An update! Just a quick heads up that this one is a slow burn :)

PS - Sorry about the multiple updates if you guys are getting multiple alerts for this, for some reason I keep getting errors which is why it keeps getting reposted. Sigh...

"How did you guys get back? I was fully prepared for you to ring me and need a pick up," Simon commented when Clary and Lydia walked in the front door. Or at least, Clary walked and Lydia sort of stumble-fell onto the couch and promptly went back to sleep.

"Kaelie came around to see Magnus," Clary replied, rubbing a hand over her face. "When she got there and heard what I had to be listening to all night and then all morning, she said that she would come back later and offered to give us a ride." Simon raised his eyebrow at her as he sipped his coffee, grumbling under his breath as she crowded into his personal space an stole the cup of coffee from him, swallowing down a few mouthfuls at once. "Well, there were heaps of moans and groans and bumps and oh, Alexander, oh, fuck me harder," Clary smirked and Simon let out a short laugh. "Seriously, though, who calls their one night stand 'Alexander' in the middle of sex? Can't you go with a nickname or something?"

"Yeah, but since when does Magnus do what everyone else will do?" Simon reasoned. "Wait, you said all night and then all morning."

"You heard me," Clary sighed and stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "And now I'm fucking horny as shit." Simon just huffed out a laugh and shook his head.

"Why are you horny?"

"I was turned on last night, and then ended up at Magnus', in the lounge—and you know how funny Mags is with people getting it on on the his expensive furniture—and then I had to listen to those two fucking all night, and they were damn well having a good time—"

"So you got turned on listening to two guys having sex?" Simon sounded utterly confused and Clary shrugged.

"Yeah? And? Two people having sex and both of them clearly having good sex? And I know at least one of them is bloody good, since I've been with Magnus," she sighed and took another drink of coffee. "And are you saying that if it was you listening to two girls having sex you wouldn't be turned on?" Simon pursed his lips together in a slightly guilty smirk and she raised her eyebrows purposefully at him. "Exactly—I know what kind of porn you watch. You can't lie to someone who's known you your whole life and can hear what's playing on your lap top through the thin walls of this apartment." Simon cheeks reddened a little which just made Clary's smirk grow. "I'm going to go and have a shower. I'm still all sweaty and shit from last night," she handed back his practically empty cup and started walking toward the door leading down the hall.

"I know that's not all you're going to do in that shower!" Simon called after her but Clary ignored him. The only response he got was a grumble and a hiss from Lydia as she rolled over on the couch, trying to hide her head under one of the cushions.

Yeah, so her and MJ owner weren't a thing.

Hell, they weren't even really friends.

They just sort of...Hung out on a reasonably regular basis.

But whatever the case, he was her go to when she was getting herself off by herself in the shower. His long fingers and sure touch, his eyes that were furious most of the time but occasionally turned into this warm puddle, his luscious, full mouth...Clary let out a moan as she felt the pressure in the pit of her stomach release, stickiness flooding down her thighs and mingling with the warm water from the shower before washing down the drain.

Wasn't quite as much as a relief as being with someone, but it would do for now.

They didn't have plans to go out Saturday night, but Raphael text them just after five and said that he was meeting up with a couple of the guys in his engineering class at a bar to play darts. Lydia wiggled into one of Clary's dresses, even though there were a few sizes between them so it was quite tight around her chest, and they even managed to drag Simon away from studying for a quiz he had next week.

Darts at the bar ended up in going back to one of the fraternity houses, and Simon's glasses were stolen by a pretty blonde girl who seemed to have a thing for nerds. Maureen would undoubtedly have a field day with the pictures when they went up on Facebook, but it wasn't as though she had any claim of him. They were only casually dating, thankfully Simon had managed to stay firm on that front, and Clary, Lydia, Raphael and Magnus kept trying to push him toward cutting any ties he had with her.

The perky blonde seemed like a step in the right direction. She dragged Simon upstairs for a few hours, and when he came back down with the buttons of his shirt all down askew and his hair a complete mess, a grin plastered on his face.

A hot dark haired guy kept bringing Clary and Lydia drinks, his hands every now and then drifting over their shoulders and their lower backs, clearly with a plan for all three of them in his head. Clary and Lydia exchanged looks, giggling and accepting drinks, giving each other a few kisses so that the boy had something to remember them by after they left—and not with him. They were all pretty drunk, but they got back to Simon and Clary's apartment in one piece some time around three. They choked back bottles of water, knowing that it would help with the hangover in the morning, and then Lydia curled up in Clary's bed with her, Simon in his own, and Raphael on the couch.

The next day was spent on the couch with Simon on one side and a mainly sleeping Lydia on her other side, Raphael on the arm chair with a blanket over him and his feet propped up on the coffee table. They ordered pizza for lunch and Clary and Raphael ventured out onto their tiny balcony to smoke a cigarette after they finished the whole thing off. It was almost six when she got a text. She couldn't be bothered reaching over to where her phone was plugged in at the wall, a little out of arms length, because she felt warm where she was snuggled under a blanket between her friends. It vibrated again a few minutes later and Lydia leaned over and grabbed it, letting out an excited noise as she tugged it off the charger and handed it over.

"It's your man," she sung out, sounding a bit more awake than she did now. Clary felt a little jump in her stomach as she took the phone from her friend and looked at it.

Not working tonight.

And then there was the second one.

Dinner?

His texts were always short and to the point. Flipping her thumb over her screen so that she could look back on their earlier conversations, her green bubbles of text were always so much bigger than his one or two lined grey bubbles.

Sounds bloody brilliant. I'll be there in about half an hour. I should at least try to drag a brush through my hair and look presentable, right? Kind of look mess right now.

His reply was quick.

K.

"This guy sure knows how to make a girl feel special," she snorted at his response.

"You going over there?" Lydia asked as Clary got off the couch and stretched her arms above her head.

"He's gonna cook me dinner," Clary grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

"There's gotta be something wrong with this dude," Raphael piped up lazily. "I mean, totally willing to feed you for free and shit and not even expect you to blow him?"

"Maybe he's just a gentleman?" Clary suggested. "Not that I expect you to even know the meaning of that word." Raphael rolled his eyes and went back to watching TV, not particularly interested.

"That's so not fair," Lydia stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "I need an older guy who's good at cooking and lets me smoke his weed and sleep over without even expecting anything in return." Clary shrugged and skipped out of the room. It was a weird arrangement that she didn't even totally understand herself, so she wasn't about to have a big discussion about it, even though her friends pushed it all the time. She pulled a brush through her hair, getting it at least a bit tamer than it had been before and then changed out of the singlet she was wearing and into a hoodie and a pair of loose mini-shorts shorts that made her ass look amazing but were also ridiculously comfortable to sleep in.

"I'll see you guys later," Clary said as she walked through the lounge.

"You gonna be home tonight?" Simon asked as she opened the front door.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"Text me if you need a ride," he told her before she shut the door and started walking down the hall of their apartment buildings. Simon always made sure to offer her a ride when she went out. He had definitely been nervous the first few times she had gone over to the club owners apartment, which was understandable, but he seemed to be a little more trusting now.

The apartment block was a good twenty minute walking away. Sometimes he would come and pick her up, or Simon would drop her off, but it was a nice evening and the sun was still warming the air, and so she was more than happy to walk. He was older than them by a few years and also better off financially because, obviously, most people were financially better off that students, and he lived in a building that used to be an industrial building that got made into a couple of spacious apartments, and he was in the loft. It was a gorgeous space, massive with floor to ceiling windows, the kitchen and lounge all open plan before leading down a hallway to a large bathroom, a study which doubled as a personal gym and a bathroom.

Clary pressed her finger against the buzzer was she waited for the door to be opened, and he gave her access without a word. Not that she was particularly surprised, he was definitely more the strong, silent type. She took the elevator up to the fifth floor and knocked twice on the large wooden door. She heard footsteps coming toward her, and then the door swung open and he glanced her up and down.

"Hey, Jace," Clary sung out as she skipped past him, and into the loft. "So what's for dinner?"

Okay.

So, I had my movie/TV show/song recommendations all written up, but then Wednesday happened, and I kind of wanted to say something and it didn't seem right to put them in here along with this.

So...I'm going to start this with; I don't understand. I can't comprehend. I have absolutely no idea what the people and the families of those involved in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going through. I can't even imagine what...What they're feeling or how they're doing.

I just...I don't even know how to put what I personally feel into words, and then I think about how shit and selfish that is, because I'm halfway around the world, and yet there are people who were there, people who were in that school, and they've been incredibly brave by doing interviews or getting out there via social media about what they went through, and what needs to happen. I watched an interview with one boy who put it well, "We are children. You guys are the adults. Work together, get over your politics and get something done."

Yes.

Where I live, the last time we had a mass shooting—which is defined where four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed—was in 1997. In my life time, there have only been three. From what I understand, there have been eight school shootings this year alone in the US. I just—I can't even understand that.

I don't usually put things up about national/international events, but there were kids my baby brothers age...There were fourteen year olds who were killed. How do we live in a world where someone can do that? I was absolutely bawling my eyes out when I was reading the updates and watching the videos that kids had posted and I just...I don't understand.

I just wanted to say I'm sorry.

To anyone who is directly or indirectly affected.

To anyone who lives in the US and this is a constant fear for you.

Because that's really all I can say xx