Chapter 2:

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Alec's POV:

I run home, hiding my face from what feels like thousands of Mundanes, all of whom seem too interested in my life than their own. Can they not keep their own eyes on their own lives and ignore the boy who has been dumped by the apparent love of his life who was telling me he loved me up until yesterday?

I turn into the street where the Institute is and burst through the doors, running past the cat and then into the house area of the place where I have lived for the majority of my life.

"Hey, Alec," Clary comments as I run into the kitchen, neither her nor Jace seeing my face.

"Shut up," I mutter as I head straight into my room and lock the door so that nobody can irritate me or ask me what's wrong. And here is where I bury my head in my pillow and let the tears out, not caring about being a 'nancy' because I've lost the love of my life.

This sucks.


Clary's POV:

That's strange… Alec has never been the friendliest person, or someone who likes to talk that much, but generally even he has more manners than to tell someone to shut up as soon as he walks into the room.

"What's up with him?" I ask my boyfriend, Jace, who shrugs. It feels so good to be able to call him that now, without the stigma of us being related. I don't know why the connection between us is so strong and was forged so quickly but it is there and at least it was never wrong… we just thought that it was for a bit.

The loveable rogue I'm with shrugs and puts his arm around my waist, kissing the side of my neck. "Dunno… maybe he had a tiff with Magnus or something," he comments and it clicks in my head. I have seen enough romances to realise that when someone comes running in like that and heads straight for their room, it's because they've been dumped.

So I push Jace off of me and motion towards Alec's room, wondering if he has a lock on the door – I can't say I spend the majority of my time in there so I never really noticed if he locks his door.

I walk across the carpet to his door and try to open the handle but it doesn't budge. Just then, Jace catches up to me (how long did it take him to walk across here, seriously?) and pulls me back, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Why do you want to talk to Alec?" he asks, his grip a little too tight.

"Off," I order, pissed off a little that he can use his superior strength and stuff against me: it's fine in training; I want something to work towards. But in every day life, as boyfriend and girlfriend, I would much prefer him to be a normal human being and forget that he is a Shadowhunter. "I want to make sure he's ok… after all, it looks like he has been dumped," I tell him quite honestly as to why I think Alec has reacted this way and his expression changes to one of concern. Then he instantly begins banging on the door, pounding so damn hard that the door looks as if it is going to come off of its hinges.

"Alec, if you do not open this door right now, I swear I will use a rune and break it down without an issue," Jace yells through the door, but I have a feeling he could break it down himself without using the strength of an angel!

I can hear movement inside the room and suddenly the door is thrown open, revealing a not very happy looking Alec… actually, it's worse than that; it looks as if someone has murdered someone close to him right before his very eyes.

"What do you want?" he hisses at us and Jace steps back involuntarily, as if he is a demon… I do admit, the wild hair and eyes sort of make him look more than a little scary but still.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok?" my voice makes it seem as if I'm asking a question as I step closer to him. His eyes lock on me and for one second he allows me to see the pain and torment that helps to confirm the idea I had that he and Magnus are no longer an item.

"Oh yes," he snaps at me, his voice laced with more venom than before, "I am absolutely hunky dory! Everything is going just right in my life and I have absolutely nothing that makes me want to go and kill Magnus right now. Just leave me alone!" he yells the last part and tries to slam the door shut but Jace has his foot in the way. Though he winces in pain, he doesn't move his foot until he then forces the door open again.

"Why have you split up?" he asks Alec straight because if I was doing it, I would waffle on for about five years first.

He shrugs as he sits down on his bed. "I don't know; he wouldn't give me a straight answer… can you go now?" he asks again and I nod, pulling Jace by the back of the shirt out of the room. Though he protests slightly, I throw him a meaningful look that gets through to him that this is not over and that we are off to go and see the High Warlock who has broken our friend's heart. I shut the door and walk down to the kitchen, Jace's arm wrapping round my waist as we walk.

"We're going to go kick Magnus' butt?" Jace asks excitedly, always happy about getting to be violent towards people. I roll my eyes and nod, not stopping as I grab my bag and pull shoes and jacket on as we walk out of the Institute.

As usual, I carry my stele in my bag (Jace told me Survival Tip 101 is to always have a stele… I still can't tell if he is joking or not) and the weight of it in my bag reassures me as we walk past growing shadows. Vampires are coming out now and although things aren't too bad since the whole 'battle in Idris' thing, I still wouldn't want to come across them.

We head up to the large house Magnus lives in and Jace bangs on the door furiously, kicking it with the toe of his boots when no response comes within three seconds.

"Ok, you can relax a little," I sigh, knowing I'm pretty damned mad at Magnus but not enough that I want to damage a door that Magnus will make us pay for.

"Oh no, I can't…he's lucky he's in there right now because I am going to kill you, Magnus!" Jace yells louder than I ever have heard him yell before, causing me to cover my ears instantly – if I ever can hear again, I will let him apologise.

The door suddenly opens and the long and lanky figure of Magnus Bane stands before us, his expression not amused but also upset and terrified. "Firstly, I have neighbours so yelling death threats shall only result in you being carted off to the police station," he snaps… uhoh, angry as well. "Secondly, if you persist in damaging my door, I shall have to report you myself, which seems like rather a lot of effort I don't wish to do, to be quite frank. Finally, I could turn you into rats right now and you could do nothing about it so please leave before I have to lower myself to being close to such disgusting vermin," he shudders but I don't care and I can tell Jace doesn't either.

"A) I doubt that since your neighbours are all druggies, most of them supplied by you," he retorts sharply. "B) you wouldn't want the police here because of aforementioned drugs and C) I doubt you would do that either because you're too much of a prick to be bothered about relationships so you would only turn one of us into a rat because you would want to break another person's heart!" he finishes, the only thing I can compare his voice to being Alec's earlier.

Magnus' face instantly smoothes out and he nods slowly, motioning for us to come in. "What did he tell you?" he asks as soon as the door is shut. He looks around his apartment for some reason, as if there is someone listening, but he should know that it isn't bugged – who would risk bugging the High Warlock of Brooklyn's apartment?

"He only told us that you had dumped him and gave him no reason," I say sharply, turning to face the Warlock dressed in sober black for the first time since I met him – entirely black, that is, without even a splash of colour. The thickness of his eyeliner sort of hides his eyes so I can't read them but he turns away anyway.

"I wouldn't expect you children to understand," he retaliates, flexing his fingers. Then it clicks with me.

"You're dumping him because he is too young for you?" I confirm and he turns back to face me with a rather mad expression.

"Little girl, I would be quiet right now unless you want me to perform a little magic and really make the two of you siblings!" he snaps at me, causing me to step back in shock that laid back, relaxed, if slightly eccentric Magnus could be like this to me.

"Talk to my girlfriend like that again and it will be the last thing you do," Jace stands up for me, squaring up against a half smiling Magnus.

"Fine, I dumped him because he is barely eighteen and I am over seven hundred – does that make you happy, fulfilled, to know that?" he finally answers, his expression suddenly serious. It's as if he wants us out of here… but why? "Now, now, off with you children back to the Institute, I haven't time to deal with you today," he hurries us out of the door – he definitely has something to hide.

He slams the door in our stunned faces and I turn to Jace with a shocked expression on my face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask him and he nods, taking my hand.

"He's having another relationship?" he confirms.

"Oh god, this is worse than I thought," I sigh, really regretting coming now. So we walk back to the Institute and sit in the kitchen, pretending to ourselves that we haven't been to Magnus'. But we have… and I think he was having an affair.

Just bloody great: more drama in our lives.


So, your thoughts?

Review please!

Vicky xx