Hey everybody! Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback! And yeah, I kinda forgot to mention Jon. He's gone with Clary's parents. Sorry about that.

Jace POV
"You have got to be kidding me."
Jace rolled his eyes at Clary. It was just beginning to get dark outside when Kaelie had shown up on the doorstep, begging for his forgiveness. Unfortunately, it had been Clary who had opened the door. Now, she and Jace were standing in the living room, glaring at each other.
"Why would I waste my time kidding with you?" He mentally smacked himself. Play nice, Jace.
Clary raised her eyebrows. "The most significant action you'll ever do is kid with me, cupcake."
Jace scowled. He was not a cupcake. "Why do you care who I choose to spend my time with?" He said instead.
Rolling her eyes, Clary began to walk out of the room. "I don't," she yelled over her shoulder.
Jace grinded his teeth. This girl is impossible. He exhaled, and then walked down the corridor to where Kaelie stood on the doormat.
She was wearing a coat and jeans. Jace blinked.
"Kaelie," he said. "You're wearing—you're wearing clothes."
Kaelie tilted her head. "It's cold. Why wouldn't I be wearing clothes?"
Jace contemplated a comeback or coy comment, but decided against it. If he really wanted to win Clary over, he needed to demonstrate how faithful he could be.
"What do you want, Kaelie?" He said, sounding tired.
Kaelie looked down at her hands, and picked at her nails. "I wanted to apologise for being a bitch today. And—" She broke off, pressing her lips together. "I wanted to see if you'd give me a second chance."
Jace was shocked, but he didn't show it. She was actually being genuine. Now he almost felt bad about rejecting her.
"I'm sorry, Kaelie. I just don't think we're right together." His voice was soft and apologetic, exactly the way he wanted it.
Her gaze hardened. "I'll let you go off with your new girlfriend, then."
She turned calmly and walked out the door.
Jace turned, confused. He caught a glimpse of orange hair, and then it was gone. He frowned—had Clary been watching?
"Clary?"
Just then, his phone buzzed. He dismissed the thought of Clary, and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Do you nead some help? How about a compliment to Clary's drawing? Or maybe an apology to Mr Starkweather?
—M

Jace grimaced. Was he really being manipulated by this person to go out with Clary? Who would even benefit from their relationship?
He remembered how good she was at art—she used to take her sketchbook everywhere with her. She probably still did, and Jace just hadn't noticed.
It had been one of those things he had liked about her when they were younger. She had always been so cute, with her red hair and drawings.
There was only one person who knew that Jace had had a crush on Clary in eighth grade—Jordan Kyle. They had been best friends back then, before it happened.
He reread the message. Seriously, who spelt "need" with an a?

Clary POV
Clary was sitting in her room, drawing on her sketchpad. Well, more thinking than drawing.
She hadn't thought that Jace had it in him to be nice. Now, she wasn't so sure.
As she and Jace's brother Max had been watching Jace let Kaelie down, she realised that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
Max was a nine year old boy with mousy brown hair much like Simon's. Back in the hallway when they had first met, Clary had seen how much he adored Jace in his eyes. It was surprising—she hadn't known that Jace had any younger siblings.
After promising Max that she would see him at dinner, she walked slowly up to her room. It had only just occurred to her that maybe Jace's cocky attitude was just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe there was more to him than she had thought. Maybe, just maybe, there was a little bit of the boy she had known all those years ago in there.
Her phone vibrated, and she picked it up lazily.

Want to play a game? When Simon calls tell him your busy. Avoid him at all costs. Or maybe I'll tell Principal Penhallow what happened in eighth grade.
Who knows?
—M

Clary's eyes widened, and her heartbeat quickened. Her ears began to pound.
How did this person know about what happened? Who was this person?
Clary took a shuddering breath. She had tried her very best to avoid thinking about what had happened for years. Now was not the time to start reminiscing.
"M"—a person with bad grammar and a vendetta against her?
Clary gritted her teeth.
"I'm hungry!" Izzy yelled up the stairs. "Takis?"
There was a clatter, and then footsteps down the hall. There was a knock at Clary's door, and then Max peeped in.
"Clary? Izzy's—" His grey eyes widened. "You read manga?"
Clary glanced over to the shelf where she'd stacked a few novels and manga's. "Yeah, do you like them?"
Max leant forward a bit, so Clary could see his neck as well as his head. "I don't know how to read them—my mum gave me one for my birthday."
Clary smiled. "I'll teach you how after we've had something to eat. C'mon, let's go."
He nodded, and they made their way down the steps together.
Izzy and Alec were gazing at a menu in the hallway, murmuring.
"Hey guys," Clary said, relieved that Jace wasn't there. "What's…Takis?"
Izzy glanced up at her, eyebrows raised. "Are you kidding? You've never been to Takis?"
"I…no," Clary said.
Alec continued to read the menu, and Izzy just rolled her eyes. "You're going with Jace to pick our order up. Non-negotiable."
Just then, Jace sauntered up to them. "Have you got the list?"
Izzy nodded, then handed him a sheet of paper from the notebook. "Clary's coming with you, by the way."
Jace grunted. "Well, I'm sure we'll have a positively scintillating conversation." He folded the paper neatly and stuck it in his pocket. "If you were wondering," he said as he brushed past Clary, "that was sarcasm."
Clary rolled her eyes, and then followed him to the front door. She caught up to him with some difficulty, and only just as they were walking out the door. He held it open for her impatiently, and then continued to stride towards a midnight black car.
"Don't scratch it," he said, his voice a little less harsh. "Max chose it for me." And he slid into the drivers seat without another word.
Clary wondered why he had volunteered that information, but dismissed it as she climbed in.
Jace pulled out of the drive, and then onto the street in silence.
"Where is Takis?" Clary said, partly out of curiosity, and the teensiest, tiniest bit because she wanted to fill the silence.
Jace kept his eyes on the road, and then flicked on the headlights. "In Manhattan. Not very far away."
Clary gazed out the window.
"We could've walked, but I'm still sore."
Clary frowned. "From what?"
There was a few seconds of silence while Jace contemplated his answer. "I got into a fight with Sebastian a few days ago."
Now, Clary was intrigued. Forget that it was the first time in years that she and Jace had had a decent conversation. "Why? Who started it?"
Jace parked, and then pulled the keys out of the ignition. "You could say that he started it. Principal Starkweather didn't see it like that."
Neither of them made a move to get out of the car. "What'd he do? The usual?"
"The usual meaning 'prejudiced misogynist'? Then yeah." He opened his door and got out.
"Wow," Clary said quietly.
"What?" Jace stepped out onto the pavement, and they began to walk along together.
"You know what 'misogynist' means."
He looked at her, with a roll of his golden eyes. "I'm not all just good looks, you know."
"Sometimes I wonder if it would be better if you just didn't open your mouth in the first place."
Jace smirked a little. "So you agree that I'm attractive." He pushed open the door to Takis.
Clary didn't get a chance to respond, as she followed Jace into the diner. She frowned—it smelled good, but—
Was that—it looked like—blood?
Clary tore her gaze from the thick, scarlet mixture and up to the bench. Jace was unfolding the piece of paper, and rattling of weird-sounding dishes to the waitress. Clary picked a menu up from a table and furrowed her eyebrows. What even were these things? Was this place even hygienic?
"Red?" Jace said finally. "What do you want?"
"Ugh…" She trailed off.
Jace's eye danced with amusement. "You're looking at the wrong side."
Clary's eye widened. "Oh!"
She flipped the menu over and was greeted with a lot more normal options. "I'll go with the…coconut pancakes." She looked up at the waitress, who began to write on her notepad. "Please."
Jace gripped Clary's elbow and tugged her away from the bench gently. She yanked it free.
"What are we doing?"
Jace turned towards her, rolling his eyes. "To a booth. To wait for the food."
Clary squared her jaw and followed him through the crowd. It was difficult to avoid getting swept up into the people, seeing as she was so short. It annoyed her that Jace had thought to help her. Even more that he was right.
Finally, she reached the booth Jace was sitting in. He was picking at his nails, his face blank.
"Took you long enough," he said without looking up.
"I was appreciating the surroundings," she retorted.
Jace raised an eyebrow. Clary scowled. Why could she still not do that?
Somebody bumped against her, and she fell onto the seat. She scowled, and sat up properly, opposite Jace.
"Who even are these people?" She muttered, brushing her hair back from her face. Some of them were wearing flowers, some black clothing with strange tattoos.
"They're the outsiders," Jace said. "Don't mind them."
"Kind of difficult to do that, if you ask me. They're—"
"Strange? Disturbing?" Jace suggested. He stopped picking his nails and looked across the table at Clary. "A little, yeah."
She made a grunt of agreement, and then looked down at her hands. Their conversation felt so normal—like they'd been friends for years. And they had. It was—
"Are you two having fun?"
Clary glanced up, to see Kaelie glaring at her coldly. Clary noted (with a significant measure of astonishment) that she was wearing jeans.
Jace rolled his eyes the slightest bit and then turned to Kaelie. "Obviously." He didn't seem to be bothered to say much else. Clary stifled a laugh.
"You know, you are such a man-whore," Kaelie said, her voice as frigid as liquid nitrogen. "I didn't see that before, but now I do. And Clary—" Kaelie turned to Clary, her gaze steady. "If I were you, I'd want nothing to do with him."
And with that, she stalked off into the crowd.
Jace was silent, gazing after her. For a second, Clary considered that he might be hurt by Kaelie's words, but dismissed the idea. It was very hard to shake Jace's ego.
Just then, Clary's phone rung. Sighing, she pulled it out of her pocket. It was Simon. She froze—her finger hovering over the answer button. "M" had threatened her—she needed to avoid Simon at all costs. Biting her lip, she dismissed the call and slid her phone back into her pocket.
Jace raised an eyebrow. "Having a fight with your super special little guy, are we?"
Clary scowled. "It's not your business."
Jace smirked a little, and then resumed to pick at his nails.
Just then, the waitress slid a stack of boxes onto their table. Jace winked at her, and the waitress blushed a deep scarlet. Clary rolled her eyes, took a few boxes, and then fought through the crowd to the door. Reason number one of why she hated Jace so much: he flirted with every single female he came across.
She pushed the door open, to see Jace already standing outside. "How did you—" she started, then snapped her mouth shut. "You know what, I don't even want to know." She saw him raise an eyebrow in her peripheral vision. She clenched her jaw and started walking along the pavement.
"Clary?"
Clary inhaled sharply. Simon. She turned slowly, to see her best friend. His mousy brown hair was messy, his glasses askew.
"What're you doing? Why are you with—" He scowled at Jace. "Jace Wayland?"
Clary bit her lip, and steadied the boxes she was carrying. "Um…"
Jace was gazing steadily at her, jeopardising her concentration.
"We were just picking up dinner," she ended up saying. "I have to stay with the Lightwoods since you got grounded…"
Simon took a couple of steps towards her. "Why didn't you tell me on the phone earlier?"
Clary felt the guilt writhe in her stomach. "I…forgot. Sorry, Si." She thought back to the text message she had received earlier. Avoid Simon at all costs.
She bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm gonna be really busy this next week, so…" She couldn't say it. She really and truly could not say it.
Jace was frowning at her, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Clary looked back to Simon, his deep brown eyes innocent.
"What?" he said. "Do you need some time alone with your new boyfriend?" The venom in his voice sliced Clary's heart. She had to stop herself from crying.
"I'm sorry Simon," she said. "I've got to go."
And she turned and walked along the pavement, holding back tears.

Ok guys, I know it was short, but I hope you enjoyed it! If you did enjoy it, please favourite/follow/review and I will see you soon!
—Delta