Next chapter as promised. Thank you everyone for the reviews. Next chapter might be a bit of a wait, since a) I haven't even started it and b) university is starting and I plan spending the next week under influence of large quantities of alcohol. Enjoy.

Also, when writing this chapter I realized how British I became, since I had a hard time writing without putting stuff like 'bloody hell' and 'bollocks'

Chapter 7: My First Kiss by 3OH!3

Magnus let the credits play until the end. Somewhere in the middle of the movie the mostly empty popcorn bowl ended up on a floor, whatever little white balls left in it spilling over the carpet. I sat up the whole movie, but Magnus stretched out on his bed, head on the pillow and feet next to my knees. He also got rid of his ridiculous shoes. His toenails, surprisingly, were not painted.

"That movie always fucks with my mind," he said.

"Yeah, freaking amazing though."

"I say!"

We sat in silence for some time. It was so quiet that my mind sort of drifted away. Which made me nearly jump out of my skin when my phone rang in my pocket. Classy, Alec, very classy.

"H-hello?"

"Hey, Alec, where are you?" It was Jace. "It's past six and Maryse came back a while ago and is now going a bit insane."

"Damn. Sorry, I lost track of time. Tell her I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Thirty tops."

"No problem. But where the hell are you?"

I hung up. No way I'm telling him I am out on a date.

"Um, Magnus, sorry, but I really have to go..."

"That's all right," he sat up. His hair was mussed up from leaning against a pillow. "Though I do believe you said fifteen to thirty minutes?"

"OK, I'll help you clean up, then go."

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Magnus said and scooted closer to me.

He met my eyes. The contacts he wore and the smudged eyeliner made him look strangely alluring and absolutely intoxicating. I'm pretty sure that even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to move. He must have gotten even closer, because I could feel the heat radiating off him. His hand touched my cheek. It was very soft and smelled of lavender. Some sort of moisturizer. Now his face was getting closer, head tilted, eyes half lidded.

When his lips met mine it was... strange. Not unpleasant, just different. Different from what I expected I guess. You always hear how the first kiss is so magical, as if you're struck by lightning, but in a good way. No, it was just two people touching. With lips. Which did happen to be very nice.

I closed my eyes, tilted my head and did what I hoped was reciprocating the kiss.

It didn't last long. But when Magnus pulled away, he was smiling.

"First kiss I'm guessing?," he said.

I blushed.

"Hey, I didn't expect anything else. It is pretty small town and you don't seem like the type to make out with whomever and wherever. Besides, I do very much approve."

I smiled weakly. Hey, at least he didn't hate it.

"Wanna have another go?" Magnus asked and moved his face closer once again.

To his credit, he didn't actually kiss me then, just stopped an inch or so away from my lips, giving me the option to close the space between us. Which I did.

The second kiss was even better. I put my hand at the back of Magnus' neck. For whatever reason, I gave it a gentle scratch. And he must have liked it because he made a small noise of approval at the back of his throat. At some point, his tongue darted out over my upper lip. That was nice. He did it again. I opened my mouth slightly, which Magnus took advantage of and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

It was still nice, just a bit stranger. I tried to copy Magnus' movements but kept wondering if I'm doing it right. He must have felt my unease, because he pulled away.

"We've got plenty of time to practice this, blue eyes. Since, guessing by this, you will agree to a second date?"

I nodded.

"Now, come on. Don't you have a home to go to?" Magnus laughed and jumped off the bed.

He walked me to his front door, where he kissed me once again.

"Let me know you got home safe, all right?"

"Right, because I have such a long way to go."

We both laughed and I waved back at him, walking down the gravel path.

I was home maybe a minute later. And just as soon as I closed the door, my mother was by my side asking where on earth have I been. I didn't really feel like explaining myself, so I said I was at the arcade and lost track of time. I'm pretty sure she didn't believe me, but she left me alone.

Few minutes after I went to my room, Jace knocked on my door.

"So where were you?" he asked. "I know you weren't at the arcade, Clary and me were there since the school ended."

"You mean 'Clary and I'?" I said, trying to be nonchalant but too afraid to face him, so I just pretended to tidy up the shelf next to my bed.

"Don't you grammar me, can't you answer a simple question?"

"I was out."

"Yeah, I got that much."

Silence. I felt the mattress dip where Jace sat down. He put a hand on my shoulder. I usually try to stay as aware as possible of Jace's place in relation to me. Strangely enough I didn't really care right now.

"Look, Alec, we were just worried about you."

"I was with a friend, no big deal."

I turned around to look at him. His tawny eyes met mine for a rather uncomfortable amount of time. Finally, he looked away and got up. But just as he reached the door, he paused and asked:

"Does this friend have something to do with that phone number Isabelle found on your hand the other day?"

I shot him what I believed was my best evil look. He laughed and walked out of my room.

The phone in my pocket vibrated. It was a text from Magnus:

Hope you didn't get in trouble xxx

I smiled and looked out the window. Magnus was leaning against own open window. I waved at him, but he must have not seen me, because he didn't wave back. Instead he lit his silver lighter, orange flame flickering in the breeze. I watched him as he played with the fire, running his fingers over it, fast enough not to be burned. He got bored after several minutes, snapping the lighter shut.

I didn't do anything creative through the rest of the day - instead my mind was drawn to the image of Magnus playing with fire. It was still with me when I finally went to sleep.