Hey everyone, I'm in an update-y mood, so I thought I would add a bit more story behind Jon and Marie, specifically Marie, since she is an original character. I just didn't want to move on to the big surprise part until more people had a chance to read it and give suggestions. This short little fluffy chapter will also help to explain how Marie catches on to the dirty little secret, but she's not going to say anything about it… for now anyway. ;) Oh, don't forget she's originally from England.

Marie's POV

Later that day, I lay stretched out on the bed checking my emails on my iPhone. When it was finished, I sighed quietly and realized how exhausting today had actually been. Work had been even busier than usual and I almost had to skip my lunch date with Jon, but we managed to escape for a half hour. He had bought us subway and we stretched out in the back of my minivan and watched the beginning of the Notebook, my favorite romance movie, until I had to return to work.

Then I went grocery shopping for nearly an hour and a half to prepare for Clary's birthday/ 4th of July party this weekend. (Sidenote: I get that July isn't at the beginning of the summer, but let's just fake like it is, cause I want Clary's birthday to be on it. Deal.)

When I finally arrived home Jon and I relaxed on the couch and finished The Notebook, even though we had both memorized every line a thousand times over by now. Then the kids returned from bowling and Clary and I made dinner for everyone like we normally do.

Jon twitched in his sleep and nuzzled into my chest further, his arms wrapping tighter around my waist. I smiled down at him and ran my fingers through his wild hair, kissing the top of his head affectionately.

I thought back to the first time we had met with a reminiscing smile.

I hadn't been in America for more than three days, but our hotel was suffering from a food shortage. From the age of ten, I had been flying to the United States to visit with my aunts. This year, however, I was nineteen and had made the decision to rent a hotel rather than inconvenience my relatives. Magnus, my best friend since the ripe age of five years old, had decided to tag along with me this trip to help split the bill and experience all of the stories I brought back to him.

Magnus had dropped me off at a nearby Wal-Mart so I could pick up some necessities while he played tourist. On my way into the building I had bumped into someone and apologized quickly over my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of a boy around my age with hair so blonde it was nearly white and mysterious, dark eyes. Something about him intrigued me, but I knew I was on a mission, so I just smiled and walked away.

Several minutes later I was in the hygiene isle trying to find a new bottle of shampoo. I spotted my usual purple Aussie container on the top shelf and reached up to grab it, but I was a few inches to short. I blushed at the embarrassment and licked my lips in determination. I tried again, but even on my tiptoes I was still too short. I sighed in frustration, already crossing out any chance of asking for help from a nearby worker and humiliating myself further.

I tried one last chance and even jumped a little, but just as my hands started to wrap around it, another slender hand pulled it off the shelf. I turned with a frown to find the hand belonged to the boy from earlier. He was holding it out as a peace offering with a knowing smirk on his lips. "Looking for something?"

"I could have gotten it myself." I told him with a slight scowl as his pretty boy image was ruined the moment he opened his perfectly curved lips.

"Oh, I'm sure you could." He agreed with mock reassurance and nodded his head at me with another smile on his face.

"Well, thank you, anyway, but I have shopping to do." I took the bottle from his hands and turned before I could catch the look of surprise at my rejection. I could tell he wasn't shot down very often, if at all. He stood there stunned momentarily before I heard heavy footfalls behind me.

"Wait," He hollered and ran to catch up with my strides. "What's your name?"

"Marie." I told him shortly, trying to turn enough corners to lose him. He persisted, however, and never fell behind my quickened pace.

"Well, Marie, would you like to hangout sometime? Maybe get to know each other a little better?" He turned on his charm as his dark eyes bore into mine and I felt myself getting lost in them. He ran his hand through his hair casually, but I knew he was purposely trying to draw attention to his flexing muscles.

"Not particularly." It informed him and watched as his ego was knocked down a few notches.

"Why not? He asked curiously, but stopped following me. I felt a small pang of guilt, but forced myself to ignore it.

I stopped walking and turned around to face him. "I try not to make a habit of being seen with conceited assholes."

That seemed to shut him up and I continued on my merry way to the grocery section of the store. I didn't run into the stranger anymore after that, but I couldn't decided if that made me happy or sad.

As I went to check out with my five bags of groceries and pay the cashier in cash, the same hand from earlier swiped a plastic card across the side of the screen. I felt a small part of me light up at seeing him again, but the majority was just annoyed as I turned to face him.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him in pure disbelief and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

"Proofing to you that I'm not a conceited asshole." He told me point blank, as if it was the most obvious statement in the world. His shit eating grin was as big as ever as he moved to press the screen and enter his pin number.

"I can pay for my own groceries." I scolded him and turned to the lady behind the counter. "Ignore him."

"I see you're up to your normal shenanigans, Jonathan, bothering poor innocent girls." She said with a chuckle and gave me an apologetic look as she printed the receipt and stuffed it in one of the bags.

"It's good to see you to, Ann." He laughed at the old woman's words and nodded his head as he gathered all of my bags in both arms. Before I could snatch any by the handles, he was already walking towards the exit at a near sprint.

"Wait, stop!" I called out and he turned around halfway through the automatic doors and winked at me.

"If you ever want to see these groceries again, I suggest you follow me." I looked around to find no one close enough to stop him and ran after him with an exasperated groan. When I reached his Cadillac he was already placing everything into the backseat I rolled my eyes at the classic red paint job. Of course.

"I see you made the correct decision." He told me as he opened the passenger door and bowed deeply. "Your chariot awaits, Miss."

"I swear, If you try to kill me and bury my body under an abandoned house, I am going to kill you." I complained, still shooting daggers at his beautiful face, but complied. I wasn't sure why I was even playing along with his stupid game, but something told me to take a leap. So I did.

"I would never." He insisted in an overly shocked voice and I gave him a small smile.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we pulled out, shooting Magnus a text that if I wasn't home in a few hours, I was probably dead at the bottom of the ocean.

"It's a surprise." I rolled my eyes at the cliché, but felt my stomache twist in excitement.

I came back to the present as Jon shifted again and smiled at the memory. He had stopped by my apartment to drop off the groceries and we spent the rest of the day cruising and walking aimlessly around a park. Then he took me out to dinner at a small local restaurant, insisting they had the best coconut pancakes he had ever tasted in his entire life, before dropping me off at my front door. I was surprised how much fun I had unexpectedly had and even exchanged numbers with him and stole a kiss under the porch light until Magnus ruined the moment and threw open the door.

He enveloped his arms around me and squeezed me so tightly that I stopped breathing momentarily, exclaiming that he thought I was dead, since I never replied to his alarmed texts. I introduced him to Jon, who was a bit taken aback by his flamboyant personality and glitter at first, but shook his hand warmly. Magnus invited us in to watch movies and Jon agreed to stay for a few hours.

The rest is history. When my two week vacation was over, I realized I would never find someone who made me feel the way he did ever again, and I made the decision to become a United States citizen. A year later I legally adopted Ashlynn and Brooklynn with wide open arms and we bought a house. Magnus, of course, could not leave me behind and stayed as well, claiming that, "He still didn't trust Jon not to murder me in my sleep and fashion magazines were much more interesting in America".

I thought of the way Jon looked at me like it was still the first day we had met, like nothing else mattered in the world, but making me happy.

My mind flew to the similar look Jace gave Clary when he thought no one was looking and I slowly began connecting the dots. The way they bickered like an old married couple. How they unconsciously tried to touch each other constantly, whether it me a brush of their shoulders or Jace's hand on her lower back like this morning. I thought of how they had driven together today, rather than separate or with Alec. How Jace always followed close behind Clary when they came inside or they sat near each other on the couches. How they were always the last to go to bed and the first to wake up.

All of that, combined with the fact Jace hadn't brought over any girls lately and the nearly identical expressions he and Jon wore, caused my eyes to open wide in surprise and my mouth to fall open.

Jace was in love with Clary.

I left this at a bit of a cliffy, but not really. What does Marie do? Does she tell Jon? Or confront Jace and Clary? Or does she let nature take its course? I'll be updating either tomorrow or the next day with Jace's surprise, since I have practice and my room looks like a tornado hit. Thank you for reading, as always, and please review with your thoughts. I tried to make Jon's younger personality and attitude similar to that of Jace to represent how close they were. And still are… For now anyway. I'm evil. Love you all!

-ThatHippieChick