*emerges from coma* I LIVE! I'm SO sorry that it took nearly 4 months for me to update. I lost my muse with this story. BUT I DIDN'T ABANDON IT! Guys, I know I write short chapters, but I'M SO HAPPY THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET! It's not too long, don't get your hopes up. Sorry. Anyway, I digress.

No Dance Terms and No Chapter Playlist. I may add one to this chapter later.

"Clary, are you almost ready?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Clary shouted back as hurried to finish the finishing touches on her makeup. She wanted everything to be perfect for a certain someone who would be at dinner tonight.

"Honey, we really need to get going. Traffic is bad; we're going to be late," Jocelyn called.

Clary huffed and put her mascara brush down.

"Alright, I'm coming," she huffed.

"Clary, what did I say about attitude?" Jocelyn yelled back.

Clary sighed checked herself over once more in the mirror. Her hair was half up half down, the way she knew Jace liked it. The emerald cardigan she was wearing over a cream lace tank top brought out the green of her eyes. Pair that with dark wash skinny jeans and flats and she was the epitome of pretty (or at least she thought).

Pleased with how she looked, she grabbed her purse and cell phone and went to meet her mother downstairs.

"There you are," Jocelyn smiled. "I was beginning to think you'd died up there."

Clary rolled her eyes, but as much as she was mad at her mom, she couldn't help a small smile.

"Luke!" Jocelyn called. "You ready yet?"

"Coming!" Luke appeared in the doorway, finishing the last button on his shirt.

The drive to the Lightwood's was silent. Clary was content sulking in the backseat, because she honestly didnt know how she would be able to stand seeing Jace but not being able to talk to him. God, she thought. Im turning into a lovesick puppy. Get over it Clary, she scolded herself.

As the car pulled up in the Lightwood's grand driveway, Clary shut her eyes. Why was her parents putting her through this torture? They knew Jace would be there; they had told her. And yet they acted like it wouldn't be a problem to not talk to him, look at him even.

She sighed and opened the door, stepping out into the brisk air. Wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm, she and her parents trudged to the front door, their shoes crunching on frost covered drive. Even though it was March, there was still a chill.

The door flew open before they even reached the steps.

"Clary!" Isabelle came barreling out wearing a tight dress that barely touched the halfway mark of her knees. Clary immediately felt underdressed.

"Oh my god, you look gorgeous!" Isabelle scanned her from head to toe.

"Thanks Iz, but you could have told me this would be more formal."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm the one overdressed, you're fine. Anyway, come in! Dinner's almost ready."

Clary glanced at her parents, who were beaming at her and Isabelle's exchange. She raised her eyebrows at them, but her mother just shooed her in.

She stepped into the house, eyes immediately scanning for any signs of Jace. Snap out of it, Clary! She couldn't afford to have her mind in the gutter tonight. Forcing Jace out of her thoughts, she followed Isabelle into the living room. Of course it was pretty hard not to think about someone when they were suddenly sitting right in front of you.

Jace looked up the moment she walked in the room, his tawny eyes watching her intently. She met his smoldering gaze evenly.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Fray, how are you?" Jace stood up and made a move to shake their hands. Clary rolled her eyes at his attempts to win her parents over.

"We're fine, Jace, thank you for asking." Jocelyn smiled politely.

"Hey," Clary started, eying Isabelle, "Izzy and I are gonna head up to her room and catch up till dinner is ready. Is that okay?" She asked, half dragging Izzy out of the room, not waiting for an answer. She could still feel Jace's eyes on her as she left.

They didn't speak as they climbed the steps. Isabelle opened the door to her room, catching on that Clary needed to talk in private. She closed the door as Clary collapsed on her bed.

"Clary? What's up?" Noticing Clary now with her head in her hands, she moved to sit beside her on the bed. "Sweetie, whats wrong? Did Jace hurt you? I swear to God, if he did-"

"No," Clary sniffled. "Its not him. Its my parents." She dabbed the corner of her eyes, not wanting to cry. "They-they don't want us to date anymore. I'm grounded, and I can't see Jace for a couple weeks."

"Oh Clary," Isabelle crooned, her voice full of sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I just-" She finally broke down sobbing. "I try not to think of him, but its like I'm obsessed, or, or, this lovesick teenager who can't handle separation, or…" She trailed off as another wave of sobs wracked her body.

A smile slowly spread over Isabelle's face. "Oh my God, Clary. I think you're in love with my brother. You're in love with my brother. Oh my God, this is so exciting! You guys are gonna get married and then you'll be my sister!" Izzy squealed.

Clary looked up at Isabelle, her face incredulous. "Oh my God, Izzy, calm down. First of all, I'm not in love. I've only known him for a month and a half. You can't love someone that quickly. Second of all, what makes you think Jace 'loves' me back?"

"Oh Clary, you're not the one who lives with him every day. Do you know how much he asks about you? 'Have you seen Clary today?' 'How is she?' 'Is she tired from dance?' 'Has she said anything about me?' Its so ridiculous its comical."

"Clary looked up at Isabelle through wet lashes. "Really?"

The minute Clary walked in the living room, Jace suspected there was something bothering her. When she practically dragged Isabelle upstairs, he knew there was definitely something wrong. He had excused himself from the living room a few minutes later, dashing up the stairs after the girls. He padded quietly down the hallway on the soft carpet to Isabelle's room. The door was, unfortunately, closed. He knew he should give the girl's their privacy, but his curiosity got the better of him. Slowly, he pressed his ear against the door.

Clary was speaking, but her voice came out cracked, like she was crying. "It's okay, I just-" She paused, and he could faintly hear her sobbing. "I try not to think of him, but its like I'm obsessed, or, or, this lovesick teenager who can't handle separation, or…"

Isabelle cut in. "Oh my God, Clary. I think you're in love with my brother. You're in love with my brother. Oh my God, this is so exciting! You guys are gonna get married and then you'll be my sister!" Izzy squealed.

Jace's eyes widened in shock. His heart started to pound furiously. Was Clary in love with him?

He heard Clary reply. "Oh my God, Izzy, calm down. First of all, I'm not in love. I've only known him for a month and a half. You can't love someone that quickly. Second of all, what makes you think Jace 'loves' me back?"

His heart sank and he leaned back against the wall. So she wasn't in love with him. But he couldn't help but smile at the end of her sentence: "What makes you think Jace 'loves' me back?"

Jace wasn't exactly sure that what he was feeling was love, but one thing was for sure: he needed Clary in his life. The past few days that they had been separated had been awful. He, like Clary had just admitted too, couldn't stop thinking about her. To be honest, it scared him. He'd always wanted girls, but never like this.

He didn't catch the rest of their conversation, but he had heard enough. Clary was going through the same thing as him. He had to get her alone tonight, to talk to her. They needed to figure out a way to convince both their parents that they could be responsible with their relationship. Jace blamed himself for this separation; if he hadn't have taken her on all those midnight adventures, they wouldn't have had this issue. He reprimanded himself for being so stupid. Why did he think they wouldn't get caught eventually?

"Kids, dinner is ready!" Jace heard Mayrse call. He snapped back to reality and realized he was still leaning against the wall. Springing off the wall, he darted down the hallway. When the two girls emerged from Izzy's room, he acted as casual as possible.

He looked over and caught both their gazes. "Hey Iz," he smirked. " And Clary," he acknowledged as if he had just noticed her (which he obviously hadn't).

"Jace," she replied evenly, holding his gaze.

They descended the stairs together, but when they reached the dining room and Isabelle skipped in, he pulled Clary aside and into an adjoining hallway.

"We need to talk," he said.

She sighed, avoiding his gaze.

"We shouldn't-"

He put a finger to her lips. "I don't care anymore Clary. I need you in my life. I cant stop thinking about you."

Clary looked up at him and sucked in a breath.

"And I know you feel the same, because I heard your conversation with Izzy."

Her mouth fell open. "Jace! That was private!"

He rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, but I had to know what was wrong with you. Anyway, we need to figure out how to gain our parents trust again."

Clary glanced around nervously. "Can we not talk about this now?" she whispered.

"When else are we going to talk about this?" Jace raised his voice and threw his hands in the air. "We're forbidden from seeing each other. We can't text because you got your phone taken away. We're running out of options."

"We could go through Isabelle," Clary suggested.

"No, too slow. Who knows when you would see her next? We need to figure something out now. Think about it during dinner and we'll meet upstairs after."

"Jace, its too risky. What if-"

"Clary, we there's no other way-"

She sighed. "Fine. Now lets go before we get in trouble for being late to dinner. You go first so it looks like we weren't together."

Jace closed his eyes and before Clary could protest, gently leaned forward and pressed his lips to Clary's forehead. Then he disappeared around the corner.

Clary swallowed and tried to clear her head. This was going to be a long dinner.

"I saved you a seat next to me!" Isabelle said cheerily as Clary walked into the dining room. It was the only open seat left and coincidentally right next to Jace. Clary narrowed her eyes at Izzy, asking the silent question. Izzy just smirked and winked at Clary. Clary just shook her head and rolled her eyes, but internally she was thanking Izzy for thinking of her.

She took a seat just as Maryse appeared with a steaming pot in her hands.

"Alright, I think everything's ready."

Dinner progressed uneventfully. Clary tried to brainstorm ways she could persuade her parents to trust her again. There wasn't many options. She could try talking to her mom again, but that most likely wouldn't go anywhere. She could wait out the weeks that she was grounded and follow the rules. She could talk to her dad.

Luke. He would understand her situation more than her mother. Maybe he would even sympathize with her and persuade Jocelyn that Clary could be trusted again. So far, this was the only option that seemed plausible.

Clary was startled out of her thoughts when she felt something on her knee. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was a hand, rubbing small circles on her skin. Startled, she looked up at Jace. His expression didn't change, but he gave her knee a squeeze. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks before she could stop it.

She reached under the table and slowly removed his hand, placing it back on his own leg. She didn't need any more distractions right now. It was at that moment that a phone rang, startling her. She sat up straight in her chair and looked around. Her mother was digging in her purse for her cell phone.

"Excuse me, Maryse, I'm so sorry, but I have to take this phone call." She flashed everyone a quick smile before exiting the room, her heels clacking on the polished hardwood floor.

Everyone continued eating, but it was an awkward silence. Clary glanced around nervously. What could have made her mother get up from dinner like that? She pushed her potatoes around her plate absently.

Suddenly Jocelyn came dashing through the doorway, face aglow. "Clary!" She squealed. "That was NYCB. Someone dropped out. You got the contract!"

Clary's heart dropped to her stomach.

:D Sorry for the cliffy! Um yeah so...

I'd like to introduce you to my new beta, SpeakNow1118! She is absolutely fantabulous and gorgeous and amazing and [insert any positive adjective you can think of here]. S oyeah, if you haven't already, go read her story Brooklyn By The Water At Night! (Its a Clace fic...you all will love it...)

So...review? ;D