Jace

I wake up to a Willow sized weight on my abdomen. Who needs an alarm when you have a one-year-old? I ended up crashing in her room on the air mattress.

"Dada, wate up!" Willow exclaims. ("Dad, wake up!")

"Dada wating up baba. Shod we go and get some bueberries and eggies?" I ask. ("Dads, waking up baby. Should we go and get some blueberries and eggs?")

"Baba want nummies dada!" Willow claps. ("Baby (I) want food daddy!")

I take her down, and I get her some food. Alec walks into the kitchen. "Alec, would you please do me a huge favor? I've got to get dressed. It'll take like 4 minutes. Would you please please watch Willow for me?" I practically beg. Alec simply nods. He's not entirely what you'd call a morning person. Luckily I am, otherwise after Willow was born, that would've been an even bigger adjustment. An adjustment I gladly would've made for my little girl however. I safely fasten her in her highchair.

Then, I climb the stairs two at a time. I hastily make my way into my room. I find my toothbrush and comb. I'm doing this whole brushing my hair and teeth at the same time thing. Let's just say I've got some practice to do. I practically rip my pajamas, aka a comfy shirt and sweatpants, off and go to my dresser to find something to wear. Looking at the clock I've got 1ish minutes left. I throw on a (hopefully) clean shirt, underwear, socks, and a pair of black jeans. I take the stairs down two at a time.

"Jace, I wasn't counting. You didn't have to dress like you were just caught sleeping with someone by mom and you didn't want her to see you naked! You look like a mess!" Alec laughs. Thanks Alec! What a guy!

There are a few things I'd like to say to Alec, but I have to choose my words carefully. I have a one-year-old repeater, and I need to be mature. "Thank you for watching Willow while I got ready," I reply.

"No problem," Alec mumbles. I get Willow out of her chair, and we go to get her ready. After 15ish minutes, Willow looks like an adorable little princess, and I've flipped my shirt. So nice of you Alec to tell me my shirt was on backwards! Willow, Izzy, Max, Alex, and I gather in my van and we're off.

We arrive at school at 8:08A.M. "I'm going to do and find Clary," I say to no one in particular. Izzy's already off to find Simon, and Alec to find Magnus. I find myself walking to Clary's locker.

"Hey Jace," Clary greets.

"Hi, Clary. How are you today?" I ask. Jace! You're so stupid! That's the best you could come up with! You want her to be your friend, not doubt your intelligence!

"Well, I've been better," Clary quietly confesses. Then it's like a switch switches, and she realizes that she was honest with me. "I..I mean it's nothing. I'm....I'm all good."

I grab her hand and whisk her off to an abandoned custodial closet. At first, she hesitates, but after she realizes I'm not going to give in, she sighs in defeat. Once we're inside, I close the door. There is a "bench" thing, so I usher Clary to sit. She gracefully sits as I kneel in front of her.

I take her hands into mine. "Clary, what is it?"

"It's...nothing," Clary lies. I know she's lying, and this time I have no intention of letting it slide.

I gently grab her chin and move it slightly, so I can see her eyes. "I know that you're lying. No, you're not lying, you're.......you've put those walls up. You've fortified it with concrete stronger than the ancient Rome's oldest structure. Just let me in, please," In the beginning, my voice was strong and confident, but as I watched her facial expressions, my confidence gathered in the corner of the room and slid out underneath the door, leaving me whispering by 'please.'

"Jace, you don't have to worry so much. Since we've started talking about my past, which I've throughly enjoyed don't get me wrong, I've....been," Clary begins. She looks away and her lip is attacked my her teeth.

"Clary, it's okay. I won't judge, I'm here to help," I assure her. Since when am I the assuring one? Clary just brings out this protective brave side of me. I feel almost as protective and brave as I do towards Willow.

"I.......I have nightmares....about my....about Jonathan. There always so.....detailed. As soon as I wake up, I usually can't fall asleep the rest of the night. Last night, it happened almost instantaneously. I had to get sleep, so I tried to fall back asleep. Eventually....I did, but I wish I never had. In my nightmare....I relived my 9th birthday. It was.........one of the worst." Clary starts to cry. "Jace....I don't want to talk about....that." I pull her into my arms and feel moisture on my left shoulder.

"I'm sorry Clary. I shouldn't have pushed you," I apologize. "I...I have nightmares too sometimes. It's always about.....Chloe. She comes back to me. I'm so excited, pathetic right, but then she tells me I'm useless or a waste of time or....other less pleasant things. I'm sorry I made you think about...it."

Clary pulls away from my shoulder. "Jace, I wanted to tell you. You didn't make me do anything. I may have been a little reluctant at first, but it .......helps to talk. Thank you for sharing with me," Clary smiles at me. "We'd better get going before the bell-"

********Ring*******Ring********

We burst out laughing. It feels so relieving to laugh after such a stressful topic. We rush to Chemistry, full of giggles.

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I do not own any of the Mortal Instruments books, materials, etc. All credit belongs to Cassandra Clare.

Author's Note:
I hope you all like it! Please leave comments, votes, and feedback. I'm going to update, when I'm done and it'll be random.

Originally posted: 2/26/18