Sooo another chapter :) Hope you like it guys!

I threw the sheets of my body and stepped out of my bed, too restless to lay still. I walked to one of my windows and leant against it with my forehead. My gaze turned to the sky, hoping to find some rest in the calming view of the stars. The light pollution of the city made it difficult to see them, but on an ordinary night, I could at least see a few of them. Tonight, I only saw a dark emptiness, outstretched above the city as if the stars were playing hide and seek with the numerous clouds. I turned away from the window and leant against it with my back. A church bell ushered in the distance: one o'clock at night and I was still wide awake… "You shouldn't have slept this afternoon!" I grumbled against myself while my gaze slid around the room for what must have been the umpteenth time that night. And for the umpteenth time that night, it stopped by the USB stick on my nightstand. I had the feeling that that stupid little thing was mocking me, it seemed to scream "What were you thinking you pathetic idiot!" and irritated I grabbed it and flung it in one of my desk drawers before I rushed to my bathroom. Everything in my room reminded me of my time with Jace today, which made me go nearly insane so I just needed to get out for a few hours. Furthermore I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep the following hours, still fully awake because of my nap earlier on the day, so I decided a walk would be a great idea. Hopefully the physical activity would tire me enough, so I could catch at least a few hours of sleep later on the night. I put on a blue pair of shorts and a grey shirt, knowing that the heat of the day would still hung in the air and grabbed my white strappy sandals before opening my door silently. As I stepped into the corridors, I listened for a few seconds, but it sounded like everyone was sound asleep and with a sigh of relief I headed downstairs. I sat down on the bottom of the stairs and put on my shoes before I unlocked the front door. I was about to slip away when a hand from behind me pushed against the door. The door closed with a click and a familiar voice whispered in my ear, causing my body to shiver slightly. "Hey, you weren't planning on sneaking out without me, were you, Red?"

I gasped as I turned around and looked right into the golden eyes that were so familiar to me. "Jace!" I whispered-said. He had been closer that I thought, and I took a step away from him. "Stop giving me heart attacks, you idiot!" I said, but he just laughed his warm, deep laugh I was so fond of and I couldn't help but laugh lightly along with him. "So where are you going, you little rebel?" he asked, a grin still plastered on his face. "Just… out." I answered honestly. I had no idea where I was going, but I just wanted to get out of this house for a few hours. "Don't make a move." He commanded me as he ran away. I hadn't even got time to answer something and surprised I waited until he came back. "You listened…?" He said, and I could hear astonishment and relief in his voice. "I did." I replied, and my voice sounded equally surprised. I took a second look on him and saw he had changed his pajamas for a blue jeans with a white shirt. A jacket lay loosely over his arm as he walked up to me. I closed my eyes, aware of every inch of his body. Only then I heard the sound of the door that opened behind my back, and I looked shamefacedly away. God, he had only wanted to open the door, and I had thought that he… that he wanted to… I turned around and got out of the house as fast as I could without running, hoping that he hadn't noticed my stupidity. "Hey Clary! Wait!" he shouted at me and I turned around. "What, Jace?!" I asked, and it came out angrier that I had intended, even though the anger was not directed to him this time. However, he just ignored my irritation. "I'm going with you, you know." he said amused. "It has always been a dream of me to go 'just... out'." He added grinning. I sighed deeply. "Fine!" I agreed, knowing that there was no way to make him change my mind: I was not the only stubborn one in this family. "Don't act like you don't like it." He said, clearly pleased with his own actions. "Every girl, secretly or openly, is dying to take a romantic walk in the moonlight with Jace Lightwood." "Well lucky for me, it's cloudy" I retaliated, before I turned around and headed to the streets of Brooklyn.

Jace POV

I had no idea how she did it… She always managed to catch me by surprise with her witty comments. For the first time in my life, I had found a girl who noticed the real me, and not just my "cocky-bastard-shield". She listened at what I said and was not just interested in my body. Not that I had really cared before, but now I knew how it felt… I loved it how she had her own opinion about everything, how she always argued with me and how she put me on my place when I was arrogant or selfish. I started to run towards her. I had finally found a girl where I wanted to fight for, and I would not let her go. "Hey Clary! Wait!" I screamed. "What?" She said as she turned around. "Already missing me? Or just afraid of the dark?" She grinned. I couldn't help but smirk at her. "Always" I retaliated. "What, the former or the latter? Or both?" I smiled as I said: "Who knows…" and she smiled back, which made the butterflies in my belly make triple somersaults. It seemed like her mood had improved a lot now she had the chance to make fun of me. I still had no idea why she had been ignoring me at dinner, but I wasn't going to ask it either. After all, women would always be mysterious creatures... But she was with me now, and she seemed happy, and I wasn't going to ruin the moment. "Where are you going?" I asked curious. She sighted. "No idea" she admitted dazedly as she stood still. I saw a glimpse of something running through her eyes. It seemed like… despair. And I didn't like it at all… I wanted her to smile again, even more: I wanted to be the person who made her smile. "Come on" I said as I grabbed her hand. "What are you doing Jace?" She asked while she tried to pull back her hand. "Trust me" I said, not letting go of her hand. I saw how she doubted for a while, as if she was fighting an inner ficht. "Fine, why not" she gave in. "But you can let go of my hand now you know, I'm not going to run away or so…" "I can never be too careful" I winked as I strengthen my grip a little. Her hand fitted perfectly in mine and I was not planning on letting it go soon.

Clary POV

I felt how I started to blush as he took my hand and I cursed myself in silence for it. Hopefully, he hadn't noticed it, because that would result in an endless stream of jokes about how amazingly handsome he was. And the most irritating was that I couldn't deny it: he was indeed extremely sexy… I looked around as he leaded me through the streets of the city. I loved how the streets where almost empty, though not deserted enough to be eerie or scaring. The soft sound of life that buzzed around the city, together with the soft gleam of the streetlights that burnt holes in the blackness of the night, gave the scenery a fairylike sphere. I looked at Jace, who smiled back as he noticed my gaze. A glimmering appeared in his eyes and I looked away, afraid that I would start blushing again. "You're cold!" he said slightly accusatory. "You should have told it!" He added as he started to take off his leather jacket. "Jace! I'm fine! You don't need to…" He interrupted me. "Of course I need to! Can't let a poor, helpless little girl freeze do death, can I?" he grinned as he gave me the black jacket. "I'm not helpless or little!" I said indignant, though I did thankfully put on the leather coat: It had been colder than I had expected and the heat of Jace's body still hang in the garment. "You're a drama queen, you know?" I retorted and he laughed warmly. "Oh trust me, I know". I loved how I was encircled by Jace's delicious body odor: a manly deodorant combined with vanilla and… sunlight. That may sound crazy, but if sunlight had a smell, it would be like that: delicious, warm, happy and… safe.

I was completely at easy as we walked around in a comfortable silence. I always had been fascinated by the night. I wasn't scared of the dark; it had always been some sort of mysterious secret I wanted to unravel. Even now, when my nights where often dominated by nightmares and lack of sleep, they still amazed me. At night, everything changed, everything appeared different, like you entered another world … The bustle of the city was replaced by a calmer, quieter version and perfectly normal things turned into unknown riddles. Even the people changed: Jace, for example. By daylight he was mostly untouchable and arrogant, like he didn't care about me at all, but at night… then he showed pieces of the real Jace and that one was caring and kind and seemed to understand even the things I didn't say at loud.

"We're here" he stated as he leaded me to the entrance of some sort of diner, hidden in the middle of a row of old, neglected and abandoned townhouses. An old, wooden board above the doorway mentioned that the place was called "The Old Duck". I looked questioning at him but he just smiled and opened the door for me. "Don't judge a book by his cover, Shorty!" He whispered in my ear. "Seriously, Shorty?!" I threw back, but I forgot everything as soon as I entered The Old Duck. At the outside, it seemed like an old decrepit diner, but on the inside it was just… marvelous. And certainly not a tavern… not at all! It was a good old fashion twenties pub that threw you entirely back in time!

The interior was dominated by a long dark wooden bar where a mid-aged man served drinks to the few visitors. He was surrounded by hundreds of different bottles of whisky, scotch and other sorts of alcohol of which I did not even know the name… The place still breathed the glitter and glamour of the days of yesteryear: a lot of gold, polished wood and chandeliers made the place decadent, but in a right way. Decadent as in making you feel like a celebrity, without losing coziness and authenticity. "Wow…" I said silently, more against myself then to Jace. "I know, right?!" He agreed. "Come on!" he said as he carried me to the bar. "Let's take a drink, I promise you that Mister Haunt makes the best cocktails ever!" The guy behind the bar, Mister Haunt I assumed, greeted Jace familial. "The usual?" he asked with a low, rough voice. Apparently Jace was a regular costumer in here… Jace nodded. "And for the lady?" he asked as he turned to me. "I uhmmm… I don't know, I euhm…" I wasn't exactly a specialist in cocktails and I had no idea what I needed to answer. "No panic, young lady, I know exactly what you want!" he said with his calm, friendly voice. "You do?" I asked surprised. He just laughed a blustering laugh before he turned around and grabbed some bottles. He started to make our drinks with routined hand movements. "He knows?" I asked Jace. "Trust him" he nodded. "He knows."

So, I know there wasn't a lot of action in this chapter and I'm not sure if you will like it or not... :( At least, I hope you did! Please follow, favorite, comment and so on... It gives me inspiration and motivation to continue the story :) BTW: Thanks to everyone who already followed/favorited/reviewed the story, it means the world to me, honestly! xxx N.