So, as far as I know, the plagiarism is taken care of. I'm still a little wary and uncomfortable about the whole thing, but, as a few people have pointed out, it really isn't fair to get this far then say nevermind just because one person decided to be a despicable human being. (That might be a little too much, but I'm still a little touchy about it, if you can't tell).

Thank you to everyone who offered me support in this. And without distracting you any more, here's the next chapter-

School was cancelled for only a week before the administration was required to bring students back. The building was thoroughly inspected before being deemed inhabitual due to damage to the structural integrity. It was a lot of big words that could have been summed up simply by saying that the building was too dangerous to allow students to enter.

But life had to go on, even when it felt as though everything had come to a grinding halt.

Classes were held in an old school building, back from when our school had been even smaller than it was now. Some classes had to be held outside when weather permitted it in order to give kids some breathing room.

Things were tight, but we were promised that it was only temporary.

But none of it felt temporary.

You had to drive past the burnt shell of a school in order to get to the temporary one.

Even as repair crews swarmed the site, motivated by a hefty insurance from the state, it felt as though the building that I'd grown up in was gone permanently. The damaged parts were cleared out, the bones being built back up rather quickly.

God forbid the student body's education be halted while they were all still shocked to the core by what had happened.

I refused to go back the first day they held classes again. A lot of students had stayed home, I heard. Either their parents were wary about sending them back, or they weren't ready to see their classmates again when so much had changed.

But most of the student body was back a few days later. I still refused to return to the mediocrity of going to classes, of pretending that my life wasn't completely rocked on its foundations.

Jace quietly agreed with my parents that it could be good for me to get away from the hospital for a while. I had taken to sleeping there most nights, only going home to shower and get fresh clothes. "Jon would want you to live," Jace had whispered, a last shot at getting me to leave my brother's side to rejoin the properly living.

I had wanted to snap at him. I almost had. But then I had looked at my brother.

He was right. Jon wouldn't want me to hide away like this. I wasn't accomplishing anything by refusing to continue with my life until he woke up.

He would wake up whether I was there or not.

And, as much as it hurt to think, if he didn't wake up...well, nothing I did would be able to change that either.

I went home that night. I slept in my own bed. I showered and got dressed in the morning like nothing was wrong.

I still kept my eyes low when we passed the half-repaired school, my hands playing with my backpack to keep my attention fixed on anything but what I knew was right outside my window.

Jace was driving me to school and he kept his hand on my knee, a reassuring warmth that kept me from completely losing my conviction to pursue an education today.

Although it wasn't really about the education. It was about taking a step towards normalcy. It was a step towards refusing to let what Sebastian did ruin my life.

I lifted my chin up as Jace pulled carefully into a parking space. I took a deep breath, determined to show everyone that I wasn't broken by what had been done to me. Jace watched me carefully, his eyes more understanding than I deserved.

I looked back at him with a slight nod, my hand going to the door handle. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before slipping out of the car. He came around to my side as I pushed the door open. He leaned down to give me some support while I got my balance on the crutches.

He took my bag and slung it over his shoulder. I hobbled a couple steps from the car and he shut the door behind me before returning to my side. I grimaced at the slight breeze and caught Jace trying to hide a small smirk. I bumped him with the end of my crutch and he just gave me an innocent smile.

"Asshole," I muttered, even as I smiled myself.

Wind made me pretty nervous lately. With a cast on your leg, it's pretty much impossible to wear pants. I have exactly one pair of jeans that aren't skinny jeans.

Just getting skinny jeans over your ankles is hard. Imagine trying to get them over some bulky piece of plaster on top of your ankles. Yeah. It's very much not happening.

The cast had basically damned me to wearing only dresses for the five months the doctors were expecting my recovery to take.

Before, It had been a boot, not a cast. A boot, you could take off, pull some pants on, and put back on. A cast, well, that wasn't going anywhere.

Isabelle had gone out and bought me enough dresses to last me a year. I hadn't said anything at the time, but a majority of them wouldn't be touching my body.

Anything cut below my collarbones was abandoned to the back of my closet. Thankfully, she'd bought me enough to last me awhile that were cut stylishly up in a halter-neck. They didn't hide the scars left on my arms, or even the yellow marks that were the last of the worst of my bruises, but it hid the crude scar on my chest.

Jace hadn't said anything while he sat on my bed, watching me pick through my closet and pack away anything that I tried on and found didn't cover the ugly stitches. I had been able to tell, though, that he disapproved. He didn't think I should have to hide the scars.

But they weren't on his body. He didn't know how much it hurt to see them, for others to see them. They were a reminder of not only what Sebastian had put me through during the fire, but what he'd done to me before. So Jace could disapprove all he wanted, but he couldn't make me show everyone the worst of my damage.

He didn't try to make me show my scar, but he did find my wardrobe amusing considering I had snapped for days about how I would have no arms available when I was on crutches to hold my dresses down on a windy day.

This one was cut halfway to my knees and although the breeze wasn't bad, I was still convinced that I'd be having a Marilyn Monroe moment, only I wouldn't pull it off as well as she did.

I scowled half-heartedly at Jace as he fought a smirk, and he just chuckled under his breath. "Come on, love. Once you get inside, you won't have to worry about the dress."

"Bullshit," I muttered. "I'll still be wearing the damn thing."

He winked playfully. "Well, you could take it off. I wouldn't be too upset, but I think it may break dress code to walk around in your underwear."

I scoffed, shaking my head and trying hard not to laugh. "You're a pig."

"But I'm your pig," he sung.

I rolled my eyes. "That was corny."

"You love it," he said, dodging the crutch I swung his way as I balanced on my good foot.

"Oh, bite me," I laughed finally, beginning to move forward towards the front doors again.

I had never been in the old school building before, but a lot of my classmates' parents had gone to school here. I swore when I realized that this building was old. As in, built before handicapped entrances were a thing. I would have to be crutching up and down stairs all day.

There were only four steps to conquer to get up to the front doors, and I refused to let Jace carry me like he'd been doing at my house. "I hate this place already," I muttered, balancing my crutches below the first step and awkwardly lifting my shoulders up and swinging my good leg up, my bad one following. Jace stood behind me, ready to catch me if I stumbled.

It had happened the first time I tried to go up my stairs at home. The weight of the cast made things different than when it had just been a boot, and I'd misjudged and nearly fallen backwards. Jace had caught me and insisted on carrying me up the stairs.

"Please promise me you won't go up or down any stairs today without me," Jace said as I made my way to the top step and released a heavy breath. "That was painful to watch and I don't believe for a second that you can manage a full staircase without help."

I huffed, but agreed. I was tired as hell after just that little bit. I was willing to take some damage to my pride to avoid working up a sweat every time I changed classes.

We'd gotten to school earlier than we had to, so it was nearly empty when we stepped into the main hall.

I looked around at the old-timey tiled floors and brick walls, feeling as if I'd just stepped into an old movie. There were old-fashioned bulletin boards up and the doors all looked like they were definitely not crutch-friendly. I could easily see them weighing about a hundred pounds each.

When I expressed my concerns to Jace, he bit down on his lower lip hard to keep from laughing. "They don't weigh a hundred pounds," he assure me. After a moment, though, he couldn't seem to help himself. "Just ninety."

I laughed slightly, dropping my forehead against his shoulder. "As long as you're the one opening them for me, I don't care how much they weigh," I said, taking his lead as he began to walk down the hall towards the only open door.

Luke looked older than usual when we saw him. I could understand. We were like family to him. With everything going on with Jon, on top of being the principal and having to take care of school matters, I could practically feel the stress wafting off of him.

He hugged me tightly when I walked into the makeshift office they'd taken.

"I'm so glad to see you, Clary. I'm glad you're feeling strong enough for this already."

I nodded, hugging him back. My eyes were getting a bit misty, and I blinked rapidly for a moment. "Classes have changed quite a bit," Luke powered on, swallowing back his own emotion and offering me a smile. "Everyone in your grade has the same schedule. You'll be with Jace for all your classes, so I'm hoping the stairs aren't too much trouble. We don't have any way to avoid it, see? Most of the classrooms are upstairs, and apparently nobody cared about injured kids back when this place was built."

I nodded, chewing my lip as he handed me a schedule. It was simple, the bare minimum to be able to count the three weeks we were expected to be in this building as full days of school.

Luke gave me a bit more direction before sending us off. By then, I could hear kids talking and moving around in the halls. I took a steadying breath before following Jace out of the office.

He stayed right by my side as we slipped out into the student body.

People noticed me right away.

Some stared in shock, some looked away politely, some gave me sympathetic looks, but everybody whispered. I kept my chin up, refusing to let the weight of their judgement push on me.

Although I tried my best, the stares were getting to me by the time we entered our first class. I knew, realistically, that nobody knew what had happened in that building. Not really.

They knew that Jon and I had nearly died. They knew that Sebastian had attacked us, that he had set the fire. They knew that Sebastian's body had been found, burned to a crisp, in the building. They didn't know about the blood I could feel on my hands, the blood I felt lingering from what my brother had been forced to do for me. They didn't know about the scar on my chest, even though it felt as though everyone was staring at it.

Only Jace and my family knew about it, and I planned to keep it that way. But that didn't mean that I didn't know it was there myself.

I sat next to Jace in the small room. I pressed my fingers absently against the raised skin under my dress, looking around the room. Thankfully, this one was on the first floor. I could see trees outside, a grassy clearing that had once been a soccer field. The chairs and desks were old-fashioned, the kind that had a flimsy piece of wood connected to the chair, initials and crude words carved into it from years of abuse.

Jace's warm hand grasped mine gently, pulling my fingers away from where they'd been agitating my still-healing stitches. I'd had to go in a week after they'd first been done to get them taken out so fresh ones could be put back in.

The wound wasn't so puckered and black now, but it was still ugly.

Jace kissed my fingers before bringing our joined hands down to his desk, scooting his chair closer to mine. I gave him a half-smile and he returned a full reassuring one.

Kids had started to fill in. Some kids stared, but most carefully pretended that it wasn't odd that I was here, offering me a small wave or smile before taking their seats.

Izzy came in almost late, scowling at Jace and offering me a bright smile before going back to glaring at her brother. Jace raised a brow as she took the seat in front of me. "Have I offended you somehow?"

"You didn't drive me to school, and I forgot that I had to get a ride with Alec, and he left without me because I wasn't ready early enough, then I had to drive myself--"

"Poor, poor baby," Maia laughed as she took the seat beside Izzy. "How dare you be forced to live like a peon and drive your own car?"

I chuckled as Isabelle scowled and Maia flashed me a grin. "And how are you doing, babe?" she asked me. "It's been a while."

I liked how she phrased it. It was as if I hadn't been gone because I was sitting by my comatose brother in the hospital. She said it like I'd been on vacation or playing hooky, and it made me feel normal in the best possible way.

"I'm...okay," I settled. Maia smiled softly and nodded.

"That's good."

There was a hesitant pause. I knew she wanted to ask about what had happened, but I wasn't ready for that yet. So I just leaned into Jace, lifting my casted leg to show Maia. "They upgraded me," I said, forcing a playful pout.

Maia laughed. "Good luck with the stairs here. My god, I think the entire student body has trouble with them, and they've all got two good feet."

I grimaced. "Yeah. I'm definitely not looking forward to that."

Class began before I had to find another topic to change the conversation to. Surprisingly, our english class seemed to be mostly normal.

The day went slowly. By the time I got done talking to Magnus and Alec and all of the people who I hadn't seen since the fire, all I wanted was to go home and go to sleep. I was determined that I couldn't take a full day of it. I kept telling Jace that I wanted to go home at lunch. He agreed, although he admitted that he thought I was just putting off something I would have to eventually do anyway. I was adamant until the fourth class of the day. History, in room 213. Upstairs.

Jace and I stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up the twelve steps that would take us to the next level. Students flowed around us, making me unwilling to try the steps and risk falling back onto Jace in front of everyone.

I heard Jace sigh. "There's no way that's happening," he said with a head shake. He turned to me, golden eyes glinting. "Ready?"

"What-"

I yelped as I was suddenly lifted off my feet. Jace had bent down and lifted me up bridal style, one arm under my legs and the other under my back. He was careful to make sure he had my dress pinned under his arm so I wasn't flashing anyone. He gave me a moment to get over glaring at him before prompting me to gather my crutches so he could get us upstairs.

Other kids were laughing or grinning, or just rolling their eyes at us.

I couldn't help the genuine laughter that shook my body as Jace started up the stairs. I buried my head in his chest, my cheeks hot as everyone stared at us. "You're absolutely ridiculous. Everyone is staring," I laughed.

I felt his chest rumble with his light chuckle. "Good. They'll all see what a good guy I am and nobody will ever look at you with anything but envy for what an amazing boyfriend you have."

I laughed again, even as I processed the underlying meaning in his actions.

The rest of the day, people focused on the things Jace kept doing to 'prove that he was the best boyfriend in this tiny-ass school'. He would carry me down the hall, even when we didn't have to tackle the stairs, leave class halfway through to get me food from the makeshift cafeteria, and he never left my side.

I knew what he was doing, besides using it as an excuse to dote on me and instigate problems with the teachers. He was keeping the attention on his behavior instead of letting people watch me and wonder about the fire or my brother. He effectively managed to shut down the gossip about me and make it about him instead. And he kept my own attention focused on him instead of being nervous about facing my classmates again.

I stayed in school after lunch, my spirits lifted in a way I hadn't possibly expected.

Things certainly weren't the same as they had been before, but maybe they didn't have to be impossible to endure either.

I went to see Jon after school. I told him all about my day while Jace and I scratched at our math homework. And that night, I went home again and slept in my own bed. I went to school again the next day, and the day after that. I continued to go see my brother every day after school for two weeks.

Moving back into the big school wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be. It was a tough transition for everyone, and the students seemed to work together to make it easier on each other.

It was the kind of community support you only saw in movies. With everyone helping each other, it was hard not to feel positive about what the future could bring.

When two full months had passed since the fire, I began to notice the looks between doctors and nurses when they came to check on my brother. I caught the sympathetic glances they gave me, the whispering to my parents when they thought I couldn't hear.

Two months, they seemed to think, was a long time for someone to be in a coma.

I had to agree. But I didn't like the way they said it, as if they were hinting at something to my parents, suggesting something without just coming out and saying it.

I began to grow terrified that they were going to one day suggest he be moved into a different location, somewhere to be taken care of indefinitely. I knew that the day they suggested that was the day they lost hope that he would wake up.

Jon had grown pale, losing the tan he'd always had, even in the winter. He loved to be outside, and he'd be horrified to see how light his skin had gotten from his lack of sun. His hair had grown out a bit, but his face never seemed to lose its life. I always felt as though he would open his eyes and start laughing at my worry at any second.

I'd grown used to seeing him like this, to talking to him as if he was listening.

My parents went back to work only two weeks after the two month mark. They'd never been the emotional type, and I knew it was hard for them to see Jon like this. So I didn't give them a hard time when they told me that they'd taken a case in San Francisco.

I found it was easier to be on my own than to be around the parents that I barely knew. Maybe someday, I'd grow to be close with them, but right now, I was content with settling for the odd visit every now and then. It was easier to accept that I was perfectly fine on my own than it was to constantly feel as though I should be missing them, when the feeling wasn't even truly genuine.

I practically lived at Jace's house regardless of my newfound acceptance of independence. My house was rather lonely without Jon in it, and I preferred to be with Jace anyway.

I even brought CJ over to stay with the Lightwoods during the day, with Maryse's permission, so he didn't get too lonely.

CJ was as happy as ever with so many people to dote on him, and I was happy with Jace's family. They all treated me like I belonged with them, and it was something I wasn't even used to with my own family.

I still spent the nights at my house and brought CJ with me every night to keep my company. I felt as though spending the nights at Jace's house would be the final step in completely abandoning my house, and it felt like abandoning Jon too, so I always insisted on going home at night.

I'd fallen into a routine, and I found I was comfortable with it. Of course, I missed my brother, but I was feeling more secure in the knowledge that if he never woke up, I could still live my life.

I didn't have to abandon my life because my brother wasn't living his.

My therapist was proud of me. He said I'd come a long way since I first started seeing him. I told him that I was glad I had agreed to see him in the first place.

Sometimes, all I needed was a sounding board when I had something on my mind, and Dr. Goodman was good at listening and letting me come to my own conclusions. He was also good at giving me advice and offering helpful suggestions when I didn't know what to do.

I was using him as a listener on the day we were interrupted with a phone call. I was telling him about something Maia had said to me the other day, something about how different I was now than I had been before. I had decided that I was glad. It was a change for the better, and Dr. Goodman agreed. He was telling me that the change may be hard for others to understand, as they hadn't experienced things like I had, when my phone rang.

I pulled it out of my pocket only to make sure that it wasn't Jace. He would only call if there was something going on and he couldn't pick me up like he'd offered to.

But I nearly dropped the phone when I saw the hospital's number. "Oh god," I mumbled, fearing the worst. "Jon."

I picked up the call with shaking fingers. Dr. Goodman looked very concerned, his brows furrowed and mouth tight as he waited while I listened to the doctor who had called me.

When he was done, I didn't know what to do. I was frozen, my eyes wide and staring at the wall, my lips parted in shock. My whole body felt light and disconnected from my body. I couldn't even breathe as the doctor asked me if I was still there, if I was alright. But I could barely hear his words or see Dr. Goodman moving forward to put a hand on my shoulder. My life had just changed in the course of one phone call.

Jon was awake.

I'll just, ya know...leave that there. I'm sorry for ending it like that, but hey, at least it didn't go the other way!

I intend to post the next chapter within a week. I had the last two chapters written up, then decided that I didn't like them one bit, so I'm rewriting the second one right now. So much for posting them both at once, but I really didn't like how I'd written them once I started editing, and I'm much happier with the way it's wrapping up now.

-Cassidy