Chapter 8

Alec lay sprawled across his bed, sticky and sweaty and exhausted but unable to sleep due to his two siblings sitting on the floor. His phone vibrated beside him and he grabbed it lazily, reading the new text with a smile before he wrote back.

Okay, maybe his siblings weren't the only reason for his still being awake. He had been texting Magnus since their date on Saturday, and while there was mainly just small talk and only a little bit of flirting, the texts never failed to make Alec smile and blush like an idiot, even if Magnus wasn't around to see his reaction.

Magnus: Would it be 2 forward of me 2 say that I am counting down the days til our next date? if so delete this text.

Alec: No. I can't wait either.

He closed his phone, dispelling the look of pure joy on his face before his siblings, well mainly Jace, asked any questions. He glanced down at Izzy who gave him a knowing smile over her phone, before his attention turned to Jace, who was spinning a soccer ball in his hands.

If Jace noticed anything, he didn't mention it.

". . . are you even listening?" Jace asked, sounding annoyed.

Alec snapped from his thoughts and lifted his head, groaning at the pain of using his sore muscles and flopped back down onto his bed.

"Yes, I'm listening. I'm just exhausted," Alec replied.

It was the truth. They'd had an intense practice this afternoon and he had wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Fate, siblings and Magnus appeared to have other plans for him, and thus he was still awake.

Jace snorted, now tossing the ball in the air, catching it each time with ease.

"You ought to be. I saw you running laps out there, pathetic."

If Alec had more energy he would have shot up and given his brother a contemptuous look, instead he just dragged a hand over his face and groaned.

"You were at my practice?"

"Of course I was how else would I have seen you running laps?"

Alec sighed, "You've got to stop doing that."

"You don't complain when I go to your games." Jace retorted, the ball now frozen in his grasp.

Alec sighed, "I did you just didn't listen. Besides practice and games are two different things. At a game you're surrounded by people and you've got Iz there to sneak you in. At practice you're probably the only one there. Where the hell were you hiding by the way?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is, I was there no one could see me and I'm fine. What's it to you?"

"What's it to me? Jace it's like you're looking to get expelled!"

"No, I'm not. You're just being dramatic, there is no way Wayland would have me expelled for looking at a practice no matter how much he hates me. I just like to watch practices sometimes. I sort of miss it."

Alec blinked, but didn't have a reply. He couldn't deny Jace that tiny bit of happiness or whatever it was that he apparently got from watching the games or practice.

"You know, you wouldn't have to sneak around if you hadn't smarted off." Isabelle pointed out, now giving her brothers her full attention as she was done toying with her phone.

Jace shot her a look, "Thanks Iz for that wonderful observation. Whatever would I do without your insightful input?"

She gave him a look that was just as scornful, unfazed by Jace's venomous words. That was their way, and neither took it too personally. If they took it personally at all, that was.

"Watch what you say Herondale or you'll be buying me a pair of earrings to go with those shoes."

Jace actually appeared to blanch at that, if only for a second. He turned to Alec.

"Alec, tell your sister that she can't keep holding stuff like that over my head." He turned back to Isabelle, "And we had a deal."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic Jace it's not as if there was a contract or anything involved. I could easily go back on it."

"Nice to know how much your words means to you," Jace snapped.

"Oh shut up! I'm only kidding," Isabelle replied, "about the backing out thing, not the earrings. You are more than welcome to buy me those."

Jace just shook his head, murmuring insults under his breath while Isabelle pointedly ignored them. She wouldn't ever admit it, but the whole keeping "not keeping your word" accusation got to her. Honesty was important to Jace, and this was another thing on a long list of things Isabelle won't admit, but she would never want anyone in her family to distrust her. She loved the feeling that she got when her brothers came to her for help.

"So, why are you buying Izzy shoes again?"

Jace gave him a look of betrayal.

"You haven't been paying attention!"

"I have too! I just . . . forgot about that part," Alec replied unconvincingly.

He really was the worst liar on the planet. He really had no other choice but to be blunt and straight forward with that working against him.

"Liar," Jace retorted, feeling offended.

He was used to Izzy or anyone else really not paying attention, but never Alec. Alec was almost annoyingly attentive to everyone he cared about.

Alec sighed. "I'm not lying. I know this has something to do with Carrie-"

"Clary," Jace interrupted, and now he sounded genuinely annoyed.

"Clary," Alec amended, mentally kicking himself. He knew that.

And he did. Alec knew the story as Jace had been talking about this girl, Clary, nonstop lately. It was the most love struck he had ever seen his brother. He had apparently met this artist girl when he went to tutoring. She was friends with Jace's tutor, Simon, and was drawing in the corner of the room needing Simon for a ride or something so she was sitting in on this session.

Jace was immediately attracted to her, tried his usual methods and when those didn't work on this apparently stubborn, uninterested girl he made a deal of sorts. Alec spaced on the details, but apparently Clary thought he was a typical dumb jock, Jace proved her wrong "as he was not a jock at all as he didn't play any sports" which Alec thought was typical Jace. Someone questions his intellect and he lets them know he doesn't play sports. But Jace wasn't dumb and whatever arrangement was made, Jace won, much to the surprise of this Clary girl and disdain of Simon.

Isabelle came into the session a few minutes later, with the intention of bailing Jace out as they had planned only to somehow get roped into this whole thing as Jace noticed Clary was still apprehensive about going on a date with him. So now, Isabelle and Simon would be going on a double date with Clary and Jace, as Jace promised Isabelle he would buy her a new pair of shoes- whatever the cost.

Isabelle later confessed to Alec she would have dated Simon without the promise of new shoes, as she thought he was sort of cute and she had no plans that night.

"I remember now," Alec explained after rethinking all he had heard.

"You do?" Jace said, disbelieving.

"Yes, you bribed her into dating Simon." Alec replied, not able to hide the disdain in his voice.

He didn't like the idea of dating someone to be a game; especially from the sound of it this Simon guy liked Clary.

"Alec shut up," Isabelle said disinterestedly as she was back to texting on her phone.

"Yeah Alec, shut up!" Jace joined, hurling the ball towards him and it smacked against the wall with a loud thud, just above Alec's head before bouncing back to Jace smoothly.

"Jace!" Alec shouted, "You could have put a hole in the wall!"

"Oh big deal," Jace responded, back to tossing the ball to himself, "a twenty five dollar fine how would you ever afford it."

Alec's gaze narrowed and he slowly sat up, ignoring the protesting muscles.

"That's not the point."

"Yeah Jace, you were just the one trying to weasel your way out of buying me shoes. And you're the most spoiled out of all of us," Isabelle interrupted, still sounding bored with them.

Jace just made a disbelieving noise, turning to Isabelle as she snickered at her phone.

"Who are you texting anyway?" Jace asked, putting the ball down so he could lean over to look at her phone.

Isabelle jerked away from him, turning the screen so Jace couldn't see it.

"None of your business."

"Simon. You're texting rat face!"

"So what if I am? You wanted me to date him."

"One date!"

Isabelle shrugged. "That'll all I'm planning on doing. The texting and flirting just leads up to it-"

Isabelle stopped speaking to check her phone once more before turning back to Jace with a smile.

"By the way . . . there's been a change of plans. Clary's agreed to it," Isabelle explained, a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.

Jace glared at her.

"What do you mean?"

Isabelle's smile twisted into a superior smirk.

"Seriously, what do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

He reached over to grab her phone but she effectively swatted him away. Jace then felt at his empty pockets, and then turned to Alec.

"Alec I need your phone!" Jace shouted, having left his phone in his room.

Alec, not really thinking about it as he and Jace used each other's phone all the time, had no objections about it as Jace stomped over to him. The faint buzzing noise against his side snapped him back into reality and he grabbed his phone swiftly before Jace could, tucking it close to him out of Jace's reach.

Golden eyes looked at him with confusion. Alec looked at him, a growing feeling of guilt threatening to overcome him.

"I um. . . I'm using it."

Jace held out his hand, "I'm not going to read your texts Alec. I just want to text Clary and see what that wicked witch is talking about."

"Not helping yourself at all here," Isabelle interjected.

Jace looked at her with a halfhearted glare before turning back to Alec, still silently asking for his phone. Alec glanced down at his phone to see that this new text was indeed from Magnus before he turned back to Jace.

He shook his head, "Sorry."

An emotion Alec couldn't quite pick up on danced across Jace's face before he looked just down right pissed off.

"Fine, I'll go get my own. Screw you two!" Jace snapped.

Alec winced at the sound of his door slamming, Jace storming out and Isabelle looked up at him.

"Don't," Alec warned knowing what she was about to say.

"Don't what?"

"Don't say what I think you're about to say."

"And that is?"

Alec sighed and narrowed his eyes, "Something about me telling Jace about Magnus."

Isabelle shrugged. "Why would I say that?"

"Stop doing that, I know what you're trying to get me to do."

"And that is?"

Alec growled under his breath, knowing his sister wasn't about to give up.

"You're going to make me say everything you're already thinking by playing dumb. Don't do that."

Isabelle shrugged, "Out of curiosity, what is it I was going to make you say?"

Alec sighed, "Iz, seriously stop. I know that Jace wouldn't like . . . hate me if I told him or anything. It's not about that alright?"

Isabelle gave him a sad look.

"What is it about then?"

Alec sighed again, really tiring of these questions. The thing was he knew Jace wouldn't hate him or abandon him if he came out. It was the same way with his parents. That wasn't it at all, they would probably accept him just the way he was. But that wasn't what Alec had a problem with.

He didn't want to hurt his father, the man who had taken him to Lightwood Industries' main headquarters just this past summer, talking about Alec taking over the family business and one day having Alec's own son do the same.

He didn't want to be the one to take that dream from his dad, because Alec couldn't have kids with another man.

He didn't want to see that flash of sadness cross his mother's face when she learned he wouldn't give her grandchildren. Alec didn't want Jace to look at him differently, as if his sexuality somehow changed him as a person.

It didn't.

"Alec," Isabelle began softly when he didn't answer her.

"You just don't get it Iz."

"Why? Because I'm straight?" She asked, black eyes narrowing.

Alec, feeling defensive, snapped right back: "That's exactly why! You don't get it Iz; you don't get what it's like for people to treat you differently just because of who you love. You don't get what it's like to hate yourself or anything like that."

Isabelle's face softened again and she got up from her position on the floor.

"Do you?"

Alec groaned, sick of her questions and ran a hand over his face.

"Do I what?"

"Hate yourself."

Alec paused a moment before he shook his head.

"No, I don't."

She bit her lip, standing in front of him, wanting to hug her brother and make everything okay or just do something to make it all better. But she knew she couldn't.

"I'll talk to Jace; let him know that I'm the only one in the family who can make a dramatic exit like that."

Alec smiled as Izzy began to walk away, the door halfway open when he spoke again.

"Thanks Iz, for everything."

She jokingly rolled her eyes, "Of course."

"Can you um, make sure he isn't. . ."

"Yes, I'll make sure he hasn't magically figured out you're gay since you didn't show him your texts."

Alec flushed, not liking she had said that so loud, but he just gave her a weak smile before she shut the door behind her.

He groaned, rolling his backwards to look up at the ceiling as if it had all the answers to his problems written on it. His phone buzzed again and he remembered his earlier text from Magnus.

Grabbing his phone, that unconscious smile crept back on his face.

Magnus: can I ask u something?

Magnus: Alec? R u there?

Chuckling, Alec shook his head and texted back.

Alec: Sorry. I got distracted. What did you want to ask?

.

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Thanks everyone for all the reviews and everything! The next part will be Magnus centric and you'll get what he's going to ask Alec then (it's not a big deal but I just wanted to put things in his POV since there has been more Alec POV).