Well, I hope you enjoy this. Please don't hate me for what is going to happen. Just don't. It's a crazy idea, but I wanted to do this as a way of ... I don't know. Just don't virtually hurt me.
Maia sobbed silently as she sat on her bed, staring at the little packet in front of her. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. But no matter what anyone else did, life without the Jordan she had known seemed too unbearable. She couldn't do it. She couldn't. That was all there was to it. Not even her conversation with Clary, the friend who has always been there for her, had helped. She was staring into a dark oblivion of despair either way, and it would be better if she didn't have to feel it as the ice dug into souls. She knew she was being selfish. She knew that this was going to do a lot of damage to a lot of other people. But she deserved to be selfish when she had spent the entirety of her life living for other people.
Except for with Clary. She had never just been used by Clary. As much as she had been there for her best friend, her best friend had been there for her. And Clary had been through so much these past two months, it was almost too much pain to imagine what more she was going to add to that. That would be her biggest regret in the few moments she had left. That and not being able to say goodbye to her. But there was only one person she was going to say goodbye to. She typed a text into her phone. Her note. As soon as it was confirmed as sent she downed the entire packet of pills that she had obtained from that dodgy dealer. His name was her last thought as blackness swallowed her. Ragnor.
Jordan sat alone at one of the tables in the packed canteen. He hated Annamarie with every fibre of his being. She had done this, and now he was just blaming himself ripping his hair out. He felt goddamn awful, and he just wanted to punish himself as much as possible, so he had isolated himself from everyone, even those who had believed his story of what had happened. He hated himself, and he didn't think he would ever stop doing so.
Just as he placed his head in his hand for the twentieth time in about an hour, his phone went off. His eyebrows shot up his forehead. Who would want to be texting him after the events that had unfurled the previous day? He drew the mobile out of his pocket regardless and checked the screen. It was Maia. Another wave of guilt punched him in the chest as he opened up the text.
Jordan, this is my note. That is what people do, isn't it? They leave note. Mine is to you. I can't live in a world where I don't have you as I loved you. Where you are some cheating liar. When I know that everything you ever said was untrue, when I know that you lied every time you said you loved me. Have a nice life and forget me Jordan. Because this is the end of mine. Goodbye.
A wave of dread passed over Jordan. He swore loudly, a stream of colourful curses flying from his mouth like ribbons as he dialled 911. He knew people had begun to stare at him, but he didn't give a shot. Maia was about to kill herself. She was about to commit suicide, and it was all his fault. Tears began to fall down his cheeks, and he made no attempt to stop them.
"Ambulance please. It's my ex, I think ..." Jordan's voice broke, "I think she is about to try and kill herself." What happened next was a blur. The hurried questions from the operator, then the extended beep as they had hung up. The way the world had stopped as he hadprocessed what was going on. Jordan curled in on himself, unable to take it anymore. His knees hugged to his chest, his face buried into them, he broke down right in the middle of the canteen, regardless of the gradual amount of attention he was attracting.
Alec's day up to that point had been crazy, fun and well... odd. It had started off when Magnus had gotten them kicked out of the Hunter' s Moon. Alec had stopped after a single shot; his head had begun to feel a bit fuzzy, and he didn't really want to get pissed. Magnus, on the other hand, hadn't wanted to stop. After the third he had started singing some very odd song that Alec could have sworn he had read somewhere, something about a hedgehog and how it couldn't be buggered. This had drawn some unnecessary attention, in particular a punch aimed at Magnus's face. He had dodged it and Alec had dragged him out of the place before the situation could escalate.
Then Magnus had dragged Alec to the edge of a pond, still drunk, and pointed to a massive swarm of geese swimming in the shallows. He had proclaimed that they were in fact ducks, and that he was their king. He had tried to wade through the waters to them but instead had fallen straight in, getting completely soaked - and irritating about hundred angry birds.
A now sober Magnus and Alec had sprinted through the park away from the stampede of geese, escaping finally by climbing up a tree. They were sat up there now, Magnus ringing out his hair and chatting energetically to the other boy.
"That was fun."
"I see your definition of the word fun is similar to Isabelle' s."
"And what is that."
"Something crazy that almost gets us into a lot of trouble. No scratch that, that sticks us right in it."
"Alec, how are we in trouble now?" Alec raised an eyebrow and pointed downwards. Many of the geese had wandered off, but there were still a fair few hissing up at them. "Okay, point taken." Magnus got back to work on his hair and Alec took the opportunity to gaze around the city, taking in the skyscrapers and endless streams of traffic and sirens hurrying around like ants. This was what made the city live. The constant movement, the kinetic energy flowing all the time, even in the dead of night. Not the bright clubs and vivid nightlife. Although he was sure Magnus would disagree.
Alec was snapped out of his reverie by a ringtone. His ringtone. Sighing, he grabbed his phone and stared at the screen. Unknown number. He was about to reject the call when Magnus reached over and pressed the answer button. Alec gave Magnus a look, but he just shrugged.
"It was annoying me." Alec rolled his eyes and brought the phone up to his ear.
"Who is this? What do you want?" He said irritability.
"Alec, it's me Izzy, I'm using Simon's phone. Where are you? Are you at the hospital? How is he?" She sounded frantic.
"I...Izzy...what? No I'm not at the hospital! Why would I be? What do you mean how is he?"
"Oh shit. You don't know, do you?" Alec sighed, thoroughly annoyed now. Iz was among even less sense than usual.
"Evidently not."
"It's... it's Jace. He passed out, and they reckon his ankle is really bad, and... yeh. That's all that Clary told me, she went with him to hospital... you know, Simon's sister?" Alec wasn't listening. He had stopped listening when he had heard that Jace was hurt. He had just frozen, like a movie on pause. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen off the branch. He ended the call as Izzy called out his name, surprised that his numb fingers were obeying his brain. This was all his fault. All of it. Magnus grabbed his shoulder, and Alec realised he was holding him up. Stopping him from falling in more than one way. Alec fell weakly against the tall boy's shoulder, terrified and broken.
"We... Magnus, Jace is in hospital. Sounds...Sounds like it is... is pretty bad. And it's. It's all my fault. Mine. I could have stopped him from walking on that ankle. Pressed him about the bruises. Hell, I could have driven him to the emergency room this morning when I first noticed something was up. And now, because I didn't, we had a fight an now he is unconscious, probably never wants to see me again, and it's all my fault. Even though he has been awful to me. I hate him. But I feel so guilty." This all came out in around thirty seconds. Magnus didn't know what to say to it, so he just sat there with Alec for a while, until they realised what time it was and began to find their way back to school. Luckily, the geese had decided to leave them alone.
Jace' s mind forced him to relive the memory over and over until he was finally woken by his own screams. He gasped and sat up immediately and quickly. Ignoring the dizzy felling he had obtained by shooting up so fast, Jace looked around. He was in a thin, uncomfortable bed with pale blue sheets. The room around him was white. Even the plastic chair next to him was a frosty colour. It looked very unwelcoming, as if he had just stepped into a tundra landscape - or woken up in one, in this case. He realised with a jolt that he was in hospital.
Just then a young nurse in pinks scrubs ran into the room, her white hair falling out of her bun, looking at him wildly. She looked panicked, and there was a thin layer of sweat glistening on her forehead. She looked straight at Jace, straightening up, and walked in a more composed fashion to his bedside.
"You're awake, good. Are you okay, we heard screaming..." Jace looked at the girls, dumbfounded.
"I'm fine... just a nightmare. A bad dream. Nothing more." The nurse didn't seem to be convinced that, but if she was sceptical she didn't voice it.
"I'm sorry, that must have been a bit startling for you to wake up to me making such an entrance." The nurse smiled warmly at him. "My name is Catarina. I've been looking after you since you got in this morning." Jace nodded. "Would you mind giving us your last name, Jace?" Jace looked right at her startled.
"Jaee Herondale. How did you know my first name?" Catarina looked at him as if confused, but then appeared to shrug it off.
"Your friend told us. Clary, I think her name was. Said she didn't know you brilliantly, only knew your first name, but that she hated the thought of you waking up alone in a strange place without an even slightly familiar face. Sat with you all day, she did. Refused to leave your side." Crap, Jace thought, she can't get attached to me. My father will kill me, and I'll destroy her. Just like my father said. I can't let this happen.
Jace glanced around to try and see if Clary was anyway nearby, but he couldn't see a speck of red anywhere, and let's face it, the blazing colour would have stood out a mile against the coldness of the room Jace was currently lying in. He gazed around more in confusion now. If she hadn't left his side all day, then where was she now? Catarina, as if realising what he was thinking (at least partially anyway) stepped in.
"Sorry, she left about half an hour ago. She didn't want to, if that's any consolation. She had to, needed to get home before her step dad realised she hadn't been at school or something."
"Oh." Jace felt disappointed even though he knew he needed to keep away from the girl.
"Now Jace, onto the reason you are here. It appears that your ankle is broken quite severely. I understand that you have been walking on it since you first injured it up until the point that you lost consciousness, is that correct?" Jace nodded.
"I honestly didn't think it was that bad." Catarina nodded and wrote something on a clipboard.
"Okay. Now we also noticed a large numbed of bruises covering your body. Since this could be a sign of abuse or assault, I am legally obliged to ask you as to how you received these injuries." Jace gulped, trying to quickly think of a cover story. His father was going o be mad enough that Jace had gotten medical attention, intentionally or not. He didn't need the police snooping around as well.
"I fell right down the stairs. Must have hit my ankle on something. That is honestly all that happened." Catarina looked dubious, but didn't further question him. She seemed to wan to trust people.
"Well Jace, you seem to be doin Well, so let me just sort out your insurance and then we can discharge you." Catarina slapped her clipboard and hugged it to her chest. "Your crutches at just on your goth there. If they are the wrong height feel free to adjust them. They will be yours entirely once we get this processed." And with that sue left the room, humming quietly to herself. Jace drew back the sheets. He was still dressed, but a blue cast encased his right ankle and lower leg. He ached all over.
Wincing, Jace swung himself around so that his legs were dangling over the edge of the bed. Every part of him ached. It was awful. He felt in his pockets - his wallet and phone were gone, and he had no idea where his bag was either. He was literally stranded without them. For a brief moment panic threatened to overcome him, but luckily as he glanced worriedly around the small room he spotted the bag leant against the wall underneath a low table right next to the bed. His phone and wallet rested on top of said table. Jace had no idea why he hadn't noticed any of this before - they were right next to his crutches. He decided to forget about it. Right now it was the least of his worries.
He shoved his two most precious articles into his bag, zipping it up as he did so. He swung the bag I've his shoulder, then reached over and grabbed the crutches, using them to help him get to his feet. He had just got used to the correct position and way to use them when Catarina bustled back in with yet another form attached to her clipboard. Jace was noticing a trend. She held it out for him, giving him a pen which he clutched in one hand whilst leaning heavily on the other crutch.
"Just sign there and you are free to go." Jace scrawled his signature on the line the nurse had indicated, and then carefully put the piece of paper detailing a check up in his pocket. He smiledat Catarina and thanked her as she led him out through a maze of blindingly white corridors and outside, before helping him hail a cab.