Enchanted

I woke up in a bed, blankets covering everything except for my face. My head was pounding, and I groaned, pushing myself into a sitting position. One look around, and I knew I wasn't at the Institute, which meant I was still in Magnus' apartment. I looked for a clock, but there was nothing but overpriced art and dimmed lamps. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, fighting the wave of nausea that threatened to knock me on my ass.

"Get back in the bed, Gabrielle." Magnus' voice made my eyes snap open. I leaned on the wall for support, trying to take deep breaths.

"I can't." The dizziness stopped long enough for me to walk to the door, but he was blocking my path.

"Why did you do that?"

"Luke was in pain. I wasn't just going to let him sit there. Move." I wasn't strong enough, but I still pushed at his chest anyway. He didn't budge.

"Why didn't you tell me that you got attacked earlier?" I rolled my eyes, placing my hand on my forehead in frustration.

"We're not exactly the best of friends, Magnus. Besides, it wasn't relevant. Are you going to get out of my way?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"You could have died."

"But I didn't. I'm perfectly fine. Where are Jace and Clary?"

"They went back to the Institute. Alec is waiting for you." I rolled my eyes again, sighing loudly. Of course he was the one that was waiting for me. It was like I couldn't get away from him.

"Wonderful." I'd finally pushed Magnus out of the way and started to walk toward the living room, but he stopped me, his long fingers wrapping themselves around my elbow.

"He's really worried about you, you know. Whatever you think he has for me or Jace...you're wrong." I really didn't want to have this conversation, let alone with Magnus. I wanted to go home and go to sleep. I didn't want to be bothered with emotions that weren't going to get me anywhere, and if Magnus couldn't see that Alec has feelings for him, he wasn't as smart as he thought he was.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. I'm leaving. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon." I stumbled into the living room, heading straight for the door. I took a deep breath when the cool air hit my face, closing my eyes as a wave of dizziness swept over me.

"Gabrielle, wait." Alec was following behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I ignored the burning I felt against my skin.

"I'm fine," I snapped, pushing him away from me. Next thing I knew, my feet were being swept out from underneath me, and I was looking at the sky, "Hey!"

"Calm down. You're not strong enough to walk. As soon as we get back to Institute, you're free to do what you want, but I'm not going to watch you die on the way there, so shut up and just let me carry you." I was mentally and physically exhausted. I didn't want to fight, so I relaxed against him, letting my eyes fall shut.

"You're still a douche bag," I muttered, leaning my head on his chest. I could hear and feel his heartbeat. It was rapid and uneven, and I wondered if I was the cause of it.

"I know. I'm sorry." We were silent the rest of the way back, and I was half asleep when I felt my back hit a mattress, "I'm going to take your shoes off." I hummed softly, making myself comfortable against the pillows, curling into a ball as soon as my feet were free. There was no way I was sleeping in jeans, but I'd wait until Alec left the room to take them off.

"Thank you."

"Stay here tomorrow, please." I slowly opened my eyes, staring up at him. The concern the clouded his expression left a weird feeling in my stomach, and I didn't like it.

"Why?" If there was something that needed to be done, I wasn't going to stay behind. Clary needed my help. Things were spiraling out of control faster than we could fix them.

"You've been through enough. You got hit in the back of the head, and you passed out. I know you're trying to help, but you need a break. Magnus said you almost died." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes a third time. Leave it to Magnus to make a big deal out of something small.

"He likes to over exaggerate things. I'm fine."

"Please, Gabrielle. I really don't feel like having another heart attack tomorrow." I sat up, running my fingers through my hair. I didn't understand why my wellbeing meant so much to him all of a sudden.

"Why are you so worried about me? A few days ago you were ready to put me back on a plane to Washington." He chuckled to himself like he was thinking about some inside joke, shaking his head. The smile he gave me made my cheeks heat. Alec never smiled. It was a beautiful expression on him.

"No, I wasn't. You assumed that I was. You make a lot of assumptions, actually. You never really asked me a question." He was right. I hadn't made an effort to get to know anyone. I didn't feel like it was appropriate, but his attitude toward Clary said enough. She was as much of an outsider as I was. Sure, I had shadowhunter training, but prior to my time in New York, I'd never met Alec, Jace, or Isabelle. If they were worried about Clary being a stranger, they should have been worried about me too.

"You were an ass."

"To Clary, not you."

"Well, Clary's like family to me. I'm going to defend her, no matter what," I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I understand that. The way you feel about her is the same way I feel about Jace and Isabelle. If someone puts them in danger, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop them." I couldn't understand that. I just didn't think it justified his attitude.

"That still doesn't explain why you've come to my rescue twice today." He stared at me for a long moment, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. If I tried, it was really easy to read people, but there was so much going on. Everything was a mess, and I could see it on Alec's face.

"You should get some sleep." He moved some hair out of my face, tucking the strands behind my ear, my skin burning where his fingers touched. There was something he wasn't telling me. I knew it was important, but I didn't have the energy to fight. I would ask him in the morning.



I woke up, sore and disoriented. It appeared to still be dark outside, and one look at my phone told me I'd only been asleep for four hours. It was just before 7 in the morning. I groaned, burying my face in my pillow, but I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I was starving, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a proper meal, so I showered and made myself presentable before heading to the kitchen. No one else was up, except for the people that worked at night. I was grateful that someone had gone grocery shopping, and I busied myself with making pancakes and french toast. I'd just dropped some blueberries into the pancake batter when a voice startled me.

"Why are you awake?" I nearly knocked the bowl over and turned to face a bleary eyed Alec in nothing but a pair of sweats. It was my first time seeing him shirtless, and I was pissed that he looked that good half naked. I gulped and turned back around, pouring the batter into a skillet.

"My body clock said it was time to get up. Are you hungry?" I asked, trying to focus on everything but him. I was acutely aware of how far away he was, and my hands started to shake lightly.

"Starving." I heard him pull a chair out, and I flipped the pancakes, reaching into the refrigerator for the bacon and the rest of the eggs.

"Did you sleep okay?" I was trying to fill the room with anything but silence, even if it was mindless chatter. I refused to turn around and look him in the eye.

"Didn't sleep." It didn't surprise me. Alec looked like the type to worry himself sick about everything. His parents being here probably didn't help.

"Is everything okay?"

"No, not really." I finally turned to look at him, watching as he sighed and rubbed his eyes. I was definitely missing something.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"My parents are making me get married." I didn't actually think he was going to tell me, but now that he had, I felt horrible. I understood the world we lived in. It was rare that we actually got married for love. Shadowhunters were all about sensible matches and tradition. No one stepped outside of the rules.

"To who?"

"Whoever they feel is worthy, I guess." I could tell that he was stressed out, and if we were closer, I might have hugged him, but I felt like I would be overstepping my boundaries.

"I'm sorry," I spoke honestly, finishing off the pancakes. I made a plate, setting the food in front of him.

"Thanks." I nodded once, leaning against the counter. I watched him eat, wondering why I'd never noticed him before. Sure, he was an ass, but everyone had their personality quirks. I was bitchy, but one thing Alec and I had in common was our unwavering loyalty. It was something I admired about him, "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it." His question broke me out of the small trance I'd fallen into, and I realized I originally made breakfast because I was hungry. I made myself a plate and took the seat across from Alec. It was the farthest away, but it also gave me a direct view of his body. I gulped, shoving a piece of bacon into my mouth.

"Were you in love with Ezekiel?" I choked on my food, my eyes watering as I tried to clear my airway.

"Uhm.....no," I gasped out, wiping at my cheeks.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"You know as well as I do that we don't exactly have time for that. Why do you ask?" I watched as he pushed his food around his plate, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure I have feelings for someone." His voice dropped, but I'd heard him clearly.

"Pretty sure?"

"No. I'm sure." He put down his fork, dropping his head into his hands.

"And I'm guessing your parents making you get married isn't helping." That had to suck, knowing that you had feelings for someone, but you couldn't act on it. I couldn't imagine marrying someone that I didn't love, and Alec was getting ready to experience that first hand.

"No, it's not." I suddenly felt bad. I'd given Alec hell since I got here. He wasn't the friendliest, but I'd taken my attitude to the next level. He just wanted to do what he felt was right.

"I really am sorry, Alec. Have you tried talking to them?"

"There is no talking to them. Their way is the only way. Thank you for breakfast." He walked out of the kitchen, leaving me with my thoughts. I finished the rest of my food in silence, washing the used dishes and putting the rest of the food in the refrigerator. I trudged back to my room, throwing myself on my bed. I sighed loudly, covering my face with the pillow. I had no clue how I was feeling or what I was feeling. There was only one person that I could talk to, but we hadn't spoken in years. I didn't want to share this with Clary. I wouldn't get an unbiased opinion. I would get an "I told you so", and that wasn't what I needed. So I did something that would only make sense to me. I put on my shoes and walked to the Hotel DuMort.

The building stared down at me, taunting the anger that was burning through my veins. I didn't know what was going to happen once I got inside. I was only here for one reason, and I didn't know if he even wanted to see me. He'd had plenty of time, but he let one person's words come between a friendship that we'd had for years. That alone made me want to run back to the Institute, but there was a world of problems waiting for me there. I needed to tackle this one now. I walked around the back, breaking the lock before I walked through the door. It was cold inside, and I rubbed my arms as I walked up the stairs. I ended up in a spacious room, glass cases surrounding me.

"You shouldn't be here. You're lucky I'm the one that found you." I whipped around, coming face to face with a vampire I didn't recognize.

"I'm looking for someone. Are you Raphael?"

"At your service. What can I do for you?" I knew this was a long shot, but I hoped it wasn't a waste of my time.

"Clary told me that Ezekiel was here. Is there anyway that I can talk to him?"

"You must be Gabrielle. He talks about you often." I wanted to doubt his words, but the fact that he knew my name said enough. If Ezekiel still talked about me, why hadn't he tried to find me?

"Uhm...yeah. Is he here?"

"I'll be right back." He left the room as quickly as he entered. I suddenly got the feeling that this was a bad idea. I didn't know which direction this conversation was going to go in, and I wasn't mentally prepared for whatever was coming. I missed my best friend, but I was still angry. I would probably always be angry.

"Gabrielle." I froze at the sound of his voice, slowly turning around. I wasn't prepared to see him. I didn't know what to expect. He was still beautiful, albeit for the awkward paleness that the undead was plagued with. His eyes were the same shade of blue they'd always been, though they were rimmed with red at the bottom.

"Hey," my voice cracked and tears sprang to my eyes. I wanted to hug him and hit him all at the same time, but the latter wouldn't do me any good.

"What are you doing here?"

"I hate you." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. That hadn't been my plan, but once I stared, I couldn't stop, "You left me. We were supposed to be parabatai, and you left me without another word. No goodbye, No explanation. You were the person I was closest to in the world, and you left me. You're an asshole, and I hate you." I was crying at this point, and I punched at his chest while he tried to wrap his arms around me. This wasn't supposed to be happening. I wasn't supposed to be blubbering like an idiot, snot running down my nose and chin.

"I know you hate me, but I never left you. Your mom said I couldn't see you, but I still watched over you. I'm the reason she sent you here. I knew you were being followed. I told her you'd be better off here. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you, but I never left. The night your mom told me to stay away, I climbed into your room, but the blood lust got to be too much. I almost killed you while you were sleeping. I needed to keep my distance to keep you alive." It made sense, but that didn't make me any less upset than I already was. I had to go through my most difficult years of life with the only people that really understood me, and I didn't know how long it was going to take before I forgave him.

"You could have sent a text or a letter or something. I thought you were dead, Zeke."

"I didn't want you to come looking for me. I was just trying to keep you safe, Gabi." His fingers were cold as he moved my hair out of my face, the same way Alec had. I shouldn't have been comparing the two. They were so different, but looking up at Ezekiel, I couldn't help but wish that someone else's arms were wrapped around me.

"Thanks, but you're still a dick." I sniffed, wiping under my eyes with one sleeve and my nose with the other.

"I know. I'm sorry." His lips pressed against my forehead, and I closed my eyes, finally relaxing against him, "So what's going on? I know you didn't come here just to tell me that you hated me."

"That was part of the reason, but you're the only person that I can talk to about whatever the fuck is going on with me, so I need you to be my best friend again." He pulled me over to one of couches, and I plopped down, bringing my knees to my chest.

"Lay it on me."

"So there's this guy, right? Total dick, but then he's not. I've pretty much been the psycho bitch from hell since I got here. I held a seraph blade to his neck." I could tell Ezekiel was trying his hardest not to laugh at me. I rolled my eyes, pushing at his shoulder, "Stop it. It's not funny."

"I'm sorry. Continue."

"Okay, so shit went down yesterday, and he decided he wanted to be Captain Save-a-Shadowhunter. He was all worried about me and what not. Saved my ass twice. I got knocked out and he decided to pull some Sleeping Beauty shit and kissed me. We haven't talked about it since it happened, but his parents are making him get married, and he looks really good with his shirt off," I whined, throwing my head in Ezekiel's lap.

"It sounds like you like him," he said, running his fingers through my hair.

"That's what I was afraid of," I grumbled, trying to ignore the tight feeling in my chest as I finally acknowledged what Clary and Magnus had been trying to tell me.

"There's nothing wrong with having feelings for someone."

"I guess you completely missed the part where I said his parents are making him get married," I pointed out, pushing myself so that I was sitting up.

"Well, he kissed you, so that has to count for something. Maybe he'll ask you." I had to laugh at that. There was no way it was going to happen. There was no way I was going to let it happen.

"I forgot to mention that he's attracted the attention of Magnus Bane. And I'm just figuring out how I feel about him. I'd never accept a proposal. He's hot, but that's a disaster waiting to happen."

"So he's gay?"

"I wouldn't know. He won't talk about it. I thought he was, but then he went all psycho protective on me, and now I'm confused." I sighed, leaning my head against the back of the couch. This was why I'd never given myself the chance to have feelings for someone. They were so complicated and confusing, and I didn't have time for distractions. This was a distraction. I should have been back at the Institute getting ready for our next mission. Instead I was sitting the Hotel DuMort surrounded by Lord knows how many vampires. I was putting myself in danger, and Alec would probably have my head if he knew where I was.

"Maybe he's bisexual?"

"Either way it goes, he'll be married before the year is over, so I don't even know why we're having this conversation." I needed to get back. Everyone would be waking up soon, if they weren't up already, and I knew someone was going to flip if they didn't find me in my room.

"It'll be fine. These things have a way of working themselves out." They really didn't, but I didn't want to think about that. I stood up, straightening out my shirt.

"I have to get back, but I missed you." I smiled down at my best friend. Maybe things could somewhat go back to normal now that I knew he was alive.

"I missed you too, Gabi. I'll walk you to the door. I don't want you to become breakfast." I let him hold my hand as we walked back down the stairs. I welcomed the familiar feeling of his fingers slotted through mine. I really did miss him, and I felt better now that I talked to someone about what I was feeling.

"Will I see you later?" I asked, my expression hopeful. I lost him once, and I really didn't want to go through it again.

"Yeah. I promise not to disappear again. I love you."

"I love you too." I smiled, standing on my tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. Everything else was falling apart, but at least I had my best friend back.