A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait. I feel really bad, and I don't have an excuse. :-/ Just plain old procrastination.

Without further ado, here we go...

Clary threw down her pencil in frustration. She'd been trying to come up with something to turn in for her Art project on Monday, which happened to be tomorrow. No matter what she drew, it looked wrong. Clary had run out of ideas, and she had no inspiration.

Sighing, she plopped onto her bed and picked up her phone. Maybe hanging out with one of her friends would help. At least it'd help her take her mind off of things. Maybe they'd give her an idea, or maybe she'd have inspiration after they hung out. She scrolled through her list of contacts. Iz. No dice; all Izzy had talked about on their Friday sleepover was her date with Simon, which meant that Simon wouldn't be free, either. Sighing, she scrolled further. Mai-Bae. She didn't know if Maia had any plans, but Clary had no reason not to call her. Besides, maybe Maia would be up for some Mario. She dialed Maia, who picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" Maia answered.

"Hey Maia. What's up?"

"Nothing much."

"Really? Well, I'm super bored, so do you want to come over and game for a while?"

"Oh…" Maia said, sounding a little breathless. "That might not be the… best idea."

"Why not?" Clary asked, frowning.

"I'm actually a little… preoccupied."

"I thought you said you weren't busy."

"I'm not right now… Trust me, there's nothing happening right now." Maia laughed nervously. "Absolutely noth –" Suddenly, Maia gasped.

"Is everything okay?" Clary asked.

"Everything's fine. Marvelous. J – Just fantas – "

And that was when Maia let out a moan.

Clary screamed in pure horror. "Are you having sex right now? What the heck, Maia?" As quickly as possible, Clary hung up on Maia. Disgusted, she threw her phone onto her mattress and lay down, her hair sprawled around her face. She groaned. All of my friends have things to do. No one's free to mess around. Sighing, she picked up her phone again and continued scrolling through her contacts. Her eyes landed on Jace's name. Jace? She bit her thumb, thinking. He could be busy… In fact, he's probably busy. But I don't know that. Why shouldn't I call him? I mean, I'm his fake girlfriend. It would make sense for me to hang out with him. But… I've been spending so much time with him recently. Maybe he'd like a break from me. She glanced at her phone again. Screw it. I'm just going to call him.

She dialed his number, tapping her fingers impatiently on her leg. He picked up right at the last second. "What's up?" he asked.

"The sky," Clary joked. (She could feel Jace rolling his eyes over the phone.) "Anyways, I was wondering if you were busy."

"Why?"

Sighing, Clary picked up her pencil and started fiddling with it. "I don't know. I'm supposed to turn in an art piece on Monday, but I can't think of anything to draw. I just need to get out of the house and find some inspiration."

"Oh. Well, I'm at the school soccer field with Alec. He's helping me practice before soccer season starts up again. You can come watch us if you want."

"That sounds perfect. I'll bring my sketchbook."

…

Twenty minutes later, Clary arrived at the school field. She made her way to the bleachers, waving at Jace as she walked past. He waved back at her and was about to yell something when the other boy – Clary assumed it was Alec – kicked the ball at Jace. It bounced off of his knee, but Jace chased after it, skillfully scoring past Alec (who was goalkeeper).

Clary sat down on the bleachers and made herself as comfortable as she could. She pulled her sketchbook out of her bag, flipping it open to a blank page. Clary reached for a pencil, tapping it against the bleachers as she thought about something to draw. She watched Jace do some sort of drill, moving across the field quickly and spinning to avoid a invisible opponent and scoring on Alec once more. The speed and agility Jace possessed was something Clary had never had. Simon had always relentlessly teased her for falling. She often tripped over her own shoelaces, but there had also been occasions where she'd tripped over thin air. But as she watched Jace and Alec switch positions, she realized that Jace was faster and more agile than the average person. Alec (who was a very fit human being who could probably squash her if he wanted to) was noticeably slower than Jace. Clary's gaze drifted to Jace, who zipped around the field and still seemed fairly energetic. To Clary, it seemed like he possessed superhuman speed. She then started daydreaming about the supernatural. What if people had supernatural qualities? Clary suddenly remembered her sketchbook in her lap. Hmm… something supernatural… An idea popped into her head, and she started arcing her pencil across the paper.

She quickly sketched down the important parts of her artwork. The head goes here… the wings go there… body goes here, like that… She started adding details, and before long, it started to look like what she had pictured in her head.

"What're you drawing?" Jace and Alec had taken a break, and Clary didn't realize Jace had crept up behind her. He was leaning over her shoulder, peering at her sketch. She quickly closed it. He sat next to her, grinning. "Was that a self portrait, angel?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "That's such a terrible pet name. Of all the pet names, that is possibly the worst. Besides, I was clearly drawing a guy angel."

He grinned at her wolfishly. "Oh, so were you drawing me? I'm flattered. You know, if you'd like, I can be your nude model next time."

"Dear goodness, Jace," Alec groaned. "Stop flirting with the poor girl. Honestly, why do you have to flirt with every single girl you meet?"

Jace turned towards Alec. "What, I'm not allowed to flirt with my own girlfriend? You'd think, of all the people in the world, it'd be the most acceptable to flirt with your own girlfriend."

Alec looked incredulously up at Jace. "Wait… this is your girlfriend?"

"What do you mean, 'is this my girlfriend'? Dude, you've seen her before."

Clary rolled her eyes at him as she got up from the bleachers. "It's fine, we all know I'm not as tall as the girls you usually date. Or as… curvy," she said, making a face.

Jace moved to hug her. "It's okay, I like you more than the others,"

"Obviously," Clary snorted. She ducked under his arm, laughing. "Dude, you're all sweaty. Stay away from me."

"Oh really?" Jace cocked his head to one side, like a curious puppy who had very calculating eyes. Oh crap. Before Clary could run away, Jace darted towards her and trapped Clary next to his very sweaty chest. (Clary also noticed that he was very muscular, but she was trying to ignore that fact right now.) She tried to run away, but he had a tight grip on her. When Jace picked her up and swung her around like a rag doll, she yelped, kicking helplessly at the air.

Alec, who was now sitting on the bleachers, sighed loudly. "Can you guys not?" he asked, sighing.

Jace turned to face Alec, loosening his grip for a second. That was all Clary needed to break free from Jace's grip. She ran away, giggling as she sat next to Alec on the bleachers. Clary snatched a towel from Jace's duffle bag, which was lying next to her feet, and threw it at Jace. "Towel. Use it."

Jace caught the towel and rolled his eyes at her. His eyes then grew playful, and he winked at her as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Clary peeled her eyes away from Jace's perfect abs, even as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Look at the face, don't look any lower, focus on the face… She peered into his eyes. Usually they were an orangey yellow colour, but in the sun, they looked like streams of liquefied gold frozen in an instant of time for eternity. "You know, I really don't need a nude model." She tried to make her face look as impassive as possible. "Aren't you cold?"

This caused Alec to start laughing. "Oh, Jace. This one's probably my favorite. I'm glad you're with someone who can handle you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jace asked defensively.

"Someone who doesn't swoon when you enter the room," Alec explained, rolling his eyes. "Someone who sees how idiotic you are on a day to day basis without becoming a blushing mess." He looked pointedly at Jace's bare chest.

Jace sat down next to Clary and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I mean, Clary is blushing, although I'm not too sure if I know what you mean by blushing mess."

She shot him a dirty look. "It's cold and windy. Don't flatter yourself; it's unbecoming."

"You know what?" Alec grinned. "I like her."

"Thanks," Clary smiled. "So, how long have you known Jace?"

"Since we were children. We're basically brothers. I've seen him do all sorts of crazy things, like the time he jumped off of the roof…"

…

Jace sighed as he pulled his shirt back on. For the past 15 minutes, Alec had been telling Clary embarrassing stories from his childhood. He had thought that Alec would've disapproved of Clary, since he seemed to disapprove of all of his girlfriends. Now he wished that Alec disapproved of Clary more.

While Alec entertained Clary with some horribly embarrassing stories, Jace climbed up the bleachers. He noticed Clary's notebook lying closed on the bleachers, next to Clary's bag. Jace glanced at Clary, checking to see that she was still talking to Alec, and opened the notebook.

He caught the pencil before it fell to the ground. Jace placed it back on the page, examining the artwork Clary had done. It was an angel, looking down at the ground with his wings wrapped around him. Even Jace, someone who couldn't draw a straight line if his life depended on it, could see how beautiful it was; how the angel's sadness could be seen in his eyes, and how his brokenness could be seen in his gaze. It wasn't even a complete sketch, and it was beautiful. The only thing more beautiful than the angel was Clary.

The thought slipped past Jace before he realized what he was thinking. He was surprised by his thought, but mostly because it was true. All the other girls – Kaelie, Aline, Julie – were pretty because they had covered themselves with makeup and a fake personality. Clary was beautiful because she was real. She didn't try to be someone who she wasn't. She knew exactly who she was, and she was okay with that. Even though she had her flaws, they were a part of her, and she didn't run from them or hide them by painting over them. She faced her flaws, and that took bravery. He didn't know if she was beautiful because she was brave or because she was real, but he knew that he wouldn't have her any other way.

Then came the crushing realization. Jace had forgotten for one second, one glorious second, that Clary wasn't actually his girlfriend. She probably still thought that he was only doing this out of compassion. And since Jace had no plans to tell Clary about his feelings anytime soon, for fear of ruining everything between them, it looked like Jace would continue to be the friend-who's-helping-you-pretend-to-be-in-a-relationship-so-your-best-friend-doesn't-accidentally-mess-up-his-relationship-with-his-girlfriend. It was complicated and fragile, but at least it was better than nothing. Sighing, Jace snapped the sketchbook shut.

"Jace!" Clary screamed, scrambling up and snatching the sketchbook out of his hands.

"I'm sorry, I know how you are about your art, I shouldn't have done that–"

Clary cut him off. "Oh good. You didn't bend the pages or smudge anything."

"I thought you were protective of your art," Jace frowned.

"Just my personal stuff. This is my school sketchbook. It's not really that terrible if you look at stuff in here, since I have to turn in all of this stuff here." She paused, then looked up at Jace. "Although I don't really like people looking at my unfinished art."

"You know what? Alec and I should probably get back to practice," Jace said slowly, backing away.

"Fine," Alec sighed as he stood up. "But remind me to tell you how Jace lost his virginity. It's hilarious."

"WE'RE LEAVING," Jace yelled, dragging Alec away from a chuckling Clary. She was still laughing when Jace and Alec got to the center of the field, but she had picked up her pencil and started drawing again. She was just so beautiful, with her hair draped across her shoulder and that stunning smile on her face.

"You really like her, don't you?" Jace was brought back to reality by Alec's voice. Alec was staring at Jace with his unnerving blue eyes. He chose not to respond. Instead, he kicked the ball at the goal. Unfortunately for Jace, Alec blocked it. "I'll take your silence as a yes."

"I don't." Jace said abruptly. "Like her, that is."

"Really?" Alec cocked an eyebrow at Jace as he passed the ball back. "Why were you staring, then? It's not like she's pretty or anything."

"Don't – " Jace started, just as he realized that he'd fallen right into Alec's trap.

"Don't what?" Alec taunted. "Don't say that she's not pretty? I think that's what you were going to say. Wasn't that what you were going to say?"

Jace silently kicked the ball back at Alec with renewed ferocity. He didn't like that Alec had him trapped in this corner, and he didn't want to admit his feelings. Some part of him still believed that admitting his feelings would make them real, and it would be better for him – and for Clary – if his feelings were something that would pass. But he knew that these feelings would last for a long time, if not forever.

Alec hadn't noticed Jace's discomfort (or the fact that Jace had kicked the ball harder than he needed to). If he had, he chose not to address it. "You know," Alec started, kicking the ball up in the air and starting to head it, "I'm going to repeat something that Izzy once very wisely said to me before I started dating Magnus."

"Which is?"

"You'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed." Alec let the ball bounce to the ground. "Of course, since it was Izzy, she used less pretty words, but same idea."

Jace sighed. There was no way to get out of this without Alec confirming what he already knew. "Maybe."

"Maybe what?" Alec asked, now juggling the soccer ball up in the air. (A/N: Apparently, juggling is also known as keepie-uppies or kick-ups?)

"Maybe I kind of really like her," Jace grumbled.

Alec lost his balance and almost fell on the ground. He sat down and looked up at Jace in wonder. "Holy crap," he whispered, almost to himself. "You must like her way more than I thought. Holy crap."

Jace rolled his eyes. "I said maybe."

Alec got up and patted the dirt off of his shorts. "Don't lie, you're practically in love with her."

They stayed silent for a while, with Jace scoring almost every goal he shot. He assumed that Alec was still processing the conversation that they still had. Jace thought that it was better to continue in silence rather than try and talk to Alec. Besides, he never was any good at talking about feelings. When Jace had scored his twentieth goal, Alec spoke up. "Don't break her, Jace."

"What?"

"Just… Don't hurt her. She seems like a nice girl. Don't ruin things between you and her."

Jace frowned. "If you think I really like her, then why do you think I'll hurt her?"

"I don't know… It's just…" Alec stared uneasily at Clary. "There's something… weird. I don't know. Nevermind." Alec took a deep breath. "Is she the one?"

Of all the things Alec would have said, Jace least expected that question. He laughed uneasily. "We're way too young to talk about the hypothetical soulmate."

"Your parents met in sophomore year. That's younger than you are now," Alec reminded him.

Jace sighed, shaking his head. He decided to change the subject. "Is Magnus the one?"

"Maybe. I think so." Alec passed the ball back to Jace, who was frozen in shock. He tripped on the ball and landed on the ground.

Jace decided to stay in the dirt. He rolled over and stared up at the pure, blue sky. Seconds later, the top corner of the sky was blocked by Alec's ginormous head, which was looking worriedly down at him.

"Is he okay?" Jace heard Clary's distant voice travel across the field.

"He's just being a melodramatic baby," Alec yelled back. Jace could barely hear Clary's laugh.

"I can't believe you two are teaming up on me. I'm injured," Jace groaned.

Alec snorted. "Please, the only thing injured is your pride." He offered Jace his arm, which Jace took.

"Hey Alec," Clary yelled across the field. "Your phone's ringing."

"That's probably Magnus," Alec said, checking his watch. "It's almost time for our date. I'm gonna go take a shower. It was good practicing with you, though." Alec raced off towards the bleachers, leaving Jace to walk behind him. By the time he got to the bleachers, Alec had disappeared into the locker room, probably to shower. Jace decided to sit on the bleachers and talk to Clary for a while, partially because he didn't want to hear Alec's conversation with Magnus, and partially because he simply wanted to talk to Clary.

However, before Jace could open his mouth, Clary burst into giggles. "I can't believe you were going to jump off of a roof, just to impress Helen Blackthorn. You didn't tell me that was how you met. I thought you guys met through Aline or at Taki's."

"Yeah, well I guess I thought that it would be better if I kept that part a secret," Jace grumbled as he took a seat next to her.

"You're lucky you landed in the pool, you know."

"Don't worry, Alec reminds me about that every single time I date a new girl." Jace thought that he saw Clary stiffen in the corner of his eye, but it was probably his mind playing tricks on him. "I'm going to go shower now. Are you cold or anything? Hungry? Need anything?"

Clary grinned up at him. "Nah, but it's sweet that you're worried."

Jace rolled his eyes at her. "It isn't if you take in the fact that Alec is talking to Magnus right now. If you haven't witnessed their phone calls before, I'd advise you to run." He grinned back at her.

He didn't realize how close they were in that moment, but it was a lot closer than he had anticipated. Their knees touched, and he could see the darker flecks in Clary's green eyes. They were enchanting; there was no other way to describe them. He thought that she might've leaned in a little bit, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to take the risk. But when a strand of her hair fell from her shoulder, he thought, what the crap. He leaned in slowly, inch by inch. Their noses were two inches apart when Clary pulled away. Her cheeks were scarlet (Jace knew she'd blame it on the wind) and she bent down, and picked up Jace's towel. Jace half-heartedly hoped that she'd ask to join his shower, but he knew that wasn't Clary's intention. She smacked him in the stomach (none too lightly, he might add) with the towel. "Go shower," she said, staring at her feet. "You stink."

Jace decided that it was better for everyone if he didn't freak out and ask about what had just happened. He walked down the bleachers, turned, and saluted Clary (who laughed and saluted back).

…

After Jace was done with his shower, Alec had left with Magnus and Jace was left with his duffel bag and the soccer ball. He juggled it as he walked out of the locker rooms and onto the field, where Clary was still on the bleachers. "Hey," he called out as he let the ball fall to the ground. He dribbled it as he ran towards her. "I thought you would've gone home."

"I was just finishing the sketch," Clary explained. She looked enviously at Jace, who had started juggling the ball again. "I never understood how people did that," she sighed.

"It takes a lot of practice and control, actually."

"Are you admitting that you're a control freak?" Clary teased.

Jace rolled his eyes at her, but grinned. "Do you want to try?" Clary seemed hesitant, but Jace ignored that. "Come on, I'll show you."

He positioned himself next to Clary. "Usually when you kick the ball, it travels from your body because of the way you kick. When you juggle, your main objective is to keep the ball next to your body. Using your feet is probably the most effective way to do it, but you need to make sure you're kicking the ball towards you by curling your toes up, okay?"

Jace watched as Clary tried. Even when she was frustrated, she was beautiful. With Clary, beautiful wasn't about how she looked. It was a state of being. Clary was Clary; therefore she was beautiful. Jace didn't think he'd ever forget the way her hair shone in the sun, or the way she bit her bottom lip when she concentrated. If he was honest with himself, he was looking at her way more than he needed to.

When she finally hit the ball three times in a row, her smile was radiant. She whooped with joy and launched herself at him. It was odd; most people didn't give Jace hugs, and when Clary hugged him, he felt… tingly inside. He could feel her laughs on his ear. She had just begun to sweat a little bit, but the way the sun reflected off of her made her look like she was glowing. Jace almost wished that they could stay in that moment of tiny victories forever.

Unfortunately, Clary's phone chose to ring at that exact moment. She scrambled over to her bag and searched for her phone. "Hey Simon," she said, catching her breath. Her expression grew panicked. "Oh, really? Well, I'll be back in twenty minutes. I was just out doing… something."

"I'm something!" Jace yelled.

Clary glared at Jace and threw her eraser at him. Jace caught it, laughing. "No, I'm not having sex, I'm at school." She rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not having sex at school. Who do you think I am?" Clary took a seat on the bleachers, waving her hands animatedly. "Simon! He was just joking, okay? Besides, Izzy's brother was here. They were just playing soccer and I was just watching. It's not a big deal, okay? Nothing happened. I'll see you in twenty minutes." She hung up the call with him while glaring at Jace.

"Seriously? You didn't help my case at all."

He handed her the eraser. "Where are you going?"

Clary shoved all of her things into her bag. "Simon showed up at my house after his date. He was very surprised when he learned that I wasn't home. By the way, thanks for that comment there." She shot him a dirty look, but as she pulled the bag onto her shoulder, it melted into a grin. "Anyways, I've got to go. See you on Monday!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Bye!" Jace called after her, checking his phone for the time. 4:08. Apparently he had spent half an hour teaching Clary how to juggle, even though it had felt like ten minutes. Just then, his phone dinged. He looked down and saw a text from Alec.

Alec: How was hanging out w/ the GF? Remember 2 invite me to the wedding…

Jace: Not gonna marry her. We're too young to talk about that. :P

Alec: We'll c. Just cuz u dk ur in love doesn't mean we can't c it

Jace: I'm rolling my eyes Alec. Can you feel me rolling my eyes? Also learn how to text like a proper effing human being.

Jace threw his phone in his duffel and slung it onto his shoulder. But maybe Alec was kind of right. Even as Jace walked to his car, the only thing he could think about was Clary – the triumphant look on her face, the way the sun hit her hair, her smile, her art. Just Clary, and how he felt a thousand times happier when she was around. Not just happier, but that indescribable feeling that made him want to smile and never stop smiling.

Maybe that was what love was.

A/N: Well, that was the chapter this week! What did you guys think? Were the Alec parts believable? Should I try to incorporate Magnus into the story somehow? Do you have any date ideas or headcanons you'd like to see me write?

Hopefully it was okay. I feel like I might be getting worse, although hopefully that isn't the case.

I'll be uploading another chapter sometime soon, since this chapter was supposed to go up last week. Let's hope the next one is actually on time. (Sorry for uploading this late! I'm really kicking myself here... I feel terrible for uploading it five days late. :( Please forgive me...)

Review if you liked it, review if you hated it.