A/N: I told you I'd update in the morning! Well, it's morning for me.

i got positive reviews, so I'm just going to go with it. I'm really quite proud of this chapter.

Chapter 2: We'll Try

"Tell me why we're doing this again?"

Clary sat in front of the vanity in Isabelle's glitter filled room. Many different cosmetics were everywhere, and clothes were draped on the chairs and bed. Her black comforter covered bed was not slept in, as she stayed in Simon's room every night in the flat that the three of them shared. The black walled room had swirls of gold paint, giving the appearance of fireworks against the night sky. Isabelle walked from the closet, holding something small and black in her hands. "To have a night out," Isabelle replied.

She positioned herself behind her friend and grabbed a hairbrush, pulling it through Clary's waves. Clary made a noise in protest, but the other girl just laughed. "With Jace, you mean," Clary said bitterly, grabbing the hairbrush out of Isabelle's hand. Isabelle shrugged. "Iz, the guy's a total douche."

"You don't know that," Isabelle said. Clary handed the brush back to Isabelle. "Yes, I do."

Isabelle's eyes widened in understanding. "That was six years ago, Clary," she said.

"I still hold grudges," Clary responded. Isabelle held up the small black dress, examining every stitch. "We're just going bowling, Izzy. Why do I need a dress?"

"Fair point." She tossed the dress back into the closet and pulled out a green T-shirt and jeans. Isabelle didn't usually give Clary a makeover, but when she did, Clary was always surprised with the results.

Isabelle spun the chair around, grabbed one of the powder puffs, and started to work on Clary's face, concealing the freckles that dotted her cheekbones. She finished up by making Clary's eyes smoky. "There," Isabelle said. Clary turned to look at the mirror but Isabelle threw her some clothes. "Go change."

Jace held the orange bowling ball in his hand, looking through the sea of people. "Dammit, Alec," he muttered. "How long does it take to get a soda?"

He sighed and sat down on the plastic seat. It was fairly crowded for a Wednesday night, even if it was summer. Groups of teens and old men were throwing the balls in their lane and hitting the pins. He watched in amusement as an old man threw the ball in the gutter. "We're here!" said a voice from behind him.

He turned around to see Isabelle with Clary. His heart skipped a beat. Clary's make up was smoky and natural, and her outfit accentuated her eyes and hair. The green T-shirt and jeans were plastered to her skin. She did look nice, but also quite uncomfortable.

Clary's face was filled with boredom and something he couldn't place. Alec stood behind them, juggling four sodas in his hand. "Hey, Gingersnap," Jace said while smirking.

Clary folded her arms and muttered so something that sounded like "glass mat". Jace scowled.

"Ready?" Alec asked, sensing the tension. Jace went to the computer and put in their names. He stepped back and their names appeared on the screen with "Gingersnap" going first. Clary glared at Jace and went to go pick up the ball. The machine was filled with the heaviest balls that the bowling place had. She sighed and stuck her fingers in the holes and lifted it up, moving to the lane and bowling it down. She threw her hands up in victory when all the pins went down. She flounced down into the couch and smirked at Jace. The name "Permanently Glued to a Closet" flashed on the screen, sending a seriously pissed off Alec to bowl. Clary wondered how that even fit on the screen. Jace leaned over and whispered in Clary's ear. "How did you do that?"

Clary shrugged and pushed him away. "Years and years of video games."

Jace smirked. "For bowling?"

Clary smacked him on the back of the head. "Hand-eye coordination, dummy."
Jace scowled and rubbed his head, watching as Clary grinned in triumph. Alec came and sat down next to Jace. Isabelle walked up and performed a perfect spare from two pins that were set at the opposite sides of the alley. "I swear, these bowling balls are geared for women."

"Golden God" flashed up on the screen. Jace grinned and stood up, pulling his shirt down. "Well,be prepared for me to prove you wrong."

He sauntered up to the ball rack and plucked a ball off. He took aim and shot the ball forward, successfully knocking down all his pins, setting him at a tie with Clary. Clary rolled her eyes and glared at Jace. She got up when her name flashed on the screen. She bowled again, but only knocking eight pins. Alec was talking animatedly with Jace when Clary returned to the seats. "Jace, Chairman Meow just threw up Magnus' favorite glitter on the couch," Alec was saying. "I have to go."

Jace rolled his eyes at Alec. "No you don't."

"Magnus was having a panic attack when he called," Alec said. "You wouldn't want the apartment glitter and feather covered, would you?"

Jace glared at the other boy. They seemed to have a silent conversation filled with looks of anger and pleading. Finally, Jace sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Who's going to take me home?" he asked. "I came with you."

Alec shrugged. "Go with the girls." Jace sent another glare at Alec.

"Fine." Clary moved towards Jace. His gold eyes burned into the back of Alec's retreating figure. A buzzing vibrated in her pocket. She took out her battered pink phone and looked at the message flashing on the screen.

4 got that I had a date with that guy from the club. Had 2 leave sry. ;)

Clary stuffed her phone in her pocket frustratedly. She looked at the nonchalant boy standing in front of her. "Izzy bailed," she told him.

Jace shrugged. "So did Alec. Come on. It's my turn." Clary had been in the process of retrieving her bag.

"Wait, we're continuing?"
"Well, I'm not wasting the eighty dollars I spent on this lane," Jace said, grinning. Clary sighed and set down her bag. "Fine," she huffed. "You go."

It was nine-thirty when they finished. Jace had beaten Clary by seven points. "Damn, where's the car?" Clary muttered.

As if on cue, her phone sounded again. She took it out, staring at the screen.

Oh I took the car. ;)

Clary threw her phone on the pavement. The glass cracked. "Dammit," she muttered.

Jace smiled, but it was somewhat forced. He took her arm. "I'll walk you home."

She glared at him. "I'd rather be hit by a bus."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Come on, Fray." His fingers grazed the soft skin of her inner elbow.

She yanked her arm away from him. "I can walk home by myself, Herondale."

He laughed, a musical sound that made Clary want to smile. Or vomit. "Now, if I didn't have the decency to walk a young lady home in the dark, what kind of person would I be?"

Her eyes widened. "Was that a quote from—"

"No." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I am simply one hell of a gentleman."

She grinned. "Yup. You totally just quoted Black Butler."

Jace raised his hands in defense while grinning. "It's not my fault Max is obsessed! Now, come on."

"Fine. Let's go." She turned and walked in the general direction of her apartment. They were silent for a while. A few cars whizzed by them, but otherwise there was no commotion. "So, how's life?" Jace asked.

She shrugged. "Good, I guess. You?"

"Not terrible." The sound of his footsteps seemed to pound in his ears with each step. "How's the nerd?"

Clary laughed. "You're seriously asking about Simon?"

"Well, there's nothing else to say," Jace said defensively.

"Simon's fine," she said, still grinning. "He moved in when Maia moved out."

"Maia Roberts?" Jace pictured four children. Isabelle, with her long black hair and piercing charcoal eyes. She was beautiful even then. A brown haired boy wearing glasses that were too large on him, a girl with frizzy brown hair in two braids and caramel colored skin. Then there was Clary. She was smaller than everyone else, even at that age. Her flame-colored hair had been brighter than anything Jace had ever seen.

"Yeah." A stray strand of red-gold hair slipped out from behind her ear. "We stuck together after high school,but she moved in with her boyfriend a year ago. Jordan Kyle. Remember him?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jace said thoughtfully. "I lost touch with Sebastian and Jordan after high school."

A small smile flitted across Clary's face. "The four of us made it our mission to stay together for life."

Jace laughed hollowly. "Well, I wouldn't say Kyle and Verlac were my friends for life—"

"—but Alec was," Clary finished. "Yeah, he's a lifetime friend."

"Well, if he keeps hanging around Magnus, I might just have to leave him," said Jace. "The dude drives me up the wall. I have to clean up his glitter every damn day."

"Still an OCD freak, I see," Clary noted.

"Still lost in stereo, I see." Jace laughed as Clary flushed.

"I haven't met Magnus yet," Clary said, half to herself.

"Do you want to be sane?" Jace questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed. "What's he like?"

Jace looked up in thought. "Annoying, glittery, cat-obsessed, glittery—"

"You said glittery twice."

He grinned, revealing a chipped incisor. "Yep."

Clary's flat appeared in front of them. A light flickered through the grimy window that was Simon's room. "Well, good night," Clary said awkwardly.

Jace caught her arm. "Wait." He took a deep breath. The expression on his face clearly said, I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Izzy and Alec are doing so much to make sure we get along," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I think we should..."

"Try to make an effort?" Clary suggested. She took in Jace's golden eyes and his face, which was basked in shadows and moonlight.

Jace nodded. "Yeah, I mean, we never got along in high school, but I'm willing to bet that we've both changed. I mean, except for the fact that I'm—"

"An arrogant ass?" Clary suggested.

Jace smirked infuriatingly. "I was going to say stunningly attractive. Okay, maybe you haven't changed a lot."

Clary took a step back from him. "Yeah, I mean, I think we should try to be friends."

Jace nodded extended his hand with a tip of his head. Gold waves fell into his face. "Friends?"

Clary looked at his hand, which was slightly scarred from years of football. She knew what she had to do.

She took it and shook it firmly.

Jace jammed the key into the rusty lock of his apartment. He pushed up and wiggled it around before successfully opening the door to find Alec and Magnus making out on the couch. Both topless, they appeared as if they hadn't heard him come in at all. Which, they probably didn't.

Jace untied his shoes and let them fall to the floor with a loud thud! They broke apart, Alec blushing furiously. Magnus' face remained the same, no red staining his tanned skin. "What?" he said, clearly annoyed.

Jace glared at Alec as he put his shirt back on. "Dude, really? 'Chairman Meow threw up glitter on the couch'?"

Alec's face turned vermillion. "Uh...I cleaned it up really well?" he squeaked.

"That was your plan?" Jace said incredulously. "You and Izzy would bail on us and make us sort out our problems?"

"Well, to be fair, Izzy did have a date," Alec corrected.

"With what? How I Met Your Mother reruns?"

"Okay, that is a great show," Magnus said.

Jace ignored him and met Alec's cool blue eyes. "Why are you forcing me to do something I clearly don't want to do?"

"What did you guys do?"

"Well, first I told her I loved her and she said the same back. Then, we made out for about an hour. But here's the crazy part: we went back to her place and had sex," Jace said sarcastically.

"Really?" Hope flitted through Alec's eyes.

Magnus swatted his boyfriend on the head. Jace rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding." He collapsed onto the single seat. "We decided to try to be civil for yours and Izzy's sakes."

"Our sake?" The incredulous tone was back in his voice. "Jace, I don't want you guys to be friends—"

Jace cut him off. "Then what do you want?"

"Man, you're thick." Magnus grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Let me rephrase that: he wants you to 'hit dat'."

With that, Jace jumped up. "You're nuts."

Alec raised a brow. "Am I? Tell me, who had a crush on Clary when she moved into the house next to you when you were eight?"

"That's different!" Jace protested. "It wasn't—"

"And who, pray tell, waited outside her window for hours so you could tell her how you felt when you guys were fourteen, but Simon beat you to it?"

"Oh, come on. Simon was never—"

"Wasn't it you who waited so long to get the courage to ask her to dance at senior prom, yet when you were finally were ready, prom was over?"

"Okay, who told you that?"

Alec waved a hand dismissively. "Let's face it. You want her."

Jace fell back down onto the seat. "Okay, so maybe I like her. But she's never going to like me."

"But you have to try," Alec insisted.

Jace sighed and looked at his knuckles. "Fine." He looked up at Alec. "She mentioned wanted to meet Magnus. Let's all go for brunch tomorrow."

Magnus laughed. "Brunch? What are you, a forty-year-old woman?"

Alec stood up, smiling. "That's great. Go tell her."

"Pfft, no." Jace smirked. "That's not my style."

"Jace," Alec said warningly.

The smirk never left his face as he walked out of the room. "Don't worry!" he called over his shoulder. "She'll be there."

"Oh, Clary!"

Clary groaned at the sing-song voice floating through her door and the quick knocks that followed after. She knew it wasn't Simon—he was hanging with his band today. And Isabelle was most likely at some other guy's house...

Jace Herondale burst through the door in his golden glory. His gold eyes were the same color as the sun that was currently hidden behind her blackout curtains. Well, it was.

She shielded her eyes as the boy yanked open the curtains, letting the natural light flood the room. "Rise and shine."

Clary groaned and turned back on her side.

"Mm...that was an attractive noise you just made, there." She could practically feel his smirk. "Do it again."

Clary was debating whether hitting his overinflated head with a pillow was a bad idea. "Shut up."

"She speaks!" he declared. Clary sat up at the sound of her closet door opening. "What the hell are you—"

"We're going to brunch!" he said, sounding vaguely like an overexcited teenaged girl.

Clary glared at him, which caused his grin to grow. "No."

"Come on," he said, tossing various scraps of clothing at her. "Magnus and Alec would be there."

She contemplated staying and not eating until later, but her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for almost fifteen hours. "Fine. Get out so I can change."

Jace sat at the base of her bed, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Nah, I'm good."

She grabbed her pillow and hit him on the head. "Get. Out."

"Fine," he said, standing up. "You have five minutes, or I'm coming in here and dressing you myself." He winked and sauntered out.

Clary examined the clothes on her bed: a pale blue tank top, medium wash jeans, bra, and underwear. Jace actually picked out something nice.

Clary quickly slipped on the clothes and stumbled out of her room.

"Finally," Jace said, raking a hand through his curls. "Twenty-three seconds to spare."

"Whatever." Clary swiped her keys and sank into her combat boots. "Let's go."

Jace held the door open and made a sweeping gesture. "Shall we?"

Clary stepped out of the door and moved to lock it after Jace. Wait a second.

She eyed the door and glanced at Jace. "Jace, how did you get in?"

The mischievous glint was back in his eyes as he sent her another wink and walked away. "Let's go, kitten. The reservation's in fifteen minutes."

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Improvements? Things you wanna see? things you don't wanna see?