Chapter Eight - Chasing Cars.

"Hello?" Clary yawned as she answered her phone after the seventh ring. "Who is it?"

"Clary? It's Jace." Jace replied.

"You do know how early it is right?" She asked, but when he didn't answer she frowned, "Jace? Are you okay?"

"Define okay?" His hushed voice said through the receiver.

"Is it Alec?" She asked.

"Yeah," He answered, "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do! I want to help him, really I do but I have no idea how! How can I make this right between them?!"

"You can't. Magnus and Alec have to sort it out themselves. All we can do is focus on getting Alec back on his own two feet again. And again and again, no matter how long it takes." Clary replied stifling another yawn.

"Isabelle said the same thing." Jace sighed.

"Yes well, it's girl solidarity and all that other stuff. We know things about relationships that guys are blind to!"

"We are so not blind to it." Jace argued.

"Of course not." Clary sighed; rolled her eyes, "Anyway I have to go. I promised Si I'd meet him later to discuss band names again. And I'd rather not look like a zombie."

"Zombies don't exist!"

"I know. Love you."

"I love you more." The line clicked and went dead and Clary placed her mobile down on her bedside table with a sigh. Like everyone else all she wanted to do was help Alec, but she knew that it had be solved by Magnus and Alec themselves. She sighed, turned over onto her side and attempted to fall back to sleep.

*****

"So what you're saying is that Millennium Lint is not a good band name?" Simon asked as he handed Clary a cup of coffee.

"No, and if you ask me that one more time I'm going to scream." Clary answered as she took the coffee from Simon. They were sat on one of the large amps in Eric's garage which was where the band did most of their practicing. Simon frowned as he glanced over at his best friend, "What's wrong?" Simon asked, "Normally a cup of coffee which is black like your soul cheers you right up. So come on, tell me."

"Jace called." She said as though that clarified everything.

"And that's a bad thing?" Simon asked, considering what the next thing Clary might say will be.

"No. What we talked about is the bad thing." She sighed.

"Alec?"

"Alec," She finalised, "From what Jace was saying, he's not coping and all Jace wants to do is help."

"You can't help with things like this. The two people who break up have to sort it out by themselves." Simon said, wrapping an arm over Clary's shoulders in comfort.

"That's what I told him." She replied taking a sip from the cup of coffee.

'I would waste time chasing every car in this street just to ensure that Magnus wouldn't leave Brooklyn and leave Alec.' Jace thought, the guilt was still eating him up inside and nothing he had said to Isabelle or Alec - no matter how comforting - had helped. He was up in the training room at the Institute lashing out at everything within reaching distance with a shinning silver Seraph blade. "Jace." A voice said from the doorway, "Could you get any louder?" Jace spun, to catch sight of Alec handling a Seraph blade similar to his; dressed in training Gear. "I don't know," Jace said, "I could try if you'd like." Alec grinned, he raised his Seraph blade and swung it in Jace's direction; it was easily deflected. "What are you doing?" Jace asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I've got to get back to a state of normality at some point right? Well, why not now?" Alec replied, dodging a swing from Jace's blade.

"Sure you're ready for this?" Jace asked, concern thick in his tone of voice.

"You just don't want me to kick your butt in this duel." Alec riled. "Like before."

"I was ten! Things have changed." Jace retorted.

"What happens if I win?" Alec asked, he and Jace were now circling each other. "I'll tidy your room for a month." Jace replied with a light shrug of his shoulders, "If I win?"

"I'll give you the keys to my car." Alec joked.

"You don't have a car!" Jace argued.

"Exactly." Their two swords clashed sending sparks flying as both boys fought, Jace leapt up and grabbed onto one of the rafters swinging his body up in an wide arch to land perfectly balanced on the wood. "Come get me!" Jace called down to Alec with a grin. Alec grinned back before leaping up to join Jace. "Okay, seriously," Jace said, "what do I get if I win?" Alec seemed to consider this for a moment before grinning, "My allowance and I'll also do all your chores for a month?"

"Fair enough." Jace replied, leaping across the wide gap to land on the same wooden rafter Alec was stood on. Their swords clashed again and sweat began to pour down their skin as they dodged each other's advances. "Except one problem," Alec said.

"What?"

"I don't plan on losing." He smiled.

"Neither do I." Jace agreed leaping to the left and then back to the right to land behind Alec.

Jace wobbled for a moment, teetering on the edge of the beam his hands flailing as he tried to gain his balance, it was no use he tipped over the edge only just managing to grab hold of the rafter, his sword clattering loudly to the floor. "Jace!" Alec yelled hurriedly throwing his sword aside and kneeling on the rafter to reach his Parabatai. "You better not let me fall Alec." Jace called up, astonishingly he was still grinning despite the fact that he could fall at any moment.

"As if!" Alec scoffed, "Because I've got your back and..."

"I've got yours." Jace finished as Alec gripped a tight hold under his elbows, pulling him back up onto the rafter; together they sat side by side, breathing deeply. Alec glanced over at Jace, he was still grinning, "How can you still be grinning?!" Alec asked incredulously, "You could have fallen and been really hurt!"

Jace shrugged, "I trust you." He said, staring down to the floor that was miles beneath them; he didn't notice Alec flinch.

Jace shrugged, "I trust you." He said, staring down at the floor that was miles beneath them.

'You shouldn't. You really shouldn't trust me.' Alec thought, flinching, 'Magnus did and look where that got him.' He sighed, he really had to stop thinking like this. 'Move on Alec. Just move on.' He argued with himself internally and sighed again.

"What?" Jace asked staring at him in confusion, "Why do you keep sighing? What did I do?"

Alec laughed, "You didn't do anything. I just wish I could be more like you, grinning in the face of danger."

"The floor is a danger? Who would have known!" Jace joked sarcastically as Alec rolled his eyes.

"Well obviously not you." Alec joked, elbowing Jace jovially in the side, which Jace returned.

"I know more than you can possibly comprehend." Jace said tapping the side of his nose.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Alec asked.

"Like, how the handsome young fellow who is trying to save you from a terrible fate is never wrong not even if he says the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs." Jace replied.

"Well I did most of the saving, so does that make me the handsome young fellow who is never wrong, then?" Alec asked grinning.

"Not quite." Jace replied grinning back at him.

"But I did the saving!" Alec argued sending a mock glare in Jace's direction.

"Yes, but it was my line to say." Jace retorted, Alec rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I should have left you hanging there a bit longer." Alec joked.

"By the Angel, the day you do that will be the day that the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs!" Jace exclaimed, they both laughed. The door creaked open and Isabelle stood below them glaring up them with her hands on her hips, "When you two have quite finished with your bromance session, I need a word with the both of you!"

"You have clearly been spending way too much time around Simon!" Jace and Alec called back in unison and laughing as Isabelle's face flushed pink.

"Boys." She muttered storming back out from the training room, Jace and Alec's laughter following behind her.