A/N: Hi :) So this is my third fanfic so far. I am currently working on another called Chameleon (which I haven't abandoned or anything) from the Gallagher Girls series, and I got a sudden inspiration to write this story. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to continue this beyond the first chapter, but I sure do hope so!

Anyways, I've always loved TMI and I got this idea, with the story line for it. If there are similar fanfics out there with similar plots—I'm sorry, I probably haven't read them yet. But yeah, it's a Clace story and no one really from the TID world is in it (except maybe Magnus), and it's basically my take on the series. I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instrument series, and all rights go to Cassie.

~Safe and Sound~

Chapter 1

Jace POV

Jace was in the training room at the Institute, dueling with his parabatai, Alec. Their swords clashed furiously and after a couple seconds, Alec was pinned to the ground with Jace smirking mischievously above him.

"Well done," Alec grinned and Jace helped him get up. The door to the training room opened, and Isabelle, Alec's sister, walked in.

"Mom says that there's been a demon spotting in Brooklyn," she said. "She wants us to go check it out."

Alec and Jace nodded as Isabelle turned to leave. They followed her to the weapons room, and loaded themselves with Shadowhunter equipment. The boys were already in their Shadowhunter gear from training and Isabelle had just changed. They all took turns drawing Mendelin runes on each other, which would keep them hidden from mundanes under the glamour.

Maryse Lightwood, Alec and Isabelle's mother, stood by the front doors of the Institute and gave them a few words of the demon before the three teens went after it. "Be careful, all right? Call me if you need anything."

The trio left, walking through the cool autumn air of New York, towards the subway station.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Alec asked.

"The demon was spotted in Park Slope, Brooklyn, near a brownstone apartment building on Berkeley Place," Isabelle informed Alec and Jace. "I don't know if it was still there, but it was spotted by a woman out for a jog, a little before ten o'clock. She thought it was a missing dog, so she called the police, but they dismissed her report."

"And how did Mom come to know about it?" Alec pressed.

"Apparently Max was listening to the police scanner feed," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "And he informed Mom, who asked us to take care of it before it harmed anyone."

"Why would it be near Berkeley Place?" Jace thought out loud. "Do we know anyone that lives there?"

"Not off the top of my head, no," Isabelle replied. "We can look around when we reach the place."

Clary POV

Clary was sitting in her kitchen, talking to Simon on the phone while sketching absentmindedly in her sketchbook. Her mom was out shopping that Saturday morning, and Clary had nothing better to do.

"Hey Simon, do you wanna get some coffee?" she asked over the phone. "I've just been sitting here all day and I'm really bored."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be come over," Simon answered.

"Alright, bye," Clary hung up and put the phone down, continuing to draw. Recently a certain symbol had starting getting stuck in her head and she would have the sudden urge to draw it over and over again. It was a diamond with two bent lines coming out of the top point. She had no idea what it stood for, but she wanted to show Simon to see if he knew what it meant.

Just as promised, Simon knocked on Clary's apartment door and they set off together towards Java Jones, which was just around Clary's block. The coffee shop was their go-to place and the two spent a majority of their time there. Clary stood in line and Simon went to get a table for themselves.

As she sat back down at the table Simon had saved, two coffee cups in hand, Clary pulled out the drawings of the strange symbol from her bag.

"Okay, so I wanted to show you this," she spread out the papers on the table. Clary leaned back and studied Simon's face. "What do you think?"

"Wow..." Simon peered down at one of the drawings. "What is this?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Clary pressed her lips together. "I don't know why, but I just randomly started drawing this symbol, about 2 or 3 days ago. And I can't get it out of my head."

"What do you mean 'You can't get it out of your head'?" Simon looked up at Clary with a frown.

"I don't know. It keeps appearing in my thoughts," Clary shrugged.

"Is there some way you could find out what it means?"

"If there was, I would've figured it out by now," Clary sighed. "Do you have any clue about what it symbolizes?"

"I've never seen it before in my life," Simon shook his head. "Did you try searching it up online?"

"I did," Clary nodded. "I found nothing."

Simon exhaled. "Okay. Well, I don't think it's anything you need to worry about. It's probably just some intense artistic creativity that'll pass in a few days."

"Yeah," Clary said numbly, even though she felt otherwise. Clearing her throat, she started to pack her papers back in her bag. "Anyways, I—" She looked up and unintentionally gazed out the window behind Simon's back.

There were three people walking past—one girl and two boys—all dressed in black with swords and other weapons in their hands as well as being attached to their clothes. What was even more strange was that they all had tattoos covering their neck and arms.

One of the boys—a tall, muscular blond—glanced to his right and caught Clary's eye. Clary immediately blushed and looked down. She wasn't blushing because she had been caught staring, but more of the fact that she had been caught staring by an attractive guy.

"What?" Simon turned around and looked out the window. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...I, uh, was just looking at those weirdly dressed people," Clary nodded her head in their direction. "I don't know, maybe they're doing cosplay or something."

"What weirdly dressed people?" Simon frowned.

"Right there," Clary pointed. "They're wearing all black."

"There's no one there, Clary," Simon shrugged.

"Standing next to the crosswalk?" Clary said. "The group of kids our age?"

"I don't see anyone," Simon shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Clary gave a weak laugh. "They're right in front of you!"

"Where?" Simon gave up looking and turned back to Clary helplessly.

"You can't see them?" Cammie said in bewilderment. "Simon..."

"I don't know, Clary. I couldn't see anyone, sorry," Simon apologized. "So what were you saying?"

"Nothing," Clary shook her head. She was still a little confused as to what had just happened, but she shrugged it off.

Alec POV

After the demon had been taken care of, the three Shadowhunters walked around the area where it was spotted, trying to see if they could get any clues. Isabelle had used her Sensor and they had traced the demon back to the brownstone building on Berkeley Place, like she had mentioned.

"Should we ask the residents if they saw anything?" Alec asked.

"I think that's a good idea," Isabelle nodded. "Maybe they know what happened. You boys can go together." They entered the apartment building and Alec and Jace climbed the stairwell, leaving Isabelle on the first floor.

Jace knocked on the door, and after a couple of seconds, knocked again. Nobody came to answer it, and Alec turned to leave. "I guess nobody's home."

"Wait," Jace used his stele to draw a rune on the doorknob. As the rune kicked in, the door swung open.

"What are you doing?" Alec hissed.

"Let's take a look around," Jace walked into the apartment.

"Jace!" Alec looked at him incredulously. Once Jace didn't budge, Alec sighed exasperatedly and followed him inside, careful to shut the door and lock it behind him. "You know, I'm fairly certain this is breaking and entering."

"It'll take just a few minutes," Jace murmured, looking around the living room. He walked up to a shelf, on which several frames sat. "Hang on a second," he picked up a frame and peered at it.

"This girl," Jace walked over to Alec and showed him the picture. "I saw her today—at that coffee shop we passed on our way to meet the Ravener demon."

"Java Jones?" Alec asked, taking the frame from the Jace. "I'm sure kids go there all the time; she's not of that much importance."

But Jace was already walking down the hall, probably searching for the girl's room. Alec rolled his eyes and continued staring at the picture. The girl had long curly red hair and striking green eyes. She was standing next to a woman—probably her mom—who had similar features.

"I think she's an artist," Jace called out. "She has a ton of—" He abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Alec looked up from the photo when Jace didn't finish. "Has a ton of what?"

"Alec?" Jace's serious tone surfaced and Alec hurriedly walked into the bedroom.

Jace was looking down at a piece of paper, with a concerned expression on his face. "Look at this," he held it out to him. Alec took the paper and his eyebrows furrowed once he saw what was on it.

"An Angelic rune?" Alec looked at Jace with confusion. "Why is this in here? Who are these people?"

"I don't know," Jace shook his head. "But they certainly have ties—or at least an interest—to the Nephilim."

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock of the front door rang throughout the apartment.

"Get down!" Jace shoved Alec into a closet and dove underneath the bed.

A woman came humming along the hallway, pausing to toss her purse on the bed Jace was hiding under. As she stepped into the bathroom, Alec realized that she was the older woman standing next to the young girl in the photograph.

Alec and Jace crept out of their hiding places and walked back into the living room. Jace followed him, holding the photo of the girl and her mom, along with the paper with the Angelic rune on it. They left the apartment and closed the door quietly. Isabelle was waiting for them outside the building, arms crossed.

"What took you guys so long?" she demanded.

"Sorry," Alec said sheepishly just as Jace said, "Long story."

"Okay, well, let's go back," Isabelle turned and was about to leave. "There was nobody in the aparment on the first floor."

"See?" Alec glared at Jace. "Unlike you, Isabelle actually follows the rules of refraining from invading people's privacy."

"Well, if we hadn't gone inside, we wouldn't have found out about that girl," Jace pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle asked.

"Like I said, long story," Jace said. "But we have to go to Java Jones."

"What for?"

"I'll explain everything on the way," Jace waved his hand in dismissal. "But we need to go there."

Isabelle sighed, frustrated, and nodded. "Fine, let's go."

Alec smirked and followed his sister and Jace down the street, walking back the way they came.

Jace POV

When they reached Java Jones, the girl and her friend were nowhere to be seen. Jace walked up to the front counter to see if the cashier had any idea where they went.

"She has long curly red hair and green eyes," Jace supplied. "I think she was wearing a blue hoodie today."

"Oh, I know who you're talking about," the cashier nodded. "She left about ten minutes ago. I overheard a bit of their conversation, and I think they said they were going to catch a one o'clock show at the movies."

"A movie?" Jace raised his eyebrow. "Do you know which one?"

"Um, I think it was that new action flick with Brad Pitt," the cashier shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

"Okay, thank you," Jace nodded and walked out of the store, meeting up with Alec and Isabelle.

"Well?" Isabelle placed her hands on her hips.

"Apparently they went to the movies to see a show at one o'clock," Jace said. "There's still half an hour until one, so if we head over there now, we might be able to get there before them."

"And what exactly are you going to do once you meet them?" Alec retorted. "Will you sit them down for an interview or something?"

"Relax, I have a plan," Jace assured him.

"Well it better be a good one," Alec said. "According to my mom, we should have been back at the Institute now."

"Call her then. I don't know how long this movie's going to be."

"Who said we were going to be watching the movie?" Isabelle asked.

"I did," Jace said and started walking in the direction of the mall.

Clary POV

"Simon, hurry up! The movie's about to start!" Clary wove in and out of the crowd of the mall, making her way towards the movie theater.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the boy sighed and chased after her, fiddling with the tickets in his hand. He handed them off to the ticket collector and followed Clary to their designated theater.

As they ducked inside the dark room, Clary heard Simon breathe in relief. "Oh good, they're still showing trailers."

"But look at all this people," Clary squinted as she glanced around the theater. "There's literally no place to sit."

"What do you mean? There's so many empty seats in the first row," Simon started walking towards them. "Let's just sit there—"

"No!" Clary pulled him back towards her. "We've waited forever to see this movie, and we're not going to waste our money by sitting in the front row and not being able to see the screen properly without breaking our necks."

"Point taken," Simon pushed his glasses up his nose. "Do you see anywhere else to sit?"

"There," Clary pointed to the back row, where there were two empty spots were in the very center of the aisle. "Come on."

The two teens climbed the stairs and entered the row, apologizing every five seconds for stepping on people's feet. As they sat down on their seats, Simon turned to Clary and whispered, "I guess it's too late to say that I wanted to buy some popcorn."

Clary sighed. "Go, I'll save your seat."

"Thanks," Simon grinned and left, muttering apologies again as he inched trough the row.

Clary put her purse down on Simon's empty seat and felt someone jostle her elbow on her right. She turned to her neighbor, a boy with curly, golden blond hair and a strikingly handsome face.

"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly and readjusted himself.

"No problem," Clary smiled, but her gaze lingered on the boy. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She frowned and turned back to the screen.

"So, is your boyfriend a fan of Battlestar Galactica?" the boy leaned over and whispered in Clary's ear. "I saw his T-shirt."

"Hmm?" Clary looked back at him. "Oh…uh, he's not my boyfriend…" She blushed and averted her eyes from his sharp gold ones.

"Really?" the boy smirked. "Cause he seems to think the opposite."

Clary bit her lip and turned away, refraining herself from throwing a comeback. She and Simon had been best friends forever, and there was definitely nothing more than that between them. Sure Simon was good-looking—he had dark hair and eyes that fell just above his eyes and glasses that always slid down his nose—but Clary had never thought about him like...that. After all, Simon was an open geek—and always wearing graphic tees with slogans and mottos that only other nerds could seemingly understand.

"Hey," As if on cue, Simon popped up beside Clary. "The line was short; I got lucky."

"Cool," Clary smiled weakly and moved her purse from his seat.

"Here," Simon handed her a popcorn tub and placed his on his lap. "I know you didn't ask for any, but I got one for you anyways."

"Oh," Clary looked at the popcorn tub and then at him. "Thanks."

"Still disagree with me now?" The boy on Clary's right whispered with another smirk.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Clary turned to him with a stern face.

"I don't think so," the boy's eyebrows burrowed. He lifted his hand up to push his hair back. As he did so, Clary caught sight of a series of black tatoos on his bicep. Suddenly, realization hit her. He was part of the three people dressed in black walking in front of Java Jones.

"I saw you walking in front of Java Jones," Clary said softly.

"You did?" the boy gave her a look.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Jace." He extended his hand out.

"Clary," Clary reluctantly shook it.

"Clary," Jace repeated and glanced at the screen. "Oh, hey, the movie's starting."

"Right," Clary faced forward and turned to Simon when he tapped on her shoulder.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked.

"Oh, just...some guy," Clary smiled reassuringly and turned back to the front as the movie started.

Jace POV

Jace was quickly running through a list of names of Shadowhunter families that he knew. None of them had any daughters named Clary.

Alec, was sitting on his right, watching the whole conversation between Jace and Clary with a scowl on his face.

"What's so interesting about her?" He asked Jace once the two were finished talking.

"She saw me walking past Java Jones," Jace said quietly. "Even when I had my glamour on, she saw me."

"Are you sure?" Alec's eyes widened.

"What is it?" Isabelle asked from the other side of Alec.

"I'll tell you later," Jace whispered back.

"Do you think she's a Shadowhunter?" Alec asked. "Or maybe a warlock?"

"I don't know," Jace gave quick look back at Clary. "But I definitely would like to find out. After the movie's done, we can get more information out of her."

"You do that," Alec nodded.

Throughout the movie, he would turn to Clary and whisper jokes about the characters and she would just smile and laugh a little. But she still didn't reveal anything about herself, and Jace was beginning to get annoyed.

After the movie was over, and the audience was filing out of the theater, Jace caught up with Clary and her friend to properly introduce himself.

"Hey," he came around in front of them. Clary was fiddling with something in her purse and her friend immediately stood stiff once he spotted Jace.

"Oh, hi," Clary looked up from her purse and stopped mid-walk.

"Good movie, huh?" he said, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"Who are you, exactly?" the guys standing next to Clary asked, frowning.

"Oh, Simon, this is Jace," Clary introduced him. "He was the guy sitting next to me inside the theater. Jace," she turned to him. "This is Simon, my best friend," she emphasized on the 'best friend' part and gave him a look.

"Huh..." Simon nodded slowly. "So uh, do you live in Brooklyn? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Uh, actually, no," Jace said. "I live in Manhattan."

Clary gave him a curious look. "Where do you go to school?"

"Oh, I'm home-schooled right now," Jace explained.

"Cool," she smiled. "We both go to St. Francis Xavier School."

"St. Francis..." Jace repeated, and mentally kept note of the name.

"Are you a junior, too?" Simon asked.

What's a junior?! Jace racked his brain for an answer. "Yes?" It came out more of a question than an answer.

"So you're our age," Clary smiled. "That's nice."

"Yeah, well, we have to go," Simon pulled on Clary's sleeve. "Maybe we'll see you around, Jake."

"It's Jace," Jace corrected as Simon steered Clary away.

Clary smiled sheepishly before she left. "Bye, Jace." She turned and walked away, smiling over her shoulder.

"Well, did you get anything?" Alec and Isabelle came up beside Jace.

"Yeah," Jace watched Clary and Simon exchange words as they exited the movie theaters. "They go to St. Francis Xavier School."

"Never heard of it," Isabelle mused out loud. "Maybe Mom knows. Come on, we need to tell her everything that's happened today."

A/N: So...how did that turn out? Love it? Hate it? In the middle? Please tell me what you think! Should I continue with this? Or if you have any ideas for the plot, that would be great!

I'll see if I can get the next chapter to be updated soon. I'm not the best at updating regularly, but I try :)

Once Clary finds out about the Shadow World, I'll introduce more characters and the actual conflict of the story will be revealed.

Also, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or something.

Remember to REVIEW! I'll give you a shoutout, guaranteed. Thanks :)

~bookwormbullet