Chapter 3: Going Forward
"I hope that I can turn back the time
To make it all alright, all alright for us
I'll promise to build a new world for us two
With you in the middle" - DJ Snake
"Hey Jordan, it's Clary. Call me back when you get the chance? Um ... we need to talk".
The Afternoon of New Year's Eve 2015 No POV
"So are you going to get back with Jace?", Simon asked as he shuts off his play station. Pulling out his phone, he sends an emoji pizza to domino's and slides it back into his pocket.
He narrows his eyes at Clary's silence, using his pointer finger to push the arch of his glasses higher up his nose, "HELLO. Earth to Clary."
The redhead sighed and leaned her head up against the couch, "I don't know. I mean we've been messing around for so long, but now I'm seeing someone else. I don't know if I should end it with Jordan before we even fully start or if I should just really try and move on from Jace."
Clary brings her knees closer to her chest, one arm hooking around them as the other is bent and her fingers are at her lips as she bites on her nails.
"I'm just scared Si."
Simon got up from the floor and lent a hand to pull her up, nodding to the couch. She took it freely as he sat and she laid a cross it with her head on his lap.
"What happened anyways? I could've sworn you guys left the pre party on good terms on Thanksgiving." Simon asked as he patted Clary's hair, something he's done over the past month to soothe her. He didn't know when she was ready to talk about it.
For three weeks she cried her eyes out. He thought it was stupid, to cry over a boy that was never her boyfriend. But then again, Clary's his best friend, she was tough. It must've been something bad enough to make her cry, let alone to stop her from eating or sleeping.
Clary sighed, looking up at the ceiling, she blinks back some tears before sitting up and twisting around. "Okay. Um, well … if I tell you, promise you won't tell anyone? Not even Isabelle."
Simon's bushy, dark brown brows knit closer together. Could he do that? Keep something from Isabelle? He only started to date her because of Clary. Clary has always been there for him. Unlike her and Jace, Simon took his relationship to the next level just after seeing Isabelle for a few months.
"How serious is this?" he asked. He needed to know, if whatever it was affected her life like harm, then he can't promise to keep it a secret. Silly as it is,
Clary didn't say anything. Instead, she reached behind her neck and unclipped something that looked like a chain.
Her freckled face ached as she handed it to Simon. The chain was simple, but what hung on it was something beyond simple. It was a beautiful peridot wedding ring.
Simon took it curiously, glancing from the stunning green gem and back to Clary's similar colored ones. When he saw her small frown, he tried to put two and two together.
"Did he do what I think he did?"
Clary only nodded and slowly took the necklace from Simon's stretched out hand. Putting it back on and tucking the ring under her shirt, Clary chuckled. "You know, all this time of being with him, I would've never expected it."
She leaned against the couch cushions and hugged one leg, "I was engaged for at least 4 hours Si. Who would've thought that someone actually wanted to marry me?"
Simon stayed silent observing her. He remembered growing up with her and how they didn't want to get married because of the fall out with Simon's divorced parents and Clary's left-beat dad. He remembered how her high school boyfriends cheated on her. Although she only had 3, she promised herself to never get into a relationship again after high school.
When Simon first met Jace, it was by accident. He caught him slipping out of her dorm when he went over for their ritual monster movie night. Simon didn't expect a guy to be in her dorm at all, but then again, Clary was naturally beautiful.
It was after the third time that he caught Clary and Jace to ask about him. After the two year mark, he warned Clary, asked her if she started to have any feelings for him. But no matter how much she denied it, it was written all over her face, she never admitted nor accepted the truth. Always playing it off by saying it was just mutual sex.
"He was mine for 4 hours", she whispered.
Simon took the blanket from the armrest and opened it for her, "he still can be." He stood and wrapped it around her, grabbing the control to switch to cartoons, "As much as I hate Jace right now, you've known each other for so long. And i'm not saying you should get back with him immediately. He did make a mistake, but he did come back."
" Did you guys get more involved than just sex?" Simon asked, he needed to know that if she was going into this it was because there was more and not because of the memories they had during sex or partying. He doesn't mean to intrude, Clary isn't too often liked from girls. As uncomfortable as he was asking the questions, he would be that girl friend that Clary could confide in about this kind of stuff.
"Well," she started, her sock covered toes curled beneath her as she let out a small smile recalling her memory. "Yeah, after his grandma died two years ago. He uh... he started opening up to me. We started to hang out, just to bond and stuff." The redhead scrunched her nose and bit her lip to hold in a giggle, "don't tell him I told you this but uh, ducks aren't his strong suit."
Just as quick as she smiled, it disappeared. Simon was taking this all in, she was fighting it. It being the missing him, the wanting him. And as much as Simon didn't want to admit, he knew she needed him. There's too much history, and his proposal just mindfucked her completely.
"He even took care of me after my abortion." She added quietly.
Simon felt like that was personal, too personal. A memory that belonged to just them. With that said, he knew their messing around was serious without them even going for it to be serious.
"Besides time, what are you afraid of?", he asked.
Clary tugged at her sleeves and slightly hummed against her tight fist that rested against her chin. "That if I finally give in completely ... he'd get what he wanted only to change his mind … and leave … again."
It stung for her to say that. Clary didn't want to be that girl who everyone saw as "over sensitive" or "stupid" for catching feelings. She knew she wasn't supposed to. She wish she was nonchalant about the whole thing really. But when it come to Jace, she lost sight of anything and everything.
Suddenly, Clary's cell filled the silence in the room. She glanced at it only to groan and tossed the phone to Simon's lap, her body falling backwards against the couch. He was going to answer the phone but then saw that not only was Jace calling her, but Jordan was as well.
"You're in deep shit. Lucky for you, I-" Simon cut short as the bell rang, he got up and turned to Clary's questioning look with a goofy grin, "Pizza's here."
Present No POV
"Hey, Clary. It's Jace … which you probably already knew from the caller ID. Anyway, I was just wondering if you were doing alright?" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling as he laid on the mat of the gym in his parents home.
Jace's fingers fiddled with the sparring gloves Clary got him. Before he met Clary, he was doing MMA but as a side gig since he was a full time student also. Training and fighting was his outlet of stress and something he enjoyed doing.
"I'm free this entire week, and I was wondering if there was any day you were off … or if I could join you on one of your sketching sessions." His body was damp with sweat and was completely sore. He didn't understand why he struggled to have a straightforward message.
He had an idea of what he wanted to say, but as soon as the answering machine started, he lost his train of thought. "So um yeah, call or text me whenever you can." Jace remembered the second time he met Clary. He could've sworn he had gotten her number down before she had left his apartment. But after that one night he never heard from her again.
It was only a month later, when he was fighting in an unofficial MMA tournament in a vacant warehouse, he saw her again. It was right after he punched the shit out of some guy and won overall that her bright green eyes stood out in the crowd. He normally had been sleeping on and off with another girl, Kaelie, after his fights.
But with her on his sight, he was determined to catch her again.
Jace remembered her eyes widen in realization, the curve of her soft red lips curling to an 'o' as he slowly approached her. He remembered how she stood alone in the crowd with hair soaked but a somber smile was plastered on her face.
"Shit", he muttered into the phone. "I miss you." Jace knew he had fucked around too long and got attached to Clary. She was his fix, and now with the drinks and the feelings from the past months, everything in his mind was fucking mixed.
He ended the call with that and just continued to lay there. His father always told him 'to love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed'. Wedding bells were just alarms, a wakeup call that left him frustrated. His father was the reason for caution tape wrapping around his heart.
Flashback - [2010] - No POV
"Clary", Jace nodded as he walked up in front of her. As she looked up, water dripped from her lashes as she gave a smile so simple, it was beautiful. Her red locks shook as she nodded, "Jace."
"Didn't think i'd see you again", he said with his infamous killing smirk,"did you missed me?"
Clary's dark copper brows raised lightly with her hardest attempt, "should I have?" she said with amusement. She wasn't new to the cocky talk, but she didn't mind playing into it as well. Play hard to get, right?
"Oh," he places his hand to his bare chest, "how you wound me. I'm pretty sure you left my apartment more than satisfied." The crowd around them was slowly building, things being moved as the warehouse slowly started to shift into a party zone.
"And so what if I did? I know it's hard for you to believe, but me being here is purely accidental." She said, but her eyes deceived her by roaming over Jace's sweaty, but very toned muscles. She had to admit, watching him fight was pretty hot, and they way he looked at her right as he won gave her goosebumps. He didn't even have to wink at her.
"Ahem," he fake coughed, smirking as his arms crossed. "Want a picture?"
She rolled her bright emerald eyes but couldn't keep the hold on her smile, "Shut up."
"So, why are you here Red?" Jace asked, determined to steal her from whatever reason brought her here. He watched her facial expression change to a semi embarrassed yet nervous look.
"I was cat sitting and lost it. Last I saw, it came in here."
Jace blinked down at her, her eyes glancing around the slightly dark, crowded room. He had to purse his lips together to hold back from laughing, finding it difficult to believe that cat sitting was a thing.
"That's … peculiar. I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere. Want some-?" Jace was cut off by the call of his name.
Him and Clary turned their heads to the promiscuous blonde beside them. Clary watched intently as she wrapped her arm around Jace's as kissed his cheek. Assuming that they were a thing, she took a step back, to which Jace noticed.
He dropped his crossed arms, taking a step back himself as he nodded, "Kaelie."
Kaelie's lips parted slightly in shock at the distance, covering it up quickly, she finally took a full look at Clary. Sizing her up, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Are you lost? I believe the homeless shelter is a few more blocks down. Need help getting there?"
Clary looked down at herself, and back to the two blondes. She didn't want to acknowledge how good they looked together. She didn't bother to respond to Kaelie. She had enough of her type to deal with in high school. With a small wave to Jace, she took off in search of the cat.
"Clary, wait!" she heard Jace shout, but she thanked her small size for being able to loose him in the crowd.
There, at the exit of the warehouse was the stupid cat with a dead mouse in its mouth. She sighed in relief as he allowed her to pick him up without much of a fight, "Chairman Meow. Don't you EVER do that to me again."
Tucking the cat and its dead friend into the middle of her sweater, with one last look back, she left the warehouse.
New Year's Day Present [2016]
5...4..3..2..1
"HAPPY NEW YEAR" shouts filled the Lightwood home.
Family friends hugged and kissed each other as Max and the cousins his age had a grape eating contest.
Jace chuckled and patted Max's hair, kissing his cheek as Max gave a disgusted face trying to pull away. "Don't. Fight. It." Jace said, pulling him into a semi hug-headlock.
"I need to talk to you", Simon butted in. Jace released Max back to his group and followed Simons lead.
Just as soon as they entered into one of the spare rooms, Simon lounged at Jace, punching him square on his perfect jaw.
Jace's golden eyes blazed with fire, furious as he reached up to grab his chin and rub it, "WHAT THE FUCK SIMON!"
But Jace's demeanor was not threatening Simon as it normally would. Usually Simon would've never done something like that, especially to Jace. Him being Isabelle's brother, Clary's love interest, and a pro MMA fighter also factored in to avoiding Jace at all cost.
But at this very moment, Simon was furious. His long, thin fingers were curled into a fist, flat against his sides, "You fucking proposed to her! Are you out of your mind? Do you even know the damage you've caused?"
Jace glared angrily at Simon, his breathing hot and heavy as he responded, "Of course I do! Why the fuck do you think I've been trying to fix this?" The golden boy dropped his hand from his chin, a look of defeat filled his face, "besides, it seems like she already moved on from me."
"Nope", Simon said matter-of-factly. "No matter how hard she tries she can't." Using his fingers to push his glasses back higher, he pointed, "You've ruined any chance she has with any other guy."
Jace refused to look at him as he continued, "She became so damaged that whenever someone even tries to give her something she truly deserves, she has no fucking idea how to respond. Why do you think that is?"
Simon didn't dare wait for him to respond as Jace folded his arms, still avoiding Simon's sight, "Oh wait, it's because someone made a commitment to her and then left within hours of that promise. Took back the intentions and it's meaning, which now makes her second guess everything. Everything that would make her happy."
Jace ignored the pain from his jaw, but his anger towards Simon grew. "As if you've never made a mistake before," Jace snarkily replied. "I know I hurt her. But I am going to fix it."
"You damn will", Simon chipped in.
Jace shook his head to show the misunderstanding, "I've never been more certain of wanting to be with her than I do now. I know I don't deserve her, but I'm willing to sacrifice everything for her."
Simon observed every inch of Jace, no one was ever really able to see him behind the mask. But, he could tell that at this very moment, Jace just let his walls down a few inches. Jace meant every word.
"You thank your lucky stars that her brother doesn't know about this", said Simon. "Wait .. does anyone even know you proposed? Or were you fine with just making her look like the overly obsessed hook-up who made many phone calls the day you left her."
"Max knew. But I -", Jace stumbled for a moment, scratching his neck unsightly, "- I wasn't sure if she wanted people to know what I did."
Simon nodded and heard Isabelle calling his name down the hall. Giving Jace a stern look, he said "don't fuck up. A person can only forgive so many times before they break." And just like that, he left.
"You don't have to tell me twice", Jace muttered to himself. He laid across the spare bed and sighed for the umphteen time that day.
Feeling his phone buzz, he felt instantly better seeing Clary's name pop up on the screen. Pressing play, he settled the phone on his abdomen, her voice filling the spare room through the speakers.
"Hi Jace," she spoke softly, " um, Happy New Year!" He chuckled at her lifeless enthusiasm, hearing the sheets shuffle through the phone before she spoke again. "I'm free Thursday after my sketching session, you could join if you want. I'm planning to be at central park but incase you can't just let me know where you want to meet."
Another few seconds of the sheets ruffling filled the air. "So yeah, let me know when you can …", he heard her sigh, wondering if she was celebrating the holiday at all. "Oh and Jace … I miss you too."
If he wasn't smiling before, he was definitely smiling now.
A small burst of victory exploded in his chest. His arms folded behind his head as he grinned childishly to the ceiling. "I'll be good to you Clary", he said to himself. Closing his eyes, he starts to think of dates and activities that he can surprise her with. And now all he can picture is her adorable smile.
1st NEW YEARS together [5 Years Ago - 2011]
"Fucking hell", Jace muttered against her lips, kissing down her jaw to her neck, whispering "I want you so fucking bad right now."
Clary let out a soft sigh, her hands skimming up and down his body as he nibbled on her sensitive spot. They somehow managed to find each other once again. Jace found that, even without having her number, they were bound to be in the same place at the same time. And today he was determined to get her number down.
Being outside on the balcony of the apartment did give them some privacy, but not enough. She was pressed against the railing, Jace's arms caging around her. He hated constantly guessing if he should go out on weekends just to see if there would be a possibility of bumping into her. Today was his lucky day.
The city grounds were filled with people counting down, but all Jace could focus was Clary's pulse under his lips. The party in the apartment soon joined in with the count down.
His hand finally plants firmly on her hips as he kisses his way back to her lips. FIVE, he pulls away just enough to look down at her. FOUR, he catches her eyes flutter open. THREE, the ends of her lips curl to a delicate smile. TWO, Jace's hands releases the railing to cradle both sides of her face. ONE, giving her his infamous smirk, he speaks loud enough for her to hear him, "Happy New Years, Red."
His sensitive hands pulled her face close, crashing his lips onto her own as the crowd on the New York City streets go wild, explosions of confetti shooting out every direction. The cheers, the lights, everything was just noise, all she can focus on was Jace's warm embrace, and his lips stealing every last breath she had.
AN:/ Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I realized I enjoy writing memories from the past to help you see how Clary and Jace developed, the next chapter will be mainly of the past. Please, please, please review. Wether it is good or bad, I really would like to add what you are interested in into the chapters and what you like and dislike. Reviews show me that you do want me to continue with this story. Thank you for reading and have a great week everyone!
Recommendation of The Day: Author - Mina Lisly
Her stories are always action packed and the not so typical romance of Clace. Her Clary is majority of the time a leading lady, and the stories are cute, painful, and funny! Give it a shot.
- Ciao, Cait.