HeartBLOOD

Chapter twenty-eight

"Where's Magnus?"; he asked when his eyes flew open- he wasn't on the stairs anymore, but sitting on a lawn chair in front of one of the three ambulances that had pulled up to the main parking spot in front of NYABM. "I'm sure he'll be here any second.", Valentine comforted him- Valentine. He was sitting right by Alec's side and held an oxygen mask to his face, "Now keep breathing." In panic, he kept scanning the parking lot- He saw a lot of people, but the one person he needed to see the most was nowhere to be found. "Is everyone else here?", Alec asked. "Yes.", Valentine replied, "The entire team is searching for Magnus. He'll be alright." But Alec couldn't shake the image of Jonathan on the floor- that could have been Magnus. "I need to look for him.", He gasped and tried getting up, but his legs felt like jelly. "They will find him.", Valentine replied and took Alec's hand, "I promise." And for the first time ever, he saw something like emotion in his teacher's eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec saw two ambulances take off and leave the parking lot. "Where are they going?", Alec panicked- he had been so busy worrying about Magnus, he didn't even bother asking whether everyone was okay. "They are taking Jonathan and Simon to the hospital- both are unconscious and have inhaled a lot of smoke- so did you, by the way.", Valentine replied and put the oxygen back to Alec's face. His eyes kept scanning the parking lot until they got stuck at the front steps. Those steps were the steps he walked up when he first auditioned- he remembered standing on those stairs, hesitant of whether to open the door or not, so full of excitement and nervousness. But now, he didn't feel any of that anymore. All he felt was devastation over the things he left behind and fear over the things that he might still lose behind those steps. Those people. Those moments. That place, the place he called his home was up in flames and so was his soul, his insides crumbling like cold ashes under the pressure of waiting. "Alexander!", he heard a scream and whirled around- from behind him ran Magnus, without a single scratch. "Magnus!", he gasped and darted towards him, pushing aside Valentine and the oxygen as well as the blanket he didn't even notice was lying over his legs. "Thank god you're okay.", he breathed heavily, a tear of relief running down his cheek and getting caught in the sticky ashes covering his face. "I was in the bathroom.", Magnus sobbed, "I didn't even notice anything was wrong because the bathrooms are so far off. I only noticed something was wrong when the ambulances started pulling up so I smashed the window and climbed out to run here." "It's okay.", Alec groaned and pulled his boyfriend in the tightest hug he has ever given anyone. "I thought you were dead.", he whispered. "So did I.", Magnus stuttered and clawed his fingers into Alec's back, burying his face in his neck. "We'll be okay.", Alec coughed and held Magnus' delicate body with all he had. Suddenly, dizziness ran over him and the world began spinning. "Magnus-", Alec gasped before the world went blurry and the last thing he felt were Magnus' arms breaking his fall.

"Welcome back, mister Lightwood.", an unknown, old but friendly face smiled in his direction. "I-", Alec wanted to say but his voice was close to gone. Only now he noticed the bright white lights around him and the mans coat as well as the oxygen mask on his face. "You're in the hospital, sir. Do you remember what happened?" Slowly Alec nodded- he did. All of it. He remembered the fear and the worry almost as intensely as he remembered the relief he felt when he held Magnus in his arms. "Where's Magnus Bane?", he asked, his voice dryer than sand paper. "He's alright, he's just getting checked out.", the doctor replied before someone rushed into the room- Isabelle. "Alec!", she shrieked and wrapped her hands around him, "Are you okay?" A little tear escaped his eye- he was so busy with himself and Magnus, he forgot how shocked Isabelle must have been when she go notified. "Your brother is alright.", the doctor replied willingly, "He inhaled some smoke and passed out due to the shock, but apart from a few mild burns he's perfectly fine. We can discharge him tomorrow, we'll be keeping everyone here for one night for observation." "Okay, thank you.", Isabelle nodded and turned her face back to Alec. "I'm okay, it's all going to be okay.", he croaked and squeezed her hand. Slowly, he felt the numbness fade and make space for exhaustion- he felt like he had gotten hit by a truck. It felt like the air had been knocked out of him, his limbs heavy and aching from exhaustion. "Looks who's up.", Magnus chuckled as he walked into the room. "Magnus- you okay?", Alec exclaimed. "As I said, I was in the bathroom the entire time- both of us got away well, didn't we?", Magnus sighed which upon Alec nodded. "How's Simon, how is Jonathan?", Alec asked. "Jonathan will be alright- smoke inhalation and a concussion as well as some burns but you saved his life. If he would not have gotten out of there the second he did, it might have been to late." "And Simon?", Alec asked, his voice blanc with uncertainty of whether he really wanted to know, fearing the answer. "I'm sorry.", Magnus whispered, his voice breaking, "He didn't make it. There was nothing they could do." A sharp breath was all he heard before Isabelle broke down into an excruciating scream, tearing Alec apart at the center of his being- him and Magnus just lost one of their best friends, but Isabelle just lost her soulmate. And there was nothing Alec could do apart from replaying Simon's laugh in his head whilst looking into Magnus' eyes, knowing he felt the same knife in his heart.

Hello beautiful people,

Simon Lewis is a character I transformed into the Simon we know and love here, the Simon that always brings light to the room and gives great advice. Simon, in my opinion, is one of this stories' most comforting and likeable characters and I broke my own heart writing this- Simon, you will be missed, NYABM will never be the same without your smile.