A/N: Hope you guys like the way this chapter works out! :D
Chapter 18
(Simon POV)
I was second-guessing asking Evangeline on a date. It was kind of unfair for me to just spring it on her, after all. I didn't even know that I had been considering the possibility of the two of us… dating. The last person I'd dated was Isabelle, and see how that turned out? Exactly. I wasn't really the dating type.
So why on earth had the words suddenly tumbled out of my mouth like that? "Do you want to go out sometime?" What was I thinking?
But… Evangeline had said yes. She agreed to it! Did that mean that she sort of wanted to go on a date with me? Was she interested in me, or was she just trying to get over the Jace thing?
And there was another thing; I was still in love with Clary. Who was I to start dating another girl than the one I loved? Again with how that worked out last time. It had driven me to unfaithfulness. That wouldn't be fair to Evangeline, especially since she was just getting out of the whole Jace debacle.
Damn that Jace, complicating things, I thought. Who does he think he is?
I knew that he was hurting and everything, but he had caused his own problems. And I was still confused about what happened during Seven Minutes in Heaven.
No, don't think about that now, I told myself, resolving to think about other things. Like my upcoming date with Evangeline…
I had to stop worrying and considering alternatives. The best way to do that would probably be to get the date over with as soon as possible, so I resolved to do just that.
Did Evangeline have a cell phone? Somehow, I doubted it. Thankfully, I still had Izzy's number memorized. I dialed, and she picked up on the second ring.
"Yes?"
"Hey, Iz. It's me, Simon," I said, suddenly feeling awkward about the whole thing. Of course she would know it was me. Damn it. "Um, can I talk to Evangeline?"
"Yeah, just hold on."
After a few moments of her phone assumedly changing hands while I squirmed impatiently, Evangeline's voice came through the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hey, Evangeline!" I said way too enthusiastically. "How has your day been going?"
"Fine, I suppose," she replied in her cute, subtly French-accented voice. "And yours?"
"Everything's great with me! So, uh, about our date…" I winced, starting to pace and flailing my free arm. "How about tonight? I mean, we could get some dinner and, um, date and stuff."
Why did I always sound like such a weird little boy? Either way, Evangeline didn't hang up or anything at my extreme awkwardness, thankfully. "Okay. Where do you want to go out to eat?"
"I honestly have no idea," I divulged.
"In that case… Isabelle was telling me the other day about a restaurant she really likes. Taki's, I think it's called?"
I recognized that restaurant, very well in fact. I had been there a few times, and the food was decent enough. "Yeah, that sounds fantastic! What time do you want to meet up?"
"Whatever time is good with you. I don't have anything specific in mind."
What was a normal dinner-date time? "How about 7:00?"
"Okay, I'll see you then!"
"7:00 it is!"
(Clary POV)
I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before 7, and as soon as I walked in, I noticed that Jace was already sitting at a table, studying a menu. From what I could see, he was wearing a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and had his golden hair pushed lazily back off his face. There were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed more gaunt than usual, but I still thought that he looked very handsome. It made my heart ache somewhat.
When he noticed that I was approaching, he glanced up. "Hello, Clary," he said evenly.
"Hello, Jace," I greeted back, sitting down and adjusting the skirt of my muted green dress over my knees. "How long have you been waiting?"
"About ten minutes." I gave him a questioning look, wondering why he showed up so early. He continued with a shrug, "I figured that it would take me longer to get here than it did."
"Okay, then." I stared at Jace, examining his angular features. What was it about him that made him a cheater, and that made him unfaithful? How could someone who looked so angelic be the opposite in his personal life?
"What?" he said finally.
"I didn't say anything," I said, hoping that I hadn't voiced any of my thoughts. That could be problematic.
"No, you're looking at me oddly. Are you looking for a mark from when you slapped me the other day? Because there isn't one, and you should have realized that yesterday when we saw each other at the party."
I sighed, somewhat frustrated at his old habit of assuming things. "It's not that, Jace. Can't I look at a person in peace?"
"Fine, if that's all," he said, picking up his menu and looking at it again. I could tell that he was kind of miffed, though, from the set of his mouth. There was something tense about it.
After a minute or so, I gave up. Staring at him like that only made me remember all the time we'd spent together. Including in the bedroom, and now was not a time for reminiscing about that. I decided that I should probably look at the menu, too.
I was deciding between coconut pancakes with honey (my favorite) or spicy French fries and nacho cheese (another favorite) when I noticed that Jace was gaping, open-mouthed, at something over my shoulder. What could it possibly be? I wondered, turning to see it for myself.
Soon, I was gaping too, because in the doorway to the restaurant were Simon and Evangeline, with their arms linked. They were both dressed up slightly, and I knew immediately that they must be on a date. It was then that they noticed us, too, and soon their mouths were also flopping open.
I had one thought, and it was apparently shared by Jace, too, because he voiced it for the both of us. "Well, isn't this awkward."
A/N: Awkward indeed, Jace. ;) xoxoxo