Hello folks, are you still here? I hope so. I know I have no excuse for making y'all wait so long for this chapter, but life is complicated and, unfortunately, I have to work to pay the bills, so finding free time to write is getting harder and harder. But don't worry, this doesn't mean that I'll abandon this story, I'll finish it and publish new stories for as long as you guys let me. I love Malec and they'll forever be my top OTP, so if you let me, I'll share my stories with you until the end of time, just have a little patience with me and my crazy life, okay?

Anyway, as per usual, I won't say much about the chapter to avoid spoiling anything, but I really hope you like it. It's long like all the others, but it has some revelations and sweet moments here and there that I hope you enjoy reading. I'll see y'all sometime soon. There's a multi-chapter update in the near future, so keep an eye out for that.

You can find me on twitter (and tumblr) as MsAlexisCriss. If you live-tweet the story or something, make sure to tag me or use the #LFYFic hashtag so I can find your tweets.

All my love, Alexis.

Chapter 10

Alec and Simon were sitting in the lobby of the Magnolia hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, waiting for the rest of their friends to join them. The vans which were going to take them to the venue in the city, the CHI Health Center, were about to arrive. Alec was a little restless. Aline, Helen, and Maia had gone upstairs to get some stuff they had forgotten and, although they had said it wouldn't take long, it had been more than fifteen minutes already and they weren't there yet.

"What's taking them so long?" Alec questioned out loud when he noticed how late it was getting. Since the tour had started, he had always made sure all the members of his team were on time and ready to leave when Magnus's team came downstairs. It gave a good and very professional impression.

"Don't know…" Simon replied distractedly. He was busy killing time playing a game on his phone. "Women are like that." He elaborated after a few seconds, as if to instruct Alec on a subject he had no knowledge of. "They say that something won't take long, but it always does. If they say five minutes, it will take them at least ten."

"I know." Alec said, because he knew that much growing up with a sister and a mother who was...well, the reason his sister was who she was today. He might not be an expert on women, but he liked to think that he knew how most of them were and behaved.

"Your sister, for example," Simon continued, "takes hours to get ready. Her five minutes are three hours."

Alec chuckled, surely Simon was exaggerating. He knew that Izzy took her time to get ready—when he was in high school he used to share the bathroom with his siblings every morning, and if he or Jace didn't claim it before Izzy woke up, taking a shower became an impossible task. But that had been a long time ago, since then Alec had seen his sister get ready and put on her makeup in less than ten minutes.

"It's true." Simon said. "Remember the dinner at your parents' a few months ago?"

Alec nodded. After the magazine's stock market had closed unexpectedly higher than calculated in the first quarter of the year, his mother had insisted that the whole family gathered to celebrate the good news—significant others included. So both Simon and Clary, Izzy and Jace's respective other halves, had been there.

"Well, she started getting ready around ten. We were supposed to be at your parents' at five. It took her seven hours to get ready, Alec. Seven! It was a whole new record. Not that anyone's counting or anything, but-" Simon was saying when Alec's phone rang, interrupting their conversation.

"Speaking of the devil." Alec said, looking at his phone.

"It's Izzy?" Simon asked a bit alarmed.

"It's from the office, so it could be?" Alec said with a shrug. The only people who ever called him using the office phone were Izzy, his mother, and his boss, but since New York was an hour ahead of them right now, he doubted it was either of them. Usually, they both were in important meetings at this time. "I have to take it."

"Yes, of course. And if it's my girl say hi again from me, okay? We talked during breakfast, but still."

Alec nodded before standing up and answering the call. "Hello." He said.

"Good morning, son."

"Mother?" Alec questioned, trying not to sound as surprised as he felt by the fact that his mother was calling him. If he was honest, it was never good news when Maryse Lightwood called—no matter what phone she used. "I-I wasn't expecting your call, is everything okay back home?" He asked.

"Everything's just wonderful!" Maryse said. She sounded very happy, as if she really meant every word and everything was just wonderful.

"You're in a good mood." Alec couldn't help noting.

"I have every reason to be. You're a genius, son."

Alec blushed at the sudden compliment. "Why do you say that?"

"The London All-Access VIP Experience contest has been up and running since last night." She informed him.

"Oh." Alec exclaimed.

He was aware the magazine contest—which was part of a strategy to help Raphael with Magnus' fan base—was set to be released in the next few days. These past weeks, they had been working really hard on it, making sure everything was ready and sorting out all the annoying legal details which a contest of such magnitude always entailed. But he had no idea that they had launched it already. As far as he knew, the magazine was still tying up some loose ends here and there.

"I tried calling you last night to share the good news with you, but-"

"I turned off my phone when we left Des Moines." Alec said as an explanation.

Last night, after the only concert Magnus had given in the capital of Iowa, they had traveled straight to Omaha, for the two concerts that Magnus had scheduled in the city. Alec had turned off his phone the moment they had boarded Magnus's private plane and had only turned it on again this morning.

"The server went down minutes after we launched it." His mother continued. "Our IT team has been working like crazy trying to keep it up, but it's been glitching ever since. So far we've had almost a hundred thousand subscriptions, in less than twelve hours."

"That's great!" Alec exclaimed, he was genuinely excited. In part because this meant his plan had officially worked on all fronts; this now meant Magnus's fan base had something more important to focus on than his private life and also, it was great business for the magazine. One of the many rules of the contest was that all participants had to subscribe or already be subscribed to the Shadow World magazine newsletter email list to be considered for the big prize.

"It is, and all thanks to you."

"It wasn't just me," Alec said modestly, "Magnus's team helped a lot and-"

"But this contest and all the new dynamics we've been having in these past weeks were your ideas, Alec."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"But nothing, it was all you and you should be proud of what you've accomplished."

Alec smiled. "How's Max?" He asked, changing the subject. He appreciated his mother recognizing his hard work, but there was no way he would ever get used to receiving compliments. It was too strange for him, he never knew what he was supposed to say. Thank you? It sounded way too presumptuous in his opinion.

"He's fine, and I'm glad you mentioned him because I was wondering if you could talk to him."

"Why, what happened?"

"Nothing bad, but I need you to have a conversation with him about this contest. He insists that he wants to participate for the chance to win the trip, but he doesn't understand why he can't. I told him that due to legal issues, no one with connections to the magazine could participate, but he just doesn't care about that. He says he's not part of the magazine. He is, and I'm quoting, 'just another fan like all the rest and should have the chance to win the prize like them.' Your father and I tried to reason with him, but you know him, he's stubborn. He's not listening."

Alec sighed. There was no denying Max was definitely growing up and reasoning with him was no longer an option, sometimes Alec missed the sweet boy who always listened and never complained about anything. "Don't worry, I'll call him later today, okay?"

"Thank you, maybe if he hears it from you, he'll finally understand. You've always been the only one who truly gets him. Besides, he already met Magnus, what else does he want?"

"Yes, don't worry, I'll fix this."

"Thank you." She said. "And how are you? How are the others?"

"We're all fine, a bit tired with all the traveling and the crazy working schedule, but fine."

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but you all are going to have two weeks of paid vacation as soon as you're back." She said.

"Really? Well, I'm glad you did 'cause we're really going to need them." He admitted.

"Yes, I know, but don't tell your team just yet." Maryse warned him. "I don't want them to get distracted thinking about the future when they have to be working on the tour, especially Simon. If he tells your sister, she's going to focus on that instead of our work here and I can't allow that, especially now. So keep it on the down low for now, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will." Alec said. "But you do know that giving Simon two weeks off means giving Isabelle those weeks too, right? They always make trips together, she's been saving her days for a few years now, so be prepared to lose your main fashion writer for two weeks also."

"I know and I'll ask her to leave columns in advance when the time comes, but that's why I won't tell them until it's inevitable. Anyway, it was nice hearing from you, son. I'll call you some other day, okay? I have to go now, I was supposed to be in a meeting, but I really wanted to talk to you and share the good news."

"Okay, take care, mom."

"You too, and congrats again, Alec. You're really making us all proud."

"Thanks."

"Bye, son."

"Bye, mom."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Alec hung up, took a deep breath and sat down again with Simon, who was looking at him with expectant eyes.

"Was it Izzy?" He asked as soon as Alec took a seat.

"Nope, my mom."

"Oh. And how is she? Why did she call? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, she just called to tell me they launched the London contest last night—it's a success." He shared with a smile.

Simon high-fived him. "I knew it would be! It was a brilliant idea! The cherry on top to your wonderful plan."

Alec smiled again.

"How many subscriptions so far?" Simon asked.

"Almost a hundred thousand!"

"Oh my God!" Simon exclaimed in surprise.

"I know, right? It doesn't make sense, I expected a number like that when the contest was over, not in the first twelve hours."

"Well, if you think about it, it does make sense. It's an international contest for the opportunity to win an all-access experience in London to see the final concerts of Magnus's tour. It's practically a paid vacation to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with the add-on of not only meeting one of the stars of the moment, but also seeing him in concert and getting a glimpse of everything there is to see behind the scenes. I would totally sign up for it if I wasn't here already."

"Well, yeah, you have a point there, it's every fan's dream. I just-" Alec was saying when Raphael approached them.

"Good morning." He said in his usual polite and neutral tone.

"Morning." Alec and Simon replied in unison.

"Alec, can we talk in private for a second?" Raphael asked.

"Sure." Alec said, giving Simon a quick wish-me-luck kind of look and following Raphael across the lobby.

"I guess you already know the good news." Raphael said, as soon as they were far from Simon and the other people sitting in the lobby.

"I just got a call from the magazine, so yes."

"I don't even know how to thank you. This London contest you came up with was the icing on the cake you baked for us." Raphael said. He seemed genuinely grateful and at a loss for words. "I don't think you actually know this, but you probably saved my job. I've been monitoring Magnus's social media accounts since last night and the contest is everything his fans are talking about. It took you and your magazine less than three weeks to do what I couldn't do in months, first with the new dynamics in social media and now with this. I'm impressed, Alec. Truly. So thank you, you really took one for the team."

"You don't have to thank me, all this is helping you guys as much as it's helping us. It's a win/win situation for everyone."

"Yes, but you didn't need to do it. Your magazine was doing better than expected, the ones with the problem were us. Well, me and Ragnor, and you saved us both. Everything you came up with for this—from the new content the magazine is publishing, the actual contest, to the dynamics to win the signed albums, the VIP tickets, and the big trip. Everything was more than I could have ever expected, so thank you for helping us make this a reality. It would have never happened without you, so really Alec, thank you."

"Yes, thank you, Alec." Ragnor added, joining the conversation. He had just come from the hotel restaurant. "When this fool shared with me everything you had come up with to help us, I couldn't believe it. You fixed what we couldn't fix and the fact that you even vouched for us in the magazine to make this happen means a lot to us. I-"

"Vouched for you in the magazine?" Magnus asked, interrupting them. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat and dressed in sportswear. He often did light training after breakfast. "What were you three talking about? Why would Alec have to vouch for us in the magazine to make something happen?" He asked, eyeing them all suspiciously.

"Nothing." Ragnor immediately said. "You heard wrong. We were saying that-"

"Don't, Ragnor. I didn't hear wrong." Magnus said, looking at Ragnor with hard eyes. "I want to know what's going on here. Tell me, why would Alec have to vouch for us in the magazine to make something happen? We have a contract with them. So, what's really going on here? Alexander, what were you guys talking about?" Magnus asked, directing his last question to Alec.

Alec didn't know what to say, he didn't want to lie to Magnus, not after everything that had changed between them in recent weeks. "The London contest." He confessed.

Magnus frowned, confused. "The London contest? Why would you have to vouch for us in the magazine for that to happen? Wasn't that contest part of what you and your people were doing to get more engagement for the magazine? That's what you told me the day you asked me to record the video announcing it." He said, looking directly at Alec. There was confusion and maybe even anger in his eyes. Alec was too mortified to tell the difference.

"I…" Alec didn't know what to say to that. He knew exactly what he had told Magnus and why. "I…" He said again, looking desperately at Raphael for some help, but Raphael just looked at Ragnor who in turn sighed.

"We can explain." Ragnor said.

"Explain!? What's there to explain, huh!? That you all lied to me!? That you specifically disobeyed my orders!?" Magnus said, pointing a menacing finger at Raphael. "I told you I didn't want you to drag Alec into any of this and-"

"Magnus…" Ragnor said, interrupting him, "not here." He added discreetly.

Magnus had raised his voice a few octaves and now some hotel guests were aware of his presence and the heated conversation he was having with his team.

Magnus made a face of clear discontent, but stopped yelling. "My room. Now." He said in a low but very firm voice.

"Magnus," Raphael said, "the vans are about to arrive, we can talk on our way to the venue and-"

"I said my room. Now." Magnus said again, giving them one last look and storming out to the nearest elevator without adding another word. He looked really angry. Alec had never seen him like that before.

"Well, he didn't take the news so well." Ragnor said in a whisper that both Alec and Raphael could hear.

"We should-" Raphael said, pointing to the elevator that Magnus was holding open for them.

"Yeah." Ragnor said, taking a deep breath and walking towards the elevator.

Alec didn't know if he should go with them or not, he was part of this mess, but he wasn't sure if he was invited. The look on Magnus's face right now said no.

"Stay here." Raphael said as if he had read Alec's mind. "I think it's better if we handle this on our own. It's our mess after all, you had nothing to do with it. You helped us, but the decision not to tell Magnus was entirely ours."

"But-" Alec started to argue because he was just realizing that even if he wasn't invited and the idea of facing this version of Magnus scared him a little, he did want to go. He wanted to explain what had happened and tell Magnus that he hadn't meant to lie to him, that he had trusted his team knew what they were doing when they decided to hide the true meaning behind some decisions they had made.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. We know how to handle him." Raphael said, walking away.

Alec sighed in resignation, watching as the elevator doors closed behind the three men and wondering if that blooming cordiality or whatever he and Magnus had been developing in recent weeks had just been ruined.

o-o-o-o-o

Alec was distracted. He had been distracted ever since they had arrived at the venue. What had happened that morning—Magnus discovering what they had done—had been all he could think about. When he had agreed to help Raphael with all this, he had never stopped to think how much it might affect him, on a personal level, that Magnus knew about the plan and wasn't okay with. He had acted on an impulse. Raphael had asked for his help and he had just said yes, but now? Well, now he wasn't sure if what he had done had been for the best.

The 'distraction strategy' as they had been calling it and what it was going to bring professionally to both sides of this new arrangement was great, but Alec knew that the intentions behind it were what probably had Magnus so angry at the situation. For weeks, they had been using their respective platforms to manipulate Magnus's fan base and use them as they please, which was bad, but probably not as bad as the fact that they were going to continue doing so until pretty much the end of the tour.

Of course none of this was unheard off in the entertainment business, all celebrities and media outlets did it on a daily basis, the manipulation of the masses was where the money really was, but after getting to know Magnus a little better, Alec could see why even the idea might bother him. Magnus loved his fans, he appreciated and valued them, using them like this wasn't something he would approve of unless it was strictly necessary. Which left Alec thinking, had all this been strictly necessary? Manipulating them like this, with prizes and rewards, had that really been their only solution?

Deep down, Alec knew the answer to that question. Of course it had. He had been in the business long enough to know that in order to make this tour what Magnus really wanted, they would have to use his fan base in some way or another. But even so, the knowledge didn't help him to ease the feeling of uncertainty which had been slowly consuming him since that morning.

Alec sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket to see if he had a text or email from Catarina. Magnus and his team hadn't arrived yet, so Alec had called Catarina to ask if his interview with Jem and Tessa—which was supposed to take place today—was still on, but she hadn't answered. Some staff members had 'informed' him that Magnus and his team were delayed due to a last-minute emergency, but that they would be there soon. The official version that was passing around all crew members was that Magnus had hurt himself while training in the gym and he'd had to go to a last-minute checkup before the concert.

Alec knew that version couldn't be further from the truth. The last-minute emergency which had occurred had been Magnus finding out about the silly plan the magazine and his team had devised to solve the problem with his fan base and he hadn't liked it.

"Are you okay?" Aline asked, sitting beside him.

Up until a few seconds ago, he had been all alone in their small office in the venue. His entire team was busy installing cameras around the stage and getting everything ready for the concert.

"Yes, I am." He lied.

"No, you're not." Aline said. "You weren't this quiet during breakfast and you've been very pensive since we left the hotel. What happened there, huh? We saw you talking to Ragnor and Raphael when we walked out of the elevator, and practically everyone in the room noticed when Magnus showed up. He was upset, right? We could see him arguing with all of you. Did he tell you something to make you feel bad?"

Alec shook his head.

"But this is about him, isn't it?"

Alec nodded.

"Talk to me...you know you can trust me."

Of course Alec knew he could trust Aline. She was the only person who knew about his recently-developed crush on Magnus and even after a week of knowing, she hadn't told anyone about it. Not even Helen, whom she was dating. "Magnus found out we helped his team with the problem they were having with his fan base."

"And?"

"Well, he didn't take it well, he was quite upset with all of us. I wanted to apologize, but he went upstairs to talk to Ragnor and Raphael. I thought we would have a chance to talk once we were here, but look at the time, it's late and they haven't arrived yet."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure they'll make him see reason. Maybe not knowing his team had collaborated with our magazine for this extra help upset him, but I'm sure he'll understand it was something which had to be done to make his tour what he wanted it to be."

"Maybe…" Alec sighed.

The truth was, he wasn't sure about anything anymore. He knew what they had done hadn't been something bad—professionally speaking—but he also knew he didn't know exactly why Magnus had wanted to make his fans talk only about his music in the first place. He knew it was related to Camille, but he didn't know much more and Magnus's real anger could be rooted on that specific part he was missing and-

"There's something else troubling you, tell me."

"I'm afraid…" He confessed.

"Of what?"

"Of Magnus suddenly hating me?" Alec said. "I know what we did wasn't bad from a professional point of view, but we did lie to him for weeks and he doesn't like to be lied to, Aline. He's told me on several occasions that he hates two-faced people and, you know what? I'm one of those people. I've been lying to him since this tour started and-" He choked on his own words, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Breathe."

"When we were in St. Louis a couple of days ago," Alec continued after a few seconds, "...Jace called. We were talking about work and life and then he asked me about the article I said I was going to write to unmask Magnus. I told him that I was working on it, but the truth is that for days I had completely forgotten about it. I know I'm right about Magnus and that he's hiding a lot of things, some of them quite personal, I can tell you that much. There's a lot I don't know about him and I still want to discover, but I don't have it in me to-"

"-to do that to him."

Alec nodded. "Maybe I'm wrong, Aline, maybe I should do it, you know? Put aside my personal feelings and do what any other journalist in my place would with all the information I've been discovering and that I'm sure I'll continue to discover in the following months. After all, I have Aldertree's blessing to do so. He really wants me to do it. But after seeing Magnus so angry this morning and for this stupid thing we did to help him, I realized that no matter what I might discover about him in the future; even if it was something huge or bad, I would never, ever, do anything to make him so angry again."

"Well, don't write the article and problem solved. When we're back home, you can tell Izzy she was right all along, take us all to dinner at a nice restaurant, and proudly wear Magnus's merchandise for a week. I don't think wearing his pretty face on a shirt's gonna bother you that much now."

Alec chuckled. "It's not just that. Honestly? I don't care about that silly bet anymore."

"Then, what is it?"

"I've been trying to tell him."

"Tell him?"

"Yes, Magnus. Ever since I spoke with Jace, I've been trying to find the right time to tell him what I was planning on doing. I wanted to be honest and share my original intentions with him because regardless of what I feel, he deserves to know, you know? He's been surprisingly honest with me, and I want to be honest too. But now this happened and I don't know if coming clean is such a good idea after all. What if he thinks I'm just telling him to protect myself? He could think that I'm pretending to be honest with him just to earn his trust and betray him later. And, what if he already hates me? I-"

"You're overthinking everything as per usual, Alec." Aline said. "I don't know if you actually know this, but you're a terrible, terrible liar. I'm sure he'll know you're being honest with him the moment you two have the chance to talk, so try not to worry. He'll know."

"So you think I should tell him?" Alec asked.

"Yes, maybe not today, but yes. Clearly, what you feel for him is stronger than a crush, so for your own sake and-"

"It's not stronger than a crush." Alec interrupted her. "I told you, I just find him attractive, that's all. He's an interesting man, I like him as a person. As I pretty much like the rest of his team."

Aline rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to argue with you right now, you and I know you're just trying to fool yourself. You like him and you're feeling things you've never felt before. So as I was saying before you interrupted, for your own sake and the sake of whatever the future holds for both of you, you must be honest with him."

Alec sighed. "He's going to hate me."

"Of course he's not, Alec. Maybe you were a little nosy at the beginning of this whole thing, but that's part of your job as a journalist and he knows that you take your job very seriously. If I were you, I wouldn't worry so much about this impending confession. I know I'm not an expert on this kind of thing, but I don't think he's suddenly going to hate you. In fact, I think he is aware of more-" Aline was saying when the door to the small office opened and Magnus himself poked his head through it.

"Alec, can we talk in private?" He said, looking at Alec.

Alec swallowed slowly equally scared and relieved to know that at least he and Magnus were still on speaking terms. "Of course."

"Sorry for interrupting, darling." Magnus added, now addressing his words to Aline. He looked visibly calmer than he had looked that morning and was being courteous as always, but Alec could see the tension emanating from him. It was all over his eyes—Magnus had very expressive eyes. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."

"Don't worry, you didn't," Aline smiled friendly, "we were just talking about work related stuff." She lied. "But nothing too important, just a few notes that I wanted him to pass on to our bosses. I'll leave you two alone. The rest of the team probably needs me out there anyway."

Magnus gave her a very forced smile.

"I'll see you later, Alec." Aline added before walking away and disappearing from view.

"So…" Alec said once they were alone, "you wanted us to talk?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes, but not here," Magnus said, "...follow me."

o-o-o-o-o

Alec followed Magnus through the venue until they reached a staircase that led them directly to the upper section of the place—to the very last row of seats to be specific. Alec had no idea why Magnus wanted them to talk there, it wasn't as if people could interrupt them in Alec's small office. His entire team was busy getting everything ready for the concert and Magnus's team almost never set foot in there, but he didn't dare to ask either. In fact, he hadn't dared to utter a word since they had left the office.

Magnus sat in the first row to which he had access and looked at the empty seat next to him, as if inviting Alec to sit beside him.

Alec did so in complete silence. He didn't know what to expect from this talk.

"You know?" Magnus started talking. "I've always liked to sneak out and take a look at the stage and the venue when they're still empty. It comforts me in a way I can't put into words. It's like the storm before the calm, so to speak."

Alec nodded in understanding. The venue wasn't as big as some others they had visited in recent weeks, but it was big enough to manage to take Alec's breath away. Seeing the stage so still and silent when he was used to seeing it come alive every night was an experience in itself, so he understood exactly what Magnus meant. In a few hours, when people started arriving, this place, as well as the stage, were going to be crammed from corner to corner. They were going to be the opposite of what they were right now.

"The first time I had the opportunity to admire an empty venue like this one was after the release of my second EP, the one which later would turn into my first full-length album." Magnus continued. "For some reason that I still can't quite wrap my head around, people seemed to like the music of the emerging young artist that I once was and wanted me to play my songs live somewhere. I didn't think it would be possible, you know? Nobody knew me enough to want to hire me for a concert. But Ragnor being Ragnor pulled some strings and got me the chance to play in this small venue in West Hollywood—the Troubadour. It's an old nightclub, inspired by the actual Troubadour cafe in London. Many famous artists have history with that place, Sir Elton John, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, just to name a few. That was my first big concert and I remember everything that happened as if it had happened just yesterday. Have you ever visited that place?"

Alec shook his head. He had been to Los Angeles a couple of times in the past for work-related matters, but he couldn't say that he had visited any of the nightclubs or bars there. He had never been known for being a social butterfly and when he traveled, he usually did it alone.

"Well, it's not a big venue, like I said, it's pretty small. You can fit around five-hundred people all standing and that's stretching it. So imagine me, young and naive, standing with my guitar in hand at the top section of the place looking at the empty room and thinking, 'there's no way I can fill this place, there's simply no way for an unknown artist like me to accomplish this feat.' But somehow I did, and now look at me. I'm filling big stadiums and renowned venues all over the world. I have the great privilege of playing my songs in front of 20,000 people every night. It's insane! I don't tend to think about all that too much because it always messes with my head, but when I do, I can't help but realize how crazy it all actually is."

Magnus took a deep breath as if to take in the real impact of what he had just said.

Alec remained silent, he was letting the man speak. He felt as if he owed that to him after what had happened that morning.

"You work for the entertainment business, so you probably know what I'm talking about, but being famous isn't easy to handle. It may be for some people, but for me, it's been a real struggle ever since it first happened. I am no stranger to fame, to being noticed, I've told you this before, but being my father's son came with some...inconveniences. When I decided I wanted to become an artist, there were people all around me warning me about the fame that came with showbiz and how much it could change my life, and you know what I thought?" Magnus asked, although he didn't seem to be waiting for an answer. "I thought, 'I got this. I can handle fame, it's no big deal. I've been doing it all my life.' But it turned out I really had no idea how different this kind of fame was from what I was used to."

"I don't think you remember," Magnus kept going, "but during our very first interview you hit me with a question that I wasn't sure I had the right answer to: the reason behind my success. You asked me to what or whom did I think I owe my success to, and pretty boldly insinuated that it was all a combination of luck, money, and important connections."

Alec nodded very slightly. He remembered that question. In fact, he remembered every question he had asked that day.

"I didn't lie when I said that nobody had ever asked me that question before. The media don't go around questioning success, on the contrary, they feed on it and milk it to their own benefit. But you did it and made me—for the first time, if I may add—publicly answer a question that I had asked myself years ago; when I had first stood there, at the top of the Troubadour, watching an empty stage slowly getting crowded and wondering how I had gotten there."

"I…" Alec muttered. He didn't know what to say, should he apologize for asking that question? Should he let Magnus continue? If he was honest, Magnus's speech, although honest and somehow enlightening, wasn't making much sense regarding what had happened that morning.

"Hard work and sacrifices was my answer." Magnus continued. "And again, I didn't lie. When you put the words luck, money, and connections in front of that question, I realized that despite having all three aplenty, I hadn't gotten there thanks to any of them. I had gotten where I was, where I am because I had fought for it. I made tremendous sacrifices and worked my ass off to achieve all my dreams. My success was and still is just the result of it all."

"I know." Alec said because now he knew.

"People tend to think that celebrities have these perfect lives, but the truth is that we really don't. Well, at least most of us don't. We lose a lot in order to gain a bit of recognition—our lives, our privacy, and sometimes even our dignity. I love what I do, don't get me wrong, being an artist is all I ever wanted and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity I have to do what I love and actually make a living out of it. I know that not everyone is lucky enough to say the same thing, but there are days when being who I am gets a bit difficult and the realization of how much my life has changed hits me harder than it did the day before. And between you and I, I never know how to act when that happens."

"Magnus, I…" Alec said, because now the conversation made sense. Magnus was trying to justify himself for this morning and-

"Thank you." Magnus said, finally looking him in the eye.

"Excuse me?" Alec asked confused.

"Thank you."

"I…What for?"

"For what you did, helping Raphael and Ragnor with that little problem we were having with my fan base. You didn't have to do it. It was more than what you had signed up for and I'm really sorry you've been dragged into the mess that my life sometimes can be. I knew Raphael could ask for your help when I brought up the issue with him, that's why I specifically asked him not to, but-"

"You're not mad?" Alec asked even more confused. He was 100% sure that Magnus was going to be furious with him. He had every reason to be.

"Not at you." Magnus said.

"It wasn't Raphael's fault." Alec immediately said. He wasn't exactly Raphael's friend and the man certainly didn't need someone to defend him, but he understood the situation and knew why he had felt forced to ask for help even when he had been asked not to do so. In a way, Alec felt it was his duty to make Magnus see that, to make him understand that they all had done what needed to be done—professionally speaking, of course—to help him . "He was desperate and just wanted to help, he-"

"I never said I was mad at him either."

"Oh."

"I'm mad at myself." Magnus confessed.

Alec looked at him intently.

"Sometimes I forget that besides being my friends, all these people who work for me are also professionals and have to do their job. A job that, by the way, I don't make easy. Today was a huge, huge reminder of that." Magnus took a deep breath. "Did Raphael tell you why you had to do all that? Why I had asked him to find a way to make my fan base focus on my music and my music only?"

"No." Alec said, although he did know it all had to do with Camille and the rumors about their relationship.

Magnus stared at him. "And you still did it?"

"He told me it was what you wanted and-"

Magnus chuckled. "You really are your own species, Alexander." He told him with a smile. The smile was genuine, unlike the one he had given Aline, it was reaching his ears.

"Well," Magnus continued, "if you want to know why, I can tell you myself."

Alec looked at him. He knew that Magnus would have just told him in that speech he delivered earlier if he had been ready to talk about it, but it was clear he wasn't. He just felt forced to do it due to the situation.

"I do want to know, believe me, I'm very curious," Alec said, "but not yet. I don't pretend to know you, we've known each other for only a few months, but I've noticed you only talk about things when you feel ready to do it and, in fact, when that happens, there's actually no need to ask, you just talk. So let's leave this conversation for some other day, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Magnus asked.

Alec saw the flash of relief in Magnus's eyes, so he nodded. He was sure.

They remained silent after that, both of them just looking at the crew working on the stage. Alec had never felt comfortable when he was with someone and there were sudden silences. It was always uncomfortable and made him want to run and hide, but with Magnus things were different. It didn't feel as if either of them had to actually talk, they were just keeping each other company and it was enough. It felt...right.

The minutes stretched and, after a while, Magnus took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the stage. The technicians were doing some light tests and it looked really beautiful.

"It's beautiful." Magnus said, as if his thoughts were in sync with Alec's.

"It is." Alec agreed, taking out his phone and snapping a picture too. He had to upload pictures of the city to his personal Instagram account as soon as they reached their next destination—Fargo—so he might as well add a few of the venue as well.

"Will really outdid himself with this tour." Magnus shared. "When he first showed me the ideas he had for the stage design, I wasn't sure if what he had in mind was going to work. I had my doubts about all those moving platforms and how they were going to look on stage, but he knows what he's doing. He clearly does. Everything's perfect, and-"

Magnus's words were interrupted by Catarina's voice coming from Alec's portable radio. At first, Alec didn't understand everything she said, but it seemed that she was asking about Alec. He had heard his name at least three times already.

"Alec, if you can hear me, please answer." She said.

"Hi, Catarina, this is Alec." He answered immediately.

"Oh, thank God you had one of these with you today! My phone is dead and I couldn't call you. I asked Simon where you were and he had no idea. I thought I'd have to send Luke and his guys to look for you all over the venue. But anyway, I just wanted you to know that Jem and Tessa are ready for the interview. They're waiting for you along with Simon in Magnus's dressing room. Don't take long."

"Thank you, I'll be right there in a second."

"Are you going to interview them today?" Magnus asked.

Alec nodded. He had already interviewed Will, Dot, and Meliorn for the weekly behind-the-scenes special he had been working on in these past days. "My sister is going crazy with this interview in particular. Jem promised us an exclusive look at your wardrobe for the international leg of the tour."

"You sister writes the fashion section of the magazine, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, if my wardrobe for the tour drives her crazy, she should see my closet. I'm sure she would lose her shit completely. It's bigger than my own room." Magnus said.

"I don't think your room can be smaller than my entire apartment, though." Alec said. "That place you own is enormous and-"

"Not that room." Magnus added.

"Oh." Alec exclaimed. He remembered that Magnus had hinted at the existence of a different place back when they had talked about Lorenzo, but the man hadn't shared with him that story either.

"So you really only use your father's place occasionally? That's not your home, home?" Alec asked, remembering what Magnus had said when he had let it slip that the mansion wasn't really his home.

Magnus limited himself to nod.

Alec wanted to ask so many questions about that. Why did Magnus have another home? Why didn't he live at his father's house? His father was dead, so technically that mansion was now his, wasn't it? To say that he was extremely curious about the topic was an understatement.

"I'll tell you all about it someday." Magnus said, looking at Alec with a soft smile dancing on his lips.

Alec smiled. "Okay." He said, standing up. He didn't want to go, it was very peaceful up there and the company wasn't bad at all, but he had work to do.

Magnus stood up too.

"Don't." Alec said, motioning him to remain seated. "You don't have to walk me back. I know my way around, you stay here, it seems that you need a little bit of-" he tried to remember Magnus's own words, "peace and quiet again."

Magnus just looked at him and smiled.

"I'll see you later." Alec said and made to go, but Magnus stopped him, grabbing his hand in a soft and quite unexpected gesture.

Alec felt every fiber of his being come alive with the intensity of that simple touch.

"Thank you, again, for everything." Magnus said, squeezing it a bit.

Alec just smiled at him and walked away. He had the feeling that words weren't necessary at the moment. Recently, he had learned that sometimes a smile said more than words could ever say.

Alec took a deep breath to compose himself and started climbing down the stairs. It was a long way, but he felt lighter than he had the first time he had climbed them with Magnus.

He was about to reach the second half of them, when he got a notification on his phone.

««Magnus Bane just published a new photo.»»

He had activated Magnus's Instagram notifications a few weeks ago—for professional purposes, of course—so he knew when Magnus published new content. He opened the Instagram post with a quick tap on the screen. It was the picture Magnus had just taken of the empty stage. The caption read: peace and quiet.

Alec couldn't help but smile.

o-o-o-o-o

Alec entered Magnus's dressing room, both Jem and Tessa, along with Simon, were waiting for him. The only person missing to start the interview was Aline, but Alec knew she should be on her way with all the equipment. He had noticed that Simon didn't have his camera with him.

"Sorry for the delay," he said as soon as he closed the door behind him, "I wasn't sure when you guys were going to arrive or if the interview was still on, so I went for a tour around the venue to get familiar with it." He added. He knew it was better not to say where he was and with whom exactly, there was no need to give so many explanations.

"Don't worry, we didn't know when we were going to be here or if the interview was going to be possible either." Tessa said with a warm smile. "Cat just told us it was still on and practically locked us up in here with Simon."

Simon nodded. "I don't even have my camera." He said, showing his empty hands. "I was on my way to our office to get some cables we forgot, when she ambushed me and dragged me here. She asked me not to move until you were here, so I didn't. She even pointed a finger at me. I have to admit that she's a bit scary when she's stressed."

"She didn't handcuff us together because we don't have any handcuffs with us, but she was this close to borrowing some from the security team." Jem added. "We haven't even changed clothes for this, we're not interview-ready. Look at us! Magnus's glam team in sweatpants!"

Alec chuckled. Both Jem and Tessa seemed really mortified by that. "You guys go get ready while the rest of my team arrives and Simon gets his camera."

Jem and Tessa smiled grateful for the understanding of their situation and walked out of the room to go change clothes and get ready for the interview.

"How are we gonna do this one?" Simon asked. "What do you need me to bring?"

"Hmmm, whatever you used for Will's interview," he said, "it will be pretty similar. Last night I talked with Jem and Tessa about it and we agreed on some things. They're going to show us Magnus's entire process when getting ready for the concerts, so we're gonna be following them around the dressing room and filming whatever they do. First Tessa, and then Jem. They're going to ask Meliorn to volunteer to get his face done and all that."

"Okay, great! I'll go get my stuff, I'll be right back." Simon said, and just as he was leaving, Aline entered the room. She was completely out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked her.

She motioned him to wait a few seconds while she caught her breath. "I'm fine," she finally said, "I just had to run a lot and clearly, I'm not in my best shape." She explained. "Catarina practically chased me down the stage to get here. She went with me to find my camera, escorted me to the door and then left, she's stressed, man! She was muttering something about how she always ends up cleaning up the mess and trying to fix everything that everyone ruins."

Alec smiled.

"But how are you? How did the talk with Magnus go? Is he mad?"

"No, he's not. And it went well, pretty well actually. He doesn't hate me."

"Of course he doesn't." Aline said, rolling her eyes, "I told you he wasn't going to suddenly hate you for doing your job, but you love to overthink everything. Classic, Lightwood!"

"I wasn't overthinking." Alec said in self-defense. "I've had the chance to know him better and I know for a fact that he doesn't like when people lie to his face or do things behind his back. And you know that I've been doing both, so my concerns were completely valid."

"If you say so," Aline shrugged, "but I still think you were overthinking. What you've been doing isn't as bad as you think, Alec. You're a journalist, he's a celebrity with a rather sketchy behavior, it's completely natural that you're curious about it. You wouldn't be the Alec we all know and love if you weren't."

Alec rolled his eyes.

"But anyway, when do you think you're going to tell him about that article you wanted to write to unmask him, huh?" Aline asked, as she unpacked her cameras and changed the lenses.

"I don't know, I'll look for the right time. But I want it to be soon, I don't want to keep lying to him. The mere idea that he could be mad at me and hate me was…well, not something I want to experience ever again, so the sooner I come clean the better."

"Awww look at you!" Aline exclaimed with a smile, "all worried that your crush could get mad at you."

"Shut up!"

"What? It's cute!"

"It's not cute, it's stupid. What is happening to me?" He questioned out loud.

"I think you know the answer to that better than me, Lightwood."

Aline was saying when the door of Magnus's dressing room opened again and Catarina and Magnus himself walked in.

"Alexander, we meet again." Magnus said, giving Alec a soft smile.

"Magnus." Alec said to acknowledge him. It was better if he didn't say much, he could already feel himself blushing just by seeing the superstar again.

"Where are Tessa and Jem?" Catarina asked, looking around and cursing under her breath.

"They went to get ready." Alec said when he saw the look of complete exasperation flashing on Catarina's face. Now he understood what the others had been saying about her, Catarina was really stressed. "They couldn't do the interview in sweatpants, they're Magnus's glam team. They have a standard to keep." He said as a matter of explanation.

Catarina took a deep breath. "You're right, I just-well, I wish everyone here knew how little time we have to do everything today. This little... detour we took in the morning," she said, giving Magnus some killing eyes, "it's costing us a lot."

"Don't worry, I'll make the interview shorter than the others." Alec said. He knew he didn't have much time, Magnus had to be ready soon for the meet and greet, and the concert. He was lucky they still had an interview to start with.

"No, it's not fair." Catarina said. "They deserve the same amount of time as the rest, if not more, they're the only ones here who never give me a headache." She added. "That's why we're going to change things up a little bit. Jem told me that you guys were planning on asking Meliorn to be your model to show your readers Magnus's glam process. Well, I have news for you all, things just got a bit more interesting because the model will be Magnus himself."

"Oh." Alec said, quickly glancing at Magnus who was just smiling.

"He's the one responsible for this delay, so he's the one who's going to fix it. It's a win/win for everyone, isn't it? Two birds, one stone."

Alec limited himself to nod. The idea of being able to unapologetically look at Magnus without anyone discovering what he was starting to feel for him was equally unnerving as it was exciting. He was going to have an hour, maybe two to freely stare at Magnus without anyone questioning it.

"Great, so let's get this going, okay?" Catarina said. "I'll go hurry Jem and Tessa. You," she added, pointing a finger at Magnus, "don't move from here, did you hear me?"

"Yes, mom." Magnus said, in a mocking tone.

"If you were my son, you would be grounded for life already." She rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her.

"I apologize for her behavior." Magnus said, looking at Alec and Aline with a smile. "She doesn't handle unexpected changes in schedule that well. Much less when I'm the one causing them. You should have heard the lecture she gave me when we were on our way here. 'I can't believe how irresponsible you are, Magnus!'" Magnus said, making a very poor imitation of Catarina's voice. "'You're making us all late!' And while I am truly sorry for that, what's done is done, right? I had already made us stay at the hotel, there was little she could do to change that. Time travel isn't a thing yet, unfortunately."

Alec and Aline chuckled just as Simon re-entered the room. He looked at Magnus and then at Alec and Aline, as if asking what he was doing there.

"We're behind schedule," Alec explained, "so instead of using someone else to demonstrate Magnus's glam process, Jem and Tessa are going to actually glam Magnus up for the meet and greet."

"Oh, cool!" Simon said. "The readers are gonna love this."

Alec nodded. "But anyway, start setting your cameras and lights, guys," he told his friends, "Jem and Tessa will be here any minute now."

"Magnus?" Simon said. "Would you mind sitting in the makeup chair for us? That'd help us speed up the process with the lights a bit."

"Sure." Magnus said, following Simon and sitting in the chair located at the other end of the spacious room.

Alec took those seconds alone to take some deep breaths and get into his professional self again. Having Magnus there wasn't something he had been expecting, he wasn't complaining about the sudden change, but still, he had to mentally prepare himself for the next two hours.

"Lucky you." Aline said, standing next to him and whispering discreetly. "You're gonna see your man getting ready."

"He's not my man." Alec whispered back.

"But he could be."

Alec gave her a look.

"What? Don't tell me you wouldn't like that. Besides, are you blind or something? It's obvious that he's not indifferent to you. I think we all have noticed-" she was saying when Jem and Tessa, followed by Catarina and Madzie entered the room.

They all have noticed, what?

Alec had to admit it, Magnus and his team seemed to have impeccable timing. They always knew when to enter a room to interrupt important conversations.

"We'll talk later." Aline whispered with a wink and went to join Simon.

Alec barely had time to nod before he had to catch Madzie, who had jumped into his arms.

"Alec!" She exclaimed, smiling. Without her cast—which had been removed just a few days ago—she was more restless than ever.

"Hello, little one." He said, while she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "How are you today?"

"Fine." She smiled. "Bored." She added.

"We'll play later, okay?" He smiled at her and put her down.

"So it turns out," Magnus told Jem and Tessa from the chair where he was sitting, "that I'm gonna be your model for your stellar interview." He winked at them.

"We've heard." Jem said.

"Don't sound so excited, my friend." Magnus joked.

"What can I say, Magnus? You're our model every day, so…"

"True, but today we have some pretty special company, so you have to make me look not good, but great." Magnus said.

"You always look great." Tessa smiled.

Alec was internally agreeing with that statement and fighting really hard with himself not to frantically nod to help validate Tessa's argument.

"You flatter me, darling, but you don't need to get on my good side, I already love you." Magnus said, and Tessa just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," Jem said, trying not to laugh, "We're ready when you guys are."

Alec looked towards his team. Simon was making the last adjustments on the lights and microphones, but he seemed almost ready. Aline was already taking pictures.

"Just a few more minutes." Alec said.

"I have to go," Catarina added, "but call me if you need anything. Come on, Madzie, let's go." She told her daughter.

"No." The little girl said. "I wanna stay."

"You can't stay, they're working, come on let's go."

"No, I wanna stay."

"I'm not going to say this again, young lady, let's go."

"No."

"Madzie!"

"Leaver her," Magnus intervened, "I can take care of her."

"No, you can't, you'll be busy getting ready."

"But she's gonna behave, aren't you, sweet-pea?" Magnus asked, and Madzie nodded.

"Magnus…" Catarina said, "We're already delayed, kids can get restless when they're bored and-"

"She knows how to behave, Cat, she's already bored let her stay." Magnus insisted.

Catarina sighed. "If we get more delays in the schedule because of this, Magnus, I swear-"

"I know, I know," Magnus interrupted her, rolling his eyes dramatically, "You're going to kill me and give Alec's magazine the exclusive about my sudden demise from this world. Don't worry, we won't delay your precious schedule anymore. We'll all be on our best behavior." He added with a bright smile.

Alec suppressed the urge to laugh.

"Fine. But consider yourself warned." She raised her finger.

"Yes, ma'am."

"If you need me to take her away," Catarina added, looking exclusively at Alec, "Just call me. She knows how to behave, but she's a kid, I know things can get...complicated."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine." Alec smiled.

She took a deep breath, warned her daughter to behave and let everyone do their job, and left the room without adding another word. She wasn't in her best mood today, that much was clear.

Alec started to take out all his stuff while Tessa and Magnus got ready for the first part of the interview. Alec had prepared a series of questions and, as usual, he wanted to record the interview. This one was going to be longer since he would be interviewing two people at the same time, so he had to make sure to have not only an audio copy of everything, but also to take a lot of notes. Remembering what had been said in long interviews was always a difficult task.

"What's that?" Madzie asked, pointing to the tape recorder Alec had just placed on the small coffee table.

"A tape recorder." Alec said.

"What is it for?"

"To record stuff—audio. I use it to record my interviews and listen to them again later, when I'm writing the articles for the magazine."

"And what's that?" She asked, pointing to a microphone that Simon was finishing installing.

"That's a microphone, we use it to hear more clearly what the people we're interviewing say."

"And what's that?" She asked, now pointing to a series of lenses that Aline had unpacked and placed on the floor for easy reach.

"Those are camera lenses," Alec explained, "Aline uses them to get different hmmm, pictures." He said. He didn't have time to explain all this to Madzie, but he knew the girl was bored and seeing all these new things made her curious. Besides, she was at that age—the age at which kids asked absolutely everything.

"Are you going to interview Uncle Magnus?" She asked, eyeing the whole set up.

"Not today. I'm going to interview your Uncle Jem and your Aunty Tessa. They're gonna show me how they help your Uncle Magnus get ready for his concerts."

"Really?"

"Yes," Jem chimed in, "I'm going to show Alec and his friends all of Uncle Magnus's pretty clothes. But right now, I need you to let Alec work, okay?" He said. Surely, he had noticed that the little girl was distracting Alec a lot.

"Can I show him my clothes too? The ones you made for my doll? They're like Uncle Magnus's."

"Not right now, sweetheart, we have work to do, but I'm sure Alec and his friends would love to see them some other day."

Madzie got a bit sad and Alec couldn't really handle it. Kids were a soft spot for him.

"You know what?" Alec said, kneeling beside her. "If you want, once I'm done interviewing them, I can interview you and your doll...Cindy," he said, remembering the doll's name, "And you both can show us all the amazing clothes you have."

"Really?" The girl asked. She had lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Yes, but for that to happen, right now I need you to go sit back there and let us finish this first, okay? You can rehearse what you're going to say, interviews aren't easy. You need to know what you're going to answer and what you're going to share with the audience. You have to be prepared."

Madzie nodded, ran to the chair Alec had pointed at and sat down immediately, taking her doll out of her bag and sitting it next to her, probably to make sure they both were ready for their 'interview' later.

"You're good with kids." Jem said with a smile.

"I like kids." Alec shared.

"Do you want to have your own someday?"

"That's the dream." He answered sincerely, although at the moment it was hard for him to picture himself with kids and a family when he didn't even have a boyfriend.

"I'm sure one day you'll be a great dad. I don't think I've ever asked you this, but are you dating someone? Are you already engaged? Married?" Jem asked casually.

"No, I'm-"

"Everything is ready." Simon interrupted him.

"Oh, okay, let's do this." Alec smiled. "I…" he added, looking at Jem.

"Go do your job, I'll take care of Madzie until it's my turn."

"Thanks." He smiled and joined the others.

o-o-o-o-o

Alec climbed the stairs that led to the box where, along with Magnus's team, he would watch Magnus's concert. The place was empty at the moment, but that didn't really surprise him, it was still early—the band in charge of opening the concert was still on stage.

He smiled and taking advantage of the unusual situation—he almost never had the opportunity to choose where to sit—he took the best seat. The one that gave him a full view of the stage.

The truth was, after thirty concerts, seeing Magnus on stage had become something that Alec could do almost on his sleep. He certainly didn't need the best seat to be able to do his job, he knew what he had to do and what he had to particularly pay attention to in order to write a great review. However, lately, he hadn't just been watching the concerts from a professional point of view, but from a personal one too. And for that, well, for that he did need the best of seats.

"Thank you, Omaha, and good night!" The band's vocalist said when he finished what Alec assumed was their last song.

The audience clapped and Alec could feel the usual buzz of anticipation that tended to fill all the venues seconds after the opening act was over. Alec knew that from there, he would only have to kill about fifteen or twenty minutes before Magnus took the stage.

"Alec!" Raphael said, entering the box and taking a seat next to him. It seemed that both Ragnor and Will were a bit late. "I've been trying to talk to you all afternoon, but first you were busy interviewing Jem and Tessa, and then I was busy with the meet and greet."

"It's been a complicated day." Alec said with a smile. "A lot of work and very little time."

"Tell me about it!" Raphael added with a chuckle. "But anyway, I wanted to apologize for this morning, I-"

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize."

"Yes, I do. I shouldn't have asked for your help in the first place. Magnus had specifically asked me not to get you or your magazine involved in all this and I still did it, so for that, I'm sorry. I'm not completely sorry for what we did once I asked for your help, everything worked out for both of us, so I don't regret that. But I do want to formally apologize for dragging you into all this mess and getting you into trouble with Magnus. I know he went to talk to you after we got here and he was still mad, so I also want to apologize on his behalf if he was an ass towards you. He's usually very reasonable when it comes to understanding this kind of thing, he knows that sometimes we have to make complicated decisions for his own good, but sometimes he can also be a bit of a jerk."

"He wasn't mad at me." Alec said.

"I know, but he was still very much upset at the situation, so I wanted to make sure he hadn't done anything stupid. He's an expert on that."

"He just thanked me for helping you, that's all."

"I'm really glad to hear that." Raphael said, seeming relieved.

"You were actually worried about this, weren't you?" Alec couldn't help asking. "You thought he was going to get mad at me." He said, trying not to lose his temper. The fact Raphael could have known that Magnus was going to get mad at Alec for helping him with this and never told him bothered him.

"No, on the contrary. I knew he couldn't get mad at you, that's why although I knew I could get into a lot of trouble if Magnus found out, I asked for your help and did all this through you and not your direct boss—Aldertree or whatever his name is. But I was still worried he could snap and say something he would regret later. Please don't tell him I told you this, but whenever Camille is involved, things always get messy. She tends to bring out the worst in him."

"Who tends to bring out the worst in whom?" Ragnor asked. He was just joining them.

"Camille in Magnus." Raphael explained. "I was apologizing to Alec for this morning."

"I hate that woman." Ragnor said in a tone that Alec hadn't heard before, but that left him with no doubt whatsoever that he had meant what he had said, he hated Camille—for whatever reason.

"Who are you talking about? What woman?" Will asked, also joining them.

"Camille." Raphael said.

"Magnus's Camille? Well, you can hate her all you want, but she's hot." He added.

Both Raphael and Ragnor gave him a look.

"What? It's true."

"Perhaps," Ragnor said, "But she's a horrible person."

"But still hot." Will added, taking a seat next to Ragnor.

"Not everything is about looks, Herondale." Ragnor argued back.

"I know, I was just saying that she's attractive. As I said, you can hate her all you want, but we have to give her credit for knowing how to use her looks in her favor. I agree she's a horrible person, but you can't deny that she knows what she's got and how to exploit it for her own benefit, why else do you think people lose their minds around her?"

"They don't."

"What about Magnus?"

"Magnus was-"

"-crazy about her, and for good reason." Will said.

Ragnor rolled his eyes. "You understand nothing." He said.

Alec suddenly didn't want to be there anymore. Listening to these people referring to Camille as Magnus's Camille and saying how she could bring out the worst in him and make him lose his mind wasn't something Alec wanted to know. He had no right to be jealous of anything because Magnus was nothing to him, not even a friend in the exact meaning of the word, but the truth was that he was jealous. Very jealous. Just the idea of them being together at some point in time made him see red, something which had never happened to him.

"But anyway-" Raphael said, trying to get Alec's attention. Ragnor and Will were still arguing about Camille. "-I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for dragging you into this and thank you for everything you did. Without your help and the magazine's, this could have ended up in a catastrophe—at least for us."

"I was just doing my job." Alec said modestly.

"You were doing more than that and I'll always be grateful to you for it, you saved us—and Camille's team—from doing extra work."

Alec just smiled and tried to hide the pain he was feeling inside. All these weeks he had been wondering if Magnus and Camille were together or not. First, he had thought they were because it kind of made sense, but then that message he had accidentally read on Magnus's phone had managed to confuse him and make him believe maybe they weren't. But now it was becoming clearer. If Magnus and Camille's teams were in touch and working together to control both their fan bases, then that meant the two stars were probably on their way to getting back together.

It wasn't something that really surprised him, he had predicted it ever since he had first interviewed Magnus—two celebrities were always better than one in terms of earning power and brand recognition. It made sense that they were planning to get back together for the release of their new movie, but that didn't mean that the confirmation hurt any less. The feelings he had been developing lately were new to him and, although he knew the chances of him and Magnus actually being together were virtually non-existent, he had allowed himself to dream. He had allowed himself to think that maybe, if things arranged in a certain way, he and Magnus could get closer at some point and explore their attraction. He knew what Aline had said a few hours ago was true, Magnus didn't seem indifferent to him, Alec himself had noticed it during their first interview when he had thought Magnus had openly flirted with him, but-

"Alec, are you okay?" Raphael asked.

Alec nodded. "Yeah, I just…"

"Went away for a bit?"

"No, I just remembered I have to call my boss." He lied.

"Right now? The concert's about to start."

"Yeah, sorry." Alec said, standing up and practically running away.

He needed a few minutes alone to clear his mind and make sense of the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling inside. Because it didn't matter if Magnus and Camille were together or on their way to be, there was one thing Alec now knew for sure. He didn't just find Magnus attractive and liked him as he had told Aline today, he was slowly but surely falling in love with him.