Under One Umbrella

by Devonne Gayle

"Just three seconds," he told me. "One, two, three," then he ran away. "Bye!" he waved as he flashed me a charming smile. I stood there in, shocked, under my umbrella. "What was that?" I asked. My friends' answer was laughter. Not knowing what to do, I laughed, too, and told them I was stunned. They laughed more. But I didn't tell them that there were butterflies in my stomach.

Under One Umbrella

By: Devonne Gayle

Blurb: It all started on one faithful, rainy day… "Just three seconds," he told me. "One… two… three…" Then he hurriedly ran away. "Bye!" he waved as he flashed me a charming smile. I stood there, shell-shocked, in the middle of the way, under my umbrella. "What was that?" I asked, surprised. My friends answered me with laughter. Not knowing what to do, I laughed, too, and told them I was stunned. They laughed more. But I didn't tell them that there were butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Note: Set in present time (2013), alternate universe, all humans, no shadow world, some OOC (out of character)

Author's Note:

So… it's been raining incessantly in our place and… I just finished reading Clockwork Angel yesterday. I have to admit, I can't stop thinking about Jem, I mean, about the book. :3 And then the rain reminded me of this one incident that happened with my best friend a year ago. What's the result? TADA! Under One Umbrella (UOU) was born!

UOU is my first The Infernal Devices-based fanfic. Don't be too cruel, and enjoy!

This chapter is the prologue, and is written in third person. The succeeding chapters will be written in different characters' first person points of view, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to the amazing Cassie Clare. However, the story and plot all belong to me :D

Under One Umbrella

Prologue

"THERESA GRAY! Are you going to get up, or do you want me to drag you out of bed?!" Aunt Harriet shouted from the kitchen. 'Great, this is a good way to start my first day of classes,' thought Tessa. Sighing, she groggily sat up on her bed. She had been awake for the past five minutes but her mind is still asleep.

"Tessa, my patience is wearing off!" Her aunt shouted once more.

"I'm coming, Aunt!" Tessa answered, as she hurriedly stood up and went out of her room, not even bothering to fix her hair. As she entered the kitchen, the delicious smell of pancakes immediately greeted her, making her mouth water. "Hmm…" she said as she took a seat.

Not wasting a minute, Tessa instantly gobbled her share of pancakes. When Aunt Harriet placed a cup of hot chocolate near her, she looked up and gave the lady a grateful look. Aunt Harriet just shook her head then proceeded to take a seat on the chair across her niece. "You eat so unladylike," she commented. Tessa seemed to not have heard her. "Why, Theresa, is fixing one's hair a hard task?" she added. When her niece didn't reply, Harriet pursed her lips then said, "Good morning, by the way. Finish up your food quickly; I don't want you to be late on your first day of school." Tessa finally looked at her aunt, her mouth stuffed with pancake, then gave a small nod. The older woman, however, didn't see it because she started to focus on eating.

Tessa sighed. Even though she had lived with Aunt Harriet since she was a child, she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward when she's alone with her. She always wondered what the older woman was thinking. Tessa suddenly missed her brother, Nate, despite of him constantly annoying her.

Nate is Tessa's brother who's older than her by two years. Two weeks ago, he left for college leaving Tessa to live alone with their aunt Harriet. Before, she wanted him to go to college already because he's always being annoying but now that he left, she just missed him. Nate and his voice, his blonde hair, his eyes, his tall figure, his mocks and pranks – everything about him. Only two weeks, but she missed him already. What about after three weeks? One month? Or –"

"Wake up, Tessa," sighed Aunt Harriet.

Tessa snapped out of her reverie, and that's when she noticed that her aunt already had the dishes in the sink. "Wh-What?" she asked, confused. Her aunt just sighed. "You have been in your own world, again," she started. "I don't know what you were thinking, but I know that if you don't start to move in any minute, you'd be very late in school and I really wouldn't be happy about that."

"I'm sorry, aunt," Tessa apologized.

Aunt Harriet eyed her for a while before saying, "I just wish you'd stop doing that sometimes, it'll do you no good and..." she cleared her throat. "Stand up on your feet and go get ready," she said sternly.

Even though Aunt Harriet didn't continue what she was saying when she trailed off, Tessa knew exactly what her aunt wanted to say: 'it reminds me of your mother'. When he isn't teasing her, Tessa's brother would tell him stories about things he knew about their parents, which aren't really a lot. So when he runs out of new stories to tell, Nate would retell the old stories. But there was a time when he gossiped something new to her.

-Flashback-

"Hey, Tessie," Nate started, "I have a story to tell you."

"What is it?" Tessa asked excitedly. "Is it about mom and dad?"

"Nope," Nate answered with a grin, "Aunt Harriet."

Tessa tried to sound not disappointed. "What about her?"

Nate's grin did not leave his face. "She's talking alone in her room last night, okay, more like she's talking to mom, but whatever. And you know what she's saying?"

"What?"

Nate cleared his throat and with his best impersonation of Aunt Harriet he said, "Oh, Elizabeth. Theresa's mind is always drifting off to someplace. She'd always have daydreams, or God-knows-what. Whenever I see her lost in her own mind, I always remember you. And it hurts, because it makes me miss you more. Why, oh, why? Why does your daughter have to be so much like you?" Nate took a deep breath and grinned, obviously proud of himself. "What do you think?"

"I think," Tessa said, "that you should stop eavesdropping outside Aunt Harriet's room at night." Then she hurriedly ran away to her room where she cried herself to sleep.

-End of Flashback-

But that was not the only time Nate told Tessa stories about their Aunt Harriet. Almost every other day, he would tell her about what he heard outside their aunt's room at night. And every time, she tells her brother to stop snooping on their Aunt Harriet's private life. And every time, Nate wouldn't listen. Well, that was until one day. Nate stopped telling her stories about their aunt and actually – Tessa noticed – not only stories from his late-night activity, but also anything about their aunt.

When she asked him why, her brother only said that she's right, that he shouldn't really have eavesdropped on their aunt. Trusting her brother, Tessa smiled and hugged him.

'Oh, Nate,' Tessa thought, 'I really miss you already…'

"Tessa," Aunt Harriet warned. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Huh?" Tessa asked.

"I said," Aunt Harriet started with a tinge of impatience in her voice, "that you should go get ready now or else I will drag you to the bathroom. And when I say 'now', I mean, NOW!"

'Oops,' Tessa thought as she scrambled out of her chair then went to get ready for school.

The sun isn't up yet but the servants in the Herondale house were already up and about, doing this and that. Will Herondale lay awake on his bed, his eyes closed. He was desperately trying to go back to sleep when there was a loud knock on his bedroom's door.

"Will," the voice said. "Get up already, today's your first day in school."

Will made a noise of annoyance. He grabbed his pillow and used it to cover his face. "Go away," he mumbled, even though he knew that Agatha won't hear him. The knocking stopped. Will was about to heave a sigh of relief when the door burst open, and Agatha marched inside the room.

"William," the old lady servant started. "Please get up already, your mother's patience is slowly wearing off." Seeing that what she said didn't have any effect on the boy, Agatha sighed and strode over to Will's bed. With one swift but gentle motion, she removed the blanket draped over Will's body.

Suddenly feeling the cold, Will automatically jerked up, throwing aside the pillow from his face in the process. If it was another person who'd done the unacceptable thing, he would have gone all mad and killed him or her with a pillow. But this is Agatha, their family's faithful servant who served the Herondales even before he was born. She's his second mother, who had spent more time with him than his own and real mam.

"Okay," Will said, trying to eliminate the annoyance from his voice. "I'll go get ready. Go tell mother that I'll be downstairs for breakfast later."

Agatha shook her head. "I knew that I did not have to do that. Judging by your looks, you have been awake for the past ten minutes."

To that, Will just gave a sheepish and guilty smile as he stood up from his bed then made his way to his room's personal bathroom. He entered but before closing the door, he turned to look at Agatha. "Good morning, by the way," he said, with a smile which the old lady returned before leaving his bedroom.

Inside the shower as he let the warm water wash over his head, Will can't help but feel restless. Today is his first day of school in the St. Francis Xavier's High School. 'Another new school, with a whole lot of new people', he thought. It's not that he's not good in making friends but, he's just tired and even a bit sad that he has to attend different schools almost every year. Blame his parent's job.

After putting nice clothes on, he checked his phone to see a new message:

W,

Hmm…

I don't know why I'm even typing this message.

I guess I'm just a little bit nervous.

See you later.

-J

Jem, Will thought. After reading the message again, he smiled. Great, he's not the only one who's a bit of tense about today, so is his best friend. Jem had been Will's best friend since they were toddlers, seeing that their parents were very good friends.

But unlike Will, Jem didn't move from one school to another. He spent his grade school days in China and then his middle school and first three high school years in London, the latest year was with Will. Unfortunately, a week after the end of their third year in high school, Jem and his parents got caught in an accident and well… he was the sole survivor.

The sound of his doors opening broke Will out of his own thoughts. He turned and gulped. His mother was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, her face furious. "Does it really take you twenty minutes to take a bath, pick clothes, and wear them?"

Will kept his mouth shut. He had learned from past experience that it's not a good thing to answer back to his mother when she's mad. His mother ignored his silence and took in his appearance. Her frown deepened. "It took you thirty minutes to 'get ready'," she said, oddly calm. She took quite a few deep breaths before exploding. "AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN COMB YOUR HAIR?!" Will kept his silence. "GO DOWNSTAIRS NOW OR YOU'LL BE DEAD, WILLIAM HERONDALE!" his mother shouted.

Still wanting to live, Will hurriedly ran out of his room and went downstairs to their dining room to eat breakfast. What a great way to start this day, he thought as he sat down and faced the deliciously-smelling delicacy of Agatha.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that morning Jem sighed again, which is, to be honest, a very un-Jem like thing to do. But then again, some things about him changed since his parents' death.

Today will be his – and Will's – first day in school at the St. Xavier's High School as senior students. It had been nearly two months now since he, along with the Herondale family moved from London to New York. Commendably, he had quite adjusted to the new place, the new surroundings, and the new people already. But still, he can't help but notice the way others would look at him whenever they would see him. Of course he can't blame them; after all, he's not a New Yorker and is just a foreigner.

Also, he got a lot of those looks before from Londoners when he arrived to live in London to study, although he had been in the place before due to countless vacations and visits to the Branwells, a family friend.

Jem sat down on his already fixed bed. Not knowing what to do, he reached for the trunk near his bed and then carefully pulled out a violin. He gingerly placed it on his lap and fingered the strings. Somehow, he relaxed. After some time, he returned the violin in its case. However, he didn't go back to sitting on his bed. Instead, he went to the window – the only window – in his room.

He slightly opened it letting some fresh air in his room. He inhaled it, quite dramatically. Oddly, the smell of the air here in Queens, New York, reminds him of China and he didn't know why. He closed his eyes and found peace. By now, his nervousness has subsided. His little bubble of peacefulness, however, was popped when his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, revealing that the caller is his best friend Will. He shook his head as he answered the phone, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I didn't know that you're a morning person until now, Will," he said.

"Well, I could say the same to you" Will replied.

Jem could almost see the smirk on his friend's face. He laughed a little bit. "Let me guess, your mom dragged you out of bed?"

Will sighed on the phone. "Actually, no, but yeah, she scolded me again."

"You know, you should really listen to her," Jem said.

"I know," Will answered, "but it's just frustrating that I have to wake up so damn early."

"It's our first day of school," Jem said.

"Yeah. You think I don't know that?" Will replied. "Anyways my point is that it's just the first day and who the heck goes to school very early on the first day of classes?"

"Maybe the new students?" Jem suggested.

Will sighed again. "We're not grade-schoolers for Christ's sake, Jolly James."

Jem laughed a little. "Okay, I get it, Whiny William."

"Very funny, Carstairs,"

"Really, Herondale,"

There was a momentary silence. Jem thought he heard the sound of a car stopping and a car door opening then closing. "Well…?" he asked.

"Well," Will said, "when do you plan to go outside your house and get into my car? Might I remind you that I am not your personal driver who'll be willing to wait for you?"

Jem laughed again as he moved to pick up his bag from a chair. "Might I also remind you that I never asked you to give me a car ride to school or to anywhere?" he said as he closed the door to his room. "And if I ever need a personal driver, you wouldn't really be my first choice."

"Ouch," Will said dramatically, "did you really say that? I thought that you're my best friend, Jem,"

"I am," Jem replied, "and yes, I said that. And stop reacting melodramatically."

Before Will could utter a reply through his phone, he saw the front door of Jem's family's little house. A moment later, it banged close behind his best friend. He quickly ended the call. "I was beginning to think that you'll never get out of your house," he said.

Jem just rolled his eyes. "I thought you don't want to go to school early."

"I actually don't want to," Will admitted.

Jem raised a questioning brow.

Will heaved out a sigh. "I don't want to stay in our house and wait. Mom would just annoy me."

"As I guessed," Jem said with a grin. "So… let's go? Are you driving or what?"

Will grinned. "Actually, I'd love it if you drive," he said, tossing the car keys to his best friend without even waiting for the other's agreement.

Welp. That's the prologue, my mangoes ^_^ I hope you liked it, if not… well, I guess I'm sorry

So… I honestly am overflowing with feels right now. To tell you the truth, I wasn't able to finish this chapter the day I started writing this... so the last part was written on another day. And on that 'another day' I also edited the first part (yes, mainly because of what I discovered in CP). And that 'another day' is actually today, the day that I'm typing this. And I just finished reading Clockwork Prince and ASDFGHJKLOMGOMGBTANFDSTUOISHFNMANDHSIJ. I just can't… Nate.. Jessie. Gideon. Sophie. Cecily. Will. Tessa. Jem. By the Angel, after all that was revealed in CP, I almost laughed at my plans for this story! XD

Okay, this is quite longer than I intended it to be. Well… I just hope you enjoyed reading it. And, um… can you be kind enough as to leave a review? I'd really appreciate it! :)

xoxo,

Devonne Gayle

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-August 20, 2013—

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