Sweet Creature ▹ Alec Lightwood [2] ( SLOW UPDATES )

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX
AN HOUR AWAY

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Simon's band was rehearsing inside of a very small bar, primarily empty when Adrian arrived with Alec, Isabelle, and Jace in tow. He stepped in carefully, eyes raking over the place out of habit, since it was poorly lit and there were quite a few dark corners. When he realized it was still daylight outside and that Simon and Clary surely would've noticed if there were demons in the small establishment, he relaxed and tugged his cardigan off. The heat was blasting inside the place, despite it being barely chilly outside. He threw it over his arm as he looked over the place once again, looking for a head of red hair. It didn't take him long to find Clary. She was sitting towards the back in a booth, bent over her sketchpad and drawing away. Adrian started to smile, but stopped when he remembered what he had discussed with his friends the previous night.

His hand went to his pocket, where the compass was resting. He hadn't let the token out of his sight since he got it, either playing with it or keeping it resting nearby. Even when he was showing, he had the compass resting by the sink and the door locked, somehow paranoid that someone would appear and take it from him. He had a feeling it was quickly becoming a comfort object, because as his anxiety rose over what he was going to ask Clary to do, he found himself reaching into his pocket and touching the compass again. A hand touched his lower back before he could sink fully into his own thoughts, jerking him back just in time. He blinked and turned his head, then sighed and leaned into Alec's side, his anxiety dwindling as Alec wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer.

"I'm going to order something to eat," Jace said from behind them. To Adrian, it already felt like they'd been inside the bar for half an hour, but to the rest of them, it had only been a minute or two. Isabelle and Jace were still checking out the place, looking for danger longer than Adrian and Alec needed to. Jace brushed past them, briefly smacking Adrian's shoulder as he went. "You want anything?" Adrian blinked and turned his head. The menu was written on a large chalkboard above the bar.

"Onion rings and water," Adrian decided. Jace took Alec and Isabelle's orders as well, winked, then made a beeline for the bar, going so far as to lean over it to get the bartender's attention. Adrian shook his head, then nudged Alec toward the booth where Clary was sitting. Isabelle went around them to skip ahead, tumbling into the booth and greeting Clary happily. Their voices rose in excitement, and Alec took that opportunity to speak.

"Have you decided if you're going to ask for her help?" Alec asked quietly. Adrian only had enough time to shrug his shoulders, and then they were at the booth, and Adrian was sliding into the seat and bringing Clary in for a side hug. She mumbled a greeting to him, reached over to squeeze Alec's hand and grin, then picked her pencil back up and got back to work. Adrian leaned forward to take a peek at the page. She was drawing herself in a dress. Adrian nudged her to get her attention, nodding at the page in curiosity. She gave him a sheepish grin.

"My bridesmaid dress," she said with a sigh. "Or, the design I want it to be. We're going to pick one out tomorrow." She dived right back into the drawing after that, fully intent on getting it done before she had to go try on dresses for hours. Adrian decided to leave her be—especially since Isabelle was chatting away at her other side—and turned toward Alec instead. They hadn't gotten much of a chance to hang out lately, what with Alec on endless night patrols and Adrian on endless day ones.

"I'll ask her later," he murmured, just to answer Alec's earlier question, and then he was leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on Alec's cheek. Alec was staring at Simon's band rehearsing by that point, brows furrowed in thought as he listened to the sounds they were emitting with their instruments. It didn't seem like they were in sync with each other, though that was probably why they were rehearsing all day. Adrian frowned, then turned and nuzzled into Alec's cheek. That finally broke him out of whatever trance Simon's band had put him into—a trance of utter disbelief that they had even gotten a gig, maybe—and Alec leaned away, a startled laugh leaving his mouth when Adrian's nuzzling tickled him. Adrian beamed immediately, ecstatic that he'd managed to draw out one of his favorite sounds.