All I'm going to say is, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!
Disclaimer: My name is not Cassandra Clare. 'Nough said.
Chapter 3:
Jace sat atop of the hill, not worried about getting grass stains on his good dress pants; who would yell at him? The grass was dry from the cold, and the leaves of the trees were surrounding him on the ground. He thought it might have been snowing a little, but it didn't bother him. He just pulled his knees up to his chest, rested his chin on them, and stared. He was still staring down the hill toward the cemetery, thinking about how the two most freshly dug graves belonged to his mom and dad, when Clary came up to him. He wasn't surprised that she was there; Clary was always there.
He braced himself to hear it. I'm sorry. People had been repeating it to him over and over, all day long. Besides other things like poor boy, and he's only ten, it seemed it was all he had been hearing all day. He didn't want to hear it-no, he couldn't hear it come from Clary.
Lucky for him he wouldn't have to. Clary plopped herself down into the grass next to him. She stretched out her pale legs, which looked paler because of her black dress and crossed them at the ankles. They sat in absolute silence for a few minutes, neither of them uncomfortable.
Then, just as sudden as a young death, Jace broke into hysterics. Tears poured from his eyes and his entire body shook with choking sobs. Still, Clary said nothing. She scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling his head to her chest. She stroked his now wet golden locks.
"What am I going to do, Clary?" He chocked out after a while, looking up at her with broken eyes.
Most people would have said something along the lines of, "Move on," or "Find a way to keep going," or some other type of crap. But Clary wasn't a liar, and she had all the tact of a ten year old. "You live, Jace," she stated simply. "You live."
Jace accepted this answer with open arms.
No one came to get them. Adults were surely nearby and knew where they were, but no one would dare deny Jace what he wanted on this day. So they let Jace and Clary sit there for as long as they wanted. But eventually, it definitely started to snow. Clary tried not to, but she started shivering. It was the stupid little dress she was wearing; it offered no protection from the cold.
Keeping the theme of that day, Jace wordlessly shrugged off his fleece jacket and stood up. Clary stood too, willing to go along with whatever Jace wanted. Jace handed her his jacket. Clary took it and put it on without a thanks. None was needed in a relationship without words.
The paperwork was the worst part, Clary thought. It took about a week for it to be totally finished, and she didn't hear Jace say one word throughout the whole process. Around them, she would hear everyone saying how strong he was, how well he was doing. She knew that Jace heard them too. She also knew that they were wrong. Jace was whole new levels of broken, but he just refused to show it. He hated looking weak, so he didn't cry. He didn't whine. He just kept on going, showing no emotion at all.
The Lightwoods were nice. They loved Jace-anyone could tell you that. But they were hurting too. They had lost their best friends. And they were in no position to take on another child.
Maryse and Robert had their hands full with bickering twins Alec and Isabelle, and a three year old Max. They couldn't give Jace the special attention he so desperately needed at a time like this. Not that they treated him differently. He just didn't get the love that a kid who lost his parents should.
Nonetheless, they were the closest thing to parents Jace had left, and they were his Godparents, so by law they were supposed to take him in. It wasn't necessary that they adopt him, but Maryse and Robert insisted that it was. Clary really liked them for that, and-though he refused to admit it-Jace did too.
Clary didn't see Jace that whole week, but that wasn't by either of their choice. Clary had to keep going to school, and Jace was busy all the time with moving and adoption paperwork and everything else that sucks.
When that next Monday came around and Jace came back to school with Alec and Izzy, he still hadn't said a word to anyone. People stared at him everywhere he went. Eyes followed him as he walked down the hallways. When he walked into his third grade classroom, his teacher gave him a too tight hug, that he didn't really return.
When his teacher released him he walked straight across the classroom toward Clary, and spoke his first words in weeks. "I missed you." Then he wrapped her in a hug as tight as their first.
"Jace," Maryse sighed, running a hand over her face. "We've been over this. You can't keep acting out in class."
Jace's jaw clenched in frustration. "I wasn't acting out!"
Maryse raised her volume to match Jace's. "You punched another boy in the face!"
Jace's hands shook, he was so angry. "Sebastian had it coming," he said with forced calm.
Maryse shook her head. "There is no way-"
"He said it was my fault!" Jace blurted out. "He said it was my fault they're dead!" Had Jace still been able to cry, he may have cried as he said this. But he ran out of tears at the funeral.
Maryse sighed again, this time in sympathy. "Oh, Jace," she crooned, crouching down to meet his eyes. "You know that that isn't true."
Jace just shrugged, opting for silence.
"Jonathan Christopher Herondale, will you look at me?" He had refused to take the name Lightwood. All he really had left of his parents was their name, and he wasn't giving that up. With slight hesitation, he looked up to meet her eyes. "You know it wasn't your fault. You know that it was an accident." Her voice was soft. Jace always forgets that the car crash that took his parents two months ago took her best friends too.
"I know," he replied in an equally soft voice. "But it still hurts to hear."
Maryse enveloped her newest son in a hug. "I know, honey. I know."
"I'm sorry," Jace said, looking down at his hands in his lap.
Robert and Maryse stared at him from the couch across the living room. "'Sorry' isn't going to work much longer, Jace," Robert said in a stern voice.
Jace saw this coming. He was getting used to this. He couldn't do anything right in the eyes of his adoptive parents. But how could he? He wasn't their own flesh and blood like Alec and Isabelle, so how could he instinctually know how to be perfect for them?
Maryse sighed loudly when Jace didn't respond. "We've been cutting you some slack, Jace, because of what you've been through, but it has been a year. A year! You can't use their death as an-" Maryse abruptly cut herself off.
Jace looked up at her with narrow eyes. "As what? An excuse? Look, I know that I shouldn't have done it, but I wasn't thinking. I made a mistake."
Robert shook his head. "You're saying you mistakenly let out the class pet?"
Jace shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I didn't know it wasn't allowed. The tank didn't have a lid on it, so I assumed people did it all the time. Besides, how was I supposed to know that a turtle would bite someone?"
"You keep coming up with all these excuses, Jace. You have an excuse for everything don't you?"
Jace had no response to that.
Maryse spoke up again. "You're grounded for a week. But the next time you act out in class, you're in for a whole lot more trouble than that."
"Yes, ma'am," Jace said, effectively put in his place. Then he walked upstairs to his bedroom, praying tomorrow would come fast.
Clary was there, every single day. Every time Jace got in trouble in class, she was there, right by his side, defending him until the end. When he'd get into trouble at home, she was there to listen to him vent the next day. And she would always agree. Always. Even if she didn't really agree.
When he came in the day after what they liked to refer to as "the last straw" she told him she would help him out. "I'll stick by your side, and make sure you don't get yourself into trouble. If I see you about to do something bad I'll…" Clary trailed off, attempting to come up with a method to stop him.
"Spray me with water?" Jace joked.
Clary swatted him on the shoulder. "No. I don't know, I'll stop you. Take this seriously Jace! I'm sick of you getting grounded, because then I have to hang out with Simon, and he's boring."
Simon, who was sitting next to her, exclaimed, "Hey!"
Clary giggled and gave him a hug from the side. "You know I'm kidding, Simon." She turned back to Jace. "Really, Jace. Do you want to keep getting into trouble with them?" She and Jace both knew what she really meant: do you want to keep disappointing them? It was a low blow, and maybe not true, but it was a soft spot for Jace and she knew that.
He knew that she knew that. "Fine. If you catch me doing something bad, stop me." Jace didn't need to say thank you for Clary to know that he was grateful.
You guys don't hate me, do you? I PROMISE I do everything for a reason! And trust me, you guys weren't the only ones this chapter affected. I was literally like, crying writing this! This chapter is me building up Jace's character. I know that this chapter is a little jumpy, but I promis the actual story won't be like this. This is like a prologue of sorts. The actual story will also be in first person, Jace POV, just so you know. I'm planning on one more of these young Clace chapters before I get into the actual story. I feel like there was more I wanted to explain and say...but I forgot...
As usual, reviews=encouragement. Encouragement=faster updates. Can you guys take a hint? ;)
Love always,
YesIWriteForFun
P.S. A guest that goes by the name of Candy, there was a special little part of this chapter that goes out to you ;)
