Clary had an early class the next morning but she knew she wouldn't be going. Her mind was still reeling over the past Jace events and her emotions were everywhere. She had called Isabelle and told her everything as soon as she got back to her apartment.

"So let me get this straight," Isabelle said on the other end of the phone. Clary had her phone on speaker laying next to her head as she ate ramen noodles and watched Weeds. It was almost 6 o'clock and Clary and Isabelle had been on the phone for hours talking about the events that had taken place with Clary and Jace's "fling-thing" as Iz had put it.

"Two super hot guys fought over who was gonna pay for your cab and then one of them took you back to his apartment where you hooked up and then you left, leaving him speechless and wanting more?" she questioned.

"Iz, that's so not what—" Clary explained.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED CLARY!" she squealed on the other line. "This is fucking amazing. I swear you must have picked up some new moves or something."

"Isabelle—" she started, but the overexcited shrieks drowned out Clary's small voice.

"So, which one are we picking then?"

"Isabelle! Listen to—"

"I like Jace right now," Isabelle mused. Clary could picture her now in front of a bulletin board with pictures on it, comparing Jace and Will. "He seems like he can really take charge which will be good for your sex life."

"ISABELLE!" Clary accused as she sat up abruptly, knocking over her half-finished bowl.

"But Will…" she continued, "I don't know I just feel like he's about to make a comeback like he really just seems like a fighter to me. There's no way he'll let Jace have you without putting up a good fight. Unfortunately for him he's one of those artsy types so he's probably much more gentle in the sack which for me would just be agonizing. Ugh."

"Hey!" Clary called, standing to pick up her mess, "I'm one of those artsy types."

"Yeah but it's just totally different for men Clary. Artsy men are all caring and sensitive, while artsy women are wild and up for new things. Speaking of which, we should go out tonight." Isabelle offered.

"Maybe, I don't know if I'm really in the mood." Clary mumbled.

Clary could practically see Isabelle rolling her eyes into the phone right now.

"Clary, this is not a problem you know. Two attractive men fighting over you is never an issue."

"Yes it is too! I'm not interested in either of them and I just want them off my back!" Clary defended.

Isabelle laughed loudly on the other end of the call, hollering with her humored self. "Clare, if you weren't interested in either of them then we wouldn't have had a detailed re-enactment of your entire afternoon and a descriptive summary with plot notes. Your problem is, is that you ARE interested and you just don't know what to do about it."

"That is not true!"

"Okay, then why aren't you interested in them?" Iz offered.

"Well, for starters, Will is in an advanced Art class and knows nothing about sketching what so ever." Clary said.

"Is that it?"

"No!" Clary said, her voice raising, "He also creeps me out and he hits on everyone in class, even the teacher."

"Okay fine, Will's a creepy man-whore." Isabelle agreed. "Now what about Jace?"

"What about Jace?" Clary mumbled.

"What's wrong with him?!" she all but screamed into the phone. "You said you weren't interested so what's his deal?"

"Isabelle," Clary sighed, "he's Jon's best friend."

"That's hardly a reason, Clary."

"Reason enough." Clary said with a finality that clearly told her the conversation was over. "Besides," she continued, "I want nothing to do with Jon. I just need him to help my dad out and then I'm done with him all over again."

"Good luck with that girl. Jon hates Valentine and you know it." Isabelle said truthfully, knowing that no amount of encouragement would actually encourage her at all.

Suddenly, Clary's phone went off. Peering over to see who it was, Clary gasped.

"What?" Isabelle asked curiously, hearing her note of shock.

"He texted me." Clary said nervously.

"Jon?!"

"No. Jace." Clary replied. She nervously bit her lip and pushed the phone away, too afraid to read the message.

"Oh my God he's already back for more!" Isabelle yelled excitedly. "Well?! What'd he say? What'd he say?"

Clary could hear her jumping up and down with excitement. It had been a long time since Clary had had a serious boyfriend and boys were never really on Clary's mind anymore, much to Isabelle's dismay.

"I'm not opening it." Clary stated.

"Oh yes you are!" Isabelle commanded through the small glass screen. "Clary! Don't you see!? This could be your answer!"

"Isabelle for that LAST DAMN TIME, I am not looking for a boyfriend right now!" Clary called out, moving her mouth close to the phone so Isabelle could hear her better.

"Not that you idiot!" she said exasperated. "He can help with Jon!"

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, her interest now peaked. "How could he help me get to Jon?"

"Clary! Oh my God I just have to do everything for you!" Isabelle sighed heavily. "Clary, once he's got with you, he'll do anything to make sure that Jon does the transplant. They are BEST FRIENDS Clary! Jace can convince him of anything!"

"So… what?" Clary thought aloud, finally catching on. "You want me to fake date Jace so he can make Jon help my dad? And then dump him when it's all over and done with and I don't need Jon anymore?"

"Yes, Clary!" she said. "And maybe you'll get laid in the process so it's a win-win."

Clary giggled at Isabelle's incessant scolding on Clary getting laid.

"Okay, Iz," Clary said, picking up her phone and opening Jace's text. "Operation Get Jon Through Jace has officially commenced."

JACE POV

Jace was worried.

After the recent events he was unsure of Clary's feeling toward him, and this in itself was a problem. Jace was never unsure of a woman's interest in him.

But it wasn't just that. Jace was worried he had come on too strong and scared her, so he texted her, asking if she had gotten home safe. He knew it was a lame excuse to talk to her, but at this point, he didn't care. After all, putting the moves on Jon's little sister wasn't gonna have a good outcome unless she reciprocated.

Safe and sound. She responded quickly.

Jace didn't know if that was good or bad. He decided to go out on a limb and say good.

good im glad he typed back.

"Shit that sounded stupid," he mumbled, scolding himself. He watched patiently as he saw the check and time next to his text, showing she had read it. Waiting for a whole three minutes, he glared at his phone, attentively waiting for the three dots to pop up. They didn't.

do you have plans tonight? he asked.

"Oh my God! What the fuck was that?! She's gonna think you're an idiot—"

Planning on going to some new club with my friend Isabelle. Wanna come?

Smiling, Jace texted Sebastian, knowing he'd need someone to keep Clary's friend occupied.

dude, wer goin out tonight. get over here.

CLARY POV

"I thought you told him to come tonight?" Isabelle shouted over the eccentric music of the new nightlife scene they had found a little over a month ago.

It was some strange place called Evervecense where brightly colored haired women would hang from the ceiling on silks and all the liquor was colored neon green or orange. Clary's sparkly gold mini skirt and tight leather bra that she barely got away with as a shirt. It made her look as though she should be up on a silk herself. She kicked back another vile of shimmering green liquid the bartender had handed her and gazed through the crowd of strange people doing lines of coke on the tables and furiously making out to the music. Everyone was dancing save her and Isabelle, and 4 odd-looking men on the other side of the club who were dragging their hands across one another's bodies. This was a very strange place.

"I did." she called back, shrugging her shoulders. "Guess he found better plans."

"Well now what are we gonna do about Jon?" Isabelle asked.

"Something to worry about later…" Clary mused, taking Isabelle's hand and leading her out to the center of the crowd. Immediately, two very thin boys had begun to dance around them, as if they were asking for permission to approach. Clary scanned her eyes over the one with rainbow colored roots and brown hair, considering whether or not this would be a terrible idea. Isabelle however made the decision for her as she lunged for his friend who had a belly button piercing he showed off with his crop top. Clary knew they weren't exactly her and Izzy's types, but they were just here for some fun anyway. It didn't really matter.

After almost two hours of dancing, Clary gave Isabelle the signal that it was time to get takeout and go home. The shimmering gold paint Isabelle had decorated Clary's eyes with had stayed intact perfectly despite the perspiration that was now developing on her scalp. She needed a double cheeseburger and a bath.

They exited the raving building as more eccentric looking people bustled to get in. Crossing a few busy streets until they reached a vacant one that would have been terrifying empty if it weren't for Taki's.

Taki's was possibly the best fast food joint in the whole city. It was however in a shitty building off West Porter Street which was filled with run-down vacancies. Clary craved their double cheeseburgers after a wild night of being out with Isabelle, but tonight she also craved pancakes. She knew she would walk in there and get both.

"Hey Jordan!" Izzy waved as they walked in. Jordan worked late and long hours at Taki's to pay for his classes at the local community college. Jordan was the lead singer of Simon's start-up garage band that hadn't had a real gig since the high school talent show. He often invited the girls out to parties or told them about new restaurants that opened up around town. He was a close friend.

"Hey Iz! Hey Clary!" he hollered from the kitchen. "Wild night out order or really wild night out order?"

"Really wild night out order," Clary answered, sitting herself down on one of the bar stools, Isabelle joining her.

"Gotcha. Hey my shift's about to end so I can walk you guys home if ya want?" Jordan offered as he started up the stovetop.

"Sure that'd be great Jordan," Izzy smiled. Turning to Clary, she whispered "you know he's just gonna end up dragging us to some terrible party and make us walk ourselves home when we wanna leave early."

Clary smirked, knowing she was right as this was a classic Jordan move—dragging other people to random parties. One time he brought the band to some famous actors party in SoHo and they all got kicked out for breaking some B list celebrity's $36,000 mirror. Clary and Izzy still had trouble believing that one.

Sure enough Jordan was begging them to make one quick pit stop with him at his "friend's" twenty-eighth birthday banger. And sure enough, the girls relented, knowing Jordan would see someone he knew and probably ditch them within a few minutes anyway.

When they entered the gorgeous, brass doors of the lavish four-story townhouse, Clary wasn't expecting what her eyes saw. Sitting on a sofa in the foyer with two girls perched on top of him, was Jace. The blondes on either thigh were each pouring golden liquid down his throat from a large glass bottle that they passed back and forth between themselves.

Izzy nudged Clary when she saw it. "Clare."

"I see it." Clary said, watching his oblivious, drunken fun, shell-shocked by the door. Jordan, as expected, had run off.

"Guess that plan really is out." Izzy sighed.

"No." Clary said alarmed. Whipping her head to face Isabelle, fear crossed her face. "He's my only shot Iz." Turning back to rest her eyes on the golden angel boy, a determined pair of green eyes honed in on the expensive bottle the playboy whores were messing with. "This better work." she mumbled.

Taking a breath and a forceful step forward, Clary made her way past drunken party guests, up to Jace and his bitches. Stopping directly in front of them, she bravely snatched the bottle out of blonde bitty number one and raised it to her lips, tipping it all the way back so she could guzzle the contents. She waited for the room to stop dead and begin cheering her on screaming 'chug chug chug,' but the music kept playing and the room did not quiet. The only people's attention she had in the whole room were Isabelle's, the bitty one, bitty two, and most importantly, Jace's.

After she could officially take no more, Clary uprighted her head and pulled the bottle away from her mouth. Shaking her head furiously from the awful taste, she locked eyes with Jace and smiled softly.

Placing the drink in the open hand of bitty number two, she replied, "Sorry, I was thirsty." Never taking her eyes from Jace's awestruck ones.

Turning quickly, she drunkenly skipped into the next room over where people were doing body shots off of a very hammered woman who looked like she was gonna yack.

Knowing Jace's gaze was still on her, Clary looked down at her exposed belly button and smiled.

This'll drive him mad she thought to herself.

Jumping up on the table where the body shots had previously commenced, Clary bent over and gripped a bottle of tequila resting in a dark-haired boys hands.

He looked up at her and asked "Can I help you, sweetheart?"

Pulling tighter at the bottle so his face was inches from her, she replied, "You're taking a body shot off of me. Now."

"Yes I am." he said immediately, his free hand grazing her waist as he helped her lie on the table.

He poured it quickly and just as he was about to bend down, a voice interrupted.

"This one's mine, Seb." Clary didn't have to look up to know that that silky voice belonged to Jace. And before his friend Seb could reply Jace dipped his head down and sucked all of the clear liquid from her stomach, licking up the length of her abdomen for good measure.

Moving his bent head up her body until it stopped above her head, he replied, "You're brother wouldn't be happy with you."

"My brother wouldn't be happy with you either." she replied cooly, staring into his golden orbs.

He smirked, "Are you drunk?"

"Don't you have a thing against sleeping with drunk girls?" Clary returned.

"Yes." He replied with narrowed eyes.

"Well then I've never been more sober in my life." she grinned.