Chapter 4:

Maia could not stop thinking about her date with Simon tonight. He had VIP tickets for a band concert. Apparently the band was really popular in the northeast. She looked down at the extra ticket in her hands. She didn't know what to do with them. Perhaps she should sell them on Ebay. No, Maia thought, I need a wing woman. But who?

"Maia!"

Maia snapped out of her thoughts.

"I think we ran out of caramel-" Clary started to say but stopped when she saw Maia's face. "What's wrong?"

"Doyouhaveanyplanstonight?" Maia rushed out.

"Uhh, no?"

"Dude. Me. You. My date. A concert. Tonight."

Maia's firmness left Clary speechless.

"Wut," she cleverly uttered.

"You're welcome. Meet at the bus stop at 6?"

Clary only blinked in confusion which Maia took as a yes.

—

At the hotel, Simon was lying face down on his bed. He had just finished an interview about the Mortal Instrument's disastrous performance the other night. The tired star flopped onto his bed the second he got inside and was too lazy to turn over. During the interview, the reporter was talking about how the band started making Simon remember that fateful day.

Simon was sweating in his outfit as he strummed some practice records on his bass. Clary was there, smiling and encouraging Simon.

"You're not that bad Simon. You won't completely fail," she said cheerfully.

"Thanks, that sure boosts my confidence," Simon replied sarcastically.

Clay sighed and got up from the box she was sitting on. She walked over to Simon and squatted in front of him.

"You'll be great Simon. This is like me teaching that Isabelle brat. Hard and dreadful, but just hold your head high, don't complain, and be confident."

Simon stared at her, unbelieving.

"As much as you can," she clarified.

A pause. More staring.

"Okay, fine. That was a little hypocritical-"

"A LITTLE?"

"Oh my god Simon. I'm trying to encourage you, you pessimistic grouch. Do your best 'kay? I'm always gonna be there for you. Honest. If they start throwing food at you, I'll jump in front of you and save your leather clad skinny ass."

Simon let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding in. Bantering was Clary felt so normal.

"You mean my authentic, 100%-real-leather, leather clad ass."

Simon smiled into the sheets. Clary wasn't the best pep talker but at least she tried. A promise keeper on the other hand, not so much.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Simon groaned as he rose from the bed like a zombie. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a tall girl with a wide sun hat. She was wearing a white vintage dress with a halter top.

Simon's eyes widened.

"What do you think, hm?" The girl gave a small twirl showing off open-toed lace up pumps completely ignorant of Simon's distraught expression.

"I never really liked vintage but I thought I'd give it a try-"

"You shouldn't be here!" Simon hissed, cutting into her question while looking up and down the hallway.

The girl sighed.

"Simon. We've been dating for like, two years and you're acting like some paranoid psycho," she pouted. "Mom is here on some important business with the LA fashion headquarters or something so I thought I might as well stop by. Jace came along and rooms down the hall while Alec's at the other end-"

"You do know that we are not supposed to be public right?!" Simon snapped, cutting her again. "Your brothers don't know we're dating right?"

"It's our little secret," she assured him. "Now, does this dress look good or is it too old?"

Simon's frown softened.

"Anything will look breathtaking on you, Izzy," he said affectionately, pulling her into his arms.

Isabelle smiled and gave a peck on his lips. Then she flounced off, since the object of her visit was achieved.

—

Clary glanced nervously around nervously. The bus had dropped her off with Maia at a busy square in a hundred degree heat. She had never seen more skin anywhere and her own pale white skin was starting to burn. Maia was holding her phone and using a pamphlet as a shade over her eyes because sunglasses were useless against the Los Angeles sun. She too was in a tank top and shorts while Clary looked like a freak in leggings and a jacket.

"This way," Maia ordered as she pointed at a random building.

She and Clary dodged threaded through crowds as they reached the glass doors of the tall building Maia was pointing at earlier. The word Eidolon was written in curving strokes on the building.

Pushing through the heavy glass doors of Eidolon, the two girls gazed around themselves in amazement. Eidolon was the child of a light show and a night club. The building itself was black but was lit by bright neon lights that hurt to look at. These colors zoomed and flashed across walls and columns. Eidolon reminded Clary of Pandemonium because of the crowd they attracted. Men in sharkskin suits and girls in stilettos strolled across the giant neon ground. Dresses had a maximum of 5 inches past the hips and no shirt was properly buttoned. Clary felt overdressed next to these people.

"Holy shit Clary. I think we're in a strip club," Maia whispered in pretend horror.

Clary shook her head and laughed. Suddenly a surge of teenage girls separated the pair. Clary struggled to find her friend in the sea of glitter.

"CLARY!"

Clary turned to see Maia all the way across the hall.

"MEET ME AT 7:30 AT THE VIP ROOM!" Maia managed to yell before the crowd swallowed her alive. Clary prayed for her.

Wandering around with nothing to do for half an hour, Clary decided to leave this place because the screams and lights were starting to give her a found the elevators, which were right in front of her, after squinting like an idiot in the dim lighting with the occasional flash of an electric blue. Clary got off the elevator as soon as the doors opened. She was in a wide, normal corridor with no flashing lights or screaming girls. Soft light bounced off black marble tiles and rows and rows of doors. Where am I? Clary thought. She peered at the closest door and found numbers hammered onto them. 130, 128, 126 and so on. She was in the hotel rooms.

As Clary scurried down the corridor back to the elevators, a door opened and out stepped a man with yellow, feral eyes.