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I kept walking, wanting to be away from the lot of them. If it hadn't been for Simon steering me towards his house, I probably would have headed straight home and had a lot more questions to answer. Jace quickly caught up to us and looked at Simon with raised eyebrows. He had changed out of his uniform and was now dressed in a pair of slim fit jeans and a ripped t-shirt with a letterman jacket over the top. It was obvious what he was doing – non-verbally asking Simon to step aside for two moments while we talked. I gave him an apologetic look as he stepped out of the way and out of earshot.

"Is everything alright?" Jace asked looking at me intently. I shrugged.

"Can't say I've ever been called a slut before." Had it hurt so much because I'd never been called such a name before? Or had it hurt because I'd been worried about being viewed that way after everything that had happened with Jordan, Jace and Sebastian. Everything that I had allowed to happen. Had it hurt because I was worried it was true?

"I wouldn't let her get to you." Jace tried to comfort me. "She's just got it into her head that you're with Jon somehow and she won't drop it, so she does what she's best at."

"She needs to drop it and drop it quickly." I grumbled, crossing my arms across my chest. I could feel that rage building again deep in the pit of my stomach.

"You getting feisty there?" I shrugged, feeling myself getting aggravated and irritable.

"Maybe." I sighed, catching sight of Aline coming up in the background. "It just drives me crazy. I'm not an argumentative person. I'm not a violent person. But she is making me so angry. I don't want to do something out of character for the sake of her."

"Then don't." Jace laughed as though it was so simple. "Look, are you free tomorrow?" Aline was gaining up space, practically over his shoulder, I tried to turn but Jace grabbed my hand, pulling me back to face him. "The longer it takes you to answer me, the closer she's gonna get." He teased.

"Yes I'm free."

"Marvellous!" He burst into a grin. "I'll meet you at Java at dinner time." I just nodded in agreement, anything to get away from Aline – for both my sake and her sake.

"What was that all about?" Simon asked as he linked me, steering me firmly away from those behind.

"I think he just asked me out." I was just catching up myself.

"If you're going to keep up like this, you might want to think about telling him sooner rather than later." Simon said, speaking his mind.

"Tell him?" I questioned, unsure of his meaning. Simon looked at me, eyebrow raised.

"About Jon." Simon spoke quietly as though he would be overheard. I felt a sudden wash of discomfort take over me. "I guess what I'm trying to say Clary is – how do I word this? What if you really like Jace? This could really come between you if you were to make a go of things."

"Let's not count our chickens before they've hatched Si." I smiled. "I appreciate the concern but it's still Jon's decision, not mine."

"It's worth talking to him about it surely –"

"He's come so far Si – he'll come around when he's ready." Simon sighed, knowing that this conversation was going nowhere. I owed Jon so much, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt him.

When I got home, I walked right into an argument. Jon was screaming like crazy, Mum wailing like a banshee.

"What on earth are you two shouting about?" I shouted between them trying to make sense of the sudden wall of noise.

"She's being completely unreasonable!" Jon shouted from the side of his bed as Mum paced the corridors.

"Jon! Do not start this again!" She seethed. "You're not ready. You can't rush yourself! You'll make yourself worse!" She shouted back, tempers fraying. Her eyes were darkened, she was worn out.

"You don't know that I'm not ready!" He shouted back as she tried to get a word in. "I'm ready! I am!" He started grabbing for his crutches, clearly going to show her how ready he was.

"Jon –" She tried calming him down as I just stood between them completely helpless.

"You don't know me! Not like Dad did!" Jon shouted and I saw the regret dawn on his face instantly as the anger subsided. That was enough for Mum, the tears threatening to spill. It was carnage. Mum made immediately for the door as I made to catch up with her. My attention was turned quickly to Jon who hit the floor with a loud clatter, his crutches falling away from him as he desperately tried to chase Mum himself. I bent down to his level, moving the crutches to within his reaching distance so that he could attempt to get up if he wanted too. I knew how stubborn he was, he wouldn't want me helping him. I patted him on the back lightly but my heart froze when I heard him sobbing, his cheeks stained. I pulled my hoodie off, using it as a makeshift pillow to support his head that was pressed into the floor.

"I miss him so much Clary." He choked, his limbs restless. I helped him into a sitting position, his arms draping around me as he cried into my shoulder. It took a lot of strength on my part to keep myself sitting up, his weight upon me but I held firm for as long as he needed me. Once his tears had subsided somewhat, Simon's words resounded in my head.

"I think I have a solution to your problem."

"I don't think there's any solution to my problem." He said, downtrodden. "It's useless. I'm useless." I had to bring Jon out of this mentality.

"Do you not think that the reason you're so sad is because you've lost Dad, school and your friends?" I queried him. He shrugged, not looking me in the eye. "Maybe if you just reached out to one of them – the one you can trust the most. Just someone to confide in, someone to help you along the way."

"I guess that makes sense." He seemed to be following my idea. "But, that means I have to put you in a difficult position."

"No." I shook my head. "Don't mention me. This isn't about me. If you mention me it takes away from what it is you're trying to achieve. This is about you Jon, about you just getting to feel normal. If all goes well, then you can mention me the next time."

"Are you sure?" Jon seemed somewhat excited but also in a panic. "Where will you go? What will you do? I don't want to make your life difficult Clary."

"I'll make plans with Si. I don't mind." I shrugged. "I just want you to feel comfortable. If you're ready to go to school, then you must be ready to see people again, so why not swap them around? See someone first before you leap into heading back to school. Test the waters." Jon hugged me tightly before asking me to pass his phone down from his bedside. I reached it for him without hesitation before letting him have his privacy.

It didn't take long for me to figure out what Jon had spent his privacy achieving.

Jace: Hey Clary, I know this is super rude of me – but would you be cool to meet a little later tomorrow? I've had something come up at lunchtime. Can I text you tomorrow? Sorry again.

Clary: That's fine. Just let me know.

I instantly turned my attention to Simon.

Clary: Si – I know this is a little last minute, but would your mum be cool with me staying the night? I'll fill you in later?

Simon: Mum's still pissed at me. I doubt she'll let me. I could come over there though?

That was no good. I needed to be out of the house, out of the way. There was only one other option, although I felt uncomfortable making that choice especially as I was supposed to be going on a date with Jace tomorrow.

Clary: Don't worry about it Si. All sorted now.

Clary: Hi Jordan, I don't suppose I could ask a really big favour of you?

He replied relatively quickly.

Jordan: Oh dear – dare I ask? :P

Clary: It's a bit of a reach. Do you think I could possibly like stay at your house tonight? On the sofa or on the floor or something? Jace is coming to see Jon tomorrow and I don't want to be in the way. I would have stayed at Simon's but he's not allowed many freedoms after that party. It's okay if I can't though, just thought I'd ask.

I must have deleted and rewrote the text at least 5 times but it still looked like I was rambling. My phone chimed a few minutes later but I held off reading it for a good few minutes, feeling anxious.

Jordan: Of course you can. Do you need a lift?

Clary: No no, I can make it over there – thank you so much!

I packed myself a quick overnight bag with a couple of choices for outfits for tomorrow just in case I did actually find myself going out with Jace. I'd heard Mum come back about five minutes since so I knew I'd be fine to leave Jon by himself. Jon was looking at me questionably as I descended the stairs.

"Where are you going?" His brow was furrowed.

"I'm going to stay out the night. I'm assuming you're going to have someone come around tomorrow?" He nodded. "I don't want to get in the way. It's about you."

"Thanks for this Clary." He smiled. "I owe you one."

"Don't you forget it." I smirked at him as I left the house and made my way over to Jordan's as fast as I could – it was freezing out and I was severely regretting not accepting that lift. I was expecting to find Maia at Jordan's but much to my surprise, he was all alone. He let me into the house and we walked straight through to the living room.

"So." Jordan started. "Why is it you're hiding from Jace?"

"I'm not hiding from him." I bit back as Jordan gave me an unconvinced look. "Well not really. I just don't think it's going to help Jon get through his issues." I shrugged. "He needs to see Jace to talk about himself, to talk about how he's doing. If he mentions me then he mentions me, it's entirely up to him. I just think he needs to fix himself first, worry about me later."

"Do you not deserve some healing?" Jordan asked as he changed the channel on the television.

"I don't need it as much as Jon. I'm not as broken as he is." I fidgeted with my hair, pushing my feelings down into my stomach.

"I won't push the subject Clary. That's not the type of guy I am." Jordan said softly. "But he was your Dad too. If you ever need to talk about that, I'm more than willing to listen."

Jordan stuck true to his word and changed the conversation to something lighter, allowing me to breathe freely. When I started to get tired, he directed me towards his bedroom. I started to put up a fight until he told me that his Mum would be out all night and that he was sleeping in her room. I thanked him, before turning in for the night.

Jace's PoV

I couldn't help but feel nervous which was bizarre. I never felt nervous. I made my way over to Jon's house bright and early. I felt quite bad for Clary, re-arranging our plans at the very last minute, but I'm sure she would understand when I explained the whole situation to her later. Knocking on the door, I waited for a good few minutes before my phone started to vibrate in my pocket.

Jon: Just come in. Will explain.

I shrugged, pushing the door open and stepping into the hallway. I made my way to the base of the stairs, preparing to head up to Jon's room.

"Jace – in here." A voice called from the living room. I was taken aback to find that it had been turned into a bedroom. My eyes weren't sure what to take in first. A wheelchair pushed into the corner of the room, crutches propped up against the base of the bed and then Jon, as happy as ever, as normal as ever. Or so it would seem.

"Well, this explains a lot of things." I couldn't help myself. Jon patted the side of the bed for me to take a seat. "What's the damage?"

"Nothing that I can't get over."

Thank you for reading my stories! The majority of the next chapter will be from Jace's PoV.

All of my love,

Until the next time!

~Sapph