Chapter 19

Not Practical

"For to be wise and in love

Exceeds man's might" - Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida

Magnus ran a long tanned finger through the thick, silken forest of thread. The turquoise strands pooling and caressing him, rippling as he moved. It felt like the fur of a heavily pampered sheep. "I must have it," he breathed, now nuzzling his cheek into the softness of the rug hanging in front of him.

"No."

Magnus startled, looking up into his boyfriend's blue eyes and attempted to project cute. "But it's so beautiful...and soft….and the colour reminds me of you". Alec rolled his eyes in exasperation, "No. I'm sorry, but no. I don't care if its soft or beautiful or all that crap, it's £200! Your father has cut you off and you barely have enough money for the apartment rent- even though it's cheap- let alone an overly priced clump of fake fur!"

Magnus' hopeful expression fell momentarily, but then he gave Alec a peck on the cheek and said, "Ok, fine, you're right. I'm gonna go see if there are any Tiffany lamps with cracks in that I can get cheap." He skipped off towards the collection of lamps that filled the next isle. Alec sighed, raking a hand through his messy hair. He hadn't meant to snap at Magnus, but he was just so fed up of having to constantly remind his boyfriend to be practical. Nearly a week had passed since Magnus had left his father's house for good. He had spent the time sleeping on the floor in Alec and Jaces' room, as apparently all the other rooms at Idris were 'full' (something Alec had trouble believing). Luckily Anzo had pre-paid tuition to Idris at the beginning of the year, else Magnus would be completely screwed. However he had cut access to all of Magnus' credit cards, except for his personal savings account. But despite all this, the boy didn't seem very upset, on the contrary he had been annoyingly cheerful and flippant about the situation.

Alec strode over to where the dark haired boy was standing, a beautifully ornate lamp in his hands. Alec sighed and opened his mouth again to remind his boyfriend of the lamps exorbitant price tag, but hesitated when he saw the worry lines form on Magnus' face. Golden green eyes met Alec's as their owner whispered, "I used to have a lamp just like this when I was little." he paused and put the object down, turning to face Alec. "What am I going? I'm so horribly out of my depths. I have barely any money. No roommate to split rent with. No job. I'm failing every class. Maybe I should just give up."

Alec wasn't sure what Magnus was considering giving up on but was worried all the same. It seemed as if Magnus was finally understanding the crappiness of his situation. He wasn't sure he liked practical Magnus.

Reaching out, Alec gently took the other boy's hand in his and stared straight at him. "You must never give up Magnus," he said passionately, "you could be so great. All you need now is to work hard, at school and outside and everything will fall into place." He kissed him gently and whispered "I believe in you."

Magnus took a deep breath in, biting his lip and blinking rapidly. "You're right. I'm being stupid. I'll work hard….I know I can if you help me." Alec grinned widely and nodded. He was determined to be there for Magnus and offer him the support he needed, no matter what it took.

He leaned forward to kiss Magnus again- he was really getting the hang of PDA- when a loud burst of Beyoncé's 'Grown Woman' erupted from Magnus' pocket. Giving Alec an apologetic look Magnus pulled out his mobile and glanced at the incoming call. "Unknown number" he said frowning, before accepting anway.

Alec moved closer, curious to see who it was. "Who?" Magnus exclaimed, jamming his finger in his free ear. "Oh yes…..uh huh…..Jace's boyfriend I remember you". Alec stared in utter confusion but Magnus only grinned mischievously, moving the phone away from his ear as a loud string of curses sounded from the speaker. Magnus chuckled before interrupting his caller's angry rant. "Ok I get it, mortal enemies or whatever, why are you calling?"

Alec watched as Magnus listened to the other person's voice, his expression growing tense. "Yes Tessa was right" he said tersely, "why is it any of your business". Alec rubbed a comforting hand up his boyfriend's arm, feeling Magnus relax slightly. "Oh….Yes….that would be great actually…..Yes around that amount. Well I'll text you the address and meet you there at…hmmm yeah two is good. Later."

The moment the other boy had hung up Alec opened his mouth to ask who it was and why they were calling but Magnus beat him to it. "That was William Herondale."

Alec frowned, "Jem's grumpy friend"

"Yes. Although he assured me that his foul mood was all Jace's fault. He said something about how they were sworn enemies like ying and yang or whatever," Magnus rolled his eyes to demonstrate the absurdity of his caller's dramatics. "He was calling to ask if we could room together. Apparently he's transferring to a school near by and he needs somewhere to stay."

Alec considered this, weighing up the pros and cons before smiling. "That's good, now you don't have to put up an add in the paper. Plus if he's friends with Tessa and Jem, how bad can he be."

"I know, it'll be nice to room with someone who already gets on with our group."

"Do you know why he's staying be himself" Alec asked after a pause, unable to restrain his curiosity.

Magnus bit his lip, "no….I didn't want to ask. He didn't push me into explaining why I was staying in a flat further away from school than my Dad's house, so I thought I'd return the favour."

Alec nodded, although a part of him was still curious. He looked around them before realizing that they were still stood in the lamp section of a furniture shop. He sighed, he hated shopping. "Come on then," he said to Magnus taking his hand and leading him towards the shelf of lamps on offer. "Let's buy some stuff."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Will squinted down at the address on his tiny phone screen, then back up at the apartment complex. To say it was nice was an understatement. There was no way that an apartment here would have a rent as cheap as the one Magnus had told him. He looked down at the screen. This was definitely the place.

He walked up to the door and pushed the buzzer for number eight. It was ten past two (as who is ever actually on time) and the sun had yet to come out of the dark clouds that filed the sky. Will had a suspicion rain was a second away and he hoped Magnus answered the door soon. Suddenly the intercom before him crackled to life. "William," a breathless voice asked.

"Yes it's Will," he replied. He didn't like being called William, it reminded him of people he'd rather forget.

"Oh good," Magnus exclaimed, "sorry for the delay, Alexander and I were just-"

"-We'll buzz you straight up" another voice hurriedly interrupted. The intercom went dead and the door unlocked.

Will grinned in amusement before heading up the clean white stairs towards Magnus', and hopefully his, apartment. He was halfway up when his phone dinged in his pocket, signifying a new message. He pulled it out and seeing it was Tessa opened it.

Hey, sorry about what I said yesterday. It was uncalled for and I didn't mean it. Please ring me later, we need to talk.

Will let his finger hover hesitantly over the reply button before turning the phone off and slipping it back into his pocket. He knew they needed to talk but he desperately didn't want to. How many more times must he be rejected by the girl.

He had known he was in love with Tessa for the last year. Ever since they'd met in a public library in spring. He'd spotted her out of the corner of his eye, dressed in a cornflower blue dress, her hair tied neatly into plaits and a copy of 'A Tale of Two Cities' in her hands. They'd talked for hours, arguing over classic and contemporary literature and quoting their favourite books.

Then they'd met again, at a restaurant, where Tessa had been formerly introduced as the girlfriend Jem had been gushing over for the past year. Tessa and he had shared small glances across the table over the meal but avoided much interaction. Will remembered hating the girl at first. He hated how she made him want to dismiss his best friend's feelings in favour of kissing her. But after a month of ignoring her and making excuses not to spend time with her, he realizing that the person who he was hurting most was Jem. Kind gentle Jem who was always a better friend than Will himself deserved.

So he made an effort. He talked with Tessa, discussed books, teased Jem and fell deeper and deeper in love. It had peaked a few days ago when they had kissed in the drunk kissing game in Jems cabin. Will had never felt the sparks that ran through his blood and dancing under her skin before. He knew Tessa had felt them too…...and that it scared him.

They'd managed to pass it off as a weird drunk thing when explaining it to Jem and he seemed to believe them. But the tension and the knowledge between the two had not left and it grew and grew until the previous night when Will had stayed in Jem's dorm for the night. Jem had however been ill and Tessa (who happened to be around) and Will rushed the boy down to the infirmary.

Will had frantically asked Tessa why she hadn't told him how bad James' condition had become. She had replied by saying that it was his fault he'd been too preoccupied with pissing of the blond kid and seducing her to realize. He shouted back, that he'd never seduced her and if she liked him so much she had only herself to blame. She had retorted by calling him selfish and bad for James. She'd said "James needs people to take care of him, not a burden like you weighing him down." This must have rang true with Will as he'd suddenly felt sick and had left without another word.

Sighing he looked up to find himself outside an expensive looking door. He had barely raised his hand to knock when the door flew open, revealing a tall, tanned man, with barefeet. His eyes tightly shut. "NOW!" he shouted, his eyes opening. When he saw Will outside about to knock he cheered in excitement, "Ha Alec, I told you I was psychic." Behind him Alec rolled his eyes looking unimpressed. "Come in William," Magnus smiled, grabbing Will's arm and pulling him in.

"Nice place," Will said appreciatively, looking round at the spacious and well decorated apartment, "how come it's so cheap?"

"It belongs to a friend of mine," Magnus explained, "his brother just got accepted into a mental institution in England so Woolsey went to see him. He said I could stay here if I paid rent." Will nodded in understanding and continued to explore the apartment. There were three rooms, two bathrooms and a large lounge area that led into a modern kitchen.

He turned back to Magnus, a huge smile on his face. "This place is amazing, I'd love to stay…"

Magnus glanced towards his boyfriend and they seemed to share a silent exchange before he looked back at Will and said, "So roomie….Pizza or Chinese?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Please tell me!"

"I don't know if I should…"

"Please Alec, please!"

Magnus watched the exchange with amusement. Will was knelt on the carpet by Alec's feet, his blue eyes wide. Alec was biting his lip as he tried to decide whether or not to tell the story about Jace that he had mentioned accidently.

"Jace would kill me if I told you"

"he needn't know"

"….."

"Go on," Will wheedled, "or I'll tell everyone how you and Jace met"

"WHAT! How do you know?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow but decided to ask his boyfriend about that story later

"Tessa," Will replied smugly.

Alec huffed in annoyance, "why do I ever trust girls," he sighed, before finally giving in.

"Well last tuesday I was on my way to a Classics lesson when I realized I'd left my bag in my room." Magnus snorted, causing Alec to blush. "Shut up it was a Monday," he muttered before continuing, "So I ran quite fast all the way to my dorm and when I got there I didn't knock-"

"uh oh," Will sniggered.

"- I just barged in and I saw…" Alec was bright red now, avoiding Magnus and Will's eyes.

There was a long pause until Will couldn't wait any longer, "SAW WHAT?"

"Um, Jace…...Naked and erm...handcuffed to the bed. He also…...he also had some cream on his….err….his bits and a big strawberry in his mouth…"

There was a long silence until the other two boys broke into raucous laughter. "Oh my god, I wish I could have seen your face," Magnus giggled, kissing his boyfriend affectionately. Alec looked slightly disgruntled at this but cracked a smile. Will however had lost it completely. He was bright red and howling with laughter. "What did he say?" Will finally managed to choke out, "when he saw you there what did he say."

"Well we kind of stared at each other for a bit then he spat out the strawberry and said- I guess we're even." Will laughed harder at this but Magnus frowned, confused.

"Even?" he said.

"Errrrrr," Alec blanched, "err you see-" He was cut of by the doorbell sounding. Magnus smiled at the obvious relief on Alec's face. "Don't think you're getting out of this Alexander," he smirked while heading for the door and opening it.

He was confronted by startling green eyes, pale skin and softly curling golden hair. "Camille," he breathed, leaning on the doorframe in shock. She nodded, her emerald eyes wet and shining.

"I heard what happened," she whispered, stepping closer. "And I'm...I'm so," she sobbed and without thinking Magnus pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her soft hair. She smelt of lavender and he was suddenly brought back to sunlit field and memories of picnics, games and kisses.

"Can I stay here tonight" she murmured into his shoulder, her voice cracking slightly.

And without a seconds consideration he replied, "Of course."

A/N

So Camille….is she really sorry for the way she's treated Magnus or is something else going on? Thoughts?

It is 3 in the morning and I just got back from London…...why am I in the mood to write?

So is anyone still reading this? I know I'm being annoying and taking forever to update but I can tell you that the more reviews I get the more motivated I am to carry on :/

so life update - As Levels are still killing me. The end. That is my life.

Thanks for reading you delightful humans (or other species…..if you're reading)

Lots of virtual love

Amy

xxx