Roommates & Soulmates

Chapter 16-18

Ch16: Jace's Growth

Jace stood on Magnus's doormat, not totally sure why he was here. He'd changed his mind many times over the last week, but had finally decided to do this for Alec. The door didn't open right away and Jace had just decided to ring the bell again, when Magnus appeared looking rather surprised to see him.

"Hi," Jace said lamely. Magnus blinked twice as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. After a few moments, Magnus seemed to accept that it was indeed Jace standing at the door, but Magnus still didn't seem to have anything to say.

"Sorry to just show up like this, but I was hoping to talk to you," Jace said. "Do you have a minute?"

"For you?" Magnus said. "No."

"It's about Alec."

There was something in Magnus's expression Jace couldn't identify, but Magnus let Jace in with a look that held the slightest hint of concern. Magnus's apartment was so much better than the dorms. For starters, it had more than one room. From where he stood, Jace could see the living room, furnished with chairs and a couch that pointed at the television, and a sliver of a kitchen around the corner.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Magnus said, abruptly. Jace got the feeling Magnus didn't want him to stay long. "Has something happened to Alec?"

"No nothing like that," Jace said as he realized why Magnus had looked concerned. "I just wanted to ask you something." Magnus didn't answer, so Jace continued. "Do you care about Alec?"

"What kind of question is that?" Magnus spat at him.

"An important one," Jace said.

"Of course I care," Magnus said. "Why do you think we were friends?"

"But, do you care about him as more than a friend?" Jace asked.

"And this is your business because?" Magnus replied.

"Alec is my friend. I just want to know," Jace said. He was sick of watching Alec hurting. Over the past week, Jace had started spending more and more time with his roommate, and even after just a week of friendship, Jace could tell Alec wasn't happy. He missed Magnus, and Jace wanted to know if there was any hope, or if Alec had to move on.

"Please go away," Magnus said with a sigh. Jace just couldn't understand why Magnus, if he wanted to be with Alec, would sabotage himself like this. Jace knew he was no expert when it came to relationships, but he couldn't have Clary, whereas Magnus and Alec had nothing standing in their way if indeed their interest was mutual. Jace had to conclude Magnus was only sad about losing his friend and, just as Alec thought, didn't return his feelings. Jace turned and left the apartment. He heard the door close loudly behind him.

On his way back to campus, Jace saw Christmas lights on every house. There was even a giant Santa's sleigh complete with reindeer on someone's roof. Christmas meant winter break, which Jace was all for, but it also meant exams, which he was considerably less keen on. In the new year the wrestling season started, but Jace's coach insisted they start training now. This meant that with exams to study for and coaches to please, Jace was very busy. His scholarship depended on his attending practices and getting at least decent grades. Furthermore, since even Sebastian viewed Jace keeping his scholarship as important, this helped his friend from being annoyed at Jace's absence this past week. They usually spent all their time together, but Jace had hung out with Alec most of the week instead. He did feel bad for ditching Sebastian, but they'd spent their whole lives together. Why couldn't Jace branch out now and meet new people in University? It didn't make Sebastian any less of his friend if Jace wanted a have friendships with other people, at least that was how Jace justified his behaviour in his mind. Besides, Alec helped Jace be the kind of man Clary could take seriously, while Sebastian only confirmed his bad reputation. And even if Clary never did believe him, Jace liked the person he was with Alec.