The PinUp Coffee Shop

Chapter Sixteen: A Pseudoscience

"Isabelle, I hate to tell you this, but you need to lay off of Clary a bit," Jace said to his sister. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and no shirt, drenched in sweat, and a water bottle in his hand. He was leaning against his counter, waiting for his spaghetti to finish cooking. He had just had an intense three-hour workout in his gym with the Lightwood siblings and was now they were starving and craving carbs.

Isabelle was sitting at the island counter on a barstool next to her nearly identical brother and her facial expression appalled. "Why? I haven't done anything wrong, and I like her, so who are you to tell me to back off?"

Her sweaty manicured hand came down on the countertop shaking the forks. The oven beeped at the same moment that her hand connected with the granite. Jace shook his head as he pulled out the garlic French bread. In other circumstances it would have been comical, given her appearance. She was covered in sweat, hair disheveled in her hair tie and frizzy from her drying sweat. But it wasn't different circumstances. It was about Clary. "Because, your killing her for Angel's sake. You text her nonstop, and she feels obligated to reply because she doesn't want to hurt your feelings. And I don't say it to hurt your feelings either, I can see that she really likes you too, but it's killing her. You have to understand, she has never been a social butterfly, she's told me as much. So has Magnus. Her and I don't even text like you text her. It is hard on her body, literally. If you could see how it actually drains the life out of her, you'd understand where I'm coming from."

"If I'm bothering her, she can tell me herself," Isabelle pushed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Draining the noodles and moving pans to the counter for serving, Jace explained to his sister as kindly as he could. "She won't I already told you, she doesn't do that. She likes you too, and she doesn't want to hurt your feelings and possibly put a damper on the friendship. And I'm glad that you two are becoming friends, really, I am, but I like my girlfriend breathing. I like her normal radiant self who has the energy to chase a toddler in circles for hours and still has the energy to cook and clean and bathe and cuddle the kiddo. But the last few days I've spent with her, I can see the exhaustion, and I noticed that your name popped up on her phone six times in three minutes. And I noticed her answer each and every one them, put her phone down and drag back to what she was doing, slower than before. I don't think she knows that I've noticed it, but I have. You're asking her questions about herself, aren't you? Trying to make little dates for you to hang out so you can get to know her more. She has lived a long time without that, Isabelle. Someone asking her about herself, let a one caring. It's not something she is accustomed to anymore. Having real conversations about herself and opening up is not easy on her, mentally, emotionally, nor physically. It takes a toll. And she doesn't lie, deflect yes, but lying she doesn't like." He filled three plates with the box made noodles, the meat sauce from a jar, and bread from a box, wishing he was with Clary. "I'm just asking for you to lighten up. Please."

Isabelle blinked, almost confused and guilty. Jace had just said please to her about this. Normally he didn't do that, so this really meant something to him, and he wasn't lying about how it affected Clary either. She nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Jace chuckled sadly, "I didn't expect you to. It was hard enough for her to have to tell me about this side of her, I knew she wouldn't tell it to you. And before you ask, no she didn't ask me to talk to you, but I took notice. I just want to lessen the load on her. Everything about our relationship is new to her. Everything."

"Does that upset you," Alec asked filling his plate and noticing his best friend's mood change. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't taking all of the burden.

Jace looked at him confused before understanding what he meant and shaking his head with a small smile. Of course, Alec was worried about him. Some things never changed. "No, I actually kind of like it because most of it is new to me too. We're navigating it together; it's just upsetting that she was robbed of the experience whereas I just chose to not have it until now."