alec came in the back door, cheeks still flushed and breath still not under control. he had no idea what he'd done, why he'd done it.
and yet he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed it.
how right it felt.
his feelings were stupid. he hated them. they made him so confused. alec was hoping he'd be able to make a quick getaway to his room without being questioned as to why he was later home.
he had only shut his bedroom door when sister dearest isabelle walked in, looking rather distressed.
"alec? i think you'll want to see this," she said, sounding serious.
"what's wrong-" he started, but didn't get out.
new post from @/siahighschoolnews:
caption: Caught these two having a casual makeout sesh! Can you tell who they are? They look awfully like Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, don't they? Tsk tsk, boys! #malecisrealandwearetotallyhereforit
comments (108):
xotaynortonbxo: 👀👀👀 we are!
tiaxsantana_: @/ameliaxsantana_ SIS ARE U SEEING THIS WE CALLED IT
d_arren.good_en: Lightwood's gay? Fr? Damn, ngl would've liked to have known sooner...😉
notyourbitchboybane: this is absolutely not funny, delete this immediately or my lawyer will be in contact
alec swallowed. how the fuck had this happened? how had someone caught them? and how did half their school now know? he only hoped magnus texted him soon.
izzy looked up at him. "will you be okay? do you want me to talk to the account or anything?"
"i appreciate it, iz. but i have to deal with this myself. in the meantime, i have to talk to magnus."
isabelle smiled at her brother.
"alec?"
"yeah?"
"don't break his heart."
and she left. alec was about to try and protest that there was nothing between them, no feelings whatsoever. that the kiss was just a spur of the moment, and that he didn't want to do it again.
but then he thought about it, and the more he thought of it the more he realised the truth.
he was deeply in love with magnus. always had been.
he'd just never accepted himself for who he was and had turned his love into hatred, to stop people suspecting the truth.
all alec wanted right in that moment was to breakdown and cry, cry all night and all day and until his lungs gave out. he felt he was suffocating, like he was trapped without a way out.
he dropped onto his bed, lying on his side with his phone clutched to his chest, feeling a panic attack coming on. just then his mom knocked the door.
"yes?"
"isabelle told me. can i come in, sweetie?"
"please."
maryse padded over to his bed, wrapping her arms around her son in a tight hug. she was so extremely supportive of her son. it was like all the support alec's dad was supposed to have was poured into her. alec loved his mom, more than anything else in the entire world. she was the best.
"do you like him?" was all she said.
"i think so."
maryse tightened her loving grip. "hey, look. maybe it's time you were honest to everyone. maybe you should just, tell the truth. it'll feel better," she said, soothingly.
alec sighed. "i don't wanna tell anyone anything until i figure this out. i don't want magnus to be angry because i've told everyone, you know?"
"alright. just, don't hide the truth from him himself. tell him how you really feel as quick as you can."
at that moment, alec's phone dinged. it was an unknown number, but the text read 'hey, it's magnus'. maryse seemed to sense it and left.
to magnus: hey, did you see it?
from magnus: see what?
to magnus: siahighschoolnews ig???
from magnus: lmao u stupid ofc i did i'm @/notyourbitchboybane
to magnus: ohhhhhhh
to magnus: how do u feel abt it
from magnus: ehhhh i've had worse, although how r u bc ik u probs are freakin out bc it was most likely a one-off
most likely a one-off.
why did those words hurt alec a little?
to magnus: i'm not out, and to everyone in school we're the kids who hate each other soooooo life's gREAT
from magnus: hey don't worry. i'll think of smth. don't fret ur pretty little head
from magnus: o shit uhhhh
to magnus: lmao don't worry i'm glad u think so hun
from magnus: aNYWAY before i say anything else weird do u wanna hang out tomorrow??
to magnus: yeah sure, meet me at the entrance of the park opposite school at 2pm n we'll see from there
from magnus: it's a date
from magnus: SHIT FUCK I MEANT DEAL I SWEAR OH LORD
to magnus: date, deal, same thing anyways w o w u are chaotic
from magnus: they don't call me chaotic bisexual™ for nothing sweetie
from magnus: sorry i'm just mentally screaming bc ahhhhhh i just rly wanna see u after what u did,,,,,
to magnus: i kinda low-key high key wanna do it again but we're not gonna talk about that rn see you tomorrow 😛😛
even though the whole instagram thing was nagging in the back of his mind, alec tried to forget about it and focused on how he'd be seeing magnus. he decided not to tell isabelle as all hell would break loose and she'd have him up at six in the morning getting ready.
-------------
he checked the clock.
1:30pm.
okay, so maybe he was a bit eager. but magnus really wanted to talk to alec so they could figure everything out. he'd already messaged the account and told them the kiss was 'a prank'. they'd believed him, and told everyone.
the comment section of that post was...interesting to say the least.
magnus hadn't gone overboard with his outfit today; ripped jeans and a dark blue glittery shirt to match the dark blue glittery spikes in his hair. his eyes were encrusted with their trademark eyeliner and dark shadow, showing off his eyes. he decided to grab a snack and wait.
from alec: heyyy sorry i might be a bit later bc just as i was about to leave izzy caught me and now she's asking me a hundred million questions and-
from alec: HI THIS IS ISABELLE AND I'M SORRY WHAT THE F U CK SINCE WHEN WAS THIS A THING
from alec: i'm so sorry bYE
to alec: hey dw, i'll see you soon anyway :)
magnus smiled. izzy was the devil's child in teenage girl form. she, like her brother, was very attractive.
just not as much as alec.
whereas isabelle was all out there, curves and beautiful dark eyes and plump lips and knowing of her beauty, alec was not. he preferred to not show off, even though he knew how attractive he was to everyone else.
"hey! magnus!"
a flustered and red-faced alec rushed towards magnus. he'd clearly just about managed to escape his evil sister's clutches.
"hey! escaped your sister then?"
"yeah, at last. hey -are you sure you're fine with the whole school account thing? i know you said you were but it's my fault."
magnus raised an eyebrow. "oh honey you weren't doing ANYTHING wrong trust me. and don't worry -i've already talked to the account. they took the post down and everyone thinks it was a prank now. downside is that there's a lot of guys..."
alec tensed. "there's a lot of guys...what?"
"...asking when you're next available."
alec flushed even harder than before and magnus couldn't stop his laughter. eventually alec joined in laughing, and it was the most beautiful thing magnus had ever heard and seen.
"you look gorgeous when you laugh."
alec smiled and blushed. "shut up," he replied, but it was playful.
magnus took advantage of this. "hey alec?"
"yeah?"
"do you like me?"
this caused silence, followed by an array of stuttering on alec's behalf.
the poor angel.
"hm, okay then. imma say yes?"
alec yelled shut up a little louder than he intentioned.
and then muttered maybe in the quietest voice possible.
"that's a yes isn't it?"
alec nodded with the same energy that a toddler being forced to admit that they drew with crayons on the wall had.
magnus pulled him in close and wrapped his arms around him.
alec appreciated it greatly.
---------
alec had offered to walk magnus home as thanks for the day, and magnus was very happy he hadn't declined. they were walking together, arms linked, in the crisp, fresh air of september. they'd spent the day talking about school and friends and anything else that came to mind.
however there was one last thing.
"alec?"
"yeah?"
"why have we been pretending to hate each other all these years? why is the truth only coming out now?"
alec sighed. "i was confused. at the time, i was struggling to come to terms with the fact that i'm gay, and you being as gorgeous as you are wasn't helping. when i realised i was attracted to you, it made everything ten times worse. so, ever since that one lunch time where isabelle joked to me that we were perfect for each other i was terrified. i thought it was obvious. so i figured that if i pretended to hate you for a bit, suspicions would die down. but no. they didn't. so i've been living a double lie for approximately three years. pretending i'm straight, and pretending i'm not totally in love with you."
magnus hadn't expected alec would rant that much. but he really appreciated the fact that he did. they'd never been massively close; they only really saw each other at lunch times. but he'd still been heartbroken when they stopped talking, because he'd actually just summoned up the courage to ask him out. now he knew the truth.
"you...liked me? all along? all these times? wow, that's...that's actually really cute," magnus replied, grinning. "do you wanna know something?"
alec nodded.
"before you cruelly abandoned me, i was actually going to ask you out."
alec's cheeks blushed, and his beautiful hazel eyes shone, gold shimmering flecks and all. he unhooked his arm from magnus's and turned around to face him, holding his body close to his own. he leaned in, close enough that magnus could feel his breath lightly tingling his neck. "well then, maybe we should get a little taste of what those three years should've been like. and this time, maybe i won't cruelly abandon you."
the pair giggled, although magnus was barely able to stay calm because of how close and intimate this moment was. he hadn't told alec about his dad; that was a conversation for another time. he hoped he wouldn't see.
"is this the part where i ask you out?" he joked, nerves sky-high.
"definitely," alec replied, glancing up and down at magnus's lips.
"and is this the part where you say yes?"
"maybe," alec muttered jokingly.
magnus decided to give alec a taste of his own medicine.
he closed any gaps between them and they were kissing; a soft, slow and deep moment. alec's lips were full and soft -i.e, very kissable. every touch left you wanting -no, needing more. he tasted of sugar and coffee and warmth.
the kiss slowly was becoming more heated. magnus could feel his breath getting taken away. he let out a slight gasp as alec bit his bottom lip a little.
damn this kid wanted it.
damn he was an amazing kisser.
to magnus's dismay, he pulled back and kissed him on the cheek. "i'd best be going now. text me later?"
alec was already disappearing as magnus yelled, "sure! bye!"
it was actually good that he'd gone, because magnus was squealing out of happiness to himself like a child.
life was finally going to be good again.