Breathless • Malec

iii. Magnus

Now, believe when I say that I have no intention whatsoever of liking the man. Alec's just, well, he's just very attractive. So, now, I'm following him out to the parking lot of the bar I own after he basically flat-out ignored me, and honestly, I have no idea why.

As I approach him, he looks up at me from where he's sitting, on the corner of the sidewalk. "Need some company?" I ask as I flash him one of my killer smiles. He looks at me like I'm some sort of bug that crawled up his leg.

Neither of us say anything for a good thirty seconds and by this time, I'm regretting coming out here in the first place. It's beginning to seem more and more like a bad idea.

"Actually," Alec finally speaks, "I think I'd like that." I let out a sigh of relief and drop down next to him.

I study him a bit more, and as it turns out, he's even handsomer up close. I fold my hands across from lap and try to get an insight on how he's feeling- or what drove him out of the bar in the first place. Alec is staring intently at his boots and I can tell that he's out of his comfort zone.

"You're feeling upset," I say. He turns to look at me, anger written all over his face.

"You don't know the first thing about-"

"It's okay," I say, trying to defuse him. "What's going on?" I hesitate. "Was I bothering you?"

Alec sighs. "It's a messy situation."

"Care to elaborate?"

He shakes his head, and I decide not to press him. I think about the club and try to figure out the situation that triggered his anger. I didn't think that I was the root of the problem. He had been eyeing his roommate that getting pretty physical the red headed girl. And suddenly, it made sense.

He had been upset about his roommate with someone else. It seemed like the only reason that would explain his demeanor. After all, it didn't seem like he knew the redhead at all. The blonde boy, though, seemed like one of his closest friends.

"Alexander?" I ask him.

"Yes, Magnus?" he replies, still gazing at his shoes as if they're the most interesting things in the universe.

"Would you, perhaps, like a ride home? It's getting quite late."

Finally, he looks up at me with a smile on his face. "I think that's a good idea." He stands up, brushes off his jeans and then extends a hand for me to get up. I accept and he follows me to my car.

I open up the passenger's door to him and he gets in without complaint. As I get in and start up the engine, I try to make at least a little bit of small talk before getting to my point.

"So, what are you majoring in?" I ask him.

"English lit," he tells me, a wary look on his face. "Are you in college?" He asks. "Or do you just own businesses here?"

I turn down the street, heading away from the apartments. It's not like I'm going to do anything creepy. I just want to talk to the boy.

"I majored in business for about a year, but figured I could make it on my own. And, well, I was right," I smile. Alexander returns it. It's beginning to seem like he's actually warming up to me.

"Wow," he breathes. "And, uh, how old are you?" He fiddles with his fingers for a second. "I'm sorry if it came off as rude-"

"It's fine," I laugh. "I'm only 26. Don't worry." As if he had anything to worry about. I smiled at the thought that he might have asked for reasons other than a prospective friendship.

"22," Alec smiles out of relief, it seems. And damn, does that boy have a good smile.

"So," I began, knowing that the topic I was about to bring up could be a very delicate one. "Jace, that's your roommate, right?" Confusion flashed through his face, but I continued on. "The one snogging the red-head?"

Now it was anger that washed over the boy's face. "Yes," he said through gritted teeth, "that's Jace. Why?"

I tried to think of a gentle way to say it, but nothing came to me. I was stuck in a rut. "Well, Alexander, I really don't know how to say it, but," I took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't punch me. He seemed like he might at that moment. "You like him, don't you?"

Alec's face first twisted into fear, then disgust. "What?" he exclaimed, blushing bright red.

"Alexander-"

"No, why the hell would you even think that?" He balled up his fists. "I would never like another guy. That's disgusting," he sputtered, face still red.

Now I knew for sure that he did like Jace. He wouldn't have gotten so worked up if he actually didn't. Magnus guessed his reaction of repulsion stemmed from his family's views, probably very homophobic. I frowned.

Alec went on voicing his shock at Magnus's claim. "I would never, in my life-"

"Alec," I interrupted. His eyes darted back and forth and his face shone with sweat. "It's okay. I'm not judging you. At all."

"You're wrong," Alec huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm not gay. I couldn't be."

I looked at him as I pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot at his apartment complex. "You can't change who you are, Alexander." He unbuckled his seatbelt and gave me a strange, pained and scared look.

"You don't understand, Magnus," he held a hand to his forehead, brushing his hair back. He scrunched his face up, searching for the right words. "It's just... complicated," he sighed.

"Alexander," I gave him a light smile. "Trust me, I know all about complicated." Before Alec could get out of the car, I grabbed his wrist.

"Would you, uh, call me?" I hadn't ever felt this nervous about anyone before and it was confusing me.

Alec nodded, then shook his head,"I don't have your number."

"Would you like it?" God, this was awkward.

Alec nodded and bit his lip, which I thought looked very attractive. I rooted around the glovebox and finally pulled out a purple glitter marker. Hey, I like purple! And glitter. What can I say?

He laughed as I grabbed his hand and scribbled down my cell number. He opened the door and got out, glitter marker shining in the moonlight.

"Don't forget to call me," I cajoled with a chuckle.

"Don't worry," he looked back and smirked.

Turns out, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.