Hello! Look at the surprise! I'm actually updating on time! Isn't this just amazing! ;D. Okay, so about the competition, the winner is... QUEEAN DAENERYS TARGARYEN FOR PRESENT, AND MISSSEMI-DEPENDENT FOR FUTURE! The best SONGS submitted were: I'd Lie and I'd Do Anything! Thank all of you guys for the awesome entries, and I want you to know that you all ROCK. So, my goal by chapter 10 is to get 200 followers, 100 favorites, and at least 150-160 reviews. I know you guys will be able to help, so if you could spread the word to anyone you know, that would be awesome!
Disclaimer: I don't think I've ever done one of these before, but Mortal Instruments does not belong to me, nor do the characters. I only own the plot.
"We are the jack-o-lanterns in the July," I sang, swaying my hips to the beat of the song as it blasted through my earbuds, "Setting fire to the sky. Here, here comes the rising tide. C'mon!" I hummed as I flipped the pancakes, checking on the bacon as the scent of breakfast filled my nose. All of a sudden, there was a tap on my shoulder and I jumped, yanking one of the tiny speakers from my ears.
"Holy hell," I put a hand over my racing heart as I whipped around to face the person, "You almost gave me a..." I trailed off as my eyes took in the two girls in front of me, distaste causing my nose to crinkle.
"You've been making too much noise. Some of us need our beauty sleep, because some of us actually have, well, you know, beauty." At Kailie's nasally voice, I half wished I'd left my headphones in, but I couldn't resist the jab.
"Sorry sweetheart." I put a hand on her shoulder in mock pity, "I know you aren't one of the ones with beauty, but I'd appreciate if you stopped bagging on those of us who do have it." I offered a sarcastic smile before turning back to the sizzling food. No, I'm not normally such a rude person, but Kailie was going out of her way to get me out.
Just this last weekend, she'd tripped me, shoved me, messed with my hair products and makeup, and messed up the snack I'd made for Jace. And the whole time, Seelie was right there helping her.
A long, manicured nail tapped me yet again, but I ignored it, even when it grew more persistent. Suddenly, the hand grabbed my arm, nails biting sharply into my skin, and the girl spun me around.
"Let go of me," I snarled, extremely mad, "Now." Even though I was several inches shorter then Seelie, who had grabbed me, she still took a step back in fear. Jace had even admitted that when I was mad enough, I was just flat out terrifying, and right now, I was done with the games.
"I want both of you to stop messing with me right now." I growled, "By now, you should've figured out that I'm not going anywhere. And if you don't like it, you just need to deal with it. I'm done trying to be nice when all I get in return is your crap, please and thank you." I yet again went back to the stove, turning off the burners and putting the breakfast on plates, successfully ignoring the gaping girls.
Kailie was the first to react, huffing haughtily, then she turned on heel and strutted into the living room area, Seelie quick to follow. Not even a minute later, the creak of the stairs sounded again. I turned to see who the next person awake would be, and was shocked yet again at who I found.
"Mor-" he yawned stretching his arms out before pulling me into a one armed hug, "Morning Fray."
"Morning Goldie." My voice was muffled by his shirt, and my heart had gone into overdrive. It had almost been a week, the rose ceremony passed, Monica and Phoebe the two who'd gone home, we were now in Austrailia, and I still couldn't get the almost kiss out of my head. Even though the next day, we played it off as nothing.
"Whatcha makin'?" Jace's head rested on my shoulder as I prepared the plate, the previously freed earbud now in his ear.
"Uh... everything that's on the plate. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes." I controlled the urge to shiver as his breath brushed my neck. Luckily, I'd accidentally made too much for myself, so when Jace pulled a plate from the cabinet next to us, I had food to spare.
"Thank you, Clare." He said in his gravelly (read: sexy) morning voice.
"No problem." I flapped my hand dismissively, walking around the counter to sit down beside him.
"Why are you up so early?" I asked after finishing my plate within five minutes.
"I have a one on one date today." Jace stated simply, and my heart dropped just a bit.
"Oh," I tried to keep my voice enthusiastic, "Well who's it with."
"You'll just have to find out, won't you?" Jace winked, ruffled my ponytail, then rose to his feet and began walking back to the stairs.
"Hold up." I jumped off the stool and jogged over Jace, setting a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "You just came over here to mooch off my food, and now you're just gonna leave me and probably go back to sleep?"
"Basically." He dropped a kiss on my cheek and continued upstairs as I stood, stunned.
"Asshole." I mumbled, smiling as I shook my head.
I flipped the page of my book, sighing.
"Clarissa Rowe," I tested out the name, "Clary Rowe." Aline looked over her own book, raising her eyebrows at my random mumbling.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked, and I laughed.
"I wouldn't say anything, miss self-proclaimed Aline Eaton." Helen sat down in the middle of us.
"Now you pipe up." Aline rolled her eyes before turning back to Divergent.
"Daaaate Caaaard!" Jess ran in yelling, and we all snapped to attention, even me, "You guys ready."
"YES!" We all chorused back, and my stomach churned in anticipation at the girl Jace would be taking out.
"Clary." Jess read, and my mouth dropped open, "You're greatest wish is about to come true... Jace."
I was completely stunned, unmoving as the girls waited for my reaction. Then, all the emotions hit me, and I am not in any way proud to admit that yes, I did squeal. Thank God Jace wasn't out there to see it. Aline and Helen both tackled me in a bear hug, and I chose to ignore Seelie and Kailie's whispering.
"What do you think you guys are doing?" Aline asked, eyes alight with genuine interest. I bit my lip, searching my mind for what I'd told Jace my absolute greatest wish was, and when I realized what it would probably be, I jumped to my feet.
"Gotta go get ready!" I exclaimed, and the two girls laughed.
"Bye, Clary!" I heard them yell collectively.
"Bye!" I called back over my shoulder, pounding up the stairs then bursting into my room.
I was never one of those girls who obsessed over her clothes, so I just grabbed a pair of ripped and bleached skinny jeans and a Sleeping With Sirens shirt. Then, my Inner-Izzy and Inner-Magnus decided to make an appearance.
"What are you thinking, Darling?" Inner-Magnus began, "You're going on a date. With Jace. Not to Taki's after class. You have to add something... Fabulous."
"But not too fancy." Inner-Izzy added, "You don't want to look like you put too much effort into it. You just want to give off the 'I wake up this beautiful' look"
"I guess you're right," I replied, then realized that I'd just talked out loud... to people that weren't there. I shook my head. Going crazy was not at the top of my To-Do List.
"But Jace is." This time, the voice wasn't even anyone else, it was just my dark, demented place of a mind.
I slapped myself lightly, snapping out of it, then leafed through my closet, choosing one of the nicer blouses that had been supplied by the show, but leaving the jeans. I grabbed a pair of flats, wanting to live through the day rather than breaking my neck by falling in heels, then went to the bathroom.
It took a few minutes, but I'd arranged my fiery hair into an intricate updo, securing it with a clip before moving to makeup. I spread on a coat of lipgloss, then flicked a tiny bit of mascara onto my eyelashes. I reached for the eyeshadow, but stopped midway, wrinkling my nose in distaste and immediately drawing my hand back. Yeah, not even Jace could get me to wear eyeshadow... Not yet at least.
With that, I grabbed a small purse, throwing my phone inside of it, then raced back down the stairs and to the front door.
"I was wondering where..." Jace trailed off, eyes scanning my from head to toe as I came to a spot in front of him, "Someone dressed up." Surprisingly, the words weren't as much of a teasing as a general statement.
"Just because I put on a nicer shirt doesn't mean I dressed up." Lie. He stepped closer, but I wasn't tempted to squirm under his scrutiny for some odd reason.
"You're wearing lipgloss. And mascara. And you did your hair." Jace's voice grew softer as he went on. I simply shrugged, biting back a huge smile. He noticed.
"Just wanted to try something new. Ready to go?" It seemed like I'd snapped Jace out of a daze.
"Uh, yeah." He shook his head, "Follow me." He wrapped an arm loosely around my waist, guiding me outside to the passenger side of a sleek, white Audi. I moved to get in, but he tightened his arm around me, successfully stopping me while giving me a mini stroke at the same time.
"You have to put this on." he held out a blindfold, and I attempted to grab it, but he jerked his hand away, "Let me rephrase that, I'm putting this on you." Without waiting for my approval, he moved behind me, slipping the mask over my eyes, then securing it behind my head.
"Now just trust me." He whispered, and I jumped slightly at his close proximity, but without the cover of my hair, his warm breath fanned across my neck, making me shiver. He helped me into the car, then buckled me in before entering on his side. I heard the gentle roar of the car's engine, and the we started driving.
The drive was silent until we reached our location, because I had a feeling that Jace knew that I would be able to coax the surprise out of him if he talked.
Now, the anticipation was eating at me as he pulled me out of the car, then shut the door behind me. We were in Austrailia. We could be doing anything from surfing to skydiving. I stumbled as he attempted to lead me forwards... for what had to be the fifteenth time.
"Screw it." I heard Jace hiss, then my feet were off the ground and his arms held me. I instinctively threw my own around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder as he chuckled.
"Can I look yet?" I asked as I felt a cool blast of indoor air wash over me.
"Go ahead." Jace set me down, and I quickly undid the knot at the back of my head. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did, I gasped. This wasn't exactly what I'd expected, seeing as I thought he'd just take me to a giant chocolate fountain. No, it was much better.
"You didn't..." I turned to Jace, and, upon seeing his huge smile, I flung myself into his arms, and he swung me in a circle before setting me down again.
"Are we really here... Alone?" I asked in disbelief, taking in the huge movie theater's lobby.
"Yes," Jace came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist,
"We're here, and we're completely alone." At that, I let out an ear shattering shriek, then made a beeline for the snack bar, not even bothering to use the door as I hopped the counter. Jace, however, came in the ordinary (read: boring) way, and began to help me stack our favorite candies in my arms.
When I couldn't hold anymore, he pulled out a jumbo popcorn, filled it, then got us two extremely large Cherry Cokes.
"Theater one," he instructed as I backed out the door. I entered said theater and walked up to the tenth- a.k.a. Our- row to find a pile of blankets and pillows set up, and all the arm rests pulled back to create a couch like area.
"What movie are we watching?" I asked Jace as we set our items down.
"You'll just have to wait and see when I set it up." Jace wore his trade mark smirk as he began to walk away, but suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He strode back over, covering the distance in record time, and we were chest to chest.
"One last thing," Slowly, he moved his hand up to the clip that held me hair, then he released it, the fiery waves rolling down my back. I opened my mouth to ream him out about how hard it was to get it that way, but my words were silenced when his fingers delved into my curls, combing through once before he brushed a stray hair away from my face, hand trailing along my cheek.
"Much better." And I thought that maybe this time, his voice was slightly uneven.
Throughout the movie, which just so happened to be Now You See Me, we'd gone through three soda refills, a whole jumbo popcorn, and thirteen assorted boxes of M&M's, Milk Duds, Sour Patch Kids, and several more brands.
Both Jace and I had sugar crashed, and somehow, I ended up sprawled out on top of him across several seats.
"We have..." Jace yawned, tightening his hold on my waist, "We have dinner reservations."
"Why?" I groaned, pressing my face into the curve of his neck.
"Well I guess we could just stay here." he mumbled.
"Yeah," I replied, lips brushing his skin unintentionally, "That sounds like a really good idea."
I must've started hallucinating due to exhaustion, because I swear, I felt him shiver. He eased me back, so that my face was even with his.
"How the hell do you eat that much and not get fat?" He asked softly.
"I could ask you the same thing." I retorted halfheartedly, too tired to come up with a smart response.
"Because I'm a guy." Jace responded cockily, then another stray hair fell in my face as I looked down at him. He reached a hand up and placed the hair back behind my ear, stroking my cheek as his hand fell behind my neck. For a second, we just stared into each others' eyes.
"Why did you take my hair down?" I broke the silence, and Jace looked almost startled by the question.
"I-I told you," he seemed genuinely unprepared to answer, "It just... Looks better that way. It looks like Clary." His voice tapered at the end, and he began to pull me closer.
This time, the cameraman wasn't interrupting us. Camera for some reason, the word resonated my brain, then I realized why. Jace was doing this for the camera. He wasn't about to kiss me because he was interested, he was doing it for the sake of appearances.
I jerked back, rising unsteadily to my feet, and Jace looked startled by my sudden movement.
"Clare, are you okay?" His voice was clear, nothing like it had been when Seelie was with him. Or Kailie. God I was so stupid, he obviously didn't have feelings for me if I didn't even affect him when we were a second away from kissing... Again.
"We've got to get to those reservations." I said simply. I stretched my arms, letting our a yawn as I woke up fully. When Jace still didn't move, I attempted to yank him off the chairs using the element of surprise, but he didn't budge, only staring at me in amusement.
"Why are you so faaat?" I whined, giving up trying to yank him off. He rose to his feet.
"It's not fat." He brought up his arm and flexed, "This is all muscle, Baby." I rolled my eyes, bending down and gathering the boxes, then threw them into the empty jumbo bucket. I shoved the trash into Jace's arms, then scampered down to the exit before he could give it back.
"For someone who was so tired a few minutes ago, you sure can run!" Jace yelled. I didn't bother with a response, knowing that, as soon as he threw the packages away, he would be chasing me for his revenge.
As predicted, he came bursting out of the theater only a second later. It wasn't long until his large strides overtook my smaller ones, and his body crashed into mine. Somehow, he twisted so that he took the brunt of the fall, but quickly pinned me under him. His legs pinned mine, and a single hand trapped my wrists above my head, but the other came to attack my sides. I laughed uncontrollably, defenseless against his tickling torture.
"I... give up!" I gasped, "Stop, stop!" Jace paused his assualt, golden eyes sparkling.
"What's the magic word?" he sang.
"Uh... Please? You win?" I tried, but Goldie simply shook his head.
"Nope." he declared aloud, "You have to say... Jace Wayland is a sexy beast." I opened my mouth to protest, but he wiggled his fingers menacingly, causing me to wince.
"Say it."
"Jace Wayland is a sexy beast..."
"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."
"JACE WAYLAND IS A SEXY BEAST! HAPPY?!"
"Very."
Jace released me, rising to his feet, then offering a hand down like a 'True gentleman'.
"Are you ready?" He asked politely, sickeningly sweet smile firmly in place. I took his hand, but instead of letting him help me up, I pulled him back to the ground.
"Yes, I am." I said as I got up, then walked calmly out the doors.
Yes, another disappointment. Please don't kill me. Muahahah. Okaaay... so... RIGHT! What show were the two eliminated girls from? First response gets PM'd a MALEC PROPOSAL. :D. Oh, and I will go back and edit the last chapter, I realize what happened. FORGIVE ME! Annnyyyways... see ya'll later! Goodbye, my faithful followers!
-Shadowhunter5801