Chapter Song(s):

Just Like A Pill~P!nk

Kissin You~Miranda Cosgrove

Atlas~Coldplay

Down~Jason Walker

Heartbreaker~John Legend & MSTRKRFT

Konstantine~Something Corporate (Clary and Jace locker scene)

His lips slid across mine like butter. I breathed in the scent of him, the combination of the ocean and pine leaves tickling my nose. My thumb slid across his curved cheekbone as I slid my hand down the slightest and pushed my body towards his. He stood rigid at first but then he pulled me to his chest, gripping my waist. His hands tangled in my hair as they held the base of my skull. I grinned against his mouth and let his younger slip in, running mine across his, slowly savoring his unique taste. Our bodies molded together as if they had been crafted just for that exact purpose. My hands drifted to his shoulders, digging my fingers into the firm surface of his shoulder blades. His fingers whispered across my cheeks, trailing across my collar bone. Slowly sliding my hands down his arms, I squeezed my eyes even tighter shut as I savored the last few moments on his taste. Stepped away from him, opening my eyes as his hands slid from my cheeks. I looked into his eyes one final time as I whispered "Happy new year." And turned, walking out of the door and into the chilly night.

{•}

'Terrified' wasn't a strong enough word for what I was feeling as I walked into the chem class I shared with Jace. I clutched my books to my chest, hoping to stop my heart from leaping out of my chest and singing Elvis covers on the nearest desk. As I walked in, I tried to keep my head down but figured it would raise suspicions. As soon as I raised my head, I wanted to punch myself as my eyes met his. Air punched out of my chest as the world seemed to slow in those seconds. In those small moments flashes of kissing him speed through my mind, causing my stomach to flip. His amber gaze caused my skin to heat, as if he was touching me with just his eyes. I broke eye contact, lose hairs from my braid shielding my burning face as I took my seat. I felt his eyes burning s hole through me but kept my gaze trained forward. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, nervously taping my pen against my paper. I sighed, letting my lip go and letting my pen rest. I unclenched my hand from my hair and rested it on the desk, staring at the blank page in my notebook. I let the pen do the work, drawing a vine and three roses in the margins of my paper, as well as a cute little baby martian. I was finishing off a fourth rose when the bell rang. Coloring the last petal, I stuffed my binder in my bag. I high tailed it out of the classroom, heading towards my locker. By the time I got to it, the halls were empty. Sighing I opened my locker and got out my cheer bag and lunch, stuffing a tin of prismacolors in my bag with my binder after a second thought. "Clary!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing the gods above.

I shut my locker and turned—finding my path blocked. I stumbled to a halt and then sighed, looking down once I was sure I wouldn't topple over. "What, Jace?"

"Can we talk?" I looked at his hands, closing and opening quickly. It seemed odd, as Jace rarely ever got nervous. Reminding myself that I had kissed him, I looked up, meeting his eyes.

"About what?" I asked, hoping that he would say 'the weather' or something else completely mundane, but of course he didn't.

"You know what." He said softly. I screwed my eyes shut, letting out a long breath before a reopened them.

"Look, it's fine. I know it must've been really weird and gross, and that's completely fine, I won't be offended—"

"Gross?"

I jerked my head up, struck speechless at his tone. He was suddenly caging me in, one hand on either side of my face as he leaned into the locker. I pressed my back into the cold metal, waiting for him to speak. He had to speak, because he had to—he had to say something.

My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at his bowed head. Suddenly he took a deep breath, raising his head. My breath caught when I saw the churning emotions his eyes displayed. "Kissing you wasn't gross—you could never be gross." He squeezed his eyes shut and then reopened them, shaking his head. His eyes met mine. "Kissing you was like finally taking a breath after drowning for years. Kissing you made me want things and feel things that shouldn't even be associated with you, but I can't..."

"Can't what?" I whispered, finally finding my voice.

"You're Jonathan's little sister. If he—"

"Screw Jonathan." I said, a spark of anger churning my stomach.

Jace's eyes mirrored the surprise I felt.

"He isn't me, he doesn't control who I am or what I want or who I want."

I choked on the last few words.

"My brother is not me. I'm my own person and I can want whoever the hell I want."

Shaking my head, I trailed my finger tips across his cheek.

"Who I love..." I whispered.

Jace made a low growl in his throat, and then he kissed me. My hand hung for a second where his cheek used to be before running down his back. He tipped my chin up, nudging my mouth open with his tongue. I opened my mouth, letting out a tiny gasp as his tongue dived in. He gripped my waist, holding me to him. He hoisted me up onto his hips and backed is further into the lockers. I slid my hands onto his cheeks, caressing the corner of his mouth. He ran his left hand up my leg slowly, brushing the edges of my skirt. His lips came away from mine and kissed from the corner of my mouth to where my pulse pounded erratically. I tipped my head back as he kissed the hollow of my throat and up, stopping on my lips. He kissed me slowly, drawing his lips away as slow as he could. My eyes opened and met his as he hooked me off of his hips and I slowly slid down, against him. My eyes never left his even as I unhooked my arms from his neck. He slid my ponytail off of the tip of my braid, slowly undoing my hair and setting it on my shoulders. His knuckle slid across my collarbone as he let go of my hair. He slid the ponytail onto my right wrist, kissing it before setting it at my side. "I can love who I want, too." He said, and with one last look, walked down the hall.

{•}