A/N: I know, I'm a bit awful for ending the last chapter like that. But I've posted this chapter now so you probably aren't too mad...right? Sorry if this is not really a great chapter, but I wanted to get something up before I had to go a few days without a real computer. Thanks for the usual, and send reviews! Thanks for reading!
"Where are we going?" Clary asked, her short legs making it difficult for her to keep up with Sebastian. She was practically jogging to keep up with him. Sebastian looked down at her, eyebrows coming together.
"We're getting coffee, like we planned." He tapped her head lightly. "Remember?" She shook her head, "Oh, right. Sorry, I guess I got lost in my thoughts again." He chuckled, "As usual. Always count on my best friend to forget where she's going as we're going there." She shoved his shoulder, "Hey, it's not my fault. I've got a killer migraine right now." She rubbed her temples. He raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have a fever or anything right? I don't need to be catching a cold." He reached over and placed his hand on her forehead, checking the temperature. "Nope. Feels cool to me."
"Oh good. I so didn't need a cold when I've got that art piece to get finished." She replied, relieved.
"How are classes going anyway? They better be good, or else I'll feel bad for making you skip today's to hang with me." He teased. She laughed, somewhat forcefully.
"They're going fine." She said. Her eyebrows came together as she tried to think of why exactly she skipped today's lesson. "Sebastian. Remind me again why I had to skip class to hang with you?"
"Don't be vain Clary." He frowned at her. "You know you're my best friend, of course you're going to make time for me. If the Clave would just let me in the Institute!" He joked. Clary smiled, still unsure why she couldn't remember that. A memory popped into her mind. The first time Clary had brought Sebastian to the Institute, when they were little. Hodge had been furious at her, had yelled. She frowned. Hodge would never yell at her though, would he?
"I know that face. What's up? What are you thinking about?" Sebastian's voice cut through her memory. She smiled up at him.
"I was just thinking of the first time I tried to bring you into the Institute, how mad Hodge had been." She said, still thinking. His nose wrinkled.
"Hodge. What a grumpy old man. I still can't believe he doesn't like me. I'm a perfect gentleman" He said, pretending to be offended. Clary laughed, "He doesn't like any mundane, don't worry."
"That's true. I won't take it personally then." He said with a shrug. They had arrived at the coffee shop, the one the always went to when Clary snuck out to hang out with him. Hodge hated it when she hung out with the mundanes, but Clary couldn't help it. Sebastian was her best friend, and since they were no longer in the same art class, she rarely saw him.
"The usual?" He asked as he walked towards the counter. Clary nodded with a smile.
...
Back at the Institute Jace greeted her with a grin.
"Hey. How was class?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her as they walked towards the elevator.
"Fine, same as always." She said, leaning into him. When they stopped in the elevator she turned to him, standing on her toes and kissing him softly. He laughed and pulled back enough to speak.
"I wasn't done asking questions." He said, slightly teasing. Clary smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another kiss.
"I was done answering them." She whispered, pulling away for only a second to speak, giggling against his mouth.
"I missed you." He said.
"It was only a few hours."
He kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer, "I still missed you."
She laughed again as the elevator stopped, pulling away. "Alright. Come on, let's watch a movie or something."
...
Clary and Jace sat together on the couch in one of the only rooms with a tv. Clary and Jonathan had insisted it be installed a few years back. Their parents agreed, but they had had to train more often than usual. They had barely kept their promise, but it was too late to just get rid of the tv by then.
Clary's legs were curled onto the couch as she leaned against Jace, who rested his head against hers. She shifted, trying to get more comfortable, and Jace kissed the top of her head lightly.
"Comfortable yet?" He whispered. She nodded, leaning against him once more.
"You smell like coffee you know." He commented, his voice still hushed. Clary stifled a giggle.
"Clary, did you get coffee without me?" He said, sounding mock hurt.
"Maybe," Clary said, teasing slightly. Jace's eyebrows wrinkled together.
"When'd you go and do that?" He asked, confused.
"I stopped for coffee after my art class. Why does it matter?" She replied, looking up at him.
"There isn't a coffee shop within at least 10 blocks from your art studio. That'd be one heck of a detour for you." He said quickly, sitting up stiffly.
"Your point is...?" Clary responded, sitting up as well and pouting at him.
"Clary, there's something you aren't telling me. What's going on?" His tone was serious now as he faced her. Clary groaned and rolled her eyes, "Fine I skipped class to go get coffee. Happy now?"
"But you said you wouldn't skip class, not even for me! And especially not with Sebastian running around!" He said, incredulously.
"Well how else am I supposed to see him! He's my best friend, do you expect me never to talk to him again just because he's banned from the Institute?" Clary exploded, standing up angrily.
"Him as in who? Sebastian?" Jace asked calmly.
"Yes! Who else?" Clary yelled. Jace stared at her, surprise written across his face, then he groaned, putting his face in his hands, "Oh Clary, Clary, Clary. My poor little Clary. I am so sorry."
"Sorry? Why would you be sorry? Jace, what is going on?" She asked, beginning to panic. He didn't respond.
"Jace?" She asked again, worried. He sighed, leaning back on the couch and patting the seat next to him.
"Come here, Clary." He said, his voice quiet. She hesitated, then went and sat next to him. He pulled her close and she curled into him, slightly afraid about what was going on.
"I need you to do me a favor, and to do it without question. Okay? Can you do that?" He asked, his hand running up and down her arm comfortingly. She hesitated, then nodded, "Okay."
"I want you to concentrate, really hard, on everything you did today. Exactly what you did. Start with right before you left for your art class. Talk to me, say out loud, everything you can remember." He said. Clary took a shaky breath, frightened by his sudden odd behaviour, before saying, "I remember gathering my things, getting ready to go. But you wanted me to stay, because you wanted to spend more time with me."
"Why else did I want you to stay? Think really hard. What was the real reason I didn't want you to go." He interrupted her. Her eyebrows came together and she squeezed her eyes shut. She was confused as to why he would ask such a question, but she didn't say anything. Her head began to ache, but she ignored it. There was a fog in her mind, blocking something out. It was hard as a wall, sharp when she mentally reached out to touch it. She wasn't sure what it was blocking, but she was curious. She pushed her mind through it, trying to remember.
"You... you didn't want me to go. Because it was dangerous." She paused.
"Why was it dangerous?" Jace asked softly. She dug deeper, mentally pushing through the fog, sweat breaking out on her forehead. Clary shook her head, unable to get anywhere, "I can't remember. I-"
"Don't stop trying. Keep going." Jace encouraged. He gently cupped her face with his hands, turning it slightly. She barely felt it, her senses numb.
"Keep thinking. Keep trying. I'm going to help you, but you have to keep trying to get through the mental block. When I say, I want you to open your eyes, and look into mine. Look nowhere but my eyes. You understand?" Jace said. She nodded slightly.
"Okay," He took a breath. "Three. Two. One." Clary's eyes opened and her headache turned to a full blown migraine. She groaned, reaching up and clutching it as she went to close her eyes again.
"Look at me Clary, look in my eyes!" Jace said urgently, willing her to keep her eyes open. She did as she was told, locking eyes with him. They were completely black, no whites showing, with gold flecks in them. As she looked in his eyes, the fog in her mind softened, and the migraine returned to being only a headache. The fog was no longer a sharp wall, but something she could push into and navigate through.
"Now, tell me," Jace said softly. "What do you remember?"
"Everything," She gasped lightly. Images flashed before her mental eyes as she remember the past day, then the day before, all in rewind, yet still comprehensible to her. "Sebastian. He- he messed with my head. I left for my art class, and didn't want to be late so I took a shortcut and he found me and I tried Jace I tried to get away but-" Jace gently placed a hand over her mouth. She was babbling and couldn't stop, lost in the thoughts she was unburying.
"Shh, it's okay. It's not your fault." He said soothingly. "Now, come back to me Clary. It's going to be hard, but you need to come back to reality. Leave your memories there. Focus on me, on my voice. Focus on the tv, and the movie that's playing. Focus on the feel of my hands. Focus." Clary attempted to pull back from her thoughts. They were tempting, teasing. Ready to let her know everything about herself and her life from when she was too little to remember. He was right, it was hard. She wanted to relive everything in that moment. But she ignored it, mentally turning her back. Slowly she began to hear Jaces voice. She hadn't realized until now that he'd been speaking in her mind. As she focused she felt sluggish and tired, every limb heavy and impossible to hold up. She pulled herself away from the memories, trying to pull her back. When she was finally free of her own mind she blinked, belatedly realizing Jace was saying her name.
"Clary? Can you hear me? Clary?" He was saying.
"Yes." She said, lightly shaking her head. "I can hear you Jace. I'm here."
"And do you remember everything? What's real and what's not?" He asked urgently. She nodded tiredly, "Yes. Sebastian's evil and you've got some explaining to do." He sighed, relieved, pulling her close and into a hug.
"I'm so sorry Clary. And I'm really glad you're alright." He said. His voice was getting quieter to her ears though, and when she pulled back from the hug, her vision went black as she fainted.