Hullo again,
There are a lot of small time-skip-kind-of-things in this chapter, the entire thing is from Alec's POV. I'll probably jump back and forth between the two of them for the entire length of the story. Expect Magnus' view on things next week! :)
A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed. Seriously, *huggles* I really love it when I get reviews.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (blah blah blah) they all belong to Cassandra Clare.
Thank you guys, I hope you like this chapter.
More Malec is on it's way!
"How'd it go? What did you think? Did you get his number? You did, didn't you!?"
Alec held his hands up to stop the flow of rapid fire questions. As much as his loved his sister, at times she could be impossible overbearing.
"Izzy, I just got into the car. Give me a moment will you?" He scolded. He was also still reeling from his encounter with Magnus. When Isabelle had told him he was attractive, she had forgotten to mention the small detail that he was beautiful. If he closed his eyes Alec could still see a pair of golden irises staring back at him.
He flushed, turning his gaze out the window of his sister's car. Instinctively his hand curled around the piece of paper inside his pocket.
"Call me," Magnus had said, but Alec had no idea what he was supposed to be calling about. Did Magnus want a date? With him? It would be foolish to get his hopes up about it, but even he had noticed the way Magnus had relentlessly flirted with him throughout the entire shoot. The memory brought giddy butterflies fluttering about in his stomach.
"Well, from the ridiculous smile on your face, I'm guessing that the photo shoot didn't go horribly?"
Alec blinked. He'd forgotten Izzy was in the car.
He turned to her, a bashful smile on place on his features. "It wasn't... awful," He relented, trying to school his expression to that of cool indifference.
It didn't work.
Isabelle shot him one of her 'Ya right' looks as she drove. "Come on Alec, spill. I want to know all the details. It's not every day my big brother gets to spend time with an attractive and famous man."
"Jace would disagree with you." Alec said.
Izzy scowled. "Oh shut up, you know what I mean."
Alec chewed his bottom lip. He did know what she meant, the problem was if he actually wanted to tell her or not. Alexander himself was still rather torn on the events of the subject of Magnus Bane.
He could still recall the sensation of Magnus' hands on his leg. Well, the part of his leg that could actually still feel.
Alec's brow furrowed and the corners of his mouth turned down into subtle frown. When Magnus had suddenly rushed over, eager to help him, Alec had wondered the reason for it. Even now it bothered him. Had Magnus been pitying him? Had it all been 'help the poor war veteran' act? The flirting? All of it?
"Alec, you're brooding again."
It was Isabelle's voice that snapped him from his melancholic thoughts. He took a glance at the surroundings and realised they had arrived at the mansion. Alec glanced over at his sister, bashful.
"Is it that easy to tell?" He asked.
Izzy sighed as she turned off the car. "Look, Alec." Oh no. "I know you're still new and out of the closet but-"
"Isabelle I will not be having a conversation about my non-existent sex life with you." Alec said.
"Alec," Izzy whined. "You don't even know what I was going to say."
Alec raised a warning finger in silence. "No, I might not, but it's up to me whether or not I call Magnus."
"You did get his number! I knew it!" Izzy squealed, her hands clapping together.
Alec groaned as he realised he had slipped up, unintentionally giving his sister information he would've rather kept to himself. He flushed and hastily opened the door, anything to escape his bubbling, over-excitable sibling.
Unfortunately due to his lack of a lower leg, he was slower than his sister; even when she was wearing a good six-inch heel. How she even walked in those was beyond him.
"I can't believe he gave you his number," She gushed, she was dancing around him in little jumps while Alec tried to plow straight towards the front door. "You have to call him Alec, you have to."
"Izzy, I told you, I don't know it I want to. I mean, I barely know him."
"That's the point of calling him, you make a date and you get to know each other."
Alec grimaced. Dating was a very foreign area to him; he'd only had one experience, at the most and even then it hadn't been the most enjoyable thing he'd done. It had been way back when he'd still been 'straight' as he called it. In a desperate attempt to convince his family and his few friends that he was not homosexual, he'd asked his friend, Aline, to go with him.
Alec opened the door, still trying to formulate a proper reason for why he wasn't going to call Magnus. But really, he didn't have a reason not to. So he shut his mouth and pointedly ignored the triumphant smirk on Isabelle's features.
"I'm not calling him," Alec said, then he hesitated. "Not yet."
The rest of Alec's day was spent in a kind of strange frenzy filled to the brim with nail-biting nerves.
He'd managed to get away from Isabelle fairly easily; she'd had some project to work on, leaving a distraught Alec in his room to brood.
And brood he did.
He was proud enough to say he'd worked up the courage to at least program Magnus' number into his phone. Either than that he spent the day staring at the slim black device, wondering what could happen if he called.
If he called.
His fingers twitched before curling in towards the palm of his hand. Alec stared at the phone lying on his bed, Magnus' number open and ready to be called. All he had to do was press the green call button. That was all. It wasn't hard, only a press of a button.
Alec crossed his legs, his fingers massaging his knee. His front teeth caught his bottom lip and he chewed.
Back when he'd been on duty, as a sniper he had no problem aiming and pulling the trigger on a person. Killing had never been a problem. Not then. He'd faced horrors that still plagued his dreams, stubbornly refusing to let him sleep. It was incomprehensible to him, how a soldier couldn't make such a simple phone call.
He couldn't make one phone call. Alec put his head in his hands. He was such a coward. He couldn't call Magnus. He barely knew him, and he was certain that once Magnus got to know him there was no way someone such as Magnus Bane would hang around for Alec.
He ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles.
Growling in frustration Alec grabbed his pillow and threw it at his phone. Up and off the bed his went, stalking around his room before staring at the pillow covering his phone.
He stared.
Alec glanced at the clock; it was just after ten o'clock, just around eight hours since he had last seen Magnus. Was Magnus waiting for his call? Was he expecting it today? Or tomorrow?
Frustration rose in him again, hot and heavy.
Fuck it.
Throwing his pillow aside Alec grabbed his phone and hit the green button. He was Alexander Gideon Lightwood, to hell with it. He would not cower over simple calling a very, very, very, very attractive man. . . The ringing in his ear continued, and his sudden bought of courage drained from him as quickly as it had come.
"Hello?"
Magnus' voice was as silky and as smooth as he remembered it. Alec's mouth went dry.
There was an irritated huff from the other end of the phone. "Hello, who is this? Is anybody there?"
Alec's insides twisted on itself, he felt like throwing up. Still he could not muster words to speak. Silence dragged on, only accented by the sound of Magnus breathing on the other end of the line.
Could Magnus hear him breathing? Could he hear how loudly Alec's heart was beating?
Alec set his mouth into a determined line and drew a breath to speak, just as the line went dead and a beeping echoed in his ear.
Magnus had hung up.
"It's Alec." He whispered into the empty line, half wishing, half hoping to hear Magnus' voice. There was nothing but the continued beeping.
Alec screwed his eyes shut.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
Anger flared, and Alec whirled. His phone leaped from his hand and slammed into the wall with shattering force.
He stood there, chest heaving, his fists clenched by his aides. He dragged his hand through his hair again.
He knew it was illogical to blame Magnus for hanging up; the other man wouldn't have known it was him, not when Alec hadn't even spoken up. His failure was on his own shoulders once again.
Alec sat down heavily on the edge of his bed before falling back into the mattress.
He closed his eyes, dreaming up a scenario where he had spoken his name before Magnus had hanged up. He imagined Magnus laughing, purring into the phone with that lovely baritone he had. He imagined being witty, charming Magnus into going on a date with him. He imagined showing up on the date and everything going magically. He imagined the end of the date; walking Magnus home. He imagined pausing to look up into golden glittering eyes. He imagined Magnus leaning down, his lips drawing closer. He imagined-
"Alec Lightwood, you sneaky sonuvabitch!"
Alec shot up in bed his eyes wide. His door slammed open, revealing a broad-shouldered figure.
"Jace." He drawled, eyes rolling.
Alec was glad Jace had walked in. He hadn't known where his daydream had been taking him, but with the sudden snap back to reality his mind had accepted that his daydream had been just that; a dream.
Jace barreled over, and collapsed net to Alec on the bed. The springs squeaked as the mattress dipped under Jace's weight. Jace's bright golden hair tumbled in a disarray over his head.
"Isabelle just informed me, that my brother has just managed to seduce one of the most sought after bastards in our city, only after me of course." Jace wiggled his eyebrows. "So, when's the date?"
Any traces of a good mood vanished into thin air and Alec's shoulders slumped.
Jace's gold eyes narrowed, "What did he say? What did that bitch do?"
Alec sighed, Jace was always so quick to defend him. Alec smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Nothing Jace, it just-" Alec shook his head.
Jace was silent, before he sprung up from the bed. "Let's go to Pandemonium."
Alec glanced up, incredulous. "What?! Why?" But his questions fell on deaf ears, already Jace had flung the door open to his room.
"Izzy! Get dressed, we're going to Pandemonium tonight!" Jace grinned, and glanced back at his brother. "We're going to go find you someone to lose your virginity to."
Pandemonium was a club in the heart of New York City; it was no stranger to famous guests and was a constant hotspot every night of the week. Alec had been once right before he was sent away serve, but that night seemed eons away.
Isabelle and Jace had both decided that instead of moping around the house they were going to take him out to have "his virtuous cherry popped" as Jace had put it.
Izzy had spent a good hour getting ready, and then had spent another twenty minutes forcing Alec to dress up as well. According to her his sweaters wouldn't do at a club as hot as Pandemonium.
Alec had been thrown into a pair of too tight skinny jeans and a tight-fitting light blue top. It was awful in his opinion, and as he stood outside of the club listening to the pounding beat echoing down the street Alec balked.
"Why don't I just wait in the car?" He said.
"Alec," Izzy said as she fluffed her hair and fixed her dress. A dress that was far too short in Alec's opinion, but then Izzy was old enough to do and wear what she wanted and tough enough to take care of herself. "You can't possible expect to wait, alone, in the car all night?"
"Yeah, come on man, there's bound to be a few cute guys you can pick up." Jace slung an arm over Alec's shoulders and steered him towards the entrance. "I mean, I know I'm taken, but there are always a few stragglers."
Alec scoffed, the bouncer didn't even glance their way, simply let them in. A few people in line screamed and called out Jace's name.
Jace, for his part, did turn a blow them a kiss which resulted in explosive high-pitched screams.
Alec winced and glared at his brother. "Was that really necessary?"
Jace grinned. "It was, I can't neglect my fans."
Alec rolled his eyes, and followed Izzy into the club. It was dark, the music pounding and blaring making conversation nearly impossible unless you were talking in the other persons ear. Alec's shoulders tensed, and immediately he looked around the sweaty, twisting, writhing mass of bodies.
He didn't recognize anyone off the bat, and as he turned to speak to Jace he found the space his brother had occupied to be empty.
Great.
Huffing, he looked for Isabelle, only to find that she had fled into the crowd as well.
He was alone.
So much for losing his virginity, not that he had been overly eager about it.
Alec sighed and made his way through the crowd, skirting along the edges and towards the bar. Sweat had already begun to bead along the upper lip and his brow. The heat and the intensity of the club were getting to him.
Leaning on the bar he hastily ordered a glass of water, not wanting to be intoxicated when driving Izzy and Jace home. He downed the water in a few gulps, his blue eyes flicking about nervously.
He felt trapped, almost strangled within the scalding heat of the bar. His breath hitched and his grip tightened on his glass.
Alec stared into the water, watching as faint ripples disturbed the water remaining in the base. As he stared the music began to mute and muffle, as if it were playing from a distance. Only the bass persisted, strong and heavy, beating in time with his heart. His heart felt too loud, he could hear it in his ears, just like that day...
Alec's chest tightened and breathing became difficult. Everything felt far away, it was as if he wasn't standing in a club anymore. It was as if he was back in the desert, watching his comrades die around him. If he closed his eyes he could hear the thumping of his heart, the shouts, and the explosion-
A hand touched his shoulder and Alec whirled, eyes wild and pupils dilated.
"Alexander? Alexander are you alright?"
Alec blinked, his vision coming to focus on a pair of brilliant gold hues. They stared down at him, concerned. Alec recognized Magnus immediately, but shook his head from side to side. His fists were clenched at his sides, and he continued to suck in panicked breaths.
"Ca- Can't br-reathe." He gasped, one hand clutching at his chest.
Alec was vaguely aware of a gentle hand on the small of his back, guiding him out and away from the noise. He was too caught up in the panic driving through his head, how his lungs struggled to draw air and the pain in his chest.
Cool air hit his face, shocking him. Sweat beaded down his neck as he shook, trying to calm himself from the swelling panic. He crouched, his shoulder touching a brick wall, trying to steady his emotions.
A soothing hand rubbed at his back, and calming words reached his ears.
"Just take deep breaths, darling, there's no one else here but you and me. Deep breaths, you're safe."
After what seemed like forever Alec's breath returned to its normally steady pace. Alec peeled his eyes open. Peering up at the man with spiked hair and elegantly done eyeliner Alec sighed.
"Sorry about that," He mumbled and retreated behind his bangs.
"Nonsense darling, don't worry about it." Magnus replied, he extended a hand and helped Alec to his feet.
Alec flushed, ashamed. He'd had a few panic attacks in the past, mostly triggered from his memories at war; none had been too serious yet. Alec's eyes slid to the pavement. A cool breeze drifted by, ruffling his hair and causing goose-flesh to erupt over his pale skin.
"You didn't call."
Alec's head snapped up, staring up at Magnus' relaxed figure leaning against the dark bricks. The streetlights cast a dark glow over his features, illuminating the bridge of his nose and the angle of his jaw. Alec blushed, recalling the experience.
"I did call," He said, his gaze looking anywhere but at Magnus.
"You did? But-" Magnus paused, and Alec cringed. He knew exactly what was going through Magnus' mind. The photographer was sure to mock him for it.
"Alexander."
Alec shivered, he didn't understand how Magnus made his name sound so... exotic.
"Alec, darling, look at me."
Alec looked.
Magnus had drawn closer, and was observing him from under those long lashes of his. His face was breaths away from his own.
Alec was startled with how silently Magnus moved; he was like a cat on the prowl.
Alexander stared, caught in the web of Magnus' gaze. He watched every emotion flicker through the man's eyes. Concern, understanding, amusement... Lust?
"Alexander Lightwood, would you like to go on a date with me?"
Alec's breath caught, and his eyes bugged out of his head. "A date?!" He squeaked, his cheeks were a startling shade of crimson. "Like a date?" He asked, almost afraid he'd heard wrong.
Magnus laughed. God, even his laugh was beautiful. "Yes, like a date. A date where I get to discover what's going on in that wonderful head of yours. A date."
Alec licked his lips, his gaze flicking away then back. He thought back to earlier that day; how easy, how natural it had been talking to Magnus. How he hadn't wanted to leave, even when he hadn't even wanted to go in the first place.
Alec's self-doubt swam behind his eyes; he shoved them down. All his persistent doubts whispering to him, trying to fool him.
Alec swallowed, and looked back at Magnus who was patiently waiting him for to respond.
"Yes."