Here's the next chapter you greedy lot of human beings. Thank's a lot to those that have been following from the start, and have been so patient with moi. Also like to thank those who have favorited both the story and myself - arigato to u all. Be kind and review, comment, or whatever the hell you want to do.

Check back with the story later u guys - I have a tutorial to go to and A+ to get,

- Violentkitsune

Chapter 14: 'Day-date'

Why? Dear lord in whatever heaven there is, please tell me why the hell I had to make a fool out of myself?

Our crimson redhead pulled her cheeks down, groaning over her impetuous behavior. When Jace had asked for a 'casual meet-up' as he put it, her heart started racing in her chest, thumping wildly to a rhythm of its own making. She'd acted out without thinking, practically word-vomiting as Simon put it. The redhead leaned against the canvas on the easel, groaning aloud.

"Stupid, stupid redhead," she cursed. "What were you thinking?"

The art class was fairly busy as everyone was working on their portfolios for submission for the next assignment. No one paid attention to the redhead's strange behavior, nor did they care at this time. Clary had already completed her portfolio ahead of time, so she was only here to give feedback on her work. The redhead stood up and left the classroom, striding towards the common room. Clary headed straight for the fridge and pulled out the packet of Pineapple Lumps that Luke had brought over from his trip to New Zealand. The chocolate was a strange combination of what felt like pineapple bubblegum covered in chocolate, yet somehow the two flavors worked together in chaotic harmony, giving her taste-buds a run for their money. She continued chewing away on the chocolates, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach through digestion of unhealthy, delicious foods. Clary began to pace up and down the room, muttering away to herself between bites.

"Just relax, Clary. You can do this. It's not a date, it's just meeting up with a friend." Clary groaned at the panging in her heart. Her mind warned her against continuing any further interactions with the officer, but her heart was set upon the dream of his strong arms wrapped firmly about her waist. "Dammit, just calm down."

Clary looked at her outfit, wondering if perhaps she was a bit under-dressed for her outing with Jace. She wore an oversized blush tee that she'd tucked into the front of her jeans, the back of it dangling just below her butt. She wore black denim cuff jeans that fitted her legs like a glove, with a pair of ocean green tie-dyed Vans to set it off. Her only accessory was her leather messenger bag with all her sketchbooks, her wallet, phone, and more importantly her emergency food rations. If there was one thing that Clary hated most other than her scheming father, it was going places on an empty stomach. The last thing she needed was to have her stomach rumbling.

Speaking of Valentine, Clary reached for the letter she'd received from her father. The paper was folded and creased over from being in her wallet, but she could still make out the faint words that were written on the paper in lilac calligraphy.

S. holdings are in the Bronx. Visit R. and inquire about the position as portrait painter. Take along whatever you need and convince him to hire you. Set up a date to commence painting and alert J. about it. Time period will lengthen if unsuccessful.

V.

Inside the envelope were a few letters from the noticeable art figures that had come along to visit her department a while ago, surprised that Valentine had copies of their letters of acknowledgements. Clary reread the last statement multiple times, enraged that her father was using their contract as a means of blackmail. It just went to show how manipulative her father was, and how eager he was to have this deal come to an end. Her hands itched to curl up into a fist and strike at someone, anything, just as a means of releasing all the rage she had rising within her.

Breathe, Clary, she could hear Luke say in her head. Just breathe, and let it all go. Let it go like a big wave crashing down on the sandy shorelines of Hawaii.

Clary felt her stress levels go back down and thanked whatever gods existed on high for giving her such a wonderful step-father. Luke was a placid man, hard to get angry. The man always seemed to be in a state of zen and peace, causing a soothing effect on those around him. Just thinking about Luke and how he use to go through his 'meditation' with her made Clary feel more at peace with herself.

"Fray."

The redhead turned to face a fellow classmate, gulping down the Pineapple Lump in her mouth. "Yes?"

The strawberry blonde curled her hair around her finger and wore a teasing smile on her lips. "There's a hot blonde guy on ground floor eating Reese's Pieces, and a lost puppy on his face. He's asking after you and wants to know about any special deals you have going on at a bathhouse. Not sure if that last part's correct though."

Clary blushed hard and walked back with the girl down to the art department. Sure enough, there was the blonde officer, with his golden hair falling softly around his face. He looked good in a pair of grey slim fit jeans, with a maroon marl sweater over his torso. His golden eyes brightened up at the sight of her and she felt a small flutter in her chest. Calm down, redhead, calm down.

"Please tell me where I can find a model like him." Clary's classmate whispered before heading back into the classroom. The redhead looked at the cheeky strawberry blonde as she gave a friendly wave to Jace before disappearing into the chaotic room.

"Nice place," Jace commented, looking in from outside the door. "Bit confusing to navigate around here though."

"Oh well, you found this place," Clary said. "I should've given better directions."

"It's fine," Jace said, straightening his body up off the wall. "I like exploring new places. Make's it more of an adventure."

Clary smiled shyly and clasped her hands together. It had been a while since she'd gone out with anyone else other than the boys' Magnus and Simon.

Just a friend… just a friend. This guy is off-limits in the field of love. "So… you want to lead the way, oh fearless leader?

Jace smirked and gave a small, dramatic bow, gesturing the student forward. "After you, my lady," he said in a false English voice. "Let's see where the day takes us."

Jace and Clary had been walking for about an hour so, doing nothing except talk, talk, talk. Clary talked on and on about how she was progressing in her art degree, the passion for her subject evident in her eyes and her body language. She liked how Jace seemed genuinely interested in her own hobbies, asking questions every now and then about what she preferred in her field of media. The same went for Jace as he regaled her with details about his job, exploring the different aspects that he was associated with, and sharing a few stories about people that have called in while on duty. Clary looked at the blonde, staring at him with an awe of wonder and respect. She could see how much it meant to him, this job of his. He didn't treat it some like something that he did out of necessity, and from the sounds of it he certainly didn't abuse the power he had. Once or twice Clary had watched a few officers go off accusing innocent bystanders of being ignorant, bullying people into letting them get ahead in line. It was nice, just talking with him. She didn't have to worry about much, and she felt herself let loose and relax around him.

"Okay, question for you," he said as they stopped off at an ice-cream parlor. "What's your inspiration for doing the subject that you love? What exactly set on the path to art?"

Clary tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "My earliest inspiration would have to be my mother, as most daughters would say. My mother was a renowned art lover, and she'd take me to the museum every chance we'd get. It didn't matter to me if they were the same exhibits that I'd seen before. Every time I went, I'd always find something new to look at within a previous painting, and I'd get to look at things in a different light, find new meanings from the painting. Kind of like when you leave an unfinished jigsaw puzzle, then you come back and you start to see where a few more pieces fit in." Clary shrugged her shoulders. "With art, your limit is your imagination, and everything allows you to express your emotions in so many ways. There's no black and white in this field, no yes or no, right and wrong – and I find that quite comforting. I don't have to stick with one or the other. I can just do whatever I feel like without resorting to the expectations set out by others. I don't have to worry about the consequences of the choices I make in regards to my artwork."

The redhead looked at Jace who wore a similar expression of wonder and thoughtfulness. Clary brushed back a stray lock back and started blabbing off. "It might sound nonsensical, so don't be sorry if you don't get where I'm coming from."

"It's not nonsense, " Jace said reassuringly. "It's just that watching you explain everything with such passion – it's really fascinating."

Is that my cheek burning up? Clary thought mentally, shaking her hair out on either side of her face to cover up the pink spreading in her cheeks. "Anyways, being a curator at a museum is my ultimate aspiration at this time. I wouldn't mind selling off my work or doing paintings on the side, but you never hear about ex-uni art students becoming rising stars in the real world." She gazed back up at Jace. "And what about you, Jace? What's the inspiration behind your chosen employment?"

Jace looked up and sighed heavily as they moved up in line. "When my family died, I was taken in by their family friends the Lightwoods. The parents were third generation police detectives, and they'd often take us into work a lot of the time while they were filling out paperwork. I guess you could say that I practically grew up in the Institute." His eyes burned low as he reflected on times gone by. "It was quite a learning experience, seeing the types of people that were in there. More often than not, my foster parents would be in the Bull-pen, interrogating suspects for their cases and getting confessions out of them. I'd look at all those guys, and there was always a thought that was on my mind."

He smirked and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. "While I was a little brat that use to run around and wreak havoc with my siblings, I had a thing for academics. And curiosity would always get the better of me at the Institute. I'd always ask questions about the system, and why people would get arrest for different things. One time, I was looking at the statistics for the amount of arrests over the past few years, staring at the numbers on the screen." He turned to face me, putting his full attention on my body. "Did you know that about thirty percent of the arrests made today are disregarded because officers can't find 'sufficient evidence', or the system them prevents them from placing charges on criminals?"

Clary shook her head. "Never knew that."

"It was worse back when I was younger. I guess you could say that my desire stemmed from the need to kick all the vermin off the streets. I've seen one too many bullies roaming free on the streets, too many guys let free because of the laziness of others, hence the increase in crime rate." Jace let his shoulders droop slightly. "Am I boring you?'

"No,' Clary said firmly. "You're making perfect sense. It's admirable, your desire to keep everyone safe. Hard to see why you haven't snagged a girl yet."

"What makes you think I'm not taken?" Jace said teasingly.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Well, for one, you don't exactly have the steady feel around you. Two is that your phone's not being constantly bombarded with texts, neither are you checking it for any messages as well. Also, no boyfriend would casually go out with a girl they've just met over, what, two weeks ago? Especially without telling their girlfriend about it.

"Maybe she's just really understanding, and isn't such a control freak like other people are in relationships."

"I highly doubt it. With looks like yours, no girl would let you out of their sights." Clary's mind froze as she registered the last statement she made, watching a grin form on the blonde's face. Dammit – word vomit again!

The pair finally made it up to the bench where a guy with scruffy orange hair leaned against the bench, wearing the typical pink shirt and cap for Wendy's ice-cream parlor. "What can I get you guys today?" he asked placidly.

"Salted Caramel ice-cream sundae, a hot-dog and…" Jace looked at Clary questioningly. "What are you having?"

"Oh no, I've got mine sorted," Clary said, pulling out her own battered wallet. "I'm going to take the fifteen churro jumbo pack with caramel and chocolate sauce, a large Flake Supashake and a hot-dog to go. Be generous with the caramel and chocolate sauce please because last time I had next to nothing on it."

"Separate or together?"

"Separate."

"Together," Jace interrupted whipping out his card. He looked down at Clary with his golden eyes. "This is me paying you back for letting me stay the night at your—"

"Oh hell no," Clary said, moving in front of Jace to block him from giving his card to the cashier. She started goose-guarding the cashier as she dove in her wallet for her cash, stepping to the side every time she heard Jace try to move around her. "I'm getting my own food, buddy. There's no way I'm having you put me in a debt."

"Clary…" he growled behind her. Without warning Clary felt a pair of hands on her waist as she was lifted off the ground and swung around to the side like a ballerina. Her body went into shock as she felt Jace's hands lift off her sides, the warmth from his fingertips still imprinted on her body. After a few seconds she shook herself out of her stupor and watched as Jace finished pressing his pin number into the eftpos machine, wearing a triumphant smirk on his face.

"I win," he said with a smirk.

Clary felt a tremble pass through her. "I was going to pay for myself, asshat."

"No you weren't," he said. "You were going to try and pay for both of us and you know it."

"Was not," Clary said weakly. She went to go sit down in one of the booths, with Jace following suit and moving in close by her. He placed his elbows on the bench and leaned against his hands, looking at Clary with a soft smile.

"You're a bad liar," he teased. "So, are you an only child, or are there other siblings in the picture?"

"I wish I was an only sibling," Clary groaned underneath her breath. "I have a brother who's a year older than me, Jonathan. If I had to describe the relationship we have it would be more like…" Clary's face turned blank as she searched for the right word, "… polite acquaintances. We weren't exactly close in our younger years, and even less so when our parents split up over a decade ago. Jonathan always seemed to distance himself from me when we were younger, and he never really cared for family get-togethers."

"Your brother sounds like a coward," Jace said bluntly. "No one should ever feel unwanted by their sibling."

"Yeah, well, my brother didn't exactly get the memo when he was younger. He's a lot more like our father in more ways than one. He has the same looks, the same mannerisms as him, the same cruel sense of humor, and above all he just has that self-absorbed air around him." Clary tilted her head and pushed her curls back. "It's quite a shock really. Even though we're related by blood, there no distinguishing features that we have in common. I'm an almost exact carbon copy of my mother, and he's tall, pale blonde, and has black eyes just like our father."

The rugged ginger boy from the till came over to their table with a tray laden with their order, trying to stabilize the ice-cream in his hand and prevent it from falling over.

"That's the Jumbo churros', two hot dogs, a Supashake and a Salted Caramel sundae," he huffed as he handed the waffle cone over to Jace. He set the tray down carefully and looked over at Clary with bated breath. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Clary said as the boy stumbled back to the cashier. She pulled the paper carton with her Churro's, her eyes lighting up with excitement at the prospect of mini-feast before her. "Praise the churro gods and the Spanish for giving birth to this wonderful creation," she said reverently before taking a churro stick and chomping away on it. She closed her eyes in complete bliss, savoring the succulent sweet fried-dough pastry covered in rivulets of hot caramel and chocolate sauce. She cast her eyes at Jace who was attacking his hot-dog with the intensity of a lion mauling its food. She tried to stifle the giggle that threatened to erupt from her as she watched Jace move with such animation.

"Food will not run away, Jace," she said comfortingly between bites, patting him on the shoulder.

"Easy for you to say," Jace replied back. "You've got three things to eat from."

"Well unlike the stereotype that the media has depicted of women needing to eat nothing but leaves to fit the image of the thin woman, I actually have a stomach that needs to be filled up to the top. I'm not the girl that'll starve herself to death out in public."

Jace's eyes widened and he raised his hands' up high. "Finally, a woman that knows how to eat. From now on, I'm taking you out more often," he promised. He swallowed the mouthful of meat in his mouth and snatched a churro stick out Clary's carton.

"Hey!" Clary moaned, watching the stronger blonde engulf her food. "You need to ask permission first before you go ahead and inhale all my food. Geez. Nah – payback buddy." The redhead picked up his spoon and scooped out some of his sundae before swallowing its contents. "That's actually really nice," she admitted.

Jace stole another churro from her carton and chomped away on the pastry, licking the excess sauce off his tongue. "So your relationship with your brother and father is crap – what about your mother? Is she still in the picture?"

"My mom?" Clary clarified. "I get along real well with her. She's an amazing woman to be around, and if you ever meet her you'd say the same thing. Jocelyn Fray is a woman of class and respect, and she doesn't belittle herself in any way or form like other individuals of my gender. She's quite assertive and stubborn like me, but she's good when it comes to mediating problems. My step-father Luke is pretty bad-ass as well, because he knows how to respect a woman and treats my mother like an equal, rather than someone of lower rank than him like Va- my biological father." Clary mentally slapped herself at her near slip-up as she wolfed another churro down her throat. You have to be cautious and on guard, girl! Think before you speak.

Jace didn't seem to notice her slip-up thankfully, and he looked at Clary with a serene expression. His eyes were settled someplace on her face and Clary felt her face heat up.

"Do I have a chocolate moustache?" she whined, looking about on the table for a napkin. Dammit, napkins guys, napkins.

"Keep still," he ordered.

Clary felt her body freeze up as she watched Jace lean towards her, enclosing the space between them. He reached out one hand towards her and gently brushed his thumb slowly along her lower lip, sending shockwaves throughout her body. Did he know the effects that such a simple motion had on her body? Clary struggled to stay still as butterflies flew rampantly within her, and spine-tingling chills ran up along her back and down her arms. He was close enough for her to see the glow in his eyes as he gazed down at her lips. He pulled his thumb back and licked off the chocolate sauce that had been smudged in the corner of her lips, looking into her own green orbs. The world stopped around them and Clary felt a magnetic pull between them. Jace seemed to inch over towards her, his eyes falling back to her lips…

"Bop."

Clary tapped the blonde on the nose with his spoon and scooped up another spoonful of his caramel sundae, the cold thrill cancelling out the fire in her cheeks. Jace's attention returned back to his sundae and a forlorn expression crossed his face momentarily, replaced by a smirk in an instant. "For that, I'm taking this." He reached out and took a hold of her hot-dog, devouring it greedily.

Clary smiled shyly, her mind racing at the speed of light. That was too close a call. The more she started to talk with Jace, the more walls he unknowingly broke down. And the more she started to abandon her rules, making exceptions for the man that was a natural enemy.

Why is fate so cruel to me?