CHAPTER 2

Jace didn't want to repeat himself but Clary was just simply persistent not to hear him out. And as usual, he lost the debate. Tonight was a Pandemonium night. And even though he didn't mind killing a few demons here and there, he really didn't find Pandemonium to be the perfect battle ground. First of all, there were always a lot of mundies around the club and although he knew he was the best fighter, he might accidentally hit an innocent bystander. Or that he might miss a chance to look for demons because he was "having so much fun."

But none of his siblings, and neither did Simon and Clary, believed his reasons. And that irritated him the most. Well, of course, they knew the real cause why he wasn't really cool about going to the club. And that's the sole reason why they kept on urging going there almost every night.

"I'll tell your mom that you're always having night outs." Jace threatened Clary.

"Yeah. Like she would bother. Today's a Friday, Jace. No school tomorrow." Clary responded while pinning her hair in front of the mirror. She looked back at Jace's reflection behind her and sighed.

"C'mon, Jace. This would be fun."

"Oh yeah!" Jace said as he sat on her bed, "You tell that to me every time. But I really don't think we have the same definition of what 'fun' is."

"Oh, sorry. Because having fun to you means killing demons and risking your life while I'm stuck in school, worrying about you all the time?" Clary turned to him with her hands on her waist.

"Uhm, yeah, pretty much." Jace shrugged.

"Oh, you're impossible Jace." Clary turned her back on him again and continued arranging her hair.

"Well, you're also giving me a hard time." Jace complained.

Then Isabelle thundered inside Clary's room, looking impatient. She glared when she saw Jace wearing his usual black shirt and jeans and old beaten sneakers then instantly ignored him and praised Clary for her good fashion sense.

"Oh, Clary. You know how to make me truly happy! I really love that dress!" She went on and about saying that the tan-colored dress was perfect and light, and oddly enough, complemented her flaming red hair.

"Well you know, unlike someone inside this room who looks like he's going to repair a vampire motorcycle..." Isabelle whined at Jace. "Tsk. Tsk. Brother, when will you ever learn?"

Jace snorted at her.

"I don't need those fancy clothes to make me look hot. I'm quite attractive as it is."

"Oh, you really are so full of yourself aren't you, Jace?" Isabelle mocked him. "But I'm afraid that you might find some tough competition tonight. I heard that Pandemonium invited several hot guys from a Prep school downtown, so you better watch your back, or rather would I say, Clary's back?" then Isabelle triumphantly exited the room with a satisfied grin on her face.

"Ignore her." Clary tried to assure Jace.

"Well, they're still mundies, aren't they? I know that you don't go for the mediocre type."

Jace stood and rested an arm on Clary's shoulder as they walked downstairs to meet the others.

"Who knows? I might find a better blondie." Clary shrugged and left Jace.

"I don't know, Fray. There's nothing better than perfection." Jace shouted after her, letting the joke get into him. But he knew, it was going to be a long night.

Getting inside Pandemonium was made easier because of Isabelle and Magnus's connections. They need not to fall in line and just went in like VIPs. And instantly, Jace felt the hot and tight air inside the club. And only within a few minutes, he was sweating. He led Clary towards the bar where he saw Magnus and Alec already ordering drinks, but Isabelle appeared out of nowhere and stole Clary away from him. He ended up going alone in the bar where he already saw the sulking Simon, drinking what looked like Bloody Marys.

"It's nice to know I'm not the only one disliking this night out." Jace said as he sat beside Simon.

"What bothers you doesn't really bother me much, Lightwood. I'm worried about another issue of mine." Simon replied. "There are just so many humans. We can't resist temptation, can we, eh? But I'm trying so hard."

"I can see." Jace saw how Simon tried not to get close with other mundies. "So you're not really bothered to see Isabelle dance and prance around with other guys?" Jace asked.

"Not really. You know Isabelle can whip them off anytime she wants." Simon chuckled. "It's actually reassuring to know that despite all this," Simon motioned his hands towards the huge crowd of boys admiring Isabelle on the dance floor, "I know she'll still choose me."

And Jace couldn't help but snigger himself. He knew he also had that much confidence in Clary, that even though she seemed to be playing around with that mundane on the dance floor--!

What?

Lighten up, Jace. She will be fine. He said to himself. But he can't ignore the sight in front of him. The mundie's hand was pulling Clary closer to his body and his face was almost buried on her neck. Jace tried not to stare so much. He knew it was half his fault why Clary was doing this with another guy. It's not that he can't dance, Jace admitted. It's just that it was his responsibility, as the lead Shadowhunter, not to totally let his guard down, especially at this place where the demons lurked anytime. Because he knew that if he went in there and danced with her, and now that she was also wearing the dress and all, he might not survive the night at all.

"Ring-a-ding, Jace-y boy!" He heard Simon call beside him.

"What?" Jace saw Simon smiling at him mischievously.

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you stop her?" Simon asked after he gulped the last of his drink. Jace couldn't believe he was having that kind of conversation with a vampire—to be exact, his girlfriend's vampire best friend.

"Stop what?" Jace tried to veer the topic away from Clary.

"Clary, Jace!" Simon insisted and nodded towards Clary's direction where she was quite having a good time.

"Nah, let her have fun." Jace said as he turned to face the bar instead and tried to totally ignore Clary .

"This may be the first time I've seen you be defeated." Simon chuckled.

"Defeated? Do my ears deceive me? Did you just say 'defeated', blood-sucker?" Jace narrowed his eyes on Simon.

"Yep, d-e-f-e-a-t-e-d. Defeated."

And Jace couldn't believe he was being mocked because of someone else's flirting escapades. Oh, he wasn't going to get that lying down. Simon was looking cautiously at him but was oddly looking triumphant as well, as if knowing that he had hit Jace with a bull's eye—and Jace didn't like that.

"Defeated might not be the proper word for it, blood-sucker." Jace said as he stood up from his stool. "Challenged, maybe."

And Jace knew he took Simon by surprise when instead of lunging at him, Jace finished the new glass of Bloody Mary in front of him in one drink and even heard Simon snort as he walked towards the dance floor where the mundane was intimately and dangerously close to his red-haired girlfriend. Jace didn't waste time and grabbed a girl nearby and held her close to him. He thanked the angels that she was far enough good-looking.

"Hey, you." Jace heard the girl and felt her arms wrapping around his neck. He nodded but still keeping his gaze on Clary, who still didn't seem to be aware of his presence on the dance floor. Then Jace finally caught her eye and smiled viciously. He only had little time to see Clary's shocked expression as he intently buried his face along the girl's neck.

"I knew you always wanted me." Jace heard the girl spoke. And for that, he had to straighten up and question the girl he randomly grabbed.

"Excuse me?"

"You're that guy always in front of our school gate. Are you like, Clary's brother? She's the one you pick up everyday, right?" The girl giggled. "I'm--!"

"She's not my sister." Jace replied coldly, a small chill running along his spine as those day crept up on him again: the agony, the pain, Valentine...

"Oh," Jace heard the girl spoke again. He was looking for Clary but he can't find her among the crowd.

"So, uhm, you like Pandemonium, huh?" The girl continued and even had the guts to twirl and play with his hair. But Jace was now agitated in finding Clary. He can only but managed to nod at the girl.

"But if you're not Clary's brother, you're probably her cousin or long lost relative, right?" she asked one more time. Jace looked back at her and saw that she was not that bad-looking, but extremely so full of herself as well.

So this is the bimbo Clary was telling me about. Jace thought. Of all the girls I could grab tonight... Jace shook his head. He knew his move was a failure. Clary might think he's trying to push her limits. But then again...

She's also been letting that freak show of a guy to flirt with her. Jace defended himself and tightened the grip on the girl's waist—which she seemed to like very much.

And there, sitting on the bar with Simon, Clary was holding a glass of drink pretending to chat animatedly with another new guy. Simon shrugged at him and left to look for Isabelle instead. Jace tried to push the girl aside as he can't help the guilt building inside him. But she was clinging to him like a leech.

"Hey, hey, please, just one picture!" the girl pleaded as she held her cell phone at arm's length.

"No, really, just let go. I have to go now." Jace tried his hardest not to push hard or he might get the girl flying inside the club.

"Just one, please! Just--!" and the girl took thousands of photos that Jace was already blinded by the flashes before he could even get her hands off him. He was just stumbling among the other crowds when the girl pulled him back and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks! I've wanted to do that since I first saw you at the school gates. I guess I'll be seeing you on Monday?" Then she gave him another peck.

And Jace stood there in the dance floor, frozen in place. It was his first time to meet someone so aggressive—and that was despite the fact he almost tried a relationship with Aline. He was thanking the angels that he didn't have to go to that school or else Jace knew he would lose his mind. But as he finally got his senses and mobility back, Clary was already staring incredulously at him with Isabelle's game face on the ready beside her.

"You're dead meat, Jace Lightwood!" Isabelle shouted at him in the kitchen when they arrived home. "I know that you're an arrogant jerk but I still can't believe you have the nerve to kiss another girl!"

"I told you a million times, Isabelle, I DIDN'T KISS HER! She kissed me!" Jace said exasperatedly.

"Well, that , mister, is hard to decipher as you still had her lips into yours, isn't it?"

"I don't know what to say anymore, Izz." Jace replied. He was just so exhausted explaining to her. He didn't even had the chance to explain to Clary as she stormed out of the club and into Simon's back and both escaped into the night. He wanted to run after them but Isabelle already got him tightly in her whip.

"Why'd you do that in the first place, Jace?" It was Alec who spoke.

"Well, she provoked me! She was dancing all night with this mundie!" Jace defended himself. Then Isabelle stormed on him again.

"Well that's because you never bothered to dance with her, you jerk! You're just always waiting for a demon to show up when Clary just wanted to spend one night every week with you before she worries again on your next demon adventure without her! Oh, angel, Jace!" Isabelle walked out dramatically, stomping hard on the floorboards to really show her anger.

Alec waited for Isabelle to be out of ear shot before he spoke.

"Well, my advice to you brother, give Clary time. Anger won't cure this, you know. And maybe uh, don't kiss someone who's not Clary ever again." Alec offered him a smile and left him alone in the kitchen as well.

Yeah, right. Jace thought. And before he even thought over about what Alec said, Jace climbed out of the Institute and sneaked inside Clary's room. He slid inside through the window and stood quietly just behind her as she was intently drawing something on her sketchpad at the study desk.

"What do you want, Jace?" Clary asked but didn't look up.

Jace wasn't at all surprised that Clary knew he was sneaking in. He was the one who trained her, of course!

"Nothing." Jace said and coolly lied on her bed. "I just wanted to check up on you."

"Well, I'm fine." Clary snapped but she still didn't stop doodling on her pad. "You can go now."

Jace swiftly sat up straight, clearly annoyed at the treatment she was giving him.

"You sure know that she was the one who kissed me, right Clary?" Jace asked.

"Yes, sure. Whatever."

"Oh, c'mon, Fray." Jace chuckled. Why was she doing this to him? Of all the people, Clary should know better.

"Jace," Clary finally turned to him. "Just go."

"You know," Jace said as he stood up. "This was not what I expected. You challenge me everytime, you flirt with other guys, you put on those ridiculous dresses that drives me nuts... and still you have the nerve to push me away."

"I'm not pushing you away, Jace!" Clary retaliated.

"I'll see you in training." Jace said coldly. And with a final look on Clary's grief-stricken face, he slammed her door shut.

Who's fault do you think it was? Clary? Jace? or Both?

PS: Thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter! XD