CPOV

6:30, I woke up, frustrated at my alarm clock for waking me up so early. I showered quickly, and tried to tame my untamable red curls. Honestly, it's not worth it if I don't have an hour or so to spare, so I ended up putting it in a high, messy ponytail. I looked in the mirror to give myself an once-over ; fiery red hair, large emerald eyes, and the usual jeans and t-shirt. My best friend Isabelle might kill me, but who cares? At least I would die comfortable.

I ran downstairs, where my mom was attempting to cook something. By the Angel, I swear my mother's cooking is almost as bad as Isabelle's- and Isabelle's cooking is notoriously known for giving food poisoning. I muttered something about being in a rush and grabbed a bagel to eat on the way.

I go onto the street, nodding my head to some music, sketchbook in hand, backpack on my shoulder.

There, waiting for me, making out with her boyfriend, Simon, was Izzy. I gagged.

" Go get a room, you two," I told them, announcing my presence.

Simon blushed furiously, and replied saying, "Well, good morning to you too, Clary."

Izzy, being Izzy, immediately started commenting on my outfit.

"Clary, really? Jeans and a t-shirt? Thank god you have a boyfriend, otherwise I'm pretty sure you would be single for the rest of your life."

I sighed. Typical Izzy. She was actually good looking, unlike me, with dark hair, and striking features.

But by then, she had moved on, and we were in her blue Ferrari, on our way to school. Yeah, Izzy's parent's had plenty of money. But I didn't hate her for it.

I was half-listening to Izzy chatter something about her adopted brother starting school with us, and half-listening to some country music Simon had blasted on the radio. I checked my phone, and I had a text from my boyfriend, Sebastian. My heart started thumping erratically. He had that effect of me. I was known as the total art nerd, unlike Seb, who was pretty much the most popular guy in the whole school.

I opened my phone and read:

heyy babe, u on ur way to skool? :)

I quickly replied saying,

yeah, izzy's giving me a ride to skool :) meet me in the courtyard?

My phone beeped a couple of seconds later, letting me know I had a text message.

sounds good, cya then :D

As soon as we reached St. Xavier', I thanked Izzy for giving me a ride, then hurried to go meet Sebastian.

He was waiting at the courtyard for me, reading a book, his dark hair in his face.

" Fray," he greeted me, leaning in for a kiss.

" Hey Seb," I replied, quickly touching my lips to his.

The bell rang, loud and annoying, and Seb and I grabbed hands and walked to our first class.

During homeroom, I was sitting next to Seb, our hands linked. Aline and her followers sent scowls my way. Aline was like the school's most popular girl, and also the school slut.

What she was wearing today? I mean, honestly what she was wearing barely qualified as cloth, let alone real clothes. Sebastian paid no attention to her, however, smiling at me instead. One of my favorite things about him was his smile. It reached his dark eyes, filling them with expression.

Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Hodge, usually let us fool around and do whatever, but today for some reason, he was trying to get us to calm down. When he finally did, he cleared his throat, like he was gonna make an announcement.

"Class, we have a new student today. Jace Lightwood."

Lightwood? That was Izzy's last name… Well she WAS telling me about her adoptive brother starting school today. And what was with that intro, Mr. Hodge? What is this, third grade?

My thoughts were interrupted by a guy walking into our class, who I assumed was Izzy's brother. My jaw dropped, because, well frankly, I didn't expect him to be so beautiful. He had golden eyes, golden hair, golden skin.

Basically, he was a golden boy. He smirked at the girls drooling over him like Labradors—what was with that anyways?

Obviously, he was a player. But when he saw me, he looked kinda as freaked out as I was feeling.

Because I swear I've seen him before.