A/N: Hey guys! Another fluffy chapter. I hope you guys like it.
"Clary, wake up." Jace had hopped on my bed and was bouncing on it until I had woken up.
"What? What do you want from my life? " I groaned, curling my legs to my stomach.
"We have another snow day! And I want you to get off your lazy butt so we can go do something!" He exclaimed. He collapsed next to me, wrapping his arms around me. "Come on. We can't lie in bed all day." He poked my ear with his nose, making me roll against him
"Five more minutes." I mumbled, burying my face in his neck.
"Fine." He sighed, wrapping his arms around my torso.
"Why are you always so warm?" I draped my arm over his stomach.
"Because I'm alive." He chuckled, rubbing my back soothingly.
"It's too early for your sass." I snorted, yawning heavily.
"It's never too early for sass." He retorted, kissing my forehead.
"You're so annoying." I whined, turning away from him. Honestly, he wasn't that bothersome. I rather enjoyed his antics, but I would never tell him that.
"No, come back." He dragged me again him, making me grumble in mock annoyance. He tucked my body against his, holding me comfortably in his arms. He propped his chin up on my head, making me feel like I was completely encased by him. He smelled like lemons and soap. I released a small breath, nuzzling my cheek into his neck.
OoOoO
Our boots sunk in the snow that was covering the sidewalk as we headed into town. I refused to wear a skirt today; it was freezing. Jace told me I was crazy because I put on three layers of warm clothes. I have no meat on my bones and without three layers, I might literally die. And I would like to live through my date.
"How much further? Where are we going?" I shivered, rubbing my arms. My weak attempts at getting warm were getting me nowhere.
"You'll see." Jace assured me.
"I don't understand why you won't just tell me." I murmured, burying my face in my scarf.
"Because I don't feel like it." He shrugged. "Anyways, we're almost there." He bumped me lightly on the shoulder with a wide grin on his face.
"Fine." I groaned, wrapping my arms around myself even tighter. We continued trudging in the snow.
"We are here!" Jace exclaimed a few minutes later.
"We're ice skating?" I asked skeptically. I raised my eyebrows at him, wishing that he had decided to take me some place warm.
"Yeah." A lopsided grin appeared on his face, as he held out his hand. I inhaled a breath, taking it. He led me inside. I couldn't help but smile; he seemed so excited. "You're going to have to help me a little bit. It's been a really long time since I have ice skated." He informed me, squeezing my hand.
"I got you, don't worry about it." I kissed his cheek, as we walked up to the skate checkout counter.
After we put on our skates, we waddled awkwardly to the skating rink. I bit my lip as we neared the entrance. Jace seemed nervous. I slid gracefully along the ice. I circled around to see Jace, shakily stepping onto the ice, then quickly reaching out to cling to the wall.
"I can't do this." He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head quickly.
"Yes, you can." I skated over to him, placing my hands on his waist.
"No, no, I can't! I'm going to fall and crack my head open! Why did I want to do this?!" He cried, clutching at the wall.
"Jace, let go. I'll help you." I assured him, trying to ease him away from the wall. "If you don't skate, we just wasted money. We can't afford to waste money, Jace. We should skate as much as we can, and we can't do that with you gripping at the glass." I took his hand, trying to get him to skate away from the wall.
He sighed reluctantly. "Fine, I'll let go of the wall." He spread his arms out wide, shuffling away from the glass. His eyes were filled with terror, as I carefully pulled him along the rink. Younger kids were whirling by us like it was nothing, and here was Jace, the big football star, standing almost completely frozen. He looked so goofy. He was bent over stiffy, butt sticking out. His expression was one that screamed, "I don't know what I'm doing!"
"Jace, you need to move your legs like this." I said. I released his hand, gliding carefully away from him and back.
"Do I have to? Can't you just keep pulling me?" He begged, gritting his teeth, as if gritting his teeth would help him keep his balance.
"I don't want to just lug you around all afternoon." I pouted at him, crossing my arms at him.
"Ughh." He groaned. He closed his eyes, taking a calming breath. "I got this." He mumbled to himself, as he straightened his back slightly. He choppily moved his legs, propelling himself a slightly forward. He squeaked, flailing his arms frantically. I couldn't help myself; I busted out laughing at his attempt at skating. He looked like a puppy who was discovering ice for the first time. "Shut up." He swatted his hands at me, but quickly started swaying back and forward, as he attempted to find his balance again.
"You are helpless." I rolled my eyes teasingly, skating in front of him. "Give me your hands." I held out mine, encouraging him to trust me. He clasped my hands, and I began skating backwards. "You have to help, though. You have to try pushing yourself forward." I said. I glanced behind me to make sure that I wasn't going to run into something.
We moved very slowly across the ice. I felt like I was teaching a baby boy to walk, but it was very entertaining. I wasn't giving up on this because we spent money on this. Jace had a very determined look on his face, but it didn't cover up the look that made him seem like a child.
"Oh my gosh, I'm falling!" His eyes went wide, as he fought for balance. His hands were still curled around mine, while he wiggled for balance.
"Jace, let go of me!" I said quickly, but it was too late. Jace's body flung backwards, bringing me with him. I landed heavily on top of him, knocking the air out of both of us.
"Sorry." Jace grumbled, as his muscles went slack against the ice.
"It's ok." I sighed, taking a deep breath. I carefully got my feet and held my hand out to help him. He started getting up, but his weight was pulling her down. "You're going to make me fall again. Come on, Jace. Stand up." I yanked his arm, sending him straight up.
"I'm sliding!" Jace yelped, as he moved into the center of the rink. I shook my head at him, realizing that today was going to be a long day.
OoOoO
Eventually Jace was able to skate without going into full panic mood. I held onto his arm, attempting to keep him as steady as possible, but it was slightly difficult because Jace was being a child about the whole thing.
"Hey, look who it is!" We heard some guys shout behind us.
"Crap." Jace muttered, adjusting his stance a little. Alec and Raphael skated in front of us.
"Man, I thought you were with a date or something, but you're just here with Clary." Raphael grinned at me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, so?" Jace shot Raphael a nasty look, which I knew was jealousy, but Raphael saw it as mere annoyance.
"So it's not a date. It's just your step-sister." The word 'sister' made me cringe. I groaned internally because that what people saw us as, brother and sister. Little did they know, we did very unbrotherly and unsisterly things, like making out for hours on end.
"Well, we were just leaving. We thought it was you, but we'll leave you to it." Alec gave Jace a knowing look, which made me raise my eyebrows. Did he know? They skated away, leaving us alone on the rink.
"Did you tell Alec about us?" I stammered, watching the two teens walk out of the building.
"No, I mean, at least I don't think so. How would he know?" Jace leaned against the wall, attempting to catch his breath.
"I don't know. He just looked like he knew." I ran my fingers through my hair, shaking my head. "I'm just being paranoid again." I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face.
"I didn't tell him. Alec knows we've gotten closer. Maybe he just wanted to give us some space." He assured me, as he pushed off the wall. "Don't let that ruin our day. Even if he did know, he wouldn't tell anyone." He took my hand, waddling awkwardly along the ice.
"Alright." I took a deep breath, mingling our fingers together.
OoOoO
We poured back into our apartment, and instantly went into the kitchen for coco. I set up our steaming mugs before I sat on the counter.
"Thanks for helping me ice skate." Jace stood between my legs, kissing me gently.
"No problem." I eased my free hand into his hair, drawing him into another kiss. He tasted like chocolate, which was very satisfying. He drew away from me to sip his coco.
"We need to be careful. Luke should be home soon." He groaned, glancing over that the clock.
"Right." I sighed, holding my mug with both hands.
"We can always lock our bedroom, and do this..." He trailed off, brushing our lips together. I inhaled a sharp breath, setting my coco aside. He grabbed my knees, pulling my hips to his. I squeaked, not used to him being so assertive. I wrapped my arms around his neck, getting lost in him. He pushed me back, jumping up on the counter opposite of me, which left me in shock. "Want to do that?" He smirked, grabbing his mug again.
"I- I guess." I stammered, feeling like he yanked the rug out from underneath me. Seconds later the front door opened, and I was still trying to compose myself.
"Hey, you two." Luke kicked his shoes off, walking into the kitchen with us. "Clary, I think you might need some Chapstick. Your lips look all red." Luke said, as he dug through the fridge. My eyes went wide. Jace chuckled at me, retreating quickly out of the room. I hurried after him, and he grabbed hold of my waist, as I entered the room.
"Give me those chapped lips." He teased, leaning down to kiss me again.
"See what you do to me! That was so embarrassing." I whined, shoving him away from me.
"Oh, come on, it isn't that bad." He laughed, circling his arms around my waist. He reached to lock the door, and tangled our mouths together rhythmically.
A/N: We are nearing the end of this story! I've enjoyed writing, but I know it's time is coming, which also means the parents finding out is also coming. Maybe not next chapter but soon.
Special thanks to my new beta HeronFrayWood. I know she spent a lot of time editing it, which I am extremely thankful for.
I hope you guys have a happy holiday, and a great New Year. I probably won't update until after the New Year. I'm on vacation, and my laptop has no wifi. The only reason I am posting this is because of my iPad, which I prefer not to write on.
How do you think their parents will react?
How do you think they will react to their parents finding out?
What did you guys think?
Please review!