I'd love you if I could
chapter 10 - Not too late
A/N:This chapter wasn't originally planned, but I decided to do a Thanksgiving chapter since it's coming up. Is anyone else gonna see the midnight premier of Breaking Dawn ?(not a huge fan anymore but...) So what I noticed is that for 2 chapters, I changed my summary. But for the last chapter I changed it back to the original and got a lot more reviews. Maybe it's because people don't recognize the story or maybe the other summary wasn't really good... Sorry for the long wait... ANSWER QUESTIONS BELOW PLZ hope you like this chapter!
Sorry for any mistakes, this story is unBeta'd.
Disclamer: Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I don't own the Mortal Instruments
And niether do you (unless you are cassandra Clare)
If you ask me how I'm doin, I would say I'm doin just fine, I would lie and say that you're not on my mind. But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two and finally, I'm forced to face the truth.
No matter what they say,
I'm not over you.
-Gavin Degraw (not over you)
Third person POV
Jace strolled down the institute hallway, breathing in the velvety scent. He had just taken Belle to her friend's house after cleaning up the party. His stomach grumbled, a cry of hunger. He knocked, 1...2...3 times. No reply. He could of sworn he heard distant voices chattering about in the room. But he shrugged it away, thinking his hunger was affecting his hearing. Just in case, he decided to check anyway. When he opened the door, he could see someone's back, Isabelle.
"I was just gonna order takeout, you wa-"His words siezed immediately after opening the door wider. He could feel his heart racing. His palm turn sweaty. And a sudden need to run. All points of weaknesses in Jace Herondale-er-Lightwood just because of the petite red headed girl sitting on Isabelle's bed.
The sight of the red headed girl in the setting of Isabelle's bedroom, was so familiar, he felt the urge to embrace her. But he also felt the need to escape. He stood frozen, by Izzy's door, in a trance.
"Yeah?"Isabelle asked, finally snapping Jace out of his surprised state.
"Do you-uh-want takeout from Taki's?" He asked, trying to avoid meeting Clary's eyes.
"Sure!" Isabelle said, trying to lighten the incredibly thick tension in the room.
"What's she doing here?" He asked in a clipped tone.
"Oh I'm just asking her to um Thanksgiving dinner with us."
Jace was , yet again, speechless as horrible scenerios ran through his head. And without another word, slipped out of the room.
Clary's POV
Isabelle was interrupted by knocking. My eyes widened. It's Jace Isabelle mouthed to me. I looked over at her in a half angry half panicked expression. She leaned over and whispered, "If we stay quiet, he might go away"
When the door creaked open, that's when I really started to freak out. I tried to keep a composed expression. But when I saw his hair, the color of sunshine, and his smoldering golden eyes, everything just melted away (a cliche line, i know).
"I was just gonna order takeout, do you wa-" He stopped saying whatever he was going to say and looked in my direction. I held his gaze, and it felt like forever before Izzy cut in.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Do you-uh-want takeout from Taki's?" He asked, his eyes staring hard at the the desk next to Izzy. I knew he was trying to avoid my gaze. I wanted to look away, but at the same time, I wanted to savor all the moments, I got to hear his voice, or see him.
"Sure!" Her cheery voice sounded strangely out of place in the quiet tension of the room.
"What's she doing here?" He asked, and I finally found the will to let my gaze wander somewhere else in the room.
"Oh I was just um asking her to Thanksgiving dinner with us." Wow, nice save Izzy, I thought sarcastically. Jace's had a shocked expression and just when I thought he was gonna argue, he left the room. I turned and glared at Izzy.
"Really?" I squeaked.
"I got you another chance to fix things." Izzy argued.
"But-"
"You asked me to help you, and I am. You can't get out of this now. If you don't take this chance, how are you guys gonna,"Isabelle made stretched out her arm"run off into the sunset together." She sighed dramatically. I had no choice but to suck it up and go to the dinner.
Thanksgiving Night
Clary gave herself a once-over in the mirror, feeling incredibly nervous and self-consious. She was wearing a flowy black top and jeans ( much to Isabelle's annoyance to her casual wear). She patted her shirt down, put on her shoes, grabbed her purse, and headed out into the night.
By the time Clary pulled up onto the driveway of the restaurant she was told to meet at, she was practically jumping from anxiety. She stared at the door taking a deep breath and stepping out of the car. The moment she turned her head towards the door of the restaurant, she saw Jace walk in with Belle and Aline. Of course, he'd bring Aline. The thought had barely crossed her mind, but now it seemed ridiculous that she had never considered it. Closing the door, she thought, this was going to be a long night.
Jace's POV
I grabbed a simple T-shirt off the neat rack of clothes in my closet and threw it on. I felt arms snake around my waist. With the red glittering nails and strong perfume (odor to me) , I knew it was Aline. I sighed. Clary would never wear that much perfume. I mentally slapped myself for comparing Aline to Clary. Again.
"Are you ready to go?" She whispered seductively, sounding like we were about to run off to do the dirty or something.
I cleared my throat,"Yeah, I'm just gonna go get Belle." As soon as I said that, her expression sorrowed. It seemed that she did not like Belle, and that pissed me off like no other. But she was a distraction, and pretty good in bed. Of course not as good as... And there I go again.
Realizing that I just stood by the doorway for 30 seconds, I walked briskly out the door and into the hallway. My face broke into a big smile when I entered Belle's room.
"Hey Belle, ready to go?" I knelt down. I had gotten her dressed an hour ago in her favorite little dress. She said nothing, but gave me a dimpled grin and raised her hands up gesturing to be carried. As we walked out of the room, my mind finally registered that I was going to have to face Clary. I didn't know what my opinion of her was now. I didn't dispise her with such a passion as before. It was weird. It seemed like I was excited to see her? I shook my head as if to shake away those thoughts and headed towards the car with my child, my "girlfriend", and my ex-(not legally) wife.
Clary's POV
I was greeted into the restaurant by medium sized tropical looking plants and a waterfall-like fountain in the corner of the room. I walked over to the receptionist (the kind that's in front when you go to a restaurant. I don't know what they're called.)
"Um I'm here with the Lightwoods?" She looked down at the computer and politely nodded.
"Yes, they are over there." She led me near the table. Once I was a only a few feet away from the table, I noticed that I was sitting right across from Jace and next to Isabelle. Maryse and Robert were sitting at the ends of the table, Belle was in a high chair on Jace's right, and of course Aline was on his left. I cleared my throat (not in the snobby way of course) and slid into the empty seat.
The conversations of the entire night was completely awkward. Small talk was exchanged of course, but at times we would be silent for a few minutes. Luckily, someone would always start up the conversation by talking about something random and everyone would desperately grab onto the opportunity. Although, Aline wasn't making much effort, and when she did join in, she talked about herself.
"So Clary, how is your life? Do you have a job?" Maryse asked me in a motherly tone.
"I work at a cafe on (insert street of new york) ."
"Do you have any plans in the future?"
"Well actually I w-" I was cut off by Aline's voice.
"Jacey, I think I left my bracelet in the car. Will you go get it with me?" She said in a whiny voice, winking at him, obviously planning to have a makeout session while they're at it. My nostrils flared, as jealousy raced through my veins. I fought the urge to stand up and start yelling at her. Instead, I gripped the edge of the tablecloth. Isabelle looked at me with a worried expression.
Jace's POV
"Jacey, I left my bracelet in the car. Will you go get it with me?" Aline asked while stroking up and down my arm. She winked at me and I could tell what she implied, and apparently Clary did too. I peeked over to see her reaction. I could see that her eyes displayed the strong emotion of rage and jealousy.
I cleared my throat," No thanks baby, why don't you get it yourself." I swept her hand off my arm as she huffed. She atttempted to give me a cute frown but I turned my head and ignored it. She was really getting on my nerves these days.
"Would you excuse me?" Clary asked and she headed off towards the direction of the restrooms. I walked after her ignoring Isabelle's stare.
Clary's POV
"Would you excuse me?" I asked as I scooted away from my seat. As I left, I wiped hot (almost) tears on my sleeve and headed for the restroom.
"Hey Clary wait up," I heard a familiar voice. I turned around to look at him but all I could do was stare at his chest. It wasn't because of my height though, it was because I couldn't bring myself to look at his face, his eyes.
"So uh Belle has this playgroup that meets next Monday at that park near the Institute? You wanna come?" He asked.
"Sure, I'd love too,"
"Right, ok 9:30" Was all he said before retreating back to the table.
I smiled to myself. Maybe it was not too late.
Jace's POV
Why the hell did I just do that?
A/N 2: Oh no Jace is questioning himself! Review :)
Questions:
1: Rate my story? (1 being horrible 10 being awesome, I might do this every few chapters to see if I need to put some more drama or anything)
2: might be a dumb question. On the word cliche, usually there is a squiggly on top of the e, how do you do that on a keyboard?
3:Any suggestions for the story?
4: I'm just curious, what is the age range of people reading my story. Don't answer if you don't want to.
A.12 or younger. B. 13-15 C.16-18 D. 18 and up
THANKS ! :)