Hi! I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little nervous about posting a new fic, considering 'Polaroids and Memories' is not done.
This is my first multi-chapter one. I really hope you enjoy it. I'll try to update as regularly as possible too.
I want to give a HUGE thanks to alicelightwoodbane who has been absolutely phenomenal with me, helping iron out the rough edges of my ideas and being nothing but totally supportive. She would always reply to my stupid questions and reassure me every time I thought what I wrote was shit. She's a beautiful person and an even better writer, check her out! :)
In my story, Jace will not be adopted by the Lightwood family; he is just a family friend. I thought it worked better for the future chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series.
Prologue.
21st of December 2011 (Wednesday)
Snow fell in a lazy manner from the sky onto every uncovered surface, adding a light dusting over the accumulated snow in New York, just like icing sugar on a cake. If one peeled away the sounds of honking cars, scuffling feet and obnoxious voices one would be able to hear a snowflake land amongst its fallen brothers with a gentle sigh. Winter brought forth many days of low, think volumes of grey clouds or weak sunlight that could barely melt the snow or both.
It also meant excessive amounts of Christmas decorations, annoying jingles played on repeat and people bustling in and out of shops, arms filled with presents that will probably go unappreciated come Christmas morning. This practically solidified no chance of these little natural miracles being noticed in the city that never slept.
Alec found himself situated uncomfortably in said swarms of determined people with a number of bags clutched in his fists. He had finally gotten around to beginning and finishing his Christmas shopping in the one outing; even if he defied all odds by completing such a task only days before Christmas.
He had never really cared for gifts – there was not much that he wanted. Spending time in the company of his family, as cliché as it sounded, made him content – and content is what Alec strived for.
He had always preferred autumn over any other season. The heat left him feeling unsettled in his own skin, besides he wasn't much of a shorts and t-shirt kind of guy – his jeans and sweaters usually sufficed. Then, on the other hand, the cold always bit at his cheeks and nose, causing them to bloom and annoying shade of red. Strangely, Alec's appearance suited the cold and winter, his pale complexion and black hair paired with an incredible set of blue eyes made him look like a child of the snow or something out of storybooks. But, to Alec, autumn was just in between both weather conditions and was perfect.
Needless to say, Alec liked 'content'.
He couldn't say the same for his siblings, who love Christmas and basked in gifts; that was why he was carrying a bag stuffed with comic books for Max that he knew he liked and a tiny bag with a box that nestled a pair of earrings for Isabelle. Both of them were younger than him but held their own personal ferocity.
Max was nine and many people commented that he and Alec were practically identical apart from the age difference and the fact that Max wore glasses. He was immensely passionate in his reading. There were not many times that Alec had seen him without his nose stuck in a book or at the very least holding onto a book with a finger slipped in, marking his place while he held the book closed. Max loved comic books and manga.
Izzy was sixteen while Alec was eighteen and she could be downright scary when she wanted to be. No 'I'm-her-big-brother-hurt-her-and-I'll-kill-you' spiel could frighten a boyfriend of hers as well as her wonderful six-inch heels did – which Alec was grateful for the compromise. One of those in the foot, thigh or throat would ensure no harm would or could ever come to her. Alec had at least heard of Izzy piercing a boy in the first two areas and prayed for the soul of the boy that hurt her enough to warrant it in the throat.
Izzy being able to protect herself certainly eased Alec's worries as an older brother, however, as an older brother that still meant he looked out for her, which often lead to Alec being at parties he was not interested in all in the name of making sure there were no boys that might be the one who slipped passed Izzy's strong barriers and good judgement. It usually meant Alec leaning against a wall, nursing a drink or two, brooding. He wasn't a fan of parties – they disturbed his contentment – he was only there for Izzy.
At first she protested, but quickly learned that Alec was good at blending into the background and never intervened unless he had to.
Finally, his parents were mainly too busy working overseas or interstate to be around all that often, not that it really made a difference, all the Lightwood children could look after themselves without any problems, but Robert and Maryse made extra effort to make an appearance on days like Easter, Christmas and maybe extend their stay in to New Years, often excluding birthdays or 'silly' holidays like Halloween.
Alec really didn't mind, they were good parents when each of them were growing up, but once it was evident that the child could survive themselves (or with Alec's help) they'd be out flying to different places for work. Max grew up and matured surprisingly fast in their eyes and Alec was also more of an adult than a child and was therefore able to look after him so they had returned to work sooner than they had with Izzy.
Alec collapsed into a subway seat, his bags pooling around his ankles. There was a man sitting opposite him holding onto a cane with gloved hands and a woman next to him who smelt so strongly of flowers that Alec felt a little suffocated. Inside the carriage was quieter than Alec expected, but he was thankful for the relative peace.
He sighed into his rigid spot, mentally running through each stop that would be made before he had to get off. That was what Alec did. He thought of it as a method to maintain contentment. At school he'd map out each class he had for the day and check them off as well, it was the same for homework, in which Alec was reviewing what work needed to be done before he returned to school at that moment. Like Max always being stuck in a book, Alec found himself constantly drawn into his thoughts: planning, remembering, day-dreaming.
He smiled to himself when one particular thought crossed his mind.
Green eyes.
Black hair.
Subtle smirk.
Magnus.
With Alec's tendency to get lost inside his head, he was not the most extroverted person around and as a result didn't make friends often. That had never been a problem – he was content with that fact. School lunchtimes were spent with Izzy and Jace – a long-time family friend – and Alec met new people through friends and friends of friends. Whoever Jace or Izzy knew, Alec knew. So it was quite a surprise for Alec to have made a friend of his own accord.
They first met several weeks back and since then they had bumped into each other more times than times that they had actually planned to meet.
Magnus was really ridiculous in probably every aspect of the word and Alec meant it in the nicest way possible – Magnus may have even approved of the adjective. His hair was more often than not spiked dangerously, painted with different colours of glitter, shining in all kinds of light. His clothes were something Alec would never ever find himself in, but that did not mean they did not suit the other boy to a T.
He was different from Alec but that did not affect his idea of contentment. Alec found that Magnus was just a really good friend and easy to talk to. A sense of pride occasionally filled him because he had done this all by himself, hence his distracted smiling. It told him that he wasn't as boring as he used to think he was or that he wasn't shadowed by Jace's brilliance.
The subway screeched to a stop and Alec got up from his seat, glad to be away from that overwhelming smelling woman and stepped off the carriage with the man who had the cane. He moved out of the way for the man and readjusted his bags before walking down the last few blocks back to his house where his family were probably scattered all over their home; Max reading, Izzy on the phone, Robert looking over some papers and Maryse actually tidying up the kitchen herself – he really didn't have to be inside yet to know that was how his family were set up.
He threw the bags he was carrying onto his bed and soon followed; looking up to painted white ceiling that had no cracks or discolouring. Once again, his thoughts trailed away from himself, recalling the first few times him and Magnus had crossed paths.
It had taken Alec a long time to realise that no one else could see Magnus.
Now we know a little about Alec, there will be more Magnus in the next chapter.
I'll try to keep this short. In the chapters I might give a song that I was listening to while writing, but that doesn't mean it surrounds the chapter. It might be completely irrelevant. However, I'll say it now, that there is one song in particular that is like the 'theme' for this story. When the appropriate chapter comes up, I highly recommend it, although, it comes in towards the end of the fic. Especially if this was a movie. So, some chapters may have songs, some may not (like this one, I couldn't get the perfect song), but I'll tell you if it has any significance to the story :) For instance, the title of this is lyrics from 'Hanging by a Moment' by Lifehouse. I just liked the lyrics, the song isn't related to the story.
I don't think I have forgotten to mention anything...
Review! I hope you liked it!