One Shot – WESSA
Song: Better in Time – Leona Lewis
MODERN AU – Will breaks up with Tessa, so she goes back to New York for the winter break. When she gets back to London to start the New Year, all of the feelings come rushing back and she can't help but still feel helplessly in love with him. The only question at hand is, does he still love her?
Better in Time
'It's been the longest winter without you; I didn't know where to turn to. See somehow I can't forget you, after all that we have been through.'
Tessa listened to the lyrics play out on her iPod, all of the feelings rushing back through her veins. She remembered the day that William left. He claimed that he wasn't good enough for her and that he would hurt her, and after what happened with Ella; William truly believed that she was better off without him. But in her heart she loved him whole, for every perfection and for every flaw. She stood there bewildered at what had gone down, not truly accepting what had happened. It was only until later when she went to see him that she realised he actually meant it. He blocked her out of his life. No matter how many times she called or begged him, crying at his doorstep, he didn't come to see her. In the end she felt as though maybe he was just using that as an excuse and that he never really loved her.
'Go and coming, thought I heard a knock, whose there no one, thinking that I deserve it, now I realise that I didn't really know.'
Her heart burned in her chest, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She cried for nights on end. Her emotions were running wild, she didn't know what to feel anymore. Soon if was the anniversary of her parents death and she felt homesick more than ever. Winter break was approaching and she wanted to get away from life. It was too painful for her. She bought a one-way ticket to New York. Even though she no longer had family there it still felt like home. She stayed at a hotel for the next three months.
'Even though I really love you, I've got to smile because I deserve too, it'll all get better in time.'
She took a literature and arts class at a college in New York over the summer which was London's winter break. The classes kept her occupied and she made quick friends with the people there, though they could really never replace the friends she had back home. The days slowly got shorter and easier to handle, or so she thought. That was until she landed back in London. Her plane just arrived and now she was sitting in a taxi, taking the hour long ride back to her apartment. She stared out of the window, the music sinking into her skin and the sun bathing her with warmth. She took a deep breath, she needed to be brave. She needed to be strong. The thing is that William lived across the hall from her apartment. So the possibility of her bumping into her there was greater than at the Institute where they studied. The taxi slowly pulled up in front of her building and she took her earphones out. She fished some money out of her wallet and passed it to the Taxi driver and thanked him. She jumped out of the taxi and took her suitcase out of the boot. Now she was standing on the apartment building steps, starring at the door. I can do this. She thought to herself.
She walked up the small steps and took her card out of her pocket. Sticking it in, she scanned it and opened the door to the building. She walked over to the stairs and sighed loudly not knowing how she was going to take her massive suitcase up. She scrunched her nose up and then realised she would just have to drag it up the staircase, until she reached the fourth level.
She grabbed the handle and heaved it up the steps, one by one. Eventually she made it to her level. She gave out a loud breath she had been holding and then collapsed on the floor next to her suitcase. She looked in her bag and realised she didn't have the house key with her. She groaned and then realised the only spare was in Will and Jem's apartment.
She stood up and fixed her hair slightly, and then scolded herself. Why do you care about how you look, he dumped you anyway. She had a sour look on her face and tried to wipe it off before she went over. She didn't want to look grumpy or bitter over something trivial.
She slowly walked over to their apartment. Number 4.2H and knocked on the door. She gulped, and prayed that William didn't come to the door. Please be home Jem, please be home. A moment later, she heard footsteps coming toward the door and she could hear locks being opened. The door flew wide open and it was Jem. She sighed in relief that her prayers were answered. She smiled brightly as he realised that she was back.
"Tessa" Jem said smiling with excitement. He jumped at her and gave her a hug.
"Jem, it's good to see you." She said giggling and hugging him back.
Jem stepped back and laughed before inviting her in. She walked inside the apartment reluctantly. The last time she had been here, it was under different circumstances. She walked over to the kitchen bench and sat down, as Jem came in with her luggage and offered her a drink.
"Thanks" she said softly before taking a sip of the grapefruit juice. It was her favourite.
"You're welcome. I wasn't sure when we would be expecting you back from New York. How was it?" Jem asked, pouring himself a glass of water.
"It was lovely; it was nice to finally be home again. I didn't realise how much I missed New York." Tessa said genuinely smiling.
"That's good, you enjoyed it. We start back at college in a few days, it's been hectic lately. Charlottes nearly due as well." Jem said proudly.
Charlotte was like a mother to them all and she was having her first child quite soon.
"Are they still naming the baby Budford?" Tessa asked with a cheeky smirk on her face
"Henry wants to, but Charlotte keeps refusing to force such a name on her first born." Jem said chuckling.
There was an awkward but comfortable silence between the two, before Jem got to the chase.
"So why are you here?" Jem asked bluntly before taking a sip of his water.
"I forgot my keys in my apartment before I left. You've got the spare." She said sighing as he reached into the top cupboard and pulled out her set of keys.
"There you go. Would you like to go for dinner tonight, everyone's coming to Charlotte's?" Jem asked passing the keys over to Tessa.
Tessa looked away from Jem's gaze for a moment before taking a breath and then looking back at his hopeful face. A sincere grin took place on her face.
"Of course, I'd love to come. I've got some unpacking to do and what not, so I will just meet you there." Tessa said, she wouldn't mind taking a ride with Jem, but that also meant seeing Will again. Which she hadn't done in over three months. Unless you count starring at pictures of him on her phone when she cried.
"Sure, it starts at 7." Jem replied.
"Well, I better go then and get ready." She said before picking up her bag and making her way to the door. She put her hand on the handle and opened the door and saw William walking up the stairs, at the end of the hall. She stared at him for a moment bewildered and she could feel her face drop. She gulped as he stared at her confusingly. She pulled her handbag closer to her and walked over to her apartment, quickly fumbling with her key, opening her door swiftly and slamming the door shut.
She slid down the back of the door, the back of her eye lids slowly prickling with tears. She brought her hand to her mouth and tried to stop the sobs that escaped her. She prayed that no one could hear her. After taking a few minutes to compose herself, she stood up and shrugged off her coat and hung it on the rack in the hallway. She walked into the main living area and fell face forward onto the couch. She grabbed her remote and turned the TV on. She flicked through until she reached the movie channel and pressed play to pride and prejudice. She watched the movie until she felt her eyelids becoming heavier until she eventually fell into a sleep.
A few hours later, she woke up groggily and looked over at the clock on the coffee table. 6:25pm. She groaned realising that the dinner was at 7pm. She stripped off her clothes til she was bare and jumped into the hot shower. The water stung her skin in a pleasurable way, running down and clearing her mind. She scrubbed her body free of the smell of airplanes and washed her hair in lavender shampoo. She hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body before taking the hair dryer out and blow-drying her hair into waves. Once that was done, she dried off and slipped into some stockings and put on her favourite deep red dress. It was long sleeve, backless dress, tight at the top and slowly flowing out from her mid-section down to her knees. She grabbed her clockwork necklace and placed it over her neck and also put on a smidge of makeup to cover the red rimmed eyes and nose from her previous cry session. She popped on her black coat and put some black heel boots on. Tessa also grabbed the gifts from New York for everyone all in one bag and turned the lights off.
She opened her door and walked out into the hall and locked her door, putting her keys in her pocket, praying that she didn't lose it as it was her last spare. Walking down the stairs and into the cold London air, she hailed a taxi and gave the driver Charlotte's address.
By the time Tessa left the apartment and arrived at Charlotte's home, it was already 20 past 7. Muttering a thank you to the taxi driver she passed him the money and ran out of the taxi quickly and up to Charlotte's front door. Tessa knocked on the front door and smiled as Cyril opened it up.
"It's good to see you again Miss Tessa." He said gesturing for her to come inside.
"Like wise Cyril." She said before looking over and seeing everyone sitting in the main living area. When Jem said everyone would be here, he really meant it. Sitting on the couches and chairs mingling were Charlotte, Henry, Jessamine, Cecily, Gabriel, Gideon, Sophie, Magnus, Jem and Will.
"May I take your coat?" Cyril asked politely.
"Of course Cyril, thank you." She said smiling at him as he took her coat off and she nervously walked over to the crowd, her red dress swaying at each step she took. She wondered how she looked towards them all. She hadn't dressed like this before; she really was never one for fashion. But in New York she had seen some of Magnus's designs there and this was actually one of his dresses.
As she walked over, she saw most of the eyes on her. Except for William, the only one she truly cared about.
"Tessa." Charlotte said with excitement. She stood up only to have Henry fuss about with her, she was about 8 months pregnant and massive. Tessa walked over to her smiling and gave her a nice long hug.
"Oh Charlotte, it's so good to see you." Tessa said giving her a kiss on the cheek.
For the next few minutes everyone spent catching up quickly and going in for a nice dinner. The dinner went peacefully; everyone chatted and ate like a happy family.
William and Tessa though seemed to be ignoring each other. Not sparing another glance at each other or a word for that matter. Eventually dinner was over and light drinks were served. Tessa excused herself and walked outside into the garden for a moment with her drink. Charlotte's garden was massive, and Tessa loved the fountain area, hidden on the far end of the estate. She walked over there, breathing in the fresh air of the night and relaxing. There was too much awkward tension between her and Will inside, she just needed to get away from it all. She had been back less than a day and she didn't know why she expected things to go better than they had in the last few months.
Eventually she made it to the fountain area and sat down on the bench and just watched the water repeat itself in the same pattern, over and over and over again.
She brought the wine glass to her mouth and took another sip and stared at it for a second before just taking a swig and swallowing the whole thing down in one go.
"Whoa there, slow down." she heard that familiar voice say with a deep chuckle. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath as she felt the weight shift on the bench. Slowly she turned her head and looked over at William. He looked so relaxed and calm. She wondered how he could be so calm and collected in their situation.
"Sorry, I just really needed that drink." She said half chuckling before walking over to the fountain. She took her shoes off and then her stockings and-
"Why are you taking your clothes off?" William suddenly asked, confused and awkward.
"I'm not." She replied, putting her shoes and stockings aside, before stepping into the fountain. The cold water felt relaxing on her feet and it went just above her ankle.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I don't know anymore, William. I really don't know." She said softly, turning to face him.
He walked towards the fountain and sat down next to her, on the opposite side, having his back to the water. She turned her head to look at him and realised that he was already looking at her.
"Why." She asked softly, looking into his eyes.
"Why what?" he replied, knowing fully well of what she was referring too.
"Why did you break up with me." She asked her grey eyes empty and emotionless.
"I'm bad. I'm not good for you, for anyone." He replied coldly, before turning his face away.
"I don't believe that for one second." She said stubbornly.
"I am, and you best to leave it at that." He said and then muttering about how he shouldn't even be here.
"If you were bad for me, then why do I cry myself to sleep every night, I-If you were bad for me, then why do I feel like I'm broken inside because you aren't with me? If you were bad for me, then-then why do I still love you." She said, tears trickling down her face, as she starred at her hands in her lap. She couldn't do this anymore.
William turned to her, and didn't know what to say. He thought that she would have moved on by now. That after three months of not speaking to him and his pathetic behaviour towards her that she would forget about him or at the least hate him not love him.
He pulled her closer to him in an embrace as she let the tears out. He realised what an idiot he was, to let a girl like her go. She was his one and only. But he knew that he wasn't good enough for her, so he thought he should let her go, and find someone better.
He kissed her on her forehead and turned her head so that she was looking at him.
"I am so sorry Tess." He whispered softly.
"I shouldn't have let you go; I shouldn't have done that to you, to us. I love you." He said before leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.
The tears rolled down her cheek and she could taste the saltiness of them intertwined with their kiss. His soft lips caressed her own and he put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him so that there was no longer any space between their bodies.
He had been waiting and longing for her, for three long months. She brought her hands up and dangled them around his neck, before running her fingers through his hair, causing him to moan into her mouth. Breaking apart and slightly out of breath, the two starred into each other's eyes for a moment, before he whispered on her lips. I love you.
Better in time.
Heroherondaletotherescue – I really hope that you all enjoyed that drabble with Tessa and William. Personally I loved writing it, though I know there are some parts that could be worked on to be improved. If you have any comments on it, please feel free to review. Constructive criticism is always great, I would really appreciate it. It would be my pleasure to write some more, only if you would like.
This is just a one shot that i was inspired to write, I have had the worst writers block for my Fanfic so i have just been writing some one shots for the moment. Review if you liked it and would like more drabbles like this. ;)
DISCLAIMER - I do not own the Infernal Devices, or any of the characters involved. I also do not own the Song - Better in Time by Leona Lewis.
Thank you, and take care. X