One Month Later…
CPOV (Clary)
I was walking out of Jace's classroom at the end of the day. "Oh, hey, Baby, I'll see you tonight."
I turned around to face him. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother invited me over to talk about the scholarship." My eyes widened in shock. "Don't worry; she won't find out."
I just nodded and continued out the door. "Love you!" I shouted behind me, walking away before I could get a response. My mom is taking me home and I don't want her to get suspicious. "Hey, Mom, Mr. Wayland said that you invited him to dinner," I said to her as I met her in the parking lot.
"Yes, I wanted him to give me some more information about the scholarship. It's not going to be weird for you, is it?"
"No, Mom, it's fine. Mr. Wayland is a great teacher."
Later that night…
My mom told me to change into some nicer clothes. Sadly, Izzy isn't here so I just put on black skinny jeans with stilettos and an off the shoulder deep green shirt. I brushed my hair as well as I could and left it down which is the way Jace likes it. I put on some light green eye shadow and clear lip-gloss.
I heard the doorbell go off. My mom's head popped in my doorway. "Honey, can you get the door? Luke went to the store and I need to finish the laundry. So when he comes in, can you just give him a tour of the house and please, be polite." If only she knew the half of it…
I ran down the stairs and opened the door, trying not to trip in my heels. I smiled at my boyfriend and let him into the house. I leaned upwards and kissed him on the lips.
He pulled away and said, "Hey, what if your family sees?"
"My mom is in the basement folding laundry and Luke went to the market. Come on and I'll give you the grand tour." I grabbed his hand and showed him the kitchen, dining room, living room, and downstairs bathroom. I pulled him up the stairs and pointed to the doors that led to the master bedroom, my brother's room, and the upstairs bathroom. Finally, we ended up in my bedroom.
His jaw dropped. My walls were painted green but there were designs painted in black that I have been adding over the years. "Did you draw all of these?" He motioned to the walls and my desk that was scattered with drawings upon drawings.
"Yeah, I did. My mother and I painted the walls together. Those on the desk are just things I've drawn over the past couple of months."
"Are there any of me?" he asked with the arrogant smirk that I love.
I went to the desk and opened one of the bottom drawers. I pulled out a folder labeled Love. I shoved it in his hands as he rifled through them showing the drawings of him with angel wings. Some were scenes of him in the classroom and some were of the two of us embracing.
"These are amazing, Clare." I smiled at him and grabbed the folder, putting it away as I heard footsteps approaching.
"So you're taking your boyfriend in your room now? What will Mom say when she finds him in the house?" I heard from the doorway. I turned to see my brother leaning casually on the doorframe.
"FYI, Mom knows he's here. She invited him over for dinner and she asked me to give him a tour."
"Okay, can we not fight tonight? I just want to get through this dinner. I'm nervous enough to be here," Jace said rationally. He pecked my lips and whispered, "I love you."
I smiled and breathed back, "I love you, too." He grinned and left the room. I turned to Jon. "So do you think you can go through the whole dinner without ratting us out?"
"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled. We met Jace out in the hall and the three of us walked down to the dining room where Mom and Luke were waiting with spaghetti.
"I hope you like spaghetti, Mr. Wayland," my mother said as we sat at the table.
"It's one of my favorites. And, please, Mrs. Fray, call me Jace."
"As long as you call me Jocelyn," she said, smiling at him. "Now, let's talk about this scholarship…"
The night was coming to a close. During dinner, Jace and I were playing footsies and holding hands under the table. I'm actually surprised Mom and Luke didn't notice, especially since Jace ended up accidentally kicking Luke a few times. As my boyfriend helped me with the dishes, I whispered to him, "Have you never played footsies before?"
"No, actually, I haven't. This is the most serious relationship I've ever been in and I've never really gone through the cute flirty stage with anyone before. I'm sorry, okay? I guess we're not the greatest at keeping it low-key, are we?" he said with a guilty smile.
"No, you're not," I heard from the doorway. "I'm surprised your mother didn't see the chemistry between you two." I whipped my head around to see Luke standing there. Once he saw the stricken panic on my face, he added, "I'm not going to tell your mom." He walked dangerously close to Jace as if he were stalking a prey. "But if you ever hurt my little girl, you will regret it." He turned to me. "I know you guys must be many years apart and just so you know; I do not approve of this relationship. If you don't tell her by Christmas, then I will—if you're still together by then."
We only have one more month? What will happen once she finds out? Will she report him to the police? Jace looked at me with panic written all over his face. "I think we should be fine as long as no one reports you to the school board," I said to him.
"Who else knows about you two?" Luke asked.
"Izzy, Magnus, Jon, and Izzy's brother, Alec," I told him.
"Do you swear that that's it?"
I turned to look at Jace who just nodded his head. I spun back to Luke and repeated the gesture.
My mother chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Jace, it's getting late, Clary has school, and we all have work, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. Clary, will you walk him out?"
I nodded my head and led Jace to the door. "Thank you so much for having me over. Dinner was delicious."
"Well, thank you for coming. And also, thank you for the information about the scholarship. Do you think Clary will be able to get it?"
"Yes, actually, I do. She is in the top twenty of her class. And she is definitely the best Science student I have. I also saw some of her drawings and she is amazing. I think that whatever path she chooses to go, she will go very far." He smiled down at me. He shook everyone's hand.
"I'll walk you out to your bike," I said, leading him out the door.
He mounted his bike and shrugged on his leather jacket. I pecked his cheek when I knew for sure that no one was watching. "See you tomorrow, Babe. I love you," he said with a wink.
I blushed and replied, "I love you, too."
He put on his helmet and started the bike before riding off. I walked back to the house in a slight daze. Just his winking at me causes my knees to go weak.