I Would Have Followed You(2)

"It's snowing!" I murmer to myself as I discover the flakes falling down gracefully, opening the window wide open.

I don't know why, but snow always made me feel excited. I reach my hand outside and feel the white flakes melting against my skin. I smile widely.

"It's snowing, huh?" Sebastian says, walking toward me.

"Yeah. I'm going outside."

I grab my jacket and walk to the front door to put my boots on. Sebastian follows me, putting his own coat on.

"What are you doing?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Putting my coat on."

I roll my eyes, opening the door. I gape at the amount of snow, reflecting off the morning sunlight.

"I didn't know you were so childish," Sebastian says behind me.

"Everyone loves snow," I defend myself.

"Whatever you say," he shrugs.

Ignoring his comment, I scoop up a large amount of snow, smearing it on Sebastian's face on my tiptoes.

He freezes instantly, then start pushing away. I laugh as he brushes the snow away. He stares at me during the process incredulously. He then, grabs my waist, hoisting me up and throwing me on his shoulder. I gasp, struggling against him. he starts jogging along the way.

"Keep still unless you don't want to fall down."

Groaning, I cling onto him as he gains speed.

"Slow down!"

He doesn't listen, and suddenly, he puts me down. No, he practically buries me in a pile of snow horizontally, making me scream. Coldness seep through my jacket and jeans, but I smile. I like being with him like this.

He laughs. He laughs. Sebastian Morgenstern laughs. I stare at him in shock. He stares right back at me. We stay like that for a while, him hovering over me, then I stand up, shaking off the snow.

"My clothes are all wet," I complain.

"That was my revenge."

"Just wait for mine."

"How scary. And how tall are you again?"

"I'm a redhead. Gotta be careful."

He smiles at my threat, slumping an arm over my shoulder. I flinch for a second, but soon melts into his embrace. We walk like that for a while. It's so easy to think of him as a normal boy when he's like this.

Throughout his stay, I've grown closer to him more than I would have liked to. But the fear remains. Only, it's different type of fear. At first, it was a fear for my life. Now, it is a fear for a betrayal.

Maybe he decided to stay like this forever. Maybe he decided to cancel whatever was planned on the winter solstice. Or maybe I'm being fooled once again. But you know what? I really don't care. I'm willing to risk a disappointment to feel this happiness. Yes, I'm happy.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks, stopping and turning me around so that I'm facing him.

"Nothing."

"Really?"

I nod.

"What about you?"

"My father, maybe. And perhaps my mother."

"What about them?"

"I don't know. It's just so weird to imagine Valentine kissing someone or going out with someone. To me, he was always the cold hearted person who never loved."

"It can be surprising how many different faces one person has."

Just like you, Sebastian.

"Do you think he ever felt sorry?"

I put my hand on his cheek.

"Look, what happened in the past is just the past."

"But they affect your future."

"Not if you won't let them," I whisper.

Not if I won't let them. But I keep making the same mistake over and over. I keep searching for Sebastian. I keep thinking about him, touch him, and talk to him. Although I've had enough consequences, I never learn. One moment I get lost, the next moment I'm with him.

"Stop thinking about it. Maybe you can find someone who can love you."

"As in?" He asks.

This is when you tell him that you love him, idiot. But I don't. Too scared as always.

"No one knows," I answer instead.

ME:It's Christmas soon.

SEBASTIAN:So?

ME:So? We need to decorate.

SEBASTIAN:What for?

ME:Christmas.

SEBASTIAN:Why?

ME:Because.

SEBASTIAN:See? No reason.

ME:Yes reason. It's fun.

SEBASTIAN:No, it's not.

ME:You've never tried.

SEBASTIAN:I don't want to.

ME:Yes, you do.

SEBASTIAN:How would you know?

ME:Because I'm a redhead. We know stuffs.

And this is basically why we're here, shopping for decorations.

"Oh! I like that one!" I exclaim, pointing at a set of ornaments.

"Whatever you want."

"Come on, you need to choose too. Do you like the red one better, or the green one?"

"Just buy both."

"Wait, how about that one?"

"Choose a number."

"Um... Four."

"We're going with these two. Let's go now."

"Sebastian! Put that one over here!"

Sighing he hands me the ornament.

"Look, I'm going to make some hot chocolate, so please don't mess up with my tree," I tell him, walking into the kitchen.

When I am back a minute later, carrying two cups, I almost drop the drink.

"Sebastian!" I scream.

He looks over his shoulder, his hand halfway to the top of the tree.

"You do not put the star like that."

"And why not?"

"Star is like... Something important. We need to do it in the end."

He rolls his eyes.

"And who made that rule?"

"You want hot chocolate or not?"

"Fine," he says, putting the star back down.

I give him one of the cups, both of us taking a small sip.

"I wanna watch a movie."

"Which one?" He asks.

"You wouldn't know. You never watched one, remember?"

"I can tell a movie by its title."

"You know what they say, Sebastian. Never judge a book by its cover."

"This isn't a book."

"You just, ugh," I let out an exasperated breath. "How about Home Alone? That's what everyone watches."

"Is that a horror movie?"

I almost laugh at this. Home Alone? Horror?

"Well, there are a lot of injuries..." I decide to play with this a little. "And there's this little boy who's left home all alone."

"Okay, I'll try it."

I hold back an evil smirk.

"Clary," Sebastian hisses. "What the hell is this movie?"

"Oh, come on. It's funny-"

"If you wanted funny, you could have asked me."

"Please, you're not funny."

"I can be if I wanted to."

"Then, say something funny right now," I demand, crossing my arms.

Sebastian pauses for a moment.

"I don't want to, so I won't."

"Are you going to watch this or not?"

He hesitates for a few seconds.

"Fine, I'll watch it."

A smile creeps on my lips.

"So you like it."

"I don't."

"Then don't watch it."

He narrows his eyes a little. Then, he leans back on the couch, pressing the resume button.

My phone buzzes for a second, and I realize that Derek just texted me.

(Five days until the dance party.)

I sigh, looking at Sebastian. He's smirking at the movie. What am I going to do with him?

I walk outside the Institute, clutching the coat against me tight, trying to block out the cold winter air. When I'm taking a turn in a corner, I freeze.

A familiar smell. A familiar smell that brings out a bad memory. One of Ediolon.

I quickly look around me. A few people walking on the street. One of them might be a demon. And I bet it can smell me. Calming myself down, I study each people. Not the woman carrying a baby probably. Then, that girl over there? No, I don't think so. I look at the guy with light brown hair.

He's staring at me, a smirk on his mouth. He's the one, I'm sure. Not knowing what to do, I stay still frozen. If I run, it's definitely going to outrun me. I watch his next move. He approaches me slowly. I gulp, trying to take a step back, but I can't. My feet are frozen.

While he continues walking toward me, I get my phone out. If I can call Izzy...

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," he says, looking at my phone.

"Of course you're not," I try to sound brave, but I can't restrain the fear in my voice.

"I was sent by someone."

"Who?" I ask, clutching the phone more tightly, my thumb hovering over the call button.

"I think you know."

"Sebastian?" I ask, hoping he'd say no.

"Lucas, actually."

"What did he want?"

"Like I said, I can't kill you. I was ordered not to."

I think about the very first demon I've met. It was ordered not to kill me either, but it tried anyways.

"Why did he send you?"

"He wanted me to tell you something. But now, I think I'll tell you what I know."

"About... About what?"

"The ceremony."

I frown, waiting for him to continue.

"The winter solstice. Wait for then, and the world will be made new by him."

"Him?" I ask in a shaky voice.

Surely, he must not be talking about...

"Sebastian. And Lucas, of course."

"How do you know this?"

"Every demons do."

"What... Happens during the ceremony?"

He tilts his head, smirking.

"Ask your brother. He's the one who's planning the whole thing, anyways."

"You're lying," I accuse. "You're lying. That's what most demons do."

"I'm telling the truth."

He suddenly takes a whiff of the air. He grins at me, and maybe I know what this means.

I hit his head with the edge of my phone, and while he grabs his head, stumbling backward, I run as fast as I can toward the Institute.

I hit the call button, and she answers it pretty fast.

"Clary? What's wrong?"

I hesitate for a moment, finally wondering what would happen if I tell her that a demon's chasing me. Izzy can easily handle this demon. But... But if she does get hurt, it'd be all my fault.

"Clary? Are you okay? Talk to me."

"Um..." I say, panting loudly, as I depend on my legs for my life.

Then, I let out an involuntary scream, dropping the phone on the ground. The demon wraps his arm around my neck from behind me, pulling me toward him. I look around the street, coughing, wondering if anyone can see this. No. No one notices.

My head on his shoulder, I try to get some air through my windpipe.

"How does it feel like to be suffocating?" He asks, poison laced in his voice.

Am I going to die like this? Or is Izzy going to come for me?

"Don't worry, I'm sure Sebastian can find another one."

"What... Are you talking about?" I hiss.

But he doesn't answer. His grip loosens on me, falling onto the ground.

"Iz?" I ask, rubbing my neck.

"Are you okay?" She asks worriedly.

I nod. But I'm not emotionally. Of course I didn't change Sebastian. I was only one of the stupid girls, thinking they can change a boy.

Sighing, she hugs me tightly.

"You should probably carry around some seraph blades," she tells me.

I shrug. The only thing I can think of is Sebastian. Am I fooled again?

I know that this chapter might be boring, but I had to do this... So this story is really close to the end-considering Clary has only a few days left until winter solstice-and I don't want to rush it. So anyways, hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reviewing.