Chapter 6

Finals week was the worst experience Alec had had in college so far. In his naivety, he had thought that with all the reading and studying he had been doing all term long he was ready for almost everything, but the truth was that he couldn't have been more wrong. His first exam had been a complete disaster, and although he was positive that at least he was going to score a C-, it was not a grade he was used to. He had always been a A+ kind of guy.

"You should be celebrating, Alexander." Magnus said, when he entered the room they both shared. "I am officially a dead man. You're finally going to get rid of me." He announced.

Alec pretended, as per usual, to ignore him.

"I give you my official consent to throw a party instead of a funeral. I hate funerals, they make me sad, but after today's exam, I'm sure I'm not going to make it. I'm a dead man. I hate Constructions Techniques." He said, a bit crestfallen.

Alec wanted to give him a smart retort or make fun of him, but he didn't find it in him. First, because Magnus actually looked worried about his future and second, because Alec was probably in the same mood. "I'm not doing any better." He confessed.

"Really?" Magnus asked surprised. "But, why? I mean, you're always studying, not that that's a bad thing. On the contrary, you're like the smartest man around here. You should be able to pass your exams with your eyes closed."

Alec blushed. That had been definitely a compliment and he didn't want to think too much about it. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and that was bad...like, really, really bad. "Well, apparently, I'm not."

"I still think you are. How many exams do you have left?" Magnus asked casually. He had just sat down cross-legged on top of his bed and he was facing Alec. He had a soft smile playing around his lips and Alec couldn't help but remember the first day they had met. They had sat in similar positions and talked for hours and hours.

"Four…"

"Ha! Five! I win!" Magnus said with a bright smile. "I'm taking an extra class."

Alec smiled back and quickly looked away. This was the first time since their first week that they had actually had a decent conversation. Well, sort of a conversation.

"The entire campus is freaking out. I tried to go to the library, but it's packed, I guess we all underestimated how difficult finals could be, I found two boys and five girls crying like babies on my way here." Magnus said.

Alec didn't know what to say, but fortunately for him Magnus seemed to sense that and just kept talking. "Once I saw this 'study less, study smart' video of a psychology professor and I tried to put what he said into practice, but it didn't work out the way I wanted. I guess I'll have to try harder if I want to pass the rest of my exams."

"I made a detailed studying plan and it didn't work out either, so I guess that makes two of us who have to try a bit harder."

Magnus smiled. "Maybe we could, I don't know, maybe we could-" Magnus was saying when the door of the room swung open and a girl walked in.

It was Camille.

"There's a door for a reason, you know?" Magnus told her.

"Don't be like that." She said, making herself at home. "I need your help."

"Let me guess...you finally realized that college is not just a fashion show and that you actually have to study for a exam." Magnus said sarcastically. Alec couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped from his lips. That had been kind of funny.

"What's so funny, Lightwood?" Camille asked.

Alec just raised his hands in defeat, he didn't want to start a fight with Camille right now. Ever since their encounter in the library she had kept her distance, but the hostility was still there—better not to risk it. Besides, he was not in the mood.

"And yes, darling." She continued, ignoring Alec and focusing on Magnus again. "I need you to help me study. We have Color Theory tomorrow, so maybe we could study together?"

Alec felt Magnus's eyes on him, but he pretended not to notice and kept scanning his notes for his next exam. He knew that Magnus and Camille were both Fashion Design students, so they had almost all their classes together.

"Fine…" Magnus said with a sigh, "but you're buying me lunch."

Alec noticed that Magnus sounded a bit resigned.

"Yeah, whatever…so, can we start?" She asked, already picking up some books from Magnus's limited bookshelf.

"Hmmm, we're not studying here." Magnus announced.

"Why not?" She questioned, and Alec looked up from his notebook. He was curious to know why too.

"Because Alexander is studying too and you two can't be in the same room without killing each other. Let's go to your room, I'm sure Lily won't mind." Magnus said.

"I can go there instead." Alec chimed in. After all, he and Lily were good friends. They both were English majors and although at first Lily had been a bit harsh with Alec, they had eventually become friends.

"Right...I almost forgot that my idiotic roommate is friends with your bookworm." Camille told Magnus.

Alec just ignored her and started to gather his things.

"Are you sure you want to go, Alexander?" Magnus asked.

Alec nodded. "I need some air anyway." He said, not looking at them and just walking away. He really needed some air, with that nice brief encounter he had had with Magnus he had realized that there was one thing he couldn't keep denying: his sister had been right all along. Magnus was much more important to him than he dared to admit, even to himself.

"Damn it!" He cursed.

He was so screwed.