A/N: I'm sorry! I completely forgot about this until Melgirl 21 was sweet and encouraged me. ^_^

So, I want to thank you guys for the support and I'm sorry for the length of the chapter. -.- Y'all don't deserve such a crappy chapter from me… Lo siento!

but NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A CRAPTON BETTER! :D I PROMISE!

Ugh, I'm kinda sick…again -_-

Chapter 7

Aftermath

Jace was the talk of the school and he knew it. Not that he really cared anyway. His left hand was in a cast and that meant basketball practice would be impossible. He wasn't very good at dribbling with his right hand and he always seemed to lose control of the ball.

Guess he'd have to sit out this year.

In class, Jace had to break the news to everyone that Clary had moved. He didn't dare tell anyone about the empty house, but if people were on the chat this weekend they would've seen his post.

Clary…

It annoyed him how he couldn't get her out of his mind. He wanted to erase her existence from his mind, but…

It was impossible.

Clary was a one of a kind and he truly felt blessed to have her in his life. Even if it was for two short years, it was the best two years of his life. Her laugh, wit, and smile brightened his day.

That day, the last time he ever saw her, he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. Would she have said yes or simply laughed and walked away?

Now, he'd never know…

The day passed slowly because Jace was trying to remember every single memory he had with Clary. When school let out, he didn't go to basketball tryouts. Instead, he walked over to the elementary playground and sat down at the base of the tree.

He watched the little kids play kickball and walk along the fence and gossip. It was nostalgic and it made Jace's heart feel heavy. He didn't know what he was feeling was a pang of sadness.

Jace figured he had some weird medical condition with his heart that he never knew about.

"Fuck you, Clary Bray." Jace muttered as he leaned his head on the tree trunk. "You just had to go talk to Katie and start crying. Damn, I'm a bigger idiot for coming to check on you."

Jace heard footsteps approaching him, but he ignored them. The person snorted, "The boy who never cried again. That's what people call you. But, here you are crying."

Was he crying? Jace put his good hand up to his cheek. It was indeed wet. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever cried.

"What do you want, Lewis? Out of all the people giving me sympathy, I really don't want yours."

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I overheard Tessa and Isabelle talking about finding Clary's brother. He's well known around these parts." Simon's eyes darkened and he sighed, "Tell them to stop. Jonathan is, like, a demon. He will use your charm to manipulate you then stab you in the back when you least expect it. Not to mention Jonathan and Clary's dad is the root of all evil. He's like a bad seed. Just born that way."

Jace glared at him. "I don't give a rat's ass if he's freaking Lucifer. I won't give up on Clary, unlike you. If she's with him, he's probably torturing her and her family right now."

Simon looked away from Jace. "Once he's done using Clary, he'll either kill her or bring her back here. Either way, she won't be the same." Simon walked off leaving an irritated Jace.

Simon had been friends with Clary for years. He knew about her past, even if she didn't. Clary thought her brother was the best thing since chocolate (Yum!) and she really didn't care about her father. But, Simon had been eavesdropping on a conversation between Luke and Clary's mom one night when him and Clary had their infamous sleepovers.

Her father, Valentine, had done some pretty bad stuff and Jonathan had followed in his footsteps.

Because the authoress of this story wants to leave you in suspense, she will not tell you (yet!) about Valentine.

Only Simon knows!

As winter came and was soon melted away with spring, Jace had become a recluse of a sort and refused to talk about Clary. He still acted like himself with his dark humor and witty remarks that drove girls crazy, but it was forced.

Alec told him the very last day of school what had been on his mind.

"Jace, I hate seeing you like this. You're not your usual self. Haven't you thought about moving on?"

"Yeah and I'm trying to. But bringing Clary back in my face all the goddamned time isn't helping."

Alec sighed in exasperation. "Ok, well, try a little harder. She'd want you to move on. Not forget about her, but try to live your life."

"Ok." Jace answered curtly as he averted his eyes from Alec's piercing blue gaze. He swore that sometimes Alec and Will looked exactly alike. It was really scary.

Alec was pretty peeved with Jace, but he understood his brother was hurting and he had done nothing to comfort him or Izzy about it. What a horrible older brother he was.

The school year is over and Jace and Izzy would be entering Junior High for the first time and he would be in eighth grade. Alec was pretty excited to start high school, but he knew he still had a long way to go.

*( At Will's House)*

Will had just gotten home from having a party at a friend's house. It was supposed to commemorate their first days as high school students. Around one in the morning, Jem had snatched the beer bottle from his hand and sent him home. Will was pretty drunk and he got laid about three times (yes, people. Will is a very busy man. Would you like to schedule an appointment?)! His favorite had been a girl with spiky black hair and glitter on…

For some reason, Will thought of Magnus, but quickly pushed the thought away. Just because Magnus had spiky black hair and glitter on all the time didn't mean anything.

Absolutely nothing….

Shutting the front door quietly, Will quickly made a beeline for his room. Across the hall was Tessa's room. Suddenly, he heard sniffling. Since he was a curious fellow, Will peaked in on her. Just to make sure she was ok.

"Tess, why are you crying? You just graduated into junior high today~" His words slurred, but it seemed like Tessa got the idea of what he was saying.

"No! Nate left today…he said he found his calling." Tessa's big gray orbs stared into Will's blue ones with absolute fear.

"Nate joined Valentine."

A/N: While writing this chapter

Me: *cough* *cough!*

Mom: Come take some Dayquill!

Me: Ugh, that crap is disgusting. *Takes the Dayquill* Hmm, it's really good :D I kinda like it now….

Mom: O_o

xD yeah, I have some problems. DUN DUN DUN! PRETTY INTENSE CRAPOLA HAPPENING HUH?!

Yeah, if the week is in my favor I'll have the next chapter out by this week too :D Now if you exscuse me, I'm going to go cough in my own little misery corner. D:

Hasta la Pasta~

Updated: 1/22/13