Just finished reading The Whitechapel Fiend... some serious Jillessa feels, as well as a very cute look at the main characters in TLH. Also some major Sizzy feels (even though Izzy didn't actually make an appearance, Simon was very, very, very... I don't even have a word for it. We may have to make a new one). I've got to say, I wasn't loving the writing in Welcome to the Shadowhunter Academy, although it was better in The Lost Herondale, but now it's getter better. It's so strange seeing Simon without his memories; I forgot how much he changed in TMI, even though he has still has that unmistakable Simon flair in these books.

Who else has read them? What do you think?

If not, why, oh why are you reading my fanfic if you haven't read these extra morsels of TMI?

Thanks to all the reviewers, favoriters and followers!

Wheeee (Guest): The poking paid off! Prepare yourself for a pretty explosive chapter, but I can assure you, he won't go that far.

Guest: Thank you! I haven't forgotten, Simon's coming in the next chapter- just a few days!

.TMI: Good guess, you'll see if you're right this chapter.

Sunway: Thank you!

brightdarknessx: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Here's the next chapter, and your review was awesome. It made me post this chapter a few days ahead of schedule :)

Guest: You have a way with words; but he won't be able to hear her over the sound of his heart snapping in half was exactly the way to describe it :) but you'll have to wait and see if it does happen this chapter...

Meeeeeee (Guest): Thanks! I consider myself warned, and I'm sorry in advance... Please don't kill me, because then I wouldn't be able to read your reviews anymore.

Bell after bell sounded, compounding Clary's drumming headache. She hadn't seen Jace all day, and she found herself missing his sarcastic comments. She searched the corridors between classes, straining to catch a glimpse of the familiar golden colour. She caught up to Izzy, asking after him, but she only shook her head and said he'd come with her to school this morning and disappeared. But, she'd said, her eyes hard. Something was wrong. He was pushing us away before we'd even opened our mouths.

One of the only bells she wanted to hear rung after what felt like eons. Lunch, meaning she finally had a half hour without having to pretend to pay attention to anything.

Clary followed the flow of students to the cafeteria, figuring Jace, Isabelle or Simon would be there. As she stood on her tiptoes trying to scan the room, she gave a grumpy huff. Everyone was too much taller than her. She had no hope of seeing anything.

After a few minutes of hopeless peering, she remembered it was Monday, meaning Simon had some meeting of a club that he was taking Isabelle along to. She couldn't see Jace either.

A flash of inspiration led her down the hallways and out into the crisp air. Sure enough, Clary spotted someone running laps around the school track. She followed the sharp lines of his body with her eyes, appreciating what countless girls had so many times before.

As he rounded the corner closest to her, she noticed extra tension running through his shoulders and fisted hands that hadn't been there before. "Jace." She called, taking a few steps forward.

He jogged past her, stepping up his pace a few notches.

Confused, Clary followed him, breaking into a light run. "Jace!" He kept running with the determination of a steamroller, plowing forwards on the track.

Her Skechers may have been comfortable to walk around in, but they weren't the best shoes for running. She came to a stop, baffled. She was sure Jace could hear her.

She felt like one of his deluded groupies, chasing after a hopeless case but desperate to be seen. She waited impatiently, tapping her foot against the springy surface of the path. What could have put him in a mood like this? The mention of his parents just made him upset and ready to lash out. He would have shot some snarky comment at her had that been the case.

It couldn't be his adopted family. Izzy would have told her if something was up.

What else mattered to him?

Clary would have liked to think that she had some sway over the state he was in, but she wasn't stupid enough to let herself believe it. She stood beneath the gray sky, waiting.

After an indeterminate amount of time that Clary would have defined as 'too long', Jace skirted the bend again.

She crossed her arms, not even waiting until he was in hearing range to start talking. "What's with you?"

He kept running. "Nothing."

She snorted. "Bull."

He stopped abruptly, turning to face her. She had to catch her breath after the furious look on his face was directed towards her. "Why would you care?"

Shocked, Clary dropped her arms. "Are you kidding? Of course I care."

"Yes, Clarissa, I'm clearly kidding." His voice dripped derision, and she felt her real name like a punch to the stomach, but instead of hurt, it just fueled her fury. "Stop it. Stop acting like you don't give a damn." Her voice shook with anger. "Something's obviously wrong, Jace, and if you want to try to push everyone away, so be it. I'm not leaving."

"You don't have to leave," he said, making his voice soft, persuasive, a contrast from his words. "But you should."

Clary stood for a few seconds, his words hitting hard. Then she pulled herself away from the mess that his cleanly aimed words had created. "I know what you do. I'm not letting you destroy your relationships with everyone you care about just because you're in a bad mood, because you know, Jace, not everything is about you."

She couldn't see if she'd had made an impact. It was always hard to tell with him, but now it was near impossible.

After a stretch of silence, he opened his mouth again. "It's not all about you either, Clary."

It was the first sentence he'd uttered since she'd started talking at him that didn't hold an ounce of sarcasm. Instead, the gaping hole it had left behind was filled with anger, as strong as her own. But as truthful as it was, it made no sense.

He must have read the confusion on her face, as one as it was. She could practically feel the emotions racing across it. "You don't get to choose to break someone's heart."

This time, the jolt stopped Clary in her tracks.

"What?"

"You heard me." He locked eyes with her, pools of molten gold sucking her in.

She had to focus to keep drawing breath into her lungs and releasing it again. It was pointless to deny it now. She could see it on his face, in the tension screaming around his shoulders. He knew.

But did he know what had changed?

"Jace- I was never going to do it, I just didn't know how to get out of it. It's not-"

"When I first found out, I wondered if you'd ever heard of the word no. Because if our positions were reversed, I would have utilized that particular word quite a bit." He could have been ordering dinner from the Chinese place down the road for all the care he was showing.

"It's not like that anymore." Clary said, her voice strong, still trying even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Then, do tell, what is it like?"

She hesitated for a second, and that was all the reassurance Jace needed, apparently.

"It looks to me like it's exactly what it seems; a silly girl who cares too much about what other people think."

She hated him in that moment, thinking of nothing better to say than something to hurt him as badly as he was hurting her. "If I'm such a silly girl, how come you got caught up in my act?" She spat. "I bet you wouldn't be able to keep up the charade for more than a day."

Lie. Jace was all too good at hiding his true feelings and even as she tried to push the knowledge away, it came back, persistent as a swooping bird.

His eyes glittered with malice. "You think so?"

"Obviously." She flung the word at him, hoping for a reaction.

She didn't get one. If anything, his face stilled into an even more impenetrable state. "Why don't we make a bet for the sake of settling this? A deal, one might say."

She didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. At some point, it had started drizzling. Clary shoved her damp hair out of her face impatiently and ignored the chill in her hands.

"Whoever drops the act first loses."

Clary gaped at him. "Whoever drops the act first loses? You mean the act of being together- as- as a couple." It wasn't a question. "What do they lose?"

Jace shrugged, the movement belied by the tightness and careful control that ran through his whole body. "If I win, I never want to speak to you again. If circumstances dictate that we must, I'll expect you to fix it so that we don't have to."

If there were any doubts in her mind that Jace wouldn't forgive her for what she did, he blew it away with those two sentences. But what could she do about it? Not taking the 'deal' wouldn't work. He'd no doubt orchestrate his life so that he wouldn't have to talk to her anyway, even if she was Isabelle's best friend.

"What's in it for me?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice even.

He was still watching her carefully. "Whatever you want."

Clary took a deep breath, trying to let the oxygen clear her head. She would never be able to say what she wanted was Jace himself, even if at this very moment she was furious with him. What she wanted was the exact opposite of his so called prize. Then say so, a whisper at the back of her mind said.

"If I win, you'll listen to my explanation of the whole thing, and you will keep speaking to me."

Surprise flickered across his face for a split second before vanishing. He nodded curtly. "Deal." A cruel smirk curled the corners of his mouth slightly. "Pity I can't tell my drama teacher about this. He'd probably give me extra credit."

She ignored the comment, even though it stung. "Do you understand why I did this?"

Jace parroted the words she'd said to Isabelle so long ago. "I get it. I won't pretend I like the way you acted, but I understand the reasons." Coming out of her mouth, they'd been sincere, but there was nasty twist to them now.

"You were listening that day?" She asked, curious despite herself.

He looked amused by the change in mood. "Don't pretend like you were important to me. I was coming to speak to Isabelle."

Clary couldn't help the sound of anger that tore itself from her mouth before she turned on her heel on stormed off.

Another deal? Surely this cannot be good. And who will win?

Poor Clary.

Poor Jace.