Okay, this is my first time doing an MI fic, and my first time writing in 3rd person, so tell me how I did.

Summary – He's the sexy, sarcastic jerk that has girls falling all over him; left, right and center. She's the cute, innocent aritist that no one takes a second look at. When a class assignment brings them together, she learns he might not be the jerk everyone thinks he is. Will Jace let her in, fall for her, and tell her his secret? Or will he push her away, like he's done with everyone else?

Note – The rating for this might change, just because my ideas might change. I highly doubt it will, but there will be major fluffiness and some lemonade later on. Also, a lot of the plot is sort of based on the actual series, but again, ideas can change. If it gets too confusing, which it might, let me know.

Disclaimer: All MI characters and quotes belong to Cassandra Clare. I own nothing but the plot and anything I make up.

He flipped his head, a failed attempt to get the stray strands of blonde hair out of his eyes. A drop of sweat fell into his eye, momentarily distracting him. It was enough that his trainer had an opportunity to get a good punch in. Thrown off balance, Jonathan was sent flying into the wall. He narrowly avoided smashing his head against the wall, but did in fact thump his shoulder.

"Stay focused, Jonathan." Said boy nodded, knowing failure was not an option. Disappointing his mother – or worse, his stepfather – was not an option. Not again. He knew what the consequences were for making such a mistake. His face set in determination; he wiped the sweat off his forehead and pushed himself off the ground.

"What – is the beloved Angel child tired?" His trainer taunted him, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told you, sir, he is incapable of Changing. He may be fast on his feet and good with a knife, and while he is human, that could prove useful. But when he is attacked, his inability to Change would be the death of him." He went on, turning to look at the other man in the room, Jonathan's stepfather. "Not even I can figure out what triggers his Change. The extra training, as with both your time and mine, is being wasted on him."

"Patience, Hodge. He is capable of marvellous things, he is just afraid. We will try again tom-"

"No!" Jonathan pleaded. "No, I can Change. I can do it now, please tonight!" He was begging now, looking between his stepfather and his trainer.

"Alright then," his stepfather agreed, "you have exactly five seconds before I am going upstairs." The two of them stepped back, giving him more room.

"Yes sir." Jonathan fell to his knees, putting all his focus, energy and concentration on Changing. Hodge began counting.

"One…" he clenched his hands into fists, feeling the muscles in his shoulders move."Two…" His jaw shifted, as if trying to break away from his head. "Three…" He fought back tears of pain. "Four, Jonathan we can work on this tomorrow-"

"No! Just… wait." Jonathan began to feel a headache form, but not the Change.

"Five." The eight-year-old unclenched his hands, slowly opening his eyes. His stepfather was staring down at him with a mixed look of hatred and disgust. He stepped forward to Jonathan, kneeling in front of the boy. For a moment, Jonathan was afraid he would be hit, but instead Valentine grabbed his jaw forcefully. "If you weren't as valuable as you are, I would disown you. You are nothing to me, you or your mother. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were completely human." He let go of his chin, standing and storming out of the room, Hodge on his heels. After the doors closed, when he was left in complete darkness, it was only then that he let the tears fall.

It was almost 10 minutes later before the pain came. A scream escaped his lips as a jolt of electricity shot from the bracelet located on his left wrist. Once the shot made its way through his body, reaching his other arm and his legs, Jonathan steadied himself on all fours. He let out another scream, willingly this time, as he felt the muscles in his shoulders shift.

"J.C., honey, are you down here?" Barely hearing the soft sound of his mother's concerned voice, Jonathan found himself focusing more on the blood pouring out of his mouth. He felt as if his body had been lit on fire. A burning white-hot fire eating away at his skin. He felt a pressure on his shoulder, then blurred words. He struggled to make sense of them.

"Jonathan, sweetie, can you hear me?" He forced his head to nod, momentarily relaxing at the sound of his mother's voice. "Okay, honey, you've got to relax. You are beginning your first Change, so it's going to hurt a lot." As if to mark her words, another bolt of pain was sent to him back, his shoulders shifting again. "Please, J.C., stop trying to fight it and relax." Listening, he let himself relax slightly in his mother's arms. She rubbed the spot most of the pain was directed: the spot between his shoulder blades where his neck and shoulders met. "Shh… you're doing great," she whispered, brushing his hair out of his eyes. More soothing words, a tear fell down, followed by an 'I love you, Jonathan', and another shot of fire sent him over the edge.

"Aaaaah!"

"Aah!" Jace woke up with a shout of horror. He sat up quickly, his hair stuck to his head with perspiration, a cold sweat dripping down his neck to his chest and back.

"Jace?" Isabelle opened the bedroom door, dressed in a silk red Chinese top with a black dragon running down the side and skinny jeans. "Are you alright?" Her long black hair was in a ponytail, showing she clearly hadn't started on her hair and makeup yet.

"Yeah, Izzy, I'm fine." He tried unsuccessfully to convince her. She gave him a sceptical look, one that said she clearly didn't believe him. "It was just a bad dream," he sighed. "I'm fine."

"Dream, Jace… or a nightmare?" His adopted sister sat down beside him on the bed. "You've been having a lot of those lately." Reaching up, she pushed away the hair on his forehead, meeting his eyes, then she gasped. "Whatever your nightmare was about, it was enough to make you almost Change." Jace groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Do you want to, I dunno, talk about it?" She offered. On the inside, he was grateful for her offer, but knew it would probably only cause her to pity him.

"Isabelle, I'm a guy. We don't talk about our dreams. Sorry to disappoint." He smirked, rolling off the bed. "Now, unless you want to see me naked, which I wouldn't blame you for, I mean look at me." He ran a hand up his abs, grinning as his sister rolled her eyes.

"Trust me on this one, Jace. I have more important things to be doing then watching you strive to make your ego larger than it already is. I've seen enough of that to last me a lifetime." With that, she stood up and left his room. After she left, Jace groaned loudly. Grabbing a towel, he headed to the bathroom across the hall. Closing the door softy, he gripped the counter so tightly his knuckles turned white. Slowly, he brought his head up, wincing at the reflection that stared back at him.

Somewhere between his dream and reality, some of the pain had been real. He'd been mid-through his Change when he woke up, therefore only some of his features were different. His hands: slightly stronger looking, the thin white scars beginning to show. The muscles in his arms stood out a little more toward his forearms. Details not very many people would take much notice to.

His eyes, on the other hand, were stuck mid-Change. His normally golden eyes were now mixed with a brilliant swirl of bright red.

He was a monster.

Alec and Isabelle would just call him otherwise; saying he was just another Skylar. His mother would call him beautiful; his stepfather called him useless yet magnificent.

He called himself a monster.

Releasing the counter, he stepped into the shower. Placing his palms on the chilled tile wall, he let the hot water run through his hair and down his back, relaxing the muscles in his shoulders. 13 minutes later, Jace was back in his own room – his skin flushed from the heat of the water, his eyes back to their sparkling gold, his blonde curls stuck to his forehead with water.

"Jace!" Alec yelled up the stairs. "You ready or not?"

Reaching into the top drawer of the nightstand, he pulled out a silver chain. Pushing it over his head, it fell to rest on the base of his neck. He lifted the ring attached to the end. "Yeah," he called out absently. He was rubbing his thumb over the ring's surface. His mother's ring. "I'm coming."

.o.O.o. .x.X.x. .o.O.o.

'Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let i-' Clary reached out, pressing the little green button. Bringing the phone to her ear, she mumbled a groggy, "Hello?"

"Morning, sunshine." The voice on the other end said cheerily.

"Good morning, Si." She said, trying to sound a little more awake and rubbing the sleep out if her eye. "Out of curiosity, what in your right mind told you it was a good idea to wake me up at 6:30 in the morning?"

"Well," he started, "because I know that if I didn't call to wake you up, I would either have had to drive there and do it in person, or that you would sleep till noon and end up missing the art assignment. Hate to say it, but we do have school today, Fray." Clary cracked a smile, hearing the mild disgust in her best friend's voice.

"You only go to school to see Isabelle," she pointed out. "Admit it, Lewis." Rolling off her bed, she pushed her blinds open.

"I suppose, do you think she likes me, because I have this plan-"

Morning light was there to greet her, as was a cute little black and yellow bird, feeding on a worm. The scene was too gorgeous to miss. She grabbed her digital camera, snapping two pictures quickly. The first was of the bird perched on her windowsill, looking towards the sky, the sun shining its feathers a tinge of blue. The other was of it taking flight, the worm still half hanging out its mouth.

"So, what do you think?" Simon asked hopefully.

"Beautiful. Absolutely perfect." She muttered absently, still admiring the photos. Simon huffed, sounding confused.

"So, to be clear, you think my plan to get Isabelle to dig me, minding the fact that she's got a super-boy boyfriend, and even super-er bodyguard she calls her brother watching her every move, is… beautiful." He said incredulously, snapping Clary out of her trance.

"No, Si, I'm not even listening to you." She said honestly, turning off her camera. "I took this picture. It's really neat, I'll show you when you get here." Before he could say anything, she quickly continued. "I'm going to go get ready, see you soon." Not waiting for a response, she hung up the phone. The second she placed it down, however, it buzzed.

'Text me when you're done, -Si.'

Crossing the hallway, she stepped into the bathroom. After ten minutes of hot water and strawberry scented soap, Clary stepped out. Clearing the moisture off the mirror, she ran a brush through her fiery red curls. Drying off, she ran to her room. Checking her phone, she found a text from Isabelle.

'Wear the jeans w/ the white logo on the pocket. And the yellow dragon shirt.' Going over to her closet, she pulled out the items in question. After putting them on, she looked in the mirror. Examining her shirt, she had to admit it looked hot. Unlike most outfits, it didn't clash with her bright hair. It went quite well, if she said so herself. Picking up the phone, she texted Isabelle.

'Nice call! See you soon :)' then a quick, 'ready' to Simon.

After brushing her teeth, she made her way down to the kitchen. "Morning Mom; Luke." She greeted, sitting on the barstool.

Her mother turned around, loose strands of bright red hair slipping away from her bun. "And I present to you –" she set the plate down in front of Clary. "Le Eggs et Bacon a la Jocelyn!" Smiling at her mother's goofiness, Clary began eating.

She was down to her last piece of bacon when the doorbell rang. "That's Simon. Bye guys!" Grabbing her bag, and her bacon strip, she opened the door, revealing her dark eyed best friend. She looked him up and down, taking in the blue dark-wash jeans and red button up shirt. A huge step up from his normal worn-out jeans and graphic T-shirt. "Whoa, Si." She closed the door behind herself, racing Simon to his Jeep. "So, spill," She turned excitedly once he started driving. "Why do you look so " she struggled for the right word. "Unlike your normal self? Are you wearing your contacts, too?" Realization dawned on her as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Oh-my-gosh! Is this all for Isabelle?"

"Maybe," he said tonelessly, not taking his eyes off the road. "Can't a guy completely change his look, without any warning, because he felt like it?"

"No."

A few moments of silence passed before they both laughed. They were still laughing when they got to school. Waving goodbye to Simon, Clary went to her locker. After pulling out her books, she headed in the direction of her first class. On her way there, she bumped into someone. She ended up dropping her books and falling on her butt with an "Ow!". She looked up at the person she'd run into.

Aline Penhallow. Present school slut. Noted mostly for her 3 month on-again-of-again relationship with the school jerk, Jace Wayland. Right now, they were very much on again. The Asian girl looked down at her, smirking in disgust. "Why don't you watch where you're walking, loser?" With a huff, she flipped her black hair over her shoulder and stomped off, her heels clicking loudly against the tile. Grunting, she sat up, beginning to gather her things. When another pair of hands began helping her, she gasped in surprise.

"She's right, you know." He said, standing up with her books in his hands. Clary gulped, then stood as well, shoving the papers into her bag. "You really should be watching where you're walking. It could save your life someday." He handed her the books.

"Well then, tell your girlfriend I'm terribly sorry that I messed up her make-up." Clary glared at him. "Though, it's not my fault she looks like she got gang-banged by a box of crayons." She had no idea where the comment had come from, but she had to admit it was pretty funny.

Jace grinned, staring down at her, his golden eyes piercing into her green ones. As if in a trance, he reached out, behind her head. Clary felt as he pulled the elastic from her hair, then as her hair tumbled to her shoulders. "I was right," he said, handing her the elastic. "You do look better with your hair down."

"Who said I care for your opinion?"

"Oh, feisty are we?" He snickered at her, while she made a move to put her hair up again, but Isabelle stopped her.

"Hey, Clary." She said, totally ignoring the blonde headed boy beside her. "Hey, you look really good with your hair down like that." Clary didn't miss the cocky smirk Jace had on.

"Whatever, Izzy. Let's just get to class." Jace held up his arms, a mock-offended look gracing his features.

"Okay, that's it, just forget about Jace, do we?" Isabelle whirled around, seeming to just realize he was there.

"What do you want, Wayland?" She sneered out, her eyes narrowing. Again, Jace held out his hands, in a form of surrender.

"Nothing, Lightwood." He said easily. "Clary and I were just having a little talk, after I graced her with my random act of kindness by helping her pick up her stuff. Oh, and I made her somewhat more presentable, her hair was up before you came." Isabelle looked towards redhead for confirmation.

"I wouldn't particularly call it an act of kindness, due to his track record, but yeah, I guess." Isabelle shrugged, looking back at the boy.

"You know what I said about staying away from my friends, Jace. You're breaking the only rule I set out." Jace raised an eyebrow, and Clary instantly hated him. I wanna do that.

"And you know what I think of your so called 'rules', Izzy." He reached out to Clary, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "They're more like guidelines." Clary flinched away, tucking that same lock of hair behind her ear. "But whatever, if I must, I'll stay away." He sent one final smile to Clary, then turned away, walking down the hall.

"How do you know him?" She asked her dark haired friend after he was gone. They had settled into their first class, which happened to be English. Jace wasn't in this class, but Simon and Isabelle were.

"Who, Hamlet?" Isabelle asked absently, sidetracked by what the teacher was saying. "I don't." Groaning quietly, Clary rolled her eyes. To this Isabelle laughed. "I'm kidding. Jace, right?" Clary nodded. "Oh, he's my cousin." Clary felt her jaw drop, but she made no move to close it.

"Your cousin? You're related to him?" Amidst her shock, Clary remembered to keep her voice a whisper, so as not to let the teacher hear her. Isabelle nodded, chucking a little.

"Yeah, he moved in a few months ago, and now I get the pleasure to see him every morning." The sarcasm in her voice was obvious. Clary sat back and processed this. Jace, as in Jace Wayland, as in the jerk with the Greek God-like looks, and the amazingly hot smile, was related to her best girl friend.

For the rest of the day, she tried to push her encounter with Jace that morning out of her head, but for some unknown reason, he was everywhere she looked. In the cafeteria; in the hall near her locker; making out with Aline under the tree. She got a great view of that specific moment, when she looked out the window of her second period class. By the end of the day, Clary found herself thinking of his smile.

That really sexy smile.

Again, first time doing this, so let me know how I did. Is it worth continuing? Review please! Also, if anyone's into Maximum Ride, I just rewrote a fic called Love, Life and Music. So check that out.

Note - I did just start up another story, so updates should be every other week, depending on homework and what's going on in my life at the moment. I'm pretty sure I'll be updating LLM next week, so HtB should be updated in two weeks, most likely on Saturday, but I'm not sure.

So is this story worth continuing? Review?