Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights belong to Cassandra Clare. Sorry for the short chapter.
He had committed the first week of January. To go to OSU. It had been a big ceremony, which almost half the school went to, and there were plenty of video cameras recording the whole thing. Mom and Dad were standing behind him, looking proud of their son and of his accomplishments. We were there too. Alec, me, and Max. Standing there with him through it all.
Clary and Jon were in the front row. Cheering and taking pictures with the rest, but for different reasons. They wanted him to remember that there were people in the audience who loved him and were proud of him, not just there to get out of class. He would look over at her and smile at her every few minutes where he would receive a smile back.
He looked good in the uniform. But he looked even better next to Clary. She had told me the other day that a life without Jace seemed scarier to her than a life at OSU. Her dream College had always been NYU. She had been on the waiting list since she toured there two years ago. Her art had touched then so deeply and she was a shoe in to get a huge scholarship, but that paled in comparison to the the distance it was from Jace.
They were scared. Not that they would break up, but that something would happened that they wouldn't be there for. Clary couldn't come down all the time and Jace couldn't come back till after Christmas, when football season ended. And he had to go early, to start practices. He wanted to be there for her. At her games. Her last homecoming. Her prom. Thanksgiving. And Christmas. New Years. Everything. But he couldn't. And he knew she had other obligations than to drive down every weekend but it didn't make him want her to any less.
His excitement of going to OSU was more than enough for Clary. She knew he made the decision for him, and that's what she had wanted. He was so excited. Always talking about what he wanted to do. And in everything she was always right next to him. He wanted a Skype schedule where he could talk to her hours each day and wanted her to come down at least once a month until football season was over at least.
Basketball was half way over when he signed. They hadn't lost any games within the conference and he was having fun. With sports it was always go go go. But now he was just having fun. Playing with his friends and winning games together. He had someone to cheer for him now and someone he wanted to play good for.
He played like he had a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, which he did. Ohio state had been his dream since he was 10 and it had become a reality. His happiness was infectious. He had always been a little reserved at school. Than Clary had come and pried him open a little but now it was practically impossible to see him without a smile on his face. Now it was just difficult to figure out why. Clary? Football? Who knows? Who cares? All I know is this is the first time my brother has been happy in his whole life and I want to keep it that way.
Jace's birthday had been January 23rd. He had spent the day with us and the night with Clary. She took him to dinner, the first time he's ever let her pay, and than she took him to a Cavs game because despite all his years of living here he had never gone. He came home that night smiling and happy before going to bed. Everything he did with her left him giddy for hours and made him fall even more in love with her each time.
Valentine's day was approaching. Like in two days. And Jace didn't know what to do. Clary was a simple girl and he felt like she wouldn't want anything special. But at the same time, she still is a girl, and isn't that what every girl secretly wants?
He had planned a day out of it. Pick her up in morning and take her out to Takis for pancakes. Than to a movie. Her pick. Than to lunch. Probably at Potbellys. Do what ever she wanted till supper. And than to Olive Garden for a fancy dinner. After that, he was going to drive out of the city in dad's pickup truck and go star gazing as they stuff their faces with chocolate. (I told him it was to much. So he scratched the plan)
When Sunday came around he let her have her morning. She watched sad movies with single ol me until it was time for me to get her ready for her date.
Two hours later Jace was picking her up in dad's truck at 6 o'clock. He opened her door for her as she reached the truck. She looked confused about the truck but kissed him nonetheless. His hand went to her pony tail and pulled out her curls before he pulled away.
He closed the door behind her and they were off. She loved Olive Garden so that's where he took her. They ate till they were full and than went out of the city.
Clary was an artist. She saw beauty in everything. And the stars they saw, she painted for weeks. That's not what Jace went to gaze at though. He loved looking at her face when she found something beautiful.
Her mouth would open and her eyes would widen. Her nose crinkled and her fingers flexed. She would look so intrigued and innocent that Jace just wanted to wrap her in a blanket and hide her from the world.
They spent hours under the stars. Pointing and Laughing while eating chocolate covered strawberries. They named constellations and cuddled till it got to cold.
He dropped her off that night before coming home. He looked so happy that it made my heart melt. His smile big and his eyes bright. He asked if it would be cliche if he screamed in a pillow because she was just to freaking cute. I only shook my head and that just when he did.
He loved her. Any idiot could see that. And she loved him. And they worked. They were similar and different. They balanced each other out. And than she was almost taken away. Ripped from his arms and cast into the unknown.