~Clary~

"Your homework assignment shouldn't be too hard tonight––you're welcome," said Mr. Levine, flashing the class a smile, holding up a stack of yellow papers, fresh out of the copy room. "All you have to do is a scavenger hunt." Groan. "There's twenty problems, and, yes, since this is a college algebra class, you'll be required to do some actual math."

Worst teacher ever.

Mr. Levine, looking as smug as ever, slowly strided down each row, licking his thumb every so often to retrieve the next sheet available in his hand. He passed out the assignment as slowly as possible, very much aware that he was taking up our passing period time.

Come on man. Jace is waiting for me by my locker!

As soon as he handed me mine, I jumped to my feet, throwing my backpack over my shoulder, and took off in a determined jog. However, when I was nearly a foot away from the door, I collided into a mass of flesh and was sent flying to the ground, ass-first.

I looked up, only then realizing that my glasses were no longer on my face. "What the hell!" I shouted.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I honestly didn't see you there," a familiar voice exclaimed, sounding concerned. Verlac. Shit. This was the boy that had broken Maia's heart in the tenth grade. This was the boy that might as well should have a tattoo on his forehead that read 'danger' in all capital letters.

I tried to squint, but all I could make out was his blurry, blob of a face growing closer and closer until his hands were secured around my wrists, heaving me up off the floor. As soon as I was back on my feet, I yanked myself away from him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You know," he drawled out, "without those glasses, you're actually pretty cute."

"Thanks." What a compliment.

He hadn't even called me cute, just pretty cute.

"And your eyes are simply breathtaking," he breathed.

"Okay," I snapped, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work, and, in case you haven't all ready noticed this, I can't see you!"

I heard him chuckle. "You sure are feisty."

I scoffed.

His blobby hands were suddenly getting closer to my face, but, before I could jerk away, I felt the comfort of my glasses return to me. I blinked a few times before glaring at the boy in front of me.

Black hair. Black eyes. Skin paler than mine. And a blue and purple bruise brandishing his right cheek.

I was surprised that he didn't have more marks.

"Thanks for shoving me to the floor and momentarily blinding me, but, if you don't mind, I have somewhere I need to be," I pressed, trying desperately to make my way around him. I had become especially weary of the situation once I recalled Jace telling me to stay away from him over dinner on Monday. He hadn't gone into detail as to why, but his tone had said it all.

"Wait. Clary," Sebastian called, his grip returning around my forearm, forcing me to face him.

"Let me go, Sebastian."

He looked bewildered, as if me not being interested in his charm was absolutely horrifying. "I'm sorry for running into you, I really am, but...there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now––"

"No."

"Clary. I haven't even asked you anything yet––"

"And I said 'no'. I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

I heard snickers behind me and I twisted around to see that we had drawn a small crowd. Great. Sebastian seemed to have noticed too because his expression went from disbelieving to being furious. He dragged me past the nosey bystanders, a few yards down the hall, until it was just the two of us again.

"Just hear me out!"

I tried to wiggle past him, but, to my surprise, I was held in place––or pinned––against the vending machine behind me. "Come on. Just give me a shot. There's a party at my cousin's house this Friday to celebrate the beginning of our senior year. I heard it's going to be really cool...and it'd be even cooler if you there...as my date."

"No thanks."

I had never been asked out on a date, and, the only boyfriend I've ever managed to land was way back in pre-k. But there was no way that I was going to settle for some lowlife like Verlac, especially since my mind was set on telling Jace how I felt about him this year.

"I don't think you understand. Don't you know who I am?" he barked, outraged.

"Not really. And I have no intention to find out."

Sebastian let out a low growl in frustration. "You're never going to get another offer like this."

"I'll take my chances."

His eyes flashed and his lips pulled back in a snarl, making me want to back down, but, being the stupid girl that I am, I stayed as I was and never let my stare waver. Then he did something that I wasn't expecting: he smiled, almost as if he were relieved.

"I know why you're being such a bitch to me, Clary." I tried to pull out of his grasp, but it only tightened. "I see the way you look at him. At your precious Jace. You like him, don't you?"

"No," I hesitated, trying to deny the truth, to deny something that was so personal and meaningful to me. How the hell would he know something like that?

"You do. You're in love with him."

"No, Sebastian. You don't know what you're talking about."

He ignored me completely. "Well I hate to be the barer of bad news, but your little friend told me that you're nothing more to him than a little sister just the other day. He doesn't love you. He never will. To him, you're absolutely pathetic and, if anything, he feels sorry for you––"

"Shut up."

Sebastian snickered. "And you know it too, don't you?"

I felt the backs of my eyes sting, even if it was likely that he wasn't telling the truth. But, somewhere, deep down, his words were getting to me, because, even if I had convinced myself that it was all in my head, Jace had never looked at me like I know I look at him. Not once.

In all the years that we've known each other he'd never tried to kiss me or make a move, like what usually happens between a girl and a guy in the movies. He'd managed to get my hopes up more times than I can count. He'd talked to me about the girls he'd dated, just like I was one of his buddies, he'd even laughed when I admitted to him that I've never been in a relationship before.

Was I in over my head?

No.

I couldn't be.

But...

"Oh, I never meant to make you cry," Sebastian said sardonically, in mock sincerity, wiping at a stray tear with his thumb. "It's almost funny that you thought that you had a chance. Look at him and then...look at yourself. You're not beautiful or tall or mysterious. You're an open book, no bigger than an eight year-old boy, and...cute, but nothing more.

"I have to say that I'm proud of myself for helping a girl like you out, even if you don't deserve it. I guess that I'm the bigger person," he laughed, eyeing my body up and down. "Literally. Now you don't have to chase after this completely absurd dream of yours anymore."

He looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for a 'thank you', but, what he got was anything but. I had no idea when or how it happened, but he was suddenly stumbling away from me, clutching his already bruised cheek. I'd slapped him. Oh my God...

I looked at my hand and then at the enraged teenage boy, who looked as if he were going to explode at any moment. "You...you bitch!" he shouted, pointing at me accusingly. I shied away. "Bitch. You'll be sorry, Clary, more sorry than you'll be when Jace turns you down himself. I swear."

And, with that, he was storming away, leaving me alone in my now deprecating thoughts.

~Jace~

All throughout human government I was an absolute mess, nearly pulling out my hair. I'd took a picture of Clary's schedule with my phone and memorized it. While she was in college algebra with Verlac, I was here, unable to help or protect her.

I swear to God, it he tries anything...

"Hey, you okay?"

I looked up and spat, "No. I'm not."

"What's wrong?"

Just when I was about to retort something nasty I cut myself off. I hadn't realized how pretty the girl that was talking to me was until now. Wow. "Uh...nothing. Sorry."

"Don't be," she smiled. "It's nice to see a guy with actual feelings for once. At my old school all the guys were the same and were convinced that they were 'too cool' to care."

It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying. She was probably the prettiest girl that I'd ever seen. Perfect olive skin that looked smooth to the touch, big, blue eyes, a friendly smile, brown hair...Had she been at our school this whole time?

She giggled, snapping me out of my daze.

Never had a girl left me speechless.

"I'm Emily. I moved here over the summer from D.C."

"Uh...Hi, I'm Jace. Hi?"

"Oh I know who you are," Emily said. "You're face is plastered on posters all over this place and you're all anybody seems to be able to talk about. This is my third day here and I know everything about you from the girls in my PE class."

"W-why'd you move?" was all I could think about asking.

"My dad's the new principal here."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "You're Emily...Louthan?"

Soon this Emily girl was all that I could focus on; her voice, the mesmerizing look she kept giving me, how I could talk to her so freely without any fear that'd she'd judge me, how interesting and intriguing and beautiful she was.

Everything about her was perfect.

~Clary~

I waited at my locker for Jace. Every day was the same: he'd climb through my window in the morning, we'd share a packet of Poptarts, then he'd drive us to school in his red sports car. Then, after the bell rang, he'd meet me by my locker and we'd hang out at my house until he either had to go home for dinner or until it was too late.

This time, however, I was going to change things up a bit. After my talk with Verlac I had deduced that I wasn't going to wait any longer. Today was going to be the day that I was going to tell Jace about my feelings. I was tired of waiting in the dark and just worrying over all the what-ifs and possibilities. I needed to suck it up and just go for it.

I needed to get my answer.

At 3:45, as usual, Jace rounded the corner to my locker, however, this time, he had a smile on his face. He looked happy. Too happy.

What had I missed?

"There she is!" Jace exclaimed as soon as his eyes met mine.

"Hi?"

"Clary...I need to tell you something, and quickly before it's too late."

"Okay...I need to tell you something too––"

"Do you think I can go first?"

"Of course."

Jace was never this excited about anything, so, whatever it was, it must be awesome. Maybe he'd gotten me tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls in concert?

Jace raked a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "So...there's this girl––" my heart seemed to skip a beat "––and, all this time I've been oblivious and stupid...because I haven't noticed her until now."

Could he be talking about me? His gold eyes were so lively and animate, staring intensely into my own. I felt myself smile and my cheeks warm. Finally. This was finally happening.

"She's so beautiful, Clary. And she doesn't look like the other girls. She's unique and natural and real. Her hair is curly and she's..." he breathed. "She's out of this world, I tell you. She really tall––"

Wait. What?

Tall. I wasn't tall.

No.

No.

No.

My heart and stomach seemed to have switched places.

"Her name's Emily Louthan and her dad's the new principal here. I wanted you to know before she comes back; she's getting her stuff and, I hope it's okay, but after I drop you off I was planning on taking her to my house to hang out and do homework. You understand, right? It's only for today."

Jace had never talked about a girl like this before and, to think that I actually thought that he was talking about me made it that much worse.

Afraid that my words would betray me, I nodded, struggling to hold my smile.

Jace hugged me in relief. "She's really cool, Clary––almost as cool as you, and...I think that she could be something special."

"Oh," I managed, trying to laugh, "that's...awesome. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks," Jace smiled. "So...what did you want to tell me?"

I felt the tears coming and my throat starting to burn. I didn't have a doubt in my mind that I couldn't handle meeting this Emily girl, who, in order to make Jace this happy, must be absolutely exquisite. And beautiful.. And perfect. And extraordinary. Everything that I'm not. In comparison she was probably a Barbie doll and I...I was a Cabbage Patch Kid.

"It can wait," I told him, knowing that Jace would never be mine, that he'd most likely laugh in my face if I told him the truth.

"Come on, you can tell me," he urged me. "You can tell me anything." I shook my head and wiped at my nose. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I promise. Everything's perfect," I swallowed, blinking through tears, "don't worry about dropping me off. I'll just walk––"

Jace' smile vanished. "Clary. It's really not a big deal. I always drop you off. Please tell me what's bothering you––"

"It's nothing."

His hands locked around my shoulders. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me."

I offered him a smile and felt a hot tear roll down my cheek. "You should be able to get to know Emily without me there, okay? I want to walk so––"

Jace scoffed. "When have you ever wanted to walkhome, Clary? You never take the stairs, ever, even if they're a hundred feet closer than an escalator. You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. Now, are you going to be a baby about this, or are you going to tell me what's bothering––"

"Nothing is bothering me!" I shouted, startling Jace and myself. Jace never yelled at me. I never yelled at him. I lowered my voice and held his desperate gaze. "Nothing's bothering me, so...please just...let me go and have fun with Emily."

"Is that what this is about?" Jace asked. "You're afraid that I'm going to replace her with you? Clary, that's never going to happen! I promise! You're my best friend and nothing will ever change that."

"No. You don't understand Jace."

"Then help me to understand––"

"No."

"Clary."

"No, Jace."

Jace pulled away from me, his hold disappearing altogether. He looked angry. "You're acting like such a brat."

I shook my head and whirled around in the opposite direction, taking long and determined strides towards the exit, letting the tears fall freely now, avoiding peoples' worried glances as I passed them.

"Clary!" Jace called, his footsteps chasing after mine. "Clary, stop!"

"Just leave me alone, have fun with Emily. And I'll see you tomorrow. At school." I kept walking and, when the doors banged closed behind me, I ran.

It'll get more dramatic than that. Trust me.

Hopefully this chapter and the previous one will keep you interested and eager for the next one. I didn't get a lot of reviews, but I got good response and the reviews that I did receive were really kind and more meaningful than just 'please update'.

Sebastian is still going to be in this story, just an FYI. And he's not going to be very nice.

Thanks for reading(:

Until next time, peace.

Oh! And I went back and added a few details to Jace and Sebastian fight in chapter one! Not a lot, but, yeah...