Because of how I think the story is going to go, thanks to the help from you guys and the beautiful reviews that helped , I'm going to start writing in Clary's view more and more often until it might even become permanent. That could change, but that's the goal right now. Just a head's up.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Jace sighed. "I don't know."

"Are you just going to let him get away with it?"

"I told you, I don't know. I want to beat his face in but that's not allowed apparently."

Jordan shrugged and stood. "Just don't kill him."

Jace smirked as his friend jogged off towards the center of the field. Now that they had gotten past the issues with Maia a few days ago, they'd been perfectly fine. Jordan was more focused on keeping Sebastian and Jace apart than dealing with the mutual hatred between him and Maia.

This time of the day is when it was the hardest. Soccer practice was hard to begin with, and Sebastian always seemed to try to make it worse on him. It was the little things that coach wouldn't notice, but they hit Jace like a freight train.

Slowly, he stood from the bench and ran a hand through his hair, trying to take a deep breath.

He couldn't hurt Sebastian. Clary made it very clear that if Jace got kicked off the team because of fighting again, she'd be furious. So beating the dark head lad's ass was out of the question, but sometimes that urge was almost unbearable.

"You going to warm up, Wayland?" Coach asked.

Jace turned and found his coach by the soccer balls, pulling them out of the bag. He nodded and backed towards the field. "Yeah, sorry."

The first part of practice wasn't bad. He'd catch a worry glance from Isabelle on the other side of the field occasionally. Jordan kept his eyes on him from the goal, telling him to cool off whenever he ran by. Coach had his little comments about his temper, even though he didn't know where it stemmed from. He was basically watched like a hawk.

And it got worse when they started one on ones. Jace stepped up to the line with Sebastian beside him, both in a ready stance to sprint.

Coach blew the whistle and the ball was played in, and Jace took off without question.

His feet pounded against the turf, kicking up black beads as he ran with all his might. The ball was played a little too far, causing Jace to have to work harder than he was used to, but he reached the ball first. With a small touch, he was able to turn and barely had time to look up before he was impacted.

It was just a bit of shouldering Jace with all of his might, but it still hurt like hell. Jace wasn't ready and collapsed, falling four feet behind him on his back. He slid a few extra feet, just because of the momentum, and he felt every bit of it.

"VERLAC!"

Jace groaned, barely able to understand what Coach was yelling at Sebastian. The way he landed… it hurt bad. He wasn't sure what was injured, and maybe with his head still out of it that it only made it worse, but whatever was injured really did hurt.

The sun was suddenly blocked and he opened his eyes to find Jordan hovering over him. "You alright?"

"I don't know."

"That was a cheap shot, you know."

Jace nodded. "Yeah, I know. Help me up."

Once he was on his feet, the pain really started to hit. It was in his lower back, but it was bearable enough. Maybe it was just a tweak of his back he can easily get over and nothing more.

Jordan's hand stayed on his shoulder, keeping him completely steady. "You good?"

After a bit of adjusting, Jace nodded. "Yeah."

"What the hell was that?" Coach Starkweather yelled, catching the boys' attention as he screamed at Sebastian.

Sebastian looked too casual, too calm. "My momentum got away from me, Coach. It wasn't on purpose."

"You flattened him to the ground."

"It's not my fault he can't hold his own," Verlac shot back. "Maybe he shouldn't bite off more than he can chew."

Jace clenched his fits but Jordan's hand tightened on his shoulder warningly. His friend knew what was going on his head. Jace wanted to beat the living shit out of Sebastian Verlac, and one day it'll happen.

Sebastian glanced in Jace's direction when Coach stalked off, and he smirked. Just that one smile was almost enough to break Jace.

"Easy, killer," Jordan warned. "Just let it go, man."

With a wink, Sebastian turned and jogged back to the lines.

"I'm going to kill him," Jace growled.

"When the time is right, I'll help." Jordan dropped his hand and started to back towards the goal again. "But until that day comes, keep it under control."

"Well done, Clary," Madame Dorothea said. Clary looked up from her framed canvas, smiling in thanks at her teacher. "I mean it. The way you captured him, the look in his eyes that resembles the lion, the fierceness but the playfulness, it all flows."

The painting before her was one that took Clary much too long to finish, but it didn't at the same time. Once she got the idea from Jace, it was like the painting painted itself.

And now here it was. Jace and a fully grown lion stood on top of a rocky platform, like Pride Rock from Lion King. That was it though. They were just standing side by side with sarcastic smirks and arrogant stances. Jace, just because Clary liked it better, was painted shirtless so his golden skin was visible with the sunset in the background.

She'd never liked a painting so much. She loved it!

"It's quite the piece," her teacher continued. "What are you planning on doing with it?"

"Keep it."

"You don't want to display it anywhere?"

Clary paused to think about it for a moment. Of course she wanted to. Jace would love to have the ladies gaping at such a painting of him. Not only that, but she wanted people to see her talent, and to know that she and Jace are more than just a one month thing.

But at the same time, there was one person that didn't need to see it. At all.

She could only imagine what Sebastian would say if he found out she chose Jace for her project over him. He'd make her life torturous.

So she shook her head, brushing her hands on her pants to get the excess paint off her fingertips. "No. I kind of want it to myself."

Madame Dorothea looked displeased. "Can I suggest something?"

"Sure."

"I know quite a few people in the art business. A few of them are coming to visit soon." She stepped forward in her gypsy clothing and touched the top of the canvas. "Let me keep it for a few days. I can talk to them this weekend, see if I can get you a slot in a few shows, and we'll see if it goes from there."

Clary could feel the stares of a few other students in the room, but she was so shocked that she didn't care. "Re – really?"

"Absolutely."

"Where?"

Madame Dorothea thought for a moment. "A good friend of mine owns one of the art galleries in Atlanta. And I have some college friends from overseas that are in the same situation. If you don't mind, I can send it over and see what they think. Only pictures, of course. Not the whole thing," she added at the worried look on Clary's face.

Clary swallowed, looking down at her paint scattered clothes to try to wrap her mind around this. "What would come of it?"

"Anything really. It could be a one-time thing, or this could start your career early. You're extremely talented, Clary, which is why I'm offering this. I always knew but this," she paused, looking at the painting of Jace one more time, "This is incredible."

"Thanks," she blushed with the compliment.

Madame Dorothea stepped away when a student across the classroom raised her hand. "How about this," she added before she left, "Think on it for a few days, and get back to me by Friday. I won't need it until Saturday anyway. Is that good?"

Clary smiled. "That's perfect."

A real art gallery. As a sophomore in college, she could be getting a chance to have her pieces recognized before she even graduated. This was a one-time opportunity! This was a huge deal!

This was going to be awesome.

She bounced into her room with a huge smile on her face, catching the attention of Isabelle and Jace instantly.

To her luck, Jace wasn't on Isabelle's bed. She barely paused when she saw him sitting on her own bed with his feet hanging off and his hands at his side. His shirt was off, showing his golden chest that she could stare at all day. She didn't even realize she was running at him until she happily collided into him, throwing them both back on the bed in a happy heap.

Clary froze when she realized that Jace wasn't all happy and smiling. He groaned, his hands going to her hips but almost like he was in more pain than pleasure.

"Jace?" She pulled back, looking down at him with her hair falling around them. "Are you okay?"

His eyes were closed and he shook his head. "Practice today was a bit… rough. I got hit pretty hard."

"How bad?"

"Bad enough to spend an hour in the training room," Isabelle pointed out, her nose stuck in one of those fashion magazines. "He got his ass whooped by Sebastian."

"What?" Clary exclaimed and sat up instantly. "Was it another fight?"

Jace shook his head 'no' and slowly sat up, wincing in the process. They both moved so they sat with their backs against the wall, and Jace's hand possessively went to the skin on Clary's thigh that her shorts didn't cover. He might be hurt, but at least he's still the same.

The idea made her slightly smile.

"So why are you so happy?" he asked, his eyes drifting to the TV momentarily before going back to her.

"I've got big news!"

He chuckled. "Like what?"

She was about to answer when there was a knock at their suite door. Isabelle looked up with confusion. It was dinner time and they weren't expecting anyone, so who could that be?

"Maia?" Clary asked. "Maybe she forgot her key?"

Isabelle shook her head. "She's at a friend's place and won't be back anytime soon."

"A friend's? Who's?"

"Long story," said Jace. "And instead of guessing, you might want to just go see who it is."

Isabelle sighed, hopping off her bed. "I got it then."

"So what was that news?" Jace asked, leaning down to her to kiss her temple. He lingered there for a moment, his hand slipping up her leg suggestively.

Her heart started racing and she caught his hand. "Stop that."

He chuckled. "Sorry."

"And it's something my art teacher told me."

"Madame Dorothea?" He pulled back and looked down at her. "What did she say?"

Clary went to answer, but she never got the chance. Instead of only Isabelle coming back, there were three other bodies with her. Her mother. Her brother. Her father.

And Jace's hand was still a little too high on her thigh and they were a little too close for her father's comfort apparently.

"What do we have here?" he asked condescendingly.

Clary looked down, realized that she was basically holding Jace's hand against her, and yanked it away. This was bad. First of all, what were they even doing on campus? Second, why didn't they call before? Third, why did they have to come when Jace had to be acting like… well, like Jace?

As swiftly and as gracefully as possible, Clary jumped from her bed and fixed her clothes. "Mom, Dad, hi. What – what are you doing here?"

"What is he doing here is a better question," Jonathan pointed out.

That look was one that Clary was all too familiar of. Jonathan had always been protective of her, more protective than necessary considering her friends had it covered pretty well, but the last person she wanted that look directed at was Jace.

"Who are you anyway?" Her father, Valentine, asked. "You're not Sebastian."

"Thank God for that," her mother, Jocelyn, added.

"I play for the boy's team here." Jace slid off the bed, leaning back against it casually with his hands in his jeans. The fact that his bare chest was showing probably was the reason Jonathan was getting angrier by the second.

He glared at Jace. "Great. Another soccer player to mess with my sister." He rolled his eyes as he took Jace in. "Do you not own a shirt?"

Jace glanced down at himself with a smirk. "The female population prefers that the shirt isn't there." Clary blushed, looking towards the floor. "And I'm Jace, in case any of you were curious. Clary's boyfriend."

And to emphasize it, he reached for her and pulled her into him. She came willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist but she was acutely aware of the glares and looks from her family.

Jonathan laughed, loudly. "Clary would've told us she had a boyfriend."

"Believe it or not. I don't care about your opinion regardless."

"Okay. I will if you can answer this question: When is her birthday?"

Shit. Clary had never told him! Jace tensed next to her, the realization hitting him as well.

"Yeah, some boyfriend," her brother shot back. "It's tomorrow, you asshole."

"Okay, I'm not dealing with this," Clary announced. "You three, follow me."

She wiggled out of Jace's embrace, much to her own disappointment, but he wasn't having it. Jace, being Jace, grabbed her swiftly and kissed her. Hard.

A gasp escaped and he took full advantage of it, breathing her in however he wanted to. His arms snaked around her, pulling her body flush against his. She was completely at his mercy, and her hands went to his neck, pulling him closer. Her family faded away. Isabelle's laughter disappeared, until it was just her and Jace.

And then he broke it off.

"Now you can go," he smirked, winking at her family before hopping back on her bed.

She sighed, knowing what he was doing and pulled her family out with her without a word. Isabelle gave her a sympathetic look as she left, but Clary ignored it and continued all the way out of the suite until they reached the common room at the end of the hallway.

Then she turned and really took in her family.

Her brother looked furious, like he did the first time he met Sebastian. His white blonde hair was cut short and gelled in the front. As always, he looked sophisticated like the frat boy that he was. The kakis, the polo, the whole get-up was something that started when he first went to UGA.

Just like her father. They were two peas in a pod. Both were exactly the same in looks and attitude, except Valentine was in his usual black suit and looked as intimidating as ever.

And then there was her mother. While Clary missed her family every once in a while, she missed her mother all of the time. She missed the talks, the hugs, the art time where they could just sit and listen to music. And she was never as intimidating as the rest of her family. Like now, she wore simple jeans and a red blouse that matched her red hair, with small, two inch black heels. Simple. Elegant.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the common room, staring them down. "Explain."

"We came to see you for your birthday," said Jocelyn.

"Why didn't you call or something? Warn me? Just a heads up would've been nice!"

Jonathan stepped forward, shoving his hands in his pockets. He had a way of making her forgive him. He'd go from harsh and rude to innocent and apologetic instantly. She normally fell for it, but she refused to this time. "We just wanted to come surprise you. I missed you, sis, and is it such a bad thing that we were thinking about you?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "You didn't have to treat Jace like trash."

Now, Valentine rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be hanging around that kind of arrogant rift-raft anyway. Especially after that stunt he just pulled."

"You're one to talk about arrogance," Clary shot back. "You and Jonathan are the more arrogant, cocky, self-centered people I know."

Her mother shot her a look. "Alright, enough." Jocelyn grabbed Jonathan and Valentine by the collars of their shirts. "You two, get out. I'm talking to my daughter alone."

Valentine didn't look too happy about the idea. "But–"

"No buts." She shoved them out the door, watching them stumble by the force. Jocelyn looked beautiful and elegant, but people underestimated her strength too often. "Now try not to piss anyone else off."

And then she shut the door, leaving her and Clary there as the only two people.

And it took a split second of thinking for Clary to run at her mother, wrapping her arms around her and breathing her in. Jocelyn's arms wrapped around Clary, pulling her tight. She forgot how much she really missed her mother.

"I'm sorry," Jocelyn said, kissing Clary's hair. She pulled back, looking at her daughter with a smile. "But at least we get to see you. I know that meeting your… boyfriend like that wasn't the best thing, but I'm just glad we finally get to spend some time together."

"Me too. I just wish you could've come without Jonathan or Dad."

Jocelyn gave her a look. "They're your family, Clary. They deserve to be here. Believe it or not, they love you."

Clary shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and rocked back and forth on her feet. "I know they do, but they drive me crazy more than help most of the time."

"Join the club."

"And they don't have to treat Jace like that. They just caught us at a weird time."

"Well, you shouldn't have expected your brother to act any different. Especially with that kiss. Jonathan would've pounded Jace if Isabelle hadn't stopped him," Jocelyn pointed out. "Remember when he first met Sebastian?"

That was probably one of the worst days of Clary's life. Jonathan made a surprise visit one time last spring, and he ended up catching Sebastian and Clary in his car in the parking lot. Basically, a lot of blood was shed and it wasn't Jonathan's.

Clary pulled her hands out and rubbed them over her face. "But Jace is different from Sebastian."

"Jonathan doesn't know that. And the way he acted, I don't know if I'd believe it."

Clary sighed. "Just because he's arrogant sometimes doesn't mean that he doesn't treat me right. Isabelle likes him."

"That may be true," said Jocelyn, "But Isabelle's judgment could be off a bit."

"Mom, do you trust me?"

Jocelyn was quiet for a moment, watching her daughter with keen eyes. In the small amount of quiet, Clary realized how similar that she and her mother are. The eyes, the hair, the color of their skin, their build. The only difference was Jocelyn got to be seven inches taller.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Jocelyn touched Clary's cheek softly. "Honey, I do trust you. I don't trust this Jace kid, but I trust you." She paused. "So for the love of God, just don't do anything stupid."

Clary managed to laugh, nodding her head. "I won't. He cares about me and I care about him. Surprisingly."

Jocelyn stiffened. "What does that mean?"

"We kind of hated each other for weeks before we got together."

"Really?"

Clary shrugged one shoulder in answer.

Her mother looked shocked but accepted it. "Huh. Interesting. That does make me feel slightly better that you can see through some bullshit."

"Yeah, so you don't have anything to worry about. I'm actually an expert at saying no and pissing him off at this point."

Jocelyn cracked a smile. "Good." She grabbed Clary's hand, like she always did to show affection, and started to gently pull her towards the door. "Now, what do you want to do today? We can't be here tomorrow because your father has a meeting, so we're celebrating your twentieth birthday today."

Clary paused. "I don't know. Let me go up and talk to Jace for a moment, explain things, and I'll meet you guys by the car."

"Happy early birthday sweetheart," her mother whispered as she hugged Clary goodbye.

Finally, after what felt like the longest dinner in history, her family was finally leaving. It wasn't that she didn't like her family. But this dinner wasn't one of those 'happy birthday and let's catch up' dinners. Valentine and Jonathan drilled her on Jace, telling her that he's no good for her, and she was sick of hearing it.

So when she stepped out of the car to tell them goodbye, they couldn't leave fast enough.

"Thanks Mom," she said and pulled away. She hugged her brother and her father, barely but did it, and waved as their car started to drive off. She watched it go, fading in the distance until they topped the hill and was out of sight.

The night had taken over now, surrounding the mountains around her in darkness. It was… eerie. She hugged herself to keep herself from shivering and headed towards her building.

But she didn't get far.

"Clary?"

She froze. The last thing she wanted to do was to turn around, but she didn't have a choice. Slowly, she maneuvered her body until she stood and faced her intruder.

"Sebastian," she said with a harsh tone.

He appeared out of the shadows behind one of the SUVs in the parking lot. It made him look… creepy. "How was the family?"

"Dandy."

"They still hate me?"

"Yup."

"I see you do too."

She glared at him although he couldn't see it for the dim street lights. "You didn't exactly treat me decent, Sebastian. And you've been a jackass since Jace and I got together."

He stepped forward, and with each step Clary moved back one. "It's hard not to."

"What the hell does that mean?" She slipped around the hood of a Camaro and maneuvered it between her and her… ex-boyfriend? Can she call him that?

He leaned forward with his hands on the hood. "He's got what I've always wanted, Clary. He's got you. And I'm determined to get you back."

"You never will."

"We'll see."

She was quiet for a moment, taking in what he was saying. There wasn't anything he could do to separate her and Jace. She refused to even think that could happen. There was something between her and Jace, something stronger than anything Sebastian could try to break.

But as she looked at him, looked at how the street light behind him made him nothing more than a silhouette, looked at how tense and crazed it made him appear, she felt a little fear run through her.

"You'll figure out that you're better off without him soon enough," Sebastian said.

She clenched her jaw. "Whatever you think you know about Jace, it isn't true. You can't say anything to push me away from him. He's ten times the man you ever were."

He shook his head. "I have no doubt," he said like he didn't believe it.

"Glad we came to that understanding."

They were quiet for a moment. Then he finally broke the tension and pushed off the hood of the car. "I'll see you around, Clary," he said, smirking at her in the dark before turning and heading back to the other side of campus.

She didn't dare move, didn't dare pull her eyes from him until she watched him head into his building two hundred yards away and close the door behind him.

And then she collapsed against the car. "Holy shit."

Ten minutes later, she finally walked back into her dorm, slowly closing the door behind her. Her back pressed against it, taking slow deep breaths for a moment before she finally made her way into her room.

Isabelle and, not so surprisingly, Jace looked up when she entered.

"How was dinner?" Isabelle asked.

Clary waved off the question, too confused by Sebastian to answer. She just grabbed some clothes and changed silently, not looking either of them in the eye.

Once she was in her sleepwear, she slipped into her empty bed and turned towards the wall. She didn't want the inquiring eyes of her boyfriend and her best friend. She didn't want questions. She just wanted to sleep.

But she felt him no more than five seconds later. Jace slipped the covers back and slid inside, pulling Clary's back against his chest and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and kissed her hair.

If he thought he did something, he was wrong.

Because it wasn't him that was the problem. It was her brother. It was her father. It was the psychopath that waits for her to get home from a family dinner to… what? To threaten her? Is that what that even was?

She didn't want to think about it. Instead she just closed her eyes, focused on the warmth that Jace always provided, the protection, and slipped into sleep.

Clary still wasn't sure what to make of it the next morning. She was more out of it then compared to the night before. For a split second she thought it was a dream, but when she registered the head against her cheek as Jace's chest, she knew that it actually happened.

"Morning," he said in his husky, morning voice. "Feeling any better?"

She yawned and nodded, digging deeper into his side and pressing her face into his neck. "Much better."

"Good."

"I'm sorry about how I was last night."

He nodded and stroked her hair softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She had contemplated that the whole time she was outside the night before. And her conclusion was simple. Jace didn't need another thing to point at Sebastian, because he'd probably try something that will get him kicked off the team. All he needed was a little reason, and he'd snap.

That's why their conversation stays with her and no one else.

She shook her head. "Not really. My family is just a bit… overwhelming with their opinions sometimes. It's nothing to worry about."

At least half of that was true.

Jace seemed to take it though. "If that's how you feel about it. I just wanted to warn you not to make plans for tonight."

"Plans?"

"Did you forget it was your birthday?" he teased.

Clary rolled her eyes and pushed herself up on her elbows. One of her arms held her up while the other pressed against his chest. Her fingers danced along his bare skin, touching and dipping as she smiled down at him.

And he smiled up at her with the same enthusiasm that could melt her heart. "I'm guessing you did forget, huh? Even after yesterday, you forget?"

"I had other things on my mind."

He clicked his tongue and looked her over. "My, my, you are a dirty girl."

She didn't even realize how that sounded until she realized what was rolling around in his head. "Not like–" she playfully slapped his chest. "Not like that, you moron."

He caught her hand and shrugged casually. "You're a tease, you know that?"

Just to prove that she was, she dipped her head down and kissed him. It was just a little 'good morning' peck either. She really kissed him, and after the initial shock, he returned it deeper and forced her mouth open.

And it was that moment that Isabelle Lightwood burst back into the room. "Oh my God. You two are insatiable."

Jace pulled her tight to his chest where she hid her red, flushed, embarrassed face. Jace said, "Isabelle, you're just mad because your love interest is–"

"Not to be mentioned," she interrupted.

Clary lifted her head, confusing sinking in. "Wait a minute." She looked between Jace and Isabelle before focusing on her friend. "You… like somebody?"

"Yeah she does," Jace teased.

"Who?"

Isabelle tossed her bag on her bed and jumped up beside it, looking casual. "It's no one."

Clary knew she wasn't going to be able to beat it out of Isabelle. When she didn't want to talk about something, that was the end of it. Her stubbornness was bad like that.

So she shrugged and turned her attention back to Jace. "So, about tonight…"

He smirked. "It's a secret."

"But–"

He touched a finger to her lips. "No. None of that. We're going to dinner with everyone and then you and I are heading on our own little… adventure." She didn't look to happy, and he caught on. "Relax. You'll love it. I promise."

She sighed and reached up, pulling his finger away and playing with it between her hands. "Jace, I hate surprises. Like, I actually find them appalling."

"Do you trust me?"

"Does it matter?"

Instead of the laugh that she wanted, he suddenly turned serous. "Of course it matters. I'm not going to make you do something you're extremely uncomfortable with."

Clary sighed and looked away.

But Jace wasn't having it. He sat up and turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands when her back gently pressed against the wall.

"I don't want to do this if you'll hate it this much."

"I just don't see why I can't know what it is."

He shrugged casually and leaned in to kiss her softly. "I won't do it then."

She grabbed his hair when he started to pull away. "Wait." He did. "I… I do trust you, Jace. But whenever Sebastian gave me surprises, they weren't always the best thing."

"Whatever he did, I promise that I'm not the same. I won't hurt you. I'll never force you into anything. I just want you to be happy."

"You two make me wanna throw up," Isabelle whined. "Seriously, stop."

Jace dropped his hands from Clary's cheeks – she didn't even realize they were still there – and moved to lie back down. "Sorry, Isabelle. I forget you're a bitch now that your love life has gone down the drain."

Clary hated feeling out of the loop of this. "What happened to Jordan?"

Isabelle glared at Jace. "Thanks to Jace's attitude, when Maia cried to Jordan something sparked. He said that he wanted to see if anything was actually between them, so he cut me off from our little… whatever it was we were."

That was news. "Huh. And you're pissed?"

"No."

The silence that followed was confusing to say the least. She leaned down to Jace while keeping her eyes on Isabelle. "Am I missing something?"

"Yes."

"Can I know?"

He smiled and winked up at her. "Nope."

"Can you tell me yet?"

"You're worse than a five year old. 'Are we there yet? How much longer? I'm getting bored. I wanna know.'" Jace glanced over at her with a parental expression. "Seriously, you're driving me crazy."

"Then just tell me!"

Jace smirked and shook his head. "You might as well just sit back and relax, because I'm not telling you."

Instead of doing what he said, Clary pouted and fell back in the passenger seat, staring out the window with a scowl. She didn't understand why he couldn't just tell her. What was the point of surprises anyway? If she died in a car crash on the way there, she'd never know what could've been. Isn't that good enough reason to tell someone?

Jace apparently didn't think so.

"I hate you," she mumbled.

He chuckled and switched hands on the steering wheel. His other one descended on her leg, and despite her annoyance towards him at the moment, she let it stay there. "Don't be mad at me."

"I'm so pissed at you."

"No you're not."

She gave him the best look of hatred she could muster up. "Does this face look like I'm kidding?"

He took it in for a split second before turning back to the road. "If looks could kill…"

"You'd be dead."

"Well, good to know you'll want to keep me around after this."

She rolled her eyes. "I doubt that. You're not that smart."

He smirked. "You'll see."

His confidence in their little adventure was getting on her nerves. Granted, it always annoyed her, but this time it was more than usual.

But luckily, it didn't take much longer for them to get to whatever their destination was. Jace pulled onto a dirt road five minutes later and stopped at the bottom of some kind of hill. The moonlight was bright enough for her to see edges and shapes, but it was hard to make out what exactly was going on.

Clary leaned forward, inspecting the path that lead to the top of the two hundred yard hill. "We're walking that?"

"Do you hate walking or something?"

"I don't play sports for a reason," she said, emphasizing every word for him to get the point.

"You'll figure out why athleticism is God's gift to the world soon enough." She saw him reach behind them and grab a bag form the backseat. "Hold on," he said, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Then her door opened ten seconds later, and Jace hand descended on her own. He helped her out of the car, taking her hand and closing the door with his foot. "Now, don't freak out, okay?"

Her heart was already racing. "You're not going to murder me and bury me in the woods, right?"

"You're much to pretty for that."

The compliment made her blush in the darkness. "Then, what exactly are we doing here?"

He hiked the backpack higher on his shoulder and started two walk the path, pulling her along. "When I found out it was your birthday, I wanted to do something special."

"Here's an idea, dinner and a movie."

He smiled and shook his head. "We already had dinner with the gang. Besides, I wanted something better than that. We haven't been together long, and this is the first big event since it's happened. So I wanted to do something for you that you'll never forget."

She jumped when something – probably a squirrel – sounded in the falling leaves to her left. "Well, considering this is creepy as hell, I'll probably remember it for the rest of my life."

"Stop being so jumpy."

Surprisingly, she did stop. Another sound came from behind them, but she just glanced back and didn't panic. Her heart started racing, but she wasn't gripping onto Jace for dear life.

"Here it is."

Clary watched as Jace stepped up to a particularly large oak tree, reach around, and flip a switch.

The path before them lit up with Christmas lights along the right and left of the path. White, dim, beautiful lights led all the way up the hill to the top, and judging by the distance, they were at least halfway there already. It was actually beautiful the way the stars, the lights, and the moon shined against nature and illuminated different parts.

Jace took her hand again. "Are you feeling any better now? Still creepy?"

"Still creepy, but less creepy," she smiled.

He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Come on then."

She wasn't really sure what she was expecting when they got to the top. The way that Jace was talking, it was going to extraordinary. Deep down, she was actually genuinely excited. She hated surprises, but maybe this one would be something good that happened for once.

But it wasn't. She should've known better. They were laughing and joking on the way up, and when Jace froze, tensed and pushed her behind him, she knew that something was wrong.

She reluctantly turned her eyes from his gorgeous face and took in the intruder. He was dark, the moonlight causing a silhouette more than a normal person, but she'd been around him so much that she knew exactly who it was. She saw that exact silhouette the night before.

"Hello Jace," he nodded. "Clary." He nodded again.

Clary gritted her teeth. "Sebastian."

He smiled to the point that it made Clary cringe and waved. "Surprise."

Well, aaaaaaaaaalrighty then! That's it for this chapter. Sorry for the cliffhanger ;)

REVIEW! Let me know what you guys think! Thanks for some of the ideas from you beautiful people that reviewed for me, by the way. It was actually extremely helpful and allowed me to get back on track. I appreciated it!

And stay tuned for what happens next!