The Institute
a multi-chapter fan fic by ariviand
Chapter Seven: Interrupted
The whistling continued all the way down the hall, steadily getting louder. Alec sat up with a start and a subsequent groan, palm flattening out against his forehead, feeling the pain shoot into his temple, behind his eyes, and the back of his head.
He knew it was because he hadn't slept much last night. But he didn't think it would hurt quite so much. The jarring whistle certainly wasn't helping.
Neither was the knock that came seconds later, one on his door, then the one next door, and the one after that and after that, quickly progressing down the hall.
"Rise and shine, kiddies! If I have to be awake at this hour, so do you!" A voice called, apparently doing its best to sound obnoxious - as if the knocking and the whistling wasn't enough.
Alec stumbled out of bed, throwing back the covers and heading for the door. Turning the knob, he shoved the door open in order to poke his head out, squinting.
Down at the other end of the hall was a tall, vaguely familiar figure. It was the massive amount of glitter glinting off bare arms that tipped him off. Alec realized it was the warlock from the night before, the flashy professor who had relocated their dinner.
Ducking back inside, Alec ran an agitated hand through his messy hair, then set about rubbing the crust from his eyes.
Jace's chuckle broke him off from the eye-rubbing. "You look like shit," Jace noted.
Alec scowled, shooting him as scathing of a look as he could manage, given the circumstances.
"Are you OK?" Jace asked. He sounded sincerely concerned now.
"I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night."
"Nervous about today?" Jace asked, leaning into the door frame.
"No. I was freezing and the bed hurt my back and the alarm clock was ticking," Alec explained with annoyance.
"Alarm clocks don't tick," Jace retorted with a snicker.
"Mine did."
"Uh huh," Jace replied, laughing under his breath.
"Break it up, boys."
Jace straightened up at the sound of the professor standing behind him. He slowly pivoted around on one foot. He looked irritated to have to look up to the other man. The warlock looked amused by that fact.
"You better hop in the shower so you can still have time to blow dry and style your hair," the warlock teased, eyes sizing up Jace.
Alec stiffened, worried about what Jace might say in reply. He held his breath, eyes darting between the two anxiously.
But Jace merely pasted on a smile. "Thank you for your concern, Professor. I'm sure I'll manage," he drawled, before weaving between the lanky warlock and the door frame, heading back down to his room.
When the warlock's strange eyes turned on Alec, his shoulders went up self-consciously. Then he realized what was so strange about those eyes. They were green and gold, but what's more, he had the pupils of a cat, vertical slits that seemed to dilate a little in the light.
Alec didn't realize he was staring until the warlock smiled and leaned into the doorway just as Jace had, only he looked somehow even more lazy and graceful as he did, his very thin, but also very tall form filling up the space.
"You better wash up too, sleeping beauty," the warlock murmured, so soft it sounded like a purr, and Alec wasn't quite sure he had heard him right. Blushing, Alec turned away and went over to the wardrobe, trying to distract himself with picking out his clothes.
Wait. He still didn't know which uniform he was supposed to wear. Spinning around, he thought to ask the professor. But the man was already gone.
Alec let out a long breath, a little relieved. The way the warlock had been looking at him made him feel uncomfortable, and far too self-aware.
Well, the formal school uniform seemed like the safest decision. Alec carefully removed the starched shirt, the trousers, a pair of socks, one pair of shoes, the dark vest, and uniform jacket, draping the clothes along the length of the bed, leaving the shoes just beside it. He also plugged in the iron he'd brought with him, just in case unwanted wrinkles needed to be vanquished before he left for class.
But how much time did he really have until then? The warlock hadn't said. Biting his lip, Alec rummaged for a towel and his boxers, heading for the bathroom. Fortunately it didn't take him long to shower. Five minutes would be plenty to wash his hair and make use of the bar of soap, then climb out and comb the tangles from his hair. It would dry fine on its own, and take whatever unruly shape it wanted. He wasn't particularly concerned with his appearance. Neatness was key, but looking attractive for other people - that was Jace's line, not his. Only Jace didn't have to do much to be attractive.
Alec unconsciously did almost everything he could to fight against his own attractiveness. But he couldn't undo the features of his face or hide behind his hair. It was a little too long and could use a trim, but it still didn't cover his eyes and it was no cover for his often flushed cheeks or tense mouth.
In less than fifteen minutes, Alec was working feverishly over imaginary wrinkles in his shirt, fully dressed from the waist down. The iron put off puffs of steam as it passed over his uniform shirt.
"Come on. Everyone is heading to the dining hall," Jace said from the doorway. He was already fully dressed, hair dried, looking like he hadn't rushed at all. Alec frowned at him, struggling into his warm shirt, turning away from the other boy as he worked over the buttons, fumbling with the last two.
Then he snatched up his jacket, slid his stele into his back pocket and retrieved the key from the nightstand, rushing out of the room and locking it behind him.
