Summer Term
Summary: "...He's supposedly the hottie professor of the summer." "Ew, Izzy." "Don't tell me you wouldn't bang a hot professor."
Disclaimer: The Mortal Instruments and all its associated characters, place and events all belong to Cassandra Clare and the copyright holders. This is a non-profit fan work and no copyright infringement is intended.
Acknowledgement: As forever and always, thanks to my wonderful beta, ddpjclaf, for being the awesomest beta in the world. She deserves all the hugs and kisses (and strawberries ;)) in the world. *muah* Thank you for making my words pretty!
A/N: Surprise! I'm alive and I'm out with a new chapter. I won't talk much until after the chapter, since I know I've made you guys wait a long, long, LONG time. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Knight in Shining Armor
Clary stared in disbelief. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was sit there, watching Jace—Jace—close his hands around Sebastian's throat tighter and tighter, and listen to his ragged breathing.
"Clary," Jace said, his voice strained and eyes trained on the struggling boy in front of him. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she rasped.
"Can you go to your room, please?" Jace said, his tone soft, but his murderous gaze never left Sebastian's.
She could barely nod—although she doubted he saw—before she stood, and bolted to her room. She closed the door loudly and pressed her back against the wood. The tightness in her chest made it hard for her to breathe. Made it hard for her to do anything besides slide down until her butt hit the floor.
Clary couldn't muster up the courage to cover herself with clothes. She stared at the wall around her, waiting for her hyperventilating to subside, but it didn't. It just got worse. The image of Sebastian grabbing on to her, forcing himself on her—it just made everything so much worse. She fisted her hand and bit down on it to stop herself from screaming, but that didn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. The sobs turned louder and she started to hiccup. Her hands shook from fear and she trembled from the icy cold feeling gripping her heart.
It was a couple more minutes later when Clary crawled over to her bed and hid underneath the covers. She pulled them tightly around her and continued crying. Anything she could think of—to divert her attention—immediately brought her back to the present situation. How Jace was downstairs, dealing with the monster that tried to rape her. How Jace—Jace… What was he doing here? He didn't want anything to do with her. So what was he doing here, in her house? Saving her?
A soft knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts and she tugged the covers closer to her body.
"It's me," said Jace. Somehow, his voice made her feel safe.
"C-come in," Clary barely managed.
She sat up and wrapped the covers tighter around her body, as Jace swung open the door, his eyes on the floor. He didn't move an inch closer. Clary looked at his hands and noticed he was holding her clothes—the clothes that Sebastian had ripped off. She cringed at the memory and swallowed hard against the sobs threatening to erupt once more.
"Are you—" he started.
"I'm f-fine."
It was quiet for a few moments before he spoke, still not meeting her gaze. "He's downstairs, tied to a chair." He paused. "I also called the police."
"What? N-no! You can't!" Fear seeped in her voice. She couldn't believe he called the cops. She couldn't have her father finding out about this. She couldn't. God knew what kind of scene he'd create, or the conclusions he'd jump to, if he did.
Jace looked surprised. "What do you mean?" His voice rising as he spoke. "You can't let the bastard get away with this."
"You have absolutely no say in this!" Clary yelled, tears streaming down her face.
"Clary…" Jace trailed off, moving closer to her.
"Just leave! Leave me alone! I want everyone to just leave. Me. Alone!" She screamed, dropping her face into her hands.
Without a moment's hesitation, Clary felt herself being pulled into a pair of strong arms. Even though her body shook with tears and anger and confusion and hurt, she felt slightly better when Jace held her. He smelled of the cologne she was so familiar with now, and like… him.
"Clary—" he started, but was cut off by the shrill sound of the doorbell.
"Please send them away," Clary whispered. She didn't want to go through with this. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and pretend like none of this ever happened.
Jace pulled away from her. "Get dressed," he said softly. "I'll wait for you outside the door. We'll get through this together."
She raised her gaze to his. His golden eyes were burning with sincerity. Slowly, she nodded. Within seconds, he was out the door and she was alone again.
Did she trust him? Did she trust him enough to help her through this? She knew what her heart would answer, but her head was saying otherwise.
Clary mechanically found clothes to throw on and was opening the door to find Jace leaning against the wall. Yes. Yes, he was going to help. He straightened up as soon as he saw her and offered his hand to her. Clary took it and immediately felt less scared than before.
Clary followed Jace down the stairs and sat on the couch numbly while he attended the door. She was barely aware of Jace explaining the whole situation to the cops. One of them went to the kitchen and came back with Sebastian. Clary avoided looking at anyone, or anything, but the floor.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to find a burly, gray-haired police officer, named Robert, saying something to her. She blinked and focused her attention to him.
"Miss Clarissa Morgenstern, we'd like to ask you a few questions before we take Mr. Verlac to the police station for further questions." When Clary didn't respond, he continued, "Are you able to comprehend what I'm saying?"
"She can, officer," said Jace, walking up to the cop. "She's in shock."
Robert frowned. "I understand that but I need her to answer a couple questions."
"What do you want to know?" Clary rasped. The sound that came out of her mouth didn't sound like her. It was a strange voice—something like what a robot would sound like.
"What relation do you have with the boy?"
"Sebastian? He is my ex-boyfriend."
Robert bobbed his head. "When was the last time you saw and spoke to him?"
"It was recent. H-he tried to have sex with me earlier too." Her voice grew quiet, and she prayed she wouldn't burst into tears again.
"Was he trying to force himself on you?"
"Yes."
Robert rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He glanced over at Sebastian, who had a piece of tape plastered on his mouth.
"Well, Miss Morgenstern," Robert said, "I will be taking Mr. Verlac to the police station and asking several other questions I have for him. In the meantime, if you are feeling unwell—maybe even unsafe—I can ask an officer to stay with you."
"I'll stay with her."
Clary stayed silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him. She couldn't feel anything in her body at the moment. She was numb. And cold.
Robert continued. "You will be expected to come to the police station once the interrogation session is over with Mr. Verlac for a few more questions."
Again, she said nothing.
The police officer turned around to face Jace. "Thank you for calling us as soon as possible, Jace. Mr. Verlac will be taken care of."
Jace? He knew Jace?
Jace nodded curtly and shook Robert's outstretched hand, before one of the cops pulled Sebastian up and dragged him across the room and out the door.
"I'll walk you out," said Jace.
"How's my father doing, Robert?" Clary heard Jace whisper as they walked away. Her forehead creased. What was he talking about? His father? She turned to the two and Robert shook his head sadly.
Jace took a deep breath. "I'll see you soon." And then Robert was gone.
It was just the two of them in the room now. Clary's head was starting to hurt, making black spots appear in her vision, and she was pretty sure her tears were going to break through the dam any second now.
She had to leave. Right now. She couldn't cry in front of her professor. This was too embarrassing. As Clary tried to stand up, her legs felt like Jello and the room suddenly tilted. The room spun faster and her eyes slipped shut suddenly, enveloping her in darkness.
Clary woke up in her bed, the sun filtering through the blinds, and her body, dressed in a pair of boy shorts and a nightshirt. Boy shorts? Nightshirt? Did she change out of her clothes before going to bed? She blinked her eyes slowly, taking in her room, when the images of last night flashed through her head. Panic rose in her chest and she gasped out loud.
A deep groan sounded from under the comforter and she yelped, falling off the bed in her haste.
A mop of blond hair peeked out from under the covers, revealing Jace's sleepy golden eyes as he took in his surroundings. He sat up straight, his brows furrowed as he scanned the room quickly before his eyes landed on Clary. His expression relaxed a little before he opened his mouth.
"What are you doing down there?" He slid off the bed and came around to stand in front of her.
Clary's breathing accelerated, and she wasn't sure if it was because he looked so unbelievably beautiful in a pair of sexy black jeans, shirtless, or if it was because he slept with her in her bed, or because what happened last night came rushing back to her.
Jace crouched down so he was eye level with Clary. "Hey, are you okay?"
She nodded and blurted the first thing that came into her mind. "Who changed my clothes for me?"
Jace blinked in surprise at her. "I did. Why?" His eyebrows knit together.
Her eyes widened and her heart pounded in her chest. "You… you changed my clothes?" The thought of Jace seeing her without any clothes brought a mess of emotions to her that she didn't want to deal with at the moment.
"Yes. I did. Who else would?"
Clary couldn't believe it. Was he being coy or was he actually stupid? "You changed my clothes?"
Realization finally dawned on him and a small smile formed on his lips. "Oh, don't worry. I had my eyes closed the whole time."
She narrowed her eyes and gave him a do-I-look-like-I'm-stupid-to-you look.
"Alright," he raised his hands in surrender, "I had my eyes closed for most of the process." The asshole didn't even look guilty.
Anger flooded inside her. She wasn't sure if it was because he'd changed her clothes or the situation from last night. But without hesitating another minute, Clary raised her fist and punched him in the arm. When Clary drew her hand back, she noticed redness spreading across her knuckles, and they were starting to sting. Damn it.
She blew on her knuckles before clenching and unclenching her hand. Tears pooled in her eyes and she tried blinking them away.
"Are you okay?" Jace asked, reaching for her, but Clary pulled back.
"I'm fine," she snapped, rubbing the sore area.
He raised an eyebrow. "You seem fine." His tone made it seem like he wasn't talking just about her hand now.
"What does it matter to you?"
At that, Jace's gold eyes filled with anger, hurt, and something else Clary couldn't pinpoint. It made Clary's stomach knot, making her feel sick.
He sat down on the floor; his gaze held hers in place. His scorching look made it impossible for Clary to look away, even if she wanted to. She swallowed and wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Don't ever say that," he whispered.
Clary tilted her head up to see him, fresh tears in her eyes again. God. These tears were going to be the death of her.
"It's true." Her voice cracked on the last syllable. Clary took deep breaths to stop the dam that was threatening to break any second, but she wasn't succeeding.
Jace sighed. "We have to talk about this sooner or later."
Clary pursed her lips. "I choose later."
He ran his hand through his blond unruly curls and nodded. "I understand."
"Besides, I'm still mad at you for calling the cops."
Jace's eyes hardened, turning a darker shade of gold. "Look, if you don't want to deal with him, that's alright. But this—what he did… This is something he will not get away with, Clary. I won't let him."
"Why?"
His brows furrowed. "What do you mean 'why'?"
"I'm not your responsibility. I can deal with this on my own." The words that spilled out of her mouth were sharper than she intended. But she was angry. Clary was furious and sad and a complete mess. She couldn't figure out her feelings about Jace. She couldn't figure out whether she wanted him to help her through the situation she was in, or if she wanted him to leave because he'd rejected her advances earlier.
Anger flashed through his eyes. "Yeah, I can see that."
"Then why are you here?"
At his confused expression, she added, "I meant before you saw me…"
"To clear up a few things with you about… before."
Clary looked away. "You don't need to clarify anything. I already know that whatever happened between us was a mistake. It won't happen again."
Without missing a beat, Jace answered, "Correct."
Mixed emotions whirled inside Clary as she looked at him. She wouldn't back down. She wasn't going to break eye contact first. She already lost once against him for showing interest in him, she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
A buzzing interrupted the silence. Jace broke away first and gracefully stood to answer his cell. He eventually picked it up and turned her back to him. That was when Clary's eyes dropped to his body. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He was still in his dark jeans from last night, which were hanging off his hips in a sexy way. His back was bronze-colored and all muscle.
Clary's cheeks heated, and she admonished herself for checking Jace—her professor—out.
"What? Are you serious? How the hell did that happen?" Jace's voice rose in anger. He ran his fingers through his hair again, and Clary longed to touch his soft curls.
She sighed dejectedly and stood, unsure of what to do. A flash on her phone caught her eye and she picked it up. There were 52 messages from Izzy and Simon, as well as 15 phone calls. And… a voice message from her dad. Great. She was so looking forward to listening to that.
"Yes, I have the money for the bail," he said impatiently.
Bail? Her head snapped up. Jace glanced at her, his face twisted into rage, before storming out of his room.
Clary could hear some words, such as, "Dad, bail, money." But besides that, she wasn't able to make any sense of his conversation.
Sitting down on her bed, she grabbed her phone again and decided to go through the messages from Isabelle.
Clary, I have so much to tell you! Girls' night tomorrow, maybe my place? Let me know.
How's your night going? I'm guessing you're having a fun night with Mr. Herondale because I have heard nothing from you in the past couple of hours.
Are you okay?
Dammit, why aren't you replying, Clary?
CLARISSA!
As she scrolled through more texts, Izzy became more and more worried. Clary bit her trembling lip. How could she tell Isabelle about this? She didn't want to drag her into the mess. It wouldn't be fair. So Clary answered the only way she could, all the while hoping she came across as a happy person instead of someone who was just sexually assaulted.
I'm okay. :) Girls' night sounds great. I'll see you then.
She hit send and proceeded to look at what Simon was saying when Jace burst in her room, causing her to look up.
"Shit, I'm running so late."
He rummaged around her room, seeming like a lost child. Clary couldn't help the giggle that slipped out of her mouth. She covered her mouth with her hand.
God, her emotions were more complicated than the relationship she had with her father.
"What's so funny?" He grumbled and bent to grab something. Jace straightened and pulled his v-neck gray shirt on.
"Nothing."
He raised his brows but didn't say anything. Instead, he walked around the bed and stopped shy of Clary. His face softened as his hand came up to cup Clary's cheek. His touch seared through her, igniting every fiber from her hair to her toes. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes. The thought of him caring about her sent waves of giddiness through her body.
"Don't go to class today. I want you to stay at home."
Clary's eyes flew open, and she frowned. "I can manage going to school."
Jace dropped his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, you are doing no such thing. All we're going to be doing today is reviewing for the exam on Monday."
Oh crap. Crap. The test. She was going to fail the test.
Math was the last thing on her mind. She had so many other problems that took priority that she didn't know where her life began and ended with complications.
"Then I especially need to go, Jace. I'm not ready for Monday's exam."
Jace sighed and looked away. "That's why I was hoping I could come over tonight and tutor you."
Clary's jaw slacked. "A-are you being serious?"
"Only if you promise to stay at home. If I see you anywhere near campus, I will fail you from my class," he threatened, but didn't touch his eyes.
"Yes, sir." Clary was still in shock at what he'd said.
"Good. I have to get home and change, but I'll see you tonight."
And without another look in Clary's direction, Jace was out the door.
Clary blinked at the door, still confused at his words from earlier. She didn't understand what made Jace change his attitude toward her. Was he not mad at her anymore? Or was he just taking pity at her for almost being raped?
She wrapped her arms around body and hugged herself. Her body felt like it was about to break, and all she wanted to do now was get in a hot shower and try to forget, for at least a couple minutes, everything going on in her life.
Clary sat on the stool in the kitchen, eating a bowl of her favorite cereal. Every few minutes or so, she'd scan her surroundings to make sure Sebastian wasn't hiding anywhere in her house. Her heart was hollow. It felt like someone had chopped it up into little pieces and then tried to mend it. But the only person that made her feel safe and unharmed was Jace. And he wasn't here.
She didn't know how long she sat there, alone, in the big house before she started to feel the walls closing in on her, suffocating her. Clary got up and drained her breakfast.
Tears pricked at her eyes and she was suddenly shaking all over. Clary barely made it to the couch before she collapsed on it, curling in on herself. Image after image flashed through her mind of Sebastian forcing himself on her. Her body trembled with fear and tears ran down her face relentlessly. She cried, and cried, and cried, until fatigue overcame her, enveloping her in its darkness.
Clary woke to a start when she heard her phone ringing. She scrambled to her feet and headed for the kitchen, where she'd left her cell. She reached for it and clicked on the home button. There was one missed call from Isabelle, and another was a text message from a number she wasn't aware of. Curious, Clary opened the text and widened her eyes.
I hope you're still at home. I wasn't kidding about failing you from my class. –Professor Herondale
Clary resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and sent a message of her own.
For your information, I just woke up from a nap. You don't need to worry. And, how did you get my number? –Clary
His reply was instant.
I used your phone to text myself while you were asleep. –Professor Herondale
Clary glared at the screen.
That's trespassing private property, Professor Herondale. –Clary
There was another message from him, but she ignored it and scrolled through her missed calls instead. Clary bit her lip and pressed the "Call" button.
Isabelle picked up on the first ring. Clary braced herself for what her best friend was going to say.
"Clary, where the hell have you been?" Isabelle yelled.
"Home," she squeaked.
As if sensing Clary's fear, Izzy asked, "Are you okay? Where are you?"
"Still at home."
"Okay, I'm coming over." The phone clicked in Clary's ear.
Clary pulled the phone away and stared at it, blinking. What the hell just happened? How did Isabelle know something was wrong? Clary didn't say anything about it. In fact, she was trying to appear reasonable when she spoke to her, but she guessed either Isabelle knew her too well, or Clary was a horrible actress.
Sighing, she walked over to the bathroom and flipped the switch. She turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on her face. Clary raised her head to look at herself in the mirror. She shuddered at the reflection. This wasn't who she was. The girl staring back had dark circles under her eyes, her fiery red hair was in tangles, and her normally bright emerald greens showed the fear still coursing through her. Hastily, she dried her face with a towel and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
There. Somewhat presentable. Although she doubted Isabelle was going to let her get off this easy.
A few minutes later, Clary heard a knock on the door. She froze with trepidation. What if it was Sebastian? What if he wanted to—?
Nervously, Clary walked to the door and stood on her tiptoes to peek through the peephole. As soon as she saw a flash of dark hair, she threw open the door.
"Hey! I brought these." Isabelle held up Clary's favorite Starbucks drink in one hand, and store-bought cupcakes in the other.
Tears formed in Clary's eyes. "You are the b-b-bestest—" she blubbered.
"Friend ever?" Izzy finished her sentence. She beamed. "I know. You are too."
"Now," Isabelle said as she brushed past Clary and headed inside the house. "Do you want the cupcakes first or the drink?"
Clary gave her a what-do-you-think look.
"Oh, of course. Both," her best friend laughed and handed Clary the cup. "Hazelnut Frappuccino, with extra hazelnut. Just the way you like it."
Clary took it from her and enveloped her best friend into a hug. "What would I do without you, Iz?"
"Probably be stuck in New York your whole life."
She drew back and took a sip of her drink. The delicious taste sent shivers down Clary's spine. "True."
Isabelle took Clary's hand and dragged her to the couch, situating the cupcakes in between them. "So…"
"Thank god you didn't bake them yourself."
Izzy glared at her. "Hey, I'm not that bad at baking," she protested.
Clary rolled her eyes.
"So," Izzy started again. "I skipped class for you today. You have to tell me what's going on."
"You skipped class?" Clary asked, horrified.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. "No, it got cancelled. Now will you tell me or do I need to take away the Starbucks drink from you?"
Clary glared at her frostily, hugging the cup to her chest protectively. Izzy smiled innocently.
She sighed and opened her mouth, then closed it. Clary didn't know where to start.
"You don't have to tell me everything. Just tell me whatever you can, okay?" she said gently, taking Clary by surprise. Isabelle was never usually the soft type. This only made it harder to explain to her.
But when Clary finally had the courage, she talked. She talked and talked for what seemed like forever. It seemed like a dam and broken and there was nothing stopping it. Isabelle's dark eyes filled with hurt, rage, then tears, and back to anger as Clary told her story. Whenever it seemed like Clary couldn't continue, her best friend nodded encouragingly at her, silently telling her it was okay to stop. But Clary didn't. She didn't hold anything back, not even when Jace rescued her. Although, Clary was careful about letting her best friend know he'd stayed over. She didn't want to share that part yet. She wanted to keep the memory to herself, as selfish as that sounded.
By the time Clary was done, the sun had set.
"And that's the end," Clary whispered.
Izzy's eyes brimmed with tears. "So you have to go back to the police station to talk about the douchebag again?"
The other girl nodded.
A couple teardrops ran down Izzy's cheeks.
"God, Clary. I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help." Isabelle sniffed. She moved closer and wrapped her arms around Clary. Clary hugged her back tightly, feeling happy that her friend was here. That she wasn't alone.
"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you're here now," Clary said, smiling.
Isabelle drew back and wiped the wet trail on her face with the back of her hand. "God," she said again. "I'm going to kick the douche so hard he's not going to be able to reproduce ever in his life."
Clary laughed, and her friend joined.
"But I guess I should first thank Professor Herondale for being the knight in shining armor, huh?" she asked, opening the box of cupcakes and handing one to Clary before licking the frosting off.
She felt her cheeks pool with blood at the thought. Just as Clary was about to reply, the doorbell sounded. She set the cupcake down and got up.
"Wait," said Izzy. "What if it's your dad?" She scrambled to her feet. "I'll come with you and we can both deal with him."
"Okay." Better to cope with her father with Isabelle around than alone. Being with her best friend made her feel more confident for some reason. It felt like he couldn't do, or say, anything to her if Izzy was around.
Taking a deep breath, Clary opened the door. The person on the other side of the threshold was not her father. It was her very hot professor, with a box of pizza in one hand and math books in the other.
A/N: I know there are still many, MANY questions that need to be answered, but patience, my lovelies. And, of course, I can't write a chapter without a cliffhanger. Oops. *shrugs* But it's because I love you guys so much, so I guess it makes it all better. ;) So, regarding my update schedule... at the moment, I'm just going to update whenever I write a chapter. I'm not promising anything, but I will say that the next one definitely won't take a year to write. Anyway, lots of fun stuff coming up! Talk to you all soon! xo