A/N- Thanks for all the birthday wishes and reviews! :D I love all of you.
Disclaimer- I own nothing but the plot. Sorry.

(Magnus POV)

We all ate Alec's pork chops (besides me) a few minutes later. I heard from Maryse that they were delicious, though.

I decided to help Alec clean up the kitchen afterwards. Doing simple, somewhat mundane (A/N- Haha, Shadowhunter pun) tasks helped keep my mind off of other things. Having Alec right there next to me the whole time was a plus, too. He was one of the few people I really trusted and he didn't push me to do something I didn't want to do. And when he did, it wasn't intentional. He was just trying to help, really.

We both ended up back in his room, and I am happy to say that I started talking to him again. As lame as it sounds, the cooking really made me feel better. I don't know what it is about cooking, but it always reminded me of home and safety.

"Magnus?" Alec said, looking up from his English homework. "You're good with poetry right?"

"Yeah," I said, scooting closer to him on his bed. "Why?"

"Because," he began, tossing down his pencil in frustration. "This isn't making any sense to me. "

"Let me see."

It was one of the many worksheets Ms. Madison had given to him for extra credit. It was mostly stuff and eighth grader could've figured out, but poetry definitely was not Alec's forte… It was mine.

"It's a haiku," I told him. He looked at me with an 'I have no idea what you're talking about' face. "Look," I said. "The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven, and then the third line has five again. That's what a haiku is- five, seven, five."

"Oh," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I don't remember learning that."

"I do," I said simply. "Well, I remember my outfit that day."

"Is that how you remember things?" Alec asked. He stuffed all of his papers and pencils into his backpack and leaned against the headboard. "Coordinate everything with your clothing?"

"Yup." I put my head on his shoulder. "I would tell you to try it some time, but you wear practically the same thing every day." I knew he was blushing even though I couldn't see it. To me, the cutest thing about him was his blush. It was one of his beautiful flaws. Perfectly imperfect. "But don't worry," I added. "I'll still like you no matter what you wear."

"Well I'm reassured," Alec stated sarcastically.

We were both quiet for a minute and Alec seemed to be thinking of something.

"So," he said nonchalantly. He stretched out the vowel and I was suddenly afraid of what he was about to say. "Tomorrow's Saturday."

"Yeah." I looked up at him, removing my head from his shoulder. "Why does it matter?"

"Uh," he stuttered. A deep red blush started creeping its way across his cheeks. "I was wondering if maybe you… wanted to go out, or something."

I felt my eyebrow rise out of habit. "Go out?"

"Like…" He paused and then lowered his voice a bit. "Like an official date."

Oh.

I really liked the sound of that. An official date with Alec Lightwood, the guy I had a crush on for years. Finally. I almost couldn't believe it. It was one of those things I thought was impossible. He was straight and popular and I… wasn't. I realized that Alec was waiting for me to answer.

Smiling like an idiot, I'm sure, I said, "I'd like that." His normal color flooded back to his face and he smiled back at me. "Where'd you want to go?"

"Oh," he said. "Well I didn't really think of that…"

I chuckled at his blush, which came back stronger than before. "That's ok," I reassured him. "We'll think of something."

"I don't really care where we go," Alec muttered. He snuggled back into me and I let myself melt into his warmth. "I'm just looking forward to spending the day with you."

"Me, too."

We fell asleep like that, curled into each other. I'm not going to lie; it was an amazing feeling to sleep with him in a totally non-sexual way. It was sweet and serene. I was not at all happy about the reason why I was there at that moment, but I thought it would be better not to dwell on the negatives and just enjoy Alec while I could.

I was in a dark room. No, 'room' isn't the right word. It was more like a pitch black space. There were no walls, none that I could feel at least, but it felt like someone was there. Like there was a presence of something in the dark space.

I suddenly heard my father's voice. I didn't know where he was or where I was either, but I moved my attention to where I thought his voice had come from. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't speak. I opened my mouth in a vain attempt to say his name, but there was nothing.

"Magnus?" his voice said again.

This time, in the direction of his voice, I saw him. My voice refused to work so I only looked at him. He looked healthy and… happy. Happier than I had seen him since my mother died.

"Magnus," he said again, this time smiling. "I've missed you." He extended his arms to me, silently asking for a hug, and I wanted so badly to run into his arms, but I was stuck; frozen. I saw the smile slip off his face and he dropped his arms to his sides. "Haven't you missed me, too?" he asked with pain in his voice. I couldn't even nod. I stared at him, willing myself to move, hoping I could eventually lift my legs and run towards his warm embrace… but nothing happened and his expression got sadder and sadder. "Oh," he practically whispered. "I see."

"Sweetheart," I different voice said. I hadn't heard that voice in years, but I instantly recognized it. My mother stepped next to my father and took his hand. She hadn't aged at all since that sad day years ago. "I thought you loved us," she said.

I do, I so desperately wanted to say. Of course I do.

She frowned as well, making her look much older. They both seemed so disappointed and sad, because of me. I had done that.

They began turning away from me, not even looking back. The sound of their steps faded away, and just before they were out of sight, I saw them dissipate, turning into nothing but sand. They were gone, just like that… and I was alone.

"Magnus," someone said. I knew that voice, I had heard it before, but I couldn't place who it belonged to. "Magnus," it said urgently.

My eyes flew open as I felt someone gently shake me awake. It was Alec, his expression concerned and frightened. I sat up fully, breathing heavily.

My eyes widened as I realized that I wasn't in my bed at my house with my parents. It was a horrible, heart-plummeting feeling that took away my ability to breathe. I crumpled into Alec's arms, sad and confused. He held me close, probably not really knowing what had happened. I guess it was obvious that I had had a nightmare, as he told me that it was over now, that everything was okay.

I started sobbing again; trying to will away the vision of my parents turning to dust, but it kept coming back, threatening to take over my mind.

My throat was burning from the tears but I got out some words, "I just want him back."

Alec must've understood that much because he tightened his hold around me and I felt him nod. "I know," he whispered. "I know." He brought his finger up to my chin and made me look at him. "Magnus listen to me," he said. "You want your dad to be happy, right?" I nodded. "Then you can't believe that he's gone forever. He wouldn't want that, you said so yourself. He's happier now, he's with your mother, and he would feel awful if you were always upset about him being gone." He paused. "I would feel awful if you were always upset about him being gone…"

I raised my downcast eyes to his flawless ones. I rapidly blinked my eyes, trying to make the tears go away. Without really knowing what I was doing, I kissed his bright lips and clutched his arm. He kissed me back, still holding me to his body.

Eventually, though I'm not sure exactly how long it was, I pulled back and managed to get some air down my windpipe. "Thank you," I told him.

There wasn't anything more I needed to say, I could tell by Alec's expression that he understood what I meant- I was thanking him for being there, even when it wasn't necessary.

I wanted to sleep again, but I also didn't for the fear of having a nightmare again. So, I simply snuggled back into Alec and thanked him once more before a thought struck me- I had a date tomorrow…

What was I going to wear?

A/N- Aw, poor Magnus. I feel bad for him, even though I'm the one who made all this happen. I'd liiiiike to get, oh, I don't know… 16 reviews until I update again. Sorry for the chapter kidnapping, but I need a lil bit of an ego boost, my ideas fall short when my reviews fall short. So tell me what you think and I'll try to make the next chapter longer. It's gonna be about their daaaaate! :D
-Ella