Jace chapters? Like, probably at least two, but they'll be a little older each time. What I really wanted to do with this story was have the characters have big back stories, but I didn't want to just, like, tell you guys their story, yanno? I really wanted you guys to see their relationship develope and understand why they are who they are as people. So, yeah, a few more young chapters, but the major story part of this story will be them at age like seventeen or eighteen.
Please review and let me know what you think! I'm going to start typing the next chapter right now, but, I want these chapters to be a bit longer than my chapters for "Letting Her In," so they take longer to type. As usual, reviews do tend to speed up the updating process ;)
Love always,
YesIWriteForFun
P.S. I wanted to get into the spirit of my childhood while writing this, so I'm listening to the Pandora 2000s pop station, hahaha. All I can say is, Justin Timberlake, you are most definitely bringing Sexy Back ;)
