Newcastle (13.07.2014 – 16.07.2014)
(Alec)
"Alec?" Magnus breathed into my ear. I managed a grunt at him, still lost somewhere in the haze of sleep. "Darling?" came my secret boyfriends voice again, successfully pulling me further towards the real world.
"What?" I mumbled, vaguely waving a hand in his direction.
"You've been asleep for almost an hour." I hummed softly as I blinked my eyes open to find the rolling hills of northern England drifting by the bus.
"So? We're not there yet. Why'd you wake me up?" I tried not to blush, as I felt a hand slide along my leg. I turned towards Magnus, and he send my a look only he could pull of. - A mixture of an innocent smile and a smirk, eyebrows half raised and eyes narrowed enticingly.
"I was bored." my boyfriend said, retracting his hand only to sneak it around my waist instead. Still fighting a blush, I send him an unimpressed stare, which he ignored, briefly leaning his head against my shoulder. "Entertain me!" he whined, straightening up and retracting his hand before anyone saw. Sighing, I turned back towards the window.
"I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with T."
"Yay!" Magnus cheered childishly. "I love this game. Let me see," He lent over me to see out the window, his one hand suspiciously landing on my thigh. "Something with T," Magnus mumbled as he gently let his thumb cares the fabric of my jeans.
"Mhm." I confirmed, face till turned towards the window, though I was watching him out of the corner of my eye.
"Oh, is it 'Tavern'?" he suddenly exclaimed, a look of mirth and ease in his eyes, and pointed towards a smallish shed in the middle of a field.
"No, Magnus, it's not a tavern," I said in the same tone of voice I would have used, had he been a child. "Try hard, look all over," it was hard keeping laughter out of my voice as Magnus grinned at me with shinning eyes.
"Okay," he agreed readily, leaning forward and thereby putting more weight on my thigh.
"Hmm, is it... a tombola?" he inquired, eyebrows raised in mock-honest innocence.
"A tomb... No, Magnus, it is not a tombola," I laughed, playfully shoving at his shoulder, "Where'd you even get that?"
"I thought maybe there was one when you asked the question, but we passed it." Magnus said and stuck his tongue out at me. I had to fight the urge to grab his face and kiss him, settling instead on sticking my tongue out in retaliation. He burst out laughing, sinking back in his own seat.
"Okay, I give up, let's play something else." I smiled at him, carefully intertwining my fingers with his before hiding both our hands between our thighs.
"What do you want to play instead?" I asked as his face settled into something milder, softer, a look I had come to realize he only used when he was looking at me.
"How about... the rhyming game?"
"The Rhyming game?" I let my thumb run along the back of his hand, making the corner of his mouth twitch.
"Yeah, you know, where I give you a word, and you have to find one that rhymes with it, and then I have to find one that rhymes, and we take it in turn." he explained, his eager eyes locked with mine.
"Okay, hit me!" I challenged.
"Mm... lamp!"
"uh, Stamp!"
"Vamp!" for the rest of the trip we continued to say silly words at each other (Throwing in random nicknames and teasing remarks) under the guise of the game, while the rest of the group laughed and talked around us.
"Hi, darling," I looked up from my book to find my mother stood in front of me in her black and white summer dress and light, well-cut jacket. Her dark hair with it's hints of white was done up in its usual bun, and a pair of designer sunglasses rested on the top of her head. The skin around her eyes crinkled as she looked at me.
"Hi, mom," I replied. The late evening sun washed over the large lawn in the park a few streets from the hostel we were staying at in Newcastle. Most of us had congregated here after dinner, relishing in the cooler air and light wind. It had been another steaming day with that high humidity that clung to your body no matter where you went. The other boys were attempting to play soccer, but I had opted to settle on the grass next to a purple and white flowered bed with a book. - Since hooking up with Magnus I had had far less time to do my reading than I had anticipated.
"Can I sit?" my mother inquired. The formality made my stomach turn. I sometimes wondered what had happened to turn my little mother into this prim and proper lady. - It was not the woman I remembered from my childhood, and I sometimes found myself missing the kind, smiling and playful mother of my memories. I attempted a smile, and nodded. She smiled back, almost tiredly, and sank gracefully to the ground next to me.
"What are you reading?" she asked, folding her wrinkled hands in her lap. We hadn't really spoken since Stirling. - I was to afraid of what she had to say to me. I had yet to speak with Jace and my dad for the same reason.
"Ehm, just this book about York and the War of the Roses." I replied folding the book over a finger to keep my place, and tipping the cover for her to see.
"Oh," she sighed, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Well, that's interesting. I take it you will be an expert by the time we get there in a few days time." a hint of a smile was lurking in the corner of her mouth. Since my fight with Jace she had looked even more tired and gray, and I hated that I had something to do with that.
"I wouldn't go that far," I mumbled, looking across the lawn instead of at her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her hand flex before it slowly lifted and moved from her lap to my knee.
"Darling, I know you don't want to talk about what happened between you and your brother, and I wont pry. Your dad seem to be of the opinion that these things just happen between brothers, and I should not read more into the situation than there is." she spoke lowly, also looking towards where Jace and Max were chasing each other and the ball they were kicking about. She was as uncomfortable with confrontations and talking of feelings as I was, I knew.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, glancing towards the hand on my knee, and not knowing what else to say.
"Have you said that to your brother? I think he is the one who needs it the most." my mother's voice was tired and soft. So different from the firm tone I had grown accustomed to.
"I will." I replied.
"Good." for a while we sat in silence, both refusing to look at the other. "Alexander, dear, you are okay, are you not? You would tell me, if there was something the matter?" the words was a surprise, and I turned my head to find her eyes resting on the trees lining the entrance to the park across from us. The eyes should be distant, but the tenseness in her face told me that she was right here with me, with every fiber of her being. This was important to her. More so than she wanted me to know. I grabbed the hand on my knee, giving it a soft squeeze.
"Yes, mom. I would tell you if there was anything the matter." I promised her, turning to look at the trees as she turned to watch me. I still saw the flash of sadness and the soft nod. Again we stayed silent for a short time. Then she squeezed my hand before retracting her own.
"I will let you get back to your book. I know you have been forced to socialize a lot the last few weeks." she said getting to her feet. I looked up at her, trying to smile.
"Thank you," I whispered, flipping the book open again. I did watch her make her way over to where Mrs. Gilbert and Mrs. Kendrick were sitting. I sighed. Maybe my mother had been right all along. Maybe we really had drifted farther apart than I had realized. - And maybe it was time to change that.
It was early. Far to early, I felt, to have to stumble out of bed. - Or maybe that was just because my secret boyfriend and I had discovered that virtually no-one showers after midnight in a hostel. - Which meant that we could. Uninterrupted. It also meant that I hadn't gotten to sleep until after one last night, so when my alarm insisted that I get up at half past six, I was none to happy. In fact, I ignored it stealthily until a pillow from David Kendrick's bed landed squarely on my face. Then I did decide that maybe I should do something with my life after all.
I was still bleary-eyed when I got to the kitchen, and Magnus wordlessly passed me a cup of steaming coffee. The way he was clutching his own cup told me that he was not in a state much better than my own. Neither of us moved, as we stood by the counter running along the far end of the large kitchen, facing each other but not sharing looks. In fact I was pretty much staring a whole through the dirty grey linoleum floor. Magnus, I think, was starring at something past my shoulder.
"Oh, look how in sync they are, already, that's so sweet!" the voice of Mrs. Gilbert only slowly registered in my mind, and by that time a reply was already being delivered by Mrs. Thomson: "It's very sweet, though something tells me that coffee was quite needed." I slowly turned my head – until the coffee had taken effect, I would be doing everything slowly – to face the two women. They were stood by a kitchen island chopping fresh fruit for the yogurt we would be serving for breakfast this morning. Both sets of eyes were resting on Magnus and I, a teasing, knowing glint in their eyes.
"You know, Liza, I don't even remember the last time John brewed and served me a cup of coffee." Mrs. Gilbert said, pausing in her slicing of a banana to look contemplatively into the air.
"Does it count if it was after spending the night looking after a sick child?" Mrs. Thomson wondered, smiling almost wickedly. Now I was turning back towards Magnus, who appeared to do the same, meeting his round eyes. Did he think they meant the same as I thought they meant?
"Not really, I'd say. It's a different sort of tiredness you see. You don't share it the same way when it's because of children." Mrs. Gilbert reasoned. My eyes widened, as did Magnus'.
"Oh, come now, give the poor boys a chance to catch up before you start teasing them," I jumped at Mrs. Lewis' voice. - Had she been standing by the sink rinsing grapes and berries all this time? All three ladies laughed heartily, as Magnus and I looked about the kitchen, almost wildly. That was when Mr. Kendrick came into the room followed by young Jennifer, both holding empty trays.
"What's the joke?" he asked, looking bewildered at the laughing women.
"Oh, you wouldn't understand, young Mason." Mrs. Gilberts stated, waving him of. Jenifer bounced over to her grandmother plucking a piece of apple from the chopping board.
"Hey, you two, there are more cups to be carried in," Mrs. Lewis called, waving to where a gathering of mugs stood, ready to be brought to the dinning area. Once Mr. Kendrick and Jennifer had disappeared once more, Magnus grabbed my hands and dragged me closer to the other women.
"You know?" he asked in a hissed whisper. I felt my self freeze to the spot, awaiting their answer.
"We do," Mrs. Thompson said after a breath of silence. "And I don't think we are the only ones, either, though some chose to be more obtuse about it."
"Oh my god." I felt a tremor roll through my body as Magnus' hand tightened around mine.
"Oh, honey," Mrs. Gilber tutted making her way around the table to fold a motherly arm around me. "You listen to me dear. None of us, here, care about that sort of thing. Now, we know that you wanted to keep it secret, and with good reason, I'm sure. We wont be saying anything when unwanted ears might hear, I promise you."
"But we do want you to know that this here," Mrs. Lewis gestured to all of us, "is a safe place. You don't have to hide here."
"It must get so tiring," Mrs. Thompson injected. Magnus squeezed my hand again as he looked from face to face. Then he turned to face me, and I knew he was giving me the reigns. I, too, looked from one warm and inclusive smile to another. This was so overwhelming. But if they already knew, then what reason did we have for hiding. I smiled, noticing my boyfriend's shoulder sack in relief, and leaned in to press a soft kiss against his cheek.
"Thank you," I then whispered hoarsely, sending the women the best smile I could muster.
"That's quite okay, dear. Now go look busy before Mr. Kendrick comes in and demands more answers." a strange sort of relieved, disbelieving laughter wanted to bubble right out of my throat, but I managed to retain it, as Magnus and I made our way back to the coffee machine, filling thermoses with steaming liquids of various kind. This was not the start of the day I had pictured, but, really, I didn't feel like complaining.
"Okay, so the stats are in, if you want to hear them," Magnus dumped into the seat next to me. I was, once again, spending some quality time with my book. - We would be leaving for York the next morning, and I really wanted to finish it by then. I looked up at my boyfriend, raising an eyebrow in question.
"So my sources – or, you, know, my girls, but they seemed to know everything, - inform me that there are indeed a bunch of people in the know."
"I knew we were horrible at hiding," I muttered, closing my book and giving Magnus my undivided attention.
"Yeah well, that seems to be the popular opinion as well," he smirked at me, somehow still seeming apologetic.
"How bad is it?" I bit at my thumbnail.
"Well, the guides have apparently known for ages. Maria said the Kendrick brothers have had questions. Simon seem to either not know or not care. Mr. Farlow knows, but the Millstone's don't. Mrs. Kendrick is uncertain, as is Mr. Gilbert. Rebecca knows, we think. She hasn't said anything to anyone though, so. As for your family, well, Clary is fairly certain Jace doesn't even suspect, and I think we know where your dad stand. Same with your mom I guess. So it's not to bad, I don't think. Anyway there's not a lot we can do, is there? I mean, we can only really continue trying to hide, but my guess is that if they haven't guessed by now it's gonna take quite a lot to clue them in." I smiled and nodded, then leaned in to briefly kiss Magnus.
"Thank you," I mumbled, checking that there really weren't anyone in the reading room who weren't meant to see. - There wasn't. "For all of it. Keeping it secret, standing by me, all of it."
"No problem," Magnus smiled sincerely, grabbing my knee and squeezing it. I smiled back feeling strangely calm despite the overwhelming load of information and onslaught of emotions that had been attacking me through the day. I shuffled around so that I could lean against my boyfriend, wrapping one of his arms around my shoulders, and reopened my book. Magnus laughed quietly, but allowed me to rearrange the both of us. We settled in for a quiet evening of reading.
AN: And with that we have reached the halfway point of this story. I hope you are still enjoying it! Next week we go to York and back to the drama... Do let me know what you thought. Have a lovely week!