First off, thank you so much for the reviews and follows/faves! Y'all are spectacular! Seriously. :)

Chapter Four! Yay! So this one introduces a new character and long with him, some draaaamaaa...I hope you enjoy it. Things are just going to get crazier from here on out, so hold on and enjoy the ride!

Thank you sooo much to rippingbutterflywings for being so awesomely awesome and beta'ing this for me as well as listening to my rants every once in a while. :p

Warning: Rated M for language and sexual themes.

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns all of The Mortal Instruments characters. I only own this story idea, so please do not steal/copy/infringe…etc…etc…my ideas. Thank you.

Chapter Four

I still think of you

And all the shit you put me through

And I know you were wrong.

(Think of You – MS MR)

She was astonished. She couldn't think clearly; hell, she could barely even breathe. What the hell is he doing here?! He was supposed to be gone, out of her life forever. Why couldn't he just stay away? Did he know he was torturing her? He must have known. That was the only logical explanation. Why else would he just show at her show unannounced? If her brother saw him…

"What the hell are you doing here, Herondale?"

Oh shit.

Jonathon's voice broke the trance, and Clary's heart raced into hyper drive.

"I came to see my girl, Morgenstern."

Double shit.

"Your girl?!" Jordan exclaimed.

"I think you lost that right when she dumped your cheating ass," Sebastian chimed in.

This is not good.

"That was a misunderstanding."

"Excuse me?!" Jonathon's voice raised an octave as his brows shot into his hairline.

"A misunderstanding?" Jordan echoed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Will nodded once, his jaw set.

"What part was misunderstood?" Sebastian inquired. "The part where your dick was in some other chick or the part where Clary ripped you a new one and left your ass speechless in front of all of your friends?"

"Both," Will stated through gritted teeth. His fists were balled tightly at his sides.

"Will." Clary finally found her voice.

His eyes dropped to hers. His jet-black hair was hanging in front of them like a thin veil, making the mystifying color stand out like beacons of light.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice sounded shaky. She didn't like that.

His posture relaxed and his fists loosened. "I came to see you. I heard you were playing here tonight."

He was wearing her favorite shirt. The fitted, deep blue one that enhanced his eyes – no wonder they were so bright tonight.

"Why did you come? We broke up." She was on the verge of tears; she could feel it.

"I wanted to talk to you about that," he softly spoke.

His voice still got a reaction out of her. How? He broke her heart. He shouldn't have any effects on her.

"There's nothing to talk about." She dismissed him, lifting her chin slightly in defiance.

He reached out and brushed a hand down her arm with a feather-like tenderness. A trail of goose bumps followed along its path.

Shit.

"You look beautiful, as always."

How could he sound so heartfelt when he was clearly speaking bullshit? Clary closed her eyes, trying to contain the tears.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" Will asked. "Like, maybe my place? Or yours?"

"Hell no!" Jonathon intervened.

Clary was shaking; her resolve was quickly crumbling. She had worked so hard over the last couple of months to put up this wall, and now he was in front of her threatening to knock it down again.

"I didn't ask you, Morgenstern!" Will spat with rage as his posture became rigid again.

She had to do something. If she didn't, there would be bloodshed.

"No, Will." Her voice was steady and firm.

The boys grew silent. She looked up at the man that was causing so much turmoil inside of her.

"What?" He sounded shocked, hurt almost, as his eyes grew in size and his shoulders dropped.

"No. I won't go anywhere with you. We broke up, so there's really nothing to talk about."

"Come on, Clare." He began to plead. Will didn't normally plead.

"You heard her, Will." Jordan's voice sounded threatening.

Will looked up at the group surrounding them and his features became controlled and menacing once again.

"Oh, I see how it is." His voice remained calm. "You're all afraid that I'm going to steal the Princess away from you. Is that it?"

"Will," Clary pleaded in desperation, but he continued anyway.

"You know that if she's with me, then none of you can have her."

"Will, that's enough." Jocelyn's commanding voice pierced Clary's ears like a salvation.

She had almost forgotten that her parents were still there. That other people were still in that room.

"Son, I think it's time for you to go now." Valentine was suddenly next to Will with his hand on his shoulder, attempting to remove him from the intense situation. Will stood his ground.

"Clare, please." It was his final plea. His eyes held desperation. She had to look away.

Clary closed her eyes and shook her head fractionally. She wouldn't do that to herself. She couldn't do that to herself, not again.

"Fine," he stated. "But we're still going to talk about this." It wasn't a question.

She looked up at him in confusion. His violet-blue eyes softened, the way they always did when he was being sincere with her, which was rarer than she'd cared to admit.

"I meant it when I said I was sorry. I don't want to lose you."

And then he was gone. As quickly as he'd shown up, like a wrecking ball, he was gone.

Maybe we're just sleepwalking…

Visions of better times, kingdoms and lilac wine,

Why did God fail to improve us?

Teardrops of acid rain burning down through my veins,

Can't I just sleep for now?

(Sleepwalking – The Chain Gang of 1974)

Two days had passed since the incident at Pandemonium. The band was gathered in Clary's basement – turned studio – to practice for the show they had on Friday. It would be the first time since The Pandemonium Club that they played with Jace. It's not that he didn't know the songs, because he did; they just needed to iron out the feel of playing with a new member. They needed to make sure that the vibe they had felt on stage that night was real and not just due to their emotions running high. And by they, they actually meant her – Clary.

He didn't know why she was so pissed at him. Okay, so he did flirt with her, and he did get a little personal while they were dancing. But was that really a reason to despise him? At least he was charming; he didn't feel her up too much, not like he would have done with other girls, and he had told her she was gorgeous. Seriously, what the fuck?!

Jace looked across the room to where Clary was pacing. She was twirling a lock of auburn hair around her finger and chewing on her full bottom lip rather harshly – God, how he had wanted to kiss those sexy lips that night at Pandemonium. The small crease between her brows concerned him though. He didn't like seeing her in a state of distress. He wondered briefly what was wrong before he realized exactly what the problem was.

That douche, Will.

Clary obviously had a history with the guy, and from the sound of things that night, it was a pretty rocky one. It also sounded like the dumbass had cheated on her.

Why the hell would anyone want to cheat on Clary? She's talented and smart and funny and very feisty and oh so very sexy…

"Are we ready to start?" Sebastian bounded down the stairs.

Clary stopped pacing as he approached her with a bottle of water and the Tylenol she had requested.

"Here, babe," he breathed as he gently placed the pills in her palm and smoothed his hand over the back her head.

Jace had noticed over the short time that he had spent around the band, that the guys showed great affection towards Clary. It was nice to see. But sometimes, like now, their actions made him question their motives. Clary was gorgeous, he hadn't been lying about that, and it wouldn't surprise him at all to find out that at least one member of the band had a thing for her; he certainly did.

Since the first time he saw her perform on stage, he was blown away by her presence. She commanded the attention of everyone in the audience, even though she was barely over five foot and probably weighed no more than 110 pounds soaking wet. But damn if she wasn't extraordinary. Jace knew that night that he was smitten by Clarissa Morgenstern. Her voice was on constant replay on his iPod and her photos plagued his Google search history. He just couldn't get enough.

"Jace?"

A sweet and melodic voice broke his reverie. His eyes focused back on the present and they were met by startling green irises surrounded by a halo of bright red tresses.

"Yeah?"

"I asked if you were ready to play now."

"Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm ready when you are." He had become a rambling idiot. Great.

"Awesome." Sebastian stated. "Let's do this shit!"

He twirled his sticks and then wood met nylon as they struck the heads of his snares. Jordan joined in with a steady beat as Alec began to carry the melody. Then Jace came in on his cue as he melded into his Fender Strat, and Clary's angelic voice carried over them all. This was where he belonged, with his guitar in his hands, surrounded by insane talent and good people. This was his dream. This was what he had worked his entire life for.

Roughly six hours later, they were calling it quits for the day. Jace was exhausted, and he knew the rest of them had to be as well. Clary was a hard worker; she meant business and she didn't screw around when it came to her music. Jace liked that about her. Of course what he didn't like were her rules. Take for instance her 'No distractions during rehearsals or prior to show time' rule. That meant no girlfriends, no friends – no one. Period. And then there was the 'No dating bandmates' rule she had established primarily for herself. He didn't like that one at all.

"I want some food," Jordan growled. "Let's order Chinese. Who's in?"

"Not me," Sebastian said.

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"What? I've got a date with Aline."

"Aline?" Alec asked in puzzlement.

"I thought Aline was a lesbian," Jordan stated.

"She's bisexual," Sebastian clarified.

"And she's going out with you?" Jordan asked as one thick brow arched.

"Well, we're not so much going out as we are…staying in," he said with a devilish grin.

"Okay, we don't need to know." Alec dismissed him with a shake of his head.

"And she invited a friend," Sebastian added with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Really don't need to know," Alec reiterated, glaring this time.

"She's supposedly really hot too," Sebastian pushed, his grin growing even more.

"Okay, okay!" Clary cried out. "Seriously, Seb! We don't want to know about your lesbian threesome!"

Sebastian laughed hysterically. Then he embraced Clary in a hug before placing a kiss to her forehead.

"See ya later, babe."

"Ugh! Quit calling me that, dammit!"

Sebastian laughed harder as he made his way out the basement door. Clary walked over to the sofa and plopped down with a huff.

Jace was oddly amused by these people. The way they acted around each other was somewhat comforting. They were really a family. He was ready for a family.

After Sebastian left, Jordan turned to the remaining three members of his band.

"So," he drawled. "Chinese?"

"I'm in," Jace replied.

"Me too," Alec countered.

"Red?"

Clary hesitated for a moment, but then replied with a quick "Sure."

Jordan smiled, "Great. Where's that take out menu?"

"Upstairs, in the kitchen, look in the drawer at the end of the island." Jordan took the stairs two at a time.

Jace stretched out on the sofa next to Clary, leaving enough space between them as to not make her uncomfortable. Alec was still standing by his keyboard and appeared to be texting someone. When he turned and started walking away, Clary sat up abruptly with a starteld look on her face.

"Where are you going?" she asked, a little hastily.

Jace thought she sounded panicked. Did she not want to be alone with him?

Alec glanced over at them in confusion.

"I'm just going upstairs to use the restroom," he slowly stated.

"Oh," Clary sighed. "Okay."

When she sat back against the cushions, Jace glanced sideways at her.

What the hell is up with her?

With Alec gone the room had grown uncomfortably silent. Jace could do silence, in fact, he usually didn't mind it…but he didn't care for discomfort at all, it made him fidgety.

What is taking Jordan so long with that damn menu?

"Sorry about the other night," Clary said, finally breaking the silence.

Jace stared at her for a moment until she looked over at him. Her green eyes shimmered.

"For what?" he asked, turning his body towards her just a fraction.

"For my behavior towards you…and for Will." She hung her head and stared at her freckled hands.

"Seriously, you have nothing to apologize for. Your reaction towards me was justified, I know that now." He assured her. "And, as for that prick…well…you shouldn't apologize for him either."

Clary softly shook her head, her silky curls bounced around like a willowy curtain.

"Hey," Jace began.

He reached out towards her and placed his hand gently under her chin, turning her face to look at him. He stared into her emerald eyes for just a minute, making sure he had her full attention.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I mean it."

Clary smiled, but Jace could tell her heart wasn't in it. They held each other's gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Jace felt a gravitational pull towards her and Clary's eyes grew fractionally. A throat cleared from across the room, and Jace jumped back, releasing her face. He was mere inches from Clary's perfectly pouty lips and he hadn't even realized it. He looked up and noticed Jordan standing at the bottom of the staircase, menu in hand and a scowl on his face.

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