Disclaimer: I own nothing related to TMI or TDA or anything by the lovely Cassandra Clare.

Jace In Exile

Chapter 7

Jace was lying on Simon and Jordan's couch trying to sleep but he was wide-awake. By the time he finished filling Simon in on all the events of the day the clock read 3:00 AM. They decided to wait and call Clary in the morning, no sense in worrying her in the middle of the night.

The more Jace was around Simon the guiltier he felt about wanting to be with Clary. Clary's life was so simple and free before he and the entire shadow world barged in. She attended a private high school; went to art classes, the coffee shop, she had friends; a life Jace had never experienced.

He understood now why Jocelyn had kept Clary away from the ugliness of the shadow world. When Clary was little it was an easy decision to protect an innocent child. He might have done the same thing if he was in her shoes, but Jocelyn had to know that Valentine would come searching for her eventually. Clary would've been exposed to the shadow world at some point; so technically it wasn't his entire fault her innocence was taken away.

In all his life he never wondered or dreamed what life would be like if he wasn't a Shadowhunter. It was the only thing he knew, weapons, fighting, killing demons. Was he a one hit wonder - someone who had no identity except the one forced on him since childhood? Maybe this mundane life would be a chance for him to find his true self?

Jordan walked through the living room to the kitchen. He noticed Jace was awake, "Morning bro, did you get any sleep?"

"No not really, got a lot of things on my mind." Jace sat up and put his t-shirt on over his head. Simon said he could borrow some clothes but he didn't want to disturb him if he was still sleeping.

"I'm headed into work. You got a resume or something I can give my manager?"

"What's a resume? No I don't have one of those. Do I need one? I don't have a car so how will I deliver packages?"

"Some of the other guys ride bikes and deliver small packages. The company provides the bikes, you just have to check them in and out each day you work."

"Okay, I could do the whole bike thing. At least it will be outside in the fresh smoggy air," Jace said sarcastically. Oh crap, I never learned how to ride a bicycle. A horse I can ride, but a bicycle…surely it's similar.

Jordan grabbed his water bottle and headed to the door, "Cool dude – I'll tell them you're interested. Can you come down today at the end of my shift to meet the boss?"

"Yep, just call Simon and tell him what time. I lost my phone last night."

Jordan nodded and was out the door off to work. Jace needed to get a new phone today, some of his clothes from the Institute, and talk to Clary. His day was filling up before the sun rose. The clock on the microwave said 6:00 AM. Damn he was tired. He sat back down on the couch and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Jace, wake up dude!" Simon was shaking Jace's shoulder. "It's noon and Clary has called me about fifteen times. Do you want me to tell her you're here?"

"Ahh…okay…okay I'm awake, stop pushing me!" He had fallen asleep sitting straight up on the couch. His back was killing him and he realized he had drool on his chin. Seriously drool, what was going on with him?

Jace noticed Brother Zachariah standing in the corner of the apartment. He looked eerily like a stone statue, no words with his hood over his head. He wasn't sure the Silent Brother was even breathing. Jace raised an eyebrow in his direction, "Brother Z – do you all require sleep, or food, or any other human necessities?"

"No Mr. Wayland, but thank you for considering my possible needs."

Simon emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered, his hair still damp. He was trying to hand dry it with a towel. He leaned over the couch to see if Jace went back to sleep, no Jace on the couch. He looked up and saw Jace was rummaging around in the fridge.

"Jordan wasn't kidding when he said you could use more grocery money, this fridge is a wasteland, nothing edible. I'll put a list together and we can run by the market. It'll be like "our" thing Lewis…I've only been grocery shopping one time in my life, with you," Jace said with a laugh.

"Just phone Clary back, and tell her you're fine." He picked up something that was green and smelled like ass…cheese he guessed and threw it in the trashcan. "Don't mention anything about me just yet."

Simon was irritated by his secretiveness. "Clary's not just your girlfriend, she's my best friend and you're asking me to lie to her - not cool dude."

"I know…I know I'm sorry for that I just need to get my head wrapped around what's going on with me before I drag her into this mess."

Jace found some orange liquid in the fridge resembling orange juice so he drank it straight from the bottle. It tasted weird but currently everything was weird in his life, so why not one more thing to add to the list.

Simon just shook his head at Jace. "First thing for you today is a shower. I can smell your stench over here, and you still have Raphael's blood on your hand."

Jace glanced at his hand and saw a faint red splatter across his knuckles, remnants of punching the vampire king. The adrenaline rush was gone and his hand hurt today.

Jace raised his arm and stuck his nose in his armpit. "I've been told my stench smells like freshly cut pine trees…the ladies love it…never had any complaints."

Simon snorted and sat down on the couch to read.

Last night was a distant memory for Jace. Deep down inside he hoped the Clave's verdict, the harsh words he said to Clary, and everything else bad from yesterday was just a nightmare. He would wake up and all the chaos would've disappeared and been replaced with his old life. The reality of it was harsh, like looking directly at the sun, he wasn't dreaming, he was living in a nightmare.

Jace went into Simon and Jordan's bathroom to take a shower. Simon had left Jace some clothes to wear until he could get some of his own. Jace took his t-shirt off and noticed his reflection in the mirror. He hardly recognized the person staring back at him. The marks that always decorated his body were faint lines now, and some had completely disappeared. Only his parabati mark and his voyance runes, both permanent runes, remained truly visible.

He stepped into the hot water and it felt good on his tense and tired muscles. He stood in the steamy shower, letting the water rush over his head. His mind drifted to Clary once again this morning. Would they make it as a couple if he was just a simple mundane?

He pictured her sitting on the edge of his bed, sketchpad and pencils on her lap, telling him to sit still so she could draw him. He loved all the little things about Clarissa Fray that others didn't notice, like her hand twitching when she saw something she wanted draw, or how she was clumsy at times. He was always gently gripping her elbow to make sure she didn't fall down. Any reason to touch Clary was a good reason as far as Jace was concerned.

Valentine taught him not to love, because to love was to destroy. Then he saw Clary inside the club Pandemonium, and Jace was done. He loved her almost instantly. All the pain and anguish they suffered when they thought they were siblings. Then to find out that was a lie, and he was allowed to have the feelings he had for her. Reliving those moments made him sick to his stomach.

She was everything to him, and if his fate was to continue life as a mundane, she may not want him. "Damn it, this is not how I'm going out of this fight," he said to the shower walls. He double-checked his hand to make sure he washed away all remaining evidence of his fight with Raphael, and made sure he was clean from head to toe.

When he stepped out of the shower and toweled off, his parabati and voyance runes were lighter than before he got in the water. Could it be possible his body was reversing his ascension on it's own - surely, not? Maybe he would ask Brother Zachariah if the theory was conceivable, but could he trust him?

Jace threw on Simon's navy blue t-shirt over his head, it read W IS FOR WOOKIEE with a brown dog or werewolf creature next too it. He didn't have a clue what the shirt meant, but Lewis was a geek to the core, so who knew. At least his jeans were somewhat clean, but he would have to go commando today. He wasn't borrowing Simon's boxers.

He exited the bathroom and Simon was sitting on the couch reading a book. "You ready to go?"

"Yep, need to buy a cell phone, snag some clothes from the Institute," he looked down at the t-shirt and raised his eyebrows at Simon, "Pick up some food, and meet Jordan's boss." Jace ran both hands through his damp hair and started to lace up his boots. "Big plans…need to accomplish a lot today, the clock is ticking." He glanced to the corner and Brother Z was still a statue.

"May the Force Be With You," Simon said with a smirk. "All right let's hit it," and he sauntered to the door and grabbed his keys off the counter.

Then all three of them, two visible, paraded out the door into the warm afternoon heat and walked down the street.

Hope you liked this chapter. Jace is finding out that he's really a different person if he's not a Shadowhunter. Jobs are coming in future chapters. Thank you for the review FairQueen2 XOXO!

Anything in particular you want to see Jace do to make money? I've got a great one but would like some more ideas. Thank you for reading :)