The aftermath - Part 3 Of "Time is passing by, but forgetting you I could never"

How hard it is trying to forget the one you love

He should have known better, needless to say Tessa immediately noticed that he didn't want to answer her about it and that of course made her curious and she pushed to get an answer.

That had been the first time the two of them had Skyped together and even though he was happy to see Tessa on his screen, he dreaded the conversation that lay ahead.

He had tried everything in the last two months to banish Alexander from his thoughts and since the studies had started, he had been quite successful with it.

Tessa knew better than to press Magnus to speak, she knew he would tell her everything, but at his own pace, so she started the conversation and told him about London and what the three of them were doing there and that they missed him.

When Tessa had finished talking about herself, Will and Jem, Magnus knew that now was the time to tell his story and so he began, from the day he sat on the beach with Alec and they had opened their answering letters together.

He didn't leave out that he had kissed Alec and how the dynamic in their friendship had changed as a result, that he had been so stupid and brought Camille and Jonathan to Izzy's birthday party and last but not least the prom.

Tessa listened to him intently, not even interrupting him until she saw that Magnus had burst into tears, only then did she take the floor again.

"Oh Magnus, I'm so terribly sorry. I can't imagine how you must feel. And you're sure there's no going back? Have you even tried talking to him again? And what about Camille, did she really go to Stanford with you?"

"I don't know Tessa, I'm too scared to find out. Ha ... Camille ... I'll be glad if I never have to see her again. I left home when no one was there, for all I know nobody is aware that I'm gone, not even my father tried to contact me. But to come back to the topic, so far I haven't seen Camille here at Stanford and I hope it stays that way."

If only Magnus had known how right he was in his assumption that no one from his family, if one could call it family at all, had noticed that he had left.

Asmodeus and Jonathan were still trying to find out everything about Jonathan's past and to clarify the balance of power in the Syndicate, because Jonathan did not want to take his father's place at all, rather he wanted to find out who his birth mother was and was more than willing to give the Syndicate to Asmodeus.

Lilith and Camille, on the other hand, were trying to adjust to their new life in London, Lilith's birthplace. For Lilith it was not difficult to find her way back there, but for her daughter there were some difficulties, because she had no one here, but Lilith was sure that this would soon go away, with time Camille would get used to life in London and surely find a connection very quickly, Lilith was convinced of that and she was glad that they had escaped the clutches of Asmodeus, although this meant losing her son.

∞

Robert and Maryse had insisted on driving Alec and Lydia to Boston and helping them settle into the apartment they would share while they studied.

Alec had not been enthusiastic about it at all, but he could hardly refuse it either.

They had a four-hour drive ahead of them and Alec couldn't wait to finally arrive in Boston and get rid of his parents.

Lately they had become even more obsessed with the idea that Alec should finally get a girlfriend, after all he was a young man and it was about time to start looking, whatever his parents were implying, he certainly wasn't interested in any relationship, not after he had blown it so badly with Magnus and certainly not one with a woman.

He endured his parents' talk in silence and was glad that Lydia refrained from joining in the conversation too much, it almost seemed as if Lydia knew that Alec had no interest in finding a girlfriend.

But something in her expression made Alec shiver, it almost looked like she was sad.

Once in Boston, his parents could hardly wait to show them their apartment, which they had bought and furnished as a surprise for their son.

Alec would have to lie if he said the apartment was awful, no it was stunning and he could hardly wait to finally have it to himself.

Well, not all by himself, but surely he and Lydia would be able to come to an arrangement.

His parents insisted on having dinner with them and had even booked a table at a restaurant not far from their flat.

Alec would have liked to sink into the floor, he wanted nothing more than to just fall into his bed and forget, to let slumber lull him to sleep and not think about the fact that his parents expected him to have a woman by his side the next time he came home.

He let the meal wash over him and was relieved when his parents said goodbye immediately afterwards, after all they still had to drive back to New York.

The walk back to their new home, however, was anything but pleasant for Alec and he had a sneaking feeling that it was rather unpleasant for Lydia as well.

The two didn't speak a word to each other, it wasn't until they arrived at the apartment that Lydia dared to speak.

"Alec, I know, um, how should I put this... well, I realise that it's never going to work out between us, even if I wish it otherwise, but you don't have to worry. I respect you too much and I don't want to lose you as a friend. We're friends and nothing more, so don't worry about me."

Then she stormed into her room and Alec could hear the quiet sobs but was speechless and stuck to the floor. He hadn't quite processed what Lydia had just revealed to him, did that mean she had feelings for him?

∞

The start of their studies couldn't have gone better, or at least that's what both Magnus and Alec tried to tell themselves, because they wanted to concentrate fully on their studies.

Magnus had never had any problems opening up to new people and making friends, whereas Alec had always struggled with that, so he was really grateful to have Lydia by his side.

Sometimes Alec found himself thinking about how Magnus must feel, all alone in a new city, and he fervently hoped that Magnus had already made friends, but hey, it was Magnus, surely he had already made a bunch of new acquaintances and possibly friendships.

In the meantime, Magnus thought more often about Alec, what he was doing in Boston and whether he really liked it at Harvard, whether he felt alone or had already made friends.

Again and again Magnus found himself holding his mobile phone in his hand and having the message thread open with Alec, on the verge of writing him a message, but never having the heart to do so.

If only he had known that it was the same for Alec.

But they were both too stubborn and so neither of them wrote to the other, preferring instead to bury themselves in their studies and everything that went with it.

*inspired by Summer feeling - Matoma