Woah, look at me updating on time! Still be prepared for a slowish start. I'm really trying to introduce a bit of Jace's background and depth of character in this chapter. Things will start to get exciting soon though, I promise :)

ENJOY! :D

At lunch that day, I sat at an empty table and just watched the natural flow of things. Of course, the jocks and cheerleaders (including Seb and his girlfriend) sat together. A lot of the cheerleaders sat on the laps of what was hopefully their athletic boyfriend. I watched Seb almost ruefully, who had the girl with copper hair perched on his knees. She seemed uninterested in the group, however. Her head was buried in a book that I couldn't quite see the cover of.

I noticed Alec, sitting amongst the group, yet alone. While the others chattered and laughed, he remained silent, picking at the food in front of him. I watched him curiously, wondering if he was anything like me. But then I thought back to how I acted with my friends back in Washington, and I realised that I was only relating him to me now because I wanted to be him. I wanted to be a part of that group… hell, any group… so badly that it hurt. Fitting in was becoming a lot harder than I had expected it to be.

"Hey there, Jace Herondale," came a familiar voice, "You don't mind if I sit here, right?"

I looked up and saw Simon Lewis, the geek with curly brown hair and glasses from earlier. Every part of me wanted to say no, but then again I wasn't in much of a position to be rude or reject a possible friend. Besides, I did feel bad for the way I treated him before. "Sure," I said eventually.

By the time I had replied, he had already plonked himself down beside me and began pulling out his lunch from his Adventure Time backpack. "So," he said, "My sources tell me that you're having trouble with Sebastian Verlac."

I frowned at the geek. "You're sources? And who's Sebastian Verlac?"

Simon chuckled. "You'd be surprised, newbie. And Sebastian Verlac tends to go by Seb around here."

"Oh," I sighed, "Well, I think your sources are correct."

"They always are," Simon gloated in a prideful tone. Then, seeming to notice my grim mood, said, "Don't worry. He tends to put every new student through the ringer here. Just try not to piss him off too severely and you'll be fine."

Later that day, I was almost surprised to hear the bell that signalled the end of my first day at my new school. It actually took me a few moments to check over myself and realise that I was still in one piece.

All of the kids immediately rose from their seats and swarmed towards the exits, despite the teachers' protests. I joined them, letting the crowd lead me to the front gates of the school. From there, I set off walking home. My house was only a few blocks away, and the walk only took about ten minutes. I vaguely noticed a pretty blonde girl in a cheerleader uniform walking in the same direction as me, but I didn't pay too much attention. I slid my key into the lock and let the door swing open. Before I went inside, I spared a glance back at the girl. She was busy sliding a key into the lock of the house next door. How great, I had a neighbour. I sighed and went inside.

The house didn't feel like a home. The hallways and room were cold and dark. Boxes, yet to be unpacked, stacked the walls and loomed there. Mum wasn't home, but I wasn't expecting her to be. Her new job was the reason we had packed up and moved here, and this new job included late hours. Sometimes, she had told me, she would be away from home for days or even weeks.

I closed the door, locked it and padded through the house towards my room. Being such a huge house, I even got lost in it once on the way. When I finally found my room, I threw my bag on the bed and collapsed into my desk chair. Like all the other rooms, my room was stacked with unpacked boxes. However, I had managed to get my bed, desk and chair set up, as well as unpacking some of the important photos from one particular box. I had taped the photographs of me, John, Jordan and Magnus mostly on the wall above my desk. My friends smiled back at me when I looked at them, but no smile played on my lips.

Most of the photos of me and my three closest friends were of us triumphantly holding football trophies of another victorious match. There was one of us four at the beach, the waves rolling perfectly in the background. I remembered that weekend, when John's dad had driven us all the way to the coast line for a little holiday. It had been the best weekend of my life. Beside that photo was me and Camille, my ex-girlfriend. She had been my girlfriend right up until the day I had left, but I couldn't say that I was in love with her.

The other photos were of me and my sister, Cece, who I had left behind in Washington. All of the family images on my wall were torn at some point, disregarding the one member of the family I despised. My dad. I hated leaving my little sister with him, but she made her choice, and I couldn't sway her decision. In the end, she had chosen our father over me, and it hurt.

I sighed and got up from my chair. I padded towards the kitchen in search for some food, and found a note left on the bench. It was from my mum.

Hi Sweetie,

Sorry that I didn't catch you this morning, but I should be home before you go to sleep tonight. Just in case, though, I left some leftovers in the fridge for you. Don't wait up for me if I'm not home by nine. I'll be sure to make you tell me all about your first day when I get home, ok?

Love you,

Mum xoxo

I sighed and checked the wall clock. It was already five 'o' clock. I pulled a packet of crackers out of the pantry and began munching on its contents. I was almost finished when the home phone rang. I jumped half out of my skin before I realised what it was, then excitement set it.

I picked it up and answered, "Mum?"

There was a pause, then a cackle of laughter. I immediately knew who it was. The voice on the other line responded, "Yes, sweetie?"

"Shut up, man!" I said, but I was laughing as well. "That is you, right, John?"

The laughter quelled enough for him to talk. "The one and only. Oh, and you're on speaker."

Two more voices flooded through the phone and into my ear. "Jaaaaccee!" Jordan and Magnus cried.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "Oh man, you have no idea how good it is to talk to you guys right now."

There was another burst of laughter. "Don't get all sappy on us, Jace! It's only been a few days!" said John.

Jordan added, "Yeah! Life can't be that miserable without us, right?"

Magnus scoffed. "Of course it's miserable without us! What are you thinking, Jordan?"

"Not too far from the truth, actually," I muttered to my friends.

The laughter died out, and John spoke seriously, "Really, man? Are you having troubles? It's not about your dad, is it?"

I let out a bark of sarcastic laughter. "The whole point of us moving here was to get away from him, wasn't it? No, it's not that."

"Your sister?"

"No it's not that. It's just –" I paused, "You know what, never mind. It doesn't really matter." I knew that if I told them, they would understand. They were all good friends like that. But I guess… I don't know why I didn't want to talk about it.

"You see?" Magnus called, "He really is just missing my fabulous face."

I could hear laughter from Jordan and Magnus, but I could tell John wasn't joining in. I could picture him, sitting on the other side of the phone, his face all serious and concerned while the others laughed and joked. He was like that.

"What's been happening since I've been gone?" I asked, "Is everyone at school mourning me?"

"You moved," Jordan replied, "You aren't dead!"

"Although, you do sound it," Magnus added.

"Do not!" I said defensively, "But seriously, what's happened?"

"Well," John said, "I hope you aren't too strung up on Camille, because she is definitely not mourning you."

"Yeah," Jordan chirped, "You should have seen it! She was all over Magnus at a party on the weekend!"

"Shut up!" Magnus deffended, "It's not like I let her. Trust me Jace, I may be alot of things, but a girlfriend-stealer is not on my list just yet."

"It's cool, dude," I said, "We are broken up, after all. It's not a biggie." But it did feel like a biggie. I wished so much that life could have stayed the way it was. It could have, if not for my dad. And I felt my emotions crack through into my voice. I knew as soon as I finished the sentence that my friends could tell that something was wrong.

"Alright guys," John said, "I'm going to chat with Jace alone for a while now."

I heard Magnus say something about a gay love affair before their voices drowned out and John said, "Ok, man, what's really happening?"

I sighed. "It's not a big deal, John. I know you're worrying, but you don't have to. I'm a big boy."

My friend laughed, but I could hear the strain in it. "If you ever need to talk, just ring."

"I'm ok," I said, my voice small, "I'm just not used to it yet."

"Used to what?"

"Being the no-one kid."

Hope you liked it :) Like I said, I'm really just setting the whole story up for now, so be patient ;) And yes, there will be Clace eventually, just not right away, ok? Don't hate me for putting Clary with Sebastian, ok? I'm sorry!

See you next week :D