When Jace shows up in my bedroom, my instincts kick in. Yep. I throw a glass of water at him. To be fair, it's eleven in the evening and pitch black and I really wasn't expecting to see him standing there in his scary black clothes holding a large, very scary dagger. So I panic, and throw a glass of water at him. With my new extra-intense extra-strong vampire reflexes, I expected it to knock out my assailant in a blow to the head, but instead it just bounces off his chest feebly, soaking the material of his hurt. I let out a huge, rushing breath in "Jeeeeesus Jace!" and he replies with a dignified "ouch!" I hear Jordan, in the next room, pause the TV. "Simon, man? Are you alright?" Jace puts a finger to his lips and shakes his head darkly. That boy really does have a flair for dramatics. "I just... dropped something," I yell unconvincingly, but the TV turns back on. I pick up the glass of my carpet and put it on my bedside table in a casual way that I'm sure screams "it's totally normal for me to have attractive godlike teenage boys in my room." The room is still dark, and I flick on the light.
"Why the hell did you throw a glass at me?" Jace hisses.
"I didn't know it was you!" I hiss back. "And anyway you broke into my bedroom!"
"Your door was unlocked!" Jace... well, let's just agree that there was a lot of hissing going on.
"That is not an excuse." I take a deep breath. "What're you doing here?" I demand. He shrugs a shrug that's almost nonchalant, but he's not that good an actor.
"Just... checking in?" He pauses, looking awkward. One hand rubs the wet patch on his shirt. "I had a nightmare," he says, perfectly candid, intensely vulnerable. He slumps onto my bed, looking deflated having given himself away. His eyes don't meet mine. He shivers, rubbing even harder at the wet patch. Must be catching the draught from my open window. "Can I-?" He asks, gesturing at taking it off. I nod and turn my back to give him privacy. "What happened?"
There's fumbling as he takes off his shirt. "I was at a wedding. My wedding. To Clary." I flinch. Wait for him to continue. "She was there with me at the altar, in a wedding dress, and we were saying our vows. I didn't want to, I just- couldn't not. So then you appear, out of nowhere, and you bite me in the neck, which really hurts, by the way, and then Clary reached across and... tore out your throat, just with her fingernails, and you collapsed and you looked just like you did on that boat. And then my dad shows up- I've been dreaming about him since he died- and he points at you, because you're dead, and goes 'the spare is dead.' ...that was it." Jace takes a shaky breath. I turn back to face him.
"Jeez. Well. Thanks for letting me know." I let some bitterness creep into my voice, to let him know there's a part of me that hurts. "The spare," I mutter.
"No!" He says quickly, "no no no, that's not how I think of you, that's just-"
"Don't worry," I say, feeling strangely like a weighted has lifted off my shoulders. "It's not the first time. Mundane-"
"Simon!" Jace says sharply, far too loudly. "Will you listen to me for just one second! That is not how I think of you." He leans upward, almost lifting himself off the bed. "I said it was a nightmare," he growls, and grabs my collar. His lips crash against mine, and it's like all these months never even happened. His skin is feverishly hot. His fingers grasp my hair.
The doorbell rings. Jace pulls back, just a fraction of a centimetre from my mouth. I try to quieten my breathing. We hear Jordan greeting a female voice. "Maia or Isabelle?" Jace whispers ever so quietly. I listen hard. The two girls have been throwing themselves at me since I became a vampire. Honestly, at times, both of them terrify me. "Clary," I realise aloud. Jace swears violently, and frantically searches for his shirt and weapons belt and sword. He finds the latter two, but gives up on the first as we hear the voices getting louder. I push Jace off me, shoving him towards my bedroom door. He sprints around the corner. He's hidden behind the wall just at the moment Clary comes into the corridor. "Si!" She says brightly, giving me a quick hug. "I think I left my sketchbook here the other day?"
"Yes!" I almost yell, the adrenaline rush getting the better of me. I lower my voice to a normal volume and pitch. "Yes. It's in my room." I lead her in, seeing Jace sneak behind her as I close the door.
I think I've got away with it, until the next morning, when Jordan is buttering toast and I enter the kitchen. He doesn't look up. "Should I ask why a shirtless Jace Wayland-Morgenstern-whatever was sneaking out of you room last night?" I grimace.
"There's an easy explanation?" I say unconvincingly.
He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, I bet there is."
