Hey :) So. This year has already felt as though it's lasted a century and we're only two and half months in. Shiiiiiiiiit. I hope you're all okay and have support and love and care surrounding you. I love you all.

Clary refused to stay home from school on Monday, even though Kaelie said that she would bail with her and they could go and get mani/pedi's. She wasn't going to let Lydia chase her out of school grounds, she would just ignore the bitch if she came up to her, and she knew that Kaelie would as well. She's not too sure how she would act if Jordan came up to her...She liked to think that she wasn't going to stoop to some low level and slap him, but she had gotten hardly any sleep last night and her father had wanted a family dinner—minus Jonathan—last night, which had been tense and awkward, so she might just react without really thinking if he came up to her.

Kaelie and Simon barely left her side. It wasn't as though she was some damsel in distress, and it wasn't as though she had only just broken up with Jordan and was hurting over it because she had seen the pair of them together, but their support made her feel stronger.

Jace had sent her a couple of messages.

It seemed as though he really wasn't the texting type, or maybe he just had a lot going on, because after he had sent her the text Sunday morning when she was with Simon, he had only text her once more, and that had been late, just before Clary had gone to bed. He had messaged her a few times on Monday, and then she didn't hear from him again until Wednesday. She had cheerleading practice after school, and she had considered not going—Kaelie had also said that she wouldn't go if Clary didn't want to, but in all honesty, Clary didn't mind. Lydia hadn't really been around for the past couple of days, although it didn't seem as though she knew that they knew, and so Clary's annoyance had subsided a little.

After practice—and Lydia tearing one of the freshman to shreds for stepping on her toes twice through their dance routine—Clary walked to her car with her canvas bag thrown over her shoulder. She was going straight home, so she would shower then, and she drank almost half her bottle of water before unlocking the door to her car and checking her phone.

Come to a party with me this Saturday.

It was from Jace.

Clary felt her stomach turn a little at the invite and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, chewing down on it as she contemplated her reply. She plugged her phone into the radio and put one of her playlists on shuffle before reversing out of the parking spot. She waited until she got home before replying, hoping the delay in response made him at least a little anxious about what her reply would be.

Although, to be fair, it wasn't as though he had asked her a question.

It had been more of a general statement.

Generally before I agree to be someones arm candy, they need to take me on a date first.

Clary licked her lips, tasting the sweat from cheer practice on her upper lip, and dumped her bag in the basket in the corner of the room, to be cleaned out when the maid came by tomorrow. She pulled her shirt over her head and then stripped out of her sports bra. She was about to push off her shorts when her phone buzzed, and she picked it up.

I don't really date, was Jace's reply. Clary pursed her lips together, letting out a little huff before purposefully dropping her phone back onto her bed, ignoring the strange tug in her chest at the four word response.

She wasn't sure what the hell was going on between her and the biker boy, but she had already put out once—twice if she also counted their little run in on the beach, although to be fair, she hadn't had actually had full on sex with him that time. But what she did know, was that she wanted him to work at least a little bit if she was going to be put out for him again.

She was already giving him so much more than she did with any other guy—she wasn't going to act as though the sun shone out of his ass and she was just going to trip over herself for him.

Clary took a long shower, forcing herself to take her time as she washed her hair and slathered her body up in peach body wash a couple of times, shaving her legs and under her arms and then just leaning against the tiles and letting the hot water stream through her hair and down her back. The water pressure was high and her skin was pink all over when she finally stepped out of the shower. Once again, she took her time with rubbing moisturizer into her face and then a separate one for her body and legs, and then brushing her hair, refusing to go back into her bedroom where her phone was laying for as long as possible. After she brushed out her hair and twisted it into braids that wrapped around her head, she walked back into her room, her towels wet and sprawled out on the floor in the bathroom, Clary not bothering to pick them up. When she picked up her phone, she had two messages, both from Jace.

It was a stupid smile that spread across her face, but she couldn't help it. Nothing she would ever admit to him, though.

I'll make an exception for you, sweet thing.

I'll pick you up Saturday morning, we'll go out before the party. Bring a change of clothes.

Her stomach squeezed at that, although her eyes narrowed at the nickname that she couldn't seem to shake when it came to him. It wasn't that the nickname itself was bad, it was just...There was something in the way he said it that made her prickle a little.

Okay, Clary answered, letting out a deep breath through her nose.

A party.

A biker party.

And a date with a biker beforehand.

She had nothing to wear.

She tapped through her phone before reaching Kaelie's number and pressed down on the contact.

"Kaelie? You home?" She asked.

"Yeah, just getting in the shower," Kaelie replied. "What's up?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you wear so much black," Kaelie stated as she looked at the latest outfit that Clary was wearing. "It looks like you're going to a funeral..." she trailed off as she flipped open the jacket that Clary had on, to look at the singlet underneath, which was lace with a couple of cut outs at the sides and under her breasts. "A grunge funeral—you don't wear these types of clothes. What are you shopping for?"

"The party I'm going to...I think..." Clary pursed her lips as she looks at her reflection. She didn't look bad, she just didn't really look like herself. The leather jacket was good, she liked that—she actually had one at home, but what was one more? And then the jeans were fitted and made her thighs looks good, but she had never really been into that whole distressed and ripped kind of look, so that was new. And the top was cute, but usually she would pair it with a short skirt or maybe a bright coloured bra that would flash through the lace and the cut outs.

"This is about a guy, right? Is this what's been going on with you these past few weeks? Is he, like, emo or something?" Kaelie asked with a wrinkle of her nose and Clary let out a laugh.

"I don't think anyone identifies as emo anymore, Kaelie," Clary rolled her eyes and then took in a deep breath as she slipped off the jacket and picked up one of the other shirts she had picked out. "He's just...He's kind of a bit rougher than the other guys we usually hang out with?" Kaelie's lips shaped into an almost 'o' shape.

"Is he poor?" She hisses out, as though it was a crime. Clary didn't bother answering that, and she didn't bother going back into the changing rooms as she took the shirt off and tossed it toward the chair and pulled on another one. "Ick, fine, okay, don't answer me. But he better not be the reason that you got a tattoo. No guy who wants you to dress as though you're attending a funeral and isn't paying for your outfit to go to a party is worth getting a tattoo over."

"No, I was the one who decided to get the tattoo," Clary snipped as she flattened her hands over the front of the shirt. She liked this shirt a bit better, but it was still kind of...Boring.

"Right," Kaelie hummed out. "Okay, well, why don't you wear a dress? A dress and the leather jacket and boots? Like, ankle boots?" Clary thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "Okay, I saw a dress when we first came in, hold up." Kaelie ducked back out of the dressing room area and into the main store. She came back a minute later with a dark red dress and handed it over to Clary. This time, Clary went into the dressing room, since she would need to take off her bra with the type of dress it was. It was short and tight and dark red, with black lacing at the front that showed off her cleavage and dipped down to show her flat stomach.

"Okay," Clary pushed open the curtain and stepped out and Kaelie wolf whistled.

"Yes. Yes. That's it," Kaelie grinned and picked up the jacket from where Clary had tossed it and handed it over. "And I'm thinking double braids, right? And black ankle boots." Clary looked at herself in the mirror and then imagined it with double braids as well, down both sides of her head. She wasn't very good at doing them, but if she took her time and got up early enough before Jace came over, then she could figure it out.

"Alright...Yeah, I think this would work," Clary nodded as she looked down at what she was wearing and then into the mirror.

"So..." Kaelie moved so that she was standing right next to Clary. "You going to tell me who it is?" Clary arched an eyebrow.

"What was that comment you made the other day about leaving it alone because you knew when I was ready I would tell you?" Clary reminded her and Kaelie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, alright, whatever," she muttered. "But if you're done getting yourself all dressed up for your imaginary boyfriend, can we head out? I want to go by the make up store before it closes and we're running out of time," Kaelie pointedly hip checked her before grabbing her bag from the seats and heading out.

Clary checked herself over once more in the mirror, running her hands down the side of her body, pinching at the curves of her hips with twist of her lips before heading back into the dressing room to get back into her clothes.

I hope you guys enjoyed the update :)

My top 10 songs for this week;

1) Kissing Other People - Lennon Stella. 2) No Time To Die - Billie Eilish. 3) Mikrokosmos - BTS. 4) Euphoria - BTS. 5) Is It Just Me? - Emily Burns. 6) Parents - Yungblud. 7) Cherry - Lana Del Rey. 8) In Case You Don't Live Forever - Ben Platt. 9) Hope Is A Dangerous Thing - Lana Del Rey. 10) Homesick - Dua Lipa.

I've only been watching old stuff recently, like Criminal Minds and Hawaii Five-O...My husband has big plans tonight though, and has suggested that we get high and watch Little Mermaid, so that sounds brilliant and like exactly what I need for the end of my week. If you guys have any suggestions for animated movies, send them my way, because we need all the good stuff we can get in the world right now! Ooh, if I can suggest a twitter thread, actually, there's one posted by a user PAYOLETTER which is just...A feel good time about how so many people now have their pets as colleagues now that they're working from home. Making the best of a bad situation. The thread is filled with pictures of animals, if you need fluff, that's where to go!

Love you all x