HELLO MY FAITHFULS! I am actually updating within a decent time period! Shocking, I know. But I had to get this out, and I had free time (took a trip to the lake for Father's Day), so BAM I DID IT! I think you guys will like this chapter, because it is filled with... something you've been waiting for ;) I hope you guys like it! And it seems people like Sergeant Cuddles, so he will be making some more appearances! Nowwwww... ON WITH THE STORY!

JACE POV

"So Mom and Dad are out of town." Isabelle oh-so-intelligently pointed out without looking up from whatever gossip magazine she was reading. I rolled my eyes, but I knew she couldn't see it, so I decided to verbalize how truly impressed I was with that sentence. Which was not at all.

"Yes, Isabelle." I snorted, "I can see that, you know, considering the fact that they are not here and told us they were leaving-"

"Stop being a smartass." Izzy scolded, turning a page and not bothering to lift her eyes, "I was just thinking that we could have a party." My eyes widened a fraction at how she'd said that so casually. As if a party wouldn't destroy our house and leave vomit and food and alcohol everywhere. Then, I wondered when I became responsible enough to worry about the vomit and food and alcohol everywhere.

"Isabelle..." I said slowly, "You know that having a party is a very bad idea, right?" For some reason, that was what got her head to snap up. Her eyebrow was raised, and though she tried to hide it, she looked slightly shocked. I couldn't blame her, because the day had come when Jonathan Christopher Lightwood turned down a party.

"I just meant my group." She tilted her head a slight bit in curiosity, "But I never would've thought you would act more responsibly than me." I crossed my arms indignantly, letting out a huff of annoyance.

"I am not responsible." I grumbled resentfully. All Isabelle had to do was give me a look, and I knew there was no use denying it. Then, what she said registered in my head, "Wait, you consider inviting your little tiny friend group over a party?" At that, she smirked, lowering her gaze back to her celebrity gossip. I glared at her as she continued with her magazine.

"I don't." She admitted, no remorse in her tone, "I just wanted to see your reaction." Clarification, you just wanted to see how much Clary changed me, "Actually, I wanted to see how much Clary changed you." Well I didn't expect her to actually say it. I thought it would remain nonverbal, but apparently, it had to be said aloud.

"Whatever." Was my extremely intelligent response, and even though I couldn't see it, I knew she had a stupidly smug look on her face. I opened my mouth to give her somewhat of a newly decent retort, but before I could, the doorbell rang. Isabelle just ignored it, instead opting to continue on with whatever scandal was going on in Hollywood. Clearly, she wasn't about to get up, so after another ring of the doorbell, I groaned, stomping to the door in a dignified way. Or at least, what I hoped was a dignified way.

I opened the door to reveal Clary standing there, bundled up in a jacket with a beanie pulled over her head. She smiled, and I hated to admit it, but it caused a sudden warmth in me.

And now you sound like a girly preteen. Congratulations, Jace. You have successfully reverted in age.

"Hey, Jace." She greeted.

"Hey, Shortcake." I regained my senses, stepping to the side to let her in. She took the silent cue, stepping past me and into the house. She peeled the jacket off, walking into the living room and tossing it on a chair before plopping down on the couch next to Izzy. I opened my mouth to start some sort of conversation but the doorbell rang again. My first instinct was to walk over to the entryway again, but I stopped myself.

"Isabelle, they're your guests." I said pointedly, trying not to sound immature, "You get off your butt and let them in." Iz opened her mouth to protest, but the stubborn look I gave her made her sigh, relenting. She got up, stomping away much like I had, and I took the opportunity to steal her spot next to Clary.

"So do you have any idea what we're doing?" Clary asked, and I was surprised that she honestly didn't know what was in store, "Isabelle just told me, and I quote, 'Be ready for anything'. And then she winked. That terrifies me." When the words found their way through my thick skull, the blood drained from my face. I knew it had to have something to do with me and Clary, because I knew Isabelle Lightwood. She would not have winked unless she meant business.

I saw the moment Clary noticed the change in me, because she narrowed her eyes slightly. Luckily, I was saved by the rest of her group entering the room. I waved to all of them, but when I turned to Clary, she was still focused on me.

"What do you know?" She whispered softly, so no one else could hear her but me. I shrugged, trying to look as innocent as possible. Obviously, she didn't fall for it, but to my surprise, Isabelle was the one who saved me from further questioning. Izzy clapped, drawing all attention to herself.

"So let's start this off with a fun little game of Truth or Dare."

...So maybe saved wasn't the right word.

"Wow, Iz." Simon laughed nervously, and it didn't seem like I was the only one who was wary, "Are we just jumping straight into the deep end?" Yes, apparently we were, because Truth or Dare was a dangerous game. A very dangerous game, especially when Isabelle Lightwood was the one who initiated it. The rest of the group shared nervous looks, so I didn't feel bad about my own slight fear.

Okay, so my fear wasn't slight, considering the fact that this game was meant to have me as the victim.

"Of course we are!" Iz said cheerfully. Then, with reluctant grumbles, everyone found a place to sit. I cursed the fact that none of us were brave enough to speak up against it, but we all knew that if we did, we would die at her hands, "So, who wants to go first?" Everyone raised their hands at once, none of us wanting to face anyone else's wrath.

Twenty minutes later, the dirty dares had still not been breached, which gave me hope. I knew that Izzy wouldn't initiate them, because that would be too obvious. So far, we seemed to be in the green. The dares had mostly consisted of embarrassing things, but not dirty embarrassing things. And Clary was up, so I knew we would be safe.

"Isabelle, truth or dare?" And then she got the smile on her face. It was the smile she used whenever things were about to go wrong with her as the catalyst.

"Dare, of course." Isabelle smirked, challenge clear in her gaze. And then, the worst thing humanly possible happened.

"I dare you to kiss Simon."

And the key twisted in the lock.

"Okay." Isabelle shrugged as if it was no big deal, but I saw the war raging in her mind. A part of her was nervous about kissing Simon, but the other larger part of her was smug as all hell, because shit was about to go down. After their kiss, of course. Isabelle crawled over to Simon, pressing a quick peck to his lips as he stared at her, dumbfounded. Even though she would deny it until the day she died, her cheeks were the tiniest bit pink.

And that was when I made the mistake of snorting.

Her head snapped my way, and I knew I was screwed.

"Jace." She grinned sweetly, "Truth or dare?" I weighed my options in my mind. If I chose dare, I had no idea what in the world would ensue. If I chose truth, I knew exactly what would ensue. She would ask what I felt for Clary, and because I was a man with irrational pride, I wouldn't be able to lie. So I chose to suffer at the hands of fate.

"Dare." I squeaked out the word, then closed my eyes tightly.

"I dare you..." Isabelle hummed like she was thinking, but I knew she had been waiting for this moment. Actually, the whole game had probably revolved around this moment. Most likely, it would just be a quick kiss, because Isabelle was evil, but not diabolical. "I dare you to kiss Clary for twenty seconds."

Scratch that. She was diabolical.

"And at some point, the word French has to be thrown in the mix."

No, scratch that. She was worse than diabolical.

Surprised murmurs spread around the room, and clearly, none of them knew about Izzy's support. I ignored them. At least, I tried to ignore them, but I couldn't keep my eyes from flicking around the room. All of them were shellshocked, which didn't help me at all. But I had to do it. Not that I would be complaining. The only thing was that I had to try and look unaffected, which would be a feat of amazement.

I swallowed hard, taking a deep breath, then pulled every bit of fake bravado in me to the surface. A smirk grew on my face, and I turned to Clary, whose eyes were wide. Her lips were parted, and I couldn't help but think that in a few seconds, I would be kissing those lips. My hands shook the tiniest bit, but I didn't know whether it was out of nervousness or anticipation.

She, on the other hand, looked terrified.

"Scared, Shortcake?" I challenged, trying in my own twisted way to make her less scared. Apparently, it was the right thing to do, because the fear on her face turned into a challenging glare.

"I'm not scared." Her eyes narrowed.

"Well you shouldn't be, because I'm about to rock your world." I wiggled my eyebrows, feeling my own nerves begin to calm. She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was trying not to smile. It made the smirk on my face a bit less fake.

"All bark and no bite." She said simply, a smirk tugging at her own mouth.

"Oh I can bite." My voice was lower than intended, and her eyes widened just a fraction, but it was enough for me to see, "But I won't." I didn't miss her hard swallow, and it gave me the confidence I needed to get up from the couch and walk over to the spot on the floor she'd switched to at some point during the game. After I sat down in front of her, I knew it was time. I moved so that our lips were millimeters apart, and I could feel her breaths on my skin, "It's okay." I murmured just loud enough for her to catch, "It's me."

She gave me the tiniest nod, and then I closed the distance.

At first it was soft, just a gentle brush of lips. Then, there was a slight bit more pressure, but it was still achingly soft and sweet. And that was when I had the realization that this was enough, that I could probably sit for hours doing just this, because it was Clary I was kissing. It was so different than any of my one night stands. Granted, that made sense, considering the fact that I actually felt something for Clarissa Adele Fray.

And then her lips started to move against mine, and it felt glorious. My hand came up to cup her cheek of its own accord, but she didn't mind, judging by the way she leaned into my touch. Her arms came to rest around my neck, and I realized that we'd probably used up about ten seconds of our time, so it was time to take it a step further.

I gently licked her bottom lip, and she gasped. That one sound was what made me lose it. I pulled her closer, letting my tongue slip into her mouth, not rough enough to scare her, but enough to let her know my intentions, which were slowly blurring into something other than the dare. Her hands slid up my neck and into my hair, and she tugged, which was always my undoing. With other girls, it felt good. With Clary, it felt-

She tugged again, and my mind went wild as I let out what sounded like a bit of a growl. Fine, a lot like a growl. One of my hands buried itself in her curls while I wrapped my free arm around her waist, pulling her closer than we'd ever been before. She didn't seem to mind, tilting her head at the perfect angle to deepen the kiss even more.

It was absolutely incredible.

"JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER AND CLARISSA ADELE!" The yell caused us to jump and pull away from each other on instinct. Simon didn't have to say anything more for me to realize that we had probably been kissing for more than twenty seconds, but I couldn't bring myself to care because of the sight in front of me.

Clary was panting, eyes wide. Her lips were swollen because I'd kissed them. Her hair was messy because I'd had my hands in it. All of that made me want to throw everything away and pull her back into my arms, but I knew I had to control myself. Even if it was one of the hardest things I'd done in my life.

"Still think..." I cleared my throat, because my voice was embarrassingly unsteady, "Still think I'm all bark?"

CLARY POV

"I dare you to kiss Clary for twenty seconds."

Holy shit.

"And at some point, the word French has to be thrown in the mix."

Holy motherfreaking shit.

Clearly, I had died and gone to Heaven. Or Hell, depending on the way you looked at it, because I had to kiss Jace without letting him get an idea of how I felt. It was terrifying. I was getting what I wanted handed to me on a silver platter, but I couldn't let him know that I'd wanted it in the first place. It was terribly, horribly a predicament that I didn't know whether or not I wanted to be faced with.

I'd been so wrapped up in my own emotions that I'd barely caught the nervousness on Jace's face before it was replaced with a smirk. It was a smirk that I knew was fake. I just didn't know why it was fake. I hoped it wasn't because he hated the idea of kissing me and had to cover it up with-

I stopped from going into complete panic mode, instead opting to trick myself into believing that the smirk was at least the tiniest bit real.

"Scared, Shortcake?" He teased, and for some reason, it distracted me. Well, not for some reason. I still had that piece of me that refused to let Jace win any sort of challenge. Old habits die hard, apparently. I hoped my icy glare spoke for itself, but I had to say it aloud anyways for my own peace of mind.

"I'm not scared." I narrowed my eyes even more, ready for anything he was about to throw at me. Jace would not be allowed a victory on this.

"Well you shouldn't be, because I'm about to rock your world." Jace wiggled his eyebrows in a way I never could, and I could tell the smirk on his face was genuine at this point. Being me, I had to knock his ego down a few notches. It barely took a second for me to throw something back at him. Even still, I couldn't help but want to grin.

"All bark and no bite." Was my quick and concise response, but when I looked into Jace's eyes and there was that glint in them, I knew I'd made a horrible mistake.

"Oh I can bite." His voice was low and smooth and pure gold. My eyes widened of their own accord, because Jace had just majorly flirted with me. And it was a dirty flirt, not just those innocent brushes of hands or a hug that may or may not last too long. No, this was the true Jace Lightwood charm. Then again, I didn't even know if he was trying to do it, if he even realized he was doing it in the first place.

"But I won't." He added, but my mind was still racing with what, exactly, that would entail. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my mind in an appropriate place. He walked over and sat down in front of me, his face coming so close to mine that I could feel his exhales. Seeming as unaffected as possible was one of the hardest things I'd done in my life, but my wariness must've still shown through.

"It's okay." I barely heard his whisper over my pounding heart. "It's me." And those four words were what gave me the courage to nod. Then, he closed the minimal distance between us. At first, it was so soft and gentle, and it made me wonder if Jace had kissed anyone else like this. It was so intimate and sweet that I almost turned to mush.

And that was when I realized that I was so involved in my own head that I hadn't kissed back, so I did. A part of me doubted that I should, because it was a dare, and Jace was only doing this because he had to. Then, he brought his hand to my face, and I couldn't help but lean into the pressure.

So I figured that at least he wasn't having a horrible time. It gave me the boost I needed to wrap my arms around his neck. For a few seconds, we stayed like that, but then I figured that we'd been kissing for almost too long, and there had to be tongue at some point. Jace seemed to have the epiphany at the same time, because his tongue swiped across my lower lip. I gasped at the feeling, and he seemed to take it as a cue, because that was when we really started kissing.

His tongue entered my mouth, and boy it felt glorious, so glorious that I was gutsy enough to use his weak spot. I let my fingers slide into his hair and tug. There was a pause, so I tugged again, and he let out a growl that made me shiver from head to toe. And that was when I was sure that he was, in fact, enjoying this.

So I was bold and took it a step further, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. It felt absolutely amazing. So amazing that we'd clearly lost track of time. That was pointed out barley a second after I thought of it.

"JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER AND CLARISSA ADELE!" Surprisingly, it was Simon yelling, so that was definitely a sign to jump away from each other.

I was out of breath and very sure that I looked like a mess. Jace did too. On the surface he covered up everything, but there was a certain look in his eyes that almost made me believe that he would say 'Screw it' and take me back. That seemed to be what I wanted, but I knew that this wasn't the right time, place, or situation.

"Still think..." It shocked me that his voice wasn't steady, and I realized that was because of me. My heart almost melted as he cleared his throat, "Still think I'm all bark?"

God no.

Soooo... First kiss. And it was a real super kiss. Granted, it was a little bit by force, but they kissed, and that's what matters, right? I hope you guys are ready, because the Clace ship is now starting to sail! And now onto the...

Question of the Chapter: If you were to give Sergeant Cuddles to someone, who would it be?

Until next time, my Faithfuls!

-Shadowhunter5801