PoV Clary

I was very apprehensive about the gym thing. I mean, I weigh 105 pounds, and my arms are like limp noodles. I was looking forward to hanging out with the guys. Simon would come with me, so I wouldn't that wimpy. It's kind of a cruel reason to have him there, but it worked. I made sure that my ace bandages were well hidden beneath my tank top, and that I wore enough make up, so it wouldn't all come off if I sweated too much.

I met up with Jace in front of the school, and we walked towards the gym. He chatted on about a vacation his dad was planning, (going to London) and how his mum was getting remarried to another guy with three kids. I felt obsolete next to him, going on about his ten bedroom house with an indoor swimming pool.

"So, what's your house like?" he asked.

"I live in a flat with my mum," I said.

"Oh."

We were silent for a few minutes.

"I live in a really crowded neighbourhood, so it's not like we could find a big house." He smiled kind of sheepishly, and scratched the back of his head.

When we got to the gym, Alec, Jordan, Magnus, Simon and some other guys were already there. Alec and Jordan were lifting weights, Simon and the other guys were doing other assortments of exercises, and Magnus was sat on the floor, a scarf wrapped around his head, painting his toe nails.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am doing what it looks like I'm doing," he replied, painting his left pinky toe red. As I watched, he painted a rainbow on his nails. "It symbolizes the fact that either from head to foot, or from foot to head, I am a rainbow."

"I thought you were bi," Simon said.

"I am." Magnus was speaking a scarily calm voice. He seemed like he was in the zone, completely "Zen"-ed.

Alec laughed, and Magnus's hand slipped. He painted an indigo line on his second right toe. He cursed softly, and blushed.

"You cause the Zen master to un-focus, Alec," Jace said. "You must be punished. I think Magnus will be pleased."

Alec turned red, and Magnus spilt his bottle of nail polish on his right foot.

"Shut up, you ass wife," Magnus said.

"Oh, come on," Jace said. "It was a joke."

No one laughed.

"Jeeze, tough crowd." Jace shrugged and waved me over to a bar bell. I think that's what it was. "Come here, I'll spot you."

"…What?" I asked.

"Lift. I'll make sure you don't drop it on your face."

I got onto my back and put my arms around the weight. I tried, literally with all my strength, to move it, but it didn't. Jace chuckled and removed a pair of weights from each end. Still, I couldn't lift it. I got down to ten pounds on each side and then, I could lift it.

"You are a little pathetic," Magnus, who had migrated over, said.

"I know," I moaned.

Jace chuckled, his shoulders shaking.

"Why do you shave your arm pits?" Jordan asked.

"I… um, I was on the swim team in my last school… and it… reduces… resistance in the water?" I said, haltingly. "Yeah, that's why."

Magnus was choking back his laughter. He covered his mouth with an elegant hand, his hair hanging down in front of his eyes.

"What ever."

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, so I'll leave it there. I want to save myself the embarrassment of what happened the next day for tomorrow.