Down This River Every Turn
Magnus watched Alec leave, feeling slightly relieved that he hadn't knocked. That wasn't a confrontation he was ready for yet. They had so many problems to work out, but right now even he didn't know how to fix things. He sighed slightly and let his eyes wander to the note that had been slipped under his door. He picked it up and read it over. A smile came to his face, the first one in over three weeks that hadn't been bitter or sarcastic. He opened the door and undid the scarf from the knob. Leave it to Alec to make things feel ok, even when they really weren't. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and went to look himself over in the mirror. His last minute rush to pull himself together hadn't done much, but he at least didn't look like someone who had given up on life anymore. Plain black shirt, skinny jeans and a Black and silver blazer. It wasn't his usually flashy attire, but it suited his mood, and at least it was clean. A little cover up and eye liner and he would be ok to go out. No glitter today, but he needed out of the house something fierce.
Maybe he would call Tessa, she was usually up for coffee or the movies and she was in town. Last he'd talked to her she had just gotten back from her yearly meeting with Jem. You mean Brother Zachariah.Whatever, he was hardly the silent brother type. He'd asked Magnus to stop calling him Jem, but if Jem refused to act like a Silent Brother then Magnus refused to treat him like one.
Magnus did his makeup, slowly, methodically. It was amazing how three weeks of not doing it could leave his hands out of practice. They were shaky and unsure. In the end he sighed and smudged the slightly jagged lines around his eyes. Usually he went for clean, even eye makeup but he couldn't get it to behave and the smudging hid the imperfections somewhat. With a sigh he reached for his phone and wished he'd changed the lock screen on it. A picture of Alec asleep with Chairman Meow curled up on his chest tugged at his heart for a moment before he managed to get his password in and dial Tessa.
"Magnus? Where have you been! I've been trying to call you for days!"
"Hello Tessa."
"I mean it Magnus. I was about to come knock your door in."
Magnus looked around the apartment and winced. It was a good thing she hadn't. He hadn't done much in the way of cleaning and it still looked like someone had tried to burn it down. Um, well you did that. Oh right, someone had tried that. Yeah it was a good thing Tessa hadn't come knocking. "I've been busy Tess." He muttered, flopping down on the couch. He had replaced it after his fit. It was a boring thing but it was comfortable. Chairman Meow picked his head up and eyed him suspiciously. Since Magnus had set fire to the place the Chairman had been mostly avoiding him unless Magnus made the first move, which in his self-loathing he hadn't done much. Now he pulled the cat into his lap and scratched him behind the ears, feeling a satisfying purr in response. Even if he hated himself, at least the Chairman seemed to love him unconditionally.
"Magnus? Mag are you even listening to me?" Tessa said, irritation clear in her voice.
"I'm sorry Tess I've been, distracted."
"I asked you what you've been doing. I heard about your Shadowhunter."
Magnus sighed, had his relationship issues already made it all over the downworld? "What exactly have you heard Tessa?"
"I've heard a few things, none of them I like."
Another sigh, this time from her side. "Alright Tess. Meet me for coffee? We'll go for a walk and I'll tell you everything."
