This is the final chapter! I can't believe it—I've been writing this story for over two years! It's absolutely insane. I'm so sad that it's over, and I want to say a massive thank you to all of you guys for your support and love through the story! Also, there's a line in here from Hairspray, to kudos to anyone who picks up on it ;)

Clary took in a deep breath as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The outfit that she was wearing had been picked out and then completely put together by Magnus, and he had fussed over her make up for hours before she had even been allowed to get in the town car that they were taking to Hypnotica together. It was a Red Queen/Queen of Hearts inspired; a black corset with red ribbon laced together at the back, leaving her shoulders and arms bare. The skirt was black lace and barely reached halfway down her thighs, where the thigh high stockings reached, red ribbons tied in a bow to hold them up on her slim legs. Her black heels were about six inches, which was a lot higher than anything she would usually go for, but Magnus had been adamant. Her red hair was curled, and she had a tiny crown clipped on top of her hair and tilted to one side. Her lips were deep red, two small love hearts painted in red high on her cheeks and dark coloured make up surrounding her green eyes.

Magnus had outdone himself.

And he looked pretty damn good himself, dressed up in a sexy Mad Hatter costume. He had a black top hat with a several different coloured ribbons tied around it. He had his lips painted red and there were blue and black patterns around his eyes. He was wearing black, baggy pants and a long black coat that had multiple coloured and patterned ribbons trailing out of the pockets. Underneath the coat he was shirtless, and his chest was smattered in glitter which he had made sure wasn't glue based, given he had big plans with Alec once the evening was over.

"You're going to be fine," Magnus rubbed his hands up and down her arms, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "You look fucking fierce, and you know what you're doing."

"What if she hates me?" Clary hated the wobble in her voice, but tonight was potentially going to be the most important night of her career—a career that was only just starting—and she had been nervous about it ever since Magnus had told her what was going to be happening.

Camille was going to be coming to the club tonight. She had come by a couple of times before when Clary was working, but it wasn't as though they had had long conversations. Camille walked around with a look of arrogance, her nose tipped upwards as she stalked around on the ridiculously high heels with her eyes flickering from side to side. Clearly there was more to the woman than what Clary saw on the surface, because Magnus seemed to adore her, but there was still something about Camille that made her nervous.

But the reason that she was so nervous was because Camille was going to be deciding tonight whether or not she thought Clary was a good fit to help Magnus run her club. She had already opened up her new club, on the other side of town, and it had been a huge hit, just like Hypnotica, but she was still uncertain about completely handing the reigns of her original baby over to Magnus. Like she had said before, and what Magnus had told Clary when he had first asked her about coming on as his 2IC, Camille was only going to be happy with letting him take over as a full time manager if he had a competent person to help him.

She was only two months into her six month course, but so far she was taking everything in her stride, and Magnus was helping her progress with everything onsite.

"Magnus!" It was Lydia calling out to them from the hallway, looking gorgeous in a slinky red, blank and golden leotard. "I assume you're still going to announce the girls going on in their first act? It's just gone ten thirty, and we're about to go on." Magnus turned around to flash a smile toward the dancer who was giving them a raised eyebrow.

"Sure thing, doll, I'll be out in a minute," Magnus nodded at her before looking back at Clary and squeezing her shoulders. "You're hot and you're totally on to it and you're going to kill it." He gave her one last smile before turning around and brushing past Lydia on his way out. Clary breathed out heavily through her nose as she dropped her eyes from her reflection and picked up her phone from where it was on the side table beside the mirror and checked for messages. There were a couple from Jace, and also a picture message from Isabelle, a selfie of the dark haired girl dressed up in the outfit that she was wearing to the Alice in Wonderland themed night.

"Don't let her throw you off your game," came a voice from the doorway, and Clary blinked as she straightened up and looking over her shoulder. Lydia was still standing there, pursing her golden, shimmering lips as she glanced Clary up and down. "Camille is kind of a bitch, but she's pretty cool once you get to know her," Lydia examined her painted nails and then gave a disinterested shrug. "Kind of like you, I guess." It sounded like maybe it was a compliment, but Clary still wasn't too sure how to read the blonde. "But if Magnus trusts you, you're pretty much guaranteed a go ahead from Camille, she loves him like a little brother. Just don't, ya know, screw things up."

"Thanks?" Clary raised her eyebrow at Lydia, who just shrugged and turned on heel, stalking away.

The club was even busier than usual as Clary walked out of the back changing rooms and onto the actual floor. They had spent the whole day decorating, a couple of interior designers that Magnus knew also helping them. There had been an original plan that they would close down the club the night before so that they could take two days to set the place up, but Camille had said that they would need to be able to set up theme nights in just a day when they happened in the usual week, and she wanted to see them do it now. Clary knew a test when she saw it, and she had risen to the challenge. She had already been out on the floor for a couple of hours, making the rounds and ensuring everything was running smoothly, but she had excused herself about twenty minutes ago to have a mild panic attack in the back room because Camille was going to be arriving soon.

"Clary," there was a hiss to one side and Clary glanced to the side of the bar, her eyes widening. Isabelle and Simon were standing there, both of them dressed up in costumes that Magnus had been helping them with and they wouldn't let Clary see. She grinned at her friends, feeling a familiar lift in her heart at the support they were showing, coming into the city to be there with her tonight because they knew how stressed out she was.

"You guys look fucking amazing," Clary said, needing to lift her voice to be heard over the music. "Seriously," she took Isabelle's hand and tugged her friend closer, twirling her around in a circle so that she could look at her outfit properly. Her ebony locks were curled, half of them pinned back, and she had a pair of black cat ears on. She was wearing a purple and black dress, a corset top and a skirt which stuck out, volume added by the layers of tulle. Simon was in a strange suit with a violet tie to match Isabelle's dress, a suit that was undoubtedly picked out and modified by Magnus. "Hey, Ty?" Clary called out to one of the bartenders, who were all shirtless with only bright red bows tied around their necks. "These guys drinks are on my tab, all night."

"Now that's no way to run a place of a business," Isabelle raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, don't you know that you're not going to turn over much of a profit if you're the one paying for drinks? I thought that this course you're taking is meant to make you smarter," Simon teased. Clary rolled her eyes and was tempted to pull the fingers at them, but several more people came through the main doors, and Magnus was giving her a pointed look from where he was standing on a stage.

"Okay, uh," Clary swallowed hard. "Clearly those people who just came in are important because Magnus is giving me a look. I better go over there and...Host."

"You're going to be perfect," Isabelle assured her. "And you look incredible." Clary flashed one last nervous smile before walking over to the group of people who had walked in. Isabelle could tell the man and three woman were reporters or bloggers of some sort, and from the expressions on their faces as they looked around and were then greeted by Clary, they appeared to be impressed by the function. Both Clary and Magnus had been talking about this night since the idea had come to their minds, and one of the exceptions that was being made was that the press and bloggers and photographers were allowed into the club, while usually they weren't.

Just something else to add pressure to Clary.

"She looks like a natural," Simon commented as Clary spoke with the four and then showed them to an empty table, which was only empty because it was reserved for them. There were cupcakes, which were dosed with alcohol, on each of the tables in fancy cake stands, and the drinks that had been specially mixed for the evening were all named to fit the theme and were being served in coloured and patterned glasses.

"She's kicking ass," Jace spoke up from behind them, and Isabelle grinned as she turned around, before her eyebrows arched when she saw who was with him.

"Celine!" Isabelle cried. "It's been forever!"

"And you're still looking as gorgeous as ever, darling!" Jace's mother leaned forward to give Isabelle a tight hug. "I had lunch with your mother today, and she had so many photos of Max from his birthday." Isabelle's smile faded slightly, but she didn't look upset at the mention of Maryse. Celine gave Isabelle a sincere smile and lifted her hand to cup the girls cheek for a moment. "I know that you have a long way back with both of your parents, but Maryse seems to have fallen completely in love with him."

"And so she should be," Alec came up behind them, joining the little circle. "Max is amazing."

"Who's looking after him tonight?" Jace asked, shifting the conversation slightly, knowing that the Lightwoods parents weren't a topic that they wanted to dwell on, especially when tonight was all meant to be about having fun.

"Maia and Jordan," Isabelle grinned. "They're getting some practice in." Jace was about to respond when Celine nudged Jace's arm and nodded over to where Clary was standing with Magnus, laughing about something that he had said. Jace watched her, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Her lips were pursed as she looked around the club, and he could tell from the way she kept flicking her fingernails that she was nervous, but to people who didn't know her, they would never be able to tell.

"Is that your new girl?" Celine asked, and the attention of the whole group turned toward Magnus and Clary. Clary said something to Magnus, and then she turned to talk to a couple of dancers who had already finished their dancers and had gotten changed to start dancing among the guests, coming out in a few more items of clothing than what they had been wearing before.

"That's her," Jace chewed down on his bottom lip as he watched Clary speak with the girls and then point them in the direction of a couple of tables that still needed to be waited on. The waitresses were dressed in black leotards with black and blue fluffy tails attached, obviously in a nod to the Cheshire Cat, and one of the waitresses came over to where they were standing, offering them some drinks. Celine, Isabelle and Simon all took one, but Alec's eyes were tracking his lover who was approaching a dark haired girl in a deep red dress, and Jace was watching Clary sashay amongst the guests of the club; laughing, smiling, talking.

"She's beautiful," Celine commented as she took a sip of her drink. "And she's got a job rather than expecting to live off yours or her daddy's money—" that was a clear dig at Kaelie. "Which means I like her more than the last one already," her upper lip curled. "Although, as long as she doesn't sleep with Stephen, she's always going to have one up on that slag." Isabelle snorted and almost spat out her drink, and Simon grinned as he rubbed her on the back.

"Speaking of slags," Alec murmured through clenched teeth, nodding over to the far side of the club where Kaelie was sitting, with a group of other girls, all of them dressed up, their hair high and make up caked on their faces.

"Everyone's coming out tonight," Jace muttered.

"It's not like she's going to make any trouble, right?" Isabelle frowned, the glittery eye shadow she was wearing glinting in the overhead lights as she looked toward the table of woman, specifically Kaelie. "Because if she starts acting out and causes trouble with you or with Clary, we should go and tell Magnus now so that he can kick the bitch out." There was a protective look in Isabelle's eye that reminded Jace of when either Isabelle or Clary were around Max. "This is a big night for Clary, and that Camille chick is going to be here anytime now—"

"She's actually already here," Alec stated, nodding to where Magnus was standing next to the woman in the red dress. Jace recognized her from a couple of the times he had come with Alec before Clary had started working at the club, when he had come in with Kaelie. She was beautiful, although she had an untouchable air about her, hair pulled back from her face tightly and looking down her nose at the people around her.

"Look, she's not going to start any trouble," Jace said, although he didn't sound completely certain about that. "I'll stay on this side, and she's over there—we'll just keep our distance." Celine looked as though she wanted to do the opposite of what Jace had said, and storm over to Kaelie and have a couple of loud, spiteful words with her, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Ooh, ooh," Isabelle reached out and grabbed Jace's arm, nodding over to where Clary was now standing with Magnus and Camille. "Do you know her well?" Isabelle turned her wide eyes toward Alec. "Do you know if that's her happy face, or mad face, or anything?" She asked her brother excitedly, looking back at Camille and squinting at the three who were talking, trying to figure out what was going on. Alec snorted.

"I believe that particular expression is called blank. Empty. Inscrutable. Unreadable—"

"Fucking smartass," Isabelle growled, flicking her brother playfully in the arm and getting a wide smile from Alec, something that didn't happen all the time, but made everyone around him feel lighter. The five all fell quiet again, staring at the three on the other side of the club, Celine standing there with a very amused expression on her face as she considered the youngest ones. Camille finally broke the stiff expression on her face, giving Clary a hint of something that looked like a smile.

"That's gotta be a good thing, right?" Simon hit Jace in the arm. "That looked like a smile—like, if sharks could smile, they'd probably smile like that, but a smile is better than nothing right?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with a smile," Jace craned his neck, trying to see around a couple of people who walked in front of them, one of them with a top hat with pink and green feathers blocking Jace's view. "And she's hugging Magnus—that's a good thing, right?"

"I would just like to say," Celine began, looking around the group of them. "You are all very cute, but this whole leering thing could be considered bordering on creepy." Despite her teasing, she already knew that there was something about this new girl Jace was seeing that she liked. He was happier, and the fact that the rest of his friends actually liked her was a good sign as well, because Celine was still yet to come across someone who could actually stomach Kaelie. At least anyone who wasn't sleeping with her.

"We're not creepy," Jace responded, his voice distracted as he finally managed to settle into a position where he could see Clary, who was now left alone with just Magnus, Camille and stalked off somewhere on those heels of hers. "We're just..."

"Creepy," Celine repeated. "I'm going to stick with the word creepy." Jace rolled his eyes and finally looked away from his lover to look back at his mother, who was grinning at him. "Now," Celine threw back the rest of her drink and diverted her gaze to handsome man who must only be a couple of years older than Jace. "I am most definitely curious to meet your girl, but she seems a little busy at the moment. So until then, I'm going to entertain myself with that fine specimen over there." She leaned over and squeezed Isabelle's shoulder one last time. "It was nice seeing you again, sweetie." Simon watched in astonishment as Celine flagged down the younger man with a wiggle of her fingers, and a moment later, they were heading toward the bar.

"Just putting it out there—Jace, man, your mum is hot," Simon stated, not looking at all ashamed. Alec snorted with a shake of his head, Isabelle just rolled her eyes and Jace gave Simon a level stare.

"Okay. Now that's creepy," he snapped.

"She's coming over," Alec said in a low voice, and the way he straightened up made Jace frown.

"Clary?" He asked as he looked back toward where Magnus and Clary had been standing just a few moments before, but they were both gone now.

"Nope," Isabelle locked her jaw, tapping her fingers against her glass. "Your nutty whore of an ex." Jace shifted his gaze and saw Kaelie walking toward them, a saucy smile on her face. She outfit she was wearing was actually similar to the one that Clary was wearing, except, of course, her corset was pulled tighter, so that her breasts were pushed up near her neck, and her skirt was so short that it showed the bottom of her ass. While Clary's outfit was sexy and definitely made him anxious to get her home to tear off her clothes, Kaelie's outfit was just downright whorish and made him glad that he didn't come in with her.

"Shit," Simon muttered and Jace swore under his breath as he realized that Clary was approaching them as well, talking with an abnormally tall man that Jace knew was a talented magician. She knew that she was coming in their direction, since she glanced up and sent them a quick smile, but she didn't seem to be aware that Kaelie was heading toward them as well.

"So much for she's not going to cause anything," Isabelle noted through clenched teeth as Kaelie started up the steps in front of them. She had been seated in the lowered section of the club, in front of the stage, while they were all still standing on the higher ground, in front of the bar.

"We don't know that she's going to," Jace muttered out of the corner of his mouth just as Clary reached them. She gave Jace a quick kiss on the mouth before looking at the rest of the group.

"Okay," she heaved out a deep breath, but her eyes were sparkling and she looked excited, and her friends assumed that meant it was good news, but Kaelie was just behind Clary and her expression shifted to look as though she had swallowed a lemon. "So far it's going—"

"Jace! Alec!" He didn't remember her voice being that grating. "It's been a while!" Clary looked confused at the pained expression on Jace's face, before she turned around and came face to face with Kaelie. "And you," Kaelie tilted her head to the side as she purposefully looked Clary up and down slowly. "I recognize you..." Clary pursed her lips together and arched an eyebrow, not rising to the bait. "You work here—you're one of their strippers or something, right?" Her upper lip curled and she sweetened her voice in a way that was undoubtedly meant to be condescending. She looked over Clary's outfit again. "Ooh, maybe you're moving up in the world. Ex-stripper, maybe?"

"That's Ms Ex-Stripper, to you," Clary retorted, a similar, sugar sweet expression on her face. "And this ex-stripper happens to be management level in this club, so if you and your groupies over there want to stay here and enjoy the rest of your night, you're going to turn around, and walk your ass back over to them."

"Hey," Kaelie pursed her lips together. "I'm not here for a fight. Just wanted to see how Jace was doing since he got left behind," she tried to side step to see around Clary to Jace, but Clary stepped with her, and Isabelle had to duck her head to hide her smirk.

"He's doing just fine," Clary assured her in the same, sweet tone. "And now that you've had that confirmed, I'm pretty sure I see a sixty year old man over there who would just love to have your fake tits bouncing in his face." That jab seemed to be enough to get underneath Kaelie's plastic expression and her lips twisted in a snarl. She looked as though she was going to spit something else out, but Clary held up a finger. "Nah-uh, honey. Before you say anything else, just think about how pretty your picture will look on all those stupid blog websites in the morning if I have security drag you out of here." Kaelie hesitated, then closed her mouth. She settled for giving Clary a nasty look and then backed away. The group watched as she left before Jace gripped Clary's elbow and turned her around.

"You alright?" He asked her.

"Course," Clary looked un-phased, shrugging one shoulder. "I've been dealing with plastic little spastic's like her all my life. Anyway," she grinned widely, continuing with her previous conversation as though Kaelie had never approached. "Camille said that everything seems to be going smoothly, and she's really impressed with everything we've gotten together for this evening. She hasn't said a definitive yes, she's not going to do that until tomorrow afternoon when all the reporters and bloggers and shit post their reviews as well—but it sounds like a good thing." Isabelle let out a squeal and lunged forward to give her best friend a hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" She gasped. "Seriously, I'm so proud of you. You've done such an amazing job and I—"

"I get it, I get it, you're proud of me," Clary laughed and rolled her eyes, but she was hugging Isabelle right back. Simon leaned forward to join, giving the red head a kiss on the cheek. Magnus was walking over and Alec jogged down the steps to meet his boyfriend, and Clary pulled away from Isabelle and Simon, stepping over to where Jace was standing, watching her. Jace slung an arm around her shoulders and tugged her in close.

"I'm proud of you, too," he told her quietly as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You did good." Clary smiled against the lapel of the jacket he was wearing, closing her eyes for a moment as she took in a couple of deep breaths. When she pulled back and looked up at him, there was a relaxed expression on her face.

"It all seemed to work out, huh?" She murmured, and Jace knew that she was talking about so much more than just this evening.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "It worked out perfectly." He leaned down and kissed her sweetly, ignoring the wolf whistles of their friends as his girlfriend melted against his body.

Once again—an absolutely massive THANK YOU for all your reviews and love!

Please leave one last one to let me know what you think xx