Chapter 1: A Deal

Gabriel Lightwood sat in the library of the Lightwood manor. He was studying for his final exams, since it was his last year at school, when the door opened and the maid came in to announce that there was a visitor waiting for him in the foyer. Gabriel was surprised since he wasn´t expecting any visitors. When he came in to the foyer he was even more surprised to find Cecily Herondale standing there. Cecily looked up when she heard him coming down the stairs. She had a neutral face expression which caused Gabriel to wonder what she could want.

Gabriel had a long history of mutual loathing with Cecily´s brother Will, ever since they were boys and Will had insulted Gabriel´s sister. Of course Cecily had nothing to do with that but she was a Herondale so Gabriel had always kept his distance from her and assumed she was like her brother. Cecily was also younger than him so he had nothing to do with her. He doubted they had ever had a conversation, and yet here she was in his family house´s foyer to speak with him. She was 2 years younger than him, but in her black skin-tight jeans, her blue top and her black leather jacket, she looked like she could be his age. Gabriel himself wore dark blue jeans and a black shirt.

"What do you want, Herondale?" he snarled and Cecily smirked.
" I need you to accompany me to my family´s Christmas party." She said it very matter-of-factly, as if they would go to parties together a lot.
Gabriel frowned. "And why would I do that? You do realise that I´m not exactly a family friend." Cecily nodded and answered in that same calm town of voice.
"I know. Which is exactly why I asked you. My family, especially Will have been inquiring about my love life lately." At the mention of Will´s name, Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I don´t have a boyfriend, but they refuse to believe that so they asked me to bring my boyfriend to our Christmas party. I could of course ask one of my friends, but that would be no fun at all." She smiled mischievously. Gabriel crossed his muscular arms over his chest and frowned.
"I guess it would be funny to see William´s reaction. But why would I do that? I´m not exactly fond of your family, so I´m not sure I´d want to spend a whole evening with them just to piss off your brother." He said.
"I propose a deal." Cecily said.
"A deal. What kind of deal?"
"I´ve talked to your brother and he has told me that you find your family´s Christmas parties incredibly boring. If you were to accompany me you could escape that. You don´t have to stay long either. My family already thinks you´re rude so you might as well leave early, and of course I´m willing to offer you a favour in return." Cecily explained.
Gabriel took his time considering this. "I do hate my father´s Christmas parties... What kind of favour are you offering?"
"Well, the most obvious favour would be to accompany you to a family gathering and to pretend to be your girlfriend." Cecily said.
"I guess you could accompany me to our New Years Eve party. My father has been asking about a girlfriend. Better I bring you than he tries to hook me up with someone... Fine. I go to your Christmas party; you come to my New Years Eve party. Deal?" Gabriel asked.
"Deal." Cecily said, smiling. She pulled a crumpled piece of Paper out of her pocket. "Your invitation. Wear something nice." She said as she walked to the door and let herself out. "See you there." She called over her shoulder. "Mmmh" Gabriel muttered, making his way back upstairs. What had he just agreed to?

AN: So I read Clockwork Princess, so I can now write tid fanfic as well. I hope you like it. If you do please leave a review. I might continue this but I don´t know when so it may take a while. Sorry ;) XOXO SillyGeekyMe

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Cassandra Clare.