This. Is. War.

Chapter 10: Ready

A/N: Yay!! New chapter! I know you've been waiting for this for a long time (actually only a week, but whatever!) I think all of you are going to like this chapter! ;)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Mortal Instruments or any of the charcters. They belong to the beautiful and super talented Cassandra Clare.

*Clary*

"When is she gonna wake up?"

"She should be waking up any minute now."

Well, I was awake, but my eyes felt like they were glued together. I eventually pried them open, and sat up.

"How long have I been out?" In front of me, I saw Isabelle and Magnus standing at my bedside, staring down at me, the windows dark outside. I was also wearing new clothes. A black tank top, and black leggings. Isabelle's doing, I assumed.

She immediately wrapped her arms around me and said, "Jeez, Clary, I thought for a second that you would never wake up!"

"How long have I been out?" I repeated, not wanting to talk to Izzy because 1, she caused all of this, and 2, I was a bit dazed from the white infirmary lights to keep up a conversation.

"3 days," Magnus answered. "But of course, I came to the rescue." He flashed a bright smile.

I got out of the bed and tried to stand up, but my legs felt like lead. Isabelle tried to help me stand, but I just shook her off. I stood back up, and whispered to her, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She nodded and we headed off to her room.

xxx

*Jace*

Clary hadn't woken up for 3 days. I was so stupid. I left her there alone, on the street, and of course, she gets attacked by demons.

I was taking the long route to the Institute and heard a noise. I turned the corner to see Clary surrounded by demons. I was surprised to see that she hadn't been killed yet. If it weren't for me, she would've have been dead now, but I was too late still, and now she's in a coma.

I walked around the dim Institute hallways, just thinking about how everything is my fault. That's when I heard two muffled voices shouting at eachother.

"AND NOW HE HATES ME BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID PLAN!"

"First of all, my plan was brilliant! He's just Jace! He'll get over it!"

Clary and Isabelle. They were fighting about me. I walked over to the door to hear their conversation better.

"Your plan was not brilliant!" Clary shouted. "And if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been left stranded on the streets and attacked by demons!"

"So you're blaming me?!" Izzy asked incredulously. "I would've never wanted you to get hurt! How dare you accuse me of that!"

"I didn't even want to go through with your little 'plan' for this stupid war!" Clary said. "But I did it anyway. For you!"

"You know I wouldn't have forced you into anything, Clary," she said quietly. "You know that perfectly well."

"Just forget it Isabelle," Clary replied with the same quietness. "You practically ruined my love life, but you know what, you probably don't even care. So, just forget it."

"Clary, I-"

At that moment, Clary emerged from Isabelle's room, and I had to run to my room, as not to be seen by Clary.

I sat down on my bed. So, this was all Isabelle's idea. Those little whispered conversations. Those secret meetings. All of them were Izzy instructing Clary on some plan. She never really cheated on me. She never wanted to kiss anyone else. She still loves me.

And I was just too blind not to realize any of this. And in the end, Clary got hurt.

There was then a knock on my door.

xxx

*Clary*

I stood in front of Jace's door for a while before actually knocking on it. I was planning to come here to apologize. But in reality, I had no idea what to say. Sorry? That seemed too pathetic. That's wasn't even close to how bad I felt.

Jace opened the door. I looked him in the eye, and blurted out, "Sorry."

Jace raised an eyebrow and looked at me questioningly.

I started to say things really quickly, not really processing them before they shot out of my mouth. "I was so dumb. I should've never agreed to Isabelle's plan. I'm so sorry, and I-"

Jace grabbed my face and brought my lips onto his. I gasped. He just smiled on my lips, and said quietly, "I heard everything. Your fight with Isabelle, I mean."

He tried to kiss me, and I backed away. "And...?"

"And I forgive you. I completely, entirely, forgive you."

This time I let him capture my mouth in his, but right before we collided, I whispered, "I love you."

He pulled me into his room, not breaking the connection, closing the door, and locking it.

I continued to kiss him, and grabbed at his shirt. We broke connection for barely a second just to get it off.

My hands roamed his bare chest feeling the soft skin over hard muscle, tracing the black and white runes over his golden skin. I moved my hands up to his hair, and ran my fingers through it. His hands were steady, still, on my waist, not daring to make any movement. I figured he must be waiting for permission to do anything.

I took his hands in mine and laid them on the hem of my shirt. He took this as a sign, and he pulled my shirt over my head. His hands went back to my waist, but this time he was running his hands all over my mid-section. The sensation drove me crazy, and without really thinking about it, I pushed him onto his bed, his back colliding with the soft, white sheets.

He flipped me over, so he was then hovering over my body. It took no effort for him to shrug off my leggings, and before I knew it, he was out of his jeans too. We continued kissing when I tensed. How far were we going? What were we doing?

A sort of nervous energy shot throughout my veins and enveloped my entire being. He must've noticed, because his expression softened, and he looked at me lovingly.

"You know we can stop if you want to," he whispered.

"What if I don't want to?" I said, barely audible.

He just smirked, and kissed me. Not fiercely. But lovingly, passionate.

I didn't know exactly what I wanted, and I had to decide right now. If we didn't stop now. We never would be able to.

I loved him. He loved me. We've been together for around 9 months. What's stopping me?

"Clary?" He must've noticed me thinking. "Tell me right now, if you want to stop."

Right then and there, I made a split second decision. Why should I be nervous? There was nothing to worry about. "No."

And with that, he connected his lips with mine once again.

xxx

Right before we had drifted to sleep, I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I am so done with this 'war' thing."

He nodded, and we fell into a peaceful sleep.

A/N: Just in case you're wondering, that does mean that Jace and Clary did the diddly do ^_^ this chapter was kinda short, so I'm sorry. I don't exactly know if I'm satisfied with this chapter. Tell me if you don't like this chapter, and maybe I'll re-write it! Leave reviews and likes :) love you all <3 Thanks for reading!