"Why do you even care what I think?" Alec asked.

"I don't know," Jace said. It was the honest truth. He had no clue why he wanted Alec to talk to him. Many things these days didn't make sense to him. Jace couldn't help but turn in the direction of the girl. He hadn't skipped a single Introduction to Humanities class since he had seen her there. He now spent those classes watching the back of her head and he still wasn't sure why.

"Admiring your latest conquest?" Alec asked. Jace felt his face grow hot and it startled him. There was another woman sitting with the girl and he hadn't even bothered to check her out! Why was this red haired girl having such an effect on him? She wasn't anything special. Jace turned away from her.

"I have class," Alec said and quickly left. Jace watched him go but soon his eyes were on the girl again. Her long red hair swayed slightly with the movement of her shoulders. Jace knew she was talking to her friend because she liked to talk with her hands. He watched the subtle changes in her figure as she continued her conversation. The girl shifted in her chair slightly and Jace found he couldn't look away. Her hair shifted from laying over the back of the chair to being pulled forward and pressed between the girl and the chair as she briefly leaned forward. Now she was leaning over to get something from her bag and Jace caught a glimpse of her face. The pale skin of her face was speckled with freckles, but they were endearing on her rather than childish. Jace was only now noticing her clothes, which surprised him. Usually a woman's neckline was the first thing that drew his eye, but in this case what the girl was wearing explained his lack of attention. The girl had on a baggy sweater with the school logo on it. She was also wearing baggy jeans that didn't do anything to highlight her figure.

"Stop it!"

Jace jumped. He had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't noticed Sebastian's arrival. Once the initial rush of his surprise dissipated Jace sunk back into his sulky mood.

"Hey," Jace said gloomily.

"None of that!" Sebastian said as he sat down. Jace just shrugged and turned to gaze at her again. The girl had her bag up on the table now and seemed to be packing things into it. Jace noticed that her bag very much matched her clothes. It had a patchwork design and seemed to be capable of housing all her textbooks and laptop easily. Jace could tell this girl cared more for practicality than style.

"She isn't for you," Sebastian said. "She breaks all our rules."

"I know," Jace said but his eyes were still fixed on her. He was sure the girl was packing up to leave now and Jace found himself wondering if she was headed to class like Alec.

"She's got a guy," Sebastian said. "Plus virgins are clingy."

"We don't know she's a-"

"Oh please!" Sebastian interrupted. "She would just end up following you around like a puppy and then that boyfriend of hers would be pissed and it's not worth the hassle."

Jace rather liked the idea of her following him around. The thought of her bright green eyes gazing up at him brought a smile to Jace's face. Then that stupid boyfriend of hers shattered his image. Jace did not like that brown haired kid! He sat beside the girl in class everyday, but Jace was sure he could beat the kid up if given half the chance. Jace was surprised how much the idea excited him.

"Come on buddy!" Sebastian said waving his hand in front of Jace's face. "Snap out of it!"

"Sorry," Jace said. He turned away from the girl but he was still aware of her. He was still watching her out of the corner of his eye. Jace pretended to listen to Sebastian while he listened for the slightest indication she was leaving the cafeteria. After a moment or two Jace heard her chair being scraped across the floor as she got up from her table. As Jace caught a glimpse of her red hair leaving the cafeteria raised voices interrupted Sebastian's monologue. Two people were fighting rather loudly in the hallway. Jace thought nothing of it until the girl reacted. She must have recognized the couple arguing. Her body language shifted to frantic as she moved quickly toward the voices. Her friend called after her but the girl didn't turn back. The girl's friend had called out her name. Clary. The girl's name was Clary. The word rang in Jace's head as if it were pinging off the inside of his skull.

"I'm going to go get a coffee," Jace said absently as he got up from the table. He didn't even bother to check if Sebastian had heard him before he followed Clary. Jace stood out of view down the hall from where Clary was, standing beside a tall asian man. The look on Clary's face was one of deep concern and Jace guessed this man was the friend she had run to help. Jace noted that Clary was a deeply caring person who ran to her friends' aid without a moment's hesitation.

When Jace saw Alec among the people down the hall he did a double take. Alec was supposed to be in class after all. This meant Alec would rather lie to Jace then sit with him. Jace wasn't sure why this bothered him so much.

With a heavy heart Jace turned back into the cafeteria and stood in line to get a coffee. He decided this was a better idea than trying to explain to his best friend what the hell was wrong with him.

When Jace returned to the table he was surprised to recognize the woman standing beside Sebastian. Of course, Jace didn't remember her name but she was the blonde woman from the bar their first night at school. She seemed to be yelling at Sebastian. As Jace approached he caught fragments of her words though her tears and yelling.

"Thought you were different... never called me back... said you would."

"And you!" the woman cried as she rounded on Jace. "You are just as bad as him!" With that she turned and stormed off. Jace sighed as he sat down in the chair across from Sebastian.

"You okay?" Jace asked.

"Course I am," he said with a smile. "Where's my coffee?" Jace held out the go cup to his friend.

"Aren't you having any?"

"Nah," Jace said. "Changed my mind." In actuality Jace hadn't been listening earlier. He now assumed Sebastian asked for one before Jace had left the table to chase Clary.

"Okay thanks," Sebastian said as started drinking Jace's coffee. Jace sat down at the table but again he found he couldn't focus on what his friend was saying. Sebastian had been Jace's constant companion for as long as Jace could remember. Jace had many fond memories of himself and Sebastian as kids playing out in the yard together. He remembered sleepovers and birthday parties; all his earliest memories were of Sebastian. In fact, Sebastian was the only real friend Jace had ever known. Maybe that was why Jace wanted Alec to like him. If Jace couldn't make friends with the person who was forced to live with him what hope was there that Jace would ever be able to make other any friends at all? Sebastian was great and all but Jace wanted more.

"Do you wanna hit a bar?" Sebastian's direct question snapped Jace back into the present. This same question had led to Jace coming home with the brunette last night, which was one of the things Alec disliked about him. The bar was the usual place Jace and Sebastian hung out but somehow Jace didn't really feel like it today.

"Nah," Jace said.

"The gym them?"

"Sure."

Sebastian grinned at him and Jace tried to smile back. Sebastian made to leave the same way Clary had, but Jace turned toward the other door hoping this would mean he didn't run into either Clary or Alec.

"Why are you going that way?" Sebastian asked giving Jace a dubious look. "This way is closer."

Jace tried to think of a different reason, but his mind was blank; or rather his mind was filled with nothing but Clary's brilliant red hair and Alec's angry expression.

Sebastian rolled his eyes at Jace but followed where Jace led. Jace breathed a sigh of relief once they were out in the hall on the other side of the cafeteria. The halls of this school were brick and Jace could almost feel the cold coming off the walls. The bricks were red and as Jace stared at them his thoughts naturally shifted to red lips, red roses then red hair, her red hair. Jace shook his head to try and clear it, but Clary persisted.

"Maybe you should go out with that girl," Sebastian said, eyeing Jace's strange expression. "Boyfriend and all. Banging her might get her out of your head, my friend."

"You think?" Jace asked. He was insanely attracted to her and he knew if given half the chance he would take her.

"Yep," Sebastian said. "Just charm her one day when the boyfriend isn't around." Sebastian laughed. "What's the worst that can happen?"

Oh just about a million things, Jace thought but he wasn't about to say it.

When they entered the gym Jace tried to relax. He took a deep breath and moved forward toward his favourite weight lifting machine. Jace pushed all his anxiety and confusion into lifting the heavy loads. Exercise always cleared his mind. He pumped the bar up then down then up again, breathing in time with his movements and trying to focus on nothing else. Slowly his mind cleared and Jace felt his anxiety fade somewhat. Jace switched to using the rowing machine for a while to give Sebastian a turn with the weights. Jace ran on the treadmill next for a while then cooled down with a walk.

"I'm gonna hit the showers," Jace said finally as he turned off the treadmill. Sebastian said he wasn't quite done yet so Jace left on his own.

After his shower Jace walked into his dorm room without noticing anything but his bed. Jace fell face first onto the mattress without even getting undressed. Sure he was physically tired from the exercise, but Jace's mind was drained. Clearing it of all the confused new thoughts had taken more mental energy then Jace realized.

Jace sank into the bed and focused on relaxing, letting his exhausted brain wander where it wanted. The bed was soft and the cool comforter felt nice against Jace's hot skin. Jace could feel the chill of the wall that lead to outside and pulled a blanket up to block the draft. Why had they made this school out of brick anyway? Did they want their students to freeze? Jace pulled the blankets up over himself more but he didn't open his eyes. The overhead light filtered through his closed eyelids and created a reddish tint. Jace didn't want to get up to turn the light off so he place his arm over his eyes. The red was gone. Red. Scarlet. Crimson. Ruby. Auburn red…. hair. Her face suddenly flooded his mind and he could picture her glorious hair and thin freckled face perfectly, as if she stood before him. Clary was smiling with a joy that lit up her emerald green eyes. She moved closer to him and he reached out his hand to her, stroking the side of her face. Her eyes closed when he touched her. Jace could feel that she trusted him. He reached down to take her hand in his. He brought their joined hands together and kissed the back of her hand gently. She giggled, still smiling at him.

"Well at least you aren't snoring." The loud annoyed voice burst Jace's daydream and he sat bolt upright in bed, his heart racing.

Alec was home and in the process of dumping his laptop bag by his desk. Jace was suddenly very angry! He wanted to accuse Alec of lying to get away from him earlier, but no words formed. Jace felt like he was in shock. Fantasizing about a woman was by no means a new thing for him, but usually in his fantasies he got laid. Usually in his fantasies the girls weren't wearing a stitch of clothing! Usually in his fantasies the girl didn't have a name and he certainly didn't hold their hand.

"Geez!" Alec said. "I thought you were out cold like usual. My voice doesn't usually wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping," Jace said blankly.

"Clearly," Alec said absently. Jace watched as Alec collected his toothbrush and pajamas and left the dorm again.

Jace collapsed back into bed. He decided he didn't care if his teeth were neglected tonight. Jace undressed, lay down and went to sleep. Today had been a very strange day and he wanted it to be over with.


Beta read by Holly 0114


So I uploaded this late at night when I was half asleep and I totally forgot what I was supposed to say here. Then half way through work the next day I was like oh crap I was supposed to do a shout out! sigh. So I came home and went straight to my computer to fix the author's note! I probably should have waited until the next day to upload but I have not been updating this story as fast as I would like and I miss uploading as often as I used to. I didn't want to wait any longer.

Anyway... shout out to Hewt :D

Hewt has two Malec stories and I just became the beta for her new one. One is called "The Archer's Secret" and I binge read all three chapters last night hence why I was up so late and too tried to remember to mention her. sigh. Anyway its super awesome and set in medieval times. Alec is a member of the king's guard and he meets Magnus at a brothel. Her description creates great imagery and why is it all writers but me seem so good at description anyway? :( I did beta a chapter of this for her but she has a different main beta for it.

Hewt's story that I am the main beta for is called "High Hopes." In this one Malec meet by accident on their way to a college sports event. Alec is driving and Magnus is trying to start a conversation with the handsome blue eyed stranger. ^_^ Hewt may not update very often but her writing is great! She just needs some encouragement! I am trying to get her more excited about writing so she writes more! Please go leave a review on her stories and tell you what you think! Writers LOVE that!

Oh and this sneak peak is super small cause the next chapter is currently less then 1/4 finished! ^_^


Sneak peak chapter 8

"So why were you staring at me in the first place?" Alec asked. The question seemed innocent enough but Magnus thought for a split second he saw something else in Alec's gaze. Magnus had to remind himself he was only seeing what he wanted to see, then he had to remind himself he shouldn't want to see it at all since he wasn't interested.

"Just scoping the party," Magnus said, casually. "But as I said. It was lame. You two were the most interesting people there."