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Isabelle hated this part. She knew as soon as Jace texted her not to come home for a few hours that she was going to have to deal with this, but that still didn’t make it any better. Alec was lucky, because he had officially moved out into his boyfriend’s apartment, but Isabelle and Jace still lived together. Which was great, usually. When it involved sock sliding and flour fights, she loved living with her brother. When it involved dealing with the one night stand he wanted to dip out on the next morning, she hated it.
Which was exactly what was happening now.
Isabelle was up before her brother, of course. Jace typically took his time getting out of bed, even when he had someone over, because he still usually managed to beat their wake up time. Isabelle, however, had already been up long enough to do a quick workout and was applying her makeup when Jace slinked into her room.
“Oh, no. No no no,” she said, as he caught her eye in the mirror. “Jace, come on!” She turned around, glaring at him and his sheepish smile. “You can’t keep making me do this!”
“Izzy, it’s no big deal! Just do the same thing you always do, and she’ll just leave! I’ll bring you lunch. I’ll bring you lunch from Jade Wolf. Anything you want, okay? I’ll even take you out tonight and be your wingman!”
Isabelle rolled her eyes and turned back to her mirror, applying her lipstick slowly. As if she could really say no, though, when he was looking at her and practically begging. Besides, she could use this as leverage to get at least two drinks out of Jace; she could get more if he got drunk enough. He wouldn’t be a good wingman, though—Alec was usually better at spotting the people she’d like and Isabelle did just fine on her own getting their attention—but it was the thought that counted. Once she had finished her lower lip she sighed and shrugged, smiling a bit at the delighted noise Jace made as he came up to kiss her on the cheek.
“You are the best sister, Iz. Thank you. I owe you. So much.”
“You really do,” she answered, rolling her eyes and staring on her upper lip. “Go, before she wakes up.”
Jace grinned at her and left, not needing to be told twice. Izzy sighed and finished up her makeup, though she didn’t bother changing out of her workout clothes. It didn’t matter, really. This girl would be gone pretty soon after she woke up.
Jace’s excuse was, to put it bluntly, ridiculous. “Yeah, yeah, he had to go to class, but here, write down your number and I’ll pass it on to him.” And then she was supposed to throw the paper away. Isabelle never did that, though. It felt like a betrayal to her gender, for her to lie to these girls and make them think that anything serious could come of this. Most of the girls rolled their eyes when she told them that he had a great time, but he wasn’t interested. Some of them were a little guarded, thinking at first that she was the girlfriend, since they didn’t look like siblings. Some of them got upset, and Isabelle once had to console her for an hour; Jace had paid dearly for that one.
It was annoying, but sometimes Jace sucked like that. And he’d gotten her out of enough sticky situations that it evened out eventually.
Instead of sitting around waiting, Isabelle went to work making coffee. She could at least offer the poor girl something to drink to help her get on her way, if she was about to potentially burst her bubble. Isabelle was so focused on it that she didn’t hear the footsteps coming into the kitchen.
“Don’t tell me I slept with a guy who has a girlfriend,” the voice from behind Isabelle said.
Isabelle wheeled around, caught off guard, and was rendered speechless for a second by how… gorgeous this girl was. Her red hair seemed almost unreal, and Isabelle almost wanted to touch it, just to make sure it wasn’t a wig. It didn’t quite look unnatural, but the color was almost too perfect and the way it caught the light was magical. She wore a pair of jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt—clearly her own, so points to her for not putting on some of Jace’s clothes—and her feet were bare. Isabelle had honestly never felt any particular way about green eyes before, but something about this girl’s eyes just drew her in. Isabelle almost felt like she could stare at that face for hours and still find more things she liked, more parts she wanted to memorize.
Isabelle smiled and shook her head, answering her question, but also trying to shake out the thoughts. “No, just the sister.”
The girl let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I was afraid I’d have to deal with some drama on top of doing the walk of shame back to my apartment. Is that coffee I smell? Is it weird for me to ask for some?”
Isabelle shook her head and turned back to pull out mugs for the two of them. She poured some coffee in each and wheeled back around to the girl, finding her already sitting at the kitchen table. The girl grinned at Isabelle—another noticeably beautiful part of her—and took the mug, holding it up to her nose and smelling it as if it was the best thing she had ever smelled in her life, her eyes fluttering closed. She took a sip and savored it a moment before opening her eyes to look at Isabelle as Isabelle lowered herself into the chair opposite her.
“I’m Clary, by the way,” she said, holding her hand out to Isabelle.
“Isabelle,” she replied, taking her hand and shaking it. She matched Clary’s grin, but she didn’t have quite the out-of-body experience that Clary obviously did upon drinking her own coffee. After she took her hand back and finished her sip, she frowned and sighed. “So, I guess this is the part where I should explain about Jace—“
“His name is Jace?” Clary asked, her mouth dropping open. “Oh my God, I had been calling him Chase this entire time. How awkward.”
Isabelle couldn’t help but grin at that, as Clary went back to sipping her coffee, clearly a little caught up in her hangover, but also listening to Izzy. “Yeah, Jace. It’s okay, I’m sure he fucked up your name, too.”
“He called me Carrie the first few times I tried to tell him it. Eventually he figured it out. He was a bit drunker than me when we started. And by a bit, I mean absolutely shitfaced.” Clary shrugged.
“And you still slept with him? I’d say he must be smooth, but I’vemet my brother.”
Clary laughed at that and shrugged again. “I mean, I wasn’t that far behind, honestly. He must have seemed interesting to my super drunk self. I couldn’t tell you exactly what his moves were, but clearly they worked out alright. I mean, it wasn’t a bad night.”
“Well, I’m sorry to say that he’s kind of a jackass. He wanted me to tell you that he had class, so he had to skip out. But that you should leave your number so he can call you. Though, he obviously never calls.” She shrugged a little, taking another drink of the coffee, though she was watching Clary out of the corner of her eye. If she had to spend another hour consoling this girl, Isabelle was going to kill Jace.
“I mean, I figured,” Clary laughed, and Isabelle was a little relieved and impressed at how chill she clearly was about this. Her entire body was relaxed and her easy smile never faltered, which made Izzy believe that this was a sincere reaction. “It was just a one night stand. No big deal. Honestly, and this might be the hangover talking, it led to something great since I got to try thebest cup of coffee I’ve ever had.” She took a long drink, as if she needed to make a point, then considered it with a smile as Izzy snorted. “Okay, maybe not the best, but it is good, okay!”
Izzy grinned and took Clary’s now-empty mug from her. “Yeah, alright, Clary. Whatever you say. Let me get you some more of thebest coffee ever, and then I can make you some food. Are pancakes okay?” Which she, honestly, chose because it was simple enough that she managed to do it pretty well every time. Even Jace, who liked to give Isabelle shit about her cookingconstantly, would eat her pancakes. Hard to go wrong with Bisquick mix.
When Clary didn’t answer, Isabelle glanced back at her and sniggered at the wide eyed, open mouth stare Clary was giving her.
“This is officially the best walk of shame morning ever. I might have gone home with the wrong sibling.”
Isabelle laughed, placing the mug before Clary, before turning back and getting started on the pancakes. “Damn right you did. I’m a fucking catch.”
Isabelle went about making the pancakes as they fell into easy conversation for the next hour. They didn’t talk about anything too serious or deep; mostly they just got to know each other. Izzy told Clary about starting medical school in the fall to become a forensic pathologist and Clary told Isabelle about her art degree and the graphic novel she and her friend were making. Isabelle hardly even noticed that they had been talking for a full hour until Clary finally put down her third cup of coffee—how she stood that much caffeine, Isabelle might never know—and smiled apologetically at Isabelle.
“I’m having a great time,” she said, “but, unfortunately, I told my mom I would meet her for lunch, so I need to get home and shower. Also change, because I’d rather not wear the same clothes I wore to go out last night to lunch with my mom. Thank you so much for breakfast, though.”
Isabelle nodded. “Yeah, of course. Though, to go along with the whole charade, of course, I should probably get your number.” She winked at Clary, pulling out a napkin from the basket in the middle of the table and sliding it towards her. “Wouldn’t want Jace to think I’m shirking my duties as his sister, you know.”
Clary grinned, standing up to grab a pen from the counter and leaning over the table to scrawl the numbers down. “As long as you promise that you use it, too. So that you can give me your coffee brand, of course.”
They smiled at each other for a moment, Clary sliding the napkin back to Isabelle and Isabelle taking it, their fingers touching just the slightest bit, before Clary turned away to retrieve her things and then was gone.
-
To: Clary
From: Isabelle
Jace has been asking how it went and why I ignored his texts so long… I think you should come next time we go out. Make him sweat!
To: Isabelle
From: Clary
Name the place and time and I’ll be there!
To: Clary
From: Isabelle
He might have a conniption fit
To: Isabelle
From: Clary
He deserves it after he broke my poor heart
-
“Jeez, Izzy. You’ve been glued to your phone all day. Care to share what the hell that’s about?”
When Isabelle looked up at Alec, he didn’t look angry, but his eyebrow was raised. Isabelle shrugged, finishing up her text to Clary, and pocketed the phone before turning her attention back to her older brother, who was staring at her expectantly. For a moment, Isabelle stared right back at him, half-determined to win the stare-down, but Alec’s eyebrow cocked just a little bit higher and she knew the attempt was in vain. Alec wasn’t going to let it go.
“I was texting someone, okay? That’s what.” She couldn’t help the tone to her voice that let Alec know it wasn’t just someone, and almost wanted to kick herself for it. This wasn’t a serious thing, she and Clary had just been texting a lot and becoming friends. That was all.
“Who is it?” Alec finally asked after Izzy made it perfectly clear she wasn’t going to continue.
She thought about lying. She honestly did, because she didn’t need it to get back to Jace that she had stayed in contact with a girl that Jace had banged and ditched. But, then again, did she really care? After all, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Clary was cool, and Jace had clearly missed out.
Alec seemed to be growing impatient with the long silences, though, and waved his hand in front of Izzy’s face. “Come on, Iz. What’s with the secrecy? I thought we didn’t keep things from each other?”
And see, now, that was unfair. Because he was drawing from the many conversations they had in the past about him and Magnus, and all the secrecy Alec had surrounded himself in when he was still closeted. He had started dating Magnus without telling Izzy, and in fact straight up lied to her face about it for a while and it almost destroyed their relationship. This wasn’t exactly what Isabelle was doing—since she wasn’t dating Clary, or anything—but the comparison was still there, and Isabelle didn’t care for it. She glared at him to prove that point, but Alec seemed unfazed.
“Just… this girl named Clary,” Isabelle finally answered, shrugging one shoulder and trying to ignore the buzzing in her pocket that was probably another text from Clary. “She’s some girl that Jace had a one night stand with and had me get rid of, but she stayed and had breakfast with me.”
Alec let out a sigh, no doubt remembering all the times he had to get rid of whoever Jace had taken home with him. For Alec, it usually went a lot worse than it did with Izzy. Probably because Alec was a bit more callous with them. Isabelle was honest, but tried to be friendly, and Alec really just wanted them gone so he wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore. Jace pretty quickly found out that it was better to have Isabelle do the send-off, if he wanted to come home to all his belongings in the right place. Alec was, however, usually the cheaper option between him and Isabelle, because Jace barely had to pay him back for the errand.
“Don’t tell me you have a crush on one of Jace’s bedmates. That’s all kinds of weird. Isn’t there some kind of… rule against that?” Alec looked a little scandalized by the idea, but it wasn’t like heunderstood. Alec would never be interested in any of the girls Jace brought home, of course, but the problem was that sometimes Jace had good taste. In Clary’s case, he had very good taste. He was just an idiot who let her go.
“Okay, you’re the one who admitted two weeks ago that Jace picked attractive girls. Every once in a while their personality is terrible, but in this case, her personality is fantastic.”
“Yeah,” Alec snorted. “It’s her personality that drew you to her.”
“I just try to be nice to all of them, Alec. It’s a skill you could stand to pick up.” She flicked her hair behind her shoulder and rolled her eyes at him. “She stopped to have coffee. She made a joke about how she was convinced that his name was Chase. She was charming and funny and I enjoyed my morning with her. And then I asked for her number and we’ve been texting ever since. I haven’t asked her out on a date, I haven’t flirted—“ Alec snorted again at that, and Isabelle elected to ignore it “—and I gained a friend out of this whole situation. That’s all.”
“Fine,” Alec replied, shrugging. “If she’s just a friend, then maybe you should invite her to Pandemonium tomorrow.”
Isabelle gaped at him. “I can’t do that, Alec! Jace will be there.”
“So? If you’re just friends, that won’t be a problem, right? Besides, you know it’d be hilarious to watch Jace try to place how he knows her. Unless you do think it’s more than friends?”
Alec’s arms crossed over his chest in clear defiance, and he knew the challenge he was raising. Either she admits that she didn’t want to invite Clary because her crush would become all that more evident, or she invites her and lets the cards fall. Isabelle’s jaw set and her eyes narrowed, but she nodded at him.
“Fine. I’ll invite her. Pandemonium tomorrow. But she might say no, especially since Jace is going to be there.”
“Yeah, okay, Izzy,” Alec said, rolling his eyes. “Just invite her, you big baby.”
Isabelle gasped. “You’re one to talk! I have heard some stories, Alexander Lightwood!”
-
To: Clary
From: Isabelle
My brothers and I (and Alec’s boyfriend) were going to go to the boyfriend’s club tomorrow night if you’re interested?
To: Isabelle
From: Clary
Oooo is it make Jace sweat time?
To: Clary
From: Isabelle
I guess it is. Pandemonium at 10?
To: Isabelle
From: Clary
I will absolutely be there!
-
Isabelle was not having any fun. In fact, she was having a terrible, terrible time.
It had nothing to do with the music or the atmosphere—which was perfect as usual, and if she was in a better mood she would be dancing her heart out—and everything to do with the fact that Jace would not leave Clary alone. He still didn’t know how he knew her, and it was clear how hard he was trying to get into her pants. As soon as he saw her, he had sunk his claws in, and Isabelle had hardly gotten a word to Clary since she first got there.
Clary kept giving Isabelle these little half smirks as Jace, presumably, hit on her or said something making it clear he didn’t remember her, but even that inside joke of theirs wasn’t enough to lift her spirits.
Clary had brought along her friend Simon, who Isabelle had spent most of the night talking to, and he was helping. Honestly, he was pretty funny, he just talked a lot, and since Isabelle for once wasn’t in the mood to talk, it worked out. While Jace had been fawning all over Clary, Isabelle had spent her night getting to know Simon and trying to distract herself from the attention Clary was getting. It made sense, really. Clary was gorgeous, and if Isabelle had even a small chance of the interest being mutual, she would be all over her, too.
When Simon left to refill his drink, Alec slid into the booth next to Isabelle, who had been trying very hard not to stare at Jace and Clary, who were also at the bar. Clary had the most gorgeous smile on her face—totally sincere, but with a hint of mischief to it—and Isabelle was probably, most likely, pouting. Alec poked her side and Izzy finally looked over at him, and he rolled his eyes at her miserable expression.
“Just friends, huh?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her sympathetically, despite the eye-roll.
“Where’s Magnus?” Izzy replied, not wanting to hear the sympathy in her brother’s voice over this. It was hopeless, anyway, and no amount of hugs from Alec was going to make this night better.
“He can handle being without me for a little while. My little sister needs a kick in the pants.”
Isabelle raised an eyebrow at him, sipping at her drink, and Alec rolled his eyes again and motioned towards the bar, where Jace and Clary still were. “Why are you just letting Jace win? He’s the one that ditched her after a one night stand, and you’re the one that invited her. Whether it’s as friends or more than that, go over there and stake your claim. Ask her to dance.”
Isabelle scoffed at this and finished what was left in her drink, placing it down on the table and trying not to stare miserably into that as well. God, she was pathetic.
“This isn’t you, Iz. I’m not sure what’s going on with you right now, but if you want something, go get it. The worst thing that can happen is she turns you down. And then, if that happens, I’ll go be your wingman and we’ll get you another date to get your mind off things. If you want, of course. Or we can go back to my apartment and watch one of those terrible movies you always try to push down my throat.”
“Catch and Release wasn’t terrible!” she insisted indignantly, though he was starting to convince her. That still didn’t mean she would stand for this slander.
“It made no freaking sense, Iz. It was absolutely ridiculous. If you’re going to try to get me into romcoms, can you at least pick one that has a plot that makes sense? Sleepless in Seattle, okay? That one was fine, that one made me think I could get down with romantic comedies. Catch and Release was horrendous.”
“I hope you know if this doesn’t work, I’m going to make you watch Catch and Release again. Just for this conversation.” She took Alec’s drink from his hand, taking a long swig of it, before handing it back and standing up. She smoothed out her skirt and looked at him, and he gave her a thumbs up.
“It better work, then,” Alec replied, grinning at her. “You got this, Iz.”
Isabelle took a deep breath and stared at the pair for a minute, trying to collect herself, before walking off with all the confidence she could muster. At first, Clary—who was the only one who could see Isabelle, since Jace’s back was turned—didn’t notice her, but once Isabelle got a little closer, her attention shifted from Jace onto Isabelle and her grin grew. Jace, noticing that Clary’s attention had been diverted, turned around and raised an eyebrow at Isabelle, taking a step forward as if he assumed Isabelle was there to talk to him. She bypassed him though, with a quick touch to his arm to acknowledge him, then she leaned in to speak right in Clary’s ear.
“Want to dance?” she asked, then pulled away to look at Clary, who hesitated a second, then nodded vigorously.
Isabelle grinned, taking Clary’s hand, and pulled her to the dance floor, smiling a little at Jace as he gave her a confused look. She brought Clary to the outskirts of the crowd, not really wanting to try to push through the bodies, and started dancing with her, keeping her distance. By the second song, though, they were both hazarding light touches here and there. By the third, Isabelle felt no shame with her hand lingering on Clary’s waist, since Clary’s forearms were resting on Isabelle’s shoulders, her hands grasping each other behind Izzy’s head.
“What were you and Jace talking about?” Izzy finally asked, though talking about her brother was, honestly, the last thing Izzy wanted to do. She had to know, though.
Clary laughed a little, shrugging. “He was trying to place me. He hasn’t quite figured out how he knows me. I think he almost had it when you walked up.”
“Ah, sorry to tear you away from that, then,” Isabelle said, smiling sheepishly.
“Don’t be,” Clary shrugged again. “This is really fun. I’m glad you asked me.”
They didn’t stay there too much longer. Instead, they opted to go back to the table where Jace, Alec, and Simon were all sitting with their drinks and a conversation. She and Clary sat down at the table, Izzy beside Alec and Clary beside Simon on opposite sides of the table.
“Welcome back,” Alec said, holding up his drink and taking a sip to hide his pleased smile. Izzy kicked his leg lightly under the table. “You two looked like you had fun.”
“Okay, seriously, how the fuck do I know you?” Jace said, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and staring at Clary. “Surely I wouldn’t forget someone as gorgeous as you.
Clary rolled her eyes and Isabelle frowned. Great, so they were going to do this. “I’ll give you a hint, brother,” Isabelle answered, taking Jace’s drink instead of Alec’s this time and smirking at him. “I got a fantastic meal from Jade Wolf from it.”
Jace’s eyebrows furrowed as he clearly thought very, very carefully about it. It wasn’t until he looked back at Clary again that it obviously clicked, his eyebrows shooting up on his forehead as his eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me.”
“How was that class, Chase?” Clary replied, her face turning into one of fake concern. “You never called me, for some reason?”
Isabelle laughed as Jace just gaped at her, then put his forehead down on the table. Simon watched the whole exchange with confusion clearly etched across his face, and Alec just grinned at them all, probably happy he didn’t have to deal with this shit anymore.
“What the hell happened? I thought his name was Jace?” Simon asked.
“I fucking slept with her,” Jace answered, his voice muffled because he was still face-down on the table. Clary patted Jace’s arm. “I fucking had a one night stand with her and got Isabelle to get rid of her the next morning.”
“If it makes you feel better, Isabelle did warn me you were a jackass. And that you weren’t going to call me. She made me pancakes, though. And amazing coffee.”
Jace finally sat back up and looked at Clary with all the sincerity he had probably ever felt in his life. “I am so sorry, Clary. I know it doesn’t make it any less shitty, but I didn’t think I’d run into you again.”
“This is the guy?” Simon asked, leaning forward. “And that’s the girl? Jesus, Clary, is there anyone here you don’t have some sexual tension with?”
“Simon!” Clary admonished, her eyes flitting around the table. “Shut up.”
“Yeah, Simon,” Alec answered, his voice just as dry and monotone as ever. “She has zero with me.”
Simon laughed, and Jace and Clary even managed to force out their own awkward laughter, but Isabelle’s mind seemed to be going a hundred miles an hour. She stared at Clary, who had now turned her attention back to Isabelle, and she looked so embarrassed and confused that Isabelle just wanted to stroke her hair and make her feel better.
“I’m going to just. Go… get a drink. Coming, Jace?” Simon said, shooting Jace a look. Jace just shrugged and stood up, following after Simon and Izzy could just barely hear him say “As long as you buy mine,” as they walked away.
Alec nodded and stood up as well. “I’m going to go find Magnus again. Where I’m going to stay.” He patted Izzy on the back as he walked away, and Izzy glanced at him to give him a smile as a goodbye, before turning her attention back on Clary.
“So, that was subtle,” Clary said, more nervous laughter escaping her lips. “What Simon said and them all leaving like that.”
“I thought you were interested in Jace still?” Izzy asked, leaning forward just a bit.
Clary blinked, clearly not expecting that response from Izzy, then shrugged. “Not really. I mean. He’s fun, talking to him is cool. But I don’t really… care to go down that path again.”
“Oh.” Izzy grinned, reaching out her hand to take Clary’s. “That’s good to know.”
“And… no interest in Simon?” Clary asked, grinning down at their hands as they intertwined their fingers.
“Not like that, no.” Isabelle’s voice was about as low as she could allow it to go with all the music around them. She stood up, walked around the side of the table, so they were only inches apart.
Clary turned her body, though she stayed in the stool, and unlaced their fingers to place her hands on Isabelle’s waist. Isabelle stepped forward, placing her body between Clary’s legs, and rested her hands on either side of Clary’s neck. Her thumbs traced the bottom of her jaw for a moment and they stared at each other, time seeming to slow, before they both, simultaneously, leaned forward and captured the other’s lips.
This was one of the times that living with Jace was perfect. It led her to this.