Chapter 1: Friendship
A/N- Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction, so if there are any mistakes with the formatting let me know, feedback is welcome! Just to clarify, my use of 'college' refers to the period of school from 16-18 years of age. Alec, Jace, Magnus and Will are therefore 17/18 in this story, as they are in their second year. Izzy will be two years younger than Alec (so 15/16) but i'm going to make her skip a year, so she's in the year below him. I hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to Cassandra Clare.
In all reality their friendship should not have worked. No one understood it. Jace and Will? That was easy enough to understand. As well as being cousins they both possessed an abundance of self-confidence (some would say arrogance) and charm. They knew exactly how attractive other people found them and they thrived whenever they were the centre of attention. With only two weeks separating the pair, from the moment they had learnt how to walk, they were constantly spreading discord and getting into trouble. Their parents had hoped that it would die down as they got older, but instead their schemes got more creative, in one case almost destroying the science lab at school when they 'accidentally' mixed the wrong chemicals. They were notorious troublemakers, and everyone knew about them. The 'golden boy' with his golden eyes and hair and permanently tanned golden skin and his best friend, the black haired, blue eyed beauty with skin that permanently refused to tan. Wherever they went, hushed whispers and pointed looks would follow. But what most people did not know, or failed to piece together, is that there is a third, equally as important component to this friendship. And it is this individual who some may say does not fit in with the boys just described.
Alexander Lightwood (or Alec as he constantly reminds people) has an uncanny resemblance to Will, despite the two being unrelated. He is slightly taller, his skin perhaps half a shade paler, but his hair is the exact same inky black, and to spot the difference in their eyes one would really have to look closely. That is, if he will let you. Despite the striking resemblance, Alec does not believe himself to be beautiful. He sees his pale skin as a symbol of the time he spends shut up with his books, a consequence of his only friends being the two people that everyone else wants to hang out with. He does not like his eyes, they draw attention to him when he would rather blend in with the background, and if there is any remotely beneficial aspect to his ridiculously unruly hair, it is that it can shield his eyes from those who become curious. No, Alec is not like Jace and Will at all. He does not like to get into trouble. He is quiet, thoughtful and reserved, respectful of those around him and highly intelligent. He laments at being dragged into the spotlight. One then cannot help but wonder at how these three boys are best friends at all. It is quite a straightforward explanation really.
Celine and Linette had both married into the Herondale family, and it was by sole coincidence that they discovered they were due at approximately the same time. Yet stranger still, Celine's best friend- Maryse Lightwood- was due to give birth only two months before the sisters-in-law. Needless to say, the three women became very close during their pregnancies, and once the boys came along often shared childcare amongst the three of them so they could return to working part time. It therefore came as no surprise to anyone that the three boys were exceptionally close during the first few years of their lives. When they were still tiny, unable to talk, they would often cry if they could not see the other two, sleeping only if they were together. When they were a bit older, able to play and interact with others, they shared everything they had. Every toy they got belonged to all three of them, and they would often sit together for hours, making buildings out of blocks or playing with cars, communicating in their language that only the three of them could understand. When they were four and started school, they stuck together at every possible moment. The first tantrum came when the teacher attempted to separate them, and after that the boys were left to adjust together. Of course, they played with other children- including Alec's and Will's younger sisters Izzy and Cecily- but they never left each other's side. This continued in much the same way (albeit they stopped throwing tantrums if someone tried to separate them) until they were about ten years old. It was here that things began to slowly change.
Maryse had been worried about Alec for several years before then. Both Will and Jace had made friends with other children in their class, children Alec only really tolerated because they were friends with Will and Jace. She had noticed how he was quieter than Will and Jace, preferring to let them both take the lead when meeting new people. He did not necessarily like the sort of things they did, and he certainly did not enjoy getting half the amount of attention that the other two received. Maryse did not say so, and would not admit it if asked, but she worried that Jace and Will might grow detached from Alec, realising that he is not quite the same as they were. The thought alone broke her heart, the idea that her sweet child may one day find himself alone because the two boys who were his best friends would grow bored of having a friend who did not like to do what they did. But years passed and Maryse's fears did not materialise.
The boys soon turned twelve, and Maryse had little choice but to sit and watch as her usually quiet son began to withdraw into himself even more. Whereas before he would (despite protests and complaints) begrudgingly go along with whatever adventure Will and Jace wanted to go on, he would more frequently refuse to go, stating that he had a headache and wanted to be left alone. On these occasions, he would shut himself up in his room and not speak to anyone for hours. Will and Jace would go off regardless, bickering and laughing as they went. Again, Maryse feared that Alec may lose his friends. But again her fears were misplaced. The two boys may have gone out by themselves, but they never forgot their friend back at home. Every time Alec insisted he wanted to be alone, they would return with ice-cream and cookies, watching DVD after DVD until Maryse came back from work and found the three friends fast asleep on the sofa.
By the time they were fifteen, Alec had come out from his shell a little but was still painfully shy. Jace and Will on the other hand had blossomed. They had all the confidence that Alec lacked and soon started dating girls. They would go out more often, Alec would stay indoors or go out with his sister, but the three boys always made sure that they spent time together. Jace and Will always went to Alec if they had any problems, and it was Alec that Will turned to when he realised he started to have feelings for the new boy in their class, David. When the other kids started to make comments about Alec or tease him for his lack of friends, Will and Jace wasted no time in defending him, often getting sent to detention for unacceptable uses of violence. They may have had other friends, but they always made sure that the three of them spent some time together at school. This fact never changed, not even when they started college and found themselves in completely different classes. It was now that Maryse finally allowed herself to believe that the three of them would be friends no matter what, and it was a fact that the three boys believed themselves. When they were sad, or lonely, or even just messing around, they always stated that they would be friends forever. That one day, they would be three ninety year olds, perched in the rocking chairs of one of their houses telling stories to their grandchildren of all the (probably highly inappropriate) things that they had done when they were young themselves. They were going to be friends forever, no matter what they encountered.
At least, that's what they thought would happen.