It had been two weeks since my first attack. Since then, Jocelyn, Luke, and I all had moved into the Institute for safety reasons. Tomorrow was going to be my mom's special day. Tomorrow, their love would be made official and be made eternal. However, I still don't think it's a good idea to have their wedding so soon, considering new demons of all different types have been showing up rapidly, day after day seeming to be stronger and more terrifying than the last. "Clary? Can I come in?" The voice was darker behind the door, but I knew it was Jace. I turned on the lamp by my bed and wandered to the door. "Hey." "Hey," I said, allowing him to step inside. He walked slowly over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, signaling me to join him. We sat in silence for a few seconds and I desired to reach up and stroke his soft blond hair and kiss him from his forehead to his lips. The wanting was the most painful thing for the both of us, but somehow, we'd both managed to come this far. "So, tomorrow, huh?" He asked, trying to break the silence between us and the tension that was as thick as ice at this point. His hair was tousled and messy looking, but he was still so beautiful. The golden glow of his skin was darkened due to the dim lighting and his eyes were a dark honey color. His hands were resting in his lap and he only wore a light grey t-shirt and sweats. Even looking as if he'd just crawled out of bed, Jace still was able to look like a god. I kept my eyes down at my fiddling hands, trying to distract myself from wanting to touch him. His breathing was low and even, I missed being able to hear the pounding of his heartbeat. "Mhmm." "It's not that I'm not happy, but I'm worried. We've been attacked everyday for the past two weeks and I just don't see any point in trying to have a perfect wedding if it's obvious another demon's gonna show up and possibly injure somebody and ruin everything." "Clary...it's not we that have been getting attacked, it's you, and It's really worrying me. I honestly didn't think that he'd be coming after either one of us, but it's obvious he's after you." He paused, "He's making it impossible for any of us to get to him because he's using demons and new portals. It beats me how he's been able to do any of this!" I could hear the anger rising in his voice while I thought about his words: It's not we that have been getting attacked, it's you. What does he want with me? Remembering everything that Sebastian had told me made me flinch. You belong to me Clary. You belong to me Clary. I finally looked up at Jace and his eyes were cold and filled with concern, "What if he does?" "What if he succeeds––what if he does take me?" I waited patiently for his answer. The edge in his voice was hard to miss, "He won't Clary. I will not let that happen." As if he was going to say more, he cleared his throat, but stayed silent. "Jace, I know that you're going to do everything possible to prevent that from happening, but if it does, you have to know that it's not your fault. I don't want you coming after me either." "Clary, you cannot make me sit back while knowing that you're with him. I will though, do everything possible to keep him from getting to you." Arguing at this point was hopeless, so I decided to start a new conversation, hoping that we could talk a while longer. "Is that the only reason you wanted to come talk to me?" "No. I wanted to see you again, safe. I haven't been able to sleep for a few weeks now because I'm scared that something might happen to you. I also like being with you." "Me too... How's the whole fire situation?" Jace sighed, "I used to wish that I could have a superpower, other than just being able to punch things hard and run fast, but this was not what I had in mind. I hate fire now, like literally hate it." "What superpower did you wish for?" He smiled lovingly, "That I could fly. I wished that I could just stay up in the sky for as long as I wanted to and never have to come back down to earth." "That's cute, Jace," I giggled. "Everything about me's cute, what on earth would make you think any different?" "By the angle Jace, you're lucky that I can put up with that big head of yours." "My head is not big, it's actually average sized, just much more attractive than that of an average man." I wished that I could slap his arm playfully, but I kept my hands in my lap and laughed. "Uh-huh." We joked around a little more, before I looked at the clock and realized that it was already two in the morning. I didn't want to be a complete wreck tomorrow so I forced myself to to tell Jace goodbye. "It's late, we should probably be getting to bed." He nodded, hating that it was true. "Okay, can't wait to see you tomorrow, Clary." "Me either, save me a seat okay?" He nodded and stood up, allowing me to lead him to the door. "I love you," he whispered and touched his lips to mine for a brief second, too short for my liking. There was still that instant shock, making us both pull back quickly, but also laugh a little. "I love you too," I said and closed the door behind him. I smiled as I fell to sleep, letting beautiful dreams overpower the bad ones. "Clary!" I was being pulled out of bed and I linked my hands around the poles of the headboard. I forced myself to open my eyes, not surprised to see Izzy, wide-eyed and perfect looking. "Isabelle, what?" I snapped. "Don't give me that, Clary. Let's get ready!" She squealed. I refused to move and the girl beside me yanked the covers from on top of my body. I sat up quickly as the cold air hit my bare legs and I gave Izzy the stink-eye. "Sleeping Beauty, let's go!" She clapped her hands and skipped out of my room with me following behind her, dragging my feet with every step. Once she'd lead me to her room, she locked it as if we were going to be doing something awful. "Jump in the shower, and then the fun begins!" I groaned, but I did enjoy the shower. I took an obnoxious amount of time before Izzy was pounding on my door, "Get your skinny ass out of the damn shower Clary! God, you're worse than Jace!" I rolled my eyes and spent another few minutes letting the warm water seep into my skin and wake me up until I regrettably turned the water off. I wrapped a fuzzy white towel around me that Isabelle had put out for me and dried my body off decently before putting on the pink robe that Izzy had also instructed me to wear. "Are you done?" Isabelle asked while knocking. I could tell that she was clearly annoyed and was trying her best to hide the irritability in her voice. She wasn't successful. "Yes." The door to the bathroom was yanked open and she tugged on my arm, pulling me to her make-up counter. "I'm thinking that we do a pinkish eyeshadow to match the dress and something real simple, but beautiful." I nodded, not really caring. She delicately applied a sparkly coral color to my eyelids and applied a few coats of mascara, finishing my eye makeup off with a really thin line of black eyeliner on my top lid. She applied some pretty pink blush and gave me a nude-ish lip gloss. I had to admit that I felt really pretty and and thankful for Isabelle. "Oh, thank you!" I said. "Of course! But we haven't even done your hair yet," she said while smiling widely. I shrugged back down in my chair and observed my face more. The blush highlighted my cheeks and made my bone structure appear to be much more sharp and feminine. The pink eyeshadow made my green eyes pop and my lashes looked thicker and longer. Izzy decided to curl my hair, so she was currently using the blow dryer, making it look as if flames were burning all around me. My red hair had gotten to be really long since I'd met the Lightwoods, it was nearly down to my elbows and was much longer than my mother's now. It took awhile until my hair was fully dry and once Isabelle brushed it all out, my hair was puffy and was stubbornly trying to form into it's natural waves. Iz curled my hair, section by section until it was finally falling in very pretty and tame curls that I had never even thought were possible for my hair. She finished the look off with a thin gold headband, loosely pulling the majority of the hair around my face back and allowed a few pretty curls to flow free. "Gosh, when Jace sees you, he's gonna flip!" Izzy cheered and stepped back to admire her amazing work. "Well, he already does flip when he sees you, but-you know what I mean!" I nodded while smiling happily. "Okay, now put your dress on, but don't you dare ruin anything!" I grabbed my bridesmaid gown hanging on a hook by Izzy's door and returned to the bathroom. The dress was absolutely stunning. It was made of a pretty echofon material and was a very beautiful salmon color. Gold ribbons outlined my stomach and breasts and made a cute little tie in the back. I was not a fan of heels, so I stuck with gold ballet-flats. I took a step back to look at myself in the bathroom's main mirror and nearly gasped. It was a nice feeling to feel pampered and girly, one feeling that I rarely ever had. I stepped out of the bathroom and Izzy clapped her hands, "Goodness! You look gorgeous Clary!"
"You don't seem happy..."
"Does what?" I knew Jace knew what I was asking, but I could see that he didn't want to let himself think like that just by how he had tensed up completely and by the sharpness of his breath.
"Thank you, you too." Izzy had her hair straightened in her usual style and wore dark eye makeup that matched her dark purple dress. Unlike me, Izzy had put on major high heels, giving her at least another four inches. "Simon won't be able to pick his jaw up off the ground."
"Aw, thanks!" She gave me a tight hug, careful not to touch my hair by only squeezing my shoulders and then pulled away, smiling brightly. "It's about time to meet everyone downstairs! I'm so excited to see how your mom will look!"I nodded and let her pull me through the hallway and down the large marble stairs, while
her shoes noisily echoed beside me. I didn't know why, but my heart was pounding out of my chest because I was so nervous. I'm not sure what I was so nervous about, but it had to be what Jace's reaction would be and or how the wedding would go. I wiped away all of the possible scenarios at the wedding and focused on something else that was making scared. I didn't not want Jace to be at the bottom of the staircase, but in a way I also hoped that he wasn't going to be there only because I was not the kind of girl that would like to have that grand entrance that a girl like Isabelle, on the other hand, would love. I had never been the one to talk that loud or dance at a party, unless it was at a club, like the Pandemonium. The nerves were starting to get to me and I would've stopped and turned around if it weren't for the girl pulling at my arm. He wasn't there. Instant relief washed upon me and I smiled. Simon and Maia were there though, with Mayrse and Robert Lightwood. Remembering that both Luke and Jocelyn were already at the church, I frowned and I'd almost missed Alec leaning against one of the white pillars. His face looked miserable, just heartbroken and lost. His beautiful blue eyes had lost a certain sparkle and his lean face had lost a lot of its appeal, becoming too lean and bonney. He looked up suddenly, aware that someone was watching him and he smiled. I smiled back and debated on whether or not to go talk to him. "Ehem," someone cleared his throat from behind me. I turned slowly and was greeted into warm arms. Jace was wearing a very nice suit and his hair was brushed nicely. He pulled away suddenly and I tried to hide the hurt in my face, but my frown didn't really help the matter. "You look beautiful." "Izzy did all of it. I think she spent an entire hour on just my hair," I said while gazing up into his eyes, managing a simple smile in which I only used one side of my mouth. Jace didn't care if I saw him frowning, that was another difference between me and him. "It's not what Izzy did that makes you beautiful, it's you." "You don't look too bad yourself." He rolled his eyes as if it were obvious and put a stiff hand around mine. It had been at least five minutes until his hand finally relaxed. "Hey Clary," Simon said. I hugged him with my arm opposite of the one that Jace had occupied. Izzy appeared by his side and wrapped her skinny fingers around the crook of his neck, trying to make it appear as if she were oblivious that there were two other people in front of her. "Honestly, get a room," Jace insisted. His tone of voice made me chuckle. Izzy pulled away from Simon who looked very uncomfortable at the moment and glared at her brother, "Now you know how I feel!" "Oh please," Jace laughed darkly under his breath. Simon gave me a look telling me: oh great and looked down. He wore a suit like Jace and his curly brown hair was still wet. I caught eyes with Mayrse and she signaled for me to join her. I unlinked my fingers from Jace's and couldn't help but feel the disappointment in his stare that he gave me. "Hi, Mayrse," I said. Mayrse pulled me in a hug and was beaming. She looked as if she'd lost a lot of weight too and her brown hair was pulled back in an elegant bun. Her Alec-colored eyes were decorated in a minimal amount of makeup and her lips were coated with a dark red. She usually looked beautiful like Isabelle, but unlike her daughter, Mayrse couldn't pull off everything. However, she looked striking. "Oh thank you. So do you." "Are you excited?" I nodded my head, "Yes, very." That was a lie though. "I'm so happy for Jocelyn and Luke. Those two really deserve each other. Just a couple made to be." I continued to nod, not sure of how to respond. Mayrse kept a small talk with me, until I was beginning to feel uncomfortable, "I'm going to go talk to Maia. Thank you so much for being here, Mayrse." "Of course!" She chimed and turned towards Robert, equally as glad as I was. Maia was currently talking to Izzy and I joined their group, forming a triangle with our bodies. "Hey, girl!" Maia said and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back. When I pulled apart, Maia was still smiling. "You look really pretty, Maia." "You shouldn't be the one talking. Look at you," she twirled with my hands in hers. She wore a short white dress that brightened her beautiful skin tone. Her amber eyes had a thick line of black around them and a lot of mascara. Girls like Maia and Izzy could pull off that much makeup and still be able to look fresh. Another reason to envy them. I rolled my eyes, "Oh thanks, but seriously, you look beautiful." "Thank you Clary," Maia said revealing dimples I never realized she had. "We should all get going! The cars are already parked outside!" Mayrse said alarmed. Jace made his way towards me again and clutched my hand.
Her tall lean frame had a pretty dress fitted to her similar to mine. "Clary, you look so beautiful," she said.
"Shall we?" Jace smirked.
While rolling my eyes I said, "We shall."
