Only one, maybe two more chapters to go!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights belong to Cassandra Clare.
Our trip to Florida was even better out last one. I had thought the twenty hour car ride would dampen our moods, but it was so much fun. There was a lot more naps than last the one but it was still just as fun. Lots of laughing and playing games to fill up the time. We never stopped driving. It was a long day but we didn't want to have to do it for two days.
When we got to our resort we all passed out. Clary and I, Jon and Simon, and Alec and Jace. I'm sure that would all change by the the next night but we were all to tired to argue. Even Jace.
We all woke up late that day and decided to just hang out all day. Explore our room and watch movies. So Jon and Jace made us all sandwiches for lunch, Clary had both of them wrapped around her little finger. And come dinner time she slaved away in the kitchen. She wouldn't let me help her make the tacos.
Eating together was always fun. There wasn't three different conversations going. There was one. And everybody contributed to it. And we sat there for two hours, eating and talking, with nobody to stop us.
That night Clary and Jace went to bed before us. I couldn't even care that I was going to share with Alec (and a wall of pillows) because I was a sucker for romance. So they went to their room and we made them promise to be quiet. Jace smirked as Clary blushed, like they normally do, and closed the door.
The next day, we went to Universal. Clary and Simon were huge nerds, and were so excited they couldn't even contain themselves. They couldn't stop bouncing in their seats as we made the two hour drive from our place on the beach, to Orlando.
Jon was driving with me in the front seat and I couldn't help but thing of as a giant family. Alec and Simon in the captain chairs with Clary laying across Jace in the back. Everyone talking about the most random things because there was no judgement here.
When we got there Clary and Simon departed from our group, we were all going to meet at the three broomsticks for lunch. So we walked around and went on every rollercoaster that looked fun before making our way there.
Clary and Simon walked in after us and made their way to the food serving counters before joining us at our table. Unlike most of our meals, this one was short. They still had a lot of stuff to experience before we had to leave to go back, so they barely talked as they stuffed their faces before heading back out.
I thought Jace would be anxious all day long, but he wasn't. He trusted that Simon could take care of her, he had been long before Jace met her. So we hung out, with Jon, all day long waiting for Clary and Simon to finish. And when they did we all headed back home, spent and happy.
We didn't leave the room, accept for the beach in the back yard, for a couple of days. Clary and I spent a lot of time tanning, or trying to, and talked about Simon and Jace. Simon had asked me out while we were here and was taking me to dinner that night. It was fun. It was one of the first times I ever felt really respected by the guy who took me out. And I really wanted it to happen again.
When we got back to the room, Jon and Clary were watching a movie together and Jace and Alec were already in bed. I was jealous of their sibling relationship. Sure i was close with Alec and Jace, but they were best friends. They told each other everything. It was like they were two girls, unable to hide anything from each other.
They had told us they had a tough time before they moved here. An alcoholic dad who liked to cheat on his wife and ignore his children. He had been livid when Jocelyn divorced him, and it had been a really messy affair. They had fought for custody for a while, Jocelyn wouldn't take anything less than full custody and no visits. And the kids were grateful for their mother, one of the reasons they were so happy when she had reconnected with Luke and later had married him. Their family loved because they never wanted to feel unloved again, it had been a miserable first ten years of their lives.
It surprised me, how Clary could love even though she had seen what it could do. It tore her family apart. But she loved Jon. Her big brother had been her world. And she had been his. I'm sure if not for each other they would have been a mess, having to deal with an overbearing mother and an absent father.
And Jace. I didn't even know someone could love like they did. Time and time again they proved to themselves that they could over come adversity.
Even now as Clary walked to the room she was sharing with Jace, a smile on her face, her love showed. I'm sure Jace is still awake, waiting for his love to join him. And they would exchange stories, and spend hours enjoying each others company until one fell asleep.
And when we went home he had problems coping. After he'd gotten a taste of what being with her felt like, he was never content with anything less. He more often than not snuck out at night so he could fall asleep next to her and wake up with her in his arms. And going to college killed him, he couldn't sleep and he locked himself up in his dorm, completely love sick.