Chapter song: Buzzcut Season- Lorde
I woke up to the sound of peace and quiet. I lived in the 5th basement floor of the white house. Of course, being daddy's little princess, I had Jace and Alec and Magnus and Simon as my body guards. I just wished that daddy wouldn't have been so stupid as to give his sixteen year old daughter, four beautiful men of the same age. Not that I would do anything to them of course. "Magnus," I hissed, sticking my head out the door.
The oriental twenty year old looked back at me from his position outside my door. He stood guard watching the hallways along with Alec. Jace and Simon patrolled the hallways, guns loaded. "Yes, Miss Morgenstern?" Magnus asks.
I smile and gesture him into my room. Right as the door closes he sits on the edge of the bed and slumps forward, kicking his up on the bed. "Maggie, it's just me, remember?" I ask.
He smiles. "Yes, but if anyone were to catch me looking informal on the job, I'd be screwed into next century." He tells me.
I laugh. "Mags, you know my dad listens to everything I say right? I could have gotten your job back for you." I tell him.
Magnus smiles, "Thanks Clare Bear. Now, what did you want me in here for?" He asks.
"I need an outfit for the trip to New York today." I tell him. I hated going out in public. It just made me upset and jealous. Yeah, I'm the President's daughter, but I don't have any freedom. Ironic right? Apparently, there are people who hate daddy, even though he's the best President we've ever had, and so dad told me that people would be lucky to catch his little "princess". So I'm not allowed out of the house without Jace, Simon, Alec, and Magnus surrounding me.
Magnus nods and gets to work, while I sit back on my elbows. There's a knock on my door and when I open it, I see the other three beautiful men standing behind the door. Simon is average height with lean arms and toned legs and a muscular chest and stomach area. He has brown curly hair and chocolate eyes. He's pale, with a few freckles dotting his arms.
Alec is lean all over, but he's almost awkwardly tall. His jet black hair and bright blue eyes set everything about him off, making him beautiful in a way you almost can't touch. He's like art in an art exhibit. Not that I've ever been to one.
Jace is another story. He's been with my dad since before we came to the white house. Jace was always quiet around my family. My dad loved him though, because Jace worked for him back on the farm in Kentucky. My dad would come home around two in the morning with the cold biting his cheeks and nose, and he would always talk about how hard Jace worked, and the jokes he cracked. Jace would occasionally sleep on our couch, but he had always been gone by the morning. He had gold hair, nothing less, nothing more. His eyes matched, almost the color of liquid gold or molten. His skin was bronze, and you had to wonder if he was part Columbian. I'd never spoken to him. I'd never talked to him, yet I trusted him with my life, because my daddy does.
I clear my throat. "Hello boys, can I help you?" I ask formally.
Jace averted his eyes, while the other two looked straight at me. "Just doing our job Mis-Clary." Alec corrected himself.
I smile at them as I pick up the clothes Magnus laid out. "Alright, well, I'll just be in the bathroom then." I say. When I get in, I quickly change my clothes. I pull on a fitted, almost skin tight, light red-brown tee shirt, and blue ripped skinny jeans. I put a black skinny belt around my waist, over my tee shirt, and slip on my black, studded, form fitting leather jacket. I straighten my hair so it lays pin straight down to my middle back, and I apply black eyeliner and mascara. I pull on my black, knee high boots and walk back out into my room. "Thanks, Mags." I tell him.
He smiles back, and him and Alec leave. I turn to the boys. "How are you two?" I ask.
Jace just nods, but Simon smiles, and twirls me around. "We're awesome Clare Bear. The perfect job, watching the most perfect little bitch." He teases.
I laugh easily. "Oh, Simon… So when does the plane leave?" I ask.
Jace checks his watch. "In an hour." He says curtly.
I raise an eyebrow at him. "How are you, Jace?" I ask. He only ever gives me short answers, averting his eyes almost every time ours meet.
He looks in my eyes for a solid five seconds, and then looks down and away from me. "I'm just doing my job Miss." He tells me.
I frown. "Are you afraid of me?" I tease him.
His head snaps up to mine, his eyes locking with mine. "I am most definitely not afraid of you." He tells me.
I raise my eyebrows. "Then why can't you look at me? Why have we never had a conversation before?" I ask him, a little harshly.
Jace just shakes his head. "I'm trying to be a good help for your father. He deserves it. If it weren't for him I most definitely wouldn't be here. I'm here strictly for business, and you need to respect that." He tells me.
Simon whistles low and long. "Wow, the sexual tension in this room can be cut with a bread knife." He says.
I point to the door. "Out!" I say, and Simon leaves. I turn to Jace. "You can go with him too, Jace. Oh, and I appreciate your honesty." I tell him.
He hesitates, then sighs and leaves, seeming frustrated and unsatisfied.
The plane ride lasts about an hour, and by eight thirty, we are landing. We get out of air force one, and my dad kisses my head, my brother hugging me, as they both leave to go to the south world trade center building for their meeting.
I sigh. They always head out without a word to me, and are gone for ridiculous hours. Beside and behind me stand my guards. I just wish I had a friend to talk to. I huff, and a cloud comes from my mouth and disappears. I rub my hands together against the freezing weather. I turn around, willing the tears in my eyes to go away. "Alright boys, lets hit the club." I say.
Magnus laughs, Simon snorts, and Alec even smirks. Jace just looks solemn. He's such an emotionless idiot. How does my dad like him? We all make our way to the club near the building of my dad's meeting. Along the way, a boy bumps my arm. He's got brown hair and green eyes. "Hey," He smiles, "I'm Jordan." He says. He looks up and down my body, shamelessly checking me out. "You are?" He asks.
Before he has time to make that sentence sound like a question, his body is thrown into the wall of the nearest building, and Jace is pinning him to it, twisting his arm around his back. "Jace!" I shriek.
He lets go of Jordan after shoving him away. He whirls on me, his face looking livid. "Jace!" I shriek again. "How could you? He was just talking to me!" I shout.
Jace's mouth twitches in anger. "He was checking you out!" he snarls.
I squint at him. "So?" I ask.
He just shakes his head. "That is not my job. I'm not going to let a guy hit on you and disrespect you like that." He says.
I scoff. "Well it's not your job to ruin my social life!" I yell. I notice Jace squinting up into the sky above me. His eyes suddenly widen. "Jace, are you even listening to- Jace!" I shriek as he hoists me into his arms and takes off running in the opposite direction. That's when I hear the boom, and the sirens and the screams. Alec and Magnus and Simon are behind us. I see the building where my dad's meeting was crumble down to nothing. I'm screaming hysterically, frozen tears streaming down my face. "No! Dad! Jon!" I shriek, my nose running, my eyes spilling every ounce of liquid in my body. I bury my face in Jace's warm neck. He's breathing hard and sniffling, and when I look up, I see him shedding tears also. "J-Jace?" I whisper.
He bites his trembling lip and turns down an ally. He shoves me in the corner between two buildings, and holds me tightly to his chest, his body caving around me in a protective shell. Magnus is hovering over me too, and Alec and Simon are keeping watch with trembling knees. "Jace," I whisper. I need to know why he's crying as much as I am.
He kisses my forehead, leaving his lips against it for a long while. "We're okay, Clare, you'll be okay too." He says. He strokes my hair as Magnus rubs my back.
Right before I drift off, I hear the boom of the North Twin Tower collapsing, and feel Jace tense, and hug me even tighter.