Clary woke up suddenly, not even sure what startled her out of slumber. She was sleeping under a bridge in Brooklyn (as disgusting and dangerous as that may be) her companions about twenty feet away, sound asleep. Clary rolled her shoulders, trying to ignore that now constant and familiar ache inside of her. it was, she was angry and depressed to admit, a combining sense of betrayal and anxiety. Jace had left them, ran away from the institute to God knows where. And now Clary, Simon, Alec and Isabelle were stuck looking for him. Clary supposed the Clave would have stepped in if they had known. But Mayrse and Robert Lightwood were in Idris and Alec and Isabelle didn't want to worry them. So now it was up the four of them to get Jace back and cover up the whole thing before the Lightwoods came home. The enormity of the task kept Clary together, or else she feared she would have fallen apart by now. Clary rolled her head and shoulders, working out the knots and then stopped short. A slight figure was standing about five feet to her left. Try to sound braver than she felt, she half whispered,

"Who's there?" when no one answered Clary raised her volume and pitch slightly higher, "show yourself."

That got her a soft chuckle from the shadowy form.

"Dios, tense, aren't we?" Clary recognized the voice immediately.

"Raphael? Why and how are you here?"

He came closer, into the shaft of moonlight, and he looked particularly amused.

"I have my reasons and ways, Nephlim."

Raphael was dressed in what Clary now identified as his regular attire, minus the leather jacket and riding gloves: a sharply pressed white shirt and black dress slacks. He regarded her intently. Clary felt herself blush at memory of their last meeting.

"Fine. I don't care. Just stay out of my way," Clary turned away and flopped back down. Her spine was flush against the ground and she stared hard at the overpass that hung above her. She heard the slight rustle of leaves and then Raphael was sitting next to her.

God, I must really be pathetic if I want Raphael to keep me company. Anger at Jace and what he had done pulsed through her. By now Clary wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or hit something. No, she didn't want to cry (well, maybe just a little) and she didn't want to hit something. She wanted to forget. Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head screaming at her not to do what she was about to do. Clary rolled to her side so she was facing Raphael.

He was staring straight ahead, face expressionless and eyes a million miles away. Clary's voice was soft when she said,

"Raphael?"

He turned his head towards her, eyebrows raised. Clary abandoned all sense or reason. With boldness that shocked her, she reached out and grabbed Raphael by the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. Before her conscience could further warn her against the stupidity of her current actions, Clary forcefully pressed her mouth against his. At first he didn't respond, but as he noticed Clary meant it, he kissed her back with intensity that scared her a little. Clary had only kissed three guys in her life. Sebastian (AKA Jonathan); too gross to describe, Simon and Jace; too good for words. And since Jace, Clary always envisioned him, when she kissed Simon and when she kissed Jonathan. But she wasn't seeing Jace now. Clary doubted this had anything to do with lack of interest but more to do with that Raphael was…different. Jace held her with love, like he would never let her go, his touch warm and comforting. But there was nothing warm or comforting in Raphael's touch. It was cool; no pulse beat in his body. It was more than a little unnerving. His touch didn't exactly give her warm fuzzy feelings either, but it wasn't all together unpleasant. Clary felt Raphael shift, so he was almost lying on top of her. Clary twined her arms around his neck, letting her fingers touch his soft curls. She felt Raphael touching her hair as well, when his lips left her lips and pressed against her neck, she gasped out loud. Suddenly he stopped and pulled back. Propping himself on his elbows, staring down at her. Clary didn't really know what to expect, but what came out of Raphael's mouth was definitely not it,

"Under most circumstances, I wouldn't question why a girl would throw herself at me, but since you're you, I'll make an exception."

Clary couldn't help but pout, although she didn't want to. He was making out with a totally forbidden person, a Shadowhunter, totally free from any consequence but yet he was complaining. Clary shook her head, mostly to herself. Boys that are alive; boys that are undead. They were all the same; too much attention and the upkeep was a pain in the ass.

"Why am I the exception?" she said finally, trying to question Raphael's logic.

"Because I'm suspicious. I do desperate, but I don't trust it when you're desperate. For some reason unbeknownst to me and to the rest of the free speaking world, you're in love with Jace, and would never betray him. Besides; if you and Blondie reunite and you blab about me to him, which I'm sure you will do most readily, I'll have a stake run through my heart."

That sounded pretty accurate to Clary. She noticed Raphael had frozen, seeming to hear something she couldn't. Quickly and silently he rolled off of her. He flashed a quick grin (fangs and all) before disappearing into the shadows.

"Clary? Are you alright?" it was Simon, standing just a few feet away. His dark eyes large and full of suspicion. Clary faked a yawn and said,

"Yeah, I'm fine. Woke up and couldn't fall asleep. Sorry if I disturbed you."

Simon seemed to be staring where Raphael was only a few moments before,

"Was someone here with you?"

Clary tried to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest,

"No,"

"Alright then. Night Clary,"

She thought Simon would have offered to stay with her, but he didn't. He walked away; making no sound. Something Clary still couldn't get used to. Sometimes she felt he was a different person but it was only a brief feeling: Simon was still Simon, vampire or not.

Clary closed her eyes hoping to have a sudden and violent case of amnesia, so she could forget the whole thing. She fell into a restless slumber, getting her dreams mixed up with reality. Unfortunately, Raphael had quite a large role in both.