Anywhere

I drag my sleepy body-I could barely sleep last night, thanks to my brother-into the kitchen, finding my mother there.

"Hey, honey. I've got a bagel for you."

"Thanks, mom. Can I have two?" I ask, thinking of Sebastian.

"Sure. Here you go."

"I'll have them in my room."

"Um... Okay, I guess?"

I bring the food into the storage area with a cup of coffee.

"Sebastian! You want breakfast?"

He appears from behind a big box, his hair messy as if he just woke up.

"Yeah, sure."

I give him one of the bagel, and turn to leave. But only to hear my mom's footsteps.

"Shit," I hiss under my breath, turning back to Sebastian. "Move!"

"To where?" He doesn't look as panicked as me, as always of course.

"Behind the box where you were!"

I push him until he starts listening to me, and I make sure my mom won't be able to see him.

"Clary?" I hear her voice.

"Yes mom?" I try to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"I... Um... My art teacher told me to bring my coloured pencils, but I couldn't find them, so..."

"So you were looking for them in the storage area? Wouldn't they be in your room?" She asks a little bit skeptically, but I don't think she suspects about Sebastian yet.

"I was actually just thinking about the new package we bought before. You know, we put it somewhere here..."

Uh oh. That was a really awful excuse. Because I just remembered that the package happens to be in the box Sebastian is hiding behind.

"Oh, don't worry, hon. I believe that it's the box right there."

No, no, no, no, no.

"Yeah... Right... That one."

"Here, let me get them for you."

"No, mom. Wait!" I say, grabbing her arms.

"Is something wrong, Clary?"

"No, not at all. I just remembered... That I put the set under my bed. We probably shouldn't open the box."

"Um... alright," she says, but she must sense that something's going on. "But I think I'll need one more set myself."

"No, mom. Let me get them for you."

"No, let me get them for myself."

I am so dead.

She walks toward the box, slowly opening it. Please don't find him, please the find him. She does. She looks behind the box.

"What the hell?" She screams, literally jumping away from the box.

"Mom, calm down. It's pretty cool, really."

"No, I will not calm down. You were sneaking in boys without my permission. Wait, he's a shadowhunter!"

Well, thank god that the last time she saw him was like years ago. But still, she might recognize his hair or his angular face.

"Yeah, he's a friend of Isabelle."

Sebastian stands up and just stands there, looking bored while I try so hard to calm myself.

"Isabelle? I thought you stopped hanging out with shadowhunters."

"Mom, I-"

"Lucas Ashtail," Sebastian interrupts.

How did he get up with the name?

"Nice to meet you, but not really. Clary...?"

"I'm sorry mom. He couldn't afford a shelter and..."

"He could have gone to the Institute."

"He had a fight with Isabelle."

"Look, I don't believe you, I'm sorry, but that's the truth. But I have this feeling that I don't want to hear the truth."

I look down, hoping she'll finish this fast.

"Just be careful, and make good choices."

What? What does she mean by that?

"Don't worry, Ms. Fray. I'll take care of her."

I just glare at him, and sigh in relief when she doesn't ask us about it anymore.

"So, I've been wondering," Trey tells me on the phone. "I heard about this movie playing in the theatre, and thought maybe you'd like to... Um... go with me?"

"Oh," I say, slightly surprised. "Sure, I'd love to."

I look up to the sky, wondering what Jace will feel about this. He'll be happy for me, right? But still, it kind of feels wrong. I know that he'd want me to try to move on, but why do I feel so guilty?

"Good," he replies, sounding relieved. "So how about tomorrow night?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright, I'll pick you up at seven."

After I hang up, I find Sebastian right outside my room.

"I didn't think you'd move on after that Jace guy."

I wince at the mention of his name.

"None of your buisness, clearly."

"You keep doing that, Clarissa," he says, smirking.

"Doing what?" I ask, uninterested.

"Shutting me out. Sooner or later, you'll be clinging to me."

"And why is that?"

"Because that's what people do to survive. Especially after-"

"I don't understand," I tell him sternly. "And I don't want to."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he says, walking into my room. "Your mom told me I can sleep in the guestroom."

"So?"

"So, you can sleep with me tonight if you want."

"Why the hell would I want that?" I say, rolling my eyes and disgusted.

"Because maybe you get scared at night? Tell me, what made you afraid so much last night that you couldn't sleep?" He says, sitting on my bed, making me tense.

"Why would you want to know?" I say, keeping my distance away from him.

"So I can comfort you to sleep tonight?"

"I don't need your comfort."

"Needing and wanting is different."

"Well, I don't need you, and also don't want you."

"Ouch, that hurts, sister. But can't you see? I am woven in your soul."

"You're wrong."

"We are born to love each other."

"You don't love me, and I don't love you. We'll never ever love each other."

"We'll see."

"How I would never love someone who killed numerous people."

"Please. You've killed numerous demons."

"People and demons are different."

"No, they're not."

And just like that, he leaves, once again leaving me thinking about his nonsense.

"Ask Lucas what he wants for dinner," my mom says, unsmiling.

"Lucas?"

"Your friend?"

"Oh, yeah. He eats anything, really."

"Alright, then. I'll fix you guys some pasta. You okay with that?"

I nod.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Where have you been?"

"Like I told you, I just wanted a vacation."

"Vacation twice a month?" I ask, my eyes skeptical.

"Look, Clary. I'm sure there's something I don't know about that Lucas kid. But you should know too that I have secrets too. Sometimes, it's secrets that keeps people close together."

"But if you just tell me, I can-"

"Clary, please. There are things you don't understand just yet."

"So what are we having for din-" Sebastian stops when he sees us together. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, not at all," mom says, keeping her neutral face. "Is pasta okay for you?"

"Yup. I love pasta," he says, smirking at me before leaving the room.

"So, Lucas," mom says, breaking the awkward silence during dinner. "Since when did you start hanging out with Clary?"

"Oh, since like forever. We are so close, I don't think we can get any more closer," he says.

"Weird. She never mentioned of you. Also, she stopped seeing her shadowhunters friends. I don't mean to be rude, but what makes you so special?"

"Believe me, Ms. Fray. We are inseperable."

"Hmm."

"So mom, I'll be out tomorrow night, so..."

"What are you planning?"

"This friend. We're just watching a movie."

"Oh, do I know her?"

"It's him, not her," Sebastian says, laughing.

"A him. That's nice. I like that you're you know... After that..."

I nod nervously, hoping someone would change the subject for me.

"I'm done. Can I be excused? I'm really tired," I say, putting my fork down gently on the plate.

"Sure. Good night, honey."

"Yeah, good night honey," Sebastian copies her, both me and my mom glaring at him. "What?"

I roll my eyes and go to my room to get changed. I get myself ready for bed, and lie down, wondering if I can finally sleep tonight. Both my mom and I weren't hurt last night. But still, I can't chase the anxiety away.

'Jace, I miss you. Anywhere I went, you always made me feel so safe. But now, I'm so scared. So scared.'

So Jocelyn found out... And I never thought about her recognizing Jonathan, but seriously though, now that I think about it, I can't think of a way for her to know how he looks like... So yeah, she doesn't know it's Jonathan. And thanks for reviewing! Also, I'd like it if you tell me what movie Clary should watch with Trey. I was thinking about Insidious because it recently almost gave me a heart attack(it felt like someone was giving me a series of CPR) so tell me if you like the idea or not. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!