Alright, you finally earned it, so here's the bonus chapter! I don't own the characters or the song...those belong to Cassandra Claire and He Is We. Also a sequel is coming after this...yay! :)

My tired eyes gazed across the court, my frizzy ponytail bouncing against the exposed skin of my neck. The ball thudded against the ground rhythmically as I looked for

someone who was open, someone who could help us win. Jace was covered tight by two guys, meaning someone would be open. I checked each of my teammates, but

none of them were open. That's when it clicked in my brain that I was open. I pulled up and popped a three, hearing the distinct swishing noise as it fell through the net.

"Yes," I heard Jace cheer as he pumped his fist. The ref blew the whistle.

"Time out Bulldogs." We gathered into a circle around our coach, each of us trying to catch our breath and wipe sweat from our flushed faces. My ankle was throbbing, my

knee aching from when the nasty point guard had kicked it, trying to take me out of the game. Nothing would keep me from this game. I tightened my red ponytail as I

checked the score. We were losing by four now, and there was only twenty seconds left. Jace's hand brushed against mine in a comforting way as I straightened my jersey,

absently tracing the number twenty one on its surface. "You got this," he breathed into my ear while everyone else was focused on the coach. I flicked my green eyes

toward him, trying not to be distracted by his sweaty, disheveled hair and serious expression.

"We got this," I told him, putting my hand in the center of the huddle for the ritual yell.

"One, two, three…" the coach counted, squeezing his eyes shut as the team yelled Bulldogs as loudly as we possibly could. Jace stood next to the ref and tossed me the

inbound pass. With the ball pressed firmly between my palms, I was in the zone, where I belonged. Suddenly, my mind wasn't clouded with visions of my demonic father or

dead-but-alive brother. My brain wasn't reeling with questions and clues and half-answers that always seemed to keep me up these nights. Right now it was me, my team,

and the championship game. I put the ball to the floor as I dribbled across the half-court line, seeing the seconds tick by before my eyes. The defense was laid on thick, not

allowing anything inside. I wasn't complaining. My defender was a dark-skinned boy with short brown hair and matching dark eyes. His shoes were worn, fraying at the

seams and dirtied from being worn outside. He was pushing me to the left, thinking my dominant hand was my right. I laughed silently as I drove the lane, laying a layup in

easily, watching as the boy angrily approached me. His teammates were setting up silently for their press breaker, but the boy, number twelve, didn't seem to get the

memo. He was stalking toward me, his face filled with anger.

I stood, dumbfounded as his fist neared my face, forgetting to dodge it as it connected with my cheek, feeling the sting of the impact and hearing the trilling sound of three

ref's whistles blowing in unison and the anger reverberating from the crowd's loud voices. I stumbled backward, being caught by familiar strong arms as number twelve

spat angry words in my face. "Skank! You don't belong here. Even though you look like a boy, you'll never play like one." The words were merged together as my head

spun in circles, running laps around my brain, confusing me profusely.

"You're out of here!" the ref yelled at the boy as he tried to take another swing. Two strong boys from my school walked onto the court and dragged the struggling boy out

of the gymnasium. I was busy shaking my head, trying to clear the fog that had suddenly closed over my eyes. "Technical foul, number twelve." I vaguely heard the ref

talking to the scorer's table.

I tried desperately to shove one foot in front of the other and get to the bench, but my brain didn't seem to be connected to the rest of my body anymore. "I…I can't walk,"

I managed to sputter to Jace, who still had his sweaty arms wrapped around me. I felt him nod and gasped as the ground disappeared from beneath my shiny golden

shoes. Jace had lifted me up, cradling me to his chest bridal-style as the crowd clapped loudly, the noise making my temples throb.

"Clary, Clary we need you," the coach pleaded. I shook my head as Jace sat me down on the bench. "You're our best free throw shooter, but I guess we'll have to deal." He

corrected as he caught Jace's stern glare. "Herondale, you're shooting." Jace nodded, leaning down so that his lips grazed my ear.

"I'll make them for you, baby," he whispered into my ear, before turning onto the court. I tried to focus on his figure, but I couldn't break through the blurry fog. I watched

a blob line up at the free throw line, watched him shoot. I leaned over to the boy sitting next to me, forgetting what his name was.

"Did he make them?" I asked, disorentedly, unable to see if the ball had gone through the net or missed entirely. The boy nodded, his legs bouncing up and down in

appriehnsion Tied. The game was tied with eight seconds left, and the opposing team had the ball.

I coughed, giving my head a good hard shake so that I could clear it. Jace's head whipped toward where I was sitting, and I nodded. He returned it with his own, solemn

head bob. Then, he stole the ball and put it up. The buzzer rang even before the team could get the ball inside bounds again. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the dizzy spell

that overcame me. The splotches of color began to become clearer, like someone had decided to finally focus the lens of a camera. They became jerseys, then bodies, and

then they finally became people.

My eyes scanned the court, searching for a familiar face, the familiar smirk, the familiar sparkle of golden eyes. There he was, running at me, nearly tackling me to the

floor. His lips found mine, and I flinched away automatically, not comfortable with flaunting our relationship in front of so many people. Jace smiled and held my face

against his, willing me to not care what other people were thinking. I did, running my fingers through his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck and stretching up on my

tiptoes to deepen our kiss. A chuckling Jace pulled away, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I heard the catcalls of our teammates and the mumbled I knew it's. Jace

pecked my cheek. "You won the championship game," I told him, wincing against my headache. He pressed a cool palm to my forehead.

"No, we won the championship game." I smiled as he kissed me again, lifting me up off the ground and swinging me in a circle. The coach interrupted to hand Jace the

trophy, but he didn't disapprove.

"I hope I coach their kids," I heard him mutter as he walked to the rest of the team. I caught Jace's eyes, and we burst out laughing. Jace lifted the trophy as everyone

whooped and hollered. Prescott Varsity won the Championship, something that hadn't been done in nearly two and a half decades, despite the great basketball program.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, Jace," Alec said, smiling as he approached. Magnus was connected to his hip. Apparently winning the biggest basketball game brought all

the skeletons out of everyone's closet. Jace shook his head and pulled me tighter to his side. I swayed on my feet.

"Let's get you home," he said, pressing his forehead against mine. I nodded starting to walk. "Oh, no you don't." He said, as he scooped me up in his arms.

"Is this for my benefit, or yours?" I asked, looking up at him. His mouth twitched into its signature smirk as he met my gaze.

"I believe it is a win-win situation." I snorted, allowing him to carry me to our dorm room, but once we were inside, I protested, squirming out of his grasp. He plopped

down on the sofa, defeated, and pulled me onto his lap. I pressed my back firmly against his chest and sighed. His lips brushed against my neck as he relished in the fact

that we were alone. "Have I ever told you how good of a kisser you were?" I asked quietly.

"Oh, so you keep me around for my kisses?" I laughed quietly, turning around to face him.

"You know…that…and you're looks." His lips found mine, and his hands turned me around so that I was straddling his lap.

"Is that so?" He murmured into my mouth. I nodded, brushing my tongue against his lower lip. He opened his mouth, humming seductively into mine. I leaned in closer,

happy to have the thrumming in my head momentarily silenced.

A loud banging against the door made us jump six feet apart, but Jace promptly pulled me back to his side, brushing his thumb lazily up and down my arm. "Come in!" he

yelled, a little bit annoyed, but his eyes never leaving mine.

"Jace, you're leaving, right now," Izzy commanded as she stomped into the room, a blue dress sweeping blissfully over her tall, slender frame. Silvery heels clicked

delicately against the floor, but despite the sweet, girly outfit, she was still fierce, yanking Jace off the sofa and shoving him away.

"Izzy, you can't kick me out of my own dorm room. That's just not how it works," he said, grasping my hand and shooting me a pleading look, asking for back up. I knew it

was a moot point, since Izzy rarely lost debates between her and Jace.

"Hey, I'll see you later," I said, stretching up to brush my lips against his. He backed away and shot me a What-the-hek look, but then placed a sloppy kiss against the

corner of my mouth, backing out of the room. I slapped Izzy's hands away from where they were appraising my hair, muttering not so nice things about the sweaty quality.

"I just played a game, Iz." She sighed, pulling me to a standing position and carting me to the bathroom.

"Shower, now." She stepped out of the room for a minute. Since I knew there was no way I was getting out of this, I stripped and hopped in, letting the steaming droplets

race down the contours of my skin and splatter against the tile.

Tonight was the Christmas Eve Ball, put on by Prescott and St. Xavier schools. Izzy told me she was going to force me to go, but I didn't think she was going to be this

serious about it. I massaged sweet smelling shampoo through my scalp and step out, swathing myself in the fluffy towel hanging on the hook. "Clear," I called

emotionlessly to Isabelle, who sashayed quickly into the room, taking my hair in her hands and fluffing it all around. She cursed quietly and tossed me a robe.

"We are going to my dorm room," she announced, towing me out of the room. I barely had time to be embarrassed about traversing the halls in my robe since in a minute

flat, we were in Izzy's car speeding away to St. Xavier's.

XoXoX

Izzy shoved me down into a chair in front of her vanity. I was in her dorm room at

St. Xavier, regretting agreeing to let her dress me up for the Christmas Ball. Seriously, it was Christmas Eve, and I had better things to do than to play Barbie with Isabelle.

"Hold still!" she complained, clamping her hand down on the shoulder of my squirming body. I mumbled a sorry as she tsked, but otherwise remained silent as she turned

back to her work.

Her fingers were kneading various hair products into my red locks, trying to relax the carroty curls into flaming waves. Needless to say, it wasn't working. I felt her breath

rush down the fluffy robe she had me wearing as she sighed, dropping her hands from my hair helplessly to her sides. "I suppose if I blow dry it, the curls look frizzy."

I laughed lightly. "Um, more like Troy Polamalu's hair in the Head & Shoulders commercials." Izzy threw her head back and laughed, her smile wide as she turned her

attention to my face. I focused my green eyes on the mirror, prepared to object to anything that wasn't subdued or within my comfort zone. Isabelle noticed this right

away.

"No way, girl," she said, turning the chair away from the mirror so that I faced a wall decorated only with a towel hook, which surprisingly didn't have a towel on it. I

groaned in disapproval, but continued to follow her instructions as she told me to look up, close my eyes, and smile. Various brushes swiped different, shimmering powders

onto my lids and cheeks, engulfing me in a soft cloud of glitter.

"How am I ever going to cover up that bruise?" she complained, gingerly dabbing makeup against my jaw, where a purplish bruise had formed quickly after the boy had

punched me. "Done," she chimed in a sing-song voice, patting the top of my hair to check if it was dry. It wasn't. The wet ringlets clung to my neck and shoulders. "Okay,

new plan," she said, running out of the room and returning with a garment bag. "Dress first…"

The zipper made the traditional unzipping noise as she slid it down the length of the bag. I gasped at the sight, running my fingers of the shimmering green dress, gliding

the tips down the sparkling beads that covered the surface. "Izzy, you shouldn't have—" I began. She dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

"I didn't." She took the dress from the bag and slipped it over my head. I felt the silky inside rest perfectly against every curve of my small frame, hugging me around my

small waist, flowing into a slightly looser skirt. "It was your mom's." I did a small twirl in the dress, wondering what I looked like in the full length mirror.

It's beautiful…" I mused, rubbing the fabric between my thumb and index finger. It sparkled against my pale skin, the silk colored a mossy green. The color matched my

eyes exactly, as it would my mother's. "I love it." Izzy's cool hand shoved me gently back into the chair.

"Sit, your hair is dry." I winced in pain as I felt Izzy twisting my hair atop my head and securing it with pins. "Alright, you baby," she teased lightly, patting my shoulder. I

opened my eyes and looked at my reflection, my breath hitching in my throat as a beautiful woman stared back at me.

Her emerald eyes were rimmed in metallic, gold eyeliner, accentuating the shimmering flecks of gold swirling in the wide, green pools. Her hair was clipped up high with

sparkling golden pins, a few loose curls framing her face and brushing against the creamy skin of her shoulders. It was hard to believe that she was me, that I was her.

"Oh, Izzy," I said, turning to look at her. My hand flew to my throat as I saw her dressed in her dress. How long had I been staring at myself that she had time to slip into

her dress and pile her dark hair atop her head.

Though I had thought she was going in the blue party dress she'd been wearing, she wasn't. Her dress was silver, hugging tightly to her body as it cascaded down like a

shimmering waterfall. Her dark eyes were rimmed in metallic silver, her lips painted up in red. She wore no jewelry except for rhinestone-encrusted rings around her

fingers. .

She grinned at my reaction, looping her arm through mine and leading me to the entry, helping me buckle on a golden pair of gladiator sandals. She handed me a golden

clutch and pulled me out of the room, claiming that we had hurry. "Though being fashionably late never goes out of style, we don't want to miss the party!" I laughed,

closing the door behind us. We stumbled giddily through the halls to the ball room of St. Xavier's, entering hand-in-hand.

My breath was taken away upon entering. The ball room's chandelier's were dark, the room instead being illuminated with a million, white Christmas lights, twinkling like

stars on the perfect, clear night. Bodies swayed to the music of the DJ, hidden behind a row of trees. The floor was scattered with balloons, and benches sat at random

increments, beckoning for couples to enjoy a few moments of solitude on their surface. The pressure of Isabelle's hand left mine, and I turned just in time to see her except

Simon's extended hand. I smiled to myself, scanning the heads of the crowd for the golden face I wanted to see the most.

He wasn't there. Of course he wasn't. I had told him that I wasn't going to go to the dance. But shouldn't he have at least been a little suspicious when Izzy shoved him out

of the room? I sighed disappointedly, dropping onto a bench surrounded by pots of pink flowers. All around me, couples danced and swirled, matching corsages adorning

wrists and lapels. It was how I imagined prom in Ohio. The song shifted, filling the room with the soft sounds of a guitar.

A familiar, big hand appeared in my face, a golden ring encircling his finger. "Jace," I breathed, a smile forming on my lips. He had on black pants and a black button down

shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was perfectly messy and his eyes alight with happiness.

"Can I have this dance?" he asked, lifting me from my spot on the bench.

"Certainly," I replied. He led me out to the dance floor, and I was aware of the heads turning to gawk at Jace. He placed one hand on my waist, but the other kept my hand

held tight. "I'm not much of a dancer," I whispered. He chuckled.

"I promise I won't let you fall." With that, He lifted me slightly off the ground, so that just my toes brushed the floor. We were swirling and twirling all around the floor,

amongst other couples that merely swayed to the music. Jace and I were really ballroom dancing. I melted into the moment, the song's lyrics filling my ears.

Take my hand,

I'll teach you to dance.

I'll spin you around,

Won't let you fall down.

Jace's face was inches from mine, his breathing even as he smiled down at me. Lowering his lips to my ear, he whispered, "You look beautiful." His warm breath fanned

over my ear, making me swoon just a little bit more. I bit back against the squeak that was growing in my throat.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He just chuckled.

Would you let me lead?

You could step on my feet.

Give it a try,

It'll be alright.

I saw Izzy and Simon swaying and laughing next to us. The sight brought tears to my eyes. Somehow, over the course of this horrific year, we'd become close friends,

made great memories, and actually were happy. "Jace, where'd you learn to dance like this," I asked quizzically as he maneuvered me through another set of impossible

spins and steps.

His low throaty laugh mingled perfectly with the song as he replied, "Some of us are just good at everything, baby." I slapped his arm.

The room's hush, hush,

And now's our moment.

Take it in, feel it all, and hold it.

Eyes on you, eyes on me.

We're doing this right.

I inhaled a deep breath, smelling Jace's scent, strongly peppermint with some vanilla, but ultimately a scent that was all his own. I leaned my head against his chest and

felt his chin rest atop my hair. I felt his lips gently kissing the crown of my head, whispering words I couldn't hear against my scalp.

Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love.

Spotlight shining, it's all about us.

It's oh, oh, all,

About uh, uh, us.

"Jace?" I murmured against his shirt.

"Hmm…" he hummed against my head.

And every heart in the room will melt,

This is a feeling I've never felt but,

It's all about us.

"Earlier, at Taki's…" I began. He was silent as he waited for me to continue. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to gain my strength to say this. We'd said I love you already,

so many times, but something about this seemed more intimate, more personal. "You asked what I was thinking when I drew the rune across your chest." I felt him nod

against my head, and I knew he was eager to hear this.

Suddenly, I'm feeling brave.

Don't know what's got into me,

Why I feel this way.

Can we dance, real slow?

Can I hold you real close?

The song restored my confidence, somehow knowing the exact words to give me the strength to say this. "I was thinking about the time when I fell out of the apple tree

that Jonathon had dared me to climb. I was thinking about how I was laying on the ground, helpless, unable to move, and Jonathon ran away, scared of Mo the time when I

fell out of the apple tree that Jonathon had dared me to climb. I was thinking about how I was laying on the ground, helpless, unable to move, and Jonathon ran away,

scared of Mom yelling at him. But you stayed."

The room's hush, hush,

And now's our moment.

Take it in feel it all and hold it.

Eyes on you, eyes on me.

We're doing this right.

"And, and you said that you wouldn't leave me alone, ever. You said you'd take care of me, and protect me."

Do you hear that love?

They're playing our song.

Do you think we're ready?

Oh I'm really feeling it.

Do you hear that love?

Do you hear that love?

"And down in that dingy basement, I couldn't help but think that you were breaking that promise, that you were leaving me." Jace's lips turned downward slightly, but I

smiled. "But you weren't. You'd been protecting me, just like you said. And then it was my turn to not leave you."

Do you hear that love?

They're playing our song.

Do you think we're ready yet?

Oh I'm really feeling it.

Do you hear that love?

Do you hear that love?

"I love you, Jace. I love you, always." Jace's mouth opened and closed, as if he didn't know what to say. But suddenly, my face was level with his, his golden eyes staring

deeply into my green ones, absorbing everything in my face.

I smelled mint as his warm breath touched my face, sending goose bumps up my arms. "I love you, too, Clarissa Fairchild. Always have, and always will."

Lovers dance when they're feeling in love.

Spotlight shining, it's all about us.

It's all about us.

It's all, all, all, all.

Every heart in the room will melt,

This is a feeling I've never felt,

Bu it's all about us.

Jace continued to lead me around the ballroom, but his lips descended on mine. They connected with the smallest, feather-light texture, almost like a tickled, a tease. I

released his hand and knotted my fingers into his hair, dragging his mouth against mine and catching his gasp, smiling against his lips.

Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love.

Spotlight shining, it's all about us.

It's oh oh all about us

(Hey-ey hey)

And every heart in the room will melt,

This is a feeling I've never felt but,

It's oh, oh,

It's all about us.