AN: Hi Guys, so Exam week is finally over and I'm still alive so here is the next chapter! I also just want to thank everyone who liked favorited or reviewed. You guys are awesometastic!

Enjoy!

Cruel Reflections

All characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but I sure am glad she shared them with us

Alec's point of view

Chapter 10

It had been two weeks since Christmas and Alec was enjoying his last day off from school. As much as the year liked to build up towards the Christmas holidays, they didn't seem so invigorating to Alec anymore. Maybe it was called growing up, but he didn't like it. The only thing that had truly made him feel some holiday season spirit was seeing his family and friends' faces when they'd opened up their Christmas presents. Izzy had loved her gift and sprayed some of it on Alec, Maryse had promised to bake him a cake with her new baking gear and even Robert had smiled and looked mildly pleased. Isabelle and Robert had called ceasefire for the holidays so life in the Lightwood house had been relatively peaceful. Alec had had a lot of time to talk to Magnus, and for some reason it had become a habit that his days seemed to revolve around. Alec found that having someone to talk to had made life easier for him. Apart from Jace, he really had no one to talk to about his love life or the lack of one and Magnus always seemed happy to listen. Initially Alec had felt guilty for always pouring his troubles for him to solve, so he'd tried to get Magnus to open up. So far he had drawn a blank. Either Magnus was the happiest, cheeriest guy on earth or he didn't want to talk about his problems, which was fine, because they did talk about lots of other stuff too. For instance they'd figured out that they both loved traveling. Magnus had visited a lot of countries, but for some reason his favorite place to visit was Canada. That made Alec laugh, because he'd expected Magnus' favorite place to be a little more exotic. Magnus kept sending him pictures of Chairman Meow too. Today he'd even sent a picture of himself holding the cat, which had made Alec's heart skip a beat. Never in his life had he seen someone with eyes like that. In the picture they had been slanted and his long eyelashes had shadowed his beautiful green eyes. Alec had immediately felt guilty for thinking that he was hot. Even with the guilt his heartbeat had picked up and his breathing taken a turn for the heavier side. Screw hot, he was beautiful and made Alec feel like he was going to lose it. He was nice and funny and beautiful? That was not fair.

So there he sat on his bed, trying to think of an appropriate response; or at least one that wouldn't make him look like a fool.

Peaches: I like that picture.

Glittery Kitty: Yeah? What do you like about it?

Alec swallowed hard. He had gotten used to the playful, flirty way of Magnus' writing, but now that he'd seen him and identified the way he felt about this person made him quiver uncomfortably. Today had been the day. The day when he'd realized just how much you could like someone you'd known for mere weeks. This was the first time he'd felt anything like this. He felt giddy and stupid every time Magnus sent him a message. Even the simplest words could make him laugh. It was truly catastrophically wonderful. Then after figuring this out, he'd been faced with all sorts of questions. Him being who he was, overanalyzing every word, every letter and so on, he'd spent hours thinking about it. He had no way of knowing Magnus was who he said he was. He had no idea of knowing if Magnus felt anything for him. He had no idea if it was okay to feel this way. And the worst part was that he had no one to go for advice. His parents were out of the question, because if he told them that he liked a boy, that he'd been having certain thoughts about a boy, they would shove holy water down his throat and kick his sorry ass all the way to bible camp. He couldn't tell Isabelle, because she didn't know how to keep her mouth shut. He couldn't tell Jace because he didn't want to admit that he'd been right all along. The only person he could theoretically talk to was Magnus, but that of course was not an option.

Here was the thing. This shouldn't have been so complicated. It was only that Alec had never plunged into the unknown before. He'd never set himself up for failure or rejection. All the girls he'd gone out with in the past had not mattered so he'd never felt nervous, but now he felt his palms sweat. He had been living in a cloud castle for the past few weeks, just enjoying a new relationship in its bud, now that its importance had finally dawned on him he was Freaking OUT.

Glittery Kitty: Alexander?

Shit. Alec wiped his hands on his sweatpants and got up from his bed. He couldn't sit still. Not anymore. What the hell was he supposed to say? Um I like the cat? No, that wouldn't do. He didn't want to lie. He wanted to be honest but he was a Goddamn coward. A coward. Alexander Coward Lightwood.

Alec took a deep breath and thought about it for a second. What would Jace do? Okay so maybe he wasn't going to do what Jace would have done but…Ah, to hell with it.

Peaches: I like you.

No, that's not what he meant. Well it was, but he wasn't supposed to say that, not like that.

Peaches: In the picture, I mean, you look nice.

Nice wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

Peaches: I mean better than nice, very, very attractive.

"What am I doing?" Alec exclaimed and dropped his phone like it was a hot potato. It landed on his bed. He stared at it experiencing various states of fear. What would Magnus think of him? Could he fix this? Oh God, maybe he should just crawl into his bed and die from embarrassment.

A beep from his phone elicited a shiver up his spine. He tentatively reached for the phone and opened it.

Glittery Kitty: Did you just experience a minor stroke, because I look fabulous. But I suppose you could say I'm very, very attractive.

Alec felt his heart skip a beat. All the blood in his body rushed to his cheeks. He felt so incredibly relieved and…disappointed at the same time.

He let his body collapse on his bed. He was losing it. He really was. This was insane. Any sane person would agree. He needed to speak his mind, he needed to do something, he needed anything but this torture.

Just at that moment the door to his room flung open and Maryse barged in, holding a big apple pie. "Honey I made you this with the things you got me for Christmas."

Alec once again threw his phone away and tried not to blush which made him blush even more. "H-Hi mom. Wow, an apple pie." He tried to look very innocent, but by the looks of Maryse he wasn't doing a very good job.

"What are you up to?" Maryse asked, putting the pie down on his writing desk.

"N-nothing," Alec said, looking around, to make sure there was no evidence. Really all the evidence was in his head, but he suddenly felt afraid that she could read him like an open book.

"What were you doing on your phone?" Maryse asked, in a steady voice. She was wearing her bunny slippers and leaning against the desk. Even in sweatpants and a T- shirt his mother managed to look terrifying.

"I was…um talking to Jace," Alec said, hoping she'd let the subject drop.

"Jace, huh?" Maryse asked. "How's he doing?"

"Good, good," Alec said, nodding excessively.

Maryse raised one of her thin eyebrows and gave Alec a look that said she knew he was lying and was going to make her own judgements if he didn't fess' up. Alec cringed inwardly. He was more than happy to let her make her own conclusions, because they probably wouldn't be true, but he hoped she wouldn't imagine anything too bad.

"Very well then," Maryse said, holding Alec's gaze a moment longer. She was about to leave when she turned to face Alec at the door. Alec sat on the edge of his bed waiting anxiously for her to leave. "Alec, dear…you weren't," she kind of looked down at her slippers and cleared her throat, "You know."

"What?" Alec asked, feeling utterly confused, she didn't know, did she?

"Well you know," Maryse started and gave him a painful look, "Because if you were, you really ought to lock the door next time."

A horrid feeling of disgust towards the conversation he was having with his mother made him jump up from the bed and exclaim, "No!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Maryse who seemed to be slightly relieved. "No, no that's not…mom I wasn't. No, I would lock the door if I was. Okay no, ew, I'm not talking about this with you."

"Alright, alright," Maryse said, backing off with her hands raised. "I just thought…"

"Don't think," Alec said and rushed her out of the door. He closed it firmly behind him and let his jaw drop open. That. Did. Not. Just. Happen.

And that's when he decided that he needed to tell someone the truth. With a shaky breath he walked to his phone and opened up his chat with Magnus.

Peaches: I need to tell you something.

Glittery Kitty: Oh, do tell?

Peaches: I just made my mom think that I was… never mind. The point is I like you.

A while passed without no answer. Alec could see that Magnus began to type something and the erased it. This went on for a few minutes and felt unbearable. Then, finally he got an answer.

Glittery Kitty: I'm going to be completely honest here. When we first started talking I didn't think of it much. Now I think of it a lot. I sent you that picture on purpose today. I wanted you to see me. I wanted you to know who you were talking to. I wanted to know what you thought of me. I feel strange, but I do know that I like you, more than I generally like people. So I don't know what that means, but I know that I'm not going anywhere if you tell me you like me.

Alec stared at the screen of his phone in awe for a moment before replying. He went from excited to scared and back to excited again in a millisecond.

Peaches: It's just I've never told anyone I like them before.

Glittery Kitty: And I've told too many people I like them. You can get hurt both ways. There's no avoiding the plunge into uncharted territory.

Peaches: So what happens now?

Glittery Kitty: Well, now the cat is out of the bag. I feel like we should be very honest from now on.

Peaches: Okay. What do we talk about now?

Glittery Kitty: Anything you want to talk about. We have such wonderful conversations that have become highlights of my days.

Peaches: Mine too. Three weeks is a small time to become the centre of my days.

Glittery Kitty: Three weeks is more than enough. I'm infatuated with you Alexander. And without physical attraction that's never happened to me before.

Peaches: You don't find me physically attractive?

Alec typed in his response feeling a bit hurt, but then remembering what Magnus looked like. He probably could have had anyone he wanted.

Glittery Kitty: I wouldn't know. I haven't seen you, doorknob. Although at this point I'm pretty sure I'd like you even if you had a fish tail and three eyes.

Alec laughed at his own stupidity. He hadn't sent a picture, of course. He quickly went to his phone Gallery and tried to look for a decent picture of himself. He found one from last year where he was sitting at a beach in Greece. It was from their summer vacation and had him sitting under a beach umbrella wearing a white T-shirt and swim trunks. He liked that picture. Looking at it made him happy. He had been happy that day. Before he could change his mind he added the picture to his message and hit send.

Magnus' point of view

Holy Mary Mother of God, this boy was going to be the end of Magnus Bane. He knew it; he could feel it just then and there. He stared at his phone screen and blinked a couple of times just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Alexander had blue eyes and black hair just like William, but those eyes, those wonderful lake blue eyes were so calm, so mesmerizing. And what about those lips? They looked so soft, even though they obviously weren't because they were chapped, but God they really did look soft. His face just in general was the perfect balance of angles and something so gentle.

He liked Magnus. He said so. He said so.

"Jesus," Magnus gasped and got up from the sofa he'd been sprawled on. He made his way to the kitchen and had to watch out for Chairman Meow, who darted after him. The cat meowed happily and trotted to the full bowl of food that was placed on a neat little carpet next to a pink bowl of water. Magnus opened his fridge and grabbed a carton of Orange Juice. He drank straight from the carton and swallowed hard. When Alec had told him what he had, Magnus was at awe. He'd never done this before. He'd never actually had feelings for someone without seeing them first. For him, physical attraction was always part of the deal, but now for some reason he couldn't explain, he was willing to throw caution to the wind and fall for Alexander.

Even his name tasted sweet on his lips. "Alexander," Magnus repeated out loud. "Strange, strange blue eyed boy."

Magnus hopped on the counter and smiled sweetly at Chairman who tried her best to jump after him, he eventually gave up and set the cat up on the counter where it purred contently next to him.

"Oh Chairman, what am I to do?" Magnus sighed, dramatically. "To be or not to be and etcetera."

The cat meowed and looked very sincere, well, as sincere as a cat could look. Magnus nodded. "You're right, I should probably reply to him."

Glittery Kitty: You look beautiful.

Simple was always good, right? Besides there were many things he could have said about Alec's picture, but it would have always come down to the fact that he was stunningly beautiful; and not just in the hot sexy male model beautiful kind of way, but in the delicate beautiful way that just made everything so joyful and priceless.

Peaches: Thank you.

Peaches: I've never been called beautiful before.

Peaches: I mean I've been called handsome and cute and even…hot once, but never beautiful. It kind of makes me feel…special. I don't know.

Magnus smiled and took a bite from an apple he'd been fiddling with while he was waiting for Alexander to reply. He had been too anxious to eat before Alec answered, which honestly was not like him at all.

Glittery Kitty: It was meant to make you feel special. That's what a compliment is called, Alexander.

Peaches: I guess I need to learn how to take a compliment.

Glittery Kitty: Only if you're comfortable with the compliment.

Peaches: If you're asking me if I'm comfortable with you calling me beautiful, the answer would be yes.

Glittery Kitty: Okay, then let me say it once more. Both I and the Chairman agree you are very much indeed beautiful.

Peaches: Oh Chairman too, then it must be true.

Glittery Kitty: Why yes, my cat is an expert when it comes to beauty.

Peaches: That's funny.

Glittery Kitty: It's true.

The clock on the wall caught Magnus' eye. He swore under his breath and put his apple down, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel.

Glittery Kitty: I'm really sorry. I'd love to keep talking, but I gotta get to work or my manager is gonna stare at me silently condemning my tardiness.

Peaches: Okay, but I'll miss you, as creepy as it sounds.

Magnus snorted and shook his head.

Glittery Kitty: Honey, if I soaked you in creepy soup you'd still not be creepy, so I think you're good.

Peaches: Creepy soup? What is that even?

Magnus typed in his answer as he wrapped himself into a warm winter jacket and a rainbow colored scarf. Chairman Meow trotted around his feet, really trying to be an accident waiting to happen. Magnus had to swat the cat away from his shoes. Chairman didn't like being alone. Maybe he needed to call Will to come cat sit for tonight.

"Yeah right," Magnus snorted again as he thought of Will resentfully staring at Chairman Meow. "That would go down well."

Magnus got down on his knees and grabbed the cat into a tight embrace. "Listen now, I need to work so I can buy us nice stuff and pay for all the nice stuff you destroy. So I would appreciate if you could just not lose your shit again tonight."

The cat meowed and tried to look very innocent.

"That's what I thought," Magnus said and kissed the top of Chairman's head. The cat purred and meowed as Magnus put her down and jingled his keys in his pocket to make sure they really were there.

Peaches: Have fun at work.

Glittery Kitty: Thanks, I'm sure it'll be a ball…not.

Magnus stepped out of his door and locked it behind him. The weather had steadied a bit and was now cool and clear. The sun was beginning to set and being a Monday night the streets were relatively busy. Magnus secretly hoped that it wouldn't be a very busy night at Jessie's. He needed time to think and thinking and being charming to customers didn't mesh well. Since he didn't actually own a car, Magnus took the streetcar down to the centre and walked to Jessie's from there. The pink sign glowed gloomily in the early night; it was already attracting a crowd. Magnus sighed, well there goes not busy.

He slipped in through the employee door in the back and took off his coat, but left his scarf on for dramatic effect. Sophie was already in the back room putting on a black waiting apron. She smiled at Magnus making him feel welcome. She always did that, which did make Sophie a very good Manager. "You're early."

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd kick my ass if I came in late," Magnus said, running a hand through his hair, making sure it was still intact.

"I'd never do that, but guess who showed up today?" Sophie asked, letting her perky face sink into a frown.

"Jessie?" Magnus hissed quietly, recognizing the look Sophie was displaying.

"The one and the only," Sophie confirmed. She had her black hair tied back in a tight ponytail and wore only black. Magnus had always thought that colors suited her very well, but for some reason she only wore black clothes, and not in a Goth style, but just in a plain 'don't look at me' way.

"Hey Sophie," Magnus said as he approached her. "Here," He said and wrapped his scarf around her neck. "Yeah, that looks about right."

Sophie seemed a bit taken aback and side stepped Magnus, touching the scarf lightly. "Um…thanks?"

"It looks good, trust me," Magnus said giving her a thumbs up. "It suits you."

"I feel like a rainbow threw up on me," Sophie said, heading out to the main room, stopping behind the bar. "It feels nice."

"Tell me about it." Magnus laughed and followed Sophie. He took his place behind the bar as well and put on his best customer service smile, which by the way was very good. He lost himself in work and concentrated on doing his best at serving alcohol, weather it was poison or relief, he sure made it taste good. A few hours into his shift Jessie emerged from her office in the back. All the men in the bar, even the ones with dates, turned their heads as she walked past them right up to Magnus. She flipped her hair and leaned against the bar, her face set into a deep frown. There was no denying that Jessie was a very beautiful woman. She was tall and lean, with pale skin and long wavy blonde hair. Her blue eyes were shiny but cold. Her clothing was always impeccable and showed off her assets. She was what Magnus called a showstopper. When she walked into a room, you could not miss her.

"Magnus," Jessie said. Magnus cringed a bit, but kept his smile wide and warm.

"Jessie," He said, "You look beautiful."

Jessie smiled and waved his comment away, her tentative eyes scanned around the room approvingly. In the warm dark lighting her eyes really did shine. They reminded him of Alec's eyes. Magnus shook his head rapidly as he wiped a glass clean. Jessie's eyes were too cold to resemble Alec's eyes. Something about calling her beautiful felt wrong too. She wasn't beautiful in the way Alec was.

"Magnus? Are you listening to me?" Jessie asked, looking mildly annoyed.

"Huh," Magnus leveled his eyes with hers. "Yeah."

"I said the place looks full," Jessie repeated her words. "I think this week has been good."

"Well yeah, all the Christmas time drinking sure paid off for us," Magnus said, a light laugh shaking him.

"How was your Christmas?" Jessie asked.

"I spent it with Tessa and her family," Magnus said. "It was nice, the food was good."

"Is Tessa the one with the awfully dingy clothes?" Jessie asked.

Magnus cocked an eyebrow at her and opened his mouth in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"It's not her?" Jessie asked, looking innocent as hell, her eyes wide and her lips in a pout.

Magnus shook his head and bit his lip to keep him from saying anything stupid to his boss. "Jessie I gotta go, customers in sight."

He walked away from her moving closer to Sophie, leaving Jessie sitting by the bar, biting on her full bottom lip.

"Jesus, she is insufferable," Magnus whispered to Sophie, who was making a fruity cocktail.

"Mhm," Sophie agreed and pointed at one of the booths at the back. "Your friend is here."

Magnus' eyes trailed the room and caught a glimpse of silver hair. "Oh thank God, it's Jem. I need to talk to him."
"Go," Sophie said, "I gotcha covered."

Magnus hurried over to Jem intending to spill his secrets like a high school girl, scribbling Alec + Magnus in his notebook over and over.

AN: SO...thoughts? The cat is finally out of the bag, as Magnus put it. What did you think of their convo? What did you think of both of their reactions to each other's pictures? Oh and what did you think of Jessie? Really if you have anything at all to say, you know what to do...that would be leave a review!

Love Always, Alexandra!