Merged Chapter #3

-o-

Clary POV

Clary stares at Mrs. Verlac in shock. So he's cheating on me. In an overly sweet voice she says,"Thanks for telling me Mrs. Verlac. I just think you should know that you son is cheating on me. I've got to go, but thanks again!" Its Mrs. Verlac's turn to be shocked.

"Wait. Clary-"

But Clary was already sprinting back to Jace's car. One look at Clary's face and Jace knows better than to talk.

"Um. Do you want to go back to the museum?"

Her voice sounds cold. "No. Just take me home." They're entire ride is silent except for the soft patter of rain. He drives her up to her driveway.

"Do you want me to-?"

"No. I'm sick of boys." Sighing she opens the door and runs towards her front door. She hears Jace back up and parks in his driveway. She stumbles on the wet grass, but catches herself. Feeling frustrated (and now soaking wet), she tugs her heels off. Marching to the front door, she realizes that she doesn't have her keys. Of course I didn't bring them! Now, I have to go to Jace's house. How can I face him after what I said?

Sighing, again, she walks in the rain towards Jace's house.

-o-o-o-o-

Jace POV

"No. I'm sick of boys." So that's what he is. Just one of those sick "boys". What happened to all of the years we've known each other? Jace snorts. And he thought that she thought differently about him.

Slamming his front door shut, he locks it and runs up to his room. He throws of his tux and unbuttons his shirt. What Clary says keeps echoing inside his head. "No. I'm sick of boys." He changes into pajama pants and lays down in his bed. Closing his eyes, he listens to the soft patter of rain on his roof. All thoughts of Clary leaving his head, he nearly falls asleep until he hears knocking. Groaning, he rolls out of bed. Doesn't Alec have a key?

Jace practically stomps down the stairs and throws open the door. "Don't you have a k-?" But it's not Alec. It's Clary. She's soaking wet, shivering, and her makeup is black streaks on her face.

"Hey. Um. Can I come in?"

Jace can only nod. He didn't expect to see Clary so soon, especially after what she said to him.

Her voice shakes as she blinks tears and water out of her eyes. "Hey. I'm sorry about what I said. You aren't like other boys. Sebastian is ch-cheating on m-me. We-we've been dating for a y-year and a half and I-I can't think-" Jace cuts her off by wrapping his arms around her. He hears her take a shuddering breath and begin to sob.

"Shhh. It's okay. I forgive you. Just let it out." he murmurs. Her face is buried against his chest and he's suddenly aware that 1. he's shirtless and 2. she's cold and wet. " Let's get you changed, okay?"

She pulls away and nods with a shaky smile on her face. "I don't deserve you, your know."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah come on." She begins to walk, but leaves large puddles on the wooden floor. "Wait." Jace studies the problem and comes up with a solution. He bends down and scoops her up, bridal style. She yelps and wraps her arms around his neck. Her nose skims the side of his neck. Jace breathes in sharply and gulps.

He carries her up the stairs, into his bathroom. "You can take a shower. I'll grab you a towel and some clothes."

She nods. He turns to leave, but she grabs his hand. "Jace, wait. Thank you. I mean I don't what I would do without you." Jace rakes his eyes over her face. From her shining green eyes, cute nose, full lips to her chin. Something tugs at the pit of his stomach.

He pulls her in for another hug. He places his chin on top of her head and murmurs, " I love you, Clary."

"I love you too, Jace. You're the most amazing best friend in the entire world." I really hate the word friend!

Clary pulls away and gives Jace a peck on the cheek. She then ushers him out, closing the door. He jog into Izzy's room and digs through her closet. Jeez! Doesn't she own any t-shirts?! Her entire closet was either: black, lace, or sparkly. He grabs Clary some shorts and runs to his room. On the way, he gabs a towel. Randomly picking a shirt from his closet, he enters the bathroom. The shower is on, but he still covers his eyes and feels around for the sink top.

"Clary? Can I uncover my eyes?"

"Um, yeah. Do you have a towel?"

"Yup. And I have shorts and a shirt."

She doesn't respond after a couple seconds. "Izzy's shirt?"

"Nope, mine."

Jace hears her breathe a sigh of relief and grins. That's my Clary. "Yeah. She had no t-shirts whatsoever."

"I'm not surprised. Um. Could you leave them on the sink top?"

He realizes that he's still inside the bathroom, talking to Clary who's in the shower. Naked. "Oh...yeah. Sure. I'll just be, uh, going now." Closing, nearly slamming, the door behind him, Jace walks over to his bed and lays down. He hears the shower stop and some shuffling. Clary emerges from the bathroom only wearing his shirt. It's a little big on her; the bottom of the shirt reaches halfway down her thighs, but Jace likes the way it looks on her. Red, damp curls surround her shoulders. And her face is makeup free, but he thinks she looks more beautiful naturally.

"Yeah. These shorts are too big. Is it okay if I just wear your shirt?"

He responds a little too quickly. "Yes!- I mean yeah, sure." His mind does some conclusions: 2 people- one girl: wearing only a shirt, one boy: wearing only pajama bottoms, alone in a house. Oh. Shit.

She climbs into his bed with him, going underneath the covers. Jace can feel her shivering. His arm goes automatically around her waist, drawing her closer. When she's all snuggled up, Clary looks up at him with big, green eyes. "Thanks again, Jace."

"Anything for you, Clary." She just smiles, closes her eyes, and places her hand on his chest. Jace begins to drift off, enjoying the feeling of Clary right next to him.

-o-o-o-o-

After what seemed like only minutes, Jace is awakened by talking. They must've arrived. Clary is still snuggled on his bare chest and his arms is still protectively wrapped around her. Suddenly, his door is thrown open.

"HOLY. SHIT!"

-o-

Clary POV

After drifting off in Jace's arms, a startled yell wakes Clary up.

"HOLY. SHIT!"

She bolts right up to find Isabelle standing by his door, her jaw threatening to drop on the floor. Clary shushes her, and looks back at sleeping Jace. Suddenly, his eyes snap open and he also sits up.

He looks sleepily around. "Wha...?"

"So. You finally did it Jace. You finally told her that-!" Isabelle says in disbelief.

His eyes widen to the size of plates and he gives her a look that Clary can't seem to decipher. "Told her what? That I loved her?"

Isabelle nods vigorously.

"Of course I told her! She already knew."

Isabelle stares at him in shock. "So... are you two...?"

"Best friends? Yeah, we've been like that for such a long time."

The entire time, Clary was watching them go like a tennis match. Jace looked like he was on the verge of panic, but spoke calmly. Isabelle was purely incredulous. Okay. Weird. She finally decides to speak up. "Okay... What's going on?"

The adoptive siblings simultaneously yell, "NOTHING!"

Of course that's not suspicious. "Yeah. Okay." She climbs out of Jace's bed, forgetting that she wasn't wearing any pants. Isabelle stares at her bare legs, then stares at Jace's bare chest. Her eyes nearly pop out of her sockets. She gives a death glare to Jace, and practically drags Clary out of his room.

When they reach her room, Isabelle locks her bedroom door and gives her Clary a wary look. "Did you have sex with him?"

She doesn't know how to respond to that. "You think that- Jace and I had-You- You actually-?" Clary nearly dies... laughing. "Isabelle! Why would we have-you know?"

Isabelle fidgets. "What, sex? Can't you say the word? I mean it's-"

"Ugh! Stop changing the subject. Why would you think that?"

"Because he- I thought- because..."

Clary begins to grow impatient. "I'm waiting."

"Um-uh. Well, I found you pants-less and him shirtless. I just put two and two togeth-! I mean, that I just presumed that that's what happened."

Clary nods. "I guess I would've done the same thing. Just please don't ever say or even think about that ever again! She visibly shudders." Ugh. Having... that... with Jace. I can't even imagine dating him! I feel like that's, like, incest or something." They hear a thump near the door. It's probably Alec coming up the stairs.

Isabelle stares at her again with a weird look on her face. Clary deciphers it as disappointment.

She rolls her eyes. "Okay. What's with the disappointed look? First you nearly die thinking that we did 'it'. Now, you look all depressed."

"I-" This time they hear a loud gasp and the sound of footsteps retreating. Isabelle runs to the locked door and throws it open. Nobody's standing there. She runs into Jace's room with Clary on her heels. He's sitting in his bed, looking at something on his phone.

"What?" He asks in a bored tone.

In a sugary, sweet voice Isabelle says, "Hey, Jace. We're you, by chance, anywhere near my door?"

Jace gives her a smile. "Nope", he says, popping the "p". He drops shifts his gaze onto his phone again.

Isabelle nearly attacks him, but Clary grabs her arm and stops her. She gives her a look that says, I've got this. She walks over to Jace, feeling mischievous. He sees her coming and gives her another sarcastic smile. Why is my heart beating faster? She climbs onto his bed and leans in close. His smile wavers. She places a hand on his bare chest. Smiling as sweetly as possible, she brings two of her fingers to his neck, just under the back of his jaw. I can feel his pulse here. Why is it beating fast, like mine?

"Um. What are you doing?"

Clary rolls her eyes. "Feeling his pulse, duh. Ask him again." She looks back at him and stares into his eyes. His pulse is still racing. Jace's eyes are an unnatural shade of gold (similar to amber eyes, but lighter). Right now, the golden orbs are darker; his pupils are dilated. Don't pupils dilate when that person likes- no. That's not true.

"Um. Okay. Jace, did you eavesdrop over my conversation with Clary?"

Something in his eyes soften. "No."

"I think he's lying. His pulse is racing fast and his cheeks are red." Clary says, turning to Isabelle.

Isabelle sighs. "No, I don't think he's lying. Just because his heart is beating fast, it doesn't mean that he's lying." She clears her throat. "There could be other reasons."

Clary suddenly becomes conscious of her hand on his bare chest and pulls back immediately. Tension fills the air and her face feels really hot. Not being able to shake the feeling of Jace's eyes on her, she jumps off the bed. "Yeah. Maybe he's not lying."

Isabelle and Jace nod.

Unable to look Jace in the eyes, Clary mutters and apology. "Sorry to bother you, Jace."

He begins to reply in a husky voice, but clears his throat. "I-um- yeah, sure. It's fine. No big deal." Jace gives her one of his rare, and genuine smiles.

Isabelle and Clary leave his room, feeling more confused and curious than ever.

-o-o-o-o-

"Clary, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out that way."

Clary slams her locker shut. Sebastian has been pestering her with apologies ever since she's arrived at school. Carrying books in one hand and flowers from him on the other, she calmly walks away from him. She makes sure that her ex-boyfriend is watching as she flings the bouquet of flowers in the trash. Clary smiles to herself when she hears Sebastian huff away angrily and walks to her first period class.

-o-o-o-o-

Clary walks into her third period class out of breath. Thankfully, she isn't late. Mr. Galloway enters the room just as she takes out her notebook and a book the class is reading. It's called "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. It's about this sprite called Puck, who "helps" get revenge, but also bring people together. In other words, it's a very complicated story.

"Okay, class. Good morning. Please take out your homework and pass them forward." Clary turns around to pull it out of her bag. When she turns back around, there's a note on her desk:

'Sebastian also Jace broken up with me thinks to you. Yous a bitch! Their will b consequinses.'
- Seelie Queen

Clary clears her throat to hold back a laugh. What kind of threat note is this? She digs through her pencil case, looking for a highlighter and a red pen. The, she highlights all the grammatical errors in the note. In red pen, she adds a reply before sending it back:

'Bitch, I can't read this, try again.'

Feeling smug when the note didn't come back, she smirked in Seelie's direction. Speaking of Sebastian, where is that retard? Why isn't he in class? Clary's mom is old friends with the principal, Mr. Starkweather, and was able to talk him into allowing Clary to be in an English class one grade up. Unfortunately, Sebastian and Seelie are in the class, and Jace is in another.

Suddenly, Sebastian bursts into class with his head down. "Sorry I'm late."

Mr. Garroway smiles warily." Mr. Verlac, this is the second time this week. One more time and that will be a detention."

He nods, still keeping his head down. As he passes by her, she notices that he has a bruise surrounding one eye. He takes the desk in front of her. When he reaches for his notebook, she also notices that his knuckles are red and slightly bleeding. Shaking her head, she turns her attention back to the teacher and listens as he explains the chaos in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". But she can't help but wonder, Who did he fight with?

-o-o-o-o-

Clary walks into the cafeteria only to be dragged away by an angry Isabelle. "Hey-"

"Why didn't you tell me that Sebastian was cheating on you?"

"I...um-"

"You might be my brother's best friend, but you're also mine! You should've told me."

"I'm sorry! I was a little distracted last night. You were accusing me of having-"

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that. I mean I would be distracted if you accused me of having sex with your brother."

That comment makes Clary turn pale.

Isabelle looks at her in alarm. "Are you okay? Was that too much?"

Clary shudders. "It's nothing."

They walk back to the cafeteria. Jace is nowhere to be seen. Was Jace the on who punched Sebastian? Other than Isabelle, Jace is the only other person who knows about Sebastian cheating on me. Where is he? Clary scans the entire cafeteria. Still no Jace. She spots Alec sitting at a table, his boyfriend Magnus next to him.

"Hey, Alec. Where's Jace?"

He looks at her in surprise. "You, out of all people, haven't heard? During second period, gym, Jace and Sebastian had a fight. I was watching the entire thing unravel. Sebastian called out to Jace some nasty things about you." Clary feels something inside her twist. "Jace defended you, then hell broke loose. Sebastian lost his temper and swung at Jace. Thankfully, Jace was able to move out of the way, but he punched Sebastian in the face. Just as the coach walked in, Sebastian kicked him in the knee. Jace had trouble walking, so the coach had to bring him to the office. Sebastian also went, but he didn't get sent home. Jace did, though."

Sebastian, the bastard. Why couldn't he just leave Jace alone? Now, Jace is injured.

Isabelle, in the other hand, couldn't stop speaking. "Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Will he be okay? How bad was he injured? Could he walk at all?"

Clary's eyes begin to well up with tears. Jace. What an idiot, she thought fondly, I'm not worth the pain.

Alec notices her tears about to spill. "Isabelle! Will you shut up? look at what you're doing to Clary!"

Just as he mentions her name, Clary, overwhelmed with emotions, feels a heart wrenching pain and collapses.

-o-