This fictional story is inspired by the singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran. The songs lyrics used in this story are from: One, Take It Back, Shirtsleeves, Thinking Out Loud, Tenerife Sea, Photograph, Afire Love, Even My Dad Does Sometimes, Runaway, Nina, Bloodstream, and I'm A Mess. These songs are from the album 'x' (pronounced 'multiply')

Nina

And I've been living on the road Nina

but then again you should know Nina

'cause that's you and me both

Nina oh, won't you leave me now

Part Three

I sit down on the bed and move my phone onto the dresser. Why is everything so complicated?

Nina's business card lays on my knee and I read it over and over again. It's just her name, phone number, and job title, but I have nothing else to do.

Apparently, Nina's a singer; Nina Palomino, better known as Nina, Nia, or Ni-Ni. I met her at a performance at a club in France, but I didn't know how famous she was. The card has her agent's number and, scrawled on the back, her cell number.

I decide to text her.

Pulling out my phone, I tap the digits into the address bar and write a quick message.

Sorry for what happened.

I send it before I can regret it and stare at the screen, waiting to see if she'll read it.

Wow, I think to myself. I cannot believe I've sunk to the level of texting my previous hook-ups and desperately waiting for an answer.

I don't want to talk to Nina, but I don't want her mad at me either. I need to at least have her acknowledge my apology. I secretly hope she won't text back. Regardless, I still wait.

And wait.

And wait.

I wait until I realize that it's past eleven-thirty. Nina was in my hotel room for about ten minutes, so until 10:10 roughly. Then, she has to get back to wherever she's staying, so maybe a half-hour drive. By the time she arrived she would have been too tired to check her messages.

Come on, Jace. Sleep for God's sake. I know that I should sleep; it's late and today's still only day one of my great escape. I change into just my boxer shorts and a t-shirt and turn off the lights.

I wake up blearily, the wisps of a dream slipping away like water through my fingers. I faintly remember a lock of flaming hair and a light, happy laugh, but it's faded away now.

I sit up and look around the room. A faint morning lights bathes everything in a soft glow. This is one of those rare but perfect scenes I could have imagined Clary drawing.

My phone rests on the night table next to the bed. Still under the sheets, I reach over and check my messages. There's one from Nina.

It's fine. Can we meet up?

It's just a little past nine o'clock now, and the message came in ten minutes ago. I bit my lip and send a quick reply.

The diner at 9:45.

I let the message send and get up to take a quick shower.

When I come out, I change into a pair of dark jeans and a mossy green V-neck that Clary bought for me a few years ago. My hair still slightly damp, I check to see if Nina responded.

See you there.

I nod to myself and check the time again; nine twenty. I have just over twenty minutes to get to the diner. Quickly tying my shoes, I take my wallet, phone, and key before leaving the hotel room.

Minnie isn't at the front desk this morning, meaning I can't pay for today's stay. Instead there's a scrawny man with greasy hair. His eyes are slightly narrowed and he has a pointed nose. There's a pencil-thin mustache just above his lip that is curled at the ends. His dark hair is slicked back with what looks like natural oil, and he has slight sideburns. He's reading a book and doesn't look up at me as I hurriedly walk to the door.

The street is void of traffic; only the occasional car cruising at what I always identify as 'kidnapper speed'. They roll slowly along the street, just slow enough to freak people out, and just fast enough to be considered moving.

When I get to Frankie's, it looks like I'm the only customer there. The store window says that they open at nine am all days of the week, so I walk in and wait for someone to greet me.

After a minute of standing and waiting, a short girl with blonde ringlets comes out of the kitchen. She seems surprised to see me and lets out a little 'Oh!' before grabbing a menu and rushing over.

"Hi, I'm Lulu. Will you be eating alone today?" she asks, walking me over to a table. Her hair is piled in a sloppy bun, but several curls have fallen out and frame her thin face.

"No, my friend should be arriving soon." I bring out my phone for the time just as it turns to nine forty-five.

"Alright, well here's our breakfast menu. Can I get you a drink to start? Coffee, tea, juice…" I give a toothless smile and nod.

"Coffee's fine, thank you." She grins and nods, scribbling it on her notepad.

"Okay then, I'll be back in a few minutes." She disappears and give the menu a quick glance. Less than a minute later, she reappears and sets a coffee mug down on the Formica table.

Between my internal battle between having bacon and eggs or a stack of pancakes, a hear the door jingle as someone opens it. I assume Lulu isn't taking a smoke break, so I turn and see Nina walk in. She gives me a small smile, which I don't return, and walks over.

Today she's wearing a pair of well-ripped white jeans and a red tank top. Over the tank top she has a sheer black cardigan matched with a pair of black platform heels that make her at least my height, if not taller.

Nina sets her purse to it hangs off her chair and she takes a seat. She smiles and takes a drink from my coffee cup.

"So." She starts, setting my cup down.

"That was my coffee!" I exclaim. She rolls her eyes.

"Why did you want to talk, Jace?" She sets her hands on the table, clasped together.

"I ordered that!" I whine, still upset. There's now a red lip-mark from where she took a sip.

"Come on, Jace. Are we going to talk about your sister telling you to come home or are we going to argue about coffee?" She stares me I the eye and I sigh. She knows that I've been stalling.

"Fine. I guess I should start with my I'm no longer engaged…"


Hello everyone :)

I just want to answer some unasked questions, because I feel like people are going to ask them and I don't feel like individually answering everyone.

1. Is Jace going to date Nina?!

*sigh* While this might count as a SPOILER, the answer is no. Jace will not date Nina.

2. Does Jace like Nina?

Jace has not seen Nina in a long time, and even so they did not know each other well. For now they are trying to get to know each other; as friends. For Jace, no one can ever replace Clary.

So I hope that cleared up a little bit, since those were kind of spoilers... But I want you guys to keep reading! Keep this motto in mind:

"Everything will be good in the end. If it's not good, it's not the end."

Aka: just because you can't tell what's about to happen, doesn't mean you should stop reading! Wait and find out ;)

Sorry for the super long author's note... Please leave a review! I'd like to get 100+ before I leave for vacation in about 4 days

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