Hey guys, so thanks again for the reviews. follows and favourites - really appreciate them! Won't be able to update at all this coming weekend so have done half of the actual party chapter now and the next will hopefully come by Tuesday. The pace is pretty fast moving now, and Clary and Jace start to come a lot closer very quickly! Sorry if you feel i'm moving too fast but hopefully the events leading up to the end of the chapter make it more of a natural progression. Last thing to mention sorry for Jonathan's evilness in this chapter!

Chapter 5

"Shadowhunters?!" Maia said whilst applying her makeup, thick, heavy eyeliner that shaped her eyes perfectly.

"Okay well it's something me and my brothers made up when we were little," Izzy began, "When we were playing around we needed something to fight all of these imaginary demons and we made up these 'superhumans' called shadowhunters. They're half human and half angel and have these super cool things called runes which give them powers…well we were really into it at the time. It's a tradition of ours to dress up as them on Halloween and when I see Clary I think now she's shadowhunter material, no offence Maia…"

"None taken…" was the bemused reply of the girl whose offence was in question, who looked happy to be out of the whole fiasco. Clary wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea, less so when Izzy came at her brandishing a sharpie.

"Okay so we drew these runes all over our bodies and trust me when I say I have had a LOT of practice!" Not having the heart to crush her enthusiasm Clary relented all control, sitting passively whilst Izzy drew permanent ink on her. When she finally allowed Clary to look in the mirror she was pleasantly surprised. Down the side of her neck were intricate shapes spiralling down on various parts of her body. Across her shoulder blades were symmetrical 'runes' as well as on her wrists. Her collarbone was also graced with another design, and Clary smiled at her new appearance. She looked tough and feisty, easily worthy of the title of someone who could stand up to Jonathan. As well as this Izzy had made her eyes smoky with the use of grey and black eyeliner, increasing the size of them and giving them definition. Even Izzy looked slightly surprised at what her efforts had achieved, and Clary heard Maia wolf whistle.

As for the dressing of a shadowhunter, Clary was slightly sceptical of the very short black dress of Izzy's which she claimed she wore 'as a casual top'. What children's game involves dressing like sluts…were the thoughts travelling through Clary's mind. Isabelle, as if sensing Clary's trepidation, hurriedly breathed "The idea was initiated purely innocently...you dress to attract attention..."

Clary was going to make a gesture of resistance but stopped when she saw what Izzy planned to wear. Laid out on her bed were the hugest pair of black wedges Clary had ever seen, followed by a tight fitting blood red dress, which flared ad the hips and had an extremely low cut front, with netting filling in the space between. Once it was on her Clary couldn't help but take a hit at her own self esteem, she looked incredible. Maia did also, Clary realised. With furry gloves she wore a black vest top tucked into a fuzzy miniskirt, with ears to compliment the outfit too.

Jace emerged from the library where he had been indulging himself in some light reading for the last few hours to find the party in full swing, with more flooding in by the minute. He wasn't dressed up, and, as he'd said to placate Izzy, he wasn't really in the party mood. She had let the issue go after that, knowing he had skipped school for the last couple of days so something must be up. Jace sighed, realising he'd have to start shaping up if he was going to graduate, and that there would be hell to pay when the Lightwood's got back from their business trip. As he was walking through to get to his room his eyes caught sight of the red-head in art looking absolutely ravishing in a tight black dress which hugged her body perfectly, cutting off mid-thigh. Shadowhunter, Jace noted with a smile as he saw the delicate runes all over her skin, making her look sublime. Captivated by her, Jace stood still and forgot about the pressed teenage bodies around him, watching as she stood anxiously looking around alone in the corner. Before he knew what he was doing, and abandoning the 'avoiding the party idea' Jace found himself striding over to her. When he got there he took a while to appreciate their close proximity, marvelling at what he imagined was Izzy's handiwork.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" He said, leaning close so she would understand over the blaring music. Jace watched the way her eyes widened when she saw who he was, a light pink glossing her cheeks as she hesitantly smiled and nodded. Noting her nervousness, Jace decided beer was the best option as he didn't want her to be intimated by him thrusting a spirit at her. He wandered to the kitchen, and after picking up two beers from the fridge, handed one to her. As their fingertips brushed eachother during the exchange Jace was surprised to feel a sharp tingle escalate up his arm, jerking his arm away as soon as he got a chance. Clary seemed to have a similar reaction, jumping slightly as if she had had an electric shock.

Meanwhile Daniel was holding Jonathan back as he tried to go over to where Jace and Clary were standing.

"Look this is fine," he was saying, "He's distracted by her to notice us, it'll be much easier now." With further consoling words Jonathan relented, ceasing to struggle against Daniel's grip. He collected himself aptly, and once he had regained control and squashed the initial bile that had risen from seeing Clary in an exchange with the guy he despised most at the school, he went through the plan with his accomplice again making sure every detail was covered. As they made their way towards the corner Jonathan ensured his game face was entact.

"Hey there, Jace. See you're socialising with my sister over here." He inclined his head over to Clary whilst draping an arm round her drawing her closer. Clary visibly stiffened from his touch, an action that did go unnoticed by Jace as he became on edge. He returned an uneasy reply of greeting and waited for Jonathan to continue, barely registering the silent Daniel standing by him, eyeing his beer hungrily.

"Well I know what I said before, and the consequence still stands. Lay a finger on her and you'll be sorry." His arm fell from Clary as he stared at Jace, his black eyes penetrating his gaze which he did not relinquish until he felt Daniel's foot tap his once, the sign they had arranged. Abruptly he grabbed Clary's wrist and muttering "Follow me I need to talk to you" walked away, hoping Daniel would slip away into the shadows.

Getting into the hallway Clary found herself whipped round and held against the wall, her shoulders roughly gripped by Jonathan.

"What the hell are you wearing Clarissa?" His teeth grinded, with bits of saliva coming out as a sign of his rage. Clary stood, mute, as she watched the anger build up in him as it had many times before, preparing herself for the worst. As if to emphasise his point he grabbed a bit of the flimsy material, yanking it harshly making it tear. Tears of anger began to form in the corner of Clary's eyes as she struggled against his grip, fuming at the way in which he had had the audacity to ruin someone else's property. She closed her eyes firmly shut, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"You look like a common whore." Jonathan uttered, his eyes raking over her skimpy outfit. Clary outraged at this statement and feeling more claustrophobic by the second, took this opportunity to knee Jonathan in the groin in an effort to make him release her. It hurt, she could tell, but this only served in enraging him further as he reached his hand back and slapped her hard across the face.

Max, who had been sitting on the stairs quietly watching the exchange, decided that this was his moment to show that he was an adult, capable of doing adult things like intervening when someone was doing a bad thing. He ran up to Jonathan and jumped on his back, gasping with pain as he was shrugged violently off and whacked into the corner of a side table, his head cracking against the marble floor.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY BROTHER" came the cry of Isabelle as she saw Max fall to the floor, with Alec following just behind once he had heard the commotion. Izzy rushed over to Max, who was crumpled up into a ball and sobbing quietly, while Alec ran up to Jonathan and punched him in the face, causing him to release his grip on Clary who promptly took the opportunity to see if Max was okay.

When Jace rounded the corner having successfully dodged Aline for the moment he was surprised to see Alec and Jonathan on the floor, with Izzy and Clary surrounded by a small figure. His heart stopped beating has he realised who it was, knowing who had caused his current position. Sweeping into the brawl he successfully pinned Jonathan down with Alec's help and between the two of them they hoisted him up, dragged him to the door and threw him out of the house.

"Don't you dare show your face in here ever again." Were the parting words Jace delivered as they slammed the door in his face. Hurrying back to the scene they had just left, Jace saw Izzy carrying Max upstairs in her arms and Clary in the same position she had been in previously, crouching now with her entire body shaking at the intensity of the sobs travelling through her core.

"Hey, hey…what's wrong? He's gone now you know." They both knew who he was talking about, and as she moved her face away from her knees Jace saw the angry red welt forming on her upper cheek, as well as the torn material of her dress. He didn't need to ask who had done this, just seeing the possessive way her brother had looked at her over his past encounters was confirmation enough. Noticing the people starting to congregate in the hallway he gently lifted Clary up to her feet, ignoring the tingles that he felt, and led her away from their prying eyes, his empty beer left where he had placed it.

Before she knew where she was going Clary found herself sitting in the tidiest, barest room she had ever been in while Jace closed the door behind him. She wasn't surprised by the lack of fear coursing through her veins at being in a room with only a guy, like she had been innumerable times with her brother. The tears hadn't stopped flowing and Clary felt a jolt of electricity when Jace's thumb brushed a stray one away, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Your brother is a dick." He stated bluntly, watching for her reaction. When he saw her sigh the wave of empathy he had previously felt for her doubled. Jonathan obviously affected her much more than people realised, Jace comprehended with a shock, noting that he had never heard her utter one word. Deciding not to push that issue for now he just sat next to her, giving her company as Jace had no desire to be downstairs.

As they sat there for some time, Jace began to realise that he was having an unusual effect from merely one beer. His head was starting to spin and his vision was blurring, and as he stood trying to clear it his balance failed miserably, sending him tumbling to the floor.

"Sorry..my drink, think" were the slurred words that Clary deciphered from his incoherent mumbles. Putting the pieces together she made the connection of Daniel's silent presence earlier, with him and her brother only staying long enough for a few lines of conversation and some intense staring. She vaguely recalled a conversation with Izzy and Maia, with Maia mentioning Daniel's dodgy drug taking which she swore she would never be a part of, and the frustration at her parent's blindness to the situation despite trying to clue them in.

She tried to lift him to his bed but he was frustratingly heavy, Clary huffed with annoyance. Eventually with a bit of his help his body got onto his bed, with Clary about to leave to get help when she heard to words that broke her resolve altogether.

"Stay…Clary…"

Okay! So there it is! Think it's pretty obvious what their plan was now...hopefully you enjoyed it and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review and tell me what you think, or with any ideas. Good or bad it doesn't matter - I would like any kind of constructive feedback! Next chapter we will see how all the other characters get on at the party (cough Malec cough).

Thanks again for reviewing, and please don't hesitate to ask me anything at all :)