AN: Woo, another chapter! Oh my gosh I got really excited and just had to write it. I literally know EXACTLY what is going to happen, almost word for word. I'm actually typing this on my phone which is kind of hard, but I was dragged to shopping again. Yay... Anyways, enjoy! Things are starting to heat up and get more exciting. Okay, I'll stop here. Enjoy!

Emma: There'll be some of that in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy! Also, them warming up to each other a bit. I mean, Clary can't keep thinking Jace is just like Sebastian if Jace is protecting her from Sebastian, so she'll realize that a little bit.

Shailene: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Wow, you're 15 hours ahead of me. So as I'm writing this at 3:30 p.m. it's like 6:30 in the morning for you.

Echomuse: Mwahahahhaha, I'm evil! I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Meeeeeee: Klingon is the language from Star Trek. Wow, you speak a lot of languages! I speak English, some Spanish, a little bit of Japanese (woo, thanks anime), and barely a few words of Italian. Also, I know some of the Latin things in the books, like Erchomai (I am coming.) and Ave Atque Vale (Hail and Farewell.) I know there were other things, like The descent into hell is easy. or We are dust and shadows. (from The Infernal Devices) Did you read them? You should if you haven't!

Disclaimer: Nope, I haven't suddenly gained the rights to the Mortal Instruments since yesterday.

I couldn't breathe or speak, not that there was anyone around. Simon had apparently left immediately after I told him it was okay. My mind filled with irrational thoughts. What if he's here right now? Why is your back to the window, what if he's staring at you through it? Lock the door! Most prevalently, it was just, oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. When I could think enough to form a thought, which could've been a minute or six hours later, all I could think of was calling someone else. If I needed help, and it was by myself, it would surely go badly for me.

So, I swiped my damaged phone and ran through the list of contacts. Isabelle was on vacation, Jordan and Maia lived too far away, Simon was busy with his sister, Magnus had flown to California for another shoot for vogue, Mom and Luke also lived too far away. That left one person on the list. I hates him, and he probably hated me after my rudeness, but there was only one person who lived close-ish and wasn't busy with something. It pained me to even consider it, but it was better than being alone. I knew at least someone else would be there in case of an emergency. Still hyperventilating, I picked up the phone to call Jace. I couldn't even keep up a polite pretense, for my voice was cracking in nervousness and worry, and a few frightened tears were dripping down my face.

"What do you want, Clary? I thought you said-" he began saying, sounding annoyed at me.

"Jace, oh my gosh! Th-thank god someone answered. I need you t-to come over here and stay, or come pick me up. I know we aren't on the best of terms, but please. Please, it would mean the world to me." I choked out, now full blown sobbing. I was unashamed, now was not the time to be keeping up images.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen? Is it an emergency?" He rushed out the words, now all business. In a matter of emergency, you shouldn't care about whether you like the person or not. It would be awful to let them get hurt when you knew you could've helped. Besides, apparently he still liked me a little bit despite of himself.

"I'll explain everything when you get here. For now, I'm fine, but I really really need someone to be with me. It'd probably be really dangerous at this point for me to be in my apartment alone." I said, desperately hoping he'd come and wouldn't just think I was pulling his chain.

"All right, hang in there. I'll be there soon, but I expect an explanation." I thanked him profusely before hanging up the phone.

There, sitting alone in my tiny bedroom, I had some realizations. First, Jace wasn't as bad as I thought he was. If he was willing to help someone who hated him and was really rude to him, he probably had a good heart. Besides, not everyone was a Sebastian. And, if he still liked me, then maybe we could- Right there I shut myself up. Possible or not, thinking about a relationship with Jace was not the current problem. Maybe after solving everything with Sebastian, if he still wanted to, we could.

Thankfully, I heard a knock on the door about fifteen minutes later. Hesitantly, I peered rough the hole that shoes you who it is. It was Jace, not Sebastian, so I let him in.

"Clary, oh my god, are you okay!? Your phone call really freaked me out! What's wrong? You look like you've been crying!" He yelled, amazingly all in one breath. I shuddered before opening my mouth to reply.

"It's- it's my ex-boyfriend. I think he's after me. He's-he's horrible. Can we go to the kitchen? I'll tell you the whole story, and why I'm s-so upset. Thank you so much for coming here. I know I was a real jerk to you, but you're actually a really nice guy. Is there-is there any way you could forgive me?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hey, don't worry about that now. It sounds like you were just going through a hard time. I'd at the very least still like to be friends with you." His response put a smile on my face, but I quickly remembered our situation and my heart fell all the way to my, well, my kidney. I led him to the kitchen before beginning to speak.

"Please don't say anything until the end. It's a pretty long story, so It'll be really hard getting all of this out in to the open, and if I stop in the middle I don't know if I'll be able to finish." He nodded his head, both saying yes and signaling me to begin speaking.

"I met Sebastian when I had just turned 18, the summer before college. It was amazing, we both liked to call it love at first sight. He was always a little possessive and short-tempered, but I played it off as protectiveness. Around October, he started acting really weird." Jace raised one blond eyebrow, questioning me silently about what was coming next. Taking a breath, I continued.

"He would start getting really mad at me for no reason. He'd always scream, and say I was cheating on him. He was a hypocrite too, since I had begun to notice him staring at other girls all the time. One day, I'd had enough of walking on eggshells around him. I tried to break up with him, but-" Jace cut me off there, despite promising not to comment until the very end.

"Tried? How do you try to break up with someone? Why didn't you just do it?" he asked incredulously. Sighing, I responded.

"I was just getting to that. Let me finish, please." He nodded apologetically, and I pressed on.

"He told me that I was his and only his, that he decided when we broke up. It started getting really bad. He wouldn't let me see my friends or family, and was always telling me how I was his, that I had brought it on myself, that it was all my fault. One day I tried to get him away from me, and he slapped me on the cheek. Then I knew for sure that it wasn't just 'possessiveness,' it had graduated to abuse. I knew I couldn't stay with him like that, so I called my friend Simon for help and he escaped with me from our hometown in Denver to where we live now, here in New York. I never got to finish college. That was one of the reasons I freaked out on you, my mind decided you were just like him. But I was wrong. You're nothing like him. He's a monster, and you're a good person."

He stood up without saying anything, looking utterly shell-shocked. Unexpectedly, he ran over and hugged me tighter than I had been in a while.

"Wait a minute, what's got you so upset now, though? Why do you think he's after you?" I handed him my phone, showing him the message. Suddenly, he looked furious. After a minute or two of just stewing, I could tell he had made a decision, or a promise to himself, by the look of determination on every inch of his face.

"Clary, I know this is kind of sudden, but, well, I still really like you. And you deserve someone way better than that awful human being. You saved me before we even knew each other well, and now I'd like to save you. Just now, I vowed to protect you. I think I could do that better if I was your boyfriend. Will you, ugh, I'll just say it, will you be my girlfriend?"

Taken aback by his sudden question, especially at such a time, I stood there staring at him blankly for a few minutes, just like I had some when we met. I guess he took it as a no, because he looked crushed for a second. I knew I had to give him confirmation or the opportunity would likely be gone forever, and what better way than to smash my mouth against his? I wasn't thinking about anything, just blissfully enjoying the kiss. For a few seconds, the burden was lofted. For a few seconds, I could go back to just enjoying my life. Pulling away, I looked up at him, waiting for a response.

"Well, I guess I'd better take that as a yes then. Unless that was a goodbye kiss. Oh god, was that a goodbye kiss?" I laughed, shook my head, and leaned in for another kiss. I did not get to go all the way, though, because the door opened, revealing a confused Simon.

"Hey, Fray. Turns out Rebecca got someone else to help, so I- OH MY GOD WHAT IS HE DOING HERE WHY ARE YOU KISSING HIM OH MY GOD WHAT THE HECK, MY EYES! MY POOR EYES!" Laughing at his reaction, I explained to him what happened. He was not happy about me and Jace being together, but he decided if I was happy, then he was too. When I got to the part about Sebastian, Simon freaked out and ran over to me, asking if I was okay. I was still worried, but at least reassured now that I knew I wasn't alone. I had Simon and our other friends, and now Jace. In that moment, I was happy, and so I savored it, knowing it wouldn't last forever.

AN: Okay, so I meant for Clace to happen later in the story, but the opening AN got so long that I decided do make it a 2,000 word chapter, and I had planned Clace at 11 or 12k words, so I guess that's close enough. I meant for them to just be friends at the end of this chapter, but then I started writing them as a couple and I was like merp, and so here we are. Well, this story has hit 10k words. I know that's nothing compared to everything on this website that's so amazing and long, but it's a big deal for me. In fact, this is the longest I've ever gotten a story to be. So, thanks everyone. See you on the next chapter!