Hello readers! One day I just had this idea that I really wanted to write down, so here comes the first fanfic I've ever written. I'm pretty sure there may be grammatical mistakes or plots that make you cringe and say "urgh this is so not happening" – but please give it a chance. Constructive criticisms/comments are welcomed. Please review, follow or even favorite! Have fun reading!

-Kat

If you almost lost your luggage in the airport, got lost when finding your first destination, or saw the 'out of service' sign at the lift lobby when you're carrying heavy suitcases within the first few hours, barely after you'd arrived at a new place or started a new life, you wouldn't be able to stop the uneasiness clogging your mind for the entire week. Clary Morgernstern got a bingo on all three, but the 'I'm doomed' hadn't made an appearance yet until the moment she saw the stairs to the apartment - almost as deadly as the ones walked by the Fellowship.

"For god's sake, why does the lift have to be out of service today?" Clary complained gaspingly as she dragged her suitcase up the stairs towards the fourth floor, trying not to trip her own feet or being dragged down the stairs by her suitcase instead.

Standing on the fourth floor was Jace, who had just placed most of their luggage on the floor in front of the apartment. He smirked as he looked at his favorite redhead that he had known since pre-K, starting to walk down the stairs. 'I told –'

'Don't give me an "I told you so",' interrupted Clary, gazing at him with narrowed warning eyes – strikingly familiar ones that she inherited from her mum Jocelyn. 'My art supplies are my babies. The hell I'm leaving them in LA! Besides, how can one possibly know that the lift isn't working?' She saw his lips parting so she continued before he could utter a sound, 'Nuh-uh, I don't need your help from here. I can very well carry them up by myself!'

'Said by a five-foot-three midge who climbs the stairs like Frodo sneaks into Mordor,' Jace chuckled as he shook his head at her stubbornness, 'I'll just stand here and watch the show, fiery. Bathe in all my golden glory!'

With his sun-kissed skin, muscular build trained from years of football practices, hair too blonde to be natural, soul-piercing golden eyes and a beautiful – yes, beautiful – face that she was itching to draw (and had drawn many times), it was no exaggeration to say he's like a godsend – as long as he kept his mouth shut. Though, Clary would never mention any of these in front of him. Any more compliment, his head will explode for sure.

'Oh my god,' Clary rolled her eyes, couldn't help but laughed out loud. 'You didn't just say that, you cocky bighead!'

'Just stating the facts!'

'You're delusional!'

'You're too blinded by my glorious looks to see the truth.'

'I don't even know why I'm best friend with you.'

'You know you love me,' said Jace with a grin, quickly stealing a kiss at her cheek as he took the suitcase from her hands. Within seconds, the suitcase had already joined the pile in front of the apartment door.

'I said I can-'

'-handle it. I know. But why let all these muscles go to waste?'

She rolled her eyes again in amusement and stared at the dust covered otherwise fairly new and shiny 501 sign on the apartment door. Her mind flew back to the very first day they've received the good news – the very first day she started dreaming about this moment.

In her navy blue hoodie, black jeans and her favorite pair of black sneakers, the red-haired girl sprinted out from her house. She felt like it wouldn't be long before she fainted due to acute hypertension with the excitement and anxiety - animated from that unread email - bombing her heart like that. Usually, it took her fifteen minutes to walk from her house to Jace's. This time, it didn't cost her seven minutes before got passed the wrought iron gate and the front door after hammering in the digital codes that she knew all too well. It was a Friday morning, barely passed eleven o' clock, which meant Jace would be the only one at home with his dad being long gone for work. From the utter placidity in the house, it was apparent that her idiot best friend was still sleeping.

Clary rushed up the stairs and urgently knocked on the door of Jace's bedroom. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi – she decided not to wait for his response before turning the knob and pushing open the door. No surprise. Sound asleep. With saliva drooling out from his opened mouth. She took out her phone and snapped a picture. This is gonna be excellent blackmail material. Ha!

'Wake up, Jace!'

No response.

'HUMAN BOMB!' She took a deep breath and shouted, as she leaped onto his bed and bounced on it before losing her balance and falling onto his quilt-covered torso.

Jace slowly opened his eyes and squinted in response to the rays of sunlight penetrating the windows. 'What the – Fiery? What're you doing here? Jesus. It's still so early Give me a break.'

'It'll be noon soon.' Clary pulled the quilt off and threw it to the end of the bed. 'Come on, wake up, lazypants!

'I wanna sleep. Go play with Redbeard,' he murmured as he extended his arms, tried to grab the quilt and hid under it, but with no success.

'Couldn't see him when I came all the way him. Your dog is as lazy as you.' She poked at his cheek and continued,' Come on! I've received the email.'

'The email?' asked Jace as he sat up on his bed.

'Yes, the email.''

His eyes widened. 'Wait. Oh my god. What did it say? Did you get in?'

'I don't know. I haven't clicked on it.' She gave him her best puppy eyes – ones that she learnt from Izzy who could make anyone do anything for her with those. 'I'm scared. That's why I need my best friend –'

'Okay. On it.' He shot out of bed, grabbed his clothes from the wardrobe and headed off the bathroom.

'I'm gonna use your laptop!' she shouted and heard a muffled 'go ahead' from behind the bathroom door.

Fifteen minutes when Jace came back, hair dripping water, Clary was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. The laptop next to her was on.

'Have you checked it yet?'

'No. I'm scared shitless.'

He chuckled. 'I'm sure you'll be fine.' He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

'Easy for you to say. You already got accepted into their Music program.'

'What can I say? I'm a very, very talented man. And you are too. So, don't worry.'

'Alright, very, very talented man, could you check it for me? It's the first email in the inbox.'

'Since you ask so nicely.' He smirked and clicked open the email, '" Dear Miss Morgenstern" – '

'Wait, wait, wait! I'm not ready!' She interrupted and hid her head under his quilt.

He pulled it off and continued quickly regardless,' "We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into the Visual Arts program of the University of Alicante –"'

She shrieked in excitement, jumped up and gave his grinning blond best friend a bear hug. 'Ohmygodohmygod! I got in! I'm going to NYC! We're going to Alicante together!'

'Told you so!' He had the brightest grin she had ever seen him in recently – even wider than the time he received his acceptance email. 'I should have videotaped that moment though. You were totally screaming like a girl.'

'I am a girl. And don't remember I did get your "girlish shriek" on tape last week –'

'You promised you'd delete it!'

'What kind of best friend would I be if I deleted that "precious moment" of yours?'

'You're the worst,' he shook his head in disbelief, though his grin remained on his face – and probably would be for quite a while. 'Oh forgot to tell ya, my dad said he had a vacant apartment near the campus. We could totally stay there –'

'Yay! You're the best! Your dad is the best! I'm gonna call my mum and Sizzy! Oh my god. I can't believe I did it!'

While it was at first a bit frightening – after the initial excitement had settled - for it to be rather far from their homes in Los Angeles, she knew nothing could possibly go wrong as long as they had each other's back – just as they had done for the past 14 years despite the constant sarcastic remarks and occasional quarrels.

It's always "Jace and Clary" – you know, the best friends who had a specific seat at the dining table in each other's house, who would punch someone's face the moment that said someone badmouthed the other, who had sleepovers almost once a week, doing all the crazy stunts that you may not even be able to imagine with Instagram posts captioned "hashtag bestfriendsgoals". Jace was the shoulder – or chest, in her case, since she wasn't high enough to comfortably lay her head on his shoulder - Clary cried on when her dad died in a car crash at the age of seven, while Clary was the hand that Jace held when his parents were going through a nasty divorce. If you saw Clary, Jace wouldn't be too far away. But best friends was all they were. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Their friendship was the only constant in her life - her ex-boyfriend, Jace's ex-girlfriends, their parents' heartbreaks and losses had taught her that much. She was perfectly content with how they were and what they shared now – at least this is what she had been convincing herself.

Jace inserted the key into the keyhole, rested his arm on her shoulder, looked at her and asked in excitement plus a tiny ounce of anxiousness, 'You ready?'

'You bet,' she grinned at him and turned the knob.

Greeted her was a living room, considerably large for two university students. On the right was the kitchen and dining space whereas the left placed the cloth-covered sofa and television set. Clean white curtains were drawn over the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing only a few rays of sunlight passing into the room. In the middle of the windows opened to a small balcony, from where the residential buildings and the lovely park nearby could be seen – another view that she was itching to draw. Clary knew at the instant that this would probably be her favorite place in the apartment. At the corner of the room next to the windows was a grand piano – the only furniture in the room without a cloth draping over it and apparently it wasn't here until recently. 'My dad said he'll have the apartment fixed by the time we move in. Sometimes this feels like the only perk of having a workaholic divorced father, you know?' she remembered from their conversation earlier.

Despite the tidily arranged furniture in the room, it was rather empty. Blank white walls and ceilings without any decorations– she had the exact idea of what to do with them. Carrying the suitcases into the apartment and glancing around the room, Jace smiled at her expression and asked, "So, you like it?"

'Of course! Is that even a question?'

Turning into the corridor were three bedrooms and one shared bathroom. 'I call dibs on this one!' exclaimed Clary as she looked out from the window in the second room down at the green grass field of the park nearby.

Placing her luggage in the room, Jace gave out a hearty laugh. "Well then I'll take the room right next to yours."

'Yes, mum. We've had pizza.' After a tiring afternoon of apartment cleaning – more upon Jace's insistence – and settling down, she was now laying on the sofa, head on Jace's lap who was now flipping through the TV channels carelessly, replying her worried mum's call on speaker.

'Have you missed anything?'

'I don't think so. But if we need anything else, we'll buy them here. There's a Tesco one block away.'

'Good to know. Did you get there safely?'

'Don't worry, mum. We're both safe and sound. All in one piece -'

'Did you get lost?'

'No, we didn't. We got there right away.'

Jace chuckled hearing her reply, both of them knowing too well that this conversation would last for an extra hour if Jocelyn knew the truth.

'Jaceypoo, you there?' Jace cringed at the old nickname while Clary snickered.

'Yes, aunt Jocie.'

'Take care of my daughter, will you?'

'I promise. Scout's honor.'

'You aren't even a scout,' interjected Clary, which was apparently ignored by both Jace and her mum.

'Thank you, Jace. You know how poor her self-management is.'

Clary rolled her eyes at her mum's statement. 'I could handle myself –'

'I know, right? Don't worry. Clary is in good hands.'

'MUM! You didn't just team up with this idiot!'

'I'm just worried, Clary dear. Take care of yourself, will you? And Jace too.'

'I will –' Clary stopped when she heard a giggle from the other side of the phone. Did mum just giggle? Wait – was that a kiss?

'Mum? Luke, you there?'

'Hi kiddo! How are you doing?' Oh my god. She knew Luke since she was a kid and Luke had been like a father to her since her dad died, though he didn't go out with her mum until two years ago. Jace placed his palm against his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter.

'I'm good. Thanks, Luke. You two have fun! A little brother would be great! If not, a baby sis will also do.'

At that, Jace laughed out loud and Clary could also hear a deep chuckle over the phone.

'Clary!'

'Mum, we're both adults. And I miss you two.'

'Miss you too, sweetie. Call me again tomorrow?'

'Sure thing! Bye mum!'

'Bye, Clary. And Jace too.'

'Bye Aunt Jocie!'

Clary sighed as she cut off the call. They just sat there, enjoying the comforting quietude that the night offered. Both were exhausted from the move in today, yet neither of them wanted to sleep yet despite how late at night it was.

'Hey Jace.'

'Huh?'

'The apartment is a bit large for the two of us, don't you think?'

Jace thought for a second, looked at her in the eyes and replied, 'Maybe. What's the matter?'

'I'm thinking about the extra bedroom…' mumbled Clary as she pondered.

'What about it?'

'Let's find ourselves a new roommate!'

'Roommate?'

'Yes, a roommate! He or she can take the third bedroom! What's an easier way to make money? Besides, more people more fun -'

The yellow orbs dimmed a bit, as if in slight disappointment, before quickly recovering as he interjected, 'A she. Fiery. She can take the third bedroom.'

She feigned an irritated eye roll. 'You just want to get laid easily.'

He gasped melodramatically, 'Ouch! That really hurts. Is that what you think about me? I told you I've already sworn off casual hook-ups! Besides, does this face and this body look like they need a roommate to get some fun?'

'You're an idiot.'

'Nope, I'm sexy.' He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

'Oh yeah keep telling yourself that,' she shook her head with a snort. 'Anyway, so that's a yes?'

'Mhm, as long as it's a she,' agreed Jace, the corners of his lips lifted up into a goofy smirk. 'Lemme draft up a notice soon!'

'Aww you're the best! What could I ever do without you?'

'I know, right? You're lucky to live with someone as gorgeous as me. Not everyone can handle this awesomeness, you know.'

Clary snorted and punched him at his arm lightly, 'One more word, my dinner will be on your shirt and all over the sofa.'

He snickered and stretched slightly, 'Alright, Jace out.'

Clary yawned, followed by Jace, as if it spread like an infection.

'I can't wait to meet our new roommate,' said Clary nonchalantly.

After a delayed second, Jace replied, 'Yeah, me too.'

A/N

I've made some edits to this chapter. Probably will do to other chapters as well. Please tell me what you think about this new version!

- Kat xx