we back with an ACTUAL update? not an a/n? is the world ending? probably. the cubs won the world series, so.

so um sorry this took so long? hey at least it didn't take me a year to update

as always thank you to Mrs. Jace Wayland-Herondale for being patient and beta-ing. much love

happy thanksgiving!


"Do you have any requests or fantasies for your 18th birthday?" Jace asked Clary while laying down beside her a few evenings after the eventful 4th of July.

"What kind of fantasies do you mean?" Clary asked amusedly.

"I dunno. Fantasies like getting a tattoo or buying a lottery ticket or buying a cigarette. I did all of those things before I turned 18, now that I think about it."

Clary grinned and turned over so her head was resting on Jace's chest.

"No, not really," she shrugged. "I honestly don't want anything big. I'd rather just spend the day with everyone and go tubing or something like that. Maybe have a movie night. I'm not that high maintenance."

"Actually..." Jace started.

Clary hit his chest. "Don't be rude."

Jace grinned and kissed the top of her head. She enthusiastically kissed him back, sliding slowly up his body which caused him to moan quietly.

Unfortunately, they were soon interrupted by a ding.

"Just ignore it," Jace murmured as Clary glanced at her phone.

"It might be Jon," she said.

"Fucking cockblocker," Jace groaned.

Clary laughed quietly as she checked her phone.

It wasn't a message from Jon, but rather a message from Izzy.

Can we talk

Im reallllly drunk and wanna talk 2 somebdoy

"It's Izzy," Clary told Jace.

"Oh, then you can ignore that. She'll be fine."

"Jace," Clary scolded. "She hasn't talked to anyone since Meliorn happened. She's been locked in her room. I think I should talk to her."

Jace sighed. "You're probably right."

Clary grinned and kissed Jace's shoulder. "You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say," Jace groaned. "You've never been blue balled."

Clary just laughed over her shoulder.


Izzy was sitting on Clary's dock, clutching a flask like it was her only savior.

"Hey," Clary greeted cautiously.

Izzy simply nodded as a sign of recognition.

"This seat taken?" Clary asked, gesturing toward an empty spot on the deck beside where Izzy had been sitting.

"I just don't understand," Izzy sighed.

"Me neither. You're gorgeous and deserve way better," Clary responded, assuming Izzy was talking about Meliorn. "You were far too good for him. This was probably for the best, Iz. I know it sucks so hard right now, but one day you'll look back and realize just how much you lucked out getting away from that asshole."

Izzy shrugged. "I just don't understand why God keeps spitting on me."

Clary frowned. "What do you mean?"

Izzy shrugged again. "I dunno. My parents have been fighting a 4 year divorce battle because I found the texts my dad sent his mistress. Max dying before he made it to high school. You leaving us without saying why. All of my shitty relationships. It just never ends. I can never catch a fucking break." Izzy knocked her flask back.

"I didn't realize me leaving was that big of a deal," Clary said.

"Of course it was," Izzy said. "You were my best friend. Sure, Aline and I were close. But not as close as you and I were. And one day you just...left. And then there was Jace. It was so fucking depressing seeing how lost he was without you. And then Stephen died, and Jace was gone for the summer too. It felt like life as I knew it had ended at the lake. I feared that was the end of summers at the lake. Of course, Jace came back the next year. But you didn't. I waited every year for you to come back. I finally had lost hope leading up to this summer."

"I'm sorry," Clary said quietly.

"Why?" Izzy asked, passing Clary the flask. "You still haven't told us why you took so long to come back."

Clary drank from the flask without answering. Her father's words echoed in her mind. You have kept very quiet. Keep it that way.

"I can't tell you," Clary shrugged.

"Bullshit," Izzy said while rolling her eyes, her annoyance clear.

"No, really, I can't. It's really fucked up."

"I have told you most of my secrets," Izzy muttered. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"It's just fucked up Izzy. Can we leave it at that?" Clary said, again.

"Did it have to do with Jace?" Izzy asked quietly.

Clary gazed at the lake, contemplating whether she should answer.

"Yes," she whispered. She felt the strong urge to check her surroundings to make sure her father wasn't here to witness her admit this simple fact. He would kill her if he found out she was even thinking about the incident in another living creature's presence.

"I knew it," Izzy said. "What, did you get pregnant with his child at 13 and live in the countryside in order to give birth to the baby in secret or something?"

Clary found herself laughing. "God, no. I wish. That would have been far less complicated. Jace and I got nowhere near that far. We were kids." Clary laughed again at this bizarre idea. "I'm sure our baby would've been cute, though."

"So you admit it. You used to date Jace."

Clary froze. "No," she laughed nervously. "I said we didn't have sex. We didn't do anything."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Clary. I had already guessed it. You guys are together now too. Aren't you?"

Clary slowly nodded. "How'd you find out?" she asked.

Izzy snorted. "You're acting like this is some grand secret. Everyone already knows. You guys suck at being quiet."

Clary's eyes widened. "Oh my God, you've heard us?"

"Jon hid at Aline's house once because he was too traumatized."

Clary covered her face with her hands and groaned. "God, that's so fucking embarrassing. Why didn't you just tell us you knew?"

Izzy shrugged. "It was funny to watch you two try to hide it from us." She smiled slightly but then her face grew contemplative. "I think I would've figured it out, anyways."

"How?"

"You and Jace are different together. You're still the same people, but almost better. It's hard to explain. I'm happy for you guys. Really. I think you two are good for each other."

Clary blushed. "Thanks." She handed the flask back to Izzy. "But this talk isn't supposed to be about me. It's supposed to be about you. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"Why did you leave?" Izzy asked again.

Clary wanted to cry out of frustration. "I can't tell you."

Izzy frowned. "Because it's too fucked up? No. What's fucked up is refusing to give your little brother a ride to his friend's house because you had a date later, forcing him to walk through what you knew to be a dangerous neighborhood. And guess what happened? Little brother ends up walking into a conflict between rival gangs and is shot. Wrong place at the wrong fucking time. All because you didn't give him a ride because you were too worried about getting ready for a date with a lacrosse player who already had a girlfriend anyway. That's fucked up."

"Is that what happened to Max?" Clary asked quietly.

Izzy nodded. She sniffled and took another swig from the flask.

"The gang members were awfully nice about it. They sent flowers to the funeral and everything. They didn't mean for it to happen. Makes it hard to hate them."

Clary sighed. "I can't tell you. It puts me in danger, it puts Jace in danger, it potentially puts everyone in danger."

Izzy glared at her. "You're probably being dramatic." She took another drink.

Fury flooded Clary's chest, a wildfire that swiftly spread to the rest of her body. "I'm not being fucking dramatic, okay? Fuck you. I just wanted to help you feel better but clearly I shouldn't have bothered."

With that, Clary lifted herself up and stormed away, tears stinging the corners of her eyes.


Valentine's source of wealth had always been a mystery to Clary. Men (and women, she supposed) were always walking down to the basement to meet with her father in his office when he was home (which was not very often). His office was always locked. There was a key pad by the door, and only Valentine knew the code. Everyone else had to meet him via appointment.

Whenever Valentine was working, the children were not allowed in the basement at all. Clary always thought this odd, even as a young child.

"It's probably no big deal," Jace said to her when she voiced her observations as they rocked back and forth on the porch swing. "Your father has always appeared to be a very private man to me. He's either very thorough, or paranoid." He held his hand out to hers, and she gladly took it.

"You're probably right," Clary responded after a moment.

"I know I am," Jace grinned, leaning in toward her and sneaking in a kiss.

Clary rested her head on his shoulder. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with her father's job.

Jace reached into his pocket.

"I want you to have this," he 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!"

But her father's business still bothered her. Clary was determined to discover the code to her father's keypad.

As it so happened, her and Jon's laptop was located on a desk across from the entrance to their father's office. Clary hatched a plan...

Her father's office hours typically started around 9 in the morning and ended around 7 in the evening. After an escapade with Jace, Clary snuck back into her house through the basement, and turned on her laptop. She opened the application for the built in web camera on her laptop, and clicked record. She minimized the tab, hoping her father would not notice the small red light at the top of the laptop indicating it was recording.

The laptop recorded the entirety of the following day, however Clary was saddened to find that her father's body shielded her from seeing the code. She was determined to crack it. She waited a few more days to attempt it, but after yet another day with Jace, Clary snuck back into the basement and walked toward her father's office. Little did Clary know, that would be the last time she would see Jace in five years.

She first entered Valentine's birthday. Nope. She tried his mother's birthday. No. His father's. Nada. She even tried her and Jon's birthdays. Nothing.

What if..., Clary began to ponder. She hesitantly entered her mother's birthday.

The door swung open.

Clary's heart began to beat slightly faster. She walked slowly inside, taking in her surroundings.

It was a nice and spacious office. Every piece of furniture appeared to be made of red oak. Every paper was in order. There were files neatly piled on his desk.

She curiously lifted one suspiciously labeled Dealers and opened the first page.

Inside were in depth descriptions of every "dealer." Including descriptions of what drug they dealt, and statistics of monthly sales.

Clary's heart thudded in her chest. They were lists of customers, as well. She was shocked at some of the influential names on the lists. Many of them were politicians she had read about in the newspapers and that graced her TV screen on CNN every evening.

Oh my God, she remembered thinking. My dad is a fucking drug dealer. Not even a drug dealer. A goddamn mob boss.

Another folder caught her eye. This one was labeled Potential Threats. Her breathing grew more labored. She didn't know what she'd find, or what to expect, in these pages.

She opened it to find a page with the word TERMINATED stamped in red at the top.

Dread filled her. She looked at the name and recognized it. The man had been reported missing only a few days ago...

This appeared to be a reoccurring theme. Some victims of whom their bodies had already been found. Others had been victims who had been missing for months, if not years. Each termination seemed to send a different message.

She froze as she got to one page.

"Oh my God," Clary said out loud. "No. No, no, no, no. Please no," she wailed.

The name at the top said Stephen Herondale.

This didn't make sense. Stephen and Valentine were friends - business partners, even. At least, that's what the two had called it during their conjoined family dinners. It had been at those dinners that Clary had begun to develop a crush on Jace...

But Stephen was still alive. For now.

She needed to warn him. She needed to warn Jace!

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" Valentine's voice boomed from the doorway.

Clary's heart stopped. She must've been so enthralled in the file that she hadn't heard him walk in.

"N-n-nothing, daddy," Clary said, attempting to close the file. But she wasn't fast enough. Valentine had seen what she saw.

"Daddy, why?" Clary cried. "Why do you have to do this?"

"You wouldn't understand business, Clarissa."

"Daddy, he's your friend!"

"Shut your goddamn mouth," Valentine hissed, reaching into his pocket.

"How could you even want to do such a thing? What the hell is wrong with you? I hate you!" Clary yelled.

Valentine took a gun out of his pocket and put to Clary's head, and she quieted immediately.

"I swear to God, Clarissa, I will not hesitate to pull this trigger if you say another word."

Clary gulped but said nothing.

"You will leave this office, go to bed, and not talk about what you saw in this office with anyone. Not your brother, not your mother, and especially not Stephen's spawn next door. I know you have a stupid crush on him. Not a word, Clarissa. Not a word." Valentine pressed the gun further against Clary's head.

Clary nodded slightly, too afraid to cry any longer.

"You will not scream. You will not speak. You will leave this room and go to bed," Valentine hissed. Clary nodded again.

"Say yes, sir!" Valentine bellowed.

"Yes, sir," Clary quietly croaked out.

Valentine slowly drew the gun back. Clary slide away from her father, keep her eye on him as she exited the office. He continued to aim his gun on her retreating body.

She laid down in her bed and cried herself to sleep, only to be awaken at 4:45 in the morning by her father. By noon the next day, she was on her way home.

Her mother didn't ask Clary why she cried her entire car ride home. She, too, knew Valentine was capable of, and had been too afraid to ask.


"Is that Mom?" Alec wondered as he and Magnus were cuddled up on the couch watching a romantic comedy with Isabelle silently sitting on the other side.

Isabelle turned her head. "Yeah, I think it is," she said.

"She's going to be so pissed about the ornament you broke," Alec groaned.

"We don't have to tell her," Izzy shrugged.

"She's going to notice," Alec sighed, getting up to hold the door for their mother, who's hands were fairly full carrying in two large suitcases.

"Thank you, Alec," Maryse Lightwood greeted her son. He nodded.

"Mom!" Izzy called, running over to give her a hug. "We didn't know you were coming."

"I didn't either," she said with a small smile. "Where's Jace? Isn't he normally here?"

"He's probably with his girlfriend," Izzy grumbled.

Alec raised an eyebrow. Clearly, something had happened between Izzy and Clary that he did not know about.

"Ah. Say no more."

"Yeah, I think they might be planning her birthday party or something."

"Wait, Jace is actually spending quality time with a girlfriend? And not just..." Maryse gestured vaguely.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy, isn't it? He's growing up," Alec said with a smile.

"Who is this girlfriend?" Maryse wondered out loud.

"Clary Morgenstern," Izzy said bitterly.

Yup, something definitely is up with those two, Alec thought.

"Clarissa?" Maryse knit her eyebrows. "I haven't seen that girl in ages. Anyway, is he home? Or at Clarissa's? I need to speak to him."

"I think he's at Clary's. Why, is there something wrong?"

Maryse hesitated. "Jace's mother died last night."

"What?" Izzy gasped.

"How?" Alec questioned.

Maryse sighed. "She slit her wrists."


I love how in my last chapter I was talking about how I was starting junior year in a few days and now I'm only a month or so short of the end of my first semester lol yikes

I hope you enjoyed! It's bout to get real wild

Also I would like to thank HTGAWM for kind of encouraging me to do this weird out of order timeline thing I've been doing. I love that sort of thing in writing and I've been watching a ton of HTGAWM so it was inevitable that I wrote something with a somewhat nonlinear timeline. Anyone watch HTGAWM? Best show. I highly recommend it if you don't.

Hopefully the next update won't take forever because I already have written some of it and I still have a little break left before my life goes crazy (in case you didn't know, the holidays are the BUSIEST time of the year for a musician.)

Please review. I haven't talked to y'all in awhile. Let's catch up.

Enjoy your turkey tonight! Unless you don't live in America and therefore don't celebrate Thanksgiving today. Then I just hope whatever you eat for dinner is delicious

Till next time,

-hufflepuffamity