Light In The Darkness - Chapter One: New Beginning

"Much as we may wish to make a new beginning,
some part of us resists doing so as though we were making the first step toward disaster."

A/N: This is the first Malec fic I've ever written. And it's the first fic I've posted in a long time so please bare with me on this :) I don't really have a plan as to where this is going yet. But I'm sure I will figure it out as I go. Also, I know this AU has been done...well, a lot. But I just love it. And I've wanted to write a Malec fic for a while now. So I hope you all aren't bored of reading them :P I hope ou enjoy! And please let me know what you think. The first chapter is always the hardest to me (and the shortest...opps. Promise the next one will be longer)
(Also I own nothing. All characters belong to the lovely Cassandra Clare no matter how much I wish I had came up with them.)


Alicante. Quite possible the smallest town there is in France. So small in fact that it is possible to walk from one side to the other in just a few hours. Alec has spent the last two weeks pouring over every pieve of information about it he could. Not that there was a lot. Alicante seemed to be one of those small towns where nothing ever happened. Which only added to the list of reasons he didn't want to move there. But he didn't seem to have a choice, none of them did. Their Father had been offered to run the office there, one of the leading offices in the company he worked for, it was a great honour and an amazing promotion. So they had been told anyway. And so now all of them were to have their lives changed because of it. And each of them could remember that conversation as vividly as if it had happened yesterday...


"FRANCE?! FRANCE! WE CAN'T MOVE ALL THE WAY TO FRANCE!" Isabelle had practically screamed across the table at her parents, her black hair falling over her shoulders as she leaned forward and had a frantic look upon her face. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Izzy is right." Alec said a lot more gently. Though he was struggling to stop his hands from shaking out of anger. "It's the middle of the school year it isn't logical to move us when it's so close to finals. Not to mention the fact we all have lives here. Friends, jobs, it's not just about your job Dad."

"Alec, sweetheart, don't think we are doing this lightly." Their mother, Maryse, said with a sigh. "Your Father and I have talked about this for months. In the long run you will see we're doing what's best for the family."

"Like fuck." Jace grumbled, quickly followed by a scolding from Maryse and Robert. "If you were doing what's best you wouldn't force us to leave."

"And what else are we meant to do?" Robert asked with a raised eyebrow. "Leave you three here on your own?"

"Yes." The three siblings said together without missing a single beat.

"This job is everything I have been working towards for years." Robert said as softly as he could manage given the current situation. "Could you all please just work with me this once and not cause a fuss?"

"A fuss? This is our lives your messing up here! You don't even care!" Jace shouted.

"Lets make a deal." Maryse said quickly before Robert had a chance to open his mouth and reply. "Say...Christmas. If by Christmas you still do not want to be there we will make arrangements for you to come home. How does that sound? It will only be three months. Please, just give it a go? Three months is not that long."

There was silence around the table as Alec, Isabelle, and Jace, looked at each other. Silently having a conversation with their eyes before they turned back to their parents and slowly nodded their heads in agreement.


So, three months. That is what they had decided on and so far they had been here for only a week and each of them wanted to leave again. Though they couldn't deny their house was amazing. It was a mansion compared to their home back in New York with it's three floors and gigantic bedrooms. The kitchen was insanely big, you could hold parties in there, and along with a living room there was a games room as well. Each of them had a en-suit bathroom along with a walk-in-closet. Something that Izzy couldn't stop herself from squealing over as soon as she had seen it. Alec on the other hand couldn't care less. As soon as they landed here he hated it. And he had no interest what so ever in giving this place a chance. Already he missed his friends, he missed his school, and above all he missed the comfort that their home gave him. Here he felt anxious and out of place. And they hadn't even seen their school yet.

"At least there will be a lot of hot chicks." Jace commented at breakfast. It was to be their first day at Idris Academy. And 'hot chicks' were the last thing on Alec's mind. "The French accent is kinda sexy. Sure we can both find a distraction till we can go home." He added, nudging Alec with his elbow causing his brother to roll his eyes. Of course Jace could find the bright side to this. Even if the bright side was merely what poor girl he could charm into a dark corner with him to do god only knows what.

"One of these days you'll be able to think without the help of what's in your pants, Jace." Alec chuckled and got up from his seat while stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth before heading out of the house, grabbing his bag as he went and slung it over his shoulder.

"Ah, but then my life shall be oh so boring." Jace sighed dramatically and followed after him. Quickly joined by Isabelle who was rushing down the stairs.

Since the town was so small they walked to their new School. A whole half an hour away from the house and most of it was spent in silence. They were all dreading today, all for different reasons, but each of them knew that all the attention would be on them. New kids were always a source of curiosity and people paying close attention to them was not something that Alec wanted. He liked being able to go unnoticed. It was how he always went about his life. And so now as they got closer and closer he felt his heart starting to race from nerves. It took all of his strength not to turn around and run back to the house. But he at least tried to put brave face on for Jace and Izzy.

"Wow." That single word being breathed from Isabelle's lips was enough to pull Alec out of his thoughts as he looked at her curiously before turning to where she was staring with her mouth open. And he couldn't help but share her admiration for the sight in front of him.

Idris Academy had to be the most spectacular building he had ever seen. The size of it alone was enough to take his breath away but it's ancient design and grandness of it all made him feel incredibly small. The front of it was made almost entirely of glass and if he didn't know it was his new school he would have sworn it was a Cathedral. And that was merely the main building. The school consisted of five buildings. And though he knew it was going to be huge he had greatly underestimated just how massive it was going to be. He actually still wouldn't believe it was just a school if they weren't surrounded by students entering through the front door. And for a while the three of them couldn't do anything but stare as the gained curious glances from those around them. Something Alec was trying very hard to ignore or else he would end up running back home.

"Meet you two for lunch?" Jace mumbled as he slowly started to head towards the entrance, his eyes darting all over the place. "If I can find it that is." He added more quietly and, after shaking his head in disbelief, chuckled to himself and headed for class.

"Maybe this won't be bad after all." Izzy said and gave her brother a soft smile before following after Jace.

But Alec couldn't move. This was all too much for him. Though they had each been given a map and a schedule he was sure he was going to get lost. Something that certainly would not go down well on his first day. He knew he should have studied it last night. He should have chosen a route to go and stuck to it so he wouldn't need to wander around and bring more attention towards himself. Because he would be damned if he asked anyone for help.

So it was rather reluctantly that he headed towards his first class. His only comfort was that it was Art. Unlike Jace who was always doing something athletic and joining as many sports teams as he could Alec loved to draw. It was his comfort, and his way to express himself. He could get lost in a piece he was creating. And right now, with everything else changing and going on, he needed the comfort of a pencil in his hand and a blank page in front of him. He would be able to forget everything if just for a little while.

Though try as he might to get to class on time he still managed to be ten minutes late. As soon as he walked through the door every pair of eyes were on him, causing Alec to shuffle nervously on his feet as he tried his best to avoid looking at anyone for too long.

"Can I help you?" A kind voice asked him and as he looked up he saw a woman standing behind her desk smiling at him as she pulled her curly red hair up into a bun. She looked to be in her late thirties and it didn't take Alec long to catch onto the fact she would be his teacher.

"Yes I, um...I'm Alec Lightwood. I'm new." He said as quietly as he could while making sure she could still hear him. This would be a lot easier if everyone would just stop staring at him he thought.

"Ah yes!" The teacher exclaimed before quickly shuffling through the multitude of papers that looked to have been flung onto her desk. "I wasn't sure if you would be arriving today or tomorrow. My name is Madam Fray, though I prefer my students to call me Jocelyn." She said and walked over to Alec once she had found what she was looking for with another soft smile on her face. "I trust you found us okay?" She asked and waited for Alec to nod before handing over the sheets. "This is just a little summery of what we have been discussing so far this semester. It's nothing too important but I like to keep everyone up to date. You are more or less free to create whatever you like for your final project. Though I prefer if you stuck to the one medium whether that be pencil, paint, clay, and so on. Other than that...you're free to go." Jocelyn explained as she showed Alec to his seat, the only one that was free in the room right up the back and Alec kept his eyes on the ground while trying to not bring too much attention to himself. "If you need anything just let me know, dear."

Alec simply nodded his head again as he dropped into his seat. His face was starting to heat up from the fact he could still feel eyes on him though he didn't dare look up.

"Alec was it?" Someone asked. Alec couldn't explain why the softness in their voice caused a shiver to run through him. Nor could he explain that when he looked over to his left why his breath caught in his throat when his eyes met the strangers green ones. Though they weren't entirely green. Around the edges they were yellow. They were, quite simply, the most beautiful eyes Alec had ever seen and for a moment he found it hard to reply and instead, once again, nodded his head. "Is that short for anything?"

"A-Alexander." He mumbled, confused by the question. Though he became even more confused when the boy beside him smirked and titled his head ever so slightly to the side. Reminding Alec of a cat. "But I don't like people calling me th-

"And you're the new kid?" The boy asked, interrupting what Alec had been trying to say.

"One of them, yes."

"Oh, that's right. There are three of you. Interesting"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Alec really couldn't understand what could be interesting about that. Though he supposed, one new kid was enough to draw attention. There being three of them must have the entire school gossiping. A though that once again caused Alec to start to panic slightly.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" He asked, if only to take the attention off of himself even for a moment.

"Magnus Bane. And I have a feeling me and you are going to get on just wonderfully." Magnus chuckled before turning back to whatever it was he was drawing.

"Sure..." Alec muttered to himself.

He shook himself to pull himself together before taking out his notebook and started doodling while his mind wandered. In all honesty he didn't really understand what just happened. But at least his first conversation with someone hadn't been that bad. Even if it was rather confusing. But still, he could at least tell Isabelle he had talked to someone. Ever since they came here she had been nagging him to try and make some new friends. Sometimes he wondered who was meant to be the older sibling, himself or her. Not that he minded. He liked that she looked out for him. He only wished that he could do the same for her most of them time. It would be a lot easier than worrying about her constantly.

"What other classes are you taking, Alexander?" Magnus asked suddenly, pulling Alec from his thoughts and he couldn't help but blush widely when he realised he had just been sitting there drawing Magnus' eyes. He hoped he didn't notice that.

"Umm...English, Math, History, and Chemistry." He said a little uncertainly. It almost came out as a question. He really had to work on his ability to talk to other people. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if we had any other classes together." Magnus replied just as the bell rang and he swiftly gathered his things together and got up, pausing only long enough to glance down at Alec and wink at him. "Hope to see you in English class, blue eyes." He added before walking away and leaving Alec sitting there flustered and blushing like a mad man.

This was certainly going to be an interesting three months...