Hey guys! I am so sorry for the delay. I got swamped with homework, exams, and sever writer's block. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter and please leave a review.

No lemons in this chapter. A big fluff warning, but not between who you are expecting!

Disclaimer: Mortal Instruments is the property of Cassandra Clare.

Magnus walked out of Alec's room with a satisfied smile on his face. Despite his efforts, Alec was still uncomfortable about their relationship in public but in private, the boy was natural. Magnus's hand twitched to fix his hair, knowing that his love had probably messed it up as they kissed. He made his way towards the stairs when he saw Isabelle, pacing by Jace's door. She muttering to herself and jerked to a stop, pressing her ear against the door.

An amused grin spread on Magnus's face. "Sweetie, after living in this house for 16 years, you should probably remember that these rooms are soundproof. Besides, why would you want to listen to Jace and his blond toy going at it?"

Subconsciously, Magnus tilted his hips away from the glaring Lightwood and stepped around her. Curiosity overrode his sensibility and before Isabelle could object, he knocked on Jace's door. A few moments passed without a response. Frowning, Magnus knocked harder against the door and Jace answered the door, dressed in just a towel.

His eyes were drawn to low hanging towel but were distracted by the disheveled red head standing behind him. Panic flitted across her eyes and Magnus saw two distinctive wet hand prints on her waist.

"Clary?" His jaw slacked in disbelief. This was impossible, simply impossible. Jace could be a headstrong idiot at times, but even he wouldn't do something as stupid as messing with Jon's little sister.

The smell of vanilla invaded his senses as Isabelle leaned over his shoulder. She looked just as surprised as Magnus felt, but as the shock wore off, she let out a triumphant squeal. Isabelle pushed past both of the boys and reached to grab Clary's arm when a third voice sounded in the background.

"Hey Iz, have you seen Clary? She's not answering her phone." Jon walked up the stairs and paused when he saw the crowd around Jace's door.

Clary felt the heat in her cheeks worsen and saw that Jace barely managed to look composed. Neither knew what to say when Jon peeked through the doorway.

"Clare-bear, why didn't you answer your phone? We are going out to dinner today and you should be at home getting ready." Suspicion laced the end of his sentence as he took in her mussed clothes.

Clary saw Jon's eyes flit over to Jace and the disapproval in them grew when he saw what Jace was wearing. "What's happened here?"

Clary tried to come up with a believable lie when Jace saved her. "She left her sketchpad here a few days ago so I told her to stop by my room to get it." Smirking, he saw the suspicion begin to fade from Jon's eyes. "She walked into my room without knocking and was so amazed by the sight of my chest that she forgot how to walk properly. As a true gentleman, I rescued the damsel in distress, only to encounter a horde of people trying to accuse me of stealing her innocence."

Magnus and Isabelle were too shocked to say anything and simply nodded their heads in agreement when Jon looked to them for confirmation. "Alright then, sorry for being suspicious bro. I should have realized that Clare-bear was too young and innocent for your tastes."

Clary bit back a retort since that was better than admitting what had really happened to Jon. His apology was supposed to improve the situation but it stung. First lunch and now this? Was she too innocent for Jace?

Unable to meet Jace's face, Clary barely left the room when Jon turned around. "Didn't you come up here for your sketchpad? Never mind, I will get it for you."

Ruffling her hair, Jon walked back into Jace's room and asked him where he put Clary's sketchpad. The blood drained from Clary's face as she remembered that her sketchpad was in her bag. She had a second one but the last time she remembered seeing it was in her room that morning.

That sketchpad was what made their story plausible. If Jace couldn't come up with something, then that would ruin their story and make Jon even more suspicious. With a slight hesitation, Jace seemed to pull a key out of nowhere and unlocked one of the drawers in his desk.

Clary sighed in relief when she saw him pull out one of her old sketchpads. She never let people look at her drawings because they were personal. However, Jace kept pestering her about it so she eventually made a deal with him. Whenever she used up a sketchbook, he could have it.

A faint smile crossed her face as she saw the book. She gave him that book three years ago and didn't know that he still kept it. He seemed reluctant to give it to Jon, but he already had it in his hand and couldn't back out of it now. Reaching past Jon, Clary grabbed it and carefully put it back in her bag, making a mental note to bring it with her the next time she came over.

Dragging Jon by the arm, she reminded him that they had to get ready for the dinner and waved good bye to Jace.

~o.O.o~

At the start of the school year, Valentine always took his children out to dinner. They all treated it as a special occasion, got dressed up and then went to a fancy restaurant. They did this for as long as Clary could remember and the only time they missed it was the year her mother left. Stricken with grief and anger, her father locked himself up in his room, but made up for it a week later.

The dinner passed by without any trouble. As she finished her chicken, Valentine cleared his throat. "Jonathan, would you drive Clarissa back home? I have matters that I need to attend to tonight." Wiping his face, he left his credit card on the table and nodded his head in farewell.

To anyone else, this would have seemed like an innocent gesture but they knew what his pressing "matters" were that night. He was seeing his mystery woman again. Normally, they would have objected to him leaving early but he left them their credit card and whatever woman he was seeing put him in a better mood.

"Wow, dad and that woman must be getting serious. He never sees a woman this often and he has never left our dinners early." Jon looked uneasy for a moment.

Twirling their father's credit card, Clary gave him a sly grin. "True, but he also left us his credit card. Now I don't know about you, brother dearest, but I am in the mood for a little fun."

Hailing a waiter, Jon smirked and laughed. "I like the way you think. Though now I wonder if too much exposure to Jace has ruined my once innocent little sister." Clary nearly choked on her water but followed Jon without responding.

After checking the driveway, the Morgenstern children pulled into the driveway, laughing and carrying bags full of sweets. They were both fit and it always shocked people when they found out about the legendary Morgenstern sweet tooth.

Running to the kitchen, Clary pulled out two large bowls and Jonathan charged through the doors, dumping their prize on the counter. They made quick work of the wrappers and immediately scooped out large amounts of ice cream into each bowl. Toppings rapidly flew onto the mounds of ice cream, but they saved the best part for last: whipped cream.

Just as she was about to add it, Jonathan stopped her. He had a serious look on his face and looked like he had to deliver bad news when he whipped out a can of whipped cream. Roaring in victory, he unleashed his weapon, spraying his little sister all over with the foam.

Squealing in surprise, Clary raised her arms, trying to protect herself from the onslaught. She begged Jon to stop and yelled that he was ruining her dress, but he knew that she didn't care about her clothes. Slowly, she backed away, inching herself closer to the other can.

It was almost within reach when Jon pulled a second can from behind his back. It came flying at her with twice the force and she slid her own can behind her back, waiting for Jon to run out. When the time came, he turned to run away, but she jumped onto his back. Squeezing the cream onto his hair and face, she laughed in victory.

Jumping off his back, Clary ran up to her room. She stripped off the ruined dress and took a shower to rid her hair of the sticky cream. Slipping on a loose tank top and shorts, she saw that Jon had already cleaned up their war, a giant grin spread on his face.

Clary loves these moments with her brother. They were close when they were little but time slowly started wedging them apart. Plopping onto a chair, she eyed her bowl of ice cream, regretting that they had used up all of the whipped cream on each other.

Jon saw her downcast expression and chuckled. Reaching inside the final bag, he pulled out another can of whipped cream. "I had a feeling we were going to use the stuff up so I bought an extra can when you weren't looking. Shall I do the honors?"

Clary laughed and hugged Jon as he topped off her sundae and finished his. Grabbing both of the bowls, Clary followed him into the living room and let him pick the movie since he cleaned up their mess. Settling onto the couch, Clary scarfed down her food and slowly relaxed next to Jon. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was being Jon shutting off the television and carrying her upstairs.

~o.O.o~

Waking up, Clary half expected to be wrapped up in Jace's arms. Stretching, she smiled as she remembered the night before and quickly got ready for school. Rifling through her wardrobe, Clary felt yesterday's doubt continuing to worm around her mind.

She didn't have the chance to talk to Jace about what happened between them and was confused about where they stood. Did he just kiss her to shut her up? Did he want to kiss her again? The biggest question though, how did he feel about her?

Insecurity swept through her as she gazed at her reflection. Her untamed red curls looked like a rat's nest, her green eyes felt ordinary, and her figure was less than desirable compared to other girls. Once, Clary made the mistake of mentioning that to Isabelle and ended up getting slapped for "not seeing her hotness".

Picking up her clothes, Clary decided to put in a little more effort for Jace and settled on a summer dress. The top was slightly tighter and had a lower necked than the rest of her clothes, plus it was also shorter, so Clary rarely wore it. But today, Clary was going to show Jace what she had to offer and maybe they would be able to figure out what was going on between them.

Putting her hair into a messy bun as she walked, Jon raised an eyebrow at her appearance. He would have liked it on any other girl, but seeing it on his little sister made him swaddle her up in a blanket. However, they were running late and it wasn't worth the ensuing argument so he let the issue slide, for now.

The first half of school seemed to pass by Clary in a daze. The dress earned Isabelle's approval and earned her a few more looks than usual, but not from the one she wanted. When lunch came around, Clary was tempted to give up. If Jace wanted to talk to her, he would have found her by now. She once accused him of implanting a tracking chip in her because he had an uncanny ability of finding her.

The one highlight however, was Simon and Isabelle. A week after they broke up, Isabelle had asked Clary if she was over Simon and if she would be fine if anything happened between them. Most girls would have been insulted but Clary simply nodded and gave her blessings. They were her best friends and if they wanted to get together, then that was fine with her.

Everyone was eating outside today and Clary spotted Magnus's signature glittered spikes. Wandering over, she sat next to Simon and saw that he was flirting with Isabelle. Smothering a laugh, Clary turned towards Alec and was about to ask him about homework when a shadow passed over her food.

Jace was standing behind her and his fists were clenched in anger. Tapping Simon on his shoulder, he withdrew his fist and landed a solid blow on his jaw. Cracking his knuckles, Jace stared at Simon narrowed eyes and walked away.