Chapter 10
"Simon!" She threw herself at him like they were twins, separated at birth. Jace watched on with a slight feeling of contempt, nobody had ever thrown themselves at him in that way, and he had 3 people he considered his siblings. However Simon was not what Jace expected. Jace expected. From the way Clary talked about him, he'd been imagining: tall dark and handsome, muscular and dashing. Some real competition. Instead he was faced with was tall, scrawny and gangly. No competition. Wait- where had that come from? Jace wondered. Surely he wasn't seeing this Simon as some kind of threat. He didn't even like Clary! Or maybe he did… He certainly felt something about her. So what if he did like her? It wasn't like she returned the… feeling? Not a feeling- feeling was too strong a word. Inkling. Much better. Every other girl who wasn't his sister fell at his feet, Clary did not. She stood tall and defiant in the face of his magnificent beauty. He'd only seen her stumble once or twice on the night they first met. Since then nothing.
He stood there for a minute, in a world of his own, staring into space, before snapping back into reality. "Jace….?" Clary said. Had she asked him something?
"Yes, sorry. Back with you now, love." Jace smirked, and Simon flinched. Clary turned her attention back to Simon and Jace took another step towards them.
"Jace this is Simon, Simon this is Jace." Simon keeping a protective arm around Clary's shoulders extended a hand, which Jace preceded to shake.
"Nice to put a face to the name." Jace said with a genuine smile, before retracting his hand.
"I wish I could say the same, but Clary never mentioned you." Ouch. That hurt. Even with that goofy smile on his face, which seemed so genuine and reassuring, Simon was trying to get to Jace?
"Simon!" Clary chided, jabbing him in the rib.
"She might have mentioned you once or twice now you come to mention it." The bespectacled guy corrected. That's more like it. Jace thought to himself. Jace jumped to the surprisingly accurate conclusion that Simon felt threatened by his presence, which filled his heart with smug warmth. He liked knowing what made people tick. I could have been a psychologist.
It was later that evening- much later, after had Clary left the boys apartment. Alec had not returned home- strangely, but Jace had received a text saying that he'd be back in the morning. Curious. But Jace had bigger things to think about- like Simon. Simon who had been silent since Clary left; which Jace didn't like one bit. He prided himself on being an aloof and mysterious entity; however that side of him had become kind of lax since the arrival of Clarissa into the block. Now Simon was the quiet and confident one, yet Jace saw this as a challenge- he would crack this egg, he'd find out exactly what was going on in Simon's noggin one way or another.
"Simon, Simon, Simon…"
"Jace, Jace, Jace…" Simon replied, mimicking the tone- he didn't even bother to look up at Jace as he continued to fluff up the pillows on the couch. No respect.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Huh?"
"I said, can I get you anything?"
"Wow- I didn't have you down for the hostful type."
"Hostful isn't a word," idiot "but yes- I am a gentleman first, and a scoundrel later. Ask Clary if you don't believe me." He winked, Jace was in the mood for messing.
Simon's jaw hit the floor. Protective brother reaction? Or maybe he's just prude. "I- I- I-"
"You what?" Jace smirked, thinking he'd got the better of Simon.
"I'd like some water please." Simon recovered quickly.
"Coming right up." He slid into the kitchen coming back with a glass of tap water, which Simon drank up immediately. "Don't pee on my couch or anything."
"No, unlike a lot of people in this city I think I can control my bladder."
"What's that meant to mean?"
"The city stinks of pee."
"Yes, the odour of urine does take a lot to get used to…"
Silence fell between them, and Simon sat down on the couch which would be his bed for the next couple of nights- he didn't see what the problem was with sleeping in with Clary was, they'd done it loads growing up. Sharing rooms, sharing beds- no innuendos or assumptions to be made from that's what two kids as close as they were did. Friends. Just friends. Suddenly Jace- who had been lingering spoke- "I get the impression that you do not like me. Why do I get this impression?"
Simon was quiet. He had after all, no real reason to dislike Jace. They'd only just met. "I don't dislike you."
"Tell me the truth."
"Fine. If you think you can handle it."
"I can handle it."
Simon paused, he didn't have an answer. "I honestly don't know."
"That's rubbish!" Jace cried. "You've been snarky and rude to me all evening, encroaching on my hospitality and you don't even know why you don't like me! Everybody likes me! I don't understand! Even Clary likes me, and she barely trusts or likes anybody!"
Simon's eye twitched at the mention of Clary- a tiny gesture which Jace picked up on without even having to try.
"So that's it." Jace smiled. "I thought as much."
"Thought what?"
"It's a little obvious."
"What?"
"You still like Clary. She told me you dated."
"Not really…"
"Didn't last long though did it? 2 weeks?"
"3 and a half weeks."
"She said 3."
"I-"
Jace held up his hands to stop Simon in his tracks. "I think it's time you moved on."
"What do you care?" Simon said clenching a fist at his side. "And I am over it."
"I don't care- I just care for you my friend. " Jace suddenly had- what he considered to be one of the best ideas he'd ever had. "I'm going to show you the time of your life this weekend- allow you to… let the recovery process begin. Get drunk. Get girls. Get laid. Tomorrow night. 7pm. Pandemonium."
Then Jace turned and headed into his room.
- Some Time Earlier (i.e. Weeks? Days? I've lost track of time) -
The day after the incident at Magnus' apartment he received a text, the following morning just as he was on his way to College.
?: Hello Blue Eyes. We need to talk. x
Alec: Who is this?
?: Wouldn't you like to know. X
Alec: Yes I would.
?: You'll have to guess. X
Alec: I'm not in the mood for games, and this is starting to get creepy. Who are you?
?: An admirer.
That was the moment Alec decided not to reply. If they truly wanted to talk to him, they'd reveal themselves in due course…. However unfortunately for Alec, he was wrong. The mysterious text-er did not cease, and continued to text him really inappropriate jokes, chat-up lines, and innuendo's all day, at highly inappropriate moments. A few even bought a blush to his cheeks.
Feeling very flustered, Alec eventually made it home- yet as soon as he took a step into the building his phone buzzed again. With a groan he pulled it out and checked the text:
?: Top floor. If convenient please hurry- if inconvenient hurry anyway. Emergency.
There was no X on this text, Alec noted- but then it clicked. Magnus. Magnus Bane had been the one texting him all day. Oh great. Just great. He climbed to the top of the building at his own pace, he wouldn't hurry for anybody. He was going to give Bane a piece of his mind! After everything he'd done for Magnus yesterday! This was how he was being repaid? Jeez. Simple thanks would have sufficed.
He knocked on the door, three times. Impatient. After very few seconds, Magnus swung open the door. "Good you're here." He whispered in a rush, biting his lip. "You're my boyfriend now, okay? Okay." In words only loud enough for Alec to hear.
"Wha-" Then Magnus kissed him, stopping him in his tracks. After a second or two of quite intense kissing, somebody standing behind Magnus cleared their throat.
"Mom, Dad, this is Alec Lightwood. Alec, meet my mom and dad." Alec stared ahead of him, in some kind of daze. He just nodded, muttering hi. "You don't look so good honey, maybe you should go and lie down." Magnus pulled him through into his fish-tank wall bedroom and Alec snapped out of it.
"Bane what the hell?"
"I'll explain everything soon- just please play along." He begged in a hushed tone.
"Why should I? I need answers now Magnus! All those texts earlier… if you can call them that, they were more or less sexts-"
"They weren't sexts. They were just innuendos." He dismissed.
"Sext or not" Alec didn't know, he'd never had a sext in his life "- they were inappropriate and how did you even get my number?" Alec whispered back.
"Later…. Now pretend you're asleep- they'll be gone in an hour." He kissed Alec again for another few seconds, before disappearing out of the door- Alec swore he heard the key turn in the lock. He was now a prisoner of an eccentric fashion designer.
That was only the beginning.