"Hey, Magnus, it's Alec. I… I don't really know what happened, but—" BEEP. Delete. "Um, hi, Magnus, it's me, Alec. I just wanted to see if you—" BEEP. Delete. "Hey, Magnus, it's—" BEEP. Delete. "Magnus, I don't know why you're not answering my calls—" BEEP. Delete. "Magnus, pick up the fucking phone. I'm serious. I—I—you're the one who… MAGNUS, just ANSWER me! All I want is—" BEEP. Delete. A pause. "Look, Magnus, it's Alec. When you get this, just… I don't know, just call me back. Please. PLEASE. I… I just want to talk to you. Um. Bye." Another pause. BEEP. Delete.

Magnus sighed and slumped in the armchair next to the telephone table. When he'd said "Call me" all those weeks ago, he didn't actually mean, "Call me a million times and leave long, heartfelt messages while I'm trying to avoid you." But Alec Lightwood had never really been the most got-the-hint banana in the bunch. He was—let's face it, Magnus thought—too determined. It almost made Magnus actually want to call him back.

But if you call back, he told himself fairly, then how is Alec being punished? He isn't. So you can't call back. You have to keep torturing him.

As if on cue, the phone rang. Magnus let it go to voicemail. "Magnus Bane, cooler than you since BC. Cooler than him since after. Leave a message." BEEP. "Hi, Magnus, it's Alec. You know, it just dawned on me that your answering machine is really arrogant and stupid. You should change it so people don't get the wrong impression. Oh, wait, it's the right impression, because you are arrogant and stupid. Well, isn't that interesting." A sigh. "Call me back. You know my number." BEEP.

Magnus laughed in spite of himself. Alec was adorable when he was angry. Then the phone rang again. This could get obnoxious. "Magnus Bane, cooler than you since BC. Cooler than him since after. Leave a message." BEEP. "Hi, Magnus. It's Isabelle. Quit being a dick. Thanks. Bye. Oh, cute message, by the way, I like it. Yeah. Bye."

Magnus chuckled. Those Lightwood children just had no boundaries, did they?

After eating dinner and watching Laguna Beach for three hours, Magnus heard the phone ring again. "Magnus Bane, cooler than you since BC. Cooler than him since after. Leave a message." BEEP. A loud, exasperated sigh. "Look, Magnus. You're going to have to open that portal tomorrow. If you think you're just going to ignore me then, then… well… just… don't ignore me. Please. Call me. I want to—I need to talk to you. Magnus, I swear, I know where you live, and if you don't call me, I'm going to go over there and make you talk to me. So… there." Another sigh. "See you tomorrow, then."

Magnus rolled his eyes. That boy was so melodramatic. Why did Magnus put up with him, again? Oh. Because he loved him. Right. Magnus scowled and stomped back to his bedroom. Love was stupid.