Chapter 8
The doorbell rang again. "Mom! Can you get that?" Isabelle yelled from her room, head bent over Clary's hand.
"Isabelle, are you going to make me over every time we have a dance?" Clary sighed from her position on the bed. She wore the same dress she had worn to school, but Isabelle was sure to make her change later.
"Yes. You're never going to do it by yourself. Now, these are done, but don't touch them. Don't even move." Isabelle jumped up and ran downstairs. Clary could hear her greeting someone downstairs. A minute later, Isabelle reappeared in the room.
"Now, the dance isn't formal, so wear this." She dumped a dress in Clary's arms. "I got this for you during the last shopping trip we went on, but you haven't worn it yet!" Isabelle frowned at Clary.
"If I wear it now, can I escape the lecture?" Clary said hopefully.
"Yes, but only if you don't complain once tonight." Clary nodded eagerly and dashed to change.
"It actually isn't that bad," Clary contemplated, looking down at the dress. "Except it's really short."
"See? It's great. Now let me see your hands." Isabelle said, ignoring Clary's second comment. She checked that the polish had not been ruined, then bent to retrieve Clary's shoes.
"You can just wear these again. They work with this too."
"I never spend this much effort on dressing. Fashion is such effort," Clary teased, slipping the shoes on.
"It's all for a good cause," Isabelle joked back. The two girls descended the stairs together and entered the living room, where Alec and Magnus already were. Alec looked uncomfortable while Magnus fiddled with his clothing.
"Oh, hello Clary," Magnus said without looking away from Alec's tie. He jerked on it, causing Alec to jump.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Straightening it."
"It was straight!"
"Oh, please. It was as straight as I am." Alec gasped at this, and his mouth opened and closed as he thought of something to say. Magnus grinned.
"What, you didn't realize I was gay? I'm pretty sure Clary and Isabelle knew. I'm not exactly unassuming."
"I knew, or I suspected at least, I just didn't want to bring it up," Alec stammered.
"Don't worry about it. I've never been bullied about it, so I'm not sensitive at all." Magnus looked worriedly at Alec, who seemed to have lost his breath. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Alec said, recovering. Isabelle snorted at his expression, but Clary could tell she was apprehensive about Alec's reaction.
"Well, Magnus, how do we look?" Clary asked, trying to defuse the tension. Magnus jumped to the bait readily.
"Oh, you two look gorgeous! Isabelle, you picked the perfect outfit for Clary. I'm proud to have you as Fashion Club vice president."
"Thank you Magnus! I do try," Isabelle replied magnanimously.
The doorbell rang again, and Isabelle ran to admit Sebastian, Jace, and Aline. Maryse came out of the kitchen to greet them.
"Hello, Aline! How is your mother doing?"
Aline smiled sweetly and replied, "She's great, thank you. And how are you, Mrs. Lightwood?"
"I'm fine, thanks. And is this your date?"
Jace looked up as Aline said brightly, "Yes, this is Jace."
"Hi," Jace muttered. Aline gave him an annoyed glance.
"Well, I hope you two have fun tonight," Maryse said with a kind look towards Jace.
"I'll have lots of fun, don't worry." Aline hugged Maryse, then followed the guys into the living room.
"Hey, Aline," Alec greeted her.
"Hey, Alec," Aline said in a demure voice. Isabelle rolled her eyes and nudged Clary.
Sebastian came up to Clary. "Hey, Clary. Hi, Isabelle."
"Hey. Oh, look, there's Simon," Isabelle said, moving away from them. Behind Sebastian's back, she mouthed at Clary, "I'll give you some time to be alone." Clary's eyes widened, and she motioned at Isabelle to stay, but Isabelle was already herding the others outside to the cars.
"You look beautiful," Sebastian said.
"Thank you," Clary murmured. She felt uncomfortable alone with Sebastian. She began to walk towards the front door, and grabbed Sebastian's hand to pull him with her. Somehow her hand slipped into his, and she stopped short. Sebastian looked down at her.
"Is this ok?" Sebastian asked.
Clary was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. It's good." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He led her to the Lightwoods' van, and helped her up. Simon and Isabelle would be joining this car, while Jace and Aline were hitching a ride with Alec and Magnus, who could drive. Jordan and Maia would be arriving separately.
They arrived at the football field. All the students were piling out of their cars raucously. Everyone spilled in a mass towards the bleachers. Sebastian held tightly to Clary's hand, and Clary tried to keep pace with Isabelle. Finally they reached the group of their friends sitting in a line on the bleachers. Clary sat between Isabelle and Sebastian, and reached across Isabelle to mess up Simon's hair.
"Hey! It took me a long time to do that!" Simon complained.
"Do what, get out of bed? Cause that's what it looked like," Jace scoffed. Aline giggled, and Clary shot a glare at both of them.
"It's artfully messy. To look like I don't care," Simon explained exasperatedly.
"But you obviously do, if you spent so much time making your hair look like a rat's nest," Jace pointed out.
"Shut up," Clary snapped. "Just cause you're so arrogant you think everyone's worse than you doesn't mean you have to make fun of them."
Jace looked shocked, but he just smirked and turned away. Aline narrowed her eyes at Clary, then returned to fawning over Jace.
Clary felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Sebastian's concerned face. "Don't let Jace get to you. He's just a jerk."
"I know that. I'm fine. Let's just have fun tonight, ok?"
Sebastian nodded and smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders.
A cheer went up as the game began. Clary at first was tense under Sebastian's arm, and a little uncomfortable. But as the game progressed, she relaxed almost unconsciously, into his arm and laid her head on his bicep.
Clary dutifully ignored Jace and Aline, but giggled at Isabelle's disgusted expression whenever Isabelle caught a glimpse of the couple. Maia and Jordan were nauseatingly sweet as well, cuddling on the side.
Clary drowsed, but she was kept awake by the periodic screams and cheers. At halftime, Sebastian shook her awake. Clary blinked awake, and turned her head. The first thing she saw was Isabelle, her head resting on Simon's shoulder. Simon looked uncomfortable, but proud at the same time. Clary sat up completely at this sight.
"Are we winning?" Clary asked sleepily. Sebastian laughed.
"Yes, we're winning by a lot."
"Good," Clary yawned.
Isabelle stirred. "You better cheer this half, Clary. We need to support our school!" she said brightly, which was extraordinary considering she had just woken up.
"Izzy, you have the worst timing," Clary groaned, mid yawn. She shivered. "Did your fashion training prepare you to bring a jacket for me?"
"Yes, I did, actually. Don't mock fashion." Isabelle dug in her purse to reveal a tiny cardigan.
"That is not a jacket. It'll barely keep out the cold." Clary took the cardigan anyway, and found it surprisingly warm. She stretched, accidentally hitting Sebastian's shoulder. "Oops, sorry."
Sebastian smiled down at her. "That's ok."
Clary looked up, and was caught by Sebastian's intense, dark gaze. She couldn't look away, but she didn't want to keep staring back into his eyes. Isn't this supposed to be romantic? Clary thought to herself. I'm supposed to enjoy this, right?
"So beautiful," Sebastian murmured. He touched her cheek, and Clary jumped. Sebastian whispered, "Shh," and bent his head. Clary was transfixed, unable to move. She could imagine what was about to happen, but was unsure if she wanted it.
Isabelle squealed. "Guys, it's starting again!"
Clary jolted out of the trance and quickly turned away from Sebastian. She sensed him pulling away in disappointment and felt his body tense beside her. She reached out and curled her fingers around his hand. Sebastian relaxed slightly.
By the end of the game, Clary couldn't wait to get out of there and into a warm room. She followed the rest of the school as they poured into the gym and quad. The music was already blaring, and the excitement was palpable in the air. Screams and laughter and the music combined into a wall of sound that made it impossible to hear anything but shouting.
Clary and Maia were pulled by Isabelle into the crowd away from the rest of the group, and they laughed in exhilaration as Isabelle began to dance wildly to the music. Soon, all three of them had joined in. They had lost sight of the guys and Aline, but Clary didn't care. She was having so much fun she nearly forgot about Sebastian and Jace and stupid, annoying, arrogant boys.
In the frenzy of excitement, Clary found herself bumped up against a boy's chest. She checked his face; in the dark, she squinted to make out Sebastian's features.
"Dance with me," he said in her ear. Clary nodded rapidly. She turned and laced her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her waist and gripped lightly.
The music halted, morphed into a slow dance. Suddenly couples everywhere were pairing up and swaying to the beat. Clary and Sebastian swayed along with them, and she had the crazy thought that they were all like pendulums on a grandfather clock, moving back and forth steadily. Looking over Sebastian's shoulder, she saw Isabelle and Simon, arms length apart, but still holding hands and dancing together. With a smile, she swept her gaze over the rest of the crowd, her eyes catching on Maia and Jordan, Kaelie and Meliorn, then Jace and Aline. Aline was pressed right up against Jace, trailing her hand down his back while the other caressed his neck. Clary looked away before she could see anymore.
On impulse, she tightened her grip on Sebastian's neck and put her face on his shoulder. With her eyes half closed, she could still see Jace watching them. She was shocked to find that he looked unhappy.
Why would he be unhappy? He has a girl all over him, a girl that he asked as his date. And he keeps looking over here. Does he think I'm not good enough for his friend? That would explain his behavior, actually. He's been acting like he doesn't want me to be with Sebastian.
That jerk! Who does he think he is?
Clary turned her head to look at Sebastian. His face was surprisingly close, and she didn't think. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Sebastian's face was comically surprised and delighted at the same time. He breathed, "For what?"
"For...for this. I'm having fun."
"You're welcome." Their eyes met. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jace's stare, and spurred by the sudden burst of annoyance, she tilted her head up to meet Sebastian's kiss.
She gasped as soon as their lips touched, and Sebastian took this as encouragement. He held her tighter, and put more pressure on her mouth. Clary's eyes flew open.
What am I thinking? Clary had never considered herself the type of girl to rush into a kiss. Especially her first kiss. She wanted to know someone well, like him enough to want to spend all her time with him, not to jump into an exhilarated kiss in public, without any thought behind it. And she certainly had not foreseen that it would be incited by annoyance at another boy.
She pulled away quickly. Sebastian, dazed, glanced down at her. "What's wrong? Where are you going?"
"I-I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. There's nothing wrong with this, Clary. The opposite. It was perfect."
She flushed. "Um-I just-I don't think-"
"Are you okay?" Sebastian moved towards her again. "Is there something I should know? Is it Jace? Did-"
"What do you mean, is it Jace? Why would you think it had anything to do with him?" Clary put her hands on her hips and fixed her gaze on Sebastian.
"I don't know. I just thought-he did tell you I was going with Kaelie. I thought you were worried that he's trying to get between us," Sebastian stumbled over his words, then pulled himself up and continued steadily, "Well, let me tell you, it's none of his business."
"No, it's not. And I was just nervous, okay?"
"Why would you be-oh. I see." Sebastian looked bashful. "I'm so insensitive, I'm sorry."
"You were, a little."
"Forgive me?" Sebastian's face was angelic, repentant. Clary's heart still pounded from the tension and excitement of the evening. She breathed deeply to calm herself.
"I guess," she said quietly, "I guess I will. Don't worry, Sebastian. I still had a lovely time."
He smiled. "I'm glad. Now, the dance is over. Let's find Isabelle and the others and go home, alright?"
Clary nodded, and took his hand as they walked off in search of their friends.
A/N: I'm a little iffy about this chapter. For one, I'm writing this under very...unusual conditions. Right now, there's a shooter on the loose in my neighborhood/city. Schools are closed or on lockdown, which is why I have free time. But my best friend lives a block away from where he was last seen, and he's already killed 3 people. My heart goes out to the family of the injured and killed, and I really hope this tragedy is concluded soon.
I have never written anything like this before. It needs improvement, I know. But I'd like the feedback from you, dear readers.
Thank you for reading and please review!
~Sami