I was so excited about the response I got to this story that I just had to post the next chapter. Thank you so much for all of the follows, favorites and reviews on this, guys. It means the world to me :) I figured since I have like a hundred (6) chapter buffer on this, I could post early anyways. Especially considering that's what I got done in one night :) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this and please, please, please let me know what you think about it.
Also if anyone wants to help me with the summary for this I would love you forever. I can't write summaries that actually tell you what the story's about.
December 4th
He shoves his winter coat into his locker and slams it shut with more force than necessary, wrestling with the lock for a good minute before it finally closes. The warning bell rings during the time it takes him to pick up his notebook from where he'd dropped it on the floor and he takes off running down the hall because he's on the other side of the school from where he needs to be. He makes it through the door just a second before the actual bell goes off and thanks God he made it; another late and he'd be stuck with detention. Smiling at his small victory, Magnus makes his way to the far corner of the class and dumps his stuff down on his desk, throwing himself into his chair with an exaggerated huff. Beside him, Alec rolls his eyes but doesn't look up from where he's doodling in his notebook like always. The teacher glares at him silently.
The lesson is something to do with poetry, but he's too busy trying to annoy a reaction out of Alec to pay any attention. It takes almost half the class before his friend finally throws his pencil down with a groan and turns to glare at him.
"What?" he barks out as Magnus grins at him. This time it's Magnus who rolls his eyes.
"You've been ignoring me," he tells his friend, pouting. Alec gives up glaring at him and instead just turns back to his latest doodle with an annoyed sound.
"You're annoying," he mutters. Magnus, ever the dramatic, clasps a hand over his heart, spouting about being wounded. He feels like he's won the lottery when a hint of a smile shows on the other boy's face but the feeling doesn't last long. In the month he's known him, Magnus has never once seen Alec smile. The closest he'd come had been when they first spoke and that had been miles away from a real smile. He sighs, wishing his friend wasn't so closed off.
It does about as much good as wishing on a falling star.
He manages to get his locker closed easily for once, not having to rearrange things so they don't topple out, but then his stupid lock decides it hates him and won't close. He's too busy cursing his broken lock to notice the amusement in dark blue eyes before Alec reaches around him and snaps the lock shut with a click. Magnus isn't jealous. He's not. By the time he turns his glare from the offending object to the other boy, the amusement's gone and once again he's met with a cold detachment.
"Where do you want to eat?" he asks. Alec shrugs and pushes off of the lockers he'd been leaning against. They start walking, no destination in mind as they go. They pass Alec's friends on the way, seated in their usual spot and the blue eyes barely shift in their direction. Magnus notices the dark-haired girl frown at them, looking like she wants to say something but thinking better of it. He frowns back at her.
They end up in one of the less frequented stairwells, pressed into the corner to avoid being hit by the door if it does open. The conversation is small, meaningless, between them but Magnus has come to realize that that's all he's really going to get out of Alec. It's this knowledge that keeps him from asking about his lack of a meal every day, or his not participating in gym class.
He's come to realize that Alec is just an enigma wrapped up in a mystery he'll probably never be able to solve no matter how badly he wants to. He tries still, picking out all of the little clues he can; the teachers never caring when he doesn't get things done, no one saying anything as he sits on the bench in gym class, the way no one seems to want to approach him. It's odd, how everyone avoids him like they just know there's no point in even talking to him. Alec doesn't ever appear to be bothered by it though, in fact he seems to appreciate the solitude.
So instead of asking the million questions he has, he makes small talk about their shared classes and pretends he's not desperately trying to get a smile from the other boy.
He dumps his bag on top of Ragnor's on the dark red armchair in the corner of Camille's room and then flails around for a minute trying to get his winter coat off. Camille laughs at him, already curled up on her bed with a bottle of violet nail polish. He glares at her halfheartedly as he flops down beside her and ignores the faces Ragnor makes at them, fishing through the polish on the bed for the blue he wants.
He likes this, how easy it is with them. He remembers his others schools where he wasn't so lucky to find good friends so fast. There's no awkwardness here, like the three of them have been best friends since they could walk. There's no pressure to say the right thing, to act the right way. Good friends are hard to come by, and he's grateful that he has.
"Hey, Magnus, we didn't see you at lunch again today," she says it like a statement but the underlying question is clearly there. He catches Ragnor's eye roll out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, I was with Alec," he replies nonchalantly, not looking up from where he's currently painting his toes a deep blue. That doesn't mean he misses the shocked looks they both give him. He gets it, Alec is this ethereal being no one ever has any contact with outside of the four people who seem to flock around him. He's that guy that everyone knows, but no one knows.
"Alec? Are you serious?" He catches a note of concern in her voice that makes him look up at her, frowning.
"Yes, I am. Why?" He's narrowed his eyes at them now, not liking the way they seem to be looking at Alec as a bad thing. Camille glances over at Ragnor, matching looks of worry written across their faces and Magnus starts glaring at them. "Why?" he repeats with more force.
"He's— Just, Magnus? Be careful, okay?" and then she goes back to painting her toenails, effectively ending the conversation. Magnus just stares at her in confusion for a second before he too goes back to his nails, the words sitting uncomfortably in his mind.
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