A/N: Hopefully you guys like this chapter! I think this is sorta where things start picking up. Leave me a review to let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 6

Jace was unfamiliar with biting his tongue.

Despite the fact that he aimed to share very little, he could rarely keep himself from voicing his opinion, especially if the outcome was important to him. Even if he didn't necessarily say exactly what he meant, he usually at least offered a snide remark to make it clear what he thought of an idea.

So it was an oddity for him to be looking at Clary with his mind screaming at him that letting her go was an awful idea and to not say anything.

Especially considering how important her outcome was to him.

He could already imagine himself scouring the news for the headline that read "Small redhead found dead" until something from her proved that she'd made it to wherever she felt she needed to go. Anxiety applied pressure to his chest gradually starting from when she first told him that she needed to go to this moment, outside of the bus ticket station.

When she'd told him that she'd like to leave soon, he jumped into action as soon as he could pull his heart out of his throat. Quickly, he'd made her a breakfast of toast and cereal and, while she'd eaten, he pulled her clothes out of his drier. He didn't ask for permission before loading them into her bag, which she'd discarded by the couch the night before, and this earned him her curious stare as he worked, but otherwise she raised no complaints. He'd washed all of her clothes last night, rather than just the ones she'd been wearing, though she hadn't asked for it.

So after putting them back, he'd handed it to her and stated, "I think my shirt will keep you warmer than any of yours, frankly because mine isn't paper-thin. Are you opposed to just keeping it?"

She opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue with him. In an effort to convince her, he shot her what he'd hoped was a pleading look, causing her to hesitate and surprisingly agree, "I mean it can't make me look any shorter, so why not?"

Mild relief attempted to alleviate his anxiety to no avail.

"You can get changed in the bathroom. There's a brush in there and toothpaste that you can use."

She nodded and pulled what she needed from her bag, leaving it on the counter when she left for the bathroom.

When he heard the door shut, he let released a breath and rolled his shoulders in an attempt to ease the tension in his shoulders. This all felt so wrong.

He fought the thought by grabbing her ratty black book bag and filling it with the cat food packets, relieved that her few clothes and the cat food left a lot of room in the bag. He'd purchased her granola bars as well when he'd gone out earlier that morning which she'd seen, but must have assumed were for him. Relieving the bars from the box, he poured them into her bag before slipping the full, reusable water bottle he'd purchased in as well. This way, as long as she could find any source of water, she wouldn't die of thirst, and the granola bars wouldn't hurt. Peeking over his shoulder to ensure she hadn't emerged, he hastily tucked $40 into a smaller pocket of her bag. He knew it wasn't a lot, but it was all that he had on him at the time.

She emerged as he finished zipping up her bag in the same thin jeans he'd found her in and his green shirt. She'd tucked it in so that it no longer hung to her knees and cuffed the sleeve up to her wrist. He was disappointed to note that her wild ringlets were contained in a tidy braid down her back. He really liked her hair when it was wild and he wasn't sure why, although this style did give him a clearer view of her lovely face.

She looked less sickly than she did yesterday and certainly less scared. Her fear seemed to be replaced by restraint though, as her pink mouth was drawn and her emerald eyes were carefully passive. Her posture was similarly rigid and Jace had a struggle reading her, which was a bit of a shock after experiencing her expressiveness the night before and even earlier that morning.

"Do you have a jacket?" Jace asked, knowing what her answer would be before she opened her mouth.

"I have my sweatshirt," she answered, averting her eyes as she approached him. She was doing that more and more lately, like she was scared that she'd find something she didn't like in his eyes.

"Clary," Jace breathed, pausing just long enough to draw her eyes to his, "It's January on the East Coast and, last time I checked, that bus is taking you North, which means it's going to get colder. You need a jacket."

She narrowed her eyes at him, frustration peeking out from under her mask of passivity, and retorted, "Well, I don't have one and I'll have to deal with it."

He tried, and failed, to suppress a smirk at her anger. She really was just so cute.

"I think my sister left one of her jackets here a little bit ago because it was a gift from me that wasn't pretty enough. It'll keep you warm though and nobody is using it here, so really you'd just be giving it a good home. Think of it as adopting a puppy," he offered, his tone light and amused despite how awful he really felt.

He passed her on the way to his room to retrieve the coat, unintentionally pausing when he was right next to her before forcing himself to keep going. He wasn't sure why he'd stopped. Had he wanted to say something? Offer her a look? Had he expected her to do something?

It wasn't until he was pulling the light blue, puffy jacket out of the box underneath his bed that Isabelle had "left" behind when he'd given it to her and he felt his hand relax that it occurred to him that maybe he'd wanted to reach out and touch her.

When he returned to her, he found her gnawing on her lower lip and furrowing her brow.

When he offered her the coat, she held up her hands and stammered, "Y-you really don't have to - I mean it's not necessary. I'll be fine."

"It's just a coat, Clary," he insisted, wondering what had changed to make her so flustered. Though she wasn't blushing fiercely, Jace noticed her cheeks were slightly pinker than when he'd left the room.

"You're right," she breathed, offering him a smile that seemed forced, "It's really nothing like a puppy."

Jace let out a laugh, at least partially relieved that she'd accepted the jacket and wouldn't freeze to death right away. It seemed like he'd done everything he could to keep her alive.

Except for her to stay, his treasonous mind argued, reminding him yet again how awful he felt.

They walked side by side into town. It'd started snowing lightly overnight, so the ground was powdered in perhaps 2-inches of snow and every once in a while a gust of wind would loose some from the trees, resulting in what was frankly a lovely, soft snowfall that Jace was sure was only partially reminiscent of the beauty they'd missed.

They didn't really talk on the way. Jace was convinced that if he opened his mouth to make conversation he'd unintentionally beg her to stay even though it wasn't his place. She was a stranger. He had no right to keep her there and, frankly, he shouldn't have wanted to in the first place. Yet, no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn't find any truth in his own words.

She, on the other hand, looked like perhaps she wanted to say something. She'd look at him a while, setting her heavy gaze on him which he'd steadily ignore, aware that he wasn't supposed to feel it like he did, and open her mouth, after which he'd turn to her with raised eyebrows, only to have her slam her mouth shut and look forward.

Her cat Simon mewed uncomfortably from the bag in his arms, obviously displeased with how much of his space Jace had given to other necessities, and Jace just forced his eyes forward to focus on anything but the girl who'd be leaving him behind.

When they reached the bus station, Jace saw the ticket salesman, Hodge, in his little booth, which he rarely ever left. He stepped forward, for some reason hesitant to give this man much contact with Clary, and, when they were close enough to the window, began, "Hi Hodge. I need to exchange a ticket. The midnight bus never came last night, so I need a new ticket for the next bus."

Clary shot Jace a look from behind him, obviously unclear as to why he wasn't allowing her to speak or even really be seen, but Jace ignored her, not quite clear why he was doing this either.

Hodge glanced at Jace with something akin to nervousness and replied, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Wayland, but the bus isn't running again until next Sunday now. It's down for the week because of construction on the road just outside of town."

Jace's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he asked, "Since when? Why was no one in town told about this?"

Hodge frowned, the edges of his mouth turned down in disapproval, before answering, "I'm sorry again, Mr. Wayland, but the entire town discussed it at the last town meeting, from which I understand you were absent."

Jace nodded slowly, his chest becoming lighter as he fought the odd desire to smile at this man, and concluded, "Alright. Well, I'll be back in a week then. Thank you."

Hodge nodded and offered Jace something cordial in return, but Jace was too busy running his mind over what this meant to pay him any mind. He turned to Clary and led her away from the booth easily, giving no heed to her surprising silence.

When they were far enough away, Jace started, "Well, that's unfortunate. I guess you'll just have to wait it out. You can stay at my house until the next bus."

He finally looked down to gauge her reaction, confident that this solution would be good enough for her, only to find her red-faced, and staring at him furiously. He cocked an eyebrow at her, silently asking what the matter was when she exclaimed, "You planned this, didn't you?"

Jace held his hands out in front of him, in a gesture of surrender, and countered, "How could I have planned for there to be construction on the road? I didn't know you existed until a few hours ago."

"You knew about that construction last night when you took me with you. I missed my one chance of leaving this town quickly because you were convinced that the midnight bus wasn't coming!"

Her chest was heaving and, despite how angry she clearly was, she looked close to tears. Jace had no idea why she was so upset. He was fairly sure that she had been hesitant to leave as well. After all, he'd taken great care of her and there was no way that he was the only one feeling this connection.

"First off, the midnight bus didn't come. Second, if I'd left you there, you would've been dead in ten minutes without a doubt. And third, you heard Hodge. I missed the meeting," he argued, his tone defensive and frustrated.

"You're telling me you had no idea that there would be major construction on the only road out of town? Seriously? You live in the smallest town I've ever seen, so I doubt it," she scoffed, her hands fisted at her side.

"I live in a cabin, by myself, in the woods on the outskirts of a town. I get no visitors, no cable, and I only go into town to work, to pick up essentials, and to visit the diner. What gives you the impression that I'm up-to-date on the current events?"

Her jaw dropped and he could practically see her wheels turning as she tried to find something else to argue, but she remained silent and, when a few moments had passed, her shoulders slumped forward in defeat.

"What now?"

Good question.