"You know I never understood something," Isabelle started. She was chewing on a carrot. Clary winced in disgust. She hated carrots. "How could someone be so popular yet be such a major asshole…"

Clary followed her glance to the table behind them. She was staring at Sebastian, unfortunately. Clary winced again. "Can we at least try to refrain from talking about anything having to do with my brother?"

Isabelle's gaze fell on Clary, quizzically. Clary sighed. "He's been hanging around Jace a lot lately and it's killing me. He's been over every day and I hate being cooped up in my room."

Isabelle rolled your eyes. "So you should just talk to Jace… It'll make everything a lot easier, you know."

Clary scoffed, lifting a single French fry to her mouth. "Oh god," Isabelle breathed. Now it was Clary's turn to look at her quizzically. Before Isabelle could speak, Clary knew.

"Hey girls," Sebastian greeted, sitting down next to Clary. He made the whole table vibrate. And not too far after him was Jace and Alec, Isabelle's older brother.

Clary looked over at Isabelle quickly to see she had transferred to her normal state to goo-goo-gaga over Sebastian. Clary rolled her eyes and looked over at her brother.

"Can we help you?"

From her peripheral vision, she could see Jace sit across from her next to Isabelle, Alec mimicked his move. "Since today is the official end of the first week of school, we decided to celebrate. Party, tonight?"

Clary looked over to Isabelle, who had finally snapped out of her trance. She laughed slightly. "It's like you don't even know who we are." She smiled. "Of course we'll be there."

"Where is the party?" Clary asked, avoiding eye contact with Jace.

Alec spoke up. "I was thinking our house. What do you think, Iz?"

"I mean, I don't have a problem with it. What about mom?"

"I think she's going out tonight to her salsa dancing class."

Clary heard Jace laugh slightly. God, she loved his laugh. Isabelle shrugged. "I don't see why not then. Dad's out of town until next week."

"Perfect." Sebastian said, smiling. "So it's settled then, tonight… let's say, around 8?"

Isabelle nodded her head, apparently agreeing for everyone at the table. The three boys stood from the table and began to walk away.

"See you guys later!" Jace called to them before catching up to Alec and Sebastian. Clary looked after him, slightly surprised and with dreamy eyes. God, she hated what he did to her.

"So tonight should be fun." Isabelle commented, smiling slyly.


Isabelle brushed one last stroke on Clary's rosy cheeks and grinned. "All done!" She exclaimed, excitingly.

Clary opened her eyes, watching Isabelle prance around her room to grab the small mirror from on top of her dresser. She brought it over to Clary and waited patiently for her reaction.

Clary lifted the mirror to her face and gasped slightly. Was this really her?

"Oh my god, Isabelle…" Clary almost didn't recognize herself. The top of her eyes contained swift strokes of a mixture of black and grey eye shadow. Her usually red lashes were dark and thick making her eyes pop. Her face which was usually paler than a white wall actually had color with her light pink cheeks. Clary smiled at her friend. "I'm…"

"Beautiful." Isabelle finished for her. "Not like you aren't every other day, but… you get my drift." She spun around to walk to her closet across the room. "Now to find something to wear!"

Clary was still astonished. She rose from Isabelle's bed to the floor length mirror next to the window. Clary's fiery hair was in neat curls that Isabelle had perfect a while ago, but still wild. Clary couldn't help but stare at her emerald eyes.

"Clary!" She heard from across the room. "Aren't you listening to me?"

But before Clary could respond, she heard her cell phone start ringing. She made her way to Isabelle's bed, where her touch screen phone lay. In a swift movement, she had picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Clare," She recognized the voice.

She turned around to face Isabelle, who was staring at her questionably.

"Hey, Simon…" Isabelle's face dropped.

Simon Lewis was one of Clary's closest friends and Isabelle's ex-boyfriend. They had grown closer when he and Isabelle started going out in the beginning of junior year. Even though most of the time she felt like a third wheel, she hung out with them most of the time. But before summer had started, Simon broke up with Isabelle in order to go live with his grandpa in Virginia. Neither Clary nor Isabelle had heard from Simon since he had left. Isabelle had this unnatural anger towards him; mostly because he broke her heart.

If they were a cartoon, Clary would be able to see the smoke coming out of Isabelle's ears right now. But Isabelle didn't speak.

"How are you? It's been a while." She heard from the other side of the phone.

"Well that isn't my fault, you know. You cut everyone off when you left." She snapped. Maybe she had some anger built up in her too.

Simon always knew when she was angry. His voice softened. "I know and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just had a lot of things on my plate. It's hard to explain right now." He paused for a second. "How is she?" She knew he was referring to Isabelle.

Clary took a deep breath. "Good; better than when you left, that's for sure."

"Do you think I would be able to talk to her? I didn't want to call her cell because I knew if I did, she'd ignore my call all together."

Clary realized she was staring at the ground. She looked up at Isabelle, who was now sitting on a light blue round-shaped chair. She was staring at the ground.

"I can ask, but I can't guarantee anything…" Clary said lowly into the phone.

"Thanks Clare. I know I screwed up, but I want to make things better now."

Without saying another word, she covered the phone with her hand and walked over to Isabelle. Isabelle looked up at her, blank faced. "He wants to talk to you."

Isabelle bit her lip. She had a worried expression on her face. "He wants to make things right, Iz." Clary encouraged. Isabelle shook her head. "I don't want to hear what he has to say," She stood up quickly. "He had four months to explain why he left. He had four months to make things right, and now he's finally opened his eyes and saw the light?" Isabelle rolled her eyes. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Isabelle said, walking back to her closet in search for the perfect outfit for tonight. Clary sighed and put the phone back to her ear.

"I tried."

"I understand," she heard through the phone. "I had a feeling it was too late."

Clary felt a pinch of sadness for Simon. She didn't know why he left so suddenly this past summer, but she knew he still loved Isabelle. What they had was that cutesy-forever love. The kind of love Clary yearned for. She felt like she should at least try to help. "There's a party tonight at her house. Come and make things better." And without saying another word, she hung up the phone.


Jace shrugged his black V-neck on his tanned torso. He walked over to his dresser, spraying himself with cologne. He ran his fingers through his hair and walked out of his room. He legs sported dark-washed up jeans and his feet were his black and white Nikes.

He walked down the stairs of his grandma's house. "I'm going out grandma!" He called out. "Don't wait up!"

He could hear her round the corner into the hallway. "Jace Wayland, where do you think you're going?"

He turned around and smiled. "Going to Alec's. He's having a little get-together."

His grandmother had blonde hair that was so light it was practically grey. Her face had few wrinkles but her hazel eyes were full of love, as always.

Jace's parents had died in a car accident when he was seven. He didn't remember much. His grandmother took him in then without any hesitation and they had been close ever since. She was hilarious and knew how to make anyone laugh. She made the best spaghetti Jace had ever tasted and she knew Jace like the back of her hand. Needless to say, Jace depended on her a lot. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"I may be old," she began, taking a step toward him. "But I ain't stupid. No drinking if you're driving."

Jace smiled. Jace wasn't sure if his parents would ever be as understanding as his grandmother is about his partying. He didn't party much, every now and then. He was a responsible kid, but he needed to let loose once in a while.

"Got it," he said, bending down and kissing her forehead.

"Be careful, honey."

Jace smiled and nodded as he walked out of the front door of the house. He made his way to Sebastian's house next door. Sebastian was walking out of his house too.

"Hey man," he greeted him. Sebastian nodded at him.

They made their way to Sebastian's car, a black trailblazer, and revved up the engine.

"Ready to get your party on tonight?"

"Like you have no idea," Jace said, smiling. But the party wasn't what Jace was so excited about. He knew he would see her again. Maybe he would be able to make it right tonight.


He worked his way through the crowd of people in the Lightwood's backyard. The last time he was here he had been invited by one of the owners of the house, not a friend. He saw faces he recognized from school years past and many bullies he had to encounter from elementary to middle school. He found himself at the drink table near the huge rose bush in the corner of the yard. Someone must have turned on the stereo because dance music started blasting throughout the yard. The bass echoed. He recognized the song.

We're in the spot right now. Ch-checking it out. Packed from wall to wall it's going down no doubt.

He grabbed a red solo cup from the pile and poured fruit punch in it. He turned around to face the crowd and took a sip of his drink. He felt a sour taste travel its way down his throat. That was certainly not fruit punch. He took another sip anyways, ignoring the taste burning his mouth.

Got girls to my left, drinks to my right. I can tell that this is gonna be one of them nights.

Finally, from across the way, he recognized a tall, slim figure he had been yearning to see. Her normally sleek black hair was twisted into curls. Her hair was parted in the middle with a small braid blending into her curls. His heart started beating a bit faster. She didn't want to see him and he didn't blame her.

Whatever you need is on the dance floor, can't wait anymore because it don't last forever.

"Simon?" he heard from his right. He turned his gaze to the voice. "I thought that was you, man. How are you? When did you come back?"

Simon's gaze met Jace's. Jace was smiling and offering one of those handshake-hug things Simon wasn't so fond of. Simon took it politely. "Hey, I'm good. I just got back last night. How are you? Looks like nothing has changed since I've left,"

Jace shook his head. "Yeah, nothing really has changed. Same old, same old." He hesitated for a second. "Has Iz seen you yet?"

Simon shook his head. "She won't talk to me, at all. I had called Clary earlier because I knew Isabelle wouldn't pick up my call if I had called her myself but… It's cool. I fucked up." He shrugged.

So turn up that spotlight, Gonna tear it up like we got one night.

Jace's heart started racing at the sound of her name. He hadn't seen her yet, but he knew she was here. He had seen Isabelle, but still no sign of Clary. He took a sip of his can of beer.

"I know the feeling. Give it time, you know?"

Simon nodded and took a sip of his drink. He looked out into the crowd. A few people were dancing now, other stood around talking. He looked to the place where he had last spot Isabelle. She was gone. Fuck. Jace patted Simon's left shoulder and made his way through the crowd to find the red-headed he was searching for.

'Cause tomorrow morning we'll be leaving, so right now you better jump right in.

Simon took another sip of his drink and went the opposite direction of Jace hoping to find Isabelle somewhere. As if his wish had been fulfilled, he bumped into a tall, gorgeous girl.

"Oh, I am so –" She stopped short when she turned to see him. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She rolled her eyes, stomping away. Simon could tell she was a bit tipsy. He followed her, calling her name. She simply ignored him, walking into her house. He hesitated a second once he saw her open the sliding glass door into the house. He shook his head and followed her in.

So let's keep it rocking 'til daylight. Gotta live like we got one night, one night, one night.

Clary sipped her cup before realizing she was alone. Isabelle had gone to go get another drink fifteen minutes ago. She probably got too caught up with talking to someone and forgot about her. She shrugged. It didn't bother her. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Hey," he said, smiling. She stared, shocked. His black shirt made him look darker than he really. She could see the black tribal tattoo on his upper arm as he lifted the drink to his perfect lips. She felt herself swooning a bit.

Gotta live like we got one night, one night, one night.

"How are you?"

She looked back to his golden eyes. "Hi," she said with no emotion in her face. She had to stop swooning. She had to remember what he did to her. She had to remember why she had been angry at him for all these months.

'Cause you know we just got one life, one life, one life.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, avoiding his eyes. She heard him sigh as she looked to the crowd in back of him.

"Clary, can we talk?" She heard him plea.

She looked at him. "We're talking now."

So gotta live like we got one night, one night, one night.

Jace sighed, taking her hand and walking to the side of the house, where they were alone and the music was dim.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" She yanked her hand from his grip and looked at him, quizzically, waiting for his response. He looked at her, really looked at her.

God, she's so beautiful, he thought.

She had makeup on tonight, which he wasn't used to, but either way, she looked good. She was dressed in a regular white tee and a pink and orange floral skirt that flowed from under her bust line. She had white strap sandals on that had little flowers in the back of them. She looked a bit more feminine than normal… he kind of liked it.

"So?" she demanded again. "Why am I over here?" She had crossed her arms across her chest now with one of her hands were occupied by a red cup. She was angry, he knew. He didn't blame her.

"I need to talk to you." he said, looking down at her deep, green eyes. He heard her sigh. She leaned against the side of the house.

"Okay, what?"

"I wanted to talk to you about that day… In the summer…" He hesitated as he watched her facial expression change. He couldn't exactly read what it was. "I wanted to apologize. I know it was wrong to leave you hanging like that, but…" He stopped. He was looking into her eyes. He saw so much hurt. "But I was confused. I just... I didn't…"

Clary broke their eye contact and nodded. "I got to go."

"No, Clary, please." Jace grabbed her arm before she could get away. She turned back to him. He saw so much sadness. He couldn't believe he did this to her. "Please, don't go."

"No, Jace… I can't do this. I thought I could but – I can't accept your apology when I don't know how you feel about what happened. Or why you even did it, for that matter." She shook her head and retrieved her hand from his. "Bye, Jace."

And with that, she walked back to the party.


"Isabelle, will you please talk to me?" Simon raced down the hall after her. He forgot she was such a fast walker. Yeah… walker. Simon attempted to catch his breath as he rounded the corner of the hall way. They were upstairs of the house, which was off-limits to the guests. Simon knew from memory that she was heading to her room. He saw her turned into her room, but before she could close the door in his face, he stopped it with his hand. "Iz, please?" He took a breath in. "Just give me ten minutes, that's all I ask for."

He watched her facial expression change into the thinking face she always used to make. He missed that face. He missed the how when she didn't get her way, she'd huff and puff around her room until Simon eventually gave in. He missed her innocent smile that he had fallen in love with. He missed her, period.

He heard her sigh and agree to the terms. She opened the door enough for him to step through. Simon walked in and looked around him. Not much had change since he had last been in her room. He smiled slightly, remembering the memories in this room.

"You have ten minutes starting now." He heard her say from behind him. He turned and watched her close the door and walk to her bed. She sat down silently and looked at him.

He walked closer to her bed but didn't dare cross the line of sitting on it. He knew that she'd take it the wrong way.

"I'm sorry I left so abruptly before summer started." He started. "I have my reasons. Reasons I want to share with you. But I need you to really be willing to listen to me, not that thing you do when you act like you're listening but you're really in la la land."

Isabelle smiled a bit. "Fine, I'll listen."

Simon took a deep breath in. "I told you before I broke it off why I was leaving and I wasn't lying. I had to go stay with my grandparents for a while, but it wasn't because of them."

He watched as Isabelle tucked a few strands of dark hair behind her ear. "I wasn't visiting for the summer, like I had told you." He watched her bite her bottom lip, lightly. "It was my dad, Isabelle. I went to go see my dad."

She looked at him, her face blank. "But, you – He left so long ago – why?"

Simon nodded his head. "Yeah, but he's sick –" He looked down to the ground. "- was sick."

Her breath caught. She got up quickly from the bed and to his side. She hugged him without any hesitation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her face buried into his neck. Stiff at first, he warmed up to the hug and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm so sorry, Si." She mumbled into his neck. "I didn't know…" She backed away a bit to see his face, but didn't break the hug. She looked into his dark eyes through his glasses. God, she could melt into those eyes.

"How could you have known? I didn't tell anyone." He shrugged. "I'm fine. I mean, I didn't know the guy that well. But I knew I had to be there. I wanted to spend some kind of time with him, you know?"

She nodded but didn't break their stare. A strand of hair fell into her face, covering her left eye. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to push the subject and make him uncomfortable. He lifted his hand to her face, his thumb brushing on the side of her cheek, and tucked the strand of dark hair in back of her ear. She loved when he did that.

"But it's still no excuse to have broken it off with you and I'm sorry for that." He paused. He slowly bent down toward her face. "I didn't mean to break your heart. It's still no excuse."

Her lips opened slightly, but she didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She just wanted to continue hearing him talk. "But I do still have feelings for you, Iz." He said, lowly. Her heart started fluttering, her stomach doing backflips. She could possibly have fainted, but she kept her composure. "I still love you."

She didn't need to hear anything else. She closed the space between them, her lips meeting his. It felt so natural, so right. It was the type of kiss that meant nothing had changed between them. She still loved him too. His lips were so soft and she loved how he pulled her closer to him as if trying to make them one person.

There was a knock at the door, but they both ignored it. They were too consumed in this kiss. Her hands were rung around his neck pulling him closer to her. She licked his bottom lip and he granted her entrance without any hesitation.

"Hello? Iz, are you in there?" She froze and broke apart from Simon. He looked so confused, but so did she because it was Sebastian's voice behind the door.