Disclaimer: I'm not Cassandra Clare thus own none of her darling characters.

Warning (?): Contains some drinking.

CHAPTER 08 – Melodic Torment

The Warlock watched curiously as a Nephilim entered the booth unsteadily, like he was in physical pain. The boy's eyes were downcast and his black hair fell in front of his face, shading it, however, from what she could make out, she realised he was really young, probably barely an adult. His body was littered with runes as were all Shadowhunters', but that one's had a strange addition. The rune for fortitude was etched on his skin multiple times and she idly wondered why. Just then, the boy sighed and looked upwards in an exasperated gesture that she realised was directed to the song that was currently playing.

Dropping his gaze, he turned to look at her, and she saw that he had blue eyes. A beautiful shade of blue, it must have been once. Unique; "as blue as a night sky in Hell." The thought suddenly popping in her mind, surprised her. 'Who told me that?'

However, as beautiful as his eyes may have been, that wasn't the case now… They were lifeless and red, with deep dark shadows beneath them. The boy himself looked exhausted, like he'd been crying for a long time. Everything about him spoke of a great sorrow. Suddenly, the Rolling Stones' song, 'Always Suffering' which could be currently heard in the background seemed very appropriate and she understood why he reacted that way to it.

ALEC

He entered the booth where unluckily the music could still be heard loud and clear, and saw a hooded figure sitting back on the couch tangling a crimson drink in its slender fingers. "Have a drink" said a young voice. He took the glass offered to him, not caring if the whole setup was life threatening. What life was there to lose? "Thanks," Alec nodded absently as another ruthless song began playing.

Already Over Me. He flinched and downed the beverage. 'Is that Angel-forsaken DJ doing it on purpose?' he wondered angrily, and asked the girl, "Is there something stronger?". The Warlock looked up surprised and Alec saw her face for the first time. She looked very young, with long raven hair, and eyes with blood-red irises, that looked at him questioningly. Still, despite her demon mark, she was very beautiful. 'Much more beautiful than Camille…' he thought bitterly. There was something on her that made him think of his little sister, and he instantly took a liking to the Warlock.

When she leaned forward, to take a better look at Alec, a pair of black, bat-like wings unfolded from her back. Even through his agony, (and while suppressing the stab of pain that the thought of a different pair of beautiful eyes, coupled with the song playing, caused him) he knew what that demon mark must have meant. "I'm sorry." he said in a small voice. The Warlock stared at the young Shadowhunter who seemed to be on the verge of tears, surprised. "What…?" "I'm sorry…" he repeated. "It must have been hard…" The Warlock's red eyes were wide open, she was frozen in shock. "Are you… mocking me?" she raised an eyebrow, getting over the shock. 'No…' she amended, studying him, 'It didn't seem that way… then… what?'

Alec who meanwhile had dropped his gaze to the floor and was focusing on breathing again, trying to shut the forsaken music out, jumped. "NO!" he shouted. His concentration broke, and the music, a different song now, Fools in Love, hit him again."No," he went on more softly, shutting it out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you… I… kno-" his voice cracked. "I knew… someone…" 'Breathe!' he paused, taking two deep breaths to steady himself while the girl stared dumbfounded, and said quickly, to manage and get it all out. "Someone very Dear to me was the same, so I know it's hard… So… I'm Sorry…" He dropped his gaze to the floor again. "That's what I meant…" he kept breathing hard, praying he didn't mess up, causing even strangers pain now, and losing his chance to ask for her help.

In the meantime, she regained her composure "I see… Thank you. I'm surprised, Never thought I'd hear that from a Shadowhunter…Heck, I've never heard that from anybody…" Seeing the boy staring blankly at the floor again and for some reason breathing slowly like focusing to do it, she went on. "But why don't you ask that person for whatever you need? I'm guessing she's a Warlock too?"

Alec had spaced out, listening to the next song, Bright Lights, wondering how some of those lyrics could feel so spot on, but heard her question, crystal clear. He looked up, a look of immense terror and hurt in his blue eyes, looking terribly broken. "You got it wrong… I said 'Someone very Dear to me.' to him, I am nothing." His voice wavered and broke. He averted his eyes, breathing deeply to regain his composure, and went on, speaking mostly to himself, but she heard him. "How can I possibly ask someone who doesn't even want to ever lay his eyes on me again?" When he looked at her again, his eyes were pleading. "Please. Can you help me? I will give you anything you want, if it is within my power."

Did you like it? If so, you can Pm me to send you the original version to read too! (It's way better! Please do!)

P.S. I hope there aren't any mistakes, I was falling asleep while editing it, please let me know if you see any, and I'll fix them immediately!

Afternote: "As blue as a night sky in Hell." Was Magnus' description for Will Herondale's eyes which were the same as Alec's. Source: The Bane Chronicles.