Clary

My phone vibrating against my ear woke me up the next morning. Without opening my eyes, I tried turning the alarm off only to startled by Jace's voice.

"Clary, I'm leaving in 10 minutes to come get you. There's already six inches of snow, it's coming down fast." I could practically feel his excitement. Jace was like a little kid when it came to snow.

"I've been up, I'm almost ready." I mumbled, trying to act as if I hadn't just woken up. I fought back a yawn as I sat up, my bed creaking with my movement.

"Liar, it's 10 am. I just woke you up." He laughed, and I sighed, he knew me too well sometimes.

"Funny. I'll be ready when you're here." I hung up, scrambling to pack my clothes in an overnight bag. I nearly tripped as I changed out of my pajamas, throwing them on my bathroom floor in a rush to shower and finish getting ready.

"You promise you guys will all stay at his house? I'm worried enough about you getting there, I don't need you all trying to drive tonight." My mom fretted, as I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry. I sighed, holding the granola bar in my mouth as I braided my wet hair.

"Mom, we do this every year. We'll be fine, no one else is driving. Izzy and Alec live close enough to walk, and Simon is picking up Magnus in his truck. I gotta go, Jace is outside." I said when I was done, hugging her before making my way to the door. We had spent the day together after Jace left yesterday, and had a long conversation about Jonathan and what had happened. She was still worried about me, but she knew spending time with my friends was the best remedy. I hadn't told her what was going on with Jace's dad, I still needed to talk to him about it and make sure he was doing okay.

I opened the front door, only to be met with a snowball to the neck. "Jace!" I gasped, frantically wiping the melting snow off my skin, shivering in the arctic air. "You're so dead." I glared at him as he laughed a few feet away, close enough for me to send a snowball flying his way before he could make a run for me. It hit my target, exploding on his chest.

"Oh, you're going to regret that." He grinned, and I yelped as made a dash for the car, but I was too slow. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me away from the safety of the car and dangled me precariously over the snow. I struggled, but Jace barely noticed as he successfully released a handful of snow down my back.

"Ohhhh." I shivered, feeling it melt against my back. "I'm going to get you back for that." He just smirked, setting me down and opening the car door for me.

"You can try, but I doubt it." He winked, rushing to get in the driver's side. I looked up at the stormy gray sky, the snow was coming down thick and fast. I got inside the warm car, holding my hands up against the heat vents.

"When is everyone coming over?" I asked, as he carefully drove through the quiet neighborhood. We only lived a few minutes away from each other, which was convenient considering how the roads were already bad enough.

"They should be there by now or soon after we get to my house. Izzy and Alec got there as soon as I left to get you." He answered, completely focused on driving through the snowy roads.

"Jace, about your dad.." I started, but he cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"Clary, I don't want to talk about it. I told you I'm handling it. If it gets any worse, I'll tell you, I promise. But right now, he's the last thing I want to talk about." He insisted, his voice hardening. He made the turn onto his street, and I knew I couldn't say anything more once we were with all of our friends.

"Okay, but please don't shut me out. These last few weeks have been hell with everything going on." I said, and he parked the car before turning in his seat to look at me. His golden eyes stared into mine as he reached up slowly, his fingers brushing my cheek and setting my face aflame as he tucked a flyaway curl behind my ear.

"I won't shut you out. Things are different now." His voice was rough with emotion, and I could barely think straight. We both had leaned in unconsciously towards each other, and I felt a strong urge to be closer. Before my body had the chance to react to my traitorous thoughts, a knock on the window startled both of us. I leaned back, exhaling as Izzy's face peered in, the expression on her face pure glee.

Jace opened the door, and Izzy was practically vibrating with excitement. "Oh my god. Did I just interrupt something?" She winked, and I rolled my eyes, getting out of the Jeep. Truthfully, I don't know what would have happened if she hadn't knocked on the window, which terrified me. I eyed Jace, but his facial expression was composed a he grabbed my bag from the back seat and followed Izzy inside his house.

Magnus, Simon, and Alec were at the door, having arrived shortly before Jace and I. Everyone was talking at once, excited to all be reunited. We hadn't hung out as a group since Magnus' party. I noticed Magnus holding bags from the liquor store, and I felt a moment of panic as I remembered the last time I had been drunk.

"Relax, I told Magnus to pick up our favorite wine. No blackouts tonight." Izzy whispered in my ear, noticing my facial expression. I relaxed, laughing with her as we went upstairs to change into warmer clothes to go outside in.

"Alright, teams. Izzy and I will be Captains." Jace said, as we all assembled in his backyard. I laughed to myself, they took snowball fights very seriously. "Ladies first." He gestured to Izzy, and she rolled her eyes.

"Simon." Simon looked up, surprised she had picked him first. I grinned as he trudged through the snow to stand next to her, smiling. The next few minutes resulted in them arguing over the teams; Izzy claimed Alec and him couldn't be on the same team since they were both annoyingly accurate when throwing snowballs. When it finally got sorted out, I was on Jace's team with Magnus, and Alec was with Izzy and Simon.

We separated to make some sort of fort to hide behind and make snowballs. Jace and Magnus were discussing strategies while I dutifully molded snowballs, placing them in a pile to easily access once the battle started.

"Clary, your hands are so small these snowballs are more like cotton balls." Jace laughed, appraising my work. I squinted up at him throwing the falling snow, noticing how the snowflakes stuck in his blonde curls made him look like an angel.

"You look like a snow angel with those snowflakes in your hair." I shot back, grinning as he glared at me and ruffled his hair, pulling the hood on his sweatshirt up.

"You're one to talk." He took a scoop of snow in his hands, and sent it sprinkling over my head. He laughed as I reached for one of my snowballs and tried to shove it down the neck of his sweatshirt, but I tripped in the deep snow and ended up tackling him, my legs landing on either side of his hips and I found myself literally sitting on top of him. I had caught him off guard with the way we landed, so I took the opportunity to continue my attack and gave him a sweatshirt full of snow. He looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine. There was something in the way he was looking at me that made me feel incredibly exposed. I suddenly felt very warm despite the freezing hair, and and I could feel my cheeks heating up as I realized how exactly I was sitting on him. I rolled off, and heard Magnus chuckling behind me.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you two can continue that later." He winked, and I refused to make eye contact, and thankfully I was saved from further embarrassment by a flurry of snowballs flying through the air. We spent the next few hours chasing each other around with snowballs, until I could barely breathe from laughing so hard.

"I'm never going to be able to feel my hands again." Izzy groaned, shivering as she clutched her mug of hot chocolate in her hands. We had finally came inside once it started to get dark, and feasted on frozen food Jace had stocked in his freezer since no delivery person would make it out in the storm.

"I know, right?" I agreed, pulling the too long sleeves of Jace's long sleeved shirt over my hands. Jace had lent me it after I realized I had left my pajamas on the floor of my bathroom. Thankfully Izzy had packed an extra pair of leggings, so I wasn't drowning in his sweatpants too. I followed Izzy into the living room, grabbing the bottle of wine on our way out.

Izzy joined Simon on the sectional couch, with Alec and Magnus on the other end. I paused as I entered the room, noticing the looks Magnus was giving me as Jace smiled and made room for me on the armchair he was sitting on. I poured wine for Izzy and me, and went to join Jace on the chair. I found myself cuddled up to Jace's side, as Magnus smirk became more pronounced and I could tell he was seconds from making some sort of comment.

"Let's play truth or dare." Izzy called, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Or strip poker." She winked, and Alec groaned.

"I am not playing strip poker with my sister." Everyone laughed, as Izzy shrugged and put down her deck of cards. Sipping her wine, she eyed Jace and I.

"Truth or dare it is then." I felt a flash of fear as I thought about what this game could entail. "But first, everyone needs some alcohol."

Once we were all properly fitted with drinks of our choice, the game began. Izzy's rules were simple. Do the dare, or answer a question, or take a drink. I watched as she set her eyes on Simon, who was holding a beer as if it were a glass of poison.

"Simon, truth or dare?" She smiled sweetly, and he gulped.

"Uh, dare."

She leaned back pondering her next move. "Alright, I'll go easy on you for now. Sing the alphabet without moving your mouth." Simon's attempts at this had us crying from laughing so hard, and he could barely get through the entire thing without joining in.

As the game went on, the questions and dares got funnier the more we drank. After a few rounds and another glass of wine, I was relaxed, until it was Magnus' turn to ask Jace.

"Jace, truth or dare." Magnus grinned, and Jace stared him down, smirking. Jace hadn't taken a sip of his beer during the game, he lived for dares.

"Dare." Jace met Magnus' stare, and Magnus grinned. "I dare you to kiss Clary."

The room was silent except for the music playing on Simon's speakers. Magnus sat back, ignoring my glare as he looked from me to Jace. Izzy's mouth was agape, and Alec looked concerned. I felt a swell of panic as I stared into my wine glass, my face burning. I watched as Jace slowly picked up his drink, and took a long sip of his beer in surrender. I felt hot all over with embarrassment, with the confirmation that Jace truly didn't want to even kiss me for a game. Thankfully, Simon spoke up, even though technically it was Jace's turn to ask me.

"Anyway, let's play something else. I've gotten really good a beer pong, who's in?" He asked, jumping to his feet. Izzy followed him to the kitchen, and Magnus and Alec went with them to look for cups and a ping pong ball. I was left squeezed into the chair with Jace, and before he could say anything I leapt to my feet, making a run for the bathroom.

"Clary, wait." He called, following me to the hallway. I whirled around, plastering a fake smile on my face so he couldn't see how stung I was by his reaction to Magnus' dare. "Please, just stop."

"What? It's fine. Magnus is just a little drunk, he likes to shake things up. I'm not upset about anything." I scoffed, shrugging. Jace stared at me, his expression incredulous. The wine was making my head hurt, but not as much as it hurt to see Jace's troubled expression as I shut the bathroom door in his face.

I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to calm down. My eyes were a little glassy, and my cheeks were bright red. I fussed with my hair, and splashed water on my face. I couldn't help but think of all the strange moments Jace and I had been experiencing, like in the car before Izzy came outside, or when I tackled him in the snow. Sometimes, I swore he was showing signs of having feelings for me that were stronger than just friendship, but it was too hard to tell for sure.

I sighed, vowing to not let this one incident ruin my night. I could always sleep on the couch tonight if I wanted to, I didn't have to sleep in Jace's room. The thought of that turned my stomach as I opened the door to go back to the kitchen.

A beer pong game was in full force when I arrived, and I stood in the doorway and surveyed the scene before me. Izzy and Simon were close to beating Magnus and Alec. I watched as Simon got the winning shot, and him and Izzy cheered in celebration. Izzy suddenly looked up at Simon, and pulled him close. She kissed him, right in front of all of us as Simon nearly dropped his drink with surprise. I smiled as they broke away, and he was looking at her with such adoration and joy I felt as if I were intruding.

Magnus, Alec, and Jace recovered from their shock and started cheering, slapping Simon on the back and I clapped, genuinely happy for both of them. "Sorry, but I've been waiting way too long to do that." Izzy flipped her hair, and Simon was speechless, with the biggest smile on his face.

Amidst all the cheering and shouting, I caught Jace staring at me, leaning against the kitchen counter, a glass of water in his hand. I looked away, purposely walking over to Simon as he went to the fridge for another drink while Izzy set up the cups for another game.

"Wow, you must be happy." I joked, and he laughed, turning away from the fridge to smile at me.

"I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life." He joked, turning to look at Izzy. I felt a pang of sadness as I looked back over at Jace, who was joking around with Alec, trying to do ridiculous trick shots.

"I knew it would work out with you guys." I smiled, and Simon nodded, eyeing me thoughtfully.

"You know, I think something is going on with you and Jace." He said, and I widened my eyes at him, warning him not to continue. He put his hand up to stop me from talking, and continued anyway. "Listen, I see the way he looks at you. You look at him the same way. You've been a mess these past few weeks with everything going on with him, the band, even that girl Kaelie. But trust me, there's something there. Neither of you want to admit it." He shrugged, as I stared at him in shock over his sudden revelation.

"Simon-I-We-" I could barely utter a sentence as he left my side to join Izzy at the table. Jace chose that moment to come up to me, his golden eyes full of apologies. I recoiled from his touch, I didn't want him to try and cheer me up simply because he felt bad for rejecting me, regardless of what Simon said.

"Clary. Please let me explain." He insisted, and I felt my eyes burning with unshed tears threatening to spill over. I shook my head, tight lipped as I slipped out of his grasp and moved over to the rest of our group at the table.

"Ugh, my stupid phone charger broke. Does anyone have another one I can borrow?" Izzy groaned, looking at me pleadingly. I laughed, Izzy was addicted to her phone and panicked whenever it wasn't charged.

"Sure, I have one upstairs, I'll get it." I called to her, already on my way out of the kitchen. I needed to take a breather from all the chaos downstairs and think about what Simon had said.

I rummaged through my bag in Jace's room, and I didn't notice he had followed me upstairs until I turned around. I jumped, nearly dropping the charger in my hands.

"Shit, Jace, you scared me." I laughed, my heart beating fast. "I better get this to Izzy, you know how she gets when her phone is dead." I made a move to go around him, but he stopped me, his hand on my waist.

"I have to talk to you. You've been avoiding me since the truth of dare game." He said, and I sighed, looking up at him.

"There's nothing to talk about. It was a stupid dare, and you didn't want to do it. Magnus just got some idea in his head about us after he saw me tackle you in the snow." I said, aware that I was babbling. I stepped around him, and he didn't stop me as I reached for the door. "We can just forget-"

"I wanted to." Jace interrupted me, the words coming out in a rush. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to." I paused, whirling around and staring at him in confusion. Was he drunk? His eyes were clear and focused, and I knew he hadn't drank anything except for his sip of beer during the game.

"Jace, I don't understand." I said, frustrated. "Then why didn't you? It wouldn't have been a big deal; I wouldn't have cared."

"That's not it." He ran a hand through his hair, stepping away from me and pacing back and forth. "It's just-that's not how it's supposed to go. Our first kiss isn't going to be to prove a point to our friends, or in some stupid game." I was struggling to keep up with what he was saying, it wasn't making any sense to me.

"Jace..." I trailed off, and he stopped pacing to stare at me. I've never seen him look so agitated, his golden eyes were wide, his hair tousled from running his hands through it. He moved closer to me, and I froze, my heart crashing in my chest. He reached out, pulling me until I was so close I could feel his body heat through his shirt. I gulped, unable to think of anything except the way he was looking at me, his head bent towards mine, his lips mere inches away.

"Clary." He whispered my name like a prayer, before I was pushed up against the door and his lips were on mine. I couldn't think, all I could focus on was the feeling of his body pressed against me, his lips moving with mine. I kissed him back, my blood singing in my veins as my mind tried and failed to comprehend what was happening. Jace's hands were sliding down my back, holding me closer to him. His lips parted, and the kiss got more intense, my mouth opening to deepen it.

My heart was beating so fast I was sure he could feel it as he kissed my jaw, down my neck. My whole body craved his touch, and before I knew it my hands were sliding up his shirt, feeling the muscles and smooth skin I had never dreamed I would feel. He groaned as my hands explored, he was practically shaking underneath my hands. My whole body felt warm, a heat fueled by desire that I had never felt for anyone before. My hands moved to his hair, drawing his face back to mine. I kissed him fervently, as if it would be the last time I would get to.

The phone charger dropped to the ground, clattering on the wood floors and startling us back to reality. We stared at each other, he took a step back to bend down and pick up the charger. I remained pressed against the door, frozen as I tried and failed to process what had just happened.

"Uhm, wow." I blinked, not sure if this was really happening. "You've been holding out on me." I joked, trying to recover from the effects of the kiss.

Jace looked at me, his smile making my knees feel weak. "So much for my self-control." He laughed softly, wrapping an arm around my waist so and stroking my cheek with his other hand.

"That's how I wanted our first kiss to be like." He grinned, and I laughed breathlessly, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat. All of my senses felt attuned to Jace, I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to go back downstairs and sit next to him as if nothing had happened.

"We should probably go downstairs."Jace said glumly, toying with the charger in his hands. He looked at me, his eyes full of desire that made downstairs the last place I wanted to be. "But don't worry, we have all night to figure this out." He smiled, placing another deep kiss on my lips before taking my hand and opening the door.