Alright, guys. Here's another chapter. It's really freaking long. Sorry for taking forever. 9,300 words. You're welcome. I got a laptop for Christmas! Also, last chapter of 2014. There are a bunch of All Time Low references in here. Sorry not sorry. Enjoy!

I woke up with a killer migraine. My head was pounding and I groaned as I flopped over onto my belly and peeked through my fingers. Blinding light pierced the inside of my skull and I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand grudgingly. I had drank way too much last night and it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

After several minutes of sulking, I realized my hangover wasn't going away anytime soon, so the least I could do was make myself useful. I dragged myself across the room, making sure not so step on any of our mess or wake up the other girls. Before I could even think about making us all breakfast, I desperately needed to shower. My hair was matted to my back and sand was shoved in every crease and crevice of my body. I felt about as attractive as a sloth. I kind of felt like one, too.

I slipped into the shared bathroom and made sure to lock the door, remembering how much we enjoyed barging in on each other. Then I peeled off my dirty bathing suit, tossing it in the hamper. Sand literally fell off of me in cascades and I cursed Jace. If he hadn't laid us down, I wouldn't have collected so much of it. I thought about the way I had moaned his name so easily and my face flushed.

I hated whenever I drank too much. I always acted like a complete fool, saying whatever was on my mind and doing whatever I thought sounded like fun. I almost always ended up regretting everything the next morning and having to apologize to someone.

I turned the handle and waited for the room to steam up before I finally stepped inside. Izzie had a dozen different colorful bottles, each claiming to have a different effect on your hair or skin. I could tell which were Jace and Alec's, because they were simple and smelled like men. I chose a shampoo at random and lathered it on my hair, making sure to scrub out every last grain of sand.

After nearly half an hour, I felt squeaky clean and my headache was almost completely gone. I shut off the water and wrapped a plush purple towel around my torso. The entire bathroom had an old Hollywood theme and I admired it as I brushed my teeth with my toothbrush I had luckily already put in here yesterday in preparation.

After throwing some tousling mousse in my hair and deciding to let it air dry, I secured my towel and opened the door. Checking to make sure the coast was clear, I tiptoed across the hall and practically dove into Izzie's room before shutting the door stealthily.

I turned to find both of my best friends still sprawled out on the bed, their limbs thrown in every which direction and their mouths hanging half open. I grinned at them and took a blackmail picture out of pure love before rummaging through my back. I ended up choosing an off white sundress for today and yellow straw sandals.

I pulled the top half of my hair into a quick ide braid and pinned it off before making my way downstairs. The house was oddly quiet and I had to remind myself that I was the only one awake. I entered the kitchen with a determined grin and rubbed my hands together. "Alright, let's get down to business."

I pulled out my phone and found a speaker to plug it into, blasting oldies loud enough to dance to, but not loud enough to wake up the entire house before I could feed them. It didn't take me long to find all off the necessary supplies and food. Soon I had it all spread out on the counter and I was ready to go.

"Need some help?" I swiveled around and found Jace leaning against the other counter. He was fully dressed in dark blue jeans and a black shirt and his hair was still damp. It reminded me of last night, when I was tugging on it and he was kissing me like we would never live to see the light of day.

"When did you wake up?" I tried to focus my attention on cracking eggs instead of how close he was standing. I could feel his breath on my neck and it tickled my spine.

"I've been up a while now, but someone was taking forever in the shower." I furrowed my eyebrows as he took the whisk out of my hands and started beating the eggs.

"I didn't know you could cook." I thought of all the creations I had made at my house for us and he hadn't offered to help, not once.

"There's lots of things you don't know about me." Jace winked at me playfully and I felt myself flush. I knew what that wink entailed.

I looked away from him and decided I would at least make the most out of his presence. I started popping the biscuits and placing them on a tray. We worked in a semi comfortable semi awkward silence for the next hour as everything cooked.

Once we were done I sighed loudly and hopped onto a stool. I popped a tator tot into my mouth and laid my head on the counter. "Oh, thank the Angel it is over. I'm never being nice again. I could go for a nap."

"Think of all the cranky hung over people who you just made very happy." Jace offered helpfully with a shit eating grin and I tried to kick him, but he was standing too far away.

I looked him in the eye and he took a sip from his water bottle, raising an eyebrow at me meaningfully. "Tell me what you're thinking."

At first I kept my mouth shut, but finally I sat up and looked directly at him. "I don't want things to be awkward between us."

"I don't either." He took a few steps closer and wrapped his arms around me in a big comforting hug. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to get lost in it for a moment before pulling away.

"I just-" I wasn't sure what I wanted myself, so I'm not sure why I thought expressing it to Jace was going to be a good idea. "You're a really great guy, Jace."

"This sounds a lot like a break up speech." He took a step back and I saw the set in his jaw. Those weren't the words he wanted me to say. "Which is funny, because we were never dating."

"Jace, I was drunk and I always say things that-" I began, but he cut me off suddenly.

"It's cool. I get it. It was a onetime thing. No big deal. Won't happen again." He sat down his water bottle roughly beside me, loud enough for it to echo throughout the room before he stormed off.

I stared after him and let out an exasperated sigh. Part of me wanted to go after him, but the smarter half told me to let him sulk it off. I still felt like a Class A prick and I made a promise to talk to him later when he wasn't acting so irrational.

"What is that heavenly smell?" Mia floated in a few minutes later on cloud 9 with Jordan attached at her wrist.

"Did you cook all of this yourself?" Simon was the next to pop up. All three clearly had not showered yet and they all had seen better days, but I wasn't one to judge after I saw myself this morning.

"No, Jace helped." I avoided looking at Si, since I knew he would give me one of his unapprovingly looks and instead I made myself a plate of three pancakes and scrambled eggs. After adding a handful of bacon, I didn't have room for anything else.

"Oh, did he?" Mia shimmed her shoulders at me and I rolled my eyes, stabbing my eggs with the fork menacingly.

"It all looks delicious. I don't know where to start." Jordan could clearly sense the tension and God love him, he tried to defuse it.

I handed them both a plate before grabbing mine and heading for the back porch. "Feel free to help yourselves. You always do."

Once I was outside, I took a long drag of the fresh morning air and closed my eyes. I loved the way morning felt. The sun shining down on your face and covering you like a warm blanket. The birds singing overhead and squirrels chirping in the trees. Their backyard was littered with rosebushes and flowerbeds, a spectrum of colors decorating the bright green grass. Their fragrances all combined to bring a sweet, florid scent to my nose.

I ate in peace and avoiding thinking about yesterday or this morning. When I had finished, I simply curled up on the woven seat and rested my head on my arm. I really could go for a nap.

I heard the sliding glass door open and I debated closing my eyes and faking to be asleep, but curiosity got the best of me. I found Isabelle striding toward me all dolled up and wearing soft tan crotched shorts with a coral blouse. "Good morning."

"Did they send you out here to tell me to stop being grouchy?" She sat down beside me and curled her feet underneath her. I narrowed my eyes at her accusatorily.

"Guilty conscience?" Her bright pink lips formed a knowing smirk. So they had told her about my mood. "What's on your mind?"

I considered lying and telling her I was just PMSing, but what the hell. What did I have to lose? "Your brother."

"Huh."

"What?" I gauged her reaction, but Izzie just cocked her head at me, her perfectly straight hair draping over her long legs.

"I just wasn't expecting you to be so open about it." She shrugged one shoulder and leaned in, resting her chin on her hands like a child listening to a bedtime story. "What about my brother?"

I couldn't help but quirk a smile at her dorkiness. Simon was starting to rub off on her. "He confuses me."

"How so?" I didn't even know where to start.

"Can I tell you something and you not get mad at me?" I bit my lip and sat up a little straighter. She was definitely going to kill me. I wonder if I could outrun her to the kitchen house and lock her outside once I told her.

"Is it that you were the one who tracked all the sand in the bathroom? Because I already know, but to be fair, we all did." Her tone was light and joking and it only made what I had to tell her that much worse.

I lace our hands together and placed them in my lap before looking her in the eye solemnly. "I've kissed Jace."

"Yeah, I know." Izzie gave me a weird look, as if to say I was stupid for thinking she didn't already know.

"No, I mean a lot." I squeezed her fingers nervously and she immediately started squeezing back, but with much more force.

"How much is a lot?" Her eyes were squinted so far I could barely tell if she was still looking at me, but her scowl told me she most definitely was indeed.

"Like," I looked up and faked to count off the top of my head, but really I had each kiss memorized down to the direction of the wind and chance of precipitation. I just needed an excuse to look away from her intimidating stare. "Five times I think."

"You think!" Izzie screeched so loud I dropped her hands and jumped back in alarm. Her eyes were the size of saucers and her mouth was stuck in a permanent "o" shape. If I wasn't so terrified for our friendship and my wellbeing, I would have found the whole thing quit comical.

"You said you wouldn't get mad!" I whined and clutched my hands to my heart, afraid she was going to do something insane, like beat me senseless or drag me by the hair inside, find Jace and then beat us both senseless.

"I never actually agreed to that!" Izzie stood up snappishly, towering over me in her high heels and adding to the current fear factor.

I stood up with her and moved to grab her, but thought better of it. "Let me explain."

"I'm waiting." Izzie crossed her arms and popped out her hip dramatically.

"He bet his friends he could kiss me after knowing me for only a day, so he tricked me into kissing him, but then he found out it was my first kiss and he felt like shit, so he kissed me again that night to make up for it. The third time doesn't really count, because it was for like two seconds as an apology for my dad acting like Jace was a thug." I was talking so fast I was stumbling over my words and mispronouncing things, but I knew Isabelle of all people would be able to keep up with my fast pace. I wrung my hands nervously the entire time and shifted habitually from one foot to another as I continued. "Then he told me he punched a wall because he heard Sebastian Verlac bragging about how he was going to convince me to sleep with him and he was pissed and told him to back off, so I kissed him again as a thank you. Then Mia dared me to make out with him on the beach and you were there for that one and yeah. I'm sorry."

Izzie stood their obediently the entire time and was silent for a good three seconds after I finished. I watched as an array of emotions flew across her face, ranging from anger and confusion at first and changing into excitement and curiosity. She threw her skinny arms around me and squeezed with all her might. "Oh, my God. You're going to be my sister in law one day."

When she finally released me from her death grip I took a giant gulp of air and gave her a quizzical look. "You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm mad, but my best friend is going to marry my brother. We need to celebrate." Izzie moved to wrap me in another life crushing bear hug and I dodged her at the last possible second.

"Woah, Izzy. Slow down. We aren't even dating." I realized that whereas telling someone else felt really nice and relieved a lot of the pressure I was feeling, maybe Izzie wasn't the best choice of confidant. She was, after all, one of the coexisting founders of the Clace fan club, seeing as they had oh so cleverly discovered our couple came.

"Yet." Izzie gave me one of her looks. Those looks that said she wanted something and she always got what she wanted.

"No, we aren't going to be dating and that's the problem." I sat back down and lowered my voice, paranoid everyone was listening at the window.

She caught my cue and joined me at my side. "Why not?"

"It's complicated." If only she knew the truth behind that statement.

Izzie smiled at me sweetly. "Do you like him?"

"I don't know." I could feel the blush color my cheeks immediately as I looked down at the ground.

"Liar." She called me out and I glowered at her.

"Maybe a little." I admitted bravely.

"Then why is it complicated?" I thought about everything. About how my parents would react. About what Jonathan would say. About the accident last year and what happened last time I had taken a chance with a boy I liked. The memories were all too painful and I blinked them away quickly, not wanting to go back down that path. I had come a far way since last September.

"It just is." I hoped she couldn't hear the way my voice shook. "Look, I don't trust people, okay? I wouldn't be a good girlfriend. Plus, your brother is a freshman, even if he is built like Adonis. It would feel weird."

"Okay, first, ew. Second, I'm not the perfect girlfriend either. You learn to be a good girlfriend with practice." Izzie scrunched up her nose at the thought of Jace being compared to the Greek God of beauty and desire.

"I'll think about it." I stood up suddenly and clapped my hands together with a smile on my face. "Let's go inside. I'm still hungry."

I was surprised when she didn't fight me. Instead, I grabbed my fork and dirty plate and we joined the rest of the group who had all showered by now and were fighting over the last of our feast.

Clary's POV

Later that night, after a long day of lounging around, watching movies, playing videogames, competing on Just Dance, and goofing around in general, we all were preparing for the night ahead of us. The guys had claimed the downstairs while the girls, along with Magnus, staked our claim in the upstairs.

Pandemonium was having a costume party this weekend, but Raphael hadn't told me until three that it was themed, so we had to throw together last minute costumes. Luckily Magnus always carried an insane amount of material and glitter in his car as well as a sewing machine. I would have been pissed, but it was actually really fun.

So far, we all had our costumes and makeup finished, but Magnus was finishing up on Mia's makeup. She had chosen to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, which was easy enough. We had all raided Izzie's closet for our outfits. Hers consisted of white go-go boots, matching white denim cutoff shorts that Magnus had sewn sparkling blue stars strategically on, a long sleeved pillowing blue dress shirt that we had tied in a knot and a small white vest with more stars to finish off the look.

Magnus had the best costume out of all of us by far. He was Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was a character in and of itself, but he had added his own twist to it. Aside for being the usual sweet transvestite, every article of clothing Magnus wore was also covered in black glitter. He looked absolutely fabulous.

A loud knock resonated off the door and I opened it to reveal a nearly shirtless Jace. I was still pretty embarrassed about yesterday, so I let him in quickly and reclaimed my spot at the foot of the bed. "Alec wants to know if you guys are ever coming down."

"Tell him perfection takes time." Magnus chided the other boy as he carefully swiped liquid liner across Mia's eyelid.

Lace simply rolled his eyes and turned to leave, but paused as I caught his attention once again. "Are you a unicorn?"

It was true; I was a unicorn. Seeing as I had been to a hundred of these little events, I had ran out of good ideas a long time ago. Magnus had been the one to suggest it and I actually had a couple stuffed unicorns hidden away in my closet, so I thought it sounded like a cool idea. Little did I know Magnus had secret ulterior motives to make me a sexy walking banner for gay pride at I would later find out.

I had to hand it to him, I did look pretty damn magical. I had on a white corset that was so tight I was wondering how I was capable of even breathing at this point, but it did wonders for my curves. Magnus had went back and added white piping along the bottom and silver swirling designs along the top and down the sides. He also attached a short skirt that was entirely made out of sparkly ribbon in different eye catching shades of the rainbow. Some of the accenting bands were transparent and shimmering, reminding me of clouds. Underneath I wore a pair of hot pink spandex shorts that barely covered my ass. To finish off the look, I had on knee high rainbow striped socks paired with my purple chucks, and Magnus had even made me an adorable little horn headband that held my bangs back and kept my long crazy curls maintained.

"Not just a unicorn," Izzie sauntered over and threw her arm around my shoulder with a playful wink. "A slutty unicorn."

I knew I never should have confided in her. Jace's hungry eyes slowly raked over me and I gave him a dirty look. "Like you're one to talk, Magic Mike."

"It's very popular with the ladies, thank you." His lopsided smirk nearly drove me further insane, but I had to agree with him. He looked delicious. He had on the dress pants he wore to dinner the other night along with a black vest and a matching collar and tie. If I had to put money on it, he also had lathered oil on himself a while ago and spent some time in their weight room by the looks of his glistening skin and defined muscles.

Rather than grab him by the tie and pull him into another room to have my way with him, I rolled my eyes back at him. "I'm sure it is."

"Alec is going to kill you by the way." Jace just gave me one of his heart stopping winks and turned to leave before shaking his head at his adoptive sister.

Izzie chose to be a police officer, insisting that guys dug girls who could take charge and lay down the rules. I wasn't so sure Simon was one of those guys, but he was definitely going to love her sexy little number. Her outfit was the simplest out of all of ours.

She had on a leather black mini skirt that flared. She paired it with a small black ribbed tank top that had a badge made of –surprise- glitter. She also wore fishnet stockings and mid-thigh high black boots with buckles on the sides. To make herself look more like a cop and less like a prostitute for Alec's sake, she also added aviators and a chauffeur hat.

"I already have a man, so why should it matter what I dress like?" Izzie shouted after him, but he didn't wait for her reply.

"He should be more concerned with why you own a pair of handcuffs." I pointed out helpfully and wondered how Simon would react once he saw them hanging off her waist. I imagined it involved lots of coughing, blushing, averting his eyes and stuttering over his sentences.

"You never know when they'll come in handy." The glint in her eye made me think of what would happen right after Simon made his recovery and I had to block the images out of my head.

"TMI, Izzie. TMI." I grabbed my stomach suddenly nauseous. She opened her mouth, probably ready to point out that I make out with her brother all the time and it doesn't bother her, but she darted her eyes at the others and thought better of it.

I smiled at her thankfully and looked at myself in the mirror one more time. Magnus wasn't kidding when he said he had enough glitter to go around. We each had eye makeup that accented our individual costumes, but they all had a touch of glitter. My eye shadow was a sparkly white towards the tear ducts, blending to a light pink in the center and ending in a bright purple on the outside. It was all accented by a thin line of charcoal eyeliner that ended in a small wing. Neither Magnus nor Izzie had bothered to tough my cheeks, claiming that with as much as I blushed, there was no point. My lips were a matte pink lipstick by Jeffree Star Cosmetics that Izzie had just gotten earlier this month and she already worshipped it. I thought it drew too much attention to my lips, but everyone kept telling me that was the whole point.

Even though I normally wouldn't have chosen something quite so flashy that showed so much skin, I really did like it. It made me feel beautiful, like I had a chance at competing with the other girls like Mia and Isabel.

"Magnus, I can't take it anymore." Mia groaned and tried to get up, but Magnus shot his arm out and latched onto her shoulder with a death grip.

"I'm almost finished. Don't move or I will slit your little Mexican throat!" Her doe eyes shot open in alarm and I howled with laughter as she sat perfectly still until he had finished her other eye. "Voila."

"Finally, come on." She shot out of her seat and practically ran downstairs. "I can't wait to see what the guys came up with."

When we all joined her, we found the guys playing Call of Duty and munching on potato chips. They were all wearing identical costumes to Jace's.

"Are you freaking kidding me? We spent all of that time getting ready for you and you're all Magic Mike? That took, like, what two seconds to put together?" Mia yelled at them and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Actually, I'm Han Solo." Simon pointed out helpfully and I recognized the costume immediately. He always wore it every time Pandemonium had a themed weekend. He was such a nerd.

"They roped me into it. Jace said it would be funny." Jordan tried and Mia just rolled her eyes and held up her hand.

"Ugh. Whatever. Let's just go." She marched out the door and we all slowly followed, grabbing our belongings as we went.

"Jace. What's on your back?" I turned my head and saw Magnus running his hand along his shoulder blades. "It looks like scratch marks."

My eyes grew huge and he looked at me from across the room. My cheeks burned as I thought about the beach last night and how I had kept raking my nails down his back.

"That's weird." Those must me left over from Kaelie the other day.

I knew he was trying to cover up so I wouldn't feel further embarrassed, but instead I felt anger boiling in my stomach. Did he have to use her?

I stormed out as Alec gave Jace a knowing look. "Kaelie, huh?"

When I got outside there were already two cabs waiting. Mia and Jordan were already in the first one, so I slipped in after them, wanting to escape.

I was about to shut the door when Jace appeared and gave me a questioning look, but I refused to answer it. Instead I scooted over and allowed him room.

We pulled away and it was oddly silent until Mia finally spoke up. "Did you text Raphael?"

"Yeah. I told him to meet us out front. He's on break." I looked down at my phone, wondering how much longer we had.

"Who's Raphael?" Jace asked, trying to come off casual, but I knew better.

"One of the regular bartenders. He is totally head over heels for Clary, but she won't give him the time of day." Mia told him eagerly and gave me a very pointed look.

"Mia, he is not. He's just really cool." I insisted and tried to hide my flush behind my hair. Raphael was very sexy, I had to admit. "Plus, he's like 23."

"That just means he's experienced." Mia ran her and up my leg suggestively. I noticed that both Jace and Jordan were pretending not to listen

I slapped her hand away and she yelped. "I already need a drink and we aren't even there yet."

When we finally got there, Jace offered to pay the toll, and we all shuffled out. The other half of our group arrived a few seconds after us. We had parked down the street, so we had to walk a bit.

"Clarissa!" Raphael spotted us first. I found him up by the bouncer and waved my hand as I picked up my pace, noticing the looks people who had been waiting in line were giving me. I felt remotely bad, but not bad enough to wait in line with them.

Raphael whispered in the guy's ear and he nodded and let us pass the rope. Izzie bumped my side and whispered in my ear. "You weren't kidding about the VIP treatment."

Once we were inside, I turned and gave him a giant hug. "Hey, Raphael! These are my friends Izzie, Alec, and Jace. They just moved here a few weeks ago."

"Welcome to Pandemonium, guys! My break is over for now, but feel free to stop by later for a few drinks. First round is on me." He shook each of their hands, kissing Izzie's much to Simon's dislike. I noticed when he shook Jace's that they had a little stare down and I rolled my eyes.

"You're so sweet." Izzie cooed and grabbed Simon's hand to show him she was still his girl.

"Thanks again for getting us in, Raph. That line was insane." I took in his ripped jeans and deep V-neck. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but it looked really good on him.

"No, problem, but you owe me a dance." The glint in his eyes made me blush.

"Looking forward to it." I grinned, wondering if maybe Mia was correct for once.

"Raphael!" The club manager hollered and he gave us a wave before heading back to the bar.

"Come on." I pulled the girls out the dance floor. I had no clue what song was playing, but it had a nice heavy bass and I could follow the beat really well, so I liked it.

We made several trips to the bar as time went on and the whole night began to blend together as I felt the effects of the alcohol begin to take their toll. The group kept getting split up, but I could always spot a few of us and I always knew where Jace was. It was like we were magnets and I was always drawn to him, no matter where we were in the room.

He was correct, his costume was a huge hit with the ladies. They were practically throwing themselves at him all night. Literally, they were grinding on his leg and kissing his neck. It made me want to puke and scratch their faces off at the same time.

Told myself I didn't have the right to be jealous, though, because Jace wasn't mine. So, I decided to have some fun of my own. I danced like I didn't have a care in the world and I let boys touch me however they wanted, even if it made me a bit uncomfortable, just on the off chance that Jace would look over and see I could have fun, too

After dancing to eight songs in a row around midnight, my legs were killing me, so I dragged myself over to the bar and sat down on a stool.

"Hey, I love your costume." I looked over and saw a boy in a deep black V-neck and matching black skinny jeans sitting beside me. His face was covered in slightly damp white face paint with black around his eyes, red along his mouth in a creepy smile and he had green hairspray to finish off the look.

"Thank you." I beamed at him. I recognized him as one of the guys I had been dancing with earlier. I was already pretty tipsy, but I liked his voice, and I was pretty positive he was drop dead gorgeous underneath all that makeup.

"Where did you buy it?" I was never that good at flirting, but I was nearly positive he was trying to pick me up. I wished Izzie was here to tell me what to say.

"My friend Magnus actually made it." I looked down at my outfit, trying not to stumble over my words.

"Wow. That's so cool." He gave me another grin and glance back at the crowd quickly.

"Thanks. Joker, right?" I was terrified I was going to lose is attention.

"You're good." He winked at me playfully. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Sure." I bit my lip and tried not to scream out in joy. At cool Clary, act cool.

"Two Bloody Marias, please." He spoke to the other bartender and I was secretly happy it wasn't Raphael. The guy gave us our order in no time and I took a sip. Had never had a Bloody Maria before. Only a Bloody Mary. I think this one used tequila. Whatever it was, I liked it.

"Thank you." Good Lord, this boy was beautiful. Not as beautiful as Jace.

"No problem." He held out a hand. "My name is Alex, by the way."

I shook it. "Clary."

I felt someone looking at me and turned my head, immediately finding Jace's golden eyes in the sea of people. He cocked an eyebrow at me and I looked away before he could read my expression.

"So, what's your story?" He took a drink of his own and rested his chin on his hand.

"What do you mean?" I took another sip. I really liked this stuff. It was one of my new favorite drinks.

"Everyone has a story." He explained with a wave of is hand. "What's yours?"

I shook my head. "I don't have a story."

"Sure you do." He scanned the crowd and pointed a long finger at someone. "That blonde boy."

"Jace?" My heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. He's got it bad." Alex winked at me and nodded his head in understanding.

"We're just friends." I insisted, but even I knew that was a lie.

"If that's what you want to keep telling yourself." Alex didn't try to argue the subject and I decided he was a cool guy.

I downed the rest of my drink pretty fast after that, deciding I needed the extra courage. When I sat the empty glass down he raised a tick eyebrow at me and smiled. "That was fast."

I just grinned and he mimicked me. "Look, I'm just here to have a good time, but there's a story at the bottom of every bottle and I'm a pen. I'm here if you need to talk."

I nodded my head, agreeing with my previous self that this guy was pretty awesome. "Can we just dance?"

"I like dancing." He nodded his head and we got up and joined the crowd.

The music was pulsing so loud we couldn't talk, but I danced all over him, rubbing our bodies together and waving my arms around. Several other guys joined us in goofy costumes and I smiled at them, deciding the more the merrier. I liked their dancing, because unlike other guys who were afraid of looking stupid, they didn't care and they did whatever they want. They even had a synchronized part to one song and I laughed my ass of as I watched. After another six songs, Alex motioned for a break and I nodded my head.

Back at the bar, I threw myself against the cool counter. "It's so hot out there. I think I'm dying."

"Two rum and cokes, please." Alex told the man as the other guys ordered their own drinks. I liked that he kept buying me drinks, especially since I couldn't buy my own.

Alex slid me mine and I took a giant gulp of the cold beverage and let out a satisfied sigh. "I think I'll live."

"Clary, these are my friends Jack, Rian and Zach." He pointed to the trio of misfits.

The first one, Jack, was wearing a gaudy Batman costume that looked really cheap with cut out eye pieces and a mouth hole on the attached mask. It was also skin tight, but his body pulled it off just fine. I thought I could see a skunk patch sticking out from underneath his mask.

The second guy, Rian, wore pastel purple daisy dukes with a matching bra that had similar donuts on it. To finish off the look, he had on an electric pink wig with long flowing locks and lipstick.

The final guy, Zack, who should have looked ridiculous, but was a total sex God, could have passed as a couples costume with me. He has on a hot pink speedo, with white knee pads that had rainbow streamers coming out of them as well as arm bands that also had streamers. His wig was this terrible faux golden mullet hot mess and he had a nose ring.

"I think we're wearing the same underwear." I told Zack, wiggling my eyebrows, and everyone started laughing.

"I like her." Zack told Alex and I sipped my drink happily. I felt loved.

"I know right?" Alex wrapped his arm around me and I swooned further.

"Hey, Clare. Can I take you up on that offer?" Raphael suddenly popped up and I swiveled my chair to look at him. He looked even better than before.

"Do you guys mind?" I looked around at the rest of the gang.

"Go have fun. I need a break." Alex told me with a grin and I shot out of my seat.

"Okay. Save me a seat." I waved at them and followed Raphael out to the dance floor.

"You look beautiful." He shouted in my ear and I smiled up at him.

"Thank you." He spun me around so I was facing him and I lifted my arms above my head as he wrapped his around my waist. We swayed to the music and I sang the wrong lyrics off key as he laughed along the entire time. His hand had ridden lower and now it rested on my lower back, pressing me against him.

When the song was over, I realized I was sweating and I felt really dizzy. Raphael leaned down and grabbed my shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm hot." I shouted as the next song came on.

"Want to go outside?" He shouted back and I nodded.

He grabbed my hand and led us out the back exit, making sure to crack the door open with a brick so we didn't get locked out. I leaned against a wall and fanned myself. After a minute I sighed loudly and stood up.

"Clary?" He had been watching me the entire time nervously.

"I'm okay." I insisted and I raked a hand through my curly hair. I wished I had worn it up, but Magnus insisted it really finished off the look perfectly.

"You sure?" He double checked and I nodded.

"Let's go back inside." I opened the door and he grudgingly followed me inside.

Once I shut it, he kissed me on the cheek, completely taking me by surprise. "My break is over, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded as he disappeared into the crowd. I tried to find Alex after that, but I couldn't see his green hair anywhere.

I found Izzie first. "Have you seen Alex?"

"Who?" She was dancing with Simon, but I had pulled her to the side, where the music wasn't as loud.

"The cute guy I was dancing with? Looked like the Joker?" I explained, annoyed that I even had to explain. Usually she knew what I meant right away.

"Oh, him. I thought he was with you." She frowned and I groaned. "Nice score, by the way."

"Thanks. His friends aren't so bad, either." I told her with a wink before searching or him once again in the crowd. When I didn't see him or any of the guys, I decided to try the bathroom.

As I was walking down the long hallway, I spotted him. With Jack. On top of him and with his tongue down his throat. I stared at the two completely confused and shocked for a moment before sulking back to the bar.

I sat down and folded my head in my arms. I felt someone nudge me and found Simon a moment later. "What happened to your friends?"

"They turned out to be gay." I told him glumly.

"Oh, well that's unfortunate for you." He told me with a grin.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah, so I think I'm going to get completely wasted now."

"Sounds like a plan." Simon nodded, not even bothering to stop me. Some best friend he was.

"Promise to apologize for all the stupid stuff I do?" I asked him sweetly.

"What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't?" He questioned me in return and I grinned back at him.

"Five shots of tequila," I told Raphael. "On Alex's tab."

"Coming right up." Raphael gave me one of his panty dropping smirks.

I lined up all five and smashed them in a matter of seconds. This was going to be one long night.

Clary's POV

I have no clue how long I had been dancing for now, I just knew I never wanted to stop ever again. I felt like I had all of the energy in the world. Like I could do anything. Guys were grinding on me and I was grinding right back, not caring if they were pretty anymore or if I liked someone else.

All that mattered was dancing. And tequila. She was pretty cool, too.

"Alright, let's get you home." I felt someone start pulling me away from all of my new friends and I frowned. I turned to yell at them, but I was met with swirling golden eyes and my face lit up with recognition.

"Jacey, I'm so happy to see you!" I threw my arms around him in a sloppy hug and tried to start dancing on him, but he wouldn't sway with me. It was okay, though, because the entire room was swaying by this point.

"I'm sure you are." I felt him grip my hips roughly and grinned victoriously before letting out a ferocious yelp as he tossed me effortlessly over his shoulder.

I tried to wiggle my way out of his grasp, but he wasn't having any of that. I even smacked his ass for good measure. "Woah. You can't just pick people up without asking."

"I just did." He thought he was so cool, didn't he?

"Watch out everyone! Somebody thinks they're a badass." I started shouting at anyone that would listen around us and a few people turned their heads out of amusement. I saw Rian and Zack by the bar and I waved at them happily before Jace slipped out the exit.

"How much did you have to drink?" Jace refused to acknowledge me until we had joined the rest of the gang out front as they were sliding into cab. He finally sat me down on my own two feet and I hit him in his chest, but I knew it didn't even affect him.

"Like two shots." I lied and Simon snickered at me. I winked at him, knowing perfectly well that I couldn't wink to save my life on the best of days. I felt my stomach turn and I grabbed it and hunched over. "I don't feel so good."

"You guys go ahead, we'll catch the next one." Jace was instantly at my side, one hand on my lower back and the other on my shoulder. His face was so close I could smell his whisky breath and it was more intoxicating tan anything I had drank all night.

"Are you sure?" by now they were all crammed in the taxi with Alec in the front seat, but the back window was rolled down. Simon looked at me with a concerned look only a childhood best friend could master.

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Jace insisted and my eyes shot open.

I threw myself across the sidewalk and practically climbed in through the window. I tried to latch onto Izzie's long hair, but she batted me away. "Don't leave me with him!"

"Bye, Clary." Izzie gave me a shit eating grin at Jace pulled me away and Si rolled the window up.

I watched in complete utter despair as the car rolled away and I jutted my bottom lip out. "Well, fuck."

"What?" Jace barely paid my tantrum any attention as he lifted his arm to call for another taxi. His arm wasn't even fully up before another had taken its place. Then again, if I was a taxi driver and I saw Magic Mike trying to hail me, I'd probably hall ass, too.

Jace just looked at me with a smirk and opened the door. I made a face and dragged myself inside. "Every time we're alone, I end up kissing you."

"Then don't kiss me." He slid in beside me and shut the door behind us before giving the address to the cabbie.

"It's not as easy as it sounds." He made it sound so simple. I still didn't feel all that great, so I rested my head on his lap and curled up on the seat.

"Why is that?" His arm immediately rested on my waist and his other began to play with my hair soothingly. I loved when he played with my hair. It always calmed me down and made me tired.

I turned my head so I was looking up at him and I touched every part of him as I went, not really thinking, just acting. "Because you have these muscles," I ran my hand up his arm and grinned as he flexed instantly. "And this hair," I wove my fingers through his golden locks and tugged on it roughly. "And that smile." I traced his bottom lip with my middle finger and sighed before rolling back over. "You're just so damn kissable. I just wanna lick you."

Jace seemed to take this all in for a while before finally grinning down at me. "You want to lick me?"

"Yep. From head to toe." I stuck my tongue out and mimed licking a Popsicle stick with my eyes closed. I was so tired.

"Interesting."

"What?" I just wanted to sleep, but he had my attention now. I still had my eyes closed, half asleep.

"You're just going to hate me so much tomorrow." He whispered.

"I don't hate you. That's the problem. I wish I hated you. Hating you would be easy. At least if I hated you, I would know what I wanted to do." I confessed honestly.

He didn't say anything after that and I think I fell asleep to the motion of the car, but then I felt like I was burning up and my skin was going to melt off. I sat up and reached for the zipper on the back of my corset, but Jace stopped me before I could yank it down. "I'm hot."

"Clary, keep your shirt on." He scolded me like I was a child and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Why?" He opened his mouth, but nothing came out and I laughed. "See, you can't even think of a good reason."

"The cabbie is going to see you topless." He finally blurted and I looked in the rearview mirror for the first time to see an Indian man awkwardly making eye contact with me.

"So?" I tried to pull it off again, but Jace pinned my hands in front of me and I scowled at him. I wanted to make a joke about Izzie's handcuffs being useful just about now, but I didn't think he wouldn't appreciate it. I frowned at him. "Don't you want to see me topless?"

"Not like this." His face looked really serious, but his voice was soft. So, he did want to see me topless. That made me smile a little bit.

"But you got to take your shirt off." I pointed out and pressed a hot palm against his chest, admiring his muscular frame. I wanted to kiss him, but I told myself I wasn't doing that tonight.

"That's because a girl ripped my vest off of me." Jace clarified and I felt my blood begin to boil.

"That bitch."

"Are you jealous?" His smug smile made me want to blush out of embarrassment, but instead I nodded my head.

"Yes." Since he wouldn't let me take my corset off, I would at least settle for taking this skirt off. It was cute, but I was beginning to itch. I slipped out of it before he could protest and handed it to him with an arrogant look of my own. "Here you go."

Jace stared at my spandex shorts, wondering if I was going to remove those, too. When I didn't, he tried to give me back my clothes. "We're almost home. Will you please put your skirt back on?"

"No." I hid my hands behind my back and laid down on the seat, so he couldn't give them back.

"Please." His Adam's apple bobbed and I wanted to kiss his neck.

"You can't make me." Realizing that he actually could, I wrapped my legs around his torso to make things even more difficult.

The car came to a sudden stop and we rocked for a moment. Jace sighed and looked down at me before wrapping my skirt around his wrist and getting out, shutting the door behind him. "Alright, we're here. Hold on."

He got out and talked to the cabbie guy for a while. I contemplated not listening, but then he was opening the door again.

"Will you give me a piggy back ride?" I thought he was going to say no, but then he looked at my big hopeful green eyes.

"Hop on." He smiled and I kissed his cheek as I launched onto his back. He shut the door and thanked the man once more. I waved goodbye as we made the trip up to the front door. The entire time I talked Jace's ear off about everything and anything.

He opened the front door and we found everyone in the kitchen with various foods spread everywhere. I let out a holler and threw my hands up in the air. "I'm back, bitches!"

"Good, Lord. How much did she have to drink?" Alec was biting into a slice of pepperoni pizza as he sat on top of the counter beside Magnus.

"Too much." Simon saved us all the trouble of trying to count up how many each of us had seen me down.

I gave him a Cheshire grin and waggled my finger at him knowingly. "Simon Robert Lewis. I love you. You are my best fucking friend."

"I love you, too, Clare Bear." He returned my affection and gave Izzie an apologetic glance as he spoon fed her chunky monkey ice cream.

"No, I mean it." I told him again. I don't think he was taking me serious.

"I love you all, okay? You are all strong, beautiful, independent black women." I looked around the room and motioned to everyone, wanting them all to know that I thought they were important and worthy of love.

"For Christ's sake, will you please throw her in a bedroom and shut the door?" Mia groaned through a mouthful of pizza rolls and pleaded at Jace.

I gasped at her attitude and clutched at my heart. "I am choosing to believe that is the alcohol speaking and not you."

She rolled her big brown eyes and Jace just patted my leg before I could say something else to dig a bigger hole. "Let's go, Little Red."

I squeezed his neck as he went up the stairs and finally came to a stop in his room, dumping me on his bed haphazardly. I landed with a squeal and cuddled up against his comforter, burrowing my head into the pillows. "Your bed is so comfy."

"I know." Jace was grinning at me when I peaked my head up. His smile suddenly vanished and he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" I frowned and sat up.

"Downstairs." His back was facing me and I could see the tension in his muscles.

"Why?" My voice was a mere whisper.

"So you can sleep this off." I didn't want him to leave and I looked around for an excuse. I looked down at the glitter I was getting all over his white blanket.

"But I need something to sleep in." He finally turned around and gave me one glance before walking over to his dresser and riffling through the second drawer.

I took this as my opportunity and I stood up and quickly unzipped my corset, letting it fall to the ground at my feet. I tried to take off my shorts, but he was already shutting the drawer. The air was cold, but I didn't mind that much.

"Here-" Jace turned around to hand me a dark grey t-shirt and he froze. I felt my cheeks blush as his eyes took all of me in. I didn't have the biggest chest, but I also wasn't flat chested like I was freshmen year. I was a decent B cup, almost a C, and they were really perky.

"Like what you see?" I tried to sound as confident as Jace always looked and I stuck my hands on my hips and bit my lip.

"Yes, I do." Jace whispered and walked over slowly. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he just lifted the shirt and stuck it over my head.

"Well, you're boring." I frowned and stuck my arms through the sleeves, trying not to feel like I had just been rejected.

Jace shook his head at me and I couldn't read the expression in his eyes as he tried to leave once again, but I grabbed his arm. "Why are you leaving?"

"Because you're drunk." His words hurt and I wasn't sure why.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I tried to pull him closer to me, but he wouldn't budge.

He finally looked back at me and I thought I saw tears in his eyes. "You're going to ask me to kiss you and touch you and tell me things that make me think that you like me, then tomorrow you're going to wake up and take all of them back."

I had never thought of how everything was affecting him. I guess thought it was like everything else in life. It just didn't affect him. "But what if I don't?"

"Then I'll kiss you tomorrow." The look on his face made me want to kiss him now, but I knew deep down he was right. I only wanted him when I was drunk. When it was convenient. I didn't want to hurt him.

I settled for wrapping my arms around his neck in a giant hug. I had to stand on my tip toes to reach and he finally hugged me back, crushing me against him. "Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Fine." I smiled happily and crawled underneath the comforter, waiting patiently for him. Jace rolled his eyes and slid off his dress pants and tie, leaving him in just a pair of charcoal boxers. I clapped giddily like a child and he chuckled at me before shutting off the light and slipping in beside me.

I snuggled up beside him and rested my head on his chest. He looped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer and I closed my eyes, perfectly content. "Goodnight, Jace."

"Goodnight, Clary." I could feel him kiss the top of my head and I smiled.

What do you guys think? My hands hurt. Please review or I'm probably going to cry. Not even joking, this took forever. Like three days. I rushed the middle, because I have to go to a party like… ten minutes ago and I haven't even started getting ready for it. Please review. If you caught all of my references, I love you. Sorry for mistakes, I'm sure there's a lot. Also if it doesn't make sense, my bad. I wrote it in random chunks. Also, clary's costume is my costume next year, but I want a corset that ties. Wishful thinking. Have a wonderful New Year's Eve everyone! I hope you all get kissed, 'cause I sure as heck am not. *sigh*

-ThatHippieChick