I still don't own TMI, only the plot and the fact that the characters are OOC. But other than that, all rights go to Cassie Clare.

Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot to me! For those that have expressed concerns about why Aline wasn't punished and the bullying/suicide storyline, please keep reading. All will be revealed as Clary learns it. Remember, this is a Clace romance above all else. They are still building a relationship.

And thank you for responding so well to the story. Please keep letting me know what you think.

When I woke up the next morning, the sun wasn't up yet and the room was still covered in darkness. I checked my phone for the time, wincing when I saw that it was 4:30 am. Then I turned over to see if Jace was asleep. But the bed was empty. I reached over and ran my hand across the sheets. They were still warm. Where was he? I decided to go down to the kitchen for some warm milk since I couldn't fall back to sleep. As I landed at the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that the kitchen light was already on.

There was Jace, leaning against the kitchen island and eating ice cream. He was facing away from me and clearly hadn't heard me come down. I had two options, to quietly go back upstairs before he noticed me or to go to the kitchen and face the issue head on. Naturally, I decided that confrontation with my fake boyfriend in the middle of the night in my parents' kitchen was the best plan.

"Hi Jace," I greeted in a faux cheerful voice as I entered the room. I watched him start, clearly surprised by my arrival. He jumped off of the island and turned to face me.

"Clary," he whispered. He looked like a wreck. His hair was more disheveled than usual and he had dark circles under his red-rimmed eyes. He looked like he had been crying. "Listen, about earlier…"

"It was nothing," I interrupted him. "We were both upset and in the moment. It won't happen again. And I swear, I won't tell a soul anything you told me. It's our secret." He sighed. His eyes were blank and showed no emotion.

"Okay… and I don't want to back out of this deal."

"Why?" I asked. It wasn't like he needed to money – he's a lawyer. And it was going to be awkward as hell now between Aline and The Kiss (yes, it was so good that it is a proper noun now). I had no idea why he agreed to this deal in the first place, but I wanted to know why he agreed to keep going even after last night.

"I don't know. I just… don't. I want to see this through," he offered unhelpfully. His pursed lips and grimace told me I wouldn't be getting any real answers.

"Okay. Well, we go back to NYC today and then it's a couple months until the wedding shower, so you can think about it. Anyhow, I'm gonna try to get some sleep. We've got an early flight." He nodded before putting his bowl in the sink.

"Me too." He silently followed me upstairs and into bed. I stared at the ceiling for who knows how long until I noticed that his breathing evened out. Then, his hand reached out and his fingers grazed mine. His palm wrapped around mine and our fingers intertwined. I thought about pulling away but I just couldn't. I don't know why, but I couldn't. So I fell back to sleep with Jace's hand securely holding mine.

A few hours later, I once again found myself sitting between Izzy and Jace at an airport, this time for our return trip to New York. Jace had spent the entire day thus far semi-avoiding me but not ignoring me. He was there, and he talked to me, but there was a wall up that hadn't been there before. The frustration was seeping into my bones. Thank goodness my parents didn't notice anything. Still, I hadn't realized how much I enjoyed talking to him until I was met with stony silence and a blank face. No cockiness, no innuendos, and, even more disappointing, none of the real Jace I'd gotten a glimpse of last night. I missed it.

"Clary, lets make a Starbucks run," Izzy said out of the blue, giving me the 'we need to talk' look that I know and love (hate). I nodded and followed her in silence. As we were standing in line, I fidgeted awkwardly, waiting for Izzy to say something.

"Did you and Jace fuck?" I reeled back when that came out of her mouth.

"Uh, nooooo," I responded, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. Izzy stared at me for a moment, I guess to size up if I was telling the truth. When she finally deduced that I was, she smiled shyly.

"Sorry, it's just, you're both acting weird and you left early last night and you were supposed to text me and you never did and…" I cut her off.

"Weird shit happened. He shared personal stuff with me, and we may have kissed. That's it. It's over – the weekend is over." I stepped up the counter when it was my turn and ordered my grande vanilla latte. Izzy ordered and met me at the side counter to wait for our drinks.

"So, that's it then. You guys have a bonding moment and kiss and that's it? You don't see him until the wedding shower in February? You can't tell me you don't like him, Clare."

"I don't like him, Isabelle. And yes, that's it until the wedding shower." I could hear the hypocrisy, the lie, as it came out. The words stung on my tongue. But it had to be true. I couldn't like like Jace Herondale even if I wanted to. He would ruin me. I'd seen that much last night when he stung me with his rejection.

On the plane ride home I sat with Izzy, forcing Jace to sit next to Simon as he rattled on about some comic book or something. Don't get me wrong, the nerd is one of my best friends, but he's still a nerd. Shockingly, he and Jace seemed to get along splendidly. They were laughing and doing something on Jace's iPad for nearly the entire flight. Not that I was watching out of the corner of my eye while pretending to read. No, that would be ridiculous.

After we landed, Jace said goodbye for climbing into the first cab he could find. By the time I reached my apartment, alone, because Iz went to Simon's, I was exhausted and confused. I didn't know what to make of my feelings. I mean, I was undeniably attracted to him, that much was fucking certain. The sex dreams were enough to tell me that. But there was something more there, something that I wasn't ready to embrace. Something scary. So I decided to bury it. Besides, Jace didn't feel the same, that's why he pulled away from the kiss. This was a business transaction, and I was going to treat it like one.

The weeks passed by in a blur. I went home again for Christmas, this time without Jace. It was strange, honestly. I slept in the big bed all by myself. I didn't have anyone to drink milk with in the middle of the night. My family asked questions about how Jace was, what he was up to, blah, blah, blah and I did my best to deflect. It was weird how one weekend with sex on a stick Herondale had made me miss him.

On Christmas Eve, I was in the family room watching a Christmas movie marathon on Lifetime and trying not to sob while my parents were at the Lightwoods' house for their annual Christmas party. I wasn't in a party mood. I missed Jace. Fuck, I really did. So I picked up my phone and texted him.

Merry Christmas, xo, Clary

I'm an idiot, I know. I mean, clearly he didn't want to talk to me or see me – he would have called or texted or sent up a smoke signal over the past few weeks. This was business and he had no business obligations for more than a month. He was probably busy with his own family. I'd completely talked myself out of there being any chance that Jace would respond when my phone dinged.

Merry Christmas. I'm glad you texted. What are you doing? Still at the Lightwood party? – Jace

I assumed Alec told Jace about their annual Christmas Eve party.

Nope, I stayed home – not in a party mood. I'm watching cheesy Christmas movies on Lifetime and trying to decide on what type of cat I should get to start my "crazy cat lady" cat collection with. You? – Clary

Shit, before I could delete the last part, I hit send. Crap, now he knew I'm forever alone. Oh well, not like he cares about my love life anyway.

Well, if you don't wanna be a crazy cat lady, you know my number. But if you insist, get a Bengal cat. They are fucking awesome - basically a mini-Leopard. You wanna Facetime? I'm beyond board and could use some company. – Jace

Well, maybe Jace and I could be friends after all. I mean, it was just a silly text conversation, but for the first time in weeks I felt at peace. This blondie was fucking with my head. Damn him. I couldn't help but think of what he was doing for Christmas, who he was with. Were his parents home? Was he drinking rum alone and watching Christmas movies (like me)? Of course I wanted to Facetime with him.

Sure. – Clary

Before I could fix my hair (which I would deny doing if anyone asked), my phone rang. When I answered, I was shocked to find a shirtless Jace on the screen, snuggling with a little Bengal kitten. Fuck everything. I think I may have temporarily passed out. Jace chuckled.

"Hello to you too, Red. So what's up? Didn't feel like partying it up?"

"Nah," I responded. "Is that your new pussy?" One point for Clary in the cleverness battle… I'm a genius, I know.

"Oh, no. This is my grandma's cat, Louise. Like most pussies, she adores me. Responds to my every touch." Ugh, this man, seriously. Maybe he got a point in the not-a-competition innuendo competition for that one.

"Off to grandmother's house you go, huh?" I asked, deflecting from the awkward situation I created for myself.

"Yeah, my parents dragged me to her house for the night. It's like the one night of the year they're home, and we spend it at Grandma Imogen's penthouse, entertaining a shitload of strangers."

"Sounds like the Lightwood party, except, well, their parents aren't assholes." Shit, did I actually just insult the man's family to his face? What is wrong with me?

"Exactly. So I'm hiding out in my bedroom with the door locked, pretending that it's just a regular night at grandma's. And petting Louise, because she loves me."

I snorted. "You finally found a girl that loves you! Congrats!" He just rolled his eyes at me. We chatted for another two hours, about anything and everything. It was… nice. Normal. New. Something I'd really never done before. I found myself genuinely laughing and enjoying myself. When I heard my parents unlocking the front door, I glanced at the clock.

"My parents are home," I groaned.

"Sorry. Wanna stay on so I can say hi? You know, seal the deal of dating?" he asked. I nodded. Within seconds, my parents were greeting me.

"Jace, honey, it's good to see you! I hope all is well in New York," my mom said, grabbing my phone to see my "boyfriend."

"All is well here, Mrs. Morgenstern. Except I miss Clary terribly, of course." My mom smiled at that. Then my dad interrupted to say hi. And Jace entertained both of them. To my surprise, he didn't seem the least bit upset or uncomfortable with speaking to my parents – that was a first. Most guys I knew, hell, even Simon the first few times he met them, were terrified of my parents. They're just imposing people. But of course, Jace took it in stride, just like everything else. When my mom handed me back my phone and followed my dad upstairs to bed, I told Jace goodnight.

"Goodnight, Red. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Jace."

I spent the rest of the night watching romantic, sappy Christmas movies and Google-ing Bengal cats. Not that I would ever tell a living soul that.