Diverse

Chapter 5 - Scars

NOTES: 

There will be a flashback. I'm going to jump in places and time and I'll switch POVs during the fic, but I don't think you'll have any trouble figuring it out. 

Flashbacks are always in italics.

⚠️ Warning! Mention of self harm.

New York - Magnus

"Ohmygoddddd, Magnus! Are you okay, sweetie?"

"No. I'm not okay. Look Isabelle, I need to find Alec. When was the last time you spoke with him?"

There was silence on the end of the phone for a while.

"I haven't spoken with him for more than six months, Magnus. Listen, are you at home? Can we meet?"

"I'm going to be teaching, but I'm free tonight. My place at 7pm?"

"I'll be there."

When Magnus hung up the phone, he couldn't get Izzy's words out of his mind. Alec had been damned lonely for six months, or... well, he was maybe with someone. He couldn't decide which he'd rather prefer.

He was worried about Alec. More and more. In fact, he hadn't stopped worrying about him in a year, he'd just been trying to ignore it. He was too angry and too desperate to admit it. He had a history of ignoring feelings.

They had been living in a shared sublet for about 10 months. They became best friends...

*****

At that time, Alec had more and more problems that he was finding hard to deal with. Or rather, pretty badly. He broke up with his new boyfriend. There was no drama, certainly not as much as with his previous boyfriend Noah. Then Alec was broken, because he thought Noah was the one. On top of that, he cheated on him with a woman. He learned to take it easy, and now he and James just realized they weren't meant for each other. They had a decent talk and went their separate ways. Plus Alec was struggling with his music. Somehow he couldn't find himself. He said the fire died in him. He neglected to practice, and of course, after a while, this became a problem for the teachers. He was on the verge of having his scholarship withdrawn and being kicked out of school.

Magnus found out too late that something was wrong. Of course, he had his own everyday problems. Ballet can be cruel. Bleeding feet, constantly aching muscles. Things were not going well with his girlfriend at the time. In fact, there was no chemistry between them at all.

That evening, Magnus found out - completely by accident - what Alec was doing. Magnus was simply inattentive, didn't notice Alec was in the bathroom, and went in. Alec was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his head thrown back and breathing heavily. While his thighs were covered in blood.

"What the fuck? Alec? What's going on?"

"Shit."

Alec threw a towel on his thigh and tried to stand up, but Magnus gently pushed him back. He knelt down in front of him and took the blade from his hand. He wiped the blood off with the towel and saw that it was not the first cut on Alec's thigh.

"I'm not gonna ask you anything. I know there's a lot of shit around you, you know? But believe me, it's not the solution. Just tell me if you need me, and I'll help you. With anything. But promise me you'll never, ever do this again. Do you understand me?"