it was just one night.

nothing ever truly goes away // finale

wow.
this is it guys.
the last chapter.
it's been a crazy time, to be honest. i never expected this to gain as much attention as it did. in like, march, i was excited because i hit 5k. seven months later and i'm on 38.4k.
this is going to be short enough, because, well, i have a lot of planning to do.
because;
it's sequel time. i really hope it gets as much attention as this- i gained all my followers because of it as well. but i have a kinda cool plan set out for it, so stay tuned.
i'll drop a notif on this when the first chapter is ready! i think it won't be for a while- i want to be a little more relaxed, and to focus on making hatred the best i can.
so all i have to say is thank you. thank you for sticking with this story when it was absolutely shit in the middle, thank you for sticking with my whole not uploading for months thing, and also thank you for making me happy. this time last year, i was in a worse place, but i'm currently feeling pretty good.
i love you all.
stay tuned.
be prepared for another rollercoaster of weirdness.
xo,
sarah devlin.

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Simon was scared, but he knew he would be better off doing this. Asmodeus offered his creepily thin hand, and not knowing what to do otherwise, Simon took it. It only took a few seconds for reality to set in.
Then it hit him.
It felt like there was pure fire burning through his veins. He felt like his whole body was searing hot. He screamed and screamed, and at one point he even heard himself call out for Clary and Isabelle. During this, visions were whirling through his mind. And suddenly, he could see it all.
His first steps.
His bar mitzvah.
His first Hanukkah.
Every significant memory from childhood flew past his eyes, before dipping him into darkness.

Simon opened his eyes with a great effort, and found himself lying on a bed in the Institute. He gasped for air.
Wait...he was breathing. His fingers scrambled to his neck and he held them there.
A pulse.
"Simon! Simon it's okay! You're alive! You're fine!"
"...Who are you? And where am I?"

————— three weeks later —————

Isabelle still hadn't forgiven Simon for pretending to forget her. Alec and Jace thought it was hilarious.
"Hey! Excuse me! I've only been alive for three weeks, give me a break! Izzy- Iz?"
The parabatai pair fell into fits of laughter as they watched Simon fly by after their sister sauntered past.
"So how've you been? How's...he been?"
Alec's face fell a little. After the 'battle' had ended, he'd been so busy that he and Magnus hadn't had a chance to really talk. And although Alec loved Magnus, he still felt upset about his lie.
"I don't know."
Jace put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Hey. How 'bout this; you go over to his place tonight. I'll tell everyone, and you won't need to worry about a single thing."
Alec smiled. "You'd do that for me?"
Jace replied, "Of course. You know I'd do anything for you."
"Thanks. It means a lot."

———————————

Clary had been dealing with a lot for the past few weeks, and so she turned to her paints and pencils and sketch pads. They were her outlet, a coping mechanism. Sometimes Clary got lost in her art; so far so, that she almost even forgot what she was doing. There was nothing specific she had on her mind, because there was so much whirring around in there. So she put pencil to paper and set to work.
"Hey ba- oh."
"Wh-what? What is it? Huh?"
Clary rubbed ferociously at her eyes. She must've fallen asleep. Jace wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and immediately she relaxed in his soft warm hold.
"Nice painting."
Clary, who had fallen asleep, hadn't had the chance to even properly look at her own artwork, so she stepped back (careful to not hurt Jace in doing so.)
She almost burst into tears when she realised what it was.
His words still haunted her.
Her guilt of her betrayal still hung heavy, like a thick black depressing cloud.
"You were supposed to save me.
You were my princess, Clary.
You were supposed to come and rescue me from this hell.
Please.
Don't let me die.
Don't leave me all alone like you did the last time."
The painting was of her and her brother's shared dream. For years as a child Clary had this dream, where there was a prince trapped in a castle. Clary was meant to save him. But each time he cried out for help, the further away she got and the more difficult it was made for her to get to him. She tried and tried every night to get close enough to even fling up a rope, but every time, the prince was dead before she could. It was awful enough knowing this happened to her.
But as her only sibling lay dying on the floor in her arms, from a wound made by Clary herself, she found something else out.
He was having the same dream.
He cried out for the princess to help him.
Every time he was so sure she would.
But his dream was slightly different.
Each time, before he was killed, Clary turned away. She never tried.
All Jonathan had ever wanted, was someone to help him. To love him. Properly.
Clary was the only person who could've done that, and she ruined it.
"Baby, please don't cry. What is it?"
"The dream, Jace. It's the dream we both had. Look. There's me, the princess, running towards the burning castle tower with my brother at the top. I could've saved him. I really could've."
Jace took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly.
"It's okay. You have saved him; he's free from the hellish life he lived. And he's also not ever going to kill anyone again. Alright?"
Clary put her head on Jace's chest and felt him play with her hair.
"Alright."

—————————————

Magnus Bane was not smart. And right now he felt like a total idiot. Alec hadn't spoken to him in days, and to be honest, it felt awful. He really, really loved this boy, and he felt like he messed it up. Like he always did.
Heartbreaker.
That's all he was, and all he'd ever be.
"Magnus?"
A soft voice called out from the other side of his apartment door. A soft, beautiful voice. A voice that came from a mouth he'd kissed many, many times.
Magnus wasted no time in running to the door and embracing Alec. He'd just missed him so much.
There were no words. Magnus pulled Alec inside, kissing him, and shut the door. They made out heavily against the corridor wall, and eventually they ended up on the sofa.
Magnus, however much he wanted to go so, so much further, broke away. He shuffled himself further down the sofa, so that neither of them were all that close to the other. He knew they needed to discuss what happened- they hadn't had enough time for a proper explanation last day.
"You know why I'm here, right?"
Nod.
"And you know I do still love you?"
Hesitant nod.
"But you also know I need to know the truth and circumstances of what happened back there with your dad?"
Another nod.
Alec was getting a little annoyed that Magnus wasn't talking, so he decided to shuffle up and help encourage Magnus to talk by snuggling into him and putting an arm around his shoulder.
"There isn't much to say that hasn't been said. I didn't want to tell you about my father because I was scared that you'd be scared of me. I've had so many people run away screaming and terrified when I told them my dad was Asmodeus. And I really didn't want the same to happen with you, because I just love you so so much and it's been so long since I've been as happy as I am now with you."
Alec's confidence wavered a little. "Do you mind me asking- what about me makes you so happy? I mean, I know you love me but how do I make you so happy? How sad did you have to be for me to-"
"Hold on. Stop it right there. You need to stop this."
"Stop what?"
"Being so negative and hard on yourself! Look- here's what happened. I hadn't been with anyone long term since the 50's, and I was starting to get depressed. Asides from that, Valentine did put a sword through my neck so.
Probably didn't help matters much. Also, don't forget; I lived through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 90's, and life was exceptionally hard back then for any queer man. I could barely stand without getting stared at, without someone looking like they're going to vomit just at the sight of me. But now? Now it's better. And now I'm happy. I've finally found someone who I know truly loves me, is breathtakingly beautiful, and most importantly, is his own person."
Alec felt tears prickle his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He genuinely couldn't. All his childhood he'd grown up telling himself no, how he feels is not okay, forcing himself to feel something, anything for a girl, just generally hating himself to the core. In his mind, he knew he'd never get what he wanted.
"And now I have it."
"What?"
"You. You're what I've always wanted, and now I have it."
Magnus smiled and leaned towards Alec. "Oh, my darling, you have such a way with words."
Buzz.
Alec's phone.

from: iz 😳🥺
alec, please come back as soon as you can. it's urgent. jace and i have made a discovery. a very, very serious one. bring magnus along as he might be able to help. xoxo
to: iz 😳🥺
Ok sis, thanks for letting me know. Hope it's nothing too bad...although it really sounds it lmao. Love that for us!!!!

Alec looked up from his phone. "It's Isabelle. There's something seriously wrong, and they say they need you to help."
Magnus rolled his eyes. "Really? Right this second? God, the first time I get to see you in ages and not even more than a five minute makeout. Despicable! But alright."

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hey guys. i'm really sorry about how long this took but i've been super busy. i know i can't just let you guys wonder what's going on, so i've decided i'll do an epilogue type thing as a continuation of this. also, after it's up, i will still be writing for hatred but it won't be often updated, because i'm just so busy and i really need to prioritise sleep and schoolwork rn. thank you and i hope you understand, xosarah