HER

10

10
Clary's POV

Luke stands behind me, stretching my arms in uncomfortable angles, attempting to warm my arms up for me, "You got this," he tells me, yanking my left arm roughly towards the ceiling, "you just need to keep a clear head and stay focused. Don't let your opponent get under your skin and stay on your game." Luke tells me, switching arms, and I groan as my right arm gets yanked on.

"Don't tell her," I hear Alec say in a hushed whisper as he walks into the locker room, quickly followed by Jace, Magnus, and Isabelle.

"Clary! You look good." Isabelle tells me, trying to steer the conversation away from whatever Alec was whispering about just a second ago, "Don't tell me what?" I ask and Jace's face immediately looks guilty, his eyes shifting from Alec to Magnus, "What did you do?" I ask, addressing Jace, but he lifts his hands up in submission, "Nothing, it's just," he pauses, his eyebrows knitting like he really doesn't want to tell me something, "Well, your mom and brother are here." My lips clamp shut, and I swallow hard, feeling shitty all over again. I don't understand why they are here, I don't want them here, I don't want them to be a part of this, "They saw us in the crowd and ended up recognizing me so they sat down with us. They're with Seb, Simon, Maia, and Jordan."

My mind quickly shifts to a different issue, "Wait, you left Simon alone with Sebastian. He is a dick, why did you do that?"

"Come on, Simon is a big boy, he can handle himself." Jace responds, before running a hand through his hair, "Oh who am I kidding, no he can't. Maia and Jordan will make sure they play nice." He tells me, soothing my nerves on one issue.

"So," Magnus says, "do you want us to forcefully remove your mother and brother from the premises? Well, not us, I just got a manicure, Simon is weak, and Maia doesn't like confrontation, and Isabelle hates violence. So I guess that just leaves three able-bodied athletes. Anyways, I'm sure it'll get done if you want it to." I can't help but smile at Magnus, but that soon gets wiped out as Luke pops my back, releasing some of my tension.

"Boys, Isabelle," Luke says, looking over my shoulder at the group of teenagers, "Clary doesn't need any distractions, so either help me stretch her, or get out."

They inevitably make the decision to stay and help me stretch. Alec and Jace help me stay loose and attentive, as Magnus and Isabelle converse with me, trying to keep my mind clear, and it helps, but I can't help but think about my family in the stands.

I feel as if my mind is wiped though, as I walk up the stairs towards the main boxing ring. There seems to be a large crowd due to the noise radiating off the floor above us, but I am stunned when I actually reach the ring. There has to be about two hundred people flooding the seating sections. Even though that doesn't sound like much, I usually scrape by with about fifty per fight. This must be a serious one.

As the refs approach us, Isabelle, Magnus, and Jace are sent back to the stadium, while Alec and Luke stay with me in the corner of the ring. It's difficult to hear the refs opening words over the loud music and chatter, but I chalk it up to the basics: basically we can't fight dirty, no biting, no hair pulling, no choking, stuff along those lines. Luke walks off with the refs to meet the other instructor, and Alec and I remain in the corner. They seem to be doing their best to keep me away from my opponent; maybe they think we will try to kill each other before the fight.

My eyes scan the crowd, involuntarily looking for my mother and brother, and when I see them, I feel like puking. My mom is attempting to hold a conversation with Jace, who looks at her with narrowed eyes, while Jonathan engages brightly in a conversation with Sebastian. I hate that he has found a way to wiggle into my life, "Hey." Alec snaps his fingers in front of my face, pulling me out of my own thoughts.