"Mom, you're kidding me right?" Magnus was just staring at the bags, empty and sitting on his bed. There were three enormous suitcases, staring at him and waiting to be filled. With his stuff. For his trip to Texas. Texas. Magnus Bane would be spending the summer in Texas, miles away from his friends in New York. He couldn't believe it.

His mother huffed at him, wiping her hands on her apron and giving Magnus a stern glare. "I am not kidding Magnus, you've been out partying three nights in a row and I'm fed up with it. You'll go away for the summer, it will be good for you." Her eyes grew sad, she reached over to touch his face and he flinched away from her hand, ignoring the hurt that flashed over her features. She sighed loudly and walked out of his room, calling over her shoulder, "Pack those bags Magnus! You're going with or without your things!"

Magnus growled, slamming the door harshly and rushing to call Camille. She picked up on the third ring, her voice raspy from a night of partying. "Hello?"

"Meet me at the diner."

"Why?"

Running a hand through his black hair he bit out a snipy, "Just do it." He hung up on her and relayed the message to his other friends. Jessamine, Will, Jem, Ragnor and Camille were all on their way to meet him. He left a note for his mother saying he'd be back soon to pack the bags, grabbed his cell phone and climbed out the window. Nearly falling off the trellis and cursing every god he could think of, Magnus brushed off his jeans and walked down the street.

The diner was the group's central meeting place, it was within walking distance of all their houses and sold fatty foods that were perfect for fighting off a hangover. Magnus wasn't fighting one now, he'd been designated driver last night, but as he walked in his friends were all scarfing down greasy egg sandwiches. They saw him come in and Will glared at him, reaching for Jem's glass of water after emptying his own.

"What the fuck is the meaning of this Bane?" Will said, rubbing his hand over his eyes and groaning. He was sitting next to the window and leaned his head against the cool surface, closing his eyes briefly.

Camille was wearing a large pair of sunglasses that covered her green eyes and most of her high cheekbones, "Yeah, you can't see but I'm glaring at you." Magnus snorted, waving the waitress over and ordering a plate of fries for the table.

"I'm going through a crisis."

The whole table groaned, even Jem giving him an incredulous look from across the table. The quiet boy sighed, "Magnus, if this is about the guy you hooked up with-"

"It's not." Magnus said, looking out the window and wondering what it was going to be like leaving this place for the whole summer. School had only been out for a week and he was going to be leaving. And it was the summer before his grad year, the last summer of high school and before university. He didn't even want to think of what he was going to do then. Magnus would have to spend the next summer trying to sort out his life, this summer was supposed to be the best.

Jessamine looked bored, she was sipping a sparkling soda and examining her flawless nails. Magnus wasn't sure why he called her, there was going to be no sympathy coming from her end. She could be rather self-centered and only got on well with Magnus because of their shared hate for sports, dirt and sweat.

Camille on the other hand was eyeing him warily now, "What do you mean? C'mon Magnus, cheer up!" She gave him a halfhearted smile, "We're all pretty hungover right now but there's another party on tonight. We promised this was going to be the best summer right?" Magnus stared at her, taking in her pale skin, her stark white teeth and blonde hair. She was beautiful, even hungover and Magnus reflected, a little bitterly, on their breakup. Even if they were better as friends and had been nothing but terrible as a couple, there was regret there.

"I won't be here tonight." He confessed and his friends gaped at him, they probably thought the worst. His assumption was confirmed when Will blurted out what was clearly the first thing that had come to mind.

"You're going to kill yourself?!"

"No." Magnus huffed, shaking his head and smiling at the waitress who brought over their fries with a worried look, having overheard their conversation, "Someone wake up Ragnor, this is fucking important."

Jem looked beside him, noticing for the first time that Ragnor had passed out on the table. He poked him, Jem gently trying to wake him up. Jessamine let out a delicate sigh, rolled up the plastic menu and banged Ragnor on the head. The boy jolted up with a start and blinked blearily. He smiled at Magnus and asked innocently, "What did I miss?"

"Magnus is going to kill himself." Will stated confidently, the moment Ragnor had gone to take a sip of water. Getting the desired effect and having Ragnor spit the water all down his front, Will leaned back on his chair and smiled.

Camille shoved some napkins Ragnor's way and turned back to Magnus. "So, why are you really not going to be here tonight?" She looked at him expectantly and he inhaled, everyone waiting for him to drop the bomb.

"I'm going to Texas for the rest of the summer."