Hey guys! So here's chapter 8! The first update I've actually written recently!
Thank you to everyone who left a review last chapter! I really enjoyed reading them!
Simon's head was pounding, his pulse reverberating within it with each rapid beat of his heart, and his hands, clenched tightly in fists to hide their shaking, were sweaty. He, despite his best efforts, was pretty much in total freak out mode.
This was it. So much depended on what was happening right now inside his house, between his best friend and his mother, the latter of which, for the moment anyway, hated him.
It felt like an eternity had passed since Clary had gone inside, not at all helped by the heavy silence that had dominated the inside of Luke's truck since, though a small part of Simon, the only part that was still being reasonable, knew it had really only been ten minutes or so. Calm down! He mentally scolded himself. He knew, in that small, reasonable part of his mind, that being so nervous over this, after everything else he'd been through, everything he now remembered he'd been through, was sort of ridiculous. Then again, this wasn't like all those other things. This had nothing to do with demons, or Shadowhunters, or the Shadow World at all. Not really. This was his mother they were talking about. He had finally gotten everything he'd wanted recently. He had back his friends, his memory, his girlfriend, and what had, prior to the six months he'd spent with greater-demon-induced Amnesia, become his life. But his mom had been there before any of that, even before Clary, whom he'd known forever. And if he couldn't have her, he honestly didn't know what he'd do. Friends were one thing; his mom was a complete other.
Isabelle placed a hand gently on his leg, a solely comforting gesture, breaking Simon from his thoughts. He met her dark eyes and could clearly read the message in them: It'll be okay. He just nodded and looked back straight ahead again, though not before entwining his fingers with hers in thanks. He did feel slightly better. Just slightly.
His phone rang before he could drive himself any crazier. As it was, it still make him start a little, and he whipped it out of his pocket faster than he thought possible-new Shadowhunter reflexes are good for something- and confirmed the Caller ID before bringing it to his ear, noting that everyone had turned to look at him in expectation as he did so. "Hello?" he answered.
"Hey," Clary said. She sounded like she was smiling. A good sign. "So, do you want to come inside?"
His heart jolted. "Am-I allowed?" Alright, stupid question, but he was pretty shocked.
Clary must have agreed because she gave a laugh. "Um, yes, Simon. Obviously."
Simon blinked, and then allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Okay. Be right there."
"See you," she said and hung up. He took a deep breath, slipped the phone back in his pocket, offered a small smile to the three sets of eyes still looking at him, and squeezed Izzy's hand briefly before letting it go. "Here goes nothing," he said, and got out of the truck.
He stopped when he reached the front door, debating on whether to knock or just walk in. He did, after all, live here. Or had. He decided on both, knocking first and then turning the knob and slowly swinging the door open.
Simon stopped and stood in the doorway, staring into the living room a few feet away from him, where Clary and, more importantly, his mother, stood looking back at him. The latter seemed frozen in place, staring, wide-eyed, at him. Everything was still and silent for a three count, and then Elaine, tears springing into her already puffy eyes, shot forward, toward Simon, and enveloped him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I love you, honey. I'm so sorry." She repeated the words again and again like a mantra. "I'm so sorry."
Simon hugged her back, relief flooding through him, and fought the tears threatening to spill from his own eyes. "It's okay, Mom," he replied after a second, interrupting another string of apologies.
She let him go after another thirty seconds or so and stepped back a little, looking him up and down as if looking for some drastic physical change in him, but aside from the Voyance rune on the back of his right hand and his lack of glasses, she apparently didn't find any, which seemed to relieve her.
"Now" she said, her voice steadier than it had been a minute earlier, "You have some serious explaining to do."
Simon just smiled.
Clary couldn't help but smile contentedly as Luke turned into the driveway of their house and parked, relieved that the whole thing had gone so smoothly. Few things ever did.
She had stood in the Lewis' living room, watching the "reunion" with a smile. Clary had already explained everything vital to Elaine, saving Simon from having to do so. She seemed to just want reassurance from him that he was okay, and plead for his forgiveness, which he easily gave to her. Had Clary been in his position, even under the circumstances, she wasn't sure she would have been able to forgive so effortlessly. But then Simon had always been a better person than she was.
After everything between the two had been sorted out, Elaine had gotten to meet Isabelle, whom she seemed pleasantly surprised by. And, for that small moment, not including the small fact that they had an angry prince of Hell out to get them all, all was right in the world again.
Luke and Jocelyn were engrossed in their own conversation, having already been brought up to date on what had happened in Simon's home. Clary followed them inside and made her way to her bedroom while they went in the opposite direction. Elaine had invited the three of them, along with Isabelle, to stay for lunch, but Isabelle was the only one who had ended up doing so. The rest of them hadn't been home since traveling to Idris for Simon's Ascension the previous day, and Clary, though she loved Simon's mother, had just wanted to get home. And besides, it would give Elaine a chance to get to know Izzy, since it looked like she and Simon were sort of a done deal now.
Upon entering her room, Clary found a note on her bed, from Jace, telling her to meet him in Central Park at 3:00. She smiled and glanced at her alarm clock. It was two-thirty now. She changed, trading her gear jacket for a T-shirt and brushed her hair out. Once she deemed herself presentable, she proceeded to make her way out of her room and toward the kitchen, where Luke and Jocelyn were still talking, though the subject seemed to have changed to one a bit more private, judging from the looks they were giving each other and the smirks they both wore. She made her presence known quickly. "I'm heading out."
Jocelyn looked at her. "Where are you going?"
"Central Park."
Clary's mother looked at her for a few seconds, obviously knowing whom she would be with, and then said simply, "Be home by 8," throwing a stern look her way for good measure. Jocelyn had long since accepted Clary's new life as a Shadowhunter, as well as her relationship with Jace, which was much less complicated, now that evil kidnapping brothers and possessing demons were out of the picture. Still, Clary knew not to push it with the whole curfew thing.
"Okay," she replied, "Bye." She heard her parents' echoing 'bye' after her, muffled, as she headed toward the door.
It was early July and summer was in full swing; the afternoon sun bearing down, causing sweat to spring up on Clary's forehead as she walked. It had been about a month since Simon had come back into her life, and so much had changed in that time. Normally, an Ascension took much longer, however a necessary exception had been made for him, given the circumstances.
Fifteen minutes and a short subway ride later; Clary was walking down the familiar sidewalk in Central Park, toward the clearing that had become their own as of late. They always met up there.
Jace was waiting for her, leaning back on his hands atop a dull blue blanket he had obviously laid out in the grass, the summer sun turning his hair the color of gold. He was dressed casually, almost normally, in cargo shorts and a black T-shirt. He smiled when he saw her, white teeth adding to the study of white and gold that was his face. Clary couldn't help but smile back.
"I see you got my letter," he said smugly, "Though I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
"I'm only, like, five minutes late," Clary protested, sitting down beside him on the blanket. Even so, she'd gotten there in record time.
"Precisely," he continued, "Which means I had to wait five minutes longer to do this." He brought his lips to hers.
"I see I've caused you an unspeakable injustice," she said with a grin after they pulled apart a minute later.
"My thoughts exactly," Jace replied. He smiled at her for another few seconds, before reaching over and grabbing a plastic bag she hadn't noticed before, filled with white takeout containers, and proceeding to unpack it, laying the contents out on the blanket in front of them. "I figured," he explained as he worked, "You wouldn't have gotten a chance to eat, being as you've been dealing with the Simon situation all afternoon, so I stopped at Taki's on the way here."
Clary watched him with a smile. She loved this side of Jace the most; the caring, concerned boyfriend who thought about her well being above all else. "You figure correctly," she answered. Jace shot her the crooked smile she loved and produced paper plates and plastic ware, handing a set to her.
"Speaking of Simon," Jace spoke again a minute later as the two of them ate: French fries, and spaghetti, pancakes, and other foods that really didn't go together, but were very good nonetheless, "How did everything go with his mother today?"
Clary swallowed the food in her mouth and smiled a little, "Good. Really good, all things considered."
"You told her?"
She nodded. "She took it pretty well, I think."
He looked at her. "Was there screaming involved? Running away? Passing out?"
She gave a short laugh. "No."
"Hm. Sounds rather boring then. Mundanes aren't nearly as entertaining as I'd always thought." Jace said, going back to his food, though he snuck a quick glance at her from the corner of his eye, a small grin fighting its way onto his face. Clary just smacked his arm. His smile widened.
He sighed after a few seconds though, lapsing back into a rare moment of complete seriousness. "This isn't over. You know that right?"
Clary sighed herself and nodded reluctantly. "I know."
"Asmodeus isn't going to back down so easily. In fact, he isn't going to back down at all. Greater demons never do, never mind a prince of Hell."
Clary stared down at her food, no longer hungry. Jace was right; she knew he was. She'd been running the same thoughts through her mind earlier, but she didn't want to believe it. She was so done with fighting, and wars, and loss. She felt like that was all she'd seen for the last year. And now they were potentially facing more of it.
She had long since discovered that the life of a Shadowhunter was a hard one. And she knew, unfortunately, that that wasn't changing any time soon. She glanced back up to find Jace looking at her, his eyes mirroring her own thoughts. He placed his hand over hers. "I know," he said quietly.
When it came to things like this, Jace was honest, brutally at times. He never made false promises or sugarcoated things. He didn't paint a rough situation in the best light. He, more than anyone, knew just how bad a situation could be, and he didn't lie to make his loved ones feel better. And Clary loved him for that.
They would just have to get through this like they'd gotten through everything else. She couldn't help but hope.
She scooted closer to him and leaned into his side, holding his hand and looking into his eyes. "I don't want to worry about it right now," she told him, "Just kiss me."
Jace was happy to oblige.
IDEAS! Guys, I need them! If you have anything you want to happen, let me know. And, specifically, anything that could happen with the whole Asmodeus thing, I'd love to hear them!
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!
See you next time!