This is kind of shorter than the others, but it had to be in a way. What happened before and what will happen after this chapter made things kind of complicated, so I just left this one to be short. It is what it is. Well, have at it!

"And this is Taki's," Simon exclaimed with a smile as he opened the door for Clary. They'd spent the last two hours driving around, her bike still at the school, while Simon showed her all the go to places. It was amazing how little she knew about this part of town, considering her father would've disowned her in the past if he ever caught her there. But Simon felt the need to show her everything before heading to the bookstore later, and she wasn't going to complain. His company was nice. "Best diner in this part of town, and it's cheap as shit."

The smell of pancakes and bacon rushed up her nose. The place wasn't too crowded, and was small, looking almost family owned. Red and yellow booths were lined up along the wall, big enough to fit six people to a table, while there was a bar facing some cooks, stoves, and waffle makers. Every other bar stool was preoccupied with adults, while a few booths were taken by high school students. Clary didn't recognize any, and suddenly she was being pulled inside by Simon.

"Follow me," he instructed as he pulled her.

She did as she was told, until her attention was caught by one of the cooks by the bar. He had just passed a plate full of pancakes and other fixings when he looked up at her, and smiled. And man, he was cute. His smile alone was enough to make Clary slightly weak at the knees and made her breath catch. Not to mention his startling hazel-green eyes, matched with high cheekbones and his muscular physique. Even in a greasy, dirty apron, he was quite the sight. When he turned from her attention, she noticed the tattoos that ran down his arms that weren't covered by his sleeves.

Great, he's eighteen. Way too old for her.

"Hey Jordan!" Simon called as they passed him. The guy Clary was just ogling looked over his shoulder, tilting his head back in greeting.

"Hey, Si! Long time, no see little man. I'll be with you guys in a minute."

It was official. East Alicante was the most messed up place on the face of the planet. How is it that Simon Lewis knew someone - was friends with someone like that guy? With his longer brown hair, size, and tattoos, he kind of looked like a rock star. A gorgeous, sexy, please let me kiss you rock star.

And Simon was friends with him?

Simon pulled Clary into a booth at the corner, sliding in by the window. He tossed her a menu when she sat opposite of him, a double sided sheet that was laminated, and started pointing things out. "I'm buying, so get whatever you want. This place is famous for their pancakes and waffles, but their subs, hamburgers, and even their steaks are pretty damn good too."

Clary pretty much just ignored everything he was saying. Her eyes were still on the cook, Jordan. Almost mindlessly, she asked, "How do you know him?"

"Who?" Simon asked behind his menu.

She pointed. "Him. That Jordan kid. How do you know... someone like him?"

"He and I have been friends for years."

"How is that even possible?" she asked, still completely and totally dumbfounded. "He's, like, hot, and you're… well, you."

At that, Simon finally dropped his menu and actually glared at her. "You know, that kind of hurts my already nonexistent ego. He and I just work together at Luke's bookstore. He splits his work time between here and there along with University schedules he has to deal with." And then Simon held his hand up, getting Clary's full attention and breaking it from Jordan's body. "And the record, Jordan is pretty much my only friend, so sorry I worked hard to actually find someone good."

"Does that mean were not friends?" Her hands came up over her heart and she turned her expression to one of fake hurt. "I went into this with so much hope."

His look was a mixture between annoyance and disbelief. "Shut up."

And she did, although her lips turned up into a small smile, sliding down in her seat as she looked at the menu. But her mind wasn't really on food. She kept replaying the past few hours in her mind. She still didn't understand. She felt like Alice in Wonderland. It was like it as all backwards. But it was more of the people that were confusing.

Maybe it was because she grew up with those kids at North. She had known most of them for years, never had to get to know new people, and it was easy to figure out their intentions. The fact that this place kept her on her toes was both infuriating and intriguing. It shouldn't take too long to figure this out, right? She was Clary Morgenstern. Reading people used to be like her super power. Her mind was always able to read past the bullshit that others used as their armor.

But her brain power turned to mush as soon as Jordan stepped up to the table. He pulled a pad out of his apron, taking the cap off of his pen by biting down on it. "So, Simon, who is this?"

She was more than thankful when Simon introduced her, considering she felt like her voice was playing hide-and-seek with her right now, and she was losing. "Jordan, this is Clary. Clary, Jordan."

"Nice to meet you," he chimed. "How come I've never seen you before?"

"She's new," Simon answered.

Jordan nodded, and leaned down across the table. Clary thought for a moment he was being way too damn forward but he just pointed at the menu in her hands. "Well, since you're new, I'm going to help you out. These are by far the best pancakes and hashbrowns you'll ever have, and because I like your buddy here, I'll give you the newbie discount, deal? Not to mention, past six o'clock, the pancakes are half-off."

Clary nodded, trying to ignore the overwhelming smell of cologne and syrup. Not to mention the fact that his face was only a foot away from hers. "Uh, yeah, I'll take that. And a coke."

"Perfect," Jordan smiled and jotted it down on the notepad. "And Simon, the usual?"

"You bet."

"Alright, I'll bring it out soon," he said and winked at Clary before heading back behind the counter. It took Clary a minute to recover, but surprisingly was able to start breathing steadily faster than she expected.

"Really?"

Simon's voice caught her off guard. It was full of condescension, and she just shrugged. "Don't judge me."

He didn't. He tossed the menus aside, and it was then that Clary noticed he was smiling. And also looking past her towards the door.

She turned, genuinely curious as to what caught his attention, and she immediately wished that she didn't. There, standing in the doorway with his little posse behind him was Jace, staring at her. Actually, he looked like he was glaring at her, his fists clenched and his jaw set. His clothes were now just shorts and a white t-shirt, and his hair looked like it was matted with dried sweat. Their eyes met for only for a split second though, because then Isabelle stalked in towards the booth at the opposite end of the counter, oblivious to Clary and Simon. Jace's eyes went to cool and collected as he broke eye contact with Clary, following Alec and Isabelle.

"That was priceless," Simon said with a small laugh. "I've never seen him so mad."

"Did I do something?" She was genuinely curious as to why she was getting the death glare from Jace Herondale. And although he wasn't exactly looking at her now, she still felt the weight of his look on her shoulders.

Simon shrugged lightly with one shoulder. "Kind of. It's more of what you didn't do. The thing is, you weren't distracted by Jace's look this morning, this afternoon in the hallway, or even right now and he just witnessed your minor brain lapse when Jordan showed up."

"And he hated me because I find Jordan attractive?"

"He hates you because you don't find him more attractive."

Could someone have a bigger ego issue? Seriously? Jace was upset because a single girl didn't admit to him that he was the hottest thing on the planet? And Clary would never let those words come out of her mouth. Jace might have the looks, but he seriously acted like the most insecure, disturbed four year old that she ever had the sad experience of laying eyes on . She refused to stoop down to his level.

But even then, she couldn't stop herself from admitting that he really did have the looks. God, no matter how much she hated herself for that, he looked like he was sculpted by the Gods! Every part of him was perfect, physically at least. For some reason she felt like behind those looks was definitely as extremely troubled kid, and she was going to find out what that was. What made him like this? He wasn't the type to talk. More than likely, he'd dodge all of her questions and ask those of his own. But he'd never answer if others were around. There had to be a way to get him alone, to get him to talk. She could try getting the information from Isabelle, but that wouldn't mean the same.

As she sat there, talking with Simon, she felt Jace's gaze on her the whole time, burning into her like a fire. Maybe being alone with him wasn't the best idea, but it was something that had to be done.

"COME ON, IZZY!" Jace begged as Alec drove home. He lost shotgun and was thrown in the back, but it made it easier to bug Isabelle to the point she snapped. Ever since they left Taki's, Jace had done nothing but nag her about Tiger. He was currently leaning forward in between the front seats of the Camaro, looking at her. "You screwed it up today after school, so you owe me. You said you'd do it at school. Just get her to give me a chance."

Isabelle's reluctance was adamant today. She shook her head, playing with her phone in her lap. "I'm not doing it."

"You might as well," Alec inquired from the driver's seat. "He's not going to let it go until he gets his way. Why don't you just agree to it and get it over with?"

This was why Alec and Jace got along so well. While one was the guy that always had something to do, something he wanted, the other was more laid back and let things happen. Alec knew better than to try to stop Jace, but his sister wasn't so smart apparently.

"Yeah," Jace added. "Listen to your brother and do it."

"No."

"If not for me, do it for her."

That caught the dark haired girl's attention faster than Channing Tatum. Isabelle swiveled in her seat, ignoring the seat belt and glared at Jace. "You obviously don't understand the word no. How about Spanish?" She leaned forward, her eyes shining with so much anger that Jace actually leaned back. "NO. NO. And Hell no! I don't know what I have to say to get it through that thick head of yours that I'm not helping you ruin her."

Jace's jaw set as Alec pulled into their parent's neighborhood. "Seriously? Why not? Since when are you so protective over the girls I'm interested in?"

"Since she isn't one of those sluts that doesn't give a shit about her virtue," Isabelle spat. "Unlike the others, she's actually kind, nice, and hates your guts, which I find quite amusing most of the time. You dug your own grave with this one, and you're on your own."

With that said and done, she sat forward, staring at her phone with Jace looking at her dark hair incredulously.

That was a little over the top, even for Isabelle. So what if she didn't agree with Jace's morals completely? She always had as much fun manipulating people as he did, so why the sudden change? Since when was she so... uptight?

"What got your panties in a twist?" Jace asked, crossing his arms and sitting back in the seat. Now he and Isabelle were in a bad mood, and he caught Alec's eyes in the mirror. The poor guy was going to have his hands full tonight.

"You need to just let this go."

"What did she say to you?" he asked. "You told me you'd help before last period, then, after an hour with her, you suddenly care about her feelings. I don't like that she can change you like that. In fact, I hate it."

She shrugged. "She's just nice, Jace."

"Nice?" Jace repeated as if the word was venom in his mouth. "She said I had a small penis and a big ego. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE."

Alec laughed in the front seat, but stopped it quickly when he caught Jace's gaze. His quiet personality didn't help Jace in these situations,and his friend just focused on pulling into the driveway without crashing the car.

"She's right about one of those things," Isabelle said. She reached down, grabbing her bag as Alec typed in the code to their mansion gate. "I'm not going to help you ruin someone like her."

Isabelle slid out the door when Alec stopped in the circle drive, but Jace wasn't done yet. This conversation was going to go his way eventually. He could feel it. So he followed her, slipping out of the car after grabbing his own bag and slamming the door shut. "Wait!" he called, running after Isabelle and her high heels. She was surprisingly quick in them considering she was walking up the stairs with her eyes on her phone. "What do I have to do to get you to help me?"

"There's nothing you can do," she answered. She smiled up at their butler when he swung the double doors open. "Hi, Magnus."

Jace stopped in the doorway for a moment, looking at the Lightwood's butler. He was a tall man, looking about the age of nineteen or twenty. How he came into his career was a mystery. He was tall and lean, but not too skinny looking in his suit. Jace never asked what he was exactly, but if had to guess, the guy would be a mix between some kind of Indonesian heritage or some kind of Asian. His black hair always seemed perfectly styled, sticking up in certain places with other colors in the strands. His nails were sparkled with glitter, along with the tie around his neck and the ear rings that hung down the sides of his face. Everything about his was bright and colorful, including his personality.

He smiled at Isabelle, bowing slightly as she stepped onto the throw rug. "Hello, Ms. Lightwood."

She rolled her eyes. "Magnus, you've been here for four months. I've told you to call me Isabelle, and I'll get my mom to fire you if you don't start immediately."

"As you wish, Isabelle," he smiled. Isabelle winked at him, heading inside the ballroom that led up the stairs. Jace sighed, stepping through. "Jace," he growled out.

"Magnus." The confrontation the two of them had was always fun to Jace. For some reason, one that he never found out, the butler hated Jace. So he egged it on, just to make his life interesting. "How's life in the slave zone?"

"Jace, stop." He turned to find Alec walking up the stairs, glaring at him. "I don't want to have to kick you out for harassing our butler."

"Thank you, Mr. Lightwood," Magnus responded, bowing to Alec just like he did to Isabelle. Jace was getting sick of it after all these months. They weren't royalty, but Magnus sure thought so. It was obnoxious.

Jace waved his hand in Alec's face when he tried to talk. "Whatever. I'm going to continue a much needed debate with Isabelle." He jogged away from the front door once he dropped his bag on the floor and sprinted up the stairs three at a time. He thanked God for his height and speed. He was able to get to the second story, make a right down the hallway, and caught Isabelle's form entering her room. She kicked the door shut with her foot, but Jace was there, stopping it with his hand. "We still need to talk."

"Get out of my room."

"Not until you help me." He stepped inside, ignoring Isabelle's protests and closed the door behind him.

Isabelle's room was always so... girlie. She had posters of famous bands on one wall, where her bed was up against. On another, pictures from kindergarten until now were taped up around the window. The wall where the door was located could still be seen, the purple paint actually visible, and to the left was the full closet, stretching the entire twenty foot length and stopping by the bathroom door. On top of that, she had the pink bed sheets, pink and purple comforter, pink laptop case, and a pink rug on top of the hardwood floors that made Jace want to throw up.

It was awful.

"Wow. She really got to you," Isabelle mused. She tossed her bag to the floor, backing up to her bed with a sly smile on her face. Jace hated that smile. It meant she knew something he didn't. "This is actually pretty interesting."

He groaned, suddenly hating the fact that Isabelle was so interested. Why couldn't that girl just be easy, like everyone else? Bringing Isabelle in was always a last resort, for this very reason. Her curiosity. "Iz, just help me out. How many times do I have to ask it?"

"Come here." She tapped the spot by her on the bed, and Jace stepped forward, taking the seat. "Explain."

He sat back on his hands, looking confused. "Explain what?"

"Why you want to talk to her so bad. What does she have that Jace Herondale can't stand not getting his hands on?"

This was the conversation he was dreading, and he knew it. Every time they had this talk, Isabelle started asking questions. She'd never help unless she had all the details. It was probably her worst trait. Well, that and her cooking. She was about as far from Betty Crocker as a person could get.

But for once, he didn't really know the answer to her question. Normally, it was always the same thing. Aline: She was single, hot, and attracted to him. Helen: She was single, hot, and attracted to him. Caterina: She was single, hot, and attracted to him. They were all the same, but this girl was so much more different.

For one, she was dating that wimp, Simon Lewis. Jace didn't know what he was going to do about that situation. He wasn't a home-wrecker and has never broken up a couple for his own benefit. He had some amount of decency. But he didn't care about that now. Something about this mystery girl of his made him want to do anything. She wasn't single, she wasn't hot like the other girls he'd been with, and she might have been attracted to him but not showing it as much as he'd liked. Her body was small, not tall. Her face looked young, not toned and hot, but cute, innocent, and - dare he say it - beautiful, not sexy. And from what he observed, she'd be one hell of a kisser. Just thinking about the fact that Lewis got to her first made him want to punch the little nerd's face in.

But he kept his cool, remembering that Isabelle was studying him like a lab specimen and kept his face clear of emotions. He just went with his regular answer, the one she always seemed to accept.

"She's hot."

"I'm going to need a little more than that."

"Well, you'll be disappointed. She's hot, and that's all I have to say about it."

Isabelle didn't seem to accept his answer, the look in her eyes saying as much, and turned away from him. "Fine. If you're going to be like this, I'm not helping you. You can deal with her on your own."

"Alright!" Jace exclaimed when she stood to leave. He sighed, hating where this was going but knowing it had to be done. "I just like her, okay?" It pained him to say it and he fell backwards on the bed, tucking his hands behind his head. "Is that enough?"

"Good try," Isabelle smiled, "But no."

"What do you want me to say?"

She scoffed, shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips. She really was quite dangerous looking, even in her dress and heels. Every time Isabelle started to act like an authority, Jace always thought she was like a powerful, young, dark haired Angelina Jolie. All she needed was a whip and Jace might actually cower away from her.

"Seriously, I don't know what I have to say to get you to help me," he said. "Do I need to set you up with Meliorn? I can talk to your brother and I'm sure that between the both of us, we can convince Meliorn for one date. I'll stop harassing you for entertainment. I'll stop insulting you. I'll-"

"See, its that." She pointed to him, circling her finger about as she took him in. "All of that. Why would you give up your ability to make my life miserable? It's practically what you live for."

Well, shit. Jace wanted to slap himself for this one. "I told you. I just want that girl to talk to me, without looking at me like I resemble the plague."

"Jace, she's always going to think that. I told you what she said, how she feels about you. I hate to say it, but for once, you have no chance. Everything you've done to Simon and your attitude towards the rest of the world is coming back to bite you in the ass. So I'll say it one more time," She flicked her hair over her shoulder, smiling. "No. Chance."

"I refuse to believe that."

Isabelle rolled her eyes, turning and walking towards her full body mirror by the window. "Believe what you want. I'm still not helping you."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He was sick of it. She had said no more times in the past two hours than in her entire life, and it was all directed at Jace. He couldn't figure out what he did to deserve such a treatment. Sure, he and Isabelle fought like siblings, but he still would do anything for her. That feeling, though, wasn't a two way street apparently.

"One date," Jace called, rolling onto his stomach so he could see his friend upright. "Just one date is all I want out of her. That's all I need to make her stay. Trust me."

Although he could only see her back, he could imagine the look of annoyance on her face. She was moving her hands through her hair, fixing it in places that were already perfect. "I hate to burst your bubble, but you'll have to be extremely lucky to get a date out of that girl. A secluded location for a conversation is all I'm offering, and even then it's going to be very slim."

"Yes! I-"

"Not so fast," she snapped, pointing her finger at him like a stern mother. Jace's hand was in the air in victory, but he froze when she glared at him. "I'm serious, Jace. Don't you dare mess with her. I've warned you about her. And tomorrow, you best believe I'm giving her the same talk. The two of you together is trouble, so please, just be careful. Don't let yourself get hurt."

He looked taken aback. "Why is everyone suddenly telling me to be careful?"

"Everyone?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Well, I mean, you and Alec at least. That pretty much classifies as everyone."

Isabelle's hands fell from her face, and she wrapped her arms around her torso. "I'm just worried, for the both of you. Jace, you're a heart-breaker, and she's not going to fall for that. And from what I've seen, and also from what I've been told by resources that will remain anonymous, she won't think twice about hurting you too. You've been through enough pain, and I don't want to see you go through that phase again."

The last thing he wanted to think about was that time. It was the darkest time of his life, and he'd never go back to that.

"You don't have to worry Izzy," he said. "Just get me that date."

"I'm not promising a date," she said with conviction. "I'm promising a talk. No, scratch that. I'm promising a chit-chat."

He frowned, sitting up and crossing his legs in an Indian style. He probably looked like a child and would never get caught dead like this, but Isabelle had seen him at his best and at his worst. There wasn't any point in hiding. "A chit-chat? Is that some kind of girl code that I don't understand?"

She stared at him in disbelief, before shaking her head and heading towards her closet without a word. Jace never understood what the point of so many clothes was. Isabelle had enough outfits that if she wore a different one everyday, never repeating, she still wouldn't wear them all in a year. He sat there, watching her as she stripped down to her bare essentials, sliding out of the red dress and kicking off her heels.

Most guys would start drooling at this point, not that Jace blamed them. Isabelle was... fit. And hot. And sexy. And confident. And totally off limits to Jace Christopher Herondale. He knew better than to make a move on his best friend's little sister, who also happened to be like a sister to him anyway. That would just be wrong on so many levels that he stayed clear of those feelings. Naturally, his girlfriends weren't very happy about his relationship with Izzy, but they could get over it.

Besides, he was still allowed to admire right?

"Stop staring." He didn't. In fact, when she bent down and grabbed a pair of running shorts, showing off her thong that he really wished girls he dated would start wearing, his eyes opened wider. His head automatically cocked to the side, and he smiled inside. Whichever guy ended up with Isabelle was a lucky man. A very, very lucky man.

"I'm not staring," he answered after a few seconds, watching as she pulled her bra off, her back to him to keep the goods out of view, and slipped a sports bra over it. "Definitely not staring."

She huffed, sliding the fabric down. "Fine, admiring, glorifying, applauding, appreciating, approving, or any of your other names for it." She turned once she had her bra and shorts on, hands on her hips. Isabelle was that girl that guys stopped in the street to stare at. She had it all. The whole package, but Jace at least had a decent amount of respect and looked into her eyes instead of her breasts. "And Aline wouldn't really appreciate the fact that you're openly staring at my ass."

"Aline can get over it," Jace said. "She's never mad at me more than five minutes. One puppy dog look and few kisses and I'm back to being Jesus in her eyes."

Isabelle looked like she was about to throw up. "Let's just go work out. Enough talking. We'll deal with you're issues after I've let off my own frustrations."

Isabelle and Jace are perfect! :) Not romantic, but hilarious in my opinion. Their personalities collide to make for great scenes.

So REVIEW! Let me know you're beautiful opinions. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more!