Hi guys! So, um, it's me again! My dad got me the computer charger the very next day, and...yeah, this chapter's been ready for a while. Don't hate me! I want to stick to my weekly updates :) Anyway, thanks to maxwaylandgrey, for making me laugh thinking that her babies were pretty. YEAH. RIGHT. Thanks to SportyNo1, for being so nice and caring and awesome ;DD Thanks to everyone who has put this on their alerts and favorites, and of course thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You've made me smile, all of you ;)
**I do not own TMI. Cassandra Clare does. And, although my name starts with C, it is unfortunately not Cassandra. And my last name is not Clare. I'm sure I've just made my point**
Review! :)
Jace knew sneaking out of the house wasn't going to get him on Maryse's good graces, but it was all he could do to make it to Clary's by nine, their usual time. It had been one week since they started seeing each other like that, not in secret, but . . . at the same time, in secret. They went out in public, yeah, but most of the "action" happened in the bedroom. Jace was shocked at himself—he hadn't gotten in her pants yet—but he wasn't in a hurry.
"Mom will kill you." Isabelle's voice startled him, causing him to jump back.
"Izzy." He sighed in relief. "You scared me."
"Must be a first," she said appreciatively. "I should stop trying to scare you. Seems to work." She grinned. "Headed over to a certain redhead's house?"
"None of your business," Jace replied.
"I think you are," Isabelle said, and as usual, she was right.
"Whatever," he said, ignoring her when she called out his name. He ran, as he usually did to get to her house, through the backyard. It was the only way he'd get there in time. The other side of the house was a street, as opposed to the back side, which was the beach. His feet pounded against the sand, and he felt some of it get to his shoe. He hated the way it felt. Guess it'd be an excuse to take off some piece of clothing off his body. He grinned at the thought of him and Clary, in bed . . . with nothing on. Then he shook it off. Horny . . . that'd be bad, considering he promised her he wouldn't be too forward.
He finally made it to her house. The doorbell rung about three times before the door swung open, revealing Simon.
"Hi, Jace," he said. "Clary's taking a shower."
"Then it's okay for me to go in," Jace said with a grin, but Simon put a hand on his chest.
"Hell no. It's not," Simon said.
"This is when you threaten you'll break me if I break her?" Jace said, rolling his eyes.
"She's perfectly capable of breaking you herself," Simon said, and Jace shuddered at the words, not because she could break him physically, but because the girl had a hold on him, and yes, she could break him in ways he didn't want to ever be broken.
"I don't doubt that," Jace said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a girl waiting for me."
Simon said nothing, but he let go of Jace, who ran up the stairs. When he got to her bedroom door, he swung it open and closed it gently, as if not to startle her. Her room was messy, as it always was. He didn't care. He walked straight into the bathroom, where she was taking a shower.
"Jace?" she called out.
"Yeah," he said, a grin transforming his features.
"Can you get me some panties and a bra?"
"No problem." Jace exited the bathroom and looked for the underwear she asked for, handing them over to her. He picked lacey ones, just because he knew they'd tick her off, but also because he knew they made her look sexy as hell.
He went in the shower when she said it was okay for him to, as he did every night. She looked as sexy as always, with her underwear clinging to her body. He wasted no time in kissing her and lifting her up, her legs around his waist and hands tugging at his hair, their bodies pressed up against each other, hers against the cold, marble wall, and his against hers. They tried not to slip, but it was impossible at the end. They were on the floor before they could break apart, laughing, splashing water at each other.
"A bubble bath? Really?" Jace asked, smirking.
"I was bored." Clary shrugged, sitting in his lap. "I didn't think you'd come."
"I'll always be here," Jace said, and then he kissed her, a bit softer this time, but she moaned against his throat and even with the annoying sound of the water, it sounded hot to him. He had to stop, or he wouldn't be able to control himself, and then she'd give him hell for it, because, after all, she was a woman.
"Okay." Jace tried to regain his breath, but it wasn't easy. The mere sight of her left him breathless. "Which movie do you wanna watch?"
"How about 'John Tucker Must Die'?" Clary asked with a grin. "It might teach you what I'll do to you if you ever act like John." She tried to say it brightly but failed, a laugh replacing her cheerful tone instead.
"Sure, I'll watch it," Jace said lightly. "Just remember, the girl ended up with the loser."
"The sweet loser," she reminded him.
"Not the hot asshole. Who, in my opinion, should've gotten the girl. He was truthful," Jace said, in John's defense. The idea of him defending a character made Clary burst out in laughter.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The point is, she doesn't end up with John, who, in real life, is represented by you." She kissed the tip of his nose lightly.
"And who's the sweet loser, then?" Jace asked innocently.
"I don't know yet," Clary said, smiling. "I'll go look for one tomorrow."
"I'd rather you don't," Jace said, and then immediately cursed himself for it.
"Are you, Jace Wayland, jealous?" Clary teased with a smirk.
"No," he scoffed, but she could see it in his eyes.
She clapped, smiling. "You are! I never thought this day would come."
"Why not?"
"There's nothing to be jealous of. If anything," Clary said, eyeing him up and down, "I should be the jealous one."
"Why is that, Freckles?" Jace asked, and Clary shifted in his lap.
"Because girls stare at you all the time, and if one of us has got to be jealous, it'll be me."
"I can't believe we're fighting over who's worthy enough to be jealous," Jace said, amused.
"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes and pulled herself up from his lap. "Let's go."
After she got dressed in her pajamas, she tiptoed out of her room and into the room Simon was staying in. She knocked lightly on the door before going inside, surprised to find nobody there. She shrugged and headed over to the closet. In the very corner was the pile of clothing she had for Jace every night. She took a pair of pants, socks, boxers, and a t-shirt. With that, she exited the room and entered her own, glad Simon didn't catch her.
"Here." She tossed Jace the clothing she got for him.
He got dressed inside the bathroom while she waited outside. He wished he could go out and tell her to dress him, but that'd be absurd, ridiculous, and totally inappropriate. Not that he ever cared about that, but this time, if he wanted to sleep over at her house, he needed to care about it. He raked a hand through his messy hair, exhaled, and stepped outside. She was in bed, and the movie was paused at the very beginning.
"John Tucker?" Jace asked her.
"Yup. And then, if we're still up, we watch Scary Movie."
"You have them all?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Awesome."
They sat side by side, her head resting on his shoulder, his arms around her. He wanted so, so badly to kiss her, but he couldn't. He was in the middle of the movie, when those two chicks—the main character and her friend—kiss. He couldn't just kiss Clary, because that'd be awkward. He had to choose some other time, like when the movie was over and the credits were rolling and there was silence, and he could kiss her and there'd be music. But, of course, things never went his way. He couldn't kiss her. He wouldn't.
"Jace?" Clary asked softly, so softly that Jace could barely hear her.
"Yeah?"
She kissed him, cutting off his train of thought. "I'm glad you're not like John."
"I kind of am, you know." Before she started to talk again, he cut her off with a kiss. "I didn't think I could like anyone as much as I like you without getting in her pants."
Clary giggled. "I'm glad you found me, then."
"Cocky, aren't we?" Jace teased.
"Just watch the movie, Jace," she said with a sigh, her head resting in his shoulder again.
When the movie was over and the credits were rolling, they didn't kiss. Clary played the second movie and they laughed in all the right parts, commented in all the fake ones, and kissed when there was nothing to miss. He didn't realize how much he adored these nights until that moment, right then, when Clary asked him quietly if he wanted to go to the fair with Simon, Izzy, and her, and he said yes. He was so happy to have her, and he hadn't realized. He didn't know he held her until she let him know. They watched the movie.
"I love this movie," Clary said, once she was laying on the dark by his side.
"I love it, too. One of my favorites. Max and I watch it all the time."
"Max?"
"He's brave, not scared of anything." Jace smiled proudly. "I'm glad he has nothing to be scared of yet."
"Yeah, me too. He's a cool kid," she said, smiling.
"You should hang out at my place sometime," Jace whispered quietly in her ear.
"I should."
"How about tomorrow, after the fair?" Jace asked her, knowing what her answer would be before she uttered a word.
"It's a date."
###
"We're keeping an eye on them, just as you asked." The person wearing normal summer clothing glanced at the kids he was asked to look after: the short girl with the red hair, the tall guy with the messy blond hair, the tall, dangerous-looking girl who held the nerdy, brown-haired guy's hand. Those four kids, along with the small one who lingered in front of them and led them around, were his task. And he couldn't fail, or else . . . he'd rather not think about the consequences.
"You better be. My future depends on this," the person on the other line said. "You know that if you fail, the boss will order me to kill you. And you also know I won't hesitate."
"Because you can't hesitate," the person spying on the kids replied. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I've heard the speech about a million times. I know what to do. I won't let the boss down."
"You better not," the other person said. "Everyone's life depends on it."
"I said I understand, you fucking idiot!" the person spying said, and some people turned around to stare, but no one gave it much thought. He blended in with the crowd. An angry person throwing a fit wasn't a huge deal in California, considering the many breakups going on, the many teenage kids angry at their parents, the many divorcing couples.
"Don't attract attention," the other person hissed. From his side of the line, there was a loud curse, and then he said, "Shit. The boss is here. Gotta go. Keep an eye on the kid and report later. Remember: everything depends on you."
And then the line went dead.
###
"So, you've decided to go public." Simon regarded his two friends—although Jace's friendship was still questionable, or nonexistent, Clary had asked him to consider him a friend for now, which was stupid, not that he told her that—with a smile.
"Yup." Clary smiled at Jace, and Simon gaped at her. She smiled. At a boy. Who wasn't either gay or a best friend or a sibling. What the hell? When had that happened?
"Don't get all lovey-dovey on our asses, though," Isabelle said to them warily. "I mean, it's gross. He's my brother. Just . . . ewww. That's disgusting." She shuddered and continued to eat her ice cream.
Clary laughed, while Jace smirked at his stepsister and made kissy faces. "Don't worry," she said, trying to keep Jace from torturing his sister any longer than necessary. "We'll keep in under control."
"Or not," Jace said, and before anyone could even begin to form a new thought, he kissed Clary with everything in him. The kiss tasted like chocolate and strawberry and just a hint of cookie dough. It was cold and sweet and warm, and it made her feel like nothing ever had before. Her hands flew to his hair automatically, and it made it seem like it was much more than the truth.
Simon cleared his throat. "Uh, do you mind?"
"Not at all," Jace said between breaths, continuing to kiss her. Since he didn't move forward with it, Clary knew it was to annoy Simon. She liked seeing him agitated, so she continued just for the hell of it.
"Okay, we're leaving." Just as Isabelle stood up, Jace and Clary broke their kiss, laughing so hard they couldn't breathe, all to annoy the other two.
"That," Simon said, "was torture."
"Indeed," Isabelle agreed with a quick nod of the head. "But, oh well, it's over now."
"Do you want more?" Clary suggested. "Because we could—"
"No, that's fine," Isabelle said, rather quickly. "It was enough."
"Izzy," Simon said, "she was joking."
She swatted him on the arm with her purse. "Shut up, Simon."
Jace rolled his eyes. "Well, if this spectacle is done, I'd like to take Clary out for a walk along the beach."
"Since when did you turn into such a romantic?" Isabelle asked him teasingly, batting her eyelashes suggestively and making kissy faces at him.
"Isabelle, save the energy for lover boy," Jace replied, jerking his chin toward Simon. He stood up, pointedly avoiding her question. "I'm leaving."
"Bye, Romeo!" Isabelle said, waving at him along with Simon, who was clearly enjoying watching Jace become humiliated—in public.
"So," Simon said to Isabelle. "How long do you think they'll last?"
"He's smitten," Isabelle said. "I think it'll last."
"Honestly?" He looked at her with disbelief. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to stick with a girl without getting in her pants, and I know Clary well enough she won't give in easily."
"I know her, too," Isabelle said, a bit defensively. She knew she was being ridiculous. Simon had known Clary for longer than she had, yet she was a girl, and she knew how girls acted and felt. All of them? No. Girls were strange, as were boys. But she knew Clary was as smitten as Jace. She believed they'd last. "Trust me," she said, shaking her head free of all her jealous thoughts. "They'll last."
"If you say so," Simon said, slipping an arm around her. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take you out for a walk."
"Close enough impersonation, but we're not interrupting them. This way," Isabelle said, leading them away from the beach, away from Jace and Clary.
"Yeah, I know. Women," Simon muttered to himself. She swatted his arm again with her purse, but then, when he said, "Hey!" all she did was lean against his shoulder, and they walked like that, hand in hand, looking at the sunset.
###
Clary stood a few feet away from her house's back door, Jace by her side. The question was whether he'd go in with her or not. To anyone, it may seem like a silly question, but to Clary, it was a question that'd change everything. She just didn't realize it yet.
"There's a chance she might not be there," Jace said, as if that'd make it better, but the truth was, it was almost ten, and her mother was obviously in the house.
"Come on in," she said, sighing, watching him go inside her house. The entrance was near the kitchen, and the smell of food was the first thing she noticed when she entered the house. They both walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Simon and Wesley, the cook, making some steaks. They looked pretty damn good.
"I didn't cook." Simon walked over to Clary and Jace with a grin on his face. "Izzy didn't, either, Jace."
"Oh, thank god," Jace said, and someone smacked him on the head.
"My cooking," Isabelle said, "is amazing."
Jace snorted, and then tried to hide it with a cough. "Yeah, sure, Isabelle."
"Whatever." She flipped him off.
"What is going on here?" Clary's mother stood in the doorway, watching them as if they'd grown four heads.
"Um, we're just cooking. And laughing at Isabelle's cooking skills," Clary said, giggling.
"Or lack thereof," Jace said with a smirk.
Jocelyn inspected them for a few seconds and then sighed. "Very well, but keep it down."
"Yes, Jocelyn," Clary said, rolling her eyes. Jocelyn glared at her, but she had her back to the rest of them. She was looking for something—something that obviously did not exist, not that Jocelyn needed to know that—in the pantry, while her mother sighed and walked away, as if her life was too tiring and she didn't need to deal with Clary.
She stayed in that position; face burning from the embarrassment she was just subjected to. She couldn't believe her mother, of all people, came to her and chastised her for being loud. Jocelyn was, after all, the one that got drunk all the time.
She felt strong arms around her, and the next thing she knew, she was kissing Jace, leaning into him once they couldn't breathe. She didn't know what else to do, other than to ask, "Jace, would you stay over?"
"I'd love to." He kissed the top of her nose and took her hand. They walked to the kitchen's mini-table, in which they ate steak and mashed potatoes with Izzy and Simon.
"You guys okay?" Isabelle asked, eyeing Clary and Jace up and down, as if that would get her some answers. Clary rolled her eyes and threw a balled-up napkin at her friend.
"We're fine, thank you." She poked at her food with no interest whatsoever. She wasn't hungry, especially after her mother caused that scene. Jace's gaze told her that it wasn't something to worry about, but she didn't care.
"Come on." Jace stood up, grabbed Clary's hand, and tugged until she stood up and started following him. "We're going to the bedroom."
"Don't get too sexy in there. Old people live here," Simon said, scrunching his nose in disgust at the thought of old people seeing whatever Jace and Clary did.
Clary stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever, Si. See you guys tomorrow." With Jace's arm wrapped around her, she ascended the stairs. Once she was in her room, she didn't even bother changing. She fell into the bed, forgetting the fact that Jace was even there.
"Want me to help you get dressed?" Jace said, his eyes full of laughter.
"Sure," Clary said, and the laughter in his eyes was replaced by sudden desire. Control yourself, he said to himself, and then went through her closet until he found a decent outfit: a Rolling Stones t-shirt and some shorts he found. He tugged at her shirt until it was off, revealing her white bra. She blushed, suddenly self-conscious, but Jace tried his best not to stare. He yanked the shirt over her head, trying to be gentle but failing, and she giggled.
"You sound high," he commented, and said nothing else as he worked on her bottoms. Once she had her pajamas on, he tucked her inside the bed. Jace saw a pair of pajamas there for him, as well. On top of them, there was a note.
Just in case he stays over again. –S
The note was obviously from Simon, and Jace made a mental note to be a bit nicer to him the next day. Then he shook his head. Not gonna happen, he said with a content sigh. Then, he lay in bed by Clary's side. He watched her sleep, her breathing slow down, watched as she tossed and turned a bit. And when she wrapped her arms around his waist, he kissed the top of her head and didn't complain. Maybe he wasn't getting any, but he got more from nights like these than he'd ever gotten from anything.
"Jace," Clary murmured in her sleep. "Stay with me."
And if he doubted the fact that he'd stay before, it was all clear to him now. He couldn't leave the girl with the red hair, the rebellious nose ring, and the badass boots in the middle of the summer. He couldn't leave the girl that made him smile, and he couldn't leave the girl that did shit about what she didn't like.
He couldn't leave this girl, who had so recently become his world.
Jace is so adorable! :D
Okay, so guys, I just wanna know...do you want me to leave song recs? 'Cause, I dunno...yeah, I'm babbling. My brain is not working properly. You see, I hung out with a hot guy yesterday, and that just makes my brain go to sleep for 24 hours. *sigh*
Review:)
