"Oh, come now, mon petit. Don't cry..." I heard the rustling Camille's long skirts as she knelt down beside me. When I looked at her she was the very picture of concern.

Had she followed us? She must have followed us to have happened upon me in this winding tunnel. I was glad that she had, because otherwise I would have wondered along alone and popped out who-knows-where. It also meant I didn't need to explain to her what had happened. I got the impression Camille already knew what was on my mind.

"What the fuck am I going to do, Cam?!" I sobbed and took a deep breath.

Everything felt awful. Camille dabbed some kind of fabric against my cheek and I thought about how I'd cried more since meeting Magnus Bane than I had my entire life before him.

"You are going to dry your eyes." Camille sighed as she pulled her own mask off. "And we are going to leave this party."

For a second or two I thought that she was joking. Camille Belcourt, offering to give up her good time for me? There was no way.

"No, no." I said. "Don't be stupid."

"This party is stupid." She declared. Then Camille put on an incredibly bored face and sighed. "It's the same every year."

Though much beloved by fans across the globe, Camille Belcourt was known for her iconic beauty but not her kindness. She never seemed to care for others and I'd always thought she had a selfish motive behind everything. However, I didn't believe that she truly wanted to leave The Bone City because she was fed up. Cam had been having a great time when I'd seen her in the party room.

Thinking about it; I never found out why she'd decided to divorce Magnus, either. I'd assumed she had a new flame at the ready, but I'd seen no evidence yet.

We walked through the hall for a good ten minutes before we reached the surface. Camille got her phone and took a few steps out of earshot. I took the time to look around, trying to figure out where we were while letting the air clear my head. Stars aren't so easy to see in the City, but the moon was bright enough. The lights from the buildings twinkled as the people inside went from room to room, turning them on and off.

I closed my eyes to it all and cursed my own stupidity. I was sure something was wrong with me. I wasn't supposed to be the overdramatic one in the family yet I'd just completely flipped out. The more time past the less I felt invigorated and the more I felt like a complete and utter fool.

"My car is coming." Camille informed me.

"Your car drives itself?" I asked without thinking. She gave me a look and I realised she must have some kind of town car with a driver.

His name was Archer and he arrived quickly to pick us up.

Camille didn't ask me where I lived and we didn't go back to her place, either. Instead she had Archer drive us out to Brooklyn, where Magnus' apartment was.

"I don't have a key." I told her as she got out of the car. "We won't be able to get in."

"Magnus will let us in." Said Camille flippantly. She took my hand and pulled me out onto the street with her.

"He's out." I said. Magnus had told me he had a party to go to. I'd actually expected him to be back at The Bone City somewhere. I'd spent a good portion of the drive thinking about why - if Magnus was there - his ex-wife was the one trying to take care of me.

Camille rolled her eyes at me like I was being stupid. When we got inside she wrinkled her nose up at the state of the hall. Like me, Cam took the steps quickly so she could get to the apartment as soon as possible.

I wasn't expecting any result when she knocked at the door and was very surprised when Magnus opened it. He held a bowl of sweets and chocolate out like he'd been expecting trick-or-treaters. He had a happy expression until he saw me and his face fell. I must have looked like hell.

"Alexander?" Asked Magnus. "What's wrong?"

"Date gone wrong." Camille explained on my behalf. "From what I can gather, Alexander didn't want to sleep with his Boss, so now he doesn't have a Boss anymore."

Magnus got a look in his eyes that was troubled and angry at the same time. He hurried to go put the bowl down inside, tugging me along beside him. "Zach fired you?"

I shook my head and looked at the floor, knowing just how much of an idiot I would sound.

"I quit." I said.

"Oh, Darling..." Magnus cooed. He pulled me into a tight hug against his chest and his warmth chased off a cold feeling I didn't know I had.

There was quiet, and then Camille told Magnus she had to go. I wondered if she would return to the party or simply go home. Magnus thanked her for bringing me to him. He didn't seem the least bit surprised by her behaviour. This woman had been his lifeline for years.

That night I'd gotten a glimpse of what Camille was like behind her selfish front. She was a lot like Magnus when it came to hiding behind a borderline-sociopathic exterior. I could tell that there was an affectionate centre in there somewhere.

"You said you were going out." I said to Magnus when we were alone.

Long fingers were playing with my hair and Magnus' chest moved with his steady breathing. My boyfriend had a way of making everything feel right in a messed up world. He stood there until I stirred and moved myself, not pulling away until I was ready.

I headed to the kitchen area to make some coffee, just to do something normal. Magnus stopped me, saying we'd be up all night on that stuff. He started making hot chocolate because the caffeine was weaker.

"Tell me what happened." He said as he dug around in the cupboards. Magnus kept looking back at me to show that he was listening, but I didn't know what to say to him.

"I love you, Magnus." I told him the next time our eyes locked. My voice sounded weak and I closed my eyes while I internally scolded myself.

"What happened?" Magnus asked again, only this time his tone held some suspicion. It was no wonder; I was acting like a freak. "Alec?"

"You're going to be angry at me..." I stated quietly. I kept my eyes closed so that I wouldn't have to choose a place to look.

Ever the innocent one, aren't you?

I heard a sound like Magnus was blowing air out of his cheeks. I took a glance up and saw him put a hand through his hair. Then he started drumming his hands on the edge of the counter. He already seemed agitated.

"Well, you didn't have sex." Magnus stated fairly confidently. He sounded like he was ticking a possibility from a checklist.

"I wouldn't do that to you." I was sure to be insistent about that fact. I didn't even know how I'd gotten myself into this situation, let alone something like that.

Magnus slid a hot mug across the counter while he watched me with a thoughtful intensity.

"But you have done something, haven't you?" Magnus asked in the voice of somebody who didn't need to ask.

"We kissed." I was ashamed to admit. "Just once. I ran away right after."

"I see..." I sensed nothing in Magnus' tone to tell me how he was taking that information. Then Magnus picked up his drink and went to sit in the living space. I was left to follow him like a little lost puppy.

"I hated it." I told him. "Zach isn't you... It felt wrong when it wasn't you."

Magnus said nothing. He nodded to himself and took a gulp of his drink.

"I told him about you right after!" I offered in the hopes it would bring some kind of consolation. "He was really mad, but I told him. I'll never keep you a secret again."

"I'm surprised you managed in the first place." Magnus commented. I was just happy to hear him speak. His mug was just about empty by now and I felt like I'd been talking forever.

Magnus wasn't really addressing the subject or revealing how he felt about it. On another day, I might have gotten irritated, but all my anger was spent right then. I'd already yelled at one person who probably didn't deserve it that night and I wasn't planning to make a habit of it.

Magnus looked at me and sighed. I waited patiently to be told off; Angels knew that I deserved it. I'd had enough time to feel sorry for myself in the car with Camille. Now I had to face up to the repercussions of acting like a total asshole.

"Well, I'm not happy, Alexander." Magnus said. That much was obvious. Usually when Magnus used my full name it sounded wonderful, now it reminded me of being scolded more than ever.

"Is there a 'but'?" I asked hopefully.

"There is." Magnus told me, slowly. "When I compare this to what I did before, it doesn't seem right to be angry."

"It isn't about what seems right." I said. "It's about how you feel."

Magnus thought about it for another moment. I gave him the time he wanted.

"I'll be mad if it becomes a repeat occurrence..." He said, eventually.

"It will never happen again." I promised. I couldn't stress enough how much I meant that.

I promised myself as much as I was promising Magnus that I would never have another night like that again. Treating people badly and being selfish and spiteful wasn't the kind of person I was. It definitely wasn't the kind of person I wanted to become. I knew that I should have learned from the mistakes I'd seen Magnus and my Father make.

If I'd failed to do that, at least I had my own experiences to motivate me. I would not go down that road again.

Update up! Unsurprisingly we were not at all happy with Alec in the last chapter - but nobody is perfect enough to always say the right thing. Interested to see how this chapter goes down. The next one 'Lowered' will be up soon.