Ch. 1 - The First Encounter

A/N: So, I was enjoying my two snow days before I left for the March for Life, and I got struck with this amazing idea – and of course, I'd been dying to do an AU ever since I started reading Malec fanfiction here, so here it is. I mean, I have absolutely no idea where it came from - it was originally a one shot, and I've mixed up a few things I haven't seen before - Raphael, for instance, and Camille - and I love it. I've got a sweet little twist of drama in store for you all, so please keep reading, and tell me what you think, okay lovelies?

Disclaimer: My lawyer says I can't own something I read or hear. So I don't own Cassie's characters, nor do I own the summary lyrics from Amy Sky's Angels in the Snow song. Hmph.

With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear by Sleeping with Sirens (acoustic)

"C'mon Alec! Pretty please? Look out there it's so cool!" Max whined. "Even Izzy's coming! You have to come!"

Alexander Lightwood shook his head. "I'm busy, Max. I have schoolwork to do."

Maryse Lightwood sighed, barely looking up from the laptop she was typing intently on. "Alec, go play with your brother. It's winter break; your homework can wait for your family."

Alec relented, going to get ready as Max danced around in triumph. Isabelle didn't look up from her cell phone while Jace, his adopted brother, laughed at the small boy's display. Alec shivered as he heard the sound of Jace's laugh, trying to quell the thoughts before they came to the forefront of his mind.

Like they weren't there already.

Five minutes later, the four of them left the house, opting for the snow in the park down the block. Max insisted that it would be a lot more fun than the snow in their yard. His three companions knew that he just wanted to make use of the playground.

Once they arrived there, Max hit it off with a few other kids that were about his age, but he didn't let his siblings off the hook so easily. First to play with Max and his friends was Jace. They snuck up behind him and tried to wrestle, tackling him and clutching at his legs. He would topple over and feign surprise, occasionally snatching one of the kids' hats and running off with it. They would chase him and the cycle would continue.

Isabelle was harder to convince. She was glued to her cell phone, wearing fingerless gloves just so she could text whatever boy she deemed worthy to see not just in school, but over the break. The little girls shyly complimented her boots, high heeled as usual, her hat, and her deep green coat. She let one of them try on the hat and started a snowball fight with the boys, her texting buddy momentarily forgotten.

Alec watched them all with detached interest, a fond smile sneaking its way onto his face. He noticed how Isabelle giggled as she pelted Jace and Max with snowballs, how Max lit up when one of the older two let him get them, and how Jace looked when he smiled, when he laughed, when he tumbled down with mock surprise. His hair was wet from the snow that kept being thrown at him, and his cheeks were flushed. His breath came out in puffs that Alec could see, and he had to look at something else, someone else, and anything else, just to keep his stomach from hurting that way.

He was so focused on ignoring the fact that Jace was wet and laughing and so fucking gorgeous, but that focus was completely shattered the second Jace called out, "Come on, Alec, loosen up! You're missing out!"

Alec rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "I don't think so."

Max ran over and tugged at Alec's coat, begging him, "Please Alec? Pretty pleeeeeeeease? It'll be fun!"

Alec figured he had no choice and followed Max to the others. Within moments he was sucked into the game, laughing just like the rest of them.

Magnus Bane was lounging on his best friend's bed, sprawled out over the bright yellow comforter as Kellin Quinn's voice spilled over him. He wrinkled his nose. "Why do you like these guys again?" he asked his best friend Kyle, who had earlier retreated to his sketchbook.

Kyle snorted, replying instantly, "Kellin is a gorgeous individual who has a real voice that hasn't gone through synthesizers. He can write good songs and he isn't too bad to look at, either." A grin played on his face as his pencil turned itself around in his hand and rubbed across the paper, erasing something.

Magnus got up to see what his friend was drawing, and he wasn't surprised by what he found. Kyle was drawing his favorite character and cosplay inspiration, a warlock named Ragnor Fell. It was a character from some book Maia was reading that she'd told the boys about. Magnus was more drawn to the sexy Spanish vampire boy than any of the sparkly warlocks, despite his similarities to the character.

"You're obsessed, hon," he told his friend. "Ragnor is not going to just appear in your bedroom any time soon because you want him to."

Kyle laughed. "You never know. He is a warlock."

"Sure, and so am I. Stop dreaming sweetheart. You're needed in the real world," Magnus replied dryly.

Kyle continued, ignoring Magnus' comment. "He might transfer to Holy Angel's. I'd like that," he sighed.

"Yeah, why don't you ask him about that vampire when you meet him, kay?"

"What about Raphael? You just gonna pitch him like last season's boots?"

Magnus scoffed, "No, of course not, because it doesn't happen. There's no gorgeous gay boys that show up all of a sudden and hit you with a tidal wave of lust. That's the kind of shit Stephanie Meyer would write."

Kyle threw his pencil at his best friend. "Pessimist. You're ruining my mood. Ragnor doesn't look as pretty if you kill my buzz, so shut it." Magnus caught the pencil, twirling it in his hand a few times before giving it back to his friend.

"It's not pessimism, it's realism. There's none of that in the real world." Noticing the time, he strode across the room to pick up his coat, shrugging into it. "Besides, I'm going to go enjoy the real world options."

Kyle laughed. "Whatever, whore. Say hi to Raphael for me."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled you remembered him."

"Psh. I have to; you only talk about him every second you get to."

"Ciao, Fell boy."

Kyle's grin grew wider. "Bye, Magnus."

He left the house, walking down the street. His hair was molded into a perfect crown of spikes above his head, the black hair interspersed with bright red streaks of temporary dye. His hood was pulled up and carefully set over his head to protect his immaculate hairstyle from the snow drifting to the ground.

Raphael was meeting him at Pandemonium, a local 'club,' if you could call it that. It was mainly for the freaks of the teenage population to get together and dance under multicolored lights and swirling smoke. There was no alcohol, never any live bands, and it was always crowded and always pumping with shitty rap music. No, they were just meeting there, thank God. He wouldn't be able to show his face in public if he was ever seen at Pandemonium; the shame would eat him alive. He looked old enough – one thing the excessive height he had was good for – that a fake ID worked fine.

Magnus' daydreams about his boyfriend, however, were cut short as he passed the park on Starkweather Street. There was shouting and laughter, and Magnus smiled. So the little kids were making use of all the newly fallen snow.

His smile was short lived, though, as he heard an all too familiar voice call out, "Come on, Alec, loosen up! You're missing out!"

Magnus stepped to where he could see the group of elementary schoolers playing with two people his age. The raven haired girl he recognized readily: she was Isabelle Lightwood, volleyball star with exceptional taste in shoes. It was also rumored that she spent her summers with a roller derby team, but no one could confirm that. The blond he recognized just as readily, but with hostility in his gaze: Jace Lightwood.

The boy he was looking at, though, Magnus wasn't nearly as familiar with. His tall frame and black hair was reminiscent of Isabelle's, so he figured they were related. Brother and sister, probably. The pale skin of his face was flushed, more so than it would usually be by the cold. The boy – Alec, Jace had called him – responded with a shake of his head and the few words he said caught Magnus' attention right away. His voice was beautiful, a perfect match to that body. Even though he was wrapped in a heavy coat inevitably with several more layers, he seemed pretty fit. Another jock, Magnus figured. No wonder he hangs with Jace. Definitely not football, though. Soccer, maybe? Or track.

Magnus wondered passively what he looked like without all those clothes on. Sports certainly couldn't hurt the boy's appearance, and –

Oh, God.

He was giving Jace That Look. The look about half the student body gave him: complete and total fucking adoration. In the way all but a few females looked at the sports star during school hours.

A small boy who looked just like him tugged on his coat and led him to the group. Soon they were all throwing snow and laughing hysterically. Alec stayed near Jace the entire time, often helping Isabelle and the little kids pelt him with snowballs and tackle him. But he had that look on his face, one that Magnus knew well. It was the look the oldest child looked at his siblings with. It was so sweet on his face.

Magnus looked away after a few minutes, and kept walking. He was going to be late.

Raphael stood outside the 'club,' smoking a cigarette and looking so frustratingly sexy. His curly black hair was messed up perfectly and his jeans hung low on his hips. Magnus' first thought was to ditch their plans for the night and drag him into a dark room. When he looked in his boyfriend's direction, he grinned, taking the cigarette out of his lips and blowing out a steady stream of smoke. "Dios mio, Magnus, what happened? You're actually wearing black. Who died?"

"More like what died. The cat destroyed my red jacket, so I had to settle for this one. What do you think?"

Raphael looked him up and down, eyes half lidded and told him, "You know exactly what I think. Although," he leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I'd rather see you wearing nothing at all."

Magnus purred, "Not yet, baby. That you'll have to wait for."

Clary Fray flipped through the channels with one hand while the other played with her ponytail. She'd put it up earlier, which was unusual. Usually she had her carroty red curls falling into her face. She looked up from the anime on the television to see her best friend walk through her front door like he always did. The house was his just as much as it was hers; they had been close practically since birth.

"So, did you have fun with Maia?" she asked him as he sat down on the couch next to her. He ditched the glasses tonight, she noticed. Without them his eyes were really big and dark. She decided he looked better without glasses than he did with them on.

Simon Lewis nodded, running a hand through his hair. "We went to Pandemonium, like you suggested. We didn't dance much, but it was fun to laugh at how ridiculous some of the people looked there. Eventually we went to the movies and saw the new Will Ferrell thing. It was freezing out."

They fell silent as the show came back on. After a few minutes, Simon asked, "Fruits Basket?" and Clary nodded.

"Didn't you draw Tohru and Kyo for that art contest?"

Clary laughed. "Yeah, I did. And I scrapped it and ended up drawing Hatsuharu and Rin instead. And it won first place."

Simon cast his glance to her backpack leaning against the opposite wall and groaned. "I can't believe we have to go back. Haven't we 'learned' enough?" He punctuated the word learned with air quotes, pulling another giggle out of Clary.

"They don't think so. Oh, you'll never guess who I talked to today," She told him, with a new enthusiasm.

"I dunno, who?"

"That guy Kyle, from my art classes. He was at Notes when I went today," she told him, referring to the book and music store she frequented. "He said he was applying for a job, like I was. It was so weird."

"Sounds more awkward than weird," Simon observed. "Did Luke go shopping today?"

"Yes, we have junk food."

"Excellent." He retreated to the kitchen and started going through the cabinets searching for something to eat.

Clary rolled her eyes but she was smiling. She turned her attention back to Tohru and the Sohmas as they flitted about on the screen, oblivious to their audience.

It was already three in the morning, and Camille was still up, waiting for her older brother to come home. Where was he? Magnus always had a tendency to stay out late when there wasn't school the next day, but it was going from staying out late to staying out early.

She knew he wasn't staying at Raphael's. He would've shot her a line if he was, she knew that for sure.

But then again, this was the latest he'd stayed out. Maybe he'd forgotten, she mused, and examining her shell pink nail polish, looking for chips once again.

No, this was Magnus. This was not something he'd forget about.

And speak of the devil, was that the front door?

Not a second later the front door opened, and an abnormally tall boy came in the door, the very little light washing out his usually golden-hued skin. When he saw his little sister waiting up for him, he grinned, his teeth strangely white in the darkness. "You waited up again?"

"When don't I?"

"Point taken. I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Goodnight Camille," he yawned and stumbled over his boots. She rushed over to steady him and help him get his boots off.

"Why do you wear these things if you can't walk in them when you're dead on your feet?" She asked them, sliding one of his shoes off. He managed to get the other one off, setting it down out of the way.

He sighed. "Because they look amazing."

"Mags, you might want to reconsider your choice of footwear to something you can always walk in."

He chuckled, "Some sacrifices are worth it." Then he groaned. "I feel dead."

"Then you shouldn't stay out so late. Or early, actually. C'mon," Camille told him, offering him a hand to help him up. He took it graciously and they went into the room they shared. The cat, Chairman Meow, was waiting there to curl up with someone, raising his eyes expectantly.

Camille fell asleep the instant her head hit the pillow, while Magnus laid awake for a little while, consumed by thoughts of Raphael. So he was very surprised when he found his thoughts straying to a different tall dark haired boy as he fell asleep.

Mkay, so how was it? It's my first AU, and I'm really excited about writing it, so please leave a review – it would mean the world to me!

Also! I'm setting up a schedule. On each Friday and Saturday, I will post at least one chapter to at least one story on at least one of the days. So once a week essentially, though I've got a couple chappies written for this, so I might be generous with my updates, lol.

SO PLEASE REVIEW! It's just a click, a couple sentences, maybe a critique – something I could improve rather than what is already good? Either way, reviews are sparkles. And Magnus can't get enough. Make him happy? Review?