A/N: Halloo. Before I get to the chapter, I just wanna say a huge thank you to those who are still reading this story after such a long hiatus. Thank you for still following this story, for the reviews, and favorites. You're lovely, sincerely. I hope you guys like this!

Jace opened his bedroom door, rubbing his eyes. In the beginning of the week, especially the night after his outburst, he would cautiously leave his bedroom, afraid that Clary was outside and he would have to explain his actions to her. But that morning after, he opened his door to see breakfast on the kitchen counter, but no Clary to accompany it. He walked out and felt his 'J' cup. The coffee was cold, and he sighed before heating it up.

He sat down at the counter that morning. She made breakfast for them both. He knew it was her way of saying she wasn't upset at him. But he also knew that she was going to give him space. First, because she wasn't completely sure what he was even upset about, and second, because he knew that even though Clary may have been the most stubborn person, he knew that maybe she considered that Dylan and Kaelie were right. As they definitely were. Third, she always did this. If Jace had an outburst, which usually weren't so directed at her, or if he was visibly annoyed, she would let him be, and just wait for him to approach her.

It was a week later, and they still had the same morning routine. She would make breakfast and leave him coffee. Even if they had to leave early for the office. She would wake up earlier than needed, which usually was around 4 AM, make breakfast, and then she would leave. If she wasn't going to work, she would be going to Dylan's because Jace knew he would take off soon enough for shooting, and they tried to make the best of their time. Also, because he knew Clary was still waiting for him to approach her.

Which he didn't. And he felt bad for. But the time was giving him some time to get his thoughts together. His fears and anxiety about their friendship had dulled and gave him space to think and feel a little more clearly. He was able to see and work with her at work without panic, and a coldness that he felt bad for projecting onto her in the first place. All while she stayed warm towards him. She was patient while she imagined him going through something, and didn't pressure to ask him what was wrong. He wasn't sure if it was to let him be so he could get back on his feet, or because she was afraid to know. He wasn't so focused on her reasoning anymore. Just because it initially made him annoyed that she wasn't trying to know why. But, with a clear head, he realized that wasn't part of how they were.

If anything, he was bothered now because he didn't know what was going on with her. She was quiet, but not mad. He didn't know how she was, how she was doing with Dylan, or what mundane things she did. And that was what was affecting him now—not knowing the little things about her in their mutual absence—and now, he missed her more than anything.

Ready to stop being a hermit, Jace went into his room as his heated up food. He planned on staying in that day because it was their day off, but along with distancing himself from Clary, he did so with Isabelle and Simon, too.

He reached for his phone, and scrolled to find Isabelle's number, and immediately put it on speaker phone as the microwave beeped.

"Jace?"

"Isabelle?" he replied, in the same worried tone.

"Are you okay? Why are you calling?"

He sat down, raising an eyebrow even though he was alone. "I'm just calling to say hi, Izzy."

"Oh." She sounded relieved. "Is brooding season over?"

"Definitely," he said, through a full mouth. "Wanna come over? I'm wanting a non-solo movie day. Invite Simon."

"Mkay." She sounded excited and Jace smiled, thanking the universe for friends who understand time and space when one needs it. Even though it was also because they knew what he was going through. "Um. Is Clary joining?"

"Negative." Jace sipped his coffee. "Dylan's, I think."

"Ah, right. I think he's off somewhere for a week."

Jace nodded, comforted a little knowing his assumption as to why Clary was gone so much was true.

"Yeah, and well—" Immediately Isabelle stopped talking, and Jace knew it was suspicious, but wanted to keep his bright outlook so he didn't ask. "I'll get ready, and just texted Simon. We'll be there."

"See you, love birds."

He could hear her rolling her eyes.

"Jace?"

"Yup."

"We've missed you."

He paused for a moment. "Missed you both too, Izzy."

"And you're feeling…" Simon trailed off as he took another piece of pizza from a pie that he brought over for lunch. "Okay?"

Isabelle kicked him under the kitchen table, and Simon jumped a little from the impact.

"It's okay," Jace told them with a slight smile.

Isabelle shrugged. "I don't how vulnerable your state is. One mention of it could send you down a spiral."

Jace pursed lips together. "Thank you for the reminder, but I'm okay."

"How are you two?" Simon asked and moved his seat back in case Isabelle would kick him again.

Jace ignored Isabelle's death glare, and shrugged. "Um. I'm not sure. She's been giving me space. She does that when she can tell I'm going through something."

"Hm." Isabelle made a noise and Jace looked at her.

"What 'hm'?" he asked.

She shrugged now. "Nothing." He stared. "Okay, I'm just wondering if this has been like before. Other times, she would know what's going on with you, and just knows you need time, but this time...well, it's different, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Jace stared at his pizza. "I was thinking about that too. But she hasn't asked me what's wrong so I'm thinking she's just letting me be." He cleared his throat a little, and hesitantly asked, "Has she asked you anything?"

They shook their heads.

"Nope," Isabelle said, grabbing another slice. "She just keeps asking me if you're okay, and I say I don't know because I genuinely didn't know."

Jace looked to Simon.

"No." His eyes softened. "She just keeps asking me if I think you two are okay."

Jace's gaze dropped as his heart did. He put his food down, and wiped his hands. "Oh."

"Yeah," he whispered. "But she has a lot going on anyway."

And in response, Isabelle kicked him so hard he yelped.

"What?" Jace looked in between them. "A lot going on?"

"With work," Isabelle responded quickly. "With you." Jace flinched and she put her hands up. "I'm sorry, but you just, you know what I mean. She's sad, Jace. You're her best friend and you aren't okay. Of course, she's not okay, and she's just putting all her efforts into work."

Jace looked down. "She has been pretty focused lately."

"Yeah," Simon agreed. "She's just putting her emotions into writing. You know she does that."

"Right." Jace nodded. "Right." Silence filled the room, and it made Jace dangerously close to the edge of wanting to be alone again. He stood up. "So, first movie?" He walked towards the bookcase of DVDs that they had, that Clary had alphabetized. "Rom Com? Dumb comedy? Drama, although, I am opposed to that today. Horror?"

He turned around when the lock on door turned. The door opened and Clary looked surprised to see him in the living room. Her eyes lit up when she probably noticed he was showered, dressed, and outside of his room. She looked at the kitchen table and a flash of sadness was in her eyes when she made eye contact with Simon and Isabelle. Jace looked between them, and then back at her when she looked at him, again.

"Hey," she said, quietly.

"Hey," Jace replied, and then couldn't help but smile at seeing her for more than a couple seconds in passing, or in front of him with a determined look on her face because of work. "Pizza and a movie?"

She grinned back and nodded. "Sure." She threw her bag onto the kitchen counter and made her way to the kitchen table, taking Jace's spot. She looked over her shoulder at him. "What're we watching?"

After taking half an hour just to pick a movie, the four of them finally settled on watching Hitch. Every once in awhile, Jace would look over to his right to see his friends. Simon, Isabelle, and Clary sat at the end of the couch. For a moment he questioned whether she was upset at him, because she immediately sat at the opposite end of him, but he waved the notion away in his mind. He missed them, he missed all of them. But looking at Clary, he knew he missed her more than he allowed himself to this past week. And even though he was scared that he might be upset when he saw her, now he only wanted to end the day in the kitchen that night, drinking tea and catching up.

His face fell when he saw her start to cry. It was discreet, and she even moved her hair so that it would cover her face, but he could see face slightly fall apart, and she pulled her arms and legs closer into her body. Jace looked at the screen and it was the part in the movie where the relationship fell apart, and he looked back at her. Jace knew what movies that made her cry, and Hitch didn't use to be one of them. He worried again that she was upset at him, that maybe she imagined they were falling apart, and without being able to control himself, he stood up, and walked past Simon and Isabelle, who looked up at him in surprise. Isabelle moved closer to Simon when she realized he was going to sit beside Clary, and Jace sat right next to Clary, no space between them, just as usual, and he pulled his hand into his sleeve, and offered the end of his sweater to Clary. He leaned down to see her face, and she let out a slight laugh. She took his sleeve, and wiped her tears, frowning that it could be seen on his light gray sweater, and she made eye contact with him. Jace's eyebrows furrowed because he could see pain in her eyes, and he reached out to hug her.

She hugged him after a pause.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She hugged him a little tighter and he heard her reply, quietly, "Don't be."

A/N: These two kill me. I forgot how much so. I can't remember if I ever mentioned how much I actually enjoy writing this in Jace's POV just because there's no knowing what's going on with Clary, because Jace isn't even sure, and this chapter really showed that.

Let me know what you guys think of this chapter :) leave some reviews and feedback, please!

Shout out to rippingbutterflywings for beta'ing this chapter! Thanks for always reading along these painful stories, and for always being down to talk about them with me. Forever appreciate you.

Shout out to JMDeaton, cheshire15, daniellevball, deathXbeforeXdisco, Jling, and keekaybites! Thank you so much for your reviews, and feedback. I love reading what you think, and I'll be replying to you guys very soon. Thank you, always.