Freeze

Chapter 3

Thank you for the nice reviews!

This chapter was a little hard to write but I got there in the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of the characters

Magnus sat patiently in the small coffee shop. It was the first time all week he had been patient, which was odd as he had always been a patient person. He couldn't deny the fact that he was rather happy he would be seeing Alec again.

Alec. The name had been on his mind for days. It was a lovely name. It was the kind of name that put a smile on your face when you heard it.

Magnus knew what it was like to fall for someone, he had been alive long enough to experience it plenty of times before, but something this time was different. He didn't know what it was, but he knew something was different. And that worried him.

Worrying – another thing he wasn't known to do.

Luckily he did not worry much longer as he saw Alec enter the coffee shop. He watched the Shadowhunter push his dark hair out of his face and look around with his perfect blue eyes.

Perfection wasn't something Magnus believed in. There were too many things in life for there to be anything which was simply perfect. Yet the quiet, kind and good-hearted Shadowhunter seemed to be an exception.

Magnus had been surprised when Alec had agreed to meet him. He knew Alec wasn't out yet and knew he was pushing his luck when he asked, but he had to see his sweet face again.

Finally Alec spotted Magnus sitting by the window. And he couldn't help a wave of relief wash over him.

Suddenly Alec became nervous. What do I say? I have to say something. I am terrible with words! Why can't I be Jace? The warlock noticed Alec was tense and realised that perhaps choosing to meet in a public place was not the best idea.

"Alexander," Magnus smiled. He has a nice smile, Alec thought.

He eventually let out a small "Hi."

After all this time Alec couldn't believe he didn't know what to say. He wasn't the best when it came to words but suddenly Alec couldn't speak at all. When he tried to say something he forgot, getting distracted by Magnus' gold-green eyes. Why is this happening? Alec couldn't remember ever finding it so difficult to say anything.

He was grateful when Magnus broke the silence. "How about I go get us some coffee?"

"Thanks." Alec realised he had never had coffee before. Why don't I think things through beforehand?

When Magnus returned he handed a cup to Alec and sat down again. Alec took a small sip and pulled a face in disgust. It was very bitter.

Magnus looked amused. "Never had coffee before?"

"No."

"You don't like it, do you?"

Alec shook his head. "No."

"Neither do I."

Alec couldn't help but laugh. Magnus liked it when his face lit up like that. "So... What now?" Alec asked.

The warlock thought for a moment. "Well, if you prefer tea I have plenty at my house."

"Okay." The idea of being at Magnus' house sounded terribly awkward, but Alec reminded himself: they were only friends. Plus he thought nothing could possibly get more awkward between them than it already was.


The walk to Magnus' house wasn't a long one, but it allowed them to finally speak properly.

When they reached the house Magnus held the door open for Alec as he walked inside. The loft was an untidy room with books and papers scattered across the coffee table and parts of the floor. Alec sat down on the sofa as Magnus went into the kitchen.

It was an interesting room, Alec thought. There were splashes of colour here and there and nothing about the room was dull. But something struck Alec as odd. Something about the room didn't quite seem right.

Alec looked at the table and walls. There were no pictures, he realised. In his own home, there were pictures everywhere of him, his siblings and other family and close friends. Pictures all of people they cared about. But Magnus' apartment had none. That's kind of sad.

He didn't notice when Magnus came back and placed two cups of tea onto the table. He also didn't notice the grey and white cat curled up on the floor beneath his feet.

As Alec tripped over the Chairman (who hardly seemed to notice), Magnus moved swiftly across the room and caught him before he hit the floor.

"Thanks," Alec breathed as Magnus helped him up. He had almost fallen face first into the floor. Only then did he realise how close they were. They were practically chest to chest.

For Alec, everything seemed to slow down. Magnus knew he ought to give things more time, but being so close to Alec he couldn't stop himself from bringing his lips to his.

The Shadowhunter didn't react – he didn't know how. He was in shock. And although he hadn't expected that at all, Alec didn't mind. The kiss was sweet and gentle, but Alec felt a strange energy running through his body. It felt... right.

They eventually pulled apart. Magnus smiled. That was when everything went wrong.

It was as if Alec had woken up from a dream. What just happened? He looked down. No, no, no this isn't right. This didn't happen.

"I should go."

Magnus' smile became a frown when Alec pushed him away.

"Alec..." He continued to look down and began walking quickly to the door. He couldn't look Magnus in the face. If Alec saw how he was hurting he wouldn't have been able to live with himself. He wasn't sure how to live with himself now.

"Please Alec, wait." The pain was reflected in Magnus' voice. But Alec couldn't do anything. He couldn't do anything but keep walking.

He reached the door of the building without looking up and walked out, without leaving so much as a goodbye. He didn't think he could.

As he hurried off, Magnus stood in the doorway, watching him as he disappeared into the night.


Isabelle slid into the hallway quietly. She had made it safely so far and she didn't want to attract attention in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep.

She paused. Someone else was walking through the halls, albeit much less silently than she was. It could be an intruder. She spotted something. She was definitely not alone. She decided to sneak up on the shadowy figure. As she approached she could just about make out the figure's features against the soft light coming in from the window. Strange, she thought. It looks slightly like...

"Alec?"

The figure paused. "Isabelle?"

Her brother was the last person she expected to see. "Alec it's past midnight what are you doing?" She interrupted with another question. "I haven't seen you for hours, where have you been?"

Her brother looked at her and she realised she knew the answer to her own question. "I could ask you the same thing."

The younger girl was about to respond, but stopped. He looked shaken. "Alec, what happened? Is everything okay?" She stepped towards him but he stepped away.

"Yeah, everything is fine." She knew it wasn't.

"Alec..."

"Iz," He looked her in the eyes. "Just don't."

She stopped. Recently, she realised, she had been interfering with her brother's life too much. He already had enough on his shoulders; he didn't need her constantly reminding him of his problems. She felt terrible.

Isabelle said, "Let's just forget we saw each other here tonight."

"Deal," her brother nodded.

She gently opened her door and slid inside. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said as he closed his door, but as he did she managed to catch the tears in his eyes.