AN: The last chapter was kind of like the prologue, so here's chapter one! Thanks for the reviews :D

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Hmm... purple. Okay, what's your favourite... um, car?"

"I don't know, that's a stupid question." Jace stretched in his chair, looking bored. He looked at the clock on the wall pointedly. Isabelle kicked his shin from under the table, making him jump.

"Oh, like yours were so much better. Go on, you think of a better one," she said impatiently. Jace opened his mouth, but then he frowned and shut it again. They both sat in silence for a while, thinking up more random questions. They were both stuck in the Institute's kitchen while Alec was being forced through an exam by Hodge. They'd laughed at the thought of him struggling through it for a while, but it had stopped being funny after nearly half an hour.

"Most embarrassing moment?" Jace asked suddenly.

"Oh, easy. I didn't have enough money at the checkout in Macy's and I had to give back all of my clothes." Isabelle cringed at the memory. Jace blinked.

"How is that embarrassing? That happens to loads of people." Jace gave her a look that clearly said how much of an idiot he thought she was. Izzy narrowed her eyes back.

"Well, I already know yours, don't I? Oh yeah, the whole world knows about that one." Isabelle smirked when the flush started to creep into Jace's cheeks.

"Shut up! I thought we agreed never to talk about that?"

"Did we? I don't remember that." Isabelle bit back a laugh. "I always thought the antlers were kind of random. Suited you, though." Jace gritted his teeth. It was his own fault, Isabelle reasoned. After all, Maryse had told him never to eat faerie food. But no, he'd eaten that stupid plum and that was it. Jace's streak down Madison Avenue even made it onto the mundane news. "And in winter! Remember all the snow? I'm surprised you never got frostbite. I thought something might have to be amputated-"

"Next question," Jace said loudly, determinedly keeping a straight face. Isabelle thought quickly.

"Right. If you could take back one thing in your life, what would it be?"

"Being parabatai with Alec," Jace answered without thinking. Then, almost comically, he slapped his hand over his mouth. His eyes snapped up and met Isabelle's, as if only just realising who he was talking to. Her jaw dropped, and her heart sank. Oh God, no. Her brother being in love with someone he could never be with was bad enough. But Jace saying he didn't want Alec as his parabatai was so much worse. What was she going to say to him? Alec was going to finish his exam and then hang out with Jace, staring at him longingly while Jace didn't even like Alec? Not even as his friend?

"What the hell do you mean?" asked Isabelle in panic. Jace didn't lower his hand. "Answer me, Jace Wayland!"

"I... it's not what you think," he said quickly, running his hand back through his hair while guilt spread across his face. He glanced at the door and then back at Izzy, his forehead creasing. "Do you promise you won't think I'm a freak?"

"I already do," Isabelle replied automatically. She quickly backtracked when the irritation flashed through his eyes. "I mean, I promise." Isabelle clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from adding something like but if you say one word against my brother I will do something a bit worse than call you a 'freak'.

"Umm..." Jace looked at the floor. Isabelle watched him with rising impatience.

"Jace, just say it already!"

"I think I love him," Jace said quietly, finally meeting Izzy's eyes. She didn't say anything, just stared at him. And kept staring at him. Then she stared at him some more. She didn't know what expression was on her face, but it wasn't long before Jace started to look worried. "Isabelle?" No answer. "Izzy? Say something!"

"You-" This was so not happening. "That's great!" she exclaimed thoughtlessly. Jace gave a startled laugh.

"What? How is that 'great'?" Jace leaned his chair back on two legs and stared at the ceiling. "It's a disaster."

"Well... maybe," Isabelle said desperately, her mind racing. "But maybe it doesn't have to be."

"What do you mean?" Jace asked dully.

"You two could, um, go out?" Izzy suggested hopefully, crossing her fingers.

"Didn't you hear me earlier?" Jace sighed angrily, letting his chair thud back down on all four legs with a bang. "Why do you think I said I would take back becoming his parabatai?"

"Oh, yeah..." Isabelle's heart constricted. Illegal. Stripped of Marks. Thrown out the Clave. Etcetera, etcetera. "You could keep it a secret," she said half-heartedly. Jace shook his head.

"Lying to everyone we know? I mean, I couldn't live like that. And you know someone would find out." Jace's eyes glazed over. "Anyway, Alec wouldn't do that." When Isabelle looked confused, he added, "He doesn't like me like that."

"How can you be sure?" Isabelle asked in surprise, knowing just how wrong Jace was.

"I kind of... you know... hinted some stuff." Jace screwed up his face in embarrassment. "Trust me, Izzy, he doesn't." Isabelle's eyes widened. By the Angel, Alec was the biggest idiot she'd ever met. She couldn't believe this. Why hadn't he told her what Jace had said? Jace seemed certain, and Isabelle had no idea what he'd said, but it must've been pretty obvious. Trust Alec to be completely oblivious. Isabelle almost opened her mouth to ask what he'd said, but decided against it. It would most likely be humiliating. She winced at the thought.

"I'd never have thought you were gay. Not in a million years."

"I'm not," said Jace, looking genuinely shocked. Isabelle sighed.

"Bi, then."

"Isabelle, I'm straight." Jace frowned at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you can't be! Jace, there's nothing wrong with liking guys-"

"I don't like guys," Jace interrupted in exasperation. "I like Alec." Isabelle paused to appreciate that what Jace had just said was actually quite cute before interrupting him.

"Alec is a guy," Izzy reminded him. "Haven't you noticed?"

"I know that, idiot." Jace said distractedly. He cocked his head to the side. "Did you hear that?"

"I don't-" Izzy fell silent. There were footsteps, still quite far away, but definitely coming nearer. The two teenagers looked at each other quickly.

"Tell him and die," Jace all but snarled at her, so different from Alec pleading with her years ago. Izzy automatically bristled with indignation.

"Just for that, I'm going to call every single Downworlder I know. They'll spread the gossip for me-" She was cut off as Jace tackled her. He pushed her against the wall, his arm braced against her throat. For a horrible second Isabelle actually thought Jace was actually going to kill her, but then felt stupid when she realised that she could still breathe. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, clawing at his arm.

"I just-" Jace glanced over his shoulder when he heard the footsteps advancing down the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Swear you won't tell," he said quickly.

"Are you kidding?" Isabelle hissed in disbelief, more to herself than Jace. There was no way she could live knowing that her two best friends were in love with each other while they didn't know it themselves. She would go insane. Kill herself, maybe. Although, maybe Jace and Alec would hook up at her funeral because they were so lonely without her-

"Isabelle! Hurry up!" Jace whispered desperately. "Please!"

"Fine!" Isabelle snapped, furious at herself. The moment Jace said 'please' her resolve crumbled into nothing. Jace never said please. Ever. He must have wanted this pretty bad, if he was willing to cast aside his dignity like that. "I swear on the Angel never to tell Alec what you told me," she said, quickly and bitterly. Jace let out a breath she hadn't realised he had been holding in, and let her go. They threw themselves back into their seats just as Hodge and Alec walked through the door, feigning innocence.

"Um, what are you doing?" Alec asked cautiously, looking at Isabelle in confusion, and still standing in the doorway. Isabelle wondered how pissed off she must have looked right now. Of course, it didn't take much to get Alec worried. She shook her head slightly, eyes widening to try and convey a warning. She didn't want Hodge asking questions.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Jace asked impatiently, rolling his eyes. Izzy glanced at him lounging in his chair. How could he look that composed after what had just happened? How the hell could he manage to stare at Alec so calmly while Alec couldn't look at Jace for more than five seconds without blushing?

"Sitting," Alec replied, trying to cover up his mistake and therefore completely missing the fact that it was a rhetorical question. Isabelle shut her eyes, feeling the embarrassment that should have been her brother's. Alec wandered over to the cupboards so he could turn his back on them.

"No shit," Jace muttered. Apparently, being in love with Alec didn't stop you from noticing that he was a bit, well, for lack of a better word, stupid sometimes.

"Jace," Hodge said reprovingly, though he smiled to let Jace know that he wasn't really bothered. The older man moved to the fridge with hope in his eyes. His face fell, and Isabelle was momentarily distracted.

"I can cook something for us!" Alec spewed the water he was drinking straight back out, spluttering, while Jace looked ready to faint. Hodge quickly plastered a big smile on his face.

"Oh no, Isabelle, don't worry. I'll- I'll-" Hodge gestured around the room for inspiration. "I'll order takeaway," he said, noticing a menu lying on the messy worktop.

"Chinese!" Jace said eagerly.

"We had that last night," Alec reminded him. "And the night before that. And the night-"

"So what?"

"What do you mean, so what-?"

"We're having Chinese," Hodge broke in warily, before Jace and Alec could start arguing properly. "We could always go for a world record." He left the room, shaking his head, to go to the phone. The two boys fell silent.

"So..." Izzy broke the silence. Jace and Alec turned to look at her simultaneously. "How was the exam, Alec?"

"Oh, it was terrible," Alec informed them. "I've failed for sure." Isabelle made a mental note to teach Alec the meaning of the word optimism. Jace snorted.

"Alec, it was on botany. How could you have failed a quiz on plants?" Jace said derisively. Isabelle wasn't surprised to see the blush flooding through Alec's cheeks.

"Okay, it was an exam, not a quiz. And it's really difficult when you're allergic to them!"

"How is it difficult? Just read the textbook! Or are you allergic to their pictures as well?"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No you-"

"By the Angel!" Isabelle shouted, knowing that the two of them would be quite happy to stay there for the rest of the day. "Both of you shut up!"

Isabelle left the two boys in an awkward silence. She hurried upstairs, along some corridors and up some more stairs, barely even needing to pay attention to where she was going. She felt like banging her head against a wall. She burst into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, groaning.

"Why me? Why? God, those IDIOTS!" Izzy screamed the last word, letting out a frustrated shout and tugging at her long hair. The kitchen was far enough away that the idiots in question wouldn't hear her. The only person that would hear her was Hodge, and he was too used to her behaviour to think anything of it.

Isabelle finally shut up. She lay motionless on her back, seething. This is ridiculous, she thought in disbelief. Unbelievable. It was so unbelievable that Izzy briefly considered that they might actually be making this whole thing up.

She sat up slowly and sighed angrily. What was she going to do now? Those brothers of hers were imbeciles. Freaks. Stupid and thick and every other insulting adjective she could think of.

It had started about three years ago. Alec had admitted that he was gay and that he liked Jace. As in, liked Jace. A year after that, Robert had suggested that they become parabatai. Isabelle had told Alec not to do it. She'd told him over and over what a bad idea it was. It was illegal to have a relationship with your parabatai. But Alec had argued that it didn't matter, because Jace didn't like him back anyway. They would never have a relationship no matter what. And so Isabelle had left the subject alone.

She knew that Alec had only agreed to do it because he thought it meant that Jace would pay more attention to him. She'd sat through the entire ceremony willing Alec to stop, but he hadn't. He'd just let it happen. And so Alec and Jace had become parabatai.

But now Jace was convinced that he liked Alec back. Which he only realised after it was illegal. Of course. Why not make it even more difficult for everyone? Alec had once told Isabelle that the Clave would throw you out just because you were gay. That wasn't true. They'd hate it and be mean to you, but they wouldn't throw you out. And they didn't even live in Idris, so the Clave would hardly ever get a chance to hurl insults at them.

A relationship between parabatai, on the other hand, was nothing like that. If they caught you once, they'd separate you. Twice, then you were as good as mundanes. She'd heard rumours saying that they put glamours on the pair so that they could never find each other again, after they'd been stripped of their Marks. Isabelle didn't know how that was possible. She didn't even know why it was so bad for them to be together in the first place. Something had happened a long time ago, and it had been illegal ever since. That was all she'd been told about it.

Parabatai. A perfect pair of hunting partners. Closer than brothers. More than once, Isabelle had wondered just what closer than brothers actually meant.

AN: Review? Please? It'll get better further into the story! Er, I hope...