A/N: I have no excuse for this, so I'm just going to go and say it directly: I'm really really REAAALLLYYY sorry I never updated for around, what, a year? :( I wish I could blame somebody other than myself but that wouldn't be very noble :) hahah anyway, I hope this chappie can make up for all the lost time :)

As always, read and review! :) and btw thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters! (i kind of lost track already but you guys know who you are so kudos to your amazingness!)

Enjoy the story! :D oh, and p.s: sorry for the typos (msword hates me!) if there are any, just let me know ;) I'll fix it.

p.s.s: i claim nothing as my own. that includes characters, places, and song lyrics :) if you read on, you'll know what i mean. hihi

MILLENNIUM LINT

Chapter 5: Let the Games Begin

Jordan was humming a happy tune as he mounted the stairs towards their condo. He was about to reach the peak of his whistling concerto when he spotted a small figure sitting on the floor outside their apartment.

When he got close enough to make out the identity of the person, his eyes widened. "Clary?"

Said girl looked up at him, and then smiled. "Hey, Jordan."

Jordan walked over to her, picking his pockets for his keys. Realization was dawning on him.

"Shit, I'm really sorry. I forgot you didn't have keys to the house yet! Simon's been meaning to get a new duplicate but he's out and about, like a while ago—I don't even know anymore. He just suddenly left like he saw a giant poster of some new Zelda game or something." Shuddering, Jordan pulled out a silver stick-like thing from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.

Clary laughed a bit. "Maybe he saw a pretty girl?" she mused, getting up.

Jordan pondered on the thought of it. "Nah, I'm pretty sure it must've been a Comic Con Ad or something."

Clary laughed again and when the door was open, Jordan beckoned her inside.

"Ladies first." Clary gave him a fancy curt bow and entered. Jordan followed suite and they ended up laughing again.

"You're really funny, Jordan." Clary's smile widened when he got all flustered. "Really. I'm quite surprised a woman hasn't gotten her eyes set on you yet. You're actually pretty cute."

"Yeah, cute. But the thing is women don't want cute!" Jordan said, in mock anguish. "Women want guys who are swift as the coursing river! With all the force of a great typhoon! With all the strength of a raging fire! And mysterious as—"

"The Dark side of the moon?" Clary prompted, a brow raised.

"Exactly." Jordan said, leaning back unto the sofa. Clary laughed and Jordan eyed her suspiciously.

"You're only laughing because it's true." he accused solemnly. It only made her laugh harder.

When the giggles finally simmered down, Clary sat across him, wiping at the tears that formed in her eyes.

"Want me to get you some water?" Jordan offered, unable to process what exactly it was he needed to say in that situation.

Clary shook her head. "I'm good."

They then sat there in awkward silence.

Jordan tried to wrack his brain for a decent conversation he could bring up to a woman, but sadly, none came to mind. He sighed inwardly. This was probably why Maia hasn't exactly seen him in a better light since their first meeting.

"Ah, by the way, how's the new Millennium Lint song going?" he said, trying to sound as casual as Jace's television-breaking-apologies. "The last one was brilliant."

"Only because you sang it wonderfully." Upon hearing her praise, Jordan felt all flustered by her complement again. "And, yes, the new song is done but I still want to go through it with the band. I wonder if they want it acoustic like—or more on the edge." Clary quirked her head to the side, speculating.

"Hmm, well I think you should ask Simon about it." Jordan said then he smiled. "I'd love to hear it when it's done."

"Hmm-hm." Clary said, distractedly and obviously still deep in thought about her plans for the band. Jordan almost laughed. When Clary really puts her mind on a task, she really goes all out and treats it as a full career.

'Jace is going to have a big problem striking her down.' Jordan thought, amusedly. 'She's tough.'

Then a sudden knock came on the door, and Jordan nearly yelped. Clary, still partially unfocused, blinked twice before looking over at the entryway.

The knock came again and this time Jordan got up.

"It's probably Simon or Jace." He walked over to the door.

"But don't they have keys?" Clary wondered out loud.

"They could've forgotten it." Jordan said, trying to find a rational explanation. "I mean, Jace forgets things a lot—and Simon, probably also has his days."

But when he turned the knob, he was greeted, not by his two companions, but by a tall, thin man with graying hair. He wore dark shades and a black suit. He looked stoic at first, but then upon seeing Jordan more clearly, he smiled.

"Were you the one who sang in that bar over at 86th street? Band is Millennium Lint, right?" the man asked.

Jordan nodded. "Uhm, yeah, I guess. At Taki's?"

"That's the one." The man reached into his suit's breast pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Jordan.

"My card." he simply said.

Jordan felt Clary walk over and stand beside him. Jordan read the name written on the small, scented, index card.

"Hodge Starkweather?" Jordan and Clary said in unison. The man nodded.

"That's my name and recruiting is my game. I like what I saw during your last performance and I reckon your band is looking for a good break just like all the others right?" Hodge said.

"Actually, I'm not really, I mean, I'm not actually a band member, per se. I was just…" he gave Clary a fleeting look. "… pulled on the spot."

"Ha ha!" Hodge let out a hearty laugh. "You're funny. That's good. The public likes a sweet guy."

Before Jordan could refute, Clary had said, "Wait, excuse me, but I'd like to ask, what big break are you referring to?"

Hodge looked at Clary and smiled charmingly. He took out another piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

Clary eyed it carefully, before unfolding it. Upon reading only a few lines of the text, her eyes widened.

Hodge smiled and took off his shades, revealing gray eyes that matched his hair.

"A pretty good deal, don't you think, little Miss?" he said. "I am hereby inviting Millennium Lint to join the Battle of the Bands audition this coming Saturday. It's a full on national competition but elimination round begins in small cities like good ol' New York, here. I'm tasked to bring together the potential best in the entire city in one rocking grand show—and the bands that catch the sponsors' eyes will be re-auditioned to determine the top 1. The chosen victor will proceed to the finals, up against other cities' victors, in Hollywood."

Upon seeing their shocked expressions, Hodge's smile only brightened.

"I'll let you guys think the details over. But anyway, my number is on the card. Give me a call to confirm your entry or decline to participate—but let me just remind you," Hodge put his shades back on (at the back of Jordan's mind, he kept wondering: who wore shades in the middle of the late afternoon, anyway?) and began stepping away from them.

"An offer like this," he said, dramatically. "is rarely given to rookies. So think it over a lot." Turning on his heel, he gave them a nod.

"I hope to see you around for the last round, Millennium Lint." And with that, he was gone.

Jordan and Clary didn't know how long they stood there since Hodge left, or where they very aware of the dazed and sculpted expression they wore. It was only when Jace arrived, had they started to unfreeze.

"You two catching flies or something?" Jace said in a teasing tone upon seeing the pair. "Normally, I'd appreciate such a high level of stupidity but today, I—wah! What the hell?" Jace exclaimed when Clary suddenly lunged at him, catching him in a fierce hug and cutting him off mid-sentence.

"What the hell?" Jace repeated, trying to pull a delirious Clary off of him, though her giddiness was amusing. Turning to Jordan for assistance, Jace saw that he too seemed a bit joyous as he stared so hard at the piece of paper Clary dropped that he could burn holes through it.

"Well, what do you know…" Jace heard Jordan mumble as he raked his hands through his hair. The boy was smiling.

Jace raised a brow. There was no depth to the confusion he felt right at that moment. Taking Clary by the waist, he pulled her off him and settled her on the ground, though still reasonably close.

She looked smug, as if she were going to rub something in.

Jace's lip curved into a smirk. It was going to be like this with them for a while. Playing cat and mouse, never knowing who'll be the first to bite the other. And that was, as far as he felt, an extremely fun thing to do. Especially with Ms. Clary Fray.

"Why do I get a feeling you guys have some big news that'll rake the very fabric of what I believe in?" Jace meant it as a joke but he still eyed Clary with specific suspicion.

Clary laughed and pulled away from him to walk over and borrow the piece of paper from Jordan.

"Look!" She practically shoved the poster at Jace, who took one look at it and raised a brow.

"Where'd you get a Battle of the Bands poster?" Jace asked.

"It was given to us." Jordan was the one to say. "A talent scout came here earlier today—and offered Millennium Lint a chance to audition for a national competition!" Jordan didn't sound like he believed it yet, but the look in his eyes spoke of renewed respect and awe.

He pointed at Clary. "This girl is good at what she does man. Hands down. I have no words."

Clary looked at Jace then, an expectant and victorious look in her face.

"I'm waiting, Jace." She tapped her foot, rhythmically.

Not only did Clary take great pleasure in seeing Jace squirm his way out of complementing her for a job well done—because he was a proud bastard, that way—but she also liked the little pouty expression he was making. It was rather… captivating.

Wait, did I just think that? Clary thought, and disgusted by the possibility, mentally slapped herself.

"Ah, damn it. Fine," Jace raised his hands in surrender before crossing them over his chest. Not looking at Clary directly, he said, "When you find a person who can actually turn Simon's lame band into anything with enough potential to transcend small retirement home gigs, you just have to bow to them."

Then his eyes were on hers, and she felt the intensity of it weigh upon her. But she never looked away.

"Good job." he simply said.

"Thank you." Clary said, in all sincerity. Jace smiled ruefully at her and turned away to go over to Jordan.

"I guess we owe Simon an apology?" Jace said, rather bemusedly. "After all the jokes we keep making about his stupid band?"

"I'm already texting his other band mates. They'll be psyched out of their minds." Jordan said. Jace never noticed he was holding a phone and neither did Clary. "We'll tell Simon as a group later. Save him for last. It'll be legendary."

Then Jordan looked at Jace rather beamingly. "I think this calls for a celebration, eh, chef?"

Jace rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Well, I've already degraded myself by complementing the devil spawn, as I know her as—I guess fixing up a meal worthy of a future rockstar couldn't hurt."

Clary glared at him and Jordan laughed. Jace pinched Clary's nose as they proceeded on going inside the condo. They all gathered in the kitchen, Jace by the sink, Jordan and Clary on the stools.

"So what should we do about Simon later?" Jordan piped, quite eager about surprises as a ten year old.

"We could pretend someone died then left him a heartfelt note which happens to be the poster ad?" Jace suggested.

"Too dramatic. We'd need the acting chops to actually cry." Jordan explained.

"Nonsense," Jace waved him off. "Clary will be the one in charge of the waterworks. We'll just be the daft awkward males standing in a corner, unable to release feelings thinking it isn't manly enough." Jordan was about to say something but then stopped, pondering for a moment on what his friend said.

Turning to Clary, he blinked. "You're a good actress so maybe…"

"Jordan, he was only kidding, you know that right?" Clary almost giggled.

"How are you sure I wasn't?" Jace countered, rolling his sleeves up so he could wash his hands before he began cooking.

Clary gave him a hard, yet surprisingly affectionate, look before turning her attention on the contest details again.

"Anyway, I'm more concerned about this competition." Clary said, going through info like time, place, and regulations specified in the poster. "What Hodge said was true. It is national—look," she passes it on to Jace. "It even has sponsors for a big gift prize!"

Jace shrugged and began digging out pots from the drawers. He was going to cook a fine rice meal he'd recently concocted.

"What kind of prize? Money?" Jace sounded disinterested, which surprised Clary.

Most people, even Jordan, seemed hype for the potential winnings of a competition, but Jace, on the other hand, seemed to resent it. Come to think of it, he reacted the same way towards fame and popularity when they'd first met. Clary couldn't put a finger on what the deal was with Jace because he never really talks about himself. The only thing she knows about him is that he knows what it's like having a torturous secret burning holes inside you. But that was only because they talked that one night…

Clary scowled and brushed the stray thoughts from her head. She had to focus on the Battle of the Bands thing. Thoughts of a secretive bastard named Jace would have to wait.

"It's a half short of a million." she said and Jordan nearly choked on his own saliva. "And it's sponsored by a really big Communications company."

"Oh?" Jordan asked, recovering from earlier shock.

Clary nodded. "Even I know the corporation. They own some of the biggest chain of broadcasting satellites and they pretty much dominate the media world. If they're in on this Battle of the Bands thing then it must be big."

"What're they called anyway?" Jordan asked, out of curiosity.

"Lightwood Corp." Clary said.

Then a loud clattering sound of falling utensils filled the air. Clary snapped her head towards Jace, who was standing there in the middle of the litter, his face completely hard and pale.

"Jace!" Clary exclaimed then she noticed how he looked genuinely surprised, and at the same time… afraid. Like he'd just been told of an unwanted pregnancy or something.

"Jace," Clary said again. Softer this time.

Because despite always fighting and getting in each other's nerves, seeing Jace look like that sent shivers down her spine. He didn't look right. He didn't look like the Jace she was used to.

"Jace is something wrong?" Clary asked.

He looked at her, but he didn't seem to see her. Then after a few seconds, he turned away, shutting her out. Shutting the whole world out.

His hands were shaking as he began the stove, but his voice when he spoke was clear, firm, and monotonous.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Next Chapter: Battle of the Bands
Chapter synopsis: Things are gonna get down. 'Nuff said.