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It’ll be fun, his sister had said.
Well, Alec has decided his sister is a liar, with her pants on fire. Because none of this is fun, no, it’s the complete opposite of fun. It is quite possibly as un-fun as things can get, like, getting on a log flume.
It starts out okay: the log floating by merrily, lulling you into a false sense of security then it hits the crest, and regret sets in quickly, but you can’t escape. It’s too late. Then, everything goes downhill from then on, leaving you wet and miserable at the end of it all.
Well, Alec isn’t exactly soaking wet now, but he is feeling absolutely miserable.
And if his sister’s pants are on fire, well, misery loves company and all that, because Alec’s face is on fire. Or rather feels like it’s on fire.
He really should have known better than to trust his sister.
~~
It started three weeks ago, when Izzy brought back a flier advertising for positions at the city’s Halloween fair. “The three of us can earn some extra money by working at the Haunted House! I’ve heard they desperately need people,” she said, barging into Alec’s room without so much as a knock. Sisters, Alec sighed.
“Noted, with thanks,” Alec replied curtly as he went over his statistics assignment. Hypothesis testing was the bane of his life. If the alternative hypothesis was that maths is fun, then that can be summarily rejected. But that didn’t negate the fact that he still had five problems to complete.
“Jace is in too!” Now, she had Alec’s attention. Because Jace, their brother who was the star quarterback, practically lived and breathed football. Anything that wasn’t egg-shaped didn’t hold his interest for too long.
“They are giving free admission tickets to staff members, and Jace wants to take his boyfriend there.” Correction, anything that wasn’t egg-shaped or Simon-shaped didn’t hold his attention for too long.
“What would I even do with these free tickets?” Alec mused.
“You can give them to me. Also, I told Max, and he thinks it’s so cool that his brothers and sisters are going to be vampires.”
“Max hates haunted houses,” he countered.
“I have the photo of you dressed as a Teletubby from your third birthday.”
“When do I start work?”
Izzy beamed at him. “Next Saturday! Thanks for doing this!”
Alec rolled his eyes. As if he had a choice. He’d burn the photo if he could. Had already done so, actually. But not before his annoying sister had snapped a picture of it on her phone.
“Can I at least be a zombie? Vampires are stupid.” He didn’t care if it sounded like a whinge, he was being very charitable, acceding to his sister’s request. The least she could do was accommodate it.
“Whatever you want! It’ll be fun! Trust me!” With those poignant last words, she swanned out of his room, leaving Alec alone with his statistics assignment on a Friday night.
Well, at least with the new job, he’d have a more exciting life than statistics.
~~
Alec had to admit the job wasn’t too bad. Even if he had to be a vampire, despite his protests. “Sorry, turns out they have too many zombies already,” Izzy had apologised as she handed over his fake fangs with a wince. The pay was generous; the staff apparently had a food allowance that meant he could stuff his face with all the candy he could eat before his digestive system rebelled. And at least he wasn’t a mummy. Those poor sods had to come in an hour early, just to get wrapped up.
It did suck that Izzy and Jace worked in a different corner of the haunted house, but it was still a decent job.
It was in essence, too good to be true.
And he was right.
He’d gone through his usual routine that afternoon.
Fake fangs, check. Oddly uncomfortable black trench coat, check. Fake blood on chin, check. If ‘teenage vampire, acting like an adult, who can’t feed properly and thus has blood dribbling down his chin’ was the look the organisers are going for, then Alec had that down pat. He took up his usual spot -an open coffin leaning against a fake fireplace-, and waited for the first victims. His job was simple. He just had to leap out of the coffin and roar in people’s faces.
As a group of high school students walked into sight, he got ready. Raising his hands, he took a step forward, scrunched up his face, ready to roar, only to crumple to the ground in sheer agony. Because his face bloody hurt!
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my—” someone cried out.
“What the fuck was that for, Magnus?!” another voice exclaimed.
“Oh my god, oh my god.”
Alec was woozy from that punch in the face, but still sharp enough to mumble back, “Not God, am ‘Lec.”
“Oh my god!” Really, this person was being very rude. Alec had told him his name, why was he calling him God?
“Can you two shut up?” Yes, Alec liked this person much better than the earlier two already.
“Ehhhh-lec,” he slurred out, as he blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the stars that had crept into his vision. Looney Tunes was right, he was seeing stars; stars that danced so prettily.
Although wait, why did these strangers have a bell on them? Alec would like him to stop ringing the bell, please and thank you very much. His head hurt enough without the ringing. Was this person selling ice-cream? Ice-cream did sound good.
“Can you get up?” Up, yes, Alec can definitely do that; the floor is highly uncomfortable. He lifted himself up on his arms, except, wait, why was the floor getting closer? Before he could ponder that further, he felt two pairs of hands grabbing onto his arms to pull him into an upright position, as someone very helpfully supported his back. At least the stranger had stopped ringing his bell now.
He reached up to scratch his nose, because it was so very itchy, but his hand was gently pushed away. “Hey!” he protested before a voice shushed him. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you shouldn’t touch it, in case it’s broken,” someone whispered in his ear, his deep voice calming. Alec liked it. He could listen to this person speak to him all night long, like a bedtime story. To put him to sleep. He was so sleepy Sleep was good.
But sleep wasn’t happening for him apparently, because he felt hands pushing him to a standing position, as his arms were thrown around two strangers. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog that was settling over him.
“Okay, we’re going to walk out now.” Ah, that’s the calming voice again. Yes, Alec could trust that voice. The journey out was far more gruelling than Alec expected, his feet very rudely didn’t go where he wanted them to go. And the strangers had to grab onto his trench coat to prevent him from face-planting at least thrice, but eventually Alec made it out.
The evening breeze helped clear his dizziness a little, but the flashing lights around the fun fair made him wince as he screwed his eyes shut. God, his nose was still so itchy. Maybe he can wiggle one of his arms free to scratch it. Nope, the strangers’ grips on his arms were too strong. He grunted in frustration, as he stumbled along with wherever these people were taking him to.
By the time he was deposited into a rather uncomfortable chair, the wooziness had cleared, leaving behind pain that radiated from his nose, all across his face. Turning his head to the side, he saw three strangers huddled together, watching him with worried expressions. Before he could ask about them, a lady came bustling over, with a first aid kit. Ah, a nurse then. She shone a penlight into his eyes, and ran through a series of tests, before diagnosing him with a mild concussion. At least his nose wasn’t broken.
“You can rest here for a bit, just make sure you monitor yourself closely over the next few days, and go to a doctor if you experience any more concussion symptoms.” she instructed. “Here’s an ice pack for you to ice your nose.”
~~
Which brings Alec to his present state of trying to ice his fucking nose, which feels as heavy as an elephant’s trunk. And everything hurts. He is abso-fucking-lutely miserable, and he wants to die.
Right then, the trio slip back into the medical tent. Two boys, and a girl. Huh, he didn’t even realise they’d gone out.
One of the boys dashes forward, and holds out a cup in offering. “I’m so fucking sorry about this, oh my god,” he blurts out, “I didn’t mean to punch you, I’m just, dead terrified of haunted houses. And those two idiots dragged me to it. I’m so, so sorry! Please forgive me!”
“Yeah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Alec shrugs as he reaches for the cup. So this is the boy with the calming voice; it’s nice to put a face to the voice.
“It’s hot chocolate,” the boy offers brightly as he seats himself in the chair beside Alec and tugs the ice pack out of Alec’s hand. “I’ll help you ice it, since I’m the one who injured you.”
Turning back to his friends, he says, “I’ve got this guys, you can head on home.”
“Are you sure?” the girl asks.
When the boy nods, the pair apologise to Alec hastily before fleeing the tent.
“Those are my friends, Ragnor, and Cat,” the boy says as he dabs at the injured area carefully. “I’m Magnus.” A grim look of determination settles across Magnus’ face then, as if determined to be the best Face-Bruise-Icer there ever was.
“I’m Alec.”
Now that Alec is less concussed and more alert, he can admit that Magnus is rather adorable, with the way his eyebrows knit together and his pink tongue pokes out of his lips, as he ices Alec’s bruise. Equally adorable is the halloween-themed bow tie he’s sporting: it has tiny ghosts printed on it.
“I’m really sorry about it, I just, y’know, panicked real bad,” Magnus explains. He frowns when he lifts the ice pack and sees the splotches of red across the cheek.
“I certainly hope you don’t go around punching strangers randomly,” Alec can’t help but tease.
And he has the pleasure of watching Magnus blush as he ducks his head, keeping his gaze firmly trained on Alec’s cheek.
“For the record, I don’t.” Magnus answers, a wry grin on his face.
Silence falls over them for a few beats, interspersed with the gasps and winces from Alec, before Magnus breaks it. “By the way, if there is any way in which I can make it up to you, please let me know. Because I’m very sorry about this.”
“What about a date?” Alec proposes impulsively.
The ice pack slips out of Magnus’ hand as he jerks back in shock. “What did you say?”
“I said, what about a date?” Alec repeats.
“I punched you!” Magnus gestures at the bruise, as if Alec had forgotten about it. How could he, when it is throbbing in pain? Magnus could really pack a punch.
“So?”
“I punched your face!” Magnus exclaims, as he picks up the ice pack and returns to his task of tending to Alec’s bruise.
Alec wraps a hand around Magnus’ to still his movement. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I’m just asking, no pressure,” he murmurs.
Magnus furrows his eyebrows as he gapes at Alec in confusion, the hand clutching the ice pack still frozen in mid-air. “But..but, I..punched you. In the face!”
“Well, yes. You’re not going to punch me again are you?”
“No! Of course not!” Magnus answers immediately, a look of indignation unfurling across his face, as if offended by the mere thought of that.
“Well, then we’re good,” Alec concludes smugly, “So, how about a date?”
“Are you concussed? Is this the concussion speaking?” His gaze narrows, brown eyes scanning Alec’s face for any sign of distress.
“Possibly,” Alec admits. And Magnus’ face falls slightly, before Alec continues, “but I can ask you again next week, if you give me your number. I’ll be concussion free by then.”
Those brown eyes scrutinise him again, before Magnus sighs. “Fine, give me your phone.”
Alec smiles as Magnus punches his phone number into Alec’s phone one-handed, the other still keeping the ice pack pressed against the wound.
He may look a bloody mess with a bruise that will ache for days, but at least he has a possible date with Magnus to look forward to.