Time froze for everyone. Simon popped out of his seat faster than I could blink. He once joked about his "sexy, vampire mojo" but I never really believed him. Fangs out, he moved in front of Izzy. "What the hell?" He hissed. While Simon defended Izzy, Jace and Alec sat like statues. I poked Jace's cheek about five times before he grabbed my hand to stop me. Lance just grinned and walked over to Simon.
"Problem blood sucker? You think she isn't a clown? Because we do." He pointed to her in an unflattering clown suit.
"Shut up Werewolf!" Lance's claws grew out from anger. "I wouldn't test my sexy vampire mojo." I about lost it, he actually said it out loud. I chuckled, bringing Jace and Alec back to life. "Yes Fray, I said it." He had noticed my reaction. I swept a piece of hair from my neck because it was bothering me, forgetting about my lack of a Band-Aid. No one really noticed until Lance grabbed Simon's throat and grinned at me.
"Come here little red riding hood. I want to see that bite on your neck." I swept the hair back and grimaced. He stiffened and gripped Si's neck harder. "I said come here."
Jace wrapped an arm around me to hold me in place. "Shadow Hunters don't take your crap, wolf spawn. You're a nuisance to your kind." The whole cafeteria buzzed with gossip, had no one ever stood up to him?
"I'm going up there," I whispered. Jace shook his head and tightened his grip. "For Izzy, I have to do this for her."
"How do you know?" He whispered back, "are you sure he won't hurt you?"
I thought of a way to assure him, "come up with me. Please? He won't hurt me if you're there." He nodded. "Together?"
"Together." We got up and walked to the head of the room. Lance dropped Simon and his grin at the same time.
"I only…"
"We ignored you, obviously." Jace smirked, I knew he liked my sassy side. "Now lay off. She's already humiliated."
He stepped back and grinned again. "We technically can't prank freshman but we can make you remember your place." I saw two girls carrying a jug behind me and stood there until they were close enough to kick. I kicked up and flipped the Gatorade container on the two girls. They screamed and claws grew from their hands too. Lance glanced down, shocked.
"That's what you get for messing with Izzy the first day and trying to ruin my jersey. I may be short but I am a fighter. You can't touch me or my friends without a fight." I snapped my fingers and turned, "By the way, next time you cross me I'll bring more than the heat." Jace helped Simon up and let him usher Izzy out of the room. Then he joined me as I walked back.
Lance stood there joined by his friends. They were pissed but it was worth it. The Lightwoods were my family too. No one threatened my family. I decided to turn around for one final blow. "That's what you call punishment Lance? Jon's done worse to me and we're siblings. Enjoy smelling like piss ladies." After that we left the building and returned to Jon's dorm. The guys were laughing when I closed the door.
"Bring the heat? Where'd that come from?" Jon doubled over beside a clown-makeup-free Izzy, who had surprisingly recovered in twenty minutes. She was giggling with Simon's arm wrapped around her.
"Sisters forever, right Fray?" Izzy lit up.
"Always. I couldn't let you get soaked in pee and stand there in that outfit. What kind of sister would I be?" I threw a marshmallow at her from our ginormous Costco bag. She lifted it high and boldly proclaimed:
"To our sassy, bad ass redhead. Long live the girl who has managed to gain enemies the first day. We will follow her to the end!" We all whooped and started laughing. Jace reached over with a devilish grin.
He pulled out a bottle of fancy grape juice from their mini fridge and red solo cups. The fact he even had it made the night even better. We raised full cups in the air and cheered.
"To my girl! Sass forever." Jace yelled.
"To the Sass Queen." We echoed.
While everyone laughed Jace sat his cup down and turned me around. "You really are something."
"Think so?" I asked, still on a happiness high.
"Hell yes." Jace kissed me in front of everyone while they let out wolf whistles. I couldn't believe how great it felt. Kissing Jace was a dream, a real fantastic dream. We broke apart and grinned.
"Fucking finally! The sexual tension was killing me!" Seb said over his cup. Even Jon nodded, his hands full of marshmallows. "I seriously shipped you guys at lunch! Anyway, if Clary is the Sass Queen, I'm the Marshmallow King."
Jon jumped up and pointed dramatically at Seb. "I challenge you to a marshmallow duel. You are not worthy to be my sister's king! For I am the Marshmallow King!" Simon pulled out foam noodles and threw them to Jon. "Duel me coward."
"I accept your challenge. Let us duel." Seb moved his cup to a safe spot and we crammed on the two beds farthest away from them. (Their room is large and two beds are on each side of the room.) Izzy made Simon go to Seb's side so she could cheer him on.
"Seb, Seb, Seb, Seb"
"Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon."
We cheered until Seb forfeited after twenty minutes. He fell on the floor and let Jon throw marshmallows at him. I got up and grabbed Jon's wrist.
"I am proud to crown you, my pain in the butt brother, Marshmallow King."
"All hail the Marshmallow King and Sass Queen." Everyone else chanted from their respective beds. We laughed until ten minutes before curfew. Jace and Simon walked Izzy and I to our room.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," I whispered in Jaces ear.
He pressed me into the wall and winked. "Bright and early at breakfast."
"Also in training, and about every other class. I love how you're in sophomore classes."
I leaned up and kissed him. "See you then Jacey-poo." He caught my hand and shook his head. It just made me laugh. "Fine, night babe." The last thing I saw before the door closed was Jace and Simon acting like brothers. Simon had always wanted one.
Morning didn't come soon enough. Izzy forced me into a tight, black tank and skinny jeans. While I looked adorable, it also showed off my boobs too well.
"Izzy, are you sure?" I asked while putting on mascara.
"As sure as that kiss last night. Now stop complaining." She shoved on her designer blouse and I stopped her.
"Izzy, if your want to impress Simon put on a nerdy shirt. Here," I tossed her a cute cartoon robot shirt I owned. She slipped it on over a plain under shirt and completed her outfit. She looked nerdy but still extremely tough. Simon would thank me later. We went down to the lobby to meet Jon and Bat. Instead we found some sluts trying to get their attention.
"Jonathon do I look good?" The girl had on a basketball jersey of a team she didn't even know. I almost puked. "What cha' think?" She just over did it.
"Hey brother of mine." I walked over calm as I could be. "Who's the girl with the Lakers jersey?" He anticipated my next comment but kept his mouth shut. I turned to her," did you watch the game last night? I can't believe they lost."
"Oh, I know," She answered.
Jon about laughed, "Sorry to burst your bubble but they don't play for a few months. My sister just tested you." He turned away and headed towards the doors. She looked completely humiliated and ran to the elevator. I would have felt bad if I wasn't so hungry. We walked across in silence until Jon finally said something about my top.
"I'm sure you know, but I can see more than I want of my little sisters breasts. Can I have an explanation please Isabelle?"
"Jace is the reason. Get over it." She flipped her hair and smiled. He knew he lost and nodded.
"Just not again, okay? I don't want to notice these things."
I ignored the rest of their conversation and bounced up the steps. Jace waited at the top, watching me climb the steps. "Nice top Clary. Here." He took off his plaid shirt and placed it on my shoulders. "Should I believe you picked out that top?" I sighed and pulled his shirt over mine. The sleeves dwarfed me. "Or maybe the villain is coming up the steps as we speak?" Izzy walked inside without saying anything. "Here, let me help with that." Jace took the sleeves and rolled them up to my elbows. "You look adorable, now to soggy oatmeal we go." I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the dining hall. He pulled me back when I cracked the door open. Paint spilled all over the tiles in front of us. I laid my head on his chest and looked up.
"How did you know?"
"I'm friends with some nice seniors. Don't ask." I raised an eyebrow. "So, can you sing?"
"Kind of, why?"
Lance didn't let him answer me and I was dragged on to a stage. "Good morning everyone. Our resident Sass Queen has something to share with everyone this morning. But first," he took Jace's top off me and revealed my tank top. Jace caught the shirt with dignity. "Pay back for the piss." Lance whispered in my ear. "Enjoy singing, unless you want to hang out with me all day. We can trade."
"I'd rather sing than be your bitch. It's payback time." I whispered back to him. "Okay, so I get to choose right? How about…" I had to choose carefully. "Raise your glass by P!nk." The drum beats picked up and I took a deep breath.
"Right, right, turn off the lights
We're gonna lose our minds tonight
What's the deal, yo?
I love when it's all too much
5 a.m. turn the radio up
Where's the rock 'n roll?"
I looked at Jace and grinned. Lance didn't look happy.
"Party crasher, panty snatcher
Call me up if you're a gangsta
Don't be fancy, just get dancy
Why so serious?"
I glanced at Lance and held my hands up by my sides.
"So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty, gritty, dirty, little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Slam, slam, oh hot damn
What part of a party don't you understand?
Wish you'd just freak out
Can't stop, coming in hot
I should be locked up right on the spot
It's so on right now
Party crasher, panty snatcher
Call me up if you're a gangsta
Don't be fancy, just get dancy
Why so serious?
So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty, gritty, dirty, little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!"
Every time I said "raise your glass", cups went up and it turned into a short concert. Jace ran up to me when I finished and gave me back his shirt. I was actually relived to wear it again. I finally noticed his old white tee under it and shredded jeans. He was too much. After my "punishment" we ate and discussed what the Marshmallow King commanded.
"Everything of course!" Jon half yelled.
"No, the Sass Queen gets something." I argued back. We normally bickered like this. "The Queen doesn't just produce sassy offspring."
"Sassy, marshmallow offspring." Jon corrected. Maia, who had joined Bat after my concert, laughed.
"You guys know the whole hall heard you right? Viper, one of Lance's roommates, told me it sounded like you were doing drugs." She spooned a bite of cereal in her mouth, curls bouncing. I didn't guess we were that loud.
"What room is he in?" I asked picking a frosted flake out of my hair. The whole table went quiet and I looked at them. "What? If we want to prank them then we should know." Jace leaned over and kissed my forehead.
"It just seemed like you were into him or something." Izzy mumbled receiving glares from Alec and Jace. "Fine. The fact you were even curious seemed suspicious." She got up with her tray and went to sit with Simon, I guess she wasn't in the mood.
"I'll ask Viper," Maia said with milk dribbling down her chin. "So are you and Jace a thing?"
We blushed, which I had already picked up was unlike Jace, and nodded. She grinned and picked up her tray. "Well, I'm going to go to training early. Anyone else? Or do you two want to make out first?" Alec about choked on his orange and glared.
"I think we are coming with you." Jace picked up my tray and left me walking behind him with Maia. "So, are you naturally tan?"
"All natural, Red. Do you mind if I call you that? All the seniors do and it's only the second day of school. You must be worse than Izzy." She picked at her nails, almost tripping on Vipers stuck out leg. "One second guys." I saw her turn and punch Viper in the shoulder before catching up. "He's my cousin, but still a jerk. Vipers nice though." She pushed a curl back into place and linked her arm with mine. "To training we go!"
I came up with a few things on the way to training: A. Maia likes to ramble, then connect the dots. B. Jace wasn't comfortable not being beside me. C. I was pretty sure, based on our discussion, Maia though we had already had sex.
"So what was this 'sexual tension' Seb screamed about?"
Jace pulled me closer and laughed," I kissed her, that's all."
"That's all?" I countered. "I think it was more than that. It was an excellent kiss."
He pushed the gym doors open for us and grinned. "You're right about that little red."
"But the sexual tension…" Maia pushed.
Jace finished for her, "was evident the first time we met."
We entered the main area and I gawked. High wires, beams, and ropes graced the ceiling while weapons pooled on tables around the room. Jace pulled me to the changing rooms and tossed me a shirt and shorts from the clothes bin. "Five minutes or I'm coming in here to get you. I have a secret spot to show you." I ran into one of the booths and changed as fast as I could. This school had not been what I expected. He waited on the wall outside, smirking. "Three minutes. Congrats, you made it." I giggled and let him guide me to a ladder on the wall. "Climb Fray. We don't have long." I climbed until we ended up on a large, sturdy beam. He mocked me when we sat down by making a freaked out expression. The entire gym laid below us, students slowly walking to the changing rooms looked like zombies.
"They look enthusiastic to even be here," I whispered sarcastically.
"The fae students usually aren't, but the werewolf's don't show any emotion anyway." Jace looked down, puzzled. "I wish we could train by ourselves. Maryse said the gym was designed for everyone though so we had to share."
I looked in cut off sections and saw weights, which weren't reserved for Shadow Hunters. The other secluded side just had comfy seats, probably for the vampires.
"What do the fae do then?" He shook his head, unsure how to answer. "Okay then."
We climbed down and met in the middle of the space with everyone else. Izzy joined us along with Jon and the rest of the gang. The coach walked in five minutes later, glaring us down with her clipboard in hand.
"Welcome to your first day of training. While I explain the rules I expect you upperclassman to stay quiet." If a glare could kill, most of the students in here would have been dead. "Now, the rules are simple: Don't slack off, don't be late, and don't make excuses." She looked at the roll and grimaced. "I see we have another Morgenstern in here… Wait, no. Why do you go by Fray?" I had no clue what Jon had done but I didn't want to know. "Where's Clarissa Fray?"
"Here." I raised my hand and pushed through the crowd. She looked me over with a look I couldn't describe but smiled.
"I trust you won't give me any trouble young lady. Though I've already heard you have a fiery personality. You don't look like your reputation though." She mused, while I tried not to scowl. "Any way, start training folks. I'll be watching very closely." A pang in my chest made me feel like I was being called out. She would definitely be my favorite teacher this year.
"What the hell did you do to her?" I asked Jon at the dagger station.
He didn't look phased. "Oh, Jace and I pissed her off last year. Now let's see who has the best aim, shall we?"
We stood in front of two targets and grinned. Competition between our family members could get out of hand. Jon threw first, missing the middle of the target by an inch. I raised an eyebrow and threw, hitting closer to the middle. Pretty soon we gathered a crowd. Like I said, we were competitive.
"Last round loser."
"Oh little sister, you haven't seen the end of this."
I hit the middle perfectly and smirked. "Beat that Jonathon." He flicked me off and tried to hit dead center but missed. I started giggling and spun around. Jace caught me and grinned.
"I see we had a sibling competition. Who won?" Coach appeared and I leaned off Jace.
"I did." She glanced at me, shocked. I was about to say something when she smiled.
"Okay, class is over. Next period starts in twenty minutes. Go change." I headed to change when she called out my name. "Miss. Fray! Can we talk for a moment?" Jace let me go and I walked back over to her. "Today I think I found my star, that's you. I give an award out each week to the student who showed real initiative and actually tried. You displayed that today, even if it was friendly competition. That's all." I nodded and ran to get changed. At least she liked me. Jace waited to escort me to our next class outside. He made the next three periods bearable for me, especially since I was technically a freshman. Anatomy made me get a migraine, the English teacher just made me uncomfortable, and our Geometry teacher had anger issues. He almost chucked his lunch at us when Jace whispered something in my ear. My last class before lunch made my stomach clench. I was taking a senior writing class without Jace. At least Alec would be in there. When I walked in heads turned and I frantically scanned for Alec. He sat at a table, alone, listening to music. When I walked over he grinned and patted the seat beside him.
"Jace has me on guard duty in here, you can relax." He pulled out an ear bud and handed it over. "Its rock, I think you need it." Alec really got the whole musical escape process. I wasn't alone. The rest of the seniors pilled in but I didn't notice. I didn't even notice Lance staring.
Mrs. Bran walked in and sat a stack of large packets down on her desk. "Welcome to AP story writing. As you know to be in this class means you scored a 92 or higher on the writing portion of a high school or middle school exam. Now, I usually assign you partners for my writing projects but since we have two underclassman this year, you get to decide who you work with. I can't stress the fact you must be comfortable with them and work well together. So pair up and one of you needs to come up and grab a packet." She ignored us the rest of the period, going over the attendance and reading transcripts.
"Alec, will you partner up with me?" He shoved the packet in front of me. When had he got it?
"My brother would kill me if I didn't, you know that." We laughed and he opened it up to the first page. Murder Mystery sat at the top of the page.
Your group is stuck in a haunted house. When you are about to leave, the door slams in front of you and won't open. In the confusion you notice a little girl staring at you. She mouths 'help' then disappears in front of your eyes. What happened to her and how? This must be five pages, present or past tense. Be creative and show me what you can accomplish in a week.
Alec drummed his fingers on the desk and sighed. "Sounds more like a ghost story. We can still make this creepy as hell though. What if she was possessed and killed her entire family. Then, while she hid in depression, was murdered by a neighbor who thought she was still possessed? Demons and ghost together, awesome right?" He sounded like Jon.
"Jon would say the same thing. I like that though. Let's do it."
Alec pushed my shoulder. "Well, he's rubbed off on me."
We sat at our table working on our story with ear buds in until the bell rang. I grabbed my bag and followed Alec to the dining hall. The smell of Sloppy Joe's filled my nostrils and I couldn't help but get one.
"You sure your small body can handle two of those things?" I recognized the voice and turned my head.
"I'm pretty sure I can." Lance raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He really needed to not underestimate me. "So did I surprise you this morning?"
He sat his drink on the counter and grabbed a straw. "Yeah, it was Vipers idea. I was thinking of much worse for you." At least he was honest.
"Oh okay. See you around then." He fiddled with the cups top while I left him in the dust. When I got to the table Jace looked at me like he was seeing a ghost. "Yes?" I sat down waiting for an answer.
"Why were you and Lance talking? It looked too civil." He crinkled his nose and stared at his food.
"Jace," I said unwilling to have him angry at me. "He just noticed how much food I got and commented. I've been surprising him all day. I don't like him. Jace, I love you. Now stop pouting and eat before I steal your food." He placed his hand over his food and pulled me towards him.
"I can't stay mad at you, can I?" I was snuggled and he stole fries in the process.
"Hey! That's my food!" I squealed. We carried on like that for a few minutes until he stuck a fry in my mouth. I really loved this boy.
-Two weeks later-
No Pranks or, well oddly, anything happened the next two weeks. Coach yelled at Jace and me in training for kissing when we reached the top of the ropes. At least we climbed them before we kissed.
"Clarissa! Jace! For the last time, stop kissing after you successfully do something!"
Jon glanced up and smirked, he accepted it without making an I'm-going-to-puke face. Alec on the other hand tried not to. He lowered his bow and turned away. Despite acting like a brother for two weeks, some things he still couldn't handle. He still rarely mentioned it but I could tell when he was. Last week we were finishing the last part of our writing assignment on gay marriage when he crinkled his nose.
"I have a question."
"Go for it," I had said, drinking from my Starbucks cup.
He took his hands of the keyboard and sighed. "Why do you two kiss when you finish something? It's become a thing."
"Because it's motivation to not focus on the weird things." I paused trying to find more whipped cream. "The seniors haven't done anything, especially after what Izzy and I did. Remember the squid ink water guns? Nothing happened, NOTHING." So I lied, we had done something to them when we were bored. They still hadn't done anything though. Catherine, Jace's friend, only shook her head and walked away. Later that day Jace called me.
"Can you come up? I have a movie on demand set up." He had sounded different.
"Yeah, be right up." I grabbed some popcorn and went up, unaware I was in for a speech. When he opened the door I saw a grave look on his face.
"Hey baby, come on in." We walked to his bed and I laid down.
"So, what are we watching?" He sat down and ran a hand through his hair.
"Clarissa, what did you do with Isabelle today? Catherine called me two hours ago, worried."
Um…" Whenever he used my full name I was in big trouble. "Nothing?"
He paced the room and tried to stay calm. "No, don't lie to me. What Did You Do? Catherine never calls me unless she knows something." I had about froze up, he meant it.
"Fine." I held up my hands in defeat. "Izzy decided to spray some senior girls with squid ink from our window using you guy's water guns. I was unwillingly involved even though I was bored. Your sister doesn't do anything good when bored."
"Wait! Squid ink? How the HELL would you get that shit? What was she, I mean what were y'all thinking? I couldn't even help you if they wanted to make sure learned Izzy lesson. That defies the bounds of civil pranks. Fuck! Look, I'm trying not to blame you. Izzy just fucked up any peace you might have gotten. I am used to her devious mind. Believe me, it took two hours to convince me to even use my pee in her pee-orade prank. Why? Just promise me you won't do something like that again. For my sake and yours. The safe period for freshmen is over in two months, don't do anything else stupid. I love you but your fiery personality makes me question how far you would go prank wise. Izzy has told me what you did in middle school." I blushed and tried to forget how bad the pranks got. "Clary, this is a competitive school. You know that. I don't want to lose you." He finally sat down and wrapped his arm around me. "Now what do you want to watch?" He opened Netflix on Jon's television, connected to their Xbox, and scrolled through all the chick flick movies Netflix had.
"Mean Girls good?" I laughed, he apologized through the sappiest gestures. It was adorable.
"Yes, yes it is." I snuggled into his chest and we sat there for a while relaxed. But that was last week. A part of me knew, at some point, they would get us back. That part spoke way too soon. I learned we had started something. We'd started a war, a vicious prank war.
Hey! So, I finished this chapter quicker than I thought I would. I loved your comments and am quite proud of this chapter. So, I inserted an freshman safety period to change it up and hint at Lances, "We can't prank you," thing. Any way, give me your reviews and comments and any suggestions.
Love y'all,
-A