The idea for this story came to me in a flash of inspiration. Here's the first chapter!

Tessa Gray stepped out of Heathrow Airport and took a deep breath.

"London," she said with excitement.

This is what she had been working towards for three years now. Raised in New York, it had always been Tessa's dream to come to London to study – and now she was here.

"Taxi!" She leaped towards the taxi stand and grabbed the first taxicab she could see.

"Address?" he inquired.

Tessa fumbled for her iPhone and read out the address to the driver, who seemed to recognize it immediately.

"You're going to the University?" he asked as the taxi pulled out of Heathrow.

Tessa nodded with excitement. "Yes," she said, nodding enthusiastically.

She was going to be majoring in Literature at London's prestigious University. She didn't know how long she would be in London, but she was excited – extremely excited. She settled down and gazed out the window at her first glimpse of the United Kingdom.

~~Page Break~~

"You must be Theresa!"

A blonde girl bounced up to Tessa happily. "I'm Sophie!" she introduced herself. "I'm going to be your roommate!"

A slightly overwhelmed Tessa let Sophie take one of her suitcases and drag it up the steps of the University. "Please, call me Tessa," she said, huffing and puffing already to keep up with Sophie. "Theresa's way too formal for me."

Sophie laughed. "American! Is this your first time in London?"

"Yes, actually," Tessa laughed. "I was brought up in New York."

"Well, I'm sure you'll love it here. There's a lot to do and see! I'm a Londoner myself, born and bred – "

Through Sophie's never-ending stream of friendly chatter, she somehow managed to navigate through the corridors of the University, until she and Tessa stood before a dark wooden door.

"This is it," Sophie said as she pushed open the door.

Tessa stepped in. It was a smallish room, but something about it made it so cozy and warm and loving. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the room and showing two beds lying a few feet apart. Sophie's belongings were already lying on one of the beds, pleasantly facing her.

Spinning around, Tessa raised her hands to the ceiling. "I love it already!"

Sophie helped Tessa unpack, talking all the way. The two girls got to know each other so well that, by the time they left their room, Tessa felt like they were already old friends.

"I'll show you around the University," Sophie said cheerfully. "It can be quite intimidating unless you've had a tour."

Tessa was led on a whirlwind tour of the building, and was shown everything – the food hall, the classrooms, the sports facilities, and of course the library. Oh, the library! When Tessa saw it, her mouth fell open in wonder. Bookcases stretched nearly to the ceiling of a cavernous room. They were all around her.

Sophie chuckled. "I can see you're a bookworm. Well, welcome to the largest library that Great Britain has to offer."

"I want to read everything!" Tessa almost shouted, then clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Oh, that can wait! There's even more to see!"

By the time their tour drew to a close, the sun had just set. Tessa's brain was whirling, filled with so much new information.

"I'm sorry," she said as she paused for a moment and swayed. "This is a lot to process."

Sophie grimaced. "Sorry! Did I go through it too fast?"

"Not at all! I loved every second – it's just you might have to explain some stuff to me again. I'm not sure I filed away everything you said."

Sophie winked. "Gotcha. On that note, I'm having dinner with a couple of my friends – not at the University, out in London. Do you want to come? I'll introduce you to everyone."

Tessa agreed wholeheartedly, and after fetching their purses, the two girls set out. Tessa stared at the streets of London. Being a New Yorker, she really shouldn't have been this amazed by London, but she couldn't help it. Everyone always said New York was the capital of the world, but she thought that London was so much more suited to the title; so many more layers of history and culture, centuries of being the world's most prominent city. London was old when New York was just trees and forest.

Yup. Tessa was an Anglophile, and proud of it.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Sophie introduced Tessa to all her friends: jolly Agatha, friendly Thomas and Cyril, singing Bridget and sulky Jessamine. They sat at a large table and Sophie's friends asked Tessa questions about New York; none of them had ever been to the United States.

"Are we waiting for anyone?" Tessa inquired, seeing two empty chairs.

"Yes, we are," Sophie said. "But don't worry, they're usually late."

"Fashionably late," said a male voice. Tessa turned around.

Two boys stood before her. The boy who had just spoken was one of the most gorgeous guys Tessa had ever laid eyes on. Dark-haired, blue-eyed, with a face that could have been carved by angels. He was tall and muscular, and his mouth quirked sideways in an annoyingly cute smirk.

The other boy had silvery hair and eyes, which shone with a friendly twinkle. He was very tall and slender, and as Tessa looked at him, he smiled at her, and she was struck by how straightforward, happy and honest the smile was.

"Oh, sit down, Will," said Sophie in an exasperated tone. "Tessa, meet Will Herondale and James Carstairs."

"Call me Jem," said the silver-haired boy as he slid into the empty seat next to Tessa. Will raised his eyebrows at Tessa as he took the seat next to Jem.

"So, you're the American we're going to have to endure," he said.

"Oh, yes I am," said Tessa. "American and proud of it."

Will looked at her and smirked again. "I hear you're majoring in Literature."

"Yup."

"Then we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other, won't we?" Will winked at her, leaving her flustered.

Their orders arrived, and everyone dug in. It was delicious, and Tessa found herself wolfing down her spaghetti. By the time they finished, it was getting late.

"Time to go back," said Sophie regretfully.

Will stood up. "Yes, it is. Come on, Jem. Let's go."

"Aren't you coming back to the University with us?"

"Will and I don't live on campus," Jem explained as he, too, got to his feet. "We live at the Institute."

Tessa had no idea what that was, but Will was already urging Jem to leave. "Come on, Jem! We have to go, or Charlotte won't be happy with us."

"All right, all right, I'm coming." Jem gathered his things and left. "It was so nice to have dinner with all of you. I'll see you guys next week."

"Bye, Jem," everyone chorused.

Tessa's eyes followed the two boys as they left. As Jem opened the door to the exit, though, something caught her eye. She might've imagined it, but she could've sworn that, under his sleeve, she'd seen a black, curling shape imprinted on his skin – like a tattoo.

Sooooo, what did y'all think of the first chapter? Please leave me some reviews and tell me how you felt :P