Hi! New chapter, an immediate follow on from the last chapter.

Alec's P.O.V.

I stared after him as he stormed off the set, half-naked and not in the least bit happy with the situation. I was left wondering why he hadn't continued- don't get me wrong, I didn't want it any more than he seemed to, but if what we may have had before was already completely destroyed, what was the point in stopping the scene? Why not get it over and done with? The producers will probably just set another date for us to do the scene again. At least this time around we'd know to decline to offer.

Even when I was showered, dressed and hurrying from the studios and out onto the streets of New York on a Monday morning, my mind still struggled to recognise the fact that Magnus Bane was a porn star. I used to believe that he was beautiful and perfect, and even worse, I still did. Even after the lies from both parties, I still viewed him in the same adorning light as I did before.

Although I didn't think I could handle seeing him again, I still wondered what he thought of me now. Did he leave the set because he was disgusted? Or did he leave because he thought that if he did then our relationship could be salvaged from its tattered remains? Either way, I didn't particularly want to find out. I didn't want to see him again, or more importantly, I didn't want him to see me.

I rushed back to Jace's and my apartment, blaming the tears in my eyes on the harsh wind that whipped at my skin for the entire journey. Only when I slammed my bedroom door behind me did I afford to set the tears trapped behind my eyes free. My hand flew to my mouth in an attempt to stifle the shallow sobs escaping my lips. Sobbing hiccups that were akin to laughter wracked through my body as I sat down on my bed in the dim light of my small, lonely room. I bit my bottom lip to try to stop the tears from coming, but it only made it worse.

I dragged deep breaths into my lungs, briefly able to silence myself as I watched the tears splash on my hands. The tears glistened in an oddly attractive way, refracting light at different angles to give the illusion of sparkling. The mere thought of sparkles managed to bring Magnus to mind, with his glistening, mesmerising eyes, green and gold and amber... Then the sobs kick-started again, and with a vengeance.

I had no sense of time as I sat on my bed, waiting out the long crying session that my lungs were unable to prevent. I lay down, feeling the comforting springs of an uncomfortable bed digging into my back and waited for the hiccuping sobs to fade into uneven breaths, and then into a barely conscious state where I was too tired to keep my eyes open and my eyes ached too much to allow me to sleep.

I squeezed my eyes shut and allowed myself to give up- only for a few moments, as it wasn't the end of the world. I still had Jace's college to pay for.

Anger welled up within me once more, this time directed at myself primarily for not being good enough for my parents and hence becoming a porn star, but also for all the lies. Lying had caused all of this hurt in the first place, and I was still keeping things from Jace. Lying was just so tiring, and so sickening and I was quite frankly bored of it. I'd had enough.

And that was why, almost as soon as Jace had walked through the front door, I stated as bluntly as I could: "Jace, I'm a porn star." Jace froze mid-step. My heart hammered frantically in my chest as if it was trying to break out. "My parents didn't leave me any money, and that is how I pay for everything." I kept my expression straight and my voice bored-sounding, but he probably knew that I had been crying for one reason or another because my eyes were still bloodshot and a little puffy from my previous crying.

It had taken a few moments for the information to sink in, and then Jace said, "...what?" He looked completely confused and warey, so much that I almost felt guilty for just springing it on him as he walked through the door, but I had to. I feared that if I waited, I'd never find the guts again to tell him the truth, to stop the lies.

I repeated myself as plainly as I could, but this time I couldn't prevent a few cracks in my voice as I struggled to say the words. That time Jace understood and thank God I didn't have to say it again. I could tell by his expression that he believed me, but I couldn't quite tell what exactly he was thinking. We stood there in a screaming silence, him by the door and me in the centre of the room, a few metres away from him. Our eyes were locked, mine waiting for a reaction and his searching for one.

Jace moved first. He slowly closed the gap between us with a few strides. I gulped audibly. We were now standing closer together, his eyes level with mine, looking from one eye to the other. Still, I waited.

"I-I'm so sorry," I croaked, my eyes stinging with tears that wouldn't come because I had already used up most of my water-supply.

Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around me, pulling me to his chest. I stiffened, but then relaxed and buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar smell. We stayed like that for a few moments, before he then whispered, "me to, Alec. Me too." His embrace was warm and dry and smelled like sweat and after-shave, but I didn't care. It was the only place I wanted to be.

I couldn't look him in the eye for the rest of the day. We curled up on the couch together and watched re-runs of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on our TV to pass the time. Although we didn't speak of the situation at hand (which I was eternally grateful for, even though we both knew that we'd have to discuss it eventually), Jace sat close to me and acted as if nothing had changed between them, which was his way of reassuring me that he wasn't angry, I suppose. It was his way of saying that he didn't see me differently despite the desperate measures I took to make enough money to pay for our apartment and his college fees.

"Alec?" he asked as the CSI's were doing their science-stuff.

I looked down at my hands, twitching in my lap. "Yeah?"

He took in a deep breath. "How long?"

I shrugged, knowing exactly what he was implying. "Six months or so."

Jace breathed out a slightly shakey breath, as if he was trying to restrain a comment that he desperately wanted to let loose, but didn't. The rest of the evening was spent with Jace guessing who the murderer was and coming up with theories that included sexy nurses. At least he was trying to lighten the mood.

I went to bed first, even though I was surprisingly wide-awake. I lay under the covers and stared at the ceiling, feeling numb and hollow inside my chest. My eyes were wide open and searching through the darkness as I heard Jace shower and get ready for bed. My eyes were open as he closed his bedroom door. My eyes were open as my alarm-clock beeped it's midnight alarm. My eyes were also open as our doorbell buzzed.

Frowning and stumbling out of bed, I fumbled my way through the familiar darkness of our living room, pulling my dressing-gown on as I went. 'Who the fuck wants to see me or Jace in the middle of the fucking night?' I thought angrily.

"Who is it?" I said into the mic, not bothering to conceal my irritation and sleepiness. There was silence on the other end of the line. I sighed. "Hello? This is Alec speaking. Jace is asleep-"

"Oh, umm, hiiiiya Alec," slurred an all too familiar voice. "It's, er, Magnus here." All the colour and blood immediately drained out of my face. My mouth dropped open slightly. "Yeah, I don't really know why I'm here... Either I got lost, or I forgot my way home. Do you happen to know the way to Indonesia? I-I think I forgot-"

"Magnus, how much did you drink?" I asked warily, knowing full well he'd had at least one drink too many.

"I... I'm not drunk," he said stubbornly. "I just had a lot of this funny tasting water. I've got some now if you wanna try it-"

Completely ignoring my brain which was screaming at me to leave him outside because he deserved it, I rushed down the long, dark stairway, only slipping a couple of times and rushed outside, glancing around frantically to find where Magnus was.

He was sitting on the pavement, swinging a bottle of liquor in one hand and inspecting his nails on the other. He then looked up at me, his usually bright eyes groggy and bloodshot. "You took your time," he commented.

"What are you doing here Magnus?" I hissed angrily. "Why the fuck would you get this drunk and turn up at my house in the middle of the fucking night? What the fuck is wrong with you?" I was practically seething by the end of my outburst.

Magnus winced and cringed at my words, looking away from me with a cowering posture. "Don't yell at me," he said in a small voice.

"You can't be here Magnus," I said harshly. "Don't you have a friend you can call to pick you up and take you home?"

Magnus ignored me and took a swig from his bottle of strong-smelling, vile alcohol, coughing the liquid down his throat and breathing in strange little sobs that jerked through his body. "I'm so sorry, Alec," he whispered, sniffing slightly. "I-I know you hate me... And I hate me too. But I am really sorry." His head was bowed and his eyes didn't meet mine as he spoke, his long, sweaty hair falling over his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to feign off tears. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he said, his voice cracking.

My heart simply melted, there and then. If a drunken man's actions truly were a sober man's thoughts, then Magnus seemed to be dealing with the situation even worse than I was. My heart still yearned for him and I was completely unable to prevent myself from taking care of him when he was in this state. A sad Magnus was one thing, but a sad, helpless, drunken Magnus was a different thing altogether. It wasn't like I had a choice, right?

He protested and whined when I yanked the bottle of vodka from his grip and threw it into a nearby bush, but then gave in as I pulled him up, propping his tall, wirey frame against mine. He slouched and leaned against me affectionately, but I ignored him and began the long trek up the stairs to my apartment. He smelled awful, like vodka and cigarettes and, yes, sex, but I carried him anyway.

A good fifteen minutes later and we had finally reached the apartment. I let us inside, wheezing and gasping for breath. Magnus sure was heavier than he looked. I switched the main light on and dragged him over to the couch, laying him down carefully and making as little sound as possible so not to wake Jace who usually slept like a log, so that was unlikely. Magnus was barely able to stay awake, his eyes struggling to remain open, probably drowsy from the vodka.

I got a better look at him in the living-room light; he was wearing black jeans and a baggy, dark blue top. We wore no jacket, so he must have been freezing outside. He was still shivering and looked a little pale, his usually healthy complexion dull and a bit green.

"You aren't going to throw-up are you?" I asked, worried more about Magnus than about the carpet.

"Don't... thinksso," he slurred. "Already... done'at... earlier." He curled up on the couch, his arms around his knees. I rushed back to my bedroom to retrieve my duvet, a pillow and a bucket in case he did decide to throw up. I also poured him a glass of tap water and got some aspirin to put beside the couch for when he woke up.

He was fast asleep when I returned to the living room, his legs at odd angles and his eyes buried in his arm to block out the light, which I then switched off, turning on a smaller lamp instead. I moved his legs to a more comfortable position, hanging off the end of the couch. He didn't stir at all, completely knocked-out.

I tucked the duvet in around him, pulling off his trainers and making sure his feet were covered. He still looked disheveled even after I tucked him in, his hair messy and his sleeping expression far from peaceful, as if his face was fixed in a pained frown.

Once I was satisfied with my work, I was about to return to my bed when I realised I had just given my duvet and pillow to Magnus, but now I was far too tired to search for another blanket. The floor's comfy, right? If I just lean against the wall... like this...

I woke to one of the most piercing and frightening screeches I had ever heard in my entire life. "Alec... Why are you on the fl- WHAT THE FUCK IS A TRAMP DOING ON OUR COUCH?!"

What did you think? Wasn't Alec taking care of him cute! It was fun to write anyway.

AllNightmareLong666