Letting Her In

Hey guys! So, I've read a lot of TMI fanfics where Clary is broken and Jace swoops in and fixes her, but in the story it really seems the other way around. I decided to write a story where Clary really has to fix Jace up when he's broken. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or it's characters. Only the plot and dialogue of this specific story is mine.

Chapter 1:

"Isabelle Lightwood likes me."

I peer around my locker door to look at my best friend, Simon Lewis. "Excuse me?" I say.

Simon grins. "Isabelle Lightwood likes me."

I stare at him blankly for a few moments, then burst into a fit of laughter. "You can't be serious," I choke out between laughs.

Simon narrows his eyes at me. "I am serious!"

"Simon, no offense, but she is the hottest and most popular girl in school. She doesn't date a guy for more than two weeks! When she walks down the hallway, you can practically see the trail of drool and broken hearts she leaves behind. And you, my friend, are classified as a nerd in the modern day social rankings of the American high school. Why do you think she likes you?"

Simon smiles. "Okay first of all, I'm a geek, not a nerd. Second, she told her brother Alec, who told Magnus Bane-you know, Alec's boyfriend?-who told Aline, who confirmed it with Isabelle, then told me."

I shake my head and close my locker. "Oh, honey." I give Simon a look of pity.

"What?" he exclaims as we make our way to English class.

"Have you learned nothing from television and movies? This is the classic 'he-said-she-said' situation, and rumors or stories told in that fashion never end up being true."

Simon grumbles incoherently while we take our seats. I'm about to launch into a lecture explaining why he would probably get hurt even if it was true, when the high-heeled beauty herself walks in. She walks right by our desks and flips her hair over her shoulder. "Hi, Simon," she purrs. With that and a wink, she's gone.

I pick my jaw up off the floor and turn towards Simon. His jaw is open so wide he's probably more likely to catch a hummingbird than flies. "Okay," I mumble. "Maybe she does like you."

Simon snaps his mouth shut. He turns toward me and smiles. "Told you so."

I'm standing at Simon's locker at the end of the day, waiting for him to grab his stuff so I can drive him home. Simon seems a little dazed, and frankly I don't blame him. At lunch, Isabelle sat with us and flirted with him the entire time. She also flirted with him every time they were in a five foot radius of each other, which was at least once every period.

"I think I failed that math test," Simon says as he shuts his locker.

I laugh. "I'm not surprised-Isabelle was staring at you practically the whole period!"

Simon blushes. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Simon!"

"Speak of the devil," I mutter as we turn around to see Isabelle walking towards us.

"Uh, hi, Isabelle," Simon stammers.

She sighs in relief as she reaches us. Smiling she says, "I'm so glad I caught you! I was wondering if you wanted a ride home? Jace has detention and Alec left with Magnus, so I was going to drive home alone. Then I saw you and figured I would see if you wanted a ride…?"

Simon glances nervously at me. As flattered as I am that he doesn't want to blow me off, he'd be stupid to turn down a ride home from the girl he's had a crush on since middle school. I smile at him and nod.

Simon smiles back at Isabelle. "Sure, that sounds great. Thanks, Isabelle."

Isabelle's smile brightens. "Izzy. Call me Izzy."

Simon nods. "Izzy.

I smile at their retreating backs as they walk away. I have to admit that they make a cute couple. "Bye, Clary!" Isabelle calls over her shoulder.

I laugh lightly. "Bye!" As I head out of the school toward my car I pass a classroom that must be acting as detention for the day-the angry looking kids are a dead giveaway. Suddenly I'm brought back to Isabelle's explanation of why she was going to be driving home alone. I don't know her older brother Alec very well-he's a senior and I'm a junior-but I do know his boyfriend Magnus from art class. Magnus is a really nice guy, so I imagine that Alec is as well. Plus, he seems very quiet from what I've seen of him.

She also mentioned her brother Jace. He's the same age as us and I'm pretty sure he was adopted by the Lightwoods when he was very young. Even though I share many classes with him, I don't know much about him. I've heard rumors that he's quite the womanizer, but I've never even seen him talk to anyone other than teachers and his siblings. He always walks down the hallways alone with his head held high. The only expression I've ever seen on his face is one of indifference. Jace is aloof and a mystery. The more I think about him, the more my curiosity gets the better of me-what is up with Jace Lightwood?

I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I don't see the person walking towards me until I run into them. "Oof," I grunt. I look up and have to stifle a laugh. I was so caught up in my thoughts about Jace Lightwood that I ran into Jace Lightwood. Oh, the irony.

Because of my height-or, lack thereof-my head hit Jace's chest when we ran into each other, so I'm sure it hurt me more than it hurt him. Nonetheless, I still feel bad. I'm about to start apologizing profusely when Jace brushes past me mumbling, "Sorry." He hadn't looked up from his iPod through the whole exchange.

As I watch Jace walk toward the detention room I'm filled with a sudden hope that Simon and Isabelle get close to each other. I know that if they do, I'll be hanging out with them quite a bit because where Simon goes, I go. I also have a strong suspicion that where Isabelle goes, Jace goes.

Basically, me figuring out exactly who Jace Lightwood is and what is up with him depends on Simon's flirting skills.

Shit.