I AM AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME.

This was my very first OTP, and now I have like a million others, including Louis/Harry, Stiles/Derek, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, just to name a few. I will try my best to update this semi-regularly from now on, I feel the need to finish this for some reason.

Happy New Year?

Chapter Ten

Sebastian has been leading me to a different part of town that I had never seen before. There is an obvious atmosphere change, the red brick buildings are crumbling, there are pot holes in the road, all of the windows are boarded, and stores look dirty and grungy.

Whenever someone comes into view – which is almost next to none – Sebastian slows down and starts talking to me, soft and quiet, intimate. I have to admit, he's a good actor. He keeps his head ducked and his pace natural, so people aren't suspicious.

I should not be this compliant towards what he is dragging me to, but I feel as though I'm looking down on myself, unable to make moves on my own. Sebastian has even let go of my arm, seeming to trust me to follow him. What an idiot. As soon as I'm in my own mind again, I'm going to make a break for it.

Sebastian is rambling on about something that is important to him, emphasizing certain words and making big hand gestures. I'm looking at him from the corner of my eye, and I'm cast back to three years ago. I remember him as an unruly teenager, hanging out with the jocks at university while I kept to my side of the campus with the art geeks. I fancied him from afar, but I knew nothing would ever come of it.

Sebastian was the one to approach me first. He flirted, he wooed, he swept me off my feet. It was only then that I realized he was son of one of the only billionaires in England. This did nothing to deter me to him or against him. It just made him darker, more mysterious. One of those boys that acted like an asshole but was really just a humble boy with a tragic back story.

I was horribly misconstrued. The years that followed were awful. I realized how awful Sebastian really was, how this wasn't a boy acting, this was what his personality was: appallingly bipolar. He blew hot and cold from day one, showering me with compliments one day, spitting at me that I was a bitch and a slut and that he was the only guy that would put up with me. That no one wanted me. That I was unlovable. And I believed it. I really, really did. But not anymore. I finally came to my senses and broke it off with him after six months. After that, I felt great, and my art became happier, lighter, and brighter. It lasted for one month. Sebastian was a blubbering mess. He was apologizing left, right, and center, saying that he would be better, that he would never hurt me, that he was truly sorry. So I went back.

This continued for the better part of three years, until I decided enough was enough, and I came to New York. It was the best decision I could have made.

I need to get out of this situation. He isn't leading me to this secluded area of town for nothing. I have to get back to Simon, to Jordan, to Izzy. To Jace. Oh god, Jace. The thought of him makes my heart hurt.

Sebastian is still deep in his story, staring deep into the sky, still gesturing wildly. I have no idea what he's going on about, and I have no interest.

I quickly take off in the other direction, running away as fast as I can before he completely realizes I'm gone. I have maybe a 3 second head start. It might be enough.

I weave in between cars and around buildings, taking him on a wild goose chase. Thank god for those training sessions with my father, or else I would never have the stamina for this.

I have one goal in my mind: to find civilization. I need to scream and yell for help, so if Sebastian catches up to me, people might intervene.

The problem with weaving in between buildings is that it's not like you have a map. You're bound to get lost and dizzy. This was happening to me. I stop and catch my breath, taking long deep breaths through my nose, and short gusts of air out of my mouth. I take a quick look around, looking for any escape routes. There are garbage bins and scattered trash littering the gravel, and I don't see anything promising. I know that I'm out of view for a few more seconds, so I desperately look around some more.

My eye catches on something above, a fire escape with a retractable ladder. Maybe if I… and then I… yes. Before I have time to think, I climb up on top of the dumpster and take another short breath. I can jump this, I will grab the last rung, the ladder with slide down, I will climb up, and I will be safe. This is my mantra.

One…

Oh fuck this is crazy.

Two…

I'm probably going to die if I don't make this.

Three…

Jump, Clary!

I do, reaching my arms as far as they can go. My hands hit the cool, rusty metal and I hold on, starting to laugh hysterically that I actually did it. I did it. I can get away. The ladder slides down to the pavement and I start to scramble up the ladder.

Two beefy hands clamp around my waist before I can get too high, and I'm yanked down onto the pavement. Pain blooms on my left side where Sebastian threw me and I can feel a trickle of blood slowly making its way down the side of my face.

"Did you really think you could get away from me, you bitch?" growls Sebastian. He hauls me up to standing, holding both my hands at my hips where they are itching to defend myself from him. He leans into my face, looking over my features, almost as if he's checking to make sure I'm alright. "Come on," he spits, forcing me beside him and beginning to walk. He drapes him arm around my shoulders, forcing me to turn the injured side of my head into where his shoulder meets his neck. It's getting dark out already, signifying we've been out here for way longer than I originally thought.

"And I was even thinking of being nice to you before you ran off," Sebastian says softly into the top of my hair. He pauses, and I can feel him grin against my head before he bites out a, "Not anymore."