So this is the re-edited first chapter of this story. It has been a year since I last updated it and I am sure that some of you were concerned that I had dropped it. However, I did not stop updating because I dropped the story but because of personal reasons I was unable to update. Now is the time for me to get back into writing and create a fanfiction I can be proud of.
The morning was cold and foggy- it was misting. There was a soft sound in the distance. A large building stood, looking like a church, almost. On the second floor in third window to the left, the sound was coming from in there. A violin playing at four in the morning wasn't odd somewhere else but here it was strange. It was different because the only obscure thing about this particular place was how the dwellers returned at strange hours. Never did the violin play at this hour.
Below at the door of the building a boy stopped moving his hand on the door knob. Quietly he looked up at the second floor third window and shook his head. He pushed the door open and went up to the room, trying to stay quiet as possible he didn't want to wake the still sleeping dwellers of the building.
Leaning in the doorway the boy cleared his throat. "Jem" He spoke softly without intending too, the violin player did not hear him because of this so he tried again. "James… Oi James!" This time the violin playing boy looked up and over at the other in his doorway.
"Will… Well it's about time you got in, what was it this time or did Six Fingered Nigel get you again" The violin player was only teasing but to anyone outside of the two's little group would have thought otherwise.
"No… Not this time, though I suppose you and Tessa would have liked that… Me not being around I mean, must be difficult when I'm around then when you're on your own, I suppose having me along would ruin your intentions"
"My… My intentions, Will are you drunk?" Jem stated startled by such an accusation by his best friend. Will couldn't be implying that Jem was trying to court Tessa. "Believe you me I have no such intentions towards Tessa, if you're worried about her attention being stolen from you I assure you that is not the case"
Will glared at Jem, "Your suggesting that I want Tessa's attention" He snapped walking towards Jem with a slight wobble in his step. "I never said such a thing"
"Then why bring her up to begin with?" Jem never snapped. Will could say whatever he liked and Jem never once snapped. It was still the same now.
Upon making his last statement Jem noticed that Will had to work extra hard to figure out what the question meant. What the correct answer would be. But he didn't say a word about it. He instead changed the subject.
"You're troubled?"
"What? Troubled… of course I'm troubled; you march in at some ungodly hour and accuse me of-"
"That is not what I'm talking about" Will interjected. He tilted his head towards the violin. "I mean that"
Jem blinked turning his head and staring at the violin as if he'd forgotten it was even there. "Oh… No I just couldn't sleep"
"It happens a lot lately"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh James, Please don't play stupid, not with me"
"I think you should leave now"
"You weren't going to tell me! I looked in the box James it's nearly empty"
"You looked. Leave Will!"
"You weren't going to say anything at all! You weren't going to talk to any of us!"
"And tell you what, exactly? 'William please go to the black market to get me more of the drug I am addicted to because I'm so addicted to it that I've ran out and can't get it myself'. Sorry to surprise you Will, but did it ever once cross your mind that I don't want to do this anymore!"
"Jem… I… I didn't"
"I know Will, you didn't think, you never think! Not unless it benefits you somehow"
All Will could do was stare at Jem, like he was a totally different person. Jem had snapped at him. Never had the 'sickly' boy ever so much as raise his voice and suddenly he'd snapped. Just like that, it was strange. But for whatever reason even though Will it was his time to leave he didn't. Possibly because this was Jem and Jem couldn't hurt him.
"I guess you have a point" He took a step closer to Jem, who in turn took a step away. "What was it you told Gabriel about me, I'm like a dog?" He took another step closer to Jem. Jem took another step back, his knees hit the trunk at the end of his bed and he fell to a sitting position on top of it.
"Will please… please leave" Jem was speaking quietly again.
"I won't leave Jem… You've tempted me to bite" Will leaned forwards, he had Jem cornered they both knew it. The trunk was not large enough for Jem to lay back nor did he think it was going to hold his weight let alone Will's if the other boy advanced farther, so he stayed sitting, staring up at Will.
And then it happened. Will got really close and brushed his lips against Jem's, very lightly at first but the second time was harder. It came too quickly for Jem to push Will away.
Will balanced on one foot, his other was propped on the trunk as he tried using it to part Jem's legs, Jem at this point had curled his legs up trying to use them to push Will away, but he couldn't.
Jem whimpered pushing against Will with his knees, finally he got free. "Stop it Will" Will didn't stop though; he just tried a lot harder. "Stop it! Stop it!" Jem balled his fists up and was repeatedly hitting Will weakly in the chest. "Get off me, please Will! Get. Off." Jem was paler then he usually was which was indeed very pale.
"Do I sicken you that much James… you look like you're about to cough up your supper"
"That's not it you idiot! Now get off of me!" Will didn't move nor did he look like he was ever going to. "William Herondale let me up this instant" Still Will didn't move. "William! Are you deaf? Get off me or so help me I'll stab you with my bow"
The threat seemed to do the trick because Will jumped up and backed away from Jem. Jem stood up quickly and went to find his 'medicine'.
"I thought I told you to leave" He spoke quietly but it was harsh sounding.
"You were serious about that? Even now after I got you all bothered" Will spoke casually as he walked to the door, sprinting the last few steps and slamming the door as Jem hurled a book at him. He was gone by the time the book hit the door leaving Jem alone in his room once more.
8 am
It was the following morning and everyone was sitting around the table in the dining room, everyone except Jem. This was a normal thing for the pale boy. It was also normal for Jessamine to make a comment about it. She had spared no ones feelings today. Not that she'd ever been very polite before.
"-with that racket William made last night I'm not surprised James isn't here" She stated loudly sipping what looked like some type of fruit juice. "It was embarrassing nonetheless… really Will you should have some respect for the others in this stuffy old building. I mean really coming on to your parabatai not only is it an abuse of the bond but James is a man and that William is even worse"
Charlotte didn't say anything, staring down at her cup of tea quietly taking a sip every now and then, she always tried to stay out of the 'children's' personal business and she'd know for a while that Will fancied both genders. She'd known since Will was fifteen and he'd come back from a pub, piss drunk and crying. It had been the first time she'd seen him so vulnerable and even though he was drunk and didn't know what he was saying, she'd known that he wasn't lying.
Henry who was present for once and not on fire was doing almost exactly the same thing as Charlotte was, ignoring the current situation. Will was holding his knife rather tightly and it was pointed straight at Jessamine, while Tessa quietly finished her food.
"Seriously William, even I thought you had better taste… if you must have a man then how about one that isn't dying" Jessamine shook her head and sighed loudly. "I didn't need to be woken at the hour to listen to you harassing the resident cripple"
"That's it!" Everyone jumped when Will leaped up shouting. The knife was sticking out of the wall behind Jessie, who was staring wide eyed at Will. Will was halfway onto the table, Jessie on the floor and Charlotte was still sipping her tea. Behind all the screaming Henry quietly spoke.
"Good morning James!"
"Well it seems I've missed a very eventful breakfast" Will whorled around so fast the fork, he'd been holding in his hand nearly took Tessa's head off. "Then again when Jessie and Will are in the same room it's bound to become eventful" He tossed a box at Will who quickly caught it. Tessa noticed it was the small box from his room, the one that held Jem's 'medicine'. "I'm out… You know the one I prefer don't you?" All Will could do was nod. It seemed Jem was being incredibly cold this morning.
It was already later that evening when Will finally returned with Jem's 'medicine'. He would have done the task so much quicker had Jem not be angry with him. Will had found the need to have a drink and then some more to drink and then some more. Before long it seemed he was 'drunk' and getting himself into more bar fights then he could probably count. It was indeed very late when he'd wondered into the Institute.
He stumbled up the stairs and again found his way to Jem's room. This time however the silver haired boy seemed to be sleeping. It was odd, Jem never slept; or rather no one had ever seen him asleep this early in the evening, even if it was the early hours of the morning. William stumbled the whole way over to Jem's bed placing the box beside the other boy's bed.
James looked so sad in his sleep, his brow was furrowed and an expression of distress seemed to be distorting his facial features. His eyes twitched and he squirmed about but he did not wake. Surely it was a nightmare, even Will, slightly or rather very intoxicated could tell that.
"Jem… Jem… Jem!" William grabbed at Jem's shoulder jerking the sleeping boy around, he thought he was being gentle about it, but it was anything but gentle. James whined and suddenly jolted upright his head smacking into Will's.
"Will?" Jem rubbed his bumped head and rubbed his eyes after clearing is vision enough to see his parabatai. "Will you're back so late. It doesn't normally take you so long" He mumbled reaching to check the box. Twisted in a peculiar way Jem managed as best he could with the drunken Will sitting on his legs.
The weight on his legs was removed only slightly when Will laid himself over him. Making the way at which Jem was twisted to become a bit painful. Will breathed in Jem's face and it was all he could do not to gag. Soon after that Jem felt sloppy wetness on his neck, cheek, shoulders and forehead.
"Don't be mad 'nymore James" Will slurred helping Jem back into a more comfortable position. Jem stared up at his drunken parabatai, more shocked than anything else.
"Will your drunk again. Get off" Jem said regaining his senses and tried to push his friend off of him. It was somewhat concerning that every evening seemed to entail William being piss drunk and James trying to reason with him.
"Not that drunk"
"Only the drunk say they are not, you damned fool, get off your crushing me!" Jem shouted hitting at William's chest like he had the night before, but the other did not budge.
However, this seemed to anger Will and in his drunken state he started to pull all barriers that blocked him from Jem away. The bed linens were in disarray on the floor and Will was ripping at Jem's clothing as Jem kicked out, his hand groping around his nightstand, trying to find something that would get the other off of him. "What has she got that I don't James?" Will sounded like he was sobbing still fighting against Jem trying to rid of his night clothes.
"She? Will… who is she? Stop and tell me" Jem had practically given up fighting his drunk friend, this was only going to end with one of them getting hurt and Will was not stable enough for that, everyone knew that. All Jem could do was try and block Will's advances. Turning his face away from sloppy drunken kisses and wrapping his arms around Will's neck whenever he tried pulling at an article of clothing. Jem's eyes were watering as he tried to get his friend to sober up even if it was only a little.
"That dumb wench Jem! What has she got? What does she have?" He was shouting and shaking and Jem used this as an opportunity he, squirmed to sit up, wrapping his arms around Will's neck and he pulled his friends face to his chest. He assumed it wasn't much because he wasn't a women he did not have a very appealing chest like they did. He'd seen many prostitutes console Will like this whenever he started throwing a tantrum. He'd secretly seen Will with them sometimes; he'd seen it several times.
Will relaxed and it seemed he had fallen asleep. Jem was able to relax again, he laid back holding William to him as best he could. He too tired to go back to sleep. But that was a near impossible task.
For those of you that followed this story from the start this was the original first and second chapters with a lot of corrections and additions.
Please R&R because I honestly just love hearing from you.
