Project Revenge

Chapter One

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

- Confucius

{Clary's POV}

You know the type of embarrassment you wear like a second skin? Where you're underneath and it sits on top, on full display and for a while it's all anyone sees when they look at you, all you can feel, like a sheet of lead around you, suffocating.
The kind that haunts you?

That, is what has me cooped up in my bedroom like a terrified child this sunny Saturday afternoon in June.

A faint knock sounded from outside my door before it opened and Jonathan, my older brother, popped his head in, his fingers curling around the door and his white hair messy.
"Done hiding yet?" He asks, the ghost of a smile on his face, I always had the feeling my brother never really liked William, or any of the Herondales for that matter which was something I never understood or questioned until now.

"I am not hiding." I informed him sternly but he only rolled his eyes, obviously not convinced in the slightest.

"Why is it you never liked Will?" He gives me a look, one that said 'Are you fucking serious?' But in the end didn't answer my question properly.
"I don't particularly like anyone who dates my sister," he picked at the wood of the door with his thumb nail, stepping into the room.

"Isabelle called." He pressed, his jaw shifted slightly, something you wouldn't notice if he wasn't your brother or it wasn't something you knew to look for when he spoke about his ex girlfriend, my bestfriend.

Every Time he got that look on his face my heart hurt for him a little, that's the thing about brothers, they're like dad's, they can be complete assholes at times but you can't help but have this fierce need to protect them and impress them all at once.

I pulled the covers over my face, groaning. Isabelle had somehow managed to make herself feel somewhat responsible for the public display that was me getting dumped the day before and had been calling me non stop.

"You should answer her," he continued, sounding bored now. Although I couldn't see his face anymore. "She'll just keep calling and we both know she isn't prepared to speak to me." I nodded even if he couldn't see me anymore either. "Yeah," I sighed, knowing he was right.

I heard the door click closed again and knew I was alone so slipped my phone out from under the pillow, unlocking the screen ignoring all the missed calls from

"Your fave"

Isabelle had chosen her contact name on my phone herself.

I rang her back and it only took about two rings for her to reach the phone which I knew she would have been watching like a hawk
"Clary! Oh my god okay, thank you for calling me back and again I'm so so SO-"

"Isabelle I was never mad at you and it's not your fault so stop saying sorry!" I stopped her before she went off on one about Will and how dreadfully sorry she was

She sighed loudly and I could hear some commotion in the background that sounded suspiciously like a yelling crowd of men, or boys...
"Isabelle is Alec arguing with your dad again or something?" I asked before she started speaking again

"Ugh..." She stalled, thinking of an excuse probably. Isabelle was dreadful at lying.

"No. Well yes! But not exactly." She admitted finally, accepting defeat. Even Isabelle knew she couldn't lie, and least of all to clary.
"When aren't they arguing about something?" She giggled with some force behind it, too much force for it to be natural.