HELLO MY FAITHFULS. Yes, I am finally posting a freaking chapter after several months. I'll be perfectly honest, I lost inspiration for this for a little bit. Well, more this chapter than anything else. I mean, I've got this thing planned out, but I just didn't know how to do this bit. For some reason, it was so hard. Plus, my summer and the start of school have been absolutely crazy. I've got so much on my plate right now.

But I think I'll be able to keep going, especially since we're nearing the end.

So, my sweet devoted Faithfuls...

ON WITH THE STORY!

JACE POV

We need to talk.

The words echoed in my head until there was nothing else I could hear, nothing else I could do. Clary seemed to be at a loss for words too, so a deafening silence ensued. Both of us were waiting for the other to make a move, to say something, but neither of us wanted to initiate it. I had absolutely no idea what to say. All I wanted to do was break this tension. So I was an idiot, as usual.

"The weather is nice." Was what came out of my mouth, my voice shaky. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a smile pulled at the corner of Clary's mouth, which made mine do the same. The awkwardness seemed to disappear as we both couldn't hold back laughter.

"Let me get this straight." Clary said after her laughing subsided, "You asked for a 'talk,' and you start it off by saying that the weather is nice when there's a blizzard outside." Blood rushed to my cheeks, and judging by the way she smirked, she'd noticed. All I did was roll my eyes, acting like I wasn't justifying her with a response when in reality, my mind was flying around. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"Well, it made you laugh, didn't it?" I made the logical point, and it was her smirk turned to another soft smile. Another silence descended, but this time, it wasn't bad. It was comfortable as our words began to flow unspoken. And in that moment, I believed it.

Clary liked me, as in like liked me.

And she seemed to realize that I like liked her at the same time.

I stepped closer to her, and she bit her lip, staring up at me through her lashes. My heart was pounding in my chest. It was a feeling I'd never had before. Then again, there was a lot I'd never had before with Clary. And I didn't regret it. I wasn't going to run.

That was the thought that gave me the courage to close the distance. My arms wrapped around her waist seemingly of their own accord, and hers fell around my neck. I opened my mouth to say something, but everything was already on the table. We didn't need to speak to convey what was in both of our eyes.

"Kiss me." I barely heard her whisper.

So I did.

For a long time.

When we broke apart, there was a shy smile on her face, and her cheeks were pink. I couldn't help my own soft grin, and what had happened to me? Jace Lightwood did not get all blushy and shy and just no. Well, he didn't before, but now... now was a different story. To my surprise, I didn't have the tiniest urge to take it all back.

Clary bit her lip, eyes trained on her feet, but I knew it wasn't a bad sign. And I loved it.

"So..." I took the initiative, breaking the silence that was in no way awkward. The confidence in me suddenly disappeared, because I'd sweet talked girls before, but I'd never asked one out with the intention of actually starting a relationship. "Will...Will you... Go..." I struggled.

Her gaze lifted.

"Out with you?" She finished for me.

I still couldn't get a sound out of my mouth, so I nodded wordlessly, embarrassed beyond belief that I was blushing. But I was blushing because of Clary, and somehow, that made it okay. My eyes flicked to the kitchen door where everyone was no doubt eavesdropping, then turned back to Clary.

"Should we...?" I trailed off with the unfinished question. There was a muffled thump on the door, and Clary snorted with a roll of her eyes. I was reminded why I liked her when she crept quietly over to that very door and flung it out with a surprising amount of force.

There were a series of yelps and a slightly concerning crash as the door hit a body, which then hit other bodies, which then possibly hit a piece of furniture. For a second, I felt bad. Then, I realized that they had, in fact, been eavesdropping, so it was, in fact, their fault. I just hoped nothing had broken.

Before even paying attention to any of the slightly annoyed people on the ground, I glanced out to make sure that nothing valuable had shattered. Luckily, we seemed to be in the green. Then, the people began to rise to their feet, so my attention was brought back to them.

All of the group was there. Even Alec had come down, apparently to witness the scene. My eyes flicked to Clary, and despite the fact that she'd seemed normal when she threw open the door, her face was fire-engine red. Her hair was even messier than before, and even though she seemed to pay attention, she looked a bit detached. It was like she was in her own little world. I thought-hoped- it was because of me.

"We're going to have to deal with this for a long time, aren't we?" Magnus piped up, a bit of exasperation in his voice. I tilted my head in question. "You two being a lovey-dovey couple who stare at each other like that's the only thing that matters in the world." It felt like a sort of backhanded compliment, so I smiled.

"Yes, you are." Surprisingly it was Clary who spoke up, a firm note to her tone. The rest of the group simultaneously rolled their eyes, and I felt a little bit lighter. Okay, a lot lighter. Like my lungs were filled with helium and I could fly and when did I become a girl? "At least, I hope."

Clary's words drew me back to her, and I saw something in her eyes. There was a slightly guarded fear in them. That was when I realized how scary this must be for her. Yes, it was clear that we had feelings for each other, but for a long time, I had been Jonathan Christopher Lightwood, player extraordinaire. I'd used girls like tissues and never looked back.

"Of course." I murmured, and I would spend every second of our relationship proving that to her if I had to. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I had changed for the better, that she had changed me for the better. As cliche as it sounded, it was one hundred percent true. So if she didn't fully believe that now, she would have to in the end.

"Awwww." The sound pulled me from my thoughts. I didn't even feel the need to roll my eyes as Maia made a heart with her hands. It was warranted, if I should say so myself. Then, I turned back to Clary, and her cheeks were still tinged pink.

Yes, definitely warranted.

CLARY POV

"There are a couple rules though." Isabelle suddenly piped up, and fear immediately gripped me. She may be my best friend, but I knew she wasn't above severe punishment if I went against her wishes. So all rules would have to be obeyed. If I wanted to keep my life, at least. "Actually, there's only one big one." That brought a bit of relief, but if there was only one, that must be big. "There will be absolutely no making out in front of me, because if there is, I will throw up. And if I will throw up, I'll make sure it's on both of you."

There were murmured agreements amongst the group, and I rolled my eyes. Honestly, that could've gone unsaid, because I wasn't about to make that a public show. But I had a feeling it was more directed at Jace than me, considering his past displays with girls. Even though there was a bit of worry in me, I knew that wouldn't happen, though.

Jace had changed. That was absolutely, blatantly obvious. He was kind and caring and dare I say it, adorable. I knew he would never intentionally hurt me. There was no way to prove it, but it was just something I knew deep down inside. Jace was a passionate person, and now... now he was passionate about me.

In the least dirty sense possible.

Well, mostly.

"Weren't you the one who dared us to make out." Jace pointed out in response to Izzy, "For twenty seconds. With tongue." And he was completely right. It wasn't like the group minded, either. In fact, they'd almost seemed to encourage it. So there really should be no protesting on their part.

"That was a one time thing." There was a pouty undertone to Isabelle's words, because she knew Jace was right. He snorted, and I couldn't help my own chuckle.

"It's true." I shrugged when she turned to me for what looked like help. Then, an expression of horror crossed her face, and my brow furrowed in question. For a moment, she didn't speak, just stared at us. I snapped my fingers to bring her back to her senses.

"I just realized that now, you guys are going to agree on things." She shuddered, and a look of impending self-doom took place on her. To my surprise, that same emotion seemed to pass through the group. For a moment, I wondered why. Then, I realized that Jace and I were two very strong willed people, hence our previous clashing. But now, with us on the same side...

An evil laugh bubbled out of my mouth, and everyone's eyes snapped to me. Most of them were pure dread, but one pair was filled with amusement.

"Yes." Jace slung an arm over my shoulders, "With Shortcake and I on the same side... No one can stop us." The same maniacal laughter passed through his lips, and the group's concern seemed to amp up by a hundred.

Then, I turned to face Jace with a smile. I ended up meeting his gaze, and immediately drowned in the golden pools of his irises. I'd always thought they were beautiful, despite not wanting to admit it for the longest time, but now, when they were filled with such radiance and happiness because of me, they were absolutely stunning.

My breath caught in my throat, and we couldn't seem to look away, completely lost in each other. As stupidly cliche as it sounded, the world fell away until there was nothing but him and I.

And that was when it hit me full force.

Jace had feelings for me.

Jonathan Christopher Lightwood had feelings for me, and they weren't just comprised of lust. He genuinely cared. On top of that, it seemed like he cared more about me than he ever had any other girl in his life.

Well, outside of his family.

And that was pure bliss. The fact that the Great Jace Lightwood had even given me a second glance was something. The fact that he looked at me like I was his world... that was something else entirely. Needless to say, it warmed me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and it was perfect. Everything was absolutely perfect.

"By the angel." Simon groaned, tearing me away from the trance I had been in, "And so it begins."

"What begins?" I asked a bit defensively.

"The lovey dovey mushy stuff that we're going to have to put up with for who knows how long." He clarified. I was caught between being slightly offended and greatly amused. For the sake of everyone, I chose the latter.

"Oh it's going to get much worse." Surprisingly, it was Jace who started teasing before I could. But of course, I had to add on.

"We're going to hold hands everywhere we go."

"We're going to make kissy faces whenever we see each other."

"We're going to give each other little nicknames."

"Like Honey and Pookie."

"Of course, we'll cuddle endlessly."

"And we'll get lost in each other's eyes."

"So-"

"Okay, okay!" Alec exclaimed, and I tried to keep a straight face, "We get it. You are going to be lovestruck idiots like those couples you read about in those stupid fluffy fanfictions." I laughed while Jace wrinkled his nose. It looked like he was a bit disgusted.

"I don't read fanfictions." To be honest, it came out a bit too defensive to be believable.

"You're right. You don't have to." Magnus said, "Because you're basically a living, breathing, YA romance novel couple. I mean, you start off as total enemies, are forced together by unforeseen circumstances, start being unintentionally romantic, become friends, flirt endlessly, deny your feelings, then finally come to the realization that both of you feel the same way."

Well, when he put it like that...

"Not to mention the meddling friends." Jordan added with a slightly proud smile, and I couldn't help the fact that the corners of my lips pulled up slightly. Jace and I looked at each other at the same time. No matter how much we could possibly try to protest, it was so true.

"I guess it is." Jace shrugged as if it was no big deal, and my heart fluttered in my chest.

Because maybe, just maybe, we were a living, breathing, giant cliche.

AWWWWWWWWW! In my opinion, this was pretty sweet. And I mean, throwing in the fanfriction thing was a bit genius ;) Not really, but I'd like to think so. Anyways... They are FINALLY TOGETHER! WOOHOO! I loved writing the normally suave Jace as unable to ask a girl on a date. I just feel like it's so... different for him. Uncharted territory, so I had to.

Question of the Chapter: Do you write, whether it's fiction, nonfiction, or anything in between? If so, what's the name of your absolute favorite thing you've written?

Until next time my Faithfuls,

-Shadowhunter5801