Here we go. The last chapter...

A/N at the bottom!


When Clary woke up, she knew it was the day.

The pale yellow dress lay across her wooden desk. It was a light silk dress that reached halfway through her knees, one that her mother had chosen to be the color of her wedding.

There was a knock on her door. Clary whirled around. "Who is it?"

"Just me," Jocelyn said, opening the door. She was wearing a robe, and her face was full of makeup. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she was sober. She hadn't had a sip of alcohol for five months, ever since Valentine was sentenced to jail for life, along with the people that worked for him. Served them right. Clary's mom had ordered her to pack her bags, as they were moving back to New York. She was worried at first. She wasn't one of those girls to throw away everything for a boy, but Jace had been there for her when her mother hadn't been. Besides, she had Magnus, Alec, Izzy, and Max to think about. Her worries were quickly dispersed when Jocelyn informed her that Maryse and "the kids," as her mother called them, would be living in New York with them, because Robert and Maryse were getting a divorce.

Their arrival to New York City happened just in time for Clary's mother and Jace's step-mom to work out an arrangement with a school to let them start the school year in exchange for a pretty large sum of money that would be donated for the construction of their new performing arts theatre. So, in the fall, the four of them started in their new school, more specifically in the month of September. Max went to the middle school building, Clary was a junior, and Izzy and Jace were seniors. Alec and Magnus went to NYU; Magnus was studying fashion design, and Alec was studying law. Their life was good―it wasn't the same as the summer, Clary thought, but it made up for the terrible time they had during that last month they were scheduled to stay there.

"Hey, Mom. Where's Luke?" Clary asked.

"Luke's in the art gallery." Jocelyn smiled. Ever since they moved back to the city, Jocelyn had reopened their art gallery franchise from before she started running away, and it had become their "couple thing."

"He's getting ready there?"

"Yeah. He'll meet you at the church. He's agreed not to see me, since there's the whole bad luck thing," Jocelyn said. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I'm gonna just go put on something light so I can finish getting ready at the church."

"Okay," Clary said, giving her a smile. "I'll be ready in, like, thirty. I have to call Jace and see if he's up. He always misses important events. Weddings are probably under his list of 'Must Miss Events.'"

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "Well, tell him I'm expecting him there. Wouldn't be complete without him, after all."

"I know, right?" Clary smiled at her mom. She was glad that things were back to normal between them―as normal as they would get. Her mom was strict, but she'd let Clary keep her much-adored nose ring. She let Clary have Jace over, since she knew that there was nothing they hadn't done, thanks to her old parenting ways.

"So, okay. What time is it?"

Clary looked over at the clock on her nightstand. "Eight forty-five," she said to her mom.

"We have to leave in less than half an hour!" Jocelyn became frantic all of a sudden. "Okay, um, get ready and grab, like, a yogurt or something. I'll tell the driver to be ready."

Clary laughed at her mother's worry. It wasn't like the wedding was going to go on without the bride being there! Still, her mother―even when she was drunk―liked to be on time. It got annoying, because Clary was the kind of girl who was always late. It had become a habit, since she had done it so many times in boarding school. "Mom," she said, just before her mother left. "You'll be fine. I know that you're worried something'll go wrong, but don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. Meet you in the car. But wait!" Clary managed to stop her mom as she attempted to bolt of Clary's room. "Have you eaten anything?"

Jocelyn sighed, as if Clary had asked the most unimportant question she'd ever heard. "Bring me an apple. Love you," she said, hugging her daughter and rushing back to her room. There was a professional makeup artist waiting for both of them at the church, but her mother couldn't go anywhere―not even across the street―without having makeup on.

Clary didn't put makeup on, and she knew her mother would kill her if she wore the dress. What if she got a stain on it? She decided not to take any chances, instead going with a knitted, long-sleeved shirt with a speech bubble in the middle, black skinny jeans, her black converse, and a leather jacket―it was November in New York, after all.

She grabbed her tote bag, which she used as a purse, and dashed down the stairs, hoping her mother wasn't in the car already. She grabbed a yogurt, two granola bars, two juice boxes, and an apple, hoping it'd be enough. Then, she walked outside and, seeing that her mother was already buckled up inside their car, closed the door and locked it. She walked over to the car.

"Am I too late?" Clary asked her mother with sarcasm.

"No, I'm just early." Jocelyn sighed, frowning. "I'm just so worried, you know? My first marriage turned out to be a total disaster, and while Luke is nothing like Valentine, I'm afraid that this is all a joke and God doesn't want me to have a second chance."

"If there's a god." Clary sighed the same way her mother did. "Look, Mom. You fucked up. There. I said it. You were a terrible mother for the longest time ever, and you could've done a lot of things to make it right, but you didn't. That's okay, though. You're human. You make mistakes. You were just trying to protect all of us, and it wasn't easy.

"Luke stuck with you through thick and thin, and if God can't see that you're a wonderful person, then he just shouldn't exist. And I doubt he does," she added, taking a breath before saying. "But if he does, I'm sure he can't find a reason to punish you. Mom, you were on the run for years. You made a mistake. But it's okay now. So, you married a fucked up guy who couldn't be enough of a man to be a good husband and father, and it hurt. So what? It's all over. And Luke? He's a great guy.

"I know I've been talking for a while, but I haven't been able to tell you all of this because I've been scared that you'll be mad at me. You hadn't paid attention to me in a long time, and when you did, it was to reprimand me and send me to a new school, or to use me as a show-off toy. But I get it now, Mom. And I'm sorry I didn't understand it before, and if you're about to apologize, then I accept your apology. I won't let anything ruin this day for you."

By the time she was done speaking, Jocelyn's eyes were shining with tears, her lips trembling as if she might cry. "Thank you for telling me this. I guess that I just tried to forget everything―the way I acted, and why I was so scared. It scares me that I don't know how this whole marriage thing is gonna work out, but I think it's gonna be okay. Thanks to you, baby. I could never do anything if I didn't have you.

"The fact that I was protecting you was the only thing that kept me going, because I knew that I would've holed up in another continent doing nothing, and I would've let him find me. But I had to look after you, because you're my little baby. I couldn't lose you. Not like I lost him." By "him" she meant Jonathon, Clary realized. She never really thought about the pain her mom must've gone through by leaving him behind. She gave birth to him; he was her son, and she had to leave him behind. She didn't think to protect him. That thought must've tormented her the entire time she took a breath and lived.

"It wasn't your fault," Clary said, her voice small. "None of it was. And now you get a chance to start over! It may not be the chance you hoped for at first, but you have me. You have Luke. And you have yourself again." She smiled. She hated being cheesy―it was one of the things she hated the most―but she loved seeing her mother smile.

Jocelyn hugged Clary tightly, and for once, her daughter did not complain. "Thank you."

"Let's go, woman. You have to actually show up to your wedding, you know," Clary joked, and her mother pulled away, sniffling, and started the car.

###

When Jace woke up, it wasn't exactly pleasant.

The wedding, thankfully, was on the week the school had given them off because of Thanksgiving. Had it not been, Jace would've killed Magnus for making all that noise and yelling, "No, no, no, NO!" whenever he didn't like a dress that Izzy was wearing, even though he couldn't change it, because she was one of the bridesmaids, along with Maryse, and one of Jocelyn's friends from high school. Jace was still amazed at the way Jocelyn had changed since he first met her: she had been cold, and definitely a drunk. Now she was a sweet (mostly) and loving (except when he caught Jace and Clary making out in the middle of the night on the couch) person.

"Alec!" Magnus called out, and Jace felt him run down the hallway. With a groan, he pulled the covers over his head. He knew he had to go to the wedding―he wasn't stupid, and he had to be there with Clary―but the whole idea of going to the wedding was . . . weird. That, and the fact that Magnus woke him up made him feel like he was going to murder someone.

Someone opened the door to Jace's bedroom, and his instinct was to close his eyes. The door closed, and no one made a sound.

"I know you're awake." Of course it was Izzy.

"Psychic now, are we?"

"Shut up. Come on, if we wanna sneak off before everyone else and actually get there intact, it has to be now. Bring your suit―but don't put it on yet."

"Whatever you say," Jace said.

"Cool. Be quiet. Meet you out in ten," she said, and just like that, she exited his room like she was never there.

Jace gathered his things pretty quickly: his phone, his suit, and his hairbrush. He quickly got changed into some jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. He put on some converse, and just like that, he was off.

He tried to draw little attention to himself, and considered pulling the hood over his head. When the hallway grew quieter, Jace ran down the stairs, twisted the doorknob, and ran outside for the life of him.

The cold hit him first. Living in New York had its perks, and the cold wasn't one of them. Jace was more of a summer guy, a guy that liked the heat way more than the cold. So, moving back had been a change, but it was much better than moving in with Robert, which was his other option. As much as he tried to deny it―and that had happened a lot more often than people would think―he loved his stepsiblings. Max reminded him that innocence was something to treasure, Isabelle taught him that being strong and brave was always important, and Alec taught him that there was nothing to be ashamed of if you were different, and that being sensitive is nothing to be ashamed of, either.

Isabelle was waiting for him inside her car. She rolled down the window. "Hurry up, you asshole. I'm not getting any younger and we have to make it in time!"

Jace ran up to the car and climbed inside. As soon as his door closed, Magnus ran out the door.

"Izzy, if you don't fucking speed away now, I will kill you," Jace said, as serious as he'd ever been.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled, and before Magnus could reach them, they sped away, hoping they could actually find a room in the church to change in.

"So," Izzy said. "Excited to see Clary how you met her?"

Jace blinked. "What do you mean?"

"The night you met her, she was in a dress. It's kind of like that now," she said, smiling. "You know, if she hadn't come to our lives, we would've had a hell of a boring summer. And less police involvement. And . . ." She trailed off, hesitating before saying, "And maybe Mom and Dad wouldn't have gotten a divorce."

"Look," he said, "you know it's bad to say this, and I know I sound like the biggest asshole ever, but they were gonna get a divorce anyway. Things weren't working out, and when it doesn't work . . . it just doesn't. There's no point in pretending otherwise. I wish that they could stay married and be happy―but it just doesn't work that way." He tried to say it in the kindest voice he could muster. "Iz, your parents love you. You have no reason to be worried about them hating each other, because they don't. They get along, and they both love you. They just want to be free to see other people."

"You mean my dad wants to be free." Izzy's voice was bitter, which wasn't totally unusual, but it was a tone she reserved for boys who were idiots and broke her heart, and for people who insulted the people she loved. She never talked about her father in that tone. "He cheated on my mom for years, Jace. Years. He wasn't a man about it, either. He didn't have the pride to end it before. That's what bothers me."

"Yeah, it was a cowardly thing to do. But I guess that, when you have an ideal life and a perfect family and a great wife, you don't wanna admit that you don't want it anymore, because that's ridiculous."

"Thank god my mom grew some balls and asked for a divorce," Izzy muttered. "Guess that the whole Valentine thing taught her a thing or two about saving herself from a totally fucked up marriage, huh?"

All Jace could do was nod. He hated being reminded of the thing with Valentine. It meant remembering what happened with Clary―how they took her away, and how he lay there, helpless, an idiot, unable to get his girl back. It reminded him of how easily the things you love can get taken away from your grasp with the snap of your fingers, how the things that became so familiar can just disappear.

"Sorry," she said, as if she just remembered how it made her stepbrother feel. "I didn't mean to bring it up. It was horrible, but―Jace, don't you think we're pussies about it sometimes? It was bad, and I get it. But I feel like ignoring it makes us scared of it. And I don't wanna be scared anymore."

"I've thought about it," he said. "Look, Izzy, I'd give anything to be able to forget about what happened. I don't wanna ignore it, but I just hate everything that happened. I'm not scared of that day. I'm scared of how I felt―helpless. I'm scared of what I couldn't do. And don't you think I should be? Clary's one of the most important people in my life, probably the most important one, and I lost her. Maybe not forever, but I lost her. And in that time, I didn't know if she was okay, if she was alive, if she was being beaten, if she was eating . . . I knew nothing. In a way, that was my fault, and I knew it. I just hate that feeling."

"Well, it wasn't your fault, for starters," she said, glancing at him. "I know that a lot of what happened made you feel guilty because I felt the same way. I love Clary. She's probably the only best friend I've ever had, and when I lost her, I was worried sick. But we have to just admit that it wasn't our fault. We didn't mess up, and what happened was way beyond us."

Jace only shrugged. "I guess the feeling will never go away. We're here," he added, steering the subject away from that day.

"Yes! Finally, I thought I'd gotten lost." She parked the car and both of them walked out, getting their things from the trunk and stepping inside the church. Jace hadn't been to a church in ages, so he didn't exactly know what to do. Luckily, he saw Clary before he could do anything. She was still not changed, thankfully, and looked like she'd just gotten there.

"Hey!" Clary said, walking over to him. She kissed him quickly and then asked, "What're you doing here?"

"I needed a quiet place to get ready. You know how Magnus gets whenever there's something to dress up for," Jace said with a shudder. Clary laughed, and he smiled. He missed her laugh. They hadn't seen each other in four days, but they were inseparable while they were in school, so four days felt like four years to both of them.

"Come on, guys. I'll show you where you can get ready," she said, pulling Jace by the arm and giving Izzy a one-armed hug. "Hey, Iz."

"Hey yourself, Fray. Is Lewis around?"

"No. He should be here soon, though. Wanna call him and tell him to bring you breakfast?"

"Great idea," Izzy said, taking out her phone and punching in some numbers. "Lewis!" she barked into the phone. Jace laughed and followed Clary up the church's stairs. There was a long, narrow hallway full of rooms, and she pulled him into the second one.

Before she closed the door, she said, "Iz, yours is the third!"

Isabelle gave her two thumbs up, still too engrossed in her conversation to make any sounds. Jace never thought he'd see his sister so genuinely in love with a guy. She was the kind of girl to just hook up, but no, of course the geek had to come along and change her. He kind of liked the new Izzy, although he'd never say that to her face.

"Hey, gorgeous," Clary said, pulling him to her. "What're you thinking about?"

"Izzy and Simon and how . . . weird their relationship is." He made a face.

She snorted. "I know, right? Never thought I'd see something like that happen. Ever. In my life."

Jace smirked. "At least we know dreams do come true."

"Oooh, does that mean I get to spank you while you wear a Speedo?"

Jace loved that about their relationship―it was fun, simple, and easy. And there were a lot of weird dreams. But he mostly loved that he could tell her anything and she would say something back. She wasn't just boring, like Kaelie, who only talked about herself, but she wasn't like one of his exes, Lauren, who talked about everything. Clary was the perfect in-between.

"Only in your wildest dreams."

"Guess we can rely on the whole 'dreams come true' thing you said, eh?"

"Well . . ."

"We're buying you a Speedo tomorrow!" Clary said in a sing-song voice, just as Izzy entered the room.

"I don't wanna know," she said quickly, shaking her head. "So my room's to the left? Just making sure."

"Yes, Izzy. And you won't know."

"Not that I would ever want to. Do you ever listen to me?"

"Bye now!" Clary said.

"Bye now!" Isabelle mimicked the way her friend had spoken, waved, and closed the door.

"So, Speedo?" she said.

"We'll talk about it after the wedding."

Clary went up to him slowly, kissing him as soon as their bodies touched. He fell back against the chair that, he guessed, she knew was there. If not, well . . . she had good luck, and so did his ass. She sat on his lap, moving as close to him as she could, their mouths never leaving each other. He'd missed this―the whole kissing stage of their relationship. He could kiss her forever, but they had to attend a wedding. He didn't complain when her hand explored his upper body, however, and she didn't pull back when his hands explored hers in return. She took off his shirt, their lips breaking contact for only a second before reuniting again. Jace took her jacket off, and then her shirt, and then they were both sitting, kissing like it was the last thing they could do. He unclasped her bra, and he unbuttoned his pants.

Just when she was about to help him take off said pants, there was a knock on their door.

"Clary?" It was Jocelyn. Of course it was. Sometimes, his girlfriend's mother could be a horrible person.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. "Get dressed!" Loudly, she said, "Yeah?"

"Do you know where I put my pin?"

"First pocket in your purse!" she replied.

"Thanks, honey."

"I could kill your mother," Jace said.

"But you love me, so you won't touch a hair in her head."

"Except when I hug her to congratulate her."

"And when you say goodbye."

"And hello, too."

"And when you thank her," Clary reminded him, "for giving birth to your wonderful, lovely girlfriend."

"And that girlfriend is . . . ?"

"Very funny, Jace. Really. I'm dying on the inside."

He smirked. "Can we finish what we started?"

"My mom's getting married in two hours, so . . . no."

"Oh, come on!" He pouted.

"I love you. Trust me, there's still tonight. And their honeymoon," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"I'm game," he said.

"Good, now let's get you ready. No offense, but you look like . . . you don't look your best," she said, remembering how sensitive Jace could get about his looks. "So, we have to get ready for my mom's wedding. And, since you didn't have sex, I feel like it's something I should do to undress you and dress you back."

"I like this idea," Jace said.

"You'll like it even more as soon as we start."

"Let me put on my shirt again."

"Deal."

###

It took them a while, but they finally got dressed.

Clary looked at herself in the mirror. I look pretty good. Better than I thought I would, anyway, she thought, straightening her dress. She glanced over at Jace, who looked . . . well, it was taking all of her self-control not to fuck him right there. She bit her lip and looked away. The guy looked like sex on a stick while he wore a tux.

"I'm gonna go put on makeup. See you in a few," she said, kissing him fiercely on the lips before leaving.

Her mom was still not in her gown, and the wedding was in an hour. Good, Clary thought. Maybe, if she throws up, nothing will get damaged.

"Hey," she said to Jocelyn. "I'm here to get my makeup done."

"You should wait until it's closer to the wedding," Jocelyn said. "I know you wanna go kiss the hell out of your boyfriend, so you as might as well do it."

"Okay. Be back in half an hour," Clary said, kissing the top of her mother's head and skipping back to her room.

"No change from what I see," Jace said.

"Mom said we could suck each other's faces for another half hour."

"Sounds good enough to me."

"If only," Clary said, "there was a bed."

"It's too bad we're in a church."

"Eh," she said with a shrug. "I've never been religious anyway."

At least they had something to do for the next half hour.

###

Clary's mother looked amazing.

And it wasn't the kind of amazing that women mostly achieved these days by taking off their clothes and posing for a random magazine. Her mother's dress was long, elegant, and expensive. She looked beautiful, however, in that white gown. Clary couldn't imagine how her mother could've walked down the aisle in another dress, during another time. She smiled at the way her mother admired herself in the mirror, as if she had something to worry about.

She was stunning.

As for Clary, she took a shower, got dressed again, and they were doing her hair and makeup in her mother's room. In half an hour, her mother would be walking down the aisle, and Luke would be up in the altar, waiting for her, waiting to say his vows, and ready to say yes.

"You look gorgeous, Mom," Clary said for the hundredth time, rolling her eyes at her mother's nervousness.

Jocelyn sighed and sat down next to her. "I'm just really nervous, Clary. I know I can do this, but I'm nervous. So many things could go wrong!"

"Yeah, but Luke's gonna be there to make them right again."

She took a deep breath. "I know. Okay."

The stylist patted Clary's shoulder. "You're done, Clary. I have to go get dressed. See you out there!" she said enthusiastically, giving them warm smiles.

The wedding coordinator entered the room. "Fifteen more minutes!" she said, and then closed the door, hurrying off to do who knows what.

"Mom, I love you. So trust me when I say that you'll be fine, and your nervousness will give me a headache."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the notice. I love you too. I'm glad you're here with me."

"Where else would I be?"

"No, seriously." Jocelyn sighed. "I was a terrible mother to you. I wouldn't be angry if you hated me forever, but you're still here."

"Well, yeah. I may have been pissed at you for the longest time, but you're my mom." Clary smiled widely. "Now, come on. I wanna show you something."

They walked over to where Clary's purse was, and she took out a little box. In it was a silver necklace with a heart on it. Her mother had given it to Clary when she was merely a toddler, and Clary still remembered what her mother had said.

"I'll always be with you, always inside your heart," she said, just the way Jocelyn had said it all those years ago. "Can you wear it today?"

Jocelyn's eyes shone with tears. "Absolutely."

Clary clasped the necklace around her mother's neck.

The wedding coordinator came in. "It's time," she said, leading Jocelyn down the hallway. Clary snickered at her mother's stunned reaction. Jace met her outside.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear. She hadn't had time to see herself in the mirror, but she trusted what he said.

"I have to go," she said with a giggle. "Where's Izzy?"

"Way ahead of you," Jace replied. "Go look sexy out there for me, okay?"

Her only reply was rolling her eyes.

Maryse, Izzy, and Gina, a girl who was apparently friends with Jocelyn that Clary had never met, were already lined up in order. Clary fell into place behind them. The flower girl went first, and it was the daughter of the Gina person that, again, Clary had never met in her life, but she guessed her mother was pretty desperate, because otherwise she would've never dug up her yearbook to find a girl who just so happened to have given birth to a girl who wasn't too old, but wasn't too young. After the flower girl, with her tiny yellow dress, had walked over to the side, Max, who was the ring boy, stepped inside and walked down the aisle. People were looking at him, some people saying how cute he was, and how that was a Lightwood walking down the aisle, and he smirked at some of the comments.

Just like Jace would, Clary thought with a smile.

Then, the bridesmaids walked down the aisle. First it was Maryse, then her daughter, and then Gina. Sooner than Clary knew, it was her turn. She walked down the aisle at the beat of her music, slow and steady, and then stepped in her rightful place. The entire time, she kept subtly looking for Jace, and when she found him, he caught her gaze, mouthed you look beautiful to her, and then looked away. All people saw was a smiling girl, but they would never know that she was a smiling girl in love unless they asked. Oh, how she hated being in love sometimes. But not that day.

When her mother walked down the aisle, it was like every single person in the room stopped breathing. She looked absolutely stunning, but that wasn't what Clary paid attention to. She knew her mother would look beautiful. She helped her pick out the dress and everything. But what Clary noticed about Jocelyn, something people probably didn't, was how happy she looked. She had never looked so happy, Clary thought, not that she remembered. Jocelyn was practically glowing, smiling at everyone with a genuine smile, looking at Luke like he was the one thing in the world that completed her, the one thing that made everything right. Any other daughter would have been offended, but Clary was just happy that something came out right for her mother, and that life had proven that it gave second chances.

###

There was one thing that Clary's mother had told her, and it was the one thing that she was scared of about that day.

Walking down the aisle and standing beside her mother while she got married was nothing. She had been happy watching. Clary had never been one to love the spotlight, not really. She liked standing out, but not the way the blonde cheerleaders did or the way movie stars who won Oscars did. She liked standing out to the people who paid attention to the details.

Which was why, when her mother had asked her to give a speech during the wedding reception, Clary had been really tempted to say no.

She ended up agreeing, of course, because who was she to fuck up her mother's wedding day? She spent a lot of time on the speech, but it wasn't until she gave it her heart that it turned out right. Which was why she was scared about reading it to everyone―even Jace.

There are some things that you keep to yourself. Maybe for some people it's embarrassing moments, or the way you were the most hated kid when you were little, or maybe the way you needed physical therapy when you were little. You keep these things to yourself because they can hurt you, and it would be like giving someone a weapon for them to damage everything that makes you who you are. It's dangerous. It's risky. And it's not often worth it. But Clary's mother asked her to write a speech, and she couldn't let her mother down.

So she wrote a speech. And she cried.

When she finally stood in front of those hundreds of people her mother had invited to her wedding, all she wanted to do was run. But she couldn't. Sometimes, you have to let people know what you're afraid of. She sighed.

"When I was a kid, I thought my parents had the perfect relationship. Everything seemed fine. They kissed when he got home from work, and they slept in the same bedroom. But you could tell, even when you weren't looking, or even when you weren't really paying attention, that there was something missing. I didn't know what that was. I never did, not even when I stopped seeing my dad. Not until this past summer."

A few people murmured, but she continued. "This summer, I met the guy who is currently my boyfriend. His name is Jace. And at the beginning, I really didn't like him. He was everything I fought to stay away from, and he was looking for me. But then I gave him a chance. And one day turned into two, and two days turned into two weeks, and we got into a lot of trouble, and I'm not talking about the kind of trouble that includes lots of grounding because your parents caught you sneaking your boyfriend into your bedroom. We got into serious trouble, but I guess that's when you realize what love is―when you go through the hardest things in life with the person that might just be your one and only, and you realize how much they mean to you, and you realize that you have to keep going, just for them."

Jocelyn shot Clary a smile, willing her to continue. "I never really believed in love. Shocker, I know." She rolled her eyes, and a few people in the crowd laughed. "The thing about love, about believing in it, is that you have to go through it. For some people, for some very lucky people, it comes once and stays forever. But for others, those who are even luckier, it comes twice. Love isn't a thing that life gives you once it's left you. It's rare, and when you have it, it's not a happy feeling. In the movies, when you're in love, it's all butterflies and rainbows. Well, to me, it was the opposite of that. I was there when my mom left my dad―I left with her. I wasn't that old, but I wasn't that young, either. It may not have broken my heart when it happened, but it broke it later." Clary's eyes watered, but she blinked the tears away.

"When there's love, it means you have a heart. And I don't mean that you have the organ, because we all do. I mean that you have that thing that makes you capable of loving. And when you have that, and when you love someone with all of your heart, and when it makes you feel scared and anxious and like you're gonna throw up even though you haven't eaten, it means you can get your heart broken." Clary smiled through her tears, which she couldn't stop. "I've had my heart broken once. I'll never know if I was in love―maybe I was, maybe I wasn't―but I did have a broken heart. Love is a terrible thing. But it's also the thing that makes us live. It's what we breathe for, what we work for, what we come home to every day. It's what we're looking for. And let's face it, we try to be careful. But you can't love carefully. When you love, it has to be blindly and recklessly and freely, because it can't be love if you're holding back. Love will never fail to break your heart, but it's up to you and whoever loves you as much as you love them, whoever that is, even if it takes them years to come, to put it back together."

Everyone in the room clapped. Some people―most people―stood up as they did so. Clary blushed deeply, feeling embarrassed. She really didn't like the attention. She would definitely talk to her mother about putting her in the spotlight later. She avoided Jace's gaze as she sat down for her mother and Luke to do the toast.

She wasn't really paying attention. Her mind wandered off to distant places, her thoughts mostly composed of Jace. Would he totally, positively kill her for being so sappy? Ugh. Of course not. Jace was everything but an extremely judgmental guy when it came to her.

Once the toast was over, and the cake was cut, a lot of people wanted to talk to Clary. "Looks like you're a world-famous speech writer now," Jocelyn joked as she passed by her.

Clary stuck her tongue out at her mother, who laughed and joined Luke in the dance floor.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind her. She felt extremely tempted to run away, but couldn't. She knew that the person was looking at everyone on the table as he asked, "Can I steal Clary away for a few minutes?"

"You must be Jace," one of the ladies said.

"Yes, I am. And I can come talk later. Really," he said, his voice a bit forced. Clary swallowed her giggles. "But now, I wanna dance with my girl." Clary finally turned around, craning her neck to see his face. "Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

"Hmm . . ." She pretended to think.

"I'm offended." He held a hand to his chest.

"Of course I'd like to dance," she said, taking his hand from his chest and leading him to the dance floor. It was a slow song―typical. Thank you, DJ, she thought bitterly. You really couldn't have chosen a better song.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Jace whispered in her ear.

"I'm not avoiding you," she lied.

"I know you're lying. So, here I am, ready to be offended by your hurtful words as per usual. I'll take a bullet in the heart or whatever. What'd I do?"

"You didn't do anything, Jace." She sighed into his chest. "I feel so stupid. That entire speech."

"Was everything you said true?" he asked. She looked for any hint of mockery in his voice, but she only found sheer curiosity.

"Yeah. Sadly," she mumbled.

He took her face in his hands. She looked into his golden eyes, taken aback. "Then you shouldn't feel stupid. I love you, Clary. All of you. Even when you write the most incredible sappy speeches ever. Do you wanna know why everyone in this room stood up and clapped―including me?"

She nodded. She really did. Her speech wasn't even that great. Yeah, she cried while writing it, but it was because of the memories.

"They reacted the way they did," Jace continued, "because what you said was exactly what they'd been dying to say for a long time."

"But―"

"And also," he added, "because they remembered what had happened to them. They connected their memories to your words. And that's why you, Clary, are the most badass girl ever. You make people cry without insulting them. You can come in handy," Jace teased.

"Oh, shut up."

"And there's the bullet I was looking for."

Clary rolled her eyes. "You're impossible. But that's okay. You promised those women a talk. So go. Talk. I'm gonna go dance with Simon."

"You know you can't make me jealous with Simon," he said.

"Who says I'm trying to make you jealous?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Why would you think I'm trying to make anyone jealous?"

Jace groaned. "Just go."

"Love you too," she shot back, walking towards Simon and Izzy. They were deep into a conversation. "Hey, guys."

"Clary!" Izzy said, engulfing her in a hug. "That speech was so amazing!" Then, she smacked Clary's arm. "You're lucky I wore waterproof mascara."

"Ow!" Clary rubbed her shoulder. "I hate you. And sure, lucky. It's not like you just hit me with super strength or anything." She turned to Simon. "Hey. Wanna dance? It's a slow song. We all know you can't dance those with Izzy!"

"Why not?" Isabelle demanded.

"He's nervous he'll step on you or something. So, come on, Si." Clary grabbed him and pulled him towards the dance floor.

"You know," Simon said, "that speech was really good."

"Thanks," she said softly.

"I mean it. I mean, I haven't seen Izzy cry so hard in forever, and that one time doesn't really count."

"It wasn't that great." Clary rolled her eyes.

"Dude, shut up. You're only saying that 'cause you hate the fact that it draws attention to you. I'm your best friend. I draw attention to you all the time. So. Does that mean you hate me?"

"Of course I do." She pinched his cheeks and giggled. "But I looooooove you."

"So much looooooove," Simon teased as the song ended. "I'm gonna go back to my girlfriend now." Clary raised his eyebrows. "We've been dating for long enough, and I figured that it couldn't go wrong to officially ask the day of the wedding. I mean, it was a given before, but now it's official." He beamed.

"Congratulations," Clary said, grinning. She hugged Simon. "Welcome to the Taken world. Talk to you later."

"You too," he said to her.

She walked over to the table where Jace was. Apparently, it wasn't the best timing ever, considering that, just as she sat down, one of the ladies asked Jace, "So, are you planning to ask her anytime soon?"

"Ask her what?"

"To marry you, of course," the lady replied, and Clary choked on her own saliva. The lady was one of the oldest ones. She looked like she was almost ninety. Where the hell did her mother find these people? Clary's eyes were still wide, refusing to meet Jace's.

"I don't know . . ." He trailed off.

"Say maybe, and I'll be happy. You two are somethin', alright."

"Like I said, I don't know. I love Clary, but we kind of like to live in the moment."

"You can't just say never, right?"

"But I didn't."

"Saying 'I don't know' is for sissies, Jace."

Clary stifled her laughter and looked at her boyfriend. He didn't look annoyed, but amused. He caught her looking and smiled, just as she did. She melted into him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Maybe," Jace said finally.

"Someday?" Clary asked, smirking.

"Someday," he repeated softly.

And that was a promise.


Right. So, that's it, guys! My longest chapter so far, I think.

Thank you to maxwaylandgrey. Even though I hate you, I really don't hate you. You and Niall Horan will make beautiful babies someday. You're the best for putting up with my crap.
Thanks to Tay, for being super supportive from the other side of the world. Love you!
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers (sorry if I get any of your names wrong!): MaxWaylandGrey (eye roll), Tay, LexiSoulsister, Violet O'Shea, bllllleeehhh (cool username! xD), Smile 4 The Day, xXxXBOTDF136XxXx, BAmbi Magenta ANn, LiveLaughDreamInspire, hawaiiangirl, 4everjace11, nithusa, livibug (you like Mayday Parade, woooo!), oheyitsme, hushhushfan101, HailingSnowStorm, daniibabii, 07XReflectional (Paulinaaaaaa!), and all of you anonymous reviewers. :)
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