Stronger Than Heaven

Chapter 1

She saw him from across the room. Tousled blonde hair, arms crossed, and leaning against a pillar, his demeanour relaxed. He was strikingly handsome. His eyes bore into hers - blue and hazel... strange, yet so familiar. In that moment, she had a feeling she would've seen him from a mile away.

Their eyes locked and suddenly, he was alert. He glanced behind him, a look of bewilderment replacing his relaxed smile. He turned back to her and she was already walking towards him. He took a step back, startled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to spook you," she spoke. Where had she seen him before?

Her voice sent electricity down his spine, his eyes wide and nervous. "You can see me," he softly, incredulously.

This made her laugh slightly. "Of course I can see you..." she trailed off.

He didn't reply, a look of pain replacing his confusion. She frowned, baffled at their interaction as he turned and walked away. A vision suddenly entered her mind then. She was outside of a club... Pandemonium? Someone had bumped into her... a guy with blonde hair and those eyes... those eyes.

"Hey!" she had exclaimed.

"You can see me?"

She flashed back to the present and gasped. She knew him - of course she knew him. Quickly, she followed suit out of the academy and out into the street, her dark red heels hitting the pavement. She saw him turning the corner into an alley and yelled out, "Hey!" He turned his head slightly, but ignored her and continued walking. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

He hesitated at first, but finally turned around to face her, his eyebrows furrowed. He was clearly distressed about something. Something sparked in her - she knew his face, she knew it like the back of her hand. Another vision flashed in her mind - this time of his stubble brushing gently against her cheek, his lips caressing her temple, and his arms holding her steady. She blushed.

"Don't I know you? From somewhere?"

He shook his head. "No. No I don't think so-"

"No, I do, I... I definitely do... I..." she racked her brain and a name appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She took a shot in the dark. "You're Jace... right?"

His expression changed then, his eye lighting up and a small smile forming on his lips. "Yeah," he replied.

"Yeah?" she said softly. She couldn't help the grin forming as she looked up at him, her heart doing all kinds of weird flips. She felt warm, safe... protected.

"Yeah, uh - I'm Jace."

"I'm- I'm Clary, um..." The smile on his face grew and they both chuckled. She had a feeling that he knew that already. Her eye caught something then, thick black lines poking out of the neckline of his shirt. She reached up and he turned his head, his demeanour changing. "What are these tattoos on your neck?"

Her fingers touched his skin - and it happened in an instant. She felt the electricity from her fingertips, up her arm, through her body, and down her spine. Visions... or maybe they were memories... flooded her mind in an instant and she found it hard to pin just one. His expression softened and he stared at her, that smile back on his face and the look in his eyes could've lit up the Universe. She let out a breath. He was breathtaking.

"Did you... did you feel that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Her eyes bore into his. "Yes," she nodded.

"How-how did you know my name?"

There was a few seconds of silence between them before she spoke. "Um... do you wanna go for coffee?"