Magnus Bane 101 (Malec AU)

Chapter 6

"Where's Magnus?" Izzy asked Alec as he came walking back over. She and Clary were folding the large picnic blanket back up before twisting into a roll and placing it under her arm. Alec tried to quickly school his shocked expression before saying
"He, uh, he had to go" he tried to explain, pointing his thumb back behind him in the direction that Magnus had run off, not looking Izzy in the eye.
He almost felt like if he made eye contact with her, then she would know what just happened.
She seemed confused but accepted.

They started heading towards the edge of the park where Simon had parked the van. Alec coming up the back of the group, frowning with his shoulders tense and hands stuffed into his pockets. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He knew he liked Magnus, was attracted to him. But he was so afraid of what people would think and say about him when he was still trying to figure it out himself.

Back at the van, with the side door open, Clary and Izzy were sat on the edge of the doorway, swinging their feet, while the boys changed their sweaty shirts before Alec, out of the blue, said
"I think I'm gonna take a walk home" much to everyone's surprise and confusion.
"You sure man? I can give you a ride. I mean, I know Izzy's staying at my place tonight, but I don't mind dropping you off first. It's gettin' kinda dark" Simon asked.
"No it's okay, I uh, kinda feel like I need to take a walk," he said "See you guys on Monday" he smiled, before stuffing his hands back in his pockets and heading off down the street.

It was only a few seconds before he heard footsteps running up behind him.
"Alec? Alec are you okay?" he heard Jace ask. He stopped, turning, not making perfect eye contact for more than a second.
"He kissed me" he blurted, as hushed as he could without causing suspicion. Not really sure why he was saying anything at all, but needing someone to confide in and who better than his best friend. "Who, Magnus?" Jace asked, surprised but not shocked.
"No, Simon" Alec replied sarcastically, "Yes, Magnus" he finished after Jace nonchalantly looked him in the eye.
"Nice. That didn't take long!" Jace smiled, much to Alecs surprise.
"Wait, what? You knew he was going to do that?" Alec asked, his eyebrows twisted in confusion.
"Alec look. We all love you. But man... you gotta wake up and smell the coffee. Look, I'm not gonna tell you who you are. That's not my place to do that, you have to figure that out for yourself. But you need to know that we all love you no matter what. Nothing would ever change that. Magnus likes you, everyone's seen it. Everyone except you" he finished, gently teasing Alec by shoving his arm with a little smile. Alec looked a mixture of relieved and confused.
"Don't over think things" Jace added "All you need to ask yourself is, Do you like spending time with Magnus? Are you happier when you're around him?"
Alec knew the answer to that. So did Jace. But neither said a word.
Jace patted Alec on the shoulder before heading back to the van to rejoin Simon, Izzy and Clary.
Alec turned to start walking as dusk was quickly approached.

--

'You're an idiot! You went way too fast! Yes, he's cute! Yes, he's interesting! Yes he's adorably sweet! But you should've taken it so much slower! You scared the crap out of him! He's never gonna speak to you again! And say goodbye to the group of friends you thought you'd made! Uhh Izzy's gonna flip!' was all Magnus could think as he walked aimlessly, head down, hands in his pockets, feeling like he'd destroyed any chance he might have ever had. He was so focused on beating himself up that he didn't notice the group of guys walking down the street in his direction, he looked up, absent-mindedly apologising after bumping into one of them before he realised who they were. It was the guys from the hallway the day before. Fear crept onto his face as he looked around to see there was 4 of them, surrounding him in a predatory fashion. "I don't want any trouble" he mumbled as he looked between them, all he wanted to do was get home. His shoulders tensed defensively as he tried to back away against the wall behind him before he felt a shove in his back.