Jace slurped up the leftover milk of his cereal, lost in the lyrics that played through his headphones. The sudden smack on the back of his head nearly made him spill a spoonful of cheerios down his shirt. A small hand reached out in front of him and took the pop tarts that lay on a paper towel. Clary jerked on the headphone cord effectively pulling out both of his earbuds.

"Try to eat my pop tarts again and I will burn your collection of playboy calendars." She threatened menacingly. Clary leaned in closer to his face just to show off her pop tart as she took a large chomp of it.

"Come on pretty boy, don't make us late." She sang and danced around him to the front door.

Jace smiled to himself and swiftly grabbed his backpack to follow her. He glanced to the key hook on the wall and wasn't surprised to see his truck keys gone. Clary typically headed out before him, always grabbing his keys to start the truck herself.

Jace shuffled down the front steps and got in the truck parked out front. Clary sat in the passenger seat, already quietly sketching. Jace pulled out and they drove to school in silence. Once they parked, Clary snapped her sketchbook closed and bounced out the door. He followed casually behind her as they walked up to the building. The pack of gum poking out the back pocket of her jeans caught his eye. He snagged it out of her pocket and stole a piece, offering one to her as well without a word. She took it and Jace slid it back into her pocket.

Once they got inside they both went separate ways, neither bothering to say goodbye. They did not usually see each other again till fourth period. A couple weeks into the school year they found out they had Calculus and World History at opposite times. They decided it was easier to trade notes and books in between the bell. It gave them a head start on notes and less to carry. So as Clary lounged against her locker talking to a fellow classmate, Jace wordlessly came up and traded his book for hers. Clary didn't even look at him or break conversation. It was just the comfortable routine in which they had fallen.

Come lunch time an hour later, Clary dropped her tray at her usual spot. Isabelle sat to her left and Jace to her right. This year it seemed there had been a merge of their friends. They all now sat next to each other at one long table. Clary pretty much chalked it up to Isabelle dating Jonathan although he graduated last year along with Gabriel, Aline, and Eric.

"Oh, hi there. Your aunt's a slut." Isabelle told her as soon as she sat down.

Clary looked around awkwardly then gave her a hesitant smile. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Guess what I just found out? Jonathan slept with Lilly after your birthday party!" She shouted angrily.

Clary chuckled as she passed her chocolate milk over to Jace. "Oh that cougar, God love her."

Isabelle scoffed and tossed the curtain of her hair over her shoulder. "Laugh it up, Clarissa. Just wait till it's your boyfriend she's banging in the broom closet."

"Ew," Clary furrowed her brows. Jace reached over and dropped a handful of pink starburst on her tray. According to him, he was too manly to be seen eating something pink so he typically gave them to Clary. "Okay but, you and Jonathan were broken up and still are, I thought?" She questioned.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Not since last Friday. We decided to give things another try. We came clean about everything and said we would forgive and forget. But… he shared things I'm thinking now I would rather not know."

"Yeah, well, that was a weird night." Clary said dismissively, remembering the awkward moment she and Jace had shared. She was glad that neither of them had brought it up again since.

"Hey everyone!"

Clary glanced up, hearing a small voice. There were two freshman girls standing at the end of the table. She immediately recognized them as Emma and Cecily. They were both petite and thin but with an athletic build as they both played on the girls' soccer team.

"What can we do for you ladies?" Simon asked them, pretending to be suave. Clary could hear Jace snort next to her.

Will looked down the table and gave him a skeptical look. "Careful, Lewis, that's my sister." He stated smartly.

Will's sister, Cecily, laughed and tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear. A clipboard was gripped in her other hand. Emma just smirked with her arms crossed. Wisps of hair framed her face, escaping the bun of her dirty-blonde hair.

"We're taking a poll." Cecily spoke and passed on the clipboard to Sebastian.

"The school board is thinking of joining the rest of the private schools and instating uniforms." Emma explained, sounding ambivalent.

Jace chuckled and stretched his arms to cup the back of his head. "Sounds good! Less work for me." He said with a shrug.

Clary scoffed. Her feelings were the raging opposite. "We can't be made to wear the same thing every day! What happened to individuality and self-expression?" She shouted.

Jessamine passed the clipboard over to Jace but Clary quickly snatched it from him. She scribbled her name under the 'Against' column. As well as Jace's name and Simon's and Tessa's and…

Isabelle ripped the clipboard from her fingers. "We can sign our own names, thank you." She chided.

Clary gave an apologetic smile and turned back to scold Jace. The words came up short on the tip of her tongue as she saw he was preoccupied playing a sort of hands footsie with Jessamine. However, she quickly brushed aside the uncomfortable feeling it gave her.

"Earth to Clary…" Simon pressed. Clary turned her head giving him her full attention.

"So have you decided to give in and be my homecoming date?" He asked her humorously.

Out of nowhere, Jace cut in answering for her. "She would probably rather watch romantic comedies in her pajamas all night."

Simon glared at him but Clary just shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong." She agreed.

"However!..." Clary quickly added before Simon could pout too hard. "If all goes as planned with the tickets, we will be attending the concert instead." She cheesed and tossed a starburst at him.

After the bell rang, Jace scooped up Clary's empty tray with his own before she even had a chance.

Clary trudged through the door when they arrived home later that day. Jace was just a step behind her. She tossed her satchel onto the floor and fell back onto the couch with a sigh. Jace headed straight for the pantry. Typical male teenager. She could hear him quietly munching in the kitchen and peeked over the couch back to observe him. He had one hand buried in a chip bag and the other was scrolling through his phone. He must have felt hers eyes on him because he looked over to her. With no shame, he sent her a swift wink and returned to his phone.

Clary popped up on her elbows. "So, you and Jessamine seemed cozy today." She told him casually.

"Thank you for the progress report, lieutenant." He mocked her.

Clary narrowed her eyes and climbed over the couch. She strutted into the kitchen and jumped up to sit on the counter. "Just saying. Didn't think it was good for your reputation?" She teased him smugly.

Jace chuckled and smirked at her. "What kind of reputation do you think I have exactly?" He asked. Clary simply shrugged.

"She's got a thing for me." He explained to her, referring back to Jessamine.

"Yeah but who doesn't?" Clary defended without thinking.

"Oh, so does that include you then?" Jace wondered as he quickly jumped on her misspoken words. He stood up from his chair leaning closer to her on the counter.

"Not in this lifetime, Herondale." She immediately refuted.

Jace looked down thoughtful for a moment. "What percentage of chance is that equivalent to?" He prodded, playing dumb.

Clary laughed. "My question here was—are you kind of with her now?" She elaborated.

Jace just looked at her confused but then cocked his head and smiled. "You know very well that I'm never 'with' anybody. But… just dating wise, yeah, she is probably the girl that currently receives most of my attention."

Clary cocked her head and grinned to match Jace, mocking him. "Do you consciously always phrase your words in the most conceited way possible?" She questioned.

He reached up and pinched her cheek. "Only to you, cause' I know you love it so much." Jace replied sarcastically. His voice mimicked her patronizing tone.

Clary slapped his hand away. "Jace and Jess. How adorable!" She clasped her hands together in pretend excitement, hoping to get under his skin.

Jace sat back down and pretended to pout. "Awe, what? You don't like her?"

Clary snorted. "Uhm, she's kind of a bitch?" She spoke as if it was obvious.

Jace gave her an incredulous expression. "So are you!" He argued.

Clary replied, her voice once again patronizing. "Only to you, cause' I know you love it so much." She leaned over and poked Jace hard in the cheek. He quick snatched her hand and tried to bite it as she squealed and fought to pull it back. She uselessly fell off the counter with Jace practically pulling her into his lap.

"Uhm, Hello, you two!" Jocelyn's voice rang from the other side of the room.

Clary immediately halted her giggles and hard yanked her fist out of Jace's grip. Her mother looked fully done up in sleek black knee length dress with matching pumps. Her hair was pinned up in a twisted bun with soft waves falling out and around her face. She was wearing more makeup than usual and was in the midst of trying to get her other earing in.

"What are you guys doing? Stephan is going to be here soon and we all need to be ready." Jocelyn urgently informed them.

"Are we having that fancy dinner thing tonight? I thought it was on Thursday." Clary drawled, seeming none so much concerned as her mother.

"It is Thursday." Jace offered nonchalant.

"Oh! Sweet, my show is on tonight." Clary announced as she dug in the chip bag.

Jace funneled more chips in his mouth. "Which one?" He asked.

"The one with—"

"Excuse me!" Jocelyn fast cut Clary off, having enough of their banter. "Get dressed." She hissed before storming back to her bedroom.

"Yeah, Clary, stop distracting me!" Jace jokingly shouted and stood abruptly. He shouldered past her and jogged up the stairs.

At dinner the four of them sat around a white-linen clothed table, eating quietly. Stephan took them to a high end French restaurant. Clary and Jace spent the whole car ride there whispering in the back about what the special occasion could be.

"Are you really eating that?" Jace asked with a repulsed expression.

Clary paused mid-bite. "Yeah? It's escargot. It's a delicacy." She was confused by what he could find so grotesque.

"You do know that you're eating snails, right?" He clarified.

"Yes. But, I'm more mature and cultured than you so, I'm fine with it." She replied with a shrug.

Just as Jace was about to bite back, Stephan cleared his throat. Jocelyn immediately sat up properly like she was expecting this.

"I just want to say that, it really has been a great year for all of us, I think. Moving in together was a big leap but I think it worked out well for our family." Stephan said pleasantly as he looked around the table at all of them. He reached over and took Jocelyn's hand in his. He took a moment to look down nervously before he continued. "So with that in mind, I think it's about time we make things official…" Stephan reached inside his jacket and produced a small black ring box. He opened it and set it down in front of Jocelyn's plate.

Clary couldn't see the ring. She was too busy scrutinizing her mother's expression. Throughout his whole little speech, she wore a radiant smile. However, as soon as the ring was placed in front of her, it changed. For others, they probably wouldn't even have noticed but, Clary could see that her eyes relaxed and the muscles of her cheeks tightened, forcing her smile.

Was the ring ugly? She wouldn't expect Stephan to have good taste. Clary leaned over to peak at the box. Tucked between a velvet fold was an elegant, solitaire diamond. Simple and beautiful, just how Jocelyn liked it. Yet, just before Clary could further her concern, her mother through her arms around Stephan in a tight embrace. Clary sat back in her chair as Jocelyn kissed the man and told him "Yes." Perhaps, she was just seeing what she wanted to.

"Congratulations." Jace voiced.

Clary whipped her head to appraise him. He lounged back now, an elbow draped over his chair back. He seemed neither thrilled nor angry just a pleasantly, stoic mask. He looked at her now and raised an eyebrow. She could feel that her own face was one of furrowed confusion.

Clary wasn't quite sure what she expected, really. She hadn't considered the thought that this day might actually come. This meant things were no longer temporary. This wasn't just another one of her mother's phases. Stephan would be her step-dad and Jace…

"Honey, are you alright?" Jocelyn asked her, still smiling with excitement.

Clary swallowed hard and forced a smile. "Yes. Congratulations. Cheers." She reassured her mother and held up her glass of water.

Jace and Clary both finished their meals quietly. The car ride was relatively silent, as well, and once they returned home everyone parted to their respected rooms. Talk about awkward…

Clary kicked her door shut and threw her heels to the bottom of her closet. She shuffled around a moment, lost in thought, before peeling off her dress in trade for a t-shirt and pajama pants. She twisted her hair into a bun and lay down with her headphones and sketchbook. The eyes she drew were deep and fierce. They were full of mischief and something she couldn't describe but, they felt warm. As the portrait came together she finished it with a pair of masculine, soft lips, parted just enough to see the chip of a tooth.

Suddenly, she slammed the book closed and chucked it to the floor. She grasped her pencil in both hands, snapping it in two, before throwing the pieces against the wall. The red head flopped to her back, letting the music drown her. In a quick decision, she jerked out her headphones and went to the door. She patted just across the hall and gently rapped on Jace's door.

"Jace?" She tried to politely inquire. There was no answer. "Could he really be asleep, already?" She whispered aloud to herself.

Deciding that she didn't care, she proceeded to bang her flat palm against the door. "Jace!" After no reply she simply took it upon herself to enter.

She opened the door to find an empty room. "Jace…" She looked around wearily. Maybe, he had left.

"I'm out here!" She heard his voice. Surprisingly it came from across the room, outside the open window. Clary poked her head out into the dark and looked up. There on the roof ledge above her sat Jace, a cigar poised between his fingers.

"Did you really climb up there to smoke on the roof? That seems incredibly dumb and dangerous." She commented.

"Do you want to come up?" He smiled and asked her knowingly.

"Duh." She responded and swiftly ducked back inside. She skirted over to his dresser and rummaged through them till she found a sweatshirt. After she slipped it on, though it drowned her, Clary climbed through the window onto the small roof ledge. She looked up and Jace already had a hand stretched down to her.

She locked her small fingers around his wrist and the other hand clung to his forearm for extra support. Her feet kicked up along the brick siding as Jace seemed to pull her weight up with ease.

"Don't drop me!" She squealed through her nervous giggles.

Jace chuckled and wrapped his other arm around her back, once she was high enough, and she fell safely next to him. Clary sat up and tucked her knees up close to her. She stared in excitement at the cityscape around them.

Jace just gazed at her a moment, watching her eyes dance along the buildings and sky. She then looked to him grinning. "What?" She asked him blushing.

"You're cute when you're excited." He remarked softly.

"New perspectives excite me. It's an artist thing." She explained.

Jace hummed and ran a finger down her spine. "Hmm, I wonder what else excites you."

Clary shivered and laughed as she knocked her shoulder against his.

"Nice sweatshirt by the way. It looks about the size of your entire body." He humorously pointed out.

Clary wrapped the baggy sleeves around herself. "It's pretty soft." She mentioned.

"I expect that back, by the way." He informed her. The girl just grinned and subtly inhaled the fabric. Jace raised his eyebrows and barked a laugh. "Do I smell good?" He questioned.

"You don't smell bad." She countered.

"Hmm, good to know." Jace nodded and past her his cigar. She pushed up her sleeves and took it from him. They relaxed next to each other in comfortable silence for several minutes.

"So… I guess it is official. They're getting hitched." Clary murmured. Jace nodded in agreement.

"How do you feel about that?" She questioned in a small voice.

Jace furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment. "Well, I suppose as far as step-sisters go, it could be worse." He mused.

He turned to look at her just as she blew a trio of smoke rings against his face. "I could have told you that." She boasted with a grin.

Jace sighed and reclined back on his hands. "And what about me?" He retorted.

Clary shrugged. "Eh." She offered and past the cigar back to him. Jace reached up and tugged at hood of her sweatshirt. She squeaked and fell back against him. "Okay, you're only terrible sometimes!" She corrected.

Jace let her go and sat up, putting out the cigar next to him. "I guess I wouldn't expect to get much else out of you." He told her.

Clary sat up too and scrutinized him. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked shrewdly, her face resting close to his shoulder.

"Just that you're probably the only person I've met that's more stubborn than me." Jace enlightened her and brought his hand up to nudge her chin.

"No I'm not!" She quipped. It only made Jace grin wider as she proved his point. Clary bit her lip to keep her growing smile. She knew she really couldn't argue that with him. She stared blinking back at him, and his grin. His eyes seemed to move all around her face.

The next moment Jace exhaled and clapped his hands together. "Alright, time for bed." He insisted. In one swoop of his legs he launched himself off the roof and landed with a thud on the one below them.

"Your turn! Nice and easy." He voiced up to her.

Clary gripped the roof siding and turned around going feet first. She could feel Jace grab onto her for support. She lowered herself down, her body sliding down his till her feet were safely planted.

All of a sudden, it seemed Jace had lost his footing as he swayed backward into the open air. "Jace!" Clary instinctively grasped the front of his shirt and yanked him back, his body now pinning her against the windowsill. Yet, Jace was snickering above her.

Clary gasped as she realized he hadn't been actually falling. "That was a dirty trick!" She cried. She slapped his chest and shoved him away from her before ducking in the window.

Jace swung in after her, still laughing. "I just wanted to see if you would save me." He defended.

"Well I've learned, next time, to let you fall!" She threatened. "And I'm keeping this sweatshirt." She told him as she bounded out his door.

"Night babe!" Jace sang to her. Before she could close her door, he did spot the pleased smirk she was trying to conceal.

Okayyyyyyy soooo feel like its been awhile since I updated. I've actually had this chapter done for awhile but was gonna do a double update yet I'm procrastinating on the next chapter and keep writing other chapters instead... ANYWAYS. Thought I might as well get this up here. Nothing super exciting unless you love the little moments like moi, then lots of feels:) But for those readers who enjoy more action, angst, and smut... Sit tight cause there is plenty coming!