Chapter 3
Clary dressed the next morning with particular care. Usually she just threw on her favorite clothing, but today she looked thoroughly through her wardrobe and chose items slowly. She tried not to think about why she had changed her routine, but every so often her mind would seize on the fact that it was Wednesday. And that she would see Jace again during art.
When she went out to meet Isabelle and Alec, she began to feel self-conscious and wondered if the two would notice the difference in her demeanor. But Isabelle continued to chatter happily as they walked, the same as any day. Clary threw herself into the conversation, laughing exuberantly at Isabelle's jokes while Alec walked silently beside them. He fell back when he saw Magnus and waved him over enthusiastically. Isabelle stopped talking to turn and watch her brother with Magnus.
"Clary, what do you know about Magnus?" Isabelle asked slowly, her face impassive. Clary was suspicious, however.
"Nothing, why?"
"I think Alec likes him too much."
Clary scoffed. "What do you mean, too much? They're just friends. And you've seen them together twice!"
Isabelle sighed. "Never mind." She picked up her pace, and Clary had to hurry to keep up with Isabelle's long-legged strides. She cursed her shortness.
"Slow down, Izzy! What's the matter?"
Isabelle stopped suddenly. "You're my best friend, Clary." Clary nodded and tilted her head at Isabelle with a questioning look.
"And I can tell you anything. And you wouldn't say anything to anyone else." Isabelle was almost talking to herself now, turning slightly away from Clary and looking across the street.
Clary replied impatiently, "Yes, of course I wouldn't. You know that."
Isabelle turned sharply to face Clary, opening her mouth to say something. But then Alec and Magnus caught up, and she closed her mouth quickly. Alec didn't notice Isabelle's confusion, completely engrossed in his conversation.
Clary felt Isabelle's nudge. With a flick of her black hair, Isabelle had regained her composure and winked playfully at Clary. "Someone's looking at you, Clary."
"They're never looking at me, Izzy. You should know by now that you are the object of every breathing male's attention, with the exception of your brother. And gay guys."
Isabelle paled slightly. Clary wondered what she had said, but thought no more of it when a male, and familiar, voice sounded behind her.
"Hey."
"Hey, Jace," Alec replied.
"Oh, hello, Jace," Magnus said. "My god, you're exceptionally dull today. With the imagination you put into your sarcasm, I'd have thought your wardrobe would be more exciting."
Clary and Isabelle turned to see Jace's eyebrow raise. "I'll make more of an effort, but this is as exciting as it gets, Magnus. Or should I call you Maggie?"
Magnus's eyebrows narrowed. "Where did you hear that?"
Alec's face became guilty, then contorted as he tried to school his features into innocence. Isabelle snorted at her brother's expression.
Magnus turned on Alec dramatically. "You!"
Isabelle and Clary giggled at Alec's scared expression. Jace smiled, but his gaze was directed away from the group.
Clary tried to see what he was looking at, but Alec ducked from Magnus's lunge and knocked into Jace. Jace instinctively pushed Alec away and turned his head to glare at Magnus, who had Alec in a headlock. She whipped her head back around to face Isabelle, who giggled.
"Afraid to get your hands dirty, Jace?" she taunted, gesturing at Jace's disdainful look toward the wrestling boys.
Jace's eyes narrowed. "Not afraid, just smart enough not to get between an old married couple and their arguments."
Alec sputtered. "C-c-couple?"
"Old?" Magnus said, outraged.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Come on, the light's turning." She crossed the street briskly, dragging Clary with her by the elbow. Clary heard snickers from the boys as her short legs were dragged behind her.
"Don't fall, Clary!" Magnus yelled. Clary turned her head and stuck out her tongue, causing the three boys to laugh harder.
"Izzy," Clary complained. "Slow down, would you? My legs are too short for this abuse."
"We need to talk." Isabelle stopped at their table and sat. Clary sat more slowly, smoothing her clothes. She wondered if she was going to get "the talk" about boys from her best friend. She sincerely hoped not.
"Izzy-"
"I think my brother is gay," Isabelle interrupted in a quick breath. Clary stared.
"Alec?"
"Yes, Alec, who else?"
"Well, Max-"
"Max is 8 years old and is as masculine as an 8 year old can be."
"Oh-okay..." Clary trailed off, studying Isabelle. The other girl's face was set, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she waited for Clary's reaction.
"There's nothing wrong-I mean, I'm fine with it, Izzy. Is Magnus..."
"Yes, I'm pretty sure he is, too."
Clary pondered this. "I think I understand why you're so worried. But as long as he doesn't come out, no one who doesn't know him well will know."
Isabelle sighed. "But I think he might come out. To be with Magnus, I mean."
"Magnus is very...flamboyant."
Simon walked up. "Are you talking about Magnus? The spiky haired, rainbow, fashion clubber who also can play baseball like a pro?"
"Wow, someone has a crush," teased Isabelle to cover her discomfort. She flashed Clary a look that said, "What did he hear?"
Clary shrugged and made a face behind Simon's back. He turned around in time to catch the tail end of her grimace.
"Hey, you okay, Clary? That was a pretty painful expression you had just now," Simon said, concerned.
Clary replied with as innocent a tone as she could muster, "It's nothing."
"Are you sure? You can call your mom or something-"
"Just forget it, I'm fine."
"If you say so, Fray."
When fourth period rolled around, Clary was calm.
She wouldn't act strangely around Jace. She'd just be herself. He was just a guy. Simon was a guy. She'd react to what he said the same way she'd react to any of her friends. He was a friend.
Stop rambling, Clary scolded herself. You don't need to convince yourself to be normal.
She had a feeling that Isabelle would disagree.
Clary stared at her desk with her backpack open on her lap. She started at the sound of someone next to her, and quickly removed her materials and placed them on the desk before glancing over at the golden head on her right.
Jace sat languidly and dropped his backpack on the ground. He didn't appear to notice Clary, and she quickly looked back at the front of the room. She was acutely aware of Jace's shuffling beside her.
"Hey, Picasso."
Clary looked over at Jace when she heard his voice and was surprised to see him looking back at her.
"Are you talking to me?" Clary asked, her voice wavering. She internally berated herself for being so incoherent in front of a boy.
"Who else would I be talking to?" Jace stared at her and Clary wanted to break their gaze, but she steeled herself and looked back at him.
"Why on earth would you call me Picasso?" she replied, proud of herself for forming a coherent sentence.
Jace smiled, and it caused Clary to feel even more uncertain of her mental faculties. "Because you're the great artist. Alec told me about you."
"Oh, yeah? What did he say?"
"That you've been producing Picasso-worthy art since you were small. Actually, you're still small. But when you were smaller."
Clary scoffed. "Yeah, thanks for pointing that out to me. And Picasso was an abstract artist. I've never done abstract art, only people and landscapes and still life."
"Well, I think you're a Picasso. Would you rather I called you Monet? Or Degas?"
"I'm impressed. You actually know some artists."
"Well, I'm not stupid." Jace's gaze became somehow sharper, challenging. Clary swallowed and tried to conceal it. She was nervous. She'd never talked to a boy like Jace for any length of time before. Simon and Alec didn't count, they were like family. Jace was different. The lines of conversation were blurry with him. She didn't know what to say, and his face was extremely distracting.
"I never said you were." Great, now you sound defensive. "I'm wondering, though, why are you taking art again? Don't you have any other talents you can put to use?"
Jace smiled again, but this time his expression was tighter. "I play baseball," he replied, but his tone indicated that he had been about to say something else.
"That's it?" Clary asked skeptically.
"That's all you'll know." Jace smirked, but he seemed tenser than he had been a minute ago.
And uncomfortable is now the theme of this conversation. Clary sighed inwardly at her inability to carry a normal conversation with an unfamiliar boy. Thankfully the teacher soon began introducing their first project to the class, sparing Clary from responding.
Both were silent for the rest of the period, and once again Jace slipped fluidly out of his seat and was out of the door before anyone else. Clary dragged her feet out the door, wondering if Alec and his friends would join them. She suspected that Sebastian and Jordan might stop by to see Isabelle and Maia.
Clary didn't dare think about another boy who might stop by to see a girl at their table.