A tall beautiful women stood on Magnus's doorway with a graceful stance and long blonde hair like spun silver.

"What do you want Camille?" Magnus asked her. Clary could hear the anger in her friend's voice but also the pain. Clary hated Camille for what she had done to Magnus.

"I came to return this," Camille's smooth, silky voice replied.

"Thanks," Magnus said sarcastically. "But I'd rather have the last year of my life back." Despite his words Clary saw Magnus hold out his hand and take what it was she offered. Then Magnus slammed the door in her face.

"I'm proud of you!" Clary exclaimed as Magnus returned to sit with them. Despite the show of strength Magnus looked very drained. "I would have done more than slam the door on her though." Clary waited but Magnus didn't speak. "I might have kicked her. If you want I could track her down and kick her for you." Magnus laughed humorlessly then seconds later tears started to fall from his eyes. Clary was up out of her chair and hugging her friend before anyone else could blink.

"I wish I didn't care!" Magnus cried. "She cheated on me for months! Why can't I not care?"

"You are a caring person," Tessa said softly. "That isn't a bad thing."

"Yes it is," Magnus said. "It means I am always the one getting hurt." He pulled away from Clary and sat up with a sudden look of determination. "That's it! I am done dating."

"What about the boy you liked at the party?" Tessa asked.

"You mean the one with a girlfriend," Magnus said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "Oh yeah holding out hope for that one!" He scoffed. "Besides it would end the same why they all do, which is badly." Clary hated to see her friend just give up like this. She reached out to him but didn't know what she could do to help.

"Magnus," Clary said kindly. "You just need something to take your mind off that cheating bitch."

"I can't keep doing this," Magnus sighed.

Now Clary really didn't know what to say so she pulled Magnus into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. Tessa joined in the hug but Magnus didn't stop crying. He clung to them both until the tears eventually subsided.

Clary watched Magnus for the rest of the evening. He never let go of the necklace Camille had returned to him. Clary wanted to snatch the offending object from Magnus hands as if that could remove the horrid women from his heart as well.

Magnus didn't join in the conversation, but Clary tried to keep one going anyway with only minimal success. She had just decided to stay the night on her best friend's couch to make sure Magnus was okay when Tessa pulled her aside.

"Clary," Tessa said softly when they stood together down the hall and out of earshot. "I know what you are thinking."

"How-"

"I know you want to help," Tessa said. "But I will be here and I don't think he means what he said. Why don't you come back over tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Clary said. "I have never seen him like this before."

"You weren't here the day he found out about Camille and Ralf," Tessa reminded her and though Clary knew Tessa hadn't meant it like that, to Clary it felt like a slap in the face. Clary had been at home with her parents preparing for university while Magnus had his heart torn apart, again. She still felt bad for being so far away while her friend was hurting.

"You know I would have been here if I could," Clary said.

"I know," Tessa said. "I didn't mean to imply otherwise, I just meant you don't have to camp out on our couch to be there for your friend."

"Alright," Clary surrendered. "But you have to promise to text me if he spirals down into misery."

"I promise," Tessa said.

"Stop talking about me!" Magnus called from across the room.

"Who says we were talking about you?" Tessa called back easily. This was one of the things Clary liked about Tessa, though she valued truth above all else, she knew how to be evasive when necessary. Clary was really glad Magnus had a friend like Tessa.

The evening slowly died down. Simon and Clary were soon saying their goodbyes. Clary hugged Magnus twice before leaving with Simon to walk back to campus. It was dark outside now but the street lamps lit up the sidewalk and reflected off the cement. It must have rained, Clary thought as she stared down at the way the light glistened off the water trapped in the small pores of the cement.

"Do you think Magnus is going to be okay?" Simon asked as they walked.

"I hope so," Clary said worried. "I am glad Tessa is there."

Simon changed the topic to classes and Clary half listened while they finished walking. Clary had been friends with Simon throughout high school, though she hadn't known Simon for as long as she'd known Magnus. It had been just a few months ago when Simon had admitted he liked her and that had started their relationship. Although Clary hadn't really felt the same at the beginning, over time things changed. She knew Simon loved her and she desperately wanted to return his affections. Simon was an excellent boyfriend and he deserved to be happy and Clary was determined to make him happy.

When they reached Simon's dorm building he said goodbye with a quick kiss before agreeing to meet her tomorrow so they could wto class together.

"I was going to go see Magnus before class," Clary said. "How about I just meet you in class?"

"Depriving me of your company are you?" Simon teased. She laughed and kissed him again before they headed off in different directions.

Clary had just met her roommate yesterday but wasn't quite sure what to make of her. Clary's dorm mate kept to herself but sometimes Clary got a weird feeling when the woman looked at her.

When Clary opened the dorm room she found her sitting on her bed with her laptop open in her lap. Clary said hi then turned to her side of the room without expecting an answer.

"My brother says I should make friends," the women said suddenly looking up from her laptop. "He says we can't just spend the whole year only talking to each other."

"He is probably right," Clary said, taken aback. "Though I can't talk 'cause the only people at this school I know are my boyfriend and my best friend."

"Oh," she said. "Are those two different people or is your boyfriend also your best friend?" Clary laughed at the idea of Magnus being her boyfriend.

"No," Clary said. "They are definitely two different people."

"Well my people and your people should hang out sometimes. Then we can officially say we each know more than two people are this school."

"I'd like that," Clary said.

"Great!"

The woman gave her that look again and Clary wasn't sure what to make of it. Clary wished she could remember the woman's name. She was fairly sure it wasn't a bad look and since the lines of communication were now open…

"What, I mean why," Clary stopped to think then rephrased. "When you look at me I can't figure out the expression on your face and I just want to make sure I haven't offended you or… something."

"Oh sorry," she said and to Clary's surprise she blushed slightly. "I misjudged you earlier. You are actually kinda hot."

"What?" Clary asked shaking her head as if to clear her ears. She must have heard wrong.

"Sorry," she said. "Maybe I should explain. I like girls." With a wicked grin on her face she added. "Well I like girls too."

"So…" Clary tried again. "All those looks… you were… checking me out?"

"Yeah I was," she said. "Sorry. You're attractive. It's hard not to notice."

"Well," Clary said. "That makes sense." The woman smiled with a slightly awkward laugh. Clary had never been looked at like that by anyone other than Simon. She wasn't surprised she hadn't recognized it.

"Again sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," Clary said. "That explanation just didn't occur to me."

"I'll stop, promise," she said, with her hands in the air as if in surrender. She looked a little worried or maybe guilty which made Clary feel bad.

"No really it's okay," Clary said. "It's not like I am worried you are going to jump me or anything… I mean my best friend is also bi so..." Clary took a deep breath. "Let's try this again shall we? Hi, I'm Clary."

"Hi, I'm Helen."

"It's nice to meet you, Helen," Clary said.

"Right back at you," Helen smiled and Clary made a mental note to not forget her name again. This was a promising start to a friendship Clary desperately needed. After all, success at university required a network of study buddies. Clary made a mental note to never walk around her dorm in her underwear as she got ready for bed. Helen was rather beautiful, even Clary knew that. She had light blonde, almost pale gold hair that fell in ringlets down to her shoulders. She was very slim but not in a way that gave off an impression of weakness.

The next morning Clary checked in on Magnus who seemed either better or at least hiding his pain more effectively. Clary guessed the latter but she was now late for class. Promising herself to return again after class, Clary quickly headed back to campus. Her heart pounding from the exercise Clary ducked into class just as the teacher started talking. Simon had saved her a seat.

Once she was settled in her seat and her heart rate had returned to normal, Clary found herself yawning. She didn't like mandatory classes. She preferred the ones where she got to paint or learn something she was interested in and Introduction to Humanities fit neither criteria. To try and dispel her boredom Clary texted Magnus but he didn't answer. Hopefully he was in class and not sulking at home. With nothing to amuse herself with, Clary turned to look around the room. She recognized no one. She hadn't dragged Simon across the country but she had dragged him far enough away that all the kids she had gone to highschool with weren't here. At least she had a potential friend in Helen.

Clary sighed and was just about to turn back to face the teacher when two blonde boys caught her attention. Neither were looking at her when she spotted them but the one closest to her turned as if he could sense her gaze on him. He looked back at her. She stared into his golden eyes for only a moment before Simon touched her on the shoulder. Simon asked what was wrong in a whisper since the teacher was still giving his lecture. Clary just smiled at him reassuringly and turned her body back to face forward.

By the time class ended Clary had quite forgotten the whole incident, but it seemed Simon hadn't. He asked her about why she was distracted as soon as they exited class. She said it was nothing but she couldn't help still looking through the crowd for those gold eyes.

"If it was nothing you wouldn't be searching." Simon reminded her. "What are you looking for?" Clary let out the breath she was holding. What was she doing?

"It's nothing," Clary said forcing herself to stop searching. "I just couldn't focus in class." She intertwined her arm with his and they walked together down the wide halls to the cafeteria for lunch.

Simon and Clary were sitting on cold metal chairs and almost finished eating their fries and burgers when the blonde boy she had made eye contact with in class came over to them. The other blonde stood a few steps back as the boy approached their table.

"Hello," the boy said with a great deal more confidence then Clary thought could possibly be put into one word.

"Uh hi?" Clary said uncertainly.

"You were looking at me in class," the boy said.

"I was looking at the clock," Clary answered. She knew it was a pathetic lie but lying had never been a great skill of hers.

"Unless my eyes can tell the time," the boy said suavely. "You were looking at me." Those golden eyes seemed to pierce right into her soul as he gazed at her. Clary couldn't deny this guy was stunning. The muscles on his arms in particular caught her eye. She pulled her eyes back to look at his face and decided his hair would be her excuse.

"You and your friend have very blonde hair," Clary said. "It's rather blinding."

"Like the sun," the boy sneered. Clary could tell Simon was getting uncomfortable and suddenly felt very guilty for checking out a random guy with her boyfriend right beside her.

"Please go away," Clary said.

"Not until you tell me why you were staring?"

"Like I said, very blonde. It caught my eye but now that I know how how annoying the person attached to that hair is I am over it."

"Too bad," the boy said as he turned. "Your loss." He smiled again and it nearly took her breath away. No one should be allowed to be that attractive. The golden boy went to join what could only be his twin and Clary watched as the two boys swaggered out of the cafeteria.

"Rude," Clary said.

"So blondes huh?" Simon teased and though he seemed fine Clary knew him well enough to hear the anxiety in his voice. "Are you telling me I need to dye my hair?" Clary hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Don't be stupid," Clary said. "Those two look exactly alike it would make anyone do a double take." This was true which made an excellent thing to tell Simon but Clary couldn't help but think about how different those two boys were. Their eyes were their most visually distinguishable feature. However, the boy with the green eyes had a look on his face that made his beautiful features seem sour and though the boy with golden eyes still had an arrogant look on his face, it was softer somehow.

"I am going to Magnus's," Clary told Simon as they threw away the wrappers from their lunch and placed their plastic trays in the pile.

"I'll come too," Simon said. Clary had expected Simon to go hang out with his band friends. She didn't want to voice her worries that he was only coming because the hot blonde had made him jealous. So Clary watched Simon be bored out of his mind while Clary sat with Magnus and tried to convince him not to give up on loving anyone again. Her silly friend remained unconvinced.

"I have to get to class," Clary said looking Magnus right in the eye. "But I shall be back after and you better look happier!"

"You aren't my teacher," Magnus complained. "You can't give me homework."

"I am your best friend," Clary countered. "I can give you anything I want!" She grinned at him then kissed his forehead and dashed out of the apartment holding Simon's hand. Clary said goodbye to Simon as they reached her painting class. He smiled, kissed her cheek and left. Clary, hoping that was a sign he was over this blonde thing, went to sit at the back of the class. She was pleasantly surprised to see Helen in this class and quickly changed to sit beside her dorm mate.

"Hi!" Clary said with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Uh hi," Helen said smiling at her. "What's got you so excited?"

"Never mind," Clary said. She didn't want to admit seeing someone she knew is what had made her so excited. "I didn't know you were an art major."

"I'm not," Helen said. "But I like painting so I chose this as an elective."

Clary and Helen's conversation was cut short when the teacher started talking. She assigned a warm up activity of painting something unusual you noticed recently from memory. Clary put some yellow, orange and brown paint on her palette and started to mix skin tones.

"That's amazing!" Helen whispered as she leaned over to see what Clary was painting.

"Not really," Clary said. She turned to see what Helen was painting. "Wow, but I thought we were painting something we saw today?"

"I saw a fairy today," Helen said. "I was just on TV."

"The ears are so pointed," Clary said. "And I love the wings! They almost look see through."

"Thanks," Helen said. "Though I have to ask. Where did you see golden eyes today?"

"Oh a guy in my Intro to Humanities class this morning," Clary said.

"Nice!" Helen said. "Bet he was hot."

"Yeah he was," Clary said. "Though he seems jerkish."

"Doesn't mean we can't enjoy the view," Helen said.

"I have a feeling this guy is like looking at the sun," Clary said. "If you look too long you will burn your eyes." Clary felt very gratified when Helen laughed at her joke. The teacher addressed the class again and the two girls returned to their paintings. Clary enjoyed the easy silence that comes from two friends working side by side.

The rest of the week passed by quickly with regular visits to Magnus, classes, getting to know Helen and spending time with Simon. When Saturday morning rolled around Clary could be found on Magnus's couch watching his favourite movie, Dream for an Insomniac. It's basically about a woman who can't sleep until she spends the night with her true love. Clary didn't know why Magnus insisted on watching these kinds of movies when he had given up dating but she indulged her friend all the same. After his miserable week Magnus earned the right to pick whatever movie he wanted. And Clary knew deep down Magnus was a hopeless romantic. There was no way Magnus Bane would ever give up on love


Beta read by Holly 0114


So I had an idea of what to write here then it vanished from my head. Sigh. *Hits head on desk* Oh right! Okay so I just wanted to let you know that these sneak peaks are sometimes not exactly what is in the next chapter due to editing. Chapter 5 is currently only half written so if I cut a part of it out as a sneak peak and then I edit it later there are changes. Though in the case of the last sneak peak I purposely cut some stuff out to avoid major spoilers. ^_^

Oh and I wanted to tell you that the person who's point of view the chapter is will have their name in the chapter title. Hopefully this clears up any confusion.

And lastly I was having one of those 'the world is marvelous' moments the other day and wanted to share it with you.
Isn't is rather spectacular that I can be sitting here on a laptop in western Canada and uploading something I have written that is then viewed by people all other the world. People who have and will never meet me are reading something I wrote. That still totally blows me way! And the most amazing part is that the people who read it can tell me what they thing of it. Real time feedback is such a wonder. There was a time when even if you wrote a book and that book was read by millions you couldn't communicate with those millions. (I doubt Jane Austen got emails from her fans.) You couldn't know what they thought of your work. The only feedback you could get is if they bought the book or not.
Despite the fact I have grown up all my life with modern communication technology, it still is a marvel and a constant source of joy in my life.

I would really appreciate it if you left me a review! I answer ALL reviews with a PM messages if you are logged in and if you answer back I answer again. I check this site at least once a day though usually more often than that.


Sneak Peak of Chapter 5:

The problem was that Tessa couldn't figure out who she liked more. Jem was in his last year of classical music school and Will worked as a firemen. The two of them were so different and yet they were inseparable. They were brother's in all but blood for they looked nothing alike. Jem had brown hair with light streaks in it and his eyes were like Magnus's, the way they curved. Jem had told her once when she asked that his mother had been asian. Will on the other hand had pale skin and dark black hair. Where Jem's eyes were brown Will's were violet blue.

"Tessa!"

She turned and it was as if the universe had been listening to her thoughts. There with a smile on his face stood Will Herondale. Tessa breathed a sigh of relief that Jem was not with him.

"Hey Will," Tessa said as he approached her table.

"What are the chances of meeting you here?" Will said as he sat across from her.