Roommates & Soulmates

Ch22: Jace's Jealousy

Jace looked out the window as the telephone poles flew by. It had been so nice to be at home again with his mother's wonderful cooking, but Jace was surprised how glad he was to be going back to school. It had been too long since he'd seen Clary, though he knew this was a foolish way to think since seeing or not seeing the girl you wanted who also happened to have a boyfriend hardly mattered. Jace had missed Alec as well. It was strange, but Jace was actually worried about Alec since he hadn't texted once over the holidays.

"Jace?" Sebastian's voice tried to bring Jace's mind back to the present. "Jaaace."

"Yeah," Jace said absently.

"Stop thinking about that damn girl!" Sebastian said. "Please! This is starting to get ridiculous." Jace sighed. He was being ridiculous and he knew it. Clary barely knew he existed, let alone the effect she'd had on him.

"I can't help it," Jace whined.

"You know, the holidays are the most time I've spent with you lately," Sebastian complained.

"I know," Jace said. "Sorry, I've been busy."

"Yeah, with that girl," Sebastian grumbled. "Which at least makes a little sense, but the queer, really?"

"Alec's my friend," Jace said. "Please don't call him that," Sebastian stared at him, obviously shocked, and Jace realized this was the first time he had objected to any vulgar word Sebastian used.

"I just mean," Jace backtracked quickly from the look on his friends face. "I know you don't mean to be rude, but some people don't like being called that."

"Huh," Sebastian scoffed but he gave Jace a strange looked that Jace couldn't place. Sebastian didn't say anything else, so Jace turned to look out the window again. The thin layer of snow the covered everything in sight looked like sugar icing, the kind that would rest atop a freshly frosted cake. Jace zoned out as he makde note of the cars that went by. There was a bright yellow car that caught Jace's attention because of the particular way it stood out against the white and green of the passing trees. Of course, once Jace spotted a red car, his mind jumped to Clary's red hair. He groaned and laid his head on the side of his seat, closing his eyes.

Alec's plan had been to have Jace show Clary he'd changed, to show her he cared, but even helping out that stupid boyfriend of hers hadn't placed him on Clary's radar. In fact, Jace suspected Clary noticed Alec more just for friend-dumping Magnus.

Jace's thoughts of Clary kept his mind going round in circles until the bus stopped at the school. Jace grabbed his rucksack and left the bus, with Sebastian right behind him.

"Classes don't start till Monday," Sebastian said with a grin. "You wanna hit the bar?"

"I really don't," Jace replied, hoping Sebastian would leave it at that, but Sebastian whirled to face him, annoyed.

"At this rate I will have to find a new wingman," Sebastian accused him. "You always turn me down."

"Why is that all you ever want to do?" Jace asked, his voice rising. They were barely standing on the campus ground, having stopped on the sprawling front lawn of the university.

"Cause that's what we do," Sebastian said as if stating a foregone conclusion, like that the sky was blue.

"Well it's not what I do anymore, okay," Jace said with a sigh, all his anger spent. He hated fighting with Sebastian.

"No, not okay,' Sebastian said. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with my best friend?" And with that he turned and headed toward the dorms at a brisk pace, without even a backward glance.