HeartBLOOD

Chapter seven

"Hey, what is going on?", Magnus asked as he stormed into his and Alec's dorm room. As expected, Alec sat on his bed, picking on his cuticles. "Nothing.", Alec scoffed and almost threw himself backwards, nearly crashing against the wall behind his bed. "Hey! What's the issue?", he asked again, seeing Alec wasn't upset but angry. Alec didn't get just angry often- usually his anger came from a place of disappointment, fear or sadness. But it was blank anger now. "The issue is that nobody seems to be taking me seriously. Instead, somehow it's preferred to rub salt into my wounds.", he said, taking a deep breath. "Sorry.", he added immediately, "I sound like a diva and I don't know what's wrong with me right now- I'm just irritated." Still a bit shocked by his boyfriend's sudden outburst Magnus sat down on his opposite. He really wasn't used to Alec being dramatic- usually he always played down his issues but it just showed that something must have hit him in a very sensitive spot today- a spot he was insecure about. Magnus took a deep breath, mentally postponing his talk to Alec to tomorrow- if this was what he thought it was, Alec would have no nerves for Magnus' drama by the end of the conversation. "So, what exactly happened?", he asked. "Well, when Jocelyn restricted me from squatting I already had an idea where she was going with it but in our talk after training she basically confirmed it.", Alec sighed, "My doctor had sent NYABM the scans- he erased the date so I'm out of trouble but they know-" "That your knee is not going to heal completely.", Magnus finished the sentence with a sigh. "Crap." "I mean to some extend it's good they know but it's frustrating and humiliating.", Alec snapped and buried his head in his hands. Quickly, Magnus switched beds and started striking Alec's back. The main reason why Alec hadn't been working out too much during summer was because he wanted to give his body some rest. But it didn't seem as if it had helped. "I just can't live with this fear anymore!", Alec groaned, "I can't get terrified every time it flares up even a little that this is the time it'll be the end for me." Magnus bit his lip- he had known that Alec had been stressed about his situation a lot during summer break, especially because his knee randomly flared up several times- it wasn't bad, but it scared him every time. It scared him so much he even was willing to see a doctor and get it looked at. "So what's your plan?", Magnus asked. Alec sighed:" It's not as much physical as it is mental, but I feel like in order to defeat the mental, I need to solve the physical." Magnus swallowed hard, unsure where this was going. The doctor had told them that because of Alec not letting his meniscus heal properly, it had formed a scar which lead to flareups, inflammations and irritations of the nerves and the surrounding muscle. He had said there were many ways to cure the symptoms but only surgery could cure the condition. "I need to start taking better care of myself.", Alec sighed, "And that includes more than constantly wearing a knee brace and tape." "I think that's a good idea.", Magnus smiled weakly and laid his arm around his boyfriend. By his facial expression he could tell how hard this was for him- not only admitting help, but also seeking it. "You could see Amatis twice a week for physical therapy.", Magnus suggested, "And ice after every class?" Now it was for Alec to swallow hard. Magnus saw a muscle in his jaw twitch, an indicator for tension. "Okay.", he said, "I'll talk to her tomorrow." A weak smile crossed his face. "I'm proud of you, Alec.", Magnus smiled and pressed a kiss on his cheek, "I know this took a lot for you to do. Progress." With a chuckled Alec gathered himself and made himself comfortable:" Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to me about?" "That can wait until tomorrow- I think today has been enough already.", Magnus grinned and rewarded Alec with a kiss, "We can talk tomorrow." "Alright.", Alec sighed with a soft smile and allowed for Magnus to wrap his arms around his neck until the comfort of the blanked and the warmth of Alec's body lulled him to sleep.

"Have you talked to Alec?", Camille pulled Magnus aside. "Camille!", he snapped through his clenched teeth, "We're in the middle of a studio! What if he were here and heard us?" "The important part is that there's a 'were' in your sentence and he is not here. So, did you?", she asked. She had always been very confrontative and never too shy to make a sassy comeback. "No, I didn't.", Magnus sighed. "Bane!", she exclaimed, "You said you were going to!" "I know.", Magnus sighed, a bit disappointed in himself, "But there was so much going on yesterday already, even more drama wouldn't have done any of us any good." "Right,", she exclaimed, "What was everything in basic training about, anyways? We all were left wondering." "Maybe it should stay that way.", Magnus replied tensely but just in the moment he turned around and tried walking away from the conversation, Camille had caught him by his wrist and pulled him back. "Whatever you and Alec are hiding from us, it's going to blow up right into your face, I hope you know that.", she spat and let go of him. "Just to be clear.", Magnus replied harshly, "We're not hiding anything. Some things are just none of anyone's business." "I remember the last times times any of you had played secrets- and look how that had worked out.", she chuckled and walked away, leaving Magnus wondering about what she meant- or what she was intending. Something felt awfully wrong and Magnus had a feeling that him telling Camille about Asmodeus might have not been a smart idea.