A/N: Hey Guys! So this chapter might be a bit confusing. It is all from Clary's perspective and has time skips. The first part is when she is around 6 years old, then eight, and finally sixteen. Don't worry, this chapter will be the only time there are major time skips because I usually hate them. I couldn't resist using them here though since it gives you guys an idea on Clary and Jace's relationship and I love fluff. There are no lemons yet, but they will probably appear in a few more chapters. ;) By the way, Jace is a year older than Clary and as always, read and review!

Disclaimer: If only I owned these characters...

Walking home with her best friend, Simon, Clary found herself thinking about the boy she met a month ago, Jace. She couldn't resist going up to the golden haired boy curled up on the floor because he reminded her of Jonathan, her older brother. They looked like they were the same age and Jace looked so sad. He seemed to really like watching her draw so she thought it would be a good idea to give him the picture. Plus, he was the only one who stayed quiet when she was drawing; everyone else asked questions and she couldn't focus when people did that.

Opening her door, Clary and Simon walked up to the kitchen counter. Her mother always made them afterschool snacks and as they hopped onto the seats, Jonathan came through the door. Following him were two boys. One had dark brown hair and blue eyes, the other made her jaw drop; it was Jace. Both boys looked uncertain when they came through the door, but when Jace saw Clary, his eyes widened.

"Clary?"

Turning towards Jace, Jon stared at him. "You know my little sister?"

"I'm not little Jon! I'm just shorter and younger than you." Out of the corner of her eye, Clary saw Simon roll his eyes. Suppressing a grin, she knew that he had witnessed this argument dozens of times and knew that she would win. Jon always caved once she started to pout and just as she was about to use her signature move, Jace let out a fake cough. That snapped them back to reality and the siblings blushed. Nudging Jon, he quickly introduced the shy blue eyed boy as Alec and the golden haired boy as Alec's adopted brother, Jace.

Jon seemed to forget his previous question to Jace and grabbed a box of snacks from the pantry. Herding his new friends to his room, Clary and Jace's eyes met for a moment. Her breath caught, but Simon's tug on her shoulder brought her out of a trance. Shaking her head, they ran up to her room and lost themselves in a game of cards.

o.O.o

Squeezing her eyes shut, Clary tried to block out the sounds of her parents arguing over petty issues. It was the same thing every night and she couldn't stand listening to it. She wanted to hide in Jonathan's room, like she used to do whenever she got scared, but her parents said that she was too old to share a bed with him. Once Clary woke up, it was impossible for her to fall back asleep and it was evident to her friends that something was wrong. She refused to tell her friends and they eventually stopped asking, but she could see the concern in their eyes.

Grabbing a sweater and a pair of sneakers, Clary opened her window. She couldn't stand the sound of people yelling and had to go to the one place where she felt comfortable, Izzy's house.

The first time she snuck over, she tried to sneak into Isabelle's room. Hoisting herself onto a tree branch, she started making her way up to Izzy's room but was interrupted when she felt something tugging her leg. Looking down, she saw a confused but determined look on Jace, Isabelle's adopted brother. Releasing the branch, she softly landed in front of him, and for a moment, she feared that he would send her back home. Her heart sped up in fear before Jace's expression softened and he led her upstairs to his room. Reluctantly climbing onto his bed, Clary stared at Jace, expecting him to either yell or lecture her when he opened his mouth.

"So what's your favorite color?" Feeling her jaw drop, Clary briefly entertained the idea that he was insane. No sane person would ask their little sister's friend that after seeing her about to cry. As a matter of fact, she was supposed to be in Izzy's room, not Jace's room.

"Gold" Clary wasn't sure what to make of this side of Jace. They hadn't really spoken more than a few words to each other since they first met, but he seemed different. One by one, Jace asked about nearly every detail in her life until he ran out of questions. When that happened, he switched to telling her about his own life, before he met the Lightwoods. Resting her head on his chest, Clary fell asleep, listening to the sound of his voice. When she woke, she found herself in her bed, with a short note written on her bedside table.

You seemed tired and I didn't want to wake you. If you ever need someone to talk to, I will be in my room, waiting. ~J

Silently, Clary snuck into his room and saw that Jace was listening to music with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful and barely reacted when Clary sat on his bed. Pulling her onto his lap, his arms curled around her and gently placed one of his earphones into her ear. The slow paced tune of the piano had a relaxing effect on Clary and they sat in peace until Jace broke the silence.

"What happened this time?"

"Dad came home late and was walking funny. Mom got mad at him and they started yelling at each other."

"How long?"

Using her hair as a curtain, Clary tried not to look at Jace's face. "… An hour"

Brushing her hair away, Jace tilted her chin up. His eyes looked hurt as he said, "You could have come here sooner; I know how much you hate listening to them yell." Staying silent, Clary curled into his lap and tried not to yawn. Jace still felt the motion through his chest and paused his music. Grabbing a pillow, he shifted Clary so that she was lying with her back against his chest, while he draped an arm around her waist.

o.O.o

Clary heard the loud buzz of an alarm in the background. Clary cracked open her eyes, searching for the annoying sound and slammed her hand on the alarm. A deep chuckle resonated through her back but Clary only groaned and curled into the warm body. Jace buried his fingers in her hair and let out a muffled yelp.

Sitting up, he glared at Clary. "What sane person carries pencils in her hair?"

"You know that I like to be prepared in case I get inspired. It's not my fault that the great Jace Herondale can't remember something so simple."

Narrowing his eyes, Jace grumbled, "Why can't it be like the old days where you carried harmless crayons instead of spiked death traps in your hair?"

Ignoring his retort, Clary laid back down on the bed, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep before she had to go to school. She knew that she had to make it back to her room before Jonathan or her dad noticed her disappearance, but Jace had an incredibly comfortable bed.

Clary once made the mistake of telling him this so he devised a new way to get her out of bed. Lifting her up bridal style, he dumped her on the rug in the middle of the room. Expecting this, Clary latched her arms around his neck, like a drowned cat, as he bent over to put her down. It was a comical sight and she squealed when he plopped down on the ground with her.

In a normal house, the sound of their squeals and laughter would have warranted some investigation but all of the bedrooms were soundproof. Apparently, the previous homeowners were wannabe musicians and they soundproofed the rooms so that they could "practice their art." Clary rolled her eyes as she remembered the disgusted look on Isabelle's face whenever their parents went away on a business trip. Jace usually invited girls to his room and she had the misfortune of walking in on them, several times before she learned to knock.

Clary ignored the twinge of annoyance that she got whenever she thought of Jace's "girl toys" as Isabelle liked to call them and was grateful that she never walked in on one. Snapping out of her thoughts, Clary used Jace's hand to help pull herself up and quietly snuck out of the house. They were strictly friends but if Jon or her father found out, Jace would probably be beaten to within an inch of his life.

Expertly slipping into her room, Clary quickly got ready for school and headed to the kitchen. Biting into her apple, Clary felt a large hand ruffling her hair and a saccharine voice yell, "Clare-Bear!" Jon gave her that nickname when she was little and only used it when he was in a good mood. Fixing her hair, Clary shot a glare at her brother before following him to his car. Except for Jon's car, the driveway was empty. Their dad was with his mystery woman again, meaning he wouldn't be home for another few more hours.

Sitting in Jon's car, Clary stared out the window as the houses flew by. Spotting Jace's black Mercedes, Clary felt her heart skip a beat. It was ridiculous. Clary had basically known Jace all of her life and after ten years, it still skipped a beat; she realized a long time ago that he would never reciprocate his feelings. A voice in the back of her head tried to insist that it was something more, but she ignored it. Seeing the approaching figure of the school, Clary pushed the thought to the back of her mind and prepared to start the first day of 11th grade.