Here's the next chapter. Not much happens but it is definitely needed to move things along. I hope you are enjoying it so far. So much uncomfortableness!

Thanks for reading - Review so I know what you think.

"Clary, what are you doing in here? I thought you would be with Jace?"

"I can't. I just…Izzy, I just totally blew it. I am beyond horrified. I can't even look at him right now."

Instead of sounding concerned, Isabelle sounded way too interested. "Oh tell me everything!" She plopped down on her bed looking toward Clary expectantly.

Clary just looked at her and shook her head. "No, absolutely not. I am so embarrassed I am never speaking of this night again. Not to anyone."

"Oh come on. I can help you."

"I think your so called help is what got me into this situation. I tried to take your advice, and needless to say, it didn't go well." Clary sat down in the chair across from where Isabelle was sitting.

"Clary, I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Izzy, I just left the room. I couldn't even look at him."

"Wait, you left him in there and you just, what, walked out?" The surprise in her voice was evident.

Clary sighed as she explained. "Jace got up to go into the bathroom and I just left. I couldn't face him. I have seriously screwed this up."

"You need to go back in there and talk to him about this. Clary, think about what he must be thinking right now."

Clary couldn't get beyond her own humiliation to even think about what was going through Jace's mind at the moment. "Izzy, I don't want to talk about this with you or Jace. I just want to stay right here until we leave to meet everyone for breakfast. Okay?"

Isabelle just looked at Clary. She was silent for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourself. If you want to clean up before we leave you can use my bathroom. I'm done. I just have to get fabulous now." She smiled as she got up off the bed and moved to her vanity.

Clary exhaled a sigh of relief. She got up, went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so small and actually weak in that moment. Of course she looked weak. She had run away from a problem and she wasn't sure how she was going to face it when she was forced to leave this room. She decided to take a shower and hopefully wash all her embarrassment away.

When Jace came out of the bathroom moments later, he was surprised to see that Clary wasn't in his room. He was a bit hurt as well. He knew she was upset but he was hoping he could help in some way. He actually wasn't sure what had happened. Clary's boldness had surprised him but he wasn't about to stop her. He definitely wanted to take their relationship to the next level, he just didn't think she was ready. Well, that was before tonight. Actually,after tonight, he still had the same thought. He wasn't sure what had made her do what she did if she didn't really want to in the first place. He hoped that she didn't think he was pressuring her in any way. He also hadn't tried to move forward because he didn't want to scare her. He knew that she hadn't been with anyone before and he didn't want it to seem like he expected anything more out of her. He sat on his bed wondering how they were going to fix this situation. It didn't help that she had left, but he knew that she was embarrassed. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Stuff like this was bound to happen. It's not like anything sexual was ever embarrassment free, especially when things were new.

Even though he really wanted to talk to Clary and reassure her, he decided to wait until they were all meeting up to head out again. He didn't have to wait long. He just hoped she hadn't left the Institute.

Clary and Isabelle finished getting ready. Isabelle didn't push Clary anymore about what happened. She decided to just wait and watch. When they got to the meeting place, in the hall, they were the first ones there. Clary couldn't stand still. She was continually pulling on her fingers, moving her feet around and playing with her hair. She heard Isabelle chuckle next to her.

"You look so guilty."

"Oh shut up Izzy."

Before she could turn back around, Clary could hear Alec and Jace coming down the hall. She quickly looked at the ground as they approached. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. Alec greeted them and they all stood around talking nonchalantly. Clary could feel Jace's gaze on her. She didn't lift her head to look at him. She was still so embarrassed.

"Let's go. No offense, but I would rather go spend some time with our other friends for a while," Isabelle said as she started down the hall.

Just as Clary was about to turn with her and head out, Jace started talking and Clary froze at the mention of her name. "Clary and I will catch up with you guys."

"Haven't you guys had enough yet? Food rebuilds strength. Let's go," Alec joked impatiently. He obviously had no idea anything was off between them.

As he reached out for Clary's arm, Jace said, "really, we'll be quick. We'll meet you there."

Clary had no choice but to stop and remain with him in the hallway. She thought she heard Alec say "whatever" as Jace turned her around to face him. She still couldn't look at him. He waited until the others were in the elevator before he spoke to her.

"Clary, will you look at me?"

No, she thought. I don't want to look at you. She hesitated a moment too long. She felt his fingers under her chin lifting her gaze to meet his. When she finally looked at him, she was surprised to see hurt mixed in with the emotions on his face.

"Clary, talk to me. What's wrong? Why did you leave?" He sounded worried and a bit apprehensive.

Where could she possibly begin? She was still so embarrassed and even more so now that she was facing him again. How could she begin to describe how she felt? "I'm fine. I'm just really embarrassed and I really don't want to talk about it." She tried to look away but Jace held her chin firmly in place.

"I don't believe you. You aren't fine. I was there, remember? I'm a part of this too." She could sense a hint of anger behind his words.

"Jace, really, I'm fine. It will be fine. I just really want to go meet up with everyone right now." He dropped his fingers from her chin.

"Can you at least tell me what happened? You just left and I'm a bit lost here."

"We can talk later. Let's just go." She started moving down the hall away from him.

He caught up to her and he pulled her to him in an embrace. She felt a bit stiff but he didn't let this stop him. "Clary, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? It's just you and me here. I want to know what's going on." It felt so good to be in his arms, Clary relaxed just a bit. She loved this feeling but she was quickly reminded of how she had felt earlier and it sobered her right up.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Jace could feel himself get angry. "Don't you think I have a right to know? I was there, too. This isn't only about you. I want to know what's going on with you."

She hesitated in his arms. She knew she was being unfair to him, but she also didn't want to talk about it. What she really wanted was to forget about everything but she knew that was going to be impossible. "We can talk later. I'm just still upset and want to go out with our friends and not think about it."

"What are you so upset about? What did I do?" Jace pleaded.

Before he could finish his previous statement, Clary jumped in, cutting him off. "Jace, let's just go now."

Jace was at a loss. It was clear something bad had happened. She wasn't talking to him about it and it didn't sound like she had any plans to talk to him about it, either. As they walked together to the elevator, he couldn't help but wonder what all of this meant.