For everyone who told me what you thought of it, thanks. I am so sorry for not updating for a month, but hopefully this will make it up to you! I have exams coming up (I'm 'studying' right now), so I'm going to post the next chapter fairly soon in hopes that I can start updating regularly.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters etc.). It all belongs to Cassandra Clare.
The rest of the day was pretty miserable. No more classes with Simon, and lunch was ridden with him moping about something or other. The final bell rang, and for a second, Clary was buoyed by the 'yippee! School's out' feeling, but then she remembered the 'talk' with Mr. Starkweather. She hurried to her locker, got her books and bag, and made her way to his room. As Clary neared the room, she could hear voices echoing out into the corridor. …Hodge, you know I'm more than ready to begin the advanced course…dedicated than anyone's seen in awhile…pretty much the best of our generation…" Jace's voice- she was fairly sure it was Jace- kept fading in and out. The rumbling reply of 'Hodge' set Clary on edge. "…Shadowhunters need…of course it's good to be humble…". Shadowhunters? She bit back a gasp of surprise as she peered around the doorway. She thought that they- it was Jace and Mr. Starkweather- were talking about history or soccer or something school related. Jace was sitting on one of the front desks, scowling and crossing his arms, while Mr. Starkweather was standing and crossing his arms as well. Clary couldn't help but notice the muscle in Jace's arms flex impressively as he crossed his arms, and the dark golden colour of his eyes. She shook herself out of her trance. This was no time to be admiring Jace! Clary walked into the room and cleared her throat loudly. Both of them jumped when they saw her standing there impatiently. "Uh, C-Clary!" Mr. Starkweather stuttered. Clary looked at him suspiciously, and then at Jace. "How long were you standing there?" She wondered if she should tell them that she was a shadowhunter. But… what if she misheard them? It wasn't worth blowing her cover now if it was just a mistake conjured up by her desperate-for-company mind. "Just got here." She said, deciding to play it cool. "You wanted to speak to me, Mr. Starkweather?"
"Certainly, Ms. Fray. Talking in my class is unacceptable and this is the most recent in a long line of conversations conducted while I have been teaching. If I don't see a change soon, I may have to look into detention." Clary panicked. Detention, which went from 4:00 until 6, cut solidly into demon hunting time- and that's if her mother let her hunt after receiving one. It would probably be textbooks all round for her if that happened. "It won't happen again, sir. I promise." Clary replied hastily. Plus, she wanted to do a little detective work on Jace. If he really was a shadowhunter, she might finally have some company, even if it had to be the player of the school.
Clary followed Jace out to the parking lot after her 'talk'. They weren't actually walking together, but they were both aware of each other's presence. Clary got out her phone, seeing as she had told Simon to leave without her if it got past 3:45. At 4, with no more school buses, she was going to have to get her mother to pick her up. "Clary." Her head jerked up to find Jace standing on front of her. "Need a lift?" Weird. Since when did Jace think about other people? "Ah, sure. Thanks." She followed him to his car. Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, the only people he really let in to his life permanently were waiting by the car. When they caught sight of Jace and Clary, Isabelle cried out. "Where the hell have you been? We've been waiting for 20 minutes!"
"Relax, Isabelle. I had to talk to Hod– Mr. Starkweather." He replied, glancing at Clary. That only seemed to infuriate Isabelle more. Only she didn't say anything. She just glared. Jace sighed and unlocked the car. "Well? What are you waiting for?Christmas? Get in." He said to Clary. She went around to the back door with an annoyed look at Jace. She shouldn't have expected him to be nice just because he offered her a lift home. She hopped into the backseat with Alec. Isabelle sat up the front, murmuring to Jace something about a new toy. Clary tried to stifle her annoyance. She knew what Isabelle thought- that Clary was just another girl seeking Jace's attentions. Something in her hardened. "Jace, you don't have to drop me home. I can just ring someone to pick me up." She said and started to open the door. "Clary, wait! It's fine. No big deal!" He said quickly. She frowned. Now this was weirding her out. What was wrong with him? "It's fine." He repeated, more calmly. "Ok." she said hesitantly. She shut the door and Jace started driving. After giving him directions to her house, he started talking. "So, I know you were standing there when I was talking to Mr. Starkweather. How much did you hear?" Clary's breath quickened. So this was what it was all about. "Jace–" said Alec warningly. "Clary?" Was all Jace had to say in reply. "I could only hear bits and pieces." Clary decided to give him part of the truth. There was hardly any doubt in her mind now. He was a shadowhunter. Were Alec and Isabelle too? If he was willing to being this up in front if them, they could be. Should she play it safe, or risk everything? "Why do you care though, Jace? What was it about?" He stiffened visibly. The tension could be cut with a knife. "Oh, nothing important. Is this your house?" It was. Clary had been so focused on the conversation she hadn't noticed where they were. She got her bag and got out. "Thanks for the ride, Jace." She shut the door firmly and walked up the path to her house. It wasn't anything fancy, but the lawn with the old trampoline on it and the worn fence covered in bushes said home to her. Clary opened the door and pocketed her keys. "Mum?" She yelled out. "Hello, Clary. I'm just working now, I'll be down in a minute. Aline will be here soon to go hunting with you. You should get ready." Clary brightened. At least this day wouldn't be a total failure.