For the next three weeks, Clary Fray has the time of her young life. Now only did she get a job at the Bourbon Room, but she got the greatest boyfriend she could ever ask for.
Being with Jace was full of adventure, romance, and fun. They've gone on dates at restaurants, movie theatres, bowling, and coffee shops. Jace took her roller-skating at the beach and the carnival. Even when they didn't have that much money, Clary would sometimes cook for him at his apartment or rent a movie.
Besides her new romance, Clary loved working at the Bourbon Room. She began to make new friends with the rest of workers, including Magnus, Catarina, Maia, Raphael, Camille, Hodge, etc. As the days go by, Clary learns a lot of things about them.
During the concerts at the Bourbon, she usually enjoys the parties they have with just the workers, where they get drunk and dance so much. Her favorite was Catarina's birthday party, especially when the Latina got her birthday wish and gave Alec a big kiss on the cheek. Clary loved how enthusiastic Catarina was about becoming an American citizen.
Although she made friends with all of them, Alec was tricky to figure out. Clary couldn't tell if it was her or just him, but she just wanted to get along with her boss. Sometimes he would talk to her, but he would simply insult her. Jace tells her that it's just the way Alec is, but Clary knew that there might be a heart inside of that giant. And she only saw it when Alec was with Magnus
At last, after three weeks, tonight was the night.
Tonight was the last show of the Shadowhunters and it was taking place at the Bourbon Room. Everybody was getting everything by stocking up the drinks, clean the cups, adjusting the lights and microphones, fixing the dressing rooms. and restocking condoms in the restrooms.
When it seems that everything was going to be perfect, Alec gets a call from the band that was going to open for the Shadowhunters. "Okay. Okay." Alec says on the phone and hangs up. Seeing her was upset, Magnus hops on the bar. "Shit! Our opener just dropped out."
"Concrete Ballz?" Magnus says their name.
"In rehab."
"Both of them?"
"There are six."
"Jesus, that band's got a lot of balls."
"Betty Ford has a group rate."
"Think they'll do therapy in pairs?"
"Knock it off." Alec hisses at him. "Look, we have to find an opener in the next two hours."
Magnus places his hand on his boss's shoulder and assures him, "Don't stress, man. We'll work this out together."
Overhearing their conversation, Clary had an idea in mind. "What about you?" She asks her boyfriend.
"Yeah, right." Jace rolls his eyes as he continues to stock the drinks. "Not gonna happen."
"Are you kidding me?" Clary heads to their boss with Jace trying to stop her. It was too late. "What about Jace?"
Her suggestion made Alec raise his eyebrows. "Jace? That Jace? Our Jace?" He starts laughing at his friend.
"He's better than Concrete Ballz." Clary tells him
"Good point. Concrete Ballz are very heavy." Magnus still manages to joke about the band's name.
"And he'll do it for free." The redhead added.
Alec Lightwood tries so hard to stop laughing. Finally, he says, "Oh, sweet Jesus. Clary, that's not how it works."
Tired of Alec's bitterness, Clary was determined to get her boyfriend a gig. "Come on, nobody cares about the opening act anyway." She turns to Jace. "No offense."
"None taken." Jace responds.
"Alec, come on. What do you say?"
It was definitely a tough decision to make. Not that he has no way in Jace, which he doesn't, but because of the money they needed for the bills and taxes. The boss looks up at Magnus, who slowly nods. "Okay." He sighs. "Call your band."
"Guys! Guys!" Jace shouts to some of the workers in front of the stage. "We're opening up for the Shadowhunters!"
About four of the guys cheer in response. While they freak out about their first gig, Alec makes a face and says under his breath, "Doesn't anyone just wanna work in the bar industry anymore?"
Jace happily tells him, "Alec, thank you. We're gonna blow you away."
"You're gonna blow me, all right. Three songs. No covers. l need you guys to be amazing tonight."
As Magnus and Alec walk away, Jace Wayland embraces Clary in his arms, picks her up off the ground, and spins around in circles. Once he places her back on her feet, he gasps, "I can't believe this. Clary, thanks."
"Just go up there and kill it. You're gonna be amazing. Go! Go!" Clary encourages him as he runs up on stage to join his band.
She was jealous. Clary will never admit that she was quite jealous her boyfriend was going to open for Shadowhunters. Although she was jealous, she was still proud of him.
Clary: Saying I love you
Is not the words I want to hear from you
It's not that I want you
Not to say, but if you only knew
How easy it would be to show me how you feel
More than words is all you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know
On the stage, they were already set up for practice since two hours early. Jace Wayland steps up to the microphone with his guitar in his arms and takes a deep breath in.
Jace: How I love the way you move
And the sparkle in your eyes
There's a color deep inside them
Like a blue suburban sky
I don't need to be the king of the world
As long as I'm the hero of this little girl
Both: Heaven isn't too far away
Closer to it every day
Jace: No matter what your friends say
Clary: I know we're gonna find a way
Both: More than words (words) is all you have to do
to make it real
then you wouldn't have to say
Heaven isn't too far away
Heaven isn't too far away
Heaven isn't too far away
Clary: 'Cause I'd already know
Jace: Saying how I love you
"Alec!" Catarina storms out of the back. "That loud mouth bastard keeps calling. He and Izzy are on their way in about five minutes."
The boss walks down the stairs from his office. "Catarina, I'll let you kill for free, but I would do that myself."
"God, I love it when you're angry." The latina purrs. "Just makes you sexier every time." She jokingly slaps Alec's ass and walks off.
Outside of the Bourbon Room, a white limousine pulls up with hundred of fans following it. The Bourbon Room security guards manage to handle the fans as Izzy steps out of the limousine.
The singer had on black leather pants and matching shirt that showed her stomach. Over that she had on a thick fur coat, her black cowgirl hat, sunglasses, and a bandana. With her was Sebastian, her two tall bodyguards, a group of three guys, and a baboon in a leather jacket holding her hand.
"Everybody, listen up!" Alec hollers to his employees. "This place is about to become a sea of sweat, ear-shattering music and puke. Also, my sister is coming so you treat her with respect. So let's get moving."
The eldest Lightwood heads over to the backstage area, where Sebastian Verlac walks in. "Sebastian, you're early." He shakes hands with him.
"Yeah, next time, you answer the phone. I had to listen that Hispanic parrot you call Catarina. I don't know what she was saying in Spanish. She called me a Pink Cheese Green Ghost. Whatever that means." The manager leaves the businessman.
"Alec." His sister's voice made his heart jump. Alec turns to see Isabelle, whom he hadn't seen in nearly ten months. The first thing he did was walk over and embraces her in his arms. "Oh, my god. I missed you so much."
For a second, he felt like crying. Not like when their brother, Max died. It was more like tears of joy. "Believe me you have no idea how much I missed you." He pulls back and notices the baboon next to his sister. "Uh . . . Isabelle, is that a monkey?"
"Yes, it is. Alec, meet Hey-Man. Hey-Man, this is Alec." Hey-Man titls his head in confusion as he looks at Alec. "Oh, I mean this is Andre the Giant."
Alec smirks. "You never change, do you. "
"Isabelle!" A voice exclaims. It was none other than Magnus.
"Magnus Bane, look at you." The two hug for only two Mississippi's.
"My, my, my." Magnus says. "Izzy, it's like every time I see you, you have on less clothes and more makeup than I do."
After he leaves the Lightwood siblings, Izzy gives her brother a look. "So, you and Magnus?" She asks him.
Her brother raises an eyebrow. "What about me and Magnus?"
Izzy playfully hits him in the shoulder and giggles, "Come on, Alec! Drop the act already. Still acting like you and Magnus aren't together."
Every time Izzy visits, she would always give Alec the same lecture about how its okay to be gay or you need to ask out the cute Indonesian guy. Alec never admitted he was gay to anyone, but Izzy manages to find out the truth one way or another. "Isabelle, there's nothing going on between us." He denies it. "I doubt Magnus even notices me."
"Are you kidding me? Do you not know how much he stares at you? Okay, since you doing believe me, then believe this." She holds up a wine bottle to his face. "I got you a little present. See this, one hundred year-old wine."
Alec smiles and takes it. "Sis, I'll admit you know me very well. I would've gotten you something, but you already have everything."
"I'm here at my favorite place with my favorite people and my favorite big brother." Hearing her say that really warms up Alec's heart. Every chance he got to be with his little sister was always worth it.
Suddenly, a voice interrupts their beautiful moment. "Hey, Izzy, you coming?" Sebastian hollers for her.
Soon Alec's smile dies once he saw his sister's manager. "Sorry. I have to go. See ya, Alec. I love you." She quickly gives her brother a hug.
"I love you too." Alec tells her.
As Izzy walks to her dressing room, Clary comes out of Jace's dressing room and froze once she saw her. The redhead suddenly faints once Jace stepped out.
"Clary!" The blonde drops to his knees, helping his girlfriend up. "You okay?"
It took him a few seconds to wake her up. Clary's eyes fluttered as Jace helps her up. "What happened?" She groans.
"You passed out." He reminds her.
Finally, Clary remembers why she fainted. "I saw Izzy Lightwood. Oh, my God. I'm so embarrassed. Oh, my God."
"It's okay." Jace starts laughing. "I'm sure everybody faint around her all the time."
"They're gonna be fainting around you too in no time." Clary compliments him.
A guy with glasses and a notebook full of notes walks into the Bourbon Room. He wasn't dressed like a normal rock fan, but he had on a Def Leppard T-shirt and black blazer. He stops at the bar where Alec was finishing his checklist. "Excuse me, do you work here?" The guy asks Alec.
"Yeah, I'm the owner, Alec Lightwood. How can I help you?"
"I'm Simon Lewis." He introduces himself. "I'm a reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. I'm here to interview Izzy Lightwood."
"Oh, she's in her dressing room. Come on, I'll show you."
Simon follows Alec backstage and realizes who he was. "You're Izzy's brother, right? Do you have anything to say about your sister's success in the music industry or your bar is one of the most popular places in Hollywood?"
The rockstar's brother turns to him and answers, "Yeah, I'm a freak for being in the bar industry. Will it kill the city to send me a nice fruit basket?"
At that moment, Sebastian appears and insults his client's brother. "Oh, Alec, I see you're still taking those bitchy pills."
Alec fakes a smile. "And I see you have more hair in your ears than on your head. See ya, Simon." The owner walks away.
"God, I hate him." Sebastian says under his breath. Then, he sakes Simon's hand. "So you must be the reporter."
"Yes, I'm Simon Lewis." He says his name.
"Good to meet you. I'm Sebastian Verlac, Izzy's manager. Now I understand that you're gonna be asking her some questions about her personal life and career. Heads up, don't ask about her parents, Josie Fairchild, or her brother, Max."
"Oh, yeah, he died from leukemia, right."
Sebastian didn't answer him. They step into Izzy's dressing room, where she was asleep on top of the pool table with her hat on her face. Hey-Man was at the bar with the group of guys who follow Izzy.
"Hey, Izzy." Sebastian coos to her. "l got someone I'd like you to meet. This is Simon Lewis. Rolling Stone. Superstar, rise and shine."
During this, Simon studies the interaction and behavior of both of them. He could already tell that he was going to hate Sebastian, but something was different with Izzy.
"Stones. The Rolling Stones?" Izzy mumbles as she awakens. The woman shakily gets up and Simon's heart skips a beat. Of course he has seen her on posters and her albums, but seeing g her in real life was a surprising experience for him. Izzy stands up and looks around in confusion. "Where's Mick?"
Sebastian starts laughing and corrects her, "No, the magazine. He's a reporter. He's here to do the big story about you going solo. Be yourself. Superstar, right? Okay, you know what? I'm gonna leave you two alone, go return some phone calls. Play nice!"
Once the doors closed, Simon holds out his hand to the celebrity. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Lightwood."
"Izzy. Just call me Izzy." She shakes his hand and stares at him. Isabelle had never seen anyone like him before, but she liked it. "Sorry to make you uncomfortable, but are all the reporters as handsome as you?"
"Um . . . I really don't know." Simon nervously stammers. "I never look . . . at any of them. I mean, I would call them handsome. Not in way that makes me sounds queer. It's, um, not like that."
Isabelle chuckles, "You're funny and cute too." They sat down on the couch and Simon quickly organizes his notebook. "Okay, five minutes."
"Oh, God. Okay." The reporter grabs his pencil and places his papers on his lap.
"Five minutes and go."
"Okay. Izzy, back at The Bourbon—"
She cuts him off. "No, no, no. Now go."
"Uh-—At The Bourbon, where it all started. Your first album Concrete Roses gave birth to some of rock's greatest anthems. And now a solo career. Why now?"
Izzy looks at him for a moment and answers, "Well, I think due to the changing nature of the music industry, the change in cultural trends . . . and when you think of blah-blah-blah and blah-blah-blah. No, I'm just kidding. It's just that everything is changing. I'm at that point of my life where I want people to take me seriously. Being part of the band was wonderful experience for me, but nothing lasts forever. The girls and I have had a good run. It's time for us to go our separate ways. They are all talented and I wish them the best of luck."
"Okay." Simon quickly writes everything down.
"Four minutes." Izzy tells him.
The reporter gave her a look and purses his lips. "You know, some people have said that you've become quite difficult to work with. That you're constantly late, you're reclusive, sometimes even nonsensical."
Listening to him made Izzy sit up and smirks, "I wanna ask you this: Have these people even met themselves?"
"Well, I'm talking about your band." He mentions to her.
"Let me tell you something. I know me better than anyone because l live in here. Eight minutes."
"You just said four." He corrects her.
"Three."
Simon sighs, "Do you think that it's possible that you've shut out or alienated so many people that you had no other option but to go solo?"
"You gotta be true to the muse. Hey Man! Scotch me, little buddy!" The baboon pushes a cart of drinks behind Simon. Izzy stands up and leans over Simon for her drink.
"And do you have . . . " Simon looks up and lost his words. The reporter awkwardly tries to stare at something else since Izzy was leaning over him with her cleavage right next to his face.
Once she had her drink, the celebrity sat down and took a sip. "What was your question?" She asks him.
"Right." He clears his throat. "Do you have new songs ready to be record for your first solo album?"
Isabelle's eyes widen. "Um . . . no, not exactly."
"Wait, you're telling me that you haven't written any songs at all? Nothing for your next album?" He questions her.
She bites down on her lip and admits, "Okay, it's true. I haven't written much since my last song. It was just that . . . I was going through an emotional time."
"Your brother, Max." Simon mentions.
Her littler brother's name made her stomach twist in a knot. Isabelle looks down at her hands and mumbles, "Yeah, it was when he died."
Simon knew that he has finally got her at her weakest, yet he continues the interview. "And your last hit single, Little Nephilim, it was written about him. Record sold 100 million copies. And that record was produced about two years ago. Some people say you've sold out since then."
"I sell out all right. Every seat, every stadium l ever play."
The reporter nodded. "Yeah, and yet, creatively, you've come to a standstill. You've been in and out of the studio for the past, what? Two years? And no results. Nothing."
It was true. Everything he said was true. Since Max died of leukemia at the age of nine two years ago, Izzy was so heartbroken that she wrote the song Little Nephilim. Even when she had to sing it at one of her concerts, she begins crying before she starts singing. Since then, she really hasn't written anything. She didn't want to tell Simon about it. She didn't want the world to be in her business. "Time." She stops him.
Simon was about to pack his things, but he was determined not to give up on her. "You know, you're not so weird. You're just another lonely person with many regrets."
"I said time. You can go now." Izzy groans as she stands up.
"Final question." He stands up as well. "What happens when you realize you can't get rid of Izzy Lightwood?"
Isabelle stops and slowly looks back at him. "You have no idea what it's like to be me."
"Well, then here's your chance. What's it like to be the Izzy Lightwood?"
Izzy: It's all the same
Only the names will change
Every day it seems we're wastin' away
Another place
Where the faces are so cold
I drive all night just to get back home
Izzy walks out onto the stage while her bodyguards carry Simon to where Izzy was.
I'm a cowgirl
On a steel horse l ride
I'm wanted
Dead or alive
(Wanted)
Dead or alive
Sometimes I sleep
Sometimes it's not for days
The people l meet
Always go their separate ways
Sometimes you tell the day
By the bottle that you drink
And times when you're alone
All you do is think
I'm a cowgirl
On a steel horse l ride
I'm wanted
(Wanted)
Dead or alive
Wanted
(Wanted)
Dead or alive
On the stage, Izzy thinks back to the first time she performed this song. She listens to the audience scream her name. "Izzy! Izzy! Izzy! Izzy! Izzy! Izzy! Izzy!"
Oh, and I ride!
Oh, when I walk these streets
A loaded six string on my back
I play for keeps
'Cause I might not make it back
I've been everywhere
Still standing tall
I've seen a million faces
And I've rocked them all
I'm a cowgirl
On a steel horse l ride
I'm wanted
(Wanted)
Dead or alive
Well, I'm a cowgirl
I got the night on my side
I'm wanted
Passing by Jace notices Izzy on the stage.
Jace: Wanted
Both: Dead or alive
Izzy: And I ride
Jace: And I ride
Both: Dead or alive
Izzy: I still drive
Jace: I still drive
Both: Dead or Alive! Dead or alive! Dead or alive!
