Hola, my Faithfuls (if you haven't read my other fic - The Bachelor - this is what I call my followers. Creepy, I know. But anyways, this is kind of a filler chapter, but it's kind of not. I don't quite know what to call it. I can tell you that it has something very important in it, and it is so worth reading. I can't wait to see what you all think. For those of you who have seen the musical Wicked I think you'll like this (comment if you have or haven't in the reviews, I would love to know. If you have, tell me your favorite song). If you haven't seen Wicked, I recommend listening to Defying Gravity from that musical for this chapter. It's the only way you'll get how absolutely hard and amazing it is to sing this song. ANYWAYS, I want to thank my first follower - Lilliansolis - for believing in me! All of you are absolutely amazing and beautiful - or handsome if you're a guy - and you should always know that. ANYWAYS! ON WITH THE STORY!
I walked into the apartment, immediately going to the living room and flopping down on the couch. I was surprised to say the least about the reactions I got. Except for Jace. Jace stormed out like a three year old. Need I say more? Magnus, on the other hand, came up and complimented me. He told me that there weren't a lot of girls - people, actually - that had the guts to do that, and Aline ended up not firing me. She was… proud of me. Jace may have thought he was whispering softly, but she heard it from where she stood behind the counter, and she said he deserved it. All in all, my day turned out pretty good. That is until Isabelle Lightwood appeared in front of me.
"What the hell!?" She yelled, and my eyes grew wide.
"What…?" I trailed off, not knowing why she was so mad.
"I wake up." She growled, "And you were gone. No note, no explanation, no call. You just… just disappeared. For all I know, you could've been kidnapped! I mean, it was eight o'clock on a Sunday. You usually sleep until ten. So you'd better have a damn good reason for this, Fray." I bit my lip, a little fear hitting me. A mad Isabelle Lightwood was not something to be taken lightly, because she was downright scary.
"I was at the diner." I blurted, not remembering (until a second later, of course) that I would have to explain why. I racked my brain for some sort of excuse as she glared at me, waiting, with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow, "Aline had to open it today for a… special guest. Apparently, she got paid a bunch of money to do it."
"And who was this Special Guest?" She questioned, voice turning curious. I bit my lip, looking down at my lap. I was absolutely terrible at lying, and it was only a matter of time before I broke under her stare. I just knew that, if I told her, she would freak out. Then, she would kill me for dumping water all over her precious Jace Herondale, "Well," She prompted, "We don't have all day."
"Actually, we do." I tried to change the subject, "It's Sunday. Neither of us have plans." Izzy didn't say anything. She just bored holes into my soul. That was my breaking point, "Jace Herondale." The words flew out before I could stop them, and I slammed a hand over my mouth. Her jaw slowly dropped, so my first thought was to run. The second I took my first step, she grabbed my arm, yanking me back down. She muttered a slew of unintelligible noises before taking a deep breath.
"And why, Clarissa Adele Fray, did you not think of calling me?" Izzy's voice was deadly calm, and I swallowed hard.
"I don't think they would've let you in." I finally came up with an answer, only then realizing that it was actually true, "I mean, there were two bodyguards at the front door, and Aline wouldn't have opened the back door for you." She sighed, and I offered her an apologetic smile. Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped, a wild grin lit up her face, and she sat down next to me.
"Tell. Me. Everything." She commanded, but her tone was happy. I knew it wouldn't be for long when I told her what had happened. I stayed silent for a minute wondering how to get out of this, but my thoughts were interrupted by Iz grabbing my shoulders and shaking me like a rag doll, "Clary." She whined, "Don't do this to me."
"He was an ass." I batted her hands away, finally giving her an answer, "He flirted with me. He paid. He left. That's it." My voice didn't waver, and I was extremely proud of that, but I was currently terrified by Izzy's comically wide eyes.
"He… He… He…" She couldn't get her sentence out, so I just waited, raising my eyebrows and gesturing for her to go on, "He flirted with you?" Her voice was dreamy, and I could almost see the fantasies playing in her head. Then, something happened, and a frown slowly formed on her lips, "What did you do?" If her voice sounded accusing now, it would be furious when she found out what I'd done. I shrugged nonchalantly, playing with my hands in my lap, but she wasn't having it, "Clary, I know you. You hate the guy with a burning passion. You wouldn't let him get away with that, so what did you do?" I stared down, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Pouredwateronhim." I muttered it low and fast so that she wouldn't be able to understand, but it wasn't enough. Her jaw slowly dropped, then her mouth started opening and closing repeatedly, not knowing what to say. I bit my lip, drumming my fingers on my leg. I was going to die. I was going to die. I was going to die.
"Clarissa Adele Fray." She hissed my full name for the second time in the span of an hour, "I will give you five seconds. Run." It took me about two precious seconds to process, then it finally got through my thick skull. I squeaked, jumping up and taking off. My first thought was to put a table in between us, which was a good idea, seeing as Iz was right on my heels. For a few minutes, she chased me around it, but I always kept just enough distance between us. After a little while, both of us got tired, and we placed our hands on our respective sides of the table.
"I didn't go in with the intention of doing that." I got out in between my panting, "He was being such an asshole."
"What, exactly, did he do that made you go that far?" Her jaw was clenched tight, and her knuckles were white from how tight she was gripping the wood.
"So, I was bringing back the check, right? All nice and civil," Now it was my teeth that were crushed together, but I managed to tell the last part of the story, "then, the bastard had the nerve to say that I should come home with him so he could give me my real tip." Isabelle looked like she was about to pass out, as in her eyes were rolling back in her head pass out.
"Izzy!" I yelled, snapping her out of her daze, but she still couldn't talk, "So do you see why I hate the guy now?" Without a word, she slowly nodded her head, and I smiled, my anger quickly being replaced by triumph.
"Seriously?" A new voice asked, and I whipped around to find Simon standing there, two grocery bags in his hands, "Jace wouldn't do that." Simon would never in a million years admit it, but he was "secretly" a Jace Herondale fangirl, "And if he did, I'm sure he was joking." I shot my best guy friend a bland look, and he shrugged helplessly. There was so much tension in the air that you could cut it with a knife.
"Food?" Si broke the silence, holding out the plastic bags that were no doubt filled with candy and other junk. Just what I needed.
"Praise the Lord hallelujah." I wailed before throwing my arms around him.
—
"How do we always end up watching this?" I groaned, taking a bite of my fifth chocolate bar. How was I skinny? I had no idea.
"Because Izzy always ends up with the remote and won't give it back." Simon supplied, and the girl in question nodded in affirmation. We were watching E! News. Again. Luckily, this time, there wasn't a certain blonde superstar's face on the screen. The host, whose name I still hadn't bothered to remember, was talking about some celebrity that did something scandalous and blah blah blah. Needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan.
"And all you aspiring musicians out there," My attention snapped up at the words. Yes, I sang, and I knew I was decent at it, but I just didn't know what to do with it. There was, like, a one in a million chance that I would actually make a living with it, so it was just a distant dream. I still wanted to pay attention, still wanted to grasp at the last few straws.
"E! News is hosting a contest. A big contest." The host paused for effect, then, after several excruciating moments, went on, "ABC will be airing a new reality show, starting this summer, and they've asked for our help with selecting a cast, which just might include you." Simon and Isabelle's heads snapped toward me, and I could almost see the gears in their heads turning. I didn't care though. All that mattered was the opportunity in front of me, no matter how little my chances were.
"Treble Hearts will be centered around an undiscovered artist and, drumroll please…" There was another soul crushing wait, "An unknown mentor." Well that was disappointing, "The show will document the journey as these two people work together to create an album for the rookie, record deal included." A squeal escaped Isabelle, but I ignored her, "So what do you have to do? Tomorrow and tomorrow only, submissions will be taken on ABC's website. Fill out a simple application, then attach a recording of you singing a song - raw and unedited - that shows off your voice. The show will announce the winner in a very… special way." The host winked at the camera, "And that's all for Treble Hearts. Now, let's go to-"
Before the next sentence was even said, I was up and out. I sprinted to my room, grabbing my guitar and running back over to my friends. They seemed to have read my mind, because the TV was already off.
"Oh my god." Isabelle's hands were flailing, "You have to do this." She grabbed my arm, tugging it repeatedly and almost making me drop my instrument, "You have to Clary. You have to." I shook her off and tried to glare at her, but the smile wouldn't leave my face. I had a chance. No matter how absolutely tiny it was, I had a chance.
"Why do you think I got the guitar?" My grin grew, "So, what should I sing?"
"All About That Base." Iz yelled.
"I Write Sins Not Tragedies." Simon shouted at the same time.
"No, and no." I vetoed both of them without thought. Meghan Trainor seemed like a good person, but her music just wasn't my type. I loved Panic! At the Disco, but it wouldn't show my vocal range off. I wanted to do something… "Unique." I told them, "It has to be unique."
"I'm just throwing this out there…" Izzy trailed off, a nervous look on her face, "What about Iris?" My eyes narrowed, and she winced.
"Let's try to stay away from any song by Jace Herondale." I hissed, not mad at her, but I was mad at the blonde I poured water all over. I smirked a little at the thought, and Iz rolled her eyes, obviously reading my mind.
"What's that look for?" Si asked curiously, and I realized I hadn't told him.
"Well…" I trailed off, a devious smirk spreading across my lips, "I may or may not have served said superstar at the diner." I paused to increase the suspense, "And I may or may not have poured a glass of water all over him." Simon's jaw slowly dropped, and a slew of noises escaped his mouth, reacting much like his girlfriend. I let out a maniacal laugh, then refocused on the task at hand, "Let's think."
And that started an hour of brainstorming.
"A musical!" I shouted out of nowhere after we named every popular song we could think of, "I need to do something from a musical." My two friends both raised their eyebrows in question, "Everyone will be doing something everyone knows, but this will be the best, because there's less to compare it to." I thought for a minute, "I mean, I know that will be super hard to replicate, but I think I can do it." Slowly, they nodded, and they seemed to like the idea more by the second.
"Defying Gravity." Isabelle said after barely a minute of waiting, "It'll be a challenge, but it'll show that you can seriously bring it. Plus, Elphaba is goals." I chuckled, knowing it was true. We'd seen Wicked probably a thousand times because we loved it so much, which made it absolutely perfect, "Are you ready now?" Her question made my eyes grow wide, "I mean, it has to be done by tomorrow, so we might as well finish it tonight so we don't have to worry about it last minute." I nodded, warming up to the idea. Finally, I let out a deep sigh.
"Let's do this."
—
Three hours. We had been trying for three hours. My voice was tired, I was tired, Isabelle was tired, Simon was tired. We were all just tired. The only thing keeping me going was warm tea and sugar. I was a perfectionist to say the least, so if there was a single wrong note, I had to start over.
My problem, as expected, was the strong part. It was way harder than it seemed, even for a good singer. Needless to say, I failed almost every time. The few copies I would get it, I messed up somewhere else, and it was killing me.
"Everyone who plays Elphaba is a goddess." I groaned, burying my face in my hands, "I will never see Wicked the same way again." Both Si and Izzy nodded in agreement, and I sighed, ready to go at it again, "We can do this. Third hour's a charm." I clapped my hands together, reluctantly doing a few more warm-ups to get my voice ready.
C'mon Clary. I mentally encouraged myself, You're a great singer. You. Can. Get. This.
I took a deep breath, and Isabelle raised her eyebrows in question, and my head bobbed up and down. She clicked the Record button on the computer, and I started. Even though I was tired, my voice on the first line came out so perfectly that even I was surprised. As the song went on, it only got better and better, and I got more confident as it progressed. Finally, I hit the dreaded part. This time, I belted it louder than I ever had before, and I poured my entire being into those lines.
"And nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring," I sang, then pushed the last words out of my mouth as passionate as possible, "Me down! Oh whoa!" I held the last not for as long as I could, then stopped, panting for breath. Isabelle pressed the End button, then turned to me with a wild smile.
"That was it." Simon whispered, but there was so much conviction in his voice, "Clarissa Adele Fray. That. Was. It." After I was done sucking in deep breaths and calming myself down, I rocketed up, throwing myself into his arms so hard that he stumbled back. I repeated the action with Izzy, then we all started laughing. It was that kind of laugh that brought tears to your eyes and made your gut ache. Then, we turned to the monitor. After sharing quick glances, Simon walked over and pressed the Play button. Our jaws dropped as we listened to my voice, and I'm proud to say that I started crying.
"This is it guys." My voice came out soft, "This is it."
SOOOOOO… Clary has officially entered the contest. Let's see just how far she makes it. I have one more question for you though:
If you won the contest, who would you want your mentor to be?
Sincerely, with all of my heart,
-Shadowhunter5801