Hey, my fledglings! So... I know that I'm horrible and all because I haven't updated Rivals in forever but I'm going to be real... I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to finish it. Just because I had basically reached an ending point but then I got to thinking that I didn't want it to end yet so I decided to add some random drama and now I just have no idea where it's going. That's sort of why I haven't updated.

But anyway, this is a story that I had initially posted several years ago but I took down because I wanted to focus on the other stories I was working on. I just rediscovered it and figured I should try to put it back up. So, enjoy!

CLARY'S POV

Middle school is where friends are made. It's easy, the drama is small and the people are far nicer. After all, everybody's still young and growing. But high school is where all those tight-knit groups are broken apart. It's when the middle schools split up and when everything gets far more complicated. So people tend to try to stick with what they know but that gets a lot harder to do when everything you've ever known changes.

For Clary Fairchild and Simon Lewis that was when the school consolidation clause was finally put into action and later when it was finally finished just before the beginning of their junior year. The county had run out of money to fund two high schools so they decided to put the two together.

In middle school, Clary and Simon had been in a group of great friends. There was Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Jace Herondale, Maia Roberts, and Jordan Kyle. Now, Maia and Jordan had ended up going to the same high school as Clary and Simon but in the beginning of their freshman year, a rift had come between them all and eventually they just drifted apart into two small groups. They still saw Maia and Jordan around but they never spoke with each other anymore, just the occasional polite smile or nod of acknowledgment in the halls.

Izzy, Alec, Jace, and Magnus all went to the other high school. It only took the summer from 8th to 9th grade for Clary and Simon to lose most communication with them. Usually, they would all make plans to hang out with each other but that summer it was different. That summer it was almost like they all knew everything was changing and so everything did change.

Now Clary focused on her art and Simon focused on his music. They were still best friends, a relationship that had lasted as long as theirs wouldn't break easily. Simon had made a few new friends though, Eric, Matt, and Kirk. They were in a band together but Simon always put his relationship with Clary first.

But now that their junior year was about to start they didn't know what to think. Isabelle, Alec, Jace, and Magnus would be going to their school again. All her old friends would be right there and yet she stared down at her phone. Isabelle's Snapchat displayed on the screen in front of her. Clary's fingers itched to send her something, anything. She was saved from her indecisiveness though when a notification appeared at the top of her phone from Simon.

Si: You ready for tomorrow?

Clary left Snapchat to reply to her best friend. She was flat on her back in her bed. The covers flung all around her since she had been tossing and turning throughout the sleepless night.

Clary: No. Why else do you think I'm still awake at midnight?

Si: Me neither. We might not even run into any of them though and if we do we might not recognize them, or they might not recognize us.

Clary: As much as I'd love to believe that, it isn't very likely. We may not talk anymore but Izzy and I still have each other on all social media.

Si: And?

Clary: And... she's changed. She's not pretty anymore... she's drop-dead gorgeous.

Si: What about the others?

Clary: I've seen a couple pictures of them.
They've changed too.

Si: You know I always figured that at least you and Jace would've still kept in touch over all this time.
Ever since third grade you guys were best friends, there were even times when I thought he was going to replace me.

Clary shook her head at the message but figured Simon was pretty reasonable to have ever thought that. Her and Jace Herondale had once been like two peas in a pod. She had once told him everything and vice versa, now she couldn't even remember his birthday.

Clary: He could never have replaced you. But that's just what happens. People stop talking.
It's life.

Si: When was the last time we spoke to Maia or Jordan?

Clary: End of last year when we were signing yearbooks. I heard they started dating over the summer.

Si: Same.

There was a long pause where neither of them sent a message. Clary laid on her bed and stared at her clock, the minutes ticking by ever so slowly. The faint light outlining the numbers almost seemed to shake in the darkness. Her phone buzzed again.

Si: Do you think we've changed?

Clary: All I know is that you're still Simon and I'm still Clary.

Si: The one constant in our lives.

Clary: Ok we need to sleep.

Si: Says who?

Clary: Any and all doctors.
And me.
Good night Si.

Si: Good night Clare.
And may the gods be watching over us all tomorrow.

ISABELLE'S POV

"Alec, what are you doing?" Isabelle asked her brother as she entered their kitchen. It was almost midnight and tomorrow was their first day of school but Izzy had thought she heard a noise coming from downstairs so she got up to investigate. Sure enough, she had found her older brother awake.

Alec turned around from where he stood at the counter. There was bagel shoved into his mouth and he had a drink in his hand. He ripped half the bagel off so that he could actually chew and swallow before he responded. "I was hungry."

"Is this about the school consolidation?" Izzy asked knowing that her brother ate when he was anxious. "Or is it just about going back to school in general?"

Alec sighed, his shoulders dropping. "Both."

"You'll have me," Izzy said comfortingly and walked over to put a hand on his shoulder. "And Magnus. We'll be there."

"I just wish that Jace would be too..." Alec averted her eyes as he stared down at his shoeless feet.

"I know, but he made his choice a while ago. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Clary or Maia."

"Have you even talked to either of them in the past two years?"

"No," Isabelle admitted and looked down at her phone. She had seen some pictures they would post on social media and from the looks of it they weren't very good friends anymore, but clearly, Simon and Clary still were. "But that doesn't mean we can't become friends again."

"Izzy everything's different," Alec said as he started to dispose of his late night snack, a clear sign his nerves were going down but that didn't make Isabelle feel any better. She knew her brother well enough to know that now he was likely feeling depressed at the thought of his lost friends. "We don't even know them anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We should get some sleep." Alec put his hand on Isabelle's back and started guiding her to the stairs. "And by the Angel, we should pray that tomorrow goes smoothly."