Hey guys. Thanks for reviewing. Since my exams are coming up, I have decided to post two chapters early, because I have to go on hiatus for a couple of weeks whilst I study. Hopefully you enjoy them and I will try to write another one soon. I hope you like these, this is probably one of the defining moments in the Clace relationship of this story, whether their budding romance can survive a certain event. Enjoy :)
Chapter Ten: Good and Bad Mistakes
"So' said Cecilia, leaning forward, 'he actually KISSED you?"
Clary nodded and Cecilia sat back, her face going through a mix of emotions before settling on shock. She looked paler than normal and Clary felt bad for springing her crazy life onto her, especially when she was still recovering from what the Shadowhunters had brought on her.
"So what happened then?asked Cecilia, her voice shaky and Clary said
"Well after that...he just grinned at me and then he said something about now he was winning again and then I kicked him and ran away
"Was your family worried?asked Cecilia and Clary rolled her eyes. She had come home, ready to apologise and grovel and they hadn't even realised she wasn't home. They thought she had come in late from her job and left early to exercise. Luke had even said
"Well, since you are up, nice and refreshed after a good night sleep, you can help me fix the table
To which, Clary had promptly leant against it and the leg had fallen off again. To which, she was sent to her room in disgrace and she went to sleep, whilst Luke swore at the table and accidentally stapled his finger to the floor. Then Clary remembered something else.
"Something completely horrible happened as well
Cecilia looked at her so suddenly and said in a small, wary voice
"Horrible?"
"I went to school' said Clary, 'and it was really quiet. Then everybody started screaming and I thought someone had received a white notice again. Suddenly people came out into the hall and surrounded me and I thought...just great. Jace's whole plan was to catch me with my defences down but then...they all started being nice to me..like oh Clary, your hair is divine...you must tell me where you get your clothes from...god you are so lucky to be smart
Cecilia frowned and said
"I don't get it?"
Clary sighed and said
"Someone took a photo of me and Jace kissing and posted it up on the school Facebook wall. Now everybody thinks we are an item and that he wants them all to be nice to me. God knows why, but I suddenly have twenty billion friends, who want my number
"And you have a phone now' said Cecilia, half smiling for the first time, 'so you can...put them in
Clary smiled to and said
"I think I will be keeping my gift a secret for a while. Just until they realise Jace and I...aren't exactly..."
"Together?said Cecilia, energetically.
Clary felt a jolt of annoyance and said
"And Jace didn't exactly help matters, when everybody asked him if the pictures were true, he just smiled enigmatically and said yes. Then his sex crazed friend, Sebastian, grinned and told him he was truly part of the club now. Pity, Jace was wearing designer jeans, or I would have made the bruise on his ankle bigger
"But do you think he actually likes you? Do you like him?"
Clary moved her head in a way that could mean yes or no and tried to think of something that took the spotlight off her. She wasn't ready to disclose her ideas and theories on the Jace and Clary relationship just yet. She said
"Please come back to school. I could really use an ally when dealing with all these people
Cecilia looked at her manicured nails and said
"Would it really be...okay?"
Clary shrugged and said
"People won't make fun of you if they know you are my friend. The white notice has been revoked, Jace told me. I think it was possibly a bribe not to tell Sebastian and Alec but who cares. It would be great to have you back
Cecilia finally grinned and said
"Okay then. I'll really think about it
"Greatsaid Clary and gave her a hug. She then sat back in the couch and her eye caught sight of a school photo book, one that Cecilia had been reading when Clary came in and she had shoved it underneath the cushion. The emblem on it was definitely Idris and she started to pull it out.
"Hey' she said, opening it, 'I didn't know you went to..."
Cecilia's eye narrowed in on what Clary was holding and suddenly she grabbed it, out of Clary's hands and said
"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK
She clasped it to her chest, a wild expression on her face and Clary said, slightly shocked
"Sorry about that
Obviously Cecilia had a photo that she didn't want anyone to see but as Clary tried to continue the conversation, Cecilia didn't hear any of it, she just stared into space.
"So' said Sebastian, 'are you really serious about Clarissa Fray?"
Jace didn't say anything, as Sebastian hit the bullseye with his dart and continued.
"I mean, I don't have a problem but at the end of the day, you'll have to go with whoever your parents choose
Jace still wasn't diverging his thoughts and Sebastian said
"I mean, if this relationship progresses, when your mother puts her foot down, Clary's going to be the one whose hurt
Alec couldn't help coughing which even Sebastian understood was a mocking laugh in disguise.
"Since when did you offer insights into the way relationships work. I wasn't aware you had been in one since Year 5 with Olivia French. Don't you prefer to bohemian way of doing things?"
"Yes but we are talking about Jace here' said Sebastian, hitting another bullseye, 'he is very predictable. He gets that from his mother
"I'm not going to hurt her' said Jace, 'I would never hurt Clary
Sebastian and Alec looked at each other and suddenly were very interested. Sebastian sat down next to Jace and said
"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on here? So nave all of a sudden
"No' said Alec, 'I expected this much from him. It should be a happy moment with your first love
Sebastian and Jace stared at him and Sebastian said
"Ignore him. He's never been in a relationship either. Why am I the only normal person in your lives?"
"Or the most over-sexed ass evermuttered Alec.
"So' said Sebastian, 'how did it feel to pop the cherry?"
Jace said
"We didn't go that far. All we did was kiss
Sebastian said
"Oh that is disappointing. I actually thought you were becoming slightly more..normal. Dude, you were with her the entire night
Jace stood up and said
"Well we were going with the flow. In the end, we kinda...slept together. Ah...this is serious. I guess, I should take full responsibility
Sebastian almost cried and said
"Responsibility for what?"
"Hey, hey' said Magnus, after he had fully recovered from the shock, 'we should double date sometimes
"It's not like that"said Clary.
"Yep' said Magnus, 'this is my 'totally believing you' face
"Yes' said Camille, appearing, 'this new love will completely wipe away any old feelings you were holding for Simon Lewis
"What' Magnus hissed, 'do I say about suddenly appearing?"
Camille ignored him and regained her dreamy face. Magnus rolled his eyes and said
"Here we go. Wanna bet she talks about her relationship with the Sun King?"
"A man I once loved...was named John
"Already lost"said Clary.
"He was from overseas but he resided here
"When he whispered in my ear, I would forget everything and everyone who had ever hurt me. His last name was Lennon
"Oh' said Magnus, 'because that makes complete sense
"Whenever I was down, he would say, forget anything and everything. Before I knew it, I started wishing for peace too
She sighed before wandering off.
"Oh now I know why she is so cracked up' said Magnus, 'it's because she inhaled too much LSD. I wonder if he wrote Lucy in the Sky of Diamonds about her
"How old do you reckon she is?whispered Clary and Magnus shrugged.
"I am pretty sure she was telling us about her relationship with Abraham Lincoln the other week, so I've put her between 0 and 400 years old
"She has to be a vampiresaid Clary and Magnus raised his eyes.
"Or a very good liar? What did you take away from her this week?"
"That she was in a relationship with John Lennon?"
"And?"
Clary sighed and said
"That Jace is someone who can make me forget about Simon...and the minuscule feelings I had about him
"Come to think about it' said Magnus, 'you are in like a love square. Simon likes Isabelle, you kind of liked Simon, Jace likes you...many people like Jace. Seriously...you should sell tickets on the story of your life
"What are you doing here?" said Clary in disbelief.
Jace was sitting at the broken table, eating something her mother had made and he looked up with no apparent surprise.
"It's okay, honey' said her mother, 'he came to tell us that the reason you weren't home last night was all his fault. And I told him that I didn't know what he was talking about but then he told us what happened and now we know why you broke the table
Jace looked amused and slightly terrified at the prospect of Clary breaking a table so she didn't feel the need to tell him that the table was more broken now after Luke trying to fix it than it was after she broke it.
"Why didn't you tell us you were with the Wayland heir? He is so nice
Clary opened and closed her mouth and watched as her mother said to Jace
"Please take care of our daughter
"It's not a marriagesaid Clary in horror but no one was listening to her.
"The pleasure is mine"said Jace, winking at Clary, who glared back at him.
As she watched her family laughing and offering Jace food and then at Jace, who was acting like he was actually going out with her, she suddenly lost it. She stormed over to Jace and said through gritted teeth
"Let's go. I need to talk to your privately
"Really?' said Jace, 'right now
"Yes, right NOWshe hissed and she pulled him out the door, ignoring the protests of her family.
She pulled him down the stairs and out the front door and said
"Alright..cards on the table right NOW
Jace said innocently
"About what?"
"About why you suddenly show up at my house like this all some big joke to you. What's the deal? What exactly do you want to happen?"
Jace shrugged and said
"I like your family
"Yeah, I love my family too. So what do you want?"
Jace looked around at the bustling street and said
"Do you want a little privacy?"
"Why aren't there any people in here?' said Clary, when they were seated in a cafe, five minutes away from her house, 'normally this place is packed. What did you get the FBI to declare it unsafe for the next hour?"
"Nope' said Jace, looking at the menu, 'I bought it just then
Clary choked on the water she was sipping and Jace looked up in surprise.
"What?he said and she gasped out.
"You...bought this place? Why?"
"So we could have some privacysaid Jace, like that explained it all.
Clary decided to let that go. After all, she had agreed to have a private conversation but seriously, she had expected him to take her to a park..not to some cafe he bought on whims. She could barely afford to buy headbands on a whim, it was more like a carefully planned procedure for when the chemist was having a sale. Jace said
"That's the first time I've been to a poor person's house
"I noticed' said Clary, 'but the time you kidnapped me was the first time I had been to a rich person's house, so I guess we are quite similar...in that respect
Jace laughed and said
"Really?"
Clary decided to return the conversation back to the main point.
"So, why did you suddenly show up at my house?"
Jace shrugged and Clary raised an eyebrow.
"Well that was a satisfactory responseshe said and Jace sighed. He said
"What exactly do you feel..towards me?"
Clary gazed at the salt and pepper shakers and said
"To be brutally honest...I don't know. Like I said yesterday, the reason I didn't show up until really late was because..."
"Because your first impressions of me were less than...hot
"Yeah' said Clary, nervously, 'I mean I was there six months before you noticed me. But I knew everything about you that you portrayed. Arrogant, a bully, sarcastic... malicious. And then when you did notice me, you seemed hellbent on driving me out of the school. So yes...I am still confused about whether I should like you, whether this is some big joke...I even considered the fact I was suffering Stockholm Syndrome
"Naturally' said Jace, 'because I am the type of person you would feel that for
Clary sighed and said
"Just...don't pressure me, okay? Don't randomly show up, don't make out we had this erotic night together, treat me like a normal human being and just...let me think. I promise that in the near future, I will give you my answer about what I feel about you. Just not now
"I'll hold you to that' said Jace, smiling slightly and Clary said,
"I wouldn't expect anything less of the leader of the Shadowhunters
"Magnus' Clary hissed, 'I need you to cover for me
"You mean, you want me to pretend to Camille that you are actually here, serving customers, doing a good job, so that she doesn't dock your pay, just so you can go clubbing with some random ass girls who have been treating you like dirt for the plain and simple reason that Cecilia was asked to go as well
"Yes' said Clary weakly, 'but Cecilia really wanted to go. She says it will build her confidence that she can go back to school. Just please do this for me
There was a silence before Magnus said
"There was never a time when I wasn't going to say yes. Apart from the fact, you are my best friend and I love you, I am looking forward to confusing Camille
The sliding doors opened and he said
"Gotta go. There's a customer coming
"Thanks, love you tooand Clary hung up. Magnus ended the call and turned around. Two men were standing there, one of them, confident, attractive and had a slightly arrogant grin on his face, the other one of the most beautiful people Magnus had seen. Black haired, blue eyed, pale and reserved looking. He was looking slightly shocked at Magnus' attire and Magnus almost laughed. Then the confident one said
"We are looking for Clarissa Fray. Is she here?"
"Names and phone details are neededsaid Magnus and the confident one laughed. He pulled out a business card and the gorgeous one said
"You aren't actually serious
"Don't be such a homophobic, Alecsaid the other one and Magnus tried to recall where he had heard the name before. He took the card in his hand and read SEBASTIAN VERLAC. Then he knew who both of them were. Over the past few months, he had heard everything about these guys from Clary and slowly, like Clary, his opinion had changed about them. He knew that most of Clary's anger was directed at Jace and not the others, whilst he had felt that the others were weak for letting Jace get away with it all. Too bad, the gorgeous one was Alec Lightwood, otherwise he really would have got his phone number.
"Well, well, well' he said, leaning against the counter, 'I have finally met two of the seemingly evasive Shadowhunters. Sebastian and Alec, I must say...slight disappointment to meet you in real life, you seemed taller on television
Sebastian laughed and said
"And I don't believe we have met
"Possibly' said Magnus, 'because I am not on television. But I am the one and only Magnus Bane, Clary's best friend and confidant, I know everything about you two. Now, what can I do for you?"
Alec was looking down at his feet and Sebastian said
"Tell us where Clary is?"
"Not here' said Magnus, 'but don't tell the boss lady that
"I won't have to' said Sebastian, 'tell me, are you really close to Clary?"
"Well, we were together until junior high. Then she got into Idris and I went to the public school
Sebastian raised an eyebrow and said
"Too dumb or too unmotivated?"
"Too intelligent, I like to think' said Magnus hotly, 'I don't have to put up with a bloody dictatorship nor a homework regime that almost convinces you to kill yourself
Alec laughed and abruptly stopped and both Sebastian and Magnus stared at him. He hunched over and said
"What? It was funny
Sebastian turned back to Magnus and said
"Do you think you can come with me?"
"Say what now?"said Magnus and Sebastian smiled, almost wolfishly.
"We need your help
He grabbed Magnus by the wrist and started pulling him towards the door.
"Hey, stopsaid Magnus and Sebastian said
"Don't worry. We just need your help. Nothing is going to happen to you
He accidentally banged Magnus into the doorframe and his shin burst with sudden pain.
"Don't hurt him"said Alec and went faintly pink as both Magnus and Sebastian stared at him again. Then Magnus called out
"Hey, Camille. Help
Camille stuck her head out the door and said without any surprise in her voice
"What are you doing?"
"We are borrowing him for a bit. Don't worry. He'll be back by 10
Camille said with boredom
"What kind of a silly thing are you saying? I'm gonna call the police
Sebastian looked at the security camera and said
"You won't
"Why not?"said Camille.
Sebastian sighed and said
"I'll buy everything in this shop
Camille turned to Magnus and said
"Please be safe
Magnus found himself bundled into the limo that had brought them and he scowled at Camille. What a quick change of heart. Sebastian winked at Camille and said
"Hey thanks for being cooperative. Maybe you could be more so?"
He pulled out his card and Camille took it. Then she said
"I have been out with a martial arts expert, judo, karate and taekwondo masters, two SAS trained soldiers and a secret service agent. I know how to whip your ass better than you can walk. Keep Magnus safe and beat it
"I'm sorry' said Magnus, half an hour later, when Sebastian and Alec had explained their mission, 'what?"
Sebastian sighed and said
"Jace and Clary going out, I'm fine with it. We just want to make sure Clary isn't pretending she likes Jace. She seems like an awesome person however if she did like him, she would have to face up to his mother, a demon woman. Don't ever met her in a dark alley. Anyway, if Jace loves her, then he won't back down. He will put all of himself into the fight, to prove to his mother that Clary is worthy. Tears, anger, hate, betrayal, typical melodrama stuff. He might even get cast out of the Wayland corporation until he agrees not to be with Clary. But he is stubborn, so that would be pretty impossible. So what we want to know, does Clary actually like him? Because so far, we haven't exactly been getting that vibe"
Magnus' fists clenched slightly but he managed to say
"It's between them. Nobody, unless they ask them to, should butt in
Sebastian sighed and said
"It's okay if they are just messing around. But if they get serious, it might cause problems later on
Magnus was silent before he said
"Stop the car
"What?"
"STOP THE CAR
Sebastian signalled to the driver and Magnus quickly got out.
"Where are you going?"
Magnus sighed and said
"Back to the land of the gold diggers. Because all of us are totally after your money
"Hey..wait' said Alec but Magnus raised an eyebrow and said, 'some of us are after your money. Some of us wouldn't touch it, in case it is as filthy as the lot of you
Then he slammed the door shut and stormed off down the street.
The music was so loud it almost destroyed Clary's hearing. Around her, people of all different races, cultures and circumstances, were dancing and yelling, to the music. Everywhere she looked, there were bright colours, flashy jewellery, multi-coloured hair, feathers, silk, tulle, garish stockings and gloves, fluoro make-up and people of all different cultures and races, surrounding her. Occasionally she saw tattoos, an owl here, a snake here and some of the tattoos even matched their owners costumes. One person walked past and bared what seemed to be fake, extremely realistic teeth at her, covered with hair all on their body, long, chestnut hair that resolved the issue of needing clothes. It would take a hell of a lot of pain to get all that hair off.
She looked around for Cecilia in the crowd but all she could see were the Idris girls she had come with. They were flirting with guys, dancing and drinking and Clary had had a couple of sips of beer but had put her drink down. She wasn't going to touch it at all.
"Hey Clary' said one of them, 'don't you reckon that the dude over there looks hot? A bit like Jace, right?"
Clary turned and saw a blonde guy, standing near one of the amplifiers. Yes, he had the same hair and facial features, he even had the same grin but she was more worried about his hearing than his looks as well as the fact, she now knew Jace so well, she could describe him in her sleep. The possible Jace look alike turned towards them and the girls standing near her waved. He grinned and the girls giggled, discussing his appeal. Clary muttered something about looking for Cecilia.
She tried circling the room, getting pushed through the crowds and into a circle of break dancers. By the time, she managed to get out of them, it was 11:45 and she had absolutely no idea where anyone was. She was almost run over by a band of groupies and She pushed her way towards the bar and suddenly came face to face with the Jace look alike. He said
"Hey there, you wanna a drink
"Water, if that is a beverage known to the inhabitantssaid Clary and he signalled to the waiter to get them one each.
"Herehe said and reached for something in his pocket. Clary got distracted, as she saw Cecilia in the crowd. She wasn't staring at Clary, instead she was surveying the dance floor. She was wearing a tight leather skirt, stilettos and a fur coat and she looked confident and self-composed. Clary went to call out to her but she disappeared into the crowd. Clary turned back to the man and said
"Sorry
She took a big drink of her water and then headed off after Cecilia, the man calling out behind her. She went onto the dance floor, eyes peeled for Cecilia but there was no one there. She could have sworn she saw her. Had she dreamt her up? She wandered the dance floor, looking for her and calling her name. She even tried ringing her on her new phone but nobody picked up. Finally she sat down on a bench, tired, sweaty and a little bit groggy. Obviously the week was catching up to her. She leant against the wall and let the evening pass her by. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder and the man said
"Hey, are you okay?"
She tried to say she was but all that came out was a squeak. His eyes widened and he said
"Okay, you don't look so good. Lemme get you out of here
She felt herself get steered out of the room and through crowds of people before finally onto cool street. She stumbled and a couple of people laughed at her, thinking she was drunk. She felt drunk but she hadn't had anything. Her world was spinning and she heard him say something worriedly, before she was falling into blackness.
Clary was woken up by her phone the next morning, an alarm going off. She staggered out of her bed, towards the leather couch and pulled it out of her jean pocket. Her head was still groggy but she felt a lot better than she had last night. She checked her phone and saw 17 new messages.
"What the...she said before suddenly realising she had a view. She was sky high above the ground, a view of the city was at her disposal. She turned back and saw she was in a hotel room and she had been lying in an unmade bed. Her heart started pounding and she struggled to remember what had happened. She was clubbing with Cecilia..no she wasn't...she had been...with that guy. She suddenly stared down at her semi naked body and struggled to remember. Had she and...him...oh my god, she thought.
She checked the messages on her phone. Most of them were from either Jace or Magnus. At first they were completely normal, how was she, where was she, was she okay, etc. Then they both started getting stranger. Jace's second last message went:
"I am sitting here, in my room, thinking about you. I tried calling you but you don't answer. I know you don't want me to rush you or anything but I just want you to know, that for the second time in my life, I have someone who I can completely trust and believe in... Even if it isn't romance, I think you are one of the best influences on my life
Clary almost didn't want to hear the next message. Why...why was it like this? She didn't bloody remember and she didn't really want to know. However she wasn't a coward, she had to face the good and bad in life and so with her heart pounding, she read his next text. This one almost made her cry. Because between 10:14 and 2:37, he had completely changed his mind. It went:
"Gee Clarissa, glad to know where I fit in the whole equation"
Then her phone started ringing and Clary jumped. She slowly looked at the caller ID and to her relief it was Magnus. She answered it and he said
"Where the hell have you been? I have been trying to contact you for hours
She started crying then and it took ten minutes to get the story out. There was a stunned silence before finally he said
"There's a really big problem, Clary. I was just on the school's Facebook page and there's..."
"What?she said, starting to tug on her clothes. She had to focus on the future, whether or not she had been raped was an issue but that wasn't her only problem.
"Well, it's kind of...photos
"More photos' she wanted to scream, 'and so?"
She needed to find Jace, explain to him her side, how the hell he had found out was beyond...oh my god.
"What photos?"she said, stopping getting dressed.
"They are of you...in a bed...with some guy. We don't see his face but...we see yours. And frankly...it looks exactly like you two have just done it