Hi! Thank you for returning for Part 3 of this little story. I really appreciate those two nameless guests who reviewed last chapter; seriously, your reviews were awesome. Please review again, so I can know what to do with this story! Anyway, read on, and enjoy!
"Well...why don't we have a Hanukkah party?"
Dead silence.
Then:
"I-" said Simon, opening his mouth to answer Clary's question, when he was suddenly interrupted by a very loud, very obnoxious voice that came from behind him.
"Did somebody say PARTY?"
Clary's eyes widened as she saw the person who the voice belonged to, and Simon groaned loudly as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back in frustration.
"Hello, Magnus," he sighed. He turned around slowly, dreading confronting the reality that he already knew was true.
And in swept Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, who always came dressed to impress. On this particular occasion (which was of no real significance), the warlock was sporting nothing less than a bright pink, sparkly suit, complete with a shining top hat and a bedazzled cane. His shoes were polished enough to blind a bald eagle, and Simon had no doubt in his mind that if he were to lift up the warlock's pant leg, he would see a sock so studded in rhinestones, that it would make the Milky Way pale in comparison.
"Hello, vampire," Magnus said curtly, his lip raised in a slight sneer, casually leaning on his not-so-casual cane for support. His eyebrow was quirked up in an odd manner, one that was as cryptic as Clary's deadpan expression. Then, in an obvious change of emotion, the warlock turned to Clary and greeting her warmly with a hug and saying, "Hello, my dear. It's nice to see you again."
"Hi, Magnus," she chuckled as she returned the embrace. Simon couldn't help himself from rolling his eyes.
"So, am I crazy, or did I just hear someone utter my favorite word?"
"No, you're right, I did suggest that we hold a Hanukkah party for Simon, just as you walked in," explained Clary.
"Although you are plenty crazy," Simon muttered under his breath, but somehow, he thought the warlock heard him, from the way his fiery eyes darted over to him and flared up like an unkempt flame. The Jewish vampire felt his blood, although it was already extremely cool, freeze over in his veins. There was no telling what a warlock as powerful as Magnus Bane could do to an inexperienced vampire like Simon if he really wanted to. Thankfully, though, Magnus was a friend of Clary's, who was a friend of Simon's, so the two males were somewhat of friends to each other. And, also fortunately, Magnus decided not to say and/or do anything about Simon's little remark.
"So, Simon," said Clary as she turned to look at him. "How about it? A big- or small- Hanukkah get-together with all of us here at the house. We don't have to invite anyone over, really. Except for you, Magnus, of course," she added as an afterthought, nodding graciously at him with a slight incline of her head. Magnus nodded back in return.
"That is, if the whole idea is alright with you, Simon," she said anxiously.
Simon was surprised to hear that tone in her voice. It didn't really seem like something she would care about. After all, she wasn't deeply religious, and even if she was, she would most likely be some denomination of Christianity. So the fact that Clary was taking such a deep personal interest in his holiday was, quite frankly, a little suspicious.
"Sure," he still found himself saying, despite the bizarreness of the situation. "I think that'd be great. And yes, Magnus," he said, turning with a wry grin to the warlock, "you can come. You are officially invited, as of this moment."
Magnus chuckled, sort of a haughty laugh that said "Yeah, I knew you'd invite me, but even if you didn't, I'd still show up anyway." Somehow, it was charming on him, although that might have been a side effect of the subtle wink that Magnus sent his way.
Simon wondered what in the world that was all about.
"It would be an honor to attend," he said in a regal tone, a tone which made Simon smirk. It was just about the most "posh" thing that you could possibly say. His smirk only widened when Magnus lowered himself in a low bow- he actually bowed, something he didn't know actually existed in the modern, real world- and swept his glittering top hat off of his head with a grand flourish. "And my pleasure to assist you in any way I possibly can."
What a drama queen, thought Simon with slight bemusement.
"That's terrific. And, as a matter of fact," Clary said, drawing Simon's focus away from his enormous smirk and towards the sound of her voice. She was always one of his top priorities, no matter what. "I think we'll need your assistance anyway. I don't think we would mind your help at all, would we Simon?"
She gave him a glare filled with a warning that Simon would have to have been both blind and deaf to miss the meaning. Don't you dare say 'yes'.
"No, of course not," he said, then he frowned, confused by what she was saying. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that..." She gestured around the room, but her gesticulations didn't exactly help her find the right words. "This is a pretty big house, even for several teenagers to live in, don't you think?" She didn't wait for him to confirm it. "So, if we're gonna decorate for the party, then-"
"Wait wait wait. Slow down for one second," instructed Simon, holding up his hand. It seemed like such a teacher thing to do, but he couldn't help it. "Just how big is this party going to be?"
Clary shrugged, not quite meeting his eyes. "Oh, just a few people, y'know." She suddenly seemed very interested in the tiled kitchen floor and its zig-zaggy mosaic pattern.
"'Just a few people'?" She nodded. "Well, how many people is 'just a few'?"
"You know what?" Magnus butted in. Simon had almost forgotten he was in this conversation, let alone the room. He'd been so quiet. Unusually quiet for the hyper warlock... "What does it matter? The number of people won't affect the size of this house!"
"Yeah, but-" Simon protested, but Magnus cut him off.
"No 'but's' about it. Don't worry about the number of people who are coming. Clary can take care of that, right Clary?"
A strange look seemed to pass through them. It wasn't that Simon saw the actual expression on each of their faces, but he just got that feeling when they looked each other that they were exchanging more than just eye contact; they were trading thoughts. Thoughts that were invisible to him, and therefore incomprehensible.
Still, Simon decided not to push it. It probably wasn't any of his business anyway.
"Right," she said slowly, nodding her head at the same pace as she kept her eyes trained on Magnus. "In fact, I"ll go get started on the guest list right away."
"The guest list?!" Simon exclaimed. "Well, it's a Hanukkah party, and I'm the Jewish one here, so don't you think that maybe I should be the one to decide who's coming?"
"Pish posh," declared Clary.
Whatever that means, thought Simon.
"The guest list is always the woman's job, and I'm the more social one out of the two of us." Simon couldn't tell is she was purposefully or accidentally excluding Magnus, considering he was the guy that gave the "raddest" parties in this part of the country.
"Besides," Clary called over her shoulder as she walked away. "You've got to help Magnus decorate."
"Decorate!" cried Simon. "What kind of decorating?"
But Clary was gone, off to go invite some random guests, so she didn't answer. Slowly, dreading the outcome of this situation, which was destined to be nothing less than a disaster, Simon turned to face the warlock who was smiling like a madman with his top hat forged from sparkles.
"Glitter," he breathed, rubbing his hands together evilly. "Lots and lots of glitter."
BWAHAHA, Magnus and his glitter. Whatever shall happen? Only way is to wait patiently til tomorrow, and to REVIEW! Seriously, please tell me what you guys want with this story, cuz I'm just stumbling around blindly in the dark at the moment. Anyway, thanks for reading, please review, and I hope to see ya tomorrow. :)
Have a great day as always, and happy Hanukkah!
Love,
~Princess Andromeda II
