Chapter 10: A Student, Some Glitter and Drama

Magnus had coiled Isabelle's tie around his hand, and he pulled, the girl looking helpless. There was a fire in Magnus's eyes, and he looked down at Isabelle with nothing but disdain and hate. There was nothing else there, and his lips were in a thin line. His hold on the tie tightened and Isabelle's fingers flew to his hand, trying to pry them off.

"Please," She pleaded, feeling the tears well in her eyes.

"So you do not believe that mistakes of the old should be passed down to you – The youth?" Magnus's voice was cool, but it was also so cool it could have cut through ice and still melted the Pacific Ocean. Isabelle tried to shake her head, but Magnus had already let go of the tie and was now gripping both her wrists in an effort to hold the thrashing girl around.

"It's not my fault! I didn't know, please! Let me apologize!" Isabelle was sobbing now, and tears messed her mascara, but she didn't care. It hurt. It was all supposed to hurt.

Magnus had pushed her into the wall now and looked down at her as she slid and laid in a crumpled heap on the floor, long black hair a mess around her. He looked down at her, his golden-green eyes hard, unreadable and cold.

A few seconds passed, and there was silence, only Isabelle's sobbing could be heard throughout the room, before Magnus spread his arms and did a twirl.

He did a gentleman's bow and offered a hand up to Isabelle, who took it. She pushed her hair back, and there were no more tears leaking from her eyes, and even after that scene, she didn't really look bothered – she was actually smiling.

Finally, Magnus, still holding onto Isabelle's hand, walked onto the center and gave another bow.

"And that, darlings, is how you act," His smile was radiant, and his eyes shone with delight. Isabelle beside him was smiling, and she took a small bow, waving to the audience who burst into applause.

Magnus dropped her hand and turned once more to look at the audience, and half of these people were probably just Isabelle's admirers, who thought it would be pretty cool to try and audition for the Drama Club just because The Isabelle Lightwood was one of its main stars.

Well, Magnus found it 'pretty cool' to crush dreams of ever playing the lead man. Isabelle was talented; these guys were just a bunch of pathetic and crazy teenagers who would not be of any help unless drooling over Isabelle was "help". Magnus tried not to roll her eyes.

"Excellent job, Isabelle," And there was that glittery wink again, and Isabelle smiled up at him.

"Don't you mean 'Alexandra'?" She asked. It wasn't as if it bothered her, but if it made her special to Magnus, even in that little way, then she'd take it.

There was a strange glint in Magnus's eyes as she said that, though, but his smile was just as blinding as the lights up above.

"No, that wouldn't be right. Even if I do like the thought of you and Alexander as twins," He pursed his lips and Isabelle just giggled, before taking one last bow.

Alec sat in lunch again, but he sat alone. He had no idea where Isabelle was. Okay, so maybe he did – and he somewhat remembers how she mentioned something about 'Dramatics' and how he should 'check it out' but conveniently he'd 'forgotten' and would apologize for it during lunch. But she wasn't here. Jace wasn't anywhere to be seen, either. And although Alec did like his silence, he still didn't enjoy eating lunch alone.

He was sitting in their usual table, and like always, everybody didn't even ask for a seat or to sit with him, because they knew better. This table was for The Trio. And Alec sighed. He wasn't really anti-social…Okay, so maybe just a little, but it wasn't like he wanted to be antisocial or wanted to distance himself.

It was just that he found it hard to open up to others.

"Alec!" Well, that took her long enough.

He turned around, an apple in his mouth. Isabelle was there, waving at him from across the room. He noticed how her mascara had run, how her hair was sort of in a messy little bun, and how she simply beamed at everyone on her way. It was only when she'd slipped into her seat that Alec noticed the taller man behind her, although there was not a smile visible on his face, his eyes seemed to possess their own twinkle.

"Have you been crying?" Alec frowned, leaned forward to wipe at her eyes, but Isabelle only slapped his hand in a gentle and sisterly sort of way.

Unwillingly, he turned to Magnus, who was the only other person to blame, seeing as he was trailing his sister. Magnus shrugged, and Alec really had no idea whether this man was qualified to be a teacher or what.

"Acting." Magnus said with a tilt of his head. He sat just in front of Alec, and Alec tried not to twitch when Magnus's shoe hit his own.

But there would be no need for that. No need for false pretences. It was almost a month ago, wasn't it? When he had realized who Magnus really was, who the stranger truly was. And a month, too. A month in which he made it very clear that there was no way he was going to drop anyone a line, call anyone or that sort of thing. Alec didn't even see how it was something he should be making an effort on. He just didn't understand.

Also, it was probably just a week when the two of them had been on the same ground, not as student and teacher, but rather, equals. Almost a week when Magnus had said that 'nothing happened', and Alec was just too quick to accept, too quick to just forget.

Easier said than done, most of the time.

He wasn't going crazy. It was all just a strange and surreal feeling for him. He'd have girls flirt with him, and just this morning, during second period, he'd have an obnoxious brunette lean into his table and bat her – very fake – lashes at him, and slipped him a paper with her number in pink writing.

Alec remembered the number he found in his jacket a month and a few weeks ago, and he remembered how, even against his will, he'd called and demanded for the stranger to think of him otherwise, that he was simply not interested and could not care any less.

That was the case. It was always going to be the case.

And as for the girl? Well, he simply crumpled the paper – of course, not in front of her. He sighed, and didn't even bother to look at her. Maybe he should make an effort into finally dating someone. But the thought of dating somebody like that brunette – or a girl – made his stomach drop. Made him feel ice cold.

When Isabelle started snapping her fingers in front of his face, looking very much annoyed that he had zoned out again, Alec looked at her apologetically, his blue eyes conveying as much.

It was at that time, too that Jace slipped into his chair, his lunch tray empty of anything but a single box of apple juice.

Isabelle raised an eyebrow at the juice box. "Seriously?"

Jace looked at her, and his golden eyes hardened. He wasn't in a very good mood. "I have my quirks,"

Magnus, who was just humming under his breath and surveying the whole room, turned his attention on Jace and Isabelle.

"What's he doing here?" Jace murmured, and it was Magnus's turn to raise an eyebrow. Alec sensed there was some bad water between these two and pushed down a groan.

"Manners, Goldilocks," Magnus said ever so cheerfully, "And it should be: What is Mister Bane doing here?."

Jace just nodded as a sort of apology – and let's face it, that was the only apology he was going to give, and the only one Magnus was going to get.

"I'd love to stay and be put on Isabelle's little pedestal of fame, but I have teacher-sort-of-matters to attend to," Magnus got up from the table, gave Isabelle his most famous winks, an almost-smile to Alec and ignored Jace and his juice-box completely.

"Seriously, what was he doing here?" Jace repeated, and Alec sort of felt his sulky mood rolling in.

"What's your problem, Goldi?" Isabelle shot back. "And Mister Bane just made me his most promising actress! I couldn't brag without him to back it up,"

Alec thought she really could brag even without Magnus. But maybe she foud it reassuring? Isabelle was Isabelle.

When Jace didn't say anything, Isabelle and Alec exchanged glances. Really? Was this even happening? Jace who always had the last word in a fight, the last laugh? He was so quiet, and when he shifted in his seat and finally lifted his eyes to gaze somewhere far off, Alec followed that trail and then looked back at Jace, who had caught what he had done and didn't look very happy.

"It's a free cafeteria." Alec said with casualness he didn't really know he had in him. Okay, he had a lot of it in him.

"You didn't see anything." Jace said under his breath and stood up, leaving his tray and his cute little apple juice-box with them as he walked out of the table.

"Everybody just wants me to forget everything I see." Alec rolled his eyes, and he'd been wanting to roll his eyes at everything and everyone since the first hour into the school, but he'd held back.

Isabelle left a reassuring pat on his shoulder, and he noticed how the smeared makeup was now wiped clean, and she looked much like the normal and ever glamorous Isabelle that he knew, not the mascara-mess that she was earlier.

His sister only looked at him, her dark eyes large, but he just shook his head. He didn't need to let his little sister know about anything else aside from what he wanted her to know.

"What's Jace's problem?" Isabelle said, and leaning into the table, she took Alec's half-eaten apple and bit into the other side.

Ahh, sibling love.

Alec thought about what Jace had been looking at earlier, and how he seemed to carry a dark cloud behind him. He saw the small, redheaded girl sit very still as that band geek leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her lips. She had looked shocked for a moment before she smiled shyly.

And if Jace was really stuck up on that little thing – on her, on her tiny little thing – Alec had no idea why. Jace could get any girl he wanted, and yet it had taken only that little kiss from Simon Lewis and the small redhead to turn Jace's devil-may-care into an idontcurrrrr (that being a total understatement, which means that it really did bother the Golden Boy.)

But at Isabelle's question, though, Alec just snatched his apple from her hold and pushed the rest of his lunch to her.

"Probably didn't like apple," But Jace really liked apple. But was he really in a place to explain why their adopted brother was so caught up in such a drama?

Jace had told him to 'forget what he saw' and that meant he shouldn't have connected the dots. But Alec had enough of pretending like he didn't see anything, that remembering was only hard because "it didn't actually happen".

But he shouldn't be talking.

You're a hypocrite.

Shut up. I know.

Clary blinked a couple of times, looked around, but since nobody was making such a big deal out of that kiss, just smiled shyly at Simon.

When she took his hand underneath the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze, Simon's returning smile was blinding. She felt like something had lifted in her, as if a missing piece had finally fit, or was finally found.

Again, Clary looked around, and Simon touched her cheek. Their new closeness was nice, it was reassuring, to know that somebody was there. To know that she could hold on to somewhere and pretend like they wouldn't let go.

"Clary? Are you okay? Who are you looking for?" Simon said, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

She turned to him with a very distant smile and shook her head. "Nothing, everything's fine," And she meant it – she knew that somewhere the stars were finally in her favour. That the stars had finally given her something she could feel good about, something she could lean on, even if just for a little while before everything would be ripped apart again. And she leaned in to kiss him again, this time, the kiss not just a quick peck, but something that lasted longer.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have a theme song for Alec and Magnus for this story. "Romeo and Juliet" by The Killers. "You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold." And when I'm writing for ACLTCL, I listen to West Life (to get the romance going on...Well, to anticipate for the oncoming romance, anyway.), 2NE1 and Big Bang when I find Isabelle and Jace's part hard to write. And Eminem (don't ask why.). The chapter's mood depends on the artist I'm currently listening to. When I listen to KPOP though, expect loads of fluff. Hah. But yeah. But I'm listening to a lot of The Killers so...We'll see.

And that up there was completely unnecessary but whatever.

I'm excited for the oncoming chapters!

Review, review, review! I have enough glitter for everyone.