Hey guys! So this is my new story, Something Good, which was inspired and is loosely based around a certain story, a story I won't say until someone guesses it correctly. A nice little challenge I have for you guys. The first user to guess correctly, I will PM them and they will get to pick which story I write next, from the options I provide. And the story has a nice, modern day, TMI/TID (maybe)/TDA/BC twist to it. And its Malec, of course :).
As for the TDA twist, the Blackthorn children are involved. You will see why maybe by the end of this chapter, but definitely by the end of chapter 2, in which they will be present.
As to why I picked to make this story, I will tell you the story behind the idea popping into my head after it is revealed what the story is.
Alec POV
Herondale's Private All-Boy's Boarding School. That had been Alec's home for the past thirteen years, the only true home he had ever known and the only home he planned to ever know. Hidden somewhere in The Presidential Range in New Hampshire, the school was meant to be a home for all the students who attended, as well as for all the teachers and other employees who worked there. You stayed there all year long, never visiting the outside world, for as many years as you planned to stay there. The school offered all years of education, and it even had a daycare if any child was abandoned or enrolled at that young of an age.
Most students left after they finished their years of high school, but others stayed for college. After college, that was when most of the rest left as well, but still a few stayed. They were the ones who wanted to be teachers.
They would spend a few years as substitutes, and, after they were ready and sure about their decision, they would give up a life in the outside world and stay for the rest of their days, as a teacher, or one of the other employments, if that is what they so desired.
Now, you might find that to be cruel, to give up your whole life to stay hidden in the mountains, never having the opportunity to find love or build a family of your own, but it was completely their choice. They were all past students, so they would know what to expect, and they had years to think it over.
Besides, it wasn't like there wouldn't be anything to do. The school was more like their own little town, complete with a movie theater, shopping center, sports stadiums, theater, park, and just about anything that is needed for a town. That's why practically anyone could stay; you didn't have to be a teacher. The only thing that differentiated it from a real town was how seclude it was, and the lack of families.
But the thing is, throughout the years, they became each other's family. The ones who stayed behind were as close as a family could be. It was the only family in which Alec felt he truly belonged.
He had been at this school since he was 15, ever since the day his parents found out he was gay, the day they kicked him out, and sent him to this school so they wouldn't have to face him. He was forced to leave his home, even though he never really felt like it was a home to him. In a home, you should be able to be yourself. You should feel safe, comfortable, and welcome, but Alec had been hiding himself from his family, too afraid to let them know.
And the one day his parents did find out was the day they kicked him out. No, that was no home to him. The only thing he missed from there were his younger siblings, Isabelle and Max. He had been forced to leave them as well. And he never saw them again.
When he arrived at the school, he saw no point of hiding any more. What did it matter if everyone knew already? They were going to find out one way or another, and if he showed up as only him, at least he wouldn't have any false friends. At least, this way, he knew anyone that seemed to like him wouldn't push him out of their lives once they found out he was gay. So when he arrived, he didn't hide.
And, it seemed, as long as he didn't make a move on any of the straight guys there, everyone was fine with it. It was there that Alec met Jace.
Now, before Jace, Alec was always a good kid growing up. He never got in trouble, he had a perfect attendance record, he got straight A's, he was the star of the soccer team…basically, if not for the fact that he was gay, he was the type of son every parent longed to have. He was the ideal son; smart, athletic, hardworking, and good-looking, not that Alec believed that last one, or any of the others, really.
But, ever since he met Jace, it all started to go a little…downhill. You see, Jace tended to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted…and he always got away with it. His father owned the school, so whenever he did get caught, which rarely happened, the consequences were casually brushed aside. And Alec had somehow managed to become his best friend.
When Alec first met him, Jace was thirteen, and Alec was fifteen. At the time, Jace was but a boy, and the worst thing he would do was stay out or sneak out past curfew to get a few snacks from the kitchens. He hated being stuck at the school, and he held a grudge against his father for putting him there, so he did anything he could to spite him. And, sometimes, he would try and convince Alec to join. Alec, at first, refused to give in, but Jace could be quite persuasive.
He would change up his tactics, telling Alec to live a little, saying they wouldn't get caught, or he'd tell Alec he'd need a look out, and when Alec would just tell him not to go, he would make some excuse about being hungry or about how he skipped dinner. Eventually they fell into a routine, and Jace didn't need to waste time convincing Alec, because Alec knew he'd lose any argument Jace started.
When they got older, however, Jace got a bit more reckless. He started to steal alcohol, hiding bottles in their dorm. He would sneak out to explore the mountains, not returning for days. And still, no one caught him. Whenever he returned from the mountains, he'd just say he was hiding in the attic of some store, and, since he was the owner's son, no one questioned him further. And sometimes, Alec would go along to steal the alcohol, and he helped to hide it in their dorm. He refused for the longest time to go into the mountains. Except for one time, and that was the time they were caught upon returning. They received their punishments separately, which was only so no one would know of the special treatment. But of course Jace told Alec. So while Alec was given detention for a week, Jace was let off with a warning. Jace felt terrible for it, but he just hated his father all the more for the injustice of it all.
Both Alec and Jace stayed after high school, continuing their studies together in college. Despite the first time they were caught, Jace still continued to sneak out, still continued to strike back at his father. When the time came to graduate from college, that was when Jace was finally allowed to leave. Alec, however, resolved to stay. He had no interest in the outside world anymore. Why should he? Here, at the school, was the first time he felt accepted; it was the first time he felt wanted for who he was. Out there, he was rejected. He didn't want to go back to a world that didn't want him. And, even though Jace was leaving, he could return, he could visit. The company did, in fact, belong to his family. And that last thing he told Alec, the day he left, was that he would visit. And so he did, every few months. He returned with news about his life: a new girlfriend, which turned soon into his engaged, then wife, and now mother of their unborn child, only 2 months into the pregnancy. His life had certainly taken a turn for the better.
Alec would rather stay with his friends, with his family. He was going to be one of the school's music teacher, and take up sports as well if they needed him to. When he was growing up, the Lightwoods had wanted to support each of their children's dreams. Alec's was to be a musician. From a young age, he had loved music. He started to learn how to play guitar when he was seven, and he had been a natural. He also took up the ukulele, since it was so similar to the guitar, and he could do fairly well on a piano. When he started high school, however, schoolwork and soccer practices took up most of his time, so he couldn't play as much as he'd like.
That was one of the things he loved about this school. He could find time for both his music and athletic life. And now he could pursue a career in both of those fields. And why would he leave that?
Since Jace left, in those four years, his influence on Alec remained. Even though Alec no longer wished to go to the outside world, he was fascinated with the world around him. The beautiful mountains that he could escape to held an enchanting appeal. He was now old enough to make his own decisions, and though it wasn't suggested to explore the mountains, he had every right to, so long as he was back in time for his work as a substitute teacher.
Fellow employees didn't approve of his ventures out in the ranges, and they weren't afraid to voice their opinions, but Alec didn't mind. True, he had grown more reckless, and more distant from the others, but he still did think of them all as his family, even if some thought less of him. And he didn't wonder where these less than brotherly feelings came from. Especially not on days where he was out, only to return to find that he was called in to fill for a teacher.
It is on one of these days in which our story begins.
It was another day in the mountains. It was late spring, on a day in which the sky was clear. The water of the Dry River was glistening in the last few rays of the sunset, the same rays that tinted the sky with orange, pink and purple.
Twenty-eight year old Alec stood watching the sun go down. Wearing nothing but loose fitting jeans and a ratty old T-shirt, complete with holes and tears in the fabric. He knew he should be heading back, but it was too beautiful a sight to pass up.
When the sun finally disappeared behind the mountain range, he turned to walk back to the school. He knew the way like he knew the back of his hand. He could find his way back if he was blind folded, so the darkness was not a problem at all.
The problem was what he would face when he arrived at the school.
"Alec," Raphael said to was also one of the few who had remained to eventually become a teacher at the school. The two still had to complete their trainings, and they had yet to make up their decision on whether or not to stay. Both knew, however, that they would gladly make the trade of the outside world for a life at the school.
"Yes?" Alec asked him.
"You're wanted in Hodge's office. Come with me."
Alec didn't bother to ask questions; he knew Raphael didn't know why he was summoned, he was just the messenger in the situation. So Alec just did as he was told and followed him to Hodge's office.
Stephen Herondale might have owned the school, but he was never around. Instead, he hired Hodge Starkweather to be the Dean of the school, and he was in charge of overseeing the education system, as well as how everything was run in their town-like setting. He was the one who decided who was fit for a teaching job and if someone was ready to make the decision to give their life to the school. He was practically their ruler, yet his ruling was fair, however monarchy the system seemed to be.
"Where were you today? You were out in the mountains again, weren't you?" Raphael didn't bother to wait for Alec's response. "You can't keep going out like that. You were called in again today."
"Hodge gave me permission to go today," Alec explained. "He gave me the day off and…"
They had reached his office before Alec could finish what he was saying. Raphael went inside to alert Hodge of Alec's arrival. He returned a moment later and told Alec to go inside. Alec nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He walked towards Hodge's desk and sat down in the chair opposite of its owner.
"Alexander-" Hodge began to say before Alec interrupted.
"I'm so sorry, Starkweather, I didn't think I would be needed today. If I did, I…I wouldn't have left- I mean, I wouldn't have asked for your permission to leave. A-and I know I should have been back earlier and…"
He rambled on.
"Alexander," Hodge said, pausing Alec. "I'm not mad at you."
"B-but why not? I left to go to the mountains again…"
"And I gave you the permission to do so. How could I be mad, when I let you go? This isn't what this is about."
"Th-then why did you send for me?" Alec asked, confused.
"Alexander…"
"Alec. I-uh, I prefer Alec, sir."
"Alec," Hodge corrected. he took a deep breath before continuing. "Alec, do you have any interest in staying here, for the rest of your life?"
"Why, of course, Sir. That's why I've stayed here this far."
"But what about the outside world? You haven't been there since you were a young boy. Don't you wish to return to it?"
"No, Sir."
"I would have thought, with all of your ventures in the mountain range, that you would want to see the rest of the world."
"It's only the nature that intrigues me. I don't want to see the rest of the world. It's no place for me. I'm going to stay here."
Hodge sighed. "Alec, I can't help but feel that somewhere, deep inside of yourself, you know that you don't want to stay here."
"But I-"
"Which is why," Hodge said, cutting Alec off. "I'm sending you out in the world."
"Please, don't do this!" Alec protested, standing up. "Don't make me leave! This is my family, my home. Please don't send me away. There is nothing for me out there!"
"It will only be until the end of the summer," Hodge said, waving away Alec's complaint. "It's just so you get a sense of what you are giving up. And if, at the end of the summer, you still want to stay, then you will become a teacher."
"Really?" Alec asked, excited about finally having the opportunity to be a teacher, to finally be a permanent resident there. "But, where will I go?"
"New York City," he responded. "The owner of the Bane fashion company, Magnus Bane, is in need of a new nanny, or 'manny' if you prefer," he added grinning, "to take care of his seven adopted children."
"Seven?" Alec gasped.
"Yes, you like children, I assume. You can take care of children, right? You had younger siblings, if I'm not mistaken."
"Sure, but seven?!"
"It's just for four months, it's nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. And once you're done, you can return, and, if you still want it, you can be a teacher."
Alec thought it over. He promised himself he wouldn't go back, not after what happened. But if he did, he would get his job. His training would be over. He would never have to leave the mountains again. And it was only four months. Surely he could do this.
He made up his mind. "Fine, I'll go."
Hodge smiled at his decision. He reached inside of a drawer in his desk and retrieved some papers. "This is all you need to know before you arrive. On there is the address and the contact information of Magnus Bane, and anything you need to know about the man himself."
Alec grabbed the papers from his hands as he stood up to leave. He walked out of his office, reading over the documents. This Magnus Bane was thirty-two years old, which seemed a little too young to be the father of seven children. Then again, they were all adopted. But Alec still wondered why the man had adopted so many children. Why not just one or two?
Magnus Bane, Alec mused. What a peculiar name.
So, what do you guys think so far? This idea has been circling in my head for a while now, so I hope you guys like it :)
Oh, and Happy New Year. It's January once again.
