Hi! I'm really sorry about not posting this as frequently as before. I know there are no excuses that will make up for it, so if you want to yell at me, that's fine. I just hope you like it. I will try to get one up every Friday, though, with my upcoming finals, that may be a bit messed up for the next week. Also, if you want to PM me, with any ideas for the story, that would be really awesome.

PoV Clary

I almost didn't want to go back. I didn't want to hide who I was anymore, and the more times I looked at that binder, the more I wanted to rip it to pieces. I was sort of flat chested, and the first day back we weren't doing anything. We were just waiting for all the other boys to get back to school. The first week back really didn't count, as everyone was still on holiday in their minds.

Magnus and I hung out again the day before we had to go back, getting our hair cut and the like. Magnus had somehow convinced me to get very short hair, like, almost no hair. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating it a bit, but it was a lot shorter than I had ever had. It was shorter on the back and sides, and a bit longer on the top, like P!nk, but not quite as long on the top. Magnus wanted to dye it bright orange, but I didn't let him, as I was ginger enough. I didn't need to look like a carrot. Not that I have anything against people with hair like that.

Jace did a double take when he saw my hair, almost dropping the plate he was holding. He and Alec had spent most of the day together again, mostly packing for the next day. They were in Alec's room when we, Magnus and I, walked in.

"What did you do to your hair?" Jace asked, rushing forward and rubbing the pads of his fingers over the short hairs on the back of my head. "Why would you do this?"

"I need to look like a boy, don't I?" I asked, smiling slightly. "I like it this way, too. So don't diss it. You just haven't gotten used to it."

"Well," Magnus said. "Personally, I think it would have been better flaming orange, or even blood orange."

"You're so pretentious," Alec and Jace chimed in at the same time. "It's fucking red."

Magnus looked affronted before Alec explained the joke to him. Magnus huffed and crossed his arms, pouting a little.

"It may have been in the name of humour, but I am not pretentious," Magnus said, turning away from Alec and taking out his phone.

"Oh, come on," Jace said, seeing the stricken look on Alec's face. "It was a joke, Magnus, and you walked into it."

"Just shut up, Jace," Alec said, sitting back down on his bed, looking dejectedly at the floor.

"Oh, you're both so melodramatic," Jace snarked, turning back to me. "Let's go to my room, to be away from all this gay."

"There's nothing wrong with gay," I said, but I let him pull me out of Alec's room.

Out of the corner of my eye, I say Magnus sit next to Alec and wrap his arms around his boyfriend. They would be okay. Jace led me down a long, winding hallway, to his room, with was a little bit smaller than Alec's. Jace's room was plain, almost like a monks quarters. Jace's bed was the only thing that would give away that someone live in it. The bed was made, but the sheets were rumpled from use, and hasty rearranging.

"Not a believer in interior decorating, I see," I mused.

Jace let out a small, almost surprised laugh. "I don't spend much time in here."

"Don't like to be alone?" Jace probably would have come back with some witty retort if not of the sincerity in my voice.

"Yeah," he said. "Not since my mum died."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I never knew my dad."

"Really?" Jace asked, clutching to the change in topic like a life line. "Why not?

"He died before I was born." I sat on Jace's bed, feeling the soft blanket beneath my fingers. "My mum doesn't like to talk about him, seeing as it was hard for her when he died." I knew I was rambling, but Jace didn't seem to mind. "He was a soldier. He fought in Afghanistan."

"Is that where he died?" Jace asked, sitting next to me.

"No, he slipped and fell on some ice." I looked over at him. "He died a few hours later in the E.R."

There was a silence. It wasn't awkward at all, just silence wrapped around the two of us like a warm blanket. Jace scooted closer and placed an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer, nuzzling his nose on my neck. I smiled a little, letting Jace gently push me down onto the blankets. He caressed my cheeks, kissing my forehead, my lips, my collar bone. His lips burned almost feverishly against my skin, cracked and chewed on. His lips, Jace's lips, those perfect lips that would have disappointed me if they weren't imperfect.

I let out a relaxed sigh through my nose as he kissed and nipped at the base of my neck, leaving little love bites. He kissed my lips, soft and sweet, but there was a built up tensions in the hard set muscle of his back. I ran my hands over his broad shoulders, getting lost in the passion of him. His hands swooped down my stomach, his thumbs tracing patters on my skin. His kisses turned heated, faster, and I loved it. I was ran my fingers through the silky tresses of his golden hair, curling them into the waves at the nape of his neck.

His hands slipped further down my body, coming to rest on the hem of my jeans, his fingers playing with the button. His fingers were warm on the skin of my stomach, but the feeling he gave me, with his fingers on my stomach, wasn't pleasant. I frowned slightly, not quite sure what was going on inside me. Jace popped the button of my jeans open and began to slide the zipper down.

A flash of silver hair, of dark, obsidian eyes flashed across my mind and I froze. I didn't want Jace's fingers on me, I didn't want his loving touches. Roughly shoving him away from me, I sprang off his bed, reaching for the wall. I stood with my shoulders hunched, my chin to my chest, facing a corner of his room.

"Clary?" he asked. "Clary, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, gripping my upper arms tightly.

"Was it something I did?" Jace stood and walked towards me, his face flushed and his hair tousled.

Again, I shook my head. "No," I whispered. "It's not something you did."

There was a silence. "Was it Sebastian?"

I nodded, keeping my head down. "I'm sorry, Jace. I just can't do this right now."

Jace pulled me away from the wall, his movements soft and caring. "Hey, you don't have to apologize. I pushed you too far."

I looked up at him, filled with compassion. "Oh, Jace," I said, wrapping my arms around him. "What did I do to deserve someone as great as you?"

"I don't know," Jace said. "I'm just so stunningly perfect."

"He's modest, too," I laughed.

"I'm very modest." Jace and I sat on his bed again, the feelings of a few minutes early already dissipated. "And I love you, Clary."

"I love you, too, Jace."