Even through the burning headache, Jace felt the buzz vibrating from his pants. Slowly he blinked his eyes open, his vision disoriented and a little hazy as he took the room in. Light blue walls with paintings covering every square inch. Neat. Clean. Much his own room, toss in a bunch of Playboy posters and minus the paintings.
He shook his head slightly.
Terrible idea. The pain in his skull shot needles into his brain cells. He groaned, and stiffened as something shifted beside him. Ducking his head, he felt his eyes grow round and his cheeks flush. Clary was curled into his side, sleeping peacefully, fully clothed, her copper eyelashes fluttering slightly.
Clary.
He had never seen anyone so beautiful.
He also had no clue how he had gotten there, much less in her bed. Was she still made at him?
The phone was really starting to tingle his butt, and he slid it out, moving slowly as to not disturb Clary.
"Valentine?"
"Jace," his boss grunted. "Come to my office in ten minutes. I've got something for you."
"Whaaat the – fifteen minutes? No way. I can't make it there in – "
Call ended.
"Asshole," he muttered, sliding out of bed.
…
Thirty three minutes and forty seconds later, Jace breezed through the doors of Valentine's office, hair slightly combed, clothes in disarray.
Valentine gave him the critical eye. "So this is what the new fashion these days for the younger generation is like. You look like a hobo prostitute."
Hobo prostitute? What?
"I'm sorry?" Jace said.
Completely ignoring him, Valentine ran a hand through his whitish hair, before rummaging through a drawer to produce a beanie dog. The color of shit, it had the biggest, creepiest goggly eyes Jace had ever seen.
Valentine played with the baggy ears for a minute, and then slid it across the desk. It slumped over, like it was sad and slouching.
Jace raised an eyebrow.
"I want you to keep that on your computer," Valentine said, sensing his confusion.
He choked. "Two words: Hell. No."
"Why?"
Jace heaved a great sigh. "Why? That, Valentine, is a stuffed animal. The ugliest fu – effing dog known to be manufactured. Do you know the extent of the debacle I am to face if I am caught with that – that thing?"
Do you know how hard Clary would freak if she saw me holding that thing?
Dear God, she'd probably laugh to death.
Valentine smiled. "Perfect. I see we have reached a compromise. On the top of the computer it is. You are dismissed."
"What? I – "
"Buh-bye."
Jace grabbed the dog, squeezing his fist around it. He wasn't really angry; it was all for show. Something square and hard within the fluff poked his palm. Valentine eyed the dog.
"Careful."
Jace mimed flinging the thing at the wall. "You called me in this early to give me this?"
…
A little more than a week later
Clary closed the file on Hell's Loose, content with the reviews the recent customer had given. Although not yet on market, word of a new antivirus software had spread. She had been going around to promote Hell's Loose, and, now that she thought about it, rarely for Demon Spray. She couldn't even remember the last time she and Jace had a client together.
It had already been more than half a year since it was released, which also meant that the year of SAI and MC collaboration would almost end too.
She spun around in her chair, snickering as she saw the dog on Jace's computer.
Jace. She would actually miss him a little once he was back at MC. His voice, his teasing, his presence…
Okay, so maybe she'd miss him a lot.
"Stop that snickering," he deadpanned without turning around. "It's impolite and distracting."
That made her laugh. "I'm distracting? Seriously, do you even work with that thing staring at you?"
"Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful. Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful~"
"The world's next American Idol winner: Jaaaace Wayland!"
He could barely carry a tune.
Now he spun around, leaning forward to plant a kiss to her lips. Then leaning back, "I know you love me. I know you careee~"
Sweet mother of Jesus. Somebody save me now.
"Oh, please. So. What do you want to do tonight?" She asked, making a not-so-subtle subject change.
Jace sent her a wicked grin that told her she was anything but escaping. "Hey baby girl watcha doing tonight, I wanna see if you can give me some more – "
"You can be my it boy, this is it boy, loving you can be a crime – "
"It's girl. It girl."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but that obviously wouldn't work if I sang it to you. Last night when I checked, you were still a boy."
He waggled his eyebrows. "You sure about that, baby?"
She dropped her eyes seductively. "You want me to check?"
The next thing Clary knew, her back was pressed against the desk, Jace's hands digging into her hips, his mouth hot on hers. The hard edge of the desk pushed into her back, but she barely registered the pain. Only Jace, and the things he was doing to her under her shirt.
His mouth trailed down her jaw, moving along her throat, before biting gently in the dip where her neck met her shoulder. She gasped, her body jerking and pressing into him.
"God, Jace," she moaned. He bit her again, and his hips grinding against hers, not stopping even when the phone rang.
With much difficulty, she placed a hand on his chest, trying to push him away. It didn't work.
"Phone," she murmured.
"Later," he whispered, kissing the corner of her mouth while his hands did naughty things under her shirt.
She moaned into his mouth, biting his lip and earning a growl. The phone kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing.
"Hello, you've reached Clary Fray's office. She is currently unavailable, so please leave a message after the beep. Beep."
"Ms. Clary Fray? This is Dr. Starkweather. You're friend Simon Lewis has been injured severely in a car accident and he is currently in extensive care at St. Peter's Hospital. We went through his contact information and decided it was best to contact you. Please come as soon as possible."
Both of them had frozen in place. Jace's hands dropped and hung limply at his sides.
"Clary," he said.
It was like her name was the key that broke the spell.
"Simon," she choked out. With a shove, she pushed Jace off, running for the door. It couldn't be happening.
Practical, reasonable Simon, her childhood friend, the guy who yelled at her every time for speeding by 5 mph, had been severely injured in a car accident?
Clary couldn't keep the sob from escaping her throat. She'd been so stupid, so blind, so foolish. Simon had been her best friend, and they'd barely even talked in the past six months. There was still so much left for her to tell him.
He couldn't be gone.
He couldn't.
…
Jace stood standing where Clary had left him hanging, staring blankly at the door that she'd slammed. He'd remembered the look in her eyes as she took in Dr. Starkweather's call – shocked, disbelieving, fearful.
The look in her eyes as she pushed him off. The look in her eyes as she said Simon's name desperately.
Like a lover who couldn't believe that her boyfriend had been killed in a war. Like Juliet when she saw Romeo's dead body. Like she loved him.
Simon…that rat faced geek…dead?
No, not dead yet. But damn, he felt bad for the kid, and even worse for Clary. And even worse than feeling bad for both of them was the feeling of uncertainty and jealously that was clenching his heart in a vice-like grip.
Did Clary love Simon?
He was such an asshole, even Jace knew that himself, for thinking these thoughts while someone's life was in jeopardy, but he couldn't help it. Clary was his. It didn't feel right to see her in someone else's arms, for her to date anyone else, for her to be with anyone else.
He was still deep in thought when the door banged open again. His head shot up, but it wasn't Clary.
Jace sighed. "What do you want, Sebastian."
Sebastian tossed something through the air to him and Jace caught it reflexively. A USB glinted in his hand.
"Old Val wanted me to dock something onto your computer and then transfer it to your sex buddy – I mean, Clary – 's computer." He sauntered over to Jace's computer, plugged to USB in, and Jace watched as he dragged a file folder onto the documents tab. "Hey. Mind grabbing me a cup of coffee, a bag of chips – Doritos and Ruffles – three pizzas, and five cookies, one of each kind?"
Jace robotically walked out, down the stairs, and to the cafeteria, glad for something to do. His mind still rang with Simon's news.
Ordering Sebastian's food took forever. Not only had the cashier mixed up the bags of chips, the dude had also charged him a full $10 extra, and Jace had argued with him for a full twenty minutes. Now, carrying the boxes of pizza and food in his arms, he could barely see where he was walking, so when Sebastian came storming into him, he nearly dropped everything.
"Thanks man," Sebastian grinned, taking the load. "Look, the USB's not quite done, but I've got an interview with a future employee to catch, so finish up for me, and then give it to Valentine."
"Sure…" Jace muttered. He walked in, and it was only a few minutes later that the file finished copying. He pulled out the USB just as the door banged open. Clary stood there, her hair wild and flaring, her eyes bright.
"Bullshit!" She yelled. "Totally, complete bullshit – what are you doing by my computer?"
Jace palmed the USB. "What?"
"My computer. What were you doing on it." Her eyes narrowed.
"Sebastian came over to transfer some files Valentine wanted to see, but he had to run. I was just finishing up for him." He crossed the room and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But what about Simon?"
The anger flared in her green eyes once more. "That's exactly what I was bitching about. There was no car accident. Simon's completely fine. Someone was prank calling me."
Relief spread through Jace's chest like water flowing over a rock. It surprised him; he didn't think he cared at all for that geek. "Well, that's good. As long as he's not dead."
Clary twined her fingers between his. "Yeah, you're right."
Reluctantly he shook his hand free. "I've got to send this up to MC. I'll be right back."
"You better," Clary grinned, an evil sparkle in her eye. "So we can pick up at where we left off."
Ehh….sorry for the long wait
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