Chapter Three
~~~~~~~~~~~~Next day, during car ride~~~~~~~~~~~
Alec yawns, running a hand through his hair and then sitting up. He bumps his head on the ceiling- what? He rubs his eyes and looks around, and then remembers where he is. He's about halfway into the drive to Rhode Island with Magnus, who's driving. "Oh, Magnus," he says, holding back another yawn, "I can drive. Let's stop for gas and switch."
"Okay," Magnus agrees readily, stepping on the gas. Alec slips his feet back into his shoes, finding that they had fallen off sometime in between falling asleep and waking up. The Shell sign flashes on the interstate road they're on, and Magnus pulls in, easing the car into the available spot. Alec gets out, stretches, and goes into the little convenience store to pee and get food. He goes into the dingy bathroom and pees, washing his hands vigorously afterwards. He zips his fly and then walks outside the bathroom, making sure the ten dollar bill is still in his pocket. He selects a pack of Twizzlers for himself and then gets Magnus the Sprees he'd asked for. He grabs two Cokes and then pays, going back outside and squinting in the sunshine. Magnus is sitting on the hood of the car, texting. Alec dumps the food in the front seat and sits next to Magnus.
"Who is it?" Alec asks shyly, peering over at Magnus's phone.
"Imasu. But you don't want to read it," said Magnus, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Alec blushes a little and then pulls out his phone to text Isabelle. Hey lil sis, he types, and then sends. He doesn't have to wait long before it buzzes. hola big bro. how's the car ride w magnus goin? His fingers hover over the touch keys, and he doesn't know quite what to say. It's going fine, he types, and then stops. I'm taking my driving turn now. We'll be in Rhode Island by seven. He hits send and then turns to ask Magnus if he's ready to leave, but Magnus isn't there. His dark eyebrows crinkle in confusion until he sees Magnus come out the convenience shop door, looking red but refreshed. Alec doesn't understand until he swings into the car and finds Magnus zipping up his own fly. His cheeks redden and he stares out the window, putting the car into gear mechanically and turning back onto the interstate. Magnus doesn't text anymore, instead putting his seat back and reclining. His long frame stretches out to fill the longer space, and Alec refuses to let himself look. His eyes do catch flashes of tan skin exposed when Magnus stretches, or his cotton pants being stretched to the limit by Magnus.
Alec puts music on quietly and taps his foot to the beat, wondering if Magnus is asleep. He steals a look over and realizes that Magnus's breathing has gotten much more even and relaxed in the last half an hour, and that he is, in fact, asleep. Alec puts the car into cruise but keeps an eye on the road, checking in on it every once in a while. Magnus is lying now so that he faces Alec, with the most relaxed expression Alec has ever seen on his face. Hesitantly, Alec reaches over and brushes a lock of hair behind Magnus's ear, reveling in the silkiness and then snatching his hand away when he's done. He can't develop a crush on his roommate for several reasons. One, Magnus has a boyfriend. A really cute one, too. Two, they're roommates! The awkwardness levels would be through the roof. He turns away from Magnus resolutely and steps on the gas, hoping to get them there in less than 80 minutes.
"Hmmm," Magnus groans, and rolls over. Alec is surprised- Magnus is generally a deep sleeper- but doesn't object. Instead, his eyes land on Magnus's phone. It's decorated with glitter and sparkles and rhinestones, letting the sun shine off of every part. Alec takes it in his hand, the ridged edges of the fake gems cutting into his hand. Should I? he thinks, pressing the home button and letting the lock screen picture of Imasu and Magnus dancing together and laughing into the camera come into view. Bile rises into Alec's throat, but he presses on. He knows the password- BANE, or 2263- and keys it in. Magnus has several unread messages and unanswered voicemails, and so many notifications Alec loses count. His eye catches on an app called the DRUNK-O-METER, which Alec has never needed and probably never will. He scrolls around idly, and then clicks on the messages button. There are several unread ones, but Alec has no interest in those. He looks at his own contact- it's just Alec Lightwood, with nothing special on it. Imasu's is IMASU Morales with several emoticons and different numbers and emails, and an address. Alec clicks on Imasu's conversation with a small sense of dread. It's not terrible, the last few messages, mostly ily or xo, but as he scrolls farther and farther up the messages get progressively dirtier. Alec puts the phone away hurriedly, locking it and putting it where he found it.
He concentrates on the road, humming along to the music and then singing. "… before you met me, I was alright but things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life, now every February, you'll be my Valentine, Valentine-" he stops when he sees Magnus watching him lazily, his unusual eyes half closed.
"You're a cute singer," Magnus mumbles, before closing his eyes again. Alec's mouth opens and closes, like a fish. Cute singer. Who would have thought? Alec drives while Magnus sleeps, watching the road. He doesn't sing again, though Magnus's voice rings in his ears.
He plugs the address into the GPS right as Magnus is beginning to wake up, stretching and yawning. "Hey, sleepyhead," Alec says to him, pressing GO on the GPS and waiting for it to guide him. It beeps when it's ready and he follows the path it guides him in.
"Where are we?" Magnus asks, struggling to sit up and then deciding not to try. He lies there, watching Alec drive.
"Rhode Island, of course. We're probably about ten minutes away form Camille's, which is why I put in the address," he explains. Magnus smiles happily.
"Finally. I haven't seen Camille in months," he says, staring out the window. Alec feels a burst of compassion and then remembers they're about to see her, so there's no need to feel bad. The GPS beeps and they pull up at a sorority house. A bunch of girls are out front, playing soccer on the front lawn. Alec watches them impassively and Magnus pokes him in the arm. "See anyone you like?" he teases. Alec blushes bright red and parallel parks. He gets out and stretches, enjoying the sunlight on his skin. He's only wearing a T-Shirt, cut off jeans, and flip-flops. He gets his bag from the back and shut the doors, following Magnus inside and fending off the whispers of excited girls following them. He has never met Camille- or seen pictures, he realizes, but hears Magnus's excited yell and then a girl's excited scream.
"MAGNUS!"
"CAMILLE! Darling, I haven't seen you in ages," Magnus says, hugging Camille hard. Alec hangs out awkwardly in the doorway, watching them embrace. They hold each other at arm's length and admire each other. Alec gets tapped on the arm by a slight brunette, and she leads him away quietly.
"Hi, I'm Sophie," she says quietly. "You're Alec. Camille's said a lot about Magnus and apparently he mentioned you, actually." Alec feels a spark of happiness inside him. She shows him a room. It has one bed and a dresser. "This is the guest room. You and Magnus are going to have to share…." Sophie says other things, but he's not paying attention. Him and Magnus. Sharing a bed. One bed. Sharing! Oh God.
"Alec, hello," says an unfamiliar voice. "I'm Camille Belcourt, one of Magnus's closest and oldest friends. It is a complete pleasure to meet you," she says, kissing Alec on the cheek and hugging him. Alec jerks like he's been given an electric shock; Magnus tries and fails to conceal laughter.
"Cami, Cami. Alec isn't into personal touching," he laughs, pulling Camille away from Alec playfully. "He's a bit private. But don't worry, we'll be able to stand sleeping in the same bed for the next two nights," he says, laughing again. Alec goes red, but manages to nod.
"We'll be fine," he nods, scratching his head. He puts his bag down next to the bed and flops down on it. "Damn, I'm tired. Driving takes it out of me," he groans, closing his eyes. He misses the secret smile the two friends exchange and then the way they creep up on him and grab each of his arms.
"Yeah, don't think so. First we're going to go shopping, and then we're going to go clubbing," Magnus says with relish. Camille squeals.
"Yes! There are some cute stores here and I know the best clubs," Camille says, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. Alec sighs.
"And I have to come?"
"YES!" They chorus, pulling him up. Magnus eyes him up and down with a little bit of distaste. "What else do you have to wear, Alexander?" Alec shrugs, blushing.
"Nothing better than this," he says, smiling. Magnus and Camille trade exasperated looks.
"All the more reason to go shopping," Camille says superiorly. "Now come on. Get shoes on. Clubs open in a half an hour, but we're not going to make that. We'll aim for nine thirty, and that only gives us an hour and a half. We're cutting it close," she says over her shoulder, walking out of the room. "I'm changing. Magnus, you should too. Alec…" her tone is despairing. "We'll find something for you, Alec." Magnus shuts the door and goes to his side, throwing off clothes as he goes. Alec suddenly realizes that it's probably impolite to stare at Magnus changing, no matter how hot he looks doing it. He decides that it's useless to change and slips his credit card into one pocket and his cell in the other. Then he texts Izzy. Magnus and Co. are taking me shopping. Help. She responds immediately. good, u need it. have fun, get some cute stuff. xo. He stuffs his phone into his pocket. Of course Isabelle wouldn't help, she loves shopping. Neither would Jace, he would just tell him to hit on Camille. He waits until Magnus is done changing and follows him outside, wishing they didn't have to get in the car again.
"Hey, Camille? How far away are the stores?" he asks, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He is wearing sneakers…
"Less than a mile. Why?" she asks suspiciously. Alec grins happily.
"I'm going to run." Magnus comes out then, thanking one of the girls and going to stand next to Camille curiously.
"You're going to what? No way." Alec starts stretching, loosening his muscles up. Camille looks at him disbelievingly.
"Yes way. I need to exercise, and this'll work. Otherwise I'll be really antsy when we shop, and I know you two don't want that," he says confidently. He's almost never confident around Magnus now, now that's he's hyperaware of the fact that his roommate looks like a Greek God and acts like Dionysus: parties, drinks, and picks up people like they're leaves off the ground.
Magnus is the first to surrender. "Fine," he concedes. "Alec runs fast. He'll probably beat us there. Fine with me, Alexander," he says, smiling. He steps in front of Alec and bends down to whisper in his ear. Alec would swear that his ear suddenly developed ten million more nerve endings as Magnus's lips touched there. "Beat us there, it'll show Camille what you're made of." Then he steps back, still smiling, and rejoins Camille. She throws her hands in the air.
"Fine, fine. But you don't know how to get there," she points out. Alec sighs.
"How many malls can there be in this little college town?" Alec asks, rolling his eyes. "I'll find the car. And I have my cell, I'll text Magnus if I have to. It'll work out, don't over analyze. See you there," he calls over his shoulder, starting to jog.
His muscles begin to loosen almost immediately, and he starts going a little faster. He keeps to the sidewalk, not wanting to get run over, and endorphins start shooting through his body almost immediately. His ears prick up as he hears whoops and yells. "AYYY," yells Magnus. Suddenly Eye of the Tiger is blasting, and Alec feels his cheeks go even redder than they are already because of the running.
"See you at the mall, Alec," screams Camille, and the car pulls ahead of him. Alec grunts in return and pushes himself to go faster. One advantage of running: no lights. He sprints past their car and allows himself to slow down a tiny bit because he's breathing hard. His phone buzzes, but he ignores it. It buzzes again. And again. And again. It must be Magnus, he thinks, because no one else would text him that many times in a row except maybe Izzy. But he had just talked to her, so it didn't count. Now his phone is ringing, and he keeps running while fumbling for it in his pocket. He presses ACCEPT and puts it on speaker.
"You have a cute ass, Mr. Lightwood," Camille hollers out of the phone. "Doesn't he, Magnus?" But Magnus's answer is lost to the wind because Alec's thumb slips and presses END. He clenches his teeth and pushes himself to go faster, losing himself in the running. Soon he starts losing track of where he's going and just concentrates on the footfalls that he hears. Thump. Thump. Thump. He wheels a corner and almost runs straight into someone. The person- he can see it's a boy, now- luckily had stepped aside before being run over by Alec.
"Oh- oh. Hi," says the guy, looking surprised. Alec doesn't blame him.
"Alec," Alec says, offering him a hand. The guy shakes it, bemused.
"Ralf Scott. Um, if I can ask, why are you running so fast?" Alec grins, already jogging in place.
"I'm racing two of my friends, my legs against their car. Camille Belcourt, you might know her and- dammit!" He glances at the guy desperately as the familiar car rushes past. "I have to go, they just passed me. Uh, bye? Sorry for running into you," he shouts over his shoulder as he speeds up. To his astonishment, the guy- Ralf- starts sprinting with him, keeping time, Alec pushes to go a little faster, and Ralf adjusts his own speed.
"Listen- sorry, I know this isn't a good time- but could you put in a good word for me with Camille? I like her, actually, and if you know her-"
"Sure, sure, whatever," grunts Alec. This guy is an annoyance. He looks up to see the car turning a corner. "Dude, I have to go," he throws over his shoulder as he speeds up. His heart is pounding, sweat is running off of his body, and Alec feels better than he has in days. He catches up to the car as they're loitering next to a stop sign and flashes them the middle finger, grinning the whole time. Camille gives him the middle finger as he races away, squinting to see the signs of stores in the distance. He pushes himself to go faster and can feel his muscles spraining. He's a good sprinter and long distance runner, but not really both at a time. Alec begins to slow down, needing to, not just because they're far behind him. He slows to a jog as he passes the sign saying LUCKY BRAND, slowing to a stop soon after. "Christ, I need to run more," he pants to himself. Camille and Magnus cruise up beside him as he walks to the shops.
"I suppose you win," says Camille, sounding surprised. "Nice job. Magnus and I are going to go park, you can… just follow us, okay?" Alec nods and follows their car at walk, his muscles screaming in protest anyway. Magnus and Camille step out of the car at the same time, Camille flipping her hair over her shoulder and Magnus smiling like he's won the lottery.
"Hey, Alexander. I didn't know you could run like that," Magnus says to him, impressed. Alec shrugs, trying to make it seem like no big deal.
"I used to track and cross country," he says, biting his lip. "I wasn't the best, though. And I did karate, and soccer, and… well, you don't want to hear about my athletic achievements, he says, embarrassed. Magnus elbows him.
"Why not, superstar? You've done everything," he teases. Alec rolls his eyes. "Camille and I haven't done anything sportswise, really, but from junior high through high school we opened a fashion consulting business. It was actually quite lucrative, and we got a lot of stuff out of that." Camille grins.
"Alright, come on. No more boasting, though I do like to boast," she giggled. "Where to first, Magnus?"
For the next hour, Alec is shepherded from store to store, forced to try on clothes that are way too small but that Magnus and Camille insist fit him "… like they're supposed to. You know, you're wearing stuff that's a size too big. I haven't got any idea why, you have one of the best bodies I've ever seen. Magnus, look at these abs!" Camille enthuses. Alec blushes and turns away. It's a compliment, but in front of Magnus he doesn't want Camille throwing niceties about his body at him left and right. Magnus turns to look, but Alec has already put his shirt back on.
"Okay, we're done," Camille proclaims, holding at least five bags in each of her hands. Magnus has the same, if not more. Alec has nothing, because all of his clothes are with them. He did pay for whatever he got, but Magnus and Camille would stuff it into their bags before Alec could take it and get a good look at what he was supposed to wear.
"Are there bathrooms we can change in?" asks Magnus, expertly wielding his bags. Camille nods.
"Mhm. Public ones, down there, but I can probably convince my manager at Gucci to let us change there-" and that, apparently, is all Magnus needs to hear because they all turn around and go straight back to Gucci. Camille, as promised, gets them three changing rooms at the back. She rummages through the bags and stuffs different items into one small bag, which she then hands to Alec. "Magnus, I trust you can take care of yourself. Alec, honey, not you. Change into this and come back out so we can see you, okay?" Alec nods, slightly confused, and goes into his dressing room. He pulls out pants first and stares at them. They are definitely too small, and he stretches them out a little bit. There's no visible difference, but Alec has to try. He has the feeling that Camille's wrath isn't something he wants to test.
He struggles into the pants, pulling them up over his thighs and butt before letting them cling to his hips. No, cling is the wrong word: more like hug, or squeeze, or slowly eat away at Alec until there's no skin left. He looks in the mirror. They hug his legs like they're latex gloves, or a skintight suit. They're black and end at his ankles. He pulls out the next thing, trying not to move his legs lest he fall over from lack of circulation. It's a deep blue sweater, but made of superfine material. Probably so I don't get hot while I… do what? Go clubbing? What does that even mean? He pulls it on and is barely surprised to see that the v-neck goes down much farther than it should, dipping down to right where his ribcage ends. There's no tank top, but there are a pair of boots (with socks stuffed into them, thank God), a silver necklace, and some… makeup? He puts on the boots and manages to fasten the necklace without help. "Camille? Why is there makeup in here?"
"It's for you, silly," says Magnus from outside. "Now come on out so we can see. Don't put on the makeup, we'll do that. Alec puts his old clothes in the bag and clutches the makeup in his hand, stepping out. "Whoa. Stop right there. Drop the bag and makeup. Camille," Magnus says with some sense of urgency. His eyes never leave Alec's face, body, and clothes, and Alec starts to feel self-conscious under Magnus's penetrating gaze. Camille steps out, wearing a super short, dark red dress. Her eyes widen at Alec.
"Alec- Lightwood, is it? Jesus Christ. You look so damn hot that if I didn't live here, I would move to NYC. I mean, look at yourself." She and Magnus walk around him, and Alec puts his hands in his back pockets. Camille stops him with a flick of her pale wrist. "Stop, Alec. Now take your left hand out of your pocket and put it on your hip. Stand up straight- no, slouch a little. Make your eyes a little hooded- yes, yes, that's perfect. Open your mouth a little. Okay, you should be a porno," she says matter-of-factly. Alec jumps backwards- literally- and gets out of the position he had been in immediately. Magnus looks at him with another unreadable expression for a moment, and then turns back to his own outfit. Alec admires Magnus for a moment, and then turns to Camille. She blinks at him, narrowing her eyes, and then shakes her head. "Never you mind. Well, I'm done. Magnus? You done? We don't want to get to the club too late, of course." Magnus steps back from the mirror and takes hold of his bags.
"Let's go," he says, eyes skirting to the door. "To the club!" he cheers, leading the way out. Camille blows a kiss to the guy at the register and then takes off after Magnus. The Gucci guy looks at Alec with a bit of sympathy.
"Good luck taking those off, bro," he says, jerking a thumb down to Alec's pants.
"Ugh, I know," Alec agrees, and then takes off after Camille and Magnus.