Chapter 1

A/N: Wow this is like my third account, don't know what I do wrong but ff keeps locking me out. Check out 'dianaameade' for my earliest stories, 'rosesforwriting' if you like that, and follow if you like this story. Probably won't continue with 'From the Mouth of a Corpse' because my two week twilight revival seems to have ended, and i have no inspiration left. Also this has been a tragic year, so my writing is angstier than ever. PS, this is probs awful and I really need a beta. Read and review, and enjoy.

This was so like home.

The rain, the grey emptiness in the clouds, the way a constant chill seemed to seep in through windows and settle in your bones. And Clary loved it. She had only been in New York for two weeks, but already the small apartment her mother was renting had been furnished with the duo's collective belongings; Clary had claimed the smallest room, but her wooden framed bed and framed photos almost swept away the musty smell and damp stained corners, and she had set up her desk the previous evening. Her mother's room was down the hall, and it held more art equipment than it did clothes. The empty house was starting to fill, starting to feel like home. The pair were good at that. The last place they had lived in was in Washington, so the rain didn't bother her, and she was glad to be somewhere with a little bit more noise.

Today Clary would be starting at another new school, for the fifth time since she was ten. Again she would be the new girl, the subject of all conversations for fifteen minutes before people realised she wasn't all that interesting and left her alone. She doubted anyone at her last school even noticed she had left. But that was okay.

Sitting upright in her bed, she kicked off her covers and sucked in a deep, calming breath as she swung her legs off of the bed and onto the floor. Her mom would knock on her door soon, telling her to get up and get going, offering her juice and toast before whisking out the door in a whirl of green waterproof and red hair, off to her job at a book store. And Clary would accept the juice, skip the toast and head off for school early so as to get her bearings in the new neighbourhood.

As if on cue, her mother knocked on the door, peering her head through and smiling at her daughter's position on the edge of her bed.

"Clary honey, time to get up! I've left you some money on the counter if you need it, but I've got to get off early! Luke wants me to open up."

Clary rolled her eyes playfully at her mother's excitement, and rose from her bed to kiss her mom on the cheek.

"Okay, I'll see you later tonight then?" She questioned, knowing full well that she was most likely going to be asleep by the time her mother got home, considering she started her second job at an all hours diner that evening. Her mom cupped her cheek, smiling sincerely, and replied-

"Hopefully, I'll call and let you know."

With that she turned and left the room, and Clary counted the seconds between her mother's departure and the slam of the door before making her way across the hall to the shower.

Half an hour later she was pulling on a rain coat, grabbing her keys and money from the counter and heading out the door. Her neighbour, an elderly black woman wearing a silky blue dressing gown who Clary was yet to be introduced to, was entering her apartment with her mail as Clary left, and she smiled politely before rushing down the stairs, and within seconds she was pushing open the heavy doors to her apartment building and heading out into the rain.

…

It took her just over twenty minutes to find the school and thankfully the grounds were still moderately empty. The hole in her sneakers had left her toes slightly damp, and Clary was ready to find a quiet corner of the library to hide in and warm up before school started. She was arriving a few weeks late into the school year, so she wanted to get to the office fast to pick up her timetable and, hopefully, map of the halls.

Even from the outside she could tell the school was big, and as she entered the building, shrugging off her wet coat, she was grateful to the sign that pointed her in the direction of the front desk. The halls were eerily quiet, the kind of quiet that you only find in schools when the pupils aren't around, and Clary put on her bravest face as she approached the middle aged woman that sat at the front desk.

The woman glanced up at her as she approached, and raised her eyebrows at seeing a student in so early.
"Hi, I'm Clary Fray. I thought I'd come in early to pick up my timetable."
The woman behind the desk gave her a blank look.

"I'm new?" Clary elaborated, and the woman laughed and began tapping on her keyboard.

"Oh of course! I wasn't sure why you were asking for a minute… let's see, Fray. Ah yes! Here we are, I'll just print that for you. You've got a map and a timetable here, and the name of your guide. You'll be in their homeroom, so you won't be alone."

Clary was glad the woman's chatter filled the empty halls, and waited patiently for her to get her papers. The thought of having a guide around the school made her anxious though; people in school liked to talk. They liked to ask questions, and Clary always felt bad when she couldn't answer.

The woman emerged from the back office, clutching a few pieces of paper and a locker key.

"There you go; your locker number and combo are on this post it, and if you need any help, just come find me!"

Clary smiled at the lady who had already turned back to her work, and stuffed her papers into her back pack as she walked along the corridor, not paying attention to where she was going. She kept her map clutched in hand and glanced at it for the first time, seeing that the hallway she had taken was leading to the library; lucky pick.

When she made it to the library she noticed it wasn't large, and there was no librarian, so she headed to the back corner and sat down, pulling her hair out of its ponytail so it could dry, and waited for the day to start.

…

She nearly missed homeroom. If the bell hadn't been loud enough to wake her, she would have slept right through it. Luckily it was, and in moments she was on her feet running out of the library, ignoring the startled glances of the people who had filed into the library as she slept.

She pulled the crumpled map from her pocket, and dragged her timetable from her bag, all whilst moving wildly through the throng of students. She was just adjusting her bag back onto her back when she collided with someone, being thrown away from them with so much force that she accidentally smacked into someone else before hitting the floor.

Pain oozed through her right shoulder and she groaned, scrambling to pick up her paper, when a loud voice rang out.

"Watch where you're fucking going next time!"

Clary felt sick to her stomach, and glanced up to lock eyes with a very tall boy, looming over her with angry, amber coloured eyes. She mumbled an apology, dragging herself to her feet, but next time she looked he was gone.

Trying her best to avoid the sniggers and stares of her classmates, Clary got her bearings and ran to her homeroom, entering just as the late bell rang out. The room was typical, full of single desks in uniform rows, and only around half were full. The teacher, an older man with white hair and a scowl looked up as she entered.

"Name." He grunted, and Clary replied in a small voice. He typed something into his laptop and grunted again. "New: Clarissa Fray, yes?"

Clary flinched slightly at her full name but nodded, and he typed something else in.

"Your guide is Isabelle- Isabelle Lightwood!" At this last sentence he raised his voice, and the class of fifteen students looked up, and Clary blushed hard. Up until now they hadn't noticed, but now she was on display like meat at the butcher's counter.

"Yes?" The reply forced Clary to look up, and she met eyes with a girl who could only be described as the most stunning junior in history; she had long dark hair that was loose, and pin straight. Her eyes were dark brown, but surrounded by smoky make up that made her gaze hard and imploring, and her pale skin reflect like fine porcelain.

"You'll be Miss Fray's guide, make her welcome."

Clary looked back to the girl nervously, expecting an eye roll or for her to laugh under her breath with the sneering Asian girl she sat beside. Instead, she just beamed a bright smile, and Clary felt some of her nausea dissipate.

"Cool! You can come sit over here with us, home room's over in a minute any way!"

Clary glanced at the teacher, who nodded, before making her way to sit beside Isabelle.

"Hey, I'm Isabelle but you can call me Izzy." She said the second Clary was situated, and leant over so she was talking only to Clary. "What was your name again?"

Clary smiled in spite of herself, wanting so badly to warm to this girl.

"Clary." She said quietly, and the girl grinned.

"Cla-ry." She tested. "That's so pretty!" She opened her mouth to say something else, but as she did the shrill bell rang out, and Clary jumped in her seat. Izzy laughed.

"Hey, don't worry about it. The damn thing scares everyone, but you get used to it."

She rose to her feet and Clary followed suit, once again pulling her timetable out of her pocket.

"See you later, Aline!" Isabelle shouted to the girl who was sat beside her, then turned back to Clary.

"Ooh, let's take a look." She said, plucking the paper from Clary's hands and leading the way from the room. Her dark eyes skimmed the page quickly, and Clary focused on following closely beside her through the halls so as not to bump anyone again. "Knew it, we have all the same classes. Usually that's how they choose your guide. We have English first, I'll introduce you to the teacher, she's super nice…"

And that's how her first few periods went. Clary followed Isabelle to each lesson and they would sit together. As they walked through the halls, and entered each room, Clary could tell Isabelle was popular from the way people would smile and wave, stop her in the hall to share gossip before running to class, or talking to her in class. But she stuck with Clary, and she was so grateful.

And for the first time, she asked no awkward questions of Clary. No 'where are you from,' or 'why did you move' kind of questions. Izzy was too fast pace for that.

As they entered English, it was 'have you read this before?', which lead to the pair having a long conversation about books- Clary's favourite was Wuthering Heights. Izzy's was The Bell Jar.

During their work in History she had asked Clary if her hair was naturally 'that colour'. She had laughed at the question, and surprised herself.

By lunch time Clary was feeling so at ease it almost felt as if it wasn't her first day, and felt bad for thinking Isabelle superficial when she was so lovely. But her good mood vanished when she entered the lunch hall and was confronted with the fact that she would be sitting alone again.

Isabelle was still chatting about how the front seats of Mr Wayland's class should be labelled as the splash zone, and didn't notice that Clary had stopped following her. When she did she turned around again, looking for her. Clary was still stood by the cafeteria door, arms wrapped around her small torso, looking lost. She caught Isabelle's eyes, and a surprised look crossed her freckled face. Izzy laughed.

"Hurry up, would you? Did you think I was going to leave you to sit by yourself?" She laughed. Clary grinned at that and sped to catch up. Isabelle linked their arms- which was a hard feat considering Clary was five foot nothing, and led her to their lunch table.

"I'll introduce you to the guys when they get here, some of them you'd of seen, but some are seniors so aren't in our classes. Oh! And you can meet my brother as well, I bet he'll like you."

Clary blushed hard, and watched as Izzy pulled a bag of lunch from her hand bag.

"How come you're so nice to me?" Clary blurted out. Isabelle looked startled, then laughed.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't be nice?" She responded, amused. Clary just shrugged.

"I don't know, you just don't seem like the type." She blanched. "Wait! That's not what I mean, oh this all came out wrong. I just mean I'm not exactly the most interesting…" She trailed off. Isabelle was laughing too hard to hear anything else anyway, and Clary decided to just laugh as well.

Two boys sat at the table whilst they were laughing, quickly followed by a girl and another boy.

"What's so funny?" The lanky ,brown haired boy with too big glasses asked first, looking from Clary to Isabelle with mild concern. "and who's this?" He finished.

Isabelle calmed down and wiped her eyes, and Clary tried to suppress the feeling of anxiety that was bubbling up within her at all of the new faces. Isabelle gulped down some water, then turned to her group.

"Everyone, this is Clary. She's new and in my homeroom, and she's super nice so be kind! And Clary, this is everyone." Isabelle gestured as she spoke.

"This is Maia," She pointed to the girl with the dark skin and braided hair, "that's Simon," She pointed to the boy with the glasses, "and that's my brother Alec, and his boyfriend Magnus." She pointed at the final two. Clary could easily tell which was which; Alec had the same high cheek bones as his sister, except his eyes were a sharp blue, as opposed to softer brown. And Magnus was a sight, with sharp featured defined by colourful make up, and eyes a hazy mix of brown and yellow. He grinned a cat's grin, and Clary smiled shyly back.

And after that everyone resumed their conversations. The boy with glasses, Simon asked her how she was liking the school so far, and they talked for the lunch period, Isabella and Maia arranging a mall trip and discussing what had already happened so far in the year.

It was about half way through lunch when two new people approached the table. One was a broad shouldered boy with curly brown hair, and as Clary glanced at him she noticed how attractive he was. He sat down beside Maia and swung his arm around her, and she kissed his cheek.

"What's up- hey, newbie! You bumped into me earlier- I'm Jordan." He was grinning widely, but Clary wanted the ground to swallow her up. "That's Jace, he's the dick that shouted at you."

With that comment Jordan turned to talk to Maia again, and Clay looked up to see 'Jace' standing beside Alec, a hard look on his face. The two boys were muttering to one another, and as she looked his hard eyes flicked to her. A jolt ran through her, and Clary was shocked by his looks. He was tall, with golden blond hair that shone despite the lack of sun. His eyes were a crazy amber colour, and his skin was tan and smooth. Clary itched to paint him, and wondered if everyone in New York was abnormally attractive, whilst she was a dwarf in human clothing. He noticed her watching, and his mouth turned up in a sneer.

"Maybe I wouldn't shout if the damn midget could watch where she was going." He said lowly, his voice melodious even when he was berating her. Her heart sank, and he turned to walk away. "I'm gonna go find Kaelie; see you at home." This parting phrase was aimed at Alec, and with a final glare he sauntered away from the table. Isabelle scoffed into her sandwich, and Clary gave her a curios look.

"I hate Kaelie. She is a grade-A bitch. Don't even mind him; that's Jace, my other brother. He's a senior and a total dick- don't let him get to you. So he shouted at you?" Isabelle asked. Clary nodded and explained the mornings situation. Everyone was listening, and she tried hard to not trip over her words.

"Yeah, and it wasn't her fault or anything, Jace is just having one of his days, you know?" Jordan added as she finished, and everyone nodded. Isabelle clapped her hands free of crumbs.

"Well, at least you won't get lost any more- just come find us whenever, you're welcome in our group." She said. Clary smiled softly, but in her heart she knew full well she would do her best not to depend on these people, no matter how nice.

The bell for class rang then, and the day went on. Before she knew it, Clary was waving good bye to Isabelle at the end of the day.

"Are you sure you don't need a ride?" Isabelle asked, as the pair walked to Isabelle's spot in the parking lot. Clary glanced behind Isabelle and saw Alec approaching. She shook her head; not only would it freak her out, but the thought of these nice, obviously rich people seeing her dumpy neighbourhood made her feel sick.

"No I'm good, I know the way now. I'll see you tomorrow." Isabelle smiled, turning to unlock her car and Clary began to walk away, but turned back as Izzy opened her door. "And Izzy?" She said. Isabelle looked up. "Thanks for everything today." She waved once more, and headed out of the gates before she could reply.

Clary ate cereal for dinner, did her homework and waited for her mother to come home. It was eleven when she gave up waiting, and clambered into bed instead, setting her alarm.

She only had one nightmare that night.

…..

The next week passed uneventfully, each day the same as before. On Tuesday Clary had tried to sit alone in the library at lunch, but fate intervened and Simon spotted her, and her excuse of her taking out a book led to her bag being one book heavier, Simon taking it upon himself to sit next to her at every lunch, and her position at Isabelle's lunch table cemented. She didn't try avoiding them again; and she didn't really want to.

It was Friday when things took a turn, as they always tended to do, because Friday was PhysEd day. Isabelle told her to bring a tank top and sports leggings, as that's what the teachers set for uniform, and what most other girls wore, but the thought of not being in her jeans and sweaters wasn't fun, and the thought of changing in a school locker room was even less fun. The last school she had been to didn't care much about gym class, and Clary had managed to avoid going to all of them. But she had made the mistake of making friends, and so after lunch on Friday Isabelle and Maia accompanied Clary from the cafeteria, to her locker, to the locker room. She could feel anxiety building up, and she wasn't paying attention to the two girls' conversation. As they pushed through the doors, she panicked.

"I'm gonna change in the bathroom…" Clary blurted out, and laughed breathily at the strange look Maia and Izzy gave her. "I'm a bit… shy! Yeah, I'm kind of shy so, I'll meet you in there."

The two girls nodded, smiling and heading over to get lockers, promising to save Clary one, and Clary ran into a stall, locking the door. She changed as quickly as she could, pulling on leggings and a sports bra and a tank top. But before she unlocked the stall, she pushed her arms into a hoodie from her bag and zipped it up. Breathing a sigh of relief, she exited the stall and located Maia and Izzy, grinning and stuffing her bag into a locker. Her two friends were tying their hair up, and Isabelle dragged Clary over to braid her hair before the three of them entered the gym.

The teacher hadn't arrived yet, but someone had put up the volleyball nets and people were already playing.

"Ooh, Simon and Eric have their own net, lets hang with them so we can group together!" Isabelle said, and Clary followed her.

"Hey, Izzy!" Simon greeted as they approached. "And hi, Clary." He added, his warm eyes meeting her own. She blushed and said hello, and all of a sudden a ball came her way. She spun to face the boy beside Simon, Eric, who thought it would be funny to throw it at the newbie, and caught it before it hit her face.

"Whoops." Eric laughed, and Simon whacked him in the shoulder.

"To me Clary!" Isabelle yelled from about two feet away from her, and Clary obliged. Izzy then threw it to Maia, who had been busy laughing at a blonde girl who had been hit in the head, and she herself got hit square in the face. Everyone doubled over laughing at her expressions, but she grinned and just threw it back to Clary.

She wasn't terrible at sports, she wasn't great either, but throwing the ball to each other and laughing when someone got caught off guard was fun. And she was enjoying gym class, a thought which she grinned at.

And then it all went wrong.

A whistle rang out, and everyone on the hall turned to see the gym teacher enter the hall. The students in the gym walked over to her, dropping the volleyballs and waiting for instruction.

"Okay guys, teams of six, same rules as last week, lets tournament. Maia, could you grab an extra net of balls? And Cat, could you grab me my role sheet, its over there." The teacher had seemed nice enough, her voice loud but clear and friendly. Then.

"Oh, you?" She pointed a finger at Clary. "I'm guessing you're new; no hoodies please, against regulations. Take it off." Clary blanched.

"Crap, forgot that rule, sorry Clary I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Isabelle reprimanded herself. The teacher watched Clary, an eyebrow raised.

"C'mon, girl, take it off! Don't be rude, it's hot enough in here anyway." The teacher continued, her hands on her hips. Clary wet her lips with her tongue.

"I… I can't." She whispered, her throat dry. The teacher didn't hear, but her peers did, and some laughed. A blonde girl, who was wearing tight shorts and a bright blue tank top sneered.

"Oh, don't tell me. Secret cutter. Great, now we all get to have the Lifetime lecture on anti-bullying again." The blonde scoffed, and all of a sudden laughter erupted around her. She couldn't breathe; Clary looked around, at people's laughing faces, at Izzy's worried glance, at the teacher's glare.

And she ran.

Pushing past the people beside her she took off out of the gym, exiting the building and being hit in the face by cool autumn air. Her face was so hot she knew it must be burning red, and she felt so humiliated she couldn't breathe. She kept running; she was behind, and she was close to the bleachers now. Slowing down she entered the underneath of the bleachers, breathing heavy, trying to slow her heart beat.

"What is your issue, midget?"

Clary gasped and turned around, hair flying, coming face to face with Jace. She hadn't seen him all week, and after the snide comment at lunch on her first day she was glad. But here he was, under the bleachers, smoking and glaring at her with a scrutiny she didn't understand. He had on the same type of dark jeans, a dark top, and a heavy jacket.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, placing her hands on her thighs, trying to calm herself. He took a long drag and blew it out, and Clary glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated back, a smirk playing at his lips. He looked her in the eye, tilting his head. "No, really Red. Whenever I see you around you have this miserable look on your face- what's with that?"

Clary scoffed. How dare he? He didn't even know her, and he was so rude, so condescending.

"C'mon… bad break up? Bullied? No, I know- daddy issues." Jace took another drag, his eyes dark. She snapped.

"You know what, Jace Lightwood, just shut up. Just shut the fuck up- you don't know me! Pull that stick out of your ass and leave me the hell alone, I've had enough with blonde bimbos for today."

She turned on her heel, fuming and ready to get anywhere away from her current situation, only to feel a hand on her arm spinning her back around. Jace's face was close to hers now, too close, and she could smell the acrid smoke on his breath. His hand was tight on her arm and she shook him off, and despite the fact that she had never been this close to someone this attractive before, all she wanted to do was smack him- especially when he blew a big breath of smoke in her face. She cursed, disgusted, and he laughed mirthlessly.

"I'm not the one coming running into someone else's spot, little red." He leant in so close she could see every vein in his eye, snaking like vines toward his golden irises. "And it's Herondale."

He stepped back and retreated to lean against the back of the bleachers. Clary's brows furrowed.

"What's 'Herondale'?" She asked stupidly, trying to mock him but her voice coming out feebly. He crushed his cigarette against the wall, and Clary flinched, before looking her in the eye.

"My last name."

Clary didn't understand, but she didn't have any more time to try to understand because as she was about to ask again and embarrass herself, the blonde who had dragged her in gym came running in.

"Jace! You will not even believe what's happened, so I was in gym right-" She turned and finally noticed Clary, who was glued to the spot. She let out an unrestrained laugh, and if Jace was confused he didn't let on- he had on the same mask of features as always.

"The cutter herself! Still got that hoodie on then; what is with you? Are you like, some emo freak or something? Everyone's looking for you, and I got yelled at by the teacher thanks to you so, great going, dumbass." Clary could feel herself getting paler, and then Jace made it worse.

"Cutter?" He asked, looking from Kaelie to Clary with a bored expression… and something else… Kaelie let out another mirthless snort.

"Yeah- our coach asked her to take off the hoodie like everyone else, and she just starts stuttering and ran off." She reached into Jace's back pocket, Clary feeling like being swallowed up by the ground, and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, lighting up and coughing with her first drag, her blue eyes watering. She glanced up and glared at Clary.

"What are you still doing here? Scram, carrot top."

With that, Clary turned and walked away.

The changing room was full when she got there, but in her mood she didn't even care anymore. It had been one of the most humiliating days, and people's stares weren't a bother compared to that. Maia poked Isabelle as Clary approached them, and Izzy ran up and hugged the small girl.

"Clary! I'm so glad you're okay, where'd you go? And, ew, no offence but you smell like smoke." Clary just laughed, so she couldn't cry, and sat down.

"I'm sorry guys. I am not good at dealing with public humiliation, it's just when that girl-"
"Kaelie." Isabelle interrupted with gritted teeth. Clary nodded.

"When she shouted and everyone laughed, I just froze." She looked at the two of them. Most of the room was empty by now, and Maia had a strange look on her face.

"Well, are you?" She asked bluntly.

"What?" Clary replied. Maia raised a brow.

"A cutter. Do you cut yourself- if you do, I mean, no judgement…" Clary shook her head.

"I don't self -harm, I swear." She replied, sincerely. Isabelle wrapped an arm round her.

"Are you sure? Because, if you did- and needed help- we're here for you. We're friends!" Clary looked into Izzy's brown eyes, and she could almost cry. Instead she wrapped her spindly arms around Isabelle and hugged her tight.

"I'm sure, I just don't like being put on the spot. Thank you guys. I've never really had friends like you before."

She bit her tongue as soon as she said it; she had never had friends. She wasn't meant to, it was too much. But she couldn't help herself. Isabelle grinned at that, and packed up her stuff. Maia just laughed.

"Yeah, believe me- you'll never have a friend quite like Izzy."

They all laughed, and Maia and Izzy left the room to rush to class and tell their teacher that Clary would be a bit late, and Clary changed in the empty room.

With her shirt off, Clary caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors- the long, thin scar running along her torso. The patches of pink, puckered flesh. She had scars, alright. And sometimes, she wished they were just self -inflicted.

…..

As the bell rang for the end of their final lesson, Isabelle was jumping.

"Okay, I have a plan- to celebrate your first week here, you can come to mine for a sleepover! My parents are never in, so it's cool, and we can watch films and have a chat and me and Maia can fill you in on all the school gossip. Oh! And we can order pizza- my treat!"

Clary looked sceptical. She wasn't the type to go anywhere except home, or to the bookstore her mom worked at. And again, the thought of taking Izzy to see her apartment when clearly it wasn't anything to write home about made her stomach twist.

"I don't know, Izzy…"

"Oh, pleaasseee!" She dragged out, pouting her full lips. Maia sniggered. "I'll even drive to yours to get your stuff, then drop you home tomorrow! C'mon, you had a bad day as well, it'll be fun!"

At this, Clary buckled. Never in her life had she been to a sleep over, and the fact that someone actually wanted her there enough that they were begging touched her. She smiled warmly.

"Okay! Okay, let me call my mom first though. One minute." Izzy and Maia high fived happily, and Clary moved to the side of the hallway to call her mom. She dialled once, with no answer. She tried again, no answer, and her heart picked up. Finally, on the third ring, her mother picked up.

"Clary!" Her mother greeted, and for a moment Clary was so flooded with relief she couldn't breathe. Her mom had been so busy recently, trying to work to keep them afloat, that the most Clary saw of her was five minutes- or less- in the morning. So it was nice to hear her cheerful.

"Hey mom, just calling to let you know I'll be staying at a friend's house tonight. My friend Izzy, she's really nice so…" She trailed off, and her mother squealed.

"Oh Clary honey, that's fine! Baby, I am so glad you've made friends so quickly, I'm so glad. Well, stay safe, call me in the morning. I guess I'll be gone when you get home, but I have tomorrow night off… so maybe we can do something."
Clary hadn't felt this light in a long time. She smiled.

"Of course! I'd love that, oh mom, I hope we stay here. This… this feels good." She could almost feel her mother's smile in return.

"Me too, baby. Me too."

Then they said their goodbyes, and Clary ran to meet Isabelle.

"Okay, let's do it." Izzy squealed. Maia groaned, and Clary just grinned.

They walked to Izzy's car, and Maia stopped to kiss Jordan goodbye.

"Shotgun!" She called as the other two approached Izzy's Mercedes sticking out her tongue. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Do you mind?" She asked Clary, and Clary shrugged.

"No, course not, thank you for the lift, by the way." She slipped into the back seat, taking in the plush interior and the fresh smell from the hanging freshener. She buckled up as Izzy replied.

"No worries! Maia already had loads of stuff at mine, so just direct me and run in and grab some spare clothes and a toothbrush, then we'll head to mine."

Clary took a deep breath.

"Uh, Izzy, about my addr-" She was cut off as Isabelle's phone rang, a loud, obnoxious noise. She picked it up and answered it.

"Hello? What's that… yeah, I knew… Well I assumed you could handle it yourself, you big baby!"

Clary zoned out at this point, not wanting to intrude on what sounded like a heated discussion, but Izzy didn't seem to mind.

Maia climbed into the car at some point and just ignored Izzy, popping open the glove box and rifling through the cd's. She held one up to Clary in questioning, and she nodded absently.

"Okay, fine. But you owe me. And also, I'm having the girls over, so you're riding back seat."

She huffed and hung up the phone, turning on the ignition as Maia slid in the cd, and riotous music began playing.

"What was that about?" Maia questioned, and Izzy flipped her hair moodily. But before she could reply, the back passenger door swung open, and climbing moodily into the car was none other than Jace. He glanced at Clary, the darkness in his amber eyes still there, before facing out the other window.

"Oh." Maia replied. "I get it."

Izzy started the car and they sped out of the school, and Isabelle adjusted her mirror.

"Which way, Clary?" She asked, and Clary took a quick moment to get over herself before reeling off her address. She could almost feel Jace's eyes on the back of her head as she looked at the head rest in front of her, but Izzy made no comment, just heading off in the right direction.

"Mind you don't get your tyres stolen, Iz." Jace piped up, and Clary shot him a glare.

"Shut the hell up Jace- no one asked you to talk." Isabelle shot, and they turned down Clary's street. Her face was burning involuntarily, and she told Isabelle to stop the car.

"I'll be one minute, honestly. Thanks Izzy." Isabelle turned around and shot her a grin, and Maia turned up the music.

Clary ran up to her apartment, quicker than she ever had before so as not to have her new friends waiting in the car with Jace making sarcastic comments about her.

She practically fell into her apartment, dropping her schoolbag and grabbing a bag, stuffing in spare clothes, pyjamas and her phone charger, grabbing her tooth brush and toiletries then running out of the door again, racing down the stairs after slamming the door. `

She rushed out of the apartment building and rushed back down the street to the waiting car, pulling open the door and throwing herself in. The music flowed around her, and the three looked startled, like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. She blinked, willing the blush in her cheeks to go down.

"That was quick." Isabelle said, but then Maia turned the music louder and the car started moving again, and they were on there way away from Clary's home and the uncomfortable silence that seemed to fill the small space.

Clary's first glimpse of Izzy's house was from down the street. That's how big it was, and as they pulled up the huge driveway and people began getting out, she realised why seeing her apartment building must have been jarring for them. They were rich kids.

Clary was last to climb out of the car she was so mesmerised by the house; she had never seen anything like it- it was big, that was certain, but it was also bold and beautiful, and surrounded on either side by graceful trees than swung in the wind.

"This house is amazing." She muttered, and Maia grinned.

"Wait til you see inside." She replied, following Izzy up the drive. Jace had already disappeared off to wherever- Clary made a mental note to ask about him later. Then she followed the two girls inside the house, and began her first visit to the largest house she had ever been in.

….

It was nearly one in the morning by the time Izzy and Maia dropped off to sleep. Straight after getting in, Izzy had given her a quick tour around the house- or some of it- then they had ordered pizza and done some homework and gossiped. Clary had never gossiped before, and she had nothing to contribute, but she laughed when she heard about some of the things normal high schoolers did, and acted outraged at appropriate times.

She didn't eat much, as usual, and Maia and Izzy pretended not to notice, and Clary did contribute to the gossip when they began bitching about Kaelie, happily letting her friends tell her how everyone felt bad after she left, and how the teacher won't bring it up as long as she promised to not wear a hoodie again.

"Long sleeve tops are fine she said- apparently hoodies just send the wrong message." Maia said over a mouthful of pizza.

And then they watched films; Clary had never seen a tv so big, and it was just in Izzy's room like a normal thing. Halfway through their third movie the two others began to fall asleep, the three of them spread out and tangled in blankets around Izzy's huge room. Clary could hear the snores of the other two, but before she could sleep she needed to get some water, and turn off the tv which was still blaring out Love Actually. Untangling herself Clary got up and exited the room heading down the stairs and along the corridor Izzy had shown her into the kitchen. A light was still on above the fridge, and Clary quickly searched through the cupboards until she found a cup, and she filled it with cold water, gulping it down quickly to get out of the kitchen fast. She finished, carefully washing up and drying the cup and putting it back up where it belonged. Then she left the kitchen, turning to go back to Izzy's room. Well, that was the plan until something grabbed her in the dark a hand over her mouth.

Clary started so hard her head banged against the wall, and in the night time darkness she could just about make out a face, with light hair and tawny eyes. And he was frantic, his eyes not hard or glaring, but wide and panicked. He began pushing up Clary's pyjama sleeve, and Clary protested the assault by trying to bat him away, but he had her pressed against a wall, and she was tiny and frail compared to him.

"Kaelie said something… said you cut… is it true?" He was still pushing at her sleeve, running a rough, warm hand along her exposed arms, and Clary gasped- she wasn't having this. "Because I couldn't… I mean, if I made you… not again…"

He wasn't making sense, and Clary was really scared. With one last thrust she pushed him away from her. She stumbled, as did he, and Clary realised he was drunk.

"I'm sorry." He said slowly, and in the dim light Clary could only just make out his figure. Clary wrapped her arms protectively over herself, and glared at him.

"Not that you'll care in the morning, but I'm not a cutter. And I would really appreciate it if, from now on, you stay as far away from me as possible." She said, shakily, but surprisingly firm. Jace just ran a hand through his hair.

"I see myself…" He muttered. "In.. in you…" He was slurring badly now, and Clary watched, horrified, as his eyelids drooped over and he dropped to the ground. He let out a quiet snore, then was silent.

Clary stepped over to him, deciding firmly that his nonsense was not her problem, and carried on up the stairs, switching off the tv in Izzy's room and settling down.

That night, the actors in her nightmares were people from school along with her usual demons, and instead of waking up screaming, she was dead to the world, trapped in her own head.