It had been weeks since Jaia's get-back-together sexcapades, and it seemed to Jace that Maia had not left the apartment since, though he knew that wasn't technically true. She did leave sometimes, usually to get more clothes, or go to work, but otherwise Jace was starting to think they should be charging her rent.

"You can't charge my girlfriend rent," Jordan said with a sigh when Jace brought this up. "She doesn't live here."

"Are you sure about that?" Jace replied, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes," Jordan said. "She's paying rent at her place, therefore she doesn't live here."

"But she sleeps here," Jace argued as he began counting off items on his fingers. "She eats here. She watches tv here. She showers here! To me that's living here."

"She does shower here doesn't she," Jordan grinned.

"Urg, I so hate you," Jace whined. He knew why Jordan was grinning. Usually if Maia did shower here, she showered with him.

"Oh whatever," Jordan scoffed. "In less than a month Clary will be back, and we can argue over who gets to use the shower for sex instead of you always complaining about me doing it."

Rather than making him feel better, Jace's head started filling up with his worries about seeing Clary again. He missed her more than he could stand, and yet the idea of seeing her again terrified him.

"What's with the face?" Jordan asked.

"It's nothing," Jace tried to be nonchalant.

"No it isn't," Jordan replied. "What's wrong?"

"Just concerned our fourth roommate isn't pulling her weight," Jace replied, trying to avoid Jordan reading him like a book.

"She doesn't live here," Jordan stated again. "And on that note, I said I'd meet up with her after her shift so I have to run."

"Go over to her place for a change maybe then!" Jace called after his friend. He heard laughter, but no direct response before the front door opened and closed.

Jace let out a sigh. He could avoid the topic with others, but lying to himself was a whole other matter. May was almost over, and Clary was home in June. Jace was both so excited he could barely breathe, and so scared he wanted to climb under his bed and never move again.

Would Clary still be Clary? Or would she have changed and grown into someone different like a butterfly from its cocoon. Had she met someone else in Paris like he'd feared she would? Did that explain her lack of communication all this time? After so many months apart would there even still be that feeling between them? That spark or whatever it was that had drawn him to her in the first place. Was he hanging onto the memory of a love that no longer existed? A love that had changed every inch of him until he no longer recognized himself without her. Would that be her legacy instead of his joy? Was there anything left to save, or would he meet a stranger at the airport?

Round and round the unanswered questions went through his head until there was nothing else left in his head.

He tried to distract himself. Snapping at Jordan was only so amusing, and besides he really didn't have any problem with Maia being here. Jace knew he was just lonely. With the three musketeers down to the dynamic duo, Jace was spending more and more time with Jon. When neither work nor Jon could distract him however, Jace tried volunteered to babysit Lucie a little more than usual. But really there was nothing that could distract him from his worries. Nothing but seeing Clary could answer his questions.

Time began to play tricks on him. Passing faster and slower at the same time.

It didn't quite feel real to him when one day he looked at a calender and realized that there was now just a fortnight left until her return.

Then there was only a week until Clary's plane was due to land.

Four days till he had to be at the airport.

Three days left.

Two days…

Tomorrow…

Today.

Jace woke up with a knot in his stomach. A knot so tight he decided to skip breakfast. Of course, he still had a few hours to kill before he had to leave for the airport, and breakfast would have been a nice way to kill them, if only his stomach would cooperate. Coffee turned out to be the compromise. Lot's of coffee.

Jace could feel his heart pounding as he checked the clock. How early was too early? Also it had definitely not been a good idea to have that fifth cup of coffee when he was already this jumping from nerves.

Simon and Magnus had offered to come with Jace to the airport, and though he'd originally said no, Jace was suddenly very certain he wanted their company. No scratch that. He needed their company.

Fumbling with his phone and regretting all the coffee, Jace texted them both. He was relieved to get their replies quickly. Both of them had booked the day off already, so it was no trouble. Jace was glad his friends knew him better than he knew himself as he went to change his clothes again, gave up and decided to take another shower instead.

Once out of the shower and slightly calmer from the hot water, Jace tried to pick out clothes again. After staring in his closet for what felt like hours, Jace decided on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a black button up with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and his favorite pair of black combat boots.

Jace had planned on taking a taxi to the airport, but to his delight, Will had offered to lend Jace his truck. It had been while he'd last been babysitting Lucie. Jace had mentioned his plans for picking up Clary, and Will instantly dismissed the taxi idea.

"It's really the least I can do in exchange for all the babysitting," Will had said when Jace had mumbled something about the taxi really being fine.

The truck was yet another reason for Magnus and Simon to join him. Jace really didn't feel stable enough to drive. Dying on the way to Clary was not the way he wanted this day to go.

Jace jumped as the intercom binged. Quickly moving to it, he let Simon and Magnus in. They were at his door moments later.

"Hey buddy," Simon smiled. "Ready to smooch your girl?"

Jace just stared. His mind registering for one brief second that it was Clary's ex who had just said that.

"Wow, you look horrible," Magnus stated. Jace suddenly wanted to cry.

"I tried on like eight different things," he whined.

"It's okay blondie," Magnus patranized. "The fashion police are here to help." He sniggered. "Can't have Clary dumping you on the spot for wearing the wrong shirt."

"Don't listen to him," Simon waved a hand to dismiss Magnus. "Clary won't care one bit what you're wearing."

"You think?" Jace asked, his breathing very quick now. "Cause like, I don't know… much of anything. She's so far away, or rather she was far away, and today she won't be far away, and I really don't know what that will mean in any way, and for all I know, wearing the right shirt could be really important!"

"Oh wow," Magnus stated.

"I mean we've been apart so long, and like, don't people change in that kinda time, or maybe I'm just worried cause I don't feel like I've changed, and people should change together right? Because if she left a cocoon, and returns a butterfly while I'm still a cocoon, we won't mesh anymore or something." Jace held his hands up pressing them together as if trying to displace his point.

"I think he's broken," Magnus said matter of factly, turning to face Simon. "Biscuit broke him."

Then Simon had an arm on either side of Jace's shoulders, and was looking him squarely in the eyes. "Clary loves you," Simon said firmly. "You need to focus on that." He paused while Jace tried to regain his calm from earlier.

Jace tried not to think. He set his mind to the taking in and expelling of oxygen, and absolutely nothing else until his heart rate returned to normal.

"Don't let me drink any more coffee," Jace said when he felt better.

"Deal," Simon laughed. "Now let's go pick up your girlfriend."

"I'm driving," Magnus said firmly with another look at Jace who couldn't help but laugh a little.

The drive felt slow and tedious as Jace sat facing forward and staring at Simon's head rest. He wasn't quite sure how Simon had managed to get the front seat of the truck that Jace had borrowed from his cousin. Sneaky little seat thief. He must have opened the back seat door knowing Jace's head was so up in the clouds that he'd have just gotten into the first door he saw. Then again, maybe Jace had done that entirely on his own, and Simon wasn't to blame. Besides, did it really matter who sat in the front seat and who didn't? Either way you could still see out the window, and that was what really mattered.

Jace watched as the city turned into flat fields of farm land full of grazing cows and horses. The small fences didn't quite seem strong enough to keep such animals in. Then again those animals had no reason to explore past their borders, so why would one need stronger fences? Though it was late spring now, small spots of snow could still be seen dotting the landscape, either in places of constant shade or where the snow had been once piled high above his head.

Jace watched as a little calf ran towards it's mother, startled by the sound of Will's truck driving past. It looked like a peaceful life, this being a farm animal business. Apart from the whole being served up for dinner part that is. Roaming the fields all day, eating and taking in the sunshine. No need to worry about what the other cows were thinking or feeling about your cow self, because cows were just cows. They ran on instinct. Cows said when they were hungry, slept when they're tired, and did whatever else they felt inclined to do. They had no need for forward thinking, or working out the workings of other cow minds. They just were. It seemed a simple and yet beautiful concept to Jace at the moment. Maybe it was the whole concept of sentient self awareness that ruined everything. Maybe being able to really analyze their own failings, and believe others to be doing the same was the problem. But cows didn't do that. They didn't worry that their girlfriends had forgotten them.

"You okay back there?" Simon's voice broke through Jace's spiralling thoughts.

"Yeah," Jace replied. "Just contemplating the meaning of life through the eyes of a cow."

"Okie dokie then," Simon said, slightly awkwardly. "I think it's time for music."

"Good idea," Magnus replied. "Before Jace loses his mind." Jace saw Magnus reach for the stereo. He was glad of the music once it came on. Spiraling thoughts about Taylor Swift made him feel much less in need of a straight jacket than contemplating the metaphor of cows.

The only problem with Taylor was his tendency to compare her song lyrics to his relationship with Clary. Was she just his Wildest Dream? Had Everything Changed? Did she want to be his End Game? Could he please have a thought that didn't include a song lyric?

"Can we change the station, please," Jace asked. "Something less Swifty."

Simon's hand moved to cover the stereo, and then blissful metal music filled the car. Jace couldn't even hear the lyrics. Perfect.

"Much better," he smiled. "Thanks."

And only a few rocker songs later, they were driving up road to the airport. As Magnus was parking, Jace checked his phone clock. Less than an hour left before Clary's plane landed, if it was on time that is. Then he realized something.

"Did anyone check the flights to make sure hers was coming in on time?" Jace asked. "Cause I totally spaced."

"Um… no," Magnus confessed as he turned off the engine. He turned to Simon who shook his head.

"Let's go check the terminal then," Jace said, and with a deep breath he opened the car door. Walking up the airport door, Jace watched his feet. One in front of the other. One thing at a time. Don't think about tomorrow, or next month, or even last month. Right now he was walking into a building that would soon contain Clary. That was right now, and that was what mattered.

"Looks like her planes early," Simon said pointing up at the board. "She'll be landing in like five minutes."

"Which means she's up in the air right above us right now," Magnus added. Jace felt his heart racing, but actively tried to remain calm.

"We should meet her by the baggage claim," Simon said. "Come on. This way." He pointed to the sign overhead, and they all followed.

Once they were in the right place, Jace just stared at the door he knew Clary would come out of. He would never again have to move from this spot before he laid eyes on her. It didn't feel real yet. Jace could hear the clock on the wall behind him, and to his left ticking as the seconds passed.

An announcement came over the PA, and Jace knew Clary's plane was disembarking. People started to move into the space Jace was watching. Many many people he didn't know that he tried not to notice. Jace was only interested in one redhead in particular. It seemed to him like everyone else who'd been on the plane was getting off before her.

When he did finally spot her, Jace did a double take. That red hair he'd been looking for had changed. Clary's long past her shoulders hair was gone. It was now short, cut to just past her ears. The rest of her looked the same though. He knew that face, those stunning green eyes. That is until he noticed her clothes. Where she'd once lived in baggy sweaters and comfy pants, she now worn skin tight black leggings with an elegant top. She looked somehow older than him now, even though he knew they were the same age.

It was like meeting a stranger and greeting an old friend all at once. She hugged the others in greeting, then moved to face him, and there were butterflies dancing inside his chest.

So how much do ya hate me? ;) My beta left my a nice angry message at the end up this chapter telling me off for such a cliffhanger. *Insert angel emoji here*

I mean at least Clary's off the plane right? ^_^

Sneak Peek Chapter 151

"Oh look a purple and blue ribbon," Magnus said. There was a loud thud just seconds later and Clary assumed Magnus had lifted it off the conveyor.

"Besides seems to me like there are worst problems to have," Simon added from where they'd left off. "And now we are just waiting on the backpack."

"Yes you are right," Magnus replied. "Still I don't get why people are so weird about it. I'm a person outside of my married. Stupid Lightwoods and their owning half the country."

"There there," Simon sniggered. "Maybe if you work real hard you'll have poor people problems again." The laughter and silence that followed made Clary sure Magnus glared daggers at Simon.

"Oh hush you," Magnus replied. "Watch for suitcases like a good little Sherlock."

"Ha ha, very funny," Simon's voice answered tonelessly.