I appreciate all the reviews, guys. Thank you for all your positive feedback and hopefully you like this next chapter :) Also I will try to post every three to four days but currently I am in Year 12, so this might go out the window during exams.

Chapter Three: How To Survive A White Notice

All she had ever wanted was a quiet life, one where she studied hard, hung out with Magnus, tolerated her family's quirks and graduated from Idris with high marks and no marks against her name. Yet as she stood in front of her open locker the next day, staring at the white notice hanging from the top shelf, she realised that she had been overly optimistic the day she had ever thought she would get that. She had become involved in their game. A deep feeling of foreboding starting rising from the pit of her stomach and all she could do was stare at the white paper flapping in the breeze.

"WHITE NOTICE. WHITE NOTICE. THE SHADOWHUNTERS HAVE ISSUED A WHITE NOTICE. CLARISSA FRAY HAS RECEIVED A WHITE NOTICE".

And as quickly as it had happened to everybody else in the past, everybody knew. And her life was going to be hell.

Clary walked down the hall, half expecting people to be chasing after her, throwing rotten fruit or hanging her upside down from the roof terrace. However there was nothing but silence. From within classrooms, everybody was scribbling in their books, taking notes, teachers were talking. She hadn't seen anyone do any work since...since the day she had arrived.

She knew for a fact that no girl had ever received a white notice before, so maybe there was some disparities with how to deal with her. Had they opted for the silent treatment? Clary felt a rush of relief, if it was that, she could deal with it. She actually couldn't care less if nobody spoke to her ever again, it wasn't as if their conversations had much substance anyway.

She almost skipped to her Maths class and swung open the door. For one moment, she was staring at everyone, working for the first time in an age, then the next, something heavy, dusty and white descended down onto her and she found herself covered in flour. It hit her head hard, shocking her before she sneezed violently. She surveyed her dusty, now ghost white uniform and then looked up with gritted teeth. So much for "the silent treatment".

Everybody turned around and laughed at her. She supposed if it had been a gentle prank, she would had found it funny as well. But their malicious laughter made Clary wanted to scream at them or yell or beat them up. The teacher looked up slowly and with boredom said

"Miss Fray, I cannot tolerate you wearing flour in my class. Go and wash it off".

"Can it please wait until after the lesson?' said Clary, 'our exams are coming up and..."

She dwindled off into silence and everybody giggled to themselves, whispering behind their hands. She might not even be here for exams. Straightening her shoulders she said with great dignity

"Alright, I'll go wash it off".

She didn't fail to notice that whilst Cecilia wasn't amongst the laughing students, she was staring ahead ignoring Clary. Clary walked down the hall, clenching her fists so that she didn't retaliate. So much for Cecilia being a friend.

She entered the bathroom and passing the showers and reaching the marble basins, she turned the gold tap on at full blast. She took off her blazer and started scrubbing it underneath the running water. She swore underneath her breath, as she scrubbed, pretending it was Jace Wayland who was underneath her grip, that she was washing his smug smirk off his arrogant face. She looked up and saw her face, covered in flour, screwed up with anger and sweat and she threw her blazer on the floor.

"DAMN YOU" she yelled, 'DAMN YOU ALL".

Clary leant against the wall, furiously, trying to regain some control, when she heard a faint click from outside. She turned her head towards the door, shadows dancing underneath it. She slowly moved towards it, reaching her hand out for the lock. She tried to turn it but it didn't open. She tugged at it, hard and she heard laughing behind the door.

"LET ME OUT' she yelled, 'LET ME OUT".

"You can stay in there where you belong" hissed somebody and slowly the laughter dissolved.

"HEY' she banged on the door, 'LET ME OUT OF THE FREAKING BATHROOM".

Clary twisted and pulled at the door but it wouldn't budge. She had been locked into a bathroom, albeit a fancy one, but what the hell? Would anybody actually let her out? Even the janitors were paid to please the Shadowhunters.

She took a step backwards, thinking over her situation. She took another step backwards and then suddenly the jets of the showers started shooting out, spraying her with water. The heavy jets, somehow mysteriously had been pointed at a strange angle and they were all soaking her to the bone. She screeched a little and stumbled backwards, tripping as she moved out of her shower area and back into the toilet areas, falling down and hit her back hard against the tiles. She lay on the tiles, staring up at the chandelier, struggling to find a coherent thought for what was happening to her.

Clary had had flour, water and confinement within the first twenty minutes of receiving the note. What else would she have to endure before either she left or the Shadowhunters got bored? Suddenly anger overwhelmed her. She was being treated as less than a human being. She may be poor and an eyesore to some but she couldn't care less. She sat up and looked at the door.

It was heavy wood, she wasn't stupid enough to run at it and hope it broke. She looked around and her eye caught sight of a toilet seat, which had been removed due to lacking the proper shine the students so desired in a toilet lid. It still hadn't been taken to the dump yet. She got up and picked up the toilet lid, feeling the heavy weight of it in her hands. She then walked through the still spurting shower jets and reached the door.

"Come on Clary' she told herself, 'let's get this over with".

She swung it backwards fast before ramming forwards into the lock. The door quivered slightly and she thought she heard the lock make a funny noise. She repeated it again, harder this time, slamming herself forward. This time there was a small CRACK. She took a deep breath in before hitting the lock several times. On her eighth hit, the lock completely cracked and the door swung open.

Clary tossed the lid aside and walked out of the bathroom, panting heavily. She knew class would almost be over, so instead of going back there, she made her way to the fire escape. She passed several students on the way, some of which threw paper at her but Clary ignored them. As she rounded the corner, Cecilia came passed, having just used the drink fountain. Clary felt herself smile, perhaps a vague hope that Cecilia would smile back. Instead Cecilia averted her eyes and continued walking along the passageway.

Clary looked back after her retreating back, almost close to tears. Jace Wayland had made her lose her only friend. There were infinite possibilities to what she could call him but she refrained. She opened up the fire exit door and when it had closed, she screamed

"DAMN YOU ALL".

She listened as her words echoed over the courtyard and leant back against the door, closing her eyes. At least nobody could follow her here.

"Do you think you could be slightly less noisy?"

Clary jumped away from the door and peered down the stairs. Simon Lewis got up from the stairs he was sitting on, taking his Ipod out of his ears and said

"You come here all the time to vent out your rage. Could you possibly find another place to disturb the peace?"

Clary gazed at him openmouthed, looking at his designer jeans, expensive sneakers, white top underneath an open long sleeved tartan shirt before she realised what he had said. Did he mean...could it possibly...he had been here other times?

"Have you been listening to me all this time?"

Simon gave her a pointed look and said

"I'm sorry but the fire escape is my area. It has been before you arrived. So could you please do that?"

He put his Ipod back in his ears and Clary just continued staring at him, still in shock. He listened for a few minutes before realizing she was still looking at him. She nodded at him before making her way up the stairs, shivering slightly. Simon watched her before sighing and saying

"Forget it. You stay here, I'll go. Make sure NEXT time you check to see if I am here".

He walked up the stairs past Clary, without looking back. Clary stared after him, her brain still confused to react. A Shadowhunter...being remotely nice to her? She walked back down the stairs and looked out over the courtyard. The sun moved out from behind a cloud and she felt its ray caress her cheeks. Maybe there was good in people like him? Definitely not Jace Wayland but maybe...possibly...there was good in Simon Lewis.

Magnus eyed her sympathetically and said

"He definitely is one seriously attractive guy I wouldn't touch with a barge pole".

Clary huffed from her job of sweeping the floor and said

"Jace Wayland. Not Simon".

Magnus tutted and pushed his hair artistically behind his ear.

"Honey, he "allowed" you to stay for one day. Even Jace freaking Wayland probably would have done that. You look pitiful, whoever gave you the idea flour looked good in your hair was lying to you".

Clary ignored him and said

"No, I am pretty sure Wayland's limo followed me here. He's watching me. He won't be happy at all that I haven't quit yet. There is absolutely no way he would feel any sort of sympathy for me. But you are wrong about Simon, if you were there, you would have seen his body language, facial expression, were all sort of compassionate".

Magnus rolled his eyes and said

"Probably just ate a bad sushi. Look none of them are good. Not Simon Lewis. Definitely not Jace Wayland".

"Did you say JACE WAYLAND?"

Both Magnus and Clary turned to see an elegant and graceful woman, framing the doorway. Her silver blonde hair was loose down her shoulders, whilst her green eyes sparkled seductively. Her pale skin was clothed in a blue kimono, from her Japanese travels. Camille Belcourt was the shop owner and whilst acted vastly mature and wiser than her employees, was always happy to indulge in gossip whilst imparting words of wisdom.

"You mean from Wayland Pty Ltd? My, my Clarissa Fray, what have you got yourself involved in whilst I was away?"

"Camille' said Clary, pretending her sudden appearance hadn't frightened her, 'where did you come from?"

Camille walked forward and said

"You know these big shot corporations are often involved with the mafia? Perhaps they will try to erase you".

"Erase me?" said Clary dubiously.

Camille obtained a faraway, dreamy look and placing a hand on her chest said

"My ex-boyfriend was a drug dealer and I didn't even know. He turned against the law and lived a life fraught with danger. Clary, you must be very careful".

Magnus frowned and said

"Exactly what era was this?"

Camille appeared to not have heard the question, she was very open about her love life and very closed about her age.

"Remember Clary, men are quite often not what they seem".

With that parting remark she swept out again and Magnus stared after her openmouthed.

"What was THAT?"

Clary looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said

"Does that last remark apply to you?"

Clary left the shop a couple of nights later feeling utterly wiped out. She had spent the last few days, coping with snakes, spiders, having her locker raided three times, the contents thrown out the window and her favorite, being held out of a window by her feet. She didn't know how long she could deal with this. Magnus had a hot date, as he called it, so she was left to lock up the shop.

She placed the key in her bag and walked along the street, the dim light hard to navigate by. Maybe she should just transfer. At this rate, she wouldn't graduate and wouldn't even have a decent job. As she rounded the street corner, she became aware that behind her were three people. She felt a faint sense of foreboding but decided to ignore it. Nobody would target her outside of school.

She did increase her step and when she saw the train station up ahead, she broke into a run. The train station was set up on a hill, so you had to climb up stairs to get to it. Below the stairs and train station was a gully where people sometimes cut across to get to the other side of town. Clary hated it there, it was dark, dangerous and surrounded by rubbish. She was looking forward to getting home for leftover beef stew, it was microwave night, one of the three nights a month when they used the microwave.

As she went to climb smilingly up the stairs, she suddenly felt her arm twisted backwards and dragged backwards. A hand clamped down over her mouth and someone whispered

"If you know what's good for you, don't move".

Clary squirmed, fear pulsing through her. She was going to get taken down to the gully. Someone grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her forward. Relax, relax, she told herself and she let herself go limp. The person whose hand was over her mouth loosened it slightly and she bit it hard. They swore and she kicked backwards, hitting them in the kneecap. They stumbled backwards and she swiveled punching them hard in the face. Her hand connected with their nose and they fell hard onto the ground, clutching their nose. One of the other ones grabbed hold of both her arms, pulling them behind her. She tried to kick them but the third one held onto her legs and hoisted her up into the air. He yelled

"Just do as we say and leave Idris. Otherwise we have no choice".

Clary stopped struggling for real this time. They were from Idris? And targeting her outside of school? A tear dribbled down her face. Jace Wayland had gone too far this time. She would leave now. She didn't respond and they shook her.

"Hey? Are you listening?"

"Alright fellas, game's over".

All four of them turned around to see Simon Lewis, standing there, his hands in his pockets. Clary had never been so relieved to see someone in her whole life, her heart started banging hard against her ribcage. One of them gasped and said

"What...are you doing here?"

"Let the girl go".

Their grip relaxed slightly on Clary but they didn't let her go.

"No..Jace wants her out of the school. She need to..."

"I don't care if Jace told you to get her out of the school but don't make excuses for deciding to interpret that as meaning he wanted you to rape her. You know nothing about him. Now get out of my sight".

They let Clary go and she sat there still in shock. Simon watched with boredom as they ran off, as quick as their legs could carry them. Simon turned back to her and said

"Why is it wherever I go you seem to follow me?"

Clary shrugged, her relief dissolving into tears. She had almost been raped. She found herself shivering, tears streaking down her face. Simon watched her and said

"Jace didn't tell them to rape you. He may want you out of the school otherwise you will serve as a constant reminder that someone beat him. But he would never tell anyone to rape a girl".

She looked up and stuttered out a thank you. Simon said

"Is your train coming?"

Clary nodded slowly and Simon helped to her feet. They walked side by side to the stairs and then he walked behind her up the stairs, making sure she didn't faint. He waited with her until the train came and when she tagged on, she turned to him and said

"I truly am grateful".

Simon stepped away and said

"Don't misunderstand. I would have done it for anyone".

The train doors closed and Clary watched him as the train speed away. She then collapsed down onto a seat, close to the driver and watched everyone on the train that night, whether they were old or young, her fear still real. She could have been raped by three teenage boys being controlled by a megalomaniac. Whatever Simon said, Jace was a nasty piece of work and she needed to avoid him. But like he also said, she didn't believe he was that much of a jerk to tell someone to rape a girl. Think about something else she told herself and her thoughts immediately went to Simon. Magnus had been wrong, Simon was a good person, even if he didn't want to admit it. And that for the moment could hopefully sustain her whilst she was at Idris.

Jace sat at the mahogany dinner table, the 20 foot room obviously devoid of people. He had just come off the phone from Alec, who had told him about Simon and the girl. Clare...no Clary. Clary Fray. Why in god's name was it so hard to make her leave? Sebastian had said maybe it was Jace's animal attraction that kept her going whilst Alec had unhelpfully stated that she might not be scared at all.

He had seen her go into that shop, smiling and laughing with her crazy friend. Alec was probably right, he was perceptive like that. But that was what made it worse that she didn't find him scary. He just wasn't used to people not cowering before him or worshipping his feet. Although his heart had almost stopped when Alec had first said that Clary had almost been raped. He would have been responsible. He would have been responsible for telling three nutters to rape an almost innocent girl. He swore underneath his breath and leant back in his chair.

Suddenly he was aware of voices from outside the dining room and then the doors opened. A pale blonde woman, with her hair pulled back by combs, flinty gray eyes and a stern expression on her face came through the doors.

"I want you to stop the deal with the Tokyo Bank".

"But Miss Herondale, $6 billion dollars have gone into that and three years of..."

"I SAID STOP THE DEAL WITH THE TOKYO BANK. They are of no importance to Wayland Pty Ltd anymore especially after the recent Financial Crisis. Several of their major investments looks set to fail and plenty of their stockholders are pulling out. Do you think I want to be involved with them?"

She waved her personnel away before catching sight of Jace, who was staring at her in disbelief.

"Oh' she said, dispassionately, 'it's you".

Jace laughed tonelessly and said

"What a mother! After 6 months of not seeing your son, this is the greeting he gets?"

She calmly undid her jewellery and said

"Shall we eat?"

As the servants brought food to the opposite ends of the table, Jace and his mother sat in silence, eating. After several mouthfuls, his mother said to one of the servants

"Can you bring the chef here?"

Jace looked up but continued eating. Both of them continued their silence, sipping water from crystal glasses but neither of them spoke. Finally she said

"I've heard about what's going on at Idris".

Jace looked up and she raised an eyebrow.

"Unable to control a mere commoner?"

Jace stared down at his meal angrily, clenching his hands underneath the table.

"How can you be expected to control Wayland Pty Ltd if you can't even control a little school?"

She laughed to herself and then looked away. When the chef arrived, he bowed and said

"You called me madam?"

Imogen gazed at the wall behind Jace and said

"Starting tomorrow, you needn't return".

The chef's face slowly turned to horror and Jace looked up, his stomach clenching. His mother waved her hand away like she was swatting a fly before she said to her PA, Malachi

"You need to hire a new chef".

Malachi bowed and said

"Yes madam".

He turned and led the chef out, the chef slightly reluctantly leaving. His mother turned and looked at Jace

"Only a great man can control someone. So until you are one, don't bother acting like one".

She looked at him but Jace avoided her eye. He had nothing to say to her.

Clary sat in the cafeteria , eating her leftover food. She stared at the wall blankly, vaguely wondering where Simon was, if only to thank him again. Her mother had waved her off smilingly and she hadn't had the heart again to tell her she wanted to quit. Her entire family was proud of her, proud of her achievement, proud they had a daughter that had broken a barrier of rich and poor as they called it. Optimistic and unrealistic was what Clary called it.

As she ate, she became aware of footsteps approaching and then a person appearing in the corner of her eye. She slowly looked up and saw Jace Wayland standing over her, an arrogant expression on his face. She looked away and continued eating. He gazed down at her and said

"What do you think you are doing, a mere commoner like you eating with the rest of us?"

Clary continued eating and avoiding his gaze. He continued and said

"You don't listen to me? You think I can't control you? I AM A GREAT MAN".

She still didn't respond and he lost his temper. He grabbed hold of her stew and threw it on the ground. The bowl smashed into tiny shard and Clary jumped. It attracted the entire attention of the cafeteria, who turned and watched silently. Jace looked up at Clary breathing hard and Clary noticed Cecilia in the background, looking shocked. Jace slowly walked away and Clary knelt to the ground, trying to sweep up the mess. Jace turned to his friends coming down the stairs and said

"Hey, let's go to 5th Avenue".

Sebastian said

"Why?"

Jace looked down at his shoes slightly covered in stew and said

"Because something filthy's covering them".

As he walked away, Clary looked up and saw Simon, standing at the top of the railing looking down at her. His face was impassive but somehow looking at him, she felt like he gave her strength. She looked down at the stew, which although old had been lovingly prepared by her mother. And she looked at Jace, who couldn't find happiness unless it was tormenting someone.

And then she got up.

"Wait right there".

Jace stopped and slowly turned around, a fight in his eyes.

"What? Did you say something?"

Sebastian and Alec had stopped walking down the stairs and were also watching her. Clary hissed

"I don't know if it's because you are a rich boy or what?"

Jace raised an eyebrow and said

"Huh?"

Clary took a step backwards and clenched her fists. Everybody was watching her. And she had finally had enough of staying silent.

"You are a loser who has never earned money in his life".

Jace stared at her, apparently lost for words. He and Clary stared at each other and it was like they were the only two people in the room. Clary took a deep breath and yelled

"DON'T BE SO FULL OF IT".

And she punched him in the face, her fist hitting him straight in the nose. Behind it was the last three months of loneliness, misery, sorrow and unhappiness and it propelled her body forward. The second she hit Jace, the sheer impact saw him stumble backwards and fall to the ground in shock. Around her, everybody stared openmouthed at her except for Simon, who was smiling slightly and Cecilia who was grinning. Clary stared at Jace and said

"I declare war. I won't run away. I won't hide behind money. This is my declaration of war".