"Well. She was interesting." Said Jace.
I sat in the back seat with him while Magnus drove because I didn't want him to feel like he was being carted around like a spare tyre. It did mean I couldn't read my boyfriend's face so well, though.
"She can be a little... full-on." Magnus contributed. He sounded almost like he was apologising for her.
I tried to remember the impression I'd gotten when I'd first met Camille. Then I shook my head because technically that had been on a day she'd overlooked me almost completely and focused on bickering with Magnus.
He'd broken their sacred agreement to keep one another informed of whoever they were involved with, after all.
Camille had once explained to me how it had just been an expected courtesy. When you sleep with a person, you are essentially sleeping with everybody they'd ever slept with. Since that conversation I'd made a discrete doctors appointment to be tested (clean, by some miracle) and tried not to think too hard about that.
"So, this party?" Asked Jace.
Camille had successfully thrown a log on the fire that was Jace's ego when she called him 'decoration'. She and Magnus, who lived in a world where appearances were a huge deal, probably viewed that as a high compliment. I didn't really get it, given that decorations weren't remotely useful objects, but Jace had taken it well.
"Ah, yes." Magnus mused. "Alexander, Darling, would you like to come to a party?"
I rolled my eyes and kicked the back of Magnus' seat lightly. Of course I'd be going, chances were that Magnus had already agreed on my behalf anyway.
"I'll make sure you get the details." I told Jace. "I could use some normal people at one of these things."
Magnus made an amused noise when I referred to my friends as being normal. I kicked his seat again and Jace smirked at the two of us.
The School foyer was busy. In addition to the students who'd come to see the play; there were also parents and siblings and other extended family members. I recognised more than three quarters of them from years of exposure. These were the people who'd filled the hallways and the classrooms and the bleachers I had always been surrounded by.
There was something very comforting and home-like about being there again. I kept getting small urges to do things like talk to Mr Starkweather about extra-credit assignments, or ask Sebastian Verlac if he was coming to track after school.
Jace and I did wave to our old team mate politely across the room, but he was deep in conversation and only nodded back. At least, before he did a double take and nudged the person he was talking to. I was confused by the way they were both staring, for a moment.
Then I noticed a number of other people looking and realised what was going on.
A few months ago, several embellished stories about Magnus and I had been 'the' gossip at this School. I didn't even take it into consideration before I came; but what were they thinking now that I turned up on site with him?
"Don't panic." I heard Jace mutter quietly, knowing exactly what was on my mind. "Nobody is going to say a word to you about it."
"People talk, Darling." Magnus added and twinned our fingers together like he hadn't a care in the world. He smirked and kissed that hand. "Let them think the bad man corrupted you. You know it doesn't matter."
And I did. I'd gotten over this sort of pettiness and gossip a long time ago. Now I was here to watch my sister outperform everybody in her drama class and to cheer when she took her bow. Not to call people out on their misperceptions.
"It doesn't matter." I repeated. I squeezed Magnus' hand and managed to grin at Jace. "Shall we go find Clary?"
Jace's girlfriend was actually hanging out with Max and a group of his friends. They all seemed to be gaining on her height-wise and it made me want to laugh. Julian Blackthorn's hands were stained funny colours in different places and he was asking Clary about the set she'd helped to paint. Budding artist.
When we approached she smiled at Jace as he messed up my brother's hair. Max was grinning while he tried to fend him off. He thought the absolute world of Jace. My best friend was like another older brother to him; only with the added cool-factor which came from not actually being his brother.
When he was done squirming, Max explained that our parents were already in their seats. Then he took a few seconds to introduce Jace, Magnus and I to Julian. I was sure I'd met him in passing, but the Blackthorn brood was a big one to keep track of. I knew his older sister Helen best out of all of them. Now she was off dating my cousin and attending some College.
Max and Julian had been getting on like a house on fire since that incident they'd had in class with the homophobic kids. I internally grimaced. I hate the word 'homophobic'. The people it applies to aren't afraid of gay people. 'Homointollerant' would make a lot more sense.
Whatever the term was, I glanced around for any other kids in the room. I didn't want to cause any more grief for my brother or his new friend. But if there was anybody to keep an eye out for they didn't show it, and it seemed as though the boys couldn't care less.
"Shall we go join Maryse?" Magnus suggested as more people began to file in and get seated.
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and told them to go on ahead. I wanted to sneak in the back and wish Isabelle luck before she went on.
The school layout hadn't changed at all. It wasn't the kind of place to make a whole lot of renovations. The walls and lockers were the same colours they'd always been, and the changing room behind the auditorium still had that funny smell from all the things which got stored in there.
One half-dressed girl let out a squeak when I entered the little corridor leading back there, but her friend laughed at her.
"It's just Alec Lightwood." She teased.
If it hadn't been common knowledge that I wasn't going to check changing girls out before I left the school, it certainly was now. I smiled a little awkwardly and kept my gaze focused elsewhere. I'd seen Cam in her underwear once and that had been more exposed woman than I had any desire to see.
"Izzy around?" I asked, feeling bad that I didn't know their names when they seemed to know mine.
"Oh, just in there." Said one of them. I was going to assume she meant the main changing room.
"Freaking out again." Said the giggly one. She strode over to the door and stuck her head in to shout a warning. "Izzy's brother is coming in!"
There was a sound I could only describe as the sound of commotion. Half a minute later she took her head out of the room and looked at me with a nod.
"Go right ahead." She directed in a sing-song voice.
The room was very busy, which explained why some people had resorted to changing in the corridor. I had to scan for a while before I spotted Isabelle in the fray. She looked so relieved to see me that I knew coming backstage had been worth it.
Isabelle had plaited her hair the night before so that it would be wavy now and it was arranged around her face in a quasi-medieval style. She'd had her face made-up but I didn't mention how that just wouldn't have happened, given the time.
"You look amazing." I said instead. It wasn't a lie, either, she looked good. What she wasn't was accurate; but this was a small-scale school play, not a reproduction.
Izzy's broke into a smile which filled her whole face.
"Is it really busy out there?" She asked. I saw her hand shake a little.
Isabelle wasn't the nervous type - at least, she didn't seem that way to most people. I knew better. However, I also knew that as soon as she got out on stage it would take an expert to detect she was secretly terrified.
"It isn't too crowded." I said comfortingly. All the while I was thinking about the sold-out tickets and the brimming foyer.
"You're an awful liar." Izzy smirked. She always saw right through me.
"And you're a wonderful actress." I encouraged, giving the ends of her hair a quick tug - somewhere it was already loose, so that I wouldn't mess it up. "You're going to do amazingly tonight."
Izzy somehow managed to grin a little wider and threw her arms around me. There was a chorus of 'aww' sounds from some of the on-looking girls in the room. I shook my head.
"Thanks Alec, you're the best." Izzy called after me while I was on my way out. I heard a teacher come in to announce they had five minutes until showtime and hurried to go find a seat.
Thank you for reading, here's hoping that you liked it. Uploading from my mobile again, so fingers crossed it posts as planned. The next chapter should be 'Ice-Cream and Invites'.