AN: Sorry this took so long! I'm having a chapter reshuffle to allow for more Malec stuff to happen ^_^ - bear with it, please and thank you and sorry and here, have a cuppa' ! x
~0~
MAGNUS.
"Sorry" I stumble back but his hand slips from my arms to my hand – pulls me over to the side of a tree that's been lit up with fairy lights. Where's the electricity coming from? I stumble over a cable and Alec catches me again with a laugh. I tell myself he's only moving me away from the crowd so he doesn't spill the beer he's drinking, so they can't see me with him, so nobody see's him with me.
"Careful" I shy away from his hands before I do something I might regret. Because God does he smell good. "I heard you were helping Izzy with her fashion thing" He tips the can and takes a few gulps – I watch his throat as he does and then answer with a faint-
"Yeah"
"Fun?" He questions lightly, a joke playing on his lips. "She gets mental around fashion"
"She's fine" I tell him.
"So it's just me you have the problem with" 'Your whole family, actually' is the response that I slam my lips shut to, ending up saying;
"I have issues" Alec laughs at that. "No, seriously. So…don't think too much into it" Alec bites his lip, amused. "It's humanity in general" I sigh. "And their social codes and rules"
"Magnus" He says softly, his eyes contemplative. "Has anybody ever told you you're just a little bit strange"
"I told you I have issues – I gave you a warning. Walk away if you can't handle this" I point to the party and Alec laughs again, his smile sticking as he swirls the beer in the can absent mindedly. It changes to a smirk and I wonder if he can hold his alcohol.
"I think I can handle you" He says, seeming to surprise even himself. He coughs and looks away, obviously embarrassed. I shuffle.
"You're full of surprises" I smile at him and take his beer can from him. "But I'd like to know that this isn't alcohol induced" He watches without interest as I pour the cans contents onto the grass, linking my hands and the can behind my back. He looks amused.
"You're an enigma" He smiles as he folds his arms.
"And you're getting at….what…exactly?" Oh Gods, am I flirting with him? I am!
"That you're very confusing to figure out and I'm not sure if you're going to run away or laugh at me"
"I could do both" I laugh and turn, starting to walk away.
"Don't" His hand takes my arm and he turns me to face him, biting his lip. "I … I like talking to you"
"I like talking to you" I reply. "When you're being reasonable"
"When I'm being reasonable?" He raises his eyebrows in mockery, but sighs it away with a thoughtful stare. "Maybe we're both unreasonable"
"There's no point in arguing about it"
"I wasn't-" I hold my hand up for him to stop and he does. Well trained, this one. "Why can't we just have a normal conversation without it turning bad?" I take it back – not trained. "We seem to start off ok and then you get all offensive-"
"Defensive" I correct and he pauses; I see I'd proven his point. "Fine. You win"
"I don't want to win, Magnus. I just want to have a conversation with you that doesn't end with us right back where we started" I shuffle nervously, the back of my neck catching a chill. I look about for Camille, still happily surrounded with guys and in complete control of all of them.
"Do you want a drink?" He asked me.
"Planning on getting me drunk?" I respond, and I realise I'd done it again. His face slacks and he looks away, annoyed.
"No, Magnus" He tells me, probably in the same voice his parents used when he wasn't allowed something as a child. "I was just being polite"
"Then yes" I murmur. "Fine. I'd like a drink, please" He nods in finality and starts to pace away.
"Just stay there" He waves a hand vaguely in the direction I'm in and disappears into the crowd. Fight or flight kicks in and I'm wondering which to choose when Jem attacks me from behind.
"You see, the problem with you, is that you're far too perceptive of people's actions"
"Not now" I sigh at him. "Life lessons from Jem – 101" I roll my eyes and he lightly hits my shoulder.
"Stop it. You're going to ruin whatever it is Alec is trying to make out of you – friends or otherwise" I frown at this. "Mag" He says softly, despite the music pounding in the park and the cheers growing from somewhere else. "Fine" He mutters, disappearing off before I could say or do anything else. I thought he was walking off in defeat, but it was only because Alec was making his way over with two cans of something. Beer, probably. He hands me one and I pop it open.
"What are you trying to do, here?" I ask Alec cautiously.
"Have a beer with a friend?" He answers instantly.
"And there aren't any hidden motives – no cameras stuck around, no people waiting on a prank?"
"…I'm not twelve, Magnus" But he'd have probably been adorable as a twelve year old. "There's nothing else other than me not wanting to be over there with them-" He waves his can at a crowd where I can easily pin point Jace and his cronies. "-and wanting to be over here with you" I could make a few jokes but he's already looking like he knows what he said could be turned against him. I save him the embarrassment.
"Not much for parties?" I ask, and he shrugs.
"I hate it when they turn bad; which has a fifty-fifty possibility when Jace and his friends are there"
"Let's not talk about him" I push aside the flickering image of Jace burning the memory card. "Do you dance?" He laughs a little in surprise.
"Do you?" I shrug. Yes, I do dance. Usually whilst slightly drunk and with people I won't remember in the morning.
"No, I don't want to" I tell him, before he gets any ideas and makes me feel even more like a moron. No, I could not dance like that with Alexander Lightwood.
"I wasn't – that wasn't…." He grins apologetically. Not gay. Fuck it all. He's driving me insane! I snatch his hand and hold it. When he doesn't move, I give it a few tentative squeezes and hefrowns.
"What are you doing?" He asks. I lace our fingers together, his hand moving patiently with mine seeing as our other hands were occupied with beer cans. Our hands slip together just fine. He goes just a little bit pink, too. "Maybe you've had too much alcohol" He justifies.
"Nope" I tug our hands apart. "I'm pretty much sober. I did that, sober" He doesn't know what to make of that – I can see him trying to make sense of it, to justify it, to erase it – to do something with the information that it was deliberate.
"Why?" He asks, thoughtfulness swimming in those eyes.
"Because I have a hand fetish" Is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. His face lights up in amusement. "Or, more accurately, it's a well known fact that I'm bi – so it's equally possible that I'm actually starting to like you"
"You are strange" Alec laughs, sipping his beer. He isn't going to take this seriously, but I suppose, how could he when I'd basically hidden my confession in a joke?
"Has a guy ever come onto you before?" Alec splutters a little, eyes wide. He licks his lips carefully and then, slowly, nods. "And?" I'd like a warning if he was going to punch my face off.
"I let them down gently" He says, after a few seconds. Which can mean that he turns then down as nicely as possible, or he's a closet-case. He hadnt said he wasn't gay. Just that he let them down – or am I trying too hard to read into something that isn't there? Ask!
"Do you let all the girls down, too?" I ask vaguely. He shines a smile.
"Not really looking for a relationship right now. Too many things to do" I nod in understanding. It hadn't got me anywhere. We talk for a little while after and then the bonfire really does go up. Alec leaves with a smile, having to 'watch out for Dipshit', and I get incredibly drunk thereafter.
~O~
The next day, I wake up with a throbbing headache and a stiff head and hair. Mechanically, I turn to face the other side of the bed to rid myself of a stiff neck, only to find that I'm not in my bed. I'm on my couch. The smell of a good fry-up hits my nose and I bolt upright. Camille is lounged over the seat closest to the window, curled into a ball and still fast asleep. Jem whispers my name from the kitchen and I head towards him with a few stumbles.
"God that smells good" I whisper. "That for me?" Jem nods with a bright smile and an easy laugh. "Obviously you didn't drink at all last night"
"I had two beers and I'm sure I drank a quarter of a spiked coke..." He falls off wearily. "But it's fine. Two eggs, or one?"
We spend the day waiting out our hangover, watching a movie after 'breakfast' and then going for a walk, which I end up redirecting to the library as I'd brought my books with me. Camille doesn't seem too interested, but comes inside and logs onto a computer to check her Facebook. Jem follows me to the counter, but gets distracted and goes elsewhere. I return the photography books and then set to finding Jem as there is nothing else to do. Only as I wander down the aisles, I spot a certain Lightwood. The youngest, as it is, and he's reaching for the high shelf that he just can't seem to get his fingers on.
"Hey there" I smile lightly at him and ask which book he's after.
"The Deathnote one. Number twelve" I slip it from its slot and hand it to him. "Thanks, Magnus"
"You remember me?" I'm impressed.
"The cat guy. You helped Church. Then you came to our house and didn't have lunch until later. Then you came again to give my sister something. I'm sure they called you Magnus…so…that's your name, right?" I nod encouragingly.
"And you're Max, if I'm right?"
"Yeah…nice to meet you, again. I guess" He holds out his hand politely and I shake it. Kids of his age shouldn't be doing things like that, but its still cute.
"Are you on your own?" I don't picture many of the Lightwoods to be library fanatics. "Sorry, that may have sounded slightly creepy" I grimace. "Im not a freak, honest" Max laughs quietly.
"Nah, Jace is around here somewhere" I nod in understanding. Jace, I remember, was at the party last night. I'm sure I remember seeing him and Isabelle; no Alec though.
"So you like Deathnote?" I ask curiously. He nods eagerly.
"I started on Naruto, and then my friend said this was good too. So I started these, and I like them"
"Whose your favourite character?"
"Not Light" He frowns. "He's…annoyingly perfect. Nobody suspects him. I find it annoying how people only see what's on the outside. So I don't like him" I nod. It's intriguing how the youngest Lightwood seems to pick up on that when his siblings are just the same. "I like L. He's strange, but he's brilliant" Max smiles at me and I'm sure I see some sort of admiration in his eyes. "Nobody can see him for who he is, so that's sad; he just hides behind a letter. But the fact that he's not just ordinary, but he's super smart, I like it. He's like the underdog; but it was sad when …well"
"I agree" I smile. "I nearly cried" Max smiles back at me.
"I think L's my favourite though; even after Near took over. What about you? Have you read it?"
"I like Watari" I tell him, crouching down to his level; he ends up sitting on the floor, the book in his lap, so I sit down too.
"Why? He's old" Max frowns.
"Something against old people?" I ask and he laughs, but shakes his head.
"I didn't mean that" He defends himself.
"He took them all in, didn't he? All the Wammy kids, he made them feel like no matter how odd or how weird they were, they had somewhere to go and he could nurture that talent. They weren't just freaks any more" Max nods slowly.
"I see" He whispers. "I guess so. I like the apple theme too – I like apples, so…" I gin.
"Me too. Are you going to read the L.A. BB. Murder Cases after that?" I indicate to the book in his lap and he looks at me curiously. I stand up and scour the shelf for the following book; I pick it out and hand it to him. "It's like background information and stuff – you might like it, you might not. Give it a try though, I found it intriguing"
"Thanks!" He grins at me and takes the book, adding it to the others he already has. Then his face seems to grow a little less confident.
"Magnus! There you are" Camille and Jem pop up behind me. "Ooo, new friend?" I smile at Max reassuringly.
"Yep! Are we all done?" I ask them. They both nod. "Alright, well" I turn back to Max. "I'll see you later Max. It was nice talking to you" I wave him goodbye and head out the door with Camille and Jem, who both sigh and wonder what to do now.
"We could go to the shelter?" I suggest. "I want to see how the kittens are doing"
"Would it be ok for us to go?" Jem asks curiously. "Don't want to intrude or anything"
"It's fine. Tanya's cool" I assure him. "Wanna' invite Tessa?"
"She's got a family thing today" He says with a sigh.
"So we're the back-up plan" Camille grins at him and he flicks her nose playfully.
"Shelter it is. Is everyone ok for bus money?" They weren't, but I didn't mind paying for them.
~0~
As it is, Chairman's doing a bit better! He's drinking more of the milk now, almost half of it which is a huge improvement. He interacts with Shilo, who's more playful but still tolerant around Chairman Meow. The others note the fact he's weaker but they don't encourage him to play. Shilo edges the woollen ball over to Chairman every now and then and he nudges it back. It's an improvement that we're all glad for. Tanya finds it amusing that Chairman Meow seems to pick up a bit more when I'm around. She thinks I must have made an impression on him or something. He's slightly more active, in that he crawls onto my lap and snuggles up to my chest, but doesn't do anything more. He'll drink more milk when I'm around, but he still won't play with the other kitties. Camille enjoys the kittens play time; she likes teasing them with their play-toys and she doesn't mind that they scramble all over her. She will do when she notices the car hair though. Jem prefers feeding them. He talks to them like I do, but he can't get the hang of their names. So they are all 'Kitty' to him. Which is just adorable.