Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot! All characters belong to queen Cassandra Clare!
Tessa moaned as an odd, yet delicious, spicy smell wafted up her nostrils. Swinging her legs off her bed and leaving her dormitory into the corridor, she curiously looked around, trying to figure out where the smell was coming from.
She wondered if the boys had managed to somehow get a take-away into the school again; Will was never short of ideas and ways to bend the rules a little. She snorted. Will. She knew exactly what he got up to at night, because his room was next to hers.
Which, coincidentally, was where the smell was coming from. This would be the perfect time to mention how odd it was that this particular boarding school didn't separate the boys from the girls. Room-wise, yes; but they were all down the corridors, there wasn't a boys wing and a girls wing.
Well, curiosity killed the cat, Tessa thought as she looked at the door the smell was coming from. She and Jem weren't close and she and Will detested each other. But against all odds, she went to knock on their door. It swung open, evidently not closed properly.
Tessa went to apologise, but couldn't bring herself to speak.
Oh, she thought.
Oh indeed. Jem. Will would be understandable, but Jem?
She paled considerably; hatred, shock and confusion pumping through her veins.
In this time, he'd just watched her lazily, leaning on the window pane as he exhaled the smoke, the moonlight illuminating his silvery hair and giving him a more ethereal look. "Can I help you, Tessa?" He asked, gently holding the (joint or cigarette?) in his long and graceful fingers. A cool smirk itched its way onto his face and Tessa's blood ran cold. Jem wouldn't smirk, especially not in that way. And… he wouldn't speak like that. His voice was always calm, but this time, it'd made his usual way of talking seem like he was shouting. It was completely relaxed and careless, yet slightly cruel.
Tessa locked eyes with him and inwardly sighed when she saw his large pupils. He was high. Jem, the kindest and most perfect person she'd ever known, was smoking a joint.
He tilted his head slightly. "There seems to be a problem." He noted, raising the joint to his lips and taking a long drag. There was no worry or loss of words, his voice was completely relaxed and cool. He didn't seem to care he'd been caught. She'd have thought Jem would've blushed and thrown the joint out of the open window, but here he was, blowing out the smoke.
"For you." Tessa said, finally finding her voice. "Drugs…" Just saying the word aloud made her feel horrible. She tried to find her voice again. "Drugs are illegal and even if you weren't bothered about that, they're against school rules."
He gave an uncharacteristically cold laugh. "If I weren't bothered about the law, why would I be bothered by school rules?" He asked her.
Tessa blushed fiercely. "I…" For God's sake, she thought. Pull yourself together. "I meant the other way around."
"Interesting." Jem noted, stubbing the joint in the nearby ashtray on a dresser. An ashtray? How had Will, his dormitory mate and best friend, not noticed? Is heon drugs too? Tessa thought wildly. "Here's a brilliant tip for you, Miss Gray. If you're ever to make a speech to someone who's doing something they shouldn't, don't let them get the better of you."
You're the smartest in the school. How the hellam I supposed to beat you? Tessa wondered, gritting her teeth. Something struck in her mind. "What if the school found out? You'd be expelled, surely."
"Suspended if it's the first time." Jem corrected, leaning back on the window-sill, his silver eyes still cold, sharp and definitely amused.
"Well…" She paused in thought. "You'd be in trouble with the law."
Jem shrugged. "I'm underage and it'd be my first time. I'd be fined, if that."
"Your parents would be disappointed." Tessa said lamely with a sigh. He probably wouldn't care about that, either.
However, her words had wiped the smirk off his face. But it was replaced with a cold and threatening look. "My parents are dead." He spat bitterly, no longer leaning on the sill but standing in a stiff, firm way, so similar to Will's. "Killed by the same person who made me addicted to this drug. So unless you have another option—"
"Shit." Came a recognisable voice.
Tessa jumped and whirled around, to see Will leaning in the doorway.
"Will." Jem greeted coldly, the smirk coming back. "I presumed you'd be with Tatiana."
"I could smell the goddamned thing from her room." Will said, the amount of ice in his words making Jem's words seem warm. "It's stronger than you give it credit for."
"I don't give it any credit, and her room is only opposite ours." Jem objected, his voice colder than before yet not quite Will's temperature.
There was silence.
"Tessa, you should go." Will said finally, looking to her.
"You're right." Tessa said, her words cool. "Mrs Branwell would love to hear about this." Mrs Branwell, headmistress of 'the institute' boarding school. "Are you a drug addict as well, Will?" She asked him.
Will's face darkened and he growled something along the lines of 'bitch' under his breath. "It's not a drug." He said forcibly to Tessa, such venom in his words that she recoiled. He looked to Jem. "You told her it was a drug?"
Jem smirked slightly. "I never did anything of the sort." He said easily.
Will stalked over to Jem and Tessa's hand flew to her mouth in shock as Will struck Jem across the cheek; with such force Jem's head whipped to the side.
"I don't like this side of you." Will noted calmly.
Jem had recovered pretty quickly and shrugged. "You don't like anything."
Will snarled slightly in anger, before turning to Tessa. "Come on." He told her. He grabbed her by the arm and towed her down the hall, slamming the door loudly behind him. Tessa didn't even dare to ask where they were going.
*decides the rest of a fic is too long and cuts it here to make this story into chapters*
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