A/N

Hi again! I wish uni gave me an off, but no, this is just another product of procrastination. It's short, I know. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

'What do you want?' asked Sebastian.

'Just coffee. Black – like my soul,' replied Clary.

'Don't we all.' Sebastian chuckled as he headed off the coffee bar, leaving Clary at the corner of their table.

The walk to the café with Seb had been interesting – once her racing heart got over the excitement of having a one-on-one coffee time with the beau brun.

'Here.' Sebastian came back with two mugs of coffee and put down one of the cups in front of her. 'Be careful. It's hot.'

'Thank you,' said Clary with a smile. She raised her cup near her nose and took in the invigorating vapour that slowly arose from the liquid.

'That good, huh?' Sebastian asked and took a sip of his.

Clary nodded in satisfaction. 'I just love the rich aroma of the roasted beans.'

'It's been a while since I'd seen someone with that much of enthusiasm in coffee, or just food in general.'

'Is it a good thing or bad thing?'

'Good, definitely.' His lips curled into that blush-worthy smile again. She took another sip of her coffee, mentally applauding herself for keeping the underlying red of her cheeks in control without diverting her eyes from his.

After that, the conversation flowed fluently. They cracked weird jokes, talked about their classes and professors and quibbled about their lives.

'Have you and Jace ever dated?' Clary almost choked at the question – a question she had been asked way too many times recently and back in highschool. 'I remember you said you guys aren't together now, but you two seem so close –'

'The answer is no. Jace and I are and always have been best friends. Knew the guy since before I could write my name. To be honest, I couldn't imagine a day without that doofus in my life. But we aren't romance materials. More like comedy drama, maybe.' Sebastian chuckled at that. It was what she had told the others for countless of times. Probably more than that of the sentence 'hi, I'm Clary'. Why was there a sudden unfamiliar drop at the pit bottom of her heart? Mentally, she shrugged it off before continuing, 'And I'm not his type. I mean, you'd understand if you had seen the girls he's been with. They're all leggy, slim and gorgeous. And I'm just, well, me.' She suddenly remembered, 'Your cousin Aline was one of them. They used to go out like four years ago. '

'Oh that was Jace?'

She nodded, amused by his surprised expression.

'She'd told me about her boyfriend back in LA many years ago, but I've never associated him with Jace.' He and Clary both chuckled at the statement.

'And you think too low of yourself. You are beautiful, Clary.'

'We're having a so-called pre-date, remember? You're obliged to say that.'

He gave out a hearty laugh. 'Well then I'm glad that I'm here with you. I'd hate to tell lies.'

'Enough about me.' A smug smile that she could never wash it off today hanging on her face, she decided to divert the attention from herself. 'What about you? Any jealous exes that I should be aware of?'

'No jealous ex, per se. But I did get out from my first serious relationship half a year ago.'

'And...?' she asked, curiously.

Sebastian took a sip of his drink and continued,'We were in the same year but we studied at different schools. It was a purely chance encounter that we had even met on the first place. She was an aspiring singer songwriter, but I was just a salaud – douchebag, I mean – who thought he owned the world. But she taught me passion and dreams, something that I'd forgotten for quite a while. We dated for a year or so, but we faced the problem that all high school couples face – separation by our future. She wanted what she always wanted – even got herself a record deal in Paris; while I'm now here doing what I planned to do at that time. I would probably have stayed in France, studying a BBA just as my dad wished, if I hadn't met her. But I love arts and Alicante is one of the world's best arts school. Wouldn't it be like betraying what she believed in if I didn't take the offer? Either way, I did take it, and we both believed that we wouldn't be able to survive the distance. So we ended it on good terms before it decays. At least we're both living in our dreams. That's what matters, right?'

Clary thought for a while and nodded. 'She must be a pretty amazing girl.'

'She is. You two are so alike actually. Not just in terms of appearance, but the fact that you're both passionate about the things you do.'

'So I'm just a replica of your beautiful ex?' she teased.

'That- that's not what I meant. You're special in your own way. The way you care about the people you love – that's pretty…inspiring and amazing. You are amazing.'

'Chillax, Seb. I was just kidding,' she chuckled. 'But it's nice to hear those words from you.'

'Glad to be of service,' he smirked. 'And I'm sorry for turning our supposedly light-hearted coffee date to such a heavy one.'

'I'm not. Coffee is good for thinking and in-depth conversations. Besides, it allowed me to see a different side of you.'

'And...is it a good thing or bad thing?'

'Good, definitely.'

'Good to know.' His grin widened. 'How about you? Any sob story you'd like to share?'

'Oh I wish my romantic relationship was as enlightening as yours. But the truth is, he's a completely, undoubtedly utter jackass...'

'You sure you don't want to do more drawing today?' asked Sebastian as they stepped out from the café together.

She shrugged nonchalantly. 'Yeah. Probably not gonna do much even if I go.'

'See you tomorrow then?'

'See you, Seb. That was a really nice chat,' Clary smiled.

'You're easy to talk with. With more coffee dates like that, I may even spilt my darkest secrets to you.'

'Oooh I'm counting on that. And thanks for the coffee.'

'Anytime.' He let out a heart-warming grin before heading back to the Visual Arts building.

Clary took her phone out and unlocked it. Still nothing. No reply from Jace, at all. That's weird.

She entered another chat box and started typing.

'Hey Aline! I decided to go home first.' – C

'Text me when you guys are done? x' – C

'Btw, is Jace ok? He didn't look too well this morning and he hadn't replied any of my messages.' – C

She walked towards the main street, intending to hail a cab back to the apartment. Before she could even spot one, her phone vibrated with a message from Aline.

'Hey Clary. Jace was feeling dizzy at lunchtime. Almost fainted. We got him to the university clinic and he's probably still sleeping it off there atm.' – A

What the heck? Her pupils widened at the message. She quickly typed in a reply.

'Wait, what? Almost fainted?' - C

'He told me not to tell you coz you have that important assignment to do. Sorry!' – A

She rolled her eyes. That stupid idiot.

'And I'm going to pick him up after class, but the lecture seems endless...' – A

'Nvm. I'll text you later, ok?' – C

Without waiting for Aline's reply, she tucked her phone to her pocket and sprinted off.

A/N

So...what do you think? About Seb & his story? About Clary? About Aline? And Jace? (Poor Jace, I hope he'll be ok)

What do you think may happen next?

To AlesiaJ89 (& probably many of you who have this question in mind), this is a CLACE story - at least eventually (smirk). So for those who are eager Clace shippers who can't wait for them to get together (I am, too, sometimes), please bear with me and see how it goes. Our two favorite characters could be slow sometimes.

Last but not least, review and tell me what you think! I love reading them and they gave me so many ideas and motivation. So please? With a cherry on top? :P

Until next time!

- Kat xx