Okay. Once again, I must ask myself. Am I crazy? What the hell am I getting myself into? Starting another story? I have, like...five. and I barely update them anymore, now that school has started. But it's just...this idea I got! And I knew I needed to write something about it!

And, special thanks, with all my heart, to SilverJem5, for helping me think up an idea like this, and MortalShadowhunter, for being my truly amazing beta! :) :) :) You guys are too amazing for words, I swear. They were my first two readers of this story, and if you like it, you have got to check out their stories! :)

Tess, The Writer, Tessa, The Musician

The First Day

Tess's P.O.V.

"Tessa!" I call from the bathroom, and wait for a moment. She comes stumbling into the bathroom a few moments later, still in her pyjamas, and her hair tangled about like an unwelcome weed.

At this moment, we've never looked more different.

"What?" she mumbles, pushing the messy strands out of her face. "It's only six. Our first class doesn't start until eight. Why are you up so early?"

"It's our first day of college!" I exclaim, picking up my brush, and running it through my hair, for what seems to be the fifth time. I can't help it. I'm naturally a nervous wreck.

Tessa rolls her eyes with an exasperated look, but there is a hint of a smile on her face. "What did you want to ask me so much that you had to wake me up?"

"You would have woken up when I went back into the room. It's a downside to dorm rooms." I reply, checking my lip gloss in the mirror. "And I wanted to ask you where you put the eyeliner. I can't find it."

Tessa yawns, and stretches her arms over her head. "It's outside, on the table. Do you want me to get it for you?"

Shaking my head, I smirk a little. "I'll get it. You should wash up and get ready. You look like a mess."

"I just woke up," she points out, but she grabs her face cloth, and begins to soak it in water, to wash her face. I, on the other hand, walk out into the main room, finding the eyeliner right where Tessa had said it was. Using a hand mirror, since she's using the bathroom, I apply it quickly, then go over to the closet.

Throwing the doors open, I am once again amazed at the amount of clothes we have. It's pretty stupid that I still think this way. After all, we have been identical twins for, well, our whole lives...And even though we share the same clothes, buy more than we need, the number of possible outfits that barrage my senses every time I open the door never ceases to amaze me.

As I'm going though our massive and mostly unnecessary clothes, Tessa comes out of the bathroom, looking more like her normal self, though unlike me, her face is devoid of makeup, except for a little mascara and lip gloss.

There had been a time in our lives where we would argue over who was prettier, until we realized that, by calling the other person ugly, we were insulting ourselves as well...So we settled with the fact that being identical is chic and that we were passable when it came to looks...Though I still like to think I'm cooler.

"What are you going to wear?" she asks, coming over to stand by me, and peer into the closet. "Can you hand me those jeans?"

Even though we have almost twenty pairs of jeans, I know exactly which ones she wants, and hand them to her. "I don't know what I want. What do you think?"

Tipping her head to the side, she sits down on one of the beds, and yanks off her pyjama shorts, and pulls the jeans on. "Maybe...the blue sundress you look awesome in? It's really nice outside, and there's hardly any wind."

"You're right. What shirt are you going to wear?" I ask her, turning around to undress, and pull the dress on, over my head.

Tessa stands up, and picks out a flowy pink shirt, and puts it on. "There. How do I look?"

"You look great-" Damn. Does that count as complimenting myself too? "-What time is it now?" Closing the closet, I admire the dress in the mirror, but my reverie is quickly broken when I feel my stomach rumble. "Can we go get breakfast?"

She nods, and I grab my bag from the desk. "Let's go, then."

Walking out, into the hallway, I remember when we came here, a week ago, to the London Institute. It had been hard to find our way around, but we managed, and now, it's like a second home.

I'm majoring in literature, trying to become a writer, and Tessa is majoring in music, planning to become a professional violinist and pianist.

"Tess," she says, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. "I feel like we've been here awile, but we haven't met anyone yet."

"I feel like that too. Don't worry, though. I'm sure we will make friends in our classes." Making our way into the dining hall, it's not as packed as I thought it would be, but then again, the London Institute is a much smaller university than most. It's quite a prestigious one, too.

We grab plates, and serve ourselves food, then sit down at a table for four, near the corner of the room. It's pretty quiet in here, but there is still the low rumble of chatter around us. Taking a bite if the food, it's decently good, but I can tell it's been sitting out for at least a little while.

Tessa, on the other hand, takes out her schedule. "What classes do we have together, again?"

I know my schedule by heart, so when I look over at her paper, I immediately know. "Not many. Just statistics, and if you count lunch a class."

"Well, that's one out of four," she points out, folding the paper back up, and tucking it into her pocket. "How's the food?"

"Cold." I laugh, motioning to her plate. "And yours is probably worse."

Picking up a piece of egg, she sticks it into her mouth, makes a face, then chews. "It's fine. I'm not picky, you know."

Suddenly, I hear someone clear their throat behind me. It's a deep voice, so I guess it's a guy. Turning around, I have to look up to see their face. When I do, the first thing I see is a tall, fit, dark haired guy, with striking blue eyes. Next to him, is a more slender, elegant boy, whose skin tone and eye shape are Asian, but his hair and the irises of his eyes are surprisingly silver.

"Umm...Hi..." I greet them instinctively, and Tessa looks up too.

The blue eyed boy motions to the empty seats. "Can we sit here?"

Will's P.O.V.

Yes, so there were other seats in the dining hall where Jem and I could have sat, but it was a random act of Will's Daily List of Courageous Decisions to go ask them if we could sit with them...Not that I'm usually shy around the female gender, if you know what I mean. It's just...these two seemed different. Which is weird...because they're identical twins.

I let out a sigh of relief when the one I had asked, the one wearing a blue dress, nodded, and I sat down next to her. Jem sits on the other side, next to the girl in the pink shirt.

"So," I say, trying to start conversation at an otherwise silent table. "I'm Will Herondale, and this is Jem Carstairs. What are yours...or do you just want us to call you the identical twins, because I'm fine with that too."

The girl in the dress smiles, her teeth perfectly white and straight. "I'm Tess Gray, and this is my twin sister, Tessa. Don't ask my what our parents were thinking, naming us like this. They were quite stressed, at the time."

Jem laughs, and turns to Tessa, the one in jeans and a pink shirt. "I'm Jem. It's nice to meet you." Then, he does the same to Tess. God, this is kinda confusing... Tess, and Tessa. Who would have thought?

Tessa laughs softly, noticing my expression. "It's a lot easier to tell us apart, one you know us better. Don't worry"

"That's a matter of opinion," Tess replies. "Dad could never tell us apart, even after eighteen years."

"We did try to mess him up, though." Tessa giggles at the thought. "We would dress like each other, and tell him we weren't who he thought we were, even if we were."

Jem glances at me, giving me a half smile. It's obvious that he enjoys listen to them talk, as he is horrible at hiding his emotions most of the time. I, on the other hand..."Are you two freshman?" he asks them, and as they both turn to look at him, he blushes just lightly, a pale pink coming over his cheekbones, and he looks shyly at her with lowered eyes.

Tessa is the one that replies, or, at least, I think it's Tessa. "Yes. Are you?"

"We both are, as well as my sister," I reply for Jem, and he gives me a look of thanks. "She isn't my twin, but she's a little less than a year younger, and in the same grade."

"Maybe you could introduce her to us, sometime?" She suggests, taking a bite of the toasted English muffin on her plate. "That would be fun, don't you think?"

"It would. She's currently over there, with her friend, Sophie," I reply, motioning to the table, where they sit with the Lightwood boys.

"So, what classes are you taking?" Tess asks both Jem and I, but I'm the first to reply.

"I'm taking literature, creative writing, stats, and world history," I say, and her eyes light up.

"I have literature and creative writing, too, as well as stats!" she exclaims, "I bet we're in the same class, don't you think?"

"Literature first, and creative writing, second?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "And stats third, after lunch?"

"Yeah! That's exactly what I have! And you have stats with both Tessa and I." She looks to Jem. "What classes are you taking?"

"I guess I have stats, with you all, and I'm also taking orchestra, music appreciation, and biology," he replies, the blush still apparent on his face.

Tessa's eyes widen, and she stares at Jem, making him shrink back in his chair. "Orchestra and music appreciation? What instrument do you play?"

"I play violin," he admits, and waits for a response from her.

"I play violin, too! This is such a coincidence! I also play piano." Tessa replies, pulling at a lock of her hair.

Jem grins, and looks up at her, though a layer of his pale hair. "I'm sure I will see you in my classes, then. I can't wait."

Suddenly, the bell rings, and students get up to leave, for their first class, but it's only seven. "I don't have a class until eight. What about you two?"

"I don't either," they reply in unison.

"Is it a twin thing to do that? To say things at the same time?" I ask, genuinely wondering.

Tess laughs, and smooths out some wrinkles on her dress, her wavy brown hair falling into her face. "It rarely happens, luckily. I don't think I could stand it, if we said the same thing all the time."

It's interesting to see, how these two girls, who look exactly the same, can be so different. It's obvious that Tess is more outgoing, and Tessa is more reserved, and quiet. More like Jem, I have to say. Even as we continue talking for a while longer, getting to know some things about each other, and discussing what we want to do with our life, I can feel myself get comfortable. The more we converse, it just seems like we click...like we've been friends forever. It's a strange feeling too, seeing as I'm not great at making genuine friends as well as I am making-

The class bell rings suddenly and our conversation halts to a close, all of us rising to our feet. "Well, I guess we are off to literature. I'll see you and Jem later."

Jem and Tessa nod, and begin to walk in the opposite direction-together-to the band room. With a hint of a grin on my mouth, I begin to walk to literature, making sure I'm going just slow enough and looking back at Tess just frequently enough so she knows that I'm waiting for her. And with that, she hurries up to me and smiles-genuinely.

So...love it? Hate it? Are you totally confused? Leave a review, and let me know what you think, or to ask questions. Also follow, and favorite, please! They give me so much motivation, to hurry up and post again! :)

~Jillessa Heronstairs~