Just to clear things up, this is set after Clockwork Angel. They're still at the Institute. Please read and review! And in your review, please tell me if you want Tessa to be with Will or Jem . If no one says anything… then I'll just have to chose on my own. We wouldn't want that, would we?
Tessa combed her hair and slipped into a black and red dress. Her cheeks still burned from her encounter with Will. There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," Tessa called. Sophie stuck her face through the door.
"There's a girl that's coming to stay at the Institute, and Charlotte wanted you all to meet her," Sophie said. Tessa nodded, hoping that the girl wasn't like Jessamine.
She was right and wrong.
The girl's face and hair was hidden behind the hood of her black jacket, and her legs were curled under her as she sat on the sofa. Will and Jem appeared after Tessa, closely followed by Jessamine.
"So you're the new girl," Jessamine said, trying to peer under the dark hood. The girl nodded.
"Not really new. I know half of the people here," she said. Her voice was soft and dreamy, singsong like. Will and Jem's faces turned suddenly to face her.
"Kristi?" Will whispered. She nodded. The way he said her name made Tessa's heart ache, then she felt a pang in her heart when she realized the tone he spoke with wasn't to her.
"Lower your hood," Jessamine said. When the girl, Kristi, didn't, Jessamine scowled and added, "Please."
The hood came down.
Silence filled the room, and Charlotte looked on with a wide eyed expression. Even Henry, who was passing by, stopped to look. It wasn't that she was ugly. No. She was far from ugly. She wasn't pretty like Jessamine either. She was drop dead gorgeous.
Her hair was so dark it sent midnight on a run for its money. Her eyes were a warm, coppery brown color, innocent and doe like, yet mischievous with a slight dangerous edge to it. Her face was pale, and curly locks of black hair tumbled down past her shoulders.
"I'm Kristi," She said, curling herself into a little ball on the couch. Tessa saw her fingers reach for something on her belt, only to find it missing. Her gun? Or perhaps her dagger?
"This is Kristi. As she's a Shadowhunter, she'll be staying with us. She'll take the empty room between Will and Jem, and across the hall from Jessamine. Any questions?" Charlotte asked, apparently the first one to get her voice back. Outside, Henry stopped gaping, and stumbled on down to do whatever experiment he was going to perform next. Charlotte rose and left the room.
"I'll let you guys get to know each other," She said, before walking down the hall.
"How do you curl your hair like that?" Jessamine asked. Kristi shrugged.
"It was like this. I don't curl it," she said. She hugged herself even tighter.
Jem moved to sit beside her, with Will standing on the other side. Kristi curled up in her little ball for another minute, before flinging herself at Will, who hugged her fiercely. Jem stroked her hair, and Jessamine and Tessa stood their awkwardly as Kristi sobbed.
"You were dead," Jem murmured.
"So were you," Kristi said. Her face showed no sign of the tears that had flowed only seconds ago.
"Ah, we're all dead now? Is this heaven?" Will teased, "If this was heaven, then Henry shouldn't be banging up whatever he's doing."
Tessa and Jessamine looked on uncomfortably as Will, Jem, and Kristi laughed. Then Kristi blinked her pretty brown eyes, as if seeing Tessa and Jessamine for the first time.
"Hi," she said shyly. Jessamine gave her a sharp glance, her eyes flickering meaningfully at Jem, then Will.
"This is Kristi. Our… old neighbor, and our best friend," Will said.
"Look who you're calling old," Kristi scowled.
"I guess you can't be old with all that baby fat on you," Will mused out loud. Kristi snorted.
"Look who's talking," Kristi said.
"Get a room," Jessamine muttered. Kristi fell silent.
"Well… I'll erm… show you around," Jem said after a long period of uncomfortable silence. Kristi nodded, relief showing clearly on her face. She turned to Tessa with a smile.
"Wanna come?" Kristi asked. Somehow, Tessa found herself smiling and nodding at Kristi, even though the way Will looked at Kristi sent pangs of jealousy ripping through her heart.
"I knew Will and Jem when they were small. Will was always the reckless one," Kristi said, a faraway look in her eyes.
"And then he came," she said bitterly. Jem fell silent, and they walked down the hall in bitter silence.
"What happened?" Tessa dared ask. Kristi muttered something under her breath, then sighed.
"Killed Will's parents. Jem was already… an orphan," Kristi said. Jem rubbed her arm as if to comfort her.
"Set the whole place on fire, found out about my 'abilities' then made me a Shadowhunter. Course, they had to tell everyone I was dead," Kristi added, swearing… colorfully under her breath.
"Abilities?" Tessa asked. Kristi looked at her suspiciously.
"Yeah…" Kristi said.
"No not like that. I've got… abilities too," Tessa said quickly, and Kristi's suspicion dissolved into curiosity.
"What can you do?" Kristi asked. Tessa thought for a moment.
"It'd be best to show you. I need an object though. Like a ring, a handkerchief…" Kristi took off one of her bracelets. Tessa took it in her hand, and took a breath. Changing was easy now that she'd done it a hundred times before. Kristi gasped slightly, and Tessa opened her eyes again, now the perfect replica of Kristi. Tessa changed back to her normal self before handing Kristi back the bracelet, and noticing, with another pang, that Jem was standing beside Kristi, not Tessa. Tessa shook off the heavy feeling. They aren't dating or anything. And since when did I like Jem? Tessa shook her head as if to clear the thoughts. When she looked at Jem and Kristi, they were looking at her expectantly, as if expecting her to say something.
"What?" Tessa asked, feeling very stupid.
"She asked if you wanted to know what her… ability is," Jem said. Tessa smiled.
"Now that you asked, I can't possibly say no."
"Curiosity kills the cat," Kristi said.
"So what can you do?" Tessa asked, barely containing her curiosity. Kristi bit her lip, thinking.
"It's kind of hard to show right now, so I'll try to put it in words. I can…"
And we cut off right there. Wanna know what Kristi's ability is? Then review! Also in your review, tell me if Tessa should be with Will, Jem, or another guy *wink wink. And who should KRISTI be with? You guys can pick!
As for now… I'll be holding the next chapter hostage until I get a good amount of reviews. For starters, let's aim for 5 reviews, okay? I'd be thrilled if we could get more. *Smiles dreamily. Anyways, yes I do have that next chapter finished, and no you won't be reading it until I get some reviews coming.
I don't write for free, peoples. I don't write for money, I write for reviews. Plenty of reviews. So keep them coming!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters from the Infernal Devices. All characters in this story so far, (other than Kristi, who I made up) is owned by Cassandra Clare.