Breathless • Malec

i. Alec

"Three roommates?" Jace asked me as he tossed his backpack onto the small dorm bed. "You're sure, Alec?"

I nodded resolutely. "That's what the letter said. And why else would there be a third bed in here?" I pointed to the other bed that was shoved up against the corner of the room. The other beds were a few feet apart on opposite sides of the walls, which were painted a light blue.

"Whatever," he mumbled angrily and began unpacking the bag. As he began tucking in the bedsheets, a knock sounded from the door.

"Who is it?" I called.

"Izzy," she chided from outside the door before pushing it open. She was wearing black leggings, combat boots and a grey tank top. "How's it going?" she asked as she looked at the nearly empty room. I had barely unpacked anything and the only things Jace had done was make the bed. His bed, to be exact.

"Not much, huh?" She smirked as she glanced around.

"What about you?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "My roommate, Clary, I think, said she could do it all."

"Help?" I asked and gestured towards the boxes of stuff. She sighed and then began unpacking.

"Why are there three beds?" she asked as she started pulling out books.

"Apparently, there's an extra roommate," Jace grimaced. "Not our idea."

"Hopefully he's cute," Isabelle raised an eyebrow and looked longingly at the bed.

"What about Meliorn?" I asked her. He had been her boyfriend-type thing back home. No matter how much she denied it, she truly did like the guy.

"We're taking a break," she snapped and began frowning. "Does it matter? You didn't even like him." She glared at me.

I shrugged. "You did, though."

Isabelle stood up and brushed her leggings off. "I'm going to go see how Clary's doing," she informed up.

"Bye," Jace and I both said in unison.

A few minutes after she left, there was a loud knock on the door. "Hello?" a male voice chorused from outside.

Jace and I both shared a look. This guy had to be the dreaded roommate. I crossed the small space and opened the door. The guy was a bit shorter than me, as most people were, with gelled up black hair. His clothes were what you could call eccentric. A shimmering black shirt with a rhinestone encrusted black jacket. He also had on tight red pants and shiny black combat boots.

He stuck out a hand and flashed me a smile. Perfect teeth. "Magnus Bane." He smirked as he looked me up and down and I felt my face flush.

"Alec Lightwood," I said back as I shook his hand.

"Pleasure," he winked and strode into the room. He wasn't carrying anything with him, which struck me as odd, then again, everything about the guy struck me as odd.

"Are you the roommate?" Jace asked, stepping closer to him.

Magnus paused, looking at Jace. He tilted his head back and let out a deep, throaty laugh. "Goodness, no." Jace and I shot each other another look.

"What exactly are you doing here, then?" Jace asked.

"I own these apartments," Magnus replied, looking around the room. "Thought I should swing by and see how my tenants are doing." He paused for a moment. "Seems like you two are doing just fine, though. And I'll leave, if the cute one wants me to."

"Thanks," Jace smirked. "But-"

Magnus let out another laugh. "Not you," he pointed at me. "Him."

My eyes went wide for a second. "We're good. Thanks, Magnus," I said tentatively. To this, Magnus just shrugged and left, closing the door softly behind him. As soon as Magnus left, Jace burst out laughing.

"What?" I asked angrily. If Jace or anyone knew what I was hiding, I would be worse than dead. The only person who knew was Isabelle, and she rarely spoke about it. She didn't really care, but I knew my parents would.

He shook his head, his blonde hair shaking lightly from his laughter. "You're face," he managed to breathe.

I shrugged and tried to keep the heat out of my cheeks. "Whatever," I mumbled. Luckily, before Jace could harass me more, yet another knock sounded.

"I'll get it," Jace announced. He opened the door for a geeky looking boy.

"And you are?" Jace asked. The boy was obviously intimidated. He was gangly with brown hair and glasses. He was only a few inches shorter than Jace.

"Simon," he managed to say after gawking at Jace and I. "The roommate."

"Ah," Jace sighed. "I'm Jace. That's Alec." He pointed to me, and then to the bed. "Your bed is there."

The boy nodded and lugged all of his stuff into the room. He was followed by a short red-headed girl.

Jace immediately looked her up and down. I could tell he liked what he saw. "What's your name?" he asked her.

"Clary," she responded. "I'm Simon's friend."

"Best friend," Simon corrected her as he began unpacking. She nodded and then began helping him.

"Just friend?" Jace asked as he leaned against the door with his arms crossed. Simon seemed put out by the question, but Clary smiled.

"Yes," she responded. "Why do you want to know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jace just shrugged. "Will we be seeing you around?"

She nodded. "Probably. Simon and I are pretty much inseparable." This time, Simon smiled and Jace frowned.

I shook my head. If she couldn't see how good Jace was, she didn't deserve him. I tried to rid these kind of thoughts from my mind, but it seemed like I never could.

We were all silent as we unpacked and tension filled the air.

Or maybe it was just me.