𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓲 𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾?| 𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓬 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝔀𝓸𝓸𝓭

Chapter Eleven

(this one is soppy asf but yolo, thought y'all deserved a cute chapter. i would listen to today's sotc is no. 1 party anthem by the arctic monkeys at the end of the chapter, but i wanted to put it at the top to set the mood. happy reading!!!)

Alec took Ness' hand as she stepped into the cab, and slid in beside her, so they were comfortably squashed into the back. She examined his face for a moment and then smiled.

"You have a good face" she said decidedly. Alec laughed.

"Do you reckon?" he teased, and she laughed, resting her head against his shoulder and nodded.

"Am I like, your date then?" she asked, and he thought for a moment, his face clouding with concentration.

"I guess you are" he said mildly, and she smirked.

"Are any of your exes gonna be here?" she asked curiously, sitting up and facing him. Their faces were dangerously close.

"I don't have any exes" he laughed, and she raised her eyebrows.

"You're far too desirable for that to be true."

"Desirable, huh?" he smirked, and she laughed, brushing his dark hair back off of his face

"Mhmm" she agreed, running her hand down to cup his face. "So, you mean to tell me that you've never had any girls?"

"I've had...flings" he admitted hesitantly. "But never like a proper girlfriend."

"Can I be your girlfriend?" she asked coyly, her lips curving into a smirk. "For the night. I wanna make your exes jealous."

"I guess you can" he replied with a smirk. "Only for the night, though. I can't have you coming onto me when I'm trying to do my job."

"Oh please" she scoffed. "You have an aggressive crush on me." 

"I do not!" he gasped, utterly horrified. She grinned and kissed his cheek. 

"Of course, you do" she laughed. He rolled his eyes and glanced around the cab, and his face lit up when he found a bottle of what looked like bourbon.

"You drink?" he asked, and she nodded. He pulled the corked cap out with ease and took a long swig.

"Aren't we supposed to be following a lead?" she asked cynically, but he just laughed.

"Shadowhunters and Seelies can't get any more than tipsy" he explained. "The angel blood dilutes the alcohol". Ness nodded and reached for the bottle, but Alec held it out of her reach. "Kiss me first" he commanded, and so she did, her cold hand on his warm jaw, smirking on his lips. He reached his hand down to her waist and held her closer to him, and she pulled away from him and laughed.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked softly, and she shook her head.

"No" she replied with a smile, her voice the same volume as his. "Not at you."

When the cab finally stopped, Ness glanced out of the tinted window at the biggest house she had ever seen. She tugged at Alec's shirt excitedly.

"Hey look, the house is enormous!" she exclaimed, and he laughed.

"Is it more distracting than me?" he teased, and she swatted him with her clutch.

"Don't get too big for your fake-boyfriend boots" she warned with a smile. "I'm just doing this because I like to be a bitch." 

"Too right" he laughed, opening the car door and taking her hand. She looked wounded for a minute, but then shrugged and laced her fingers through his. He smiled down at her as he got out of the cab, the touch of her hand sending waves of serotonin all over his body, her smile calling his out of hiding, and for the first time she seemed within his reach, and maybe if he grabbed the chance to love her with both hands, she wouldn't just slip through his fingers.