DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from here, including characters and races. The plot is mine, but everything else belongs to the wonderful Cassandra Clare.
A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews on my previous story! You all have seriously made my life *cyberhugs*. Anyways, I thought I would try writing a longer story, and have it be an AU/AH kind of deal. Also, Robert Lightwood is going to be pretty OOC for the first few chapters, but I promise he will eventually become more similar to the one in the books. Let me know what you think please! Thanks for reading!
Chapter One
Alec Lightwood hated nothing more than airports. They were germy and swarming with people, two elements he was none too fond of. He sighed and set down his suitcase for the first time in what seemed like hours, relieved to have arrived at his gate. He looked out the massive panes of the airport window to see the rich blue of the Vancouver sky, and sighed in disappointment. Alec dreaded the transition from briny sea air to smoggy gray skies no matter how many times he was exposed. True, he enjoyed seeing his family back home in New York, but he hated the dark, crowded streets of the city, and he missed the smell and sounds of the ocean. Alec had moved out to Vancouver as soon as he'd graduated college to kickstart his writing career. Jace and Isabelle had always enjoyed poking fun at him for writing, even when they were little. True, many boys didn't write stories, and even less wrote poems, but it was what made him happy, the same as sports and modeling did for Jace and Izzy. One bestselling trilogy later and the two of them would really be kicking themselves in the backside. He sat down and pulled out his phone to find a barrage of texts, all from his mother and Isabelle. He smiled inwardly and clicked open the texts, all of which were admonishing him to be cautious while traveling, and to write his name on his luggage tags. Alec shoved his phone back in his pocket as the announcers came booming over the PDA, instructing the passengers to board their flight to New York City. As Alec turned to look out the window one final time, he saw the whitecaps crashing against the rocky shore, bidding him safe travels until his return.
Alec rang the doorbell on his family's large house, anxiously rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. The large door was thrown open to reveal a slender young woman with hair black as pitch. Her brown eyes were a few tints lighter than black, and milky skin completely unblemished. Alec dropped his suitcase and threw his arms around his younger sister, cradling her close. He sniffed in the familiar vanilla perfume she had worn since middle school, and let out a contented sigh. She laughed and gently shoved Alec away.
"You smell like a plane," Isabelle remarked, crinkling her delicate nose in distaste. "Come on in, Mom and Dad are waiting for you." Alec lifted his suitcase once more and wheeled it into the airy foyer, peeling off his ratty cardigan and setting his shoes to the side. Isabelle led him into the living room, her heeled leather boots clicking on the creamy marble tiles. The Lightwood's living room was filled with ornate sofas and ottomans that never failed to make Alec feel clumsy and underdressed. Upon entering, he saw that the entire family was gathered around the television, watching a football game with mild interest. Isabelle cleared her throat loudly, and the three Lightwoods turned around.
"Alec!" Jace exclaimed. "Shouldn't the ref have called that penalty? This ref is a total bastard." Alec sighed and rolled his eyes; that was a good a greeting as he would get from his brother. Maryse Lightwood rose to her feet and embraced her eldest son warmly.
"Hello, Alexander," she murmured. "How was your flight?" Alec awkwardly shimmied out of his mother's grasp.
"It was fine," he said curtly. "How's the game?" Maryse let out an exasperated breath.
"Please, Alec, don't act like a teenager; you're twenty three. Don't you think it's time you stop wallowing in angst?" She brushed the dark bangs from his face, kissing the top of his head tenderly. Alec nodded and brushed his mother away once again.
"Sorry. My flight went well, Mother. How have your trials been recently?" Maryse Lightwood had been born to dominate a courtroom; she got dozens of calls every day, all begging her to help some poor person who'd gotten themselves tangled up in a crime. Maryse beamed and led her son towards the couch.
"I've yet to lose a case," she declared proudly. "What about you? Written anything worth reading?" Alec shrugged meekly, toeing his suitcase around anxiously.
"If you're asking me if I've been published yet, the answer is no," he said with a humorless laugh. Alec felt a hand on his head, and he didn't even have to look back to know it was his father. Robert Lightwood was a tall man, with brown hair that had already become peppered with gray. He ruffled Alec's hair lightly, smiling down at his son.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" he teased. "Get writing, boy." All in all, Alec genuinely liked his dad, and although he loved his mother too, he'd always idolized his father. Robert was always the first and only one Alec sent any of his stories to, and Robert prided himself on being the sole being Alec trusted enough to read his work. Before he could say anything else, Jace and Isabelle each grabbed one of his arms.
"Alec, sibling conference," Isabelle whispered urgently. Alec chuckled and tried to tug away from their iron grips.
"What are we, five? What's the emergency?"
Isabelle pooched out her lip, batting her eyelashes at her elder brother pleadingly.
"Pleeease, Alec?" she begged. "It's really important." Alec turned to his brother, who was just smirking at the two, refusing to release the boy's arm, and let out a labored sigh.
"Fine, but I don't want—!" he began, but he was quickly cut off as Jace and Isabelle dragged him from the room, pushing him up the marble staircase with haste. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec caught his father flash him a knowing wink before returning his attention to the ballgame he had long since forgotten.
Jace and Isabelle shoved Alec down a labyrinth of hallways, finally pausing to yank open the last mahogany door and push Alec inside. Alec whirled on them, his face steely and irritated.
"Well, you've got me alone; what's the emergency?" he demanded, perching on the edge of what had been his bed throughout childhood. Isabelle clambered onto the gray comforter beside her brother, snaking her willowy arms around his neck.
"Jace and I were thinking that in honor of your triumphant return, we could go out to celebrate!" she exclaimed, looking to Jace for guidance. Jace flipped his golden locks from his face nonchalantly, shooting his brother a sly smirk.
"We're going to a club, brother dearest," he declared, leaning against the wall and barring his arms across his chest. "But we need you to get us in." Alec rolled his baby blues skyward, fighting to contain his annoyance.
"You're twenty two; Izzy's twenty one," he grumbled. "In case you forgot, the legal drinking age in New York is still twenty one." Isabelle growled low in her throat, pinching her brother's cheek none too lightly.
"And in case you forgot, we're not stupid," she snapped indignantly, glaring at Jace, who had begun to chuckle to himself from his post on the wall.
"She's just upset because she wrecked her car last month and has to beg you for a ride," he informed Alec with a smug grin. Alec stared at his sister, half in anger and half in concern.
"Why didn't you call me? Did you get hurt?" he asked, his tone brimming with brotherly concern. Isabelle snorted, flopping onto the bed face-first.
"I didn't call you because it costs a freaking fortune to call to an international country, and also because it wasn't even an emergency. I just hit a parking meter," she said bitterly, her voice a little muffled by the downy comforter. "Had to pay a huge fine, too…." Alec reached over to ruffle her hair, laughing quietly.
"So I'm basically going so I can play chauffeur for you two?" he asked with a tiny grin. Isabelle looked horrified.
"Of course not! I want nothing more than to introduce my beloved brother to the hot nightlife of New York," she protested, squeezing Alec close as if to prove her point. Alec glanced over at Jace and raised an eyebrow.
"So what's your excuse for bringing me along?" he asked the golden boy. Jace laughed and peeled himself away from the wall, striding over to stand by his siblings.
"Maybe you can meet a hot girl there. You're the only one of us who hasn't gotten laid yet," he remarked coyly. Alec turned bright red and glared at the two of them.
"F-fine," he stammered. "I'll go." He was greeted by a chorus of cheers and warm hugs, but Alec's blood had run cold at Jace's mention of meeting a girl.
Alexander Lightwood could practically be considered a permanent resident of Narnia he was hidden so far in the closet. There were times when he'd considered telling Isabelle or even his father, but he had never come close to choking the words out. Alec hadn't even said the sentence out loud yet; it wasn't that it scared him, or that it was untrue, he was just worried someone would overhear him and scream it out to the world before he was ready. He felt someone shaking his shoulder roughly, and turned to see Isabelle rising to her feet and stalking over to what had once been Alec's closet. He expected it to be stuffed full of rotting cardboard boxes and plastic bins of old toys and books, but instead he was greeted with a full on wardrobe, brimming with sequins and skirts.
"Izzy!" he yelped. "You took over my closet?!" She burst into a peal of laughter, grabbing a slinky cocktail dress from a hanger.
"Sorry, Alec. You always did have the biggest closet out of all of us. You could practically live out of this thing!" she said, patting the doorframe with a laugh.
Alec had to laugh at the irony.
A/N: So what did you think? A certain glittery warlock we all know and love will be making an appearance in the next chapter, but I won't be posting that chapter until this one can get at least 8 reviews. So, if you like it, please review! If you don't, please tell me so I can improve! Love you all so much!
3~
Autumn