Chapter 2: Healing

"And then he took me to a movie and kissed me when the parts got scary," Isabelle said. Clary looked up from her sketchbook. "So I take it Simon is taking you on better dates."

"Yeah," Isabelle said dreamily. "It's so much better than that comic convention that was our first date." Clary shuddered at the memory. Isabelle has called Clary and yelled through the phone so loudly that Clary had to hide it in her mom's room. The door distantly slammed closed as someone arrived home. Jace. "Hey, I've got to—"

"Yeah," Isabelle replied. "Go. See you tomorrow." Clary nodded and crept out of the room, stuffing her sketchbook in her messenger bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She was almost out of the door when she remembered leaving her phone in the kitchen. She prayed to whatever force was out there that Jace was not in the kitchen and quickly walked there. No luck. she thought as she saw the blond figure opening the fridge. Clary spotted her phone and made a grab for it, but Jace had closed the fridge and laid his hand on top of the phone. "Hello, Red."

Clary groaned inwardly. "Asshat." she replied sweetly. "Are you going to give my phone back, or will I have to take it from you by force?"

Jace smirked. "Like you could." Oh, Jace. she thought. If only you could remember that I discovered your weakness. She swiftly kneed him in the crotch and swiped the phone from his hand. She tickled is neck for good measure and bolted out of the house.

Damn, Jace thought. She remembered that I'm ticklish. Jace shook his head and left the kitchen, leaving his food untouched. Even brief meetings with Clary made his lose his appetite because of guilt. He was about to put his earbuds in his ears, when he realized that he didn't want to listen to music. He wanted to play it.

He walked to the music room, where the grand piano was left untouched. Playing it reminded him of Clary. She loved it when he played. He sat down and took a deep breath. Then he started to play.

"You got out of the house okay, right?" Clary was lying on her stomach on top of her bed at her house. Well, her mother's friend Luke's house. Isabelle had once again interrupted her drawing session to talk because she was bored. "Yeah, Iz," Clary said, wedging her phone in between her ear and shoulder. "I ran into Jace, but I used his weakness against him."

"And you're never telling what it is?" Clary smiled inwardly. "Yeah."

"But you hate him." At that, Clary froze. It wasn't the first time that was brought up. She heard music playing from Isabelle's end. "What song are you listening to?" Clary asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"No that's just Jace." So much for changing the subject. But those few words had Clary thinking. He never played after his parents died. Maybe he's finally healing. Maybe he'll finally change. Clary heard the door slam. "Hey, gotta go, Izzy. Luke came back from the grocery store."

"Okay. Bye." The click and buzz signaled that Isabelle had ended the call. Clary hoisted herself off of the bed and wandered into the kitchen. Luke was taking items out of the bag and placing it on the counter. Clary started putting things away. "Hey, kid." Luke said. "How was school?"

Clary smiled. "Great. I aced my history exam." Luke raised a hand and Clary high fived it. "Awesome. Now help me put this stuff away." Clary relieved Luke of a jug of milk and turned to the fridge. "Where's Mom?"

Luke looked hard at the girl who could be his daughter. "Your mom had to leave town. She got an opportunity in New Jersey with an art critic. He wanted to display her artwork in Trenton. She'll be back in a few weeks. I'm sorry that she didn't get to say good bye."

Clary nodded. It wasn't the first time that Jocelyn Fray left town without telling her daughter. While Clary loved her mother, she knew that Jocelyn cared about her a lot, but not enough to keep her daughter not worried. "So, it's just you and me." Luke said.

"Yeah," Clary grimaced. "Just you and me. We'll have fun. Maybe have some father-daughter bonding time." That made Luke smile like an idiot. Like he never thought Clary would ever think of him like that. Clary grinned and got out the leftovers from a few nights ago. "Looks like we're having spaghetti again." she said holding up the container.

Jace looked up at the ceiling. It was white and empty, unlike Clary's room. It always had the glow-in-the-dark stars that had long since lost their glow. He played the piano after years, and he remembered every note. Visions of Jace struggling to teach Clary how to play entered his mind. He remembered the times where Clary would give up, and sing while Jace played the piano. No one could argue that it was the most beautiful thing they have ever heard. Anyone could clearly hear the distinct sound of friendship that made the song thought of the time when he—

That was not important. Jace sighed. He had never thought of Clarissa Fray so much in his life.

The sun streamed through the thin curtains in Clary's room, waking her up. Saturday. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the clock. 7:00 on summer break? Since when was that even possible? She yawned and walked sleepily to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She got changed in a T-shirt and jeans and walked to the kitchen. Luke was already up and making a cup of coffee. "Hey, kiddo. Want some?"

Clary nodded. "Just black. Like my soul." Luke chuckled and handed Clary a steaming mug. Clary downed the cup, savoring the bitter taste. "Why are you up so early? I didn't expect you to get up for a couple more hours."

"Couldn't sleep." was all Clary said. Luke leaned against the counter. "So, what's up on the agenda?" "I'm meeting Simon at twelve. We'll probably just go to Forbidden Planet. And hang out."

"What about Izzy? You know, just in case she decides to break down my door again." Clary laughed at the memory.

She had just come home from hanging out with Simon when she spotted Luke staring at the door. It had big hole in the center. Luke turned to Clary, said, "Isabelle was here." and started boarding up the hole.

"Well, the Lightwoods are going to Florida for the weekend. Anyway, I told Iz that I was stealing her boyfriend for the day." Luke sighed. "Good. Because it took five hundred dollars to get that door fixed."

Clary was looking in the Bleach section when an all too familiar voice sounded behind her. "Clary!"

Little Max Lightwood engulfed her in a hug. Clary rubbed his head affectionately. "Hey, kid. What's up? What happened to Florida?"

The excitement in the little boy's eyes died down a little. "Oh, Mom had a meeting and we had to cancel."

"Who brought you here?" Clary asked. "No way Isabelle would set one foot in here and Alec was looking at colleges."

"That would be me, Red." Clary felt her heart nervously flutter as she turned around. She was staring into the eyes of Jace Lightwood. She could tell that he was as uncomfortable as she was. "Anyway, nice to see you, Max. Jace. Always not a pleasure."

As Clary walked away, she could vaguely here Max asking Jace what was wrong. She grabbed Simon by his shirt and pulled him away. "Jesus, woman." he yelled. "What was that for?"

Clary let go of him. "Sorry. It was Lightwood. He was here with Max."

Simon looked puzzled. "Alec? I thought you liked him?" Clary rolled her eyes. "Jace Lightwood, stupid. So, the comic store is out. Where else do you want to go?"

They ended up going to Taki's. it was a run down place o the outside, but the food was incredible. They served anything at five star level. Clary hadn't been there in a while, so it was refreshing to eat top notch food. "So, how are you and Izzy doing?"

Simon looked at her over his pizza. "Great. I think she liked our last date." "Yeah. She wouldn't shut up about it. Thanks for that, anyway." she said playfully. Simon grinned. "Any time, Fray."

The bell tinkled at the front door and she looked there on impulse. "Damn. I thought we lost him."

"Who?"

"Jace."

"Lightwood?" She rolled here eyes at his cluelessness. "No, Jace Burgowitz. Yes, Lightwood. Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backwards."

Simon snorted. "So not original."

"Shut up." Clary hoped that Jace wouldn't see them but he did. Isabelle appeared from behind his back with Alec and Max, and all four of them made their way over to us. "Hey, guys." Jace said. "Long time, no see."

"Shut up, Jace." Clary spat. Simon looked amused. "You seem to be saying that a lot today, Fray."

Clary glared at Simon and he quieted down. "Well, I'm surrounded by idiots constantly."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Max. Not you." Clary said to the youngest Lightwood. She sighed, said, "Whatever. I'm out.", and walked out the door.