Hi guys, sorry for the delay. Thanks for continuing to read and review Idris Academy though. I really appreciate it and I am so pleased you all like it :) Hopefully you like this chapter, it is very Clace orientated. I acknowledge that none of the rights of Cassandra Clare and Yoko Kamio's work belongs to me and I am using their work.

Chapter Nine: Spending The Night In An Elevator

Clary blinked and then the moment was gone. The rain was soaking into her clothing and she shivered. In front of her, Jace mirrored her action, rubbing himself and his teeth chattering slightly. He had been out in the elements far longer than she had and her guilt returned, spreading through her like a disease.

"Well' said Jace, 'I'm glad you're safe".

Clary was so surprised by this that the only words that came out of her mouth was an inadequate

"Huh?"

Jace shoved his hands in his pockets and said awkwardly

"I mean I worried you were in a car accident or something. I couldn't contact you..I thought Isabelle gave you your present".

Clary remembered opening her present when she had arrived home from the airport and to her everlasting gratitude and complete surprise, had found the latest iPhone sitting in a safe nest of paper. Isabelle had left her a note which said

Thanks for looking after them all for me. Good luck with your future. If you ever need me or Aline or anyone of us, just call and we will be there for you. Don't worry about the costs, it is all taken care of- Issy :)

Enclosed was also the password because Isabelle had set it up already, with her mobile number, Aline's mobile, all of the Shadowhunters and had somehow got hold of Cecilia's, Magnus', Camille and the communal phone in her apartment block, which her family used. Other people might have said it was a pretty generic gift, giving someone a piece of technology but it mattered a lot to Clary. To be in contact with her entire family and her friends, was a godsend and would allow her to know whether everyone was safe.

"Clary?" said Jace and Clary came back to the present.

"Ah' she said, 'I wasn't in an accident".

"I know that' said Jace, rolling his eyes, 'if you were, I had the FBI and CIA check all possible hospitals and then investigate anyone who could want to kidnap you. Also I had all available security cameras scanning for you. It would have been useful if you had your phone on though".

Stalkerish Clary thought and outwardly said faintly

"I'm known to the FBI?"

Jace shrugged and said

"So tell me why you're late. If you don't have a good reason, I'll kill you".

Clary bit her lip. She wasn't a liar, she needed to tell him why she hadn't come and end whatever they were trying to do right NOW. She collected her thoughts and said to Jace

"Jace, I didn't come...because...I didn't exactly accept your offer. I mean, what are we actually going to do? A month ago, we were enemies and the entire student body was trying to kill me. Now...suddenly you ask me out on a date and have America's highest profiled criminal investigative and intelligent body searching for my whereabouts. What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

She watched as Jace heard all this and then say in a tone of disbelief,

"So you deliberately stand me up...as a stance against what I did? And don't even have the guts to tell me? Jesus Clarissa, after all this attitude and physical abuse and standing up to me, you are actually going to have me believe that you are that much of a coward? Well, congratulations for completely surprising me...yet again".

Clary looked down at the ground before suddenly he said

"Well you came didn't you. What, an attempt at consoling me?"

"No" said Clary but he continued angrily

"Scared my pride would be wounded".

"No".

"Did you think Simon would think worse of you?"

"Oh come on".

"Or because you like me?"

"No..say what now?' said Clary before realising he was completely serious, 'oh come ON. I just told you I stood you up. How has that suddenly symbolically represented me liking you? What the hell are you thinking?"

"I don't know what I am THINKING, Clarissa' he said, stepping away from her, 'all I know is that one minute you are the bravest person I know and the next you are shying away, as if this is some type of game".

"Hey" she said but he shouted at her,

"I have spent the last 17 years of my life, dealing with a huge amount of women who are after me for my money. I know exactly about the cold, calculating side of women and what they will do to get rich. So for the moment, credit me with some intelligence. What the hell are you planning to do? If this is just some random ploy to..."

"Oh for once in your freaking life, could you just SHUT UP?" said Clary, mad now.

Jace sneezed and then said

"Oh, I will" before turning to go.

Clary watched his retreating back, shivering from the still raining skies and winced as he sneezed again. She hadn't come here to win a battle and yet somehow, she felt herself having to constantly prove herself to a rich and arrogant boy that she didn't like him for his money. And yet the way he had shouted "I have spent the last 17 years..." had made her feel lousy. If that was the only way he had ever been treated, then no wonder he was so arrogant and yet at the same time so lonely.

Suddenly, without her consent, her feet were running straight towards him and she caught up to him as he crossed the street. He jumped as she put her hand on his shoulder and she promptly pulled it away.

"What?" he said gruffly and she said

"I know a really good cafe round here, that doesn't kick you out if you don't order anything. Do you wanna go in and dry off?"

He stared at her and almost crashed into a light pole. It was almost like he was challenging her to buy him something and she finally said

"I could also pay for a drink...possibly a meal".

There was such a long pause that she thought he was going to say no. Then he yelled

"Of course you should. Stupid person".

"What the hell?" she said looking at him and he raised his eyebrows, angrily.

"Well let's go then" he said, in a harsh tone, leaving Clary confused about whether he was angry or insane.

As she walked with him, he kept slowing down or speeding up, obviously trying to tell her to stop walking next to him. The rain slowly stopped and the smart people who had brought their umbrellas put them down, the stupid people, gazed at the smart people with annoyance and then tried to find an umbrella shop. Jace shivered, walking along quickly and Clary found herself yelling

"You're gonna miss it".

Jace stopped so suddenly that Clary almost crashed into him before turning right and stepping into the apartment block. He reached the elevator before gazing at the decrepit building with disgust. It was dirty and the bulbs kept flickering on and off.

"Oh is this how commoners apologise' he said, 'bring their friend to the worst place humanly possible".

"It gets better' Clary said, ignoring the jibe, 'it's up on the fourth floor".

She pressed the elevator button and the elevator slowly creaked down. She and Jace stood in a tense, hostile silence whilst Clary mentally cursed herself for even bringing him here. The worst place he had probably ever dined was rush hour at Harrods, when he nipped over to London for a quick afternoon visit. As the doors opened, Clary stepped politely away to let the people step out. They nodded and she stepped in. Jace followed and watched as she pressed the button to the fourth floor. As the doors closed, he muttered

"You should quit coming here. It looks like it could be declared a war zone or raided in a drug bust at any second".

Clary squinted before shaking her head. It wasn't the best place to come but Jace had absolutely no idea what a normal cafe looked like.

"They were just being friendly" she said.

"They were just being druggies" he muttered again and she gave up trying to fathom how thoughts entered his brain.

The elevator started going upwards, making its usual ominous creaking sound. Clary watched the numbers go from 1 to 2 to 3 before suddenly the machine jolted and screeched on its wires. Clary was thrown forward into the door whilst she heard Jace swear. She pushed herself off the door and looked at the numbers, which weren't moving anymore. She pressed the number 4, but the elevator had ceased to move. She pressed harder but it still didn't work.

"You broke it, didn't you?"

Twenty minutes later, still nobody had come and Clary was tired out from banging on the walls and the roof of the elevator in an attempt to get it to move. Jace was still shivering and cool air kept seeping in through the cracks. He was trying to get reception on his phone and he stared at the no bars on his phone.

"Hell no" he said, 'what does it mean?"

Clary rolled her eyes and said

"That you cannot contact anyone".

Jace looked down at his phone and up at her before saying

"I've never been without technology. How am I suppose to keep up with my correspondence? How am I suppose to organise the Friday night party? How am I suppose to watch my investments?"

Clary frowned in confusion and said

"Would you normally do that in an elevator?"

"In case you haven't noticed...the elevator hasn't moved in the past twenty billion years".

"Well then' said Clary, 'you will have to survive like a commoner".

Jace looked up suddenly and said

"Like you, you mean?"

Clary said

"Well, I guess".

Jace pocketed his phone and said

"Now I will finally be able to see how you get to be so random".

He banged on the door, just like Clary had been doing and shouted

HELLO? HELLO? ARE THERE ANY DRUGGIES OUT THERE?"

"You tell them" said Clary tiredly and she and Jace alternated in trying to contact the reception and yelling at the metallic walls. When it hit 5:30PM, Clary started to worry. Nobody had come for hours, she couldn't contact her parents and even Jace was starting to look a little...dead. In fact, right now he was staring up at the ceiling. Then suddenly he jumped to his feet and said

"We should try going through the ceiling".

Clary looked up slowly at the flap and said

"How do you propose we get up there?"

"Easy' said Jace, 'you climb up onto my shoulders, I hoist you up and then you open the flap".

"Oh that simple, huh?' said Clary and then jumped away as Jace approached her, 'hey, hey, hey. I do not consent to that happening".

"Do you wanna die or get out?"

"We aren't going to die" said Clary stiffly but finally, climbed up onto Jace's shoulders. He started to rise up and immediately Clary grabbed hold of his golden hair.

"Be careful" she hissed and he struggled to get up.

"Stop moving' he said, 'I'll drop you".

"You're gonna drop me in a minute, if you don't hold me".

Jace yelled as she pulled his hair further and then staggered to his feet. Clary reached a hand out to it and fell a little short, her height a factor.

"Hang on' she said through gritted teeth, 'I just need to...move a little right...not that far.. ...I'm climbing up now...hang on...can I kneel on your shoulders?"

"HURRY UP" he yelled as Clary started to rise towards the flap. She banged her head on the ceiling before pulling on the flap. It refused to budge and she tugged at it. As she did, Jace yelled

"Holy.." and suddenly they were both falling. Jace landed smack onto the ground, his head whacking against the metal floor, whilst Clary fell on top of him, hitting her head against his chest. They lay on the ground, dazed for a minute before realising the proximity of each other. Clary had a feeling of deja vu, from the night of the party and struggled to get up, refusing to let her brain tell her that she and Jace, somehow fitted each other perfectly.

Jace however, sighed and said

"I need a rest".

He closed his eyes and Clary leant against the wall, sore and humiliated. She tried the buzzer one last time but realised it was pointless. Obviously nobody was here, the people had left for the day. She had no way of contacting her parents and she was stuck in an elevator with somebody she didn't know whether she liked or disliked. She couldn't reach the flap now and the way Jace looked, he was too tired to move.

She found herself drifting into an uneasy sleep, dozing in and out of consciousness before suddenly the flickering lights woke her up. She checked her watch, it read 10PM and she felt worry descend onto her. Would her parents be worrying? Would they have contacted the police? Surely Jace's FBI friends had realised that he was now missing too? Didn't he have rich parents who cared?

She looked down at him and her heart froze. In the pale light, he looked pasty and sick, sweating ferociously, his clothes soaked. He was moaning slightly and he seemed to be in-between the state of sleep and awake. She stared at him for a minute before sliding over to him.

"Jace?"

He muttered something incomprehensible and she felt her heart sink. She placed her hand on his forehead and it was burning up. She swore to herself and said

"Jace, can you hear me?"

He shook his head and said

"Go away".

Could you die from pneumonia? Or even a cold? Or was it something else like a brain haemorrhage from when he had fell? Clary began to panic, considering all the possibilities that could happen if Jace Wayland died in an elevator of a terrorist hotspot. Jace coughed, a racking cough and she tried to calm herself down. What would happen to her was of little consequence. Right now, she needed to do something, because obviously they weren't getting out until morning?

She ripped open her bag and searched wildly around for her Panadol. She found them at the bottom and pushed two tablets out of the packet. She unscrewed her water bottle lid and said to Jace

"Right, can you open up your mouth?"

Jace didn't hear her and she slid over to him again and said

"Can you open your mouth?"

"Hurts" he managed to cough out and she tried to figure out how to deal with this. Finally she said

"Can you get up for one minute?"

He shook his head and Clary then tried to push the pill into his mouth, but he coughed it out. He was now shivering despite his burning head and she swore again. She pulled her hair off her face, into a tight bun and said softly

"Jace...I know that it hurts. I really understand. But this pill, will take away a least some of the pain. Please believe me. Do you think you can sit up and take it for me?"

Jace's eyes opened slightly and he said something, his words slurring.

"Sorry?" said Clary but he shook his head. His hands scrabbled to push himself up and Clary had to help hold him up. She gave him the two pills and he put it in his mouth before he swallowed the water. He pulled an expression of pain as the pills and the water scratched his sore, red throat. Then he was sliding down the wall. Clary said comfortingly

"I'm sure someone will come in the morning".

She pulled off her jacket and then placed it underneath his head, so that he had a pillow. He rested his head on that and tried to say something but Clary shook her head.

"Don't speak unless you really have to. Rest is a good process of healing".

He didn't say anything for a while and Clary watched him, praying for any sign the tablets were working. Then he started getting cold, as the elevator started creaking in the night air. She made a decision, pulling out the coat from underneath his head and placing it around his shivering frame. She then pulled him gently onto her lap, so that he could rest his head. He muttered things in his sleep, cried out and seemed to get sicker and Clary started to wonder whether she should give him something else.

Then at one point in the night, he opened his eyes and said

"Aren't you cold?"

Clary opted for humour and said

"Us commoners are used to the cold. Chill".

"You can't get much colder than this" he said before drifting back into a fitful sleep. At another point in time, he woke up again and his eyes adjusted to everything before he realised she was there.

"Although... this... is all your... fault for bringing... me here" he said slowly and painfully, 'I'm...sorry".

"Shush' said Clary, 'otherwise you will lose your voice".

He sighed and stared at the ceiling and Clary realised something funny. The boy who had tormented her mercilessly, tried to beat her up, yelled at her, forced the entire student body against her, had the arrogance of every king, queen and child in the history of the world combined, was in her power, completely vulnerable and weak and she was saving his life.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"A Shadowhunter with a mere commoner. All your pride must have flown through the window".

Jace breathed in and out before muttering

"Shut up".

He fell asleep soon after and she found herself, watching him and waiting. She tried getting comfortable but the cold and her worry made it impossible to sleep. Then at 4AM in the morning, his fever broke and she felt a sigh of relief. She had perhaps overreacted when she thought he was going to die. As she let herself relax, she found herself drifting off to sleep, lying right down next to him and for once, she didn't feel scared or angry or humiliated around him but instead peaceful.

Suddenly light was shining right into her eyes and she heard the sound of voices. Clary's eyes slowly opened and she found herself staring at Jace's stirring face. Somehow in the middle of the night, she had rolled over and leant right in close and Jace had put his arm around her, gently draped across her hip. The sight of his face so close suddenly made her feel...somewhat awkward and hot. Then she realised the voices were coming from behind her and she turned around to see burly workmen, having opened the door, watching them with amusement.

"Next time' said one of them, 'you should probably take it to a hotel".

Clary moved away as quickly as possible, the warmth of his embrace suddenly a distant memory. As she and Jace were hustled out, Jace was still slightly sick and sleepy-eyed but for the most, he was amused about what had happened. Before he could say anything inane, she said

"Can you make it home by yourself?"

Jace stared around at the sunny morning and said

"Yeah".

He shoved his hands into his pockets again and kicked a rock on the ground. It rolled away and both Jace and Clary watched it, unable to think of anything else to say. Finally she said,

"Sorry...about standing you up...and you getting sick. I hope you feel better soon".

Jace shrugged and said

"I guess we are even now".

Clary nodded slowly and said

"I guess we are".

Jace nodded slowly and there was silence again. Clary said

"I'd better get home. My parents are probably worried sick".

"Same' said Jace, 'I mean, I'd better got home...not my parents are worried sick".

Clary nodded again and said

"I'll see you at school".

She turned to go and suddenly Jace said

"Actually I don't like being even with you".

"Huh?" she said, turning around and Jace kissed her.