Chapter Eight: Money is everything
Magnus Bane was on cloud nine. He was so happy beyond belief because a day that began like a day in hell manifested into a dozen years in heaven. He wasn't expecting the day to go as soothingly as it did, with Alec reciprocating his feelings and actions, but he was glad his dreams were made into reality.
Hannah, Magnus' mum, took a glance at her son for what must have been the hundredth time since he got into the car, trying to figure out how her son was feeling. If the broad goofy smile was any indication, Magnus was ecstatic. She had driven to the address Magnus told her to come, expecting some kind of night club but it was a pleasant surprise to find that it was an address to a beautiful suburban home. It was a shock to find her son standing in a very close proximity to a boy who she guessed was the 'friend' Magnus had mentioned.
At least he's making new friends and getting along okay, she had thought. She was still recovering from the sight of the expression that both her son and the boy had painted on their faces.
Hannah Bane was very much aware of the lifestyle her son had chosen: partying whenever possible while going from a mixture of boyfriends and girlfriends. She had no problem with her son's sexual orientation though it always bothered her when Magnus brought a different person home every weekend, but the look in Magnus' eyes while looking at the raven headed boy told her that to Magnus, said raven haired boy was not just one of the people her son brought over, but someone very special.
Hannah giggled to herself when she saw that Magnus had yet to wipe that big smile from his face. Sure, it was nice to see her son happy, but it had been so long since that happened. "What's funny?" Magnus asked, confusion covering his face.
"Oh nothing," Hannah said, trying her best to hide her amusement. "So...a friend huh?" she continued when she felt Magnus' glare on her. "What's his name?" Hannah asked when Magnus didn't say anything.
"Alexander," Magnus said, his goofy expression returning. Hannah smiled when she heard the fondness in her son's voice while saying the name.
"Oh that's a nice name. He goes to the same school as you?" she asked as she slowed down the car in order to get into the parking space in front of their house.
They lived in a small two bedroom house, complete with a toilet downstairs and a bathroom/shower upstairs. Its wasn't that they couldn't afford a bigger home but Hannah knew that even though her son was innocent, there is still a possibility of him getting sent away, even if it was only for a few months. If that were to happen, she didn't want to be alone in a big house that would only increase the missing presence of Magnus. They intended to get a bigger house once the case was settled.
"Huh?" Magnus asked, staring at his phone distractedly as he got out of the now parked car.
"I asked if Alexander went to the same school as you," Hannah repeated. They both got to their door and Hannah opened it. "Yeah," Magnus said, smiling at something only he could see on his phone.
"What's that?" Hannah asked, looking the door behind them. "Alexander, he wanted to know if he got me in trouble and if I got home okay," Magnus said, taking off his shoes while typing on his phone. "So, I'm I in trouble?" He asked innocently.
"Uh... not really. Do you want anything to eat?" Hannah shouted from where she was in the kitchen several minutes later when Magnus got himself settled in the living room.
"No thanks," Magnus shouted back, still frantically typing on his phone. Hannah sighed and put some pasta into a plate for Magnus despite his answer, all the while wondering if this Alexander boy was good for her son after all.
She placed the plate of pasta on the small round wooden table in the centre of the living room and nudged Magnus so she could sit next to him on the sofa opposite the TV. "You better eat that," she said, pointing at the food on the table while turning on the TV. Magnus mumbled something incomprehensible, causing Hannah to sigh and surf through the channels for something to watch.
Thirty minutes later, Magnus sighed and placed his phone in his back pocket and picked up the pasta for close inspection. "It's cold!" he shouted when he took a bit and Hannah lightly whacked him in the head with the remote in her hand.
"I put that there who knows how long ago. If you ate it when I brought it, it wouldn't be cold now would it?" Hannah said, lowering her voice at the last bit when she remembered what time it was.
"Oh sorry," Magnus said, getting up to put the food in the microwave.
He returned to the living room with a nicely heated pasta and took his previous seat next to his mum in the couch. "So, you finally finished texting him?" Hannah asked, feeling no need to clarify who 'him' was.
"Nope, his parents are home so they are having some kind of family meeting," Magnus replied around a mouth full of pasta.
"Family meeting?" Hannah asked, wondering what kind of family Alexander had. "He has a very organised family, plus his parents are workaholics so they have them to plan what they are doing for the rest of the month," Magnus said, answering his mother's unvoiced question.
"Oh I see. Does he know about your hearing on Saturday?" Hannah asked, worry creeping into her voice. She wasn't sure how close Magnus was with Alexander and by the look of things, Magnus really cared about Alexander. She just didn't want to see him hurt. She hadn't voiced her concerns to anyone but she was deeply concerned about her son. She knew that Magnus was scared about the hearing even though he always seemed confident and happy. She supposed he was doing it to make her feel better about the whole thing. If Alexander didn't know about the hearing, it would be most likely he might not know about what Magnus had had to do and if he found out at a later date, Hannah worried that Alexander may hurt her son by leaving him.
All her worries were enveloped with relief and joy at Magnus' hopeful reply of "Yeah, he said he would come."
Alec was beyond annoyed, he was furious. He had been running back and forth all morning in an attempt to get the ball past the overgrown teen that was the goalkeeper of his opponent team, at least once but to no avail.
Normally the football match would have been over about twenty minutes ago but the opposing team got to the football field a whole ten minutes after the game was supposed to have started, so the game had to start later than Alec had expected, and this particular team was Alicante High's top rival, meaning they were almost as good as each other. Due to the fact that both teams were nearly outmatched, no one had scored when the time came for the game end thus, the referee gave extra time to see if there would be a winner after fifteen more minutes.
Alec was not happy about that decision; if no one scored in nearly two hours you think someone will score in fifteen minutes? Alec had thought but as usual, kept said thought to himself. He was doing the best he could but one of the best players on his team got injured in the first thirty minutes of the game due to the other teams' violent nature so he was on a loose thread. The game would end if one of the teams scored and if no one scored after the extra fifteen minutes given, then it would be considered a draw.
12:45, damn! Alec thought as he checked his wrist watch. He knew that if he was get to Magnus' hearing on time like he promised, he would have to start making his way to the Institute soon, and to do that, someone had to score. With that, Alec came to a resolution: he was going to make the winning goal; even if he broke his legs to do it (he could always call a cab to take him to the hearing). He took a final survey of his surroundings and made a quick dash to a tall and muscular boy from the opposing team who was in current position of the ball. Before said tall boy knew what was happening, Alec swiped the ball from the other boy and headed for the goal post. There was a cry of protest from the tall boy but Alec made no note of it as he dodged and tricked anyone coming at him, whether it be a member of his own team or the opposing team Alec didn't care, he just knew he had to end this game once and for all. He was only a few metres away from the goal post when he made a one second deliberation as to where best to kick the godforsaken ball.
The goal keeper was right at the centre of the goal post and in that moment, no other player existed. It was just Alec, the ball, the keeper and the goal posts, everything else seemed to have faded into nothing but white space. Alec made his move, raising his leg as if readying himself to kick the ball under his foot to the left bottom corner of the goal post which caused the goal keeper to move in that direction with all his might but Alec changed direction in the last minute as his foot came into contact with the ball and kicked it directly above the now falling keepers head. In what seemed like many hours, the ball landed in the net, causing the referee to blow a very high pinched whistle, indicating the end of match, finally.
Alec jumped up in victory as all of his team mates jumped on top of him, making a pile of muddy, sweaty high school footballers on the football field. The large crowd of people sitting and some standing in the stands suddenly came to life, shouting in excitement and some jumping as if they were the ones who just scored.
Alec wrestled his way out of his teammates and fell into a run in the direction of the exit, making no note of the hateful glares directed at him from the losing team and appreciative yet confused looks from his friends from the stands and his teammates. They would have thought that the saviour of the match would want to celebrate with them.
Alec got out of the school gates before realising he had no money to either call a cab or take a bus since all his belongings were locked away safely in the changing rooms. He swore under his breath, took a look behind himself at the shelter with his belongings and decided it wasn't worth it to run back for his money so, he fell into another high speed race with himself towards the Institute.
Alec had been running non-stop for a while when he realised that it had been a terrible mistake to run. He started to feel aches in his muscles and joints from lack of oxygen to respire, but still kept on running. Alec heard many voices shout his name in unison just before a black car stopped in front of him. It took him a few milliseconds but Alec recognised the car as Jordan's so he stopped and jumped into the open door to the back seats.
He was greeted by an amused looking Izzy sitting at the back with Jace. "Honestly Alec, were you planning on running all the way?" Izzy asked.
"I-I well... yeah?" Alec said while trying to get his breath back causing Mia, who was sat at the front with Jordan, to laugh.
"The Institute, right?" Jordan said from the driver's seat.
"Uh huh," Alec said, not sure why his friend was helping him. He noticed that Jordan too was still in his football uniform as he hadn't changed.
"Honestly Alec! You do know it's like a thirty minutes walk, right?" Jace chipped in.
"Well I forgot my stuff in the changing room," Alec said, still in the process of gaining a regular heart beat.
"So you run?" Izzy shouted from where she sat.
"You want some water Alec?" Mia asked.
"Oh yeah, thank you Mia" Alec said, looking very appreciative.
While Alec drank the water Mia handed him, he wondered why his friends were there. Even though they knew about him and Magnus and seemed accepting, not all of them were happy about Magnus' past so he wasn't sure why any of them would want to be at the hearing. The girls (Izzy, Clary and Mia), were the first to accept Magnus but everyone else came around eventually, albeit reluctantly.
"What's up Alec?" Izzy asked her brother worriedly.
"What? I'm fine why?" Alec asked.
"Well, you have on that thinking face of yours. I don't like it" Izzy replied and after further deliberation, Alec decided to ask what was on his mind.
"Why are you guys here, helping me I mean? You don't really have to come" Alec said, unsure of himself.
"Magnus is our friend too you know!" Izzy shouted.
"Uh huh, plus he seems to make you happy. He won't be able to do much of that in prison now would he?" Jace said meaningfully and to redeem being so sentimental, he added in a sardonic tone "and court cases are just so much fun!" gaining a glare and a pouch from Izzy.
"We are nearly there. Alec, I can drop you off at the front and the rest of us can go park the car and join you in a bit yeah?" Jordan said, checking his rear view mirror in order to safety stop.
"Yeah, thanks guys," Alec said as he got out of the car and raced into the tall prison-like building.
Alec rushed into the building, passing a confused receptionist and reading the direction signs above his head in order to get into the right court case. He ran even faster when he saw the double mahogany doors at the end of the corridor he had been looking for. His heart came to a definite stop at the sight that greeted him once he opened the doors. The jury was in a heated conversation while the audience were broken into little groups around the courtroom, also in heated conversations.
The Judge however, looked as if she could murder anyone in her way. She was sat in the usual Judges seat tapping her perfectly manicured nails on her table and occasionally glancing at another set of doors opposite the ones Alec came in through. For a minute Alec thought he was in the wrong courtroom so he turned to leave, only to be stopped by the familiar voice shouting his name.
Alec didn't have to turn to know it was his boyfriend. Boyfriend, remembered the day Magnus had officially become exactly that and smiled, welcoming the warm feeling he had in his stomach every time he saw or thought of Magnus and that day.
It was afternoon after school and he and Magnus had decided to walk home instead of taking the bus. It was the day after Alec had promised to attend the hearing and Alec had been wondering exactly what his relationship with Magnus was, since he was not one to simply play around. They were near Magnus' house when Magnus turned around suddenly and gave Alec a quick chaste kiss on his check.
At that moment, Alec decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since that morning.
"M-Magnus?" Alec said once Magnus pulled back.
"Yeah?" Magnus had replied and took Alec's hand in his. Alec took a deep breath to muster all the courage he possibly could.
"Willyoubemyboyfriend?" Alec mumbled without a breath in between his words.
"Alec, what was that?" Magnus asked, not catching a word the younger boy had said.
"I-I said, 'will you be my boyfriend?'" Alec repeated growing more insecure by the second. When he saw Magnus covering his mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, he felt embarrassed and as if he had just been pushed into an active volcano. The insecurities that had started to engulf him and shield him broke down with Magnus' next words.
"Alexander darling, I thought I already was." Magnus said, joining his lips with Alec's.
Alec was brought back to the present when he heard his name again, this time in a much closer distance. He turned around to face Magnus. "Am I late?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around Magnus' neck and pulled him into a hug. Magnus placed his head to Alec's shoulder and welcomed the warmth that Alec provided and reciprocated by wrapping his arms around Alec's waist.
"No, not at all. I'm just happy you made it," he said tiredly into Alec's neck.
"But it started a while ago, didn't it? How come every one is stood up? And where is your lawyer?" Alec asked rapidly, sensing that from Magnus' tone, something was definitely wrong. After a minute of silence Magnus pulled away from the hug and kissed Alec on the head.
"It's my lawyer, he's bailing on me" Magnus said, taking Alec's hand and leading him to the front of the courtroom.
"What?" Alec asked outraged. Since his father was a lawyer he knew at a lawyer can't simply bail on a client without good reason and in the moment, he wasn't seeing any good reason for the lawyer to bail.
"He's withdrawing from my case," Magnus replied.
"On what basis? I'm sure he can't withdraw just like that," Alec said, not liking how the case was going. If the Judge allowed the lawyer to drop the case then it would take longer for Magnus' innocence to be proven.
"Some crap about 'differing case strategies' that he made up," Magnus said, turning around to face Alec.
"Has he presented his case yet or is he about to?" Alec asked.
"No, he told my mum and I to come early and we did then he told us some crap about why it would be best he doesn't represent me," Magnus said, running his hand through his hair.
"Can't your contract keep him?" Alec asked hopefully.
"Nope, there's nothing I can do to keep him in the contract because one of the conditions that he would take me as a client is that I give him Client Consent so he could drop out whenever he felt like it," Magnus said carelessly. He was fed up and frankly didn't care what his lawyer did anymore.
Both boys were brought from deep thought when they heard the sound of wood hitting wood and realised that the Judge was trying to get everyone's attention. Everyone in the room took their respective places and looked at the front. Magnus lead Alec to the front row seat where his mum was already sitting.
"Hi Mrs Bane," Alec greeted as he took a seat beside Magnus, who was sat next to his mom.
"Oh hello Alexander dear, you made it," Magnus' mum, Hannah, said with a kind smile and diverted her look to the Judge who was now explaining the situation.
The Judge introduced Magnus' lawyer and he walked to the front of the courtroom.
"Mr Starkweather will now explain his basis of requesting a withdrawal from Mr Bane's case," the Judge said. She was a very skinny woman with a very long neck and looked fragile yet she had an aura of authority around her.
"Thank you Judge. First of all I will like to bring it to the jury's attention that the contract I had with Mr Bane was with Client Consent therefore I have permission to withdraw from the case when I wish," Mr Starkweather stated and both Magnus and Alec tuned him out.
Alec looked at the seat on the other row and saw an old woman and man who was sat next to a mid-aged looking man. The mid-aged man had dirty blond hair and green eyes which were accompanied by a smirk. The old man and woman had their fingers interlocked; while both had black hair, the woman had bark green eyes and the man had grey eyes.
"Those are my grandparents and their lawyer," Magnus whispered to Alec when he noticed where the younger boy was looking.
"I bet they have something to do with this," Magnus continued while Mr Starkweather bored the rest of the people in the courtroom. Half of the jury were yawning while the other half seemed to have found the floor of the courtroom very interested. The Judge however, listened intently to Mr Starkweather's words and occasionally wrote something down.
It felt like a century when it seemed like Mr Starkweather was coming to a conclusion. "So, our differing case strategy has become an obstacle that cannot be resolved," Mr Starkweather finished which was apparently a cue for the jury to look interested in what had just been said.
"You may sit, Mr Starkweather. Now the jury has five minutes to discuss whether or not you feel Attorney Starkweather has good reasons to withdraw from the case," the Judge said.
For Magnus and Alec, that was the longest five minutes they've ever sat through. Both boys knew that the jury was too lazy to actually do any deliberation therefore they would all let Mr Starkweather withdraw so they didn't have to come up with reasons why he can't withdraw. Magnus rested his hands on Alec's thigh and Alec interlocked his hand with it, giving Magnus' hand a reassuring squeeze just before the judge hit the table with her gavel.
"Those of you who feel that Mr Starkweather should be granted the request to withdraw, please stand," the judge said, looking that the general direction of the jury.
Alec looked at them and more than half of them were stood, all looking excited that they will be able to leave soon.
"You may sit," the Judge continued then with a final thought she stood and said, "Mr Starkweather, you are hereby allowed to withdraw the case. This means that you will repay Mrs Bane any fees she has already paid with twenty percent more deposit," she said, giving Mr Starkweather a disdainful look. "Mr Bane, you now have three days to find a new lawyer and if you do not have one by then, one will be appointed to you unless you choose to represent yourself. After those three days, you will be given an extra week to plan with your new attorney. In all, you have ten days until your next hearing. If you require more time you may contact the Institute on a later date. Meeting adjourned." She said with finality and left the room, causing many others to follow suit.
Magnus dreaded what was about to happen. He wanted to represent himself to make everything easier but he knew his mother will make a fuss again and they would have to find another 'top lawyer.' What hadn't crossed Magnus' mind was the fact that he was sat next to the son of the best lawyer in the States.
Jordan, Mia, Jace and Izzy were sat at the back of the courtroom and had witnessed what that prat of a lawyer had said. They were all pretty annoyed that they would have to wait for a further ten days for Magnus' name to be cleared.
Izzy noticed Alec and Magnus still sat at their seat so she told the rest of the group that she would be right back. She was half way down the aisle when she saw Mr Starkweather talking with Magnus' grandparents' lawyer while making their way out of the doors. They looked quite suspicious so Izzy followed them out of the courtroom, trying her best to blend in with the walls. The two men turned into a deserted corridor and Izzy followed on.
It was then that she heard what they were talking about. "You heard what the judge said, Valentine. I lose everything so you have to pay what I would have ordinarily got plus 30% more" Izzy heard Mr Starkweather say.
"Yes, I know what the deal was. You will be getting your money directly into your account tomorrow, just as agreed," came the other man's voice who Izzy supposed must be Valentine. She wondered what kind of name that was and concluded that it was probably a second name.
"Great doing business, Mr Valentine." Mr Starkweather said, shaking his hand with the other man's and turned to leave. Izzy quickly left her spying post and took a minute to digest what she just saw.
Magnus' grandparents' Lawyer bribed Mr Starkweather to drop Magnus' case. Oh crap, she thought as she made her way back to her friends to tell them her new knowledge because if there was one thing Isabelle Lightwood knew about law, it was that bribery was definitely illegal.
This is not the most eventful chapter but I hope you liked it anyway. I went crazy with the line-breaks in this chapter, sorry about that.
~Sherry
