I consented to let Isabelle chose my whole outfit for a visit to Pandemonium. I accepted the fact the jeans were tight and the belts were unnecessary and the top came into a low v shape I was not at all comfortable with. I even let her style my hair. She was completely gleeful.

Until we got there and she realised there had to be a reason I'd met all her demands without complaining.

"What's going on?" She asked with caution. I hopped out of the cab without saying anything and she followed me with furrowed brows. "Alec?"

Outside of the club Jace stood with his arms around Clary to keep her warm. Girls never wore coats or anything comfortable when they went out, even sensible girls like Clary. Tonight her dress was little and black and nothing like the rest of her closet. I took one look at Simon and wondered if Isabelle had gone around styling the whole group that night.

Jace was smirking as we drew closer. It was a knowing smirk. A she's-going-to-kill-you-smirk. I sent him a look to make him cut it out. Simon seemed uneasy. Clary was too busy shivering to look anything other than cold; so we got inside without much more ado. The presence of Izzy's mysterious VIP card always did wonders for avoiding lines.

"Maia and Kyle went in already to grab a table." Jace explained. Maia's DJ friend was playing that night and they would have been let in the back way.

"And Clary didn't go with them?" I asked. It seemed like that would be the logical thing to do when she was turning into an icicle outside.

"I wanted her to see." Jace grinned. I gave him a cutting glare as we weaved around the edge of the dance floor, towards the railings.

"See what?" Isabelle asked from the top of the stairs. The girl had the ears of a bat, to have heard us over the pounding beat.

She looked down at us all doubtfully. Simon took the steps two at a time to stand beside her. I was half way up when I noticed she'd stopped dead. Her face had that deer-in-headlights look, which she pulled off well with her round, dark eyes.

"What is he doing here?" She growled.

Just as I'd known he would be, Magnus had taken his place at the table with our other friends. The makeup had returned and he was dressed to the nines, which made him look about ten years younger in this light. Ten years younger than he was, however, was still ten years older than most of the patrons of Pandemonium. He pulled it off by the skin of his teeth by pure confidence alone. The trick to being accepted anywhere, apparently, was to act like you belonged there.

Magnus slid out of his seat and strode over to us like he owned the building we stood in.

"Isabelle, you look delightful." He greeted charmingly. She actually looked like a walking ad for HotTopic but I digress. Jace cackled when he saw the look on her face.

"Best reaction of the year!" He grinned between laughs.

Jace was making it seem like he'd been in on it the whole time; although in truth only Kyle had been told in advance that Magnus would be coming. Kyle was the one who got Magnus in. If he'd been waiting outside with our other friends, we would never have gotten Izzy to go in too.

"Jace." Magnus nodded in acknowledgement. Last time he met Jace, it had been the day we broke up. Jace had gone to pick up my car and ended up punching him in the face. Thankfully neither of them seemed all that strained by the event. "And you must be Clary?"

"Uh, yeah. Hi." She said, sending an anxious look to see how Isabelle was reacting. Our smaller friend shuffled on the spot, unsure of what stance to take. I could see her trying hard to stay neutral.

My sister was clearly seething.

Magnus' gaze didn't light on me until he'd spoken to everybody in the rest of the group. Which was a clever move on his part; showing right off the bat that we weren't 'that' antisocial couple. You know the type. The pair you don't want to take on a group outing because they'll spend the time joined together ignoring everybody else.

I glanced over to the table where Maia and Kyle were engaging in a highly charged lip-lock. Grossed out, I flipped my attention back pretty quickly.

"And you, Darling, look exceptional." Magnus purred. He touched the tips of his fingers deftly to the exposed part of my chest. Izzy cleared her throat and he dropped his hand swiftly. "Is Isabelle responsible for this? You should let her rearrange your closet."

"Damn right he should." Isabelle agreed, grabbed my arm and swerved me away from Magnus and towards the table.

I had no desire to approach my roommate and his girl at that particular moment - they obviously didn't want an interruption. But our presence didn't put the two of them off in the slightest, anyway.

"I can't believe you brought him here." My sister complained. There was already a round of drinks on the table and she was pretty quick to pick one up without checking who'd purchased them. I sure hoped it was Magnus, just for the irony of it.

"You're here with your boyfriend." I pointed out frankly. I gestured to the couple currently eating each other's faces beside us. "You all have your partners here."

Okay, so Isabelle would - and did - argue that we were there as friends first and couples second. And Magnus wasn't a friend.

"Bullshit." I snapped. "You think if you broke up with Simon he'd still be coming out with us? No offence, Simon." I threw in. I didn't want to leave him with the impression that I didn't want to talk to him. He was a nice guy; I liked him being with my little sister. "This is just an example."

"And in this example you wouldn't speak to somebody who'd hurt me." Izzy reminded me.

Then we were waiting, it seemed, for Magnus to say something. He didn't rush himself. Magnus raised an eyebrow, finished his gulp at a regular pace and collectedly set his glass down. Only after he'd taken a natural, calm breath did he say anything.

"Your point is perfectly valid." He said.

"You aren't good enough for Alec. At all." Isabelle stated, pushing right past me. Her face was stony and serious. Her posture was all attitude. I very nearly stepped in to tell her to shut it and be civil. "I think you're going to hurt him. If you don't prove me wrong, I'll kill you."

"Izzy..." I hissed at her.

"I would expect nothing less." Magnus sounded completely unruffled by any of my sister's comments. What was impressive was that a grown man like him didn't find the threats of a teenage girl laugh-worthy. I definitely appreciated that he gave her the seriousness she wanted. "Neither of us wants to see Alexander hurt, I assure you."

My sister moved to turn her attention away again, having said her piece. When Magnus held her forearm to keep her from leaving, you could see Jace's eyes bug out of his head, and Clary's mouth forming a perfect 'o' of surprise and anticipation of the worst.

"However-" Magnus said, his voice was firm as any adults' could be, but not threatening. "I expect you to keep in mind that when you try to make him choose, I am not the one hurting him."

At that Isabelle honestly was stunned. I think we were all stunned. Even Maia and Kyle weren't wrapped up in each other anymore.

To tell the truth, I'd never thought of phrasing it the way Magnus had. Never had I dreamed of blaming my little sister for causing me any pain. Though I had been annoyed with her, I always blamed Magnus and me as being the cause. We upset Izzy, we got her attitude because of it.

Part of me was about to tell Magnus off for chastising her. Part of me wanted to tell him that wasn't his place. The other part of me knew that he was right. It had just taken an egocentric mind like his to think selfishly enough to see it.

As with most things, knowing didn't bring me any joy. Izzy looked crushed and I went straight to her. Magnus had already let her go, and I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back tightly.

"Did I really hurt you?" She whispered. Her voice croaky. I was glad I couldn't see her face.

The big brother in me wanted to tell her 'no', just to make her feel better. But I didn't want to discredit what Magnus had said, either.

"It's too loud to talk in here." Is what I said instead. "We'll talk later."

Isabelle read me loud and clear. She pulled back and looked me in the eyes with the most understanding smile I'd seen in a very long time. Then she drew a shaky breath and turned away.

At first I panicked, thinking that she would bolt. Instead she grabbed Simon and dragged him to the dance floor, about to get lost in a buzz rather than think so seriously. All of our other friends followed suit, leaving just Magnus and I, exchanging glances.

"That could have gone better." I muttered as Magnus snaked an arm around my shoulders.

"And it could have gone worse." Magnus reminded me.

I always have to keep my fingers crossed for chapters like this. Thank you for reading, I hope you liked the chapter. "Magnus' Friends" should coming up soon.