Isabelle squealed excitedly.

"Ok. Jace, hurry up and get changed. Clary, hop in the shower. We only have an hour to make you look gorgeous." Isabelle skipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Clary sighed and turned around, about to head towards the bathroom. Before she could move, however, she felt somebody's arms snake around her waist and pull her close. Clary sighed and leaned back into Jace's warm chest. He leaned down and murmured into her ear

"I think you look gorgeous just as you are" he moved his lips to her neck, trailing kisses slowly down to her collarbone, then back up. She sighed contentedly, before turning and tangling her fingers into his hair.

"You only think that because I'm practically naked."

"You know me so well" He smirked, and grabbed her hips. "But I think every boy would think that if they saw you right now. In fact, I don't know if I should allow you to leave the house, looking as gorgeous as you do. It's really not fair on the male species." Then he pulled her even closer and kissed her hard. Possessively. And Clary didn't stop him. It took Isabelle banging on the door ten minutes later to get Clary to pull away from Jace and jump into the shower.

Once Clary was done she walked into Isabelle's room, and sat in the chair in front of the vanity table. Isabelle came up behind her, wielding a hairdryer and a brush in what could only be described as a very angry manner.

"30 minutes, Clary. 30 minutes. I've only got 30 minutes to work with all of this" Isabelle ranted, gesturing to Clary's tangled hair and sleep-deprived face. "30 minutes…" she mumbled to herself as she started to attempt to pull a brush through Clary's curls. "30 minutes."

30 minutes later Clary stared at herself in the mirror, gobsmacked. Her red curls were no longer frizzy, and dull, but hanging in perfect, shiny waves down to the middle of her back. With the help of dark eyeliner, eye shadow and lots of mascara, her green eyes looked huge, and bright. Her lips were full and pink, her skin smooth, and creamy. Her face was stunning, and radiant. But Izzy had used such natural-looking makeup that she still looked like her, and the makeup was almost invisible.

But it wasn't just her face that left Clary awestruck; it was her body as well. Isabelle had put her in dark skinny jeans, and a loose, light green top. The top brought out the colour of her eyes, and made her otherwise non-existent curves look almost….curvy, and the jeans made her legs look longer. It wasn't the first time that Isabelle had dressed her up, but it was the first time she had dressed her so casually, and yet made her feel so pretty. In fact, Clary thought that now she could stand next to Isabelle without feeling self-conscious. Yeah, Izzy had made her look that good.

Jace grabbed his backpack, some pens, and a notepad and walked out of his room, heading towards the entrance to the Institute. When he got off the elevator, he saw Clary and Isabelle standing and talking next to it. He grinned when he saw Clary, his automatic response to her, but the grin slid off of his face when she turned to look at him. She was beautiful. He always thought she looked beautiful, with her red curls, and her green eyes. Her tiny, delicate features and tiny, delicate body. The way she looked at random people on the street, as if challenging them to comment on her height, and the way she stood on her toes to kiss him, so that he wouldn't have to bend as far. She was beautiful. But right now, she was stunning. He walked quickly to her side and pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear "Now, I really don't think I can allow you to leave the institute looking this beautiful. I will have to kill every boy we meet, because he will looking at you and thinking very inappropriate thoughts about you. And I can't have anybody thinking inappropriate thoughts about my girlfriend, except for me." Clary giggled and Jace smiled, hearing her laugh. She opened her lips to respond, but before she could Isabelle tusked.

"save the dirty talk for the bedroom please, you two. I know she looks absolutely gorgeous Jace, but that is partly because of the clothes. So don't you dare undress her before we get to school." Clary blushed but Jace just grinned at Izzy.

"I'm not sure I can contain myself, Iz. You did a very good job. Anyway, who are we waiting for?"

"Just Alec, an- oh, there he is" Isabelle leaned around Jace to glare at her brother, Alec, who was shuffling slowly towards them. "Hurry up Alec, we only have 15 minutes before we have to pick up our timetables." Alec glared at the carpet.

"Stupid mundie school. Stupid sister. Stupid Jace. Stupid idea…" he muttered gloomily to himself.

"yes, yes, we get it. You hate the world. But guess what? Tough. We're going, and that's final. Now come along, we need to go." Isabelle reprimanded, ushering them out the door and into the cold streets of New York. Jace grabbed Clary's hand and smiled when she squeezed it gently. School. He thought. Now there's a new one.

The taxi dropped the four of them outside Tristan High School. It was a large school, with a number of big brick buildings and a huge gym. There was a big sports field next to the gym, and a concrete courtyard. It was just a block away from central Park, so the surrounding streets were pretty busy. And the actual school was busy. There were at least 600 students milling around outside the buildings, chatting and laughing, reading, listening to music and playing instruments. In fact, it was the perfect, stereotypical American high school. Now all they needed was the 'popular' sluts who 'ruled the school' to make a grand entrance, and everything would be perfect. Isabelle grabbed Clary's arm, the arm that wasn't attached to Jace, and squealed.

"Oh, Clary. This is so cool. We're going to have so much fun. Oh, an- hey, he's cute… and so is he…. And look at what she is wearing, gross…" Clary rolled her eyes at Jace as Isabelle rambled on about their surroundings. She was surprised to see Isabelle so excited, but even Jace was looking around in curiosity. Clary sighed. She was going to enjoy herself, if only for Isabelle and Jace.