Promises (The Mortal Instruments College AU)

Chapter Three: Walking Home

The walk to the library from Clary’s dorm was nice. The beginnings of fall had begun setting in; tree leaves were slowly changing colors and the air was chilly, but not super cold. Clary had always loved fall. It was just a pleasant time of year for her.

By the time she arrived, Jonathan was standing by the double doors of the building. He smiled at her as she approached. His pale white hair was swept off to one side, out of the way of his dark eyes. Clary couldn’t find one distinct color in them, at least not from that distance. There was something about them that felt comfortable, but she was still on edge around him. She couldn’t figure out why. He seemed like a straight forward, nice guy. Why be wary around someone like him and not someone like Jace?

In her head, she could compare and contrast the two easily. Jace was lean, tan, and had a sharp, paned face. He was the kind of guy that just screamed trouble. But his halo of golden hair, and the happy glint he has in his eyes, plus the slightly crooked smile he wears makes him look so angelic. Jonathan, on the other hand, was rather bulky, with broad shoulders and large muscles. His face was softer than Jace’s and he had an open feeling about him. Yet, there was some dangerous undertone to his sweet exterior that Clary couldn’t quite place.

“Sorry it took me so long. You didn’t have to wait out here,” she said. He only shrugged and opened the door for her.

“It’s no big deal,” he said with a casual grin.

They filed in and went straight to the upper level of the library. It was a beautiful view. They were up above most of the buildings around it, and a large window granted them a view of most of the campus. Jonathan and Clary sat down at a table and she pulled out a notebook. She had made a list of some of the important Renaissance artists that she had an interest in or thought impacted art in some way.

“I think that Raphael would be cool to write about, or maybe Michelangelo and his fresco paintings,” she suggested, tapping the top of her pen against her hand. Renaissance art wasn’t her favorite, but there were a lot of admirable pieces from that time.

“Let’s go with Michelangelo. I probably know more about him than Raphael.”

“Okay,” Clary said, flipping to a clean page in her notebook and began listing the things that they already knew about their artist, and what they found after some research. Lists were Clary’s second go to way to organize things. Whether it was her own thoughts or a project, if she couldn’t draw it out, she would list it.

As they worked, Clary found that she had a better view of Jonathan’s face. Thinking about it later made her blush, but she just kept staring at him. That was the artist in her. He had interesting features, and all of the colors were in wonderful contrast with one another. Now that she had a closer look, she found that his eyes were a dark brown, flecked with the slightest bits of lighter tints that glinted in the light. He looked up from the article he had been scrolling through, so Clary quickly returned to writing more of her list.

A few hours of work later, they had enough research to write their paper. Good progress, Clary thought, closing her journal and stuffing it into her bag. Both she and Jonathan were tired by that point; they were both yawning often. Her eyes were starting to get dry. They felt like parchment when she closed them, scratching against her eye lids. Clary checked her watch, only to discover it was 11 o’clock already.

“I’m gonna head out,” her partner said, rising from his seat and gathering up the few materials he had pulled out. “Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?” Jonathan asked. She shook her head, red curls bouncing into her face.

“No, I’ll be fine. I want to check out a book while I’m here anyways, and I don’t want to hold you back,” Clary said. She stood up as well, shoving her pen and notebook into her bag.