I'm sorry that there were no chapters last week, I was putting in overtime at work and I had other things to take care of at home. The good news is however, that I am starting my summer classes so I will only be working 3 days a week. Due to this I will be back to two uploads a week unless something major happens (like what happened last week). Thank you for the continued support on the story.

No promises but I will try to finish two more chapters by Sunday. If it happens it will be another bonus chapter to thank you guys, we will have to see how things play out though.

Simon followed Isabelle until they wound up at the food court, the same food court they were at last time. Simon was feeling a mix of confusion and excitement, he couldn't help but think back about the last time they were here. Was she really going to kiss him again? Isabelle finally picked a table and sat down, Simon followed suit by taking the seat across from her.

Isabelle did not say anything for a few minutes so Simon tried to break the ice, "So, what was up with you and Maia the other night?" Clearly Simon had chosen the wrong topic to talk about because he was rewarded with a glare from Isabelle.

"Nothing really," Isabelle clarified. "I just don't particularly like her. Why are you two so close anyway? I thought couples that broke up naturally hated each other afterwards."

"Well she is my only ex so I am not sure, for us it is just natural. I can't even imagine feeling animosity towards Maia, maybe the two of us are just special circumstances. But why does what happens between Maia and I affect you anyway?" Simon asked.

"What do you mean? I think I have made my feelings for you perfectly clear. Or were you just assuming I do that with anyone?" Isabelle growled.

Simon thought over her response before answering, "I am not saying that you would do that with anyone, but do you really like me? Don't get me wrong I really do like you, so it makes me happy to hear you say you like me. The problem with your feelings though is that it feels like you are trying to accomplish something, like I am just a trophy or something."

Isabelle abruptly stood up and sneered, "So what if that's what I am trying to do? Just play your part as the next of my achievements like the rest of guys always do! Don't get all high and mighty on me now, you have practically been drooling over me since you met me! You should feel honored that I even give you the light of day!"

Simon sighed as he put his head in his hands, "I was afraid you were going to say something like that. Look I am not trying to judge how you handle things, it's just that I won't be apart of it. What I am looking for is love. Things didn't work out with Clary, Maia, or you but that doesn't mean I will give up. If you change your mind one day and want to give dating a shot for real, then let me know. For now though, I think we should just stay friends." She leaned over the table and slapped Simon across the cheek before walking away. Simon watched as Isabelle stormed away from him and wondered if he had made the right decision. Izzy was way out of his league and they both knew it, the fact that she even looked at him was surprising enough. Simon shook the thought away, he deserved to be treated with respect. If all she wanted was to try him out and then throw him away then she had another thing coming, Simon wasn't anyone's plaything.

Clary was excited that she was finally able to have some alone time with Jace, this was her chance to make her move. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the nearest clothing store. "Where are we going?" Jace called out in confusion.

"We are going to pick out some new outfits. Now," She said as she grabbed a few shirts from around the store. "Try these on and then come out so I can see how you look." Jace made a loud sighing sound that made Clary chuckle. She was determined that today her and Jace would have fun. After what seemed like forever Jace came back dressed in one of the shirts she picked out. It was a black muscle shirt that was very tight and outlined his muscular frame. "What took you so long?"

"Are you kidding me that was only a few minutes!" Jace exclaimed. "I had to fix my hair after putting the shirt on! Did you just want to me walk around the store looking like a mess? I would be denying all of the beautiful ladies of the chance to see me at my best."

Clary rolled her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I like this one you should buy this, now hurry up and try the other ones on!" This process continued for the next hour until Clary and Jace were checking out with six new shirts for Jace and a couple pairs of blue jeans.

Things were going great so far. She was spending quality time with Jace and no one was going to interrupt her, or so she thought. Out of the corner of her eye Clary saw a figure hurrying towards Jace. She was confused until she saw that it was Izzy and she did not look very happy. "Jace!" Isabelle yelled."

"What do you want Izzy, can't you see I'm a little busy right now?" Jace asked. He was obviously bothered by the sudden intrusion of their...date? Was this a date right now?

Clary had no time to ponder whether this was in fact a date or not however, because Isabelle responde, "We are leaving now! Just the two of us," She exclaimed as she turned her head towards Clary and glared at her. Now Clary was starting to put two and two together. Izzy had been with Simon and now she was furious and alone, he had obviously done something wrong. While she loved him to death, he was terrible when it came to dating girls.

"You are being serious right now right? It's an emergency?" Jace calmly asked. Izzy nodded her head in response. "Alright then I guess we have to go, you can right back with Simon right?"

Clary couldn't help but feel disappointed, things were finally starting to go well between them and then Simon somehow went and ruined it. She knew it wasn't fair to blame him without knowing the situation, but she didn't know what else to do. She just needed someone to blame and Simon wasn't here to defend himself anyway. "Yeah that's fine, I'll see you two later," Clary stated.

After Izzy and Jace left Clary shot Simon a text so that they could meet up. Apparently he was in the food court, which was convenient for her because she was starving. She was planning on having lunch with Jace, but that plan failed the moment Izzy showed up.

When Clary arrived at the food court and found Simon she saw the hand imprint on his face. "She hit you pretty good, didn't she?" Clary pointed out.

Simon looked up at her with a somber expression, "Yes, she did." Clary thought he would elaborate, but he refrained from saying anything more.

Clary thought over what to say. Where should she start? She decided to go with the simplest question, "What exactly happened between you two?"

Simon stayed quiet for awhile before he finally spoke, "She never had any real feelings for me. It was all just a game to her." The usual chipper joke-telling Simon was gone, the Simon in front of her was full of depression.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe you are just overthinking things. Do you want me to talk to Izzy and clear things up?" Clary asked.

Simon shook his head, "No I am not wrong. I flat out asked her and she confirmed it for herself, she was less angry that I realized it and more angry that I would not participate in her game. I guess this is my own fault, I'm not lucky enough for someone like her to date me anyway. What does a worthless loser like me have to offer anyone anyway?"

"Simon stop talking like that!" Clary yelled. "You are Simon freaking Lewis, any girl would be lucky to date you. You dated Maia, remember? She is one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen, are you trying to belittle her right now? Maybe Izzy wasn't the girl for you, but somewhere out there you find someone. Do not give up just because of one bad experience."

Simon looked at her with hopeful eyes and hesitantly queried, "Are you being serious? Do you think that there are other girls out there for me? So you mean what happened with Izzy was not my fault?"

Clary stood up and pulled her chair alongside of Simon's and pulled him into a hug, "Of course I am telling you the truth Simon, what happened was not your fault. If anything she is at fault for toying with your emotions, I can't believe she would do something like this to you. Especially not after how she talked and acted towards you. I was so sure that she wanted to be your girlfriend, I should have noticed something was up."

"Thank you Clary," Simon croaked as he started to cry. "I really needed a friend right now."

"What are best friends for?" Clary replied with a smile.