Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series, nor any of the characters. The Mortal Instruments is owned by Cassandra Clare, I merely do this to entertain.

Alec was busy trying to read his book, while Magnus was playing with his hair. It was hard for Alec to concentrate, and he found himself reading the same line over and over again. He shut the book with a sigh, and Magnus chuckled.

"Good, good. Now all of your attention is on me. Not that it wasn't before, I noticed that you were on the same paragraph for about twenty minutes."

Alec leaned back into his chest,"Magnus. I'm bored."

Magnus smiled at him and said,"Well, why don't we do something fun?"

Alec felt his cheeks warm instantly,"What?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could freak Jace out again, but I'm all up for whatever you have in mind right now," he whispered hoarsely. His breath tickled Alec's ear, and his face grew even more red, the same shade as Clary's hair.

"I vote for the former idea, if you don't mind," he said sheepishly.

"Fine by me."

Clary woke up snuggled in Jace's arms. Her head felt was pulsing with pain, but otherwise, she felt fine. Jace's breathing was uneven, and she saw that he was still asleep. She gently pried herself from his arms and stood up from the bed. Immediately, her vision blurred. "Woah," she muttered. She steadied herself for a minute, and turned around to see Jace's eyes staring back at her. He smiled at her lazily, and Clary's eyes drifted from him to a particular yellow object at the foot of his bed. Her eyes widened. "Jace? What's that?"

Jace's eyes looked to where she was staring, and when he immediately realized what it was, he shrank back from it and yelped. He cowered against the wall.

"BY THE ANGEL! Clary, get that out of here!" he shrieked.

She laughed and walked up to it. Clary picked up the stuffed animal and inspected it. She looked at him and said,"Awww, it's a small duck. How cute."

He made a face replied,"That, m'lady, is not a 'cute duck'. That is an evil, depraved, sinister, and corrupted animal created by the devil himself."

"It's a duck."

"Created by Satan!"

Clary smiled at him, an idea forming in her head. She chucked the thing at Jace, and he shrieked and jumped off of the bed. While the duck was flying mid-air, it suddenly transformed into a real duck, and it quacked once before hitting the bed. Clary gasped in surprise and stared as it waddled about on the mattress. It paused once to poop on his bed before it reached the edge and fell off-right into Jace's lap. He screamed and jerked away from it, but it seemed to follow him. Jace ran to the other corner of the room, and the duck tottered after him.

"Clary!" he yelled,"What kind of game is this?!"

"U-Um…."was all Clary could manage, before Magnus and Alec strolled into the room. Magnus looked smugly at Jace, petrified and cornered by the duck.

"My, my, what an interesting event we have walked into."

Alec looked at Magnus,"Remember when you said that when you make something appear, it comes from somewhere? Did you just steal a duck?"

Magnus blinked at him. "Why, it appears that I have."

Clary watched their exchange before realizing that the duck was still in the room. She walked over to Jace, who looked to be near tears, and promptly picked up the web-footed creature. She walked over to a whimpered Jace, and stuck it in his face. He shrieked again, this time an octave higher. Her face was dead serious when she stepped closer. "The duck goes quack." Right after the words left her mouth, the duck coincidentally quacked, and Jace screamed. He sidestepped her and ran into the bathroom, slamming it shut and locking the door.

They all started to laugh, and that was when Maryse walked into the room. She took a look at the bed and stared. "Is that-"

"Duck excrement? Why yes, yes it is,"replied Magnus. At her look, he added,"By which I mean duck excrement that Jace will clean up." At her raise eyebrows, he sighed and said,"Okay, okay, fine. I'll clean it up."

She smiled happily at him and said,"Why thank you Magnus, how kind of you." She briskly walked shut the door, and her heels could be heard echoing through the hallways. Magnus stepped closer to the bed to inspect the piece of poop. He suddenly jumped back.

"Is there supposed to be a worm-like substance writhing amidst the duck's waste?!" he looked at the both of them.

Alec suddenly shifted from red to green, and Clary just stared dumbfounded at the bed. She realized that the duck was still in her hands and she stared at it incredulously. "You, little fella, are quite the handful, aren't you?" she muttered. She stared at Magnus and said,"Can you please zap him back to wherever he came from now?"

He looked at her, horrified. "Clary, I do not do such a thing as 'zap' things. I gracefully locate them from one destination to the next." She looked at him with a bored expression, and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, fine." He held up a finger and blue sparks started to fly. "'Zap'," he said mockingly. The duck ruffled its feathers, and when Clary blinked, it was suddenly gone. She sighed in relief, and walked up to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Jace, it's gone."

"How do I know you're not messing with me?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"You just don't," she replied,"Either trust me or you don't." The door creaked open, and Jace peeked his head outside. Once he felt confident that the coast was clear, he cautiously crept outside and jumped to hide behind Clary. He held onto her shoulders and his head popped up from behind her. He looked around, and he seemed as if he was expecting something to jump out at him. "Jace?" she asked,"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure.." was all he said.

"I'm bored again," said Alec, a tranquil expression on his face. "Let's go to Taki's. I'm hungry." They all murmured their agreements and were soon on the way to the diner.

When they got settle into their booth, they were immediately swarmed by a crown of waitresses, all directing their questions at Jace. Clary rolled her eyes; she was used to this by now. After they had gotten their orders put in, it wasn't long before their plates came out. "Wow," she muttered,"Service is faster than usual." When she looked up, she saw why.

Sebastian stood looming over her, holding out her plate. "Coconut pancakes? Good choice."

Clary gasped and jerked her hand, crashing the plate to the floor. Alec, Magnus, and Jace just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Clary?" Magnus asked,"Darling, what's wrong?" When she looked back up, one of the female waitresses from earlier was glaring at her, stomping her foot impatiently on the ground.

"O-Oh, um, sorry," she sputtered, her face red with embarrassment.

She "humphed", and when she walked away to go get a broom, she muttered,"You better be."

"What happened?" Jace looked at her with an expression that she couldn't read. "Are you okay? Maybe we shouldn't have taken you out right after you've passed out. Do you want to go back to the Institute? I can walk you." He moved as if to get up, but Clary put an arm on his.

She smiled tightly at him and said,"No, no, it's fine. I'm just going to take a walk outside, if you don't mind." Clary felt the weight of their stares on her back as she eased out of the seat and made her way out the door. The cold breeze felt good on her face; it cooled her burning face down. She started to move her feet, her hands in her pockets to keep the numbing cold away. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Sebastian. She was starting to see him everywhere now: in her room, whenever she was with Jace, when she was killing demons, even when she wanted to enjoy some damned pancakes.

It turns out that dreams weren't the only place he could appear. Clary looked up and found that she had walked into an alleyway, not even paying attention to where she was going. Sighing, she lifted her head and turned around-right into someone else. She started to apologize, but it was dead in her throat when Sebastian smiled at her.

"No pancakes? Oh, but they're so delicious Clary."

"You're not real," she muttered," You're just a hallucination." Clary repeated the mantra over and over to try and convince herself. It wasn't working.

His laughter was harsh as it reverberated off the brick walls. "Sure, tell yourself that I'm not real." He leaned closer so that she could feel his breath on her face. "If I'm not real, how can you feel my breath?" His hand caught a hold on her wrist. "How can I touch you." Sebastian's hand cracked across her cheek. "How can I hurt you." Clary's heart started to race against her chest, her face stinging from his hit. Tears started to collect at the corner of her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry in front of him. He chuckled again, his eyes shining with amusement.

"Do you really think that I wouldn't get to you? That this was all just some sort of dream? A hallucination? Well you were dead wrong." His grip on her wrist tightened, and Clary winced at the pain. He looked down and smiled maliciously. "Oh, I'm sorry. Does that hurt?" His hand tightened even more, and this time Clary couldn't help herself. She cried out loud, the sound echoing through her ears.

She took a shaky breath and looked Sebastian in the eyes. "What do you want?"

He stared at her like it was obvious. "What I want? What I want is you. What I want is for that Herondale bastard to get the message that you're mine. Wh-"

He was suddenly cut off by a familiar male voice. "Too bad the message isn't clear enough. Might want to repeat that again, Verlac," Jace said through gritted teeth.

Sebastian whipped around suddenly, his grip loosening, and Clary immediately retracted her hand, rubbing the aching part where he had held onto her. Sebastian growled, his eyes darkening. "You," he spat. Jace's look was smooth and cool.

"Ah, yes. Me. The one and only." He produced a hand,"Herondale. Jace Herondale, at your service." It was times like this that Clary didn't understand how he could stay so serene. However, if she looked close enough, she could see his pulse racing at his neck, and a muscle at his jaw jumped. Sebastian's face grew red. His back was to Clary, all of his attention directed towards Jace. Clary saw something flashing on the ground, and while she kept a close eye on Sebastian in case he turned around, she stuck out her hand to pick it up. It was a broken piece of glass. Jace seemed to see her and only nodded in recognition.

He took a step closer, and in a second, Sebastian was instantly behind Clary, one hand on the side of her face, the other at the top of her head. He jerked her head to the side viciously. Her eyes widened at the movement, but did nothing else. "Come any closer, and I'll break her neck."

Jace's hand twitched by his side, inching towards his Seraph blade. "Ah ah ah," Sebastian clicked his tongue,"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek, his mouth warm on her skin. Clary felt revolted, and she cringed away from him. Jace's eyes narrowed, and he involuntarily took a few steps closer. Sebastian saw and chuckled. "I'll warn you once again, but no more. Every time you take a step closer, I get closer to Clary." She felt his hand start to creep up her leg, and she screamed.

She yanked her arm back to drive the glass into Sebastian's side. He screamed and let go of her, and she went running to Jace. Her face was streaming with tears, and she collided with him, burying her face into his chest. His arms closed around her, and when he lifted his head, he cursed. Clary turned around warily, only to do the same. Sebastian was gone. The only sign that he was there was a pool of blood. She took a shaky breath. She pulled herself even closer to Jace, and let loose a scream, her body racking with sobs. They slid down onto the cement floor, and she could tell the Jace was crying too.

Magnus and Alec came running into the alley, and they took in the sight. Alec yelped and sprinted over to them, crouching to see if they had gotten any injuries.

"What happened?" he said, breathlessly,"We were looking everywhere for you guys." Clary looked up with swollen eyes, Jace kept his head down. She wiped her face with her hand, and everyone's eyes widened. She looked at them in confusion until she felt a sticky substance in her palm. Staring down, she noticed the deep cuts that ran through the insides of her hands. Her face was streaked with her blood, and she could feel the stinging sensation grow stronger.

"Oh," was all she said. Jace reached for his stele and tried to draw an iratze on her hand, but he was shaking too much. Alec muttered something under his breath and seized it from his hand. Grasping hers, he drew the rune with precise fingers. After that, everything was blurry.

Clary eyed the red mark that wrapped around her wrist. It was red and raw from Sebastian's grip, and every time she glanced down to look at it, she pictured his eyes; cold and dark. Magnus and Jace had repeatedly checked on her from time to time, asking if she needed more pillows, any food, or any company, but really, she just wanted to be left alone. The door creaked open and Simon stepped in, his eyes concerned at the sight of her. She hadn't taken a shower yet, and dirt was still covering her body, not to mention the smear of blood on her cheek. Blood. She forgot about Simon.

He was trying to look anywhere but at her. Clary saw that his fangs had slid out. "C-Clary?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry Simon." Her voice was raspy from lack of use; she had been sitting alone in her room for at least six hours now, staring at the wall. "I'll go clean up." She walked over to the bathroom and turned on the sink. Wetting a towel, she brushed it against her face, the water instantly cooled her heating skin. When she came out, Simon was sitting at the corner of her bed. He smiled when she came in, and she tried to muster one back, but couldn't. Instead, her eyes watered.

He jumped off of the bed and his arms surrounded her. "I'm so sorry, Clary." She felt hysteria bubbling inside of her and laughed. He put her at arms length and looked at her with worried eyes. "Clary?"

She just shook her head, and went back to crying. She wound her arms around his neck and sobbed. "Life sucks, doesn't it Simon?"

He nodded,"At least you don't have eternity."

"Right."

A knock at the door startled them, and Clary saw Jace come into the room. Simon immediately let go of Clary and stepped back. "I should leave you two alone.." She gratefully nodded at him, and he excused himself.

Jace walked to Clary and cupped her cheeks in his hands. The spot where Sebastian had struck her earlier started to blaze with pain, and she winced. His eyes widened and he let go, instead his hands hung at his sides limply. She didn't like the lack of touch, so she wound her arms around his shoulders, placing her cheek on his chest.

She could feel his heart beat unevenly, and she took deep breaths. When she looked back up at Jace, she thought she saw Sebastian in the corner of the room, blending with the shadows. She screamed and backed away. Jace's look was utter confusion and concern, and he started to inch closer to her. As he moved closer, Sebastian did as well. "Don't come any closer!" Jace thought that she was talking to him, so a look of hurt and betrayal flashed across his face. Sebastian just smirked at her, and waved a hand flirtatiously to say "bye", and vanished.

Right as he did, Clary ran up to Jace, her tears staining his shirt. He took a finger and hooked her chin up so that they were eye to eye. Her hands were shaking, and she squeezed them into fists to try and control herself.

"Clary,"Jace whispered,"What's going on?"

She looked up at him unsurely,"N-Nothing. It's okay. Everything's fi-"

"Don't tell me everything's fine." She froze at the sharpness of his words. "Clary, all you've been doing is hurt; I can see it. You don't have to say it out loud for me to know that something's wrong. What is it Clary? Everything that hurts you hurts me, only tenfold."

"O-Okay,"she breathed,"Okay. I'm sorry. Just-Can we just sit down?" He took her hand and led sat down on the edge of the bed, and she took the spot right next to him. Jace was massaging his thumb inside her palm, and she focused on that to keep her breathing steady. His gaze was patient. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. I've started having these nightmares...recurring nightmares…"

AHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! I'M SORRY. PLEASE REVIEW!