Sorry another filler chapter, but whatever. I'll post a chapter a day!

Again, All Rights to Cassandra Clare...how I envy her...


Clary was hot and sweaty and if the guy next to her, who looked like some sort of hobbit, hit her one more time with his groin she was going to go search for Maia and then let's see him use something that would no longer be there, she really hoped he didn't want to have any children in the near future, though she didn't see him getting anyone anytime soon. She frowned as he hit her again and she searched the crowd for the one person who had caused all her misfortune so far.

Not only had hobbit boy gotten on her last nerves but Maia had, also, taken her car keys, so the only way of escape was to go to the source.

Her eyes landed on Simon who was leaning leisurely at the bar, he looked lean and tall in the dark wash jeans and button down black shirt Maia had forced him into. His hair was nicely brushed and he was chatting with the girl who was so far out of his league it was comically sad. The woman next to him was a busty woman with dark brown curls that cascaded down her lean torso before ending in red tips. Simon was trying and failing at smirking, trying not to look nervous and making a failed effort to look more confident; as if he thought he was actually going somewhere but Clary watched as the woman, obviously bored, turned rolled her eyes and walked away while he was in mid-speech. Clary bit her lip, a mix between hysterics and humiliation for Simon coursing through her. She knew she had to let him make his own mistakes but it was too hard for her to watch.

She searched her surroundings again for the slim, radiant girl who was nowhere to be seen and as a third person grabbed her butt, she went on the move. Her search for Maia would continue on foot, as she pushed through the many sweating grinding bodies a strong smell of body odor and different smells of perfume and cologne filled the air. The lights above her head were of many colors and flashed brightly; so by the time she reached the stairs, which lead to the mingling area, she was feeling light headed and faint. She hoped that Maia was either mingling with one of the many men that waned for her affection or could be seen from the upper level.
She ascended the stairs before impatiently going up two at a time, wobbling a little in the high heeled shoes Maia had put her in. At reaching the upper level, she rushed to the railing and leaned over searching for Maia; who had ditched her after the 6th time Clary had complained about coming.

This wasn't who Clary was, this person in this skin tight dress which Clary was certain was a size to small and had been one of Maia's shirts, fish nets and ankle boots was not her. Her face didn't usually have a smoky look to it, which Maia had, again, forced onto her. Clary tried to use as less make-up as possible or at least kept it natural. Her red hair wasn't usually fashionably piled on top of her head. She wasn't usually this...well pretty. Clary cringed at what would happen to her if she had told Simon and Maia what she truly thought of herself, knowing she would have gotten an earful.
A wave of triumph flooded her as her eyes landed on a dark-skinned beauty, who was moving her hips in a slow hypnotic motion; a group of some attractive and some not-so-much attractive people surrounded her. Clary remembered when they were children and teens and Maia couldn't move at all, she had been stiff and jerky; but, now watching her you wouldn't have believed that at all. Clary shook her head as she started for the stairs, to think such a slim girl had taken karate when she was little and could probably kick everyone's butts, well, it just didn't seem possible to Clary. She had to shove her way through the crowd of men to reach her friend, who had her eyes closed and was obviously very into the music.

Maia wore her tight black pants; of course, she got to wear pants, tight red V-necked t-shirt and leather jacket. Her black combat boots made her look like a mixture of sexy and dangerous. On anyone else in a club it would have looked stupid, but Maia worked the outfit she wore. The many men with dropped jaws could attest to that. Her hair was a clump of curls on her head, some falling out and framing her face. Her lips were a blood red, eyes lined with black with a silvery eye shadow that shimmered under the flashing lights. Clary couldn't help but think that this might not be her best friend but someone who had walked out of a fairytale, she looked like a princess, well, the princess of seduction from what Clary could tell by all the men's faces. And Clary could tell why the crowd of men stared blankly, Maia moved in a hypnotizing motion. She looked beautiful and mesmerizing.

Just as Clary was about to grab Maia and round-up Simon and beg them to take her home, she saw a man at the bar. His hair was spiked and was colored electric green at the tips. His face was stunning, with high cheekbones, thin lips and almond shaped eyes, he had to be the most beautiful person Clary had ever seen. That's when she saw the color of his eyes a luminous violet, and in that moment she remembered her mother saying that the only person she had ever known to have purple eyes was Elizabeth Taylor.

Much to her surprise he pointed at her and beckoned her closer. But she looked over her shoulder just in case he wasn't actually speaking to her. And when she say no one behind her looking is way, she started to walk over, and for the first time she felt as if she was floating as if her feet were moving for her. On her pursuit of the boy she walked in Maia's line of vision and almost straight into Simon, who stood up from where he leaned and called out to her but Clary found she couldn't stop. Her body wasn't listening to her; literally, as she pushed and shoved through the crowd all she muttered was 'excuse me' and 'pardon me'. But she wanted to scream for Simon and Maia and she hoped that her friends could sense her fear or the on approaching danger. Because mystery boy had left the bar and was walking out the back entrance and Clary found all she could do was follow.


Clary couldn't control her feet, which was the first thing she thought of. The second was that mystery man seemed to know exactly where he was taking her. How long had he been planning to pull this...magic trick? For the first time in her life she wished she had Maia's strength or...maybe control over her own body! Clary found her hand reaching for the door to the back alley; the music and people's voices all seemed to blend together in a frenzy of blurred speeches.

Clary had to use her whole body weight to get the door open, and after mistakenly trying to pull the door open with no avail, she pushed forward with all her might. The door slowly creaked open. She found her feet taking big confident strides in to the pitch black alleyway, though Clary, herself, was anything but confident. She felt her heart beating fast, she had no doubt that if Simon or Maia didn't get the odd feeling something was up with Clary; then, they would certainly hear her heart beat.

It was then that Clary saw a dark figure in the far corner of the alley, and if not for the green tips that seemed to glow, she had no doubt she would not have been able to locate him.

Her steps turned slower and more timid as the distance between them shortened. Clary's heartbeat increased in speed the closer she came. The man had his body turned away her, the muscles of his back visible through his black attire. He was much taller than her; but, that wasn't hard seeing as she'd been the same size since elementary school. He had to be, at least, 6'4 or higher which meant he could easily over take her. This simple piece of knowledge did nothing to calm her over accelerated heart. She found she was shaking as well, from the cold or from the situation she had no clue.

She could see her breath coming in fast puffs, the icy wind causing goose bumps to form on her exposed skin; she cursed Maia once again for putting her in this ridiculous get up.

She stopped just a short distance away from mystery man, just out of his reach and she almost sighed with relief but the air got caught in her throat as the figure turned to face her. The smirk on his face made her heart drop right to her stomach. And the eerie laugh that came next made her feel as if she might bring her heart right back up and out her mouth.

"You know you're a hard girl to find, Ms. Morgenstern." His voice was as pleasant as a mosquito bite.

Clary shook her head, causing some of the piled curls on her head to fall and tickle her face. "That's not my—"

"Ah, yes, you prefer Ms. Fray in this realm. Correct?"

"How..." Clary's voice shook and she cursed herself again for not being as strong or brave as Maia or Simon. She gulped loudly. "How do you know my name?"

He furrowed his eyebrows for only a second momentarily confused before smiling to sweetly again. "Let's not play games Ms. Morgen-." He paused and cleared his throat. The sound made Clary's heart jump. "I mean, Ms. Fray." He took a step toward her and she found she couldn't move, like her feet were glued to the floor. "You know perfectly well why I'm here."

Clary forgot her fear for a second, a flood of ignorance took its place as she shook her head slowly. "No, I don't...understand."

A scowl of impatience graced his angelically demonic face. "Where is the book? Murlog's book... where is it!" His voice was raising and his face was twisting in impossible ways.

It looked just like when she, Maia and Simon went to the apple store and took pictures with the camera and distorted their faces. Though they had used technology, this man's face was changing all on its own. He no longer looked like the handsome man from inside the club, he looked more sinister and... otherworldly.

"Where is it...WHERE!" His voice was now much deeper and seemed to echo by itself. Clary opened her mouth to scream but it wouldn't come. She was frozen and she didn't think it was mystery man's doing but her own. She was frozen with fear. She didn't know what to do, didn't know where to run. Maia's voice entered her mind then, it sounded encouraging and in this whole mess that's exactly what she needed.

"Were all those self-defense lessons I gave you for nothing?" Clary could practically hear Maia laughing, and smell Maia's favorite perfume Roses and Vanilla. "Get into a fighting stance, feet spread and hands clenched in front of you. Remember to S.I.N.G: Solar Plex, In step, Nose and Groin." Maia's voice was stern and suddenly turned soft. "Come on show them what you got Clare Bear." Maia voice sounded as if she was right next to her. Clary did as Maia said repeating it to herself as she did.

"Feet spread...hands clenched in front of you...S.I.N.G..." She didn't know how well this was going to go especially since the heels that she was wearing were making it hard to get her fighting stance right. Plus, her legs were still quivering; this she knew was totally from the situation at hand because her body had completely turned numb from the cold. The man's eyebrows furrowed again though this time one of his eyebrows were located on his cheek while the other was higher up his forehead.

Upon realizing what she intended to do, he let out a bumming laugh. And she felt more uncertain of herself then she had been before. And for some reason she was almost certain she was about to die Simon entered her mind, filling her brain with the feeling of childhood and warmth.

While Maia was dark and mysterious, Simon was open and light. The three of them had made a great trio. She closed her eyes not wanting to witness her own death.

"What's this talk in past tense all about Clare, hmm? Last I checked you were still alive and kicking. You're not dead you dweeb, now show them what you got." She could almost see Simon smiling, his glasses perched on his nose and cheering her on.

"Hang in there, Tiger. We've got your back." Maia's came then.

"Forever and Always." The both said together, their voices as clear as if they were standing right in front of her. Behind her closed eyes she saw they both standing before her, her life had been messed up and they were all she had. She owed them this, besides they had her back.

"Forever and always." Clary repeated, a determination she didn't know she had flared up inside of her. This surge of determination was caused solely from a picture of her friend's faces covered in flour, a memory that seemed to be so far away now.

The man cocked his distorted head to the side. "Who..." He shook his head, looking at her now determined stance. "You cannot beat me." He said with another bumming laugh, shaking his head before returning to a blank and serious expression, Clary took note with a startling gasp that his eyes were now slit like a feline's...or a reptile's. "Not without-"

"Hey, Leather Face." A heavily-filled sarcastic voice said from behind Clary. She whipped around, her hair moving with her, having fallen completely from its entrapment on her head, and settling down her back. A boy stood before her, the light from the club turning his shaggy hair into a blindingly, dark halo.

A little ways in front of him stood a girl, her hands on her slim hips and her knee high combat boots set to a fighting stance; her heels digging into the grimy concrete. Her hair had come undone from its twisted bun and it hung in tangled curls around her neck. She looked like a warrior princess; they both looked like a force to be reckoned with.

Maia and Simon had come to her rescue though she had never asked or gave any indication that she had needed it but they had known somehow, someway and they had come. And no matter how much Clary loved how they had come, she had wished they hadn't. Wished that just once they didn't know she needed them, wished that they hadn't come to help. Because before it would have been just between her and Freak Show, and if she had died at least it would have been just her but now the people that meant the most to her were in trouble too.
And she couldn't let them die; she just couldn't, frankly it wasn't an option, though she didn't think Leather Face was all that into choices. It looked to her he was more of a...his way or the highway type guy, well highway straight to heaven or hell depending upon the sins you committed. Clary couldn't even fathom what heaven would even be if she didn't have Maia or Simon there... well it wouldn't be heaven to her at all.

"Step away from Clary." Maia's voice was like a bucket of poison and her eyes seemed to glow a deep yellow in the moonlight. She could almost taste the venom in her voice and Maia's threat hadn't been pointed at her at all. Clary knew she was going delirious when it almost looked like Maia was growing a snout. She slowly turned her body back toward Leather Face and almost stumbled back a step upon seeing how much distance he had closed while her back was turned.

They stood at a Mexican Standstill, one boy and two girls locked on one very gruesome looking man, who would make the first move. Who would strike first, Clary could practically see Maia aching to make the starting attack but knew she wouldn't; in any other situation, maybe, but not one where Clary wasn't behind her. If Maia made the first move she would never make it between Leather Face and Clary and Clary would get hurt. Maia knew this, but so did Leather Face.

All the cards were in his hands, unless Clary made her own play. Weak, little Clary who couldn't protect herself; she would always need protecting and was too frail and fragile to do any of her own protecting.

A wave of disgust rolled through her frame and almost made her fall to her knees; she struggled to control her body. A wave of realization pushed the disgust to the back of her mind. She had control over her body now, maybe he couldn't concentrate with this many people around. He was only focusing on her in the club but now he had two others to keep his focus on as well. Especially with Maia looking like she was out for blood.

That's when she knew what she had to do, make a run for the door that Simon was holding open; to grab Maia, who looked like she was growing claws, and drag her through the door and lose him in the crowd. Then they could make a run for home. She would do something this time, she wouldn't just sit back and watch from the sideline; goody-goody-two-shoes Clary, little Ms. Wallflower Clary was going to get her best friends and escape.

His eyes, which were drifting around his face, flickered from Simon to Maia then to Clary herself and back again. Maia's voice entered her mind again. She locked eyes on Maia to see if it was the actually Maia not the one that lived in her head, but her brown eyes, now a dark yellow, were still locked on Leather Face, her lips pulled back forming a snarl.

"Remember, Clare bear, anything can be used as a weapon: Sand, a pen, string, anything." Clary remembered she had laughed when Maia had said this to her, though now she was glad she was told.

Clary pretended to double over, her hand falling to the concrete and digging her nails into the grim. Maia yelled her name and Simon took a step forward the door swinging closed a little but before they could make a move of attack Clary stood up fast almost stumbling again and threw her fist full of grim in Mystery Man's face. It didn't exactly get in his eyes but it landed in what Clary believed to be his mouth.

She didn't turn to make sure as she sprinted toward Maia, who grabbed Clary's arm and they both took off toward Simon who had his hands outstretched. He grabbed them both and pulled them into the club's back hallway, Clary turned as the door was closing and locked eyes with Leather Face, he did not look happy.

Not at all.


I know it's cheesy, but bare with me here.

It will get much better I promise. And soon a tall, bright and dreamy will enter the picture!

I can;t keep it a secret anymore! It's Jace!

Oh...you already knew that...