Jace once again found himself sitting in class watching the back of Clary's head. Like usual, Simon was sitting beside her. Jace wasn't listening to the teacher. He'd just barely passed the last class he'd had with Clary and he was sure this one would be no different. He couldn't think with her there.

"I know you didn't go home with lusty," Sebastian whispered into his ear. Jace jumped; he had known Sebastian was there, of course having arrived to class with him, but Jace thought his ditching the other night had gone unnoticed. He turned giving his friend a confused and hopefully innocent look.

"I ran into her on my way out of the bar," Sebastian explained. "I thought maybe you found someone else, but no, here you are staring at that stupid redhead again!"

"Her name is Clary," Jace ground out through his teeth. Sebastian didn't reply since the teacher turned around and gave them a reproachful look, but Jace knew he was in for an earful when class ended.

And sure enough, the second the teacher dismissed them, Sebastian started talking again.

"This is bordering on insane, my crazy friend," Sebastian was saying as they left the classroom together. Jace didn't reply. "She doesn't want you. She has a boyfriend. She isn't even close to hot enough to be worth half of your wallowing!"

Jace could have given Sebastian a very detailed description of how very attractive Clary was, but he sensed that wouldn't help the situation.

"Sure at first it was kinda funny," Sebastian complained. "I was even willing to laugh at you after a few weeks, but the joke is so old now, Jace! I hoped Christmas would knock some sense into you." Jace sighed, but had nothing to add as they entered the cafeteria and started eating lunch.

"But no, we returned from your mother's wonderful Christmas dinner to find you still staring at the same god damn girl!" Sebastian's monologue was becoming background noise to Jace's lack of enthusiasm about his lunch. Jace couldn't help but feel small while Sebastian schooled him. "And worse, you keep ditching me and not even to do something else. You just sit and wallow. It's not good for you Jace."

"I know," Jace said.

"You can't keep fighting with yourself like this," Sebastian exclaimed. "Either take her or drop her." Jace sensed that with this last declaration, Sebastian was finished with his speech.

"You done?" Jace asked.

"For now," Sebastian replied.

"I have wrestling practice in a while, but do you want to hit the gym first?" Jace asked. He decided to not talk to Sebastian about Clary anymore. He knew nothing could change the fact that Jace wanted Clary - he didn't even see other woman anymore - and Sebastian didn't want to hear that. But Jace also knew he had failed to get her to notice him. He wished he could move on, but even the thought of calling Trinity had lost its appeal.

Sebastian agreed and they spent an enjoyable hour at the gym before Jace went to practice. All the exercise had Jace's mind calm and relaxed when he arrived back at his dorm room.

But once Jace arrived, the anxiety returned. Inwardly he prayed Magnus wasn't there as he opened the door. He didn't want to be faced with a happy couple at the moment, but the room was empty. Collapsing on his bed with a sigh, Jace let his fears and insecurities consume him. Sebastian's lecturing and Alec's absence were the final straw on top of his ridiculous Clary obsession to make Jace never want to get out of bed again. Alec was either done with him or too busy to hang out. Clary still didn't know he existed, let alone cared, and Sebastian didn't understand him. It was a strange feeling, to have the person you thought you were closest to in the world suddenly be the one on the outside. Jace had never felt so alone before. He did the reading for his class tomorrow, curled up in bed and wasted some time on the internet before falling asleep early, hoping Alec would be home tomorrow.

Jace awoke abruptly to an extremely loud sudden blaring noise. Confused, Jace checked his phone; it was two o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this happened in the dorms though it had been a while since last time. One more semester, Jace thought. Then he was getting a place off campus, far away from randomly occurring fire alarms. Jace almost contemplated simply staying in bed and ignoring the alarm. To hell with the consequences! After all, there probably wasn't an actual fire since every alarm so far had been a false one. Jace groaned and tried to cover his ears with his pillow.

"Jace!" Alec's voice cut through Jace's denial. He looked up and was surprised to see Alec.

"But you slept at Magnus's," Jace stated loudly over the blaring noise. "How are you here?"

"I got home around ten," Alec yelled. "But you were fast asleep already." They gave up conversation at that point rather than yell over the siren. Grabbing his back leather jacket, Jace headed outside with Alec right behind him, passing bright flashing lights as they moved through the halls. Jace exited the building and moved away with the other half-awake dorm residents as they spanned out over the lawn. It wasn't really that cold out, but it wasn't exactly warm either and most people had brought jackets. One student was even wearing a scarf and mittens. Jace couldn't see Sebastian anywhere and guessed he was at the bar despite the late hour.

"At least the noise isn't so bad here," Alec sighed as they found a random piece of lawn to stand on.

"Yeah I guess," Jace sulked.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked.

"Whatever," Jace mumbled, like Alec really cared.

"I'll take that as a no," Alec replied. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Jace said. "But, never mind. It's not your problem."

"How is my friend being upset not my problem?" Alec asked. Jace stared at Alec for a moment. The casual nature of the remark had thrown him off.

"Are we still friends?" Jace asked softly.

"Odd question," Alec mused, giving Jace a strange look. "Did I miss a de-friending memo?"

"I mean…" Jace started, but he didn't know how to phrase his worries now. Eventually he settled for mumbling, "You and Magnus." Alec laughed.

"My relationship status has nothing to do with who my friends are," Alec chuckled. "What got you so worried?"

"Sebastian," Jace mumbled.

"Ah," Alec said knowingly. "I have to say I am not surprised."

"Why would you say that?"

"I think he's jealous you're making more friends," Alec said. "Though I am sorry I've been less available lately."

"It's okay," Jace mumbled. "I have to confess, if I'd suddenly started dating Clary I would have ignored you too." He smiled and it felt good.

"Speaking of Clary!" Alec said grinning at him and pointing to a spot behind Jace. "Look!" Jace spun round and a shock of red hair caught his attention instantly. "Go talk to her!"

"Ah, no," Jace said.

"Why not?" Alec argued.

"She'll just reject me again and I don't think I can take that today."

"Jace," Alec said kindly with a hand on Jace's shoulder. "Simon isn't with her. You aren't going to get another chance like this. Go. Talk. To. Her."

Jace couldn't help but smile. Alec was the same, despite this new found happiness. Alec was still his friend. Jace nodded then turned, walking toward Clary. As he walked he tried to think of something to say, but his mind was strangely blank. She was standing alone near an aspen tree staring off at the soccer field in the distance. Jace suspected she was thinking of how to capture the image on canvas later. She was so beautiful standing there in the moonlight in her pajamas. Clary wasn't wearing a jacket. She had her arms wrapped around her, but she was shivering.

"Clary," he called softly as he approached her.

"Oh hi Jace," Clary said turning around to greet him with a casual smile. Her pajamas were thin and silky and in no way warm. Now, standing closer, he see she was even colder than he'd originally thought.

"Here," Jace said quickly shrugging off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders. This action, though small, felt momentous. He realized he'd never touched her before and even the slightest contact sent electricity through him. Oh god, how he wanted to take her in his arms.

"Thanks," Clary mumbled as Jace took a half a step back, not wanted to crowd her.

"Of course," Jace said quickly.

"Whoever pulled that alarm this time," Clary grumbled. "Should spend the night sleeping outside." Jace laughed lightly. She was somehow cuter when she was mad. "A just punishment don't ya think?"

"Where's Simon?" Jace asked unable to fend off the feeling of hope that his absence meant something more.

"He wasn't in the dorms tonight," Clary said. "He crashed at his friends place after band practice."

"I see," Jace said, disappointed despite the knowledge that he had no real reason to be hopeful in the first place.

"By the way, thanks for helping him with that roommate situation," Clary said with a smile. She wasn't shivering like before and Jace loved the feeling of knowing his presence and small gesture meant she wasn't cold any longer. "I tried for ages to get Simon to stand up for himself, but he didn't want to be a bother." She sighed.

"Would you believe me if I said I did it for you?" Jace said with as much real emotion as he could muster. This was why he'd tried to change after all. Showing Clary, making her believe him at the very least even if she never wanted him in a romantic capacity. She was rarely alone and Jace had never before had the opportunity to talk to her alone. Although they weren't that alone since Alec could still see them from where he stood closer to the dorm building. There were also other students milling about waiting for the all clear to go back inside to the warmth of their beds.

Jace's focus was on Clary as she turned to look him directly in the eye. Her expression showed surprise, but no disbelieve this time. And suddenly everything that had happened over the last months had been worth it. All the fights with Sebastian and all the stress and anxiety was nothing if Clary believed him. She still hadn't spoken so Jace plunged forward, blessing the fire alarm and Alec's encouragement for this chance.

"When I talked to you last November," Jace said. "I meant every word, though I understand why you thought I didn't."

"I don't know what to say," Clary finally spoke.

"Say you believe me," Jace said, taking a step closer to her. For the first time she was looking at him, not through him, and Jace couldn't believe the soaring feelings it created within him. "Say you believe that I care about you."

"I believe you," Clary whispered. She wasn't backing away and Jace couldn't help but be drawn toward her.

"Thank you," Jace replied. He was so close to her now, his heart pounding. He reached out to her, ready to stop at the slightest sign from her, but rather than pull away she moved just that fraction closer. Jace's hand found hers, his other hand on her hip as he leaned in.

"Oh great!" a familiar voice cut through the moment and they separated very quickly. Jace couldn't quite believe what had just almost happened. He'd been a breath away from kissing Clary.

"That isn't getting over the wench," Sebastian's voice rang out. Jace turned and quickly noted how drunk Sebastian was. Sebastian had his hand out pointing rather rudely at Clary, but he was swaying rather than walking as he moved closer. He looked about to fall over.

"You're drunk," Jace told him. "We should be allowed back inside soon. Sit down, please before you hurt yourself."

"Hurt myself!" Sebastian scoffed. "No, Jace you are doing that for me. Abandoning me for the wench and the fag."

"Please don't call them that!" Jace yelled back, angry. He hated it when Sebastian got this drunk.

"At least the queer has abandoned you now," Sebastian continued. Jace couldn't help but look toward Clary and Alec. Clary was still standing near him, but Alec was moving quickly toward the three of them from across the lawn.

"You want to say that to my face!" Alec spoke directly to Sebastian.

"Sure," Sebastian said smiling. "Faggot!"

"Stop it, Sebastian!" Jace roared. He was sure the whole courtyard could hear them now, but Jace was so mad he didn't care.

"Oh, are you defending Nancy Boy?" Sebastian sneered. "Oh, Jace, what has happened to you?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing!" Jace screamed.

"Whatever!" Sebastian said. With a wave of his hand he turned and started to move away drunkenly. Jace watched, seething, as Sebastian's staggering form disappeared around the corner of the dorm building.

"I'm so sorry," Jace sighed as he turned to Clary and Alec. "He's horrible when he's drunk."

"Actually," Alec said calmly. "I think he's horrible all the time."

"You're not mad?" Jace asked looking up from the ground to gaze hopefully at Alec.

"At you, no," Alec said. "At Sebastian, yes. But I never liked him in the first place. He's been calling me names since the eighth grade."

Jace turned to Clary, nervous. "Clary?" he asked.

"Thanks for the jacket," Clary whispered. "And your friend is a jerk." Jace laughed lightly with relief as he could find no anger in her voice.

"Keep the jacket," Jace grinned. "As an apology for putting up with drunk Sebastian." She smiled, but then vanished into the crowd, Jace's jacket wrapped around her. A fire truck had arrived at some point during the row and the campus security was on the scene now. A member of public safely came out and gave the all clear. Jace and Alec hung back waiting for the crowd to thin before heading back into the dorm building.

"What are you going to do about Sebastian?" Alec asked. He was standing next to Jace while they watched the firefighters, security staff and students all moving in various directions around the building. Jace often did this during fire alarms. The crowd was always so determined to get back inside as fast as possible, it was far more pleasant to just wait the extra minute or two for the crowd to thin then to have bodies pressing in against him on all sides.

"What do you mean?" Jace asked.

"Don't tell me, you are going to let him get away with that!" Alec exclaimed, turning to face Jace.

"This isn't the first time Sebastian's done something stupid when he's drunk," Jace shrugged.

"He has a hold over you," Alec observed. "And I don't like it." The crowd was quickly dispersing so they started to walk toward the dorms.

"I've known him forever," Jace said, walking side by side with Alec. "You don't just give up on a friend like that."

"I suppose," Alec replied, but there was an anger in this tone that told Jace Alec wasn't happy with Jace's answer. They were in the halls now headed in the direction of their beds and sleep.

"He's the first friend I ever had," Jace tried to defend Sebastian. "The only one I ever had until you. He just needs some space to cool off. I've been ignoring him lately."

"I've been ignoring you lately too, don't forget," Alec said as they reached their door. "But notice how that didn't cause you to scream demeaning insults at anyone in front of half the school." Alec opened it and they both went inside.

"I'm sorry," Jace said. Alec closed the door behind him and turned to Jace.

"It's not you who should be sorry," Alec replied. "It's him, but I don't think he's capable."

"He might come around," Jace said hopefully. "In time."

"I don't think you can change him," Alec said firmly.

"If I give up on him, that really won't change him," Jace argued.

"I won't say my friendship with you is contingent on you giving up on him," Alec said, obviously exhausted. "But I will say that I don't ever want to see Sebastian again."

"Fair enough," Jace said relieved not to be getting an ultimatum. He didn't want to have to choose between Alec and Sebastian. They each collapsed into their beds, the adrenaline of being suddenly awakened was spent and their already fatigued minds and their bodies fell quickly into sleep.

Jace dreamed of Clary, in more detail than ever before. His dreams were full of lingering glances and the drum roll before the kiss.


Please leave a review and tell me what you think so far! :)


Sneak Peek of chapter 25:

"Did you have fun at Eric's last night?" Clary asked.

"Yeah we got a song recorded," Simon said. "How was your night?"

"Fire alarm," Clary sighed. "Be happy you weren't in dorms last night."

"Wow how'd it go off this time?" Simon asked.

"Probably burnt popcorn again," Clary grumbled. "Or someone smoking in the bathroom."

"The intelligence of our generation never ceases to depress me," Simon sighed.