9
"It's quite lovely tonight." Clary said, her arm looped through Jace's elbow. "You're lucky you didn't catch the rain or snow, that would've been just like home." She continued, and Jace laughed, caught up in taking in every single thing he could on the streets. "They also film a lot of telly shows down here." Clary said, remembering driving past all the sets in awe.
Jace paused in his scanning to look down at her, his eyes alight with wonder, almost like a child in a toy store. It amazed Clary how soft Jace could randomly get over some things.
"Thank you for taking me out tonight." He said, before looking back out at the streets and continuing his quick walk, Clary smiling, her short legs trying to keep up.
"No problem." She said, loving the clear sky, freshish air and cool Canadian breeze. "Here," she stopped in front of a back alleyway, pulling Jace down it.
"Now what are we doing cutting through a tight alleyway?" Jace asked Clary slyly, a smirk hovering over his face. Clary swallowed, remembering Aline's words of how he was just using her.
"It's a cut through, don't get any crazy ideas." Clary scolded, pulling them through, across the street, and into the next one, remembering traveling this route with Simon when their families would take holiday's down in Vancouver together.
"Clary," Jace halted, grabbing Clary's arm and pulling her to a stop, pivoting her to face him. "Have I done something wrong?" He asked, and Clary shook her head all too quickly, taking a deep breath in attempt to steady herself. Jace was very close, and was not letting go of her arms. "I feel as if you've thrown a wall of unpleasant tension between us." He said, backing Clary up against the wall, a mischievous glint coming to life in his eyes. "I would very much love to smash that wall." He finished, both their breaths coming to life in front of them with every exhale.
"Jace…"Clary breathed, her brain screaming to pull away, her body not listening.
Clary felt every bone in her body singing; Jace, in slow motion, reached his arms up, his hands cupping her face and pulling his lips against hers, in a gentle way one would never assume Jace could be.
Clary responded, pushing her lips back against his, the two finding a rhythm, melding into one with another.
She brought her arms up the back of his body, her hands finding their way strung around his neck, caging him, pulling him tighter and assuring her there was no way he would move.
A clash of teeth.
A stroke of tongue.
A way Clary had never been kissed before.
Clary was just pulling back for air when Aline's words clattered through her head, unwanted and persistent.
You're being used. We already have a thing.
Clary pushed back only a bit, dropping her hands in hopelessness, her mind completely lost, her body betraying every rule she ever created for herself.
"Clary?" Jace asked, very unsure, looking so open, his cheeks flushed and hair fluffed. Clary almost grinned in awe, her mind going, *I did that.
"I'm sorry. I just- I um…" Clary drifted off, and Jace gave her a questioning glance, pulling back to search her face. "Bollocks! This is so frustrating." She said, Jace pulling completely off her in surprise, sadness entering his eyes. "No! No, I don't mean that, not at all." Clary re-assured, Jace raising an eyebrow in question. "Aline just, said some things." Clary finally spit out, looking down at her hands, wishing they were still around his neck and attacking her brain for saying anything.
"Oh." Jace uttered, shortly. "What did she say?" He asked tentatively, as if he'd heard this spiel before. Clary breathed, wrapping an unravelling the fringe of her scarf around and around her finger.
"She said that you were using me," Clary gulped, "And that the two of you already have a thing." Clary choked out, looking up in attempt to read his face, failing.
"Oh…" He let out again, not meeting Clary's eyes.
"Okay." Clary nodded, reading his expression well enough. "Totally fine, lets just keep moving." Clary said, not waiting for him as she continued down the alleyways.
Three alleyways later with no words shared between the two they finally reached the park Clary had been taking them to. It was large, but relatively empty since it was around dinner time.
Clary turned down the path until she reached the tall evergreen that sat in the middle of the park, sitting herself down on the bench underneath, Jace sitting himself beside her, leaving a decent distance, still not uttering a word.
Memories attacked Clary, penetrating her brain. Sitting under this bench on holiday, sketching the scenery, buildings, strangers, and many times, Simon or her mum. She adjusted her scarf, breathing in the cool winter air, the tension between her and Jace chopping the both of them up.
"I don't know why she'd say that." Jace suddenly said, startling Clary out of her thoughts, causing her to look at him, sadness obvious on his face. "We never really- we just…" Jace tried, Clary sighing softly.
"You don't need to explain yourself." Clary said softly, putting all the heart she had into her lies. "I don't want to get in between the two of you. Just no more random makeout sessions, okay, that's not fair to me or Aline." Clary said, not really giving him any say in the matter and not caring.
"Clary, I'm sorry. I really didn't want to-" Jace started, but Clary shushed him before he could finish that thought and crush her heart to the tiniest of the atoms.
They said for a while longer in silence before Clary stood up and started the walk back to the hotel, Jace following behind her, not ushering a word.
Right before she turned down the last few streets to head into the hotel and call it a night, she realized she had not eaten anything. So, with Jace still a few feet behind her, she sighed, knowing that if she tried to go eat alone he'd make up some lame excuse and convince her to let him go as well.
She turned, stopping, Jace almost ramming into her. "I'm going to try and pick up some food." She said, and Jace opened his mouth. "I know you won't let me go alone, but, I get to pick where we go." Clary said. He nodded, closing his mouth.
She turned, randomly roaming until seeing a cute little Chinese place and entering, ordering some food and sitting down, hoping Jace would respect her and sit somewhere else.
Jace plopped down next to her, running his hands through his hair. She sighed inwardly, trying her best to ignore his closeness and scent, radiating onto her and making her want to lean over and taste him again, despite everything.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and inched as subtly as she could away from Jace, who was staring at the ground.
Luckily, cutting the tension, her order was called and she practically leaped up, grabbing her food from the counter and sitting a good distance from Jace who had just grabbed his as well.
She shoved some in her mouth, continually making sure there was enough food in her mouth so that Jace couldn't force her into babbling with his intense stares.
"I'm sorry." Came quietly, and Clary whipped her head up, meeting Jace's somber gold eyes. "Aline- she- well- we just…" Jace tried, and Clary sighed, annoyed at herself for getting her hopes up, standing to head out the door, her food gone.
She deposited her tray, walking out the door. She only made it three steps before Jace stepped in front of her, damn his height and long legs, forcing her to stop in front of him.
"Clary, will you just hear me out?" Jace asked, his voice breaking, and Clary angered herself.
"Okay. Fine. Go." Clary said, short and precise, giving him the best attempt at a pointed glare.
"Aline and I- well, lets just say I wasn't the most loyal in high school." Jace said, quietly, Clary sensing how hard it must be for him to flash back to the past. "I slept around, it was a small school. I lived in an adopted home with an alcoholic father. I was broken when I decided to go to law school and pull myself together. Aline felt like she fixed me, and I almost believed she did. She promoted me to assistant and bossed me around, thinking she was helping me." Jace paused, and Clary's face softened, realizing how harsh she must have seemed. "But I still wasn't whole, and I sure as hell didn't love Aline. But you walked into my life. You were completely foreign, literally, and you seemed perfect. And I just-" He swallowed, looking down to meet Clary's eyes. "I didn't think about Aline, or what she would make of it. I'm so sorry." Jace finished, slowly taking one of Clary's hand in his palm, running his thumb across her fingers.
Clary looked down at their hands, not knowing what to say. He didn't clarify whether he still wanted to be with her, but she felt as if him taking her hand could be a sign in the right direction.
"Okay." Clary bobbed her head, swallowing her anxiety and offering him a small smile. "We'll go from there." She said, and Jace beamed, stepping to the side, and the two continued to walk down the street, hand in hand, when Clary started laughing.
"What?" Jace asked, looking down at her, his hair shining as the sun went down, the locks cascading across his face.
"That was a damn good speech for you, Jace." Clary said, giggling again. "Are you known to making speeches?"
"Normally yes," his grin turned quickly, a mischievous glint in it. "This one I made up on the spot." He chucked, and Clary laughed harder, shaking her head and leading him back to the hotel, not wanting them to ever reach it.