A./N. Well howdy there! I was bored, so I didn't wait very long, but anyways, on to the story!
But first a quick disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, everything else goes to the wondrous Cassandra Clare, our queen. Not the Seelie Queen, our queen.
C p.o.v.
The ride home was uneventful, that is, until I think of the fire. Like I always do when I'm not preoccupied. I gave up years ago trying to forget. It just wasted money taking me to doctors that never actually did anything. All they did was ask me questions and relay the answers to my parents. I never got better, so I quit trying. I just pretended to feel better for my parent's sake, though I know they still know I'm not over it. The only way they could be was if they were deaf. Because of the nightmares I would sometimes have, which involved me screaming until my parents ran in and woke me up. I stopped having those, but still dream about the fire every other night. Maybe you would get over it if you didn't feel so guilty about it. It was your fault.
No! I'm not doing this again!
Though I can't help but think back to the dish towel that I unknowingly put in the oven when it was on. The firefighters never found the cause of the fire, but I knew. I knew, because it was what cause my brother to die.
I accidentally swerve a little when the tears blur my vision and drive into the nearest parking lot to collect myself.
I look up to see what lot I turned into, Taki's.
My favorite restaurant. It never ceases to make me feel better, no matter what my mood is. I decide I could go for some food so I quickly text my mom telling her I'll be home late and not to wait up.
When I enter I'm hit with the familiar aroma of food. And hit with my friends waving me over from our usual booth.
"Clary! I was literally about to text you! We all decided to meet up here after school then we're heading over to my house. You left before I could catch you but you seem to have made your way on your own!" Izzy tells me.
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad my senses brought me here." I laugh.
From the left in the booth is: Magnus, Alec, Jace, Maia, Jordan, Izzy, and Simon.
I slide in next to Simon and am greeted by the rest of my friends. Kaelie, the waitress, comes over to take our orders. I order some pancakes even though it's the afternoon.
Everybody continues their conversations; I add little bits to seem like I'm still listening while I get lost in my own world. Again, not of my own accord, my thoughts go back to the one and only Jace Herondale.
Why don't you just admit that you-
NO! Stop it! I don't have any other feeling except hate for Jace!
Well it doesn't seem that way.
Well it's the truth!
I've always hated Jace. That was never an issue. So why is it now? Nothing's changed, he's still a self-centered prick. Maybe you like that. No! I refuse to keep having these thoughts! I won't become one of those girls who're enamored by him! It won't happen!
"Clary. Clary… CLARY!" Izzy says.
"Wh- what!?" Again, my speech is top notch.
"I was trying to get your attention, for the bazillionth time. We're leaving, and I wanted to tell you before you got too lost in your own little world."
"Oh, uh thanks. I'll be over in just a bit."
"Okay!" She replies as she heads out the door, Simon in tow.
Again, I shake my head to clear it and head outside to my car. I start it and the drive over to Izzy, Jace, and Alec's house. Well, it's not so much a house as it is a mansion. The Lightwoods are very wealthy and with their parents on business most of the time, normally they're by themselves. They had a younger brother, Max, who died a couple of years ago. They don't talk about it very often. They don't like to bring it up. It's another reason their parents are gone so much. Izzy and I will talk about it occasionally, but not usually. Max was only seven when he died, and he was the baby of their family. Most people know not to talk about it. Unless you're new, but then you either don't know about it, or someone tells you quickly.
I pull into the driveway and again notice that everyone's already here. Knowing them, Maia went with Jordan in his car, Izzy took Simon in hers, Alec probably drove Magnus, and Jace both took their own cars. I get out and walk up to the door, ring the doorbell and wait. Alec opens the door and lets me in.
"Hey Clary!" He says to me.
"Hey Alec, where is everyone?"
"We're all in the living room. Come on."
I walk with him through their huge house to their also huge living room. Everyone's seated on the couches and chairs, talking. I'm greeted as usual.
"So what do you guys think of your classes this year?" Maia asks.
"Mine are pretty good, usual teachers." Simon replies.
"I got Mr. Williams for Chem., he sucks!" Jordan says.
"I'm so sorry for you. When I had him last year he was horrible." Alec replied to him.
"I've been graced with more than half my schedule with Midge over here." Jace says.
"I'm so excited to spend most of my day with the amazing Jace Herondale!" I say, my voice oozing sarcasm.
"Oh don't worry Clary, at least you have us in some of your classes to keep you from ripping his head off." Izzy assures me.
"Yeah, I hope so." I say, starting to zone out of the conversation. We all talk for about another hour then we start to go our separate ways.
"I gotta go guys, I can't get home too late, though I told mom not to wait up."
I bid farewell to them all and head out. I take my keys out of my pocket and get in, start the car, and drive out of their driveway.
When I get home my parents are on the couch, watching TV. I give them the usual first day ghist and then grab an apple and head upstairs. I drop my bags on the floor and go to my dresser to get some pjs. After I change I climb into bed with my sketchbook and colored pencils.
I start drawing, getting into the zone. I don't realize what I've drawn until I finish. Of course, again, it's a picture of Jace. Him from the side with winds and rays of sun surrounding him. I have to admit it was one of my best drawings. Of course the fact that it's him makes me unhappy. But there really is an Angel-like quality to his features. Kind of like God reached down and carved him himself.
I decide that that's enough drawing for the night, and put my sketchbook on my night table. I reach over and turn off my lamp, and fall asleep almost instantly.
I wake up in a cold sweat and panting at what my clock says is two thirty in the morning. Another dream about the fire. I decide a glass of water would be nice so head, quietly, to the kitchen. I let my eyes adjust to the dark then grab a glass from the cabinet and get some water. As I'm drinking my mind somehow wonders to Jace again. That emotion I saw in his eyes today. But how was there emotion? Jace Herondale doesn't have emotion. He can't. I finish my water and decide I must've just imagined it. I head back to my room and prepare to lie for an hour trying to get myself to go back to sleep when a text interrupts me.
We need to talk
It's from Jace, why did my heart rate pick up from seeing his name?
About what? I answer simply.
Us. Us? What us? We aren't a thing.
There isn't an Us Jace. What are you talking about?
Never mind. Bye.
I stare confusedly at my phone before turning it off and lying back down. Surprisingly, I fall right asleep. And this time, my dreams weren't about the fire, they were about Jace. Which to me, is worse. Because those dreams weren't the most innocent in nature.
Shit.
A./N. Soooooo, what did you think? Like/love/hate it? I will take them all. Just review! Or favorite. Or follow. I will love them all! Any feedback would be fantastic.
Always,
Mari