You know how I said I would be uploading more this summer? lol oops i apologize

Anyway.. thanks to my cool beta Mrs. Jace Wayland-Herondale who has dealt with a lot of panicked messages from me for this chapter in particular (which I'll explain later lol)

enjoy


A few evenings, filled with many rushed (and some not so rushed) kisses and touches, passed.

Jace and Clary would spend their days with the others (as they always had before) and would see each other at night (as they always had before), except instead of teaching Clary how to drive a boat, they were dedicated to kisses and rediscovering each other.

Jace had acted coy on when their dates would occur all throughout the week, but he finally gave her a hint during a surprise visit at breakfast.

"Jace, what are you doing here? Jon's asleep in the next room," Clary hissed.

"He'll be fine," Jace grinned, putting his arms around Clary's waist and kissing down her neck.

"Jace, seriously," she said, trying to not make it obvious how much she was enjoying his kisses.

"Fine," Jace huffed, but his arms quickly snuck up her chest as he squeezed her breasts.

"Jace," she laughed exasperatedly. "If you don't stop I'm not going to let you do any of this later."

"Fine," he said again, dropping a kiss onto her forehead before he let go of her.

"Tonight I'm taking you out for a night you'll never forget," Jace promised with a smirk.

"Tonight? Way to give me some warning ahead of time," Clary grumbled.

"Why, are you busy tonight?" Jace asked sarcastically. He knew she wasn't.

"No but I need to pick my outfit which takes a very long time," Clary said, smacking his chest.

Jace grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "I think you'll survive."

Clary pouted. Jace laughed and kissed her pout, but before they could get very much further into the kiss they heard footsteps down the hall.

"Shit," Clary whispered, jumping away from Jace and quickly running to the spot at the table with her cereal, where she began to eat nonchalantly.

She's good, Jace thought with a smirk.

"Morning, Clary," Jon greeted with a yawn. "Morning, Jace."

"Hey, Jon," Jace said.

"How's it going big bro?" Clary asked.

"Decent. I had a weird dream," Jon shrugged.

"What happened?" Clary asked.

"The Queen of England went grocery shopping at Whole Foods," he said, sounding slightly confused.

"I've had weirder dreams," Clary said with a laugh.

"Well, I best be off," Jace told the Morgenstern siblings. "I have to help Alec and Isabelle move around furniture. They're having that big 4th of July party tomorrow, you know."

"Something is definitely going to fuck it up," Jon said confidently.

"Have ye a little faith," Jace said. "Bye, Morgensterns."

As Jon waved goodbye and began concentrating on his search for a bagel, Jace leaned his face down toward Clary's.

"Meet me on my dock tonight? 10 o'clock?"

Clary nodded slightly and he stood upright, giving her one final secretive look before leaving for the Lightwoods.

"What did Jace whisper to you about?" Jon wondered as he returned to the table with a piece of toast, as they had apparently run out of bagels.

"Just making a joke about us walking in on Magnus and Alec the other day."

Which actually did happen. Except it wasn't that Jace and Clary had just happened to find them; the couple was looking for a spot to make out, just like Alec and Magnus apparently had been as well.

"Sounds traumatic," Jon commented.


That evening, Clary was ready. She had borrowed some of Izzy's high end makeup (claiming she needed it for the 4th of July party the next day), she had picked out a pretty orange and white sundress, and pinned up her hair.

She met Jace at his dock as promised. Already, people had begun launching fireworks for that evening. Typically, they start launching them for a few days before the 4th.

Clary came up from behind Jace and snuck in a kiss on his cheek.

"Hello," he greeted with a grin.

"Hi," she smiled.

Without another word, Jace reached behind Clary's head and took the pins out of her hair, allowing it to flow freely across her shoulders.

"I knew you'd do that," she whispered to him.

"Then why'd you pin it up in the first place?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Just to annoy you," she teased.

"Well, you failed. You could never annoy me."

"We're in the honeymoon phase, Jace. The time will come. Wait for it."

Jace grinned and pulled her in for another kiss.

"So where are you taking me?" Clary asked, pulling away.

"We're going to take my two kayaks and boat to the beach."

"Isn't it a little dark for kayaking?"

"Nah. It's only 10 o'clock, Clary. People are still fishing, some are partying, and others are busy launching fireworks. There will be plenty of docks with lights on to guide the way.

"Hell, if Izzy and Alec weren't so swamped with the party tomorrow and everyone was not off running errands and such, we would all probably still be on our docks also."

"But my dress is going to get wet if we go in the kayaks," Clary whined.

"Don't worry," Jace said, as he grin began to slowly grow. "I was planning on taking it off anyway."


"Where's Jace and Clary?" Isabelle wondered as they were organizing RSVPs and washing dishes and other important tasks that needed to be done before the party the next day.

"He had said that he was going to be cleaning the dock and his house. Which is why I find it so interesting that I saw him standing by his dock doing nothing," Aline said.

"Clary has a migraine, and always locks herself in her room when she does so there's not too many disruptions," Jon said.

"Interesting that the two of them both happen to be unable to help us tonight," Izzy said snidely.

"What are the odds that they both cannot," Helen added in.

"They're probably screwing," Isabelle shrugged.

"Please don't say that word with those two," Jon complained. "I'm still traumatized."

"Traumatized?" Magnus asked with a laugh.

"Poor Jon ran over to my house last night, horrified. Apparently Clary and Jace were rather loud yesterday," Aline laughed.

"Have you ever had to listen to your little sister have sex with your best friend? It's awful," Jon cringed.

"How stupid do they think we are, anyway? They're too loud to keep their relationship a secret," Izzy said.

"You said you saw Jace walking to his dock?" Alec asked Aline.

"Yeah, and standing by it. Looking like he was waiting for something. Or should I say...someone."

"Oh God, are they going to have sex on his dock? We eat there!" Alec groaned.

"So does Jace, apparently," Magnus muttered.

"Lalalalalala, I'm not listening," Jon said, plugging in his ears.

Aline stopped assembling fruit kebabs and hopped over the counter, running toward a window.

"What are you doing?" Helen asked.

"Looking to see if I can catch Jace and Clary together," Aline muttered, sliding open the sliding glass door and walking onto the deck.

Everyone else scrambled to join her, craning their necks toward Jace's deck two doors down.

Jace and Clary were nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe they went inside," Magnus shrugged.

"Maybe they aren't actually together and this is all just another weird dream," Jon said with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Don't you wish," Izzy laughed, walking back inside.


The kayak ride to the beach had been pleasant, and Clary found herself feeling quite content.

As soon as they arrived on the empty beach and had gotten out of the kayaks, Jace ran behind a large pile of rocks. He returned with a basket and a blanket.

"A picnic?" Clary laughed.

"Why not?"

"I'm not complaining," Clary grinned.

Jace laid down the blanket and gestured for Clary to sit on it.

"If you insist," she said with a grin.

Once the pair had both sat down on the blanket, Jace reached into the basket and took out a cheese sandwich and a green apple.

It was all too familiar to Clary. She laughed again.

"Is a cheese sandwich the only thing you know how to make?" she teased.

"Yup," Jace said popping the p. "The only thing I could make when I was 13, and the only thing I can make now."

Jace cut the apple in half and gave Clary the bigger half.

"All that's missing is a candle," she said with a grin.

"And a kiss at midnight," Jace agreed.

"That was a great way to start my teenage years," Clary sighed.

"You're welcome," Jace smirked.

The two fell silent as they enjoyed their small meal.

"How's your mom?" Clary asked in between bites. "I haven't seen her since I got here."

Jace shrugged. "She's alright. She has her good and bad days. She hasn't been back here since, though. She was the one who found him, you know."

"I didn't," Clary said.

"Yeah. Mom was never the same after that."

Silence fell between the two for a few moments, and Clary listened to the fireworks in the distance.

"Your dad used to love launching those fireworks," she said with a smile. "Do you launch them anymore?"

"No," Jace said. "It's too weird to launch them without him. That's Alec's thing now."

"Do you guys participate in the firework battles like your dad used to?"

"Of course. Our firework budget this year was about $12,000."

"Jesus. Where do you keep them?" Clary wondered.

"Alec and Izzy's garage, mostly. You'll probably have to help us bring them outside when the time comes."

"That's fine."

"How's your mom? I don't get to see her often but when I do, she is always kind to me," Jace said.

"She's okay. Her and my stepdad Luke are taking care of my aunt Amatis. She has cancer."

"I'm sorry," Jace said.

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"I noticed you don't wear the Morgenstern ring around your neck anymore," Jace commented with a small smile.

Clary glanced down at her neck, where a ring decorated with an M and a pattern of stars used to sit. "No, not often."

Not since Valentine tore it off my neck and told me I was unworthy of the Morgenstern name.

"Why don't you just wear mine?" Jace asked, referencing to the Herondale ring he had insisted she kept. "It looks better on you than me."

"Well, if I did it would give us away, now wouldn't it?"

Jace shrugged.

Clary frowned. "I'll find a chain and wear it around my neck," she promised.

Jace smiled and then laid down on the blanket to look up at the stars and various fireworks scattering the sky. Clary laid down with him, her head laying on his chest.

"Now about taking off that dress..," Jace murmured in her ear.

Clary slapped his chest. "Don't ruin this moment."


Isabelle hated hosting parties. It required responsibility. In reality, she wanted to celebrate the country's 240th birthday drunk; similar to how she spent its 239th, 238th, and 237th birthdays, and so on.

There had to be a hundred to nearly two hundred people sprawled throughout. Some were playing volleyball and bags and other games in the yard, others were on the dock drinking, and others were jumping on the trampoline they have anchored near their dock in the lake.

"The Jell-O shots have been a huge hit," Aline commented, bringing in an empty tray where the Jell-O shots had been located before they were all consumed.

"Of course they are. They're red, white, and blue. People consume any food they find with those colors on this day. Speaking of which, how's Helen?" Izzy asked, gesturing to Aline's red, white, and blue bikini.

"She seems to be enjoying herself," Alone grinned. "She's trying to tan but we both know that the closest she'll get to a tan is a third degree burn."

Izzy rolled her eyes. The front door opened for what felt like the millionth time that day, and in stepped Meliorn.

"Hi," Izzy grinned, planting a kiss on his lips.

"Hey, babe," Meliorn responded. He quickly scanned his eyes around the kitchen.

"Look, Iz. I know that I said I would help out in here but you seem to have it under control. Is it okay if I join the party?" he asked, but it was obvious that it wasn't really a question.

"Well, the reason I wanted you to help out in here was so we could spend time together. I haven't seen you in a while," Izzy said with tight lips.

"We'll catch up later," Meliorn promised with a grin as he was walking out the back door towards the party.

"You really know how to pick 'em, Iz," Aline muttered.

"Whatever," Izzy snapped. She immediately began straightening out table cloths, stirring the ground beef, and busying herself far more than she bothered before this encounter. She groaned. "Remind me to never host a party again."

"Iz, you don't have to be holed up in here playing hostess the whole time. We can take turns," Aline suggested. "I'll take the first shift. Make sure no one breaks any of your mom's precious silver ornaments from Spain or whatever."

"No, I'm fine," Izzy growled. "You go. Have fun. I'd rather stay here."

"Izzy, you're scaring me. It's not like you to let someone boss you around and decline an offer to join a party."

"Yeah, well you haven't seen me in 2 years," Izzy snapped. "People change."

Aline gazed at her friend warily, but finally gave in. "Fine. Take the first shift in making sure nothing goes wrong inside. But you have to join the party at some point. I'll be back in say, 20 minutes?"

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Aline strolled out of the glass door to the deck, immediately swallowed up by a large crowd. She inched down the stairs, searching for her girlfriend.

As she continued her descent toward the dock, where Helen had said she probably would be, Aline noticed (with amusement) that Jace and Clary were kicking Alec and Magnus's asses at volleyball. The fact that Magnus appeared to have had more to drink and was a completely useless player probably helped.

"Hey guys," Aline called to her friends. "Can you check up on Izzy for me every once and a while? She's worrying me. She seems obsessed with playing hostess."

"That's odd," Alec commented. "Usually she will take any excuse she can to ditch."

"Well, she seemed to have that attitude up until a few moments ago when her boyfriend showed up."

"Meliorn," Jace groaned. "He's an ass."

"Yeah, I could see that. He totally ditched her."

"Wasn't he supposed to help her inside?" Clary asked incredulously.

"Yeah, he was," Alec said, his eyes narrowing. "I hate that bastard. He walks all over her but every time I try to talk to her about it she won't let me."

"I think I saw him walking that way," Magnus said, pointing toward the dock with a shaky arm. It was clear he had enjoyed a few more drinks than the others. "In case any of you wanted to kick his ass."

"Tempting," Clary rolled her eyes.

"No, it's fine. Let's not ruin this. You and Izzy worked so hard," Aline said, gesturing to Alec. "I'm just going to find Helen and then go inside to switch responsibilities with Izzy."

"No way. I'll watch the house. You and Izzy have been in charge the whole time, and this is my house. It's ridiculous. Don't worry about it, I'll kick Izzy out and make her socialize," Alec said. He shook his head. "Never thought I would ever have to say that."

"You're so good to her, sweet pea," Magnus said in an admiring voice.

"Meliorn is no good for her," Clary grumbled. "I'll help you get her out of the house if need be, Alec."

"Where's Jon?" Aline asked, suddenly realizing the elder Morgenstern wasn't in sight.

"Drunk, probably hooking up with someone. He goes nuts on the 4th," Jace rolled his eyes.

"I think he took our boat," Clary said, narrowing her eyes.

The crowd all turned toward the Morgenstern dock next door, where the lot where boat that should've been parked was empty.

"You would hope it was him," Jace mused.

"Anyways, back to the situation at hand. We're all going to take care of Izzy, correct?" Aline asked.

"Of course," Alec answered, with the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

"Fantastic. Then I'm going to go find my beautiful girlfriend and make out with her for a little bit."

"Have fun," Magnus called after her as she meandered through the crowd looking for Helen.

She spotted Helen in a lounging chair on the dock, margarita in hand, in the middle of what appeared to be a very dull conversation. She threw Aline a pleading look.

Just as Aline began to walk toward her to rescue her, she heard a thump underneath her feet.

What the fuck?

She toed off her sandals and walked toward the rocks that formed steps descending into the lake. Helen gave her a look that said: What are you doing? Help me!

Aline held up a finger as a way of saying that she'd be back to her in a moment. She first waded into the lake until the water reached her waist, and then she ducked her head.

She had three thoughts flood her head as soon as her eyes met what was underneath the Lightwood dock.

The first thought was how the fuck did they get down here?

The second thought was this has to be the worst place to hook up in the history of ever.

The third thought was that the figure whose back was towards her was awfully familiar...too familiar...

And then...

"What the FUCK?!" Aline exclaimed.

The couple jumped apart, both turning toward the voice. The girl, who Aline did not recognize, was topless, which led to Aline wondering where the fuck her bikini top went.

Meliorn didn't even look ashamed to have been caught.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Aline wondered out loud. "Of all places you choose to cheat on your girlfriend, and you choose to do it at her fucking party? How pathetic is that?"

Meliorn continued to just glare at Aline.

"Get out, you dipshit! You can't stay! Go home!" Aline screeched. "You too!" She now pointed to the girl Meliorn had been kissing when Aline had caught them. She had dark red hair, a few shades darker than Clary's, that did not look natural by any means.

Meliorn slowly got out, but the girl stubbornly stayed.

"Oh, are you too shy because you don't have a top on?" Aline asked with fake pity. "Well, tough shit! You're the slut who tried to sleep with the hostess of the party's boyfriend under a dock."

Eventually, the girl got out. At this point, nearly the entire crowd was watching the drama.

"Don't you all have something better to do?" A voice yelled. "Like getting drunk or something?" Aline realized it was Helen, and smiled at her girlfriend gratefully.

Aline then realized that Meliorn was walking toward the Lightwood house and without hesitation, she sprinted toward the house so she could get inside and break the news before he did in some shitty way and somehow make it seem like it was nothing.

Luckily, Aline had run track and field in high school and knew the shortcuts in Izzy's house to her kitchen so she knew how to reach Izzy first. But by the time she had, it had turned out she didn't need to hurry so quickly, for Clary was already inside, rubbing Izzy's back.

"I saw the whole thing," Clary explained to Aline as soon as she walked in.

"Iz, you need to dump his ass," Aline begged her.

Izzy appeared completely blank and emotionless. No tears ran down her face. Nothing. She just looked empty.

"That asshole," she finally muttered, "came to MY party and ditched me just to hook up with some skank underneath MY dock."

"That's right," Clary said. "You deserve so much better."

Almost as if those words had summoned him, in walked the man in question.

Meliorn.

"Get out, NOW!" Aline and Clary ordered simultaneously.

"Chill," he said. "I'm just walking this way because it's the way to the front door."

"You could go that way to exit, asshole," Clary snapped. "Izzy doesn't want to see you right now."

"Oh, so you speak for her now?" Meliorn said with a laugh.

"No, they don't," Izzy grunted, and forced herself away from Clary and walked up to Meliorn, whose cocky grin shrank as soon as he saw the anger in her eyes.

"What the fuck is your PROBLEM?" Izzy growled, her sharp nails swiping at his face without warning. "It's one thing to cheat on me but at MY PARTY? With one of your EX GIRLFRIENDS?" she screeched, continuing to scratch at Meliorn's face.

Meliorn had an arm up, trying to protect his eyes. "Seelie and I were never over," he growled. "You just were a piece of ass that I wanted. If anything, I cheated on her with you."

Izzy withdrew her nails. "Aw," she said with in a voice with fake sweetness and dripping with sarcasm. "How sweet."

Without another word, she slugged him in the jaw.

"How dare you humiliate me?" Izzy yelled, now slapping at his chest. "At my own HOUSE?! You son of a bitch!"

But before she could cause anymore damage, Alec had entered the scene, pulling his sister off her ex.

"Get out of my fucking house," he growled at Meliorn. "NOW."

Meliorn glared at the Lightwoods and spat, rushing toward the exit.

"No wonder everyone here hates your families," Meliorn stated just before he exited the door. "You're all fucking crazy."

"Get OUT!" Izzy screamed, throwing one of Maryse's precious silver ornaments they weren't supposed to break.

Meliorn closed to the door before it could hit him, causing it to shatter on the floor.

"Iz," Alec groaned. "Mom got those in Rome last summer."

"I don't give a fuck," she snarled. And with that, she stormed off toward her room, Aline and Clary hesitantly following.


The party soon dissipated after that.

"They'll be back," Alec promised. "Once the fireworks start. They always come back for our fireworks."

After the drama at the party and the clean up the resulted afterward, everyone was perfectly content with relaxing before the fireworks. Jon (who had resurfaced as soon as Meliorn had left) cooked burgers, which they ate along with the potato salad they had meant to put out during the party but forgot. After lunch Izzy locked herself in her room, and refused to leave no matter who begged her to come out.

A few short hours later, Alec's promise rang true. The official Rolling Morris fireworks were conveniently located across from the cove that the Lightwood, Herondale, Morgenstern, and Penhallow homes were all located so throughout the years they always would watch from their own backyards.

But the true fun begins afterward, as the battle of fireworks commences. Those dedicated enough to participate spend thousands upon thousands of dollars that could've been spent on charities dedicated to starving, impoverished families to the cause of having the best fireworks possible.

A tradition that had started as a playful rivalry by a young Stephen Herondale.

Everyone pitched in transferring the fireworks from the Lightwood garage to the Lightwood dock, where Alec would launch said fireworks.

Afterwards, they began to bring out blankets to sit on to watch the show. Aline swore up and down that the view for the Rolling Morris fireworks (a display that was impressive in its own right) was best from Jace's dock. Jon and Clary both disagreed, and stubbornly sat at their own family dock to watch.

"Hey," Jace whispered to Clary as she was people watching the Rolling Morris families who weren't as lucky as they were and had to embark on a boat ride every year to watch the fireworks.

"Hi," she smiled. Jace kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't let Jon see," she hissed. "He would freak. He's always been an asshole to my boyfriends."

"Boyfriends, huh?" Jace asked. "Anyone I should be worried about?"

Clary laughed a small laugh. "Please. They hardly even were. Most of the relationships resulted in a sad handjob and lasted only a few months at most."

"How can a handjob be sad?" Jace wondered with a grin.

"Because I wasn't that into it," Clary laughed.

"Wasn't that into what?" Jon asked, and Clary nearly flew five feet into the air.

"Lord of the Rings," Clary said with a shrug. "Remember? I tried to watch it with you last summer but I just couldn't get into it."

Jon nodded at the memory. "You were so bored," he said with a laugh.

Clary threw Jace a quick look of relief.

"The fireworks should be starting soon." Jon took a seat next to Jace. "Beer?" he offered.

Jace nodded and grabbed the bottle out of his hand.

"I remember how much your dad liked the fireworks," Jon said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Jace responded, smiling a little.

"You just were never that into it yourself?"

Jace shrugged. "Not since he died. It's fine. I think it's good for Alec. He keeps so much of his anger inside him. I think blowing shit up is therapeutic for him."

Jon nodded. "I can see that." He took a sip of his beer, looking out at the lake.

"Your dad was a cool dude, though. I miss him," he said after a while.

"He was a jackass sometimes, trust me," Jace said with a small laugh. "But it was okay. I'm a jackass too. I get it from him, I think. I miss him too."

It was the red stamp that had stood out more than anything else. The red stamp, the dawning horror of realization, the yelling, the screaming, the crying. Terminated, it had said. That night was the worst night of Clary's life.

"Dad was never the same after. They were quite close," Jon sighed.

Ignorance truly is bliss, Clary decided at that moment.

"Yeah," she said after realizing that Jon was expecting her to backup what he said. "He always says how he admired Stephen."


But how could our heroes have known what was to come?

How could they have known that somewhere several miles away, Celine Herondale would make a mistake that would result in her ceasing to breathe?

How could they know Maryse Lightwood was on her way to break the news?

How could they know that Valentine Morgenstern would soon make his reappearance, one much more memorable than the first?

How could they know that the final set pieces were being put in place, and that the curtains to this horrific show were about to draw back?

Let them have their fun.


Dun dun dun

Okay so the reason this chapter took so long to write was because I had it finished and ready to go and fantastic in July but it got DELETED and I was so mad because I had written like half of it in a day and it was so GOOD but it got deleted and I write chapters on my cracked iPod so there was no way to get it back (trust me I googled it a lot and then screamed)

So it took me a while to rewrite but I'm proud of what resulted from my rewrite so maybe it was a blessing in disguise? who can say

Anyway how about them OLYMPICS? Just watched Simone Biles and Aly Raisman get the gold and silver in gymnastics. GO TEAM USA! What country are all of y'all from/routing for? I'm genuinely curious.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Lots of shit is bout to go down reeeeeal quick (;

and yet, my first day of junior (screaming) year starts on Wednesday so who even knows when I'll update! im trash im sorry

Till next time,

-hufflepuffamity