Alexander Lightwood was not usually a forgetful person. He was an introvert through and through, while two of his siblings were the biggest extroverts anyone could be. His youngest sibling, Max, was a bit of both, and was the one who understood Alec more than the others did, to some degree. So Alec was okay with watching his siblings, always the observer in the shadows. He was his family's eldest child and his parents were happy with his good grades and his reserved, non-aggressive personality. But no one knew him very well.
His adoptive brother, Jace, had a girlfriend named Clary who was kind to him, and Alec had a small assortment of friends that he was satisfied with. Satisfied, but not happy. His sister, Isabelle, played boys at their school like a little girl plays with dolls, but she always would glance back, to see Alec standing there, always watching. Alec, who had his own problems inside, a war raging within. She never forgot to think of him, whether it was at school or during one of her many dates.
Alexander couldn't believe it when he realized that he had lost his phone. He just slipped his hand in his pocket to text one of his friends, Aline, when he discovered that it was missing. "Did I seriously just lose my phone?" He muttered, sliding down in his seat on the bus. Maia Roberts, a girl who was a vague friend of his, eyed him worriedly.
"Alec Lightwood just lost his phone. Call the press, alert the military. The cosmos are shifting!" She announced loudly. A few people chuckled. Everyone knew Alec, but that was the extent of how close they were to him. He was that constant presence in the back of the classroom, the one that you forgot about, unless a teacher called on him and reminded you of his existence.
"Touch luck, man." Maia's boyfriend, Jordan, who was sitting across from her, shrugged at him.
"It's probably just in the lost and found." Alec lifted a shoulder, then let it fall.
"Someone's already probably taken it by now." Jonathan, Clary's brother, snorted. A few more people put in their notions, and the subject dropped.
"My parents are going to kill me. Even Izzy hasn't lost her phone yet!" Maia winced at this piece of information.
"Jace has lost his phone a few billion times, though, right?" She ventured. At the back of the bus, Jace yelled indignantly.
"But I found it again!" At this, Alec simply groaned and dug a book out out his backpack. Maia took this a cue that he was done with the conversation, and turned her attention to Jordan.
Alec got off at his stop and kept to the sidewalk, still reading his book. He didn't look up when he passed a moving truck, despite the fact that someone new was unheard of. No one ever moved in on Institute Lane. The name of the street even sounded like a doctor's office or a private school. Definitely cringe-y. He didn't not look up because he didn't notice, but because he was quite good at blocking out the world. This was possibly why he slammed into a boy who was talking to the truck driver.
"I'm so sorry!" Alec took the guy's hand and pulled him to his feet. And stared for maybe a moment too long. The guy was even taller than Alec, and possibly more slender as well. He has caramel skin and spiked black hair. The guy wore neon clothing, with several rings on his fingers. And those eyes. Gold-green eyes that pierced his soul.
"It's fine. Beautiful boys are welcome to knock me over anytime." The guy spoke with a slight accent that Alec couldn't identify.
"Uh…" Alec felt himself blush, and he glanced around to make sure that no one had seen or heard. Everyone was already either in their house or far up the street. "Thanks?"
"What's your name, Blue Eyes?" Alec was extremely embarrassed now. His eyes were the thing that made him stand out, a curse for someone who preferred to hide. Teachers would only ever call on him because they would scan the room and see the flash of bright blue, the flash being Alec's failed attempt to lower his eyes in time.
"I'm Alec." He muttered, lowering his eyes.
"Well hello, Alec. I'm the Magnificent Magnus Bane." Magnus would definitely fit in at school. He was loud and outspoken, obviously, just like Jace and Izzy.
"Where are you from?" Alec wanted to smack himself. Why was he continuing the conversation instead of escaping?
"I move around quite a bit. I'm currently coming from Brooklyn, though. Not exactly far from here. You go to Alicante High? I just toured that place, lost my phone."
"I lost mine there, too." Alec turned even redder, angry at himself for not shutting up.
Magnus laughed. "I bet the janitors there pickpocket you and sell your phone on E-Bay."
"If they knew how to use the Internet." Alec added, unable to stop himself. His weak joke proved to be worth it when Magnus chuckled.
"Well, I'll be seeing you on Monday, I presume?" Alec shrugged, not wanted to reveal that he hoped so.
"I guess?"
"Well, goodbye, Alec, my discreet attacker."
"Bye." By now, there was nobody outside. The moving truck driver resumed his conversation with Magnus, and as Alec walked away, it became apparent that they were having a heated argument. Speaking of heat, Alec's cheeks were burning. Hiding the fact that he was gay for eighteen years, only to screw up because of some cute guy. He promised himself that he wouldn't think of Magnus at all over the weekend. Harder to do than one would think, as he was soon to find out.
"Where were you? You're usually home before me." Jace raised an eyebrow at him as he threw down his backpack and collapsed on the couch. "Did you get attacked by a psychopathic murderer?"
"Yes. It was a verbal attack of such annoyingness that I wanted to hurl. Along with the attacker's hideous face, I nearly died."
"Who was it? Like, no one ever talks to you that much, no offense." Jace leaned forward, intrigued.
"Their name starts with a J and they have golden hair and eyes. In fact, they look quite a bit like you."
"Haha. Stand up, Alec, you're a comedian."
"You don't tell me what to do. You go stand up, get off your lazy ass."
"If you acted like this in school, you would be as popular as Izzy and I. People respect sass."
"I don't have an abnormally large ego, unlike you. Popularity is relative. Besides, you know I don't like people to even look at me for too long. You, on the other hand, like it when people stare at you. Stare at you because you did something stupid, most likely."
"You should talk to me with more respect. I'm covering for you all weekend."
"Covering me for what?" At this, Jace rolled his eyes.
"Your phone? You forgot?"
"Oh. It's probably going to be gone by Monday anyways. The janitors are most likely selling it on E-Bay as we speak."
"What?"
"Nothing." Alec mentally slapped himself. Get it together.
"You're weird." Jace wandered off to the kitchen to eat something.
"Tell me about it." Alec grumbled once his brother was out of earshot.
A/N: So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Constructive criticism is welcome, and if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave them in a review. First reviewer gets a shout-out next chapter. As always, stay awesome, and I'll update soon.