A New Beginning

Chapter 1 Leaving

A/N: This takes place after City of Lost Souls and goes into the beginning of City of Heavenly Fire.

Clary's Point of View (It usually will be.)

This can NOT be happening! I peeked out the window again. Jace was still there, leaning against a tree. That would have been perfectly normal, except for the fact that he was kissing someone, someone that wasn't me.

She had brown tangled hair, to her shoulders, and her skin was dotted with freckles. Her head barely came up to Jace's shoulder. She was wearing a pair of baggy jean shorts that went down to her knees and a loose green t-shirt with a soccer ball on it. I was surprised that she was not more glamorous or astoundingly beautiful, if Jace was cheating on me for her.

I heard soft footsteps and I turned to see Isabelle. Please don't notice I'm crying. Please don't notice I'm crying. Please don't notice-

"Clary what are you still doing up? It's past midnight and - are you crying, Clary?" she asked me worriedly. Dang it!

"N-No," I stuttered.

She glanced out the window and I saw her eyes widen. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around me. After a minute or two, she told me, "Jace is an asshole. Forget about him and follow me."

We stood up, went to her room, and sat on the bed. I tried to stop crying and sniffling. Be strong Clary. She handed me a pad of paper and a pen. "Write a note to him. Make it hurt. Then pack your suitcase for somewhere far away." She went to her closet and filled a suitcase with dresses, skinny jeans, deep cut shirts, and heels. "And don't forget to pack anything that can be tracked. We want to be left alone, don't we?" She smiled evilly as she grabbed a few pieces of jewelry, too.

I nodded, not thinking about what she was saying. I decided to throw his words back in his face. Tears rolled down my cheeks and dripped on to the note. I put my pen down and steadied my voice.

"Hey Iz, how's this? 'I have learned my lesson. To love is to destroy. Thank you for ruining my life Jace Herondale. Not a lot of love, Clary'," I read aloud to Isabelle.

"Nice," she said with a laugh. "Now go pack."

I quickly walked to my room. With Isabelle's spare suitcase open on the bed, I started throwing in jeans, t-shirts, and anything that they could track. I didn't let any tears out as I packed Jace's ring on a necklace.

I zipped up the suitcase, grabbed my backpack full of my drawings and pencils, and walked back to Izzy's room. We started thinking about where we wanted to go.

"How about California? I've never been there," Isabelle suggested with a shrug.

I didn't know anyone outside of New York, so I hadn't been anywhere. "Okay. Is it nice there?" I asked.

"Very warm and the beach is really close! We could go hang out and not worry about anything!" Isabelle said, getting very excited for our trip.

I'd never been to a beach, either. This trip was going to be awesome! "Sounds great! But where will we stay?"

"Oh, there's always an institute somewhere. We'll find one close by, don't worry," Isabelle reassured me. "And there's a time change of like three hours, so it's only 9pm there."

I looked at the clock. It's midnight?! Geez, time flies when you're upset. "Let's go then!" I said with a smile.