So sorry that I didn't manage to update yesterday! Please accept my apologies and enjoy this new chapter!

Jace's POV

"You have to apologise mate – she doesn't look happy." How had this even happened? I'd only answered the phone thinking it would be that dorky Simon kid on the other side.

"I didn't expect it to be him man. I thought she would have blocked him or something. I thought it would have just been that Simon kid." I shrugged. I really hadn't intended for this to happen.

"I'm sure she'll be fine if you just apologise to her." Jon suggested. "And maybe don't touch her phone in the future, for good measure yknow?" Jon indicated to the door and I knew if I didn't apologise, he'd be on my back all night. He had a skill in that area.

"Fine. If you hear screaming though, please come and rescue me." I lazily scooted off the bed and walked down the hall at a snailpace. I really didn't want to do this. I wasn't used to apologising to anyone, or for anything, it wasn't my style. I knocked on the door, hoping she would tell me to go away or something. No answer. I opened the door a fraction, peeking inside. "Clary?" I questioned but no one responded. There was a lump in the middle of her bed, small noises coming from it. I had to go over. Placing myself on the edge of the bed, I shook the lump gently. Nothing. Pulling the covers back, I finally caught sight of her face. She was asleep but it was clear that her eyes were all red and puffy. She'd been crying – jeez, I didn't realise I'd upset her this much. Was she really that caught up over this guy? Or was it just because I'd invaded her privacy? Just as I was lost in thought, one of her eyes popped open.

Clary's POV

All I could see was Jace's face swimming into focus, his golden eyes locked onto mine. It was the last thing I wanted to see right now – scratch that, make that second last. We sat in silence for a good five minutes. I didn't dare shut my eyes, watching him suspiciously.

"Look, Clary-"Jace started, trailing off. I just looked at him, bored. Nothing he could say could make me feel any better. He didn't even understand the magnitude of the situation.

"Just leave it Jace." My voice came out strange and croaky. I cleared my throat.

"It was just meant to be a joke."

"Well it wasn't a very funny one."

"I didn't realise it would be him." Jace remarked. What did he mean by that?

"'Him'?" I asked, shooting up in my bed. He looked uncomfortable, like he'd just stuck his foot in something messy. He ran his hand through his hair, laughing awkwardly.

"I didn't mean to say that."

"Well, you have now. So explain what you mean." I crossed my arms across my chest. Surely he hadn't thought he was getting out of it that easily? He sighed.

"I just thought it might have been a guy you were into." I stared at him, demanding the truth with my eyes. "Fine, Jon may have mentioned that you were in the middle of a break up."

"Not in the middle. At the end." I said firmly. Why was I justifying myself to him?

"Sorry if I've made things difficult for you two." He just wasn't getting this and I was getting more pissed off with each passing moment. I reached underneath my pillow, pulling my phone out and turning it on. As soon as it came to life, the screen was filled with records of missed calls and a mountain of texts.

"You only made it difficult for me, you made it easy for him." I showed him my phone briefly, he looked confused. Just looking at my phone was stressing me out, from the looks of things he had been texting and calling from various numbers. How was I ever going to get away from this – change my number again?

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?" I could feel myself getting irate, tossing my phone off the bed. Jace quickly retrieved it.

"Do you want me to delete these for you?" He asked, trying to be helpful. I quickly snatched the phone back. Yes I wanted them deleted, but I didn't want Jace to see what could potentially be in there.

"No, that's alright. I'll sort it." I muttered, placing my phone back under the pillow where it started vibrating again. Jace's eyes were glaring directly into mine and I started to fidget under his gaze.

"Let me answer it."

"No."

"I can fix it."

"I don't want it fixed. No one can fix it."

"I can try."

"No! You don't even understand the situation, so how could you possibly fix it?"

"Tell me then." Jace's eyes pleaded with me and I was more confused than ever.

"All you need to know Jace is that I don't want anything to do with him. He wasn't a nice person and the last thing I want is him having my phone number, again. Do you know how many times I've had to change it over the last 3 months? Too many. It's only a matter of time before my parents start asking questions." It felt refreshing to get this off my chest and at least with Jace I didn't have to worry about it getting back to my parents.

"Why worry though? Ignore him and surely he'll just go away?" I just shook my head. "Is it because you're scared?" I shot Jace a look, my eyes questioning his. I couldn't bring myself to speak, my voice caught up in my throat. "When you came back earlier, you looked scared. Like you were being chased by something. That's what I thought anyway." Jace shrugged and I could feel my cheeks flushing. He'd hit the nail on the head. I was terrified.

"I've already said he's not a nice person." Now it was Jace's time to question me, his eyes looking at me as if to say 'really?' "I don't want to talk about." Jace's face fell.

"And here I was thinking that we were getting somewhere." He scowled. "I think it might be worth me just getting Jon in here." He went to get up and I immediately grabbed his hand, rooting him back to the spot. If he told Jon, Jon would tell my parents and then I would completely lose control over it. Jace looked pleased with himself.

"I don't think I can talk about this." I shook my head.

"Scoot up." Jace muttered, getting to his feet. I obliged, moving myself to the left. He sat himself down next to me on the bed, his arm draping across my shoulders.

"Ok then." I looked at him confused.

"Way to shoot me down."

"What did you expect, fanfare?"

"Well I expected a bit more than an ok then." I shrugged, I suppose it did feel somewhat reassuring?

"Fine, thank you. Is that better?"

"A bit. Anyway, we're drifting away from topic. You were just about to confess your soul to me." Jace smiled. "Well whatever bits of soul you're comfortable with, that is." I wasn't comfortable with any of it, but this was the lesser of two evils.

"I wouldn't know where to start."

"How about with a name?" The idea of just repeating his name made me feel sick to my stomach. He had been nameless for so long, giving him a name somehow made him seem more real, more threatening. "Clary, you're starting to worry me – maybe I should tell Jon." Jace said, starting to sound genuinely worried.

"Sebastian, okay? Sebastian." I exhaled, my body shaking involuntarily. Jace's arm gripped me firmly.

"See was that so hard?" He looked at me and got his answer. "Clary, I'm just going to ask you questions and either shake or nod your head. Did he end things with you?"

I shook my head. I wish it was that simple.

"Did he cheat on you?"

I shook my head again. Even that was preferable.

"Did he hurt you?"

I nodded my head, slightly. Well aware of the implications of agreeing to such a vague term. Jace's hand started to twitch at my side, his fingers tapping like he was counting.

"Your feelings?"

I half-nodded.

"Physically?"

Another half-nod. Jace's arm tensed up as I hung my head.

"Clary, you've got to tell someone about this. Maybe your mum?"

"I can't. Please don't tell anyone." My eyes were brimming with tears, my heart full of fear once more.

"Will you please at least tell me, my mind is racing with the possibilities right now?" I still couldn't get the words out but I knew we would never get to the specifics with such vague questions.

"He was just kind of volatile. He didn't rape me or anything if that's what you're thinking." Although he did try. "He just got frustrated sometimes and didn't know how to deal with it properly." Jace frowned.

"It sounds like you're kind of defending him. There's no excuse for lashing out at someone Clary. Regardless whether you can deal with your anger well or not, you don't just hit people." I nodded, he was right of course. But I didn't want to be a victim. I didn't want to be that girl who'd been in a somewhat abusive relationship. "You don't have to tell me anymore today. But I want you to know that if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll listen. Sometimes it's better to have an impartial opinion. Try not to worry about it though. He can't get to you here. The worst he can do is send you a text or try and call you. Delete it on sight and he'll sharp give up." Jace squeezed me tightly before lifting himself up from the bed. He picked up one of my sketchpads, flipped to a spare page before ripping it out. If I wasn't thankful for his little talk, I would have scolded him. He scribbled something down, handing it to me.

"Here. It's my number. If you ever need to talk, hit me up." I took the piece of paper gently.

"Thanks." I smiled, folding the edges of the paper.

"Do you feel alright? Or do you want me to stay a bit longer?"

"I'm alright, thanks. You should probably get back to Jon." I said.

"Yeah, he might think there's something untoward happening in here if I don't. I wouldn't want him getting jealous." Jace winked at me, backing out of the room. "Sleep tight, Red." He squeezed the door shut. I put the note down on the bedside table, along with my phone. Curling back up in a ball, I closed my eyes feeling a little better. Jace was right – he couldn't get me here.

I woke early the next morning, probably because of all the sleep I'd had yesterday. I grabbed my phone from the side, I had to do this at some point. Better to get it over and done with. I didn't even open the messages just deleting them outright, blocking every different number that I came across. The only messages I did open were the ones from Simon.

Simon: Isabelle said something about you being upset? Are you alright?
Simon: Clary?
Simon: =(
Simon: Have I upset you?

I penned a quick reply before quickly adding Jace's number to my phone.

Clary: Sorry Si, I didn't feel well so I went straight to bed. Please forgive me. Make up coffee at Java's after school?

His response was instantaneous.

Simon: Thank god! I was one step away from beating your door down girl! See you at school

I hopped in the shower, ready to wash away the worries of yesterday. I took longer than I had hoped, meaning I would have to skip breakfast this morning. I dressed myself in an outfit similar to that of yesterday, similar to that of my entire life my mum would say. I crashed into Jon and Jace in the doorway.

"Can I have a ride?" I asked Jon, as I was pulling on my shoes.

"No problem Clary, but we're taking Jace's car this morning." Jon looked to Jace, who nodded his head.

"Not a problem, Red."

Simon shot me a weird look when I climbed out of Jace's car once we reached school, which quickly disappeared once he saw Jon get out as well.

"Did you enjoy your night with Isabelle then?" I smiled at Simon as we walked towards the school. He instantly blushed.

"She's really interesting." I shot him a look. "And really hot." He started laughing nervously. "Will you tell me if she talks about me in form room?" I pulled my face as though I was thinking about it.

"Hmm, nope. That's something you're going to have to figure out yourself, Si! See you third period!" I flashed him a grin as I ran down to my own form room. Isabelle was already there. She seemed to be perched on the edge of her seat.

"Clary!" She practically yelled as I squeezed in next to her. "I've been so worried, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got quite ill out of nowhere."

"Even Jace seemed worried, which is strange." Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows.

"Probably because Jon was." I shrugged, her brow was still furrowed. I was getting confused myself now.

"It's unlike Jace to-"Isabelle started but she was hushed by the teacher who had just entered the room. Somehow I didn't think this conversation was over just yet.

Sure to form Isabelle pulled me to one side on the break after second period.

"So about this Jace thing…" She trailed off.

"What about him?" I asked, putting my books in my locker. I really didn't understand what the big deal was.

"Does he like pay you special attention or?" Isabelle asked, resting against the lockers.

"No, he just kind of treats me like Jon does, but with like more winding up?" I shrugged. She tapped her finger against her chin. "Anyway, I think it should be me asking about you and Simon!" Isabelle shushed me immediately, a cherry tint taking over her cheeks. "I'm guessing my taking ill couldn't have come at a better time?" I smirked at her.

"It's really weird because I always sort of liked him from afar and I thought that once we sort of got to know each other, that it would just die down. It's usually the case. But he's just so fun. I really didn't expect it!" Her voice was getting higher and higher as she spoke, I had to stifle a laugh.

"It's so strange hearing someone talk about Simon like this. I still remember him as a chubby five year old who used to eat his crayons." The rest of the break consisted of Isabelle probing me for silly stories of Simon, which I was more than happy to divulge.

It was bizarre when I got home that night after Java Jones. Jon was there without his shadow.

"It's strange seeing you by yourself." I smiled, putting my bag down on the kitchen table.

"I know it's hard to believe but I can actually manage by myself without Jace."

"You're right. That is hard to believe." I smiled.

"Did he apologise yesterday?" He asked, as he investigated the fridge.

"Yeah he did, thanks."

"Good. He said he had, but I had to make sure. Anyway, I've decided what we're doing on Saturday, if you're interested."

"Go on then, thrill me." I'd completely forgotten I'd agreed to going out Saturday.

"Ice skating." Jon smiled.

"You're kidding right? You do realise I have terrible coordination. I'll probably end up killing myself or someone else." Jon just laughed at me, but I was genuinely concerned about this.

"You never know until you try Clary. You never know, you might discover you have a secret talent." I seriously doubted it. I couldn't even ride a bike, let alone ice skate.

"I'm sure either way, it should be entertaining for you." Jon nodded in agreement. I stuck my tongue out at him before heading upstairs. I lay down on my bed, pulling out my phone. No weird texts or calls today that was a plus, right? I decided to invite Simon along on Saturday.

Clary: Ice skating Saturday – you game?
Simon: Sounds like a plan. You ice skating though, is that a good idea?
Clary: I'm just going to ignore that dig there! Why don't you invite Isabelle? ;)
Simon: Why don't YOU invite Isabelle and I can just turn up like surprise! And make her day.
Clary: I think she'll prefer it if you invited her. Do it. Dare you.
Simon: Don't you dare me!
Clary: Double dare you.
Simon: Damn you woman. I'll do it!

I clicked on Jace's phone number, looking at it momentarily. I might as well send him a message to let him know my number.

Clary: Hi Jace. Clary here. Just sending you my number.

It was strange not hearing from Jace almost immediately but then I remembered not everyone was like Simon and kept their phone glued to their hands. I'd managed to do an extremely detailed picture of the tree outside my window in the time it took Jace to reply. I found myself picking up my phone instantly, pulling the message up.

Jace: Cheers Red. See you Saturday ;)

I laughed, putting my phone back down on the bedside table. It was safe to say I was dreading Saturday.