Famous: A Malec AU Fanfiction

Chapter 8

Alec's eyes were getting tired of scrolling down along the list of apartments. The numbers and dollar signs were starting to swim in front of his vision. He closed his laptop, cutting off the bright glare of the screen. He rubbed his eyes, clearing out the blurriness from his vision. He nearly jumped out of his chair when he heard someone from behind him.

"Big brother!" Isabelle called to him, she seemed even more spritely than usual, "Happy Birthday!"

Alec recovered quickly, "Oh, thank you, Izzy."

She held out something to him, "Here, your gift from me!"

Alec took the small, white box in his hand, feeling just the slightest bit anxious. His younger sister had been known to not think sometimes when it came to buying people gifts, no matter how many times Jace, mother, and himself had warned her about her spending habits. Still, there was nothing else to do but open in.

Sitting inside the padded red velvet was a beautiful watch, plaited with silver with perfect intricate needles. It was glossy, with a shining finish that caught light and gleamed even more brightly than it should've had. The design was beautiful, probably carefully designed by someone who really had a passion for what they were doing, and every piece of it, down the miniature marks on the second hand that was slowly making its way in a perfect circle, had been elegantly crafted to fit perfectly. Alec stared it, his eyes widening slightly. Izzy just seemed excited, and she tossed herself into a chair next to his and spun in a lazy circle on it. Her dark hair was loose today, and it swung behind her like swaying branches from a tree in the wind as she spun around in the chair, kicking her feet just as she had always done as a little kid whenever her long legs dangled over empty

"So," she asked, grinning at him, "Do you like it?"

It took a moment for Alec to find his voice once again, "Isabelle, how much did this cost?"

She shrugged, "I don't really know."

Alec stared at her, his expression serious. Isabelle crossed her arms, silver bracelets twined around one of her arms like a snake, glittering brightly whenever she moved. It was one of her favorite pieces of jewelry, and she wore it almost every day. The only piece of jewelry that she owned that surpassed it would be the too-realistic, teardrop-shaped ruby pendant she wore every day. Alec had never seen her take it off. Their mother had given it to Isabelle on her 13th birthday, she had told Jace, Isabelle, Max, and himself that it was a precious family heirloom that had been passed down from generation to generation for as long as she could remember. Alec had never seen Isabelle take care of anything so carefully, and so seriously, as that ruby pendant.

Isabelle flipped her hair back now, then looked up at him through a veil of incredibly long lashes. Her ruby pendant winked up at him like a glittering, fallen star.

"Meliorn is the one who bought it," she told him matter-of-factly, "but I'm the one who picked out the design. Don't you like it? It's so, you. I saw it and knew exactly that you would love it, I am your younger sister of course so I know exactly what your style is, even if you may not have the best fashion taste in the world."

Meliorn was Isabelle's latest boyfriend, she had gone through a couple since she had turned fourteen. He also worked as a reporter, but he worked for a rivaling company known as The Seelie Court, their headquarters were a couple of streets down from where they were. Alec had met a couple of reporters, and the head herself, Ms. Queen, at more than a few public gatherings. He supposed that some of them weren't too unpleasant, but more than one of the reporters had been known to like to spread dramatic rumors about different stars that Alec knew for a fact weren't true. The Seelie Court wasn't exactly the most trustworthy source, and Alec supposed that was the reason why they fell multiple spaces behind Shadowhunter Gossip in the rankings for celebrity and entertainment news.