Magnus watched the blue eyed boy dance from the shadows. He had such easy playful movements and Magnus found himself spell bound. He was not happy to see that this boy was dancing with a girl and he was even less happy when a slow song came on and they danced closely together. Magnus still had some hope they were just friends until they stopped to sit down and the boy held the girl's hand. Such a shame.

Magnus left the sad excuse for a party and headed home. The tree-lined streets were unusually quiet, leaving Magnus with only his lonely thoughts. Magnus trudged along the sidewalk wallowing in his own pity as the streetlights cast taunting shadows across the dark pavement. Usually he didn't bother with the first party of the school year since it was always lame and he still wasn't sure what had possessed him to come to this one.

It was nice not to have to live in dorms anymore, one of the benefits to completing freshman year. His apartment was right across the street from the university which made it oh so convenient.

When Magnus walked in he was greeted by his cat. That was another thing Magnus loved about living off campus; you could have pets. After stroking the silky fur of the cat until he ran off Magnus went into the modest living space. The floors were that plastic hardwood that you knew was fake but still looked like hardwood and the walls were painted a faded light blue. The tv was the focal point of the living room with a sofa and two chairs positioned across from it. In one of these chairs sat his roommate, Tessa, reading a book. This was in no way a surprise and a sight Magnus was very accustomed to seeing whenever he got home. Tessa had chosen literature as her major for a good reason. She was definitely a book worm, though a rather old fashioned one. Magnus usually found her reading old classics like Tail of Two Cities rather than modern hits like Harry Potter.

"How was the party?" Tessa asked looking up from her book.

"Lame," Magnus said, sitting down on the sofa next to her. "Shouldn't have bothered."

"Meet anyone you fancy?"

"He was dancing with a girl."

"Sorry," Tessa said. "If it's any consolation Will is still being super confusing."

"How so?" Magnus asked as he sat down next to her. Will was sort of Tessa's guy. They had been dating only a few weeks but Tessa was getting very mixed signals from him.

"One minute I think he really likes me and the next he won't talk to me," Tessa said. "Oh and now his best friend Jem has asked me out so there's that."

"Run!" Magnus said, laughing. "Run and hide. You are in dangerous waters, my friend."

"See," Tessa said. "You are already cheering up."

"You always know just what to say," Magnus smiled at her. Tessa had started out as just an excellent roommate but had become an excellent friend along the way.

Magnus whiled away the rest of the evening on his laptop but he found his mind wondering back to those captivating blue eyes and the way their 'owner's body moved across the dance floor. But it wasn't just the boy's eyes that had been remarkable. His dark black hair suited him well and there was something kind about his face when he smiled. Magnus stared off into the distance, his mind recalling the gentle smile on the boy's face when he remembered the boy had only smiled because of his girlfriend.

"Why are all the best ones straight?" Magnus asked the universe at large. Tessa looked up from her book and smiled at him.

"For women like me," she said.

"You are greedy aren't you?" Magnus said. "You have Will and Jem and now you want this guy too?" Tessa just smiled but Magnus knew if she wasn't already worried about him she would have teased him more. This reminded him why Tessa was worried, which made him miserable. Not wanting to have an uncomfortable discussion that would only make him more aware of recent events, Magnus decided to call it a night.

"I'm going to bed," Magnus said, with a sigh. He already knew he was doomed in the relationship department anyway. There was no point remembering the beautiful eyes and smile of a guy who was obviously in a relationship with a girl. He just got out of one waste-of-time relationship and wasn't looking for another one.

The next morning Magnus dressed in his usual flamboyant attire. Today Magnus picked out a purple shirt with embellished cuffs and black skinny jeans. He could have added glitter but he wasn't feeling particularly glittery today. Magnus had cereal for breakfast and was just leaving for his first class when he remembered it was Clary's first day on university. Clary and Magnus had been neighbours growing up and she was his oldest friend, even if she was a few years younger than him.

'Just checking up on you,' Magnus texted. 'How's your first day going?' There was no instant reply so Magnus continued to the door.

"I am headed to class as well," Tessa said. "I shall accompany you."

"Are you reading Pride and Prejudice again?" Magnus asked. "Most people don't say 'accompany you'."

"I am reading Sense and Sensibility actually and it is not my fault the English language has gone downhill since Jane Austen's time," Tessa said. "Lol just can't be a word."

"English Lit snob," Magnus teased.

"History dork," Tessa countered. Magnus laughed. He was grateful Tessa wasn't walking on eggshells around him this morning. They had a pleasant walk to campus then split up to head to their respective classes.

Magnus was on the way to his History class when he walked past a large, imposing building. Positioned at the center of campus, it was by far the most architecturally striking building the university had. Built in the style of greek revival it housed the engineering department as well as the biggest lecture hall on campus. All the freshman would be gathered there at this time, which meant the boy with the blue eyes might be there. Without thinking Magnus snuck into the building and continued through to the lecture hall. He stood in the back, his eyes searching the crowd.

He found the boy more easily than he thought possible with only the back of the attendees visible. Magnus recognized the girl sitting beside him. She was the same girl the stunning boy had danced with last night. Despite this Magnus allowed himself to stare. When the boy turned around Magnus sunk deeper into the shadows rather than be seen. What the hell was he doing? The boy was looking right at him! Magnus took another step back to be sure he stayed out of sight. When the teacher asked the boy a question the boy didn't turn away. Magnus wondered if the boy had heard the teacher at all. The teacher repeated the question then finally lost patience.

"Is there something very important going on behind you?" the teacher asked.

"No," the boy said, his head snapping back to face forward. "Sorry."

Of course not, Magnus thought sourly, since the guy was straight! Why the hell had he come in here? Hadn't he learned his lesson? Magnus shook his head and quickly ducked out of that class to head to his own. Sighing at his own stupidity Magnus checked his phone.

'You don't need to check up on me,' Clary texted. 'Everything's fine. I am in that big freshmen orientation class right now.' Magnus realized Clary had been in that room and he hadn't even noticed her, which was impressive since she had the brightest red hair he had ever seen.

'Biscuit,' Magnus typed back smiling. Magnus had called her that since she had been a little banshee of a toddler that had knocked over all her mother's freshly baked biscuits. 'You shouldn't be texting in class.'

'Isn't that the whole point of going to university?' Biscuit replied. 'That I can now text in class without being in trouble cause I am a grown up. ^_^'

'Grown up's don't use ^_^,' Magnus replied beaming at his phone.

'Not true!' Clary replied. 'Mom uses them all the time.'

'Yes but Jocelyn uses them wrong,' Magnus texted.

'Not since she married Luke,' Clary corrected. 'Luke seems to have taught her much.'

'Is Luke the Yoda of emoji's now?' Magnus replied.

'That is great!' Clary texted. 'I am calling Luke that from now on!'

'Biscuit! You should be paying attention to class,' Magnus texted. 'Listen to the teacher. I shall not answer after this last message. But you and Simon should come over for dinner tonight. I am making my famous call to the Chinese place.'

'Lol,' Clary replied. Magnus put his phone away, smiling, and headed to his history lecture.

After a rather fascinating lecture about Genghis Khan Magnus went home for lunch and found Tessa already there. Neither of them ever bothered with the school cafeteria since their apartment was so close. They had a smallish kitchen. The sink was too close to the fridge in Magnus's opinion and the counter space was minimal but with just the two of them living here, and Magnus never cooking, it served their needs well enough. Especially since Magnus never cooked and Tessa preferred reading to cooking even if she was good at it when she wanted to be.

"You invited Clary and Simon over but you didn't get groceries," Tessa sighed as she opened the fridge and pantry, in turn taking inventory.

"We are gonna order Chinese," Magnus explained. He was currently eating leftover Chinese from yesterday.

"You eat that too much," Tessa said. "You need to date someone who can cook!"

"Do Will or Jem cook?" Magnus asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Tessa said then after another moment of frustrated searching added. "That's it! I give up. But we are going grocery shopping tomorrow." Tessa started making toast as she continued in a calmer voice. "I don't know them well yet. I so far have the impression Jem doesn't have any family but rather thinks of Will as his family so I am rather wary of getting between such close friends."

"You were dating Will first," Magnus reminded her. "Maybe stick with him and don't agree to go out with Jem."

"But Will is confusing me," Tessa said. "And Jem is so kind."

"Then pick Jem and ditch Will."

"What if that breaks up their friendship?" Tessa asked.

"I don't know what to tell you," Magnus said.

"You are no help."

"I know," Magnus said as she sat down across from him at their round wooden table with her poor excuse for a lunch.

"Really we need to buy groceries!" she exclaimed. "This is ridiculous." A loud meow came from across the room. "See even Chairman agrees with me!"

"Ah but has The Great Catsby said anything?" Magnus asked.

"Why did I let you get another cat!" Tessa whined.

"Because I came up with a second mind-blowingly awesome history pun and just had to use it!" Magnus beamed down at his two kitties who were now both rubbing up against his legs.

"So I can blame your major for the furry things that keep kneading my head at night?" Tessa said.

"My little angels would never do such a thing!" Magnus exclaimed.

"Oh and napping on my freshly cleaned clothes until they are made of cat hair?" Tessa added. "And meowing at all hours of the night for food when their dish it full!"

"He probably wanted water," Magnus defended his cat. "It isn't Chairman or Catsby's fault they don't speak English." Tessa laughed, finished the last bit of her lunch then stood up.

"I have class," she said. "See you later crazy cat lady."

"Crazy cat dude!" Magnus called after her.

He didn't have any other classes today and it was too early in the year for homework so Magnus contented himself with Netflix. Magnus could have gone out, maybe met up with Raphael. He could have called his old friend Ragnor. He could have text Catarina to see if she wanted to skype-call from her fancy medical school. But all Magnus wanted at the moment was to stay home and watch a cheesy movie. He seriously considered eating a tub of ice cream while he was at it.

Magnus sat on the couch, wrapped himself in a blanket and settled in while the opening credits played. Chairmen Meow curled up in his lap and Magnus petted the cat absently as he watched. The Great Catsby came to sleep beside him and Magnus was very grateful for their warm presence as he started comparing the actor's eyes to those penetrating blue ones that had grabbed his attention earlier. The actor's blue eyes weren't half so lovely as the boy's eyes Magnus had spied on in class today. Magnus, though slightly annoyed that his fixation with a pair of deep blue eyes, didn't actually abandon the movie until he started comparing the lead female actress' blonde hair to Camille's. How he had gone this long without thinking about her was a mystery to him.

Magnus had just found out Camille, his former girlfriend, had been cheating on him all summer with some guy named Ralf. He hated that she and Ralf still went to this school. To the best of Magnus's knowledge they were currently together somewhere happy as can be, which irritated and depressed him. How dare they be happy when he was miserable! It was one thing to cheat on someone when it was just sex, it was another to cheat on someone when it was more than that. Though both sucked, a lot. And in this case Camille had done both. If she had wanted Ralf in the first place why had she dated Magnus anyway?

Magnus sighed as he shut down the movie. It was almost time for dinner and he was suddenly hoping Clary would arrive early and provide a distraction. To this end Magnus texted her to say he would love if she could come over sooner. To keep himself from staring at his phone until Biscuit replied Magnus started making tea. He was just sitting down on the sofa drinking it when Clary replied they were already on their way.

This is what best friends were for, Magnus thought as he called the Chinese place and ordered everyone's usual. He knew Tessa would be back for dinner so he ordered for her as well. Magnus looked down at his mug. It had the logo of his favourite youtube channel on it, which of course was a history channel. Clary had given it to Magnus for his birthday last year. Turning back to his phone Magnus resumed the Epic Rap Battles of History video he was watching. He loved to fact check these videos whenever they were about historical figures he knew. Sometimes he researched the ones he didn't know.

"Magnus," Clary called as she entered his apartment with Simon. Clary had a key to this apartment and he would never have expected her to knock.

"Over here," Magnus called. He closed the YouTube app on his phone and stood up.

"Made your famous call yet?" Clary teased.

"Yes," Magnus said. "I am far more prepared than last time."

"Last time we ate dinner at nine o'clock," Simon reminded him.

"I know, I know," Magnus said. "I can't magic food out of thin air you know. Even take-out takes time."

"Wouldn't that be great though," Simon said. "Food out of thin air?"

"It would solve world hunger," Clary piped in as she took her usual seat on Magnus's sofa. If Clary had been a bit older when Magnus had come to university he would have asked her to be his roommate. But alas she was his adorable little Biscuit and had been still in high school at the time. Besides he would never have met Tessa if Clary could have been his roommate back then.

Sometimes he liked to refer to Clary as his little sister just to confuse people. They looked at her flaming red hair and pale skin then compared that to Magnus's black hair, asian features and caramel skin. The look on people's face was always priceless as they tried to make the connection.

"I just want to solve my hunger," Simon complained. Clary rolled her eyes at him and Magnus couldn't help but be jealous. He was happy Clary was happy but until recently he had been happy like that too, or at least he thought he had. She cheated on you all summer, Magnus reminded himself forcefully.

"Where is Tessa?" Clary asked, as Simon sat beside her.

"Class," Magnus replied, he checked his phone then added. "But it just ended."

"What do you want to bet Tessa walks in here with her nose in a book?" Simon asked.

"Why bet when the answer is so obvious?" Magnus said seriously.

Indeed when Tessa arrived a short while later she did have a book open and held up in front of her face. Magnus always marveled at her ability to never walk into walls when she did this.

Simon and Clary didn't get up from the sofa. Magnus was sitting in the leather armchair on a slight angle to the television. This left the matching armchair on the other side of the sofa available, which Tessa sat in all the while still with her nose in her book.

"How did you know where to sit?" Simon asked.

"I have this room memorized," Tessa said. "I live here remember?"

"I know you walked here reading," Simon said. "Do you also have all of campus and back memorized?"

"It's Tessa's magical power," Magnus teased his friend. "To be able to read and walk without crashing into anything."

"My teacher just gave us this book," Tessa defended herself. "It's brilliant."

They continued to tease Tessa and she continued to ignore them, trying and read until dinner arrived. Simon was the first to jump up, letting go of Clary's hand and dashing to the door. They sat in the living room to eat since Magnus didn't have a formal dining table.

"I did see some other art programs I liked," Clary continued the conversation they were having before the food arrived. "But this one had everything I wanted as well as great company." Clary smiled at Magnus. Magnus was so glad she had come to his school, especially after everything with Camille.

"You know I would have gone to any school you went to," Simon said.

"And I told you that is stupid," Clary reminded him. "You would have resented me if I dragged you across the country!"

"Never!" Simon said beaming at her. Clary sighed. Magnus knew Simon's total lack of independence from her was a source of concern for Clary.

"What is your major?" Magnus asked Simon.

"Undeclared," Simon announced.

"How decisive of you," Magnus said sarcastically.

"I don't have to declare until third year," Simon said. "Plenty of time to figure things out."

"You say that now," Magnus said. "But third year will creep up on you."

"Magnus is right," Tessa said. "You should figure out what you want to do."

"Art, Lit, History," Simon said pointing to them all in turn as he named their majors. He then pointed to himself as he added. "Rockstar. The Immortal Instruments are going all the way!"

"Study music then," Magnus suggested.

"Rockstars don't actually sing," Simon explained. "Besides, I'm a bassist."

"Why is your band called The Immortal Instruments?" Tessa asked.

"We play instruments so skillfully," Simon said with enthusiasm. "That our music shall make us immortal. Like the Beatles!"

"If you say so," Tessa said but she was smiling at him.

"Eric, Kirk and Matt liked the name," Simon whined. From what Clary had told him, Magnus was fairly sure those were the other members of Simon's band.

There was a knock at the door; all eyes turned to Magnus and Tessa to see if they were expecting someone. Magnus knew he hadn't invited anyone who wasn't already here and saw a similar conclusion on Tessa's face. Nevertheless he had a feeling he knew exactly who it was.

Magnus got up to answer the door.


Beta read by Holly0114 (Also thanks to Holly for helping me work on my description skills. Some of the description you just read was actually written by her, not all but some.)


I was going to upload this tomorrow but... Holly edited it really fast so I thought why not! I will probably have the next chapter for you sometime this week end.

So... this story is starting to get ALL the points of view! Is that going to bother anyone? What do you think about that? My last story had 4 main points of view and 2 guest points of view ones. So far I have 5 chapters of this story planned out and 5 points of view... not sure how that happened but there you go. Please tell me if it gets confusing! I updated the summary since I am now including more than just Clace and Malec in this story though they will still be the main ones.


Chapter 4 Sneak Peak:

The woman gave her that look again and Clary wasn't sure what to make of it. Clary wished she could remember the woman's name. She was fairly sure it wasn't a bad look and since the lines of communication were now open…

"What, I mean why," Clary stopped to think then rephrased. "When you look at me I can't figure out that expression on your face."

"Oh sorry," she said and to Clary's surprised she blushed slightly. "I misjudged you earlier. You are actually kinda hot."

"What?" Clary asked shaking her head as if to clear her ears. She must of heard wrong.

"Sorry," she said. "Maybe I should explain. I like girls."

"So…" Clary tried again. "All those looks… you were… checking me out?"