Stella sighed, glancing at the ticking clock which hung on the plain, white wall.

“It has been hours and she still isn’t back…” Sakura sat beside her on a wooden chair, her hands perched on the kitchen table to support her weight.

“Don’t worry, she'll be back. I mean, she HAS been sleeping for a few days. She's probably just confused.

Stella shook her head, worry showing clearly in her blue eyes.

“But the look she gave us…it was like she had seen ghosts…” Sakura glanced at her with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Maybe she has.”

----

Will was temporarily shocked, for the name sounded so utterly and terrifyingly familiar that his voice shook when he said:

“O-Oh…have we met?” Clary raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“No, I don’t think so…why?” He wiped his eyes and massaged his temple, both hurting from all that he had seen and heard. What was real and what wasn’t? He couldn’t tell anymore.

“I see…You just look familiar, that’s all.” She nodded at him in understanding and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then he saw the scar on her wrist and pointed to it.

“Where did you get that scar?” Clary's eyes wandered to where he was pointing and felt heat rush to her cheeks.

“Uh…u-um…that is a very long story…” Will sat beside her, grinning slightly.

“You can tell me! We have all the time in the world.” She could not refute that, so she told him about the vampire and how their bite affects Healers, and told him her friend had sucked the corrupted blood out after cutting her wrist.

“O-Oh…” Will felt himself flush from the way she described it, and avoided eye contact for a few minutes until both of them had calmed down and their skins had turned the normal color.

“So, how come you’re here?” He asked her finally, and she shook her head.

“I don’t know. I was with Ash, and then when I woke up he was gone. But Stella was here, and Sakura too… They said that I was dreaming about him but I know this is a parallel universe. I have been in another one before this one.” Will nodded at her, deep in thought, until she spoke again:

“You don’t even belong here. I can tell. How did you wander here?” He glanced at her bitterly, sighing.

“I…lost a friend, and it turns out she isn’t human and lives in another world. So, her cousin, who is a god--”

“Wait! A god?! Like, God-god?!” She cut him off, and he nodded.

“Yeah. And so, her cousin opened a window, which I assume is called a portal, into this world, and here I am.”

“Wow. You got to meet a god! I had always dreamed of that. I mean, in our world we had Lunars. They are about as close to a god as it can get.” Clary was grinning and cheerful, discussing this casually like it was just a normal chat with a friend.

Will stared in awe as she told him about her world: They had vampires and werewolves, magic and glamour, demons and angels, and also gods! And he wasn’t surprised, because of the recent events that had happened that day/night.

After she was finished, Will could only gape at her. There she was sitting beside him, a copy of a witch. And then an idea hit him: What if she was lying? There was only one way to find out.

“Can I see your magic?” he asked, and she brought up her hand. For a moment nothing happened; and then there it was--green sparks flying off her fingers like electricity. Will was even more awestruck than he had been, and smiled at her brightly.

“Magic exists!” Withdrawing her hand, Clary stared at him in confusion and something else he could not identify.

“Sorry! It’s just that in our world, we don’t have those kinds of things…” Will then noticed a pang building up in his chest: Fear. What if she was dangerous? What if she hurt him--killed him, even?

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.” Will flinched at that, eyes widening as he stared at Clary. Her golden eyes stared into his brown ones calmly, making him even more nervous.

“U-um…how did you know?” Clary’s expression changed; one moment it was serious, and the next it was…amusement. No.

I think it is actually a teasing face, he thought as she started laughing loudly.

“Oh, wow, this is priceless!”

Yeah, no. She can’t be dangerous.

“Ah…” Wiping her eyes from laughter, she grinned at him again. But then frowned.

“Wait, shh….” Putting a finger to her lips, Clary glanced around wildly. Then something blurry sprang out of the bushes, and in moments, he was pushed behind the girl.

It was a panther, growling and sneering at them. And then out came a second figure--a young boy with black hair and…red eyes?!

“Ho, ho…What do we have here, Claus?” Will guessed it was directed to the panther, who grinned with sharp teeth gleaming.

“Humans…” It spoke, sniffing the air as he circled them. Will’s mind was about to explode!

What is happening?! Why did this animal speak?! No, actually, how did it speak?!

“Eclipse…” The girl growled, and Will tilted his head in confusion. What a strange name!

“Ah. So, you know who I am…” The boy in dark clothes seemed impressed and amused, but not a tad bit shocked that a stranger knew his name.

.“Of course, I do! You were the one who--" And with that, the panther sprang, and Clary narrowed her eyes, grinning. Before the creature could reach them, it hit some sort of invisible wall, and whined loudly.

The boy growled, holding his arm which was injured as well.

“You worthless feline! Couldn’t you see the barrier?!” Eclipse spat at the panther, making it stand up and put its injured paw on the ground. Will could tell from the way it was holding it that its paw was broken badly. Clary yawned, sparks flying off her fingers once more.

.“Okay, I am bored. See ya!” And the sparks expanded and grew, until they reached 5 feet, and blasted them both with a loud “boom!”

Will turned away, not wanting to watch the boy and the panther get roasted by lightning. But the boy’s groans could still be heard, and Will peeked out from in-between his fingers.

It was all he could do to keep from laughing.

The threatening and frightening duo lay on the ground, now no more than frightened puppies as they whimpered and ran away with their tails between their legs.

“Woah. They turned into puppies…”

“I know, right? I never knew I could do that…” Will stared at her in confusion.

“What?!”

Wait a second! I take it back. This girl is definitely something to be afraid of…