"So how are things going with Jace?" Izzy asked, as we browsed through clothes at the mall. We were finally done with school, and had a good 6 weeks off. If it were up to Izzy, all 6 of those weeks would be spent at the mall. She had convinced me to come out, claiming she needed my opinion on things, but I knew she was genuinely concerned about Jace and I's friendship.

"Still a little weird. He's starting to get how upset I am about the band and my brother, and it's taking a toll on us." I said, aimlessly walking to another rack of clothes.

"Well, he's stuck between the two things he loves most, you and music." Izzy said, her brown eyes watching me carefully for my reaction.

"Yeah, I know." I said, desperate for the conversation to end. I was saved with the sound of my phone ringing, until I saw that Jace was calling. As I greeted him, I swore I saw Izzy smirking.

"What are you doing tonight?" Jace asked, and I considered lying, but my heart ached at the sound of his voice. I missed how easy it was to be around him and hang out, when there was no drama between us.

"Nothing, I'm at the mall with Izzy but I'll be home soon." I answered, and I cringed as I heard Kaelie's voice in the background. I really hoped he wasn't going to ask me to hang out with them.

"Good. We're having movie night. Me, you, and whatever chick flicks you want, I will suffer in silence. I miss you, Clary. I know things have been weird, and I've been being an asshole. I'm sorry about everything and how I've handled things." His voice was rough with emotion. "You deserve so much better than how I've been treating you."

I nodded, before remembering I was on the phone and he couldn't see me. My mind was whirling with different responses. I didn't want Jonathan and the band to come between us anymore than it already has, but it was constantly on my mind whenever I was with Jace.

"Clary? Are you there?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Yeah, come over tonight at 7." I hung up, and Izzy was looking at me expectantly.

"That sounded good." She grinned, and I rolled my eyes. "We're just having a movie night, he's trying to make up for being such an asshole."

"Mhmm." She winked, and I laughed, shooing her towards the dressing room.

"Come on, let's get this over with. You have so many clothes we may never get out of here."

"Clary, Jace is here!" I heard my mom call from downstairs, and the door opening. I ran a hand through my red curls, giving up on making my hair look nice as I tied it up in a loose messy bun as I dashed out of the bathroom. I bounded down the stairs, but tripped on the last step and when flying off of it, right into Jace.

"Woah, since when did you replace the Energizer Bunny?" He joked, steadying me. The touch of his hands against my thin t-shirt sent my pulse racing, and I had to collect myself before I could answer.

"Sorry, just excited. Maybe a bit overexcited." I shrugged, backing away. He was wearing a long sleeved fitted shirt, which drew my attention to his muscular upper body. I composed myself and look up at him to see his warm eyes staring into mine. I blushed, looking away. I didn't know why I was acting this way, my body's reaction to him was throwing me off.

"You're fine, I'm glad we're hanging out, just us." He elbowed me, and I shoved him back as we walked into the kitchen. My mom was rinsing out her wine glass, and noticed our shoving fight.

"Alright you two, you know the ground rules. No wrestling fights inside."

"Mom, we haven't wrestled since we were like, 10." I groaned, embarrassed that she would even think we would do that now.

"Yeah, and as if she could beat me now." Jace joked, gesturing to the obvious size differences between us. "I don't think Clary has grown since she was 10."

My mom laughed, and I smacked his arm in response. "Shut up, I have too. I'm almost 5'3 now!"

After more jokes at my expense, my mom finally left to go upstairs while Jace and I took over the living room. He had brought DVDs of my favorite movies, and my favorite candy, and I had permission from my mom to rent as many movies we wanted on demand.

"Alright, pick your poison," I grinned, holding up two movies. "The Notebook or The Lucky One?" I laughed as he groaned, throwing a pillow at me.

"Two Nicholas Sparks' movies? You can't even let me off easy?" He pleaded, unleashing the full force of his golden eyes on me. I wavered, before remembering how much of an asshole he had been over the last few weeks. I smiled, and he smirked, thinking he got me.

"The Lucky One it is then." I laughed as his jaw dropped, and then he nodded. "Yeah, I deserve to watch all of these." He said, looking at the array of movies on the coffee table.

"Hey, this is about hanging out together, not entirely about your punishment for being a jerk." I said, miffed. I didn't want him only hanging out with me because he felt like he had to.

"Aw, Clary. You know that's not what I meant. He said, grabbing my hand to stop me from putting in the DVD. "I want to hang out with you. I want to make it up to you. I'm just kidding about the movies, I would watch anything if it meant getting to spend time with you."

The seriousness of the conversation surprised me, as we had been joking around moments ago. "Jace, I know. It's okay, let's just have fun tonight. I'm glad you're making the effort." I said, starting the movie and sitting back on the couch. I was hyperaware of how close he was to me, our thighs were pressed against each other and I was leaning against his arm.

"Hey, if I make it through this movie without a single joke or snide comment, can we watch a scary movie?" Jace asked, and I snorted in disbelief.

"As if you could control yourself. You live for making fun of these movies." I laughed, shaking my head. "But alright, if it keeps you quiet for 10 minutes."

"Trust me, I've come to find I have very good self control around you." He said, and I looked up at him as he winked, sending my brain into overdrive. What could he mean by that?

As the movie went on, I was on edge as I realized Jace might actually win the bet, and would be able to not make a sarcastic comment or joke. By the time the credits were rolling, he was nearly shaking with suppressed laughter as I groaned, knowing he has won and would collect on this bet.

"You're ruining girls night." I pleaded, as he scrolled through the channels on the movie listings on the TV. I made a grab for the remote, but he easily held it away from me as he used his other hand to keep me away from it.

"You decided to bet against me. I would have thought you would learn by now." He grinned, as he scanned the list of horror films.

"Yeah, you and this super self-control you claim to have." I joked, eyeing his facial expression carefully. I hadn't forgotten what he had said earlier, and I was itching to know more.

He bit his lip, but didn't give anything away. I poked him in the ribs, which he retaliated by reaching for my ribs, tickling me mercilessly as I squirmed to shove him away. Through our scuffling, he reached for my other side, and I leaned backwards towards the other end of the couch, nearly laying down in a desperate move to stop the tickling. His hand slipped, causing him to hover above me, his face so close to mine I could see the beginning of stubble on his face. I could feel the heat of his body against mine, and I felt myself wishing we were closer. His eyes were looking down at my face, focusing on my lips. I was laughing so hard my abdominal muscles hurt, but all that was forgotten as an odd expression crossed his face. I swear he moved his face slightly closer, his eyes dark gold with some strange emotion I couldn't figure out.

He blinked, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it and pushed himself off me, his expression carefully neutral now. "Sorry about that, I almost crushed you."

"N-No, it was fine." I stuttered, still reeling from the effects of such fleeting physical closeness with him. I could barely think straight. The title screen glowed red as the opening sequence started, and I made one last feeble attempt to get the remote away from him.

"Nope." He grinned, tossing it on the chair as far away from me. I considered making a run for it, but he was faster than me. I relented, sitting back on the couch and groaning as the opening credits continued, setting the scene in some sort of haunted house.

"Jace, you know scary movies freak me out." I insisted, but he just laughed, throwing his arm around me and pulling me against his side. I froze for moment, this was not how we usually sat and watched movies. The urge to be closer to him resurfaced, and I swore my heart was beating loud and fast enough for him to hear it.

"Don't worry, I won't let the monsters come out of the TV and hurt you. I heard that only happens when you watch "The Grudge." Some sort of special effect."

"You're so obnoxious." I grumbled, but I was temporarily placated from throwing a hissy fit about the movie by the close proximity I was to him. I had to stop thinking about it, and a scary movie seemed like the perfect distraction.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and follows! Sorry about the longer wait, classes have started so things are starting to get crazy with school but I promise I'll keep up with writing. Let me know what you guys think!