Merp, I've kinda lost track of my updating schedule? *Throws updates and internet cookies*

It felt weird not to text Jace, or stop by and see him.

They had been awkwardly distant for that first two weeks, between the time that Clary had left his apartment after hearing Jace and Isabelle talking, to when she had seen them again at Magnus'. Jace had text her a few of times in that time, and she had replied to two of them. She told herself that it was because she was doing it to be polite, but she knew deep down that it was because it felt weird not answering him. Not talking to him. Not seeing him. However, even though it was tense and it felt off, she sort of just thought that they would let things cool down, and then they would find their way back together.

But not now.

Now it felt even worse.

Jace had text her multiple times in the two days that had followed, a couple of them apologizing, but most of them just asking if he could meet her. He had even rung her a few times, and that was something that he never did, but Clary hadn't answered the calls. Part of her had been worried that he was going to show up at her apartment—another thing that he had never done—because if he had shown up, she wouldn't have been able to turn him away. But he hadn't, he respected her privacy enough for that at least.

It wasn't that she was angry at him—not anymore. And even the night of Magnus' party, she knew now that the fury she had felt wasn't his fault.

Now, she just felt hurt.

They weren't an item, they had never defined what they were, but they were something important. At least, it was important to her.

But she had bigger things to focus on.

Her showcase was coming up in just under a month. She had so many pieces that she still needed to finish, and she was ridiculously critical of her work—Madame Dorothea, Lydia and her mother told her that on a constant basis. She had to get it all perfect, though, because the people that were coming to their showcase—they were some of the most important people in the art world. There would be curators and agents and collectors that came from all over the country to look at their showcase, so try and pick out the up and comers so that they had a jump on everyone else.

So she threw everything she had into her art.

She got up in the morning, she ate breakfast, she went to class, she came home, she painted, she went to bed. Variations to her schedule included work and going out for dinner with her friends, but other than that, she bounced between her apartment and college.

Her friends were worried about her, but Simon told them that she was okay. He told them that her art was important and that this showcase was the most important thing she had ever painted for. He told them to give her space, and that if she wanted to talk to them, then she would.

There was a reason why Simon was her best friend, and Clary really wasn't sure if she told him enough that she loved him. He also hadn't mentioned Isabelle, or the 'girl from work' as she had been referenced before they had realized who she was. Clary wondered if he was still seeing her outside of work, but something told her that he wouldn't be.

As the showcase got even closer, she became even more withdrawn, and she had a couple of her shifts covered so that she could spend more time either in her room painting, or at the studio at school. It was two weeks before the showcase that Magnus decided to intervene. He had barely seen her at all since the party, and even though he knew that Clary didn't blame him for what happened and that he should not feel guilty at all, he still felt vaguely responsible.

"Come on, biscuit!" Magnus didn't even bother knocking on the door because he knew that Clary wouldn't answer. "We're going out!" Clary turned around with a frown, her hair a complete mess around her head and there paint streaks on her face and arms and smattering her clothes. "Alright, sweetie," Magnus sighed as he came over to her and took a sniff, making a face. "You need a shower, then I'm gonna get your hair and make up done, and then we're going out."

"But—"

"Nah-uh, sweet thang," Magnus sung out as he snatched the paintbrush from her hand and tugged her in the direction of the door. "Shower. Then we're going out. No arguments. We miss you, and you need to let loose. It's a win-win." From Clary's expression, it looked like she might want to argue more, but she seemed to see a similar expression on Magnus' face, and he really wasn't one to back down. Clary sighed, and let herself be dragged out of the room by Magnus.

Kaelie had done the rounding up, and everyone was good to go out, as expected. Generally they were together on Saturdays anyway, it had just been recently that they had all started going their own separate way since Clary had become so wrapped up in her art work and Raphael and Lydia had started dating.

It was eight o'clock when they left the apartment, going to a bar in town to start drinking. Simon kept looking at Clary nervously, as though waiting for her to throw her hands up in the air and storm out of the bar. But she didn't, she accepted the drinks that Kaelie and Lydia kept sliding her way, and after an hour or so, she loosened up. Magnus was commanding most of the attention at the table, which was pretty normal, and Clary seemed glad that everyone wasn't focused on her.

"I want to go dancing!" Kaelie announced after the fourth or fifth tequila shot. It was getting closer to ten, so clubs would be getting busier.

"Uh," Clary made a face, and clearly the alcohol hadn't completely gone to her head, because she still remembered everything that was going on at the moment, and that their usual bar was the one owned by a certain man that she was avoiding.

"We can go to Dancing Lights," Magnus quickly suggested, another club that was just around the block from MJ's. Most clubs were in that area though, since that was right near the University, which was where most of the patrons were from. They used to go there quite a bit before they had migrated to MJ's and Clary had struck up her unusual friendship with the owner.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan!" Kaelie agreed, and she slipped out from the booth that they had claimed at the back of the booth. She held out her hand to Clary and the redhead took it, getting to her feet. Raphael and Lydia had been all over each other, and Clary couldn't help her grin as they pulled apart to get themselves out of the booth. Lydia's lipstick was smudged, and there was some dark purple smeared on Raphael's mouth, and she had to adjust her dress as she stood up.

That was something else that had happened while Clary had been locking herself up, away from the world, and the only reason that she had known was because Lydia was in classes with her. She felt bad that she had been putting distance between her friends and herself, and she knew that she needed to make more of an effort, even though she had a good reason to be throwing herself into her art. There was more to it, and she couldn't cut off her friends just because she was hurting.

"I'm glad you guys sorted your shit out and got together," Clary said to Lydia as they walked out of the bar and started down the street. Kaelie was on her other side, and Raphael, Magnus and Simon were walking in front of them. The streets were busy, quite a few students that Clary vaguely recognized were laughing and grouped together, making their way between bars and clubs.

"Yeah," Lydia glanced forward to Raphael and then back at Clary with a grin. "Doesn't mean he's opposed to us making out, though," she laughed and Clary laughed with her. They got to the Dancing Lights and paid their entry fee, the bouncer stamping their hand with a fluorescent logo and then they made their way inside. Clary could definitely see why they had traded up for MJ's over this place, given it was bigger and cleaner, but the place was crowded and she could already see a couple of attractive guys who looked as though they were single at the bar.

Perfect to help her get lost tonight.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Clary said.

"I'll come with you," Kaelie piped up and the two girls parted from the rest of the group. "Ooh, that one's cute," she noted as she spotted a guy with dark hair and dark eyes. He was watching them closely, and Kaelie tilted her head to the side and sucked her lower lip into her mouth seductively. The man responded with a smirk and a raise of his eyebrows at the pair of them. "Ooh, yes. I definitely want to have fun with that one," she said and Clary turned her head to the man, who was watching them both. "And I think he wants to have fun with both of us."

And that was how Clary found herself in the middle of the guy and Kaelie. It would be nowhere near the first time that she had had a threesome and it wouldn't even be the first time that she had had a threesome with Kaelie. But even with the alcohol swirling around head and making her limbs heavy, she just wasn't feeling it. She tried, because she knew that it would be good for her, to have some proper fun that would make her forget the situation that she was in, even temporarily.

They had a few more shots and she kissed the guy, and she kissed Kaelie. Kaelie and the guy were kissing over her shoulder, but she just felt disconnected. Usually she would be horny, and she would be enjoying the foreplay that came before the sex. The guy's hand was on her hip and Kaelie was writhing against her back, but the music was too loud and the club was too hot.

"I'm sorry," Clary muttered, more to Kaelie than the guy, she really couldn't care less about him. She pulled away from them and started walking away. She heard Kaelie call out after her, and she looked back over her shoulder to look at her friend and mouth 'I'm fine' at her before finding her way out of the club. She didn't see her friends at the booth anymore, but then she wasn't particularly surprised by that. They had been gone for a while and the rest were probably drinking and dancing on their own.

Clary got out of the club and she took in a couple of deep breaths. The cool air felt good and after she felt the thundering in her ears slow down, she walked toward the curb and held up an arm. A cab pulled over quickly and she was about to get in when she heard her name called out. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Jace standing there. He was in jeans and a slim fitting henley and he looked fucking gorgeous with his hair all messy around his head, and there was a cigarette in his hand.

"Clary," he called out again and he began walking forward, toward her. Clary dropped her gaze and got in the car, slamming the door shut and giving her address to the driver.

So songs I recommend are I Think I'm OKAY by MGK, Yungblud and Travis Baker, which I absolutely adore, and the song and especially the music video give me intense early 2000's feels, and Lost by Dermont Kennedy, which is so damn beautiful, I've completely fallen in love with it. Also Lost Without You by Freya Ridlings, which was sent to me by Reppinda5o3 and is completely heart breaking. Umm...I can't really think of many movies and TV series I've been watching lately. Sorry :(

Okay, so, questions; what's your lockscreen/homescreen/blah blah blah? My lockscreen is Dominic Harrison and my homescreen is Demi Lovato, both total babes.

Umm...What are you go-to feel good movies? Mine are—not in any type of order—Princess Bride, The Swan Princess, Stardust, Spirit and Frozen. Lol. Not even sorry. I think Catch and Release might be working its way onto this list as well.

...'Please tell me I'm your one and only/Or lie and say at least tonight/I've got a brand new cure for lonely/And if you give me what I want/Then I'll give you what you like'...

xxxxxxx