Much to Alec's annoyance, he soon found himself deserted by his siblings. Isabelle was dancing with a guy with long blond hair, and Jace was in the corner flirting with an extremely diminutive and annoying-looking redhead. He wondered at their ease in approaching strangers. Or maybe it was easier that way, when you had nothing to lose if you were turned down. He wouldn't know, he reflected sourly. He'd never so much as been on a date. Isabelle dated enough for the two of them, anyway. And Jace as well, although that was a fact he preferred to ignore...

"Well, hello," said a voice at his shoulder. "I don't believe I've ever seen you before."

Alec turned around, and caught his breath.

"Magnus Bane," the man said, holding out his hand for Alec to shake it. Alec quickly wiped his palm on his jeans before doing so. Electric shocks went through his body at the man's touch, pulsing just as strongly as the strobe lights.

"Alec – Alexander Lightwood," he managed to get out with only a slight hesitation.

"Nice to meet you, Alexander," Magnus said. He was gorgeous. Tall and lanky, but muscled, with shaggy black hair coated in glittering gel.

They talked for several minutes, and then several more. Alec lost track. He gushed about the glamour of his host's penthouse suite, about the view of New York from the windows, about anything that came to mind. He was sure that ninety percent of it was nonsensical nervous drabble, but he was trying, at least. And Magnus did seem rather amused, which was a good sign...right? He hoped.

Magnus fetched them two luminescent blue drinks. Alec was too nervous to ask what they were, and he suspected he didn't really want to know. He almost never drank, but this was different. He might as well try to have fun, if it would make Izzy happy. And then maybe she would stop dragging him to these ridiculous gatherings.

Their conversation continued. After Magnus had said something particularly funny that left them both laughing, he abruptly asked, "Why don't you come with me?"

"Okay," Alec said, out of breath from laughing and out of restraint from the drink. He let Magnus lead him down a short hallway and up a short, carpeted stairway. Magnus put his hand on the doorknob, held a finger up to his lips, and gestured Alec into the room beyond the door. It was a bedroom, Alec realized belatedly. The walls were black, with glowing green boxes providing the lighting. The carpet on the floor was thick and blue, and there was a purple mattress on the floor.

Alec began to protest, but Magnus grabbed his hands and held them to the wall above his head, and kissed him. Everything was a blur.

Magnus broke away and looked at Alec, his head cocked. "You beautiful angel boy," he said, and kissed him again. Then Magnus's hand on the button of his jeans jerked him back to reality.

He pulled away so forcefully that Magnus looked confused.

"Something wrong?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.

Alec faltered, trying to find a way to explain that didn't make him sound like a thirteen year old girl.

"No, this is good, this is really good. I just...I need...to watch Isabelle," he said, which actually seemed like a pretty good excuse to him, now that he had gotten it out of his mouth.

"Isabelle?" Magnus frowned. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Alec blushed. "No! That's gross! She's my sister. She's the reason I'm at this party. To make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

Magnus's face went through several different expressions before he released Alec's hands and reached for the doorknob.

"Okay," he said, obviously thinking that this was a dismissal. Which it wasn't at all. Alec just needed to breathe.

"No," he said, "it's not like that. I'd like...I'd like...I think to come back to the next party you have, even if she doesn't."

Magnus finally seemed to understand how overwhelmed Alec was. He grinned.

"Alexander," he said. "You don't need to wait for a party." He winked, and shoved Alec out the door and back to his apparently delinquent sister.