CHAPTER 2

"Clary? Clary, can you hear me?" Jace's voice was urgent in the background but a loud bell in Clary's ears made his voice sound somehow quiet as if he was in a faraway distance, miles away from Clary.

She tried to sit up but a new pounding in her head began and she would have collapsed if it wasn't for Jace's hands, holding her up and pushing her into a sitting position so easy and effort free looking as if she weighed almost nothing. Staring around her, all Clary could make out were the blurred images of her surroundings slowly getting clearer. She was in his room she realised, and Jace was sat at the end of the bed leaning towards her with a look of worry spread across his face.

"Are you okay Clary?" His voice was still urgent and thick with worry, and he didn't pause for a breath. "I'm so sorry Clary it was all my fault, I shouldn't have let you take so many draws from the joint!"

Suddenly Jace was standing up and pacing the room with quick impatient steps. With a crash Jace threw the contents of his desk across the floor, letting out a shout. With moves that were almost too quick to be human, Jace was throwing everything in his room across the other direction.

"Fucks sake Clary, why?! Why couldn't I just say no to you, for fucks sake! I always do this, screw everything up!" With those words, Jace collapsed onto his knees on the floor. His face was buried in his hands as his back heaved as he sobbed silently. Clary was astonished. Jace, beautiful strong Jace never cried. He didn't cry when his mum died the year before, or after the roughest of the fights. Yet here he was, silently sobbing. His golden hair gleamed under the lamp's light, casting a shadow that almost looked like a halo over his head. There was something about him right then, Clary thought that were so angel-like it was nearly unbearable to look at. Part of Clary wanted to go to him, hold him tight and tell him she was fine. But that would be a lie. The truth was Clary wasn't fine. Her mind was screaming at her to get out of his house and away from him. The agonizing pounding was still there in her head but it was getting louder and louder.

"Jace?" Clary's voice came out harsher than she intended, and she tried to calm down again.

"Jace, listen to me. It wasn't your fault, do you hear me? I know I was high and that but there was something else too! I know this sounds crazy and believe me I think it's weird too, but I need you to believe me. I need you." The last three words were barely a whisper and yet Jace somehow managed to hear them and his head snapped up so quickly it was as if it wasn't possible.

'That's crazy', Clary thought, 'of course it's possible.'

Yet she couldn't keep the nagging voice inside her head away and worry spread over her like a wave washing over entire cities at a time. Jace's face, usually relaxed and calm, suddenly tensed and turn hard, giving away no emotions.

"That's ridiculous," he spat, "of course it was the joint Clary. What else is it going to be?"

"I don't know!" She snapped back.

"Come on Clarrissa! You can't seriously believe that what you saw, demons and blood running down my face, was nothing to do with being high?"

Shock filled Clary's face and tears began to stream down her red cheeks. Seeing how serious she was, Jace carried on.

"You're crazy!"

"No," Clary murmured, realization dawning on her, "I'm not."

Her voice stopped being so quiet and she began to speak clearly, her face held high. "I know I'm not crazy Jace. You are." She laughed. "You see, I never mentioned seeing demons or the blood dripping down your face! So how did you know that that's what I saw?"

Jace was silent, lost for words. He stood up off the floor slowly. Jace looked at Clary then, and she was passion in his eyes. But it was surrounded by worry and shame.

"You're crazy Clary, crazy." He spoke in a harsh whisper, before leaving Clary in his room lost for words, shutting his door behind him.