No POV

Jonathan Morgenstern did not like to be kept waiting, especially when he didn't want to be doing something in the first place. He impatiently tapped his fingers against the drink he was nursing at the Hunter's Moon, a dive bar where Sebastian Verlac had requested to meet him.

"Sorry I'm late." Sebastian arrived, pushing his black hair out of his eyes. Sebastian was slightly frightened of Jonathan, but he had arraigned the meet to try and put an end to Jonathan's outrageous plans that he couldn't with good conscience be a part of. He had been roped in by the sum of money Jonathan was willing to pay to flirt with his sister, but the other night's event at the gig was too much. He had been into Clary around the time of Magnus' party, but he wasn't looking for anything serious and he never got around to seeing her over break before she and Jace got together.

"Well you're here, so let's get this over with. What do you want?" Jonathan drawled, eyeing the bruise Jace had left on Sebastian's face. He felt slightly guilty about that, he hadn't predicted Jace would resort to violence so quickly. He signaled for the bartender to bring another drink for Sebastian.

"Jonathan, I don't exactly know what your whole diabolical plan is for your sister and Jace, but I can't be a part of it. I didn't know that drug was going to have that effect on Clary, you told me it was cold medicine. And I certainly didn't want to be beaten up. This has gone too far." Sebastian said in one breath, watching Jonathan's face carefully. His dark green eyes tightened, and he ran a hand through his white blonde hair as he considered Sebastian's words.

"I can't expect you to understand. All I needed from you was to plant the seed of doubt in Jace's mind, that Clary could be cheating on him. Yes, the drug may have been a tad overboard, I'll admit." He mulled, taking a sip of his drink. "But Clarissa and Jace are a hazard for my band. She's only going to distract him from what is truly important. My band is going to make it far, and I have everything I need to accomplish that."

Sebastian blinked, picking up his drink and considering Jonathan's answer. It seemed bizarre to him, the strange relationship Jonathan had with his sister. He had witnessed the way Jace and Clary looked at each other, and it seemed cruel to try and break them up now that he had seen them together for himself.

"I can see you are wondering about my relationship with Clarissa." Jonathan continued, reading Sebastian's face as easily as if he had asked the questions out loud. "It's not something I can easily express. We were brought up apart, with extremely different parenting styles. I was raised to go after what I want, no matter what to succeed. I've worked hard for this band to be at the level it is, and I took a risk letting Jace in. My mother did not raise Clarissa to be able to reach her full potential, she's studying art for God's sake." Jonathan could feel himself getting angry, and struggled to contain it. "I'm hard on her, but for her own sake."

Sebastian shook his head slowly, unable to sympathize with Jonathan. "You're trying to control them. I'm going to apologize to her." He stated, raising his chin and looking Jonathan in the eyes. He saw a flash of anger in Jonathan's eyes, and quickly added. "I'm not going to tell her anything else. This is none of my business, but I don't want her to be terrified if she sees me again."

To his surprise, Jonathan did not protest. He simply offered a smile glittering with malice, shrugging as he finished his drink as he stood up. He tossed cash on the bar, grabbing his coat before answering.

"Do what you want. I'm sure she already blames me for the entire thing anyway. My goal is to keep Jace, he has talent that impresses me. I don't care if Clarissa thinks she's in love with him, it won't last."

Clary

"My little Clary is all grown up." Izzy sighed as she draped herself on my bedroom chair, grinning at as I rolled my eyes and continued getting dressed for the Christmas party I was hosting tonight. I had finally told her about Jace and I having sex, and she still wasn't over it.

"Izzy, you've got to give it a rest." I laughed, pulling on a deep burgundy blouse and pairing it with black leggings and tall black boots. She rolled her eyes, fiddling with the makeup on my vanity.

"I'm just so happy for you two." She insisted, inspecting her eyeshadow in the mirror. "I feel like I've been waiting for this moment forever."

"You're so dramatic." I teased, as I gave myself a onceover in the mirror. My hair was a little out of control, as usual, but Izzy had done a great job with my eye makeup. I checked the time, noticing that it was getting late. "Come on, we're late." I grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door. "How's everything going with Simon?"

Her face instantly changed, her expression dreamy. "Perfect. I can't get over it. All this time I've been so afraid of relationships, but this is actually going really well. He's amazing." She gushed, as we made our way downstairs.

Simon was waiting at the stairs, his face beaming as he look at Isabelle before turning to greet me. I hugged him quickly before making my way to the kitchen, where my mom was with Luke cooking and frantically trying to finish setting everything up.

"There you are, can you run to the store and grab sprinkles? I ran out, and these cookies need to be decorated with something." She asked, handing me her wallet.

I was browsing the sprinkles in the baking aisle when a voice behind me calling out my name caused me to jump, and I nearly dropped the container when I turned to see Sebastian standing there, looking sheepish. I felt an initial surge of panic as I realized I was alone with him, but he started talking before I could make a run for it.

"Clary, about the other night. It's not what you think- I feel horrible about what happened." He began, running a hand through his dark hair nervously. "I got mixed up in some things with your brother, but I didn't know it would go that far. I just wanted you to know." He gave me a half-hearted smile, as if he expected me to run away screaming.

"Honestly, it's alright." I sighed, glowering at the sprinkles in my hand. "I had a feeling he was involved; my brother and I don't have the best relationship." I bit my lip, trying to squelch the anger I could feel burning inside of me at the thought of what my brother had done.

"Yeah, he's a strange guy." Sebastian had a weird look on his face, but he smoothed it over as he smiled at me. "Anyway, friends? Or at least promise your boyfriend won't beat me up again?" He offered, laughing as I groaned, walking with him to the register.

"I'm sorry about that, I would have tried to stop him but if I could. He's just a little protective. All my friends are." I added, thinking of how angry they were at Sebastian and guilt flooded through me.

"I'm sure I'll see them around, and I will explain everything." He promised, and I waited as the cashier rang us up.

"Hey, why not now? I'm having a Christmas party at my house, and they'll all be there. You can explain everything, and have some fun. It's the least I can do after Jace punched you." I gestured to the slight bruising around his eye.

He hesitated, but eventually agreed. I gave him my address, and he promised to stop by.

I honestly feel horrible about how long it's been since I've updated, I don't even know what to say. In between finals, school ending, and hitting a wall in creativity, I've constantly thought about this story but couldn't' find the motivation to write anything. I'm going to try my hardest to keep updating now, I have a lot more time to write since the semester is over. Thank you for everyone who's still interested in this story!