A/N: Time for Izzy to confront Jace (again). Well, someone needs to do it! :) Enjoy!
Chapter 17
(Isabelle POV)
After Clary agreed to the plan, I decided that it was time to make sure Jace agreed to it. And because I knew that Clary probably wasn't up to the task, I volunteered to ask him for her. I was also going to plan their "date", and I had a few ideas.
So I went back home to the Institute and found Jace sulking in his barren room, now darker than usual because he had the curtains fully drawn. There was no light, except for that which was streaming in from the now-open door. He was lying on his bed and looking at the ceiling, with a pillow over his face. I was kind of worried that he was dead, since it was dark and he wasn't moving, but I doubted that Jace would commit suicide… Either way, I approached him and stole the pillow, putting it on the ground and placing my hands on my hips.
It turned out that Jace was far from dead (thankfully), and he pouted. "What was that for?" he asked listlessly. "Can't a man brood in peace?"
"No," I told him authoritatively. "Especially not if the man in question has been brooding for, like, three days in a row. Sit up and stop making a fool out of yourself."
His pout deepened, but he obliged and sat up. "Why are you here?"
"Because you and Clary need to talk things over," I said, getting straight to the point. There was no use in beating around the bush; Jace didn't usually respond well to it. "You're both miserable and it's terrible for the rest of us to see. You can't ruin your life like this."
Jace sighed. "Who says that this isn't how I want to live my life?"
"Jace…" I said in a warning tone.
"No, I'm serious. How do you know that I don't want to lock myself in my room all day?"
"It hasn't been all day. It's barely noon."
"Oh." He looked bemused, but the creases of sadness were still on his face. "Has it really been that short? It feels like evening to me."
I was getting frustrated. I couldn't hold it back any longer, so I stamped my foot. "God damn it, Jace! Stop being so obnoxious. Who do you think you are, Romeo Montague or something?" I stalked over to his window, throwing open the curtains and letting the sunlight shine in. Then I turned back to accost him. "Because you're not. I know that you have a right to mope around, but you need to move on with your life. And you know what the perfect thing to do is? Talk to Clary." I didn't give him a chance to respond, because I knew he was going to argue with me. "Tonight, you are going to show up to Taki's at 7 and you and Clary are going to talk it over, got it? You're going to communicate with each other. You can't keep doing this."
Jace flopped back onto his bed, his arms crossed over his chest. After a long silence in which he seemed to be thinking it over, he said, "Fine. I'll show up. And I'll talk to Clary, and we'll communicate, but I doubt it's going to change anything. Clary hates me, and rightly so."
My voice was much softer than it had been when I said, "She doesn't hate you, Jace. She's just angry because you cheated on her. I'm not saying that tonight will solve everything, but at least you'll be on the same page."
"That's all I can ask for, I guess." Jace was looking at the ceiling again. He had been doing that a lot lately, and I supposed that it happened whenever he was feeling brooding/contemplative. "That and forgiveness."
I approached him and patted his blond hair. "Maybe you'll get both of those," I told him. "But you'll never know unless you show up later. So remember, 7:00 at Taki's."
"Okay." Suddenly, a sad smile tugged at his mouth, and his golden eyes stared off into the distance, as if into the memory itself. "Remember when we were all there, Izzy? You and me and Alec and Clary? Those were the good days."
"Wasn't Simon there too?"
A frown replaced the smile, and he looked back at me. "Oh, right. I knew that something was wrong with my mental picture. Thanks for reminding me," he finished sarcastically.
"About Simon…" I began awkwardly, thinking of how best to address the issue that had just popped into my mind. "What, um, was happening during Seven Minutes in Heaven last night?" When they went into the closet together, I thought that they would just sit there, talking or whatever. Apparently, that's not what happened. My eyes were still scarred from seeing them kissing like that. Who would have guessed?
And, for one of the few times in his life, Jace's cheeks turned red. He coughed, probably hoping to mask it. But it was too late, I saw that he was blushing! "Ah, yes. That," he choked.
I rolled my eyes, grinning, and put up a hand to silence him. "Never mind. Your reaction told me everything I needed to know." The fact that bringing it up made Jace blush was enough for me. I really didn't need to know the specific reasons that led to Jace and Simon French kissing on the floor. In a closet. In the closet. The thought made my grin widen. "At least you're out of the closet now. Anyway—"
Jace cut me off with a startled yelp. "What?"
"You know, the Seven Minutes in Heaven closet," I claimed, feigning innocence. "Why, what did you think I meant?"
"Nothing," he said darkly.
"If you say so. Anyway, as I was about to say, remember to show up tonight. If you don't, I'll probably kill you."
"Fine."
I said goodbye and left, keeping the curtains and door open. When I turned into my room next door, I heard his door shut. Smiling and rolling my eyes again, I pulled out my phone and texted Clary. "Jace agreed. Come to Taki's at 7 2nite."
Then I sighed happily, pleased at how well everything was turning out for now.
A/N: Thanks for reading! What did you think? xoxo