Sorry this took so long! Serious writer's block for awhile there, but it's sorted out for now. A million and one thanks to my lovely beta, Thorntangle for her work on this chapter!
Our Favorite Mortal Instruments Quote of the Chapter:
Malachi scowled. "I don't remember the Clave inviting you into the Glass City, Magnus Bane."
"They didn't," Magnus said. "Your wards are down."
"Really?" the Consul's voice dripped sarcasm. "I hadn't noticed."
Magnus looked concerned. "That's terrible. Someone should have told you." He glanced at Luke. "Tell him the wards are down."
-Malachi and Magnus
Clary P.O.V
"Hmmm. Very nice flavor. It has a light taste but also a smoky undertone—"
"Clary, 'Light' is not an appropriate adjective when describing pizza. Neither is smoky," Jace says with a smile. I roll my eyes at him.
"Not if it's…smoke…pizza…" I trail off. Jace laughs and takes another bite of the pizza we made. I had suggested that we order and he laughed in my face; apparently the closest pizza place is almost an hour away.
"Smoke pizza?" he asks, one eyebrow gracefully arched.
"Shut up, Jace," I murmur. My cell phone rings; I pull it out and hit talk.
"Hello?"
"Clary! Where are you?" Simon says.
"Umm…I'm—out."
"I see that. You need to get home. Now."
"Why? Is everything alright?" I ask. My mind runs through a million scenarios. Is Simon alright? Did something happen to the apartment?
"Everything's fine," Simon says, calming my fears. "But—"
"Hey Little Red," says my brother.
"Jonathan! What are you doing with Simon?"
"I came down to visit you, but you're not here. Honestly, Clare Bear. I go to all this trouble to see you and you repay me by forcing me to hang out with super-nerd!" I laugh. Unlike Jace, Jonathan is very fond of Simon. Simon's been my best friend since we were five, so Jonathan's seen a lot of him over the years. "Where are you?"
"Umm..out of town. I'll be there as soon as I can. See you soon!"
"Hurry up!" We hang up and I turned to Jace.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"My brother. He's at the apartment. Would you mind…?"
"No problem. Let's go now." I checked to see if he was bothered, but he didn't see too worried. He snatched his keys off the counter and shoved the last corner of the crust in his mouth. I hurried behind him, throwing my jacket on.
0O0
Jace pulls up to the front doors of the apartment and stops the car. I sit there for an awkward moment, wanting to thank him but not knowing how. He watches me like I'm a puzzle he's trying to solve.
"Thanks for…today," I say lamely, staring down at my intertwined fingers, feeling heat climb into my cheeks. I steal a quick glance at him. He's smiling.
"When are you working?" he asks me.
"Probably tonight," I say glancing at the clock. It's seven at night. If call in I can probably pick up the 9 o' clock shift and make up for the time I lost. I'll be exhausted in the morning, but it will be worth it if it eases my conscience.
"Need a ride?" he asks. I watch him, checking for traces of sarcasm.
"Seriously?" I ask. He gives me a blank look.
"No. I'm lying." I glare at him. "What time should I pick you up?"
"I didn't say yes yet."
"But you were going to." Part of me wants to smack the cocky grin off his face. The other half wants to kiss it away. I push away the thought as quickly as it appears.
"The next shift starts at 9."
"Meet you in the lobby at 8:45?"
"Sounds good. Thanks," I say, shooting him a smile and climbing out of the car. He smiles, waves, than drives away. I climb the stairs up to my apartment, feeling happier then I have in awhile.
0O0
I knock frantically on the door. Simon pulls it open and I rush past him.
"Where's Jonathan?" I say, rushing into the living room. Jonathan leaps off the couch and throws his arms around me, picking me up and spinning me. He lets me down and I punch him in the shoulder. He rubs it and glares at me.
"What was that for?"
"Not visiting me earlier," I say with a smile. He kisses the top of my head and pulls me onto the couch. "Have you seen Luke lately?" Luke was a friend of my mom before she went missing when I was sixteen. After she disappeared, our dad buried himself in his work and Luke basically raised us.
"Last week actually. I told him I was seeing you and he said to tell you that you better visit him soon." I smile and resign myself to visiting him the first chance I get. "So where were you Red?" I feel my cheeks flush.
"What are you guys watching?" I ask picking up the remote. I hit mute and on comes an announcer's voice, describing the intricacies of the last play. Football. I wrinkle my nose in disgust.
"Nice try, Fray," Simon says, sitting down on my other side. He studies me for a minute and sighs. "You were with Herondale, weren't you?" My red cheeks get brighter.
"I have to call the hospital. I'm going to try to pick up another shift," I say pushing myself off the couch.
"So you were with Herondale," Simon says with a sigh.
"Who's Herondale?" Jonathan asks. I pick up the phone before I can hear more of their conversation. After a quick conversation which ended in me being allowed to go in tonight I walk warily back into the room. Jonathan shoots me a look.
"Nice try, Little Red. Tell me about this Herondale." I face the two of them, my arms crossed over my chest. I bite my bottom lip and tap my fingers against my arm, not wanting to have this conversation. Jonathan pats the space between him and Simon. I sit down with a sigh and bury my head in my hands.
"His name is not Herondale. It's Jace." Simon grumbles something under his breath. I shoot him a glare, knowing it's nothing nice. "He's a friend of mine." I quickly recall our kiss, the thought of which brings a bright flush to my cheeks. I wipe it from my mind and turn myself back to the conversation at hand. Jonathan looks at me skeptically. "Just. A. Friend," I say. "Now let's watch something interesting. Like Jersey Shore!" That was answered by an adamant "no".
0O0
Jace P.O.V
When I walk into the apartment I'm on some sort of high. I spend an hour watching sports. I try to focus on the plays but Clary keeps invading my thoughts. The thrill I feel at the memory of her startles me. At 8:00 Isabelle walks in and plops down beside me.
"Hey Smiley. What's up?" she asks. I look up at her, dropping the smile on my lips. Izzy grins at me and mutes the TV. She leans forward, excitement playing in her eyes. "Tell me."
"What?" I ask, feigning innocence. I stand up and walk into the kitchen.
"Did Imogen finally promote you?" I open the fridge and take out a beer.
"Nope."
"Did you find a new apartment?" I open the bottle and take a swig.
"I'm looking for a new apartment?"
"I guess not." She pauses and watches me. "Honestly, Jace. What's with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're so…smiley. It's weird." I flash her quick glare.
"Is it a girl?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows. I drink again, not wanting to give myself away. Her eyes pop open. She looks ridiculously surprised. I laugh and sit next to her. She flashes me a meaningful glance. "It's a girl!"
"I neither confirm nor deny."
"Finally get laid?" I bite the inside of my lip, wondering how to play this. Should I tell her the truth? Why the hell not.
"Actually, no." She looks shocked.
"Who is she? I have to meet her."
"Why?"
"The girl who brought down the infamous Jace Herondale? You only smile when one of three things happen." She holds up three fingers. "When the Giants win," she says putting down a finger, "when you get laid, or when Alec or I get humiliated. And now there's a girl? You absolutely have to tell me who it is."
"If I tell you then that kind of takes the fun out of it." I pick up the remote only to have her snatch it out of my hands. She flicks the TV off.
"Jace…" she says warningly.
"You might already know her," I say cryptically.
"She's a paramedic?"
"Nope." Izzy wrinkles her delicately plucked eyebrows and pouts. She looks like she's about five. I laugh and down half the bottle. She rolls her eyes. Something sparks in her eyes.
"Can I get you another beer?" she asks, innocently batting her eyes. I watch her, trying to figure out her ulterior motive. Suddenly it clicks.
"Ahh. We're playing that game. You want to get me drunk. Nice try. I'm working tonight." I pick up the phone and call Imogen. She scolds me for skipping earlier and grudgingly allows me to come in tonight. I throw on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, sneakers and throw my uniform in a gym bag. When I walk back into the living room Izzy is watching me with expectant eyes.
"I'm going to the gym," I announce. She glares at me.
"You're mean. Very, very mean." I laugh. "Can you give me a hint? Hair color? Interests? Initials? Parent's initials?" I pretend to consider and then shake my head. "Is that where you were all day? With her?"
"Yep."
"Can you at least tell me where you went?"
"The manor," I say. Her eyes pop open and her jaw drops. I snatch my keys off the counter and hurry out before she can assault me with more questions. I throw the gym bag in the back of my car and put my keys in the front seat, exactly like everyone tells me not to. I jog to the gym which is only three convenient blocks away. The cold air burns my lungs. I focus carefully on my running, thinking only of the rhythm surrounding me; the pulsing of my feet against the ground, my even breaths, the steady beating of my heart.
The air in the gym is warm. I head straight for the punching bag, feeling the tension of the day coiled deep within my muscles. I call over a trainer and ask them to hold the bag for me. I punch it and feel the trainer budge, not expecting such a strong hit. He makes a small grunt of surprise. I bounce on the balls of me feet and attack the bag. The world disappears, leaving me, the bag and the sweat pouring over my skin.
"Okay, okay," the trainer says. I back off. "Jesus. Who pissed you off?" I blink to clear my head.
"Sorry," I mutter. I glance down at my raw knuckles, bleeding lightly.
"First aid's on the wall." I nod and quickly patch up my hands. When I'm done I see that it's 8:30. I wanted to take a shower before I headed to work but that doesn't seem possible. I quickly jog back to the apartment building, cursing myself for not watching the time more closely. Clary is waiting for me in the lobby, dressed in her mint green scrubs.
"Hey," she says, giving me a once over.
"Checking me out Red?" I say with a smirk as I approach her.
"In your dreams. Are you going to work in that?"
"I have an extra uniform in my car."
"You're not going to shower?" she asks with a smirk.
"What are you implying there, Fray?" She raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms over her chest. She looks adorable. "You don't like my sweat?"
"Nobody likes your sweat," she says.
"You are so going to regret that." I walk over to her and she starts backing away.
"Jace…" she says warily. I put on my most evil grin and lunge towards her. She dodges and starts running. I chase her. She sprints outside, faster than I would have suspected, but she's not as fast as I am. I grab the back of her jacket and pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her. "Jace! You're disgusting," Clary says, struggling against my sweaty arms. I laugh as I wipe my sweaty forehead against her neck. "Jace!" she squeals, straining against my arms.
"I'll let you go when you apologize." She sighs and stops struggling.
"Can we go to work now?"
"Not until you say two little words…"
"You're going to break eventually. I can wait," she says.
"Just let me warn you, Fray. I'm known for my patience." She lets out a snort of disbelief.
"Jace. You have the most pathetic attention span of anyone I know." She wriggles in my arms as if trying to fight her way out. I can't help but roll my eyes.
"There is no way you're going to fight your way out of this one." She bites my arm and I quickly release her. Her bite didn't hurt but it was surprising as hell.
"Better luck next time, Herondale." I can't help but smile.