Carlisle (11.07.2014 – 13.07.2014)
(Simon)
Something was up with the Lightwoods. We all knew it. It was obvious really, what with Alec's black eye and Jace's split lip. It wasn't just the boys, either, who were sending sharp glares and cold shoulders in all directions. The mother, Maryse, had this sudden look of sadness over her, like she had given up, like she didn't know what to do. Mr. Lightwood wore a now permanent scowl, as if he hadn't been intimidating enough as it was. Max clung to his eldest brother and I somehow got the feeling he was almost hiding from the rest of his family. Then there was Izzy. She wouldn't talk to me, suddenly. I knew she wasn't into me, that ship had sailed. I was still crazy about her, obviously, but she was way out of my league. I knew that, I wasn't going to get my hopes up. We had been building up a friendship though, or at least I thought we had. Whatever had happened back in Stirling, it had ended what ever we had had.
We were preparing to leave Scotland, which had been amazing, even with Clary's constant and very vocal awe over the scenery and the light. She was always going on about the light and the colours, I had learned to tune her out. What ever had happened had also stopped her thing with Jace in the tracks, and suddenly I had my friend back. It was her who had heard about this tour, and I had suggested it to my mother, so I could get to spend the summer with my childhood best friend. Her sudden infatuation with one of the other participants had sort of halted those plans for a while, but I couldn't feel too bad about it because it had meant that I had no guilt in my own pursuits. Now that we were both given and giving cold shoulders, though, we were back on track.
Anyway, I was falling a little bit in love with Scotland. - We had some pretty awesome forests back in the state, but this was completely different. There were hardly any trees on the west coast because the storms were to ferocious, apparently. Instead the rocks were bared to the wind, sticking up in wind-shaped rugged shapes, only partially covered in mosses and grass. The fairy pools on Skye had been my favorite so far even if the purple trees really had turned out to be scam of the internet. It still felt like something out of one of my books, and that was what I loved about it. - Actually, Scotland was pretty much like stepping into a fantasy novel.
"Simon, are you even listening to me?" Clary poked me in the side, and I turned to face her, trying to look innocent.
"Yeah sure, we were talking about looking for a post card for your mum when we get to Carlisle." I said, hoping she hadn't strayed to far since I tuned out. She rolled her eyes at me. Damn. She slumped back in her seat.
"Has Izzy told you anything?" she asked me, twirling the string of her sweatshirt around her finger.
"Nope, still not talking to me." I told her, casting a glance at where the Lightwood girl was sitting, staring of into space as Jace was doing the same next to her, a scowl on his face.
"What do you think they fought over?" Clary had always had a hard time railing in her curiosity.
"No idea." I replied, shrugging. She huffed returning her eyes to the window and the rugged landscape drifting past outside. Shaking my head at my best friend I smirked and turned towards my sister and mother who was sitting across the aisle from me. They were easy to engage in conversation, and far more entertaining than a grumpy, sulking Clary was.
(Izzy)
We had left Scotland, that much was evident in the architecture that now surrounded us. Gone were the grey stone buildings, and instead red bricks were all one could see. The first stop in the proud kingdom of England – apparently not to be confused with the United Kingdom – was the city of Carlisle. From the castle-like structures and fancy churches I was assuming the city was not without some sort of historical significance, but I really didn't care. - I let that in the hands of Alec, whom I was currently not speaking with. The only thing I knew about Carlisle was that he was pale and tall, and the Vampire father of handsome Edward. - Also he was played by Peter Facinelli in the unremarkable movies, that I vehemently denied having seen until I could ascertain that the people I was speaking to had acquainted themselves with the franchise in some detail.
The hostel we were staying at was no the largest one yet, though it wasn't unbearably small either. - really, after three weeks, the hostels were beginning to blend together quite a bit. This one did have a decent sitting room though, with couches and arm chairs. That turned out to be fortunate since a rainy weather had rolled in with the evening mist, and the post dinner walk had been replaced by an improvised game night. Groups had been formed, none-so-subtly, to divide up us Lightwood kids. My group also contained the two younger participants, and so we were playing a board game one of the girls had brought. Mostly it involved crafting cup cakes according to 'recipe' cards, and the slow pace gave me amble opportunity to observe the other groups. - Well mainly just one. Alec's delegation was sitting at one of the proper tables in the room, all of them engaged in a rowdy round of Trivial Pursuit. - It was a dated British version, which someone had left in the hostel, and the questions were there after.
"How could you possibly know that?!" Clary demanded. - She and Jace were split, for once, obviously also suffering from that thing that none of us were talking about. - Which meant that my couple's watch list was down to one.
"You didn't?" Alec sounded genuinely puzzled, and the rest of the table burst in to laughter. Something extraordinary happened then. Magnus and Alec were on a team together, and were therefore sitting rather close. The chair I was in faced the back of theirs, which was probably the only reason I caught what happened. One of Magnus' ring-clad hands softly moved from his own thigh to that of my brother, and the hand Alec had used to flail at the others laughter, made its way under the tabled to rest against Magnus' for just a short second. I even caught how Alec's eyes flickered down towards their hands, up to Magnus face and back to focus on the question he was about to read out loud. Then the hands were gone, and the game continued as if nothing had happened. Except that something had. That had not been casual flirty friends dancing around each other. It had been far to calculated and familiar for that. It basically confirmed my suspicion. My brother was totally screwing the hottest guide on the trip, and I was quite possibly the only one who knew about it. I was not proud of the squeak that pressed it's way unbidden past my lips. - Especially not as everyone turned to look at me - but I was a teenage girl, damn it, and I was programmed to react to heightened situations of romance.
"I got the, uh, I got Cinderella's cup cake. She's my favorite." I stammered out, blood rising to my cheeks. My mother did not look convinced, raising an eyebrow at my from across my seat. Alec was also looking at me over his shoulder, a cautious look on his face. I tried to smile reassuringly as I bent forward to pick out the little plastic pieces that was needed to construct my Cinderella cup cake.
"Izzy," my brother's soft voice sounded behind me. I had made an escape to the kitchen not to long after my embarrassing outburst. Now that I knew for sure what I had suspected for weeks, I found my eyes constantly drawn to the two of them. Really, I should have known for sure ages ago, they weren't actually that subtle with the tilting towards each other, and casual touches and the glances, my, the glances.
"Yes," I froze, unsure of how to stem the squealing cursing through my body.
"You okay there?" He had pushed the door closed behind him, and was looking at me with those blue eyes that for some reason had always made me want to give up all my secrets.
"Mhm," I nodded, far to eagerly, and his eyes narrowed at me. God, I knew I should let him tell me, but I so wanted to just blurt it out. Would that really be so bad?
"Sure there's nothing going on?" he asked, watching me closely, and I knew he suspected something.
"Yeah, sure, are you? Anything you want to tell me?" I fired back. He visibly stuttered, then caught himself, straightening his back, and starring me down.
"You saw?!" it was almost an accusation, but I didn't care. This counted as him telling me, in my book, which meant I had free rains to squeal, teenage girl style.
"Oh, my God, Alec, he's so hot you lucky, lucky thing!" I breathed out rushing over to grab his hands. My brother was blushing instantaneously, starring at me. "I called it, you know, back in Edinburgh. I knew he wanted you! Oh this makes me so happy! He's so good for you, and so hot, did I mention that? Your boyfriend is so hot!" I was bouncing up and down, and Alec looked at me as if I had lost my head.
"Wait, hold up, you knew? About me being... you know?"
"Of course I did, I'm your sister! And, really, I should be insulted that that is a surprise to you. I have been so careful about not using gendered pronouns when I was asking you about those things. You're really not as perceptive as everyone thinks." He just looked at me for a moment.
"And you're okay with it?" He asked, slowly, still holding on to my hands.
"Obviously." I shrugged. "Now can we talk about that hot piece of ass you get to call your... boyfriend? Or what, what do you call him?" at that he let go of my hands to stroke his hands over his face. "Well? Share with me, come on! Please!"
"Hold up," he held a finger in front of him, "I am going to need sugar, if we're doing this!"
Just outside the kitchen the dining tables were arranged in sort of a spiral pattern. The two of us made our way to one in the far corner, and settled with cups of hot cocoa and some left-over biscuits from the bus ride.
"Spill," I waved my Bourbon Cream at Alec before dipping it in the hot liquid.
"That is just to much chocolate at once," Alec shuddered. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Right, well, I... what is it you want to know? Oh, Yeah, I call him boyfriend, or like secret." He stopped dead, blushing. "Secret boyfriend. Because, you know, we're keeping it secret."
"That was not what you were going to say!" I cackled. He rolled his eyes at me.
"What do you want to know Izzy?" he sighed, sipping his own cocoa.
"Everything." I quickly stated. "How long you've been hooking up with Magnus, when did you find out that that was something you wanted? Have you had a lot of boyfriends that I don't know about? How serious is it with Magnus? Do you like him? Does he like you?"
"Whoa, slow down!" Alec held his hands up, but he was smiling. "Okay, I'll tell you, jeez. So, I... have known I was, well, gay, since I was 11. I just sort of figured it out. That that was what was happening. And I didn't tell any of you because, well, I didn't want you to not like me anymore."
"You know that was never going to happen, right?" I implored, leaning towards him and holding his eyes. He smiled a soft, shy sort of smile.
"I do, now," he reassured me, "Max basically cemented that when he found out last week."
"Max have known for a week?!" that, I was not impressed with.
"Yes. And he told me you'd be pissed I didn't tell you sooner so don't go blaming him!" I snorted elegantly in response, aggressively pulling another biscuit from the package. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Izzy, okay?" he caught my eyes and smiled disarmingly at me. I scowled at him, then relented a little.
"Fine. So long as you share the deets!"
"I really don't get why you want to know the details, but okay. - In the interest of a sister-brother truce, I will tell you. The deets. Of my relationship. So. I haven't really had anyone serious before. I mean, I'm not. You don't need to know that. So, anyway. Magnus is my first for real boyfriend, and yes I do really like him, and he really likes me back." I squealed, and Alec blushed and smiled adorably.
"How long have you been together?" I asked, leaning across the table.
"Ehm, since Dundee? I guess. At least, that's when we went on our first date." he looked from my face to the table and back, not entirely comfortable talking about these things with me.
"Wow, you don't wait around, huh?" I joked, smiling. I really liked my brother this happy. He blushed again.
"Well, there didn't seem to be a point in that," he mumbled.
"Yeah, I get that. - I would have locked that hot piece down as soon as I could, too."
"Izzy!" my brother exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"What? He's hot. You must know that!" I leaned towards him, giving him my most impish grin, and he shook his head at me in that older brother way of his.
"Obviously, I do. But I am not discussing that with you!" he said, an equally impish look in his eyes.
"He is also a good man, and I am so happy for you!" I reached over to place my hand on top of his. He smiled at me, softly. I smiled back, and if there had been any doubt left in my mind, the quick look of concern that met us as we reentered the sitting room, and the way it melted away from Magnus' face at the sight of Alec's smile, then that doubt would have died a quiet unremarkable death. My brother and his boyfriend was just that awesome.
AN: So now both Izzy and Max knows. We will be getting back to the fight and a resolution, but it will take a bit of time. See you next week sometime (not sure it will be Thursday, but I will update) where we are headed to Newcastle. I hope you are all still enjoying this... let me know what you think...!
