~Chapter 1~

~Clary's POV~

I dream my painting, then I paint my dream.

Vincent Van Gogh's quote echoed through my head, and it annoyed me greatly. As if I needed any more reminders of my fucked up childhood. Well, I better introduce myself. I'm Clary Adele Fray, and my birthday was a few weeks ago, August 23. My junior year at 'The Institute' starts today, and I'm so not looking forward to it. That's not the real name of the school, but that's what everyone calls it.

First of all, there are those teachers that think they knew everything and understand how you are feeling. Seriously, did you lose your mother when you were barely 3? Were you forced to move from house to house, working small jobs when you were 11? Were you depressed for some time? I think not. So please, just shut up.

Second of all, the students, my 'peers', are so annoying. Why do they have to over exaggerate everything? Is it all a joke to them? As if they've actually gone through a hard time.

Finally, I barely have the motivation to go. The only things that push me to go, are Simon, the art class, and the chorus. I decided to start singing a few years ago, and it's been really fun. Simon has stuck with me for so long, and never gave up on me. I inherited my passion for art from my mom, but I never seem to get any of my paintings anywhere close to as good as hers.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I stood up and got ready. I tried to clear my head of thoughts about my mom, but I failed miserably. While getting ready, my mind drifted to other things, even though I wish it hadn't. My fuzzy images of her from my toddler ages were the best thing I have, as all of her pictures were gone.

Thankfully, I did save one painting, the one with the quote. I've studied it for so long, and tried to find the underlying meaning. My step dad Luke always said that there was some kind of meaning, and that Jocelyn was a really good painter. I live with him in Manhattan now, and so far it's been okay. Well, other than school, but I can't really do anything about that.

"Luke! I have to go to school now! Remember, I'm staying after for chorus!" I yelled over my shoulder, and started jogging to the bus stop. It wouldn't be good for me to already miss the bus. Squinting, I saw a few figures standing at the corner of the road.

Realizing who one of them was, I started running to them. "Simon! Your back! How was your camp thing! You were gone the entire summer, and I couldn't call you!" Still rushing towards him, I gave him a hug, almost falling to the ground in the process.

"Hey Clary! It was fun for the most part. Sorry I couldn't answer your calls, the camp forgot to mention there was no service. Oh right, that's Alec and his siblings. We met at camp. There is Isabelle, Jace, and their younger brother who doesn't go here yet." Simon said, answering my unspoken question. I waved, albeit shyly, and waited for the bus.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the bus arrived loudly, breaking the awkward silence. We all climbed on, and looked for the empty seats. We were the last stop, which meant that all the good seats were taken, and I ended up sitting next to Jace.

Well, this couldn't get more awkward.I thought to myself

"Hey, I'm Jace. You're Clary right?" He sounded nice enough, making me think I could have another friend. I nodded to his question, and started to talk.

Before I could though, he interrupted me. "You look pretty hot, ya know? How about when we get there you show me around?"

And there goes my hope in humanity.

I sighed, sad that he turned to be an asshat, and looked away.

"Oooooooh. Playing hard to get, are we? You know you want some of this." He said gesturing to himself.

"Dumbass," I muttered under my breath, "everyone's so fucking stupid."

Apparently he heard me, and responded. "So the innocent girl swears huh? Why don't you go running back to your mommy and daddy?" Jace was getting on my nerve before, but now he is just asking to be slapped. So, that's what I did.

He looked surprised that I actually slapped him, but I just ignored him and said, "My mother is dead asshole. Why won't you just shut up?"

Now he looked a little guilty, and tried to apologize. I scoffed, that's how everyone at this school is like. Well, everyone except for Simon. He doesn't treat me like I'm this porcelain cup, he knows how I act, but knows when I need comfort. He's the best friend someone could have, and I probably wouldn't be here if not for him and Luke. They pulled me out of my depression, and helped me get back on track.

The bus make extremely loud noises as it pulled to a stop, and I stood up and rushed of the bus. Despite my strong demeanor, faint memories started invading my mind, and I just wanted to get away from everyone. Cursing myself for not doing this earlier, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and listened to the song "Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears". Pierce the Veil songs are loud enough to clear my head, and I usually listen to them when I'm in a bad mood.

Simon knew when I was in a bad mood, and left me to my music. I hurried down the corridor to my locker, and quickly found my locker. Stuffing my backpack in, I found my schedule and grabbed what I need. I turned my music off, and shoved my phone back into my pocket.

"Shit! I forgot my notebook for chemistry! Fuck...what do I do?" I angrily cursed.

"You can use mine, I brought an extra one. I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't thinking." Startled, I saw that Jace was right next to me.

Great. His locker is right next to mine. Rest in peace me.

"Thanks for the notebook Jace. I have to go now, bye." I ignored his apology, and hurried past him. I honestly didn't know what to think of Jace. For one, he acts like an asshole. It seems as if he isn't really that, well rude, but is trying to fit in. I guess that makes sense, but it doesn't excuse him.

Could I get him to change?What am I thinking, I shouldn't even care about him, but at the same time, I do. Ugh, what to do, what to do.I silently said to myself.