Um... well... this is late.

But here's the next chapter, hopefully not too shitty.

When I woke up the next morning, I wasn't sure if the plans I had made with Jace really happened, or if I had just dreamed up the whole thing. I reached over for my phone to see what time it was and saw I had a text from an unknown number.

537 N. 70th St.

See you then.

-Jace

I placed my phone back on my bedside table and stood up. Obviously it wasn't a dream. Stretching my arms, I walked over to my dresser to find something to wear. Once I did, I took a quick shower and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning, Clary," Luke said to me as I walked into the kitchen. His glasses were pushed to the edge of his nose as he worked on some papers that I assumed were for his business.

"Morning," I replied, going over to the fridge to grab a glass of milk. "What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"We have bacon and eggs in the pan over there," Luke told me, nodding over to the stove. I grabbed a plate and loaded it with food. Then I sat down in the chair across from Luke.

"Any plans today?" he asked me. I took a bite of eggs, chewed, and swallowed before answering.

"I'm going to someone's house to work on lines for the play," I told him. He nodded and took a drink out of his coffee mug.

"Sounds good. Whose house is it?"

"Jace Wayland's." Luke thought for a moment.

"I thought you didn't like that kid," he said, eyeing me. I shrugged my shoulders, taking a bite of bacon.

"I guess I don't really know him," I replied. My mother walked into the room at that time and helped herself to a plate of eggs. Her hair was messy from sleep and she was still wearing her pajamas.

"Good morning," she said, kissing me on the head before sitting down between Luke and me. She scooted her chair up to the table and took a bite of eggs.

"Clary, did I tell you about the new painting I'm working on?" she asked me. I shook my head. "Well, last week I had this strange, but wonderful dream. I was in this unknown land, but it was beautiful, Clary. Just amazing. The grass was a bright green, the hills were majestic. And the buildings, oh the buildings. They were wonderful. Old, but yet new. They had a touch to them that gave them class. It was charming. Well, the images of this 'land' stuck with me, so I decided to paint them for everyone to see." Jocelyn had a huge grin on her face.

"Sounds wonderful, Mom. I can't wait to see it," I told her truthfully. Jocelyn clapped her hands excitedly.

"I just wish this place existed. I'd love to live there," she told me, getting up to get herself something to drink. Luke mumbled something about my mom and weird dreams, causing her to shoot him a look.

I finished my food and stood up.

"I'm going to go over to Simon's," I told them. They nodded and I went to grab my car keys. I didn't bother calling him because we always showed up at each other's houses randomly. I knew he wouldn't mind.

I got in my car and drove to his house.

"Jace . . . as in Jace Wayland? Have you lost your mind Clary? You hate him, remember?"

I sighed and laid down on Simon's bed.

"It's not that big of a deal, Simon. We're just practicing lines," I told him. He shook his head, his face still angry.

"Sure, that's what you think. He'll probably make a move on you and next thing you know, he'll have you sleeping with him." I sat up straight and stared at Simon wide-eyed. He was pacing back and forth across his room, his hair, like always, was messy, and his glasses were crooked.

"You really think I'd let him do that? Simon, have some sense. He's not going to do anything," I said, rolling my eyes. Simon sighed and glared at me.

"I still don't like it," he grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You don't have to," I retorted, lying back down. "Simon, stop pacing and sit down."

He didn't.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this? It's one night. And it's not like I'm going on a date with him. We're just hanging out. Not even that. It's practically like school work," I tried to reassure him. He shook his head. He stopped pacing and just stood there, staring at me.

"It's just . . ." he trailed off. The nervous look on his face had me worried.

"Just what?" I asked. Propping myself up on my elbow to get a good look at him.

"Nothing," he replied, blushing. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"If you say so." I picked up a rubber band ball he had laying on his bed and started tossing it in the air and catching it.

"How is the play going, anyway?" he asked, finally sitting down in his desk chair.

"Good, we've just been rehearsing. We're pretty far. The play night should be in a month or so." I tossed the ball up again.

"That's good." A silence settled over us. The only sounds were the smack from the ball hitting my hands and Simon turning in the creaky, rolling chair. After the ball almost hit me in the face, I let it roll across Simon's floor.

I picked up my phone and looked at the time. I had only been at Simon's for an hour. It was noon and I had nothing else to do until it was time to go to Jace's.

"Hey, want to go get some lunch?" I asked him. He nodded and stood up.

"My treat," he said, grabbing his car keys. I smiled and followed him downstairs.

We ended up going to a restaurant down the street from Simon's house. It was a nice, little diner located on the corner of the street. What I liked about it was it wasn't ever too busy and the food was cheap but good.

"Hey, so what's going on with you and Maia?" I asked him as we sat down.

"Did Isabelle ask you to say that?" he asked, looking at me over the menu.

"No, I was just wondering," I told him, searching for what I wanted to drink. I settled on a glass of chocolate milk.

"I told you, we're just friends." I nodded slowly, giving him a look. "It's true! Ask her yourself. Besides, she doesn't want to date anyone right now. She told me about this guy she used to go out with."

"Oh, yeah, she told me about him. Jordan was it?" Simon nodded his head.

"So what are you getting to eat?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I think I'll just get a cheese burger, what about you?" He hummed, thinking.

"I'll probably get the same and a milkshake." The waitress came and we ordered our drinks and food.

We talked for a while about Simon's band before our food came. Simon dug straight into his, his hunger taking over.

"So, you want to come see my band play tomorrow?" he asked, his mouth full of food, making me laugh and disgusting me at the same time.

"What time?" I asked, putting ketchup on my burger.

"Uh . . . six. At that coffee shop downtown. You know, the one that always has the first 'S' burned out in its sign?"

"Sassy's?" I didn't mention that it was a cheap place that nobody bothered going to, also the name sounded like a strip club. Simon nodded his head.

"That one. We're getting there early to set up. I'll pick you up if you want?" Simon took a sip of his milk shake before swallowing really loudly.

"Sounds fun," I told him. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head.

"Is that sarcasm I detect there, Fray?" he asked jokingly. I shook my head, an innocent look on my face, but I couldn't hold back my smile.

"Of course not. Pick me up and I'll come," I said. He shook his head and laughed.

"Hm, for a moment there I thought you didn't like my band," he said, sarcasm in his own voice.

"Of course I like your band," I told him, rolling my eyes. He smiled and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Mhmm, sure." I laughed again and we finished eating.

"What time is it?" he asked me as he paid the bill. I looked at my phone.

"One seventeen," I replied, putting my phone back in my pocket. I never carried a purse around. Why should I when I have perfectly good pockets?

"I have to go to band practice at two," he told me. I nodded and we left the restaurant.

"Yeah, I'm going to go home and try to get some of my homework done. I have a lot of Math homework to do," I said. He groaned, buckling his seat belt.

"Damn, I forgot about that," he said, backing out of the parking space.

"I've started it, it's not too hard," I reassured him. He gave me a sideways look.

"Yeah, but you're actually good at Math. I suck at it," he said, pouting. I almost laughed at his face but I thought that'd only make him feel worse.

"Don't pout, Simon. It'll be fine," I told him. He sighed and pulled into his driveway, turning the car off.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Si," I told him.

"I'll be there at 4:50, Fray, so be ready," he said as I got into my car. I nodded and shut the door.

I drove away, still wondering why Simon was so mad about tonight.

I had done homework for two hours before I decided it was time to get ready for Jace's.

I grabbed the one bag I had and stuffed my script in it. Walking downstairs, the house was quite. Luke and my mother had gone out to dinner earlier for an "important" meeting with some clients of Luke's. They probably wouldn't be back until later.

I grabbed my keys from the side table by the door and made sure to lock the front door behind me as I made my way to my car. The sky started to drizzle rain an hour ago, so the it was dark and cloudy outside.

I opened my car door and got in before the chilly air could get me. I was hoping that since it was spring it'd get a little warmer, but today was no such luck.

It took me a couple of minutes to drive to the address Jace gave me. When I got there, I stepped out of my car and examined the house. It was big with white bricks and a dark roof. There were flowers lining the house, and I wouldn't have been surprised if they had someone that came out and took care of them.

Looking at his house, Jace obviously had money.

I walked up the stone pathway to his house and hesitantly rang the doorbell. I had never seen Jace's house before, nor have I met his family.

I heard footsteps coming towards the door and I took a step back. The door swung open and Jace stood there wearing jeans and a plain black shirt.

"Hi," I mumbled, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Hey," he said, stepping aside to let me in. The inside of his house was just as pretty as the outside. I clutched my bag as I looked around. His house looked like very elegant people lived here. It was beautiful, but I could never see myself living in it. It was too . . . nice. It wasn't "homey" enough, almost cold like.

"Are your parents home?" I asked him, looking around the quiet, empty house.

"No, they're never home," he told me, leading me up the wooden staircase.

"Oh," I replied stupidly. The way he said it didn't sound sorrowful, just like it was a fact, but it still sounded sad to me.

I followed him down the hallway as we passed closed door after closed door. He finally stopped at the end of the hall and pushed a door open.

"My room."

Inside was not what I expected to find in a teenage boy's bedroom.

The whole room was white: the walls, the carpet, the dresser, even the sheets on the bed. It was like being in a hospital. I wanted to take one of my mom's paintbrushes and just splash paint everywhere.

"It's . . . white," I said. He chuckled and sat down on his desk.

"So it is," he replied, looking at me. I stood there awkwardly in the doorway before walking over to a chair he had in the corner of his room.

"So what do you want to go over?" I asked him, pulling my script out. I flipped through the pages and looked for some of the main scenes that had us two in them.

Jace opened a desk drawer and pulled out his script. "Well, I was thinking we could go over the scene where Lilah and Will first meet. Is that okay with you?"

I nodded and flipped my script to that page. I dropped my bag next to the chair and stood up. Jace closed the door and came over to me.

We went over lines for an hour and got to a scene towards the middle of the play where Lilah and Will are both working late.

"'Hey, Lilah, can you help me with these boxes?'" Jace asked me. This is where I'd be sitting at my desk getting work done for Mr. Miller.

"'Um . . . okay'" I responded. Then I'd get up and help Jace move his things to a different part of the stage. Jace wiped his hands on his jeans and smiled.

"'Thanks. You know, you've been working here for a month now and we haven't really even gotten to know each other,'" he said, stepping closer to me.

"'Well, we don't really get along, or haven't you noticed?'" I said back to him. Jace shrugged his shoulders.

"'I thought we were getting along just fine.'" I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"'Oh yeah, we're obviously friends,'" I said sarcastically. Jace cocked his head and stared down at me.

"'We're not friends?'" he asked, feigning hurt. He put his hand on his heart as if it pained him to hear me say that.

"'No, we get on each other's nerves. We have ever since we've met,'" I told him.

"'So what you're saying is," Jace said, taking another step closer to me, "you don't like me?'" I paused for a moment, looking down. I started to play with my fingers.

"'I don't hate you, but you haven't really given me a reason to like you,'" I replied. Jace was standing so close to me that I felt the need to take a step back, but I knew that wasn't part of the script, so my feet stayed planted on the floor.

"'Would you like me too?'" he asked me. Jace started to lean down towards me. His face was so close to mine and I stopped breathing.

I found myself stepping back.

Jace stopped coming towards me and instead stood up straight.

"Is everything okay . . .?" he asked, trailing off. I nodded and stuffed my script in my bag. Jace stared at me in confusion. What I was supposed to do was let him kiss me, but instead I grabbed my bag and started to head towards the door.

"Yeah, I just realized I have to go," I said awkwardly, opening Jace's bedroom door. "My parents are expecting me home," I lied.

Jace was still staring at me as I walked out of his room. He followed me down the hallway and stairs.

"Are you sure? We could practice some more-"

"No, I have to go," I cut him off, flinging the door open. I knew I probably looked ridiculous rushing out of Jace's house, not to mention rude, but I found the need to get out of there. Jace stopped on his porch and watched as I got into my car and backed out of his driveway. I waved quickly and started to drive off. I looked in the rear view mirror to see Jace lift a hand in goodbye before shaking his head and going back inside.

I sighed and turned the radio on, my thoughts going everywhere. Now that I was away from Jace's house, I felt like I overreacted. It was just part of the script, no big deal, but I made it one, and I felt a little embarrassed. I debated over whether or not I should call Jace and apologize, but I'd probably make even more of a fool out of myself.

I used one hand to rub my head, a headache coming on. I switched the radio off and drove the rest of the way home in silence.

My parents came home later that night.

I was up in my room when Luke called up to me saying he and my mother needed to talk to me. I walked downstairs and into the kitchen where they were sitting at the table.

"What's up?" I asked cautiously. Luke's face was blank but my mother looked a little worried. I sat down in the chair across from them and looked from Luke to my mother.

"We have some news Clary, and I'm not sure how you'll take it," Luke said. I looked at my mother, but her face really didn't give anything away. I started to get nervous.

"What is it?" I asked, looking back and forth between the two. "Is everything okay?" Jocelyn opened her mouth to say something before shutting it again.

"Clary we're moving."

So it's longer than the others. Hopefully you liked it. I'll try starting the next chapter in a couple of days. I'm just glad I finished this chapter. No matter how long it takes me to update, I always will finish. Thanks for reading~