Chapter Two: Fatal Charm

Alec pulled into the parking lot at Jace's school. Earlier that morning, before school, Jace had put his car in the shop to get a new paint job, so Alec was stuck being his chauffeur. Today, like every other day, Jace had football practice.

Alec got out of the car, deciding that it would be better to sit in the bleachers and wait rather than in the car.

Unfortunately for him, practice had barely even started. The team was just doing their warm up exercises and stretches. Groaning, Alec sat down and looked down at the field. His own soccer practice had let out early, but that didn't mean he wanted to wait for Jace to finish his practice. Robert was rescheduled to leave at seven, so they had plenty of time, but Alec was irritable. Sebastian had been rather alluring today in his academy uniform shirt and jeans.

Sighing heavily, Alec looked down at the field. Jace was on the far end talking to the coach intently while doing what Alec called the 'Baywatch' stretch. Jace was one of the team's best players despite the fact that he was only a junior. A lot of the senior boys resented him, but they didn't confront him. The only person who did confront Jace was some guy named Magnus. For some reason the two absolutely hated each other. Whenever it was mentioned, Jace claimed it was 'an inexplicable hatred towards a demonic being,' but he never truly explained why they fought. Countless times he's gotten detention for getting into physical fights with the poor boy. Alec thought the cause was probably some sort of primal instinct to fight that caused them to get into so many fist fights, but he was never around to figure out the cause. In fact, he didn't even know what Magnus looked like. Any time he asked Jace why Magnus upset him so much, his brother would reply with a noncommittal insult to Magnus' clothing choices or attitude problem. Although, from living with him, Alec could say Jace had the same problems.

Rolling his eyes just thinking about it, Alec looked around the field. He saw maybe three or four people he recognized, including the infamous Will, but the rest of them were just generic faces in deliciously tight football pants. Even though Alec wasn't even close to being over Sebastian, it was still nice to admire the lovely invention of the football pants. Lost in thought, Alec let his eyes roam around, surprised when they locked in on a sedentary figure. Without realizing it, he had been staring at a boy sitting on the bench for nearly five minutes. The boy sat in bright green skinny jeans and a white long sleeved shirt that seemed to fit him quite nicely. He was watching the football players with a seductive admiration; the same way Alec was looking at him. The gentle wind tousled the boy's midnight hair, not messing it up, but definitely shifting it. He didn't seem to notice as he watched the whole lot of boys doing high knees across the field. From this angle, Alec could only see the side of his face, but what he could see was positively gorgeous. He had a delicate nose that turned up slightly at the end and full lips that had a natural pout to them without being too much. Alec watched delightedly as the boy's tongue licked his plump bottom lip before it was caught between his teeth. Something about this boy was so alluring to Alec. Especially when he leaned forward to rest his right elbow on his knee and his chin on his right hand. The arch of his back made Alec blush. The boy crossed his legs underneath his elbow, making his shirt rise a little in the back. Alec could see a small expanse of tanned skin at the small of his back where his shirt no longer resided. Though he was a fair distance away, he could still see two small dimples.

Practice passed entirely too fast for Alec's taste. He could have spent another hour admiring the thin boy on the bench. Admittedly, it sounded a little creepy in Alec's head, but he knew it was true. There was something about the grace of his movements and the elegance of his face that made Alec stare.

Before he knew it, Jace was standing in front of Alec. "Are you ready, Princess?" he asked, his hair dripping wet from sweat or a shower, Alec didn't know. Judging by the smell that was tossed toward him in the wind, he guessed it to be the former.

"What?" Alec said, drawn out of his gaze by his brother.

"What are you looking at?" Jace asked, following Alec's eyes. Luckily for Alec, the boy had chosen that moment to move. Unfortunately, another boy had stepped near where he was, making it look like Alec was looking at him. Even more unfortunate, that boy was Woolsey Scott. It's not that Alec had something against Woolsey. Quite the opposite. He was fond of him in a sort of jealous way. He was co-captain of the football team with Jace, he had flowing golden brown hair, and surprisingly sharp white teeth. He could also grow a beard that would put any man to shame, but for some crazy reason he kept it shaved. However, it was definitely not him that Alec was staring at.

Jace raised an eyebrow at him, "Woolsey?"

Alec blushed, "I wasn't looking at him, I swear."

"Right," Jace said, "Who were you looking at?"

Alec's blush darkened. "No one," he muttered. He didn't want Jace to set him up with that boy, even though he was extremely attractive. Somehow, he felt like Jace would just mortify him and ruin any chance he had with the mysteriously attractive bench warmer. Besides, he was still planning on Sebastian eventually get back together with him.

Jace seemed to notice his discomfort and didn't say anything more about the subject. "We should probably get home and spend a little time with Dad before he leaves."

Alec agreed easily, leading the way to his car and driving them home.

They were at home in less than ten minutes, sitting down in the living room with their father and siblings.

"Jace," Robert was saying, looking at a checklist that he made. "It's your turn this weekend to do laundry. Isabelle," he said, turning to his adopted daughter, "You have to mop the floors and rotate the sofa cushions," he said, ignoring her small snicker. She always complained that she didn't see the point in rotating the sofa cushions, but Robert insisted it did something for the long term care of the sofa. "And Alec," Robert said, "I need you to wash dishes with Max."

"Yes, sir," Alec said, ruffling Max's hair. Max slapped his hand away, smoothing it down again. Alec just laughed.

"Okay, and don't forget to put away your mother's vases and art for the party. She would die if anything happened to them."

"Don't worry," Jace said, looking utterly relaxed on the sofa. "We'll take care of everything."

Robert looked a little doubtful at Jace, but then he looked to Alec who nodded a silent, 'I'll take care of it.'

"And me and Izzy are going to see Grandma Phoebe and Grandpa Andrew, right?" Max asked.

"Izzy and I," Jace corrected Max's grammar.

"I thought I was going?" Max asked, confusion in his eyes.

"You are," Alec said, "Jace was just being captain of the Grammar Police."

Max nodded, "Oh, okay." Alec could tell that he was a little put down that Jace had corrected him. His cheeks pinked slightly, and he looked down at his hands. Alec was always a little jealous of the way Max looked up to Jace. He knew Max did it subconsciously, but it still hurt a little when he didn't see Alec in the same way.

"Isabelle, do you have enough gas in your car to get you to my parents' house?" Robert asked, half heartedly listening as he was checking down his check list.

"Yeah, I've got enough," she said, almost bitterly. She was in a bad mood because she couldn't go to the party. Maryse had said she didn't want her around a lot of football boys without any adult supervision. Of course, Isabelle pulled the 'Alec's eighteen,' card, but Maryse said by adult she meant twenty one years of age or older. Isabelle had fumed about it since.

"Okay, I think that's all," Robert said, putting down his checklist. He glanced at his watch, "Oh, I'm going to be late," he said. He grabbed his weekend bag, "I'll be in Canada until Saturday. Come give me hugs, then I'll be on my way."

All of the Lightwood children hugged their father before he left with a hurried wave. Max was sitting on the sofa next to Alec who was texting Sebastian on his phone. Jace and Isabelle were each on their own loveseat, busy in their own phone. Max wasn't old enough to get a phone. His parents told him he had to wait until he was thirteen.

Alec glanced down to see a text message from Sebastian. Are you free tonight?

Alec looked around to see if anyone was watching him. I have to get things ready for the party tonight, sorry. Alec hated lying to Sebastian, but he hated lying to his siblings more.

"What are you blushing at, Princess?" Jace asked. Alec locked his phone looking up. It annoyed him when Jace called him Princess.

"Don't call me that," he said, ignoring the question.

Jace rolled his eyes, "You didn't answer my question." He looked as if he were about to mention something else, but Alec cut him off.

"Nothing, really."

"I don't believe you," Jace said, already moving to steal his phone, but Alec was quicker and he was already running up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door behind him, but Jace was already holding the handle, keeping him from locking it. "You better not be sexting Sebastian," he said as he pushed against the door Alec was leaning on.

"I don't do that!" Alec shouted indignantly even though Sebastian had tried to get him to do it many times.

"Alec, let me in," Jace said, pushing as hard as he could on the door. "You don't need to be texting Sebastian," he said seriously, stopping his push on the door.

Alec opened the door, looking Jace in the eye. He had put his phone in his back pocket so Jace wouldn't steal it right away. "We're just friends, I promise."

Jace didn't seem too happy about this, "You don't need to be friends with him. You're just hormonal, and you can't accept that there is better people for you than him. He broke your heart, and now you are just letting him step all over the pieces. I know that it's your life and your decision, but I hate to see the pain he causes you. And though you're a pain in the ass and I hate to admit it, I want you to be happy."

Alec sighed, "I know," he said, "but Sebastian did make me happy when we were together. It was my fault we broke up."

"It wasn't your fault, Alec. He was just a dick," Jace said.

Alec cringed, "Language, please."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just be careful, okay?"

"Okay," Alec agreed. He hated when Jace was right. He knew Sebastian was bad for him, but it took so long for him to get used to Sebastian. He didn't want to have to go through that all for another relationship. "I'll try," Alec said. He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't promise anything because Sebastian made him do things he normally wouldn't do.

Jace looked as if he was going to say something else, but he just crossed his arms and looked at Alec.

Alec sighed, feeling guilty for being so involved with Sebastian. No one in his family approved of him after they broke up the first time. And to be quite honest, no one really approved of him from the beginning. He seemed to have a strong hold over Alec, and he took advantage of that. "I'm sorry, Jace, but I just can't drop him. He means too much to me."

"Listen to me," Jace said, almost aggressively, "He's not worth your time, Alec. I can assure you that. Once you realize I'm right, I will be right here waiting to help you get over him."

Alec didn't say anything, he just nodded, feeling exasperated. Jace looked hesitant, but he left, leaving Alec alone with his thoughts.

(Line Break)

Jace sat down in his last hour the next day, hating that he didn't have his car back yet. The shop said it would be done by today. Sighing, he pulled out his notebook. History was the worst possible way to end his day. He used to have football last hour, but coach changed it to after lunch so that the boys had more time to practice if they had free lunch. This class was also the worst because he had to sit next to the egotistical fancy pants Magnus Bane. That pompous jerk always had comments to make about Jace.

Groaning, Jace saw said pompous jerk walk in and sit down.

"Afternoon, pantyflosser," Magnus said, sitting down and pulling out his notebook.

"Afternoon, spermstick," Jace quipped, both of them starting to copy down today's notes on Ancient Egyptian religion. Just like every other day, they sat in complete silence until the teacher, Mr. Blackwell, told everyone to partner up with their assigned partners for the year to write a brief explanation of the origin of the 'light as a feather' simile. Unfortunately, Jace's assigned partner was Magnus. That not only meant he had to talk to the disco ball, but he also had to do most of the work.

"It's obviously because the Egyptians believed when you died, your heart was weighed and if it was light you were innocent," Jace said, mainly to himself, already getting out a piece of paper and writing his thoughts down.

"You're such a dumbass," Magnus said, taking the piece of paper and writing his name in swooping letters at the top. "You have to be more specific if you want to get credit." He began writing swiftly, the words in perfect script. "You didn't even mention Anubis or the Hall of Maat."

Jace rolled his eyes, "I think you're an Anubis," he muttered. He grabbed the paper back, writing more so that it didn't look like Magnus did all of the work.

"I wasn't done, dickweed," Magnus said, grabbing the paper back.

Jace went to reach for it again, but Magnus dropped an elbow into his ribs hard enough to stop him. In retaliation, Jace pinched the underside of Magnus' arm where the skin was most tender. Magnus jerked his arm away before turning to Jace and landing a punch against his shoulder. Jace ignored the pain it brought and shoved Magnus roughly. He fell out of his chair, causing the rest of the students to turn around to see what had caused the commotion. Before Mr. Blackwell could say anything, Magnus was out of his chair, tackling Jace to the ground and punching him hard in the face. Jace didn't wait for the second punch, forcing Magnus off of him before kneeing him in the ribs. They both scrambled on the floor, throwing punches, elbows, and knees where they could, hoping to injure the other. After Jace's cheek had a long scratch and Magnus' lip was split, Mr. Blackwell had finally pulled them apart with the help of Woolsey Scott. Woolsey had grabbed Magnus by the loops of his jeans and pulled him across the floor away from Mr. Blackwell who had stepped between them. They both got to their feet, blood dripping down Magnus' chin, and a dark bruise forming on Jace's jaw. Magnus was glaring at Jace with the most murderous look he had ever seen on anyone.

Unsurprisingly, this was normal. There was something that always caused he and Magnus to fight. This was probably the fifth or sixth time they've gotten into a fight in the past month. Neither boy knew why, maybe it was medieval urge to battle, but they couldn't be in the same room. It was always because of something stupid, too. One time, they got into a fist fight because Jace said vanilla ice cream was the best and Magnus said it was chocolate.

"Principal's Office," Mr. Blackwell said, motioning for Woolsey to help him escort the boys to the principal.

Once they were both sitting alone in the office waiting for Mr. Morgenstern, Magnus looked over at Jace. "This is all your fault," he said, matter of factly.

"Pray tell, how is this my fault," Jace asked, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Because, if you weren't such a dumbass, I wouldn't have had to take the paper from you."

"If you would have let me finish, I would have mentioned those stupid things in the next paragraph."

"Whatever, Blondie. You don't know Anubis from Amadeus."

Jace was about to respond, but was interrupted by Mr. Morgenstern walking in with the football coach, Coach Bartholomew. "What is this, boys, the fifth time I've seen you since school began a month ago?" Mr. Morgenstern asked, his dull hair slicked back smoothly.

"Sixth," Jace and Magnus said in unison.

"The sixth time. This has to be a new record. I think this time, we are going with two days of after school detention, but you are both allowed to go to the football game and any other after school event." Though Mr. Morgenstern was typically very intimidating, he seemed to have a soft spot for Jace. Probably because Jace was a lot like his younger son who had passed away after a car accident a few years ago.

"But-" Magnus protested. He did not want to go to detention. But at least he could go to the football game. The only reason he was the waterboy was so he could watch the sweaty players in their tight pants tackling each other. It was the highlight of his week.

"No buts," Coach Bartholomew said firmly. "Last year I made exceptions for you two, but this year I'm not putting up with it." His thick brown hair was unruly, not unlike every other day. "The next time I hear that you two have been fighting, you're both off the team. No waterboy," he said pointing to Magnus, "and no quarterback," he said pointing to Jace. "Do I make myself clear, boys?"

"Yes, sir," they said, dully together.

"I'm going to call your parents to inform them. We will be running a late bus when detention is over if you do not have a ride," he said, obviously having said that sentence to many students over the years. "Now get back to class," he said, looking down at the paperwork on his desk.

Jace and Magnus got up, leaving the office together. Coach followed not far behind, offering a "Stay out of trouble," before walking in the opposite direction.

A stony silence weighed on their shoulders as they made it back to their last class, both of them dreading 'beginning of the year' detention. No one would be in there but them and Mr. Pangborn. Jace sighed, as the last bell rang when they reached the classroom. He fought the crowd to get back in and gather his things before heading down the hall to detention.

(Line Break)

Alec was concentrating on not getting his school uniform stained as he poured an agar solution into a plate. He was fairly excited for this lab. They got to examine bacteria growth from different samples around the school to see where was the dirtiest. As he finished pouring the plates, Sebastian came up next to him.

"You free tonight?" he asked, leaning against the lab counter and watching Alec as he started putting the lids on the plates.

"I have soccer until four thirty," Alec said, a blush on his cheeks, "but after that, I'm free."

Sebastian nodded slowly before lowering his voice, "You wanna bang?" he asked, unceremoniously.

Alec's cheeks darkened more, and he almost dropped the plates he was carefully carrying to the incubator. "Do you have to say it like that?" he asked, wishing that Sebastian was a little more subtle and romantic.

"Would you rather I say screw?"

"No," Alec said immediately. Though he didn't like either crude term, screw always gave him really weird images in his head.

"Bang it is," he said, both of them walking over to the supply closet as their teacher told them it was time to start cleaning up. "So, what do you say?" he asked, removing his white lab apron and folding it up.

"I don't know, Seb," Alec said, biting his bottom lip. He removed his goggles, putting them back into the box they came from. A few other students were in the closet with them, so Alec chose his words carefully. "Maybe we should postpone, or something," he said, turning around so his back was to Sebastian. "Untie me?" he asked, referring to his apron.

Sebastian's hands went to the knot at the small of his back, fingers grazing against him through his uniform blazer.

"You just said you weren't doing anything," Sebastian said, opening the knot and letting his hands slide down Alec's back to touch his ass through his pants.

Alec took off the apron, folding it and putting it away. "I'm not really in the mood," Alec said quietly. He was hoping that Sebastian would want to hang out just to hang out. Maybe they could go on a date, or get dinner or something. Not just have sex.

They walked out of the closet back into the classroom. Because they go to a private school, this class only had eleven students and one teacher. Everyone was sitting on top of their desks or standing around with their backpacks on, waiting for the final dismissal bell.

"I can get you in the mood," Sebastian said, running his hand up Alec's thigh as they collected their things from their desks.

Alec swatted his hand away with a blush. "No," he said while Sebastian pouted. Yes, he loved sex with Sebastian, but he wanted to date him again. He wanted the cute little moments where they just hold hands and smile at each other. He wanted to call him his boyfriend. He didn't want to be his dirty little secret, and he most certainly didn't want to be his friend with benefits. Had it been anyone else who asked him, he would have rejected immediately, but with Sebastian, everything was different. He would do anything for him.

"Come on, Alec," he said with a nudge to the shoulder, "It's been so long."

Alec's fingers played with the bottom hem of his heather grey uniform blazer before moving to pick imaginary fuzz off of his dark wash jeans. "Can we just go to dinner instead?" he asked shyly. His cheeks tinted a light pink, and he avoided looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian seemed to stiffen next to him a little, "Alec, we aren't together anymore-"

"I know, I know," Alec said, wishing he hadn't said anything. "Nevermind. I'll just go home." He felt close to tears from embarrassment and longing to have his relationship back the way it was.

Sebastian was about to say something, probably about them getting together later, when the PA speaker silenced the entire class.

"Mr. Henry," the office lady's nasally voice reverberated through the room.

"Yes?" he said, sitting at his desk with his glasses halfway down his nose.

"We need Alexander Lightwood in the office before the bell rings. He has a message here from his mother."

"Thank you," Mr. Henry said, looking at Alec and jerking a thumb to tell him silently to go to the office.

Alec got up muttering a half hearted goodbye to Sebastian before walking down to the main office. Once the lady saw him, she handed him a piece of paper that had been scribbled on. He read the message as the bell rang, dismissing all students from school.

Apparently, Jace got detention again. Which meant, Alec would have to pick him up at four thirty at the school across town. Alec groaned and made his way to the soccer locker rooms. Coach Aldertree was sitting on the bench outside the door, looking down at his clipboard intensely. "Hey, Coach," Alec said after he had changed into his green and gold soccer uniform.

"What's up, Lightwood?" he said, looking up from his clipboard. He was a generally happy man who often talked to the boys like they were friends. It sounded weird, but he was only about twenty five, so it wasn't that odd.

"I have to leave practice early today. My brother got detention and I have to pick him up."

Aldertree frowned for a second before shrugging. "As long as you finish thirty laps, twenty five push ups, and three practice drills with the rest of the team, you're free to go."

"Thanks, Coach," Alec said, running out onto the field and starting his laps.

It was four forty by the time Alec made it over to Jace's school. He was still sweaty and in his soccer uniform, but he figured he could just shower at home. He felt kind of bad for being so late, but when he walked into the detention room, he saw that there was still someone else there as well.

It was the waterboy from yesterday. Alec nearly drooled when he saw that the boy had a split lip, and bruised knuckles. He was leaning back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling like he was bored out of his mind. He wore tight cheetah print pants with a black three quarter sleeve cotton shirt. His pant legs were tucked into black boots that went halfway up his shin, and his hair was mussed. He looked like the epitome of badass and sex mashed into one. Alec's eyes slid all the way down his body and back up. When he reached his face, he realized that the boy was looking back at him with a smirk that made Alec's stomach do somersaults. His eyes were so striking. Despite his smooth, tanned skin, he had the most beautiful green eyes that seemed to glow.

Alec's mouth went dry, and he tore his eyes away, feeling a blush stain his pale cheeks.

"Hello," Mr. Pangborn said. He recognized Alec because Jace had detention so much. They didn't exactly know each other's names, but they were acquainted enough so that they greeted each other.

"Good Afternoon," Alec said politely.

Jace looked up from his book when he heard Alec's voice. "Finally," he said, grabbing his backpack and getting up. "I thought you forgot about me, dear brother."

"Soccer ran late," Alec said, blushing and rubbing his elbow as he remembered hitting it on the goal.

"Doesn't matter," Jace said, nearly pushing Alec out of the classroom. "Later, Pangborn," Jace said.

"Goodbye, Mr. Lightwood."

Alec and Jace made their way down the hallway, towards the exit. "W-who was that in there?" Alec asked, trying to subdue his blush and sound casual.

Jace gave him a side glance, eyebrows furrowed. "You know Pangborn. He's just the freshman lit teacher."

"No, I meant the other guy," Alec said, trying as hard as he could to sound like he wasn't dying to know the answer.

Jace rolled his eyes. "If you can even call him a guy," he said, pushing the school door open and looking around for Alec's car. "That's the enemy and the reason I cry myself to sleep at night," Jace said, spotting Alec's car and walking towards it.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, not exactly sure if he was correct.

Well, he was almost positive he was correct, but he didn't want it to be true.

"Yes, Magnus," Jace said, getting into the car and tossing his backpack into the back seat. Alec followed suit, starting up the car and pulling out of the parking lot. "Why do you want to know, anyway?" Jace asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Alec cursed his pale skin for showing his blush so easily. "No reason. I... I just haven't seen him before is all."

"Right," Jace said, making Alec think that he didn't believe him.

Alec decided in that moment he could never tell Jace he thought Magnus was the most attractive person he had ever seen.

Review? Pleasy please? I hope this story is going well. I'm really working hard on it. Thanks for all of the follows/favorites/reviews! You guys are the best!