Hello, hello! It has been WAY too long since I posted another chapter. My courses are hectic at the moment, so the majority of my time is spent studying. Another issue I have run across is that I've met my limit of documents. Dunno how I'm going to post more chapters for this story if that means I have to delete other chapters from my other stories. So sad! But I do intend to keep writing. Anyway, this chapter is another slow one. We're slowly inching towards some action and sexiness :) Bear with me! Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! (I was too anxious to get this posted to check for errors, so please forgive me if you find any!)

Alec flipped the page of the Men's Health magazine. His eyes skimmed over the black print, though his mind was too preoccupied to absorb any information. He flipped another page and stared at a pictured man with eyes dangerously similar to Jace's. He focused on them, wishing he could be as calm speaking to Jace as he was looking down at the picture. Alec stared death in the face nearly on a daily basis, but he felt like a coward. All he wanted was to be happy; the only thing standing in front of his sunlight was his own shadow.

The chair next to Alec's scraped softly against the floor as someone deposited himself into it.

"Hey, hero."

A small smile touched Alec's lips as he recognized Magnus's voice. "I'm hardly a hero, B."

Magnus clucked his tongue. "So modest."

Alec closed the magazine and placed it back on the table in front of him. He sat leaning forward in the chair, curled in on himself with his hands folded in his lap. Magnus seemed more at ease in his chair, leaning back with one ankle resting on the opposite knee. He clasped his hands behind his head and studied Alec with sparkling eyes.

"You doing okay?"

Alec nodded and fidgeted with his fingers. "Yeah. I'm all right."

"How about the kids?"

"They'll be all right. The boy has a bump on his head, and they're both being treated for smoke inhalation, but nothing too serious. Thank God."

"That boy so owes that girl dinner."

Alec laughed. "It better be a lobster dinner, complete with flowers and diamonds."

"Damn brave girl," Magnus marvelled. "She could have just left him there."

"Those that love you will never leave your side."

Alec's words hung heavily between them before Magnus asked, "Did you hear what caused the fire?"

Alec shook his head.

"Apparently investigators found fragments of homemade explosives. Just small ones. There's evidence that suggests the arsonist used fuel in the library and in a couple classrooms. Luckily it was Saturday and there weren't many people at the university, but unfortunately that means we don't have many witnesses to give us descriptions."

"I heard Maia said in her statement that there was a couple explosions. That must have been what knocked the bookshelves over and trapped Jordan."

"Now there's an arsonist on the loose, and we have no idea where he might attack next."

Alec thought of the hospital and immediately reached for the dog tags hidden under his shirt. He could not bear anything happening to Izzy; she was all he had left.

Magnus straightened in his seat. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Despite the quiet chatter amongst other firefighters and the babbling from the TV across the room, Alec could hear his heart hammering in his chest. He never admitted his fear to anyone, but he felt oddly inclined to confide in Magnus. He swallowed and stared down at the table.

"I'm just-"

"Lightwood!"

Jace Wayland plopped himself in a chair on the other side of Alec and reclined to rest his feet on the table. His white teeth gleamed in a wide smile. Alec forced his lips to curve upward. He felt tension radiating from Magnus like a fire burning at his side.

"I heard you threw some kids out a window."

"Dangled," Alec corrected.

Jace waved his hand. "It makes no difference. You're the heroic knight in charred armor."

Alec blushed when Jace winked at him.

"Wayland." Alec flinched under Magnus's sharp tone, but Jace remained unbothered. "You have a tendency to impose when you're most unwelcome."

"Says you, transfer," Jace shot back.

"I'm surprised no one has beat the hell out of you yet, you arrogant little shit."

Alec curled in on himself tighter, extremely aware that the three of them were now under the scrutiny all everyone else in the common room. Aside from the music on the TV, it had gone eerily quiet. Being part of the main focus made Alec want to crawl underneath the table.

Jace spread his arms wide in a challenging gesture. "Why not be the first, Bane?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Magnus rose from his chair. "I'd get suspended and you'd be free to roam around the station like a cocky dick, unchallenged."

"You know," Jace swung his legs off the table and stood, walking around Alec's chair to stand in front of Magnus, "ever since you got here, you've been acting like you're the chief. You're no more important than any other man here, you conceited prick. I'd love to knock your ego down a few notches, so go ahead. Take a swing."

Alec jumped out of his seat and positioned himself between his two friends. Magnus and Jace were about the same height, and Alec was about a head shorter than both of them. They towered over him, glaring at each other. Alec felt ineffective trying to use his own body as a barricade.

"Jace, Magnus, back off," he said, his voice lacking authority.

Magnus relaxed slightly, but Jace leaned forward and hissed, "You going to let Alec fight your battles for you, Bane?"

Alec went still. He angled his face towards Jace, trying to keep the hurt out of his expression. He searched Jace's face as he calculated his words. Jace caught a flicker of something in Alec's eyes and his features softened with the recognition of his wrongdoing. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak Alec turned and stormed out of the common room. He bolted down the hall and into the locker room. There he opened his locker and searched its contents, pretending there was something to be looking for. After a minute, Alec's eyes fell on the picture taped to the door. Izzy's face, as well as his own, smiled back at him. Slowly Alec's emotions dissipated back into a state of calm.

The door to the locker room opened. Alec closed his eyes, slowly counting to ten in his head. He was not ready to face Jace yet.

"I'm sorry for making a scene," Magnus Bane said.

Alec turned. "I don't like being caught in the middle of you two."

"I wish I could make nice with Jace, but I don't think there's a single good bone in his body."

"He's not all bad," Alec whispered, dropping his gaze.

There was a moment of silence before Magnus said quietly, "You...you like him."

"Lots of the guys like him."

"That's not what I meant. I meant you're in love with him," Magnus stated incredulously.

Alec slowly looked up, expecting to see some form of judgement on Magnus's face. But there was no hint of disgust on the man's face. It was clear Magnus was surprised, but Alec was more taken aback by the hint of disappointment in Magnus's eyes. Alec tried to think of something to say, debating denying the allegation, but Magus had already taken Alec's silence as confirmation.

Magnus sighed and offered a weak smile. He took a step forward and placed his hand on Alec's shoulder. "You deserve so much better."

Alec watched as Magnus turned and walked out of the locker room, staring at the door longer after it had closed.

There was a soft knock and Izzy entered Alec's room without waiting for an invitation. Alec sat on his bed with his back propped against the headboard, tossing a tennis ball up into the air repeatedly. Feeling his sister's gaze on him, he avoided looking at her by staring down at the neon green ball in his palm.

"Are you going to talk about it or should I just admit you into the psych ward now?"

"Jace and Magnus got into it at work today," Alec conceded.

"Did one of them hit you?"

Alec shook his head, still not looking at his sister.

"So what's bothering you?"

"It's just something Jace said."

"Did he proclaim his love for you?"

Alec did not smile. "He asked Magnus is he was going to let me fight his battles for him."

"Did you hit one of them?" Izzy asked, concerned.

"No one hit anyone. It's just...the way Jace said it. I don't know if he meant Magnus is too spineless to fight his own battles, or if he meant he was surprised Magnus would let a weakling fight his battles for him."

Izzy pulled her hair over her shoulder and said softly, "Either way, he kind of comes off as a jerk."

"I still like him, Iz."

"There's no shame in that."

"But..." Alec finally lifted his gaze. "But what if there's someone else, too?"

"Magnus?" Isabelle guessed.

"That obvious, huh?"

Izzy shrugged. "You dislike Jace calling him a coward, plus your eyes lit up when you said his name."

Alec hunched over, shrinking himself. "What am I supposed to do? I don't know who I want more."

Isabelle reached out and placed her hand over her brother's. "Who do you see yourself with?"

Alec shrugged. "I'm not even sure if Magnus is...like me. I've wanted Jace for a long time, but why do I want Magnus, too?"

Isabelle curled her fingers around Alec's. "You're going to have to find out. You can't focus on the questions. Find the answers. You're stuck standing where you are; take a leap of faith through the flames, firefighter."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "What is with all the fire metaphors?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Too redundant?" Izzy quirked her head to the side. "Want me to take you to a strip club to cheer you up?"

"God, no."

"I could get Simon to do a strip tease for you."

"I would prefer to never see that. Ever."

"You're missing out." Izzy disentangled her hand from Alec's and stood beside the bed. "Just ask one of them out. Only an idiot would say no."

Alec fell forward and implanted his face in the bundle of blankets on the bed after Izzy left. He barely heard his own muffled voice as he mumbled, "But who the fuck am I supposed to ask first?"