"I can't believe you're leaving," Isabelle murmured as she tapped her number into Dahlia's phone.
"I'm going to be minutes away," Dahlia offered in reply, shrugging her shoulders, "I'll come visit."
The black haired girl nodded. "It's Alec's birthday on Monday, remember? You have to come 'round."
She smiled and nodded. "Of course I will."
Isabelle handed her phone back to her. "I put in Jace's and Alec's number, just in case you need to get ahold of any of us." She hugged the girl tightly. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you so much!"
"I'll miss you, too." She giggled softly. "But, as I said before, I'll come visit—this definitely isn't the last time we're seeing each other."
Izzy nodded, pulling away from her and smiling. Alec and Jace appeared only moments later, Alec carrying Max on his back. The seven year old was clinging to his older brother tightly.
"Bye, Dahlia," the little boy said, waving his hand and grinning.
She smiled back. "Bye, Max."
Dahlia said her goodbyes to Jace and Alec before greeting Robert and Maryse and thanking them for their hospitality. They'd both told her that she was welcome there any time she pleased.
"Dahlia!" she heard somebody call from behind her, "Wait up."
She turned around to face Jace, a shy smile on his face as he ran his fingers through his hair. "What's up?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, "I could do with some time away from the Institute."
"Be my guest," she replied, smiling.
The two made their way to the subway and got to Brooklyn after a few minutes. The two decided to walk to Magnus's loft because it wasn't that far from where they were.
When they finally reached the loft, Dahlia turned to Jace. "I guess I'll see you on Monday, huh?"
"Yeah." he nodded and smiled. "I'll see you then."
She opened her arms for a hug and Jace obliged, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her waist. She had her hands on his shoulder, forearms on his back as she hugged him tightly.
"Bye, Jace," she said, reluctantly pulling away from him.
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"Now," Magnus said, leaning back against the couch and lifting his legs to rest on the coffee table, "Tell me what's going on with this Wayland boy."
"Going on?" repeated Dahlia, raising her eyebrows in his direction as she took a sip of her tea, "There's nothing going on."
The Warlock rolled his eyes playfully and gave her a disbelieving, deadpanned look. "Okay, now tell me something that's actually true."
"There's nothing going on," she insisted, "But..." Magnus smiled at that and she continued, "I...I think I like him. Or, well, I know I like him but I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with that information.
"It's like... he makes me feel weird. For example, whenever he's around I get all happy and my stomach flutters and I blush stupidly. It's just...weird," she confessed, sighing, "And I don't know how he feels about me. He's a complicated person. On one hand, he's really sweet and kind and stuff but, on the other, he can also be very closed off."
"Flower...Lia...maybe he's just not the type to open up easily," suggested Magnus, "Maybe he's been through something that he's not ready to share, just like you. Remember that."
"I know, it's just, ever since my parabatai died my life lost all its colour," she said, taking a deep breath, "And I've gotten so used to everything being black and white—now I've hit a grey patch and I don't know how to feel about it."
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Alec was sitting on the steps of the Institute when Dahlia approached him, a small box in her hand that was neatly wrapped with a bow on top.
"Hey," she said quietly, taking a seat next to him.
He glanced at her and quickly averted his gaze, mumbling a small, "Hey."
"Happy birthday," she said and she held the gift out, "I got something for you—I mean, I know we don't know each other all that well but I couldn't help but get it."
He took it and gave her a small smile. "Thanks."
"No problem," she said, watching as he opened it carefully, not tearing the wrapping paper. He opened the box and took the gift out, examining it closely.
"It's blue fluorite," she explained, resting her head on her knees and looking up at him, "It symbolizes youth, peace, spirituality, and truth—reminded me of you."
This time, he smiled a genuine, wide smile and slipped the bracelet with the light blue, round beads onto his wrist. "Thank you, I really like it."
She sighed in relief. "That's definitely relieving to hear—I was worried you'd hate it."
Alec shook his head. "I don't."
A silence settled between them—it wasn't quite uncomfortable but it definitely wasn't an empty, peaceful, comfortable silence. Dahlia very desperately wanted to ask Alec the question she'd had at the tip of her tongue for days.
"Alec—can I ask you something?" She asked tentatively, sitting upright and turning towards him. He nodded and she continued, "Why—did I do something to...offend you or something? I just—I can't help but feel like you...don't like me..." she trailed off, waiting for a reaction.
He captured his bottom lip between his teeth, not looking at her in the eye. "I think you know the reason," he finally said, licking his chapped lips.
She nodded slowly. "You—you think that there's something going on between me and Jace," she started, "And...that irritates you because...you have feelings for him."
"I really didn't think it was so obvious," he mumbled, dropping his head in his hands and covering his face.
"It isn't," said Dahlia, slowly moving her hand to his shoulder, "But...I could tell."
He closed his eyes tightly. "Please don't tell him, he can't find out—he-he can't find out."
"Alec," she whispered quietly, squeezing his shoulder gently, "I would never. It's not my secret to tell."
Alec didn't say anything but he let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped forward.
"I just can't figure it out," she mumbled and Alec raised his head to give her a questioning look, "I can't figure out if it's the fact that you're in love with your parabatai or the fact that you're in love with a boy that makes you so scared of him finding out."
"The Clave, probably my parents, too," Alec mumbled, "They—They don't necessarily hate gay people but they definitely don't accept them, us. Who's to say Jace is any different?"
"He's your parabatai," she countered, shaking her head, "He loves you, even if it's not the way you love him, he would never look down upon you for something as simple as sexuality. You're still you."
"I'm just..." He closed his eyes. "I guess I'm just afraid of what people will say. I don't want anybody to...look at me differently because of it."
"Does anybody else know?" She asked.
He nodded. "Izzy does—she figured it out and confronted me about it."
"And she doesn't look at you any differently, does she?"
"I guess not—I mean, other than shooting me oddly suggestive looks when she sees a cute guy that she expects could be gay." He shrugged.
Dahlia laughed. "I mean, if all goes wrong, you'll still have her, won't you?"
He looked over at her. "I guess you're right."
"And if it counts for anything," she mumbled with a smile, "You'll have me."
"Thank you," said Alec, returning the smile.
"Jace is your parabatai," she said again, "A bond closer than family—he'll still love you, Alec."
"Maybe," he mumbled, "But he can't know about my feelings for him."
They fell into silence again but this time, it was much more comfortable than the last, as if an understanding had passed between them.
"Now, can I ask you something?" He asked suddenly.
She nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"I'm going to ask about that day," he said in warning, "The day you had a panic attack. I'm going to try avoiding any sudden questions."
"Okay," she said quietly.
"You had a panic attack when I asked about a parabatai," he said slowly, waiting for a reaction. When she showed no signs of a panic attack, he continued, "You said something about having a parabatai."
"What happened?" He asked finally as her breathing balanced.
She shifted uncomfortably, reaching up and tugging on one of her curls. She licked her chapped lips and thought of a reasonable answer. When she couldn't bring herself to say anything, she pulled the side of her sweater down just enough to expose her faded rune.
Alec's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the rune—the same one he had in the same place.
"My parabatai," she said quietly, "He's—he's gone."
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I can't possibly imagine what that must've been like—I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Yeah," she said, choking back a sob, "Me too."
Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she started crying, not being able to hold it back. He wasn't normally somebody who liked physical contact but, at the moment, he knew she needed to be comforted.
"I-I haven't told anybody about this," she mumbled, sniffling slightly, "So I'd a-appreciate it if you didn't..."
"I would never," he repeated her words, "It's not my secret to tell."
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A/N
1. I hope this chapter makes up for the shithole that was the previous chapter