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After Clary and the boys managed to clean the mess they had made and eventually said their goodbyes; while the boys decided to stay at Black's and possibly get some extra hours of sleep, Clary with Paul got their stuff and went straight to Clary's.
And so twenty minutes later they found themselves still sitting in Paul's car, with tears falling down their cheeks and their body shaking in laughter.
''You remember your tenth birthday?''Paul asked before he was hit by another wave of laughter. He was laughing so much his belly hurt and tears were rolling down his cheeks.
Clary rolled her eyes but chuckled nevertheless. ''You mean when I ate the whole cake myself and ended up puking it at Scott?" Scott Martin was the team captain of their school football team, baseball team and every other school team there ever was. He also used to be a crush of hers. But that was a long, long time ago. After that one particular birthday fiasco he never wanted to see her again nor came to any of her following birthday parties. And so that was the end of one sided love story.
At one point it seemed that Paul managed to calm himself but after they looked at each other he dissolved into a paddle of laughter again. Clary loved Paul's laughter; it was like ripples in a still pond after a stone has been thrown in. It radiated outwards through the car only to bounce off the metal frame of the vehicle and head back to the shape shifter and banshee. It reminded her of their so different yet so similar childhoods that they had spent together. It made her feel safe.
''Even though I do enjoy your company, I gotta go. I promised dad I'd be at home when he comes back with Bella. '' She went through her purse just to make sure she had everything needed, then leaned in to Paul and gave him a peck on the cheek. ''I'll text ya.''
Paul nodded eagerly and gave her thumbs up.
X X X
Later that day Clary found herself sitting on the sofa in the small living room not exactly relaxed. She kicked her legs onto the table, clicking the remote control to scan through the channels. Every single muscle in her body felt tight; like smiling wasn't an option anymore. Her usual calmness had been replaced by tangle of possible scenarios, each one more worrying than the last. On her fifth cycle through the channels she heard the unmistakable sound of her dad's car and so she turned the tv off and waited. Her heart was beating so fast she thought her chest was going to burst out, her palms were sweaty and so was her forehead.
The growling of the car engine stopped. She could hear footsteps and then the main doors of the house opened. Silence. More footsteps. And then more silence. Clary frowned, why weren't they talking?
And so she finally stood up and headed to the hall. Unsurprisingly there they were; standing in silence and avoiding each other's gaze like love-struck teenagers. Her dad stood closer to the stairs, in one hand he was clutching Bella's bag and the other one was scratching the behind of his neck which was one of his many antics he developed in stressful situations. It was apparent that he felt as discomfortable as his biological daughter who was standing close to the doors with the other suitcase resting against her legs. Her eyes were opened wide and her body was stiffened; she looked like a deer caught in headlights.
