HeartBLOOD

Chapter eleven

Magnus couldn't sleep. It was early in the morning and he still had a bit more than an hour before he had to get up. Magnus felt tense- he still hasn't told Alec about the rest of his and Asmodeus' conversation. It was just that he had been so stressed about the shooting and his knee, Magnus didn't want to lay another thing on him. But he knew better than anyone else that every hour he kept it from Alec made this situation worse. Ruffled by his thoughts he got up and made his way downstairs after leaving a short note for Alec, letting him know he was outside early. Taking advantage of his early awakening he put on some sweatpants and a hoodie before leaving his dorm room. The halls were completely empty and it felt like he was wandering a house of ghosts. Creeped out by the atmosphere, he stepped out of the building, onto the street. Immediately, he felt the cold wind against his face. The sun was just rising which made Magnus decide it was a good idea to go on a walk. Minutes in he already regretted not haven worn more comfortable sneakers, because then he could have gone on a run instead and actually done something for his health and fitness instead of wandering around in the city with no purpose at all. Stopping a few blocks away from the dance school he fidgeted his phone out of his pocket and opened google maps to see if there were any open coffee shops nearby. If he had already gotten up early and thought it was a good idea to leave the building, he might as well get him and Alec some coffee- they earned it after the shoot yesterday anyways. Noticing there was a coffeeshop two miles away which was opening in five minutes, he started walking. Unlike inside NYABM, life was booming in New York city. People of all different ethnicities in completely different clothing were hurrying across the streets, calling for cabs and picking up calls. New York really was the city that never slept. Sometimes it felt as if NYABM was like a parallel universe inside of this pulsing city- inside, there was a schedule: Wake up, train, eat, sleep, repeat. All day, every day. The more Magnus thought about it, the more boring it sounded, whilst it was really not. There were a lot of things one could say about NYABM, but boring was not one of them, that was for sure. It was challenging, filled with passionate and ambitious people, demanding, pleasing, yes. But boring- no. In fact, he couldn't imagine anything more exciting in the world than NYABM. In moments like there he realized how privileged he was to be able to live out his hobby as his job. When looking at all those businessmen in suits and tied, those lawyer women in High heels and blazers, those Bankiers with their lack shoes and all the architects in their tight skirts and glasses. Meanwhile, there was him and his friends- tights, pointe shoes, tiaras, leotards, hair spray and foot powder. He couldn't think of anything more beautiful. Nothing at all. And yes, their jobs were not exactly safe, they had no stable income, a short career and a High risk of it ending even earlier. But what was security compared to freedom'? Compared to passion? Happiness? Joy? It was nothing. Magnus couldn't imagine anything feeling the way dance did. The second he even thought about it, his heart beat faster and when he heard music and didn't dance to it, it seemed a wasted song. In school. he had always been the weird kid for various reasons, but dance had definitely always been one of them. Now at NYABM, he found his people. He found the people that were partly weird in exactly the same way he was. Who also would always trade safety for pain if it meant they could dance, who also preferred tights over suit pants. Those people at NYABM were his people. And if that meant he had to live in a bubble like a parallel universe to the rest of the world, so be it. That bubble was home.

Having arrived back at NYABM he carried two coffee cups of whose one was already almost empty. Walking up the stairs to his dorm room, he almost ran into Camille. "Hey!", he greeted, taking a step to the side. Her dark brown hair was in a long braided ponytail which for sure could do as a weapon, just in case. "Hey, Magnus!", she replied, "How good to see you! I have been wanting to speak to you anyways!" "Do you mind if we postpone our talk to later?", he asked, thinking about the coffee in his hand. "Oh I think you're gonna wanna hear this.", she smirked coldly, "Why don't we go somewhere private?" Puzzled, Magnus followed her- she was acting really weird, not in a way he liked though. "Aline is filming some videos for her social media.", Camille said as she pushed the door to the girl's dorm room open and told Magnus to sit down. With a frown, he obeyed. "Camille-", he said, trying to get this over with as fast as possible. "Pshhht.", she shushed with a grin and put her digit finger on his mouth, making him shut up. "Camille, whatever you're trying to say-", Magnus tried again but got cut off immediately:" How about that, Magnus- what if you just listen to me and then reply, how does that sound to you? Because you of all people bust know how much I dislike people fantasising about what I was going to say or do. Because, let me tell you, you can't predict what my thoughts are. And you, dearest Magnus, are living example of that." "What do you mean?", he asked startled, desperately trying to figure out where she was going with this. "You thought I would just keep your secrets and ask for nothing in return? Well, if I may say so, you were very wrong.", she grinned and sat down on Magnus' opposite.