So to catch you guyz up on my life. I went back to school a couple weeks ago and literally everybody is taller than me. Everybody. It's sooo sad. This one boy we called Midget a year ago is now at least half a foot taller than me. And you know it's a sad day when the boy who used to get teased about his height is now taller than you. (Fucking Robert)(I'm not even five feet tall.)

Disclaimer: I don't own TMI.

For as long as Jonathan could remember, he considered Sebastian Verlac a close friend. They'd known one another for years, and over the course of those years, they'd definitely grown close.

He wasn't sure as to why, but as a young buy, Jonathan believed that the title of someone's best friend was something sacred, This is why he had never once bestowed the honor upon anybody. All throughout his sister's childhood she dubbed many people her best friend, and he watched as those people came in and out of Clary's life. Even now she had multiple best friends; Simon, Isabelle, and Jace. He didn't want that. He wanted a life-long bond with somebody. Not a person that would be in his life one day and gone the next. So, to this day, Jonathan had never called anyone his best friend. But Jonathan couldn't deny the fact that Sebastian came very close to earning this title.

Jonathan had never been sure about anything in his life. This only added to the already very long list. It was a well-known fact among all of their friends that Sebastian had the brown of an eleven year-old, and was a bit of an idiot. And, to add on to the list of reasons as to why Sebastian Verlac was not best friend material was that he had a crush on Jonathan's younger sister, Clary.

For a small duration of their friendship, when the two of them were in the seventh grade, Jonathan may or may not have believed that his friend was gay. There were rumors of course, there were rumors about pretty much all the well-known boys in the grade. They were all ridiculous and completely made up. Oh so, Sebastian didn't show a particular interest in girls? He's gay. It doesn't matter that he's never shown a particular interest in girls. He's gay. It was only for a month or so that Jonathan allowed his judgement to be clouded by his classmate's idiocy. But a month was still a month and he still felt terrible whenever he thought back to this time.

He never asked Sebastian if it was true. He didn't need to. If Sebastian really was gay then it was his business and no one else's. If he wanted Jonathan to know, he could come out and tell him. But he didn't and Jonathan figured he wouldn't, because he wasn't gay.

Nowadays it wasn't that Jonathan thought Sebastian was gay, it was the fact that he hoped Sebastian was gay. In Jonathans' opinion, Sebastian being gay was so much more desirable than him actually liking his baby sister.

He figured that he was a horrible older brother and a horrible friend for not noticing sooner. Looking back on it, it should have been rather obvious. It was right there in his face. Sebastian admitted to having a crush on her, but give it another day or two and jonathan was sure he could have figured it out. It was a wonder that his sister still didn't know.

Jonathan had originally threatened to tear Sebastian apart limb from limb when he first heard. Screw friendship, he had thought. Alec had to physically hold him back as he shouted profanities at Sebastian. Sebastian was in actual tears as he cowered in the corner of the locker room, promising he wouldn't try anything. Jonathan hadn't believed him, but he couldn't swing at the boy without risking suspension and getting kicked off the team. This left Jonathan with only one option. Following Sebastian around everywhere he went for the last couple of years.

It was glaringly obvious to anyone who looked for longer than a minute that Clarissa Fray was head-over-heels for another soccer player that was not Sebastian Verlac. In fact, he was the polar opposite of Sebastian from looks, to personality, and grades. This was the only time Jonathan was thankful for Clary having a crush. He figured Sebastian would then get the hint and back off. He didn't. For years Jonathan was forced to watch his closest friend pine after his younger sister who he knew would never return his feelings, because she herself was pining after someone who would never return her feelings. Sometimes Jonathan just didn't know who to be more heartbroken for.

Sebastian and Jonathan never talked about the former's crush on the latter's sister. It was never discussed between them, and never brought up when Jonathan was around. The words to get the conversation started were always at the back of Jonathan's though. The only real problem being, there was never an appropriate time to talk about it. However, now seemed the perfect opportunity to bring it up, seeing as Jace, Jem, and Clary finally hauled themselves up to bed minutes before, and this left only Sebastian and Jonathan downstairs, alone, watching movies.

Sebastian was stretched out on the opposite couch, a blanket thrown over his body and pulled up to his chin, exposing his feet. He was clutching a pillow to his chest and every other second his eyes would fall closed before snapping back open a minute later. Jonathan leaned forward and grabbed the remote off the coffee table to mute the movie, Beauty and the Beast.

Sebastian didn't appear to notice at first. It took him a long while to realize that the character's mouths were moving, but no sound was coming out. He pushed himself into a sitting position. The blanket fell around his waist and he still clutched the pillow to his chest.

All previous signs of him being tired were wiped from his face.

"What the hell, Jon?!" he exclaimed angrily. "You know that's my favorite part of the movie."

"I know it is. It's honestly a little strange that you like this movie at all," Jonathan admitted.

"Pfft. It is not," Sebastian stuck his nose in the air. "You just don't appreciate the greatness that is Beauty and the Beast. Or any Disney princess movie for that matter."

"Nope I can't say that I do. Anyway, moving on, I have a question for you."

As soon as Jonathan said this, Sebastian let out along, tired sigh. Jonathan noticed as his hand drifted up to tuck a dark lock of his hair behind his ear. Over the years, Jonathan had learned that this was something Sebastian did out of nervous habit. Sebastian pulled the blankets around his shoulders and, with only, the movie illuminating his features, he gave Jonathan a tired half-smile.

"I knew this conversation was coming sooner rather than later. Why don't you go ahead and hit me with your best shot, Jonny Boy."

"Alright then. Good to know you were expecting this." At this point, Sebastian's very forced smile melted into more of a grimace. "Tell me, do you really like my sister? Or is this just a boyish crush of yours that you've been holding on to for too long?"

A contemplative expression appeared on Sebastian's face. His eyes drifted down to his lap, which he stared at for a few seconds. Then his eyes floated back up to meet Jonathan's gaze. "Did you know, Jonathan, that I've been asking myself that same question for a little over five years now?"

"I'm not too sure how I feel about this," Jace murmured, a finger tapping on his chin. He stared down at the make-shift bed of blankets on his bedroom floor with a look of disdain.

"Jace. I'm tired," Clary whined, which made her sound very annoying to Jace, a word he would hardly ever use to describe her. She was leaning against Jem, her head resting on his arm because she was too short to reach his shoulder. Her hand was pushed to her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle a yawn. Her eyes fluttered shut before snapping back open in a half-hearted glare directed at Jace "Just make up your mind."

Jem had forgotten to lug an air mattress up to Jace's room, which would explain why there was fifty blankets piled on top of one another in the middle of Jace's bedroom floor. Though, that wasn't the problem Jace was facing right now. The issue was the sleeping arrangements. No, he couldn't care less if Jem was sleeping on a pile of blankets. It was the fact that Clary would be sleeping on the pile of blankets with Jem. Perhaps he hadn't really thought what agreeing to let Jem and Clary sleep in his room entailed.

He had already decided he was sleeping on his bed, no matter who decided to bunk in his room. Jem and Clary had already figured as much, and they both decided they didn't mind sleeping on the floor. Jace however found that he did mind. It wasn't until they all trudged up the stairs and entered his room together that Jace finally realized what the situation meant. Jem and Clary would be sleeping on the five foot wide bed made of blankets.

Together.

Occupying the same space.

Undoubtedly pressed against each other because there wasn't a lot of room.

Jace figured he had a choice to make at this point. As Clary's best friend, he knew the right and gentlemanly thing to do was to offer his bed to Clary. And he really wanted to do it. Anything to ward off stupid Jem so that he didn't get the wrong idea. But that would also mean he wouldn't' be the one sleeping on his bed, and the floor instead. He just wasn't sure if he was ready to make that sacrifice for anyone.

Jace glanced over to where Clary was still leaning against Jem, nuzzling her face into his arm, and Jem didn't seem to mind. They didn't appear as close as strangers despite having met only a few hours ago. Jace felt his blood boil at the sight. He tried to reason with himself that it was just his over-protective feelings for her. And the knowledge that Jonathan would skin him alive if he let anything happen between the two. On any other day, he was confident in in his ability to beat Jonathan's ass in a fight. But where Clary was involved, Jace was never sure what extent Jonathan would go to make sure Clary was alright.

There was a stack of pillows leaning against the wall by the door. An idea formed in Jace's mind. He marched over to the stack and began throwing them down in a line, parting the blanket bed down the middle.

"There," he said, after adding another layer to the line. He had to make sure there was enough pillows for them to rest their heads on. "Go ahead. It's alright to sleep now."

"Was that rather necessary?" Jem questioned, raising a silvery brow.

Clary rolled her eyes and frowned at Jace. "We're going to talk about this tomorrow. But right now," she flopped onto the bed on her stomach. She began rolling around, taking the blankets with her, cocooning herself in theme. "Right now, sleep. If anyone disturbs my slumber I'll kill you. Night."

Jace flicked off the light. Due to some crazy gene that allowed him to see in the dark, he was able to tell that Jem was still standing n the middle of the room.

"Good night," Jem murmured as Jace brushed past him.

It took a minute for Jace to respond as he crawled under his comforter and rested his head on his pillows.

"Yeah. Mess with Clary and Jon will skin you alive."

"Well, this is uh," Simon didn't finish his sentence, cutting himself off.

"William Herondale, I will kick you in the goddamn groin," Isabelle threatened.

"I'm not leaving this bed, Isabelle, and I think you already know this. Nothing you can say or do will make me," Will spoke stubbornly. He had lifted his head from the pillows they were buried in so that his voice was clear.

Isabelle made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "I can just imagine that dumb old smug grin on your face right now. You really don't understand just how badly I want to smack it off."

"Oh, I think I do. Believe it or not, a lot of girls express the same thing to me multiple times I day."

"Oh, I sure as hell believe it."

The sleeping arrangement probably- no definitely -should have been discussed further between Isabelle, Simon, and Will. The only thing they had actually discussed out loud and agreed upon was that they were to be sharing a room. (Isabelle had actually not been on board with this plan, but she had been overruled by just about everyone.) In Isabelle's mind, she would be the one to get the bed. In Simon's mind, Isabelle would also be getting the bed, but he had figured that with enough begging on his part in the middle of the night, a sleep-ridden Isabelle would agree to let him crawl into the bed with her. (Not like that. They were a long way from that.) And, in William's mind, he'd have the bed for himself while the other two crashed on the floor. Needless to say, everybody's hopes had been crushed upon entering the room and spending a copule of minutes in there.

"You didn't blow an air mattress up?" Will directed his question when he was me with an empty floor.

They stood in the doorway of the room as Simon ventured further in and stood by the foot of the bed.

"No, of course not," Isabelle scoffed as she stepped into the room. Will followed her. "Why would I blow an air mattress up for you?"

"Well I just assumed- wait. What do you mean for me?" Will asked, raising an inquisitive dark brow as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You're sleeping on the floor with Simon," Isabelle stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She began pulling her hair into a pony-tail at the back of her head.

"Uh, no I'm not," Will said, looking at Isabelle dubiously.

"Really?" Isabelle turned to face him, raising a dark brow of her own. "But I thought you agreed to share this room with Simon and I. Changed your mind?"

"No, I haven't changed my mind. I'm sleeping on the bed and you're the one sleeping on the floor with Simon."

"Uh, no I'm not."

Isabelle and Will stared at one another for a second more before they both launched themselves into the air and onto the bed. Simon, who had still been leaning against the bed frame at the time, cried out and quickly scrambled onto the bed. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the best thing to do, The best thing to do was probably get out of the way and crash on the couch with Jonathan and Isabelle. Instead, he chose to curl into a ball making himself as small as possible against the wall. Will landed next to Simon on his stomach, sending Simon flying up into the air, and Isabelle landed on Will's either side.

Simon straightened his body out slowly, consequently pushing Will over a little, and almost sending Isabelle toppling off the bed. Isabelle shrieked, her hands shooting out and latching on to the nearest thing to keep her from falling, holding on for dear life. This thing just so happened to be Will's hair. Will cried out in pain. He grabbed Isabelle by the waist and pulled her into his chest. As he did this, the top of Isabelle's head knocked into his chin, and they once again both cried out in pain. Will released her waist and she released his hair.

The twin-sized bed they were meant to be sleeping on was not meant for three people, much less three tall teenagers. Will was still on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow, and his arms hanging limply by his side. Simon's back was pushed against the wall and he lied on his side, his right arm pinned under his body. Isabelle was also lying on her side on the opposite side of the bed, but since she was on the edge of the bed, her situation was a bit more difficult. She had shoved one of herm's under Will's chest (which was uncomfortable for the both of them), and one of her legs was entangled with his. (This was much worse.)

"This is most uncomfortable," Simon said as he squirmed around.

"Don't move," Will turned his head to face him. "It doesn't help."

"I blame Will."

"I blame Isabelle."

"I blame myself. Sleeping on the floor would have been so much more comfortable than this."

The only room in the house that wasn't having any issues was the room Magnus, Alec and Tessa were occupying. Tessa was asleep on the bed, her limbs spread wide. Her hair spilled out over the pillows, and her mouth was hanging open slightly so that a few strands were in her mouth. Alec snored on the air mattress along with Magnus whose arm was thrown over Alec's face. Yes, a very happy place indeed.

"I like Clary. I really honest to god do. But, much like the case with Jace, I just don't really know how I like her. As a friend, something more. It's just really confusing. My heart confuses me," Sebastian sighed. "I don't think I've ever liked somebody. As in, truly like somebody and wanted to date them. The way my crushes work, and the way my brain thinks, and the way my heart feels is kind of hard to explain, as I imagine it would be for anyone. I don't think that I actually like the girls I have crushes on.

"I'm not trying to say I'm gay or anything," Sebastian said quickly. He glanced at Jonathan who was staring intently at him. "I don't see anything wrong with it of course, but that's just not who I am. You won't believe how many times I've been asked that question. I mean, do I really seem gay?

Jonathan chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. To be honest, I actually kind of thought you were gay a couple years back."

"That was a, uh, rhetorical question but," Sebastian's eyes widened, "really?"

"You know the definition of rhetorical?"

Sebastian laughed bitterly and shook his head. "I'm not that much of an idiot."

Jonathan gave him a small smile. "You know I can never be sure with you."

Sebastian felt some of the earlier tension leave his body and he returned Jonathan's smile before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, I don't think I genuinely like people. I think I've always just liked the idea of people. What they stood for. Something to distract me from dwelling on everything crappy in the world. And I've always like people I knew I didn't have a shot in the world with, because it was so much easier. I could admire them from afar, and I never had to worry about them returning my affections. My crushes were more often than not popular, because no way those girls would like me. They were pretty, they were kind, and they were smart. And they were always, always unattainable.

"And then came along Clary, who wasn't necessarily popular, but most definitely unattainable, because she was your baby sister. Everyone knows its against the Bro Code to date your best friend's baby sister. She fell into all my required categories, so I dubbed her my next crush.

"And for a while it was fine. It was fun to delude myself into liking her. She was like an other crush I'd ever had. And. to top it all off, she had a crush on another boy. A boy that was nothing like me. No way was she ever going to return my feelings. But, somewhere along the way, I think I actually began to genuinely like Clary Fray.

"I started dreaming about us. Together and happy. Her actually liking me. That made me happy. The thought of it just made me so happy. And I wanted it. I really did. Just imagining us as a couple made me happy, and it gave me this dumb false hope. I would go to school the next day and use the worst pick-up lines on her, and she would laugh, and smile, and blush, because she didn't know and that was probably the most adorable thing about her.

"You weren't always there in the beginning. But do you know who was? Jace. That stupid. brooding boy. Every single time after I'd fail at flirting with Clary he would just give me that glare, that terrifying glare. Then I would imagine some more. This time though. I would imagine Jace and Clary as a couple, and happy, just like Clary and I were in my dreams. It didn't hurt. It never hurt. Not once. It's the constant nagging question: DO I really like Clary Fray?

"Sometimes I think I do, so those are the times I flirt and lash out when someone talks about Jace and Clary as an item. Other times I think I don't, so I join in on trying to push them together and getting Jace to admit he likes her. Most of the time though, I'm just feuding with myself, so my attempts at flirting are half-hearted, and the anger I have isn't real. I don't know, and I never have know, and it's just driving me crazy, and I don't even know anymore."

Sebastian's lips were pressed into a thin line by the time he was finished. He was silent, his breathing shallow as he stared straight ahead. Jonathan was also silent as he appraised his friend. He heaved a hefty sigh before he moved to sit next to Sebastian.

"Did you know that you, Sebastian Verlac, are my best friend?" Jonathan asked as he wrapped one arm around Sebastian's shoulder. "And in my expert opinion, you need to talk to Clary so that you can sort out your feelings together. It'll help. Clary will help. She'll understand. I know she will."

"You think so?" Sebastian lifted his head to peer at Jonathan. "And you won't kill me if I talk to her?"

"I promise I won't," Jonathan gave him a smile. "And you better come to the conclusion that you don't actually like her."

Sebastian laughed breathily and Jonathan patted him on the back.

"Do I get to ask you a question now?"

"Sure, Seb."

"Do you really not like the idea of me dating your sister? Am I really that bad of a person?"

Jonathan hummed thoughtfully, not expecting this question. He didn't have to think much though. He knew his answer. He had always know his answer. "It's not you. Not really. I honestly think you're a good person and some women is going to be so happy when she marries you. I don't think that person should be Clary. I think she'd be happier with someone else. Maybe had you realized you liked Clary before he entered the picture I would have supported it, but you didn't, and my brain is stubborn when it comes to things like this."

"It's Jace, isn't it? You ship Clace just like everybody else."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that statement."

"You don't have to. I already know."

SHIPPING MATTERS

So I feel like a lot of questions were answered with this chapter. Seb's feelings may or may not be genuine, he is not gay, and yes, Jem is going to be Jace's rival in the fight for Clary's heart. (Not really it's more of a gag than anything. You'll see.) And that Sebathan bromance. Yessss. Okay, so I realized while writing this chapter that I definitely low-key ship Isabelle and Will, and now I'm regretting writing Tessa and Will as a couple right off the bat. It would have been so much fun exploring Isabelle and Will in a romantic light together. I mean, of course I would have never had them end up together, because for the most part, I like to stick to canon ships, and in this story, Will lives all the way on the other side of the continent. But I'm so shipping them and I regret my life. So, in future chapters, you may see some subtle romantic moments shared between the two, but nothing too obvious, because stupid me wrote Will already in a relationship, and I'm not interested in making Tess jealous or having Will cheat on her, so yeah.