Wishing On Stars Chapter 4, a mortal instruments fanfic

A/N: I'm in the mood, so here's another chapter in the same day. I have far too much time to kill during the weekend when I've done all my homework. You might even find out who 'Val' is...

Oh, readers in the UK will understand, but on the 27th March I'm on a Duke of Edinburgh training weekend with no WiFi so they'll be no updates over that weekend. For you guys overseas I'm training for a major expedition in hope for a national award. :) After that I have two weeks off and I should be updating a lot, homework depending.

Cassandra Clare has all rights to the TMI series, I own nothing but the plot.

When Jace awoke the next morning, he realised he'd fallen asleep on the couch watching Casino Royale, though the TV had been turned off and a fluffy dark green blanket had been draped over his sleeping body. Céline must have noticed him and decided not to wake him up; typical.

Slowly rising to his feet, he bent over to pick up his phone which had fallen at some point in the night to check the time. It read 6:53am - he wasn't supposed to wake up until 7:30, but he was awake now so he may as well get ready for another 'fun-filled' day at school.

Taking care not to wake Céline, he silently made his way up the stairs and into the bathroom, stripping his clothes off and leaping into the shower. It only took his five minutes to wash himself fully - this included his hair - so he was in and out pretty quickly, emerging from the bathroom with just a white towel tied around his waist.

At that very moment, Céline poked her head around the corner of her bedroom door and fixed him a confused gaze. "You're up early."

"Yeah, I woke up and couldn't be bothered to get back to sleep," Jace replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I might leave early today and go to Starbucks."

Laughter danced in her chestnut orbs. "I doubt they'd open this early. You could just get a coffee from McDonalds if you must."

He patted his stomach, a scowl crossing his face. "Are you trying to make me fat?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, Jacey-poo," she chuckled, deliberately using his former childhood nickname to spite him. "But on a serious note, I really don't mind what you want for breakfast, so long as it's in reason. You're seventeen and I don't feel as if I should be making your dietary choices, though I wouldn't be impressed if you wanted junk food for breakfast."

Céline and Stephen had very different parenting ideas. Stephen was intent on making his son have multifaceted talents, so he'd taught the boy piano, Latin, self-defence, horse riding, survival skills, etiquette, a number of sports... he'd even got his wife teach him how to cook and sew, even though he hadn't been overly enthusiastic about those two. In contrast, Céline was a very relaxed parent who just wanted Jace to embrace freedom and the wonders of the world. She essentially taught him the lesson he probably used the least often out of the family; love. Being the player he was, he'd never had a serious relationship but could tell you all about his flings and one-night stands. Heck, he could write a book.

Since Stephen had gone to war nearly two years ago, Jace had maintained a strong bond with Céline and had more freedom than he maybe deserved, but he wasn't complaining. She was a hard person to hate, even despite her unbelievable naivety. She was too trusting in people like an innocent young child, and Jace felt as if he had a duty to protect his mother from the hatred and evil in the world. He'd hate to see her get hurt.

He was about to pick clothes for the day when he heard "JACE HERONDALE, FOR GOODNESS SAKE WILL YOU STOP LEAVING YOUR CLOTHES - NAMELY YOUR BOXERS - IN THE BATHROOM WHEN YOU GO STRAIGHT INTO THE SHOWER?! I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THAT THIS GODFORSAKEN HOUR!"

He smirked to himself. Whoops.

By the time he'd emerged from the house in a plain white t-shirt, black leather jacket, blue denim jeans and camouflage converse, his phone read 7:16am. He didn't need to be in school until 8:10 and it took him ten minutes to get to school, so he had three-quarters of a hour to kill. His intention was to eat breakfast in McDonalds - he would have gone to the park but it was raining - and maybe look over his Biology notes as they were supposed to have a pop quiz today, but no one really revised for those as they meant nothing.

Driving his blue BMW, a flash of red halfway down the street caught his attention immediately.

Clary was walking down the street with no coat or umbrella, holding the hand of a little girl sporting a pink coat and matching wellington boots. She had a plastic bright pink backpack with what Jace assumed were characters from My Little Pony, though he hadn't watched the show personally. Putting that aside, who was she, and why was she with Clary?

Another factor; where was Jon? In school he'd stuck to her like glue.

Jace slowed the car down beside them and rolled down the window, sticking his head out and grinning at them. "Shouldn't you have a coat or something, Little Red?"

Clary rolled her eyes and groaned. "What do you want?" she asked sharply.

"Well I'm going to McDonalds and wondered if you two wanted to come with me?" he offered politely. "Gets you out of the rain."

The little girl's eyes lit up in pure delight; she had green eyes like Clary and Jon. "Yay! I love McDonalds!"

"Nuh-uh Val. You've got breakfast club," Clary insisted before turning to Jace with her arms folded. "I'll be fine."

"You're soaked through to the skin, look terrible and the dark circles under your eyes tell me you've not slept a wink. I'm more than happy to drop the little one off if you're adamant to get rid of her, but I insist that you let me give you a lift." Jace was successfully holding back the concern in his voice and he adapted a firm tone. "You'll freeze out here."

She looked defeated and threw her hands in the air. "Fine."

As they sat in the back, Jace rolled up the window and turned around to face them. "Where to first, then?"

"The elementary school," Clary responded quickly, taking the girl's hood down to reveal wild red hair tamed in a side plait. "Oh, this is Valentina, but Jon and I call her Val. She's our little sister. Val, this is Jace and he goes to my school."

She grinned and waved at Jace, but broke off coughing. Jace narrowed his eyes. "Should she be going to school at all in this state?"

"She's fine. Just a cold," Clary snapped, patting Valentina on the back. "Besides, our dad's working and can't take time off."

"What about your mom?" he pondered, though he regretted it when she shot him a deathly look. "None of your business, asshole."

Jace shrugged and drove up to the elementary school in absolute silence - he went there as a kid so he knew the route blindfolded. Valentina said bye to them both before jumping out of the car and skipping to the entrance. Jace couldn't prevent the smile creeping onto his lips. "She seems like a cute kid. How old is she?"

"Five, nearly six. She's in kindergarten." the redhead replied.

He nodded and reversed out, embarking on the journey to McDonalds. "So why didn't you just drive her? I know you and Jon have a car so you can't throw that one on me."

She sighed. "My fool of a brother went for a run and took the keys with him. I left him a note."

"What about your dad? Couldn't he drive her in?"

"He works long hours."

"What's his profession?"

"He's in some government post. I don't really know, he keeps it all under wraps."

"Does he actually have a job?"

"Yes! Why do you have so many questions? This isn't the Spanish Inquisition!"

"Curiosity, my dear Clary."

"I'm not your dear anything, let alone belong to you. Repeat that to me again and you'll regret it."

Jace scoffed at that, which prompted the feisty redhead to flip him off.

They weren't really sparking a mutual friendship at all.

When they arrived at the fast food restaurant, Clary took a seat and stared at her Fall Out Boy t-shirt thoughtfully while Jace placed his bag down on his chair. "I'm going to order a bacon, cheese and egg bagel with a chocolate chip frappé. What do you want?"

"I've eaten." she insisted, but the loud unattractive growling of her stomach said differently and Jace didn't want her going with nothing. "C'mon Clary, you need to eat something. I'll pay if that's why you're not ordering." he said firmly.

She shook her head frantically. "No, I can't let you buy food for me!"

He shrugged. "It's not a problem. Consider it an I'm-sorry-for-being-a-jerk-yesterday present."

"If you're persistent, get me the cheapest thing going. You owe me nothing." she replied, twirling a lock of damp red curl with her finger.

Jace shook his head. She was clearly starving by the growling sound her stomach made; there was no way he'd let her eat breakfast knowing he could afford something. "I can afford anything. Let me get you something that will actually fill you up."

"Enlighten me, then," Clary answered, raising her eyebrows. "I love caramel mochas, by the way. Could practically live on the stuff."

"I'll get you a Big Breakfast with hotcakes then. You okay with that?"

"Of course I'm not happy with you buying it, but if you're absolutely passionate about it then I won't argue with you."

With a nod, Jace headed off to join the short queue.

As Jace went to order their food, Clary sighed in relief and leaned back on the chair. Truth was that she hadn't had enough food for everyone last night for dinner so she'd gone without, meaning she hadn't eaten an actual meal since she'd tore into her lunch in the car onto the way to the elementary school. She was mortified at the thought of anyone - let alone Jace, of all people - buying her food. She would have stood her ground if she wasn't so sleep-deprived.

She was watching raindrops splatter onto the windowpane when the song in the restaurant changed to America by Imagine Dragons. She absolutely loved the song and knew it off by heart, so she just sung it softly to herself.

Is this just an illusion
That I made inside my head to get me by?
20 years in debt
20 years in the government
20 years can never get me by

Then I feel you close
Feel you close like you wanted me to
Feel you close like you wanted me to
Believe in you

Rise to the top of the world, America
America, don't you cry
Lift me up
Give me strength to press on
Rise to the top of the world, America
America, don't you cry
Lift me up
Give me strength to press on

From farmers in the fields
To the tallest of the towers that fall and rise
1-7-7-6
The names upon the list
For all the ones that gave until they died
Don't you hold back
I can see in your mind, and your mind will set you free

She was cut off by the arrival of Jace who'd arrived with a tray carrying their meals. "Then I feel you close, feel you close like you wanted me to," he murmured, slumping down in his seat. Clary stared at him wide-eyed. Did he like this song too? Even more terrifyingly, had he heard her singing?

He coughed loudly, glancing at her expectantly as if he were waiting for a bus. "Feel you close like you wanted me to. Believe in you..." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

Oh. He wanted her to join in. He had heard her. Shit.

But hey, no regrets, right?

After they finished their little 'duet', the corner of Jace's mouth twitched slightly upwards. "You're pretty good. Do you take music?"

She nodded curtly, taking her food. She wasn't really interested in idle chit-chat when there was food in front of her, especially considering she was famished. She literally tore into the warm food like a starving dog, moaning in delight. "Oh my God, I'm in heaven."

Jace smirked at her, taking a swig of his coffee. Clary took this time to actually properly look at him while he was focused on his frappé. He had fine gold curls that looked almost like a halo reaching to the top of his broad shoulders. His eyes were an exotic gold colour pretty much the same colour of his hair, with fair long eyelashes to go with that. As far as figure went, he was pretty slim but you couldn't deny he was compact and muscular, especially as his white shirt which had gotten wet from the rain highlighted that he did have a six pack. The artist inside Clary was itching to draw him, but her brain knew she hated him. Even if he was absolutely beautiful for a boy and even brought her breakfast, not forgetting the fact he could sing.

She'd zoned out completely until she heard him laugh, smirking again. "Like what you see?" he queried, gesturing to himself.

"You wish, Herondale." Clary replied defiantly, though she wasn't going to lie that she was embarrassed that he'd caught her like a deer in the headlights. To cover it up she averted her gaze while she gulped down some of her caramel mocha and glanced at her phone. 7:56am.

He'd clearly been looking at his phone too, for he drummed on the table with his fingertips. "I can get us from here to school in five minutes, so you might want to hurry up." he remarked blandly.

"I'm sure His Majesty can still make it on time." Clary retorted in a snarky voice.

He just snorted. "Only time will tell, Little Red."

God, she hated him.

Just to avoid confusion, Valentina was Clary's little sister in the illusion in CoHF when the crew went to the demon realm. ;) And I strongly recommend your listen to America if you don't know it; it's a great song! ^w^ Oh, I also looked at an American McDonalds menu and wow, you guys have some cool stuff! Even if the Big Breakfast Clary had was over 1000 calories!