AN: HEY! So I've got another chapter for you guys. I'd just like to take a second to thank all the new follows, favorites and of course all the people who reviewed my last chapter. So "thank you."
The songs for this chapter are anything you can imagine Camille would play at her party (I'll leave that to you) and "Silent Despair" by Anna Abreu.
Enjoy!
Hiding in plain sight
All characters belong to Cassandra Clare. I really hope she's nice to Malec and Sizzy.
Chapter 37.
Magnus' point of view
It was nearly midnight and the music was still blaring loud. People were still dancing. It seemed that when people left the party, more people would just appear. Magnus was quite happy; he and Alec had found a small tea-room along one of the confusing corridors. They were sitting on a dark brown bench lined with pillows, leaning against each other. They had closed the dark mahogany doors behind them, but they could still hear the consistent beat of the party music.
"It all sounds the same," Alec muttered.
"Huh?" Magnus asked, snapping out of his thoughts. He looked at Alec, who seemed to be staring into the distance above the pitch black fireplace.
"The music; all the songs Camille is playing sound the same," he explained.
"Hmm." Magnus thought about it for a second. "It seems you are right."
Alec smiled contently and tapped Magnus' knee. "It's getting late."
"I know," Magnus said and leaned over Alec. "We still have…" Magnus took a look at his watch. "…five minutes before we have to meet up with your sister and Simon."
"Five minutes?" Alec asked, and bit his lip hesitantly.
"Four if you start over thinking it," Magnus said and placed a gentle kiss on Alec's forehead.
"Time is irritating," Alec finally said and replied to the kiss with a sweet sigh.
"I know darling…tell me about it," Magnus said dramatically and pulled Alec onto his lap. He laced his fingers into Alec's dark black hair. "But five minutes…"
Alec laughed and kissed Magnus. The always did this. They kissed, retreated and then kissed again. It was becoming a pattern; an enjoyable but a predictable pattern, so you could say it was a split second decision when Magnus slipped his hands under Alec's plain white button up shirt.
"Okay…" Alec laughed.
"Mmm, okay?" Magnus asked, not really paying attention to how nervous Alec sounded. He kissed Alec's jaw and traced kisses down his neck. He noticed Alec swallow. Magnus sighed a bit and then caressed Alec's cheek. "You alright, love?"
"Um…yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm good. It's just eh…you have cold…hands," Alec said pushing his hair back.
"You make a really bad liar," Magnus said and brought his thumb to Alec's lips. "You feel uncomfortable."
"Well…no, not uncomfortable. I just…I want to but…don't you think it's kinda tacky to go any further in Camille's house?"
Magnus laughed. "Is that what you're worried about?"
"Yes," Alec replied, looking a bit amused.
"You're calling me tacky, honey?"
"No, not you, just this situation," Alec said, and shook his shoulders.
"I shall never be tacky, just know that, okay?"
"Okay…obviously this is a big deal for you, this whole 'not being tacky' thing," Alec said and smiled wickedly. He pressed his lips on Magnus' chin. "You're silly."
"I'm silly and tacky?" Magnus shook his head. "This is unacceptable."
Alec laughed at him, but Magnus couldn't bring himself to get upset over something that made Alec look so happy. The dim lighting in the room made shadows dance on Alec's face. His blue eyes were such a contrast to all the dark in the room.
"How 'bout we go get your sister and leave. We can go listen to some real music in the car?"
"Such a tempting offer, I think I'll take it, sir," Alec said, still laughing.
"Oh come on, it's not that funny," Magnus said and rolled his eyes. "Me? Tacky? What have we come to…?"
"It is too," Alec said, and wrapped his arms around Magnus as they got up. "Besides, sometimes being silly can be so…cute."
"Are you hitting on me, because it's really hard to tell right now," Magnus said, not sure if Alec was being sarcastic.
"Do I have to hit on you? You're already my boyfriend," Alec asked, following Magnus' lead under his arm.
"No, but I thought you were doing a whole 'sultry voice' thing there, so I was just making sure, you know?" Magnus couldn't contain the smile nudging its way on his lips. The thought of Alec being sultry just did it for him.
"I have a sultry voice?" Alec asked, looking up at Magnus with puppy dog eyes.
"Let's hope so," Magnus said and winked at him.
"You're dirty."
"At least I take showers."
"Hey, I was having a rough patch, okay, no need to be sassy."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't complain anyway, I did get to take a shower with you after all," Magnus said.
"Yeah, that was…interesting," Alec mumbled looking around. People were scattered around the hallway. Magnus was pretty sure he was looking for Izzy and Simon. They should have been here already.
"Interesting…and hot," Magnus said, smirking.
"I think you're exaggerating."
"Nope, not exaggerating at all…" Magnus said looking around, but he didn't see either Simon or Izzy anywhere. "You're sexy. Without a shirt…wet pants clinging to your frame, you really have a nice ass you know," Magnus said nonchalantly.
"Oh, oh okay," Alec said making a surprised gesture with his hands. "You're really on a roll here."
"Do you want me to go on?" Magnus asked turning to face Alec with glittering eyes.
"No," Alec said and rolled his eyes. "I want you to go find my sister so we can get out of here and go listen to real music."
"Fair enough," Magnus stated. "But first…"
"What?" Alec asked.
"You have to kiss me goodbye. If I'm going to go adventure in the endless halls of this mansion, I might not come back, you know. Who the hell knows what Camille has lying around here. You know she's a bit shady…" Magnus said with a fake worried look plastered on his face.
Alec leaned in and kissed Magnus on the lips, gently. "Don't get yourself killed."
"Thank you," Magnus said and turned around. He went for the kitchen. He figured Izzy must be hungry by now. He pushed through people waiting to get some alcohol and eventually made it to the overly modern kitchen that didn't really match the cute little tea room Alec and he had been in.
He actually saw the queen bee herself – Camille.
As he walked into the room she ran towards him and gave him a hug. She was clearly intoxicated beyond any reasonable measure. "Hey Maggie…Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…" Camille laughed.
"Sweet Cam, what are you supposed to be?" He asked and looked at her "costume"; she had on a golden form fitting mermaid style dress with pearls lining the neckline. Her platinum blond hair was in a curly frizz of a braid.
"A Greek mermaid, duh," She said and took a sip of her red cup, probably filled with beer. "The question is," she began with a slur. "What are you?" She pointed at Magnus.
"Um, I'm not dressed up as anything," Magnus admitted.
"Noooh," Camille gasped. "I seriously thought you were dressed up as James Bond…or was it Austin Powers…The one with the red jacket," she said and smiled.
"Cam, hun, I'm not wearing a red jacket," Magnus said taking the red cup away from her. "I think you should drink some coffee."
"Whaat?" She gasped again, her forest green eyes wide open. "I don't want coffee, unless you wanna go to Starbucks and get me a…um…latte thingy with caramel?"
"You mean a caramel macchiato?" Magnus asked, now seating Camille on a stool next to the kitchen counter. He got her a glass of water but she refused to drink it.
"You gotta have some fun Mags, preferably with that hot boyfriend of yours." She laughed with ease. "I would if I were you."
"That's why you, my love, are not me," Magnus said, giving up with her. "If I see Jem I'll tell him to keep an eye on you."
"Yay! Jemmy, Jem Jem!" Camille exclaimed but soon pursed her lips. "Can you ask him to get me a caramel latte thingy?"
"Sure thing, Cam." Magnus sighed. Just as he was about to walk away, he remembered why he had gone to the kitchen in the first place. "Hey Cam?"
She looked up at him.
"Yah?"
"You seen Izzy?"
"Yes!" She yelled out. "She looks hot in that dress. I dunno what she's supposed to be though."
"I agree, but do you know where she is?" Magnus asked, smiling.
"Yeah, I think she went upstairs…" Camille said, looking a bit unsure.
"Okay Cam, I'll go and check."
Magnus walked out of the room and pushed around the crowd until he got to the stairs. A few people lingered around the stairs, sitting, talking and drinking.
He practically skipped up the stairs. He was faced with two options: right and left. There were two doors on the left and three on the right so he decided with right.
What he found was two empty rooms and more drunk and barely sane people. Fun party, eh? He opened the third door on the right expecting to find another dark room with overly expensive floorboards and silly decorative vases, but instead he walked into a fully lit room…with a gold frog statue. Oh and Izzy and Simon under the covers.
Magnus just stood there for a moment, feeling awkward at first but then throwing caution to the wind and clearing his throat.
"Holy shit!" Izzy exclaimed. She was the one who turned around first. She had a petrified look on her face.
"Honey, you might want to watch the language," Magnus said. He couldn't really think of anything smart to say.
"Get out!" She threw a pillow at him.
Magnus did as he was told and closed the door as quickly as possible.
"For fuck's sake. Really Izzy, really?" Was all he managed to mutter under his breath.
Simon's point of view
To say Izzy was freaking out would be an understatement. She was rapidly throwing clothing, both her and Simon's, around the room. She had managed to yank her dress on and was now pulling her stockings up.
Simon watched her as she panicked, admiring the way she could manage herself even though she was obviously freaking out.
"Get dressed," she told him with a stern voice.
Simon got up and started to get dressed. He found his clothes next to the bed on the floor.
"Can you zip me up?" Izzy asked with a huff.
"Sure, come here," he said. She walked over to him and put her hair up and collected the loose strains of hair back into her bun. "I can't believe the nerve of that guy. Walking in on us like that," Izzy mumbled under her breath.
"Well it's not his fault we forgot to lock the door," Simon stated and zipped her dress up. Izzy turned around and poked him in the chest. "You're seriously diluted aren't you? Aren't you at all worried about the consequences that may come our way?"
"Nope," Simon said, and then he gave it a thought. "Well I suppose Camille might get upset, but other than that I think we're fine."
"We're fine?" Izzy repeated in a high pitch.
"Yeah," Simon said shrugging his shoulders. "And besides Magnus didn't even walk in on us, all he saw was us under the covers lying next to each other. What he thinks happened before that is just his interpretation of the situation."
"I'm pretty sure I know what he's thinking, and God forgive me, but I think he'll tell Alec and then we'll all die a slow and painful death."
"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Simon asked her.
"Not a bit," Izzy replied. "Now come on, make the bed and let's get out of here.
Simon neatly pulled the sheets up, placed the duvet on the bed, fluffed the pillows and arranged them nicely. "Is that good?" He asked Izzy, who was tapping her foot impatiently.
"It's extraordinary, now can we go?"
"You seriously need to calm down," he said to her as he pulled her in for and embrace. She wiggled out of his grip and mumbled something while walking out the door. Simon followed her, feeling a bit worried. He was greeted by a grinning Magnus and a pouting Izzy.
"Hello, Simon," Magnus said, but the way he said it implied he knew too much.
"Hello, Magnus. I need you to do me a favor," Simon said and looked at Magnus who was still grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"What could you possibly want from me?" Magnus asked, pretending to be surprised.
"Your silence," Simon said bluntly. "Izzy here, thinks you're gonna go tell Alec what you think happened between me and her. Now I would very much appreciate if you could keep your knowledge and thoughts to yourself."
"You think I'll tell your brother?" Magnus asked, now truly surprised. He looked at Izzy and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. Besides I knew it was only a matter of time until you could no longer resist the charm of The Sexy Nerd." He headed down the stairs and beckoned for Izzy and Simon to follow him.
Simon reached his arm out, offering it to Izzy. She hesitantly took it and looked blankly at the crown downstairs. "This is fun," Simon said.
"What's fun?" she asked.
"You not talking to me after we just made love," Simon answered.
"Please don't say that," Izzy hissed at him.
"Say what?" Simon asked.
"Say that we 'made love', it sounds weird."
"Well, what do you want me to say then, or would you rather have me deny the past hour or so of my life?" Simon asked, not really knowing where this conversation was going.
"Just say we had sex," Izzy snapped at him.
Simon tugged at her arm and pulled her aside. "Izzy, seriously, what is going on? Did you not want to be with me, because if you didn't then you need to tell me?"
"I need you to stop, Simon. I really just need some time to think okay. Don't worry about me, just let me be okay," she said and gracefully sauntered down the stairs.
Simon just stared at her. She was further all the time, both physically and mentally. He felt like he'd done something wrong, something to upset her, but he didn't know exactly what it was. So maybe the timing hadn't been exactly right, but at that moment he'd thought they'd both wanted it and acted based on that.
Izzy's point of view
The car ride home had been everything but pleasant; dark streets and lights flashing by. Luckily Alec hadn't picked up on her bad mood though. Simon had given her worried looks all night and she'd eventually told him to stop talking to her. Magnus had kept a close eye on them, listening in on their conversation (or non conversation) and quirking his eyebrow.
So sitting on the bus at six AM on a Sunday morning, Izzy could admit to herself that she had maybe overreacted yesterday. Something dark and obsessive had taken over her. The morning air had knocked some sense into her. She felt horrible for the way she'd treated Simon, but couldn't bear to call him. She felt too embarrassed.
She pressed the stop button on the bus and got up. The doors opened to a dusty road, she hopped of the bus and started walking. After about fifteen minutes the gloomy front of the Bane manor stood in front of her. She looked up hopefully. She needed to clear her mind; she needed someone to talk to. Preferably someone who wasn't her brother.
She walked up the driveway, then up the stairs of the front porch and knocked on the door. No one answered. She knocked again. "Please, please, please be home…" she mumbled.
She waited for five minutes and knocked again. Panic began to rise inside her. She needed to talk to Magnus ASAP. "Magnus!" she screamed at the top her lungs.
She began kicking and throwing herself against the door. She did this for another five minutes until the door finally clicked open.
The door opened and she was faced with Magnus, in his pajama pants and nothing else, and a white cat hissing at her. "Don't mind her," Magnus said and yawned. "She's just tired."
Izzy opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. She tried again but no words would come out. She crossed her arms and looked at Magnus with pleading eyes. She could visibly see his face soften. He opened his arms and she walked into his embrace. "I had a feeling you weren't alright."
"I'm not okay Magnus, I-I think I ruined everything last night." She sniffed and pressed her face against Magnus' chest. He smelled like citrus fruit and mint. It was oddly comforting.
"I'm sure you haven't done anything we can't still fix," Magnus murmured in her ear. "Come on now, Isabelle, let's go upstairs shall we?"
She nodded and let Magnus guide her up the dark stairs. The white cat followed them, barely making it up one step. In other circumstances she would have found that amusing, but now she just picked the cat up and cuddled it. "It'll be okay, Simon won't hate us," she whispered. The cat meowed. She hoped it meant "No, no he won't, because he's amazing and loves us and wants to be with us even though we're weird sometimes and freak out after having sex." But that seemed like an awfully long sentence to fit in just one 'meow'.
AN: So what do you think Chairman Meow was saying? No but seriously, let me know what you thought of this chapter and let me know if you think this story is still interesting or do you think it needs a major plot twist or something like that. I love your feedback.
Love Always, Alexandra