Project Reunion

Chapter One

"At the plaza?" I lower my voice to ask Alec who nods, ignoring various looks from young women as he passes.
"The very same." I can't tell from the look he gives me whether or not he particularly likes that idea
"How on earth did they get the money to throw it at the plaza?"

"Jen's parents paid for it. Upper east siders." Alec rolls his eyes and a feeling i'm increasingly becoming used to settled in my stomach. How posh, upper east siders huh?
"And they're cool just buying me a room there?"

"Ugh," Alec stalls lifting the case as he dodges through cars and opens the back door of a silver jeep to place it inside. Isabelle is already settled in the passenger seat "here's the thing Clary, you aren't staying there. Family isn't anyway. We're staying at my parents." He smiles awkwardly and the crushing revelation that I'll be under the same roof as him nearly knocks me flat.

"But-"
"He's at Jens. They live there." Alec can't look at me anymore, despite not being able to stop a second ago. They live there. How nice.

Isabelle smashes the horn
"Fiiiiiiiive hoooours" she calls out the window and Alec holds the back door open for me "Shall we?"

***

I take a deep breath. I've been sitting infront of this mirror, with that same god damn invitation on the vanity infront of me for twenty full minutes.

I had taken my sweet time getting ready. Making sure my pastel pink summer dress was straight and my make-up, however natural it looked was perfect. Each piece of jewellery from my plain silver rings to my matching dangling earrings and bracelets put on with great care.

Still i felt incomplete. Like no matter what i did something would always be missing.

"Clary sweetheart," Maryse calls from the other end of the door, startling me "we tried to give you some time to settle in and get ready but I'm afraid we'll be late darling if we don't get a move on." Maryse, from what Isabelle had told me, was home more often now and much more pleasant to be around. Something that had happened after divorcing Robert just a few years before. To say she had given me a warm welcome on my arrival would be an understatement.

"Yes of course," i grab my clutch, tucking the envelope into it "coming."

It's a tight fit in the car, which won't be the case for the rest of them come the wedding as the wedding party obviously travelled in style. But i suppose her parents weren't that rich if we were taking Isabelles Mercedes-Benz.

The biggest shock i must say was Max, wedged between me and the door in the backseat the twenty year old, who looked so much like his big brother, was in a suit. His hair swept back into an dated but highly fashionable do. I nearly killed him when i got my hands on him and wept for the innocent boy he was. He was going to break some hearts if he hadn't already.

"Nervous?" He asks, steadying my fidgeting fingers which I'm sure he picked up from his brothers and i laugh, slipping his hand from mine.

"Easy tiger or I'll tell your brother." I wink at him playfully and he smirks looking down at his own fingers
"Which one?" He braves, his brown eyes meeting mine again.

The little shit.

"Not to worry anyway Clary. Blondes are my type." Maryse reaches over me and slaps him on the leg
"How many times must i tell you, stop flirting with everything that moves." She can't help but smile herself and Isabelle chuckles from the front seat.

"He can hardly help it mother, he was raised by two wild animals." She points out "Three." Maryse replies, eyeing her in the mirror with the same smile she had given her son. Isabelle doesn't even object to that.