Hey guys! I'm back from my holiday with a new chapter for everyone, which I hope you all enjoy! Things will start picking up from here plot-wise, so let me know what you think :D

Chapter Three

Even from outside the club, standing in line and waiting for the bouncer to let them in, the music was surging up her legs with every hard thump of the bass. It was infectious and loud, inviting everyone waiting outside to dance along with its beat. People around their trio nodded their heads or tapped their hands against their thighs to the beat, and Yu was no exception to this as well. Simon and Clary waited almost impatiently in line, the boy teasing his friend over who Clary thought was cute or not, and Yu was almost off in her own world as she tapped her toes against the pavement to the music.

Dinner had been a quiet affair, more talk about Eric's decision to rename the band again because of how dumb "Caffeine Crisis" started to sound out loud. The food they'd ordered had been simple meals that wouldn't come back up if they danced too hard, and the amount of sugar in their drinks helped serve to give them all that extra kick needed to jump straight into Pandemonium. The taxi ride over had been even quieter, somehow; shortly before they'd hailed one Simon had brought up the fact that Pandemonium was somewhere Jocelyn actively tried to keep Clary from, and the mixed feelings of going behind the woman's back wound up settling over all three.

Clary wanted to have fun on her own accord, Simon wanted to follow Clary despite the risk, and Yu just wanted to tag along to fill time and forget her week so far. Little things compared to the question of why Jocelyn didn't like Clary going near the club, especially since it wasn't strictly just for adults.

The line shuffled forward, another person going inside after a slight delay from the bouncer. Simon commented that Clary thought another person was cute—how many was that? Five? Yu sidestepped after them, watching as more people came out of the alleys and restaurants nearby to get in line. Some were obvious to pick as faeries, others were harder to pick as anything else. She'd never thought to ask what the tells of vampires and werewolves were, assuming vampires were just sickly pale and had large fangs poking out from their mouths. Now that she was out in the night life, though, she felt almost paranoid.

Clary gave her a quick tug on her arm, and suddenly the trio was right in front of the bouncer and waiting for entry. The man looked them all up and down, unsurprised, before finally nodding and gesturing for them to go through the doors behind him. Simon led the way, holding the door open for both girls, while Clary continued to drag Yu into the club.

The music was deafening inside. The powerful thumps she'd heard outside shook her to the core as she walked into the neon-lit club. She wasn't big on things like this—loud and big and ripe for a headache—but she really just wanted to fill her time. What better way to do that than to avoid contemplative silence?

Clary led her over to a small table near the closest wall, Simon having already claimed it for the trio. There were empty drinks on the table, all smelling fruity and alcoholic; one even had a little umbrella still left in it.

Strobe lights flashed green, blue, purple; the fog machine by the DJ was pumping out mist in thick clouds; countless people danced and shook with the music. Yu could probably enjoy herself tonight, especially if the DJ kept up the good work up in his booth. She knocked on the table to get her friends' attention, barely waiting for them to look at her fully as she yelled to them, "I'm gonna go dance for a bit!"

Simon at the very least waved to her. Clary was a bit distracted by all the sights Pandemonium held, but Yu was sure Simon would fill her in once she came back to reality.

She pushed her way past dancers, the beat infectious enough to leave a skip in her step. Shoulders rolling, head bobbing, a playful dip of the knees. Yu was easily joining the crowd as she began to dance, letting out all the music that flowed through her limbs. Clubbing was never a thing she saw herself doing in her summer vacation. She'd honestly seen herself wandering the streets of an unfamiliar city this summer, not having some world shattering revelation and dancing in a nightclub.

Someone brushed up against her, sending her a charming smile as they breezed past to join someone they knew. Yu couldn't help feeling a rush of energy go through her at how close everyone was. It was like the idea of less space to move made dancing more appealing. She didn't even feel underdressed—(well, technically overdressed)—for such a scene, her old hoodie hardly turning heads as something inappropriate for such a leather-filled, heel-clicking club.

It wasn't hard to spot Clary and Simon moving through the crowd towards the bar. Clary was still entranced by the bright lights, but by now she'd come to her senses enough to follow Simon without falling behind. It make Yu laugh a little to herself.

She continued to dance, losing track of time as the music sped up. She spun in circles, shook her hips, and threw her hands up in the air gleefully. As unexpected as this was, it was leagues better than an unfamiliar city.

It took Clary and Simon some time to hunt her down again and hand her a glass of soda. She followed them through the crowd, sipping at her drink in an attempt to keep from spilling it. Simon was the first to try start a conversation despite the fact that none of them could even hear themselves.

Yu watched as he tried yelling something to the girls, and after his second attempt to repeat himself he seemed to give up. He simply pouted down at his drink and sipped at it through his straw, disappointed and probably annoyed. Clary didn't bother trying to get him to repeat himself, patiently waiting for the song to change into something a tad quieter. "Quieter" would probably take a while, in Yu's opinion.

Once they finished their drinks and gave up waiting for a new song, the trio returned to the dancefloor. This time Yu kept them to the outskirts, giving them just a little more room to move around and take in their surroundings. Neither Clary or Simon seemed inclined to venture further into the crowd anyway, which made it a lot easier for Yu to keep track of them. Clary's focus wasn't on Yu and Simon much anymore, watching the other side of the room like a hawk.

Simon moved closer to Yu, and she could just barely hear him snort. "She was staring at him in line too!" he yelled into her ear. It was a miracle she even heard him, and as she followed Clary's gaze she wondered just who had the redhead so curious.

He was decent looking, but definitely not Yu's type. Lean with brightly dyed blue hair, bit of a baby face as well. He didn't seem to be paying attention to the music or most of the crowd around him, instead almost scanning those who passed him by. She doubted he would even meet Clary's stare with the way he was going.

"Didn't think she went for the type," Yu yelled back to Simon. She watched as the boy seemed to perk up, suddenly moving with purpose through the crowd. Yu tried to track where he was moving towards, curious, but was quick to forget what she was even looking for once she laid eyes on the beauty amidst the crowd.

Now this was Yu's type: Tall and regal, a gorgeous face that was framed by long, silky black hair. The dress the girl wore was just as out of place in the club as the trio's casual clothing, but unlike them the girl still seemed to fit in—like the otherworldly edge it gave her was more than enough to make her both blend in with the crowd and stand out like a star. Yu really hoped she'd run into the girl tonight, get a chance to talk to her and ask her name.

But the hopes were soon dashed when Blue Hair slid to the girl's side, looking at her almost hungrily. The girl returned his stare, teasingly smiling at him as she leaned closer to him. Yu quickly looked away, dismayed that someone else had taken the chance before her.

"You guys having fun?" she asked her friends instead. Clary just let out a barely audible hum, while Simon nodded half-heartedly. The club was less his scene than it was Yu's, but she knew he was putting up a brave face for Clary.

It didn't take long for Clary to finally remember her friends were with her. With a look of absolute panic she latched onto Yu's arm and yelped, "Guys!"

Simon's brows shot up to his hairline. "Are you not having fun?" he asked, looking almost eager to leave.

Clary shook her head fervently. She stared up at Yu, distressed and panicking. "Tell me you saw those guys," she pleaded. She threw her hand back towards Blue Hair and Pretty Girl—only Yu now noticed they were gone. Instead, in their place were two males with small, glimmering objects in their hands. Yu's heart leapt into her throat. Did someone actually sneak a knife into the club?

"I don't see anyone," Simon said. Yu pulled Clary's hand off her arm and pushed the girl closer to Simon.

"I see them." She barely looked back at Clary and Simon, too worried she'd lose sight of the boys if she looked away for just a second. "Get security. I'll see if I can distract them or something."

"Yu—"

She didn't hear the rest of Clary's objection. She was already pushing past faeries and teens dressed in punk gear, apologising under her breath with each couple she broke past. She could see the backs of the boys' heads, but the dancers made it difficult to see anything else. Yu pushed her way through the crowd until she was in the exact spot Blue Hair and Pretty Girl had occupied.

What was her plan once she reached them? Distracting someone was hard, especially if they had a weapon and a target. Yu would probably wind up stabbed before security was found—or worse, someone else would turn up dead in one of the bathrooms before Yu could catch them.

She was starting to remember why she didn't usually consider clubbing in her spare time.

Yu swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed forward once more. The boys were so close now, heading in the direction that Blue Hair and Pretty Girl were going. The impromptu couple slipped into a storage room with no one but Yu and the boys noticing; her heart raced as she realised what was about to mostly likely happen to Pretty Girl.

She almost sprinted forward then, crashing into the blond boy just as they reached the door. His friend startled, hissing a curse as she and the blond fell to the ground. Yu had every intention of saying some cheesy one-liner to let them know she meant business, but it all just froze in her throat when she saw not only the tattoos lining both boys' arms, but also the face of the blonde she'd knocked to the ground.

"Son of a bitch," Yu growled at Jace.

"Nice to see you too," Jace groaned. "Mind getting off me?"

His friend was panicking now, babbling out questions—who was the girl on him, why could she see him, what did Jace do this time, what if Yu's interruption put Isabelle in danger? Yu stared up at him in horror, slowly putting the pieces together. Pretty Girl—Isabelle—was most likely the same as Jace, which meant she wasn't the one in danger tonight.

Jace stood up quickly, grabbing Yu by the arm and dragging her to the door his friend stood by. Yu protested, trying to shake her arm from his grip, but Jace quickly said to her, "It's not exactly underwraps anymore, so I need you to come in with us and stay hidden."

"Jace," his friend gasped, "what are you—"

"I'll explain later. Alec, meet Yu." Jace pushed Yu in front of him, urging her through the door. "Yu, this is Alec."

Alec was just as confused as Yu was at this point. At least she had that in common with this new acquaintance. Jace snuck through the door last, nodding for Alec to venture further into the room. As Alec followed the voices further in the storage room, Jace guided Yu over to one of the shelves in the corner and sat her down behind it.

"It's a horrifically small world," he whispered quickly, "but I need you to sit right here and not come out. No matter what—"

"My friends are already getting security—"

"—and they won't find anything. No matter what you see or hear, just remember that what we're hunting isn't a human. Okay?"

It was an understatement to say that processing this was difficult. The easygoing Jace Wayland she'd met days ago was now super serious and super stressed, and the very thing he'd promised not to tell anyone he knew—that Yu could see him and the world he lived in—was out in the open. She got the feeling this Alec person wouldn't be so willing to keep it all hush, hush. She got the feeling Alec was probably one of the first people Jace had thought of to keep it a secret from.

Yu slowly nodded at him. Jace gave her a half-smile, back to his easygoing self in an instant, before he slinked away after his friend.

The scuffle that broke out was short and quiet. Grunts and punches, the bending of wires and gasps for air. She dared a peek through the shelf, hoping to see what was going on, but could only make out Isabelle's hair and dress as the boys slowly slipped out of sight.

What did this mean for her now? She knew that Jace would have to tell people he knew about her, because damn him and his need to figure out what was "wrong" with her, but where would that leave her? Would she be whisked away to the Institute he told her about? Would she get to see her family again, or still be able to go back to a normal life? Her stomach churned uncomfortably. Clary had spotted the duo first—what if they went after her too? What if they figured out one of Yu's friends could see them too?

This was bad. This was very bad.

The boys began speaking to Blue Hair now, interrogating him. Yu's heart just sank further and further, trying to remind herself, It isn't human, it isn't human. For all the times the thought raced through her mind, though, there was always a small doubt thanks to the way Blue Hair whimpered and begged. What if he was human? What if Jace and Alec were torturing some poor kid?

She didn't want to stick around to find out. Yu already knew Jace was capable of killing a hellhound, so what was one mundane to him? If she couldn't tell someone this was happening, or deny that she would be the only one who knew, then she could damn well do her best to get away from it before it got messy.

Yu fell to her hands and knees, inching along the floor with her breath held. Even if Alec and Jace didn't notice her, she had no idea if Isabelle would or not. No mention of Yu had been made yet, and from where she was knelt down she could still see just the back of Isabelle. She reached the end of the shelf and stopped. She poked her head out ever so slightly to see where everyone was, and a flutter of hope came to her chest. All of their attentions were on Blue Hair—and the boy hadn't even seen her yet, too busy avoiding eye contact with Jace—which gave Yu the perfect moment to try and run.

Now or never, she thought. Don't wimp out.

She kept the the shadows as best she could and slowly stood until she was partially crouched, able to sneak along the walls with only the mildest of anxiety. No one had noticed her; she was closer and closer to freedom. Yu dared a glance at the trio just when the door was within arm's reach, and it was the biggest mistake she could make during her escape.

One of the wires along the floor snagged around her foot, tripping her and knocking over a box as it travelled along the floor with her. Yu's mind went into overdrive, four pairs of eyes suddenly on her as they all realised what was going on. Jace was the first to try say something, starting along the lines of, "What did I say?"

He didn't get to finish the demand, though; Blue Hair sprang off of the column they'd bound him to, knocking Jace to the ground and catching everyone's attention again. Another golden opportunity, which Yu wasted no time using. She yanked the door open and sprinted out back onto the dancefloor. She ran and ran, knocking over a few dancers as she tried to find Clary and Simon. If she could just regroup with them, she could lie about where the people with knives went. She could say she was too spooked to stay in Pandemonium.

Yu crashed into a group of people with drinks, spilling the glasses all over them and the floor. One of them growled, "Drunk bitch," as she pushed herself back into focus. She apologised and darted off towards the front doors—if Clary and Simon went to get security, they'd have gone for the bouncer out the front, right?

Sure enough, she ran right into the burly man in question. He grabbed her shoulders to hold her steady, Clary and Simon poking out from behind him to see what had happened. As soon as Yu's presence registered with them, they shoved themselves between her and the bouncer.

"Where'd they go?"

"Are you okay?"

She couldn't tell who asked what, but she could at the very least answer them.

"I'm fine," she gasped. She hadn't realised how much she'd been running and panicking until she'd stopped. "I lost them in the crowd, though. You might need to check the bathrooms and the storage room."

The bouncer nodded and thanked her, then told the trio it might be best for them to head home. Yu didn't have any arguments there, even as Clary tried to convince her to stay another half-hour and relax. If Yu stayed, Jace would definitely find her. And who knew what would happen then?

It wasn't until they hailed a taxi after an excruciating fifteen minutes that Yu began to relax again, comforted by the knowledge that none of them had seen her leave in the vehicle. They wouldn't know Clary saw them too, and Simon would get what he wanted tonight—to get away from the club while still staying by Clary's side.