Hello!
The first question this chapter comes from 20vickerymelissa (thank you for your question and lovely review!): "Who do you think you are most like from the books?" I would have to go with Simon. I'm sarcastic, geeky and also a vegetarian!
The second question comes from Pizzanna (Don't worry, I want to murder Seb too): "Do you do any sports?" I don't really do sports, I'm much more like Clary in that aspect. I'd prefer to sit and draw rather than running around a field any day! Feel free to review with your own questions or answer the questions above, I'd love to hear your answers (:
Let's get back into the story, shall we?
I woke up the next morning feeling sluggish and drained. I was somewhat excited for my date with Jace later on but the thought of having to get through 2 hours of art with Sebastian and having to deal with a date of concealing the bruises was making me feel apprehensive. I needed to wear something that made it easy to hide them that would be half of the battle. Grabbing a pair of acid-washed jeans, I paired it with a light blue jumper. I couldn't help but think back to a time when I had to plan every clothing choice around what I needed to cover, whether it be because of bruises or to avoid Sebastian's jealous rages over apparent male attention.
Isabelle was sitting giddy once more when I got to form class that morning, picking at her fingernails.
"What's up with you?" I asked, perching myself next to her.
"Nothing, just nervous for later." She giggled, twirling her hair around her finger. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel uneasy. I didn't want Simon to get hurt. I knew they were on a similar page but for some reason I thought that Isabelle would be able to bounce back from this easier than Simon would be able too.
"Your date?" I probed. She just nodded, biting her lip lightly. "Don't suppose you're going to tell me who it is?" She shook her head.
"Nope. Not until I've had the date." I could see where she was coming from and didn't push it. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable talking to me. I just hoped that wherever she was going on her date, it was far away from wherever Simon was tonight. I caught up with Simon at lunch and it was as though Isabelle was feeling guilty because she didn't come near.
"Do you think I've done something wrong?" Simon asked, tucking into his sandwich.
"Maybe she's just figuring herself out." I shrugged, messing around with my own sandwich, not really eating it. Simon looked unsure.
"I hope she doesn't think I'm coming on too strong." He mused.
"Somehow I doubt that Si." I smiled.
On my way to art, someone creeped up behind me scaring me half to death.
"You excited then?" It was Jace, walking just far enough behind me to look like he was just heading to class.
"I can barely contain myself." I muttered under my breath.
"I'll meet you at the gates after the final bell." He whispered against my hair before turning down a corridor towards his next lesson. I took a deep breath before stepping over the threshold into art, ready for these 2 hours to be over with, completely terrified of Sebastian laying his hands on me again. I kept my distance from him for the most part, but he kept sliding up next to me, not touching my arms but coming close enough to me that I anticipated it. I tried not to flinch, moving myself away from him. I found protection by sitting myself down next to Jordan. Sebastian would come close but not close enough to give himself away. I picked up some paints, filling in some of the doodles that sat in front of Jordan. He looked at me briefly, before looking back down at the pictures, a small smile on his face. After about ten minutes, he started lightly flicking through my images, sighing.
"You are disgustingly talented." He laughed, holding the images up to the light.
"Uh – thanks?"
"It's a good thing." He smirked, before reaching into his bag. "I've got a question to ask you actually. One moment." I looked on curiously as he pulled out a piece of folded up paper.
"What's that?" I questioned as he unfolded it. Sketched out on the paper was a dragon created from scripture, matching his other tattoos. "A tattoo?" He nodded, pulling his shirt down a fraction.
"I'm wanting it to go here sort of." He gestured towards his chest. "It just doesn't look complete to me." He shook his head, looking over it. I pulled the image in front of myself, analysing it.
"Maybe you should sort of do it like this." I grabbed a piece of paper, copying his sketch but making the centre of it more solid, only allowing the scripture to become apparent at the edges of the image. Jordan watched me, weighing it up.
"We're meant to be working on the project you know. Not this." Sebastian was suddenly hovering over us, raising his eyebrows.
"It's only five minutes Seb, calm down." Jordan laughed, making Sebastian back off and go back to his portraiture.
"I think it could probably do with some colour." I mused after a while, Jordan watching my every move. I looked over at the supply cupboard anxiously. "Why don't you go and pick some colour you think you'd like in it and I'll have a play about?" I suggested. Thankfully Jordan seemed to really like that idea and bounded off into the cupboard. Sebastian quickly occupied the seat that he had left.
"You sure do like pushing my buttons don't you?" He asked, picking up my doodles that Jordan had left on the table. I didn't answer him, instead focusing on Jordan's tattoo in front of me. I was brought back to earth with a bang when I felt a tight grip around my already tender bicep. "It's rude to ignore people when they're talking to you Clary. Whatever happened to your manners?" He was leaning against me enough that nobody could see that he had a firm grip of my arm, When he let go, it was as though the pressure was still there, my arm pulsating relentlessly. I held back the tears as they threatened to cascade down my face.
"Leave me alone Sebastian." I reiterated. "Please, just leave me alone." Sebastian leant forwards on his elbows, a smile dancing on his face.
"Why do you keep resisting this Clary? It's going to happen, why don't you just let it?" I had no idea how I was going to respond to his question but I didn't want to get hurt again for not answering. Jordan appeared a few moments later, carrying a mix of reds, blues and greens in his hands and thankfully I didn't have to answer Sebastian's questions.
I was ready with my bag packed for the bell ringing and I practically ran down to the gates. I was overjoyed when I saw Jace already waiting for me, his car relatively concealed in the shade of the trees. Not wanting to hang about, I made a move for the car, throwing myself into the front seat. Jace looked at me surprised when I finally managed to pull myself up.
"Eager are we?" He smirked, turning on the engine. I looked at him, a light blush adorning my cheeks.
"You could say that." I smiled. "What have you got planned for us anyway?" I asked, placing my bag on the back seat.
"Well, our date doesn't actually start for about an hour or so." He said looking at his watch. I looked at him curiously.
"So, what are we doing then?" I laughed, putting on my seatbelt as he pulled the car out.
"Killing time."
About 10 minutes later, we pulled into a car park overlooking a park. Jace shut off the car, turning to face me in his seat.
"Tell me about your day." He said, relaxing.
"Well, uh." I muttered, trying to recall. "I saw Isabelle this morning, she said she's going on a date later." Jace nodded as though he was already aware of this. "Then I saw Simon and I think he's quite hung up over Isabelle, so I didn't tell him that she was going on a date later. Then I went to art."
"What happened in art?" Jace asked and I looked at him confused.
"Are you trying to ask me what Sebastian has been like? That's what it sounds like."
"Well yeah, I'm just keeping tabs is all? I don't want you to feel like you can't talk about him with me. If he's being a dick to you, I want to know about it."
"He's just been acting jealous, which isn't exactly new. I was helping Jordan out with his tattoo and I don't think Sebastian liked that very much. I've been trying to keep my distance of him though and it seems to be working a bit." I lied at the end. It wasn't working, Sebastian wasn't anywhere close to leaving me alone. But I didn't want Jace or Jon going after him again. Yes he'd gotten away with a punch last time, but I didn't want him pushing his luck. Jace was still checking his watch every couple of minutes as though he was waiting for something.
"I think we're good." He got the car ready once more, before heading to the one place I least expected.
"Have you forgotten something?" I asked, as he pulled up to his house.
"Nope, this is where the date is happening." He smiled, unbuckling himself.
"What about Isabelle?"
"She's on a date remember? She said she won't be back until about 8."
"What about your parents? Alec?" I asked.
"Alec is on holiday. Parents are at a business conference. It's fine, don't worry about it." He smiled, getting out of the car. I followed him apprehensively, not at all sure what he had planned. He offered to take my coat at the door, leading me through into the kitchen.
"So, are you going to fill me in at all?" I asked, laughing as I placed myself at the table. Jace started rooting around in the fridge, gathering items on the bench.
"I'm going to cook for you and then we're going to watch a film." Jace said simply and I laughed. He shot me a glance.
"You're going to cook?" I said, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows.
"Wow Red. Way to shoot me down." He held his chest in mock pain before stalking over in my direction. "I'll have you know that I actually make the best pancakes you'll ever taste in your life." He nuzzled against my cheek, kissing me just below my ear. Butterflies threatened to explode from my stomach as I laughed nervously. He held his hand out for me to take, leading me over to the hob. "You're going to help though."
Surprisingly, Jace really seemed to know what he was doing. He talked me through everything, guiding me with his hands. As he was whipping up the batter, I ran my finger along the edge of the bowl before wiping it on Jace's nose. He looked at me thoroughly unimpressed. I couldn't contain my laughter. Jace span to face me, giving me a look that basically said 'run'. I didn't even make it to the kitchen door before he had caught up to me. His body slammed into mine, his lips hitting my own with equal force. I stumbled backwards lightly but Jace steadied me, his arms wrapping around my back. As we broke apart, he rubbed his nose against mine, the batter transferring. I narrowed my eyes at him, but thought better of fighting back. I still had that 'debt' to settle later. I'd get him back when he was least expecting it.
"These are surprisingly good." I said, as we sat down to eat the pancakes.
"Did you expect anything less?" He questioned.
Once the pancakes were demolished and the dishes were done, Jace led me out of the kitchen and straight past the living room.
"I thought we were watching a movie?" I asked, gesturing to the door.
"Well, I thought we would watch it in my room? I have a TV the same size so?" He said casually. "But if you want to watch it in the living room, that's totally fine?" He started backtracking on himself. I shook my head.
"No, it's fine honestly." I followed him up the stairs, trying to quell any nerves that I had, The last time I had ever been in a boy's bedroom was back with Sebastian but I couldn't let that hold me back. Jace's room was strangely tidy, everything seemingly having its own little space. I couldn't believe how huge his room was. He had both a bed and a sofa in here and still had ample space. I sat myself down at the sofa as Jace set up his gaming console and what looked like Netflix.
"Unlike Simon, I don't carry a wealth of DVD's around with me in case the mood strikes. So I thought we could just have a look through this?" He suggested as he sat down on the chair next to me. I shrugged, nodding. I shimmied myself ever so slightly closer to him on the couch, trying to be subtle. I helped him pick out a film, not really paying much interest in what it was. We sat for ten minutes watching it in silence, as I planned out my next move. When he was fully engrossed in the film, I dived on him, sitting myself in his lap, one of my legs on either side of his. Cupping his face in my hands, I kissed him slow but deeply. After getting over his initial shock, his hands found their way to the base of my back, caressing my skin lightly. My hands explored his hair, his face, and his shoulders before resting gently on his chest using it to push myself back. I wiped my bottom lip lightly with my thumb before hopping off his lap, back into my space and focussing back on the movie.
"Debt settled." I said casually, not taking my eyes off the screen. I could see Jace fidgeting next to me as I tried to keep my eyes focussed on the screen ahead of me and not succumb to giving him attention. I should have predicted what would happen next. As soon as I so much as looked in his direction, he pounced on me, pushing my body beneath him on the sofa. I decided to play hard to get. I pushed myself further down the sofa until I slipped out from underneath his arm, clambering to my feet. Jace looked at me, his eyes full of fun. He quickly got to his feet, grabbing my hands and dragging me along after him. He sat himself down on the edge of his bed, pulling me over so that I was stood between his legs. He brought my face into kiss him, his hands rubbing up and down my arms. The butterflies were swooping around my stomach, until he squeezed my upper arms lightly. Something that would have otherwise have went unnoticed made me yelp in pain. Jace shot back from me, looking me over, concern in his eyes.
"What did I do?" He asked, his hands still resting on my arms as he took a look at me. I shook my head.
"It's fine Jace." I muttered, trying to move back in to kiss him and distract him from all of this. He kept me held in front of him.
"Something's wrong. What is it? Did I hurt you?" He asked, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.
"Jace-"I started but he squeezed my arms, trying to be reassuring, causing me to wince. He looked at me strangely.
"Take off your shirt." He said, bluntly. I looked at him and laughed.
"I don't have anything underneath." He was looking at me deadly serious.
"I'm not playing around Clary. Take it off." He said, reaching over to his drawers and pulling out a sleeveless vest. "Put this on, I won't look." He turned his head, closing his eyes. I sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. Pulling my jumper over my head, I hesitantly pulled it down my arms before replacing it with the vest. I might as well have just left my top off for all this vest covered. The neck fell down quite low, making my bra pretty much on show anyway. The rest of the vest fit me like a dress, coming down to my mid-thigh. The part I was most worried about though was that you could see the bruises as plain as daylight and they had seemingly gotten worse from this morning, now a lovely shade of black, blue and purple. I covered the bruises with my hands, crossing my arms across my chest to conceal my bra also.
"There, you happy?" I muttered to Jace, and he span back around on the spot instantly. He looked at me unimpressed by my attempt to cover up. His hands reached up to my own, trying to release my grip.
"Trust me." He muttered, resting his hands on top of mine. I did trust him, I just couldn't let go. The embarrassment, the shame, the feeling of fear all welling up inside of me, making my hands close fast around my arms. It hurt but I knew letting Jace see me like this would hurt more. He sat me down on the bed next to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, it can't be that bad Clary. Let me have a look at you please. You've got me worried." He soothed. I couldn't let him think that he had done something to hurt me. I pulled my fingers back lightly, allowing one bruise to become visible. Jace looked at me confused as I took a deep breath, releasing my hold on that arm, He held my arm out in front of him, looking at me with a mixture of emotions. His hand rested on top of my other arm, and I pulled back my hand once more. His face hardened, his mouth becoming a thin line, his eyes intense.
"Who did this to you, Clary?" He said simply to me as I hung my head.
Thank you so much for every follow, favourite, read and review! You guys really make my day. Remember if you have any feedback/criticisms/questions, feel free to leave me a review – reading them makes my day! All of my love, until the next time. ~Sapph