Chapter 2

Magnus PoV

"Look at it from the bright side, you've never been to Texas."

"I would rather not be." I groaned pulling my bag through the sea of people while Tessa tried to lighten my mood. When things got bad, calling her was the best option. Ragnor and Catarina tended to roll their eyes and just tell me to man up…I didn't want to man up, not just yet. I wanted to pout and complain all the way because I was currently stranded in Houston surrounded by people and reaching dangerous levels of annoyance.

"You can buy a real cowboy hat." That managed to get a small laugh from me.

"The problem is, that they told us that the air wave thing might be over in around six hours, until then, they will let us know if they put us in a hotel room and we part tomorrow, or we could arrive to L.A. at night." I looked around loving that my height allowed me to see above the crowd level and look for a seat. I was starting to get tempted to just go YOLO and sit in the floor when I spotted an empty chair in a café close to the gate.

Thank God!

"Did you already call to let people know?"

"Yeah, I'm not worried about that. One less day to be with captain asshole." I practically moaned the moment I sat on that heavenly chair...stopping when a yelp sounded from across the small table.

Oops.

My eyes traveled to the blushing guy sitting in front of me.

"Please tell me this seat wasn't taken." I spoke as I saw him pulling up his hoodie and hiding his eyes with his mop of black hair.

"N-no, use it. It's ok." He spoke in a surprising smooth and strong voice.

"Thanks darling." I winked and grinned seeing his blush deepening.

"Stop flirting with poor unaware people Magnus." I raised my eyebrow at Tessa's words.

"I wasn't…"

"But you want to. I know you. You just thought that they looked cute and you will harass them because you're bored. I'm telling you to not do it." I opened and closed my mouth like a fish as I heard her words…that woman was like a scary witch.

"I'm scared of you right now." She laughed before I heard some movement around.

"Hey Magnus!" I grinned hearing Will's voice through the other end of the line.

"Hello William. Can you tell your…Tessa, to stop using her witch powers on me?"

"My Tessa?"

"Ugh, between you three I don't know what's going on, so yeah, your Tessa."

"Okay…so, how's Texas?" I groaned. "That bad…well shame on you, I need to take Tessa with me and you have to save your phone's battery so, bye!" And he hung up.

Asshole.

I grimaced looking around hearing Tessa's voice in my head DO NOT HARASS THE BLUSHING GUY, but he was there, reading and looking cute. And I was bored, and the TV had E! News on but it was nothing I already didn't know and…

Sorry Tessa.

"So, where are you from?" The guys kind of shrank at my words. I grimaced, ok bookworms weren't all that fun to tease when they were over a certain level of shyness. I could cause the poor guy to internally combust or fall in love with me. There were too many issues involved when flirting with dorks and nerdy guys.

"Manhattan." I raised my eyebrow hearing his faint voice. He was still hidden behind his hoodie, a pair of black framed specs and his book. The poor guy was probably ugly as hell but I had no qualms about inoffensive flirting.

"Hey I'm from Brooklyn! Nice to see another New Yorker in cowboy land." He raised his shoulders before taking a drink from his coffee. "Is it good?"

"Good enough." He sighed pinching his eyes behind his glasses and finally putting the book down.

He was not hideous.

Unkempt and geeky, yes, but that face didn't go near Ugly Ville. Trusting his word, I raised my hand to call the waitress to the table. "Hello." I smiled at her noticing how my table mate hid further into his hoodie, poor guy; being like that he would be having a lot of trouble finding dates. "Can you bring me black coffee please?"

"Coming right up." She walked away before stopping in front of the TV and changing the channel.

To where they were showing the fucking Guardian. Perfect.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I blinked hearing the guy speak.

"You don't like the movie?" I asked feeling strangely giddy that somebody else shared my unpopular opinion.

"I like the story, but…no, not really. I feel that the Guardian character could be a lot better."

"Oh my God! Thank you! Everybody thinks I'm crazy for thinking that that Alexander Lightwood guy was okay in the movie but not as epic as everyone thinks him to be. He's too overrated." Just then the guy looked at me with a pair of the most mesmerizing baby blue eyes I had ever seen.

It was safe to say that my brain did a stunned double take, just to be sure I wasn't dreaming such beauties.

"He is, isn't he." The guy smiled before looking at the screen. "He's completely full of himself."

"Now I like you! Finally someone with brains in this world!" I laughed. "So, now we have two things in common." The waitress brought my coffee and left with a smile…not before blue eyes shrank back to his previous position. Nevertheless, the moment she left he turned to me with an easy smile in his face. "Do you think we can find a third one." The smile went out of his face as he avoided my eyes.

"I-I don't know…"

"What were you reading?" He looked at his bag before pulling out the book and handing it to me. "Eros." I read. "What is it about?"

"A serial killer…well, it's about a reporter tailing on one, but I feel that the story it's a lot more about the killer than him."

"Telling someone's story through another perspective." I spoke while I read the back of the book, and as he said. The intrepid reporter was the main character and the summary didn't say a thing about the killer other than his code name: The Hunter. "Is it good?"

"It is. It's one of my favorite books. And it's weird because I don't like Davis that much." He smiled speaking about the reporter. "But the other guy is awesome. Even if they show him just a hand full of times. And we don't even know his name yet."

"Is there a second part of the book?" I asked him becoming a lot more interested in the book. I liked reading, but with work and a lot of other things I had let the habit slip pass me.

"Yes, the third part will be out in a couple of months." I smiled seeing how he was all excited about the book. A cute and authentic bookworm. I hummed taking a drink of my coffee.

"Well, you should be a salesman, I am actually interested in the book." He let out a small laugh.

"Nah, my social skills are too low for that."

"You seem pretty social to me." He shrugged. "And what do your social skills let you do?"

"This and that…I'm actually going to L.A. for a job." He answered with surprising ease. I was not going to push, I had enough common sense to know that people didn't share with strangers.

"Nice, I'm also going to L.A…wait, are you also from the delayed flight?" He nodded. "What a bitch right? I was going to arrive and go for a walk at the beach, and rest a little because tomorrow I will have a hard day and now I'm here without knowing what will happen. I really hate planes right now."

"I know. I also wanted some relaxation time before thinking about work and all the pressure that comes with it." He grimaced. "Speaking of work…can I ask you something that might sound weird but I really need to ask?"

"…sure" I told him slowly.

"Do you know how to smoke?" I blinked at his question.

"I don't have cigarettes, sorry."

"That wasn't the question…but by it I can think that you do know how to smoke." I nodded. "Can you teach me?" I frowned taken back.

"What?"

"I need to learn how to smoke…I don't really do it. I actually don't like it, but I need to do it." He explained pulling away his hoodie and messing his hair.

"Why do you have to know?"

"A role…" he spoke in a low voice drumming his fingers on the table while his flush incremented accentuating his sharp cheekbones. Thanks to the hoodie I hadn't notice how skinny he was. I was skinny myself, but in him it looked weird, not exactly healthy. "That's the interview I'm going, more like a casting…and I need to smoke for the character I want and I have no idea of how to do it and, please, I know we don't know each other but can you help me?" his hands kept drumming on the table like a nervous tick. And just as I was going to answer, his stomach growled.

"Oh my God!" He moaned covering his face with his hands while his whole face heated up. "I'm sorry."

"You should eat." I said thinking that I wouldn't be averse to eating something either.

"Can't…I'm just really bad with diets." He put his hand on his stomach. "But if you want to order something go right ahead."

"I'm not going to order something and watch you drool for it only because you refuse to eat." I shook my head before letting out some air. "We still have more than four hours to go. How bout we find a pack and walk outside so I can teach you to smoke." He grinned putting on his hoodie again. "And for the record, I don't really like the thing but I learned when I was in high school and shit like that does not leave your brain."

"Thanks." We gathered our stuff and walked outside. "Do you know where we can go?"

"No idea…might as well look around. I might buy myself a real cowboy hat." He laughed.

"Not my area. But my sister has this huge snow globe collection so I guess I can find something for her." He pointed at a souvenir store and went into it with me following him.

"How many siblings do you have?" I asked seeing his all-too-bright baby blues scan the shot glasses and other trinkets.

"Two." He spoke in a small voice while his eyes darkened. There was something definitely going on in there. "A brother and a sister, both younger than me."

"I have a sort of sister." I told him taking a silver collar in the shape of a cowboy boot. Tessa would like it.

"Sort of?" Blue eyes smiled.

"We've been friends since kinder garden. She's family." Remembering her I walked to the hat section of the store and started trying out some of them. Good thing that I had decided to not use product today and the hats had no trouble fitting in.

"The black one looks good on you." I raised an eyebrow before lowering the front of it to hide my eyes and slowly turning to look at blue eyes.

"You think so?" And just then I saw it. The full scan he gave me, oh yeah, this guy was one of mine. He sounded his throat.

"Yeah…I-I guess." And the blush was back.

"Then I might as well buy it." I took the necklace and left the hat on my head before going to the register seeing him follow with a small snow globe in his hand. "Hello sweety." I smiled at the cashier before hearing a small laugh behind me. I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Have you ever seen Doctor Who?" I nodded and two seconds later my brain caught up with what he said. His grin got bigger as I let a small 'Ah' sound.

"Oh wow!" We both turned to look at the girl behind the register. "Has someone told you that you look a lot like Alexander Lightwood?" She practically squeaked. "For a moment I thought that you were him but seeing you up close I can see that you're not. Good thing, I would've probably fainted." She let out a full laugh and I saw how blue eyes let out a nervous laugh while he messed his hair.

"Yeah, good thing, right?" He mumbled while the girl checked our stuff.

"I know! That would be $64.56 for you." She looked at me. "And $12.50 for 'Alexander Lightwood' over here." She winked and blue eyes smiled at her, but I could see tense edges in his expression. No wonder he hated the guy if he got reactions like this often.

"I need a pack of those also, please." He pointed at the cigarettes packs.

"Which ones?"

"Malboro reds."

"Then it's $22.50." He paid her and we left the store.

"Those are hard stuff to start learning." I told blue eyes seeing the red pack.

"They need to be these, might as well get used to them." He shrugged.

"This way." I signaled him to follow me after I spotted a smokers sign. We walked for about two minutes before we found an exit to a small patio. We left our bags in the floor and sat in a bench while I looked around for someone that could lend us a lighter. "Excuse me, Sr.?" I told and old man in the next bench. "Care to help us out?" I showed him the pack and he tossed me the lighter before standing up.

"Keep it, these crazy airport people will throw it to the dump soon enough. Better for someone else to use it!" He told us and then left the place.

"Huh, lucky!" I smiled before lighting up one and taking a smoke. "Okay, the trick it's to inhale and hold, hold it for a while like…" I grimaced not finding the words. "Fuck it, like you were holding a nasty fart." Blue eyes let out a startled laugh and continued laughing until I had to let out the smoke or I would have a coughing fit because I wanted to laugh with him. It was loud and happy and I felt my breath hitch seeing that pair of baby blues shine with mirth. "Then you let out the smoke before you die thanks to a laughing cute guy, sitting next to you." And that made the laughs lessen and the blush to reappear. So damn adorable.

"Okay, let me try." I gave him the cigar and of course he barely inhaled for a second before he was coughing his lungs out.

"Easy, easy." I clapped his back until he stood up and passed a hand through his face.

"Okay, I'm gonna do something just…just, tell me how it looks." He told me before making a quick movement to the bench in front of me and sitting in it. Putting his elbows on his knees and taking a deep breath before closing his eyes.

And then it happened.

His whole awkward and shy body language disappeared. It was as if he had turned into a completely different person with the blink of an eye. Now, his movements were slow, feral and for some reason it made my skin crawl. Then, he raised his hand and took a smoke. His eyes were closed and his expression showed someone taking a bite from the forbidden fruit. His lips opened and unhurriedly, he started to let the smoke out. And just then he opened his eyes and looked straight at me. They were cold as steel, unfeeling and empty.

Holy shit, he was starting to scare me.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." His silky voice unsettled me. I felt my heart accelerate and I was starting have a crazy idea about running for my life.

And just as quickly as it had appeared, he changed again and the awkward and shy blue eyes was staring at me with an eager expression. "What do you think?" I opened my mouth to say something and then closed it.

"Fucking shit…" I breathed passing my hands through my face. "That was amazing!" He let out some air –or coughed out some smoke- before smiling at me.

"You think so? I-I'm really nervous about this, I-I feel that if I get this job, it might change things…or at least I hope it does." He shrugged while his eyes turned darker. I was dying to ask him more about that job or about his life, but hearing his vague comments I could gather that even if he was comfortable enough with giving me an overview, he was not going to share anything real about him.

"I'm just going to tell you one thing: for a moment I wanted to run the fuck away from here!" His grin grew bigger. "Seriously, you scared me."

"I hope they think the same." He whispered passing his hand through his face just as his phone started ringing. "Hey Izzy." He sighed answering it, suddenly looking tired and worn. "Nah, just nerves getting into me…yes, I know…please don't." He put his hand in his eyes as his voice took a clipped tone. "Isabelle, just stop it. Okay? I'm not in the mood for this." He hummed. "Yeah, bye." He hung up and grimaced. "I think we should go back to the gate."

"Yeah, ok." We took our stuff and walked back in silence. He looked sullen and down. I wanted to talk to him, to make his eyes shine again while he laughed. But something held me back. "Hey look, they are making a line." I told him looking around at the people while they began to move. "Hello, excuse me. What's going on?" I asked a woman that passed next to us.

"They said that the air it's clear, we will part now. Rows A and B." She explained and I smiled.

"Thanks! Well, time to go." I looked at blue eyes.

"I'm in first class." He mumbled pointing at the other –much shorter- line. "I guess I have to go that way."

"Oh, yeah…okay." I raised my hand. "It was nice meeting you. I hope the smoking lesson pays off." He smiled.

"I will need more practice, I was about to choke when I tried to do the scene." He shrugged before taking my hand and shaking it. "Bye." He smiled before he ran to the other line where the guards were almost closing the entrance, he gave them his ticket and passport and turn to give me one last wave before he walked inside the checking point.

Just then I noticed that I hadn't even ask for his name.

"Of course you didn't." I growled, because it was completely me to know a cute guy at the fucking airport and not even ask him his name to send even a fucking Facebook request. Groaning I walked to the line and hoped that I could catch him again when we landed in L.A.

Four more hours passed until we landed in Los Angeles. The nice heat caressed my arms the second we walked outside the plane. I looked around trying to spot blue eyes but he was nowhere to be seen. I sighed before walking towards the exit.

Time to get a cab, sleep and get ready to meet the fucking golden boy Alexander Lightwood…all while I couldn't take my mind away from a shy blue eyed bookworm.

Oh my God! I thought that I was never going to end! Hahaha

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Anyways, thanks for reading! I love you guys!