Get ready to swoon Clace fans! Enjoy!
The next few days were uneventful, seeing as we were stuck in the house. I drew for most of the time, while Jace disappeared into the room beside his bedroom. I was still very confused about what happened three nights ago, but tried to put it off as Jace being, well, Jace. I had been drawing absentmindedly for the past hour, and looked down to see a sketch of a man and a women standing on the beach at sunset, her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist, staring into each other's eyes with loving smiles on their faces. With a jolt, I realized the woman had long curly hair, and the man... It was me and Jace. I gasped and dropped the sketchbook, my heart beating wildly.
"Clary? Are you okay?" I heard Jace's footfalls coming towards the room, and quickly flipped to a couple pages ahead. I managed to do a quick sketch of a lily with a 'mystic' swirling background before Jace opened the door. I tried to look as calm as possible, but my heart was still racing as if I had ran a marathon.
"I heard you scream. Everything okay?" I managed to look confused, and shrug my shoulders. I looked back down at my sketchpad, and continued to shade the lily. Jace sat down across from me on the bed, taking a peek at the lily. He whistled appreciatively and looked up at me.
"You really are a good artist, sketching or painting. Maybe I should have you decorate downstairs so my guests will quit saying it looks so plain." I fell backwards on the bed, groaning.
"I knew you were going to say that." Jace chuckled and grabbed my ankle, pulling me closer so that he could see my face again. I felt my face heat up, and awkwardly looked up at him.
"The door's thawed out, and it's dinner time. I figured we could go to that restaurant, Taki's. My treat." Was Jace asking me out on a date? I felt my cheeks flame up again, and tried desperately to stay calm.
"Taki's? Isn't that a fancy restaurant? I don't have anything nice to wear that would be appropriate for a place like that."
"Ah, but you do." Jace pulled a large, flat black box from behind him and placed it in front of me. I raised an eyebrow, giving Jace an incredulous look.
"You're kidding me. Not only are you letting me stay with you, but I'm also eating your food and you've bought me clothes and supplies. It's too much Jace! I can't accept this." I also can't accept that you're a decent human being and I might be developing feelings for you.
"Just look at it this way. You going to dinner with me will be my payment. I won't accept cash or any other type of payment- you have no choice. It's seven right now and our reservations are for eight-thirty, so you have an hour to get ready." Jace left before I could say anything, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. I groaned, and drug the black box towards me.
An hour later, I was attempting to pin my hair up with shaking hands. I had to stop and wipe my sweaty hands on the towel lying on the counter.
"Why am I so nervous? It's just Jace who is just a friend and is just taking me out to dinner. It's no big deal." I continued to push pins into my curls, until only a few were artfully hanging down around my face. Now finished, I took a step back to take in my appearance. Red curls spilled over a blushing face with emerald eyes lined in black and framed by thick lashes. A strapless dress of deep shimmering blue hung down to my ankles, a slit running to my upper thigh. I shook my head, not believing the woman in the mirror was me. I usually felt very plain and timid, but the woman staring back at me was exotic and beautiful.
"Clary, we need to leave." I heard Jace knock on my door and jumped. I took in a shaky breath, checking my hair for any stray curls one more time.
"I'm coming." I slipped my black heels on, praying the ice outside was melted. Jace was waiting by the front door checking his watch when I came through the entryway. My heart went into overdrive at the sight of Jace. I remember him in a suit at prom, but I didn't remember him looking this good. Jace muttered a single word, but I didn't manage to catch it due to the sound of my heart drowning out any other noise.
"What did you say, Jace?"
"I, uh, nothing. I didn't say anything. Let's go."
Dinner was uneventful, filled with simple conversation and excellent food. Surprisingly I had a good time, with Jace making me laugh to the point of crying. On the way home, we walked closer than we had on the way there, brushing hands a couple times.
"You've really changed since high school, Jace. I'm glad though, because now I feel like I'm seeing the real you and not the fake you." Jace held out his arm, an offering for me to take. Seeing as how sweet he was being this evening, I decided to take it. What could be the harm?
"I really hurt you in before, didn't I?" I shook my head, trying to find a way to explain to him how I felt in high school without telling him I used to like him.
"You didn't exactly hurt me, so much as embarrassed me and made me angry pretty much every day. Remember the day in science when you spilled that animal blood on me, and I got really mad? I wasn't angry about you spilling it on me, but I was angry that you got it on my brand new white shoes." Jace chuckled, prompting me to stop walking an step away from him. Jace gripped my arm and pulled me closer, closing any space left between us.
"I do owe you an apology, but first I think I should say it wasn't animal blood. I brought in a pack of red kool aid with me to class that day and mixed it with a small amount of vinegar, and it wasn't meant to be spilled on you. It just so happened that you tripped over your own feet when I was on my way to the real target." I felt my eyes go wide, the anger I had held onto slipping away.
"Seriously? Who were you going to 'spill' it on?" Jace put his head down, cheeks flaming red for a moment.
"You're still going to be mad at me. I was headed for Simon. I heard him call me a pompous bastard earlier. I guess I know where he got that name from now." Jace gave me a look of amusement, remembering what I had called him repeatedly yesterday when he kept beating me on a Wii game.
"I'm not mad about that. Although Izzy might be when she finds out."
"Why would Izzy get mad?"
"I take it you don't know Izzy and Simon have been dating for the past year." Jace stopped this time, looking at me like I had grown a second head.
"They're dating?" I nodded my head with smug smile, and tugged Jace to start walking again. We walked for a minute or so in silence, until I heard Jace mutter something about murdering Simon and checking Isabelle's sanity. I playfully slapped his arm, laughing at the thought of Isabelle more than likely beating Jace up for 'checking her sanity'.
"Play nice, they're good together. She's made him not as awkward and he's calmed her down."
"I guess you're right. I wondered why I hadn't heard about guys she's made cry for awhile." I couldn't help but laugh, picturing Isabelle making boys cry.
"I remember when Isabelle- crap!" I felt my heel hit the ice, but couldn't stop myself from sliding. I closed my eyes waiting for the pain of hitting the concrete, but it never came. I opened my eyes cautiously to Jace looking down at me with wide eyes. The arm that had been linked with mine was now securely around my waist, the other gripping my free hand tightly. I let out a sigh of relief, along with a giggle. Jace grinned while setting me back on my feet.
"See? You just let gravity get the best of you too often." I shook my head with a smile still on my face, secretly missing the feel of Jace's arms around me. Jace put his hand under my chin, so he could look me in the face. I felt my cheeks heat up again, which seemed to happen all too often lately.
"Remember when you asked what I said before we left, and I said nothing? I actually said 'gorgeous'. Although I love how your hair is pinned up," My breath caught as one arm snaked around my waist pulling me closer, and the other slipping behind my head. He pulled the pins out, letting red curls fall all around my face.
"I like your hair better this way." His face was inches from mine, sending goose bumps down my arms.
"Breathe, Clary." I took in a shaky breath, blushing even harder. Jace ran his fingers through my hair, making me moan involuntarily. Jace leaned in even closer, making it hard for me to remember to breathe.
"You're cold Clary, let's go home." Home? Could Jace possibly be home for me? His arm slipped around my waist like when he caught me, sending warmth through my body. I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying the moment.
Yeah. Jace could be home for me one day, hopefully.
Clace! I felt like I was forcing the chapter, until I got to Jace and Clary walking back and then the words just started flowing! Reviews are welcomed, but not required!