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There was music playing in the auditorium.
Alec caught it as he was walking by, on his way out of the building after a rigorous training session he was sure broke at least one child labor law. Curious, he talked himself into heading in the direction of it. The music was upbeat, something Alec didn’t recognize but he found he quite liked. As he neared the auditorium, it got louder, but there was none of the usual chattering he would’ve expected to hear over it.
He pushed open the door at the top of the room and entered as quietly as he could, not wanting to draw attention to himself. From up here, he had a good view of the entire stage, and more importantly, the person on the stage.
They were far apart -the auditorium was fairly large- but Alec had no problems immediately recognizing the person dancing. Magnus Bane .
Because Alec was, well , Alec , and because he’d harbored a secret -or, not so secret, as his sister Izzy liked to tease him- crush on Magnus for the better half of the past year, he could do nothing but stand and stare and it took him several seconds to realize that his mouth was hanging open in awe.
He’d known Magnus was a great dancer, of course. He was head of the school’s dance team, and they’d won several awards over the years. Alec himself had been to more than a few of their competitions, though he’d never worked up the courage to utter more than a simple congratulations to Magnus.
But he’d never seen him like this. Whenever he’d gotten to witness Magnus’ dancing before, he hadn’t been the only one there to observe. Part of him felt like he was intruding on what seemed to be a private moment, but he couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away, much less leave .
Magnus was in his element whenever he danced, he looked like he was moving on air, each move performed with the sort of skill and perfection that Alec couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around.
When the music cut, Alec wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there for. All he knew was that he was fixed to the spot, watching as Magnus moved towards the edge of the stage and sat with his legs dangling off the side. He reached into the duffel bag that had been resting there, pulling out a bottle of water. Alec watched as he drank, and thought that the simple action had no right being as hot as it was.
Magnus was gorgeous, ridiculously so. His skin glistening with sweat and the tank top he wore that showed off his arms made him even more gorgeous, in Alec’s opinion. It was slightly unfair, the effect that he had on him, when Alec was sure that Magnus didn’t even know who he was.
Magnus jumped down from the stage, and while Alec’s brain short circuited at the sight of his arms, he didn’t immediately notice that Magnus was actually walking towards him .
Well in his direction, but still he’d gotten far enough that Alec’s hiding spot wasn’t as useful, and Magnus saw him. He stopped in his tracks and regarded Alec with furrowed brows and a slight frown.
“...Alexander?”
Alec, who’d at this point turned a bright enough red to rival a tomato, and was now internally screaming at Magnus knowing his name, waved a hand and waved sheepishly, “Hello.”
Magnus blinked. Still looking at Alec, he moved up a few more steps and Alec saw what he was heading towards; his iPad, perched on top of the chairs where it’d have a good view of the stage where Magnus had been performing. He made a few taps and then placed it back down.
“How long have you been there?” Magnus asked.
Alec bit his lip, realizing now that his actions seemed a bit… stalker-ish.
But Magnus didn’t look upset, or angry, just confused and slightly amused. Alec took his chances.
“I heard music playing.” He explained, “And I came in and saw you. You’re… really good. I couldn’t stop looking.”
When Magnus said nothing, Alec ducked his head and cursed himself.
“I’m… I’m sorry. That’s weird. I shouldn’t have-”
“You think I’m good?” Magnus interrupted. Alec paused, surprised, but recovered relatively quickly and nodded.
“I think you’re great.”
Magnus rolled his eyes and scoffed, “ Great is a big word.”
“It is.” Alec confirmed, and made no attempt to change his earlier response. Magnus smiled, a small one that Alec had never had the privilege of seeing this close, certainly not directed at him . It made his breath catch in his throat.
“Why were you practicing alone?” Alec asked, “Where’s the rest of the team?”
“Oh, that wasn’t… that’s not actually a team number.” Magnus said, “It’s the… early stages of the routine I’m planning for my Juilliard audition.”
Alec’s eyes widened, “Really? Magnus, that’s amazing!”
“I’m probably not gonna get in though.” Magnus continued, “It’s just a ridiculous dre-”
“That’s nonsense.” Alec stopped him, “Of course you’re gonna get in! You’re amazing, Magnus.”
Magnus looked like he wanted to argue, as though he didn’t know what to do with the praise. Alec couldn’t understand why. Magnus had most certainly been told the same thing by everyone else multiple times. He had to know how talented he was.
“Where do you plan to apply?” Magnus asked suddenly, “That is, of course- I assumed that you were applying-”
“Columbia.” Alec said. Something inside him tensed at the announcement. It was still early on. He’d considered several universities, and none had stood out to him as much as Columbia did. His parents had other plans, as did Coach. Hell, half this school had other plans for him. He supposed that’s why he hadn’t told anyone about this decision yet. He didn’t really know why he trusted Magnus with it.
Magnus’ smile returned, “Really?”
“Yeah.” Alec confirmed, and because it felt so good to say it out loud he repeated, “Columbia.”
“So…” Magnus drawled, “What I’m hearing is that you and I are going to be in the same city? Potentially?”
“Oh.” Alec said, also coming to this realization, “I guess we are.”
Magnus’ smile turned into a smirk, one that had all sorts of implications that Alec did not need to be spending the rest of the day thinking of, but knew he would nonetheless.
“Interesting.” Magnus said.
Alec’s brain once again ceased to function.