The next song on her iPhone blasted through her white ear buds. She walked up the stairs from her bedroom, which was located in the basement of her house. She unlocked her phone to raise the volume. The song was one of her many favorites.

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift.

She wasn't necessarily a fan of the country-pop singer, but she couldn't help that it was such a catchy song.

She made her way to the platinum-colored refrigerator. On the smooth surface were taped pictures of her and her older brother, Sebastian. Her favorite was the photograph of them playing in the sandbox at the park when she was five. Her eyes traveled to another picture towards the top. It was a picture of three teenagers, one being she and Sebastian being one of the others. The picture took place at Sebastian's birthday party a few months ago. Since Sebastian's birthday took place in the summer time, naturally it was a pool party. Clary was dressed in a bright green two piece, her hair disheveled and no makeup. Sebastian, who was on her right, was smiling excitingly in his dark blue swim trunks, dripping from previously being in the pool. She stared at the boy on the left side of the picture. His hair was a golden color, shining in the sunlight. He was smiling his gorgeous smile, displaying all his pearly whites. He had his arm around Clary's waist. She scoffed, remembering the day.

She dedicated this song to him.

She yanked open the door to the refrigerator and searched for a bottle of water. Anger rushed through her body remembering the memory.

"How does it feel to finally be turning 18?" Clary asked her older brother when he reached the dining room table for lunch.

"Honestly," he sat down across from her. "Not that different at all."

Their mother smirked. "I told you it wouldn't feel any different." Their mother, Jocelyn, had fiery red hair and green eyes like Clary. Clary was a spitting image of her mother… just a lot shorter.

Sebastian glanced at her. "Mothers know all, huh?" His dark brown eyes amused.

Jocelyn smiled, not catching his sarcasm. "Always."

Clary bit into her ham and cheese sandwich. "But you're a legal adult! Something has to feel different."

Sebastian shook his head and drank a sip of his apple juice. "Nope. Nothing."

"Well, how exciting… something to not look forward to." She said lowly.

Sebastian smiled and turned to his mother. "Jace said he was going to come over in a bit and help set up."

"Perfect! We need as many muscles as we can get." She said, smiling.

Clary's stomach twisted. For as long as she could remember, Jace had been their next-door neighbor and Sebastian's best friend. Oh, did she also mention her long-time crush?

She knew nothing was ever going to happen though. Jace had always treated her like a little sister. They had grown up together. He would never be interested in her, not in the way she was with him. She sighed. If only…

She finished her meal in a timely manner, picking up her dishes and brought them to the kitchen. After getting rid of her dishes, she opened the door leading to the basement, where she resided. At the end of the stairs, she took a left and was greeted by her cat, Church. He was lazily lying on her lime green couch in the corner of the room. He meowed as she passed by him. She walked around another corner and reached a closed door. She opened it without hesitation and plopped herself on her made bed. Her pink comforter was so soft; she can lay on it all day. Her room was a plain white color with white trim. Nothing special. She had pictures covering her right wall in front of her; pictures from childhood moments, school dances, and family events. Memories she cherished. On the right side of her room was a door leading outside into the backyard. Sometimes when her or her brother wanted to sneak out, they used that exit. Her mother still doesn't know till this day.

She heard a sudden tap on the glass of the door. She jumped up from bed and moved the pink curtain to see his beautiful face. She smiled, unlocked the lock, and opened the door.

"We do have a front door, you know." She commented as he walked into her room. His hair was a golden wave down to the top of his ears. He had a white wife-beater on, allowing her to admire his toned muscular arms. On his left arm, he had a black tribal tattoo down his arm to his forearm. He got it a few months ago for his eighteenth birthday. He sported tan colored cargo shorts with his regular black flip flops. He smiled his pearly whites at her. She almost fainted.

"Yeah, I know. But I had to hide Sebastian's present somewhere and where better than his kid sister's room?"

She didn't even see the bag that he was holding until now. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "What did you get him?"

Jace made his way to Clary's closet, opening it, and placed the bag he was holding inside. He shut the door and turned to the red head. "Not saying," He said and smirked. "And you better not check either, Fray."

Clary crossed her arms across her chest. "Why can't you tell me?" she urged. "It can't be that fantastic…"

"You'll find out, eventually." He smiled at her, walked over to her bed and lay down.

This wasn't a big deal; he had done this a thousand times before. But as she closed the door and headed to her bed, she saw something in his face. She couldn't read it exactly, but it was something different. She shook her head, attempting to forget about it.

Jace placed his hands in back of his head and watched Clary walk over to the bed. She looked so beautiful to him, her curly red hair down and wild. She was wearing jean shorts and a light purple V-neck with no sleeves. He could see her white sports bra underneath her shirt. He shivered slightly and looked down at the bed, ignoring his thoughts. She was basically his kid sister. He couldn't have feelings for her. She sat in the middle of the bed, looking at him. She finally spoke, "You should probably go help set everything up upstairs…"

She wanted him to stay. She didn't want him going upstairs at all. She watched as he sat up on the bed. He was sitting next to her now. She smiled and pushed him. "Go before you get into big trouble."

He smiled at her. "Me? Getting in trouble?" He scoffed. "I think you're thinking about another person. I don't get in trouble, ever."

She laughed. "Bullshit!" She pushed him again, playfully. He reached over to her, tickling her. Clary laughed, uncontrollably. He knew she was ticklish from past experiences. He smiled, watching her, laughing. She spread across the bed, without realizing it, while being attacked by Jace's fingers. His fingers tickled her stomach, fiercely. He had migrated to the end of the bed, at her feet, his arms reaching over to her most ticklish spot.

"Jace! Stop… please… I can't…" She managed to choke out in between laughs. Jace laughed himself. "I don't think so, kid. You asked for it."

He was hovering over her now. Clary's eyes were closed, her arms grabbing Jace's in poor attempt to stop the attack. Clary moving around uncontrollably resulted in her shirt lifting. Jace, not realizing the sudden difference, tickled her anyways. There was an abrupt end to the tickling session. Clary's eyes were open, face blank, looking at his. He was staring back at her, his hand frozen on the side of her stomach. "Sorry," he breathed. She shook her head, slightly.

"It's fine." Their gaze remained intact for a few minutes.

Oh my god, what is happening? Clary thought. But before she could say anything, Jace's lips were on hers. It was a sweet, innocent kiss. His lips felt soft and warm on hers. Her heart was racing as her arm grabbed his neck pulling him closer to her. She felt him smile against her lips.

Call me crazy, shit, at least you calling… Feels better when you let it out, don't it girl…

Jace's phone started ringing. They broke apart from each other; Jace reached for his phone in his back pocket and looked at the caller ID. He touched the screen and put it to his ear.

"Hey man," he said into the phone, slowly getting off the bed. Clary watched him, still shocked about what just happened. "Yeah, I'm still coming to help. Just give me a few minutes," He said. "Alright, bye." He touched the screen of the phone again, ending the call. He looked at her, watching him. She sat up. "Umm…"

"That was your brother," Jace said, looking down at the ground. Clary nodded. She figured. "I should go…"

Clary swung her legs over to the right side of the bed and stood up. She didn't say anything, she was too confused. Jace made his way to the door out to the backyard. "We'll talk later, okay?"

She nodded, silently. He nodded once, opened the door, and walked out.

She shivered at the memory. They ended up never talking about. Even better, they barely talk now. Before, they had been best friends. They told each other basically everything but now, absolutely nothing. She sighed. She never got the answer she wanted from him… Why?

She took a sip of her water and turned to the hallway as she heard the refrigerator door shut. She restarted the song playing.

Once upon a time a few mistakes ago. I was in your sights, you got me alone.

The song, she thought, did Jace justice. He was complete trouble. She's ignored his presence ever since that day. Well, not that specific day… she gave him a week to explain himself, which he never did. She rolled her eyes; it was whatever.

You found me, you found me, you found me.

She made her way to the foyer. The whole right side of the hallway was covered with full-length mirrors instead of wallpaper, like the rest of the walls seemed to be. She stopped, looking at her reflection. She was dressed in blue low-rise jeans, her black converse sneakers and a light blue flowing top that had a slight opening to her mid-back exposing her light complexion. Her hair was up in a ponytail, her curls falling down her neck. She had barely any makeup on; she was told she didn't even need it. She smiled optimistically at herself.

I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that. And when I fell hard you took a step back.

She continued down the hall towards the front door. She could hear muffled voices through her ear buds, probably her mother talking to Sebastian. Her phone suddenly vibrated signaling a text message. She slide open her phone. It was from Isabelle, her best friend.

Mall soon? I'm dying bored at home.

Clary smiled. Isabelle Lightwood had been her best friend since 6th grade when she started middle school. They had instantly clicked then and were inseparable. Isabelle had a thing for fashion. She had the best clothes, shoes and even accessories. Clary somewhat envied it. Clary wasn't as girly as Isabelle, but she wished she had the confidence Isabelle did. Isabelle was one of those people who really didn't care what you thought about her, she was going to be happy either if you liked her or hated her. C

Without me, without me, without me

Whenever she and Isabelle went to the mall, it was always a "find Clary a cute, new outfit" day. Most of the time, Clary didn't care. Isabelle had impeccable taste in clothing. The dilemma happened to be her not having cash at the moment. She sighed.

Window shopping? No $$.

She continued walking, passing the family room. She heard the muffled voices getting louder, yet it didn't seem to bother her.

And he's long gone when he's next to me. And I realize the blame is on me.

Her phone vibrated again. She looked down reading the text.

Sounds good. Be there in 5.

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in.

Clary smiled. She suddenly heard a loud voice and yanked out her ear buds. She stopped in her tracks and looked over to the living room. Sebastian was looking at her, mouth half open, sitting on the dark brown leather couch.

"Do you not hear when I talk to you?" He asked, annoyed.

She blinked at him, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

He sighed. "I was calling your name. I called it like four times."

"Oh," She said. "Sorry."

She felt another set of eyes on her. She looked to her left and saw him sitting there, watching her. He won't say anything to her, just like she won't say anything to him. If she was lucky she'd get a hello, but frankly, she didn't care. His hair grew a little since the picture on the refrigerator. His skin tone was also a bit darker due to sun exposure during the hotter months in the summer. His golden eyes watched her for a few minutes, with no expression on his face. He was dressed in a white V-neck with some blue jeans on, yet he looked like a complete angel. She shook the image out of her mind.

"What's up?" She asked looking back at Sebastian. He had a thin red hoodie on with some black cargo shorts. For being in the beginning of September, it was still a bit warm out. The temperature was being taken advantage of for the time being.

"I was trying to ask you if you wanted to go out to eat with me and Jace," he said finally. "We're going to the new restaurant that just opened up across the mall."

She glanced at Jace, fake contemplating the offer. He still had no emotion in the face, but his eyes were still set on her. "You know what, I'll pass." She smiled, apologetically. "Isabelle and I have plans."

"Why doesn't Isabelle just come too?"

"I'm not hungry." Clary replied quickly.

"Fine, whatever."

She could still feel Jace's eyes on her as she turned to walk away. God, he was annoying. Last time she checked, it wasn't so hard to talk to someone… yet she shouldn't be one to say that either. She rolled her eyes.

There was a car horn beeping an unneeded amount of time outside. She imagined it be Isabelle. She headed for the door, but turned around quickly to catch a last glimpse.

He was still watching her, but one thing was different. He was smiling.

She walked out of the house, without returning the favor.