"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" I'm startled awake by the sound of a door banging open. In my groggy state of semi-consciousness, I'm aware of the fact that someone is quickly approaching my bed. I recognize the voice as Jace's though I refuse to open my eyes.

"Mmrph," I manage, rolling over onto my left side, turning my back to the door. "Leave me alone." When I feel a body land onto the bed next to me, my eyes shoot wide open. My heart leaps into overdrive.

"It's already afternoon. If you don't get up now, the day will be gone and we'll have no time to train." I can feel Jace shifting around on the bed, getting comfortable. I'm afraid to turn and look at him. Despite my mind's frantic repetition of, 'Jace is on my bed. Jace is next to me on my bed. Jace is next to me on my bed, while I'm under the covers, just having woken up,' I force myself to focus on what he's saying.

"Training? Seriously? After yesterday?" Jace leans over me so his face is hovering over mine, his torso pressing against my back. My stomach starts doing somersaults. His characteristic crooked smirk is taunting me as he snorts derisively.

"Do you want to be a Shadowhunter or a princess? I already let you sleep in to help recover from yesterday. You were pretty wrecked. Plus, we'll be working a different set of muscles today, so you wont strain the sore ones."

My mind drifts to the events of last night. I definitely feel pretty sore from the training, and the demonic confrontations were pretty intense for me, plus that iratze rune took quite a bit out of me, but what's draining me the most is the heaviness of the information Luke laid on me. The weight of its significance seems to soak through my thoughts and into my bones and it's making my whole body feel as fatigued as my mind. Recalling how training yesterday had totally pushed all thoughts except what we were doing from my mind, I decide it would probably help me to not think about everything so I agree to get up.

"Fine." I push Jace back to his side of the bed as I sit up. I'm still not looking at him. When the covers fall to my waist, I'm surprised to find that I'm only wearing my pink bra and matching boyshorts. I immediately snatch up the covers, blushing, and pull them back over me, finally turning to look at Jace. His smirk widens to a grin, clearly amused at my attempt at modesty.

"Relax, Red. It's not like I'm unfamiliar with the female form."

"Jace!" I shriek, my eyes widening to what I'm sure resembles the size of anime eyes, not that Jace would know what anime is. I shove him off the bed with all of the strength I can manage. He laughs heartily as he almost falls off the side, but recovers himself, shoving me back with his shoulder. Most of his face wears a look of lighthearted mischievousness, but there's something in his eyes that makes me shiver. I look down at myself through the covers and tentatively ask,

"My clothes… did…"

"I undress you? What would you say if I told you I did?" A smile is still lingering on his lips, but the look in his eyes is deepening. I'm still as a statue and my lips are made of stone, unable to move. I'm sure I look like a beet at this point. Normally this is when my eyes would fall to the floor with embarrassment, but for some reason, my gaze is fixed on his, carved into place like my lips.

"Relax, kid. Izzy stripped you of your gear before tucking you in like wee sleeping babe." I roll my eyes as he says this. Kid? Babe? What, does he think I'm 8? "They were pretty gross, but you were out like the dead, so we didn't want to wake you. Figured you needed the rest."

"Oh." We? The tension dissipates slightly, but the thought of Isabelle removing my clothes and stuff doesn't completely put me at ease. I don't really know her very well at all, and I've never been comfortable even changing in front of the other girls in the locker rooms at school. If I had more friends, I feel like I'd be labeled 'the prude', but I don't really care. I don't feel the need to parade my body around as though I'm a piece of meat for guys to bid on. Plus, the fact that I look like a 13-year-old boy doesn't really help my self-esteem in that department.

"Well, get out." I make a shooing motion with my hand. "I need to rinse off real quick before we start." He doesn't budge.

"No," is all he says. I gape at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"No. I can't trust you to actually be quick if I'm not here to keep you on track."

He sure seems to have gotten ridiculously comfortable with me fast. I'm not entirely certain how comfortable I am with that fact. I've never met someone as bold as he is and having him in my space like this all of the time, especially at what I deem as super inappropriate times, makes me squirm. Simon and I have slept in the same bed before, but I've known him for so many years that it's different. Plus I know it's not like that with him. We've gotten to this place where we can be totally open and relaxed around each other because we know there's nothing weird between us. With Jace… well, I really can't ever tell what he's thinking or what his intentions are. Man, I sound like a parent. 'What are your intentions with my daughter - I mean, me - young man?'

I mean, granted, I have a really hard time believing that someone who looks like Jace would ever be interested in someone who looks like me. He's probably just being incredibly cruel like always by saying suggestive stuff like that. Teasing me about the fact that he's totally out of my league. Trying to make me hope something happens just to shut me down. I'm well aware of his heart-breaker reputation, so I don't have difficulty believing that he gets off on tormenting girls by dangling himself like a carrot in front of them. That evil carrot you're always trying to eat, but can never reach. God, what a jerk.

"Ugh. You're such an overbearing asshole." Jace just lies back down, crossing his arms behind his head and looking at me with a subtle expression of triumph. "If Alec and Izzy didn't hate me so much, I'd ask them to train me instead of you. You have a way of making things far more unpleasant than they have to be."

"Alec and Izzy don't hate you, per se. You're just not exactly their favorite person."

"Well, gee, that sure makes me feel better," I interject.

"Eh, give 'em some time. If you keep doing what you did last night, I think you'll earn their respect in no time. They're just wary of you because you're a mundane who's suddenly invaded their lives. With this whole Valentine/Mortal cup business, our normal routines have been hijacked and they're creatures of habit."

"But that's not my fault," I insist defensively. "Valentine's been terrorizing the Shadowhunter community long before I even knew that Shadowhunters existed."

"I know, but emotions aren't based in reason, obviously. That's what makes them emotions."

I can see this conversation isn't going anywhere and I'm still in bed. I wish he'd leave.

"Well, if you won't leave, at least turn away or close your eyes or something when I get out of bed." He sighs deliberately loudly and says,

"If you insist, but it's seriously unnecessary."

"Not for me. I barely know you. I'm not going to walk around half-naked in front of you."

"Pity, though it's not like you have much to cover up." He turns his head away from me.

A surge of insulted rage flashes in my chest. Jesus, Jace! His insolence is truly unbelievable.

"God, Jace, do you always have to be such a dick?" I fling the covers off of me violently onto Jace's face as I storm out of bed. I grab my towel and head to the bathroom as he chuckles quietly, pushing the covers off of him again.

"Only to people I like."

I respond by slamming the door behind me. I lock the door just for good measure. I'm starting to really distrust and dislike him. If there had ever been a moment when I'd thought he wasn't that bad, when I'd actually considered anything with him, that moment had undoubtedly been brutally destroyed a thousand times over. I resolved to lock my bedroom door from now on and avoid interacting with him unless I had to, like for training or something. I desperately wracked my brain for ideas as to who could train me. Hodge seemed too frail to train with. I'd be afraid of hitting him. Plus grappling with him would be even more awkward than with Jace.

There's no way I could ever approach Alec. Regardless of what Jace said, I really think he hates my guts. I think he doesn't like the fact that I'm even here in the first place. I really have no idea why, what I could have possibly done to make him dislike me so much when he doesn't even know me.. Maybe I can get the courage up to ask him sometime. I don't want to keep living here if the majority of people can't stand to be around me.

And Isabelle… well, she may not hate me, but she certainly disdains me and I doubt she'd be as forgiving as Jace when training. I can see her sneering down at me, thinking how pathetic I am for not being stronger, faster, more agile, more knowledgeable. For not being an amazing Shadowhunter like her… Maybe that's judging her too harshly. I guess I don't know her that well, but I've always had crazy insecurity issues around girls, especially girls like her, so it's my default assumption. But it doesn't really matter what she actually is like; until I get to know her better, I just don't feel comfortable asking her to train me. So it seems like I'm stuck with Mr. Golden Sassface for now. Ugh.

I know I said I'd only rinse off quickly, but I feel disgusting, and when I step into the streaming hot water, my body instantly cries out in joy. Oh, man, it feels so good. For a minute, I'm able to forget about the unpleasant interaction I just had with the angel-faced, demon-souled boy. Ok, so demon-souled is a bit harsh. Butthead-souled.

I've finished washing up and am now just standing under the water with my eyes closed, enjoying the relaxing sensation and the peacefulness of mind it brings, when I hear a sharp wrap on the door, followed by the door handle wriggling fruitlessly.

Ha! I jeer mentally. Can't torment me in here. Jace irritatedly shouts through the wooden door.

"Get out already! I don't know what you think the word quick means, but I advise you to check the dictionary." I half groan, half sigh as I turn off the water and step out of the tub. After toweling off, I realize that I didn't bring my clothes into the bathroom.

Oh, crap. I start to panic.

"Jace!" I call through the door. "I forgot my clothes out there. Leave the room for a sec while I get dressed. I promise I'll be-" I start to say the word quick, but roll my eyes and try to think of a different word lest he jibe at me again. "…really fast. Seriously."

"Just tell me where your clothes are. It'll be quicker this way," he calls back.

"What?! No way!" I think about him rooting through my underwear drawer in horror. I decide that him seeing me in just a towel is far better than that and throw the door open, stomping angrily into the room. His face isn't smiling jokingly as usual when he looks at me. Instead, oddly, he looks pleased. I don't allow myself to think too much about it, or get embarrassed, determined to throw him out of my room once and for all.

"Get. Out." I hiss as I start shoving him toward the door. He makes it as difficult as possible, but I know he could make it impossible for me to move him if he wanted. He probably knows I'll never forgive him if he doesn't leave, though.

Just as we're at the door and I've opened it a third of the way, about to push him through the crack, he whirls on me and corners me against the wall, leaning over me with a serious expression. I gulp, alarm sounding through me. He has one hand against the wall as his other brushes the side of my face, neck, trails over my collarbone, and then settles on the place where the towel is tucked into itself. He's fumbling with it and I realize in terror that he's going to undo it. Just in time, I thrust him into the hall and slam the door, locking it behind him. As the click sounds, my towel drops to the ground.

The training room is often dimly lit, being in the attic. The attic smell has been replaced by the scent of sweat and exercise equipment. I think I prefer attic smell. As we headed upstairs from my room, I silently trudged behind Jace the whole way, fuming at how he'd behaved. He seemed not to notice or at least pretended not to. He causally chatted about what we were going to do today, and I kept imagining hurting him during training. I resolved to go as hard on him as possible in the hopes that somehow he'd slip up and I'd get a good whack in. It probably won't happen, but a girl can dream.

Like before, Jace forces me to shed my protective hoodie, and I reluctantly cooperate. This time, however, he takes his shirt off at the start, but now, I'm not so keen on feeling the feelings it stirs within me.

As we're training, I try to pretend he's someone else. I imagine it's Simon training me, though it's hard to think of Simon being so skilled and knowledgeable in these areas. I try to get absorbed in what we're doing and not the fact that his bare chest is brushing on my skin from time to time. I'm thankful that when he's training, his usual impudence seems to disappear and he is wholly focused on what he's teaching me. I'm able to let go and get lost in the workout.

The strengthening exercises suck 'cause they're hard and I feel like I'm using muscles I didn't even know I had. I'm just glad they're not the same ones I used yesterday. The agility and speed drills are also really tough for me, but I love the sparring moves he shows me. I love the sensation of my hands, arms, legs, and feet colliding with the training dummy. All of my pent up aggression, frustration, sadness, emotions and thoughts are being unloaded onto it. Poor dummy.

Despite the fact that my arms and legs in particular are now throbbing with pain, I feel much better than I have in a long while. Jace seems to notice this and grins knowingly,

"I think sparring is everyone's favorite part of training. Wait until I train you on how to use all of the different weapons. You're going to have a field day."

"Why can't we do that now?" I protest, really wanting to slice into something at the moment. I can see he's happy with my eagerness.

"You need a lot more practice in other areas first. This is only day two. We train our whole lives and usually it's a gradual process where we learn unarmed combat first, then we train with fake weapons, then learn how to wear gear while sparring with the fake weapons, then use real weapons while wearing gear. It's in part for safety, but we're also acquiring skills and knowledge that get layered on top of each other bit by bit. Unfortunately, you're having to not only learn it all at once, but apply it almost immediately after learning it, too. It's pretty dangerous and not a great idea, but we don't really have many other options, given circumstances."

I get it," I respond, but not without a hint of disappointment.

"Ready for more grappling?" No.

"Sure."

We're on the ground again. I'm struggling against him with all my might. He's upped the ante, adding some painful pressure point grabs.

"That's not fair!" I whine as my wrist is paralyzed in pain. "You haven't taught me that stuff yet." He simpers down at me as he leans in close and whispers,

"War isn't fair." I roll my eyes exasperatedly. "Besides, you need to learn how to escape these kinds of maneuvers before you learn how to employ them yourself."

"Okay, well, how do I escape them?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." What the hell, Jace. He's obviously in some kind of mood today that I can't describe as a favorite of mine. His left knee is painfully pinning my wrist down as his right hand keeps my left arm against the floor in a state of near agony.

Unexpectedly, I feel his left hand gingerly placed on my hip, sliding upward. What on Earth is he doing?! This isn't training! Is it? My heart's rhythm has intensified dramatically, adding to the unpleasant sensations I'm already experiencing. His eyes are heavy-lidded, locked onto mine. I feel his fingertips slide under my tight shirt as he moves his hand up. I desperately try to stifle the gasp that erupts in my throat. I fail miserably. This seems to encourage him, which is definitely not what I was trying to do. There's this intense sensation in my chest now. It's like a tingling, or a tightening, I can't really describe it, but it's somewhere between unpleasant and not. I suddenly become aware of the fact that I'm holding my breath.

His face is moving towards mine incredibly slowly as his hand keeps slithering up the skin on my stomach, matching the pace of his head. I'm immobilized, unsure of what to do. A million thoughts are racing in the back of my brain, but there's this fuzzy static crackling in the forefront. I feel my body heat rise and the familiar feeling of an over-sensitivity in my skin returns, but this time it's not a bad feeling. Instead, it's like a yearning to be touched instead of the opposite. It's like this consciousness that only the sensation of skin on skin will satiate this burning in my flesh.

Could he be doing what I think he's doing? Is he trying to…? Do I want him to…? Would he just be messing with me or using me if I did? Do I really care? I decide that in the moment, I really don't, and raise my chin and chest as if to signal him on. He gets the hint and crashes his lips onto mine, hand shooting up my side. Holy crap he moves fast.

He releases my hands, grabbing the sides of my torso, my shirt fully pushed up to my bra now, and rolls onto his back, pulling me on top of him. Oh man. My hands plunge into his tangle of gold, cupping the base of his skull, forcing his lips to stay on mine. I'm straddling him, my short shorts riding up, his hands hungrily exploring my back.

Our kiss is crazy with passion, and I'm totally lost in it. There was no preamble, no prelude to it. It didn't start as a chaste pressing of closed lips against each other. It didn't develop slowly, gradually deepening as our mouths parted one another, tongues beginning to dance coyly. We skipped straight ahead to tasting each other fully, urgently as if our lives depended on how much of each other we could get.

Jace's hands slip down to my hips and he pulls me upward as he raises his knees between me, pushing his pelvis into mine. Oh my God, I can feel him under me. His hands move back up in a flash and his fingers are unclasping my bra. I start to come back to my senses, panic creeping through me. This is starting to move too quickly for me. I pull back, sitting up on top of him. His eyes are projecting full-blown lust at me, and it frightens me slightly. No one has ever looked at me like that, with such unveiled ardor, like they want me more than anything else and are ready to consume me.

Except for that silly peck Simon gave me when we were young, I've never even really been kissed, what to speak of anything like this. I don't think I'm ready. Especially with a guy I don't know very well and am not even sure I like or trust. His looks, his scent, his voice, his confidence, everything about him makes my body scream with desire, but that's not a good enough reason to give myself to someone for the first time. It should be special; it should be with someone I love. How can you love someone you just met not too long ago? Who treats you the way he treats me?

"What?" He growls at me. His voice is a mixture of lust and irritation. Irritation? As though I've done something wrong? As though I'm being unreasonable? I get brought out of my mindless frenzy and return to my senses. I'm looking at the beautiful but frightening boy beneath me, a boy who is sexually experienced, who takes whatever he wants, and then throws it away when he's done with it. I feel the panic in me increasing. I don't want to be just another girl. I don't want to let him do whatever he wants with me and then move on to someone else when he gets bored. I'm sure the fact that I'm not nearly as attractive as the kind of girls he could get and completely inexperienced won't keep him coming around for very long. I get off of him and make to stand. He grabs my arm.

"What are you doing?" He's sitting up and looking at me like he's angry.

"Get off of me!" I shake him off and get up. He's in front of me in a flash.

"Where are you going?" He demands.

"God, what's your problem, Jace?"

"What's my problem? Why did you get up so abruptly?"

"Because…" Because I'm afraid of you.

"Because what? You seemed to be enjoying yourself well enough," he says smugly.

"What's wrong with you?" I shout, eyes burning now. "You think you can just toy with people. Do whatever you want with them? You think that it's ok to treat people like this? It's not! You can't do this. It's just cruel."

"Treat people like what? Giving people what they want is cruel? I should think it's a rather kind thing, actually." I want to slap him. "And don't pretend I wasn't doing just that. You think I don't notice how your body flushes beneath my gaze? How your heart races when I'm near you? How your breath catches in your throat when I touch you? Don't try to lie to me, Clary. I know you want me. And you want me bad."

"Go to Hell, Jace. You don't know anything about me or what I want, so just stay away from me. I'll find someone else to train with." I turn from him and storm out of the room. His voice calls heatedly after me,

"Oh yeah? Like who? No one else wants to train you, Clary Fray. No one else even wants you here." My heart plummets into my stomach and the hot tears begin to pour out of my eyes. I couldn't even stop them if I wanted to.