Magnus was the first to wake up the next morning. The brightness of the sun leaking through Alec's navy blue curtains awoke him, as well as Alec's persistent and incredibly loud snoring. Mostly the latter.
Throughout the night, Magnus had been shoving him and shaking him in an attempt to get him to stop snoring but none of his efforts triumphed. Eventually, Magnus had given up and snatched up his phone, stole a pair of earbuds from the bedside table and listened to Coldplay on repeat until he fell asleep.
Sure, Magnus could've easily just had gotten up and went to sleep in the living room on Alec's couch, but having Alec there lying next to him . . . provided a sense of warmth and it was addicting. Magnus never wanted it to stop . . . despite how annoying Alec's snoring was.
Of course, when Magnus woke up lying next to his student, a sense of guilt washed over him like a wave. He knew it was wrong. But, then again, was it really? They weren't having sex and Magnus wasn't pressuring Alec into doing it whatsoever, so, was it really that bad? It was just kissing and cuddling and they both liked each other a lot so why did it even matter? As long as it didn't go any further, according to Magnus, it was okay.
And all Magnus had to do was finish up the school year with Alec. Just a few more months, that's all, then Alec would be graduated and they could be together. Maybe Magnus was thinking too far ahead but he couldn't stop the thought from entering his brain and bouncing around inside.
Suddenly, Alec stirred in his sleep, muttering a bit and letting out a few gentle puffs of air through his pursed lips. Magnus watched adoringly as Alec turned over onto his side, his hair falls loosely against the sheets.
"Morning," Magnus purred.
Alec's eyes fluttered for a second, squinting a bit, but then he groaned in annoyance and flopped over to the other side so his back was facing Magnus. Chuckling, Magnus cuddled closer to Alec, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of the younger boy's neck. When Alec still didn't wake up, Magnus sighed and started tracing down the creamy skin of Alec's back, rubbing his fingers over the pink, rough burns and scars that lied there. Magnus paused at the bulging neon veins that ran across the length of Alec's body and ran his thumb over them, loving the way they felt.
"What're you doing?" Alec croaked, turning over so he was on his back again. Alec's voice was so rough and thick of sleep and Magnus blushed a bit then shrugged, lying back down on his side of the large bed.
"Your body is interesting, that's all," Magnus answered quickly, acting as if it was a nonchalant thing to say.
Alec cocked an eyebrow, "You're so weird."
Magnus smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."
Alec chuckled a bit before glancing over at the alarm clock, "What the . . . it's like 8 in the morning on a Sunday, how are you awake?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"You're grumpy in the morning," Magnus mused, "And it's 8:50, nearly 9 so stop complaining."
"You sound like my mum," Alec grumbled.
"Well I am your teacher I suppose I'm supposed to boss you around a bit. . ." Magnus muttered, his voice fading a bit.
There was a fraction of silence between them. Neither of them spoke, just breathed, staring at each other as if to say 'what are we going to do?'. There were so many questions, so many boundaries, so many things wrong about what they were doing but also so many things right.
"I was thinking . . . um, Magnus, what if you quit?" Alec said a bit shyly.
Magnus froze, "Q-quit? You can't be serious."
"Why not?" Alec wondered.
"Because that's ridiculous! I can't quit."
"Give me one good reason, Magnus," Alec pressed on.
"I need the money, Alec. I'm not exactly rich and unlike you I don't depend on my mummy's money, I have to make it on my own," Magnus began, "and my flat mate, Woolsey, and I depend on it. Plus, I kind of promised your mum I'd teach you for the remainder of the year and this is huge for me. Teaching a model's son could get me recommendations for more jobs and I can't quit over something so stupid-"
"Oh, so I'm stupid?" Alec cut in, sitting up right on the bed.
Magnus shook his head, "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"What did you mean then, huh? Please, tell me," Alec said. The tone in his voice startled Magnus a bit.
"I- I mean the idea of me quitting my job because of us is stupid."
"So you mean the idea of us being together is stupid?"
"Together? Alec we're not together! We're . . ." Magnus began, but he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. He was stuck. What were they? They looked into each other's eyes, a sense of uncertainty apparent on both their faces.
Alec gulped, "I . . . I don't want to fight."
"Me neither. So can we just drop this? As I said before we need to take things slow- like, turtle slow."
The black hair boy licked his lips for a split second, thinking it over, "How about this slow- a date?" he suggested.
Magnus' jaw locked, his throat tightening. Was that even appropriate? Even getting to the stage of kissing a cuddling was a struggle mentally for Magnus. A date would be pushing boundaries- leaving the comfort and familiarity of Alec's apartment.
"I, um, can you, like, go out in public? Is that alright with your mum and, um, stuff?" he said, struggling to find the right words.
Alec paused, "We'll think of something. We can go somewhere late at night? I'll wear sunglasses and a hat and clothes that cover my arms and legs- it'll be okay."
Magnus bit his lip, "Speaking of which . . . about your mum, how often do you see her?"
"Not very often. Once a week if I'm lucky. At first she visited every day but it seems as if she sort of forgot about me. She doesn't care. She says that after I change back to normal- I mean, if I change back to normal, then I can come home and start going out in public again. But God knows when or even if that'll happen," Alec murmured.
Magnus nodded at that and ran his fingers through his greasy hair and realized that he desperately needed a shower.
"I should go back to my flat and check with Woolsey- see if he's still mad. But, about that date," Magnus said, standing up from the bed and stretching his arms, "text me the details later. You have my number, right?" Alec nodded. "Okay then, see you tonight Alec," Magnus smiled before turning and leaving him without another single word.
Magnus' hand shook as he stuck his key into the lock. Would Woolsey still be mad? Would they fight again? To be honest, Magnus was slowly growing tired of his childhood best friend and flat mate's attitude. He was constantly getting drunk and bringing back random girls to shag and was too lazy to get a job.
Slowly, Magnus creaked open the door and kicked off his shoes.
It only took a few seconds for Magnus to spot Woolsey sitting on the couch, stuffing his face with ice cream. Magnus scoffed and rolled his eyes. Nothing had changed.
Woolsey didn't hear him walk in so Magnus slowly walked over to the living room and took a seat next to him without saying anything. Woolsey simply shot Magnus a quick glance then grunted, turning his attention back to the football match.
"Ignoring me, Woolsey? How mature," Magnus laughed.
Woolsey froze, swallowing another spoonful of mint chocolate chip ice cream straight from the carton, "Hypocrite," he seethed.
Magnus' eyes widened, "What did you just say? I just get home and you start insulting me already? Lovely, just peachy."
It went silent for a few moments. They both focused on the TV, but the tension in the air was clear. You could cut it with a knife.
"You call me immature but look at yourself," Woolsey mused, still gluing his eyes to the tellie, "you're dating your mentally ill student for crying out loud."
"I've told you before, he's not mentally ill!"
"Then what is he?" Woolsey snapped.
Magnus gulped, "I . . . I can't tell you. You wouldn't believe me."
"So we're back to this again, eh?"
"Fine! You want to know what's really up with Alec, fine! But you won't believe me," Magnus insisted.
Then he proceeded to tell Woolsey the story about how Alec was cursed by a wizard and turned into a beast. He then told Woolsey how Alec was forced by his supermodel mum to pretend he was mentally ill and to be home schooled away from the public eye, which left Woolsey in a laughing fit, staring at his flat mate like he was crazy.
"See? I told you! I told you that you wouldn't believe me!" Magnus grumbled, sinking back into the cushions of the couch.
Woolsey chuckled, "Can you blame me? How about you tell me the truth."
"But I am telling you the truth!" Magnus wailed.
Woolsey paused, laughing a bit, "Well, let's pretend that for a minute you are telling me the truth. In that case, from what I've gathered from your information, he's just using you," he began, "Alec's using you to get the curse reversed. He's only pretending to like you in hopes that you'll fall for him and fix the curse for his own selfish reasons."
Magnus shook his head, "No he's not-"
"I'm just saying, Magnus. If what you're telling me about this beast bullshit is true- which I highly doubt it is- but if by the slightest chance that it is true . . . then in my honest opinion . . . you're being played."
Magnus bit his lip, "I'm not," he muttered, but it almost came out like a question.
"Honestly, mate. You're losing it. Maybe your mentally ill students are contagious," Woolsey said, rolling his eyes.
And that was the final straw.
Magnus stood up from the couch angrily and fled to his room, giving Woolsey the finger as he left. He locked himself in his bedroom and slammed the door, frustrated and flat out angry with Woolsey. He had thought that maybe spending the night away from Woolsey would have smacked some logic into his dumb, raven-haired head but no, it clearly hadn't and Woolsey was still annoying and rude.
Magnus' phone buzzed in his pocket. Groaning, he took it out and narrowed his eyes at the screen.
From; Alec
Date tonight at 10pm sharp at the park downtown. It should be dark enough then so I can go out. There shouldn't be many people there, anyway. Sound good? xx
Magnus found himself smiling as he typed a reply.
At 10 o'clock sharp, as promised, Magnus showed up to the park. It was a nice grassy area, filled with trees and a dirt path as well as a giant pond that sat in the center with a bridge that stretched across it. As Alec had predicted, it was pretty empty. He hadn't seen a single person yet.
Magnus stood at the bridge's edge near the pond (where they had agreed to meet), admiring how the moon and the stars reflected off the glassy water. It was already incredibly dark and difficult to see but nonetheless it was beautiful. Maybe even more beautiful than in daylight.
Suddenly, a soft hand brushed over Magnus's shoulder. Magnus jumped a bit but relaxed when he turned around and saw Alec there, a smile across his scarred and burned face. His eye were hidden behind sunglasses as a precaution and he was also cboy in a long-sleeve shirt and joggers to hide his blemished legs and arms.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," Magnus said back a tad breathlessly, standing on his tip toes to peck the younger yet taller boy's lips.
"Let's walk, eh?" Alec said once they pulled away.
Magnus nodded in agreement and laced their fingers together. He tried to have fun, he really did, but Woolsey's words kept floating around inside his mind, in the darkest and scariest corners of his thoughts.
Alec's using you to get the curse reversed. He's only pretending to like you in hopes that you'll fall for him and fix the curse for his own selfish reasons.
Magnus gulped and tightened his grip on Alec's hand as they continued to walk, laughing and joking along the way about nonsense. When Magnus cracked a joke about the football match that was on earlier that day, Alec smiled and laughed, dimples forming on his cheeks.
Was that smile genuine? There were a few unpleasant doubts left lingering in the back of Magnus' brain. Magnus hoped and prayed that Woolsey's speculations about Alec weren't true.