HELLO MY FAITHFULS! OKAY SO I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS CHAPTER FOR SO LONG. Not long as in sit-down-at-the-computer-for-two-hours-all-at-once long (like it should've been). It was more like I'll-work-on-this-in-the-two-minutes-I-have-free-who-knows-how-many-times long (like it shouldn't have been). To be honest, I completely flip-switched my entire plot with the last chapter, because I didn't realize what I was doing until I'd done it :D ANYWAYS HERE YA GO!

CLARY POV

The group stared at us. We stared at them. It was terribly, horribly, tremendously-and every similar adjective I couldn't think of at the moment-awkward. They were giving Jace the same, soul searching look they'd given me. Even "the great" Jonathan Christopher Lightwood was beginning to shift under their gazes. What made it even worse was that no one was saying a word. About ten seconds later, I realized that, yes, I was capable of speech.

"So, this is Jace." My mouth decided to so intelligently form, and I cursed myself silently. I probably couldn't have come up with something worse if I tried, but it had the unintentional effect of the group shifting their eyes to me. All of them held the 'Could you possibly be more of an idiot?' message, but at least their attention was off of Jace. When I turned to face said boy, I was mortified to find his eyebrow raised and amusement dancing in his irises.

"I think they know my name, Shortcake." Jace must've been a wizard, because his words cleared the air like magic. I huffed, crossing my arms and mumbling something unintelligible. A snort came from the group, and I whipped around to train a deathly cold glare on Alec. He shrunk back, but that was when I realized that he was the odd one out, considering the fact that he wasn't exactly a part of the group. And of course I'd chosen to tell Jace that they were having an intervention about 'Things'. It wouldn't take a genius to figure it out from there.

I prayed to everything holy that Jace wouldn't put the pieces together, but when I turned to find a constipated look on his face, I realized I was out of luck. I buried my face in my hands, wondering if there was any possible way this could go even farther downhill.

I didn't mean for the universe to take it as a challenge.

"Clary? I thought you were going to be at..." Luke trailed off, but I had no idea why. That is, until I realized that he was staring at Jace, "Clarissa," I immediately stiffened, because he never used my full name unless he meant business, "Would you mind telling me why Jace is here in pajamas?" For a second, I stared at Luke like he was crazy, because Jace wasn't in-

Well, I thought when my eyes flicked toward Jace to find that he was, in fact, in pajamas, I'm screwed. That thought was furthered when Jace adopted the 'deer in a headlight' expression, which didn't exactly help us look less incriminating. For around two seconds, I internally freaked out. You can do this, Clary. I mentally tried to encourage myself. It wasn't working.

"We're having a movie night." By the grace of the gods, Magnus spoke up, and Luke looked past me and Jace to find that, yes, there were other people in the apartment. He immediately relaxed, but it wasn't quite all the way. Even as a smile grew on his face while he greeted the group, he kept glancing back at Jace. I couldn't exactly blame him because he was still under the impression that Jace was my arch nemesis. At least, he was up until he walked through the door.

"So what are you guys watching?" Luke asked when he was finished saying his 'Hello's.

"Sherlock." Jace said, holding up the DVD set and looking admittedly less terrified. The group made various noises of agreement, and I was so happy about the fact that they didn't show the surprise that they were no doubt feeling. I mean, Jace had said many a time how nerdy the show was, and that he would never be caught watching it in a million years, so they must have been at least a little shocked.

Luke still looked wary when he focused on Jace again, but there was a little less worry in his gaze. That led me to the conclusion that we were in the green, and that things were finally getting a bit better. Apparently, the universe didn't like that conclusion.

"Clary," My father turned to me, and I mentally cursed fate, "Can I... talk to you for a minute?" I nodded slowly, and he gestured for me to follow him. For some reason, my feet stayed rooted to the floor. It was probably the sheer dread that yanked my gut to the ground, "Clary." His voice was a slight bit firmer, and that spurred me into action. I would rather him not ask the questions that were no doubt to come directly in front of the obvious subject.

Jace, if that wasn't clear.

I resisted the urge to groan as I trudged after Luke. He stopped as soon as we turned the corner into the hall. Luckily, his expression wasn't accusatory, but there was a lot of curiosity in it. For a moment, there was complete silence. He knew I would start talking, but I was determined to stick it out until he said something. Needless to say, I failed.

"We're just friends." Was the first thing I blurted out. I guess it was the right thing to say, because the tension in Luke's shoulders loosened, "We finally realized our rivalry was pointless." The intended goal was to give the most vague answer possible that would be enough for him, and for just one second, I thought I was in the green. Again, the universe didn't want that in the slightest.

"And how did you come to this realization?" Luke took pity on me and raised two eyebrows instead of one, but that did nothing to stop the total giveaway of a blush that rushed to my cheeks. His eyebrows climbed higher as it was clearly noticed. I tried not to cringe, I really did, but just like the blood that rushed to my face, I couldn't exactly stop it. "Were you at least safe?" Was his next question, and my jaw dropped.

"No!" I immediately squeaked, and Luke narrowed his eyes. It was then that I processed the actual purpose of my answer versus what it sounded like, "I didn't mean no to being safe!" The pitch of my voice climbed higher as I still didn't clear up the miscommunication, "I meant, no to...we didn't...there was no..." I couldn't force out the word, because it was Luke for god's sake. As in my dad. He held up a hand to stop my stammering.

"Okay, okay." My shoulders sagged in relief when he understood what I meant, but I didn't like the way he was smirking, "But if you ever do-"

"Stop." I cut him off, shaking my head vigorously, "We do not need to have this talk because it is never going to happen." And also my friends are most likely eavesdropping and I would rather them not hear what was about to come out of your mouth. The second part was in my head, but I hoped it was conveyed through my eyes. He laughed, then ruffled my hair, and I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

"Go have fun with your friends." He winked. Then, he walked down the hall and into his room, but not before shouting, "But not too much fun!" I groaned, burying my face in my hands and blindly hoping that my friends-namely Jace-hadn't heard the little quip, but judging by the chorus of laughter coming from around the corner, I was out of luck.

At least Mom is out of town. I winced immediately after the thought, half waiting for her to announce her presence, but to my great pleasure, it didn't happen. Still, walking out and seeing everyone without my face turning fire engine red was impossible. I composed myself as much as I could, then walked back around the corner. Just as expected, I almost slammed into Maia before I took two steps.

All of them had been hidden just barely out of sight, and all of them looked like they wanted to make a joke. The glare I swept across them did nothing to change that. Even Jace looked mildly entertained, though to a lesser degree than the rest of them. I had a feeling that, behind all his bravado, Jace was the tiniest bit embarrassed too. There was absolutely no way in the world he would show it, though. No matter how much I wished for it to happen. At least then, some of the attention would be off of me.

I held my head high, walking past them without a word. They followed, clearly making a last ditch effort to contain themselves. That didn't last long.

"So we have to be safe now, Shortcake?" Surprisingly, it was Jace who started it, and the entire group cracked. They laughed so hard that I had a feeling they were crying, and I rolled my eyes, trying to keep up a facade of nonchalance. However, Golden Boy had forgotten about the intervention, so in a way, it was worth it. But not by much.

"Oh shut up." I muttered, plopping down on the couch and staring determinedly at the blank television screen.

"You might want to turn it on, Clare Bear." I didn't even have to look to know Simon was smiling like a maniac. All that did was make me huff and cross my arms as I decided to give them the silent treatment. Someone sat next to me, and the distinct smell of mangos reached my nose. Surprisingly, I was able to resist the urge to look at him. Everyone else settled in various places, and Jordan pushed in the first DVD, grabbing the remote and starting the show.

JACE POV

By the time the second episode finished, I was hooked. However, the others-who had no doubt watched it a million times-were fast asleep. I hadn't even noticed the fact that Clary was curled into my side. At some point, my arm must've dropped from the back of the couch to across her shoulders, and it shocked me that no one had made a comment. Then again, they were all probably too focused on the television until they dozed off.

"Hello, Jace." The voice to my right startled me, and my head snapped toward the sound. To my terror, Luke was standing by the couch, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. The fact that I was holding Clary became glaringly obvious, so I tried to scoot away. Sadly, her arms had somehow found their way around my torso, and she made a groggy sound of protest, hugging me tighter.

I was never one to blush, but the father of the girl who was currently snuggled into me was literally right there. No sensible human could avoid embarrassment. I didn't notice my mouth was open until I snapped it shut, and fear was overtaking my entire being. I had heard what he had put Sebastian Verlac through when Clary first introduced him as her boyfriend, so my reaction was warranted.

You're not her boyfriend. I reminded myself, but the way that Luke was looking at me suggested that it didn't matter. The thing was, I couldn't exactly blame him considering the fact that his daughter was cuddling me. Right. In. Front. Of. Him.

All I could do was blink.

He sighed, walking to the coffee table in front of me and sitting down on it. I swallowed hard, knowing that nothing good could come of that expression. For a while, there was silence. All he did was stare into my eyes, and I tried to hold his gaze with confidence, but I couldn't do it for long. I cleared my throat, suddenly finding myself looking at anything but him.

"Jace." He finally said my name again, and I forced myself to meet his stare again, "Please don't break her heart." It came out soft, surprisingly not threatening. I opened my mouth to tell him that Clary and I were just friends, and that she was asleep and not conscious of her actions, but he held up a hand before I could make a sound, "I see the way you look at her." I swallowed hard at his words, but I shouldn't be nervous, because he was wrong. I didn't look at her that way.

"We're not like that." I finally managed to get it out, "I mean, we haven't even been on good terms for long, much less..." The last part of that was better left unsaid.

"You didn't deny it." Luke pointed out, and my eyes widened marginally when I realized that he was right. The corner of his lip twitched, making me realize that I'd been silent for way too long. I had to rectify the situation. Fast.

"I don't see her that way." I tried, but it came out weaker than intended. It probably would have been stronger had it not been Luke I was talking to. To be honest, I was bracing myself for the threatening 'Dad Talk' that he'd provided for Clary's past boyfriends. I'd never heard it, but the looks on her ex's faces told me exactly what I needed to know. I swallowed hard, praying that Luke would believe me and I would avoid his wrath, but I had a feeling it was inevitable.

Then, Luke chuckled.

My gaze snapped to meet his, and to say I was surprised was a complete understatement. Instead of pinning me with a cold, hard glare, there was an amused light in his eyes and a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. I was too shocked to say a word, so he went on.

"I would threaten your life at this point..." Luke's grin turned to a smirk, "But I have a feeling that Isabelle had that covered." My mouth bobbed open and closed, because was it really that obvious what Isabelle had been talking about? Several times.

Not that I needed it.

Not at all.

"I was serious when I said I'm not interested." I forced myself to relax, and on the outside, it worked pretty well. The inside was a different story. Luke's expression didn't drop in the slightest, and my heart pounded in my chest. If he thought that after only barely seeing us for a fraction of a night, how the hell did people around us take it? I reminded myself that Luke was her father, so he would be extra paranoid. The accidental position we were in was most likely a factor. But it was just an accident.

Luke nodded, but I could tell that he didn't quite believe me. I thought he was going to crack a joke, but for what had to be my sake, he didn't.

"Good night." Was all he said, and my eyes grew wide at the fact that he was letting us stay the way we were sitting. He didn't even comment on it. Instead, he rose to his feet, but just before he took a step toward the hallway, he paused, "Be careful with her, Jace." For some reason, the words struck a chord in me, and I found myself nodding slowly.

"I will." I returned, my voice softer than intended. As soon as he was gone, my entire body relaxed. I hadn't even noticed I was tense until it went away. Then, I closed my eyes tightly, taking a deep breath. Despite the fact that we'd been cuddling, I couldn't seem to look down. It was completely justified, because snuggling in private was one thing. This was different. This was in front of her entire friend group, minus-thank god-Isabelle.

This was something a couple did. Not two people who were rivals less than two months before. Then again, rivals didn't exactly cuddle at night.

My mind suddenly screeched to a halt.

Oh god.

Oh god.

They knew. Every person in this room knew about it. They had to, seeing as Alec-as in the only other person who knew about Clary's and my...situation-was here, and Clary had said that they were having an intervention about 'Things'. It wasn't hard to put the puzzle together, but I could rest in a state of denial.

Or not.

Considering the fact that even current evidence pointed toward Alec telling the truth, I couldn't get them off our trail if I tried. It probably would've been useless since Clary had most likely confirmed it. And even if she didn't, my magically showing up at the door probably tilted everyone in the wrong direction.

Okay, technically, it was the right direction, but I'd like to think otherwise. Well, that would involve thinking cuddling Clary was wrong.

And was it wrong?

It wasn't like I was hurting or or playing her or anything of the sort. We were cuddling. Just cuddling. And the only reason we were doing that was because we can somehow formed a weird codependent relationship. With sleep, that is. Only with sleep. There was no way she could get the wrong idea. No way at all, because I didn't treat her any different than...

I stopped for a second, trying to find an end to that thought.

Seelie? Did you even have to bring up her name, you idiot.

Will? Yeah, because you play football with her all the time.

Isabelle? God, no.

Okay, so I treated her different, but it wasn't like I thought of her like everyone seemed to assume I did.

I didn't flirt with her.

(You told her she looks cute when she blushes)

I didn't hang out with her alone.

(That's what you were going for tonight)

I didn't touch her unnecessarily.

(Your arm is literally wrapped around her)

I didn't...

(Yeah, you've got nothin')

Sooooooooooooooooooo what is our dear sweet Jace thinking? Is he (FINALLY) realizing what we all did way long ago? That question shall remain unanswered for a bit longer. It's fun to try and pry Jace out of denial. That's the best part. And I'm so sorry I haven't been here in so long. Life is just life. And school is just school. (The second one being regrettably) (Except for Psychology) (Psychology is great). So anyways...

Question of the Chapter: What's your favorite thing about life?

It's an actual serious question, because it's important to have an answer. I hope that, even if you don't review it, you consider it.

With all the love to my Faithfuls,

-Shadowhunter5801