Hi! The High Warlock of Glitter here!
Again, it's not an update to Seven Days but, believe me, I'm working on it!
Anyway, when you are a Malec fan almost everything reminds you of them: somebody's words, a squirrel on a tree, a commercial in TV, some songs... And sometimes I think: "How about creating a Malec story about...?". Anyway, since I have too many ideas and not enough time to write like hundred multi-chaptered stories at once, I decided to create this document for all the one-shots I make out of prompts I find somewhere.
The title for the series is taken from the title of Queen's song - Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
I know that My Beautiful Dream is going to kill me for this but well... I just couldn't help myself! This story prompt is taken from a great song by even more amazing artist - Ghost Town by Adam Lambert. And... well, you will see :)
I recommend listening to "Maniac in the Mirror" by Prelude to A Nightmare while reading the first part, whatever you feel like to the second and then "Heartbeat Song" by Kelly Clarckson to the last one :)
Summary: While being drunk, Magnus agrees to visit the nearest Ghost Town, said to be haunted by a demon. Will he be able to finish his task alive?
Warnings: AU, poor attempts to create a scary atmosphere and probably very poor poetry (Sorry, I didn't even intend to write a poem it just... rhymed itself, ok?) xD
Disclaimer: This site is called a FANfiction for a reason, right?
1. Ghost Town
The place was indeed a ghost town. The buildings were empty with scratched walls and broken windows. The wind was blowing through the street, creating sounds that caused shivers down Magnus's spine. Crows seemed to be the only living creatures in the abandoned city. Their caw echoed in the empty buildings and the man could feel somebody's eyes on himself. He didn't dare looking back.
Accepting the bet was probably the stupidest decision he had ever done. It was just a normal night he had spent in the Pandemonium club, one of the most popular places in London at that time. He didn't come there regularly since it always pushed him into trouble. The bartender was probably spiking the drinks more than it was allowed and the customers were a pack of very dedicated gamblers. This time he was only slightly drunk… Okay, let's be honest. He was absolutely hammered.
And when Magnus Bane was heavily drunk, he often made bad decisions. And when somebody, probably that piece of a bastard called Woosley Scott, dared him to visit the nearest ghost town at night, he just couldn't say no. It would be a great stain on his honour.
To win the bet, he had to take photos of the town hall, the inn and the cemetery next to the small chapel. Seemed easy but not when the only light came from his small flashlight and the full moon.
It was the middle of summer but weather in England seemed to argue with that fact. Magnus wrapped himself up with his coat but it didn't help with the coldness of the night. He kept walking, trying to ignore the sensation of being watched.
One of his companions had told him "God bless you" before he leaved. At the moment, his faith in God was slowly fading, taken over by fear. Still, he was determined to save his honour and show these douchebags his value.
The town was built in a simple way; just a main street with its branches. The town hall was in the middle of the city, with a destroyed tower clearly seen even from the distance. Magnus felt it might have been a beautiful building before the town was abandoned after some disease back in fifteenth century.
He turned on his small camera and prepared himself to take the first picture. He was just about to press the button when something touched his hair.
He screamed and immediately curled up, almost dropping the camera. He looked at the sky with fear, only to see the bat flying away. He cursed the creature for almost giving him a heart attack.
This time, he had checked the surroundings before he took a photo. A rat ran across the street, the silent sound of his small claws sounded oddly loud in the empty space. The small creature disappeared in one of the buildings very quickly but it didn't help with the sensation of hearing somebody's footsteps not so far from where Magnus was standing.
He quickly took a photo and breathed out with relief when nothing happened after that. He had to admit that he had feared something attacking him after he turned the camera off. This time he was lucky to be granted with only a crow flying a foot over his head.
"Two more to go," he whispered to himself and immediately regretted it. His voice sounded very wrong in this dead town.
One last time he looked at the destroyed town hall and started walking to his next spot: the old inn. Even after so many years he could see the swinging sign with almost faded picture of a deer.
The closer he got to the place, the less confident he felt. The recent joy of taking the first photo was fading very quickly. The door of the inn had lost its lock and it was being moved by the wind: closing and opening, closing and opening. The sound of the wood hitting the doorframe reminded Magnus of a horror movie he had watched not so long before.
He gulped and prepared himself to take the second photo. Just when he raised his hand, he heard a loud crash behind. He screamed again and turned around to see that one of the shutters had fallen down. There was still some dust floating in the air around it.
The wind started howling between the buildings and Magnus would swear on his favourite glittery shirt that he had heard somebody's voice.
There's no one left in the world…
He was shivering now. Every single cell of his body was screaming to leave this creepy town as soon as possible. Before he came here, his so-called friends had told him a story about a young man who was sentenced to death because he had been thought to bring over the disease. The legend said that the boy never left the city and his ghost was the reason people abandoned it.
When Magnus heard this story in the sunlight, he only ridiculed his companions for believing in some folk crap. Now he had no reason to laugh.
He slowly raised his hand again and took the photo, expecting the next loud sound or even worse – next voice.
Noting happened.
It was unusually silent.
The wind stopped blowing. The crows stopped cawing. The rats hid somewhere in their nests. It was a dead silence.
Magnus didn't like the new situation any more than the previous one. It made him feel even lonelier than before.
"Only one photo to go," he reminded himself and started walking to his last destination: the cemetery.
The silent sound of his footsteps on the dry ground echoed through the street. The silence made him feel like he was the last living being in the world, just like the voice said. Or maybe there wasn't any voice and his mind was just playing him tricks? He didn't like it a bit.
The chapel was probably the only building that remained unspoiled. It was like some kind of a spell was saving it from the passing time. The cemetery, however, was in much worse state.
The tombs were hardly visible, covered by tall grass. Magnus decided to do it quickly. Three seconds passed and the third and the last one photo was taken. And just when he took the camera out of his sight, he saw him.
On one of the tombs, surrounded by the strange aura, sat a boy. He was tall and if it weren't for his pale skin, Magnus wouldn't have seen him because of the black hair and dark clothes. He was looking at the sky, sadness clearly visible on his beautiful face.
A few moments passed like that: Magnus staying frozen, not being able to take his eyes off the creature, the boy ignoring him, looking at the sky.
"Are you crazy or just stupid?" he suddenly asked, his voice surprisingly soft. He didn't move a bit from his position.
Magnus, who was at the same time too shocked and too terrified to answer the question, could only stutter:
"W-what?"
The boy quickly turned his head to look at the intruder. Even in the darkness, Magnus could see his stunning, blue eyes which widened a bit when their gaze landed on the sparkly man. Even if people called him a demon, his beauty was of an angel. There wasn't any anger in them, just calmness and curiosity.
"I asked if you are crazy or just stupid," the ghost repeated with both suspicious and slightly annoyed voice. "What made you come here at all? Nobody comes here," he said and wasn't it a note of sadness in his last sentence?
"It w-was a bet," Magnus didn't know what made him talk with the ghost instead of running away like crazy. His feet were just frozen to the ground.
The boy jumped off the tomb and came closer, observing the intruder carefully.
"Are you scared of me?" he asked silently and looked away as if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. But… he couldn't be shy, could he?
Something in the boy's attitude made it impossible for Magnus to be scared of him. Intrigued yes, but no more terrified. His emotions were changing so fast, running from scared to angry, from annoyed to self-conscious.
"No. You seem nice," he answered and tried to smile but it probably came out as a grimace.
There was silence between them once more. The wind started blowing again but it didn't seem that scary anymore. Just a pleasant, slight blow.
"It's nice to have company," the ghost said after a while. He took a few more steps forward so now Magnus could see him better.
He looked even more handsome from the shorter distance. His eyes had an amazing shade of blue which reminded Magnus of the sea during storm. They were calm and carried wisdom from many centuries, along with sadness, probably from loneliness. The boy had also raven black, extremely messy hair and dark clothes which were burned in few places.
What intrigued Magnus the most in his appearance, besides eyes, was a strange mark on his neck. From his place, the man couldn't really get the shape but he felt that there was more to it than just a will to have a tattoo.
"What's your story?" he asked, not being able to hide his curiosity now. It was just as if the boy had casted a spell on him.
The ghost's eyes widened a bit at the question and he hesitated for moment before gripping Magnus's wrist and pulling him to the bench near the chapel's entry. Magnus was surprised by the fact that the boy could actually touch him and his hand wasn't that freezing cold as it was often said in books or movies.
They sat down, not so far from each other and the ghost started his story:
"First, I should probably introduce myself," he said with a cute smile. "My name's Alexander Lightwood and I lived in this town about five hundred years ago. I was the mayor's son and my family was the richest in here. We lived a simple, steady life and I was supposed to become my father's successor. There was only one, small problem. Every mayor was expected to be married before he takes over from the previous one. But I couldn't find myself a girl whom I would like to marry. I…" he stopped for a while, looking away from Magnus. "I didn't like girls at all."
"Hey," Magnus put his hand on Alexander's shoulder. "There's nothing to be ashamed off. I mean, I'm personally bisexual so I kinda understand you," he smiled while his mind started screaming something like what the fuck are you doing, he's a demon! He decided to ignore it this time.
Alexander raised his head and looked at Magnus in disbelief, his mouth slightly open. His eyes wandered over the sparkly boy with new curiosity, as if he had seen him for the first time. After about a minute of silence he realized that he had been staring and he quickly looked down. Even in the moonlight (Magnus's flashlight died some time before), the blush on his cheeks was clearly visible.
"Aww, adorable," Magnus said, no longer afraid of the creature next to him. The boy was just too cute, for glitter's sake!
"Ekhm, well…" Alexander cleared his throat and continued his story. "There was one guy at our town; he was the priest's nephew. He… We had an affair for some time but he was also engaged… One day she caught us and she told everyone that I abused him," he lowered his voice, ashamed of his past for sure. His hands were shaking a bit and Magnus couldn't help but gently take one of them in his hands.
Alexander smiled a shy smile and resumed his story.
"He actually looked a bit like you." That information surprised Magnus a bit but he didn't interrupt. "Anyway, when my father got to know it, he took me to the priest. From his favourite son, I became the black sheep of the family," his voice was dull. It was obvious that he didn't really like reminding himself of all of these. "The priest… He told my father that he should disown me since I should never become a mayor of the town. And then, they…" Alexander's voice broke. "They chained me and together, they cursed me as the demon's brood." The ghost's hand went to the mark on his neck with a painful expression. Magnus followed the move and realised that it had a shape of a padlock. "The curse said that I'll never be able to leave this town until somebody finds they key to the padlock they burned on my skin. They knew that it was impossible, so they decided it would be the best way to never let me rest in peace."
"And what about your lover?" Magnus couldn't believe that somebody would dare leaving this beautiful boy on his own in such a situation.
"He… never came to me again." Tears appeared in corners of the blue eyes. "As soon as his fiancée caught us, she decided for them to move away from the town. It was even before the curse. I never heard about them again," he whispered, a few tears escaping and flowing down his cheeks.
"What was his name?" Magnus couldn't help but ask. He wanted to know the name of a person who dared to destroy this angel's heart. He wanted to be able to curse him, not maybe in a way the priest did with Alexander though.
"Magnus," the boy answered shortly and the sparkly guy froze. He hadn't told the ghost his name yet but… were coincidences like that even possible?
Alexander saw the shock on his face and asked confused:
"Is something wrong?"
"No," Magnus quickly answered. "I'm fine. What happened next?" he decided to go back to the topic.
"From that moment, my life became a pure hell. My family threw me out but I couldn't go away. They sent my sister to a boarding school in London so she couldn't help me. At first my little brother was bringing me some food but then the disease came. And he was the first victim," Alexander was looking forward, his thoughts back in fifteenth century. "He died in his dreams at least. I wish I could die with him then. The next people weren't that lucky. My mother, my best friend, the townspeople… They were all dying and nobody knew the reason. Some tried running away, others went to my father or the priest."
"And they decided to blame you?" Magnus guessed and the ghost nodded.
"They told everyone that it was the punishment for keeping me alive. They caught me once again and burned me at the stake. Not that it changed anything. Everyone died sooner or later."
The sparkly boy looked at Alexander's destroyed clothes. So that's why they have been burned, he thought. He raised his eyes to look at the boy's face again. The ghost suddenly seemed so vulnerable. He had lived all these years alone, all of his friends had been disaffected to him. Even so, it must have been hard for him, looking at his family and townspeople die from disease.
Without thinking much of his actions, Magnus embraced the boy with one arm and pulled him closer. Alexander didn't back away and only hid his head in the crook of the sparkly man's neck, shivering slightly.
They stayed like that for a longer while, just enjoying each other's presence. Finally, Lightwood pulled away, looking at his companion with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"I'm sorry for throwing it all on you," he said silently. "I just… I feel so lonely sometimes. No one comes here, scared of the empty city and its demon," he said, emphasizing the word "demon" with a snort.
"You don't have to be sorry," Magnus grabbed his hand again and smiled, his fear long forgotten. "I'm glad you trusted me enough to share it."
"Thank you… For staying with me tonight," Alexander looked him in the eyes, his own ones shining from tears. Before Magnus could react to this, he lowered his gaze again. "Sometimes I feel like no one will ever be able to like me. My heart… It's empty, like this ghost town." The boy threw a look over the abandoned city.
"It's not empty," Magnus implied. "You still keep your family and this…" he hesitated for a while "…Magnus there. Even if he hurt you, you didn't forget about your love for him. I can see it in your eyes."
Alexander once more looked at Magnus. This time, he didn't look away after a while.
"He was a fool for leaving you," the sparkly boy said and then something happened. Something he would never expect to experience in his life.
The ghost threw his arms around Magnus's neck and kissed him with all the love he had saved in him through centuries of being alone. His lips were soft and strangely warm; he didn't feel like a ghost but also not like a human.
But what surprised Magnus even more than the material side of the kiss was the fact that he started kissing back. He embraced Alexander and pulled him closer so he was almost sitting on his lap.
They kissed for a while and when they finally broke for air, Magnus moved from the boy's lips to his jawline and neck. Lightwood moaned silently, his fingers twining in the other man's hair. Magnus kissed him once more on the lips, then on the collarbone and finally he put a light kiss over the padlock-shaped mark.
And suddenly, everything turned black.
When Magnus woke up, he realized that somehow, he got back to his hotel room. Could it all be a dream?
He looked around, realizing that he was still in the same clothes he had worn in the ghost town. His camera laid on the nightstand. So he had been in there.
Suddenly, he remembered the blue-eyed boy he had kissed and realisation hit him. He had kissed a demon everyone had been telling legends about. He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face because of that fact.
He stood up, walking to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned, seeing something strange near his collarbone. It looked more like a birthmark than a tattoo and it had a shape of a key.
Magnus smiled, thinking of the beautiful boy he had met previous night. He would definitely miss him and his mesmerizing blue eyes.
After spending some time in the bathroom and changing into some fresh clothes, Magnus went back to the bedroom. There was a small envelope on the bed he must have not found before.
He took it and opened, careful so as not to destroy whatever was hidden inside. Surprised, he found a small key with some car brand logo on it. Magnus wasn't really a car person so he never gave attention to the logos but this one actually looked a bit familiar and if he tired, he would probably remember the name. Now he could only recognize it as a dark circle with angel wings. There was also a short letter.
"You found the key nobody was supposed to find.
You set me free and you will always have my gratitude for that.
Don't let your heart become a ghost town," it said. There wasn't a signature but nobody needed it.
Magnus smiled at the note and put it on the nightstand next to the camera. Then, he threw it one last look and left the room to get breakfast.
Later, the same day, Magnus was supposed to meet his drinking friends to show them the photos he made in the ghost town. He was waiting in the lobby, sitting on a sofa close to reception and playing with the car key he had found in the envelope. He had no idea what to do with it. The chances that the car with "Souvenir from Ghost Town" written on it was waiting for him in front of the hotel were quite small. Like, in a size of grain of sesame. Maybe a little smaller.
The sofa Magnus was sitting on was quite comfortable but even the most comfy seat can cause trouble after spending over an hour in the same position. He cursed his friends who were probably still treating hangovers from the previous night.
He stood up and stretched out when somebody caught his eye: a familiar-looking, black-haired boy talking to the receptionist. Magnus's eyes widened.
"It can't be…" he murmured and stepped closer, trying to see the face of the tall stranger. By accident, he overheard his conversation.
"…I am sure I had the keys on the table. I didn't let anyone in my room so somebody from the crew must have taken them!"
"I'm so sorry Mr. Lightwood, but I can swear that nobody from our hotel would take the keys to your car," the blonde receptionist said and Magnus froze when he heard the guest's surname.
"It's a new Bentley. If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure," the boy said, trying to sound scary but it was clear that he was more desperate than angry.
Magnus couldn't stand waiting more and decided to join the conversation, taking the keys from his pocket.
"Sorry to interrupt but I think I might have found the keys you are looking for," he said, putting them on the counter. Both Mr. Lightwood and the receptionist looked at them in disbelief. Then, the dark haired boy raised his head and looked at Magnus. His blue eyes, the same as the ones Magnus had seen in the ghost town, widened in shock.
"H-have we met before?" he asked shyly, a cute blush covering his cheeks.
Magnus smiled, admiring the boy in front of him. The receptionist made the right decision and decided to leave them alone.
"I don't think so. We can always change that fact anyway. My name is Magnus," he took the other man's hand and kissed it like a gentleman. Mr. Lightwood blushed even more but didn't freak out and Magnus took it as a good sign for their future relationship.
"Alexander. I prefer Alec, though," the boy said, smiling slightly. "Thank you for giving me back the keys… My parents would kill me if somebody stole the car," he confessed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "How can I repay you?"
Allow me to fix the mistakes my ancestor made, he wanted to say but instead he only smiled:
"What about a coffee?"
"Is it a date?" Alec asked with small hope in his voice.
"If you say so," Magnus smirked and winked. Before the other boy could answer to that, he took his hand and pulled him to the nice café on the other side of the road.
He wasn't going to let go that easily this time. He wouldn't let their hearts became ghost towns.
That was the first one :)
Reviews are more than welcome!
The High Warlock of Glitter