Hey, hey, hey.

How are you guys doing?

I know it's been too long but I just wanted to put out this chapter. First of all I wanted to thank all of you, my lovely readers for being so patient and understanding in this time and I love your reviews and PMs, you guys are the best.

Secondly, thank you all for reading this and still supporting this story even though I haven't been updating as much as I hope to.

And thirdly, I hope you guys will like this chapter.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series, if it hasn't been obvious so far.


Recap: What's there to recap? It was Clary and Jace's first awkward turned great date and Clary spent the night meaning it went to very great very quick.

But tensions are rising with the rest of the group. Aline and Maia went on a happy celebratory pizza night for their win and there is still no good theories to why Isabelle and Sebastian are fighting, according to the group's group chat.

And on with the chapter...


Alec patted the bed next to him with tired shut eyes but was met with the coldness of empty sheets, he opens his eyes tentatively, confused, as he was almost sure he left his boyfriend right there when he went to bed last night.

He looks about his room for any evidence of last night's endeavor but finds nothing. His confusion doesn't linger though as his door opens to reveal Magnus in a blue bathrobe, flip flops and humming coolly. His hair was already dry and styled in the latest trend with just the hint of blue at the edges of it, his eyeliner put on in perfection and more glitter than anything Alec has ever seen in his life.

"Good morning, Alexander" Magnus stopped his humming momentarily to muster these few words.

"Was it already morning when you woke up?" Alec questioned with a little grin at the tip of his mouth.

"Define morning" Magnus joked with a wink, liking this side of Alec so early in the morning, his joking side which albeit, was not always as funny, but he always made up for it by being positively adorable when trying it.

"Why are you up so early?" Alec asked as he sat up in bed, the covers falling to reveal his toned chest.

"You would have me stay in bed all day?" Magnus asked then tilted his to get a better look at his boyfriend naked in bed, and muttered dazed "Now there's a thought".

A hint of a blush creeped up Alec' neck but he kept his gaze locked with Magnus', "But then you'd miss whatever you woke up early for".

"How did you know I woke up early for a reason?" Magnus questioned as he neared the bed.

Alec pushed himself down the length of the bed, dropping his feet to the ground as he pulled Magnus closer to him by the robe, "Because I know you" he said.

"All too well" Magnus teased with a grin as he was now close to Alec, his arms wrapped around his neck, resting them on his shoulders and looking down, for once having the tall advantage as Alec was sitting down. He connected their foreheads softly and closed his eyes as he spoke, "I have to get to work, they need me in a matter or urgency and I might have to skip first class".

"They need you this early? Surely your boss knows you have school" Alec said.

"She does" Magnus nodded.

"She doesn't care?" Alec questioned.

"More so that I don't mind" Magnus said.

"You don't?" Alec asked confused.

"No" Magnus said, "Is that a problem?"

Alec wanted to say no it isn't. But he also wanted to say that Magnus should mine missing first period, especially since it is their last year as high schoolers. But he didn't, it wasn't something he could say, especially since he doesn't know how to explain why it would be a problem. So he just said "Kiss me".

Magnus leaned over to interlock their lips in a sweet soft kiss that only lasted a few seconds before the loud sound of an "Ugh" was heard.

"Close your fucking door if you are gonna do that" Isabelle said as she appeared in Alec' door way and slammed it shut, effectively cutting off the romantic atmosphere.

"What's gotten into her, this morning?" Magnus asked.

"I think it's the same Sebastian deal, I have a new theory now" Alec said.

"Do you, now?" Magnus asked with just a hint of a grin.

"So it has to do with the ring from Lord of the Rings, just hear me out".


Clary groaned tiredly in her sleep as she felt her dream slip from her grasp and her consciousness slowly being pulled forth, and it was a very good dream. Something to do with tattoos and light coming out of them, maybe she should dial down weird TV shows before bed.

Her eyes still felt heavy and in a stubborn attempt to go back to sleep, she kept them shut, ignoring the tickling feeling at her neck, and flipped on the other side, bringing the blanket closer to her. In doing so, her hands brushed against her body and she realized quickly there was no article of clothing separating her skin.

Her eyes shot open, bloodily red, and wide in horror as she tried to recall the events of last night, what she was doing on the ground and whose ground is this really.

She heard a soft chuckle echo behind her ear and she immediately relaxed as she recognized the voice, holding the blanket close to her chest as she flipped over to look at Jace, her memories of last night blanking on and off in her head, memories of kisses and touches and other things that made her blush furiously. She could still feel the fluttering in her stomach and all the high she felt from the night before.

"Morning, sunshine" Jace said with a certain cheerfulness about him, he was, unlike her fully naked self, already dressed in a dark sweater and jeans, his blond hair looking darker and dripping water all over the pillow next to her, a smirk on his face as he took in her disheveled state.

"Of course you're a morning person" Clary said as she brought her head back down on the pillow that she was sure wasn't there when she fell asleep. She thought of Jace, getting up at night and jamming a pillow under her head slowly, making sure not to wake her and the image made her heart clench in warmth.

"Only when I've had a really good night" Jace said with a wink and Clary blushed again trying to avoid his eyes, embarrassed, pursing her lips. "Don't be shy now" Jace teased.

"Stop it" Clary demanded as she got up holding the blanket close to her body and smacked him lightly on the arm, but he took hold of her arm in his hand and brought her closer to him until she was almost in his lap, his clothes and her blanket the only thing separating them.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, caressing with his thumb the bit of skin under the blanket, "Last night was..."

"Amazing?" Clary suggested with a smile and Jace nodded. "I think so, too".

"Of course you did, you were with yours truly" Jace gestured to himself with a smirk, to which Clary just rolled her eyes.

"It was a really great idea, the whole paint thing on the hospital walls" Clary said, as she looked down "I liked it".

"I like you" Jace said with a sudden honesty that made her look back at him shocked. It's not like she didn't know he liked her, she knew for a fact that he really liked her, but it was the fact that Jace almost never says things like that, not because he doesn't feel them but because he usually lets his actions say it, and this felt like a rare moment of vulnerability and truthfulness.

She leaned against him, scratching at his stubble as she looked into his eyes and said "I like you, too". She never thought she would ever say that, never thought she would have this chance to feel this way about a person because of the life she lead, but it was real and true and just one look into his eyes and she knew that he knew how difficult it was for her to say that.

That was one thing she didn't expect, to be able to count on Jace understanding her, even if he doesn't know anything about her situation, somehow he could understand her, understand what she likes, what she values, what she needs, everything.

"I wish we could stay in" she continued.

"Tempting" Jace chuckled, "I'm all for it but I made breakfast and I doubt you want to be late for school".

Clary groaned again as she searched for her phone, checking the time when she suddenly froze up, "Oh my god, we're gonna be late" she said, gathering her clothes and wrapping herself tightly with the blanket as she got up.

"I need to use your shower" Clary said as she looked around, she blushed then as she pointed behind Jace and said "Could you hand me that?"

Jace looked behind him and saw her black lacey panties, he smirked as he took hold of them, "No".

"Jace" Clary whined.

"Clary" Jace mocked with the same tone.

"Come on, we're gonna be late" Clary said.

"Well then you better hit the showers" Jace said as if it is the most obvious answer.

"Give me back my underwear" Clary demanded.

Now Jace just smirked up at her, "What will I get in return?"

"Nothing!"

"Then I might just not give it back" Jace teased.

"Fine then, keep it. I guess I'll just not wear any to school" Clary said.

Jace snorted, "If that is your idea of a threat..."

Clary licked her lips as she lowered her voice into a sultry lull "Do you really think you can sit next to me all day in school, knowing I'm not wearing anything under my clothes without getting an uncomfortable hard on every time you look at me?"

Jace's body stiffened as his breath hitched, Clary was the only one who could have that effect on him, and damn did he like it, she took advantage of his dazed state and grabbed her panties from his grip quickly, "I'm glad you see things my way" she said mockingly as she got up and disappeared in the corner of the corridor, an idea shot in her head and she took off the blanket and threw it back into Jace's vision, smiling uncontrollably when she heard him curse after her.

"I changed my mind, school isn't that important anyways" Jace called after her.

"Too late" Clary called back. She showered quickly, letting the water hit her scarred back, soothing it from last night's uncomfortable sleeping position, she had slept on her back, making sure at no point in time last night had her back been bare and in Jace's view. It was quite difficult to hide her scars during.. it but she used a very strategic defense mechanism to her advantage.

She was naked and so Jace didn't question it when she avoided his gaze on her back.

She got dressed and sorted out her ruffled hair, stopping momentarily to thank the angel the wig didn't slip off during the night. She stopped as she was heading out when she caught a look at herself in the mirror and she screamed.

"What's the matter?" Jace burst into the room, a pancake flipper in hand and an apron covering his chest and front, on it was the words 'Kiss the Chef' as he looked around seriously for any sign of danger, "What happened?"

Clary's confusion at Jace's state made her forget her previous worries as she raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a smirk, "Wow, I feel so safe now, if there was a murderer, you could have kissed him to death".

"My kisses have been known to have that effect on people" Jace said with a sarcastic nod.

"I think you give yourself too much credit" Clary argued with a challenging grin.

Jace grinned devilishly, looking at her from under his blond curls with a certain gleam in his eyes as he said "I think you should come here and prove me wrong if you want me to believe it".

Clary was tempted and she had to visibly shake her head to remove that idea from her head and focus again, Remember Clary, you are angry.

"Why? So you can give me more of this?" Clary gestured to the very large hickey on her neck, she looked back in the mirror and realized to her horror that there are others on her neck, "By the angel".

Jace chuckled uncontrollably behind her and she glared back at him in the mirror, "You think this is funny?" she questioned.

"No, not at all" Jace said as he tugged his lips in to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter again. She grumbled, she had half the mind to give him one to match, see if it's funny then, but she had a feeling he would like that.

"I'll get you a scarf" Jace said, clearing his throat uncomfortably and hiding his grin by pretending to scratch his nose as he left her be.

Clary groaned, this should be a day.


What a fucking day, Clary thought with a hint of annoyance at 10:30 in the afternoon as she sat at the lunch table with her friends, after her wonderful morning with Jace that got off to a good start, things started going downhill from there.

Because, of course it did.

Isabelle had glared at the walls and only spoke in a heavy seethe during first class, Sebastian had welcomed them with a glare as they passed by him in the hall which was not directed at them to his defense, he was only trying to blow up Isabelle's head with his mind.

Raphael was sorely lacking all his usual ray of sunshine attitude -which is still debatable that he had it to begin with- during science class and lead to a disastrous experiment and them failing that assignment.

Maia and Aline were surprisingly absent until now, no texts or calls, they didn't even respond to Alec's new theory of why Seb and Iz aren't talking, it has to do with aliens this time. The group chat has been scraping at the bottom of the barrel for new theories, Jace had also renamed it to The Hardy Boys.

So when she finally sat down at lunch time with Jace on their usual table she was absolutely on edge, it felt like she was staring at a ticking bomb with Sebastian and Iz sitting across from one another, glaring at each other as an uncomfortable silence echoes among them, thickening the atmosphere around them.

"Hey guys" Clary said, trying to get the two to stop their staring contest, "How's it going?"

Isabelle let her eyes rest a moment from glaring so much to look at Clary with an intense stare, raking all over her from head to toe, as if she was looking at a portal through her that told her everything about Clary.

Unfortunately for Clary, all she could think of was that Isabelle could see it, she could see that Clary had sex last night with her brother and she was internally freaking out.

Isabelle's eyes finally settled as if they found what they have been searching for and she said with a tight lipped grin "Pretty scarf, Clary".

Clary blushed, momentarily panicking but then willed herself to pull herself together. She doesn't know, there was no way she could know so just relax she told herself, "Thanks" she said.

"May I see it?" Isabelle said with an evil glint in her eyes.

"No" Clary responded quickly. Fuck, she knows.

"Why ever not?" Isabelle asked with fake surprise and hurt.

"Because I said so" Clary said, maybe uncomfortable silence was not so bad after all. Which, as if she was granted her wish, descended again.

A second passed, two, three..

"So we got that big football game coming up" Jace tried for light conversation.

"Your point?" Sebastian asked.

"I think he's asking how you plan on screwing that up as well" Isabelle offered.

"No that's not-"

"I plan to play fair, even if it hurts the other team's feelings when I give them what they asked for" Sebastian said with a glare.

"They never asked you for anything" Isabelle argued.

"No, they just constantly come in asking to play football time after fucking time" Sebastian said with sarcasm.

"Oh and you suddenly don't like football?" Isabelle asked.

"I love football as much as the next guy... and the next.. and the next"

"Are you saying the other team plays too much football?"

"And with a whole lot of other teams too".

"Isn't this a great time for someone to explain why it's called football even though it's soccer" Clary tried to butt in but was ignored all together.

"Well it was all fair game until you changed the rules" Isabelle said, both sides were trying to play it cool, sending one jab after the other but keeping their tones just light enough so that they wouldn't be considered shouting at one another.

"Maybe I didn't like the rules to begin with" Sebastian said.

Isabelle took a deep breath, "Rules keep you from screwing around and getting someone's leg broken".

"My leg was already broken" Seb said, "So I figured breaking more legs would make me feel better about it".

"And we all know how selfish you are when it comes to your feelings" Isabelle said smiling cruelly.

"Pot, kettle, you cry baby" Sebastian said matching her smile as he crossed his arms and leaned on the table to move closer to Isabelle. "What's the matter, Isabelle? Do you think I hurt the other team's feelings?" Before she could respond, the sound of arguing coming closer was heard as Maia and Aline sat down at the table.

"I said I don't want to talk about it" Aline said with finality.

"But you just ran out-"

"Don't pretend you don't know why" Aline interrupted Maia.

"It doesn't make any sense-"

"And you shouldn't have gone behind my back-"

"And you just don't give him a chance and-"

"Guys" Clary interrupted with a loud yell, making them both look up, "What's the matter?"

Jace cleared his throat and Clary looked back at him, even when he didn't say a word she knew just by looking at his eyes what he meant: Why would you open that can of worms?

Because they are our friends who are obviously upset, Clary communicated back with the same stare.

One dysfunctional friendship at a time, don't you think? Jace stared and shook his head as if he was actually saying the words, which he didn't have to.

Clary looked back at Isabelle and Sebastian who were glaring at each other, then back at Jace as she passed on the message You've got a point there.

Maia opened her mouth to say something when Aline interrupted with a firm tone, leaving no room for arguments "Nothing".

"Yeah it looks like nothing, too" Sebastian said with sarcasm.

"Yes and you would know, considering you know everything, right?" Isabelle said with a bitter smirk.

"More than Raphael did at least" Sebastian said with a smirk.

"I just don't understand-" Maia started.

"Of course you don't because you are so blinded that you can't tell your own shit when you see it" Aline said.

"Sound familiar?" Isabelle asked Sebastian in a low tone.

"Yes, but I thought you would take offense if I mentioned it" Sebastian grinned childishly as he whispered across the table to Iz.

"Oh nice, the middle school comeback?" Iz mocked.

"I'm sorry if that is too advance for you" Seb shot back.

"I just thought it would be fun to bring Jordan" Maia said defensively.

"Yes, to our celebratory dinner, our tradition, it's always been you and me and you decide to bring some stranger to our night?" Aline said.

"He's not a stranger, he's my boyfriend" Maia argued.

"Fat lot of difference" Aline said with sarcasm, her voice rising a bit as her eyes narrowed, glaring at Maia sitting across from her.

"I just want you two to get along, he is my boyfriend, you have to give him a chance" Maia said.

Aline looked up for a moment and said calmly, "I don't have to do anything". She gathered her things and left then, Maia followed her out with heavy stomping.

"So" Clary started, "Are you guys going to the dance?"

"Well I was planning on going with Raphael but that plan went to shit" Isabelle said with a hard glare at Sebastian.

"That plan was already shit" Sebastian said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Right, I forgot, tell me again what you think I should and shouldn't do" Isabelle said with a mocking fascination.

"Not like you'd listen to someone trying to help you anyways" Sebastian said.

"You call what you did 'helping'?"

"Will you guys please stop fighting?" Alec said as he rubbed his temple.

"We're not fighting" Sebastian said.

"For us to be fighting that would mean there's something worth fighting for" Isabelle jabbed.

Sebastian flinched at the words but hid it quickly, narrowing his eyes as he spit back "And we all know you're too much of a quitter to find anything worth fighting for. Isn't that right, Isabelle?"

Isabelle froze all over, now that was just a low blow, hitting right under the belt. She glared, slamming her tray of food down on the table and stomping out of the cafeteria.

Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep frustrated sigh. "I don't know a lot about women" Alec started, "But I would not follow her". Sebastian got up anyways and ran off in the direction Isabelle went off to.

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes at Sebastian, "I did warn him, didn't I?"

"Do you ever get the feeling we are missing something?" Jace asked.

Alec sighed deeply, "I think it's all the straight people crap" he said with an eyeroll.

Clary tugged in her lips to keep from chuckling, Alec looked up then as he went on, "Speaking of which, how was your night?"


"Aline, stop" Maia said as she followed Aline up the stairs, grabbing her wrist with a firm hand.

"What?" Aline finally shouted, turning around to look at Maia.

"Why?" Maia asked.

"Why what?" Aline asked.

"Just tell me why you don't like him" Maia said.

Aline rolled her eyes and let a disgusted "ugh" escape her as she went to leave but Maia stopped her with a firm hand holding her in place.

"Aline please, I care about him" Maia said, she noticed Aline wincing under her touch, Aline closed her eyes and looked out of the window, the stairs were almost empty now, as everyone was having lunch, leaving just the two of them standing on the stairs.

Her jaw was set tight and her teeth gritted against one another as the pain she can no longer deny set deep in her chest, making her feel like she can't breathe, like her lungs were collapsing and each breathe she took just scratched at her throat rougher.

"I just want you to give him a chance, I want you two to get along" Maia went on, "You know you are my best friend, you mean the world to me and I can't live without you".

"Y- You- You can't?" Aline's eyes suddenly shot up as she looked at Maia.

"Of course I can't" Maia said, "You are the most important person in my life, you know how bad my relationship with my family is.. was. But I consider you my family now and I care about you a lot, I don't want anything to ever come between us".

Aline felt like shaking her head and maybe that would end whatever weird trans she was in but it didn't, this was real, she felt a different kind of tightness in her chest and a warmth spread over her, "I care about you, too".

Maia smiled, Aline loved that smile, she took a deep breath, she cares about her too, this is what she wanted for so long and she was so afraid to say, it's finally here, the moment Alec said she would know, and she knows.

She spent so long fighting it, pushing it down, but she doesn't have to do that anymore, Maia cares about her, like she cares about her.

Aline cupped Maia's cheek and pulled her in for a kiss, letting their lips touch for the first time like she dreamed it would happen. She poured her passion into it, all the words and feelings she couldn't mention before, now she can express them all, and express them she did as she put it all into that kiss.

She pulled back after a while and saw the dumbfounded expression on Maia's face, "Oh" was all she said.

Aline's grin and heart fell as she heard that word, she messed up, she read the signs wrong, she was wrong. The sudden reality of what she did crashed on her, she ruined this, she ruined their friendship and Maia doesn't feel that way about her. She risked it all and came up empty, she lost it all. "No" she whispered in a voice so low she wasn't sure anyone heard her.

"Aline I'm sorry I-" Maia started but Aline started to walk away, she held her back again with a hand on her wrist but Aline shook it off.

"Wait Aline, please stop, we can fix this-"

"No!" Aline shouted, "It's- It- It's done, nothing can fix this".

"Aline, wait, please" Maia shouted after Aline as she ran off, she didn't wait or stop, she just kept going.

Maia watched as her best friend walked away, disappearing at the corner of the hallway. Anger bubbled inside of her as her eyes felt heavy with tears, the heavy thought that she might have lost her best friend made her want to scream at nothing, at people, at the walls, at everything. She threw her backpack to the ground and yelled out in frustration at it, giving it a firm kick as she let hot tears fall from her eyes.

Her knees buckled under her and she fell to the ground screaming, how could she be so stupid? How could she not see the signs? And it wasn't enough that she couldn't tell how her best friend felt, she paraded her boyfriend around constantly, how could she hurt her friend like that? How could she not know?


"Isabelle Sophia Lightwood" Sebastian said, his voice raising as he was almost at Isabelle's heels now, catching up to her just outside of school on the stairs.

She turned around with a dramatic flare and a raised eyebrow, "You have got some nerve to call me that" she said in a threatening tone.

"You know I have had my fill with your passive aggressiveness" Sebastian said, approaching her with a confident stride in his walk.

"You haven't even seen aggressive yet" Isabelle protested, licking her lips and crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back, desperate to get some space away from him but she wouldn't step away, no, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"I think I did, my eye's still a little swollen" Sebastian said, gesturing to his face then shook his head as if willing himself to focus back on what he wanted to say. Isabelle always had that effect on him, making him forget everything but her in that moment, for better or worse, for living in the moment or petty nonsense. "Whatever, look, what happened that night was not my fault-"

"I don't want to hear this" Isabelle screamed out.

"Too freaking bad" Sebastian said, "Because guess what Isabelle, I wasn't the only one there that night, you kissed me too".

"Don't turn this back on me, you bastard" Isabelle said in a warning tone, raising an accusing finger at him, "You're the one who started speaking nonsense". She didn't miss the twitch in his left eyebrow as she said that. "You are the one who ruined this".

"It takes two to tango, ever heard of that saying before?" Sebastian said, "Wake up Isabelle. You're just as much to blame as I am so quit putting me as the bad guy".

"Is that why you followed me? To tell me I'm a bad person?" Isabelle rolled her eyes, "I think you made it clear what kind of person you think I am back there".

"No, that's not why..." he shook his head, "Back there, I didn't..."

"You didn't mean it?" Isabelle suggested, letting out a sarcastic huff, "Yes, you did".

"Don't pretend like you didn't say things you didn't mean either" Sebastian said tiredly as he rubbed his temple.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes, "I didn't. I meant every word".

"Isabelle.." Sebastian started with a roll of his eyes.

"I meant every word, Sebastian" Isabelle repeated, more firm this time, "There is nothing left worth fighting for between us, not our friendship, not..." she licked her lips refusing to say the word, because what was even the word to describe it. Relationship? No, it wasn't that.

"You're lying" he said it matter-of-factly, but she could see it in his eyes, he wasn't sure.

"No" Isabelle denied, "Truth is, I can't look at you, I can't talk to you, I just can't be in your presence anymore, it makes me sick".

Sebastian took a deep breath before he stepped closer to her, invading her space and she didn't step back, too stubborn to. "You didn't seem to mind when you put your tongue down my throat" he said, he cursed himself in his head for saying it but he did, he thought then of a million other things to say that wouldn't drive her away but he refused to say any of them.

"That will never happen again" Isabelle promised.

"Are you sure about that?" Sebastian said, "Because I think the opposite actually".

"I don't care what you think, you selfish bastard" Isabelle said, "I won't fuel your deluded fantasies again".

"Deluded?" Sebastian said the word with such venom as if the word hurt him.

"I should have broken it off when I knew you had feelings for me, but it was so stupid. I thought you would get over it" Isabelle said with a roll of her eyes, "Sadly you were too caught up in your own world and started convincing yourself the feeling was mutual".

Sebastian swallowed the lump in his throat that just edged itself into the thickening ache of his chest, his breath hitching, it was too hard to breathe and too hard to speak, his throat was scratching at him from the inside, his stomach twisted in knots and his heart felt heavy, like it was too much for his chest to hold in place. "Is that what you tell yourself? That all this time you felt nothing? You think if you say it enough you will believe it and it will hurt less?"

"I don't have to believe it, it's true" Isabelle argued, "Frankly, I don't care if you believe it either. You obviously believe whatever you want".

"Don't say that" Sebastian warned her, but his voice was tired and shaking, she got to him and they both knew it.

"I've never had feelings for you, you dumbass. Why would I?" Isabelle said, "Honestly, your fantasies are a little pathetic".

With each word she said she pressed her nails deeper into the skin of her palm, until the she felt something warm and she immediately knew she was bleeding now. Her every word cut into him like a thousand tiny cuts ripping at his heart and insides. A heavy lump set in his throat as he stared at her with cold dead eyes, it was as if someone ripped his heart out from his chest and stomped on it, pain erupted everywhere inside him and he didn't know if he could keep himself up any longer.

She turned around to walk away from him, but he couldn't let her go like that. If she wanted to hurt, he knew she wasn't the only one who could. "Just run away, Isabelle, that's what you do anyways" she didn't stop as she kept walking in slow controlled steps.

She didn't stop but all she felt was the pain slowly eating at her from the inside, a heavy weight on her chest stopped her breathing or slowed it down perhaps, maybe she didn't know how to breathe, maybe she didn't know how to breathe without him, but she didn't stop, she only pressed her nails harder into her palm, blood was definitely pouring out now. Maybe if she focuses on that pain, if she could make that pain greater, it would numb all the rest.

"All those times you thought you don't deserve love, I thought you were just being hard on yourself" Sebastian said, "Turns out you're too screwed up to deserve it, or hell even feel it".

Isabelle steps flattered momentarily at that, she dug her nails deeper into her palm and forced herself to walk away, she did not cry in front of Sebastian, she did not cry when she got in the car, she did not cry when she drove out of the parking lot, she only cried when she got to the high road and drove home at breakneck speed, finally letting the tears roll.

There goes another thing she ruined, she thought to herself bitterly. And the fact that she was crying when she hated to cry even made her cry harder, frustration or anger, she couldn't quite tell.

Maybe she was mad at Sebastian, maybe she was mad at herself, maybe she was mad at everyone and everything but acknowledging that didn't stop the tears.


"Come on, Magnus, please?" Clary pleaded with watery eyes, they were fake tears of course but Magnus couldn't know that.

"Clary, I am busy" Magnus said with a hint of an annoyed tone as he folded the shirt he had in his hand and put another one on a hanger.

"But we're already here and you would just be doing your job" Clary argued as she looked around the almost empty store at this late of an hour. Magnus was just about ready to close up when he finishes organizing the last few messy sections.

"My job is to get you that same shirt in a different size or color and say you look gorgeous no matter what you wear" he corrected with a pointed finger, as if her insinuation offended him, "Not to choose you an outfit that will get you laid".

Clary blushed slightly, but not one to back down, she shot back, "I would disagree".

Magnus sighed, "Biscuit, I am closing, I am tired, I want to go home".

"I'll help you tidy after" Clary suggested with hopeful eyes.

"Alexander is waiting for me to-"

"I'll paint you something for your new apartment for free" Clary added.

"You were already going to do that as a gift" Magnus argued.

"Who spilled?"

"Jace told Sebastian who told Aline who told Isabelle who told Alexander who told me" Magnus said with a grin, carefully hiding as he turned his back to the fiery girl.

"Traitors, the lot of them" Clary muttered, mostly to herself, "I'll pay for brownies and coffee on our way home".

"We weren't planning on getting brownies and coffee?"

"We can get it from that place downtown that you like" Clary sing song in a suggestive teasing tone as she leaned toward Magnus, "Come on, Magnus, this is my first school party, moreover the first one I'll be attending with Jace, I need your help".

Magnus sighed, "You have gotten a lot more annoying since your stopped being single".

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Clary asked hopeful again.

"Just do it, we'll get home a lot faster if you just give in, Magnus" Isabelle said as she entered the store, tugging her hands into her coat, bringing with her a whiff of fresh cold air and the smell of something distant that didn't agree with Clary's stomach.

"You smell funny" Clary commented.

"Easy on the insults, I'm on your side" Isabelle said, teasing, though the usual glint in her eyes was missing and her fake smile didn't quite reach her ears, the bags under her eyes were covered with so much makeup, she looked like she was a vampire. She hoped Clary wouldn't notice her avoiding the question as she looked back at Magnus who casted his eyes away at that comment. It wasn't his place to say that Isabelle smelled like cigars.

"I meant funny as in a fresh rose? Daisy? Lily? Lily!" Clary took the hint from Isabelle's facials as she joked, then turned back to Magnus, "So will you do it?"

"This is what pier pressure feels like, then" Magnus sighed rolling his eyes, "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice".

"I'm so glad you came to that decision on your own" Clary said as she strutted towards the changing rooms.

"But we are not doing the makeover montage" Magnus yelled after her as he and Isabelle started picking out clothes.


A/N: Hey guys I hope you liked this, follow, fav and review. Tell me what you guys think and I'll see you in the next chapter.