I own nothing but the plot. Enjoy! I'm sorry about the wait. I moved and started a new job. And then I lost all my inspiration to write for a while… but I'm back now, and hopefully there won't be a wait between chapters like that again.

I also want to say that bullying is never, ever okay or acceptable - I don't care what the circumstances are. People don't deserve to be demeaned, teased, or treated badly. If you see it, do something. Speak up. And if you or someone you care about are struggling, reach out for help - from parents, siblings, friends, teachers, strangers, or professionals - from anyone. People care, I promise. Also, I am NOT advocating taking measures into your own hands. Ask for help. Please!

Waking up to Jace was something I didn't think I'd ever get sick of. Even hearing my alarm blaring didn't dampen my mood. My back was to his chest and our legs were curled together. His chin was resting on my shoulder and his arm was wrapped around my waist. I'd never felt so secure and safe with a man before. Honestly, it terrified me how easy it was to fall for Jace.

I rolled over in his arms to kiss his neck gently. He moaned slightly as his eyes fluttered open. "What time is it?" he whispered.

"Just after seven. We've both got to get to work." He pulled me closer.

"Nope. Let's just stay in bed all day."

"No can do, Mr. Fancypants lawyer. Now, coffee. Then mayyyybeeee I'll let you join me in the shower." With that he got up, threw on his boxers, and went to make coffee. I stretched, my body deliciously sore in all the right places. After sliding on his shirt, I met Jace in the living room. He was munching on some toast and watching the coffee pot. We made breakfast together and had a cup of coffee before having a very cleansing shower together. Running a bit late was totally worth it for that experience. As we both rushed out of the apartment and went our separate ways, I couldn't help but savor the domesticity of it all. Now I knew why Iz always liked to stay with Simon. It's nice waking up next to someone you lo… like and getting to do all those couple-y things with them.

Days passed in much the same way. Izzy and I spent our days working together, had our weekly girls nights, and spent most nights with our boyfriends. We even double dated a few times which was… strange. But I could tell Izzy was hiding something from me. I couldn't put my thumb on it, but there was a hesitancy that was never there before. Until she came to me as I was packing for my brother's wedding shower. We were leaving the next morning and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pack. Izzy came into my room all stoic and sat on my bed silently.

"What's up, Iz?" I asked, sitting next to her.

"Okay, so I'm like really nervous right now… so I'm just gonna spill it. Please don't kill me. Simonaskedmetomoveinwithhim."

"What?"

"Simon… he asked me to move in with him." Wow, I was not expecting that one.

"Wow! That's… awesome, Iz. Congrats!"

"You're not angry? I mean, you're gonna have to find a new roommate? Si and I will be just around the corner, but it's not going to be the same."

"Izzy," I started, taking her hand in mine. "You're my best friend and you deserve to be happy. I'll be fine." I tried to be sincere, and I really was happy for her. But it still sucked to have to find a new roommate.

"Thanks!" Izzy said, sweeping me into a hug.

When Jace got to the apartment a few hours later, I was sobbing silently in my bedroom, trying to make sure that Izzy didn't hear. It wasn't that I couldn't live without Izzy, it's just that I never had. Since elementary school, we'd been attached at the hip. Now she was leaving me (kind of).

"Hey," Jace greeted me, closing my bedroom door behind him. "I come bearing… what's wrong?" He gathered me into his arms and I started crying into his shoulder. I'd never felt more like a girl in my life and it definitely wasn't my finest moment, but Jace didn't seem to mind that I got his shirt all gross with tears.

When my tears finally quieted, Jace asked me what was wrong. "Izzy's moving out. She's leaving me here all alone."

"She told me; I didn't think you'd be this upset," he said, running his hands through my messy curls. "And you're not alone. You have me."

I smiled up at him, wiping my eyes. Jace was so sincere and sweet that suddenly I felt a burst of love for him. "What, do you want to move in with me?" I asked teasingly.

His eyes widened slightly. "Actually, I was hoping you'd be interested in moving in with me…" He cupped his neck nervously, his gaze flicking from me to the ceiling. Holy shit, he's serious, I thought. For a moment, I sat there frozen. Jace seemed equally as shocked with his statement, to be honest. We just sat there staring at each other for a minute. Until he started talking again.

"It's just that… Alec wants to move in with Magnus, finally. And with Izzy moving in with Simon, it just makes sense. We spend most nights together anyway, so why not make it official? I mean, we don't have to do it as boyfriend and girlfriend – we could just be roommates; the apartment does have two bedrooms after all. Then neither of us would have to live with strangers and we could still save the money in rent. And I figured that my apartment is closer to both of our jobs and in a better building, so staying there is probably best. You don't, I mean I don't expect you to… I…"

I cut Jace off with a searing kiss. "Never in my entire life have I ever considered moving in with a boyfriend. Ever." Seeing his face fall, I realized that he was probably taking that negatively. Placing my hands on my cheeks, I forced him to look at me. "But, I want that with you." His wide smile made me warm all over.

We talked all night while I finished packing. He told me more about his sister and I told him stories about growing up in my family. And then he told me something shocking: according to mutual friends, Aline was applying to law schools. She was going to Harvard Law in the fall. That bitch wanted to be a lawyer after ending a young girl's life and forever changing the life of the person she was supposed to love. If I thought I could never hate her more than I did, I was wrong.

As I tried to sleep that night, wrapped in Jace's arms, I couldn't get Jace's sister and Aline out of my head. I realized that Jace was trying to be a better person than Aline, and he was. But I wasn't. That's why I made the call first thing the next morning, about ten minutes before Jace's alarm was going to go off. I'd deal with the repercussions later… at least I could sleep at night knowing that Aline would get hers, and soon. But I couldn't gather up the courage to tell Jace, not yet at least. I knew he wouldn't be happy, even if I was doing the right thing.

I pushed the whole thing out of my mind as I saw Jace stirring in my bed. He was stunning. I couldn't believe he was mine, that he wanted me. So, naturally, I crawled back into bed and curled into him, my head tucked into the crook of his neck as he awoke. "You were up early," he whispered, his voice still husky from sleep.

"Yeah, I think I'm just excited to see my family, again. And you snore." Jace rolled his eyes, tickling my ribcage. I broke into giggles and kissed his nose, surprisingly at peace that I did the right thing. I'd deal with Jace later. I couldn't stop smiling as we readied to go the airport, and sighed contentedly when Jace pulled me close to him on the airplane and kissed my forehead as I fell asleep.

Seeing my mom and dad again was much less stressful when I wasn't faking a relationship. I mean, my mom kept giving me this weird look, but I figured she was just happy to see me. And it was nice, sitting around the table with my parents and Jace and just being normal.

When my dad asked Jace to play a round of golf at the club before we got ready for the wedding shower, I didn't feel panic. Instead, I was kind of excited… especially when I saw how giddy Jace was that my dad didn't hate him.

But then I was alone with my mom, who was still giving me a shiver-inducing stare. "What's wrong?" I asked her as we munched on muffins and flicked through TV channels.

"So, you and Jace are really dating now?" I nearly spit out my coffee. She knew. I had no clue how she knew, but she did.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"You and Jace. You didn't think I knew? Your father and I both did, Clary. We aren't oblivious. We know you far better than you think. But when you got here yesterday, I noticed something was different. You're in love with that boy. So, what happened?"

I could feel my cheeks heating up, embarrassment creeping in. My parents knew I'd been faking it and they didn't say anything. "You knew this whole time… why didn't you say anything?"

My mom sighed. "We knew you'd tell us in your own time. And to be honest, I know I've been a pain in the butt about your love life. You had to have been desperate to lie to everyone. So I'm sorry. Now," she started, angling her body towards me on the sofa, "tell me how it changed."

"I don't know what happened… we were friends and then, well, he won me over." I couldn't stop the smile on my face as I told my mom the story of Jace and I.

Later that night, Jace and I got dressed and headed to a local restaurant for Jon and Camille's wedding shower. My parents had gone ahead of us, so we had a few blissful minutes alone. Jace's right hand held onto my left one, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on my skin as he drove. "So, your dad totally knew. And he gave me the talk today," Jace said casually.

"Oh my god, was it awful? He didn't show you his gun, did he?"

Jace turned to look at me for a second and gulped. "He… he has a gun?" I laughed.

"Yeah, but don't worry. He hasn't threatened to use it since my first boyfriend."

"He was… tough, but fair. And why don't you seem surprised that your dad knew about us?" he asked.

"My mom knew too, she confronted me about it this morning. But they're just happy I'm happy, so it's okay now, I guess. I doubt Jon knew, since he's kind of oblivious."

When we pulled up to the restaurant, Jace got out and opened my door for me before handing the keys to the valet. "You look beautiful," he whispered into my ear as we made our way inside. I refuse to admit that my insides may have melted when he warm breath washed over my face. Not to mention the redness that flooded my cheeks. Damn him to hell.

It was a great night. Jace and I danced the night away, laughing and stealing kisses. He didn't leave my side until the end of the night when I danced with Jon and Jace took a break, going to get something to drink. I couldn't help that my eyes followed him as he went.

And as Jon was twirling me around, I saw Aline make her way to Jace. He paled as she spoke quickly. I couldn't see her face, but my anxiety was rising the longer she stood there with my boyfriend. And then, after a couple of minutes, Jace turned and his eyes met mine. The kind, soft eyes I'd grown to love weren't looking at me. In their place was hardness, an anger that I'd never seen. He left Aline and walked out of the restaurant. I excused myself from Jon and immediately followed Jace.

"Jace!" I called, trying to keep up with his long strides. He stopped and turned towards me. I nearly ran into him, he stopped so suddenly.

"Were you going to tell me, Clary?" he said angrily.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Aline… you know, Harvard withdrew her acceptance this morning."

"Oh, that…"

"Yeah, that. What were you fucking thinking?"

"My, uh, my uncle is a dean there. I just… I just thought they would want to know about her since I doubt she told them on her application. So I called him. I – she didn't deserve to become a lawyer, Jace."

"So you just ruined her future, without even telling me? After I told you how I was working to be better than her? How I was moving on?"

"I… I'm sorry," I whispered, traitorous tears welling my eyes.

"I can't believe I trusted you. I thought I loved you. And you didn't even care enough about me to think about what I would want. Cecily was my sister. I was being the bigger person, using my tragedy for change. I was being the person Cecily would be proud of. And then you ruined it. We're through."

And then he walked away, leaving me behind.