The Descent Into Hell Is Easy

Chapter Five - Trouble

It's so hard to say no
When you're dancing with the devil

~ Demi Lovato

{Clary}

The noise in here is deafening and not because of Simons band either who hadn't even come on stage yet. Yet again I was overdressed for the venue, hundreds of people in casual jeans and t-shirts jammed into one room, holding glasses against their body and screaming over each other to be heard. This bar was much busier than the last and the clientele were noticeably younger.

For tonight I had to rush home from Jaces after dinner and shower, letting the paint flow down the drain and willing my hair to dry in record dry and in a tameable manner which thankfully, for once in my sorry life it it did. I quickly ran my straighteners through it making it only slightly wavy.

Id squeezed myself into a pair of my tightest blue jeans and a white halter top and a pair of my favourite brown boots. And by some miracle I'd had some time to quickly do my eyeliner and swipe some blush across my pale cheeks. I felt hot, sure, but going by the very casual clothing in here I was definitely over dressed. I fiddle with the thin silver bracelet on my wrist while I wait for the bartender to come back with my wine.

Jace was supposed to be meeting me here any minute and I was extremely nervous. This was stepping outside of boundaries I'd wanted to put in place, unknown territory for us but I suppose this is how I became friends with Magnus too even if he had practically dragged me out with him while I was working on the mural in his office building.

Just as the bartender returns with my glass and I slip my card across the wooden bar top towards him I feel a hand on my back, a presence behind my ear
"Are you kidding me with this?" I jump at the sudden contact but his accent is unmistakable. I turn over my shoulder and nearly collide with his face that's lowered towards mine, his eyes cast down at my clothing.

"Jace, hey." I sputter. His aftershave has me in a chokehold. It smells absolutely sinful like his smell alone is begging me to sink into him. "With what?" I ask him and his hand leaves my back, the crowd beside me at the bar moving over for him so he has space to stand next to me like they could sense the authority coming off of him.
"With all of it Clary, you look gorgeous." He says simply, leaning against the bar and trailing his eyes up and down. I press a hand against my warm cheek, willing it to cool down.

He raises a hand at the bartender who changes the direction he was going in completely and comes back over to us to take his order.

"Thank you. I feel overdressed." I admit, looking at what he's wearing. He's in jeans too, black of course but he has a blood red shirt on beneath his black leather jacket. With his blonde hair as gloriously messy and tousled as usual it makes him look very bad in the best way possible. He sticks out like a sore thumb as much as I do in here, I can see several women already looking in his direction.

He mutters a clipped 'thanks' to the bartender when he returns my card and gives Jace his drink, which isn't cheap scotch this time but a single beer
"You're not overdressed. And if you are overdressed then that just means you're the best looking woman in here so cheers to that." He clinks the neck of his bottle with my wine glass. It makes me smile even if I wish it didn't.

"Hello!" Simon, feedback ringing out across the bar calls into the mic and Jace grimaces, dropping his head and leaning his forearms on the bar. The bar falls mostly silent while Simon introduces his band and I offer him a thumbs up that makes him smile during the introductions.

"How many of these have you been to?" Jace leans over a little to ask over Simon. I've been to so many it's hard to keep track, Simon was always supportive of my art so I always wanted to support him.
"Too many, most of them actually over the last few years." I admit and Jace huffs out a laugh.