This is a very short chapter and for that I'm sorry but I felt that's where the story should have stopped for the chapter.

Might I say that I absolutely LOVE all of my reviewers, followers and so forth. Every time I see one, my heart gets fuller! I think this is the most emotional and complex story I've ever written so far and your encouragement is absolutely amazing.

PLEASE READ: One of the reviews I got was that this story was good but that Jace is too weak. That it's not at all the way Cassie wrote him to be. And while I agree with this, I'd like to remind all of you that while this is a different Jace, I feel he is very much like the Jace she created; he was broken as well and the only person he lets in is Clary but in her books most thoughts are from Clary's point of view; while I am writing in Jace's.

Also, Jace is a boy who believed that his world was normal and the way it was supposed to be. And along comes this girl that proves to him that his world is corrupted and wreaked. That all he has ever believed in is wrong and basically a lie. No one would take kindly to this and I think if would have a strong impact on anyone. Especially one who is as watched with judgment as Jace is being the pretty Mayor's son.

Anyway, please keep that in mind.

I'd like to shout out to the following people: ByTheAngel99, Becicoro, nkiing, muzicoftheheart, rats xp, Lyrander! Your reviews almost made me weep with joy! Thank you all so much!

And thank you to everyone else who reviewed! You guys are absolutely wonderful!

Again I got a Guest Review that made me so happy. They said: "Even though there are little amounts of chapters, the writer continued to convey magnificent messages in form of an 'insecure' guy who wants to find himself, and it turns out he already found himself because of the girl, without him knowing as well as his love for her. It's a story that is realistic and heartfelt at the same time with a little mystery... Enough with this formal crap! I just have to say that I will continue on reading this as long as it updates non stop with the story going on like this! Eeeehh!"

Thank you so much!

Anywho, enough of my rambling and onward to the story!


The ground was cold against his back. It was hard and almost felt frozen but he didn't want to move. Not with Clary's arm so close to his. Her small fingers merely inches away from his own; he had a hard time keeping his fingers from twitching at her nearness. At the thought that all he had to do was shift his weight and he would be holding her hand.

The weekend had been great; truly and simply. Jace had spent most of every second with Clary simply doing things he never thought to do before. Things he seemed to pass off as boring or stupid; like cloud watching. But here he was; his back feeling like ice and yet his body was on fire.

Jace still didn't truly understand the feeling in his stomach as if ants were walking around inside of him. He didn't understand because he'd never felt it before. But Clary had changed him; slowly and in a small way but she had. He found himself getting nervous around her though Clary was the only person he seemed most comfortable with too. He didn't know what was happening to him or if he even liked it but he knew he didn't want it to stop. Not if it meant losing her; he was addicted. Plain and simple.

Clary's friendship gave him something he'd never had a taste of before. Freedom had never tasted so sweet and now that'd he had a sample all he wanted was more. More of the just this: lying around doing absolutely nothing. Trying and mostly failing to make out shapes in a cloudy sky. If Jace were being honest he'd admit that he was only really listening to Clary tell him what see saw within the clouds. That he wasn't really looking himself.

He still felt the silliness of it all in his stomach. When she had first asked him to cloud watch he had laughed at the idea; it was stupid and pointless. All the clouds were the same fluffy shape; and besides he was a man, he didn't cloud watch. He could practically hear his face scoffing at the idea. And yet when she had simply shrugged her shoulders, saying that she planned to do it with or without him, his body had sunk to the ground beside her. Because the thought that she might leave him in this cruel reality was too much.

Because he didn't want to get lost in his own world. He didn't like his world; his was like the harsh, November ground: cold, hard and dull. Clary's world was vibrant and alive; it was what his body felt like: hot and aware. It was exciting and continually changing.

"My mother and I used to cloud watch."

Jace blinked as if brought back from a daze as he answered with a smile; his fingers twitched with the eagerness of learning about her. Just a small piece of her puzzle that she was willing to put into place; to make her less mysterious, less mystifying. Maybe then this spell would break; though Jace didn't think so. Clary had him utterly ensnarled in her world. He wished he could say he was trapped but he knew if she wanted him to leave he would beg to stay.

"You did?"

Clary nodded, her red frizz tickling his nose as the wind blew her scent in his direction. Strawberry shampoo and vanilla perfume; usually the combination just made him hungry when girls wore it but Clary's was subtle. As if it were part of her natural musk. "Yeah, we would spend hours pointing out anything we could, trying to see who could spot more."

"Who won?" He asked jokingly as he stared at a rather large cloud that hovered over their heads; it sort of looking like a pirate ship. But the thought that he might actually have seen such a thing made his cheeks burn slightly with embarrassment. He wasn't two anymore.

"It was never about winning, really." Jace felt himself shift at the changing sound in her voice; his body responding instinctively before his brain could really compute what she said. He didn't speak as he watched her, his body turned toward her and his head resting on his hand. Her red hair fanned around her head like an actual flame and her green eyes were glossed over as if in another time entirely and very far away. "I remember once we spent so long here that the grass was still embedded with the shape of our bodies the next day. Hours and hours just naming shapes that no one seemed to see but us."

And suddenly Jace felt how special this all was to Clary. He felt bad for protesting; saying that it was stupid and childish; feeling like such a sissy at first. Clary was trying to share this moment with him; a moment no one had shared except for her and her mother.

This was special to her and she was sharing it with him. She had chosen him.

Here he was thinking he had to fight his way into her world but that wasn't the case at all.

Clary was practically giving him her hand and guiding him there herself; the golden gates had been open all along.

Laying back down Jace looked up at the shifting clouds again; letting his imagination take flight. Letting his brain wander into a world of fantasy where anything was possible. "I see an eagle." He side tilting his head slightly to the left. "Yeah, there are the wings and—"

Clary's hand shot up and pointed toward the sky; her dark burgundy nails gleamed in the sun. "There's the beak and claws!" Her voice was excited and Jace felt he was with her when she was smaller. With her as her innocent mind yelled out shapes that no one could see but her. "I see it too." Her hand fell back to her side as her eyes scanned the sky again. "And over there I see a duck."

"What?" Jace said quickly his body lurching forward as his eyes scanned the area for the bird Clary spoke of.

Clary laughed as she gave him a confused look. "Don't tell me the fearless Jace Herondale is afraid of a little cuddly duck?"

"There is nothing cuddly about those cursed creatures, Clary. There probably plotting world domination as we speak."

She rose her eyebrows up at him with her smile still intacted. "Really? World domination?"

Jace smirked as he looked down at where she still laid on the cold hard grass. "Yes, really. Don't worry I'll protect you though. Nothing can get passed this wall of muscle." He winked as he flexed an arm joking, trying to free his mind of the demon animal. He had never liked ducks; something about them gave him the creeps.

Clary simply rose an eyebrow as she let out a laugh. "Alright, Hercules, you can practice out that "wall of muscle" right now." She pointed behind him as Jace's eyes widened slightly and he whipped his head around but no duck was in sight. She let out a loud giggle as Jace turned back to her with a mocking smile not at all finding the humor in the situation that she did.

"That's not funny."

"There was never any duck to begin with." She said past another giggle. "I was referring to that cloud." He followed her gaze to the sky; his eyes narrowing on the image the clouds had made as if mocking his fear; because it did indeed look like a duck.

"Someone has to get their eyes examined then, because that looks nothing like a duck." Jace said in a flourish; as he lied right through his teeth, trying to put the embarrassing moment behind him. He settled into his spot next to her again as she turned her head to look at him. He was encased in a world of emeralds as her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Clary rolled her eyes playfully. "Alright, smartass, what do you see?"

"Oh, have we moved on to the sexy nicknames phase in our relationship now?"

"Smart. Ass." She emphasized trying not to smile but failing.

"Yeah, I do have a great ass."

"Jace!" Clary said letting out a laugh.

"Hey, you're the one who's always talking about my ass." Jace said with his hands raised in surrender as if it was anything but his fault.

"Just tell me what you see."

Jace turned his head with a smile and looked at her. Clary had a grin on her face also as her green eyes shined brightly. Her face seemed to make its own light as her vision danced with possibilities. Possibilities that Jace wanted to be a part of. What was it with this girl that made him trip over himself to be around her? What did his body know that his mind didn't? All he knew for certain was that Clary was entirely different from anyone he had ever met and he never wanted her to change. "I see an angel."

Clary furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as her eyes flashed over all the clouds trying to find what Jace was talking about. "I don't see. . ." She turned her head and gasp when she saw his eyes on her. For the first time in his entire time knowing Clary she seemed actually embarrassed by what he said. He watched her cheeks turn pink as her eyes stayed locked with his. This was different.

And as if pulled by some unseen thread his fingers slowly touched her palm making her eyes widen and her lips to part. His fingers slowly threaded through hers; locking their palms together and entwining their souls.

In that moment he knew one thing.

He loved Clary's blush.

She smiled softly at him; her eyes looking downward at their locked hands; all Jace could see were her coppery lashes as they shined in the sunny sky. He wondered if she felt what he did; the fullness of his chest and the way his throat seemed to get clogged with the pounding of his heart.

She raised her eyes to his slowly as if coming to some sort of conclusion he had no idea about.

"Would you like to meet her?" Clary spoke softly; her voice was a beautiful melody of chimes and bells. Jace was entranced by the simple form of words. "My mother?"

Did he? Suddenly, he was nervous and excited all at once. Clary was trusting him; showing him part of herself. This was his ticket; once he boarded this train there was no getting off. No stopping what was coming. Not unless he wanted to crash and burn; and that was always an option.

But with her hopeful eyes on him and the world around him dulling until the only thing that held true color was Clary herself he knew he had no choice. Because she had him wrapped around her pretty finger and the only way to free him was for her to let him go. But he would hold on for dear life before that happened.

"I would be honored."


So, this is just a filler chapter. It's more to show the relationship between Clary and Jace expanding and changing. And you sort of see the wall Clary has also made to protect herself and how she is accepting Jace into her world.

Sorry for such a late update; I've been shopping for presents and finishing my exams for school.

How do you feel about snow?