"Clary!" Isabelle shook Clary awake from her restless sleep. "This is like trying to wake up a damn brick," Isabelle muttered. Clary sat up, and almost hit her head on Isabelle's, but thankfully Isabelle moved away in time. "I am not a brick," Clary said, narrowing her eyes at Isabelle. "I don't see how you aren't; you both have red colouring, and are hard to wake up."

"You can't wake a brick up," Clary pointed out. "Exactly."

Clary rolled her eyes at Isabelle, who sat across from Clary in her own bed. "Anyways," Isabelle said. "Do you want some coffee?" Clary squinted at the clock, that read 4:36 a.m. She tried to raise an eyebrow at Isabelle, but both went up, and Clary hoped Isabelle couldn't see it through the darkness that enveloped the bedroom. "Iz, can you tell time?" Isabelle looked at her, with a sort of stupefied expression. "Of course I can," Isabelle replied. "Are you sure? Because it's currently four-thirty in the morning."

"I know that," Isabelle said. "I couldn't sleep, and I wanted company."

"In that case, you should've brought the coffee with you," Clary pointed out, and Isabelle motioned to the cup of steaming coffee on the floor beside Clary's bed. Clary picked it up, and held it in her hands, relishing in the warm feel it sent through her hands, that resulted in soft shivers up her arms. "What exactly do you want to do at four-thirty in the morning?" Clary asked, suspiciously. "Because, I am not helping you hide another body-" Isabelle cut Clary off. "Shh!" She hissed, humouring Clary. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that?"

Clary laughed, it was a tired noise. "We could watch a movie?" Isabelle suggested. "I have my lap top, and there's internet here." Clary shrugged and nodded, before going to sit on Isabelle's bed. She pulled her laptop up, off the floor where it had sat, and placed it on the bed, as she waited for it to turn on. When it did, she put in her password, and clicked on the Netflix icon that appeared on her home screen. Clary was ashamed to admit that the icon was only there because they watched Netflix so much, and because they were too lazy to go on the internet and search it. While Clary was thinking, Isabelle had selected Gossip Girl, and they were watching it.

After they were about half an hour into it, Isabelle spoke, during a scene in which it showed Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald. "I'd do bad things for Chuck Bass," Isabelle said distractedly. "Frankly, I'd do bad things for any of the hot guys on this show," Clary said, as she watched Chuck and Nate talk. "Who wouldn't?" Isabelle asked. It was moments like these, when it was just her and Isabelle hanging out, that she truly appreciated someone who shared her unhealthy obsession with watching Gossip Girl, only to see the hot guys on the show-sometimes shirtless.

"Normal people, that's who," a voice that did not come from Isabelle's mouth said. One, it was too manly, and deep. And two, well Clary didn't really have a two. "You forgot to shut the door," Clary said half-mindedly, to Isabelle who was intent on watching Gossip Girl, along with Clary, who had completely forgotten Jace's presence-and frankly, she wanted to ignore him. After kissing him, again, yesterday, she hadn't really known how to hold herself around him. Because, they weren't really dating, but they weren't friends, either, and they didn't hate each other. So where did that leave them?

Clary had no idea.

After watching a good dozen episodes of Gossip Girl, Isabelle had looked at the time, and announced she, Alec, and Magnus had something to attend to-probably more shopping, that Magnus was forcing Alec to do with them-and had promptly gotten dressed, done her hair, makeup, and left. Leaving Clary and Jace alone.

So, basically, Clary had been hiding out in her bedroom since they left. The idea of leaving her bedroom, and running into Jace, scared her more than she could say. And it wasn't like she hadn't had her fill of coffee for the morning, but soon she would need to re-caffeinate, and leave her bedroom. Clary was just about to leave her bedroom, her hand on the knob, when her phone buzzed. She dashed over to it, like it was the first piece of food she'd seen in weeks. There was a message from Isabelle.

We're going to a party tonight. Invite Jace(Alec said that)

Clary laughed at the last part, and went back to the door. She was wearing another graphic t-shirt, that had a logo for Simon's band on it. It wasn't their current name, they kept changing it, but it was one of the old one's; Millennium Lint. Clary had found it a rather amusing name, and decided to keep the shirt, even after they changed the name. She was also wearing another pair of black shorts, tat went to just below the hem of the t-shirt, and they actually fit her properly.

Clary twisted the door knob, and pulled open the door, hoping that it wouldn't make any noise when she opened it. But, of course, she wasn't that lucky today, and the door let out a loud squeak. Loud enough for anyone in the house to hear it. Either way, Clary needed more coffee. Like, now.

So, when she ran into Jace in the kitchen, she tried to breath again. When she finally caught her breath, Clary spoke, as she filled a clean mug full of coffee. "There's a party tonight; Alec told Isabelle, to tell me, to invite you," Clary said, taking a breath after that mouthful of words. He didn't pay attention to the invite, instead he said something that completely derailed Clary's train of thought. "You've been avoiding me since yesterday," he remarked. "I have not," Clary argued.

"You have," Jace said, taking a drink of coffee from his mug. Clary noticed how distracting he could be, what with his gold hair and gold eyes, and...Clary was thankful she'd been staring into her coffee, instead of at him, because he had apparently been trying to talk to her for a few minutes, and was waving a hand in front of her face. Clary's head snapped up to look at him. She hadn't caught a word he'd said the past few minutes. "What?" Clary asked, trying to seem like she'd been listening, but knew it was too late for that.

Jace backed himself up to where he'd been standing a few minutes before, and looked at her. "You didn't hear any of that, did you?" He asked, as the corner's of is mouth quirked up. Clary had been studiously staring into her coffee again, up looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Huh?" She asked, and Jace gave a low laugh. "You're purposely ignoring me. You did it at school all the time," Jace said, and Clary tensed at the mention of school. Clary raised her eyebrows at him, giving him a tight-lipped smile. "Won't have to anymore."

He frowned. "You know you'll miss me," Jace said, a smirk finding its way onto his face. Clary had begun walking away, as he frowned at his feet, and was now halfway up the stairs, gripping the railing with one hand, the other holding her coffee. "Ha. You're funny," Clary said, and disappeared up the stairs.

Clary's head still felt like it was spinning, and she needed to go somewhere she could think.

She was walking down the hallway, staring up at the ceiling, looking for the string to pull, that would bring down the ladder that led to the attic. When she finally found it, she stepped off to the side, and pulled it. The ladder fell down with a loud noise, and dust flew around in the air, she inhaled some whenever she took a breath. Clary coughed, and waved her hand in the air, trying to clear away some dust.

Clary climbed up the ladder, leaving her mug of coffee on the floor. The ladder was wooden, with small pieces sticking up, that Clary was careful she didn't step on.

The attic was empty, just some old cardboard boxes empty-she wasn't quite sure why anyone would keep cardboard boxes in the attic, but who was she to judge? Clary stepped across the dusty, wood floor, looking at the ceiling, for a small door that would allow her onto the roof. She found the latch, and opened it, pushing it up, and sunlight poured through the attic, lighting up the dust particles floating around in the air. Clary, to the best of her abilities, pushed her self up, on her hands, and pulled her self the rest of the way out of the attic, until she was on the roof of the house.

It wasn't as slanted as it looked from the ground-which was definitely a good thing. Clary put her hands behind her, as she sat down. She went slowly, until her hands touched the shingles of the roof, at which time, she plopped down the rest of the way. Clary pulled her knees up, and wrapped her arms around them. The shingles were black, and hot. She tried not to touch them, though, as she looked down at the beach, the people, and the blue sky. The beach was crowded today, more so than the day before, but-thankfully-there weren't half as many hairy old men. Clary supposed it was because it was Saturday, that there were more families at the beach.

"Clary?" A voice came up from the ground. She looked down, to see Jace wearing his swim shorts, and shirtless. She could see his built arms, and stomach. "What are you doing on the roof?"

Damn it. "Dancing," Clary said sarcastically. "What does it look like?" Clary couldn't see his exact expression, considering she was quite a bit higher up than he was. "How did you even get up there?" Clary shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I have magical powers?" She tried. He laughed, and looked back up at her, shading his eyes from the sun with his hand. "I'm coming up," he announced, and disappeared back into the house. Clary let out a squeak of protest, but it was too late for that.

It was less than a minute later, when Jace pulled himself up onto the roof, sitting down beside Clary. "How did you not see the ladder in the middle of the hallway?" Clary asked curiously. Jace shrugged. "I was already wearing my swim shorts, so I didn't have to go upstairs and change." Clary nodded, although she knew the ladder was probably visible from the first floor, even if you were just walking past the st

aircase.

"Why are you sitting on the roof?" Jace asked, a smirk settling itself in on his face. Clary put her head on her legs. "Simon says I tend to head for high-ground when I'm upset," Clary admitted. "Why are you upset?" Jace asked, looking at her with what seemed to be concern-but Clary knew he was good at faking emotions, especially to his many, many girlfriends. "I'm not. I just wanted some place quiet."

He gave her a curious look; he almost looked like he was squinting with furrowed brows, while the corner of his mouth quirked up. "And that place was the roof?"

"Where else?" Clary asked, as she watched the people on the beach swimming, and she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to yesterday, when she had kissed him-well, he had kissed her. But either way, she had kissed him back-and that's what was worrying her. It was the reason she had had a restless sleep last night, the reason she couldn't seem to focus, the reason she was at war with herself.

Jace laughed, it was a low sound in his throat. An uneasy silence fell over them, as Clary tried to zone him out, watching the beach, the soft swaying of the trees as the breeze blew around the leaves and smaller branches. But, it didn't work the way it usually did; every time he moved, Clary found her eyes wanting to watch him, see what he was doing. Most times, he was just shifting on the hot shingles. Clary finally found her focus, and watched the waves crash on an undisturbed portion of the beach.

"Clary! Why are you on the roof?" She shouted, and Clary snapped out of her dream-like state. The dream had been black, with the faint sound of waves washing over her like white-noise. Clary nearly slide down the roof, because she had lost her footing, but luckily she caught herself. Her heart was racing in her chest, making its way up her throat. "My God, Izzy," Clary exclaimed. "I nearly fell off the roof!"

"Well, get off the roof, then!" Isabelle shouted back, and Clary grumbled, turning to go back into the attic. That was when she noticed; there was no gold beside her, there was no one at all. She felt her heart sink, slightly, and then realizing that she was disappointed because Jace was no longer with her, she shook her head. Hard. She was so confused-and she couldn't tell anyone. No one could help her with this mess.

Isabelle had been eyeing Clary suspiciously since she had sat down in the kitchen, along side Magnus and Alec. The constant suspicious looks were getting to Clary; making her squirm, and want to shed her skin. She shifted in her barstool, for what felt like the millionth time.

Clary finally had enough, and snapped at Isabelle. "Why are you staring at me?" Clary demanded. "Just take a picture, already!" Isabelle seemed taken aback by her outburst, but didn't stop eyeing Clary, looking at her like she was a complicated math equation. Clary huffed, and spun her barstool, so she was facing Isabelle head on. Clary crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, fine. I'll bite; tell me why you're staring," Isabelle didn't seem like she was going to answer Clary, until she noticed Alec raising an eyebrow at her.

"Something's up with you," Isabelle stated. "And I'm going to figure it out," she declared. Clary blew out an agitated puff of air, making some pieces of hair float momentarily. "Nothing is up with me. I just didn't sleep well last night," Clary tried. Isabelle tapped her foot on the wood floor. "I noticed-you kept tossing and turning-but, that's besides the point, something is different. You look like something is on your mind. So spill," Isabelle said. This drew Magnus' attention, and he grinned like the Cheshire cat.

Clary shook her head. "I'm fine, Iz. Now, stop staring at me," Clary said firmly, and hopped off the barstool, leaving a storm cloud where she had sat.

She was on her way through the door frame, so lost in her own world-that was at war, mind you-that she didn't see the tall, tan body walking through the door frame at the same time. She stumbled, taking a few steps backwards. Clary frowned at the person's chest, and then walked around him.

She was on her way up the stairs, when she heard conversation in the kitchen. She stopped, and sat on one of the steps, listening.

"Were you gone all day?" She heard Alec's voice ask. There was a reply, she knew, but she couldn't hear it-no matter how much she strained her ears, willing them to hear. "There's no way you were swimming all day," Isabelle's voice said.

"I wasn't," Jace's voice said, sending small shocks through Clary. "I met a girl," he added. She felt sharp pains in her chest, like needles pricking at her heart. Clary heard Alec, Isabelle and Magnus groan at the same time. "Please tell me she was over fifteen," Alec said. She could just imagine Jace shrugging. There was a collective chorus of groans, and, "really, Jace?" That was all Clary could bear, before she darted up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door.

-*#*-

Isabelle was forcing all of them to go to another bonfire that night, and Clary had protested. But nothing she said would change Isabelle's mind. So, now she stood-impatiently-waiting for Isabelle to finish her makeup. She had to undergo an Isabelle makeover, as she put it. Clary was wearing a pair of black jeans, with small rips along the legs, and a dark blue t-shirt. This one outfit, Isabelle had actually requested she wear a pair of sneakers. Clary had put on a pair of black high tops, and let Isabelle do her makeup-which was just mascara, and some red lip stain. "Iz, can you go faster?" Clary asked, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Patience," Isabelle said, swiping the mascara wand over her lashes. "Patience is a virtue you lack."

Clary snorted. "And modesty is a virtue you lack," Isabelle glared at her through the mirror's reflection, but Clary only laughed. She stood up, and raised her eyebrows at Clary. "Well," she said. "I'm done. Let's go."

They shuffled down the stairs, to be met by a bored looking Alec, and Jace. Magnus was looking in the small mirror by the door, fixing up his gelled hair, and a small amount of glitter rained down on the floor as he did so. Jace looked utterly annoyed, while Ale just seemed like Alec; always relaxed, and collected, and calm. "What took so damn long?" Jace asked. Clary pointedly ignored him, as she opened the front door. She stepped outside, followed by Magnus, then Isabelle, then Alec and Jace, who walked side by side. Their heads bent in conversation.

"How was your day, Biscuit?" Magnus wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she gave him a disbelieving look. "Well, it was great-until Isabelle scared me, and I almost fell off the roof," Clary replied, her voice clipped. "Someone's in a bad mood," Magnus teased, and Clary shot him a death glare. "Leave it alone, Magnus," Isabelle warned. "She's been like that since we got home."

Clary rolled her eyes a them. "Where is this party, anyways, Iz?" Clary asked, as Isabelle turned them down towards the beach. "On the beach, Clary," she answered. "Where else?" Clary could see a DJ booth set up, like last time, and she wondered who paid for these parties. The sky was dark now, and she could just make out the shape of someone by a circle of rocks, there was a small light-probably a lighter-and then a mass of flames. There must have been some gas on the fire, otherwise it wouldn't have caught so fast, she thought.

"Now," Alec said. "Clary, Isabelle, no drinking," Isabelle shot him a daring look. "I'm eighteen, and Clary will be eighteen next month," she pointed out. "So, if neither of us can drink, you guys can't, either."

Jace smacked Alec on the back, making him flinch slightly. Magnus looked awfully amused by the whole situation. "Deal," Alec said, reluctantly. Isabelle grinned. "I'm glad we understand each other," Clary had an idea. "Now, let's make this interesting," she said, catching everyone's attention. "Girls against guys," she said. "If either of us," Clary motioned to her and Isabelle. "Drink before you, you get to choose what we do tomorrow."

Isabelle grinned even wider, and Alec looked nervous. "And if the girls win, we get to chose what we do tomorrow," Magnus moved from where he stood, to beside Clary. "Magnus," Alec said. "What? We both know angel boy over there is going to blow it for the guys."

"Alright," Jace said. "Deal. Me and Alec, versus you three," he grinned. "This is going to be easy," Alec laughed at this comment. "The only reason I'm still on your side, is because you're my friend," Alec said. Jace frowned.

"Ouch," Isabelle said, and walked away, to the party that was slowly starting to fill up with people. Clary followed, walking side by side with Magnus.

"What should we make them do?" Isabelle asked, as she walked backwards. Clary shrugged, while an evil grin settled itself on Magnus' features. "What about-" Isabelle cut off, seemingly unsure of what to make the boys do. "We could make them go swimming in a pair a Magnus' swim shorts," Clary offered.

Magnus burst out laughing, along with Isabelle. "Perfect," she laughed. Clary smiled, as they walked by the flaming fire. The wood was black now, and a few embers lay in the bottom of the fire pit. There were guys and girls alike, chatting about random topics. There were a few people in front of the DJ booth, dancing, while others opted for swaying their hips. "Now," Isabelle said, her eyes warning. "If I see you drinking Magnus, I'll flush all your glitter down the toilet. If I see you drinking, Clary, I'll put glitter in your coffee for the rest of our lives," she warned. Clary raised her eyebrows, while Magnus gaped at Isabelle, his mouth hanging open. "Same for you, then, Iz," Clary said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine," Isabelle said, and disappeared into the crowd of people that was forming on the beach.

Soon after, Magnus left, leaving Clary alone in the ocean of people. She stood in front of the bonfire, watching the flames devour the wood. "Want to dance?" Someone asked, breaking her from her trance. She looked beside her, there was a boy; about Alec's height, with black hair, and eyes as black as coal. He was smiling at her, and the smile was quite infectious. "Sure," Clary said, and he took her hand, pulling her over to the DJ booth. By now, it was swarmed by teenagers dancing. The music was loud, and you could feel the thumping of the bass in your bones.

A Maroon 5 remix of This Summer was on, and Clary found it the perfect song. And mostly, because she had a feeling summer wasn't through with her, not yet, anyways. The boy twirled her around, and she laughed. "I'm Sebastian, by the way," he said, as he stopped twirling her. She smiled at him. "Clary."

Clary felt eyes on her, and when Sebastian twirled her again, she caught a glimpse of gold watching her. As soon as he was there, he was gone, and Clary thought she'd imagined the whole thing-she probably had. So what if Jace had kissed her? He had long moved on, or so he implied. She felt a sudden burst of anger, and she couldn't tell you why, if you asked. Jace wasn't hers, he didn't like her. And she didn't like him. End of story.

Clary danced with Sebastian for a long time, after her burst of anger. "As much as I've enjoyed the night," Sebastian said. "My cousin is leaving, and I don't want her walking home alone at this time of night," Clary smiled. "I understand," she said, and let him go. He waved, and smiled at her, as he walked away.

She stood there, smiling for a few minutes, before she felt eyes on her again. She whirled around, leaving a mark in the sand with her sneaker as she did so. There he stood, a beer in hand, as he watched her. "Ha!" She shouted, and pointed to the beer in his hand. He looked down at it, and back to her. Isabelle must have heard her victory cry, and was beside her in a second's notice. "What? What happened?" Isabelle demanded, and then her eyes landed on Jace, and the beer that he held in his left hand. "We win!" Isabelle shouted. Jace looked slightly annoyed, but otherwise, he was expressionless. "We win," Isabelle grabbed Clary by the hand, grinning, she yanked hard, as she pulled Clary into the crowd of people.

"We have to tell Magnus," Isabelle said, shoving people out of her way. "And Alec," she added, as an after thought. "There they are," she said, but stopped, when she noticed that they were kissing. Clary rolled her eyes. "Iz, this is more important than kissing!" Clary said, and pulled her over to the couple. Clary tapped on Alec's shoulder, and he jumped away from Magnus almost instantly. "Clary-what-why did you-" she cut him off. "You lost," Clary put a finger on his chest, and smirked triumphantly up at him. "What are you talking about? Was Jace drinking?" Magnus asked, excitedly. Isabelle grinned at him.

Magnus slowly turned to look at Alec, an evil grin covered his face. "Should I be afraid?" Alec gulped. Clary and Isabelle nodded. "Definitely," Clary said. "Oh, God," Alec said, looking up at the sky. "I'm going to kill you, Herondale!" Alec shouted, and vanished into the crowd. Magnus stared after him, thoughtfully. "Should we wait for them?" He asked, a finger on his chin. "I don't think so," Isabelle said.

With that, they walked back to the house.

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! I've been busy getting ready for school, and all that fun stuff.

But either way, I really hope you guys liked this chapter. And I'll post the next chapter when this one gets to 70 reviews!