Remember when I said I'd be uploading more? LOL me neither.

I don't own the characters, y'all. If I did I wouldn't have to work over the summer... (Wouldn't that be nice?)

Beta-ed by Mrs. Jace Wayland-Herondale as always, who helps me so much because I'm a mess and need guidance sometimes.


The next night it was the Lightwoods turn to host a party. Jace and Clary had both attended and allowed themselves to get slightly tipsy, before escaping to find each other on their docks, each secretly hoping the other would be there.

"Good evening," Jace greeted.

"More fishing?" Clary asked. Everyone had pitched in together with dinner that evening; Jace and Jon prepared the fish, Clary had went to the store and bought tortillas and other taco necessities (with Simon in toe), and Alec and Magnus were in charge of making salad and dessert. Isabelle was not allowed anywhere near the kitchen.

Jace shrugged. "Probably not. I was thinking of going for a boat ride. Wanna join? I could teach you how to drive it."

Clary grinned.

But after an hour of frustration and fighting, Clary gave up and sat down in the seat beside Jace's and let him drive.

"It's just like driving a car," he stated.

"No, it's not," Clary argued.

"You just need practice. We could practice every night if you want."

Clary shrugged. "You seem awfully eager."

Jace's expression fell into a more serious one.

"I like spending time with you, Clary. Sometimes it feels like we're back in the old days, and nothing has changed."

"But everything has," Clary muttered.

Jace turned to her, the boat slowing toward his dock. They could hear Izzy's playlist pumping from the stereos.

"Hey," he said. "I don't know why you stopped coming. I don't know if you'll ever tell me. All I know is when you left I lost my partner in crime. Sure, I had fun with Izzy and Alec and your brother, but it was never the same without you. And now that you're back I feel more..." Jace gestured vaguely. "Whole."

Clary didn't say anything, and instead focused her gaze on a certain spot of Jace's dock.

Jace smirked. "Plus I missed having a girl I knew I could consistently make out with. Without you I had to jump from girl to girl."

Clary snorted. "I heard you did a lot more than making out."

Jace grinned even more. "I don't kiss and tell."

Clary rolled her eyes. "That's bullshit. You totally kiss and tell."

"I didn't with you, did I?"

Clary frowned. "That was different."

Jace nodded. "I suppose it was."

Clary stretched and looked at her phone. "It's 2:40. I'm gonna rejoin the party."

Jace hopped out of the boat first, and then held his hand out to Clary, who gratefully took it.

"Can I join you?" he asked.

"Sure," Clary shrugged. "But you'll probably get bored with me and run off to have a quickie with somebody."

Jace shrugged. He supposed she might be right. If he didn't blow off some steam he would need to take a cold shower anyways. A quickie might be exactly what he needed. Anything to distract him from her...


By 3, Clary was seeing stars and stumbling, laughing all the way. She couldn't find Jace.

"Claaary!" Izzy yelled. "Wanna sinnnggg?"

"Yeah!" Clary laughed loudly.

And that was how Clary found herself singing Bruno Mars, terribly off key, until 6 in the morning.

She had forgotten all about Jace and his sudden disappearance.


Jace woke up to an unknown girl beside him, and his first thought was how much he wished it was someone else.

He didn't know what he was going to do. He loved being with Clary and spending time with her, but she did not feel for him the way he did. That was just a known fact. And he knew it would be wrong to spend time with her just with the hopes that something more would happen and yet, in the dirtiest parts of his imagination, he had hoped something would.

He left his hookup sleeping and snuck out of Alec and Isabelle's house. It was an unspoken pact between the friends that they would take their hookups to the other's house. That way if the hookups in question came back, they could always say the hookup has the wrong house. The plan even included designated rooms for such events to occur. It was all very organized.

Plus, he never wanted to take his hookups to his room. His room was his, and it was to remain neat and clean. Hookups were anything but.


"Have fun last night?" Alec asked innocently as Jace joined him on his dock where he had decided to eat breakfast that morning.

"Fuck off," Jace muttered and put his face in his hands.

"So no?" Alec asked, sounding confused.

"I'm so fucked, Alec. I woke up this morning and my first feeling was disappointment that the girl sleeping next to me was not Clary."

Alec appeared to consider this as he ate his Corn Flakes.

"Well, maybe you should refrain from hooking up for a while then."

Jace groaned. "I thought that too, but you know me."

Alec nodded. He did.

"I mean I could hang out with Clary and just hope our relationship progresses but then I'd essentially just be spending time with her to get into her pants, and that's a dick move."

Alec shrugged. "Do you think your relationship with Clary would progress?"

Jace shrugged. "I don't know. I honestly don't. Last night I said something to her about how I felt like nothing between us had changed and she said that everything had."

Alec frowned. "Interesting."

"'Interesting?' That's all you have to say about that?"

Alec sighed. "What more is there to say?" He patted Jace's shoulder. "Look, Jace, I don't know how to help or fix this. I think you're own your own for this one."

"Thanks for your help," Jace grumbled, beginning to walk away.

"Anytime," Alec responded in between bites of Corn Flakes.


Jace's resolution had been to avoid Clary. And he did. For a few days. Yet Jace couldn't quit Clary so easily... But more on that later.

Clary had noticed. She would say hi and he would turn away. She waited by her dock hoping he'd meet her for a third day in a row but he didn't show.

It upset her more than she knew it should have.

Clary tried to everything she could to distract herself from the confusion, which was how she found herself in her room with Isabelle.

"This place looks exactly the same," Isabelle breathed. "Even the sheets look the same."

"Probably are," Clary shrugged. "I doubt my dad touched this room after I left. Which is why I need your help."

"With what?" Isabelle wondered.

"I desperately need to redecorate my room."

Isabelle nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

They made a day of it. They bought paint, new pillows, new sheets, new knick knacks to decorate Clary's drawers.

They covered up the pale pink color Clary's walls to have with a forest green. They placed her new simple white sheets onto her bed, and placed her gold pillows among her white ones.

While placing the random decorations they had bought on her dresser and night side table, they also decided to search through the drawers to see if they'd find anything interesting that 13 year old Clary thought important to store.

"What's this?" Izzy asked, and Clary turned. Her heart twisted. It was a ring. But not just any ring; it was Jace's ring.

"I want you to have this," Jace had said. He held out a ring decorated with an H and two herons.

"What is it?" Clary wondered.

"It's a ring," Jace grinned.

"I know that, smartass. Why is there an H?"

Jace shrugged. "It's my family ring. My dad always told me to give to someone special when the time came."

Clary's heart had soared. "Oh, Jace. It's wonderful. I love it!" She placed it on her finger, only to find it was far too big. But she didn't mind. All that mattered was Jace had given it to her and called her special.

2 weeks later, Clary was gone. 3 weeks later, Stephen Herondale was dead.

"Oh, I don't remember," Clary lied.

"It's pretty," Isabelle said.

"Let me see it," Clary requested, itching to get her hands on what had once been her proudest possession.

Isabelle handed her the ring, and Clary found herself carefully examining the metal. She then carefully placed the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

"It's almost like you're Cinderella," joked Isabelle. "But who is your prince?"

Clary shrugged. "I'll be my own prince."

They continued to redecorate until the room looked perfect, taking several selfies along the way.

"It looks so good!" Isabelle exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"It really does. Thanks, Izzy." Clary grinned.


That evening, Clary couldn't sleep. After trying (and failing) to fall asleep, she decided to take a late night swim. She quietly changed into her bikini and threw an old t-shirt that was practically a dress on her over it. But as she ventured toward her dock, she found Jace sitting on the edge of his, drinking a beer.

"Are you still avoiding me?" Clary called out to him. He was so startled that he fell into the lake.

"Jace!" she screamed, running toward him.

He broke through the surface, coughing.

"I spilled my beer," he grumbled. Clary carefully reached into the lake and grabbed the now empty beer bottle.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Jace got out of the lake and grabbed a towel from the chest that was used for storage.

"I'm sorry I avoided you," he said.

"Why? What did I do?" she wondered.

Jace swallowed. "Not a thing. Trust me, it's all me. I just needed a few days to think."

"You're full of shit," Clary said, squinting her eyes.

"That's the best explanation I got," Jace shrugged. He then noticed the glittering object on Clary's ring finger. "What's that? Got a strapping young gentleman waiting for you back home?"

"God, no," Clary said. She glanced down. "It's actually, uh, yours."

"Mine?" Jace asked, gently taking Clary's hand to look closer. His eyes slowly widened. "Is that?"

"Yeah, it's that family ring of yours. I found it while cleaning my room."

"That's so weird," Jace said.

"Do you want it back?" she asked.

"No, no. It suits you."

"That line came straight from a Hallmark movie and you know it," Clary said with an eye roll, hiding how happy the statement made her.

"Guilty," Jace said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"It's a little early for you to be offering me a ring, don't you think?"

Clary laughed and he joined her until they settled in comfortable silence.

"Is there any chance you'd give me another lesson?" Clary asked him.

"On how to drive a boat?"

Clary nodded. "I know I lost my patience last time, but I really do wanna know so I can buy custard at the beach whenever I want without being judged."

Jace laughed. "Understandable. Alright. I'll give you another lesson. But only if you don't threaten to kill me again."

"I promise I won't threaten to kill you more than 5 times," Clary solemnly swore.


Clary kept her promise (somewhat.) And that was how the pair spent their time the next few weeks. Every other evening, Clary would attempt to drive Jace's boat. The nights they weren't taking turns driving the boat, they were most likely getting drunk and partying. Jace hadn't hooked up with another girl since that night.

Life went on...


"Little sister, put away those Frosted Flakes. I have a better idea for breakfast today," said Jonathan as he walked into the kitchen.

"Like what?" Clary asked, her suspicion evident.

"You will never believe what I found in the basement a few days ago," Jonathan started.

"What?" Clary wondered. The possibilities of what Jonathan could've found in the basement were endless — Clary knew from experience.

"I found a fucking griddle."

Clary raised her eyebrows.

"That's right, little sis; we're gonna attempt to make pancakes for breakfast this morning."

Clary laughed. "And by we, you mean me don't you?"

Jonathan smiled and pinched Clary's cheeks. "You know me so well."

Clary rolled her eyes. "How very misogynistic of you."

Lucky for both of them, Clary didn't set the house on fire, and they actually found themselves eating chocolate chip pancakes that morning.

"Morning Simon," Clary chirped as her friend walked into the conjoined kitchen and dining room. He hardly even walked without a limp; his toe had healed pretty quickly considering the fact that only three weeks had passed since he'd injured it.

"Hey," he nodded. He was already dressed, Clary noticed. That was rare.

"Clary, can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Should I go?" Jon asked. "Just say the word."

"I mean you don't have to," Simon started.

"No, it's okay. I wanted to go for an early morning swim anyway." With that Jon got out of his seat, waved to the pair, and trudged out the kitchen to his room.

"What's up?" Clary asked.

Simon laughed a little. "Rebecca got engaged."

Clary's eyes widened. "Holy shit, seriously? When did this happen?"

"A few nights ago apparently."

"Is it that guy that she met her first day of college?" Clary asked. Simon nodded. "That's so cute."

Simon nodded. "Maia and Jordan also just bought a new apartment and want me to room with them."

Clary grinned. "Wow. So much is happening back home. Do you have to go back to sign the lease and then come back? That's fine if you do."

Simon sighed. "Clary, my life is back in Brooklyn. And while I like it here, I don't fit in here. I really don't. I don't know these people. I want to go home to spend time with my family and Maia and Jordan and rehearse with my band. That's how I want to spend my summer."

"Are you asking me permission to leave?" Clary asked, astonished.

Simon shrugged. "You invited me. I don't want to seem ungrateful."

Clary laughed. "You're ridiculous. Of course you can leave. I'll miss you, and I think everyone else will too. They liked you. But of course you can leave. You're an adult, for God's sake."

Simon smiled. "Thanks, Clary."


"You know, it's a shame Simon had to leave. I liked him," Isabelle remarked while Clary and her sipped margaritas with their feet dipped into the lake. "He was funny."

"Yeah, I miss him already. He always seems to know when I'm in a bad mood," Clary said.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a mournful Lana Del Rey song blasting from the speakers, cutting off the playlist the pair had been listening to and occasionally singing along with. Clary wouldn't have been able to name the song; they all sounded the same to her.

"Someone's calling me," Isabelle frowned as she hoisted herself up and walked toward her phone.

"Hello?" Isabelle greeted. She frowned for a second but then her face split into a large grin.

"Oh my God, how are you?" she squealed. Clary raised her eyebrows at her but Isabelle ignored her.

"Of course I can do that for you, I would love to." Isabelle stopped to listen again. "Sounds great! I can't wait to see you! Okay! Bye girlie! See you soon!" Isabelle took her phone away from her ear and ended the call.

"Who was that?" Clary asked.

"That was Aline. She wants us to help her break into her parents house."

"I'm in," Clary said immediately.


Breaking into the Penhallow vacation home was very easy, it turned out. After doing some quick research by bribing a few housekeepers, the pair learned Patrick Penhallow was on a business trip in Thailand for the next month and Jia Penhallow was on sabbatical in Europe. The couple was not set to visit their vacation home until the first weekend in August.

They found the spare key to the house under the rug.

"You'd think they'd have tighter security since they are probably one of the richest couples in the community with one of the nicest houses," Clary commented.

"Their loss, our gain," Isabelle grinned. Clary grinned back.

Isabelle called Aline from the Penhallow living room as her and Clary watched Friends on the 80" flat screen TV.

"She's about 20 minutes away," Izzy told Clary after she got off the phone.

"How long is she planning to stay?" Clary wondered.

"She wants to be here during the 4th. I don't know when she'd leave after. There really isn't any rush."

"Why the 4th?" Clary laughed.

"Why the 4th?" Isabelle echoed in horror. "The 4th of July is the highlight of the year out here! Surely you remember that!" Isabelle exclaimed.

Clary shrugged. "I guess it had slipped my mind." But now that Isabelle mentioned it, flashes of loud parties throughout the neighborhood, fireworks, and her dad's shouting flashed throughout her mind. The 4th of July was an exciting time of the year indeed.

A knock at the door interrupted the two and they nearly knocked each other over running to the door.

"Aline!" they both screamed as their friend greeted them on the other side.

Aline screamed with them and pulled the two into a hug.

"I can't believe the girls are all back in the same place again," Aline said excitedly. "I missed you two like crazy. Especially you, miss Haven't-Seen-You-Since-8th-Grade!"

Clary laughed. "Yeah, sorry that I've been a bit of a stranger."

"I have someone I want you two to meet," Aline said, gestured to a blonde girl that had been waiting in the car and was now standing behind Aline. "This is Helen."

"The girlfriend!" Isabelle exclaimed.

"That's me," Helen responded.

"It's so wonderful to meet you," Clary said. "Come on in, you two. I shouldn't even be inviting you to come in, this is Aline's house."

"Not even," Aline muttered as she followed Clary and Isabelle inside.

"Come on! Watch some Friends with us! We just started a new episode."

And that was just what the four girls did. They drank some of the Penhallow's most expensive wine, caught up on their lives, and watched sitcoms into the early hours.


Hope you enjoyed! I know this is more of a filler chapter but trust me shits gonna go down soon fam I swear.

I'm done with school and working 4 days a week but I still have more time to do things so hella.

And y'all know how I put in things from my own life in this story so here's this chapter's: My uncle won a griddle last year in some raffle and uses it all the time. Also, the whole 4th of July thing is 100% legit. On the lake this story is based off of, it's LIT during the 4th of July and it's super entertaining to watch all the drunk people. So stay tuned.

Please review, I love hearing from you guys and hearing your theories. Some people (not gonna name names) might be on to figuring out what happened in the past, but who can say.

Reviews are better than FINALLY HAVING TIME TO READ!

Until next time,

-hufflepuffamity