Hiiiii (waves white flag). I've been busy, okay, with general nonsense and exams and rereading and rereading all of the TMI TID TBC books ready for COHF. Enjoy! Xxx
Alec walked beside Max down the street, clutching the little boy's hand. Max was probably a bit old to be doing so, but Alec had noticed how nervous and quiet he had appeared that morning during breakfast and how much he had been shaking as he had put on his jacket, so as soon as they had left the lobby of the apartment he had extended his right hand out towards his son, who had grabbed onto it like it was the only thing stopping him from falling into a pit of magma.
It was Monday – Max's first day at his new school. Bad for anyone, but Max hated new people, especially in large quantities, especially people his own age and especially on his own with a passion – it freaked him out no end. He had managed back in California because he had grown up around everyone, and had known most people in most situations – the town that they had lived in had been quite small. But New York – well, it was huge, Max would be on his own with people who had known each other for a long time. It was probably going to be horrible for him. So Alec was making allowances.
They rounded the corner, Max hopping about on the paving stones in a way that caught Alec's eye slightly. He was probably just fidgety because he was nervous. The school was just up the road from here, and Max tensed noticeably; his hand so tight on his dad's that it was almost like he was trying to break the bones of them. Alec squeezed his hand back in a way that was meant to be reassuring, and looked up to see that they had arrived at the double gates into the school. He gave Max one more squeeze and then they walked through together.
Max was terrified. His dad had walked him into the principal's office, and the adults had had a chat, and then Max had been shown to his classroom by a woman in heels the size of stakes and sat in a corner at the back of the room. He had hidden his hands in his shirt and was glancing around nervously as the room gradually filled up with other kids, chatting and laughing with each other. Thank God no one seemed to have noticed him – they were all too interested in each other, and no one was sitting on the back row yet, whether it was because he was the only one, or they hadn't arrived yet, or they were off with their mates, Max didn't know. He just sat there waiting for the day to start so that he could get it over and done with.
Eventually the bell went off and then the room really flooded with people rushing to their seats before the teacher walked in, placing a laptop and a pile of papers on his desk that looked messy and unorganised in the same way that he did. He had slightly crooked glasses perched on his nose, his curly brown hair flying all over the place. His shoulders remained a little stooped even as he stood up, a blue checked shirt open over a white tee. He looked very friendly. He turned to face the class, a crooked smile plastered across his face and eyes sparkling, and that was when Max decided that he liked him.
His new teacher rubbed his hands together and walked to the front of the class. His gaze shifted over everyone, staying slightly longer on Max before wandering off again.
"Morning guys, so first of all I'd like to introduce a new member to our class, okay so could we all be welcoming to…"
Max's eyes had widened in fear when he had realised that this new teacher was going to introduce him in front of everyone and that he was going to get a load of weird looks and comments later on. He tensed his fist under the desk, and then…
And then the classroom door burst open and a boy stumbled in, breathing heavily, his black hair messy and falling over the place. The new teacher whipped his head around and turned to look at him as the boy placed his hands on his black skinny jeans. He raised his face to look at the teacher and Max gasped. Bright blue eyes looked straight up at the man, sparkling – literally sparkling – and laughing. He seemed familiar, and then it hit Max. It was Will. His dad had sent him to the same school as Will. Maybe this day wasn't going to be as bad as he had first thought. Especially since the new teacher seemed to have forgotten about announcing the arrival of Max and was concentrating his efforts on the late arrival of Will.
"William Bane, late already! It's only the first day of term! Dear lord…"
The teacher didn't seem angry really, just a little bit exasperated, as if this was a regular occurrence. Thinking about it, it probably was.
"Sorry Mr Garroway." Will waved a hand carelessly, still panting, "Dad was working this morning and kinda forgot what time it was."
The teacher – Mr Garroway – sighed and shook his head, pushing his glasses back up his nose – they had been looking very precarious. He gestured towards the desks.
"Just sit down Will. And try to remind your dad what time it is tomorrow."
"Thanks Sir."
Will smirked and walked down the middle of the desks. Max quickly scanned the room, and saw that the only free desk was the one right at the back next to him. Mr Garroway had gone back to talking about something else that appeared to be totally random, but Max wasn't listening – he was watching Will make his way towards the desk. His eyes were on the floor, and as he approached the back, he started pulling his bag off of his shoulder and lifted his head up. His eyes that had previously looked happy were filled with a sort of worry and sadness that seemed familiar to Max, but he couldn't quite place where from.
And then the sad eyes locked with Max's, and widened. Will dropped his bag to the floor by his desk and slid onto the chair, leaning over to Max.
"Max? I thought you lived in California!" He whispered.
"I did." Max replied simply.
"Then why are you here?"
"Turns out Dad got a job in New York and we are gonna be living here."
"Neat! And then you come to my school? Well, life isn't fun without coincidences." Max narrowed his eyes.
"Dad says that. All the time." Will raised his eyebrows.
"I've never heard anyone but me and my dad say it. Well…"
"Life isn't fun without coincidences!"
They both said it; a bit too loudly. Mr Garroway broke off from what he had been saying and glared at Will, the slightest hint of annoyance written across his features. And yet still he clearly wasn't angry. He seemed strange, but Max didn't really mind. In fact, he much preferred strange people. They were always more interesting. Though sometimes a bit creepy.
"Really Will? First you're late, and now you're disrupting the class?" His eyes shifted over to Max. "Oh sorry Max. Guys, that's Max, he's new. "
And he carried on speaking, and that was it. Nobody looked at him – well a few people turned around to get a quick glance, but nothing more than that. Mr Garroway completely ignored the two of them chatting after that, clearly giving up after the fifth or maybe sixth time he had tried to shut them up, seeing it as a lost cause. The day after that was great. Will dragged Max everywhere after him, despite the fact that he was clearly very popular and had people falling over themselves to hang out with him.
When the end of the school day came, Max was about to follow the rush of people eager to get out of the classroom when he realised that Will wasn't next to him. He turned around to see that Will was still in his seat, slumped against the back and fiddling with something between his fingers. He walked back towards the other boy with his hand on the strap of his bag.
"Hey, Will, aren't you coming?" Will looked up, but if he had looked startled he quickly covered it with a look of indifference.
"Nah. My dad's girlfriend can't pick me up for another half an hour at least."
"Oh." Said Max. "Is it like that every day?"
Will nodded.
"It's no big deal."
"Why can't your dad pick you up then?"
"Oh, he has to work late. He runs a magazine, so the hours can get a bit irregular."
"Ah. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep."
Max turned and walked out of the classroom and out into the courtyard. It was pretty much empty, and so he spotted his dad almost straight away, leaning against one of the pillars of the gate donned in a black trench coat and with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck that Max recognised from one of the photos in his dad's album. When he saw Max he smiled and waved.
"Hey. How was your day?" Max shrugged.
"It was alright."
"Just alright?"
"Well, quite good actually."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, guess who is in my class?" His dad looked a bit confused.
"I have no idea."
"Will!"
"Will… is he that kid you said about that you met in the Institute?" Max nodded.
"Yeah. He's awesome."
"Well, I'm glad you made a friend." He ruffled Max's hair, and Max shook his head indignantly. "Come on, let's get home."
He took Max's hand, and they walked off down the road, heading towards the subway station. As they were heading down the tiled steps a woman with platinum blonde hair and bright red lips rushed past, wrapping a stylish black coat around her with what looked like talons. Max gazed after as she ran off, looking like she was in an awful hurry. His dad said something to him and he flipped his head around, instantly forgetting the face of the woman who had ruined his dad's life.
Will was slumped against the wall of the school, waiting. He'd lied when he had told Max that Camille couldn't pick him up on time. She could, she just didn't, because she had no interest in him, not really, and only picked him up at all because Magnus had asked her too. The bitch hated him, but she put up with him because she wanted Magnus, for his money or for his looks Max didn't know. But she didn't love his dad. She lloked at him with want, but not love. She was just using him, and he was pretty sure she was going to leave his dad heartbroken as soon as she got what she was looking for. Max had long ago given up hope that Magnus would see sense, dump her and rid their lives of Camille. He was obviously smitten. Or attempting to be smitten. Max couldn't figure out which. With Magnus it was nearly impossible to tell. He was very guarded, his emotions very well hidden, which was why it scared Will so much when his emotions got the better of him, like they had the other day.
He was rudely snapped out of his thoughts by a sharp tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see the smirking face of Camille looking down at him, as usual caked in makeup. She looked like she had been drinking blood again, her symbolic red lipstick plastered all over her lips, her nails splattered red, and a white scarf with dipped red ends. She really was a leeching vampire. A vampire who was leeching off of his father. He glared at her, and she glared back. The hatred was mutual.
"Come on then squirt."
She immediately turned and walked away, not even bothering to check if Will was following. He got up with a sigh and ran after her to catch up, his bag banging against his leg painfully – he had at least two hard back novels in there, and they dug in and hurt if they hit your leg in the right place with enough force. He walked close enough to her that he wouldn't lose her, but still kept his distance. He was pretty ashamed to be seen with her, but she was necessary if he didn't want to be stuck at school for god knows how long waiting for his dad. He could not wait until his dad deemed him old enough to get home by himself so that he could avoid this daily torture.
Will kept his silence with Camille on the subway, sitting a few seats down from her – today the train wasn't too full, so it was possible to do so without being separated from her entirely. That would be very bad, as she had the key to the apartment, and being stuck outside the apartment would probably be worse than being stuck outside the school, because there were more people likely to stab him there, and he wouldn't have an excuse to be out on the doorstep. Plus, if his dad got home and found him waiting, he would be pissed that he had walked away from Camille, but if Camille left him at school Magnus would more likely be pissed at her.
When they finally arrived at the apartment, Will dashed straight to his room without bothering to look at Camille and jumped onto his bed, slamming the door behind him, and pulled out a book. It was a copy of A Tale of Two Cities with an age faded, illegible inscription that had belonged to someone related to someone long ago. Basically, his dad had given it to him when he had realised that Will was really into books. Will opened it to the last page he had read and lost himself in the world, letting it take him away from the whole Camille situation and just forget things for a while.
So… what do you think? I'm sorry it's short; I have been really busy lately! Xxx Check out lifesabitchandthenyoureundea and whatsintheboxx, and love you Loverisapowerfulthingxx!
Thanks to my beta, The High Warlock Of Dublin! Check her stuff out as well! She is awesome!
Thanks for reading xxxxxx