Room 401, Saturday Evening

[nottrivial]

It was officially way too loud everywhere. In town, in the common rooms, just everywhere. In the world. Ever.

All Alec wanted to do was quietly read his book on demon poison, but no. He had to be subjected to an endless loop of child shrieking. And, considering he'd only ever gotten along with one or two children even when he was a child, it was probably for the best that he keep his distance. 

So for the sake of not going crazy, he was fiddling with that weird mundie music device they'd given out in Seven Deadly Sins class one week and trying to figure out how to make it work. It didn't look like it had any music on it, which couldn't possibly be right, because what was the point, then? And anyway the headphones fit strangely in his ears and the whole thing was just a disaster. Maybe he should go to the library or something. Or New York. Or overseas. Just to be safe. 

[[open!]]

Comments

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Jace said, trying to look interested but not overly so. Irrational protectiveness and being ridiculously judgmental was to be expected in this situation and Jace was aware of that, so he was trying to keep it all inside. "By who?"

[nottrivial]

And it immediately occured to Alec that he may have just sicced yet another person on Sparkle who was inevitably going to get all weird and threatening at him. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

Too late now, though. Whoops.

"Sparkle," he said. "He and I have been... sort of spending time together lately. Shooting at the gym and so on. And apparently Izzy was, uh, difficult to him over Parents' Weekend, so now he's taking me to a bar."

That was logical.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Sparkle?" Okay, so much for trying to act cool and collected like Natalie.

[nottrivial]

"It's his name." Yes, Alec. Obviously. "He works at that clothing store in town? Spiky hair, wears a lot of black..."

Maybe he should just tell Sparkle to start running now.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Oh my god." Alec, did you think describing Sparkle that way was a good idea?

[nottrivial]

Well, Shadowhunters wore black! They had that in common! See, it was an appeal to similarity.

Or something. Basically Alec was just sucking really hard at this conversation.

"...He's not as weird as that made him sound."

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Uh huh." Yeah he wasn't buying that for a moment. "So is this like a date or something?"

[nottrivial]

Alec's first instinct was to flail, but he actually managed to overcome that impulse. Izzy wasn't here to give advice about this kind of thing and Jace was, and anyway, he'd already gotten most of his flailing out that time in the church in that other universe.

So he just sighed and rubbed his eyes before answering, "I don't think so. He just thinks it's weird I haven't been to a bar before, that's all. Which... I guess it sort of is."

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"It's a date," Jace said, just to make that clear for Alec. "You're going on a date with a mundie. He's a mundie, right?"

[nottrivial]

"He's a mundie." SIGH. "I really don't think it's a date, though. Wouldn't he have to... I don't know, say that upfront? To prevent confusion?"

Oh god, Alec.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

Jace rolled his eyes. "Alec, trust me on this: It's. A. Date."

[nottrivial]

"I think he got mad when Izzy assumed that we were... something," Alec sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It seems like a weird thing to do if he was just going to ask me to go on a date right after."

The phrase was 'ask me out,' Alec. It was a thing. People said this.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"He might just not want something serious," Jace said. "People do go on dates with no expectations of something more, you know."

Hell, he did it all the time. How else would he get laid with those horrible trust issues he has?

[nottrivial]

"How am I supposed to know what he means, though?" Alec, don't whine. "Maybe I shouldn't go. I won't know how to react if it turns out to be something weird."

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I see you're well on your way to over thinking and freaking out, which is not what I wanted you to do when I said it was a date," Jace said, shaking his head. "The only reason you should call it off is if he's not good enough for you."

And Jace didn't really think anybody was good enough for Alec, so.

[nottrivial]

Alec shook his head. "I don't think that's going to be an issue," he said. Of course he didn't. "I just don't know how to... date. Are there rules I should be aware of?"

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Go with your gut instincts," Jace said simply. "For most people that would be a simple and obvious rule but for you..."

[nottrivial]

"Hilarious." It actually was, Alec. Really now. "Fine. I can probably manage that."

Maybe. If the planets aligned just so and he hopped on one foot five times while turning in a circle.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

Jace snorted. "Maybe if you got super drunk."

[nottrivial]

"Well, if we'll be at a bar, I guess that's the objective," he said, a little uncertainly. "So... that's something."

He was so hopeless.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"I don't like him, just for the record." Did it matter that he had never spoken to Sparkle? No, not really.

How does it feel to be on this side of the ridiculous jealousy equation, Alec?

[nottrivial]

IT FELT WEIRD. VERY, VERY WEIRD.

"You haven't even met him," Alec reminded Jace. Not that that should really matter. There was no way he ever would've liked Natalie even before he'd met her, so.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"Are you really going to try that argument with me?" Jace asked. "What's that saying about pots meeting kettles?"

[nottrivial]

"Well, that was different." Nope, it was exactly the same. Identical even. "I didn't really judge Natalie until after I met her. I was just suspicious."

Wrong. So wrong.

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

"You are such a liar!" Jace said, laughing because it was so ridiculous. "You still haven't given Natalie a fair chance and I'm not even dating her."