Hey guys! I made this chapter a little longer than the last, as always I hope you enjoy it.

Really quickly though, I just wanted to remind everyone that some of the views on things (Sebastian's) are not my own and are strictly based off the character that Cassandra Clare created.

Clary POV

Clary scraped the last of her Mac and Cheese with her fork. "I don't remember him, my mom doesn't like to talk about him, and as far as I know, there are no pictures or anything left behind." She shrugged. "It's almost like there was no trace of him."

She looked down; Simon was the only person Clary spoke to about her father. And even then, it was almost always a short dead-end conversation. But sitting here, talking with Jace… it was something much different. He listened intently, nodding so she knew he was paying attention. His eyes flickered, out of sympathy or something else. But suddenly she felt sort of…sad. Maybe it was the dwindling alcohol that was still nesting in her blood.

Clary shook her head, "Enough about me, though." She dropped her spoon into the bowl and pushed it away from her. "What about you? What about your biological parents?"

The words came out before she had time to think about it. He inhaled sharply, worrying Clary that her tone hadn't been soft or cautious enough. It was a pretty invasive question.

"My mother died when I was born and my father raised me on his own, but passed away when I was 10." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That's really it."

She nodded, not following up with any other inquiries. He clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. She racked her brain for something to say, or another topic. But her mind just went blank.

"Stop that." Jace said. Clary looked at him, confused. "Stop feeling like you need to fix this. I can tell you feel bad for asking, you don't have to."

Clary bit her lip. "I'm just sorry for being so intrusive."

He lifted a limp hand up to stop her. "Anything else your intrusive mind would like to know? I'm open to other topics."

Butterflies erupted in her stomach, because there was.

"Yes." Clary said, her lips twitching into a small smile. "Something I've actually been meaning to ask you,"

"If its whether I'm as good in bed as it looks, the answer is yes."

"Jace!" She looked to the threshold that lead into the living room, relieved Jocelyn wasn't anywhere in earshot.

He flashed a wide grin and she felt her cheeks get hot. Briefly her mind pictured Jace, laying on her bed without a shirt on. Her face must've been the color of ketchup.

"Go on," He said.

Clary took a deep breath in, "OK. Well, from what I've gathered, you feel something for me." She said it cautiously, not wanting to scare him off.

"Actually I'm just using you to get to Simon."

She rolled her eyes, but continued without humoring him. "But if you like me now, what changed? You hated me when we met, or at least it seemed like it. I just don't understand."

Jace's eyes widened a bit in surprise; he hadn't been expecting this. A small amount of giddiness gushed in her stomach.

Catching Jace Lightwood off guard was obviously a rarity.

His astonishment was soon replaced by laughter and her satisfaction was overtaken by irritation.

Clary glared at him, he was laughing at her.

"Is something funny?" She snapped.

"Yes, you." He pointed. Finally, he sighed and then leaned in, she followed. "Clary," She melted at the sound her voice coming from his lips. "why do little boys pull little girls' hair? And steal their toys and call them names?"

Clary's thought for a moment, realizing what he was trying to say. She let out a small "Oh."

"It's a defense mechanism as old as time and as immature as it is overused. But I didn't know what else to do." Jace reached out and grazed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Normally when I'm attracted to someone, I would charm them until they were eating out of the palm of my hand – and without difficulty. But not you, even before I was introduced to you, Clary I knew that wouldn't be the case. There was something about you, and it scared me. I was scared of how drawn to you I was, of how you were the first girl in my entire life that I wasn't confident I could have. So, I acted out. I was rejecting you before you could reject me." He put his head down, almost in shame.

Clary's mouth parted in awe, she hadn't been aware she was holding her breath.

"Unfortunately," He continued without looking up. "I do have a personality as impulsive and explosive as a volcano and my efforts to keep you at a distance failed miserably." He looked up then, "You were right you know, my spiteful behavior towards Sebastian was because of you."

"Wow." She whispered, trying to take in everything she had just been told. She wanted to say something worthy of a response to it. But she came up short. What could she say? Gee, thanks? She had only known Jace for a short while, but knew this was probably difficult for him to admit. He stared absently at the ceramic bowl in front of him. She let out a deep breath and cleared her mind.

Just tell him the truth, she thought.

"You're all I've thought about for the past two weeks." He turned and looked at her slowly. She looked down at her hands, unexpectedly self-conscious of her voice. "I think," She breathed deeply again, still not believing she was about admit this, "I think part of me was sort of glad that Sebastian had ruined things. I think if we were still together, I'd be looking for reasons to break it off. Because of you."

"Clary," He started, but she cut him off.

"I thought it was just a silly crush. Or, a weird attraction, I mean every girl in school is attracted to you, why would I be different? But seeing you with Aline, I hated it. And I couldn't deny the fact that I was forming real feelings. But I think all the events of the past two weeks just amplified what I already knew was there from the moment I saw you."

Clary felt vulnerable, but it was like a weight lift off her shoulders. She didn't look up at Jace; her admission was just as hard for her to admit and she was still processing the fact that she told him.

Suddenly his hands came to her cheeks, lifting her face up and once again, he pressed his lips to hers. It was less urgent than before, but more passionate. Wrapped around in the tension from both of their confessions, Jace deepened the kiss and Clary pulled him towards her. His hands moved to her waist, and wrapped around her, pulling her into his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair softly, and she moved her hands up to his face. Finally, she got to touch and examine his cheekbones and jaw and she breathed into his mouth with delight.

Never had Clary kissed someone with so much want and need. Her and Sebastian had only made out a handful of times, leaving her mildly satisfied. She thought that was the way it went; you kissed as a sign of your romantic feelings, sure, but she never thought it could feel like this.

"Ah-em." A fake cough interrupted the two. Clary pulled away from Jace to see Jocelyn standing in the threshold. Her face flushed unforgivingly and she scrambled off of Jace's lap. He stood up, just as flustered and out of breath as she.

Jocelyn stared at them with irritation and also, Clary thought, some embarrassment, too.

"I was just on my way out." Jace said, smoothing out his jeans.

Jocelyn nodded, "Probably for the best."

He walked backwards to the back door, "It was nice meeting you." He said to Jocelyn, before turning the door knob. "Goodnight Clary." And he slipped out.

She watched the door close quietly behind him and was suddenly hit with a tiny wave of sadness. She whipped her head to Jocelyn. "That was kind of rude. You didn't even say goodnight."

"I don't have to say goodnight to a stranger acting like that with my daughter." She huffed. "Get upstairs, you need to sleep."

"Jeez, OK." Clary said.

She left the kitchen and found Mr. Graymark still sitting in the living room. He was in the armchair, reading the newspaper.

What was he still doing here?

She looked and made sure Jocelyn was preoccupied in the kitchen before walking over to him.

"Hi, Mr. Graymark." She said. He jumped a little.

"Oh, hi Clary. Didn't see you there." He smiled, as if this wasn't weird.

She decided to get right to it.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

His smile turned into a nervous line. He folded the paper neatly and set it on the coffee table.

"Clary." Clary turned and found her mother standing in the threshold, again.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm just wondering why,"

"Bed." Jocelyn said more sternly. She used her 'Don't mess with me' tone.

Defeated, and exhausted from the night, she gave up and resolved to bring it up again in the morning.

"Goodnight." She said and spun on her heel with her head high.

When the two couldn't see her face anymore, she let her lips curve into a grin that stayed with her until she fell asleep.

JOCELYN POV

Jocelyn watched her daughter climb the stairs slowly and waited until she heard a doorknob click. She sighed before looking at Luke.

He still sat in the arm chair across the room, but his face had fallen into a frown.

"Oh don't look at me like that." She said waving a hand like she was swatting away a fly and retreated to the kitchen. She walked over to the table and collected the bowls that contained now-hardened cheese around the rims.

"Jocelyn, you need to talk to her, its time." Luke said, meeting her at the sink. He sighed as she placed the bowls into it. "Keeping secrets, the lying, I mean it isn't right,"

"I know, I know." She said, leaning on the rim of the sink. She shook her head and looked at Luke, surprised to find a pained expression on his face.

"I miss her, you know." He whispered. "I don't like watching her grow from a distance. I mean for heaven's sake, Jocelyn, I was there when she was born. I helped teach her how to walk." He shook his head in exasperation.

Jocelyn's face fell. She knew that he was right. Vivid memories of the past clouded her mind.

Tears streamed from Jocelyn's face as she stuffed random items into a duffel bag. She panted as she moved to the closet and grabbed as much as she could physically fit. She moved to the dresser and for a split moment looked up into the mirror.

Her face was stricken with fear, streaks of mascara stained her cheekbones, and her nose was red from sniffing. Her hair was piled on top of her hair, held slopplily with a pair of chopsticks. She swallowed. Could she do this? Should she do this? She had gone over this moment a thousand times; dreaming of the day she would find the courage.

And as if her thoughts and her stomach were telepathically connected, Jocelyn felt a small kick from the inside of her abdomen. A reminder of why she was doing this in the first place. Her glassy eyes transformed from that of a frightened deer in headlights to a determined lioness. She placed a hand on her stomach protectively.

She was really doing this; she was really fleeing.

"It was just such a dark time, I wanted to pretend like it didn't exist." She sighed, running the water.

"Sharing that part of your life with her isn't going to change anything, Jocelyn. He is gone, he isn't coming back. You're safe now." He said, rubbing a comforting a hand on the small of her back.

"I need to talk to Maryse." Jocelyn said decidedly.

Luke threw up his hands in frustration, "What good is that going to do?"

"They were kissing, Luke. Clearly Clary and the boy have something going on." She turned and walked over the table. She put her head in her hands.

He followed in suit, "He said they were just friends." He paused. "But I suppose he could've been lying."

"He was raised by Valentine. There is no way Jace's mind was left untouched by him. He could be just as cruel, just as…violent," Jocelyn said, lifting her head.

"Jocelyn," Luke reached out, but she flinched away.

"No, no. You should hear how Clary talks about him. He is charming and good-looking, she's completely smitten." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "The same way I was."

IZZY POV

Izzy sat cross-legged on her satin sheets while Simon explained a game called Dungeons & Dragons. If she had to be honest, the whole thing sounded very…nerdy. But she liked how excited Simon was while talking about it and that was good enough for her.

Simon was much different than the boys she was used to dating. The usual roster of boys consisted of arrogant jocks and bad boys that were so full of themselves, they hardly cared about being gentlemen. Plus, they barely ever got to know Isabelle. Most of the time, they dated her for her looks.

But with Simon, she felt different. Superficiality was a thing of the past when it came to him.

"Izzy." He said, she blinked. He smiled, "I knew I was boring, but that may be the first time someone has fallen asleep with their eyes open on me."

She blushed and let out a small laugh, "I was paying attention."

"Ah the fateful was." He said, "I was going to call, I was going to show up," He eyed her slyly, "I was interested in what you had to say until I realized I'd rather watch paint dry."

"Don't be such a smart ass. I was paying attention, but I got distracted." She crossed her arms.

He raised his eyebrows, "OK. By?"

"By you." She said quietly. His eye brows stayed raised, indicating he wanted her to go on. She looked at her ankles and shy smile formed on her lips. She prepared to answer him; she would tell him that she could listen to him talk for hours, that she loved how funny and smart he was, and that she liked him, a lot.

But a little voice piped up in her head. Only the voice wasn't hers, it was her mother's.

This isn't any your faults; we still love you. But we feel your father and I's time has run out.

The same nauseating pit that settled in her stomach after hearing those words was back. She felt ill.

"Iz?" Simon asked, breaking the silence.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I spaced out. It's been a long night." She looked sheepishly to the side. "I actually don't feel so well; it might be the alcohol or something."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Simon's face fall a little. She bit her lip before speaking again, as if she was going to change her mind the last minute.

"Maybe you should leave, it's getting late."

Isabelle finally looked back to Simon, his face had reddened a bit.

"Oh." He pushed up his glasses. "Are you sure? If you're sick, I can get you something."

Her heart constricted at his words. "No, no its OK. Really, I just want to pass out." She laughed emptily.

He nodded and scrambled off of her bed. "OK, well feel better Iz." And with that, he exited her room.

She sighed heavily and crawled to the head of her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest wishing it was Simon.

JACE POV

Jace walked up his stoop feeling more content than he had in a long time. He hadn't even attempted to conceal his shit-eating grin on the way home from Clary's.

And to think, I thought this night was going to be dreadful.

Of course, there was the whole awkward exchange with Clary's mother, but he could fix that easily. All and all the night couldn't have gone better.

His door was unlocked and he knew that meant some people would still be there. As he walked in he only found around fifteen people. The majority were sloppily making out with each other or having private conversations. He gave an uninterested wave to them as they looked over. In return, he received a couple of glares from the guys whose girls were now gawking at him.

"Parties over guys. You don't have to go home, but you need to get the hell out of my house."

A couple of groans sounded, but slowly the remaining teens began to shuffle out.

Jace turned for the staircase but was met with Simon.

"Hit and run? To be honest, I didn't take you as a heartbreaker." He said smirking.

"Excuse me, but I have much more important things to do than sit around and exchange banter with you." Simon replied, walking past him. "Like getting hit by the F train." He walked out.

Maybe his relationship with Izzy had fizzled out already. It wouldn't be a surprise, he's not the first guy that has left Isabelle's room in defeat.

Isabelle left her room the same time Jace was entering his, in her hand was a backpack.

"Running away?" He said eyeing it. "Packing light is a smart move."

She rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood, either. "It's Clary's. Is she still here?"

Jace shook his head. "I took her home."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows suggestively, but Jace said nothing to indulge her.

Finally, she nodded, "I'll just give it to her tomorrow, or something." The top of the pack was unzipped and faintly Jace could see Clary's sketch book peeking out of the opening. Isabelle went to return to her room.

"Actually," Jace said, walking over to her, "I'll hold on to it." He reached for it, but Izzy yanked it back.

Izzy glared at him suspiciously. "Why do you want it?"

He shrugged, "I think she might've brought her physics notes with her, and I missed class the other day…" The words were lame leaving his mouth. He wished had a better excuse.

Her lips turned into a smile, "Obsess much?"

He yanked it away from her. "Shut up, Izzy."

Both retreated to their respective bedrooms and Jace took Clary's sketch pad out of her backpack. He laid back on his bed, kicking his shoes off and relaxing against his pillows. Carefully, he opened it up and began to look at her drawings.

She was a wonderful artist; he traced the pages with delicate fingers, recognizing Simon, Isabelle, a girl named Maia, even Alec was in there. And much to his dismay, Sebastian. He knew Sebastian would occupy some space, but his heart sunk a little as found Sebastian was on multiple pages.

Jace knew going through this was an invasion of Clary's privacy, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to see what she saw and understand how her mind worked. She got lost in her thoughts so often, it was hard to keep up with her.

He flipped through a few more pages before he found what he had been secretly hoping for: himself.

His face was perfectly drawn in the middle of cream paper, his breath hitched. He let his fingers graze over it gracefully than he had with the others.

If there was any doubt in Clary's feelings, it was gone now.

Clary had captured every hollow, angle, scar, and line of Jace's face. It was easily the most detailed sketch in the entire book. After studying it for a moment, he turned, delighted to find another one of himself. And like its predecessor, it was flawlessly executed.

It was a medium-sized sketch, head to torso. His arms were crossed and he had an impassive look on his face. But what struck Jace were the wings that sprouted from his shoulder blades.

SEBASTION POV

Sebastian looked all around the house for his knee pads, but he couldn't find them anywhere. He cursed under his breath, today was the big homecoming game and he couldn't even get his uniform together.

"Dad," He called, rifling through his hamper for a third time. "Have you seen my knee pads?"

"No, did you check your hamper?" His father called.

"Yes." Sebastian gritted through his teeth. "I can't find them anywhere and I have to be at the school in an hour!"

"I think there are extra ones in the storage closet. Just use those." His father's voice was dismissive.

Sebastian sighed, he was a little superstitious. He liked things a certain way and using a random pair of knee pads was no way to prepare for the big game. Frustrated, but in no position to argue, he stalked to the closet down the hall. He walked in and pulled on the string connected to a single light bulb in the middle of the small square ceiling. He squinted his eyes to focus on the top shelves. Sure enough, a dusty pair sat on top of a black box towards the back.

Even on his tip toes, Sebastian couldn't quite reach the knee pads. His fingers lightly hit the ends of them so he pulled the black box out, hoping the knee pads would fall for him. Instead he lost his balance and they came down with the black box. The contents spilled and covered the whole floor and Sebastian hastily attempted to pick it all back up.

"Is everything OK in there?" His father called.

"Yeah, yeah everything is fine." He said and hastily grabbed the items. He knew his father would be annoyed with the mess. Most of the items were photographs of his father when he was younger, Sebastian tossed them in without much care.

When he thought he cleaned it all up, he noticed two single photos side by side towards the side. He huffed in irritation. He snatched them up, crumpling the ends slightly. As he was about to throw them in with the rest, he turned them over in curiosity.

In the photo his father stood with his arm around a woman. She was oddly familiar with long red hair and beautiful eyes. His face scrunched in confusion as he realized it was Clary's mother.

They know each other? Feeling oddly unsettled he dumped the photo back into the box.

Unable to help it, he flipped over the second photo. His father was older in this one than the previous, but not by much. And Jocelyn had been replaced with a boy in his father's arms. He squinted, not believing what he was seeing. His stomach formed a threatening pit. The boy was young, very young but his hair and eyes were unmistakable. It was Jace Lightwood.

"Sebastian?" His father called from down the hall, becoming impatient. "Did you find them?"

Sebastian scrambled to his feet and rushed out. He approached his father in haste and he looked at Sebastian with a bemused expression.

"What is this?" Sebastian demanded, holding the photograph just inches away from his father's face.

His father's face turned to stone. "Where did you find that?" he said quietly.

Sebastian felt his voice involuntarily rise, "In the closet. Don't avoid the question. What the hell are you doing holding Jace Lightwood?"

His father raised a hand and a blinding pain hit the right side of Sebastian's face. "Who do you think you're talking to like that boy?"

Sebastian put his hand up to his raw cheek. He knew better than to raise his voice to his dad.

He made sure his voice was even before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, I just, I found one of you and Clary's mother." He shook his head. "I don't understand."

After a moment, his father took a deep breath and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

"There is a lot I haven't told you, Sebastian."

Valentine's black eyes flickered darkly, Sebastian wasn't sure he was ready to hear it.

CLARY POV

Clary woke with a blinding headache. Her eyes opened slowly and she peeked out from under her pillow. On her nightstand were a few tablets and glass of water that held down a piece of paper that said TAKE THE ASPRIN.

Clary obliged and chugged the whole glass of water in one sitting. Being hungover wasn't anything she wanted to get used to. She thought back to the night before and found few memories. She hadn't realized she had blacked out. One thing she did remember though…Jace. A few butterflies disrupted her already nauseous stomach.

She looked over at her alarm clock and her eyes widened in horror when she saw it 1:45 in the afternoon. She glanced around her room and found her cell phone on her dresser.

A few missed calls and texts from Simon, Izzy, and to her surprise, Sebastian.

She opened his first:

We need to talk after the game. Meet me.

She held her breath, was Sebastian really trying to get her back again? She shook her head, not wanting to jump to conclusions or come off as conceited, maybe something was wrong. She texted him back an OK.

Simon and Isabelle both asked Clary to meet them for coffee before the game but they were already there now. She had to shower and clean herself up before she set foot out of the house.

After replying that she'd meet them at the game, she held her phone anxiously. She had hoped Jace would call her. She shrugged off her disappointment, she had been with him only 12 hours ago. It wasn't like they were dating.

Suddenly her phone vibrated in her hand, the Caller ID displaying a number that wasn't programmed in her cellphone. Clary hated getting random numbers. Last year a group of kids had decided to go on a crank call spree, Clary being one of the victims.

"Hello?" She said, trying to coat the uncertainty in her voice.

"You don't seem to happy to hear from me." Jace's voice sounded through the phone.

She smiled to herself, hoping the excitement in her voice wasn't too obvious. "Hi." She murmured.

"That's more like it." She knew he was grinning. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, I actually just woke up." She said, sheepishly. Why was she suddenly so embarrassed about that?

"Yeah well when you decide to drink enough to take down 10 grown men, you're going to have a hell of a hangover."

Clary let out a small laugh and exited her room to look for her mom. Her stomach was in need for some food.

"I would like to offer my assistance in taking care of that." He chimed.

She padded down the stairs slowly, her hand grazing the bannister. She felt like a teen in a romantic comedy. "Oh would you now? Who said I needed assistance?"

"Oh right, I'm taking to Ms. I Can Handle Everything." He sighed in mocked disappointment, "I guess I'll leave you to it, seeing how you need no help from me."

Clary stepped on the bottom step and swung around to head to the kitchen, an even bigger smile replacing the one she was just sporting. "Wait. What did you have in mind?"

If you could hear someone smirk, Clary was listening to his loud and clear, "I was thinking, bagels, coffee, possibly a football game?"

She entered the kitchen and was surprised when she didn't find her mother. Clary sat the table, she must've ran out for groceries. Or maybe she's with Luke, she thought.

She returned back to her conversation. "That could be nice."

"I'll swing by in a half an hour."

Clary hung up, grinning like an idiot. She retreated back to her room to get ready.

MARYSE POV

Maryse rubbed her temple as her divorce lawyer spoke into the phone.

"We have to be in the same room?" She asked, referring to the distribution of the assets meeting that would take place next week with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Robert.

"You can send a proxy, but it would be easier if you two did it yourselves." He explained.

"Fine. Wednesday at noon it is." She murmured, finished with the conversation.

The doorbell rung and Maryse walked towards the front of the house. As expected, Jocelyn Fray and Luke Graymark stood waiting on the other side.

"Jocelyn, Luke." She nodded. "Come in."

They regarded her politely and she took their jackets for them. Quietly, she led them into the dining room.

"Can I get either of you two anything? Tea? Water?" Maryse offered awkwardly. It had been years since she had seen either of them and she was finding it difficult to communicate.

"No thank you, Maryse. We don't plan on staying long." Jocelyn said.

The fact that this would be quick didn't still Maryse's anxiety in the slightest. She had received a call from her old friend very early this morning, Jocelyn begging to meet this afternoon. The urgency had left her so unsettled she came home early from her business trip on Long Island.

"Well then, let's get to it." Maryse said decidedly. She took a seat across from the two at the table. "What can I do for you?"

Jocelyn sighed and looked to Luke, who looked at Maryse. "We have a small problem."

Maryse exhaled deeply, this wasn't what she wanted to hear. But, she supposed, she hadn't expected this to be a reunion or anything. "Is everything alright?" She lowered her voice, "Is it,"

"No." Jocelyn said quickly before Maryse had the chance to say his name. She folded her hands on the table and waited.

"Your children are attending Alicante High."

Maryse nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Right, well it would seem that your three eldest and my daughter, Clary, have fallen into the same circle."

Maryse had to keep herself from visibly flinching at the world "circle." Irresponsible choice of words, she thought.

"I knew Isabelle had made friends with a few students, but I was unaware that one of them belonged to you, Jocelyn. Is the problem between them?" Maryse asked. She was becoming impatient.

Jocelyn looked at her hands and began to speak, but stopped herself.

"Oh for goodness sake Jocelyn, you're making me nervous. What is it?" She asked. Although it was more confrontational than conversational, Maryse had managed to make it sound polite.

"It also seems that your boy and my daughter have become something of an item."

"An item." Maryse repeated.

"She means that loosely," Luke chimed in, looking to Jocelyn, "we aren't definite about the status of their relationship."

"Alec?"

"No," Jocelyn responded, "Jace."

Maryse nodded, "Well, I mean this isn't the most ideal situation, but I don't see any immediate issues with this. They have nothing to do with us."

"I don't believe that's true." Jocelyn said with a reluctant expression. She lowered her voice. "I tried my best to keep Clary separate from that part of my life, and it has worked all of these years."

Luke grimaced as she said this. Maryse knew Luke had suffered due to Jocelyn's attempts at keeping her daughter in the dark.

"I'm sorry, Jocelyn. I'm still not understanding." Maryse spoke, her voice matching her guest's volume.

"This isn't easy for me to say, but I think it's for the best if Jace and Clary stayed away from each other."

Maryse replied with a confused expression.

"Jace spent his childhood with him, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible if,"

As if a lightbulb switched on in her mind, Maryse caught on. Anger slowly swirled in her chest, but she kept her cool. "You think he'll display similar behavior."

Jocelyn nodded cautiously, knowing she was most likely offending her host. Luke sat quietly, shaking his head a little.

"I'll have you know we've had Jace for seven years now and not once has he given us a reason to question his morals or character. He is smart, loyal, and cares about his family."

Jocelyn went to respond, but was cut off by an displeased Maryse.

"I wasn't finished." Jocelyn nodded and let Maryse continue. "Jace can be rough around the edges, sure, but he is strong in what he believes in and would never, ever act out the way Valentine did." She watched Jocelyn flinch at the sound of Valentine's name, but Maryse didn't care. "And the fact that you came all the way here to offend one of my children, in my own home says a lot more about you than it does about Jace."

Maryse felt her rage simmer, she took a deep breath and waited for Jocelyn's rebuttal. Instead, Jocelyn had her face in her hands. Maryse heard a sniffle.

Slowly, Jocelyn pulled her hands away from her face and gently she wiped the areas under her eyes.

"Maryse," She said cautiously, her voice was almost a whisper. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But, I see myself when I look at them. I see myself and him. It's like watching the past repeat itself in my own kitchen. I just want Clary to be safe and she very well may be with Jace. But she is too young to be falling this hard for someone. I did just that, and look where I ended up. You love too hard, too fast and it falls apart. I don't want Clary to go through what I went through. Plus," She sighed, "I'm not ready for her to meet this other part of my life. And if Jace and her continue to grow closer, it'll be inevitable."

Maryse watched Jocelyn rub her temples. For a moment, she studied her old friend. Jocelyn looked worn out and permanently nervous. Luke stroked her back.

Maryse thought about Jace for a moment. He was a great kid.

But…

But he had tendencies; little things that Maryse guessed could appear to be red flags. He liked to cause tiffs with people. He genuinely enjoyed irritating and angering others with his sarcasm and wit. This had resulted in many a fight with his peers and even some adults. It was like he had all of these emotions and his outlet was confrontation.

Then there was the fact that he never had a serious girlfriend; Jace was a good-looking boy and charming, too. From what Maryse could gather, her adopted son was a hit with the ladies, but had never settled down. Of course this was normal behavior of a senior in high-school, but Jace wasn't a normal high-school senior. He had a rough childhood, something told Maryse that his distance from relationships didn't coming from wanting to "play the field", but something much deeper. She doubted Jace would spend more than another week with Jocelyn's daughter.

Maryse thought of Isabelle then; strong and confident Isabelle. Her daughter was a firecracker, but she knew Izzy had a vulnerable side. She pictured Isabelle broken up over a boy, crying on her bed, crushed and defeated. Maryse's heart constricted.

She sighed, if Jocelyn wanted to protect her daughter then Maryse couldn't stand in the way. She would do the same if she thought Izzy was getting involved with the wrong person.

"Fine. We will separate the two."

Jocelyn looked up, relief flooding her face. "Oh Maryse."

"This isn't because Jace isn't good enough or any of the awful things you were suggesting." Maryse said sternly. "This is coming from one protective mother to another."

Jocelyn shook her head, "Of course not. Thank you."

"There is one condition." Maryse said.

Jocelyn nodded willingly.

"We tell them why."

Horror struck Jocelyn's face.

"It isn't right to keep secrets from our children. Lying by omission is one thing; nothing of relevance has ever come up, so there was no need to share. But now, now were too close in proximity. It is going to come out one way or another and the longer we wait, the longer they'll resent us for keeping it from them."

Jocelyn blinked, obviously uncertain of what to say.

"Plus, if I have to meddle with Jace's life, he deserves to know why."

It was Luke who spoke next, "Jocelyn, she is right."

Maryse was surprised. Luke and Jocelyn were usually one such similar pages.

"We don't have to tell her everything. Not every detail needs to be shared, but the gist. She deserves to know."

After a moment of silence, Jocelyn looked to Maryse. "Deal."

CLARY POV

Clary chewed viciously on an everything bagel with delight. After Jace had picked her up, they had decided to eat their food at the homecoming game, leaving Clary's hunger to turn into starvation.

She looked to Jace who was smirking at her. "Hungry?"

She flushed, her mouth full of bagel and cream cheese.

He crumpled his wax wrapper and shoved it into a paper bag at his feet. They sat on the bleachers, near the top with Simon and Isabelle, Alec and Magnus, and Maia and Simon. Clary couldn't help but feel like she was on a quadruple date.

"Thank God Max woke me up when he did. I don't think we would've gotten the place cleaned up in time." Izzy continued with her story.

Maryse Lightwood had unexpectedly come home from her weekend away, almost busting the Lightwood teens.

"Clary, why did you leave so early last night?" Simon asked. "You basically disappeared."

Clary blushed a little, she didn't want to admit that she had forgotten why she left in such haste.

"Drunk desire for adventure?" She asked more than stated. Maia began talking about something Clary couldn't hear and tuned her out.

"Drunk desire for adventure." Jace repeated, looking forward at the field.

"What? You don't believe me?" She asked.

"Well I sort of assumed it was because of me." He shrugged.

"And why would you think that?" She crossed her arms.

He did look at her this time. "Because you stormed out the minute you saw me."

Clary's nose scrunched, did she really do that?

He smirked, "I've been known to piss a few girls off, but your exit was by far the most dramatic I've ever caused. Well done."

She blushed, suddenly remembering spotting Jace in the kitchen and exiting in a fit of rage.

Clary's phone buzzed. MOM, it said on the screen. She answered it.

"Hi." She said, nervous her mom had come home to find an empty house. Clary knew she was going to be grounded after last night. "Look, I know I probably should be at home, but the big game was today,"

"Clary, who are you with right now?"

Clary eyebrows knitted together, "Simon, Isabelle, a few others."

"Is Jace with you?"

She looked at the god sitting next to her. Would she ever get over how beautiful he was?

"Yes."

She heard her mother sigh heavily.

"Is everything alright?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean. Just, just come home as soon as you can, baby. I need to talk to you."

Apprehension filled Clary's chest, what could this be about? Her thoughts traveled to her earlier text from Sebastian about needing to talk to her as well. Clary looked down to the bench where she saw Sebastian looking up at her. He gave a small wave - which Clary didn't return. She'd have to meet him some other time.

"OK. I'll let you know when I'm leaving." Clary responded to her mother. They hung up.

After a while, Clary's interest in the game had completely disintegrated. She reached into her backpack that Jace had brought with him and pulled out her sketch book.

Without thinking she began to draw Jace. She had only drawn him a few times, but she already knew his face pretty well. She was familiar with the curve of his nose and height of his cheekbones. She even remembered the little scar under his right eye.

She peeked up through her red hair that was spilled out on her sketch pad and found Jace watching her. She flushed, but let him see it. He leaned over to get a closer look.

"You're very fun to draw." She said quietly.

"Can I have it?" He asked.

She nodded and ripped it carefully apart from the spirals connecting the pages. She folded it up into fours and handed it to him. He slid it into the back pocket of his black jeans.

"I'm going to get a drink; do you want anything?" He asked. Clary shook her head.

He made his way down the stairs, ignoring the girls that whispered as he walked by. He was so confident and sure of himself, it made Clary jealous. Without falter, he reached the bottom, walking along the fence that separated the field from the bleachers. He paused when he was approached by a cheerleader. Clary squinted. And of course, it was Aline. Clary tried to push away her annoyance. Aline leaned over the fence and reached out to touch his arm. He responded by stepping back and walking away. She smiled to herself.

Feeling the urge to use the bathroom, Clary descended from the bleachers in search for the Port-a-potty with Isabelle. They walked the opposite direction of Jace, strolling along the bench that housed the football players.

"Clary!" She looked to find Sebastian running towards her. She hadn't realized it was half-time.

Clary reluctantly turned and gripped the top of the fence. "Hi."

"What happened to you last night? I tried to talk to you but you stormed out."

"Oh uh yeah, it was a long night." She said awkwardly. She looked to Isabelle.

"I'm going to use the little girl's room." She said, not before giving Simon a dirty look.

Clary suddenly felt very guilty about the prior night's events. Her and Sebastian had never officially broken up, did this mean she cheated on him? Technically, she had been cheating on him from the start of the relationship as she had harbored something for Jace the whole time. But that didn't count right? She couldn't help that.

Oh, who was she kidding. She could've been a good girl and avoided Jace, maybe she wouldn't be in the position she was now. The thought made her a little upset.

"I need to talk to you about Jace." They said at the same time.

"You first." He offered. Clary nodded.

"I know you don't like him," She began. He responded with a scoff, which she ignored. "but something happened and last night. We uh sort of kissed."

Sebastian's eyes might as well have had flames burning in them. "What the fuck do you mean sort of?"

Clary had expected him to take it badly, but his voice was full of venom. "Look Sebastian, he took me home, it was completely unexpected. I don't even know what it means,"

"It means," He interrupted her. "that you are selfish bitch. Who'd rather throw away her relationship to get fucked and used by the new boy than work out what she already committed to."

Clary's mouth opened in shock.

Everything he had said was technically true, but it hadn't looked as bad in Clary's eyes.

And Jace wasn't using her. At least, she didn't think so.

"You wanted this to happen. You never gave a shit about me." He spat.

Jace, aside, this was it. This was Sebastian's problem; what would always keep them from working out things. He was prone to losing control and snapping. There was no communication or compromise. Sebastian had a way of making Clary seem like the villain in every situation.

"Seb, I know I should've officially broken up with you before I did anything, but again, I didn't know last night was going to happen. Nothing I did was out of malignance or because I never cared about you. Jace or not, me and you weren't going to work. Your temper makes everything too hard."

Suddenly, he reached over fence and grabbed Clary's jacket collar and pulled her towards him. She gasped slightly.

"Do not put all the blame on me here." Clary's heart raced in fear. She glanced around nervously; no one had noticed and Izzy wasn't back from the bathroom yet. He gave it another pull, causing her to move to him even closer. Their noses almost touched.

"Sebastian, let go of me." She said as sternly as she could. She tried to remove his hand, but was rewarded with his free hand gripping the other side.

"You are the reason we fell apart, you did this. You and that stuck-up jackass Lightwood. You make me sick, running around whoring yourself out to whoever wants it."

Clary's eyes widened in horror. Where did that come from?

"You expect me to believe you two only kissed? Please, I see the way you look at him, you probably fucked,"

Clary's let her hand crack hard against Sebastian's cheek before he could finish the sentence.

"You bitch!" He screamed in her face.

This time, people noticed what was happening.

"Back up." A voice behind Clary spoke. Without even checking to make sure she knew who it was, she backed into Jace. She felt more safe against his chest than she ever felt in both of Sebastian's arms.

"God, what is it with you? Do you have a sensor or something? This," He used a finger to point to space between him and Clary. "does not concern you. Nor will it ever concern you. So do us all a favor and disappear Lightwood."

"Why don't you make me?" He said, gently pushing Clary to the side.

A hand squeezed Clary's and she looked to find Simon standing next to her. She let out a breath of relief and squeezed it back. She hadn't realized how much she missed Simon.

Jace continued, "Oh wait, your expertise lies in talking big and running away like a coward, I almost forgot."

Clary watched in horror as Sebastian hopped the fence and walked up to Jace. With a forceful fist, he punched Jace in the jaw. Everyone gasped, moving closer to circle around them. Jace reacted immediately. He charged and punched Sebastian square in the face, causing him to lose his balance and fall against the fence.

Simon and Alec rushed in before any authority figures could notice.

"Hey. Hey." Alec said, holding a squirming Jace back. Simon stood between the two fighters with stretched out arms. Jace visibly calmed down and removed his grip from Alec's, but Sebastian was just getting started.

"It's nice you have some back up. A nerd," He glared at Simon and his eyes moved evilly to Alec, "And a queer." The words fell from his mouth in disgust.

Jace charged for him, but Jordan and a wounded Alec pulled him back. Clary's mouth gaped open at his words, but found herself holding Isabelle back from getting involved. Instead, Simon wound up and punched Sebastian in the gut. Sebastian lurched over, gripping his stomach and falling to his knees. The whole crowd gasped in delight and shock, especially Isabelle.

"What the hell is going on here?" Everyone turned to find Coach Jeremiah approaching the fence. Everyone scattered immediately, except all of those actually involved. "Sebastian, get back over here. We have a game going on."

Sebastian growled, clutching his abdomen and retreated back over in a swift motion.

Clary ran up to Simon, reaching for his hand. A few bruises were already forming on his knuckles. She shook her head, "Simon, that was incredible! I didn't know you knew how to fight."

He shrugged, "Apparently when it counts, I do."

Isabelle joined them after speaking briefly with Alec, her face holding something more than amazement: gratitude for her brother. Some others joined to bask in Simon's glory.

"Are you OK?" Izzy asked him, checking out his hand, too.

"Yeah, you should see the other guy." Simon smirked, Izzy smiled and threw his arms around him.

Clary looked over to Jace who was now talking to Alec; he had his hand on Alec's shoulder while Magnus stood close by, nodding. By the looks of it, Jace was talking him down in lieu of Sebastian's decision to out Alec to half of the school.

She watched him rub his brother's shoulder gently. He used the same hand he had used to clock Sebastian in the face. It amazed her, the way Jace was able to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Either gentle as a feather or hard as rock, sarcastic or dead serious. She was learning there was barely any in between with him. She was also learning that despite knowing him for such a short time, she was falling for him.

The three dispersed as Alec and Magnus walked off alone, leaving Jace. Some people went up to him to crowd around Simon's partner in crime. One of them, being Kaelie. She stared at him like with wide puppy dog eyes. It was sort of pathetic and Clary didn't mean that in a malicious way, but there was something so sad about watching someone look at another with such desperation. Clary wondered if that was what she looked like when she looked at Jace. She prayed not.

Jace broke free of the crowd, leaving behind his fans and to approach Clary.

"Are you OK?" He asked.

"Are you ok?" She looked down at his knuckles, now brown with drying blood. Forgetting they were out in the open, and not really caring when she realized they were in public, she let her fingers reach out and graze his hand softly. His hand opened up and they intertwined their fingers. "I'm sorry." She kept her head down.

"Clary, look at me."

She looked back up at him and he stared back in confusion. "You're sorry for what?"

Clary pulled his hand up, still entangled with hers. "For this. It's my fault."

Jace scoffed, "This is hardly your fault. He is sad excuse for a human being. And I just happen to think sad excuses for human beings are punishable by fists."

She shook her head; it wasn't good enough to evade her guilt. He sighed, the setting sun hitting his amber eyes.

"Come on." He pulled her away from the crowd and over to the side of the bleachers. Clary looked back to find some people watching them walk off. Kaelie stood with a jealous expression, while Izzy looked on in awe.

When they were finally alone, he let go of her hand and used his to graze her cheek.

"I saw you two speaking, I saw him pull you towards him, and scream in your face. I want to protect you Clary. And I will." He thought for a moment and then added more softly, "And don't you dare go off on a tangent about how you could've handled it."

Despite her somber mood, she couldn't help but smile.

She reached out and carefully touched the area where Sebastian had hit him. Her face winced at the bruising. Of course, nothing could diminish his beauty. He could get hit a million times and he'd still be more attractive than the entire school. Clary retracted her hand.

"This is kind of scary." She whispered.

"My face?" Jace asked. She shook her head, stifling a laugh. "What is?" He asked again, running a hand through her hair that ended up cupping her cheek. Tenderly, he pulled her closer to him. She tried to disguise her hitched breathing, but she was pretty sure he noticed.

Clary looked into his eyes. "This; feeling this way."

His cupped hand slid down to her chin and he used his index finger and thumb to lift her chin up. He came down and planted a kiss on her lips. Clary let her hands slide around his waist as the kiss intensified. They gained momentum quickly, kissing as if they had been deprived for years.

Would it always be like this? A fervent need that would never be satisfied?

Clary didn't want to stop but he pulled away, placing his hands on the metal beams supporting the bleachers, his arms on either side of her head. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

Clary studied his face, specifically his lips. They were beautiful, just like him. She took two fingers and touched them lightly, stroking the top and bottom as softly as she could. His lips parted in pleasure. He leaned down, kissing her once more, kept it short.

She was disappointed when he pulled away and he could tell. He smirked.

"Clary if I could, I would kiss those lips of yours for hours. But in case you've forgotten, like I almost did, we are at a public event. We should get back before everyone starts to wonder if we ditched for a quickie in the port-a-potty." Clary flushed, but smiled none the less. He took his hands off the wall and wiped them against each other. "I mean unless that was something you were interested in, then I would have no problem turning that rumor into a fact."

She shoved his arm and rolled her eyes. He grinned. The two started to round the corner back to the bleachers. Without thinking Clary reached out and grabbed his hand, like it was the most normal thing in the world. She smiled to herself, she liked that it was so normal. She peeked up and found a pleased expression set on his face. No longer was she concerned with what people would say about her switch from Sebastian to Jace. She was too happy to care. If they wanted to talk, they could. But it was her business, not theirs.

She took a deep, but confident breath as they walked out in front of the bleachers.