Isabelle strode in that next morning with a boy in tow.

This didn't surprise me or anything, I had already pegged Isabelle as the kind of girl who liked to have boyfriends, and a lot of them. But I always thought she'd go for the ones who were more like Jace and less like. . .well, this guy.

He had brown hair that stuck up in springy curls around his pale face, and a pair of thick, black glass frames were askew on the crook of his nose. Behind the glasses were a pair of intelligent brown eyes that looked friendly enough.

"Clary, this is Simon." Isabelle said. "He's a friend of Alec's, and I thought you two should meet each other."

Although I still had yet to meet Alec, Simon seemed like the type of person who I was likely to get along with. Everyone around here seemed to be so beautiful, ethereal looking. And I was nothing special. Simon seemed so normal, average.

And I liked that.

"Oh," I said, sticking out my hand and smiling. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Clary Fray."

Simon nodded. "Well, I'm Simon, but you knew that already."

Isabelle was watching the exchange between the two of us, her expression satisfied. "Well. . .I'm going to go and find Jace. Bye!"

Even though I wanted to protest, she was out of the room before I could even open up my mouth.

So much for that.

"So," Simon continued after a few moments of awkward silence. "Do you like video games?"

. . .

An hour later, we had an answer to his question.

Video games were the turn of the century about a hundred years ago, but Simon loved collecting old video gaming systems. I discovered that he was a beast at a game called Call of Duty, which had pretty cool graphics I thought, but Simon informed me that they were almost completely outdated.

"They don't make them like this anymore, I had to look for this one for a long time." He explained, killing off another enemy. "Now, they're all motion sensitive and you don't even need a screen or a remote to control them. All virtual."

"I think I like this one better." I replied.

Simon grinned at me. "Me too."

"So, are you a Shadowhunter too?"

"Well. . .kind of. I just started my training about a year and a half ago, Izzy taught me for the longest time since she, Alec and Max were all born and bred. But not me. My parents died a few years ago and Alec was walking by one day, and I could see him, you know? So that's how they knew that I was kind of like you, and that I needed training to be great."

"Yeah. Jace just came up one day and basically kidnapped me. He says that he had some kind of reasoning for it, but I'm not seeing it. I mean, he could just have picked someone else too. You know?"

Simon nodded. "I do know. And I'm sorry that you have to be here."

And for the first time since I'd gotten here, I felt real and true relief.

Someone finally understood, someone with a situation just like mine.

The tight knot that I'd been unknowingly experiencing loosened in my chest, and I smiled.

Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

. . .

"You have to tell her sooner rather than later, you know." Will said, his voice completely serious for once. "She doesn't know why she's here, and maybe she'll be more willing to cooperate when she finds out why-"

Jace snarled, cutting Will off mid-sentence. "I can't tell her. Otherwise the whole deal is off. He told me that she'd be difficult about it, and I can get her to cooperate with me, Will. I never break my promises."

His cousin snorted. "Stop being so noble all of the time. She hates it here, she hates you. What makes you think that she's suddenly going to wake up one day and decide that what you're doing is actually right for her?"

Jace shook his head, raking a hand through his hair. "I know she hates me. But that bastard Sebastian wasn't treating her right, Will. Anything has to be better than that, right?"

He shook his head. "Not if you're not treating her any better."

Jace threw himself back into a chair. "No. I am. Maybe I am an asshole and all of that, and she can think of me what she likes. But Seb was awful, Will. He was with numerous other girls at the same time, not to mention the little games that he used to play with her, always bragging about it. She's safe here. I won't hurt her."

Will's blue eyes locked on his cousin's amber ones. "And if you do?" His voice was soft. "You're not the gentlest of people, you know it and I know it. What happens when you suddenly get angry and blow up on her? It happens to all of us, Jace. She's still so fragile, and you're one of the most powerful people in the world. Will you keep your promise?"

Jace ground his teeth together. "I've kept myself from hurting her this long. I should be fine. And don't worry about me, worry about the girl that you're marrying. I can take care of myself. Got it?"

His cousin nodded, not without rolling his eyes. "Understood, Sargent."

Jace couldn't help himself; he grinned. "Good."

. . .

They were turning purple.

Seb had never been the nicest person, and that was always made painfully clear to Clary every time she looked in the mirror and saw yet another bruise forming on her arms, torso, or legs.

Jace was no better.

Sure, she knew how to be frustrating. It was part of the job description of being a little sister and having an older brother. But Jace's temper shook so easily, and she had the scars to prove it.

What an ass.

With a sigh and a frown, she pulled up the straps on her top.

There wasn't much she could do about it.

At least he didn't want sex. Not yet anyways. She imagined that he probably had a million girls at his beck and call, and the thought forced bile to rise in Clary's throat. Ugh. She hadn't seen any of his girlfriends since she'd gotten here, but who knew?

It was late at night and the rest of the house was asleep. Nighttime had always been Clary's favorite, mostly because that meant that there was no one else around to bother her, unless Sebastian decided to show up. But he wasn't here, it was just her and stupid Jace.

She scowled at the thought of him. He was miserable and impossible, not exactly someone that she enjoyed spending time with.

Clary hated him.

Clary had never hated anyone before, besides Sebastian of course. Her father had always said that you had to know someone to hate them, otherwise, it was just dislike.

Okay, so maybe hate is a strong word, but what else am I supposed to say?

With a heavy sigh, Clary climbed back into her bed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

WOW. Can I just say that you guys are seriously awesome?

I read every one of your reviews, and I know that there are a ton of unanswered questions in this book! BonnieGal7, hang in there! I've got an interesting plot for this story, and Jace's intentions and past will be revealed.

Eventually. . .

Anyways, Alec and Magnus are going to be a part of the story too, because honestly, I love those guys.

So thanks so much for all of the comments, because I probably would have stopped this story at the first chapter without all of you.

Hope you liked this one!