Everything seems okay right now
Bottom of the sky hasn't fallen out
But I know when it comes, it's gonna get ugly, get ugly
You don't know you as well as I do
So baby, don't wait a week or two
Go and pull the Band-Aid off
We'll both be better off if you just-
- Hate Me, Jillian Jacqueline.
I can't
hate you,
so stop
asking me
to.
Clary knew Jace really well.
5 years.
Granted not as long as she knew Simon, but Simon and her were always platonic.
She wasn't a girl and he wasn't a boy.
They were just Clary and Simon.
But this isn't their story; this is the story of Jace and Clary.
Unlike the best friends, Jace and Clary had a flirtationship going on, always flirting then playing it off as a joke.
Until one day when Jace didn't laugh after complimenting Clary and Clary didn't back away when he leaned in. When he captured her lips with his and she let him.
When he didn't laugh after the kiss and she didn't either. When he looked away but she stopped him and kissed him again.
When they started dating and everything was bliss.
But here's something I forgot to mention abut Jace; he's a player. Only dated a girl for a week, at most. And no repeats. Ever.
Clary and Jace have been dating for 3 weeks.
When she was with him, she didn't doubt a thing, but as soon as he turned his back, she saw it.
Their friendship group torn down the middle. Her isolation. His indifference to her.
If he ignored her, like he did those other girls she wouldn't be able to deal with it.
So, in the cafeteria when he said he wanted to talk she agreed. Knowing it was best to peel the band-aid off, maybe if she is smooth enough, they can stay friends? They were friends before they dated-
"Clary?"
She looked up, her green eyes wide and catching the light. Her red hair was pulled back in a hair clip, the rest of her hair tumbled down her shoulders.
"Jace- I- I think you should do it. Now."
Jace turned an interesting shade of pink, misreading her words completely. He looked overwhelmed, "Clary, we're at school."
She laughed bitterly, "You haven't done it at school before? I know you have."
"No, I haven't!"
"Seelie? Kealie? Sasha?"
Jace turns purple "No, by the Angel! I'm not a slut, you know. I do have some self-respect."
"What are you talking about?" Clary asks angrily, frustration in her eyes.
"No, what are YOU talking about?"
"I'm just saying that I still want to be your friend but I think we should also have a little space. So maybe you can hate me? I can't hate you but it would be easier for both of us, or just me, I guess. If you hated me. Being a jerk, would also help-"
Jace was no longer blushing, he was staring at Clary and he spoke slowly. "What are you talking about?"
'By the angels, does he want me to spell it out?' Clary fumed, red slowly coloring her cheeks.
"You are going to break up with me, I don't need the whole process. Just get it over with. And maybe be a bit mean, then we can move past this-"
"I'm not going to- wait, what 'process'?"
Clary played with a piece of her hair, "You know, first you stop texting her, then you ignore her calls, you ignore her and when she asks you about it, you break up with her." She shrugs helplessly "I don't need that, or your stupid hoodie or your coffee machine. You can have it all back I just-"
"I'm not breaking up with you!"
Clary blinks, then smiles ruefully "You say that now, but I've seen it happen so many times before. I've seen you look at them like they are the world and those are the ones that last a week. You make me feel like I'm your everything, and if it weren't for all those other girls I'd be convinced that it's love."
Jace sucks in a breath, looking dazed and then her words sinked in. "Clary, I-"
Clary turns away abruptly, her petite frame tense "If you're going to break up with me, then do it quickly."
"But I'm not." he says softly "I'm not going to break up with you."
Clary froze, and she turned her face to see him from her peripheral. "But you will, and I-"
"Why are you so set on me breaking up with you?" Jace demanded "You keep looking for a reason to break us up, do you want to break up?" His voice cracks at the end, he looked genuinely horrified at the thought.
"It's just all those other girls-"
Jace strides forward and framed her face "They were just that, other girls. If I can redo it all, if for a second, I thought you liked me back wouldn't have been looked at them. If I'm being honest it was always about you."
Clary scoffed, but it sounded watery. Her shoulders were no longer tense. "Let me guess, you wanted the other girls as a conciliation price?"
He gave her that look again that look that made her believe she was his whole world. "No, I dated them to prove to you. Just because you didn't want to date me, everyone else did."
Clary looked at him, and Jace looked sheepish. She burst into laughter, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. Jace looks exasperated, but there was still darkness in his gaze.
"So, you're not going to break up with me?"
"No, I'm not." Clary grinned, then looked thoughtful "Well, what were you going to ask me?"
Jace rubbed his neck, looking nervous. "I was going to ask you to have dinner with my family. This Saturday." He looked hopeful, but he quickly added "No pressure. It's barbecue."
"Well, if it's barbecue..." Clary teased.
Jace grinned in relief, but turned red as soon as Clary asked her next question. "What did you mean that you aren't a slut? It was so off topic-"
"NOTHING!" and he dashed off calling for Alec.
As he left, she took note that his ears were still red.
Okay, I was smiling while writing this and there is no hole in my chest.
xxx
PS. Shoot me a comment?
PPS. Please check out my Sizzy one-shot, it's "He Wasn't Good Enough For Her, (No. Wait! He Was.)"