So, here is Chapter 8! Let me know what you think and add it to your alerts if you want to see more. You know the drill.


Magnus was on cloud nine.

There was very little that could bring his mood down at this point. With the memory of Alec's kisses on his lips, he was probably sporting a smile similar to those who won the lottery. And he felt amazing.

Wandering back to his room, ever so slowly, Magnus debated calling Camille. On the one hand, keeping the juicy little moment in the secret cave to himself just made it juicier. On the other hand, he needed to tell someone or he was going to burst. Deciding to tell Camille, Magnus opened the door to his room and collapsed on the bed, closing the door with his foot and sighing into the bedspread.

"Life is good." He mumbled, grinning to himself and rummaging around blindly for the phone. Nearly knocking a glass of water off the side table, Magnus swore and sat up, seeing the phone instantly. Magnus punched in Camille's number and hummed 'Pocket Full of Sunshine'-which according to Camille was the worst song in the existence of the planet and should only be played if the human race were trying to drive away an alien species-while he waited for her to pick up.

"Oh shit." She said, letting out a dramatic sigh. "You're singing the song. I hate that song. You'd better be shitting roses or something because you need a very, very good reason to sing that song in my presence."

Snorting, Magnus resisted the urge to giggle-it was very unmanly and he tried to avoid it at all costs-and said, "Firstly, I'm not singing I'm humming and secondly-"

"Singing, humming. Same difference. It's still Satan's theme song."

"Secondly," Magnus said, continuing on as though she hadn't interrupted. "I have a very, very, very good reason to hum this song. I have the best reason of all reasons." He was about to say what this reason was, when there was an indignant yell from the other side of the phone.

"If that is Magnus Bane on the phone and you didn't put him on speakerphone, I will fucking skin you." It was Jessamine, sounding as lovely as always. Magnus could hear Will laughing and was delighted to find them all there.

Biting his lip, Magnus wandered over to his desk and pulled out his laptop, "Hey Cam, why don't we skype?"

She squealed and Magnus moved the phone about a foot from his ear to prevent permanent damage. "Yes. Yes. Yes." There was massive shuffling on the other side of the line and what sounded like someone having sex on Camille's desk. Which could only mean she was opening and slamming drawers with all the strength she had, causing the desk to shake and bang against the far wall.

"Oh for fucks sake." Will's voice was faint, but it got louder as he walked closer to Camille, "You're charger is right here. Jesus, you have the eyesight of a mole." He huffed.

Magnus booted up skype, awarded with the delightfully annoying noises that accompanied the program. Ragnor kept saying there was a way to turn them off, but Magnus wasn't sure. They seemed like the kind of thing that one had to endure in order to gain strength in life. Soon enough, Camille appeared online and Magnus hung up the phone, choosing instead to call her for a video chat.

She accepted and there was a moment of darkness before she showed up, grainy and slightly delayed. Camille grinned broadly at him and Magnus had to smile back. They were all there, rushing forward at once to greet him. They dragged up chairs, Will made a brief attempt to move the bed before Camille very nearly lost it, and soon enough they all fell silent. Magnus drank in their faces, feeling like it'd been years rather than days.

"I hear you sang 'Pocket Full of Sunshine'." Tessa said, her smile bright, "What's the occasion." She brushed an unruly lock of brown hair behind her ear and set a worn book down on the edge of Camille's desk. Tessa was always reading ancient books that looked like they might fall apart, Magnus made a mental note to send her a picture of the library.

"Well," Magnus said, drawing it out, "There may or may not have been a very important Alec Update today."

Jessamine bounced in her chair, "Tell us asshole." She whined, Will giving her a look of disgust but looking curious himself. He sat perched on the arm of Jem's chair, pretending to be nonchalant but not talking, which told Magnus right away that he was listening.

"We went on a picnic." Magnus said, the girls sighing and Will rolling his eyes, "And we may or may not have made out."

"Are you kidding me?" Camille screamed and Jessamine fell to the floor, simply tipping off of her chair. Magnus burst out laughing at the look of sheer alarm on Ragnor's face. It was priceless, Jessamine now yelling from the floor.

"More details!" She hollered, waving her arms in the air and just managing to get them caught on camera, "More details!"

Magnus grinned again, "He happens to be a very wonderful kisser, not to mention very gay, very closeted, and very dreamy." He bit his thumb, "There may have been talk about how beautiful I am-"

"He called you beautiful?" Tessa asked, a smile peeking through her lips. "That is the cutest thing I've ever heard. Oh my goodness."

Will sighed, "What did I say about taking it slow? Did you talk a lot? Do you know more about him?"

"For god's sake Will, I didn't go ramming my hand down his pants." Magnus said, rolling his eyes, "I kissed him, he kissed me, there was just lots of kissing. And food." Magnus added, "There was also food."

Jessamine suddenly bolted upright, scrambling for her chair, "Wait a minute. You still have to send us a picture." Jessamine said, "I demand a fucking picture. Right now!"

Magnus waved her off, "Yeah, yeah."

"Right now!" All the girls screamed it, even Tessa, though she did it in a more joking manner than the rest. Groaning, Magnus grabbed his camera, pulled out the SD card and plugged it in, waiting for the pictures to load.

He started humming again, scrolling through the photos as they came into focus. Magnus decided on the one he'd taken of Alec by the lake. He sent it through the skype chat and then waited for reactions, looking at the photo himself. It was a good photo, Magnus hadn't been lying. Alec was smiling slightly, with the sun hitting his face at the right angle-

"Holy shit." Camille said, her hand flying to her mouth, "You absolute, lucky, little motherfucker. Oh my sweet Mary and Jesus in heaven above." A bubble of laughter spilled from her lips, "He is gorgeous as fuck. Seriously, the things I would do to that boy."

"If he wasn't outrageously gay?" Ragnor offered, looking at the picture and raising his eyebrows.

"Magnus," Jessamine said, "Please tell me he's looking at you. Tell me that you took this photo."

Magnus rolled his eyes, "Of course I did. Why?"

"Because he's looking at you like you're the only star in the sky." Tessa said dreamily, sounding rather like she was reciting one of her romance novels and not looking at a shirtless picture of Magnus' Texan hottie.

"Those abs." Camille said, slamming her face into the desk, "And the eyes. Can I come to Texas?" She asked, "Seriously, do they breed hot men down there?"

"I'm beginning to think so." Magnus laughed, resting his head in his hand. "He's perfect." Magnus sighed, thinking about Alec and going to what Camille liked to call his 'weird place'. Camille snapped her fingers in front of the camera.

"C'mon Magnus." She bit her lip, "I'm happy for you-delighted even-but it's been days since you met him. You cannot possibly be falling this hard." Magnus noted briefly that Ragnor was sitting right next to Camille and their shoulders were touching.

He raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, Camille's blush being enough for him. "I know it's only been a few days and it's not like we're getting married or something. But, Cam, he is the most amazing person I've ever met. He's cute and amazing and nice. He makes me feel special and I know love at first sight is complete bullshit but that's the closest way to describe this."

Tessa smiled, "I think that's great Magnus."

"Of course you do." Will snapped and Tessa looked over, hurt, "You always have your nose in some fairy tale or another. There is nothing about this that doesn't scream delusional teenage romance."

"Will." Jem said, his voice stern, "You can't talk to Tessa like that. She's done nothing wrong."

"No, you're right. She's just being a moron." Will huffed. Tessa looked down at her feet and Magnus bristled with annoyance.

"For God's sake William." Magnus said, his voice cold. "If you insist on being a bully and abusing poor Tessa for just believing in true love, you can leave. When you manage to finally get your head out of your ass where it is so tightly wedged, you can rejoin the conversation."

Jessamine snorted and Will gave one more resentful huff before leaving the room. Jem looked after him and made to get up but Camille grabbed his wrist. "He's just being an ass Jem. You don't have to go after him, not this time."

"He's upset." Jem sighed, giving one more glance over to the door before settling back down. "There are things in Will's life that aren't really going his way right now and he's not happy. You guys just need to cut him some slack. He's trying to help. Magnus, I hate to say this, but Will has a point."

Magnus' mouth popped open, but Camille spoke for him. "We've been cutting him slack for a long-ass time. I've had enough of him just being and dick to us whenever he feels like it. It's not fair. What's so much the matter that he can't even put on his big boy trousers and-"

"His sister contacted him yesterday." Jem said softly and they all fell silent. Will's family was a complicated mess and he'd run away from it all when he'd gone to live with Charlotte and Henry. "She sent him a letter and he couldn't even finish reading it. He refused. Will burned the letter and now I can't tell if he's angry or sad." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "He's falling apart and I don't know how to help him."

"Go after him." Jessamine sighed, "You're not interested in Alec's abs anyways, you might as well go help him." And that was as nice as Jessamine got. Magnus felt a swell of affection for the girl, she tried to act all high and mighty, but there was a part of her that cared. No matter how far down that part may be buried.

Jem got up from his chair and left the room, turning back at the door to say, "Magnus, I think that you love this boy. And that's great, but be careful. You're not even out of high school and he lives so far away. We just don't want to see you get hurt."

But he'd rather be hurt than let Alec go. Magnus didn't say it outloud, but admitted that truth to himself. There was silence as Jem left the room, running down the stairs and no doubt skipping the last one as he always did. He'd have to, to keep up with Will who took the stairs two at a time no matter where he was going.

"So," Magnus said, breaking the silence, "What's the deal with you two." He waggled his finger between Ragnor and Camille. Tessa grinned, Jessamine rolled her eyes and the two people in question blushed.

"They're together now." Jessamine said matter of factly, applying a fresh coat of lip gloss with the precision of a surgeon. She pursed her lips before smacking them, "And I think it's ridiculous how shy they're being about this."

"I think it's cute." Tessa said, "They have a date tomorrow night."

"Aw," Magnus cooed, before dissolving into laughter at the look on Camille's face, "Seriously, you two have been crushing on each other for months, it was going to happen at some point. You must give me all the details."

Camille rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. But we know that Ragnor's not going to break my heart and if he did I would be able to recover." She twined their fingers though and Ragnor gave her the sappiest look Magnus had ever seen.

"So you're turning the topic back to me?" Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Magnus attempted to raise his eyebrow higher and Camille sighed, "What are you doing? Seriously, you look really creepy when you do that. You need to find another way of expressing whatever emotion you're trying to convey."

Laughing, Magnus shook his head. "I'm never going to stop doing that. It's my signature move. Besides, I think Alec finds it hot."

"Of course he does." Jessamine snorted. "Now, are we ever going to meet this boy? Because I seriously think we need to threaten him. You're there with his whole family and I don't doubt that you've gotten at least one sibling threat. We're your siblings and therefore we need to impose some kind of law about hurting you and receiving bodily damage."

"We're not technically his siblings." Tessa said slowly, but Jessamine just waved her off and smiled at Magnus. It wasn't a very pleasant smile, too predatory to be considered kind.

"There's no way I'm going to let you talk to him."

Jessamine gaped like a fish, "How could you say something like that? What a horrible thing to say. We are the closest thing you have to siblings and you aren't even going to let us meet him over Skype. I'd fly down there if I could."

Magnus rolled his eyes, "I'm just getting him to warm up to me-"

"He's more than warm if you ask me." Jessamine muttered.

"-And," Magnus continued as though she hadn't said a word, "I'll let you talk to him once we're actually dating. We're not even officially together and I don't want to ruin any chances of that happening. Understood?"

"I suppose." Jessamie said, pouting slightly and looking over at Camille. "You've gone awfully quiet over there. I know Ragnor's hands are interesting, but there is an actual conversation over here."

Camille started, looking up from where she'd been slowly turning Ragnor's hands over in her own, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm totally listening." She blushed slightly, "There was mention of bodily harm?"

Jessamine let out an exasperated sigh, "Seriously, would it kill you to at least listen? Magnus is refusing to let us meet Alec over Skype until they're officially together."

"No!" Camille said, sitting up straighter, "That's not fair!"

"I think it makes sense." Ragnor mumbled, "I mean, Alec's just stopped treating Magnus like he's got the plague and he doesn't want to ruin that. I think Magnus is right."

With a glare like cold steel, Jessamine stage whispered to Camille, "Dump him."

"I'm not going to dump him."

"Your mistake."

Magnus butted in before they could bicker anymore. "As lovely as it is to hear the two of you arguing, I'm going to go find Alec. It's barely even two o'clock over here and I'm not going to spend the whole day in my room. Go find a party," Magnus gave them a smile, "I can't be there but that doesn't mean you can't go get shitfaced."

"That was a revelation." Jessamine said dully, "You should be quoted on that gem."

Tessa, who had at some point gone back to reading, looked up at this, "What about Jem?" She said, in a way that made her affections for Jem very plain. Magnus pitied her, to be in love with two friends and to know that dating either of them would shatter their friendship, it was a rather tragic love triangle and part of Magnus hoped nothing would come of it.

"I'm not talking about-" Jessamine groaned, "You know what? Nevermind. I'm going to go put on something slutty, then proceed to drink my face off and hopefully catch a glimpse of Tessa's brother." She dragged herself up, gave an absentminded wave to Magnus and sashayed out of the room, sweeping her hair over her shoulder as she went.

Camille laughed, "Well, I think we're going to say goodbye then Magnus." She let go of Ragnor's hand to pull the computer closer, "Good luck with Alec and give us an update as soon as you can."

"Bye." Magnus said softly, drawing his knees up to his chest and drinking in his best friend's face for a moment, "Have fun on your date."

"I will. Bye."

There was an irritatingly loud beep and the call was over. Magnus was left staring at himself, in such an awkward fashion that he slammed the laptop closed and got up. He still felt like he was dreaming, floating on a cloud and simply unable to get down. With a blissful smile on his face, he left the room and wandered down to try and find Alec and the others.

As soon as he stepped down from the last step, he could hear them. There was some combination of yelling, laughing and music. Magnus wandered into the TV room to see Jace, the redhead from the garden who had to be Clary, and a boy with dark hair that Magnus didn't know, playing RockBand. Isabelle and Alec were watching from the couches, cheering them on but also offering colourful commentary on their performances.

Alec glanced over and saw him, his eyes lighting up and making Magnus' heart soar. He jumped up from the couches and walked into the hallway, pulling Magnus by the wrist into a room across the hall.

The room wasn't very big, it was clearly meant for laundry and the only things in there were an ironing board, a drying rack, a washing machine and a dryer. As soon as Magnus closed the door behind him, Alec attacked his lips.

Magnus groaned, Alec pushing him up against the door and cradling his head. Even though they'd only started kissing this morning, Magnus could feel himself getting addicted to the way that Alec tasted and the feel of his lips on his own.

Alec pulled away, giving Magnus a toothy smile and uttering a breathless, "I couldn't resist." Before grabbing his collar and crashing their lips together. Magnus pushed him away from the door and Alec spun them around. He gripped Magnus' thighs and with one simple movement, hoisted him onto the washing machine. Magnus made a surprised noise and Alec took that moment to slip his tongue into Magnus' mouth.

"You're going to drive me crazy." Magnus mumbled against Alec's lips. Alec stood between Magnus' knees, leaning against the washing machine with his hands at Magnus' hips.

"I'm already crazy." Alec said, his breath ghosting over Magnus' lips. He shifted down to kiss Magnus' neck and Magnus leaned back to give him access. Moaning, he threaded his hands into Alec's hair and pulled on it, eliciting a whine from the other teenager.

In the other room, they heard the song end and Alec pulled away. "We're going to have to go in there." He said, the disappointment in his voice making Magnus happier than it should have. "They're going to wonder where we went and somehow I don't think they're going to believe we're doing laundry."

Magnus snorted, "Why ever not?" Alec grinned and lifted Magnus off the washing machine, pulling him in for one last fierce kiss. There were so many cliches about love, Magnus didn't even know it was possible to feel them all at once.

He tried to remind himself that he'd just met Alec, but being with him felt like riding a rollercoaster. You barely had to wait to reach the top, and then it was one exhilarating moment after another. Magnus had an idea that his feelings were leading the rollercoaster and any control of them was slowly slipping away. They were out of control and even his friends warnings and his common sense couldn't stop them.

Alec walked back to the TV room, trying to fix his hair and blushing slightly when he looked back to see Magnus who winked at him. He opened the door and Magnus got his first good look at the other two people in the room.

The girl was tiny, with flaming red hair and gleaming green eyes. She had a smattering of freckles all across her cheeks and she spoke with a voice so timid and soft that it reminded Magnus of the highest keys on a piano. "I'm Clary Fray, you must be Magnus? Alec's told us so much about you." Magnus raised an eyebrow at Alec who bit his lip and blushed.

She dashed over and to Magnus' surprise, hugged him. He dwarfed her and she felt fragile. But there was a determination in her eyes and a firmness in her stance that made her seem far stronger than she looked. Magnus could see right away why Jace liked her so much.

"Uh," The guy behind her said, "I'm Simon Lewis." He was familiar, with brown hair and eyes to match that were framed by chunky black glasses. Simon was skinny, in a way that would have made him seem scrawny had he not had the thin layer of muscle that everyone in the tiny town seemed to carry. He shifted from foot to foot and it was only when he gave Magnus a small smile that the resemblance hit him.

"Oh," Magnus said, suddenly. "You're Rebecca's brother." It made sense, they had similar eyes and though he didn't carry himself with as much confidence, Simon had the same gentle smile.

"Yeah," He said, smiling wider now, "How'd you know that?"

"The eyes." Magnus said, "I met her on the plane. She's really nice, I wish I had a sister."

"Same." Clary said, "I always wanted a sibling. But then I got Isabelle, so I suppose I got lucky there." Isabelle nodded, looking over at Clary with a smirk.

"Extremely lucky I'd say." She turned back to the TV and started flicking through songs. "What shall we play? 'Eye of the Tiger'?"

Alec made a face, "Nah, we play 'Eye of the Tiger' all the time. I have the whole song memorized and it just gets annoying." He picked up a drumstick, flipping it in his hand. Jace threw himself on the couch next to Alec and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Rolling his eyes and grinning, Alec whispered something back and the two of them laughed.

Clary noticed and smiled, telling Magnus softly, "They're sort of best friends and brothers. It's really cute. They hang out together all the time and once, when we were kids, Jace faked sick just so he could get sent home with Alec. Isn't that just the cutest thing?" Magnus smiled back, it was insanely adorable.

Meanwhile, Isabelle had chosen a song and was waiting for them all to decide on instruments. Alec had already picked the drums and Magnus took the guitar for fun, Isabelle deciding to sing and the others agreeing to watch.

"Alec is awful." Jace stated, nudging Alec with his foot, "Seriously, he's the worst." Alec yelped when Jace hit a sensitive spot and Jace grinned mischievously. He continued to poke Alec as the song started and Alec missed the first note, too busy hitting Jace's feet to hit the drums.

"Jace." Isabelle whined, "You're going to make him fail out of the song."

Magnus laughed, "I probably should have mentioned that I've never played RockBand before."

They all froze, Jace with his foot halfway to Alec, gaped at Magnus. "You're not serious. You cannot possibly be serious. You haven't... you..." He trailed off, staring at Magnus as though he'd dropped out of the sky.

"Well," Magnus said, trying not to blush, "I shouldn't say that. I have played, but I wasn't exactly, uh, sober." He finished meekly and they all stared at him. Alec had long since flunked out of the game and Isabelle paused it, the music halting awkwardly.

"Wow." Simon said slowly, "That's a little weird man."

"What?" Magnus asked, "The fact I've never played it sober? Or the fact I played it drunk?"

Simon shrugged, "A little bit of both actually."

"Oh great."

"I didn't realize you were so-"

"Rowdy?" Jace offered, interrupting Isabelle and earning himself a glare. "Not going to lie, it's a little weird. Do you party a lot?"

Magnus snorted, "You could say that."

"So," Isabelle said slowly, "What you said at dinner."

"Yeah," Magnus breathed, "I'm sort of here because my mum got fed up with my bullshit and figured I could at least do something here that wasn't getting drunk off my ass. So, here I am, spending the summer here because she's convinced it will help me get my act together." He said it all quickly and looked at his feet to avoid their reactions. He was hoping this wouldn't destroy everything with Alec, but at the same time just wanted to get it out there.

"Okay." Alec said softly and Magnus looked up at him, sure that the confusion was plain on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't really think it matters," Alec shrugged. Magnus was surprised, but the others seemed to be in agreement. "You're here now, you're not an asshole by any means and I don't think the fact that you like to party really changes who you are."

Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Isabelle demanding that Magnus play 'Eye of the Tiger' as his first sober RockBand experience.

"It's not a mandatory thing Iz." Alec sighed, "Seriously, I think he can live without it."

At this Jace gasped, leaping out of his seat and startling Clary who'd been leaning on his shoulder. "You cannot skip 'Eye of the Tiger'! That would be blasphemy!" He held his finger up and spoke in a ridiculous English accent. Simon snickered in the corner and Clary was hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Play 'Eye of the Tiger'!" Simon shouted, jumping up to join Jace, "Play it good sir and feel the magic that is RockBand course through your veins."

"Oh dear god." Alec said, slamming the drumsticks into his head as Simon and Jace began to sing the words, missing the notes entirely.

Isabelle took this moment to pick the song on the actual game and Magnus turned back to the screen as they all paraded around the room, goofing off and singing horribly off key. Magnus being a rather serious party-goer had been forgotten and Magnus was comforted by the fact that his new friends didn't really care.

When the song was over, Clary got up to get something to drink and Magnus opted to join her. He followed the shorter girl into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses while she rooted around in the fridge.

"So," She said, curling a piece of her hair around her finger, "What'd you think of RockBand?"

Magnus leaned against the counter, "It's a lot easier sober, I'll give you that much." She laughed and he smiled, her laugh was like windchimes and as shrill and annoying as he thought it was the first time he'd heard it, it made Magnus happy to see her laugh. "What do you do in your spare time? I've seen a bit of what the Lightwoods do, but I fill my days with drawing."

Clary pulled away from the fridge, her eyes sparkling, "Same! I love to draw! What do you usually draw?"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Magnus shrugged, "Mostly outfits. I want to be a fashion designer some day."

She nodded, "I love drawing people, have you ever tried? Sorry if I seem so eager about this, it's nice to have someone to talk to about art. Jace tries to listen, but I can tell he finds it really boring. Alec draws as well, but he only draws buildings and things, so it's harder to talk about."

Alec drew? Magnus' knees were going weak. "Uh, no not really. I sketch my friends in class sometimes, but I've never really had the chance to draw people properly." He paused before going on, "Would you be willing to teach me?"

Clary was practically jumping up and down, glowing with uncontrollable excitement. "Yes! Of course! I would be honoured! My mum's an artist too you know, she does way better portraits than I do... And Rebecca's an artist too. She's in New Jersey for art school actually." Finally deciding on one of the plethora of juices the Lightwoods had, Clary filled a glass for them both.

"I had no idea."

The redhead nodded, "You'll have to come over some time, I'll get Rebecca to come over too and we can all just paint and draw. It'll be amazing." It was obvious to Magnus that Clary had been looking for someone to share her passion for art with for a long time.

Magnus raised his glass in cheers and she gently tapped her glass against his own. "Here's to the beginning of a wonderful friendship." He grinned.

She beamed back, "Cheers."


We finally met Clary and Simon! Thank god. Unfortunately, this is where the time skips begin.

Because I cannot write a story about three months, (it would be 90 chapters and slowly become very boring) I'm going to just focus on the highlights and skip ahead a few days/weeks to keep this story from dragging on.

I have written a few days that won't make the final cut, so maybe if there's enough people that want it, I'll post them as one-shots after the story is over? I have no idea, let me know if you think this is a good plan.

xx