Chapter 2: Stepping Stones

Hey guys. Thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter. I really appreciate it! I've also taken all the suggestions in, and am working them into the story now! Hope you enjoy the chapter.

"Herondale's latest role in the David Bowie biopic earned him more than just an Oscar. Directors and producers have been eager to work with the young talent after he swapped his usual teenage romance movies for a more serious role. Playing Bowie allowed Herondale to show off his ability to sing, play an array of instruments, as well as show off an impressive British accent," the lady on the TV says.

"Oh, turn it off!" Jace yells from the kitchen.

"Shhhh," Clary says back, "I'm listening." She turns up the volume a little bit for good measure.

"However, Herondale has not accepted any new roles, instead choosing a three month vacation with fiance, Clary Fray. The pair were spotted back in L.A. recently, where it is rumoured they have moved into a house they have been building for the past few months. There has been no word from Herondale or his team whether this move back to Los Angeles means he will be taking on a new role, but everyone is highly anticipating his next move. Back to you Deb," the news reporter finishes.

Jace sits down next to Clary on the couch and quickly turns the TV off before the two women on the screen can start discussing him.

"What are you going to do next," Clary asks gently. They had both been avoiding the topic of work while they were on vacation, but now they were back in reality, it seemed that everyone just assumed they instantly wanted to start working again.

"What are you going to do," Jace asks Clary with a teasing smile.

"I asked you first," Clary replies, feeling slightly immature.

"I think mines a bigger question," Jace replies, but Clary won't have any of it. She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows, telling Jace that she's not going to talk until he does. "I'm going to do what I've always done. I'm going to film a movie. But you have the world in your hands at the moment; I know people want you in movies again. Is that something you'd want to do?"

It was true. She'd ended up performing Into the Unknown from Frozen 2 at the Oscars. It was nominated for best original song, and the person who was meant to be singing it had fallen ill the day before the event. Apparently someone knew that Clary was already coming as Jace's guest, and thus was available, and had seen her perform Defying Gravity at Royals for a Day, so knew she'd be able to sing it well.

Apparently, people liked what they heard, because she'd since been offered a bunch of roles in musicals, or doing voice work in animations. She hadn't had time to figure anything out yet including setting up new management or agents, and as such, Magnus was contacting her almost daily, because there was no other way to get to Clary.

"I'm still taking a break," Clary says, overwhelmed by everything she still had to do. "I might start setting a new team, and it'll definitely be music first. But I don't know when I'm actually going to start with that."

"Right, of course," Jace says, not wanting to put any pressure on her. "You can take as long as you need."

"But what about you?" Clary asks. "Do you want to start again soon? And what kind of movie are you thinking?"

"That's a lot of questions from someone who doesn't want to answer any herself," Jace says, but Clary just shrugs. "I think I will start again soon. I definitely want to do another more serious role, but probably not something as big as Bowie. I've been reading through the scripts that Iz sent me and there a few that look good - and most of them are in L.A."

"You know I could just go with you, right?" Clary says, picking up both their bowls from breakfast, "don't base your decision on location; if there's one time that location doesn't matter, it's now." She heads to the kitchen to clean up, and Jace is left sitting on the couch, thinking over his options.

After a little while, Jace heads into his office - or what would one day be his office. At the moment it was just a desk and chair in the middle of the room, and some picture frames leaning up against the wall. Clary had made them for him. They were posters from movies he had been in or told her he loved, to make his office look more professional. He just hadn't gotten around to actually hanging them up yet. Then again, they'd only been here for a few days.

He had three scripts laying on the desk in front of him to choose from. He'd read through them all and liked the stories and characters from each. What Clary had said rung in his head - location didn't matter. Despite this, he picked up the script that was set to be shot in Italy and dropped it onto the floor. They'd only just moved into their house, and he wanted to enjoy it.

He looks at the two scripts left laying in front of him. One is called 'The Hero of Two Worlds'. It's about Marquis de Lafayette who was part of the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. The other is called 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. It's a 1920's mystery about the murders of the Members of the Osage tribe.

Flower Moon was definitely a bigger movie, which would be directed by Scorsese and rumoured to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. He would however, get the lead role in Two Worlds and he would be able to finally play a French role; something he'd wanted to do for a while now.

When he looked down at the two drastically different scripts he knew which one he wanted.

"Hey Iz," Jace says, looking down at the two scripts while talking on the phone. "Would you be able to set up auditions for 'The Hero of Two Worlds' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon'."

"Yeah of course," she says. There's some sound of the phone shifting, so he assumes that she's rifling through her bag to find her diary. "Which do you want more?"

"Hero of Two Worlds," Jace says, flipping through the script in front of him.

"I thought you might chose that one," Izzy says. "They thought it was a long shot you'd even look at the script seeing as it was so outside any work you'd done before, but I knew."

"You know me too well Iz," Jace says, watching the script close.

"Anyway," she says, "I'll let you know when your auditions are."

"Thanks Iz," Jace replies, "love ya!" he says, hanging up the phone.

"Who else do you love?" Clary asks, as she puts books onto the shelf.

"Izzy - she's setting up auditions for a couple of movies," Jace says, handing a book up to her on the ladder.

"Oh yay! You excited?" she asks, slotting the book onto the shelf.

"Yeah, they both look good - and they're both being filmed in L.A," he says, looking up at her.

"You know I told you that shouldn't be a factor," Clary says, stepping down the ladder so she can look him in the eye. "Take on a role that excites you. I'm happy to follow you wherever you go. Or stay home if that's what you want."

"I know," he says gently, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "But we just moved in - we've barely moved in actually," he motions to the empty shelf, "and I want to be here. With you. And the role is perfect. I would've chosen it anyway."

Over the next week Jace has to go to a few auditions, and Izzy says that he has to hit the gym to start really toning his muscles, after he had to lose weight for the David Bowie movie. As a result, he was out of the house most of the day, leaving Clary alone trying to find small tasks to fill her day.

This included finishing moving into the house, cleaning the house almost everyday, organising gardeners, planning their wedding and cooking a nice meal for dinner every night. It also meant that she would sit around for the majority of the day, or wander around the house looking for things to do.

While they were eating dinner on Friday night, Jace points this out to her. "I can't help but notice… you seem kind of bored," he tells her.

"How so?" she asks, taking care to twirl some spaghetti around her fork.

"Well, you just seem to be filling your day with little task; and don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful for everything you've been doing. But I don't think you're really finding anything fulfilling these days," he says, trying to get her to meet his eye.

"I don't know… maybe," Clary says, refusing to look up.

"And I don't blame you. Your life's been so full on for the past five or six years; doing what you're doing must feel like almost nothing in comparison," putting down his fork.

"We did almost nothing on vacation for three months and I was fine," Clary says, finally looking up and dropping her fork into her bowl. "I don't see why now should be any different."

"Well… we were together in Greece - we did nothing together. And even then we'd go on hikes and swim and go to other islands, and do other things… we found ways to fill our time," he tells her, grabbing her hand gently.

"So what are you trying to say here? That I should go back to Greece?" she asks.

"Not at all," he says, laughing a little, "but just maybe… you could start writing again. And it doesn't have to be for an album!" he says quickly before she can interject, "I know you don't want to start doing that yet. But that doesn't mean you can't write. I know you love doing it, and I think it could give you something to do in your down time."

"Yeah, maybe you've got a point," Clary says, rolling her eyes when Jace gives her a superior look, "and maybe I could start looking into new management and a new label. Just to see what my options are."

"I think that's a great idea," Jace says, picking up his fork and eating his dinner again.

So that's how Clary ended up spending the next day sorting through emails Magnus had sent her about prospective managers and labels. According to the messages they all sent her, they each had something new and truly unique to offer, but couldn't quite say what it was. And they would all be willing to work hard to keep up with her busy schedule. None of them seemed to realise that she didn't want a busy schedule anymore. And that she didn't necessarily need something unique - she would much prefer someone who understood her, and someone who was willing to help her get what she wanted and needed. Someone like Magnus.

And she didn't know if it was because she'd read his name too many times today, or if it was the memories that suddenly resurfaced, but she couldn't imagine having anyone but Magnus. She knew that he hadn't signed to anyone new yet; he'd worked just as hard as them for the past six years and needed a holiday too. Maybe, just maybe, he'd want to represent her again.

But it was more complicated this time - she had to think of Alec. Maybe he wouldn't want Magnus representing Clary. And maybe Magnus only wanted to manage bands.

Feeling clear headed for the first time today, Clary picks up her phone and dials Alec's number.

"Hey Alec," Clary says after he picks up. "How's everything going?"

"Hey Clary, everything's good," he says, perhaps sounding slightly caught off guard from the phone call.

"So, feel free to shoot me down. I'd totally understand - I promise. But I've had an idea," Clary says, subconsciously picking at her nail.

"Okay…" Alec says, sounding a little sceptical.

"It's to do with Magnus, but I want to hear your opinion on the matter before I ask him," Clary says, pacing around the room.

"Okay, shoot," Alec says.

"Well, I've been trying to find a new manager, and no one seems right for the job, and I really can't get the thought about how great a manger Magnus was out of my head," Clary says in one breath. "I guess what I'm asking is… what do you think about me asking Magnus to be my manager?"

Alec is silent for a moment, clearly thinking everything over, "well," he finally says. "I know I don't want him to be my manager; not that I don't think he was good. I just don't think it's smart to mix business and personal relationships. And I would rather he represent you than some new prick."

"So…" Clary asks, not wanting to assume anything.

"I mean obviously he would still have to say yes, and it's not up to me at all, but of course. I would love it if Magnus represented you," Alec says.

Clary breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you Alec. Thank you."

"Of course. I'll see you soon, Clare," he says, and then hangs up the phone.

Now all that was left was to convince Magnus. And Clary decided that should really be done in person, not over the phone.

When Magnus comes over the next day, Clary had gone out of her way to make sure that she had his favourite coffee and a selection of pastries that she knew he liked.

"Biscuit," Magnus says as they sit on Clary's back deck, looking out at the ocean, "what's all this about?"

"Alec didn't talk to you?" Clary asks.

"Not about you," Magnus answers, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well I've been thinking, and reading through all the emails you sent me. While I'm super appreciative of all the work you've done… none of them seem right for me."

Magnus looks over at her and narrows his eyes, trying to figure out what's going on.

"And then after thinking about it more," Clary continues, "it occurred to me. I think none of them seemed right because I'm so used to you. You know that you don't need all these new and innovative ideas to be a great manager. And I know we get along great, and that you're doing the job because you genuinely care, not just for money or the exposure."

"What are you saying, Clary?" Magnus asks. He looked like he was catching on, but didn't want to assume anything.

"Will you be my manager?" Clary asks, looking him in the eye. "I've talked to Alec and he said he liked the idea. And really think being my manager would suit you; you'd know what you're getting yourself into. You would get bigger breaks because I don't want as intensive or a schedule as the band. There would only be one person to manage instead of four, which would mean that it would be less hectic, and you would get a bigger cut of the profits."

"You know I've always represented bands…" Magnus says.

"I get that. And if you genuinely want to keep doing bands, then I understand and we can end the conversation now," Clary says, refusing to break eye contact.

"It's not that I only want to represent bands… it's just. It's a different world, being a solo performer, and I don't know if I could get you everything someone else could."

"I don't want anyone but you. I know you'll do a great job. You know I'm driven and want to do the best job possible. I wouldn't ask you if I didn't think you could get me there."

Magnus looks at Clary for a while, clearly thinking everything over. Eventually he says, "okay biscuit. You've got yourself a manager."

Clary quickly jumps up and hugs Magnus. "Thank you!"

"Thank you," Magnus answers. "Now, I have to go, but we can organise a time to meet again and we can start planning everything out; there's still so much to do!"

Clary walks Magnus out of the house, and watches as he drives away. Finally some parts of her foggy future were starting to clear.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Feel free to leave a review with any questions or comments about the chapter, or any suggestions for the story - everything helps! Hope you all have a great week, and I'll see you at the next one :)