Hey guys :D

I am here with another update. yay.

And thank you thank you thank you so much for all those reviews! Only a couple left until 100 :D You guys are the best -kisses-

On we go!

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Kaelie snarled, her eyes narrowing further at the sound of her old name. "Don't call me that," she hissed, taking a threatening step forward. "I go by Aline now."

Clary's fingers desperately gripped the sink behind her as she tried to maintain a composed mask. Showing she was frightened would only egg Kaelie on further. "Why did you change it?" she asked. Clary was wildly attempting to stay calm and delay Kaelie in her no doubt nasty plan, but she found that she was also curious as to what Kaelie's story was.

Kaelie studied Clary condescendingly for a second before responding. "My foster parents didn't like the name Kaelie, so they changed it to Aline," she finally explained, much to Clary's relief. "They wanted a brand new daughter, not some orphan foster kid, and changing my name helped them believe that." Kaelie's lips sidled into a sick smile. "I imagine that you spent a lot more of your miserable life stuck in that hellhole." She grinned at Clary, her eyes lighting with a sort of twisted joy at the thought of Clary being stuck in the orphanage while she had gotten out.

Clary said nothing in response, but she could feel a cold sweat trickling down her neck as she wondered why Aline was here. Whatever the reason, it couldn't possibly be a good one. She hoped desperately that someone would come in to use the bathroom, and save her from the girl in front of her. Kaelie, seemingly reading Clary's thoughts, walked over to the door and slid the lock into place with an ominous click. Kaelie turned back to Clary with a victorious smile on her face as she reached into her pocket and pulled something out.

It was another plastic knife.

Kaelie held the knife up, idly inspecting the white plastic surface. "Doesn't this feel a little familiar?" she asked, her voice innocent. "You, me, a bathroom… and a knife?"

Dread settled thickly over Clary as she realized that Kaelie was right.

She really was to hurt Clary again, and no one could stop her. Clary gulped, but remained silent as Kaelie stepped closer and closer.

"You really shouldn't have told Jace about what I did," Kaelie remarked in an almost casual tone. "That was an extremely stupid move on your part, Clary dearest. I would have left you alone, but what you did made me very mad. I suppose I'll just have to even out the score now."

Clary's heart leapt into her throat, choking her into a frightened silence as Kaelie drew closer to her and raised the knife. Memories of the orphanage flitted through her head as she imagined the pain that was going to be repeated.

When she was just inches away from Clary, Kaelie stopped. A strange look of regret was taking over her face, and her eyes seemed suddenly far away. "I would have been better off if I had stayed at the orphanage anyway," she reflected. "My foster parents weren't much different from the orphanage mistress." Kaelie paused again, her eyes wide and almost innocent as her thoughts took over for a second. "And Jace was the one good thing in my life when I moved here. He was my ticket to happiness. And then you came stumbling back." Kaelie's eyes lost their regret, instantly flashing back to their menacing gaze and piercing Clary once more. "And along with you came my old bad luck. Everything was ruined again. Why the hell didn't you just stay where you were?" she snarled, her voice rising to a shout.

"I didn't know you were here," Clary whispered helplessly, trying to push herself as far back as she could from the knife in Kaelie's hand.

Kaelie's snarl grew fiercer at her timid reply. "You don't even deserve to be here," Kaelie informed her mercilessly. "You're just a useless freak, and people take pity on you because you look so small and innocent."

Kaelie closed the last of the distance between her and Clary, gripping the knife tightly in her right hand. She reached out to grab Clary's arm, her fingernails cutting into Clary's skin. Clary yelped as she was dragged forward in Kaelie's grasp, and stumbled to her knees. Kaelie struck the knife to Clary's upper arm, the dull plastic blade slicing an uneven cut across Clary's skin. Clary let out a whimper at the pain, tears pricking at her eyes as she watched the bright red blood welling up from the wound.

"You've taken too much from me, Clary. I hope you suffer as much as I have," Kaelie hissed. Her voice was low and filled with a hatred that scared Clary just as much as the knife.

Before Kaelie could strike again though, a loud bang sounded at the locked door. Kaelie dropped Clary's arm in surprise, whirling to face the door as a look of horror filled her face.

Someone was pounding ferociously against the door, the hinges vibrating as each blow weakened it further. Kaelie froze in shock, the knife still hanging from her hand and dripping Clary's blood from the blade as she gaped at the door.

After a few more pounds, the door finally gave way to a feral Jace, who bounded in with a fierce look on his face. Clary stared up at him, wondering how in the world he had managed to ram through the hard wood door with just his shoulder as a tool. Behind him, Isabelle peered into the bathroom, her eyes concerned.

Clary let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the two. Her fear dissipated as Jace's eyes locked on hers, the very sight of him making her feel instantly protected. She brought her hand up to her bleeding arm and tried to staunch the wound with her fingers. She could only be glad that it wasn't too deep.

"Aline, what the hell were you doing?" Jace bellowed at Kaelie, his eyes flashing away from Clary's to glare at his ex-girlfriend.

Kaelie's face was still contorted in shock, and she remained silent as Jace strode across the bathroom and grabbed her arm just as she had grabbed Clary's- hard and unforgivingly.

"You're more disgusting than I imagined," he spat at her, his eyes boring furiously into Kaelie's. Jace ripped the knife from her hand and chucked it across the floor, not even turning to look as it clattered under one of the sinks. He shoved her arm away from him. "Isabelle, can you take her out of here?" he asked, his voice now deadly calm. Isabelle nodded in reply, moving forward and grabbing Kaelie to push her out the door. Kaelie gave little resistance in return: she seemed to still be in shock that she had been caught. Isabelle sent a small, reassuring smile in Clary's direction as she shoved Kaelie out, the door swinging shut again behind her.

Jace rubbed his forehead wearily, his eyes closing for a moment. Clary simply stared up at him, completely thrown by what had just happened. As if he could feel her gaze on him, Jace suddenly snapped back to attention, hurrying over to where Clary sat feebly by the sink. He knelt next to her, taking her bleeding arm into his hands. Somewhere in the back of her head, Clary vaguely registered that his hands were warm and comforting against her skin.

"Are you okay, Clary? Did she hurt you anywhere else?" Jace asked urgently, looking Clary over for other visible wounds.

Clary shook her head numbly. "She only got one cut on me before you guys showed up," she replied shakily. "How did you know what was happening?" Clary's voice was soft as she stared gratefully up at Jace's worried face.

"I saw Aline follow you out of the cafeteria. I could kind of guess from there," he explained. Jace reached up to the sink, pulling off a length of paper towels from the dispenser and wrapping them around Clary's arm as he spoke. "It took me a while to find the right bathroom though. Why did you have to pick the farthest one?" Jace tried to smirk at Clary, but it didn't quite reach his concerned eyes.

Clary managed a small smile at his light teasing. After all, it was Jace she was dealing with. "I don't really know where the bathrooms are yet. I've been here for three days," she grumbled.

Jace let out a short laugh. "Well I guess I'll have to show you them so it's more convenient for me the next time you need saving," he replied, smoothing the last paper towel over Clary's arm.

Clary rolled her eyes at Jace's ability to crack a joke in the worst situations. "Thank you for your kindness," she deadpanned. Jace laughed again, and Clary smiled slightly before becoming serious again. "I don't know what she would have done if you hadn't come," she whispered. Clary let her appreciation leak into her voice as she looked up at Jace's face.

"My pleasure," Jace breathed, the gold of his eyes darkening as he gazed back at Clary.

Clary sat entranced for a few moments, the deep pool of Jace's eyes reminding her of why she felt so strongly for him. For a moment, he really was the angel that she had painted; her savior. Who knew what Kaelie would have done to her if Jace hadn't shown up. Clary slowly leaned forward, and Jace bent closer to her.

Then Clary remembered the scene that had caused her to run from the cafeteria in the first place. She hastily jerked back, springing up from the floor and ignoring Jace's look of surprise as she stalked towards the door.

"Clary, wait." Clary ignored him. Her hand was just reaching for the doorknob when Jace intercepted it, pulling Clary back towards him. "What happened?" he demanded, staring at her confusedly.

Clary shot Jace a glare and tried to snatch her arm back. "Go back to that blonde that was all over you. She might require some saving too," Clary snapped. Then she hurriedly looked away, realizing a little too late what she had just said.

Jace's hand appeared underneath her chin as he brought her face back up to look at his.

"Why are you upset about that?" he asked gently, cocking his head slightly as those golden eyes searched through hers.

"I'm not upset," mumbled Clary, trying to avert her eyes from Jace's gaze. She knew she was lying; seeing him with another girl affected her much more than it should have.

"Clary…" Jace's voice held a tinge of amusement. "I thought you didn't want me? That's what I assumed when you ran away from me last night."

Clary cringed internally at the memory. "Jace…It's not that I don't want you," she rushed out, feeling uselessly tongue-tied as she tried to explain. "I'm just not ready for that kind of relationship –I'm scared. But I don't know why I don't like seeing someone else with you…" Clary felt her face grow warm; she had just admitted to Jace himself that she had some feelings for him.

Jace's face was conflicted as he looked back at Clary. "Who do you want me to be then Clary, if you won't accept me as anything more than just another guy?" he asked simply.

Clary felt tears sting her eyes again, and she couldn't bring herself to answer. Jace sighed, lifting his other hand up so he could hold her face properly.

"Clary, I'm not going to pretend I don't have feelings for you," he admitted finally. "I do like you, more than I have let on. But if you don't want me as anything more than a friend, that's fine with me. I'll be anything you want me to be Clary, even if that's nothing." The gold of his eyes brightened as he met Clary's gaze strongly. "Do you understand?"

A surge of emotion passed through Clary, simultaneously flooding her with warmth and confusion. She flung her arms around Jace, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Jace," she croaked, hot tears finally spilling from her eyes and soaking into Jace's shirt.

Jace's arms rose and circled her body, and he gently stroked Clary's back as she cried. "It's fine, Clary," he murmured soothingly. "I'd like to be able to keep you any way I can, even if it's nothing more than as a friend."

"Thank you," Clary whispered brokenly. A wave of relief crashed over her as the conflict between her mind and heart resolved. Jace wasn't that annoying arrogant jerk anymore, nor was he that confusingly perfect guy Clary couldn't make up her mind about.

Jace was her friend.

And there we have it :D

Don't hate me. They can't stay friends for long, I promise you ;)

TMI, amazing job, once again.

Review my lovelies~

Yours,

~A.W.W