^ when Jace says you have to ______
Oops spoiler ^

"The wheel is turning. Always turning."
—okay where is this quote from bc I've heard it everywhere and I can't take credit for this
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H o l l o w s I n
T I M E
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"Sit down." Jace commanded.

"Is that optional?" I asked, anxiety burning up inside of me as I paced backwards and forwards. I bit at my nails, or rather, what was left of them. I had been fretting for a while now, knee bouncing, finger gnawing, and now we were on pacing.

Jace didn't reply to my comment, but instead tried to reason with me. "Is it so bad that you will finally be able to put a face to your attacks?" He asked.

I spun around, eyes wide as I stared at him as if he was crazy. "Yes!" Then I began pacing again.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because." I replied with a childish defiance. I couldn't see Jace's expression in that moment, but I was pretty sure that he was glaring at me.

I sighed. "Because it means that I have to live with knowing which person stabbed me in the back. Literally." I groaned, stopping at the window and leaning my forehead against the cold glass—it was mid November, and so Christmas was quickly approaching. Though, I think it's safe to say that I'm not exactly in the mood for gift-giving.

"They stabbed you in the back?" He asked.

I stopped pacing. "Well," I paused. "Not exactly." Then I continued pacing.

I heard Jace sigh. "Look, the way I see it, you'll be one step closer to safety. By knowing your enemy, you can eliminate your enemy."

I rose an eyebrow, "And where's that from? Jameson's handbook on guarding?" I joked.

Jace frowned. "No. I just made it up." Looking as if he was knee deep in some deep mid-life crisis; I decided to just ignore him and drown in my own thoughts.

I grabbed fistfuls of my own hair, then let go, shaking out my limbs as if I had just been forced into a marathon. "Okay. It's okay, it's oka–ah!" And that's how I nearly died from a heart attack after Jace's watch alarm went off.

I caved into myself. "I don't want to go." I complained to Jace, silently hoping that he'd tack on an extra twenty-four hours onto my time.

"Well, you're going to have to; it's my lunch break." He told me, collecting up his things.

I pouted. "You'd really choose food over me?" I asked in a faux upset voice, though I'm sure that most of it was real.

Jace eyed me. "Sky, there are many things that I would choose you over—food just isn't one of them." He told me, slipping his jacket on.

"That's mean." I said, having a full-on strop.

Jace smiled, "Whatever you say." He said, placing his bag on the table and taking out his keys and what I assumed was his money.

He advanced towards the door, so I stood in front of it. Before he could say anything, I launched myself into him.

"Please let me stay here forever." I begged, wrapping my arms around him and clinging onto him as if the world was about to end.

He pushed me away. "Sky, I'm not your Guardian."

I looked into his eyes. Those deep blue eyes, with little flecks of hazel, that appeared as emerald under the right kind of light.

"But you want to be." I said. Jace frowned, looking back at my eyes as if he too were analysing them.

"I'd protect you if I had to."

I scoffed and pulled away. "You sound just like Jameson. Trying to make excuses for what you want." A sudden flash of vulnerability changed Jace's eyes as I looked into them.

I reached out, placing my palm over his chest, feeling his steady heart—but perhaps racing faster. "What your heart wants." I whispered. Jace seemed to involuntarily move closer to me, his eyes watching me, never blinking; never missing a moment.

Then I retreated. I pulled my hand and the rest of my body away from him.

Watching him look detached, I said, "I'll see you at our next session." Then I turned and left.

I sighed. Why is it that I'm always making myself available to the wrong guys? We have Jameson, my Guardian, who would be exiled if anyone found out about the illegal relationship that we'd be having. Then we have Jace, my therapist, who'd get sacked if we got involved and someone found out.

If someone found out.

That right there was a dangerous thought. For it gave me permission to get involved with whoever I wanted, as long as it remained a secret.

I walked out into the corridor, before being joined by someone.

"That's a dangerous look." The person said. I turned to give Alexi a glare, which then turned into a frown.

"What look?" I asked.

"The look that tells me that you want to do something illegal." She said.

Confused at how she just spoke aloud what I had just been thinking, I replied, "And what would that something be?"

With a smirk, which told me I was about to be savaged to death, she said, "Jameson."

My eyebrows rose and my eyes widened. So much for secrets.

"Jameson isn't illegal." I feebly defended.

"No, but your relationship is." She quipped.

I threw her an annoyed look before glancing around frantically, trying to see if anyone overheard any of what she or I had said.

"Will you quieten down?" I scolded her, though seeing that no one was in sight. Yet. "And what relationship?"

She gave me a deadpan glance. "What? You think that I don't notice the romantic tension every time we have a meeting?"

I did a double take on her. "'Romantic tension'?" I asked. She nodded. "The only tension in the room is clearly your sexual frustration." I retorted with bitterness to last me a life time.

We entered the lunch hall. "Woah, okay Miss 'I've Banged My Guardian'." A few surrounding people turned to give us odd looks.

I glared at Alexi. "I thought I told you to quieten down!" I yelled as quietly as I possibly could. "And I have not banged Jameson."

"Mm-hm." She responded, clearly unconvinced.

"Why are you guys talking about banging me?"

Shit.

Just. Shit.

"We weren't." Lexi replied sweetly, "Were we, Sky?"

I clenched my jaw. "No," I said, not even turning around to face him. "I'm just going to find a wall to 'bang' my head against." I told them before stalking off.

And I wasn't kidding. I stopped at the wall behind the vending machines and hit my head against it more than the necessary amount of times.

"Woah there, calm down; you don't have enough brain cells as it is."

I whirled around and glared at the owner of the voice. Toby. Of course.

"Excuse you." I defended.

"Okay, bye." Then he turned around and left. Baffled, I stood there for a few seconds longer and wondered what the hell had just happened.

I shrugged it off then went to buy lunch. I got to the door when someone pulled me back by the arm. I was pulled into a dark space, where I tried to fight off the hold on me. Where the hell are my bloody Guardians when I need them?

The person grabbed onto my upper arms, trying to steady me as I thrashed around.

"Sky." I recognised the voice, despite the fact that it was quiet.

"Jace?" I whispered back.

"Can we talk?" He asked, sounding nervous—which was unfamiliar to me. The same way that Jameson's sudden show of emotions used to startle me.

"Sure." I told him. "But maybe not in between two vending machines." I added. He guided me into the light, and then led me into the corridor.

"Thought you were going for lunch?" I asked as we tried to step in line with those who were already in the corridor, trying to make it look like this was a casual therapist-and-patient conversation.

When he didn't respond, I tried another conversation starter.

"So, is this like an off-time therapist meeting—should I have cleared my calendar for you?" I asked. Again, no response. He guided me into a classroom and closed the door, beckoning me over to a part away from the door, so that there would be no witnesses to our conversation—I realised.

He sighed. "Sky,"

"Jace." I responded.

He closed his eyes, not humouring me for the joke. "You need to report me."

I was ready to laugh along, but the look in his eyes told me that this was all very serious to him.

He truthfully wanted me to report him.

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Yeah you gotta report him bc I mean come on you've been doing this therapy business for at least 3 centuries and you still think you weigh 4.3 stone

Bruh

This chapter definitely isn't PG lololol

Oops

Sometimes it's gotta happen

Also

Haha

Funny story

Basically

Up until this morning, this story didn't even exist 👍🏼

Basically the entire thing disappeared yesterday and I was just like

...well then

That's one way to end the series

-what series

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Next update: Friyay
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CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO SPOILER:

Secrets.
Secrets.
Secrets.
A gentle touch to the lips.
Drama.
Drama.
Drama.