scream; malec au

chapter three

Every news channel and newspaper were talking about the murders of Alice Moore and Diane Cooper. The buzz of a serial killer thrilled and terrified the civilians of Brooklyn, and the topic was on everyone's lips. Magnus' father insisted that Magnus took a couple of days off of school after Diane's murder, although he refused, saying that he was fine. 

Magnus knew himself that he was not fine, but he would deal with it and move on with his life. If he died, he wouldn't want people moping about it. Magnus had experienced mass grief before when his mother passed, and this was in no way comparable to that pain. The pain of losing a parent when you're young is similar to the pain of losing a limb.

While the murders continued to stay the hot topic in school, they were still teenagers, and everyone still wanted to have a good time. Simon decided to throw a party at his house as his mom went on a weekend trip for work, inviting practically the entire year. It was a good distraction for Magnus, as well as the others who were forced to witness the unfortunate event.

 "Did something happen between you and Magnus?" Isabelle asked Alec as she continued to put on makeup, getting ready for Simon's party. Alec looked up at her from his magazine on the bed, as he was already dressed and ready. Alec asked why she would say that, trying to hide his smile.

Isabelle shrugged, "I just saw you two hugging at the beach. Obviously, the situation was awful and we all hugged each other, but you two looked . . . different. It looked like a hug that would be shared between a couple who had been apart for years and finally reunited, not like a hug between two friends."

Alec told her she was being ridiculous, not answering the question. Magnus was clearly upset the last time that Alec saw him, and so he decided not to bother him, as he was going through a lot and probably didn't care much about relationships right now. It was strange, as Magnus and Alec hadn't kissed yet, but Alec still felt a strong worry for Magnus and how he was dealing with Diane.

Magnus hadn't confirmed if he was going to Simon's party yet, but Alec hoped that he would go. In school earlier, Alec didn't have any classes with Magnus and so couldn't talk to him, unable to find him at lunch. Everyone was affected after what happened at the beach, but it hit Magnus the hardest.

Alec left when Isabelle and Jace were finally ready, all of them walking to Simon's house as he only lived a block or two away. The house was crammed with teenagers, the sound of laughing and excited screaming booming along with the loud music. Simon greeted them at the door, a little drunk, babbling about someone throwing up.

Picking up a drink and beginning to sink into the group of people, Alec looked around curiously. He had been to Simon's house before; the looking around was used as a distraction until Alec ran into someone he knew. He caught sight of Magnus across the room, looking as lonely and uninterested as him.

Alec began to walk over, drinking more of his alcohol, seeing a small smile rise to Magnus' features when he saw Alec. "How are you?" Alec asked, his tone both casual and worried. Magnus heard the worry, laughing slightly as he said, "Diane was my friend, but I'll get over it. You don't need to worry about me doing anything stupid."

 "I'm glad. Does your dad know anything about the case? I don't want to pry but I'm so curious," Alec asked through a grin, sitting down next to Magnus after he sat down on the sofa. Magnus replied, "He's saying that he doesn't know much, but I don't know if he's concealing it from me because of my connection with Diane. He knows I can't keep a secret, either. After all, he only looks at the bodies, he isn't the police."

Alec nodded, suddenly wondering how strong his drink was as he was beginning to feel giddy. He looked down at the red liquid in the cup, then back up at Magnus, asking if it was punch. "Oh, yeah, that is basically just pure vodka. I don't know how you're drinking that." Magnus said with a light laugh, taking a sip of his bottled beer.