Arrhythmia Chapter 25, a mortal instruments fanfic

Author's Note

Hurray for me for finishing this chapter early! Yay for you for not having to wait an entire week to read a new update!

I love you all my readers that's why I'm doing my best to keep on writing this story so I can update as soon as possible.

As usual, thank you for the reviews and support. It really means much to me knowing that people like my story. I hope we'll see the end of this story, as well as the start of new ones ;)

Here's Chapter 25! I enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you will enjoy reading this! :)

OOC Alert: This is a fanfiction. If the characters in here don't act the way that they do in the books, I take all the blame. After all, characterization is one of my biggest flaws as a fanfic writer. So if you don't like a different Jace or Clary (and the other characters by Cassie Clare), I suggest you do not read this story.

Disclaimer: The Mortal Instruments and all its characters all belong to Cassandra Clare. I merely borrowed them for this story. The plot and everything else in this story is all mine, though.

Arrhythmia

Chapter 25: Drives

-JACE-

"Who are you?" Clary's brother looks so different now that he's awake, his dark eyes boring into me. When I don't reply, he asks again, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I clear my throat. "I'm Clary's friend. I'm here to pick her up for school."

His brows knot together. "She didn't tell me she has a ride."

Before I can tell him that I actually did not tell Clary, she appears behind him. "Jace?" Her eyes wide and voice surprised. "What are you doing here?"

I smile. "I'm here to give you a ride to school."

"But…" she glances at her brother, who only raises an eyebrow. "Oh," she says. "Jonathan, this is Jace, a… friend of mine."

I reach out a hand through my open window. "Pleased to meet you, Jonathan."

He hesitantly shakes my hand. "So… you're friends?"

I hear the suspicion in his voice but I ignore it and nod. A few seconds pass without any of us speaking. Finally, Jonathan says, "Clary, don't keep your friend waiting. Go on and get in his car."

She looks at him, probably surprised. "But… will it be okay?"

He nods. "I'll tell Dad. Besides, the community college is not really near your school, it'll save time and gas for Dad's car." She opens her mouth but he shushes her, smiling tenderly. "Go, Clary."

They stare at each other for quite some time before she finally nods and gives him a quick hug, then goes to my car.

I nod to him as I start the car and drive away from their house. "Good morning."

"Um… good morning?"

I smile. "You're so cute." I sneak a glance at her and see her face flush.

"Why?" She asks. "Why give me a ride?"

That's also what I want to ask myself. "Actually, I don't have any idea on how to make it up to you. I can't just randomly blurt out things about me, right?"

"You can try by being a good friend to me."

"Well, this is me trying."

I feel her eyes on me. "Thanks?"

I shortly turn to flash her a grin, making her avoid my eyes. "You're welcome."

"You can also… you know, try by starting conversations where we can get to know each other more."

It's already on my list. "Okay." We don't speak for a while as I drive, humming to the music playing on the radio she asked to turn on.

When we arrive at the school's parking space, she turns to me. "Look, Jace. I appreciate you giving me a ride today. But you should have told me in advance that you were going to pick me up, not just appearing by our house unannounced."

"I planned to," I explain. "But I didn't have any means to contact you." I offer my hand, palm up. "Give me your phone."

She hesitates before she fishes it out of her bag and hands it to me. I quickly type my number. And when I'm smiling at the camera, she tries to snatch it from me but I stop her. I save my contact.

She locks her phone without looking at it and returns it to her bag. "Is your picture really necessary?"

"Yes," I smile. "Here, save your number in mine, too."

Her fingers graze my hand as she gets my phone and I feel a sudden urge to trap her fingers in mine. "Better take a good selfie, okay?"

Her red curls shake in the air. "No way."

"Aw, come on."

"Nope." She hands me back my phone and after I put it inside my pocket and we don't make any move to leave the car, she squirms then says, "You can't… you can't always drive me to school."

"Why?" I want to.

"Um, we're just… friends." Why do I suddenly feel like I've been slapped in the face? "And besides, it will be too troublesome for you."

"Will Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays work?"

She purses her lips. "How about Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

I raise a brow. "Wait. You mean it's really okay for you to have me pick you up for school two times a week?"

Her cheeks flush a faint pink. "If it's okay for you."

"It's a deal then, sweetheart."

Her eyes suddenly fly to me with a glare. "Can you try to stop calling me with endearments?"

I groan. "That'll be really hard."

A smile suddenly curves on her lips. "I like that." Then she opens the door and gets out of my car. I missed this side of her – the fierceness she had when we first met. I follow her as she starts for the main building. I notice she blushes a little when I walk beside her but I don't tease her about it.

"See you around, Clary," I say as we part ways.

She nods and continues to walk but at the last second, she looks back and says. "Jace? Thank you for the ride."

I return her genuine smile.

"Seelie and I broke up." Sebastian says it so casually like it's no big deal. He stretches his legs as we watch our teammates play.

M asks the question we're all thinking: "So who dumped who?"

With no beat, he replies, "I dumped her."

"Why?" August asks next. It's not like we're surprised or sad about the break-up. We all saw it coming. We just need to know the details of how Seb's eyes finally opened to the truth about that bitch Seelie.

"We had a small fight about me not being able to attend a New Year's party with her and somehow it got bigger and led to… I don't know. I guess I ran out of patience with her. Besides, I think she's been looking for something for us to fight about for some time now. Anyways, I have no regrets." He shoots me a look. "Sorry, man."

I shrug like it's nothing but I actually am glad he's finally rid of that girl.

"And that's why there's a rule of never dating your friend's ex." M says, causing a laugh from August.

"Shut up," Seb says but starts to laugh too. "On the other hand, the good news is I'm free again."

"So," M starts excitingly. "Do you see any potential healers of your 'broken heart'?"

Seb shakes his head. "No."

August pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry man, we'll help you scout."

They continue to talk but I'm no longer paying attention. My eyes are fixed across the field, to a particular bench where a familiar figure is. She looks so lost in her own little world as her hands expertly guide a pencil on a pad. For a moment, she reminds me of how Lily looks when she plays the piano. I can see the passion Clary has for her art.

"Jace," Seb nudges me. "Are you even with us?"

"Huh?"

"We asked if you'd join us tomorrow in the bar after practice."

"I'll pass," I say as I look away from her. "Next time, I promise."

They give me a curious look but let me off anyway.

When M and August leaves for some laps, Seb says, "So we're free." He gives me a side-glance. "Aren't we?"

I nod to him. "Back to before."

"I can't believe we gave up on the bet." He laughs heartlessly. I still don't understand why he wanted the bet to be over and I want to know.

"It's a stupid bet, anyways."

He looks at me then. "What do you think makes it stupid? The girl?"

"No!" I catch myself before I do something I'll regret. "Just… I think the idea of a bet. That's what stupid."

He just raises an eyebrow.

I let out a sigh. "Look, don't you think it's horrible? I know it happens in movies and books and it's fun but…" I shake my head. "We made it a tradition for Isabelle's birthday parties. I mean, how bad is that?"

Seb also shakes his head. "Jace, I get what you're saying but you honestly don't sound like yourself right now."

"I've not been feeling like myself these days, I swear."

"What's the problem?" he asks, now slightly concerned.

My only response is the shake of my head.

He studies me for a while before he stands up to finally join M and August. "Fine, but know that I'll be here if you need someone to talk to, man-to-man."

"Yeah," I reply. "Same here." I also leave the bench and the both of us jog towards our friends.

"Bye guys!" I'm practically almost running as I race to the parking lot to my car and start it as soon as I can.

Luckily, when I reach the gates, I see her right away. I pull up near her. "Hey," I say. "Hop in."

She jumps a little in surprise then turns to me, her head tilted sideways, something I noticed she does when she's thinking. It adds to her cuteness. "It's not a Tuesday or Thursday?"

The smirk automatically comes to my lips. "The deal does not take effect until tomorrow."

"But…"

I gesture for her to come closer and in a low voice, I say, "Look, honey, people are watching. Are you seriously going to reject me in front of everyone?"

She glances to her left and right, rolls her eyes, but gets in anyway. When I start to drive away, she says, "For someone who was given a second by me, you could at least try to care less about your ego around me."

I know she said it like a joke but I feel the weight of her words anyway. I'm reminded that I hurt her and right now I'm acting like I did with her before – pushy and to be honest, quite manipulative.

She groans softly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's okay," I say.

"No," she insists. "Look, I don't want you to change yourself just for me or my forgiveness. You can still be that arrogant, sometimes nice, sarcastic you before. All I'm asking is you let me get to know you more."

I pull over to the nearest stop. "Wait, did you seriously just call me arrogant?" She shrugs and gives me a look that says 'duh'. "It's that serious?"

"To someone who's been around nice people all her life, maybe?" She bites her bottom lip. "I'm sorry if that made you feel bad."

"Biting your lip is bad, stop that. And quit saying sorry, it's annoying."

Her teeth release her bottom lip and she smiles widely. "There you are."

I'm confused for a while before I realize what I had said. I can't help but smile along with her, too. "So, are you free tomorrow after school?"

"Um… it depends on why you're asking."

"I said I'm gonna try to open up to you, right? So, what's an hour or two of talking after school once a week sounds like?"

She takes a quick breath. "Jace…"

"I don't want to waste this chance, Clary."

Upon hearing her name, she looks away but not quick enough for me to miss the small tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Okay."

"Good." I wait for her to turn her eyes back to me but she doesn't. I'm about to start the car again when an idea pops in my head. I bring out my phone. "Hey," I call and as she turns her head to me, I click.

She blinks once, twice, before she realizes what I had done. "Hey!" she shouts as she tries to grab it but fails. "Delete that."

"No way." I look at it and see her photo – a cute redhead with a curious look on her face. I show it to her. "Now your contact will have a picture."

She looks down. "Don't make fun of me."

Shit. "Hey, sorry. I wasn't trying to make fun of you." I hand her my phone. "Feel free to delete it now." When she doesn't take it, I delete the picture myself then show her my phone. "There, it's deleted." She only glances for a few seconds before she stares ahead.

I sigh as I start the car again. Day one and I already messed up. We go for some more minutes before I speak again. "I didn't know you're uncomfortable with me taking your picture. I'm sorry."

"You…" she starts then sighs. "I…" a shake of her head. "We should have conversations with less 'sorry's in them."

I glance at her. "Yes."

Silence once again settles over us. I can't stand it, not yet. "So, how's your brother?"

"He's all right, I guess. It's almost as if he never got into an accident."

I try to remember him from this morning. "He seems like a nice person."

"He is," she says. "He loves teasing me but I guess that's what all brothers do." I feel her eyes on me and I know she's thinking of Austin and Stella. She clears her throat. "What most brothers do, I mean."

"And how do sisters react?" I look briefly at her. "Enlighten me please."

"Well, there are two types. First, there's the sister who puts up with what her brothers do and just, you know, maybe practice being patient with her possible children in the future or second, there's the sister who retaliates."

"Let me guess, you're the first one?"

"I'd like to say I'm a mix of both." Even though I don't look at her, I hear her smile.

We're in her neighborhood now and I reduce my speed just a little bit. "Stella's definitely the second."

"Really?" I sense the excitement in her voice, and… happiness?

I shake my head. "Nah, not really. She's only the second towards Austin, and then switches to the first when it comes to me."

She giggles. "That's unfair to Austin."

"What can I do?"

More giggles. "So do you like teasing your sister?"

I sigh. "We're really not that close yet. I was just… I don't know, guessing." I sneak a glance at her and see she's thinking. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking that I guess you're right. I remember when we were in Sbarro's and Stella called you her nicer brother. And it's obvious she and Austin often get in sibling fights."

The car stops. "We're here." I turn to her. "Maybe you're right. Wow, I'm so good at guessing."

Now that we're face to face, I get to see the smile that adorns her face. "No, Jace, it's not luck in guessing. You're just starting to get to know your siblings more. That's a good thing."

With her smiling encouragingly like that at me, I can't help but to return it. I smile back. "Thank you, Clary."

"Thanks for the ride home." She opens the door and scrambles out. Leaning towards the window, she says, "Have a safe drive home."

"Yeah." I smirk. "Have a safe ten-step walk home."

Her laughter stays with me even when I'm already out their neighborhood.

The convenience store near our house is surprisingly not crowded this time. I walk around looking at stuff. I'm not sure why I brought myself here and now I'm clueless as to what to buy.

I turn towards the second isle and I see them, making me halt. Now that I look at her, I do see that she's more vibrant, full of life. I've never seen Lily this happy. Her boyfriend has an arm around her shoulder while she has a hand around his waist. Having picked their bag of chips, they continue to walk, leaving my line of sight.

I should leave, I know. But the last time I saw Lily was at the soiree and though I'm moving on from her, my eyes are still craving to see her, my ears wanting to hear her again. I need to get her out of my system, yet…

I take a deep breath and quietly walk to the direction they went to. Once I spot them, I notice they're picking… I look away. I can't. Just the thought of them that way… I hear the guy teasing her to choose and before I can hear more, I walk away. I'm more disgusted than hurt just imagining Lily and that guy having sex.

They're boyfriend-girlfriend, the sensible part of me whispers. The same sensible part that keeps telling me I should stop caring.

I walk out the store without looking back.

"Aren't you supposed to be at soccer practice?" she asks as she sits down on my car's shotgun seat, carefully placing her bag on her lap before she pulls the door close.

"I'm skipping." I smirk, turning to her. "Hey, do I have to tell you every time to put your bag beside you or on the floor? I don't want you feeling uncomfortable."

She complies without a word. "Is it okay for you to miss it?"

"Of course, I'm the MVP."

"Which means you should not miss practice." I don't know but I like the concern in her voice.

"It also means I'm the best player." I look at her, holding up my hands. "I'm not being arrogant, I'm just stating a fact."

She almost smiles. "But Jace… it slipped my mind yesterday when you asked me about today. If I had known, I would have refused."

"Refused?"

"I mean asked us to meet on a day where you won't have to miss anything."

I smile, though I don't know what I'm smiling about. "Okay. We'll reschedule. Next time." She opens her mouth to argue but I don't miss a beat. "We really can't miss our plans for today. And if we don't go now, we'll be late." I give her the best pleading look I can muster.

Finally, she sighs and relaxes on the seat. "This better be worth it."

We're silent the entire drive. Every once in a while, I sneak a glance at her only to see her looking out the window. She's probably deep in her thoughts. I want to know what she's thinking but then again, I can't just ask her to share her thoughts to me since I never really offered her pieces of my mind before.

Before, I remind myself.

She turns to me once she realizes I've parked the car. "We're here?" She briefly looks at the façade of the place then back to me. "An ice cream parlor?"

I nod, then, "Actually, Clary, we're not alone today."

"Huh?"

"We're gonna have company."

She's shaking her head now, one hand poised to open the door. "I… Jace… Who? I'm not…"

"Relax," I say, reaching out a hand to calm her but at the last second, I pull it back and instead just look at her eye-to-eye. "Hey, just trust me okay?"

She hesitates for a long time and just when I think she's going to say no and leave, she nods her head slowly. "Okay."

I nod and get my keys before getting out of the car. "Let's go?" I ask her as she shuts the door and I click the button in my keys to lock them.

I lead the way inside and look around the booths and table. Then I hear her. "Jaaaaaace!" Her bubbly voice becomes louder as she appears, her pigtails flying behind her. She stops in front of me, grinning widely. I crouch down in front of her, wiping the chocolate on the side of her lips. "Hello!"

"Hey." She's still grinning as she holds out her hand. I take it and stand up. I look at Clary, raising an eyebrow if she's okay with this. She only nods. "Stella, this is my friend, Clary. Do you remember her?"

Stella stares at Clary then nods her head slowly. "I think so." She tugs at my hand. "Let's go, Papa and Otin are waiting."

"How about we order ice cream first? Do you want another bowl?" The offer is out before I know it and there's no taking it back. I only hope Dad won't get mad at me for buying her another serving.

Her blonde hair, so similar in color with mine, bobs as she nods enthusiastically. "Yay!"

After we make our order, Stella runs off towards our booth. I turn to Clary who's walking beside me. "Hey, I'm sorry if I didn't tell you beforehand. I just wanted to surprise you."

She's smiling at me. "This is a very pleasant surprise, Jace."

I sigh in relief. "Come on."

"Hi, Jace!" Austin greets happily when we arrive at the booth.

"Hey, buddy." I ruffle his hair. To Dad, I nod in greeting. "You remember, Clary?"

"Yes." He smiles at her. "It's good to see you again."

She returns his smile as we both make ourselves comfortable as we sit across them. "Likewise, Mr. Herondale."

He shakes his head. "Just call me Stephen."

She shoots me a quick look then nods. "Okay, Stephen."

We talk about mundane things – school, the latest show Stella watched, Austin's first Taekwondo session – as if we've been doing this for a long time. It turns out Clary being here doesn't make things uncomfortable; in fact, she blends in as if she's also part of the family.

My chest tightens a little. Did I just call Dad, Austin, Stella and me a family? It feels… good.

"You're very nice, Clary." I hear Austin tell her. To me he says, "Can she come with you more often?"

I raise an eyebrow at her.

"If I have free time, Austin," she says, smiling gently at him.

He nods happily as he takes his last spoonful of his cookies and cream ice cream.

"Yay!" Stella exclaims. "I like you better than Jace's friend from last time. He was scary and he wasn't as friendly as you."

I lean closer to Clary and whisper, "Alec," which makes her giggle a little.

"Well, Stella, I like you better than Jace." My sister's eyes widen and she looks at me with a happy expression in her face before she breaks into giggles.

"Ouch," I whisper before scooting back to my previous place. Clary only laughs.

Austin, hating to be not the center of attention, says. "I wanna go home, Papa." His sister sticks out her tongue at him.

I see Dad watching the four of us, smiling. He shakes his head. "I'm afraid we'll have to grant Austin's request now."

I nod. I hadn't even noticed the time. "Right."

Outside, Dad says, "Thank you for the time, Jace."

"Thanks for yours, too." I look at the kids. "Also, tell Amatis I say hello."

His face softens. He definitely wasn't expecting me to mention his wife. "Will do." He calls the kids, who are saying their goodbye to Clary. "Time to say goodbye to your brother."

They turn to me, smile. "Bye, Jace. When will we see you again?" Austin asks.

"Soon."

"Bye-bye, Jace," Stella says. "See you again."

I ruffle their hairs one at a time. "Be good kids, okay?"

"Okay!" They answer at the same time before each taking our dad's outstretched hands.

"Bye," Dad says. "Also, thank you for your time, Clary. It's a real pleasure."

Clary nods at him. "Same to you too, Mr…" she catches herself, smiles shyly. "Stephen."

Dad gives us one last smile before he leads the kids away.

"Let's go?" I ask Clary.

She nods. "Yes."

…

We're stuck in traffic when I notice her adjust the sleeves of her top. "You cold?"

She turns to me and nods. "Ice cream in January."

I smile guiltily and turn on the heater. "That, I should have at least informed you."

"Yes, you should have."

We don't speak as the car advances for a few blocks before stopping again. When the temperature gets warmer, she mutters, "Thanks."

I turn sideways to her, keeping one hand on the wheel. "So, are you still going to scold me for skipping soccer?"

She bites her lips. "Just this once, I won't." And then, as if done thinking it through, she says, "Jace, thank you. I feel… I feel like it's a privilege to meet your… father and siblings again. Thank you, thank you for…" She doesn't finish her sentence but we both know the end: letting me in.

I smile at her. "I haven't known them that long but I can already tell they really like you."

She smiles playfully. "Apparently, I'm friendlier than Alec."

I chuckle. "If you're subtly implying that you should be my new best friend, I'm sorry but I will have to say no."

She rolls her eyes, but she's still smiling. "I noticed you've gotten better at interacting with your siblings."

The car in front of me moves so I turn my head ahead, but I still keep an eye on her through my periphery. "I've had practice. Fun fact about me: I'm good with kids."

"Really?" she asks, teasing in her voice. "Because I remember the first time you met Stella and she wanted to sit on your lap, you looked uncomfortable."

"It's because I didn't know her," I reply as the car in front of me halts again. It's still early for traffic, but right now I don't mind being stuck here. "And well, there's the fact that I didn't know she existed until then."

When I turn to her again, I see the teasing and playfulness on her face has left. "I didn't think of it that way." She turns her head down and I know she wants to say sorry.

"Don't you dare blame your judgment."

She looks up at me and opens her mouth as if she wants to say something then decides better of it.

"Do you know the guy I'm often with? M? He's also in Graymark's class."

"You mean Mark Blackthorn?" She asks curiously. "Yes. He always gets praised because of his high scores."

I can't help but chuckle – at M's full name which always appealed to me as too nice, and the slight bitterness in her voice when she talked about his scores. "Yeah, that one."

"What about him?"

"He has lots of younger siblings. I've learned interacting with kids through the times I spent with them."

She's looking at me as if I have grown an additional body part. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"That's great." She's smiling now but I still see a little guilt on her face. Then reality hits me - she shouldn't feel guilty, I should be.

I look at her. This is it. I open my mouth but the car in front of us speeds and I'm forced to follow. Unfortunately, the next lanes are all free and throughout the drive, all I can do is glance at her once in a while.

Damn it. I pull over and she turns to me, question in her eyes. I take a long deep breath. "Look, Clary, I need to tell you something important."

"Hmm?"

I exhale. She has to know. She deserves to know. Her phone rings. Fuck. "Ignore that."

"But –" The ringing stops but then it beeps, signalling a message. She looks at me before she fishes the phone out of her bag.

Okay. Maybe that's a good thing. Let her deal with it for a while. Maybe I do need a few minutes to gather my thoughts. I need to tell her in the least hurtful way possible.

"Jace?" Her voice stops my fingers from drumming on the wheel – I didn't notice I was even doing that – because there's something in it.

I turn to her and see her green eyes filled with deep worry, the same worry that tells me instantly that I won't be able to tell her about the bet today. "What's the matter, Clary?"

"Can you take me home?" She asks lowly. "As in, right now?"

I'm already starting the car. "Sure, of course." It's a good thing that we're actually near her neighborhood.

She's silent the rest of the way, staring out the window, gripping her phone tightly. When we reach their house, she finally turns to me. "Thank you, Jace." That's all she says but her eyes tell she wants to say more. The same eyes that keep on getting shinier with unshed tears of worry.

I have a sudden urge – want – to hug her to me.

She lets out a sigh and smiles a smile that doesn't reach the top half of her face. "Bye."

"Bye." I watch her go inside their house before I drive away.

It's late in the night but I still can't sleep. My mind keeps going back to this afternoon with Clary and everything that happened. I will never tell anyone but I'm really glad it went well with my dad and siblings. As with what happened after… sure, I'm annoyed as hell that I lost the chance to tell her about the bet but I'm way more concerned about what got her so worried.

Screw my pride. I reach for my phone, go to her contact, and press call. She doesn't pick up. I do it for another ten minutes but get no response.

What the hell is the problem? Is this how she felt when she didn't know my problem in the soiree?

Fuck.

I try calling her one more time but still, it goes to voice mail. Instead, I go for a text message. You okay? You can tell me anything.

I almost hit send but at the last second, I delete it and settle with, Good night.

I hope she'll be okay.

-End of Chapter-

There's some Clace time! :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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Also, if you haven't, maybe you'd like to check out my other Clace story, Love Rain? ;D

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I love you all!

xoxo,

t.e.