I love your reviews, guys! Thank you so much! Oh and quick disclaimer, I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill either. Or else I would be BFF's with Brooke Davis and sandwiched between Clay and Lucas :P
Clary didn't see Jace for nearly two weeks after their day out at the pier. That didn't mean she didn't hear from him every couple of days by text. The first thing she learnt was that Jace wasn't staying with his dad—which would explain why she hadn't seen him in their apartment building, and so it was a good thing that she hadn't knocked on the mans door the other afternoon. The second thing she gathered, although he didn't outright confirm, was that his dad wasn't actually aware that he was in the city. Jace said that he had moved into the downstairs room of the two-storied walk up Isabelle and Alec were renting. Once he got back from his mums, he told her that Alec had wanted time off, so he had been working every day.
Which Clary was fine with.
It gave her time to breathe and figure herself out.
Simon left on the Friday afternoon and Clary went with him and his family to the airport. He was still complaining, and told Clary that she wasn't allowed to reveal any spoilers from the latest Arrow episodes when emailing him. She begged him to go to a nude beach and she had earned a narrow eyed look from his mother.
Saturday, she slept in until noon and then spent the rest of the day on her computer, applying for jobs and making her way through the first season of One Tree Hill. It had been a long time since she had watched the series, and she had forgotten how much she liked it. By the sixth or seveth episode, she was singing along with Gavin DeGraw's theme song, and didn't hear her mother come in.
"Hey, babe," Jocelyn sounded exhausted.
"Hey, mum," Clary turned down the volume on her TV and looked over at her mum in the doorway of the room. "You look tired."
"Yeah, shifts have been a little hectic lately, and running late," Jocelyn said, coming over and sitting down on the bed. "I've got some time off next month and Luke suggested we go away for a long weekend."
"That would be fun," Clary commented.
"Would you be okay here by yourself? Since Simon is away?"
"Mu-um," Clary rolled her eyes. "You leave me alone all the time."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I like it—and you're still my baby," Jocelyn slung an arm around Clary. "I still worry about you. Even though you're all grown up and graduating and getting on the back of boys motorbikes—and getting tattoos!" She reached over and turned Clary's palm upward to look at the tattoo. "It looks like it's healing well. You've been putting that cream on everyday?"
"Yes," Clary rolled her eyes again.
"Okay, just checking," Jocelyn settled into the pillows behind her. "I like this show, I think that dark haired one is nice looking."
"Nathan? Ew," Clary crinkled up her nose. "I reckon Lucas, the blonde, is hot. Especially in the later seasons. Oh, and Clay—he comes in later."
"You and your blondes, aye?" Jocelyn teased, nudging her in the side lightly.
"Shut up, mum."
The Sunday a week later, Jace called just after Jocelyn had left for her night shift, asking if she wanted to come over for dinner and a movie. He casually added at the end of the sentence that she was welcome to stay the night because he had no work tomorrow. Clary hadn't known how to respond to that, so she had steered clear of that part of the invitation and asked if she wanted him to grab them dinner on the cab ride over. Jace had said that they would get it together and that he was already waiting downstairs for her. Clary ended the call, grabbing her cardigan, wallet and keys from the lounge, locked the door and jogged down the stairs. Jace's bike was parked at the curb and he was leaning against it, wearing dark jeans, a grey shirt and a leather jacket, his blonde hair being tousled in the wind.
Somehow, he looked even more attractive that he had two weeks ago.
"How'd you know I'd say 'yes'?" Clary challenged with raised eyebrows.
"I hoped you would," Jace said, uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to his side as he smiled at her. Clary returned his smile and accepted the helmet when he offered it to her. They stopped by a small Chinese bar just down from where he lived and ordered dinner, Clary carefully holding the plastic bag between them the short distance to his place. His half of the apartment was full, but tidy.
"Sorry, had to get all my stuff out of my mums place because she's putting it on the market, and the real estate agent is showing people through," Jace explained as they maneuvered through several unpacked boxes. "I'll probably end up throwing most of this stuff out. I hate feeling cramped."
"We have heaps of stuff that we keep in Luke's basement. I can ask him if there's anymore room," Clary offered as they began to unpack the Chinese.
"Yeah, maybe," Jace shrugged. "I don't want a lot of it. I think it's time for a fresh start and all."
"But what about all the memories that come with this stuff?" Clary looked around as she separated her chop sticks and rubbed them together. "I remember when mum got rid of this old green chair that we had since I was born—I got pretty teary over that!" Jace laughed but didn't reply, turning his attention to the plastic container in front of him. They ate and Jace told her about his work over the past few weeks. Clary told him about the jobs she was applying for and Simon's first email from his holiday, including a family photo where everyone was grinning broadly.
Except Simon.
Who looked like he wanted to shoot himself.
Afterwards, Jace cleared their rubbish and took her through to his bedroom. The instant the neatly made, king-sized bed came into view, Clary felt her stomach erupt in a flood of butterflies. Unlike the kitchen and lounge area, Jace's room was completely organized. The double bed was in the corner, facing a set of wooden drawers where a large flat screen TV was resting. On the other side of the room there was a small bookcase, which was full, next to the wardrobe doors and on the ground there were several pairs of shoes lined up against the wall. Jace sat on the edge of the bed with a stack of DVD's, flicking through and apparently unaware of her hesitation. She took a couple steps, trying to appear nonchalant as she shoved her hands into her pockets.
"You choose out of these ones," Jace told her, holding out three different movies. Clary deliberated before picking out one and holding it out. "Lord of the Rings? You like them?"
"Second one is my favorite," Clary responded.
"So you've seen all of them?"
"My best friend is, like, the biggest nerd on the planet," Clary laughed. "Of course I've seen all of them—and the extended versions, which are like five hours each." Jace smirked and slipped the DVD in, shuffling back on his bed with the remote in his hand. Clary was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, uncertain as to where she was meant to sit. Jace raised his eyebrow at her after a moment and held out a hand to her. Clary stepped forward jerkily, sitting down on the edge of the bed and trying to appear completely casual. A second later, Jace's arm was around her waist and he was hauling her across the bed so that she had her back against the pillows and her side was firmly against his.
"You make things so difficult, Red," Jace muttered, leaving his arm around her and leaning back against the pillows with her, making himself comfortable. In the process of being lifted across the bed, her shirt was hitched upward, exposing the smooth skin of her side. Clary was overly aware of her bare skin, but Jace's hand stayed where it was, just under her breast.
At least for half of the movie.
After about an hour of the film, Jace moved around, stretching out his long legs, arching his back, and then relaxing, slouching down lower than he had been before. His hand fell lower as well, slipping completely under her shirt and splaying across her naked flesh. Everything about Clary tensed, her abdominal muscles contracting under his touch. He brushed his fingers lightly over her skin, not dipping any lower or rising any higher, just continually rubbing her side, tracing circles at her hip and sending sparks skittering over her skin. Jace glanced at her from under his eyelashes before looking back at the TV.
"Relax, Red," he murmured. Clary took in a deep breath, embarrassed by how easily he read her body language. She forced herself to calm down, settling down lower, like him, so that she was lying right next to him, and resting her head on his shoulder. She didn't see the small smile on Jace's face, but she did feel his grip on her hip tighten slightly, and a warm feeling settled at the pit of her stomach, spreading throughout her body.
They finished the first movie, and Jace moved forward to put in the second in the trilogy. Clary shrugged out of her cardigan, idly wondering if the reason for her overheating was due to the room temperature or her close proximity to Jace. He moved back, starting up the movie and resuming the same position, pulling Clary back to him.
Ten minutes into the movie, there as a loud thud and a squeal directly above their heads.
"Shit!" Clary leaped forward, sitting up straight and staring at the ceiling. Jace laughed and circled his hand around her wrist and tugged gently, urging her to lay back down. There was another thud, but this time was followed by a laugh. "What's going on up there?" Clary asked, frowning at the ceiling.
"That's Izzy's room," Jace said, as if that explained it all. Clary continued to look at him and Jace grinned back. "And the floors are just really thin," he elaborated.
"Oh," Clary uttered, not full understanding what he meant. Then there were a few rhythmic squeaks, followed by a moan and then the words 'fuck, yes, right there' filtered through the floorboards and Clarys lips parted and she flushed to the tips of her ears. "Oh," she uttered. Jace laughed and cuddled her closer to his side.
"Don't worry," he said. "We can just turn this up." He pointed the remote at the television and turned the volume up.
The moaning and squeaking continued, but it was muffled by the movie. By the time Jace put the final installment int the DVD player, Clary's eyelids were heavy and her brain was closing down. He pulled a blanket over them and held her close, his scent surrounding her and lulling her to sleep.
Now, two things that have made me get the feels over the past week. Went to the beach for a long weekend with a couple of my girls, which was awesome. Admittedly, we only actually went down to the beach once and spent the rest of it drinking wine and eating pizza and watching Geordie Shore and Ex On The Beach marathons, but it was perfect. The second thing is the song Haunt by Bastille. Oh my GOD. That song just makes me ache every time I hear it! It's so perfect, I just get the shivers.