Chapter 5

Clary sat on a mossy log in the shade of an enormous oak. Maple and beech trees edged the clearing before her, their shade dappling the reddish brown leaves on the ground. It was beautiful.

But her painting was not. She was struggling with the ground; she wanted to get the dappled shade perfect, but the ideal image was eluding her.

I'm almost done, she thought. Maybe if I draw something else first, I can come back to this. She got out her sketchpad and a pencil, and lines began forming on the paper. She drew without thinking, and became lost in the contours of jaw, nose, and eyes. When she finally stopped, Clary looked down in amazement at the face she had depicted. It was Jace, done almost perfectly, so realistic she almost believed it was the real boy glancing sorrowfully into the distance.

She stared at the picture for a long minute, then quickly shoved her sketchpad in her backpack. I'm being stupid, she berated herself. I have to ignore this. It's getting to me. Besides, he never looks at me except when Isabelle is with me. I'm invisible, insignificant to him.

But Izzy doesn't agree-at least, she thinks I'm visible to someone. Isabelle had teased Clary the entire drive to the farm about Sebastian, who Isabelle alleged "stares at you all the time, it's disgustingly sweet! He so obviously likes you! Clary imagine if you guys went to Winter Formal together! Alec, don't you think it's cute?"

Alec had refused to reply, and blocked Isabelle out with headphones while beside him, nine-year-old Max slumbered peacefully, oblivious to Isabelle's gushing.

"But I thought you liked him!" Clary had protested, wanting her friend to stop.

"No, of course not! Well, I think he's absolutely fabulous in the looks department. But I'm not seriously attracted to him. He's not my type."

Clary rolled her eyes, wondering what Isabelle's type really was. Based on the diverse collection of previous boyfriends and crushes Isabelle had, it was anyone crazy that offended Alec and her parents.

Clary sighed, trying to dispel the disturbing thoughts in her head. She jumped right back into the painting, and within an hour she had finally completed it to her satisfaction. Holding it carefully, she stood and strolled out of the clearing onto a path that led out of the woods bordering the farm.

Back at the farmhouse, she placed the painting delicately on the kitchen counter and headed upstairs to the room she and Izzy shared. One side of the room was violently messy, clothes strewn haphazardly on the floor and bed. Clary headed to the cleaner side and grabbed a change of clothes from her suitcase. She quickly shucked off her comfortable, but ratty old t-shirt and sweats that she wore while painting and put on a pair of jeans and a top that she could wear in front of Isabelle and Alec's parents.

Leaving the room, she bumped into someone shorter than her, which didn't happen very often. Looking down, she saw it was Max, Isabelle and Alec's younger brother. She smiled at him.

"Sorry, Max, I didn't see you there."

"It's ok! I was just reading while walking, so it's not your fault," Max replied brightly, waving his book at Clary.

"Oh, what's that?"

"It's Naruto! You know, the one you showed me. This is the ninth book. I don't have them all, though."

Clary suddenly thought of Simon and his box of comics and manga that his mother had forbidden from the house, as a result of them being laid open at various improper places around the house and tripping up guests.

"Hey, I think Simon and I together probably have the entire series. I'll come by sometime and bring it for you, how's that sound?"

Max's eyes lit up. "That's great! Thank you so much Clary!"

He ran down the stairs at a breakneck pace, leaving Clary to descend more slowly.

"Mom! Guess what! Clary said she'll lend me some of her manga!"

Maryse Lightwood turned her head to look fondly at her youngest son. "That's wonderful, Max. You know, I never have time to take him to the store to buy more. He's been rereading a few books for weeks. Thank you so much, Clary."

"It's no problem, Simon's mom and my mom have been trying to get us to get rid of those comics for a while. And we can take Max to Midtown Comics or Forbidden Planet. Simon wants to get a job there as soon as he's old enough."

Maryse smiled kindly at Clary. It was an expression she reserved only for Clary, Jocelyn, and her own family. As a diplomat, the smile used at work was generally forced, or nonexistent. Despite Maryse's fierce looks, Clary still thought of her as a kind, loving person. Even though she was busy dealing with politics all over the world, she still made time for her family and came home for extended periods of time.

Isabelle barreled into the kitchen squealing. "Clary, help me! Alec's going to kill me!"

Clary sighed. "What did you do to him?"

Isabelle rushed into the living room and stopped short. "Oh, hey Mom! I'm going to take Clary upstairs with me if that's ok."

Maryse sighed. "Yes, Isabelle, it's fine. But don't be mean to your brother, dear."

"Who, me? I'm an angel to Alec!" Isabelle smiled innocently, and pulled a scoffing Clary up the stairs.

Once they had closed the door to their room, Isabelle pulled Clary with her to sit on the bed.

"So, I may have seen Alec's phone lying around. And I may have picked it up and read his texts. Then I may have texted Magnus back."

"What did the text say?" Clary groaned, realizing where this was going.

"It might have been a little suggestive."

"Izzy! I thought you didn't want to pressure Alec into anything!"

"This isn't pressure. This is good, clean, pranking."

"Now he'll be too embarrassed to even talk to Magnus, let alone ask him out."

"I never expected Alec to be the one to ask anyone out! If anything, I think Magnus is going to ask him out. But not soon at all. Magnus wouldn't want to pressure Alec. I think."

"Oh, Izzy," Clary said lightly. "Just apologize to him."

"I don't think he needs an apology. I just moved his relationship ahead by five steps."

"Izzy!"

"Oh, alright. But he's going to be such a baby about it."

"Have fun," Clary teased, earning a glare from Isabelle.

"You're coming with me."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world," Clary muttered. As Isabelle dragged her downstairs, she saw Alec waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well?" he asked, scowling at his younger sister.

"I'm sorry I sent Magnus a text that said you wanted him in a sexual manner. I promise I will never do this exact thing again," Isabelle said in a robotic voice. Clary slapped her arm.

"Ow!"

Alec's scowl deepened. "How am I going to explain this to Magnus?"

"Well, has he texted you back yet?"

"I didn't check."

"Give that to me." Isabelle grabbed her brother's phone and checked the screen. Clary and Alec watched suspiciously as her eyes lit up in glee, and she pressed the screen energetically. Suddenly she laughed out loud.

"Good news, Alec. Magnus isn't mad at you."

Alec stared. "Really?"

"Yup." Isabelle began to type on the phone's keyboard.

"Hey! Give that back!" Alec yelled. Clary watched, laughing, as the two siblings fought for the phone. Isabelle shrieked and held the phone high, pressing buttons randomly. A beep sounded through the room.

Both Isabelle and Alec stared at the phone in horror. "You sent it! Why did you send it?" Alec screamed. "What did it say?"

Isabelle looked sheepish. "Well, I wasn't done..."

Alec snatched the phone away from her and looked at the sent message. "Izzy! I'm going to kill you!"

Isabelle laughed nervously, then took Clary's hand and ran into the other room. "We'll just stay here and let him cool off."

"What did it say?"

"It's not my fault! It got auto-corrected."

"Izzy! What did it say?"

"Um...well..."

Alec stomped up to them. "Clary, Isabelle can't just get away with this. Don't you dare help her."

In a moment of mischievousness, Clary grabbed the phone. It still displayed the message. Clary read it aloud, her breath punctuated by fits of laughter.

"hey there maggie, i rly lyke how ur so cool about this. you're good for alec's sex."

Clary choked. "Isabelle Lightwood!"

"I meant to say serious personality!"

"Who writes serious personality in a text?" Alec screeched.

"What kind of phone has the word sex in auto correct?"

"What's going on here?" Maryse walked in with Jocelyn, the two mothers looking skeptically at the three teenagers.

"Nothing," Isabelle, Clary, and Alec said in unison.

At that moment, the phone beeped, causing Alec to jump. Isabelle glanced over.

"Uh oh."

A/N: Hey there! I know this chapter didn't really move the plot along too much, but it was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it! It was more of introducing the Lightwoods, and seeing more of Isabelle's craziness.

Well, as always, thank you for reading and please review!

~Sami