Chapter 1: Bullies

CPOV

I scurried across the school grounds, my skinny leather jeans getting muddier as my Converses flicked up dirt from the grass. My hood was up and my flaming red hair was flying across my face due to the wind.

"Hey, Shrimp!"

I kept on walking. Sebastian, the school bully, was hunting me down again. Praying silently that he would leave me alone, I recalled the event earlier that day. My locker dial had been open – so, being the super intelligent person that I am, I open the locker and ketchup is squirted all over me. I didn't mind as such about the clothes, I owned the same ones for years as I had never grown over 5 foot and that was the excuse my dad kept to for not buying me any more. But no, it was the fact that Sebastian Verlac and Jace Herondale had caught it on camera. And broadcasted it. Online. Oh my god.

"Don't ignore me! There'll be a lot worse than the ketchup...um...'incident'..." I could practically hear his smirk and raise of one eyebrow. I had practised that, but it only made me look like I was swimming in fish slime. My reaction to it, of course. Not that I would be swimming in fish slime to raise a singular eyebrow. Nevermind. I'm occupied with my thoughts at the moment.

Suddenly, a firm hand grabs my wrist and my hood is pulled down, revealing my red curls cascading down my back. I look up expecting to meet the cold black eyes of Sebastian, but instead I see a pool of gold, glinting. I'm lost in them for a moment, until I stumble into a muscled chest. Immediately, I recognise the scent of mango – it was none other than Jace Herondale. Sebastian's second in command. Not that he was any less popular, but Sebastian was more notorious for violence, and Jace was infamous for verbal abuse.

"Aww, Clarissa. Can't resist my charm, can you?" Jace smirked. My face was probably the same colour as my hair. I groaned in irritation.

"Shut up," I retorted, defensively. It was a pretty rubbish reply, but my voice didn't waver like I thought it would.

Sebastian appeared behind Jace's shoulder. "Clarissa Morgenstern. Short, annoying, weak and a redhead. What will we do with her, Jace?"

"I've got some ideas..."

Instantly, I was hit with a memory of my father. He had said those exact words a few months ago. He was called Valentine, and his actions defied the meaning of his name. He regularly came home drunk, late into the night. My mother wasn't at home often. She would be on business trips for weeks at a time, sometimes even months. But he began to beat and abuse me a few years ago, every chance he got. Valentine (I didn't even refer to him as my dad anymore) punched and kicked me everywhere. My body was covered in bruises. My abdomen was basically black and blue, save the scars from where his hand had cracked on my skin so hard that it split.

It was only last year that my brother, Jonathan, started to join him. They took turns, and laughed about kicking me. Sometimes they even beat me simultaneously, knocking me out cold. They had knives that tattooed words onto my skin, like 'YOU ARE NOT WORTHY', 'STUPID WEAKLING' and 'NOBODY LOVES YOU'. Those were indelibly engraved onto my body.

When Valentine noticed that I had been cutting, he was furious.

"Clarissa! I can't believe you would ever do this to me! CUT! That's for WEAK people! Do you want everybody to know? If I see one more cut on your arm, I swear I will kill you! And to think that you're my daughter," Valentine spat, "I'm ashamed."

"So, what are we going to do with her, Father?" Jonathan said equally as coldly.

"I've got some ideas..."

Cutting was the only way to numb the pain, at least for a little while. Every day, I covered the scars up with concealer. Not even my best friends, Simon and Izzy knew.

What Valentine had done to me a few months ago was that he had split open all my wounds from cutting with a knife one night, making them bleed without stopping. He broke my wrist with such force of doing so, and the next day at school the nurse didn't believe my story of how I had simply tripped and fallen on my hand. I wasn't very convinced myself. But I wasn't going to let her know of all people. Even Simon and Izzy didn't.

But I couldn't hear those words without trembling in fear. I looked around wildly for something to bring my focus back, steer my thoughts clear of that night since it petrified me so much. But I couldn't. I could only see the knife in my head, my father's black eyes, like Sebastian's, and blood dripping.

Without even glancing at Jace or Sebastian, I cover my ears with my hands and screamed.

JPOV

Clary's small frame was crouched on the ground with her red hair concealing her face. Her strength was surprising as she wrenched her hand out of my grip to use it to cover her ears. But it wasn't that that shocked me. It was how she let out the most bloodcurdling scream I had ever heard, even in good horror films. The scream wasn't like one that warns you, but one that was filled with pain, hardship and alarm. Sebastian glanced at me with an unreadable expression.

Abruptly, I was shoved to my side toward Jonathan. Short brown curls brushed against my cheek quickly, and I recognised who it was. Simon Lewis.

"God, Jace, do you ever even think?" Simon exclaimed. There was a clear look of worry and fury in his eyes. Clary had stopped screaming.

"Hey, we didn't do anything that bad-" Sebastian began but was interrupted.

"YES, YOU DID! Do you not see her? Can you not see how Clary is barely surviving school anyway due to other kids, but to add an extra ton of bricks to her load is you two bullying her!"

Clary stared at the ground, swaying slight, uneasy on her feet. She grabbed Simon's arm. "Simon..."

"What? Are you okay? What was that abo-"

I saw a short red form rapidly stalking towards me. Unexpectedly, I noticed a thin fist swiftly coming towards my face. I hear the sickening crunch before I felt it. The blow was so hard I stumbled and fell down backwards. The pain was unbearable. I grabbed the end of my nose and swore loudly. Once I sat back up I saw Sebastian and Simon laughing so hard I thought that their faces might go as red as Clary's hair. Speaking of which, I saw a flash behind the nearby tree.

"By the angel, Jace," Sebastian managed to get out between the hysterics, "She punched you."

I still didn't have a full understanding of what had happened. Fist – nose – ow. By default, I thought it was Simon in revenge for hurting Clary. I felt a pang of guilt. What was behind that scream? That wasn't normal.

But wait. Sebastian said...she. Clary? Clary punched me? Oh god, he's never going to let me live this down.

"Clary. Punched. Me." I said.

"It seems as if you require the need to clarify it. Which, in case, I don't mind hearing again."

I looked up to see emerald green eyes that held confidence and...what?...hatred. Yeah, figured. She hates me like hell.

"Wasn't expecting it," I reply with an equal amount of hatred in my eyes.

"Well, nobody ever expects that from the weak redhead, do they? But apparently you and my fath-" Clary stopped, and dropped her gaze to the ground. I glared at her, for no reason.

"What do you say about band practice today, Simon?" Sebastian said, breaking the tense silence. Me, Sebastian, Simon, Alec and Jordan were in a band together, Cosmo Forte. "Alec says he has something important to tell us, and it's not good."

Simon sighed, clearly not wanting to be with us. "Sure," he retorted eventually. "Clary, I can drop you home if you wan-"

"No!" Clary angrily responded. With a whisper, she said, "Please. Anywhere but home."

"Umm...okay. Want to come with me to band practice?"

"Where is it?"

"Well..." Simon scratched the back of his neck and shifted his weight onto his left foot, "It's at Jace's house."

Her expression was enough to tell me that she did not want to go.