Hey guys! Sorry for the day late update, but I had a school dance Saturday night, so I basically slept all day Sunday. Please excuse this fast, filler chapter, but it is kind of a set up for the action to come. Also, I'm sorry but I don't have time to proofread this, so please forgive any mistakes! By the way, my favorite animal is a penguin! They are so adorable! :)

Disclaimer: If I owned TMI, I would be so rich I would buy my own penguin! But I don't own TMI, so no penguin :(

XXX

Chapter 16:

By eleven o'clock, Clary was falling asleep sitting up. I poked her in the knee as her eyes drifted shut. "What?" she mumbled.

I laughed. "Do you want to go to bed?"

She shrugged, her eyes closed again.

I shook my head and started picking up the cards. Once they were all in a neat pile on her desk, I pulled back the covers and helped her under them. She snuggled into them like a cat. It was kind of adorable.

I shook my head, sending that thought away and walked over to shut the lights off. I wanted to sleep in Clary's bed with her, but after my talk with Jonathan, I didn't really want to risk it. I stumbled over to the make-shift bed on the floor.

I had just sat down when Clary mumbled something.

I smiled to myself. "What?"

Her arm appeared over the side of the bed. "Why are you on the floor?" she mumbled, her pale hand grasping at air.

I reached up and grabbed her hand. Her grip was surprisingly tight considering her sleepy state. "I don't want to risk Jonathan coming in and seeing me."

She tugged on my hand. "Screw Jonathan."

I chuckled. "Clary, he'll murder me."

I heard the springs of her bed groan as she sat up. "Jace, if you don't come up here, I'm coming down there. You have to get some sleep." Her voice was a little clearer now.

I sighed and stood. "Scooch over then."

She did as she was told and pulled the comforter back for me.

I slid in beside her and we both laid down, not touching. Nonetheless, my heart was beating a bit faster at our proximity. God, what was my problem? I did this every freaking week! It was just Jonathan's words messing with my mind. I had to chill out.

Clary rolled onto her side so she faced away. "Night, Jace," she mumbled sleepily.

I looked over at her. Her shirt had rode up a bit and a sliver of bare, porcelain skin was barely visible. I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut tight. "Sweet dreams, Clary." I hoped she was too tired to notice the unevenness of my voice.

XXXX

I was woken up in the middle of the night by Clary giggling. I rolled away from her and groaned. "Shut up," I mumbled. The giggling continued, and I realized with a start that it wasn't Clary who was giggling. Clary was sound asleep beside me, soft snores coming from her. I fumbled in the dark until I found my phone. It was three in the morning! Who was even awake at this time, let alone awake enough to be giggling?

I eased out of bed slowly, so as not to wake Clary. I quickly threw a shirt on and stumbled out into the hallway. A soft light was coming from the hallway. What the hell?

I crept toward the light, then froze when I heard someone speak. "Come on, you really have to leave now." Jonathan?

That girl giggled again. "Oh, okay, Jon. If you say so. See you later."

I waited until I heard the door close before I made my way into the living room.

Jonathan turned away from the door, a grin on his face. He leapt into the air when he saw me. "Jesus! What are you doing, Herondale?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "I was woken up by your little rendezvous."

His smirk made a reappearance. "Sorry. Wasn't she something?"

I clenched my jaw. "I didn't see her."

Jonathan merely shrugged and started to walk away.

I help him back. "What the hell are you thinking? Brining a girl into your parents' house, with them and your little sister sleeping in the other room? Are you sick?"

Jonathan's eyes narrowed into slits. "I wouldn't expect you to be so judgmental, Herondale, considering you fuck anything with legs."

I shook my head. "Don't act like you know me, Jonathan, because I'm not like that."

Jonathan gave me a hard look. He looked like he wanted to punch me, but then he suddenly sank down onto the couch. He ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, man. This isn't me. God, it's just, between dropping out and the shit with my parents, I've just been not myself lately. Look, Clary thinks you're a great guy, and that's good enough for me. I'm sorry I've been a real ass."

I walked over and sat in the chair across from him. "I get it, you've been under a lot of stress. And I don't blame you for wanting to protect your little sister."

Jonathan laughed. "I mean, imagine if Isabelle was sleeping in the same room as some guy?"

I laughed too. "She has. I've caught Simon sneaking out of her room some mornings. But they're dating, and Clary and I are just really good friends. I would never try to make a move on her or anything like that."

Jonathan nodded. "Fair enough." He stood. "I'm going to bed. You aren't going to tell anyone about this, right?"

I stood too and made my way down the hall toward Clary's room. "My lips are sealed."

Clary was still fast asleep when I came back into her room. I climbed back into bed, ready to get some more sleep. As soon as I laid down beside her, Clary rolled over and wrapped her arm around me. With a chuckle, I wrapped my arms around her in return.

She sighed, and it sounded an awful lot like my name.

I squeezed my eyes shut. This was going to be a long night.

XXX

"Ugh, Jace!"

I mumbled unintelligibly.

A small hand was shaking me. "Jace! Get off me! I can't breathe!"

I rolled to the side and mumbled, "Sorry, Clary."

I thought I would be allowed to go back to sleep then, but Clary shook me again. "Jace, it's time to get up."

"No."

She shook me even harder. "If you don't get up, Jonathan is going to eat all your pancakes. Mom even said that."

I sat up and tried to rub the sleep from my eyes. "You'll be the death of me girl."

Clary laughed and got out of bed. "Wait," she said. "You didn't go to bed with a shirt on."

I shrugged and didn't look at her. "I got cold."

She snorted. "Yeah right. You're always hot."

I stood up and walked to the door, opening it for us both. "I know," I said with a wink.

Clary swatted at me as she walked by, mumbling, "That isn't what I meant."

Her hair was a total mess, her shirt was twisted and riding up around her hips, and her pajama pants had holes in them. Nonetheless, my heart skipped a beat as I watched her walk by. She was beautiful. Why didn't I notice before that she was truly beautiful?

I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I had an idea, but I doubted it would work. "Wait." Here goes nothing. She stopped and looked at me with her wide, emerald eyes. I swallowed. "Friday, there's going to be a big party. I'm not sure whose, but everyone is going. Magnus even convinced Alec to go. You should come. With me."

Clary's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A party? On a Friday? That's not how it works. Friday's are for random bimbos and Saturday's are for Clary. That's what you always say."

It sounded so harsh coming from her lips. "Well, I say we change that." I gave her a wry smile. "If you can tolerate two days with me, that is."

She rolled her eyes and started walking away. "I'll think about it," she called over her shoulder.

"That's all I can ask for," I called back. As I watched her walk away, all I could think was, please say yes.

XXX

Thanks for reading everyone! Please review and let me know what you thought! I have a big chapter coming up, but there will be a few chapters of set up before hand. Please be patient! Also, if there are any Hunger Games fans out there, please go check out my new story. It's called, "What if I Don't Want to Win?" and it is good! Thank you for your support!

Question: Do you guys like snow, or hate it? For those of you who get it, anyway.

Love always,

YesIWriteForFun