A/N: I'm still amazed at the support you guys are showing me. :) Thank you so much for motivating me to write this! I could never do it without you.

Chapter 35

(Jace POV)

Hesitating slightly, I picked up my cell phone and dialed Clary's number. And I could scarcely keep my hands from shaking with nervousness, since I was about to pitch Izzy's brilliant idea to Clary. Well, I wasn't so sure if it was brilliant anymore. Maybe it was? Wasn't? I wasn't sure of anything at this point, just that Clary wasn't answering my call, for whatever reason.

"Hi!" chirped her voicemail. "This is Clary Fray and I'm, um, sorry that I didn't pick up my phone… But just leave a message if you want and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible!" I was distracted for a few moments by her cute voice and whatnot, until a sharp beep signaled it was time for me to leave a voicemail.

"Clary!" I said enthusiastically, waving the arm not holding my phone. But what the hell do I say…? "Uh, get back to me. I have something… important… to talk to you about. So just make sure to return my call, okay? It's nothing too major—well, it could be—but just call me back. Love you." I mentally cursed myself for blurting that out, and hoped that I didn't sound too pathetic. "Bye."

Then I put my phone down, chastising myself for not having prepared my message beforehand. I had sort of planned what I would say with her actively listening and responding, but I hadn't planned on leaving a voicemail. And I bet that it showed. As I caught my reflection in the mirror on one of my walls, I muttered to myself, "You lazy bastard."

It was bad enough that I had put it off for so long. Yesterday was when I promised Simon that I would call Clary, a full 24 hours ago and then some. It just made me nervous, so I didn't address it.

And now it was almost evening. I wondered how Simon was doing, and what Evangeline thought when he told her—which led me to a brief fantasy of the four of us together. But none of that would be possible without Clary and Evangeline agreeing! Otherwise it would just be Simon and me, which was weird to think about.

So I called him, and he actually picked up. "Hullo?"

"Simon, just the man I wanted to talk to," I said delightedly. He didn't say anything, so I plowed on. "Well, how did it go?"

"Amazingly," he gushed. "Evangeline and I had a really fantastic time together."

"That's nice. But what about, you know, the polyamory thing?" If he had forgotten…

"Oh right! I almost forgot." I braced for impact. "Evangeline's in. She thinks it's a great idea."

Never in a million years would I have expected sweet, innocent, demure Evangeline of all people to agree to a four-way relationship. And Simon was sounding especially peppy, so I vaguely wondered what had happened on their date.

All I could say was, "Wow."

"What did Clary think? Did she say no? Because I really hope she didn't, and if she did, I could maybe talk to her and try to convince her o—"

I was silent for a few moments. "She hasn't… exactly… gotten back to me yet. I left her a voicemail." What I didn't mention was that I had left the voicemail ten minutes ago, but Simon didn't need to know that.

"I'm sure she'll agree, Jace." For whatever reason, hearing him say my name made me strangely excited. "In the meantime, do you want to hang out or something? Evangeline just went home, and I have no plans, so…"

Was it just me, or was Simon asking me out? And what the hell did he mean by "Evangeline just went home"? Wasn't their date last night? Holy shit, they must have spent the night together!

"Yeah, hanging out would be cool," I told him dispassionately, hiding my inner turmoil. "Where and when?"

He made a cute "mmm" noise, like he was thinking it over. I really had no idea how I went so long without accepting Simon's adorableness. "I can come over to the Institute or something."

"I'm ready whenever you are." It was then that something tumbled out of my mouth, confident and brassy. "Maybe we can continue your piano lesson." I had thoroughly enjoyed the last one, even if my tongue somehow ended up being sucked on by a skinny vampire boy.

I heard him take in a sharp breath, probably stunned at my nonchalance about our make out session. "Y-yeah, I think I would enjoy that."

If he really had spent the night with Evangeline, Simon was on a roll. The thought amused me, since I was part of that roll. "Great. I'll see you soon?"

"Soon. Yeah. Bye."

Then he hung up the phone, and I felt triumphant. Spoiling the moment, my stomach rumbled, so I went off to the kitchen to fix myself some dinner before Simon got here.

"Now, where did we leave off?" The two of us were back in the music room and at the piano, Simon sitting on the bench and myself standing behind him. As I spoke, I absentmindedly moved my fingers across the keys, picking out Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Simon sighed, his shoulders moving up and down exaggeratedly as usual while his chest inflated and deflated. "I'm hopeless. There's literally no point in teaching me that damn nursery rhyme."

"Watch your language," I chastised ironically. I decided that I needed a change of pace, and walked over to lean on the piano so I was facing him. "And Mary Had a Little Lamb is not just a 'damn nursery rhyme'. It's a cultural mainstay, and influenced the development of Western Civilization as we know it."

He was quiet for a second or two, looking at me through those dark eyes with one brow raised. "Yeah, I'm not buying it." Then his face broke into a smile, and I couldn't help but smile back.

I took a step toward the bench where he was sitting. "You doubt me?"

"I have in the past," he said simply, still smiling.

"That is true," I commented, thinking about our ridiculous rivalry we had for a while. If only we had thought about polyamory earlier! Then we could have all been with each other (and Evangeline) from the start. "And I suppose your last lesson didn't really do much."

I was close enough to see the glimmer of lust in his eyes. And all from me simply walking toward him! I was impressed. "For my skill at the piano, yes. But I wouldn't dismiss it outright," he retorted cheekily.

"I suppose I wouldn't either," I grinned down at him. This wasn't working, the standing/sitting level difference. "Here." I offered him my hand, like a gentleman. "We'll get back to dear old Mary and her sheep later."

Simon took my outstretched hand and used it to stand up. His hand was slightly cold, but not unpleasantly, and felt wonderful clasped in my own. There was now a tension in the air, that sexual electricity, and it positively thrilled me.

It looked like it thrilled him, too. And as I watched, a delightful blush spread across his cheeks and ears. But he spoke anyway. "You know, Jace, I've never seen your room."

And suddenly, it didn't matter to me that Clary hadn't picked up her phone and that Simon and Evangeline may have slept together last night. I wanted to be alone with Simon, and I was going to make it happen. "What an absolute tragedy. Come on, I'll show you."

And, my excitement off the charts, we left the piano room and made our way towards the residential wing.

A/N: And Jimon have officially finished their second piano room scene. Hahaha. Please review! xoxoxo