A/N: Thank you so much for the supportive comments on chapter one, they were super appreciated! Hope you enjoy chapter 2 (Also a note: I kind of bounce of different 3rd person points of view, like the first was Clary's, and this chapter's is Jace. But it will always be 3rd person)

Chapter 2

Jace left his last period of the day, swiftly gliding towards the exit. As he entered the buzzing hallway, alight with posters of bright green and white splashing the normally brand brick walls of the school, Jace strode towards his locker, quickly switching the combination. As he opened it to return the textbooks in exchange for his keys, he closed the door. Jace made his way among the swarming students, ignoring the inviting glances of many girls. He was on a mission.

But how exactly did Johnathon expect Jace to find Clary in a bustling hall? The girl could not have been more than two inches over five feet. Jace set himself to bouncing his eyes among the students to catch a glimpse of long, frizzy, red hair. But no dice. With an exasperated sigh, Jace walked towards the locker that he knew belonged to the redhead, but he only discovered someone excruciatingly less pleasant.

"What're you doing here?" Jace inquired, in the sheer form of a sneer.

Simon looked upward, meeting Jace's look with an eye roll. "Is it a crime to be in the hallway?"

"I meant," Jace clarified with a long index finger, "What are you doing at Clary's locker?"

Simon allowed a small frown to settle its way onto his features. "I was with her. She just left. Also, y'know, I'm her friend. Why are you here?"

Jace ignored the majority of his sentence. "When did she leave?"

"Are you stalking her, or something? As her best friend, I should probably warn her."

Jace lowered his eyelids into a squinting glare. "I would hardly deem yourself a best friend. More like the pest-like acquaintance who deals with unrequited love."

Simon set his face into a look of disgust, a sign of hatred burning behind his eyes. But he simply turned around, and began walking away with a shake of his head.

Jace let out a sigh and began navigating his way through the hallway once more, this time towards the large doors that held swarms of students, eager to escape the building. He exited the doors, feeling the persistent chill of the air settle onto his bare arms, and made his way towards his car, attempting to avoid any conversations with other students.

He was not so lucky. A few boys from the basketball team called him over as he walked towards the car, and he gritted his teeth in annoyance as he sauntered over to them.

"I'm in a rush, what is it" Jace asked, letting a sigh escape his mouth.

Jordan let out a low laugh, raising his brow. "Something more important than us? Perhaps a sweet girl named Aline?"

Jace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I would call her a lot of things, but sweet isn't one of them. John asked me to stop by his house. Clary's alone for most of the week."

A couple of the boys nodded their understanding, but Jordan just laughed again. "What, you're a babysitter now? Clary certainly doesn't look like she needs one anymore."

Jace's brows lowered towards his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"You want to tell me that you didn't notice Johnathon's little sister become hot all the sudden?"

Jordan let out another rough laugh. Jace's hands clenched at his sides.

"Yeah, she grew up fine," Jordan continued with a nod, as if agreeing to his own statement.

Jace focused on controlling his breathing, but for some reason, it was becoming increasingly difficult as he felt anger building in his chest. Some of the boys began chiming in with their agreement to Jordan.

"Why don't you put in a good word for me with her?" Jordan asked, gently bumping Jace's bicep with his fist.

Jace resisted the twitching urge to rip Jordan's fist off of his wrist. "John wouldn't let anyone date his sister. Let alone any of you."

Jace walked away, closing his eyes to try and ignore the surge of fire burning his chest. Why did he care so much? He knew Clary was attractive, anyone with eyes did. But he wasn't used to boys commenting on it. It had to be his brotherly sense. He knew Clary since they were children, it was only natural to feel protective.

He finally escaped the chilling air by the warmth granted to him by his car. He had calmed his mind of any concern, and focused on his task at hand. He quickly left the school, feeling irritated that Johnathon didn't inform his sister that Jace was supposed to take her home.

Jace sat silently during the ride, thinking back to his behavior in art class that morning. He didn't know why the words slipped out of his mouth the way they tended to. He let Clary believe Aline and Kaelie were the girls he took the class for, unsure of why he couldn't tell her the truth. It was innocent. Who isn't good friends with their best friend's sibling? It was natural to want to take a class with her. But now he was unable to forget the look of disgust on her face when she thought Jace enjoyed those girls' company.

And he wasn't sure what it was about that hair. He could distinctly remember tugging on that very hair, teasing her with cruel names for it, as children. But it certainly was not raggedy anymore. Clary's hair was like a gentle waterfall, rippling from her skull in soft ringlets, gradually becoming smaller as it reached the indent of her waist. Her hair was fiery and alive, and begging to be touched. He couldn't stop staring at the few stray pieces that landed on her eyes, he felt the burning need to smooth them back behind her small ear. He wasn't sure why her hair intrigued him so, but it seemed to catch his eye often.

Rather quickly, Jace found himself pulling into the Morgenstern driveway, looking upwards at the large brick structure, decorated with elegant lines and windows. Closing his door behind him, Jace walked towards the front door, opening it with his spare key. He closed the heavy mahogany wood behind him, shaking off the excess show from his boots. He waved a hand through his hair, dislodging any snowflakes embedded there.

"Clary, you home? It's Jace," He called out, expecting a prompt reply. But he received none.

Curious, Jace walked softly to the kitchen door, peeking his golden head inside. He resisted the urge to burst into laughter.

There Clary was, dancing around the kitchen in a mess of twirling and bouncing, as a curtain of jubilant red hair swirled around her while her small frame flounced through the kitchen. She looked ridiculous, with some snow still caught in her hair from her walk, and her dancing to the music that was blasting through her earphones was enough to make any sane person guffaw.

But, Jace suddenly realized with a note of solemnness, that she was not expecting company. Her choice of apparel showed that clearly enough.

Clary was clad in only a skintight, black camisole that dipped lower than most of her ordinary clothes. The camisole looked slightly too small, as it rode up to reveal about an inch of smooth, porcelain skin of her flat stomach. Her purple athletic shorts were utterly short, exposing more of her legs than Jace believed he had seen. She wore black socks, which Jace distinctly recalled as belonging to Johnathon, that covered her legs until the bottom of her knee.

"Ahem," Jace spoke awkwardly loud, interrupting Clary's dance party.

Clary let out a small shriek, nearly tripping. She yanked the earbuds from her neck, breathing in loud gasps.

Jace covered his small laughter with a fit of coughs, but he was sure she didn't buy it.

"Jace!" Clary sputtered, breathing heavily and growing the shade of her hair. "Why are you in my house?"

Jace let go of his act of coughing in exchange for a sly smirk, slowly leaning against the kitchen doorway. "I heard there was a dance performance."

Clary's face grew increasingly red, and she grit her teeth. It made her look younger, Jace observed amusingly.

"Oh, please, don't stop on my behalf," Jace continued, placing a hand over his chest. "I would love to see the rest."

Clary let out an angry huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you here?"

Jace dropped his act. "Johnathon wanted me to drive you home. I was supposed to check in on you, but only Rat Face was at your locker."

Clary frowned, which looked apparently wrong on her soft features. "I don't need a babysitter, Jace, I'm sixteen. I can handle microwaving mac and cheese without adult supervision. And don't call Simon that," She added.

"You knew I meant Simon, though, didn't you?" Jace grinned at her.

Clary now looked irritated, which made her look older. "John really asked you to come over?"

"No, I told you, I came for that riveting performance."

"Jace."

"He did," Jace admitted with a look of guilt in her direction.

Clary rolled her eyes and let out a high pitched 'hm.'

"C'mon, Clary," Jace urged, walking towards her. "He just...worries about you."

Clary glared at Jace. "I'm sick of everyone worrying about me," She snapped. "I'm fine. Go home."

Jace feigned a hurt expression, holding his heart. "That isn't very hospitable of you. Come on. Maybe I want to hang out with you, ever thought of that? We can play some X-box. I'll even let you win."

Clary let a small smile peek through. Jace felt his heart softly stutter underneath his fingertips. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"You tell yourself that," Clary smirked, as she began sashaying towards him, her lean legs swaying.

Jace's breath caught as Clary's petite body slightly pressed against his own so that she could slide through the doorway he was still lounging along.

She began her way towards the living room, throwing a confident smirk over her shoulder at him, as he was still glued to the doorway, her crimson hair swaying over her shoulder.

"Maybe then it'll be easier to accept it when I kick your ass," Clary finished her sentence, letting out a loud laugh as she turned back towards the family room.

She continued walking, her padded feet making tiny noises along the wood floors, as Jace couldn't seem to drag his eyes away from her body.

Jace began allowing himself to slowly breathe again. What was happening to him?

A/N: I'm not sure how I felt about this chapter. The story becomes better and gains depth as the chapters continue. Please let me know how this one was! Thanks.