THANKS FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS SOME OF YOU DID! They were really good and insightful this time around, and it makes me really happy. I like to know what you guy's think, and I really do take as many into consideration as I can.

So here's the next chapter for you beautiful people :)

Clary, Isabelle, and Simon leaned against the Rover outside of Taki's, waiting in the afternoon sun for Jordan. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. The slight breeze blew the girls' hair back and forth. The smell of food hung in the air and Clary gripped her stomach through her tank top, praying that Jordan would get there soon.

The parking lot was almost full, people coming in and out faster than she could keep up with. The dirt was a bit ridiculous where cars kicked up the dust that blew in their faces, but what should she expect from the most popular small town diner around? It was basically in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. It may be a hit, but the last thing it would have is actual pavement. That's asking too much.

She glanced around, looking anywhere for the familiar blue mustang. "How long did Jordan say he would take?"

Isabelle shrugged as she inspected her newly painted nails. "That's the third time you asked. Just give it some time."

"I'm starving though!"

Simon nodded, pushing off the car to stand in front of the girls. "Can't we order and wait for them inside. Just an appetizer or something? My stomach is eating itself."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous idiots."

Clary laughed and bumped her friend's hip. "But we're your ridiculous idiots."

"Sadly. I don't even know why I put up with the two of you."

"Cause your life would be boring as hell without us," Simon said. "You wouldn't know what to do if you didn't have to fix our social lives all the time."

Isabelle tilted her head back and genuinely laughed. "God, I remember how lonely and boring you two were. The loser artist," she smiled at Clary, "and the nerdy geek that was scared of women," she glanced back at Simon. "You two were pathetic, but I loved you guys anyway."

"We know. And I'm not even denying my social struggle," he said, holding his hands up. He looked to Clary with an amused expression. "Are you?"

Her reply was cut off by the sound of a horn and the roar of the familiar V8 engine of the mustang she'd been waiting for. It pulled up in the open space next to them, but Clary was shocked at what she saw in the convertible. Isabelle forgot to mention the rest of their joining party.

Jordan, naturally, was driving and hopped out quickly. Maia slid out of the passenger side, her faded jeans and t-shirt looking old and rugged, just how she liked them. That wasn't the surprise. That wasn't what made Clary's eyes widened and her heart speed up the slightest bit. Nope, that was Jace's fault.

"What is he doing here?" Simon demanded as he stepped forward, looking protective. Over what? Clary didn't really know.

Jace smirked, slowly pulling himself up to the top of the backseat. His heart wasn't in the expression. Clary could see the pain he must have felt in his eyes. "Am I not allowed to tag along now? Thanks for the warm welcome."

"He's been down in the dumps," Jordan explained, giving Jace a look before heading around the front of the car. "And I felt bad leaving his sorry ass back at the school."

"It's fine, like I said. Let's just go eat!" Isabelle exclaimed, heading to the front doors without a single look back. Maia, Jordan, and Simon all followed but Clary, for some reason, hung back.

He wasn't looking too good, not like himself. Jace actually looked tired. There were circles under his eyes that stayed down, almost refusing to look at her. Around one eye was more than just tired circles. It looked like a black eye but she wasn't about to ask if he got into another fight. It wouldn't surprise her. Who knew how bad he was hurt after the game? He at least looked like himself. His hair was a sexy mess. His black T-shirt and jeans fit him perfectly like always. But then, while he had one black Vans shoe on, the other appeared to be missing and was replaced with a ankle boot.

"That's the sprain Ryan talked about, huh?" Clary asked as he slid out of the car, carefully making his way to the pavement.

He touched down, gripping the mustang tightly in his hands like the pressure on his leg hurt. "Yeah. Hurts like hell."

"How bad is it?"

"I just have to wear it for a bit," he explained. Clary stared at it, her eyes down, and he rotated it, giving her different views of it. "It's not that big of a deal. It's only for a little bit."

"How long?"

"A few days."

"Oh." Clary looked up, finding his gaze on her more intense than she was prepared for. She immediately looked away from the gold, pushing off the car. "I guess we should head inside."

Jace nodded. "Yeah."

She didn't wait for his gimp walk and headed inside at her normal speed. Surprisingly – actually, not so surprising at all – Jace kept up with her easily, grabbing the door and holding it open for her as she stepped through. She was caught off at his chivalry, saying her quiet thanks and stepping into the diner.

Clary paused, Jace stepping next to her as they looked around for their friends. She found Isabelle's hair at the back, and pointed. Both of them made their way over, weaving through the crowd only to stop at the edge and stare wide eyed at their friends. Clary was more pissed than shocked when she found them at a booth. A booth for four. All four seats taken. No room for her or Jace.

Her hands flew to her hips, glaring at her friends. "What the hell is this?"

Isabelle looked around, shrugging her shoulder. "The diner is crowded, Clary. All of the big booths were taken."

"There's a double that way," Jordan pointed. Clary followed his gaze to the other side of the diner, where a single table with two seats sat by the window.

Maia looked like the only one of two that hated the idea. Simon didn't look pleased, but was probably too scared to speak up. "Come on, guys. Slide over. There's room," Maia said, gesturing for Jordan to slide over.

"No there's not," Jordan and Isabelle said simultaneously, smiling at each other.

Clary glanced to Simon for help, but he was too busy staring at his menu with a frown to be of any help. Maia wasn't clever enough. And Jordan and Isabelle weren't having it.

With a sigh, she grabbed Jace's arm, pulling him away. "Just come on."

He didn't budge at first, but then he turned, following her through the crowed to the table for two. Clary's mind was racing as she sat, immediately grabbing a menu and blocking Jace from her view.

How was she supposed to get through this? Alone? With Jace? By herself? There were so many feelings running through her right now that she barely grasped any of them. It wasn't helping that he was being just as weird as she felt. After their talks yesterday, she wasn't even sure how she was supposed to act. Nonchalant like it never happened? Kind and open like they were? Back to the arguing? Back to practically hating each other?

What the hell are Isabelle and Jordan thinking doing this to her?

"So," Jace said after minutes of silence between them. Clary didn't answer, staring at the menu that she could barely concentrate on. Suddenly a hand grabbed it and plucked it from her view, bringing Jace back into her line of sight. "Are we going to talk or are you just going to stare at that menu for hours on end?"

Clary sighed, looking down and playing with her fork. "I don't know."

"I feel like we should. It's what people do when they eat together."

Clary twiddled her fork with her fingers. "Okay, talk."

"Look at me first."

It took a moment, but she eventually looked up and at him. The gold of his eyes were shining as he looked at her behind the black eye and shadows. "Okay."

He relaxed, his gaze softening and he swung his arm over the back of his chair. "Now, you drop the glare and treat me like I'm an actual human being that you can stand."

She did the first part. Her body leaned back against her seat, trying her best to look casual. "The thing is you're not. You're a jerk who I can barely look at most of the time." She didn't realize she was so good at lying until that moment.

"Well that's… harsh. Everyone loves looking at me." Jace looked taken aback.

"That doesn't include me," she lied.

"You really do hate me."

"I said-" Clary looked down at her hands. "I said that I didn't hate you, Jace. It's not... that bad."

Jace sighed, leaning forward just as their waitress came. Without a second glance, they ordered their drinks and meals quickly and swiftly. It was obvious the twenty year old wanted Jace's attention, but Clary was surprised to see he wasn't even swayed one bit. His gaze was stuck to hers, and she couldn't help but wonder why.

He ran his hand through his hair, looking down awkwardly. Awkward isn't even a word Clary would think to fit with him, but it was definitely coming off of him in waves. "Why?"

"Why do I kind of hate you?" Jace nodded. Clary bit her lip, taking a moment to think. "I think it's been pretty obvious."

"I know I haven't been the best person to you–"

"You've made my life hell, Jace," Clary interrupted. "You've done nothing but mess with me since you got here."

Jace opened his mouth to speak when the waitress came back, dropping off their drinks. The fire in his golden gaze was unmistakable, and Clary felt a weird jolt of pride as she realized she caused that. She could get a rouse out of him. That was amusing.

Jace gripped his cup and stared at it. "My life doesn't revolve around screwing with yours. That was never my intent. I actually thought I was helping most of the time."

She scoffed. "Pissing Sebastian off was supposed to help me? Please, explain your idiot reasons then."

Jace reached up and gripped his hair. "Clary, I don't even know, okay? I thought–" he dropped his hands to the table, meeting her gaze, "What was yesterday to you?"

This was the conversation she wanted to avoid. "A one-time thing?"

"It was two phone calls. Twice. Not once. Twice."

"It was one day. Once." Clary countered. "And–"

"Have you talked to Sebastian since you left at all?" he interrupted. Clary's eyes widened. "Exactly. Has he even called? Has he even texted you?" Jace leaned forward, his eyes burning a hole in Clary's. "Would you even care if he did or didn't?"

She swallowed against the truth that wanted to come out of her mouth. She wanted to say what she really thought, but she couldn't. The last thing Jace needed to hear was that he was right. The truth was Clary hadn't thought about Sebastian since she left. Her mind was either on her friends or Jace, and she hated him for that.

"That's what I thought." Jace smirked like he won a championship. "You don't care and neither does he. So why keep trying?"

Clary slit her eyes at him. "What does it matter to you? You said that it can't happen again anyway, so you're just as against it as I am. So I'll ask again: Why the hell does it matter?"

Jace opened his mouth and then his eyes faded out, as if he had some kind of sudden realization. He slowly pulled back, leaning away from her while she mirrored him. He looked down and then back up again. "It doesn't."

"Then why do you keep asking all these questions?"

"Because–" he shut his mouth, biting his lip in the sexiest way possible. He reached up with his hands, rubbing his temples. "God, you know what? I can't do this."

He stood then, pushing his chair back and scratching the floor, catching everyone's attention. He didn't say another word before pulling his wallet out and slapping a twenty down on the table.

Clary stared at it. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"You going to walk back?"

"If I have to," he muttered and walked/hobbled off, trying his best to move as fast as he can through the crowd.

For a moment, Clary wasn't even sure what just happened. At one moment, Jace was just being who he always was, asking questions that he didn't deserve answers too and demanding to know why Clary is with Sebastian to begin with. That was what she was prepared for. But as soon as she asked a question of her own, he snapped and jumped up to leave?

Clary turned and looked back at the door. In the process, she caught four pairs of eyes staring back at her, one dark pair in particular. Isabelle seemed to be trying to give Clary some kind of message but she didn't have time for that. One thing was for sure.

Jace Wayland wasn't getting out of this without an explanation.

Without a second's hesitation, Clary jumped out of her seat and practically ran out of the diner. The amount of eyes that were on her was a bit dysfunctional, but she didn't let them bother her enough to stop her.

Jace just made it past Jordan's Mustang, barely walking and obviously in pain. She caught up to him between a hummer and a blue F-150, yanking his arm and pulling him back.

"Ow!" he hissed, twisting and pulling out of her grasp. "Excuse you!"

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed. "No. You don't get to do that. Not after everything you've done to me. You don't get to just walk away."

He looked around, raising his hands and spreading them until his body formed a T. "Last time I checked, it's a free country."

"Don't try to be a smartass."

Jace sighed and dropped his hands. "Then what do you want me to be, Clary?"

"Honest! I want you to be honest, for once in your damned life." She raised her hands and dropped them back down at her side. "God, you're so wishy washy that it drives me insane. Yesterday, you talk to me and today you ditch me in the diner? What the hell is that?"

"It is what it is, Clary. Stop thinking into it."

"How else am I supposed to think about it?"

"Can't you just drop it?" Jace snapped. He was so angry looking that the veins in his neck started to poke out. His face was heated and red, and Clary could only imagine hers was similar. He took a deep breath, touching his temples again. "Don't think about it at all. Jesus."

She paused as he closed his eyes, watching him. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That?" She gestured at him while he continued to touch his head with a pained expression. "Do you have a headache or something?"

Jace slowly opened his eyes. "Obviously. My head is pounding like an earthquake."

"Then why are you here? If you're hurting so bad, what was the point in coming? And don't lie to me," she said quickly. He had that look in his eyes like something sarcastic was going to come out of his mouth again. "Don't. Lie."

Jace sighed, pulling at his hair with a pained expression. "Jordan said I could come."

"That's it?"

"No," he said, lowering his eyes to the floor before raising them again. Something else shown in his golden orbs, something different. He took a few steps forward until he was practically in her personal space, making her crane her neck slightly to look up at him. "I can't stop the fact that I really wanted to see you."

Clary's eyes widened and she stepped back. "What?"

"I wanted to see you," he repeated, his eyes not wavering from her gaze.

Clary narrowed her eyes at him. "I said don't lie."

"I'm not."

"Wh – why would you – just - why?"

Finally, Jace stepped back and gave Clary her personal space again. "I don't know. I don't have a better explanation today than I did yesterday."

"That's not good enough. Now spit it out."

"Clary, it's pointless," Jace snapped at her with more anger than she would've expected, and then immediately stopped, rubbing his head again. He looked to be in serious pain, and Clary felt bad momentarily for causing it. "It's just – we've got too many issues. Me personally, that I have to deal with. I don't... I'm not comfortable with things like this, yet I keep coming around you because I can't stop. I hate it, but I do it anyway, like I'm torturing myself. So stop asking questions cause I've been asking the same damn things with no results. Bottom line: I wanted to see you, so here I am."

"But–"

Jace sighed, tilting his head to the sky and closing his eyes. "Clary, just stop."

"No, Jace, we're talking about this." She crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground. "I'm not letting you out this time. I want to know why the hell we go back and forth for stupid reasons."

"They're not stupid. They're legitimate reasons, but I ignore them anyway."

"I'm sure they are," she said with one of Isabelle's signature eye rolls. "Now what are they?"

"Sebastian," Jace pointed out. "He's a big one."

Clary sighed, knowing that this was going to come up eventually. "He's the reason we can't be friends?"

Jace's whole stature changed at that. He dropped his hands to his jeans, one hand going in his back pocket. His shoulders sagged a bit. His tired eyes lost their anger, and he took a slow step forward. "Clary," he said softly, reaching forward and touching her chin with his fingertips. She was shocked at how good his skin felt against hers. "That's the other problem. What if I don't want to be just friends?"

It was at that opportune moment that her phone decided to make an appearance. The buzzing and ringing caught them both off guard, but Jace didn't move. His hands didn't fall from her face. And she didn't try to pull away. They were frozen in place.

Clary looked down at his lips, how soft yet forceful they could be. Her brain went straight to that, how it would be to kiss him, to have him hold her like he did at the party. It had been so long, and this single touch between the two of them was starting a flame in her. Something about him – everything about him called her forward. It was some kind of pull that made her want more, a lot more.

She leaned forward, barely an inch but Jace shook his head, stepping back. Her phone had stopped, finally, but she couldn't pay attention to it even if she wanted to.

"We can't." He dropped his hand and ran it through his hair instead. "I can't."

Clary bit her lip in disappointment, nodding her head and looking at the ground. "Yeah. Um," she looked back at the diner, feeling the most uncomfortable than she's felt in a long time, "I think I should go," she said, pointing at the diner with her thumb. She pulled her phone out, glancing down at it to find a missed call from Sebastian.

Great fucking timing.

Jace nodded, stepping back some more. "Yeah, go."

With a second glance at him, she turned to head back into the diner, ready to call Seb back. But then she realized that she didn't want to. The last person she wanted to talk to was him. Someone she did want to talk to... she was walking away from. Only a few feet later, she found herself stopping again, turning back to him and shoving her phone back in her pocket. "Jace?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Is it only Sebastian?"

She really hoped that he knew what she meant. The last thing she wanted to do was have to explain her questions while having enough trouble finding the answers.

Jace sighed, looking at the floor. "No. It's a lot more than that."

"Will I ever find out what the other reasons are?"

"I don't know. Just give me a minute, out here, okay? I'll be inside in a bit."

"Are you still going to be an ass when you get back inside?"

He chuckled, shaking his head slowly. Very slowly. "No." He looked up, a small smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. "I can hold that part of me in long enough to make it through one meal. Can you?"

Clary's own smile threatened to come out. "We'll see."

"So how long will you be gone?" Clary asked from her spot on the bed. She was doodling in her jeans and sweatshirt, her sketchbook balanced on her lap.

Isabelle and Maia had been running in and out of the room, going back and forth with bags, soccer stuff, packing everything and anything they needed. It was hectic. Clothes were strewn all over the floor causing the place to look like a tornado came through. It was literally a disaster.

Isabelle stormed in from the bathroom, taking her bag of toiletries and dropping them on the floor by her duffle bag. "Three days. It's just for the weekend."

"It's going to suck, you know," Maia said as she entered the bedroom as well. She had her bag over her shoulder, her travel gear already on and looked ready to go. "With the boy's on the bus, it's going to be crowded, loud, and obnoxious."

"And not to mention the smell," Isabelle added.

Maia hopped up on the bed by Clary, causing her pencil to slide across the paper in a way she didn't want. Clary glared at her friend, erasing the mistake and trying her best to cover up the straight line through the mountain background.

"At least Jace isn't going," Maia added. "I don't have to deal with him and Sebastian going at it, or his obnoxious attitude."

Clary's head shot up. "Jace isn't going?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

Isabelle placed her bag on her desk chair, throwing stuff inside at an unorganized but understandable fashion. "Jace's concussion isn't healed after a week, Clary. It takes a while. He's still recovering and Ryan won't let him get back to playing for a while. It'll still be a week or two before he can get back to practicing, and that doesn't mean he'll get to play in the games either."

"Even though I can't stand him, I kind of feel bad," Maia added. "I couldn't stand being told I can't play."

"It's not easy. That's for sure."

Maia leaned back, sitting against the wall like Clary, their legs bumping. "You've been through it?" Maia asked.

"She tore her ACL in high school," Clary explained, drawing away and trying to keep her mind off of Jace. He was going to be here. Just her and him. No Isabelle. No Sebastian. No soccer people. No roommates even. Jesus.

"It was my sophomore year in high school actually," Isabelle explained, grabbing some sweats and folding them up. "I couldn't play for seven months total, missed the fall season, and it drove me up the wall. It's not easy watching everyone else play while you're stuck on the sidelines."

Clary stopped drawing, dropping everything by her side and closing her eyes. Even though she didn't want to think about it, her mind went there anyway.

Jace was going to be here this weekend. That wasn't something she was expecting. It was supposed to be just Clary. Only her. Simon was heading home. Helen and Aline were getting a cabin in South Carolina with some friends and be gone. Maia, Jordan, Isabelle, Sebastian, and everyone else was leaving for the game in Florida. She was supposed to have a weekend alone, on her own that she missed so much.

It might not be too bad though. Surprisingly, she and Jace were getting along pretty well. They weren't friends, but they didn't hate each other. They would wave and say hi, but luckily that was all they really had time for. They never had time for the rest, thank God. At least it wasn't awkward.

"Earth to Clary!" Maia snapped her fingers in Clary's face, pulling her back. "Where'd you go?"

"To Jace," Isabelle chuckled.

Clary felt the blood rush to her face. "I did not."

"You two have been getting along pretty well lately." Isabelle held her hands up and smirked. "Just saying."

"Alright then." Maia hopped off Clary's bed, grabbing her bags and heading to the door through the maze of clothes. "If you two are going to start talking about him again, I'm heading to bus." She looked at Clary. "I'll see you Monday."

"Bye!" Clary waved, wishing that Maia would stay so Isabelle wouldn't keep up the conversation.

It didn't work. As soon as the door was shut, Isabelle turned to Clary with a knowing look on her face. "Are you going to see him?"

"Why would I see him?"

"Because it'll be just you and just him!" Isabelle threw her hands in the air. "You guys can talk, have fun, be alone."

"There isn't anything I could say that you probably haven't already told him," Clary shot at her friend. Isabelle's eyes looked a little hurt, probably how Clary had felt when she found out the first time, but her friend recovered quickly enough.

"It wasn't anything you'd be scared about him knowing. I promise. I'm not that bad. He just likes you. He's curious about you."

Clary bit her lip and looked down. "That's the reason that I should stay away from him."

Isabelle sighed and was in front of Clary in an instant. She put her hands on the outside of Clary's legs, staring at her intently and hard. "Have you ever thought about the fact that you and Jace could be good together?"

"Yes. Lately I have."

Isabelle recoiled. "Wait, really?"

Clary nodded slowly. "Once or twice."

"Wow," Isabelle dropped her arms and stepped back. "So… what's been holding you back?"

"A lot of things." Clary looked down, picking at her sheets with her fingers. "There are a lot of things other than Sebastian that's getting in the way. Both of us are so weird around each other, and he's so back and forth that I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I don't know if it would work. Yeah, last weekend was nice the times we weren't fighting, but there was something off the whole time. Something that wasn't right, you know?"

Isabelle looked frustrated. "Okay, are you attracted to Jace?"

Clary's eyes shot to Isabelle's. "Come again?"

"Just answer the question."

Yes would've been the simplest answer. Clary could easily admit that she was attracted to Jace. His golden hair was always messy in a sexy way. His eyes that matched his hair always were captivating and full of secrets that she was dying to know. His body was to die for. Yeah, he was hot. Everyone on the planet was attracted to Jace, but his personality wasn't exactly what she liked about him.

It was obvious that she was attracted to him, but she's also attracted to Sebastian. Just because there is attraction doesn't mean she and Jace are good for each other.

"Clary?" Isabelle ducked her head, getting the redhead's attention again. "Answer the question."

She sighed, pulling her legs to her chest. "Fine. I'm attracted to Jace."

"Finally!" Isabelle threw her hands in the air in victory. "It's about fucking time you admitted it."

"That doesn't change anything."

Isabelle dropped her hands dramatically. "Why? He's attracted to you. You're attracted to him. When a boy likes a girl and a girl likes a boy, they date."

"I tried that and Sebastian ended up being the exact opposite what I thought he was."

"Well, you don't have to worry about him," Isabelle said. "I saw Kaelie leave his room the other day. You're in the clear with Jace, so why won't you go for it?"

"Because–"

Isabelle held her hand up, cutting Clary off. "I don't want to hear it. He's coming over at eight anyway, so be ready." Clary sat stunned, not sure what to say to that. Isabelle already had him coming over tonight? Oh God. "Oh, and Clary?"

She looked up from the spot on the floor that she didn't realize she was staring at. "Yeah?"

"Be nice," Isabelle winked before slipping out the door.

Clary sighed deeply. "Easier said than done."

"So you'll be back on Monday?" Jace asked as Jordan stepped out the door of their room in the dimly lit hallway. He closed it behind them, turning to face his friend.

Jordan nodded, fixing his bag on his back. "Yeah. Monday morning. We'll miss the first bit of class but oh, well."

"Lucky you."

"Got any plans?"

Jace tried not to smile, but it failed miserably. He couldn't help but be excited and nervous as hell about that night. He was internally freaking out in the best way possible. "Yeah. Clary and I are hanging out later. Isabelle planned it."

Jordan's eyes glinted with mischief. "Oh yeah?"

"Don't act like Isabelle didn't tell you."

With a chuckle, Jordan nodded. "True. Have fun trying to break through to that redhead. She's stubborn." Jace nodded, thankful for advice he already knew. "I'll see you later man."

"See ya," Jace nodded as Jordan walked away, stepping out the building door into the sunlight. As much as Jace wished that he was going with his friends to the game, he wasn't too upset about it. He would have a weekend free of Sebastian, finally, and that was very much needed. He'd have a weekend with Clary. He'd have the weekend for just the two of them, and maybe he can heal some of the damage that's been caused the past few weeks. Sebastian wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

"Wayland, I've been looking for you."

Speak of the devil. Jace slowly turned to the other entrance behind him, seeing Sebastian. He was dressed in the traveling gear, the black and silver colors reflecting his heart and hair perfectly. The really shocking thing was the woman at his side. She was pretty. He'll give her that, but the tall blonde was definitely not Clary.

Jace stared for a while, the couple walking towards him slowly and casually. "Kaelie?"

She waved, her blonde hair down and flowing past her shoulders. Her clothes were rumpled and messed. She definitely had looked better. "Hi, Jace."

"Shut up," Sebastian snapped.

He grabbed her arm roughly – Jace almost wanted to clock him out right then and there – and pulled her back, whispering something in her ear. She froze, nodded and turned, leaving the two men alone in the hallway. Just before she reached the door, she turned and gave Jace a look that he didn't recognize before finally slipping out into the sunlight.

Jace knew that lately Sebastian had been getting on his bad side worse and worse. Now, having him in front of him, it took all of Jace's strength not to punch his lights out. Coach would have his ass on a platter, but it would be worth it.

"I wanted to talk to you," Sebastian said in a rather calm voice.

Jace leaned against the door frame to his room casually. "Go ahead."

"I'm not stupid. You're staying here. Clary will be here. I wanted to remind you of a little something we talked about last weekend."

Jace couldn't help the amusement on his face. "I know you're threatened by me, but you're getting a bit ridiculous. Besides, you seem to have your hands full." Jace nodded towards the door Kaelie just walked through. "With a certain blonde actually."

"I don't care. Clary is mine."

Jace's eyes turned cold and he pushed himself off the wall, standing as intimidating as possible. "You haven't talked to her all week. She's not a piece of property. Not your property."

Sebastian looked amused now. "Yes she is. She's mine, so back the hell up. People will get hurt otherwise."

"You touch any of her friends – Isabelle, Simon, Jordan – and you'll wish you were never alive. I can hurt you without paying off people for help."

"Be careful there Wayland." Sebastian's dark eyes slit as he looked Jace over. "I wouldn't test my patience. You're not exactly healthy right now. "

"I'm healthy enough to put you down. And this time you don't have bodyguards to hold me back."

The stare between the two boys had so much tension that could've been cut with a knife. Jace wanted Sebastian to swing at him. He wanted it so bad, because he was sick of having to hold back. There was no more keeping him calm. If Sebastian wanted a fight, he'll get one.

Sebastian's dark eyes looked from one of Jace's to the other. The slight height advantage Jace had helped the other guy look more worried than he probably was. "Do what you want, Jace. But I'm warning you of the consequences."

With that said, he backed off and headed down the hallway. Jace watched him go, shooting him daggers with all the energy he had. But one thing was decided.

He wasn't going to let Sebastian come between him and Clary anymore. For once, he was going for what he wanted, no matter how much he might get hurt. The risk would be worth it.

That night, Jace found himself walking towards Clary's door in the dark, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He wasn't sure what to do because Isabelle didn't give him a heads up. Things had been decent between him and Clary, but that was in crowded places with people so they wouldn't make a scene. What if Isabelle actually lied and Clary didn't want him there? What if she shut the door in his face? What if this went badly?

All those thoughts were giving him headaches as he approached her door. He raised his hand to knock but couldn't bring himself to do it. His hand hovered by the glass, unmoving.

This was ridiculous. The butterflies. The second guesses. The worries. The what ifs. It wasn't Jace Herondale. It wasn't who he was. The impulsive, confident, go and get what he wants guy is who he was. Why couldn't he just be the cocky guy he always was? Why did he feel the need to treat Clary different?

He sighed, closing his eyes and touching his head to the door window, banging his fist against it. This was annoying. He should just do it. No thoughts. Just bang the doorbell, take her out, and be the charmer that he was.

Too bad it wasn't that easy. It wasn't because of Sebastian for once, because Jace was finally over that. The past week of decent terms with Clary gave him enough insight for him to know that he wanted more of that. Fighting with her was entertaining, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. He wanted that part to be over, and he'd do everything he could to protect her if Sebastian had an issue with that.

The only problem now was his own issues. His father issues. The ones where the heartbreak happens and he goes into some kind of depression because women can be the devil. Clary might not be that bad, and he really hoped that she wasn't. That didn't mean she wouldn't hurt him though. Could he risk that? Yes. He had to. He wanted to. He needed to.

There was knock from the inside of the door, and Jace opened his eyes to see Clary's green ones through the glass. Like the fly in a web he was, she caught him in her stare and he just… looked. He looked at the curiosity, the amusement, the beauty in it. He was just mesmerized.

Then she pointed towards the knob. He forgot he was leaning against the door and jumped back, probably looking like an idiot. Did she know he was just standing there for a while? How embarrassing.

"Hi, Jace," she said softly when she pulled the door open.

Her body wasn't dressed how he expected. Her shorts were extremely short, like barely hiding much of anything and he felt his mouth water. Her t-shirt probably had some kind of design on the front to begin with, but now it was covered in random paint and charcoal. Her hair was done in a bun at the top of her head, the red strands falling down around her. Her bare feet were really small too. He knew that she was tiny, but she was really, really small.

Clary chuckled, making him realize he never said anything back. "You do realize you're shirts inside out, right?"

"What?" Jace looked down at his t-shirt, and sure enough, it was. At least his black jeans were forward and his shoes on the right feet, but his shirt was definitely inside out.

"And backwards," Clary pointed out with a smile.

Jace sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, I guess I'm a little nervous. Besides, you're the one who's got paint spattered clothes on."

Clary nodded, leaning against the door frame and looking at the floor. "I didn't think you were coming, so I just didn't bother changing."

"Why not?"

She shrugged and backed up into the living room, heading towards her own room. Jace followed slowly, closing the door behind him and hoping that he was actually welcome in. The last thing he wanted was to get kicked out of Clary's room on a Friday night. He wanted this to go well.

He found Clary on her bed, looking at home with her sketchbook. "Why wouldn't I come?"

She shrugged, not meeting his gaze. "I don't know. I guessed you had better things to do then follow Isabelle's orders."

"I wanted to come, Clary. I want to see you, you know."

She nodded, humming a "mmhmm" and grabbing her pencil.

Jace sighed and was quiet for a while, not sure what else to say to her. There was only one thing he could think of that would convince her, but she'd slap him if he tried it. Kissing her out of the blue would earn him a slap that would hurt worse than it should and a kick to the ass out the door.

Instead, he just walked over to her desk, watching her carefully. She acted like he wasn't even there. His eyes traveled from her to the desk. There were pictures taped to the wall above her computer. It looked to be her mother, maybe her father and brother unless she has some kind of long lost friend she doesn't speak of. Other people he didn't know were there, and he wasn't sure what to make of it so he glanced down, his eyes falling over her school sketchbook.

It was open, the page staring up at him. He reached down, grabbing it and pulling it up to get a better look.

There was a small drawing of eyes that looked extremely similar to his. Some wolves were sketched at the top right corner, and a soccer player towards the bottom. It was so random. None of it made sense. He gave her credit for the details, because they were gorgeous, but they didn't make sense together.

"What's this for?" he asked her, tilting the page towards her.

Clary answered without bothering to look up. "One of my drawing classes required us to draw a picture of a person and the animal they resembled. As you can see, I haven't gotten far."

He turned it back, looking down at it with curiosity. "What were you planning on doing?"

"I don't know. At first it was Jordan and an eagle, but that just looked weird."

"Jordan and an eagle, huh?" Jace flipped to the next page, finding exactly what she was describing. It did look strange. "A goalkeeper diving doesn't exactly resemble an eagle. He's not graceful at all."

She huffed, shaking her head. "That's exactly why I didn't do it. It's just a failed sketch."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"You'd be pissed if I told you."

"Try me," he said.

Clary dropped her sketchbook beside her, meeting Jace's eyes finally. "It was an idea I had a while back, but I haven't come up with anything better yet."

"Spit it out Clary," he teased.

"Sebastian. I wanted to draw him."

That wasn't exactly the best news for him, for sure. The fact that she wanted to draw that bastard wasn't exactly appeasing to Jace's ego or his sanity. He slowly dropped the book back to the desk when he reached the first blank page, leaning back on his hands with his lower back pressing into the wood behind him.

"I never did it though," Clary continued.

Jace looked down at his shoes. "Why not?"

She sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest. "It didn't feel right."

Jace didn't really know what to say to that. He felt so much better knowing she thought that, but he wasn't really sure how to respond without pissing her off. He gripped the edge of the desk tighter, wishing that this could be easier. He hated how difficult it was. He wished he could just be straight with her like he wanted.

"Then, there's you."

Jace's head shot up. "Yeah?"

Clary shrugged under his gaze, placing her chin on her knees. "You've always been intriguing to me."

Jace smiled, all the bad feelings fading out through his pores and his confident side coming back. "Oh, yeah? Why is that?" He twisted and took the few steps closer to the bed, smiling down at her. "What is so intriguing about me, Clary?"

She bit back her own smile. "You're graceful. Golden. Muscular." He raised one eyebrow as her eyes traveled down his body. "Gorgeous." Then he broke a massive smile. "Yet, dangerous. Kind of like a lion. You're powerful and beautiful and way too damn confident for your own good."

He was blatantly smiling now, his whole face showing amusement. She kept her eyes traveling his body a few more moments before she met his gaze.

She must have realized what she said because her admiring eye turned to horror. "I – I mean, you're just – you–"

Without her permission, Jace hopped up on the bed, taking the spot next to Clary. She didn't move or slide away when their legs brushed and pressed together. The heat that she gave off was intoxicating though, along with the smell of her hair. He wanted to pull her flush against him and fought against it, wanting to take this slow, caring, playful. Doing what he needed to keep him on her good side.

He smiled, nudging her with his shoulder. "You are too."

For the first time since he met her, she blushed. Her cheeks actually turned pink and she looked away as she leaned back, her shoulder pressing against his. It was weird how he was so much bigger but yet she felt so right and fit so well with him, even with these small touches.

"Not to mention I think you just figured out you're project," he smirked.

She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah," she smiled, her eyes lighting up at the thought. "I guess you're right."

"Or you can do a skier and a penguin," he added with a shrug of his shoulder. "Have them both flying over the ice with a sunset. I'm sure that'll give you the A that you need. Both of them flying headfirst into a tree. Sounds like a hell of a piece."

Clary, much to Jace's relief, actually laughed. "Maybe you're not so bad, Jace."

He let out a breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Well, does that mean I'm good enough to take you out to dinner?"

She bit her lip, looked up at him through her lashes, and smiled. "Depends. Where we going?"

Let me know your beautiful opinions :) Stay tuned for their big date, cause it's gets fun!