Third Time's the Charm | Alec Lightwood & Magnus Bane

one

    Salem
    present

The heavy bass of the blasting music can be felt all the way from out here where we were standing a good distance away from Pandemonium.

I fold my arms over my chest to ward away the biting cold, feeling the floor vibrate between my feet with every thump.

"Are they going to be here soon? We've been waiting for over an hour," I asked in annoyance to my boyfriend, Greg, who stood with his back against the wall and smoking a cigarette.

I doubt he actually likes smoking them, but rather, only does it because he thinks it makes him seem cool. On the contrary, it only makes him look like an asshole.

"Relax, babe." He blows out a puff of smoke as he rolls his eyes and doesn't even bother sparing me a glance, "They'll be here."

The 'they' we were referring to was Greg's group of smarmy friends that I've never liked. At the start of our relationship, I didn't quite understand why he liked hanging out with them. But now, with recent developments to his quickly souring personality, I was starting to realise why.

When we first started dating almost a year ago, Greg was nothing short of the picture-perfect boyfriend, always leaving me thoughtful little gifts, flowers, and buying me my favourite desserts after work. He would ask me about my day and actually listen when I told him about it- at least it looked like he did.

But now, his temper is always short, he's constantly sulking and never lifts a finger around our shared apartment. Well...if we were going to be technical about it, it was more my apartment since I was the only one paying for me.

"Maybe we should head in first and wait for them inside," I suggested, shaking in the short dress that he insisted looked better than what I was originally wearing and threw a fit until I changed into.

"I already told you we're waiting out here, Salem," He snaps at me, "They'll be here. Chill the fuck out."

I grit my teeth fisting my hands. I didn't want to do this today since we were supposed to be celebrating his birthday, but it was clear to me that this thing between Greg and I wasn't going to work out.

Tonight. I'll do it tonight. I promised myself.

Greg's friends finally showed up after another half an hour of waiting, but my feet were already hurting from standing in my heels for so long.

His five friends all pull me into an uncomfortable full-frontal hug that I tried to avoid by raising my hands in front of me, but none of them take the hint. Greg doesn't seem too bothered by my discomfort either, which even further solidifies my decision to break up with him.

I go along with their plans for now, following behind the group as we all make our way into the club.

A frown pulls on my features as I get swallowed by the crowd. While I didn't mind a good fun night's out, this was a little much for me.

I struggle to keep my eyes on the guys as I get lost in the shuffle of chaos.

Shouldering past people who seem to have zero spatial awareness, I raise on my toes to try to see over the crowd when I'm suddenly jostled forward by a tall figure swiftly cutting through the sea of people.

I turn to pin a glare on the guy who'd knocked into me, noticing how he barely even bothers to slow down at the impact.

As if feeling my gaze on him, his footsteps come to a halt and he looks over his shoulder at me with eyebrows pulled low over a pair of piercing dark eyes.

He glances around him as if to make sure that my attention is really on him. Slowly, he turns to face me fully, the force of his intense, scrutinising gaze now on me.

Just as the guy moves to take a step toward me, a feminine hand lands on his shoulder and a girl with the same dark hair and eyes that were just as mesmerising says something to him that I couldn't hear over the thumping bass.

Whatever she says to him has him spinning around to continue down his original path without even so much as an apology for bumping into me. Asshole.

I continue to push through the crowd, trying my best to make it to the bar in hopes I'll find Greg and his friends there.

Coming up empty, I decide to make the most of the night. I'll probably enjoy the night more in my own company anyway.

I flag down the bartender and order myself a beer- mostly because I wasn't a huge drinker and didn't know what else to get- and he returns with a chilled glass bottle soon after and sets it down in front of me.

Shouting my thanks over the blasting music, I hand my card over to him and let him know that I won't be starting a tab but he holds up a hand to stop me.

"Don't worry, it's on the house!" He yells and stuffs a piece of paper in my hand.

Confused, I look down to see that it has a phone number I assumed was his and a name written on it.

The bartender, Chris, winks at me when I look back up at him and I offer him an awkward smile, knowing that I won't be using the number he's given me anytime soon.

I hurry to make my escape, diving right back into the crowd and elbowing my way through and finding myself in a quiet little corner near the front door.

I decided to settle in there, sipping my beer as I watched couples grind against each other on the dance floor when I saw the guy who bumped into me emerging from the fray.

He has his sleeves rolled up now and I push off from the wall with a start when my eyes land on the hard, black lines that mark his skin like a tattoo...only I knew these weren't tattoos; they were runes.

And this alluringly brooding guy? He was a fucking Shadowhunter.