Chapter 2

Undecided

*Copyright: I do not own the characters or the Mortal Instruments, that belongs to Cassandra Clare. All original ideas and concepts belong to me.

Hi there! I would like to thank everyone who took the time to review my first chapter. The feedback was amazing and you guys made me feel really good. I hope you will all like this chapter too. It's a little shorter but it finally has Magnus. Enjoy!

Songs:

Stranger-Thriving Ivory

What's Your Name-Jesse McCartney (Alec to Magnus)

Alec sat on the ground, his back against the same tree he had seen the man at the day before. The sun beat down at Alec, warming his skin but making the feelings he had burn brighter. He hadn't purposely gone to sit by the tree, but it had simply happened subconsciously. He couldn't stop thinking about him which was ridiculous since he didn't even know him. Besides, it was clear he wouldn't reciprocate the feelings anyway.

Alec had tried to spend the last hour scoping out the girls at the Institute as Jace would have done, but it didn't seem to work. He didn't feel the same twinge within his stomach with any of them the way he had with the nameless man. Alec had even had a few girls look at him and try to talk to him, and Alec had tried to show interest but it was as impossible as Jace going a week without a new girl. It just didn't happen.

Alec heard crunching footsteps behind him and he could feel his heart rise in his chest. The crunching stopped as the person moved to sit down against the tree. Alec had a feeling he knew who it was, but then again that could simply be wishful thinking. He heard papers rustle and the quiet scratching of charcoal on paper. It was then that he realized it wasn't wishful thinking. Alec's breath caught in his throat and he knew he was being ridiculous. You'd think he was a 13 year old girl with her first crush on the new guy at school. It was pathetic. I'm pathetic.

Seconds passed and Alec could concentrate on nothing but the scratching and tapping of the pencil. It was soothing, the way it moved in unmeasured strokes with different rhythms from the pressure. The noise seemed to encompass Alec and coupled with the shallow breathing of the drawer, Alec was lost.

Then he heard the small shuffling of footsteps approaching and he was found again. He looked over to the source of the sound, seeing the same girl he had seen with the man the day before. She had wavy blonde hair which Alec was sure she had organized around her shoulders for a certain effect, and she had blinding green eyes that captivated even Alec. She was tall and thin, her curves exactly as Jace would have liked them. She carried herself with dignity, her head held high and her demeanor exactly that of someone who thought they were all that and a bag of potato chips.

"Hey baby." Her lips were curved seductively as she sat down next to the nameless man. She placed an arm around his shoulder while the other slowly pulled his pencil away from the paper and closed the book. She pulled it off of his knees, setting it gently on the ground as she turned to her boyfriend.

Alec listened as her lips met his and his hand slid up her arm. The kiss broke apart but they still remained close.

"I've been looking for you all over. Why didn't you tell me you'd be at this tree?" Her voice had a melodic ring to it and it had a slight hint of a British accent.

"I did tell you I would be, but again you weren't listening." His voice made Alec's voice catch. It was low and rough, yet it had a softness and eccentricity to it. He too had an accent, one Alec was familiar with. The man was from Brooklyn.

"I was listening, but whatever." She said it to push away the subject. "I remembered what I wanted to talk to you about this morning."

"And that was?" His answer was slightly annoyed.

Alec had a feeling the woman rolled her eyes at his comment, also annoyed. "Why have you been like this?"

"Like what?" His tone was almost bored.

She scowled. "Like a complete ass."

"Well, that hurt my feelings." The sarcasm in his comments amused Alec. Clearly they weren't the closest couple. Alec figured they had been one of those couples that dated in high school and went on to University together. He never really did understand it. But then again, he was getting the impression the guy wasn't too happy about it.

"I don't care. Look, Magnus, we need to talk." Magnus. So that was his name. The feeling rushing through Alec of knowing his name was refreshing. It was the worst thing to think about someone the way he did when you didn't even know their name.

"I'm all ears Camille."

Camille let out an exasperated breath. "Your cat needs to go."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, Chairman Meow needs to go."

"Yeah I know, I heard you the first time." Magnus scowled. "He's not going anywhere."

"I'm not kidding."

"Me neither. He's not going anywhere. He's my cat and he's all I've got."

"You've got me."

"Aren't I just the luckiest guy alive." Again, sarcasm lidded his voice, but Alec had the impression Camille didn't really get the concept.

"I'd say you are." She paused. "And I will be the luckiest girl alive once that cat's gone."

"The cat's not going. Besides, you've given me no viable reasons why he should go."

"Um, first off he sheds all over my clothes, he stinks up the apartment, and he sits on my shoes."

"I said viable. Those are petty ridiculous reasons."

"God, do you care about a single thing I have to say?"

"Sometimes."

Camille scowled as she stood up quickly. "You should be thankful to have me Magnus Bane. I can give you everything you want."

"Not everything." It was spoken under his breath and only Alec heard the words leave his lips.

"I'm just going to put this down as a side effect to the new meds and pray that tonight when you get home you won't be so much of a pompous prick."

"Ok, now we're just getting personal." But with that she turned on her heel and left. Alec watched her walk across the quad and disappear in the direction of the parking lot. He had to say, he wasn't disappointed to not have to hear her voice anymore. It was a little obnoxious.

Alec felt extremely uncomfortable for having witnessed the little exchange with the couple. It was one of those 'wrong time, wrong place' sort of scenarios and Alec was cursing his luck for it. He hadn't expected that to happen, and especially over a cat. In Alec's opinion Camille was just a little over dramatic, which judging by Magnus' behaviour, Alec wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Sorry about that. My girlfriend can be a little over dramatic." Magnus shifted.

Magnus' voice caught Alec off guard and it took him a second to register it was directed at him.

"No problem." Alec blushed slightly at the sound of Magnus' voice speaking to him. He turned his head to see that Magnus had moved so that they could see each other. Magnus was even more dazzling up close. He had on a dark vest over a black shirt, with dark jeans that shimmered in the light. A scarf hung from his neck, this one lined with a shimmering rainbow thread, and unlike yesterday, his hair was purely black. Up close it was like looking into a bottomless pit. So dark, yet so beautiful.

And then there were his eyes. They were an unimaginable golden green colour that reminded Alec- funny enough-of a cat. They were hypnotizing and piercing, lined in a charcoal black. Alec found himself lost within them, tracing the lines between the gold and the green. It seemed like hours that he searched, exploring each and every corner of them, and it was when Magnus blinked that Alec's gaze shifted.

Magnus held out his hand, catching Alec off guard. "Name's Magnus. Magnus Bane."

Alec took his hand in his, a sharp sensation filling Alec's being. Magnus' skin was both hard and soft, his bones that of an artist. An electric spark flared through him, originating from the contact with Magnus' skin. He tried to shake the feeling but found it wasn't a possibility.

"Alec Lightwood."

"Nice to meet you Alec Lightwood." He smiled, showing off teeth so white Alec was slightly blinded. "And again, sorry about that."

"Really, it's not a problem. It happens."

"Yeah, it happens a lot." Magnus leaned his head back on the tree, letting out a sigh. "I will never really understand women."

"With you on that one." Alec knew perfectly well how complicated women could be, especially given that Isabelle was the Queen of that category.

"Why? You got a girlfriend?" The question caught Alec off guard. It wasn't really the manner of the question, since it made perfect sense, but more the truth behind it.

"No. I got a sister." Alec thought he saw a grin cross Magnus' face when he answered, but Alec put it off to his overactive imagination.

"Ah, I see." Seconds passed between them silently. They weren't the kind of uncomfortable seconds that occur when there's nothing to say in a conversation, but they were the comfortable seconds that simply meant a pause in the conversation.

Alec watched as Magnus picked up his sketchbook. He flipped it open to a gorgeous panorama of what appeared to be a northern valley flanked by mountains and a destructive lightning storm. A small house was situated right in the middle of the storm. There was sadness in the drawing. The lines were dark, manipulated with pain and suffering. The mountains were jagged, the water black. Despite the coldness of it there was hope, a light issuing from beneath the water. In sort of looked like a soul, wandering lost in a dark world where you can't grab the light but you can see it. It made Alec wonder where the pain in the drawing came from.

Magnus flipped the paper over, the mountains and the lightning disappearing like that. Magnus set the charcoal to paper again and began to sketch. Magnus didn't look like the person to be an artist, but yet Alec wasn't really surprised.

"So what are you here for?" His hand continued to move as he issued the question at Alec.

"History and English Lit. You?"

"Art and History." A grin flashed across Magnus' face as he formed the body of a person on the paper. Alec couldn't quite tell rather there was a tree forming behind the figure or not. "Thankfully Camille is sticking to Theatre."

Alec opened his mouth to ask a question but stopped himself before it came out.

"I know what you're thinking. Why the hell did we just fight over a cat? Well, that's a really interesting question and something I won't dump on you. But you put up with the shit and do what we do for love right?"

"So then you love her?"

Magnus laughed. "Oh, no. Loving Camille would be like trying to hug a porcupine. It just doesn't work." Alec stifled a laugh at the thought. "I like her about as much as I can, and I only said love because that saying just doesn't sound right if you say, 'We do what we do for like'." Magnus laughed, turning to look at Alec, his eyes piercing into Alec's. Magnus smiled as he stood up. "Which, speaking of the things we do, I should really go find her." Magnus ripped the piece of paper he had been drawing on from his sketchbook. "Here. An official Magnus Bane piece for when I become famous. Hold on to it and you'll be able to sell it for millions on E-Bay. Right now it's worth about 20 bucks." The amusement in his voice was penetrating as he passed the piece of paper off to Alec. "See you around?" He grinned at Alec as he met his gaze.

"Yeah."

"Good." Magnus winked before turning and walking away.

Alec flipped the paper over in his hands, his eyes meeting the dark lines. The picture was a quick sketch of Alec, his back against the tree and his face glancing off in the distance. Although quick, the sketch was extremely detailed, the etching in the bark and the grass done line by line. It was beautiful, but this time it wasn't filled with sadness and darkness, but it was filled with a sort of light. The light that was beneath the water.

Alec couldn't quite understand why Magnus had drawn him but he found he really appreciated the notion, and he was definitely keeping it. It made him curious about Magnus more than he was the day before. He wanted to know where that darkness came from and what was behind the amusement and sarcasm. Who was Magnus Bane?

So, I hope you liked it. It was short but it introduced Magnus and Camille to Alec. Now if you're wondering where Camille's from, she's Magnus' girl in Clockwork Angel (the new book). Also Magnus will become a bigger part in the next chapter and you will get to read into his head. Anyway please review, and be honest. I do hope you enjoyed it and will come back for the next chapter which will pick up at the first day of school.