A/N: Major apologies for going AWOL for so long!!! I just finished my Nanowrimo (For all of you who don't know what that is, I wrote 50,000 words in 17 days ) And I KNOW I should be updating my others especially A Through Z since its been so long and I promise I will I just can NOT get this little story out of my head!!! So enjoy! (By the way, this is set in City Of Ashes or maybe early City of Glass.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jace, Clary, Romeo or Juliet.
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Tick. Tick. Tick.
The grandfather clock was the only sound, pounding in Clary's ears like it was a heartbeat, steady and slow when hers wasn't.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
She let out an uneven breath of air and turned to page of her book, avoiding looking up. She had come to the library in hope of escaping the reality swirling around her. She wanted to be sucked into the fantasy world of one of the books Hodge had kept around.
She wanted to forget that her mother was in a coma, forget about the fact that Valentine was a raving lunatic hell bent on killing them all, forget about the fact that her best friend was a vampire and it was all her fault.
But most of all, she wanted to forget about the one who made her want to sing and scream at the same time, the one she wanted so desperately but was never allowed to have.
She wanted to forget about Jace.
So as the sun slipped behind the city line, she sneaked into the library. She lit the candles, the room filled suddenly with the soft light. Clary grabbed a leather bound book and settled down on the soft couch.
All was good until the library door creaked open, a tall slim figure sneaking into the library. Clary didn't need to look to see who was standing behind her; she could feel his presence creeping along her spine.
"Great minds think alike, huh?" he whispered, grabbing a book and settled down in the chair across from her. Clary peeked over the edge of her book. Jace was in sweat pants and an old shirt, one that was tattered and torn. His hair was glistening, straight from the shower.
"Must run in the family." She grumbled, seeing Jace's face tighten at her comment. He propped his bare feet on the table separating them. If Maryse were to see him, his head would be disconnected from his body and put on the mantle. But Jace didn't care, just like he never cared about anything.
With a sigh she went back to the book, reading the same line over again.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Clary huffed, loosing her focus. The room seemed to sizzle with the electricity; the dim lightening seemed to worsen it. Why, oh why did she have to use candles instead of the lamp?
It felt as if they were magnets, the energy pulling them so close yet one of them was flipped, the energy the same and just barely pushing each other away.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Clary reread the same sentence again, her clouded mind trying to process the words. Jace sighed, flipping the page. Clary peeked over the frayed edge of her book. His book was placed in his lap, his fingers tucked randomly in between the pages. His face was twisted in concentration as if he too were having difficulties keeping his eyes on the page.
As if he knew she was staring at him he looked up. Clary quickly looked back at the pages, pretending she had been looking at the pages the whole time. But her heartbeat pounded in her ears and she was sure he could hear.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Jace sighed again, flipping the page. Clary hands numbly did the same. Focus, Fray, focus, its not that hard to do. He's just a boy, a silly stupid boy.
But he wasn't, oh he wasn't. He was like her sun and she was the lowly planet, drawn in orbit around him, begging for the light and warmth he gave off. Each time, she was drawn closer to him unable to break free.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
"God does that clock ever shut up?" She muttered, running a hand through her tousled hair. Jace chuckled and looked up at her. "No, it doesn't. It's just our reminder that time is moving on. Even if you don't want it to." He said. Clary looked at him, her emerald eyes immediately connecting to his golden ones.
Jace coughed and broke their gaze, going back to reading. Clary's eye shut slowly and she drew in air slowly through pursed lips. When she opened them Jace was staring at her again.
"What?" She asked, suddenly self-conscious. "You suddenly looked peaceful." He commented, turning the page in his book without looking at it. "Is that a bad thing?" She whispered. "I just haven't seen you not looking worried in a long time." Jace whispered back, going back to his book.
Clary frowned. Jace drew his book up over his face, only his hair peeking out above it. Clary remembered how it felt to run her fingers through it, how it felt to twist it beneath her fingers. It was like silk, made just for the gods.
She shook her head and looked at her book again, lost. She had no clue what was going on in the chapter and she had only one person to blame. Clary sighed and switched positions, absent-mindedly placing her feet beside Jace's on the table.
He nudged her with his toe against her calf. She glanced up, Jace's lips twisted into a smirk. She nudged him back. He laughed running a hand through his hair. She froze, staring at his hand.
"What, would you like to run your hand through too? Free admission tonight." Jace joked, catching her staring. Clary blushed and glanced away. "Don't be ridiculous." She murmured.
"Ah come on, don't lie. You know you want to." He teased, hitting her again with his feet. Clary scowled and placed her legs on top of Jace's keeping him from nudging her. She ran a hand up her leg, smoothing down the chills growing across her skin.
Jace stopped and stared at her legs. "What, want a run too? Free admission tonight." She mocked. Jace cocked his eyebrow at her. "Is that a dare?" He asked smoothly. "No its sarcasm, your native language." Clary said.
"Too bad." Jace said, yanking his legs beneath hers. They landed with a thump on the table. Clary glared at him as he placed his legs, rather heavy, on hers. "Your legs are heavy." She complained.
"Are you calling me fat?" Jace asked, placing the book on his lap. Clary laughed. "No, not at all. Just heavy." Jace's eye narrowed. "Go back to the book Clary." He said. Clary smiled softly and went back to reading whatever exactly was going on. She wasn't sure still.
Her legs began to grow numb but it was ok. This was the closest she would get to Jace tonight and she would accept this.
Jace shifted his weight. "Uncomfortable?" She asked without glancing up. "This chair is too small." He complained. "You're the one who insisted to sit across from me." Clary said, turning the page. The words were beginning to make sense.
Suddenly the couch was sunken in on one side, the weight was gone from her legs. "Much better." Jace said with a smirk from beside her. Their arms were almost touching.
Jace snuggled down into the couch, his skin brushing against hers. She inhaled quickly, the shock of electricity running down her arm. Clary tried really hard to concentrate but this time, there was no fighting, her concentration had gone AWOL and there was no going back.
Clary shifted her weight, their hips touching. Jace glanced over with a small smile. Clary ignored him and kept reading. The clock kept ticking, the ticking growing louder it seemed.
"I'll never understand Romeo." Jace muttered turning the page. Clary now saw the title; he was reading Romeo and Juliet, something that oddly touched Clary.
"Why?" She asked. "Because, he goes through all this torment just to be with Juliet. Why not settle for someone he's allowed to be with? Why make it difficult?" He asked.
"Because he loves Juliet and Juliet loves him and they don't care about the rules and what other people would say. They just want each other." Clary explained. Jace stopped reading, his finger holding his page.
"But why? Why do they love each other when they know its wrong? Shouldn't it be programmed into their genetics to hate each other?" Jace asked.
"Why do I get the feeling we aren't talking about Romeo and Juliet any more?" Clary whispered. Jace was silent, just staring at Clary. She sighed and answered anyways.
"Because love works in the strangest ways. It doesn't care if your supposed to not be in love with that person, it just says 'Hey! You two are going to love each other and deal with it.' And then you have deal with it. There is no compromising, there is no deal making, there is no ignoring. Once your heart decides it doesn't give in to your petty arguments because it knows you want this too." She said, slightly breathless.
"I don't think we're talking about Romeo and Juliet any more either." Jace whispered shaking his head. "Well we better start or else—" Jace covered my mouth. "Just be quiet Clary." He whispered.
Jace looked down at his book with a forced concentration. Clary sighed and shifted her body so her knees were propped up, blocking Jace's face from her view. Jace's arm looped under her knees and straightened her legs, laying them across his lap. His arm rested lightly on them and he continued reading. Clary stared at him, waiting for his explanation.
Jace sighed and looked up at her, his head resting gently on the top of the couch. "Why did you do that?" She asked.
"I don't mind you using me a leg rest, I'd rather you be comfortable. In fact, I'm more comfortable like this also. Beside, the heart doesn't give in remember? You just have to deal with its decision and stop arguing with it. Because you and it know you want this too."