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" – Jace Lightwood," Simon said scathingly. I jumped in surprise. Had I said his name aloud by mistake? Simon plowed on, not noticing my overreaction to his name. "Look at all his fawning admirers. It's sickening." I followed his gaze to the crowd of freshman huddled a few feet away from where Jace leaned nonchalantly against his locker, chatting with a gorgeous dark-haired girl. I scowled.

"Why do you care so much? Actually, how do you even know him?"

"I don't care," Simon shot back, his tone betraying him. "I have a few classes with the guy. I can just tell he's an ass. He reeks of pretension and Armani," he said disgustedly as if "Armani" was synonymous with "moldy cheese." Simon paused. "You've been staring at him all day."

"No I wasn't," I said quickly. "I was…that light fixture is really, um…bright. I mean…" My voice trailed off lamely as I floundered. "Is he new?"

"Yeah," he answered sullenly. He nodded towards Jace and the girl, perking up slightly. "That's Isabelle, his sister." There was admiration in his voice. "And that –" he motioned towards the tall, slender boy who had just joined them – "is their brother Alec."

It really isn't fair that some genetic pools are so much more blessed than others.

Suddenly, Jace looked over and smirked. Isabelle looked slightly annoyed as Jace leaned in and whispered something to Alec. He turned to stare at me, a dark eyebrow raised appraisingly. "Why are they staring at you?" Simon asked. I shrugged. The bell rang, and everyone began scrambling to shut their lockers and get to class.

"Fray!" Jace touched my elbow and I jumped, startled. "Wait up."

"What?" I asked dumbly. We both stopped. "Come to apologize for stealing my taxi yesterday?"

Jace snorted. "I'm very sorry I gave you a ride home in my car when you were stranded in the rain."

"Hello?" Simon called from a few paces ahead just as I opened my mouth to retort. Though he admittedly had a point, in a twisted, annoying kind of way. "Clary, we're going to be late for chemistry."

"You better go," Jace said, watching me. "Don't want to tarnish that perfect attendance record now, do we?"

I bristled. Where did he get off treating me like some goody-two-shoes? "Hardly."

"So you wouldn't object to some…alternative activity?" His honey eyes sparkled devilishly.

"Dude, seriously?" Simon exclaimed. We both ignored him. He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Fine. See you in class, Clary," he said pointedly, ignoring Jace as he headed off.

"Yeah," I answered Simon distractedly without turning around. I stared at Jace. "But to answer your question?" I pretended to consider. "No. I wouldn't object." He raised his eyebrows. I had surprised him. "But seeing as it's with you, I'll make an exception." I turned on my heel and headed after Simon. I felt Jace's eyes burning into me, but I didn't turn back.

I tried to slip quietly into the classroom – I had arrived just after Simon – but it was impossible. As soon as I opened the door, Valentine stopped speaking and every head swiveled towards me. "How kind of you to join us, Miss Fray," he said dryly. "Detention, after school." His dark eyes glittered with malicious pleasure. Asshole. "It looks like you'll be working alone today since everyone who arrived on time has partnered up already – " I glared at Simon, who looked back at me guiltily from his station next to Isabelle. The door swung open behind me. I took a step back as Jace ambled in. What is he doing here?

Valentine consulted his clipboard. "Mr…Lightwood, is it?" Jace nodded. "Excellent. You'll join Miss Fray here after school for detention. Tardiness is not tolerated in this class."

"Tardiness is not tolerated in this class," Jace mocked under his breath in an exaggerated baritone. We slid into the only empty station left at the back of the room. "He's such a prick." I stifled a grin. "It's your fault we're in this situation in the first place," I whispered back. "Now I'm stuck in detention."

"Well, look at the bright side."

"Which is?"

"You'll be there with me."

I rolled my eyes. "Charming."

"I try."

Valentine droned on about proper procedure and other boring stuff I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. Suddenly, everyone started snapping on the universally unflattering lab goggles (the ones that always leave stupid groove marks in your forehead) and slipping on protective aprons. Of course Isabelle still looked like a model, I thought sullenly to myself.

"Alright, let's do this shit," Jace said. He looked down to consult the instructive sheet in front of us. I quickly glanced at his profile. Even with the goggles on, he looked like a designer sunglasses ad. He reached for the glass test tubes and began pouring and mixing chemicals. "Pass me the water." I obliged. "You're not that bad at this," I said grudgingly after another moment of watching him. "Please stop with the flattery, you're embarrassing me," he answered as he deftly measured out some liquid in a beaker. "I suck at chemistry," I admitted. He glanced up at me from beneath his lashes. "I'm no Picasso, so let's call it even."

After a beat, his words sank in. "How did you know I like to draw?" I asked. Jace pulled a small, tattered black velvet sketchbook out of his back pocket and slid it towards me. "You left this in the car yesterday." I seized it gratefully. "I was looking for this! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked, flipping through to make sure none of the pages were missing or damaged.

"I tried to. That was before you so eagerly brushed me off no less than thirty minutes ago." He carefully poured half the contents of one test tube into another.

"Oh." I considered this. "Wait, did you look through it?"

"Of course," he said in a "duh" tone.

"You shouldn't have! That was private!" I hated showing people my sketchbook.

"There were no sketches of me. I was very disappointed."

"I just met you. Also, I wouldn't draw you anyway," I lied.

"Why not?"

"That would require me to actually like you as a person."

His lips curled into a crooked smile. "Isn't there anything I can do to change your mind?" he asked in a low, throaty voice. I swallowed. Before I could formulate a proper response, Valentine rounded the corner. "And how are we doing here, Mr. Lightwood?" Valentine asked.

"Oh, just fine," said Jace, mirroring Valentine's tone. He grabbed the eyedropper and squeezed a few drops of the substance into the contents of the beaker. Valentine's eyes widened. "MR. LIGHTWOOD, DON'T YOU DARE ADD – " He didn't get to finish his question, because the beaker exploded, volcano-style. I jumped back just in time as the bubbling liquid spilled over the edge of the table, splattering Valentine's shirt and seeping into his shoes. "DETENTION, MR. LIGHTWOOD! DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH!"

"What if I pay for your dry-cleaning?"

"GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!"

"So did you do that on purpose?" I asked Jace as we walked out.

He glanced at me sideways and grinned. "What do you think?"

I had to laugh. "A month's detention, though. Was it worth it?"

Jace shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I kind of just wanted to piss him off."

"Well, you definitely succeeded."

"At least we got out of class early." Valentine had ordered Jace, along with everyone else to clear out of the room due to the mess. "And I'm not the only one who has detention," he pointed out delightedly. I groaned. "It was your fault I was late!"

He shrugged. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that you're responsible for your own actions and therefore the consequences following those actions?"

"Shut up. Hasn't anyone ever told you that before?"

"Touché." We had reached the cafeteria. "Jace!" Alex called. "Over here." Jace took off as Alec shot me a look that made it clear the invitation did not extend to me. I went to go sit at my usual table with Simon, wondering what it was I did that made Alec dislike me so much. I hadn't even officially met him yet.

"Hey," Simon greeted me, his mouth full of pizza. He swallowed and pushed his glasses up. "So I'm sorry about chem…"

"It's fine. You looked pretty cozy with Isabelle, anyway," I teased as his cheeks turned dark red. "So are we still on for Pandemonium tonight?" I crunched into an apple. "I can't wait." Simon looked uncomfortable. "Oh yeah. About that…" I paused mid-bite. "I kind of invited Isabelle. Ow!" I had just punched his arm. "What?!"

"Great, so I'll just third-wheel with you two!"

"Clary, come on! It'll be fun." I glowered at my sandwich.

"Simon?" Isabelle appeared at our table. Simon cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Pandemonium around 11 tonight, right?" Simon nodded, bobbing his head comically. "Alec and Jace want to come too. Is that cool?" Simon looked at me, but I refused to make eye contact. "Uh…sure." Isabelle smiled. "See you tonight." She sauntered off in her stiletto boots as Simon stared after her in admiration.

Great. So…detention. With Jace. And then Pandemonium…with Jace.

Oh God.

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