Just Jace

There she sat, one hundred percent focused, looking down at her notepad without distraction. Her curled red hair fell forward, obstructing my view of her face. She had a soft, innocent face that drew you in from afar.

From my previous experiences in watching her, I could tell that her concentration was intense. Occasionally she would wrinkle her nose or purse her lips, sporadically mumbling to herself in frustration, as if she forgot she were in a public place.

She came here every day at the same time, 2:00pm on the dot, sketch pad in hand. And each time she ordered a black coffee and would sit for hours. Her ability to tune out the world around her seemed to work against my confidence, as I soon realized after the third time I'd seen her, she never once looked at me. It was hard to believe, considering all my life it was always the sweet-looking girls like her that noticed me and ogled. But she never did.

To say that I was attractive was a sort of understatement. It wasn't wrong to find yourself attractive, that I knew of. If it was, someone lock me up for my crimes and give this girl the key. Then again, she might never notice the impending danger of locking up someone with my level of attractiveness. There was no use wasting a face like mine in a jail cell – the world deserved to see this face.

I wiggled my eyebrow, abruptly aware that even in the safety of my own thoughts I was conceited. Most girls fell for it, though. At least if I felt it on the inside, it was real – though most might not consider this a good thing.

She wouldn't look up for anything. When the waitress came to refill her coffee, she thanked her without so much as lifting an eye. A burglar could come in and rob the place and I would bet money that she wouldn't even notice. It was quite the task to catch her eye when she had such extreme focus. And so far, she hasn't looked up at me once during any of the times I've come here to watch her.

I know, I know. It's creepy that I come here to watch this one girl in a coffee shop, when there are so many other fish in the sea. I couldn't help myself, though. I've never been challenged to catch someone's attention as I have been with this girl. Usually I walked in a room and girls eyed me from afar, falling all over me. I never cared too much, until I came across the one beautiful girl that never noticed me. It kind of hurt my pride and I felt determined to gain her attention.

In fact, I've felt so intrigued with this challenge that I've come to observe her every day for the past three weeks, ever since I saw her here the first time. The coffee shop was always vacant, as it was a small place that hardly anyone trafficked, which made it all the more frustrating that her eyes never left her sketch pad to meet mine.

Ridiculously enough, I've fallen in love with the sight of this girl, so much that I look forward to 2:00pm every day. I've never been the kind of guy who believes in love at first sight, not like all the girls that seem to vie for my attention.

This time was different. As intriguing as it was to realize that I fell in love, I was also completely petrified and terrified, to the point that I felt like I was turning into a woman. I wondered ever day how I could regain my pride and manliness, even considering if I should stop showing up to see Red – the nickname I gave to the redheaded girl I came to observe. No matter how many times I pondered my masculinity being threatened by my crush, I never once wanted to stop coming to see her. I was undeniably hooked.

As nerve-wracking as this was for me, it was also comforting to know that I could actually settle down. A man of my attractiveness usually doesn't settle down as easily, not with all the beautiful faces surrounding me. Problem was, after seeing Red, she was the only girl I found myself wanting. She was the only girl I actually felt passionate about, and we hadn't even spoken yet!

I watched her longingly from my table across the coffee shop, as the doors opened and a rush of wind rushed toward Red, blowing her curly hair all over her face, obstructing her view from her drawing, which she was intensively working on. She must have been inspired today, because she didn't even bother to push her hair back, she just continued to work on it.

Finally, she pushed her hair back from her face, taking a short break from her drawing to take a sip of her coffee. The break wasn't long and she returned her attention to the sketch pad sitting on the table.

If only I could get her to look up, even if it was just for a second, so that I could lock eyes with her. I feared how I would react if she ever did look up. Would I flash my arrogant smirk that got all the other girls to melt into puddles of goo? Or would she find that offensive? For someone who never was aware of her surroundings, maybe she wasn't all too interested in eyeing men, so maybe my smirk would have the opposite effect and revolt her? I couldn't risk that. I would just have to smile, if she ever looked up. However, I wasn't sure how likely it was that she would.

I realized with a jolt that I was never going to make any progress with her if I didn't use some of my arrogant confidence to approach her. Though it may be a risky move, it was all I could do to actually get her eyes to set on me. Once she met my eyes, she'd fall for me too, I was sure of it. I just had to get over myself and grab her attention before someone else did.

No, I can't just sit here any longer and wait for something to happen, because chances are, nothing will. I needed to approach her with a warm smile as opposed to my signature smirk, with an outstretched hand to assert my confidence. I would need to be a little cocky, but not overly confident in myself so much that she would find me unlikeable. I needed to be approachable, but untouchable and something she would want.

As I found the fine line between confidence and arrogance, I stood up from my table with the intention of approaching Red. Suddenly, my stomach started doing flips, uneasily churning in a way I had never experienced before. It was as if it was telling me to back down, as butterflies made their way into my body, a sickening feeling. I had never felt butterflies before – it was never a manly thing to feel – but I felt them now, swarming me, overwhelming my senses and clouding my judgment. My confidence began to fade as I realized I could ruin it all with the girl I knew I had fallen in love with.

I straightened my posture and flexed my muscles, reminding myself who I was. I am Jace Wayland and I was not going to let Red's presence threaten my confidence. I was not going to give up that easily. If she was someone who could get me to fall for her, she was something special. I would never get to experience what it was like to fall for someone if I never approached her. I had to.

Finally, I managed to re-gain my normal courage and strength again, and I smoothly approached her table. I stood there for a few moments, waiting for her to feel my radiating presence. Finally, she looked up to meet my gaze, which I tried my hardest to make seem warm and endearing.

She blushed like I've seen many other girls do in my presence, as I realized she was falling for the typical Jace Wayland charm. I felt instantly confident in myself again, and I smirked. She smiled in return, easing my frustrations. I felt stupid now for being so worried.

"Hi," she said quietly, smiling up at me. It was a bright, welcoming smile, to my delight.

I warned myself not to come off as too cocky. Just the right amount of confidence could reel her in, but I shouldn't over-do it. "Hey," I replied coolly, as if I knew what I was doing. But I had never done this before – never before approaching a beautiful girl who looked past me.

"You're welcome to have a seat," she offered, her voice sweet. She motioned to the open seat across from her. I felt satisfied knowing that she was willing to welcome my presence. Why hadn't I done this before? I wasn't sure. It seemed easy enough.

"Thanks, Red," I said, nonchalant. I took the seat, my eyes still connected with hers. She seemed to be watching me as closely as I had watched her.

She blushed a little at the nickname. "Red?"

I nodded. "A beautiful nickname for a beautiful girl," I said. My charm was turned on, and it seemed to be working. She giggled in response. Her laugh was tremendously hypnotizing.

"So what brings you over here?" she asked, before taking a sip of her coffee. She put the cup down and I noticed a small coffee mark on her face. Imperfections on her seemed to make her all the more real and endearing.

"I'm here to talk to a beautiful girl, of course." I smirked.

She didn't seem to fall for the charm that time, too distracted with her own thoughts maybe. "I've seen you here every day for a while now. Why today?" she asked.

My heart skipped a nervous beat or two. She had noticed me? No, no, no, that wasn't supposed to happen. Now, I looked like a stalker, rather than a confident male. My man points just decreased about ten points.

"Oh, um," I said, pausing, trying to think up an excuse. I failed to find one, instead deciding to change the topic in order to avoid further embarrassment. A girl had never caused me to stutter or lose my words before. I always knew what to say.

Something was definitely wrong if I couldn't come up with something clever to say.

"I've seen you drawing a lot. You must get inspired by small coffee shops," I said, trying to remain calm.

She blushed again, her cheeks turning the most beautiful color of crimson red that I had ever seen. Her nickname of Red had to do with much more than her curly hair. "Wow, I'm kind of honored to know that the homecoming king Jace Wayland has noticed my drawings," she noted, with a laugh.

I gasped a little, surprisingly even myself. I realized how dumb it made me sound, as if I were desperate. I didn't want to come off that way – I was supposed to assert my confidence in my smirking arrogance, not act like a desperate man-whore.

"I'm surprised you know who I am," I admitted, hoping it would make me seem modest. "Your attention seems to be the hardest thing I've ever tried to grasp."

"Of course I know you," she said, giggling. "Everyone knows you. All the girls swoon and fall to their knees on the ground, bowing down to you!" The way she said it could have been taken as sarcastic, but I chose to believe it was a form of flattery. I felt instantly better about myself.

"So you know about me and who I am. None of that matters much if I don't know anything about you. Please, enlighten me, angel?" I asked boldly. I wanted to know her name, and I felt ashamed that she knew mine but I didn't know hers. She must have gone to my high school. I was kicking myself for not remembering. At least we still had another year left in high school – and now I would be aware of her.

"I like to draw," she said. She stopped and said nothing else.

I waited, wondering if she would continue, but she didn't. I felt confused, wondering why she had said nothing else. It was like she was a puzzle, begging me to put her together to understand her. I felt intrigued again.

"I'd like to draw, too, if it meant I got to be as beautiful as you are," I said, to fill the silence.

She blushed at my flattery, brushing her hair back behind one ear. "Well, we've got a lot in common, then." She smiled brightly. "You're not so bad-looking yourself, Jace Wayland."

"Coming from you, that is a wonderful compliment," I gushed. "What, may I ask, is your name, angel?"

"Red angel, apparently," she commented, her eyes scanning my face. I felt like it was my turn to blush. She must have noticed. "Actually, I'm Clarissa."

I smiled at her, the name something I had never heard before. It was a breath of fresh air, in a world full of Ashleys and Sarahs. "Nice to meet you, Clarissa."

"You can call me Clary," she corrected me. "I only let my friends call me that, but you seem nice enough."

Clary. What a beautiful name. I wanted to know more about her, already.

Silence fell upon us, and surprisingly it was a comfortable quiet. This was the first time in my life that I've ever felt completely on-edge and at the same time very calm. Everything about this girl was a contradiction to every confident feeling or notion I had ever had. She made me question myself, but at the same time want to project coolness.

"So Clary, I'm curious." This was, once again, my chance to be bold and I was going to take it. "Do you think you'd say yes to a date with Jace Wayland?" I secretly crossed my fingers under the table as I was asking.

Her cheeks turned red again – this was just the day for blushing, wasn't it? "Um...well, I'm not sure to be honest." She pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed. "There are quite a few fawning girls out there, don't you think? I'd be pummeled." She laughed, cluing me in that she was just teasing again.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "What about just Jace? Would you go out with him?" My questions were desperate, yes, but I needed to know if I would ever have a chance with this intriguing girl.

"Yeah, I would." She smiled bigger, more confidently. It was a great look on her.

"Well then hello," I said as I outstretched my hand. "My name's just Jace. Would you care to join me for a dinner date tonight, Clary?"

She shook my hand, and nodded. "Why it's a pleasure to meet you, just Jace. And yes, I'd love to join you for dinner."

I cannot believe I just landed a date with the girl of my dreams. As cliché as it felt, I realized that this was one of the best days of my life. I didn't have to be Jace Wayland, the homecoming king that drew in all the girls. I could also be just Jace, a confident but subdued version of myself that I had only ever experienced in front of Clary.

Clary had changed everything I knew about myself in a matter of minutes, and I wasn't ashamed to admit it anymore.

Just a cute Jace one-shot! I had thought about turning it into something else, but I wasn't sure which direction I'd want to go in. I could always revisit this at a later time and add more, though! Hope you enjoyed!

-Merissa