I'm back! I am so sorry for how long this chapter took. I just realized that if I want this to be a really good story with a good plot and accurate characters, I'm going to have to take more time to update. These first few chapters are not my best and I'm going to try to improve my writing by spending more time on each chapter. I also had a hard time deciding what part of the story to write about, and this chapter is more of a flashback I guess.

Anyway, I will still be updating as often as I can, most likely every few days. At least every week, but probably more than that.

Please keep reviewing, the more reviews the faster the story is written! I love hearing suggestions and all the kind words are appreciated :)

Alright I've said enough, feel free to read the author's note at the bottom.

Review, follow, and enjoy :)

Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfic are Cassandra Clare's. Also, the songs and bands mentioned in this chapter are not mine in any way, I'm just a fan mentioning them to show scenes.

Chapter 6

Saying Clary's had turned upside down would be an understatement. Before Jace got there, Clary had one friend: Simon. No one else paid attention to her, and she was just focused on getting through high school onto college.

Now with Jace in her life, she was finally living. Her and Simon hung out at least once every weekend. Simon came clean and told her why he'd been acting so distant; he'd gotten a rejection letter from where he wanted to go for college, since he applied early. He had been super focused on trying to get in the regular admission, and he was nervously waiting for that letter to come. It hadn't yet. Simon knew about Clary and Jace(because everyone knew). He wasn't a big fan of Jace's, but both guys tried for Clary.

Jace and Clary were inseparable. They were together every free period and between every class. They drove home or walked together, and Clary was at every playoff soccer game, wearing #11. Jace was Clary's first serious boyfriend, despite her being 18 years old, so she wasn't very good at the "boyfriend-girlfriend." It did become a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, on the night of the homecoming dance.

It was a Saturday night in early November, and that Sunday would be a week from the state championship soccer game to which Jace and Jordan had led their team. Two weeks before the dance, Jace simply just asked Clary to go to the dance with him. He didn't go all out with a big "prom posal" for two reasons: their school really didn't take dates to homecoming, unless it was your boyfriend or girlfriend. Even though Clary and Jace weren't there yet, it was a custom in Idris to take a guest to formal dances and balls. The second reason is because Jace knew Clary wouldn't like that. Even though she couldn't control how people talked about her and Jace, she didn't want to be very showy. She was still the same person she was before she met Jace; she just opened up to him and was different with him, as he was with her. That's what made their relationship so special; to the outside world, they put up a facade and tried to block out other people. Clary had tried to be invisible for so long, and Jace had never felt much of anything for others. But when they were alone with each other, they allowed themselves to open up. Clary soon realized that's what the magnetic pull with him was. She was able to open up and pour her heart out to him, as he did the same. He gave her a sense of comfort she never thought she'd find. They found each other, and became essentially one person.

Clary was in her room getting ready. She wore a dark green tight emerald dress that went to her mid thigh. It was sleeveless, like a tank top. She had on very high dark black high heels, and she put on more makeup than she normally did. She put her hair up in a simple twist, secured with a few clips. She had heard Jace come in, and now was having a conversation with Jocelyn. Jace and Jocelyn got along very well. Jocelyn admitted to Clary she assumed Jace would be a stuck up posh prince, and it was a breath of fresh air to know he wasn't.

Clary made her way down the stairs, and Jace stared at her like she was a supernova in the sky. He looked at her almost hungrily, and the passion and fire behind his eyes made her cheeks heat up. Jace looked too good to be true as well. He was wearing a white dress shirt, and black slacks and dress shoes. Clary was so confused how he was hers. Jace, the prince of a beautiful country, who could have essentially any girl he wanted in the world, chose her. And he was standing her, looking at her as if she was the only girl in the world. Jace cleared his throat, which brought Clary out of her thoughts.

"Clary, you look absolutely beautiful." He said, taking Clary's hand.

"He's right! Let me get a quick picture." Jocelyn squealed as she pulled out her camera. "Got it! Okay, be safe, have fun, and get out of here!" Jocelyn said as the pair laughed.

When they finally arrived at the homecoming dance, the first thing Jace did was pull Clary's hair out of the updo.

"I like it better down." He said. Clary blushed, as they made their way to Jordan and Maia. The four of them had become very close; Clary and Maia were always at games, and they always went on double dates.

"Ah, Clary! You look beautiful! Jace, you look not too bad, I guess." Maia said teasingly. Clary hugged Maia, as Jace and Jordan bro-hugged. Clary had noticed Jace enjoyed hanging out with Jordan, but she could tell he missed his friends and family from Idris. She was realizing that a lot lately. Jace seemed happy in America, he seemed happy to be there with her, but she knew he was missing his home. As much as it was fun for him to not have all his responsibilities that he did in Idris, she knew he belonged there. She was scared of that. She didn't want to lose him, yet she knew it was coming.

"We're gonna go get some drinks, you want any?" Jordan asked. Jace shook his head,

"Nah, bro. We're gonna hit the dance floor." As he said this, Clary's eyes widened; she doesn't dance.

"What?" Before Clary could even ask the question, Jace was dragging her out onto the dance floor, as Jordan and Maia laughed.

"Come on, it will be fun." To Clary's surprise, he was right. They played lots of good songs, including Dance, Dance by Fall out Boy, and In Too Deep by Sum 41, and Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. When it was time to crown homecoming king and queen, Clary and Jace both rolled their eyes and joked with each other as Aline and her latest boy toy collected their fake crowns.

"You deserve a real crown." Jace whispered quietly to her. Clary froze; what did he just say? She knew what he said, but she was so confused. Did he mean- no, he couldn't have. She looked up at him, but he clearly didn't realize what he'd said or regretted saying it because he was talking to some guys from the team that had come over to say hi.

A little while later, the music was still going and Aline was celebrating her victory, but Clary had lost interest in the whole thing. She only went to homecoming her freshman year, and was humiliated when someone knocked the punch bowl on her. She was sitting in the bleachers in the gym; Jace went to grab something to drink. When he got back, he quickly read her mind because he said,

"Let's go." He set the drink down next to her and offered his hand. She accepted it and stood up.

"Why? I thought you still wanted to hang out with the guys." Clary was always selfless; she didn't mind staying so that Jace could have time with his friends. Jace smiled at her.

"You always think of others first, don't you. Well, no, I don't want to hang out with the guys. I came because I wanted to hang out with you. And I know this isn't really your scene, so I planned ahead of time to leave early anyway." Clary stared at him suspiciously.

"You knew I was going to want to leave?" Clary asked, seriously. Jace immediately started to get nervous she was angry.

"Well, no, I just thought if you weren't having a lot of fun we could do what I'd planned. But if you are, we can stay. I just thought it would be fun to do things we can only do when we're alone." Clary eyed him suspiciously, and Jace seemed to realize what he'd said. "NO! That's not what I meant. I didn't mean anything sexual, I just meant talking. We can only really talk when we're alone and I thought it would be fun to do what I'd had planned. And I'm not telling you because it's a surprise. If you decide you want to leave here." He said, seemingly out of breath. Clary just laughed, and squeezed his hand.

"It's fun to watch you squirm. And I'm not sure how I got so lucky; you knew I would want to leave so you planned ahead. Ugh you're the best." She kissed him on the cheek as he led her out of the gym.

They got into Jace's car, and he started driving. It must have been about 11 at night, but since it was Saturday, there were still a lot of cars about. As they drove, they blasted the song Edge of Town by Middle Kids. Clary loved this song; it gave her the feels. As they drove on this highway, Jace opened the windows and sunroof and Clary just laughed as her blew around crazy. When they finally got close to their destination, Jace pulled off the highway into a field. Clary was questioning this.

"Are you gonna murder me?" She asked teasingly.

"Never know." Jace said. HE pulled farther into the field, more like a meadow, and parked the car. He opened the door for Clary, who stepped out and her heels immediately sank into the dirt. "Oh, almost forgot." Jace opened the trunk, and came back around holding a pair of hiking boots with fuzzy socks. "I figured you'd have a hard time in heels." Clary was shocked, is there anything he didn't do for her? She smiled grateful and sat down in the passenger seat on put them on. "Wait here," Jace said as he went back to the trunk.

Jace came back a few minutes later, and offered his hand to help her out. She got out of the car, and let Jace lead her towards the back of the car. She smiled immediately when she saw what he'd set up. He simply laid out a big red and blue plaid blanket on the grass, and had a few lanterns sitting on it.

"I would have packed a picnic, but it's late at night and I can't really cook so I stopped and got some snacks." He brought all the good stuff, like popcorn and chocolate, and ever the healthy person, he brought some fruit salad, too.

"I can't believe you did this." She smiled at him, as they got situated on the blanket.

"You're missing something, though. I'm surprised you haven't realized it yet." He turned off all the lanterns, and now that the car was off, it should have been pitch black. "Look up." Jace said quietly. The sight of the sky took her breath away. The moon was brightly shining, and the stars were something out of a fairytale. Each one was so bright, and you could see many constellations. "I know you always talking about liking the see the stars, but not being able to because of the city. It also reminds me of Idris. It's a city, but on old-fashioned one, I'd like to think. Some nights I sneak out of the castle and go to the gardens and just look at the night sky. I can't explain it, but I always feel at home when I look at the stars and the heavens. I actually have a white star birthmark," he lifted up his shirt to show her, on his shoulder. Clary smiled, as she lightly ran her finger over it. "Anyway, I just thought it'd be fun to come look at the stars together, and I know you think it's pretty romantic too." He winked at her. They both laid down next to each other, half cuddling, half not. They were holding hands, and Jace kept pointing out different constellations. After a while, they just watched the sky in silence.

"Clary." Jace murmured. She looked up at him.

"Hmm?"

"I… Um... Earlier… I didn't mean to be alone so we could… you know. I would never pressure you into anything you don't want. You know that, right?" He said, his gold eyes giving away how honest he was. Clary knew. She knew he would never pressure her, and that's exactly why she wanted to. She just also knew she wasn't ready.

"I know. I know you would never do that, Jace. It's just that- I hear about the girls you used to be with, and they're so much prettier or built better, and more experienced and I don't think I can give it away like that. It's my heart, Jace, and I trust you with it now, I do. But I just don't think I can give it away right now." Jace ran his hand down the side of her cheek. He sighed sadly.

"Clary. You are, as I say all the time, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I wish you believed that. You're absolutely perfect, and I always wonder how we happened. I'm not good enough for you, I know that. You're everything I never knew that I wanted, and please, please, please believe me when I say I don't want to do anything to mess it up. You're really everything to me Clary, and if and when you're ready, it will be better and more special than any other time because of how much I care about you." Clary was speechless for a minute. She thought about what to say.

"Well, I think the least I can do after that speech is kiss my boyfriend." So that's what she did. She pulled Jace's face down to hers and smashed their lips together. She poured all of her emotions and feelings about Jace into the kiss, and passionate would be an understatement. Jace's hand held her cheek and the other played with her hair, and Clary ran her hands through Jace's hair as usual. They kissed for minutes, hours, Clary didn't know how long. She got lost in the feel of his lips on hers, of their mouths trying to get closer after every kiss. When they both mutually broke apart, they were breathless as usual. They laid on their backs, and stared at the stars for a minute.

"Wait a minute." Jace said. Clary looked at him, wondering what was wrong. "Did you call me your boyfriend?" He asked, eyeing Clary. She just laughed.

"Oops. I thought this was just a casual hookup." She teased.

"Not even close." Jace said, as he brought her tiny body into the side of his as they stargazed, this time not at each other, until it was time to drive home.

What did you think? I know there weren't many important things in this chapter, but I'm slowly setting up. These chapters that show their relationship are super important for the upcoming conflicts. I hope you enjoyed, and keep reviewing please!

See you soon! :)