Work Text:
Clary hadn't wanted to come to the party. She was perfectly content to stay in her dorm room, working on her drawings or studying for her chem test next week. But her roommate Helen wouldn't leave her be.
"C'mon," she'd pleaded. "Everyone will be there."
Clary didn't know who everyone was, and frankly, she didn't care.
"I bet you'll meet someone," Helen added, winking.
"I don't want to meet anyone," Clary protested.
"Yeah, right. That's the biggest lie I've ever heard," Helen snorted. "How many times have you watched Love, Actually in the past week?"
"Hey, there's no reason to shame me for enjoying an excellent movie," Clary grumbled. "Besides, it was Valentines day yesterday, and with you and Aline and every other couple canoodling and off doing god-knows what, what else was I supposed to do?"
"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. And I can't believe you just said canoodling. You seriously need to get out."
Clary rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really aren't going to take no for answer are you?"
"Nope!" Helen said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her off the bed. "Now go put on something sexy! I'll be waiting in the car."
-
The closest thing Clary had to sexy was her high-school graduation dress, that, thanks to her sudden annoying growth spurt, was now way too short and tight in all the wrong places. Her almost non-existent breasts were practically spilling out, and she was pretty sure it was in a way that they weren't supposed to. Helen had given her a once over when she'd entered the car, but she hadn't said anything other than "interesting choice." Clary'd immediately regretted her decision to come.
She glanced down self-consciously at her dress now, clutching her drink (non-alcoholic; despite Helen's insistence, she wouldn't get a fake ID or even drink at parties; she was always to nervous to risk it) in one hand and her phone in the other, ready to call Simon and make a break for it. Helen had disappeared with Aline and the two were probably off making out in a corner somewhere. Why had she even come?
She had just made the decision to turn around and leave when she saw her. She had black hair as dark as ebony and was wearing a dress that was even more revealing than Clary's, though it looked intentionally so. It hugged her curves perfectly. Clary felt her breath catch as her eyes trailed up her body to her warm brown eyes and perfectly made-up face. She was gorgeous. And she was staring directly at Clary.
Clary almost spilled her drink. Who is this girl? Who gave her the right to look like that, and why is she staring like that? And oh, god, is she coming over here?
She was. Clary watched in horror as her long legs skirted past drunk frat boys and couples sucking face and made her way over to the expanse of wall by the door by which Clary was currently standing. "Hi," she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth like music notes, soft and melodic. Impossibly sexy. Clary momentarily forgot how to speak.
"Um, h-hi," Clary stuttered, her cheeks flushing red. Jesus Christ, get it together.
"I'm Isabelle. I haven't seen you around before. Are you a friend of Nate's?"
Nate. Is that who's party they were at? She tried to clear the fog from her head. "Um. Friend of a friend's." Isabelle was staring at her lips. God, she needed to get out of here now.
"Most people here are," Isabelle chuckled. Clary had almost forgotten that she'd spoken. She'd been so distracted by Isabelle's lips.
"Um, actually, I was just about to leave," Clary said, anxious to get out of there before she kissed the pretty girl who was definitely not flirting with her and completely embarrassed herself.
Isabelle's eyes, which had moved from Clary's lips to her breasts, now shot back to her face. "So soon?" She asked, frowning. "You haven't even tried the salsa yet. It's delicious, trust me. I would know, I made it." She laughed. Was that....nerves Clary detected in her voice?
Oh, god. Definitely not flirting.
"Okay," Clary found herself saying, and before she knew what was happening, Isabelle was dragging her to the kitchen. She grabbed a chip and dipped it into a bowl of vibrantly red salsa, then held it up like she was going to place it in Clary's mouth. Clary obeyed and watched as Isabelle delicately placed the chip on her tounge, her fingers lingering on her lips. The tangy sweet flavor exploded in Clary's mouth. It really was delicious.
"Like?" Isabelle asked. Clary moaned softly.
"It's amazing," she said with her mouth still full of chip, and Isabelle laughed.
"You got some on your chin," she said, and reached out to wipe her finger under clary's lip. Sure enough, some salsa had dribbled down. Embarrassing.
Isabelle brought her finger to her mouth and licked it. Then she did something that surprised Clary. She leaned in, her breath hot on Clary's skin, and kissed her.
Clary's head spun. Isabelles lips were impossibly soft, and tasted even better than the salsa. Their bodies were so close, breasts barely touching breasts, arms aching desperately to tangle themselves in the other's hair. Clary was about to let them give in when Isabelle pulled away.
"I'm sorry," she was saying, cheeks flushed. "Was that- that was out of line, I should have asked-"
"No," Clary cut her off, placing her hand on Isabelle's shoulder. "I liked it."
Clary smiled as Isabelle's deep brown eyes lit up. "You did?"
"Yes," Clary whispered into her ear, feeling Isabelle shutter as she did so. She kissed a line down from her jaw to her neck to the top of her breasts back up to her mouth. Isabelle kissed her back vigourously. Their hands found their home in each other's hair, and this time, neither of them pulled away.
When they finally came up for air, Clary couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Isabelle asked, mildly concerned. "Do I have salsa on my face too?"
"No, it's nothing. I just, didn't expect this to happen. Any of it. Until a few moments ago, I wasn't even sure I liked girls." Clary felt her face flush as she said the words aloud for the first time. "And you're just so fucking gorgeous, and I'm- well look at me!" She gestured down to her embarrassingly tight dress and laughed again. "I'm a fashion disaster."
Isabelle smiled and caught Clary's face with her hand. "You're beautiful" she said with such a certainty, it was hard not to believe her. "And if you don't like that dress, well, there's a room upstairs where no one will bother us. I can help you out of it," she said with a glint in her eye. Clary swallowed hard. She was just about to say yes when she heard a voice over her shoulder.
"There you are," Helen said, mildly annoyed, half dragging a very-drunk Aline behind her. "C'mon, we're leaving. Aline just puked over some guy's shoes."
Clary turned reluctantly back to Isabelle. "Guess I have to leave," she said halfheartedly. "See you around?"
Isabelle nodded, and Clary had just turned around to go when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Wait! I don't even know your name."
Clary looked up into her dark chocolate eyes. "Clary," she said.
Isabelle smiled. "Clary," she repeated, and the sound of her name coming out of her mouth was the sweetest thing Clary ever heard. "May I?" She asked, gesturing towards Clary's phone. Clary handed it over and Isabelle typed her number in.
"Do me a favor, Clary, and give me a call next time you're in the mood for some delicious salsa. We could make it together. And that's not something I offer anyone," she said, handing Clary's phone back. "It's a secret recipe." She winked again, and Clary's heart fluttered in her chest.
"Will do," she said, and then turned and hurried after her friends.
What a night. And to think she hadn't even wanted to come. She said a silent prayer of thanks for her annoyingly persistent roommate. So much for staying at home.
She couldn't stop smiling the rest of the night. Couldn't stop the next day, either, and barely even made it to evening before she picked up her phone.