Following chapter is 2700 (roughly) words, not counting the A/N
I'VE LOST EVERY. SINGLE. FILE. ON. MY. COMPUTER. I HAVE NOTHING. NO STORIES, NO WORK, NOTHING.
Which means I had to retype this chapter. Meaning the letters thing is not as heart-wrenching as it was the first time. Believe me, Alex (being a sort-of-beta) actually wept REAL TEARS! With this chapter she just felt sad.
*sighs in anguish* Ok, reviews. Right.
247Ice-creamLover: I loved the idea of the flag! We shall stand in the proverbial corner and wave our flags together! By the way, I have actually heard of the Birthmarked trilogy, but I have a long list of books to read- Lord of the flies, Throne of Glass (and the ones after it) the Divergent trilogy and Uglies being above it. There's about nine below it. So yeah, it's a miracle I update on time! Oh yeah, that brings me onto the next review.
DauntlessShadowhunterChick: I update, without failure (unless there's an apocalypse, no internet connection, I have upload faults or I am physically unable to access Microsoft word or ) EVERY MONDAY. Does it seem long? Ok, actually, a week is pretty long, but it is honestly REALLY hard to right a chapter with a decent length, grammar check, write an alternate one (yes, I do that, and yes, it kills me to delete the other ones. If you don't like what happens in a certain chapter, blame Alex, she chooses the final one), put onto document manager, spell-check (I always miss something), look at the charts/CD's/songs on my phone to find a title and finally press upload. *Sighs* A lot of time. If I could update sooner, I really could. But a guarantee of a chapter is better than two updates one week, a three-month break and then another chapter. Right? :) Ok, I ranted. Sorry! Xx
Look-into-ma-eyes: THANK-YOU! When Hermione hit Draco in Prisoner of Azkaban, I shipped them. Right then. Just boom. BOOM.
Guess: There are about 7 billion people in the world, I am not going through all of them to guess who you are! Anyway, off topic there, I got distracted by your name. I know, Wessa are perfect and everything (the sass and the books, guys. The sass and the books) but yeah. Jillessa :3
Guest: Ah. I take it you didn't know about the HarryxHermione SCANDAL? Oops. I should have called plot twist. SORRY!
TMI SPOILERS UP AHEAD HELP! RayOfSunshineXOXO: I basically shipped Clary with everyone. I even shipped Climon. But I knew it wouldn't last because of the way Cassie wrote it, it was always so cold and un-enthusiastic (which was probably meant to be like that) but I'm happy it didn't end. Sizzy and Clace. Perfect.
Chionodoxa: *high fives* OH YEAH! GOTTA HEART SOME CLAREC! Oh, you may have noticed ^ up there that I referred to it as a scandal. I liked the idea.
Fify: This should be our thing. When I reply to your reviews (like now) I go 'SCREW THE CAPITOL' and then when you review you could start it off with 'SCREW THE CAPITOL'! Should this be a thing? This is a thing :) PS: You're welcome for the FILL. I may have already said it, but a Clarec and Fill fanfic is in order. This is happening.
Accioswiftgames: I would NOT have liked to be the others in the house when you screeched. But if it's at my writing, go ahead. Even if it's in anger. *whispers* But come on, DracoXHermione? Come on?
Boogalee99: Thank-you and wait no more!
Mrs. Herondale-Jackson: THANK-YOU! Romione is good. I like that. I accept that. Yeassss. I think Harry Potter is the only fandom where I accept the loved and common pairings. Unless, of course, Destiel, because Misha Collins is perfect and…. *breaks off before I scream with Supernatural feels*
AgentOir: Ah. I HAVE FOUND THE NEW SHERLOCK! OMGSH! Sorry, my sarcasm should be withheld until the story begins. Sorry. Anyway, yes they are. Well, wedding? Hm. I was just going to make them meet at a meal, but wedding works. A/N AT THE BOTTOM! Thank-you for my applause and reviewing every chapter even though all of them were up. Like thank-you. Wow. I will make sure to include you in the story!
Potter'98: Thank-you, Will-do and three days later and THE UPDATE ARRIVES!
AND WE ARE DONE! OMGSH IT TOOK ME 34 MINUTES TO REPLY TO THEM *sighs*
I'm sighing a lot recently.
OK, I'LL RAMBLE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER, IN MY IMPORTANT A/N!
Tessa hated planes that flew at night. Hated them with a passion. She was a heavy sleeper, so she was scared that if the plane was crashing she wouldn't wake up.
It was 11:34 now and people were still boarding. Sighing, Tessa closed her eyes, praying the plane wouldn't crash as she slept. Think New York, she told herself firmly. Eight hours isn't so bad.
When Tessa groggily opened her eyes, she looked at the clock on the small TV in front of her. 1:16. She groaned and went to turn off the light above her. Which, we shall add, she had not turned on.
"Please don't." Came a recognisable voice. "We're reading."
Tessa rubbed her eyes and looked to her left, for to the right was a window. "You're kidding me." She said in disbelief.
The boys next to her grinned. "Did you miss us much?" The one beside her, Jem, asked.
"Terribly." Tessa said shortly.
"You're a heavy sleeper, you know that?" Came Will's voice, as he leaned forwards to see Tessa.
"Yeah, but-" Tessa broke off. "How do you know?"
The boys sported mischievous grins, Will showing her the black sharpie he'd been holding.
Tessa glared at them. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't."
Jem and Will drew up their long legs onto their seats. "The restroom's at the back of the plane, it has a mirror." Will told her.
"You said restroom." Tessa noted as she furiously unbuckled her seatbelt.
Will gave her a wink. "I'm going to America, gotta make an effort." He told her.
"I hope you get eaten by cannibals." Tessa said crossly.
"The chances of that happening are two million to one, you know that?" Will asked, as Tessa went into the aisle.
"Know it all." Tessa muttered.
"Ignorant." Will said back, smirking.
Tessa finally gave up at scrubbing at the monocle, moustache and I heart Will Herondale on her face and went to sit down, the boys willingly moving their legs so she could pass.
"What are you reading?" She asked Jem, who grinned.
"The reasons that eight year old Will doesn't want to be my pen friend." Jem said.
"Diddums." Tessa said sarcastically.
Jem grinned again. "No, really." He passed her the booklet of paper.
.
To Jian-
As harsh as it may be to read, I have no desire to have a 'pen friend'. I do not want to write to you. Where would I begin? I do not know anything about you.
William Herondale.
.
"Oh." Tessa said. "What…?"
Will smirked. "Jem's school was learning English. Our two schools corresponded and decided to use the 'pen friend' notion to 'give the children an idea of different cultures'."
"And you were being horrible because…?" Tessa asked.
Will flashed a grin. "Because I didn't want to talk to someone who knew very little English, it would frustrate me to talk down to them. Plus… I was a horrible child."
It was Jem's turn to flash a grin. "Although I spoke English perfectly, so I wasn't exactly going to let Will talk down to me." Jem told her, showing her another piece of paper.
.
Dear William,
I am under the impression that the concept of a 'pen friend' is to get to know me.
James Carstairs.
.
"How old were you both here?" Tessa asked.
"Eight." Jem reminded her.
Tessa sighed. "Why is eight year old Jem's handwriting neater than mine is now?"
Jem smiled. "It only looks neat because Will's handwriting is an illegible scrawl." Jem told her. "I love reading these not so I can see the progression of our kindness towards each other but the difference in Will's handwriting."
Will made a disapproving noise. "I wasn't writing in my first language." He defended.
Jem raised an eyebrow. "The lettering is the same but in a different order. I had to write in a different alphabet."
Will rolled his eyes as Tessa looked through the booklet from Jem.
.
To -
I am under the impression that you appear to have two names.
William Herondale
.
"What?" Tessa asked.
Jem waved the question away. "The letter explains it."
.
Dear William,
You are correct. It is called a surname. You also have one- Herondale.
James Carstairs.
.
To -
I am always correct, though you are mistaken. Do I call you Jian or James?
William Herondale- The boy with one first name.
.
Dear William Herondale- The boy with one first name,
James is my English name. I presume it will be easier for you to write it, since you have been missing the line on Jiàn.
James Carstairs.
.
To James-
It has come to the attention of my teacher that whilst many people corresponding with page-long letters, we are writing single sentences.
So it appears I will have to get to know you.
…I am also being told to.
My name is William Herondale, but I prefer Will. I am eight years old. I used to live in Wales but I now live in London. My favourite colour is black. I like sports. I have one sister and her name is Cecily. I love reading, it's my favourite pastime.
William Herondale.
.
"So that's why you're taking English." Tessa noted.
Will rolled his eyes. "No, I can just correctly quote any line from any book I've ever read." He said sarcastically.
Tessa ignored him.
.
Dear Will,
I'm amazed. Ten sentences. I think we may have achieved a record. My English name is James Carstairs, though I live in Shanghai and have done my whole life. My Father is English, which is why I write the language more easily than my classmates- who are using the 'pen friend' idea to improve their English. My favourite colour is silver. I also like sports, though my favourite pastime is playing my violin. I don't have any brothers or sisters.
James Carstairs.
.
To James-
You broke my record! Do you know how long I had to strive to achieve that goal? Do you know how many trees were cut down to produce the paper I threw away because I made many mistakes? Do you know how many animals are now homeless because their forest is destroyed? How little oxygen now remains in the world because of the lack of trees? How thought-less of you.
I am also certain that we know enough about each other now, would you not agree?
Will Herondale
.
"I see you haven't changed much." Tessa said.
Will laughed. "You'd be surprised how different we both are now."
.
Dear Will,
I can only apologise for being so important to you that you cannot put a mistake on the letters you send me. And yes, I am confident we know enough about each other to finally be able to give each other the well-deserved title- 'pen acquaintance'. I'm honoured. It has been a privilege to get to know you this well, I don't think anyone else had any idea that you now live in London. I think you should tell your classmates, they would faint from shock.
James Carstairs
.
"Aw, true acquaintances." Tessa sighed.
"Obviously." Said Jem.
Will put another booklet onto her lap. "That's two years later." He told her. "My handwriting will pass your test now."
Jem made a noise of protest. "Are you sure we should-?"
Will shrugged. "What's on there?"
"My whole past." Jem told Will, who tensed.
Tessa had already begun reading.
.
To James-
Summer was fantastic! I went back to Wales with Cecy and met my family. I hadn't seen them in almost two years! Can you imagine? But anyway, me and Cecy climbed MT Idris, where we used to play as children. The view was incredible, I never really thought about it much when I was younger. They say spending the night there can make you a madman or a poet. I have camped there numerous times, so it is safe to say I am both. My favourite colour is no longer black, however. It has to be a light blue-grey colour. I don't know why, perhaps because it is the colour of the sky here in London. I like the clouds, but I do not like the rain. Anything knew on your continent?
Will
.
Tessa blushed slightly. Will's favourite colour was blue-grey, the same colour as her eyes. Her blush, however, faded, when she came to read Jem's letter.
.
Dear Will,
So much of my life has changed over the summer, it's like I am a new person. For example, I cannot stand the colour silver. I cannot think of a single good thing that has ever happened revolving around that colour. I especially hate the colour mercury. It's toxic, just like the metal.
I happen to love the rain- I find it to be clean and pure, the water holds the secrets of the earth and is almost as old as the earth itself.
I also will no longer be living in Shanghai. I will be moving, which also means I shall be moving schools, meaning I will no longer be able to correspond with you.
So… I guess this is the letter we will be closing with. If it were you, you would have included humour and sarcasm, you would have made it funny. I'm sorry I've been unable to do the same.
Thank-you for everything, Will. It's been a great two years, I couldn't have received a better pen-acquaintance than you. Why would you write a page of drabble when you can write a sentence of honesty and sarcasm?
James
.
"So… how come you're friends if Jem moved away?" Tessa asked.
The boys locked eyes with each other and nodded. "Read on." Will said in a tight voice.
.
To James,
Welcome home.
Will
.
"What?" Tessa said.
"Keep reading." Will said, his voice even tighter.
.
Dear Will,
You sound thrilled. Did I come on a bad day, or is it the fact you do not want to be my friend? I imagined you'd have so much more to say. Or write, as the circumstances are.
James
.
To James,
A little bit of both, I guess.
Will
.
"You don't seem to be 'pen-acquaintances' anymore." Tessa noted.
"It's the next one." Will said to Jem quietly, who nodded.
"Keep reading." Jem told Tessa.
.
James,
I overheard Charlotte and Henry before. They were discussing… well. You. They said you're dying. You're not really dying, are you?
Will
.
Tessa's mouth made an 'o' shape as she looked to the piece of paper, with nothing but one word on it.
.
Yes.
.
Tessa's heart was shattering for ten-year-old Jem.
.
James-
I'm sorry.
Will.
.
No. Don't be ordinary like that.
Be different.
Be the Will I knew in the letters.
Be my friend.
.
James-
Alright. Yes, I will be your friend, James Carstairs.
Will.
.
"I'm going to cry." Tessa said. "That's… that's sadder than a children's movie in which the main character dies."
Will rolled his eyes. "Since when did the main character die in a children's movie?"
"Bridge to Terabithia." Tessa said immediately.
"Technically, the main character was Jessie." Will informed her.
Tessa glared at him. "My point still stands." She paused. "And anyway, since when did you watch that film?"
Jem made dramatic gestures of slicing his neck whilst saying 'NO!'.
"Miss Gray, are you insinuating that… I watched a film without reading the book?" Will asked.
"Well, yes. It's a girl's book, Will." Tessa told him with a raised eyebrow.
Jem placed his head in his hands. Will dug into his travel bag and dug out a notebook, with which he flipped to the back page. He pulled the sharpie pen off with his impossibly white, impossibly straight teeth and paused. "Jem-" He began.
"Draw it yourself." Jem sighed, lifting his head from his hands.
Will gave his friend a glare, who had leant back in his seat and looking at Tessa with amused black eyes. "You started this." Jem told her.
Will leant forwards. "See this, Tessa?" He asked, showing her the notepad, which had a large, black circle in it. Tessa raised an eyebrow but nodded. "It's a Venn diagram." Will told her. "I'll just label it, hang on." He wrote on it and passed Tessa the diagram again.
Venn diagram to show the difference between boy's books and girl's books.
Jem looked at it and grinned. "Eight year old Will's handwriting is back." He noted.
Will elbowed him. "I'm sorry that I don't have girly handwriting, James."
Jem elbowed him back. "There is a difference, William, between legible and girly handwriting."
Will, once again, elbowed Jem. "I am aware of that. I'm just choosing to think that yours is girly."
Tessa rooted through her old, battered travel bag for a pen, unnoticed by the two boys, who were still 'arguing'. Finally she found it, a Dr Who parker pen which she'd received from Clary for her last birthday. Carefully sketching a circle on the back of Will's diagram, she drew a smaller circle beside it (though the two didn't touch), labelled it and then coughed to get their attention.
"William Herondale and James Carstairs, I present to you my diagram." She told them.
Jem took the diagram and laughed.
The larger circle was annotated with The difference between boys handwriting and girls handwriting. The smaller circle beside it was labelled Wills handwriting. Will looked at the paper and then plucked it from Jem's hand. When Tessa received the paper back, Will had marked it.
Shameful work, Miss Gray. The following words; girl's, boy's and Will's should have apostrophes. I was under the impression you're taking English, or are you only in my lectures so you can keep staring at me?
Final grade- U
Tessa glared at him. Knowing that talking back would be pointless, she kept her glare as she switched off the light ahead of them, giving a triumphant smirk that the boys couldn't see. "Just so you know, my expression is currently smug." Tessa told them. "Shame you can't see it."
"Ah." Will said in a mystical voice. "Sadly, Miss Gray, we can see your expression very well. You may want to get rid of the monocle and moustache on your face."
"You can see me?" Tessa said in a bored tone, unconvinced. "Alright. How many fingers am I holding up?"
She heard Will mutter something to Jem and heard Jem agree after stifling a laugh.
"Tessa holds up four, no wait, no fingers. She bunches her hands up into fists in annoyance that we guessed correctly." Will told her in a narrative voice.
"The girl now tightens her jaw and turns to look at us in both amazement and hatred." Jem said in the same tone Will had, but quieter.
"Now, we must be cautious. The dangerous thing about Miss Gray is that her anger is almost as dangerous as her cooking." Will said seriously.
"Perhaps." Jem continued in a hushed tone. "She may be scared off by…" There was a moment of bliss silence for a second.
"A sudden bright light." The two boys said, using their phones flash to shine it on her. Tessa squinted at the sudden brightness and turned away, just as something soft hit her face. In the light of the flash, she saw it was a white eye-mask, with a message scrawled across in Will's black sharpie. We knew and predicted every event up to now would happen ever since we saw our seats were beside yours. We're currently giving you this eye-mask because everything has gone to plan. And you will undoubtedly want to sleep. MERRY CHRISTMAS, TESSA!
Tessa glared at the eye-mask, knowing the bolder writing was Will's and the neat, considerate message was Jem's work, meaning the Merry Christmas was written by the both of them. Sighing, she put the eye-mask on her eyes and blotted out the quiet conversation that was going on beside her. It was in a foreign language anyway. Not that Tessa was complaining, by the flowing continuity of the words she guessed it was Italian. She caught only Will's sentence before she became unconscious with sleep.
"Perché dobbiamo visitare Magnus?" *
Magnus? Tessa thought. I wonder what Magnus has to do with this- Zzzz.
*I bet most of you figured it out (especially Fify), I'm not going to tell you the translation. You're like Tessa in this instance, you figure it out later.
R&R please guys, it took me a lot of self-encouragement to write this chapter- I have a strong fear of planes.
Ok, important A/N. Heronstairs story, with plot, non-romantic for about 8 chapters, implied for two and then finally something happens, which takes place in medieval Idris/France, or a fic about famous Jace and Will, Tessa and Clary being as more as anything and the only money they make isn't from the coffee shop they work in but in Tessa's evening job, which Will hires her for (it is a T fic and I'm fourteen, I skip out the 'adventures beneath the sheets'), and then things go massively pear-shaped and horrible, Jem's life is ruined by Edmund Herondale and one of the main characters die, but we get Clace, Jessa, Sizzy, Malec, SophiexJem and Wessa along the way?
Why do I ask? Well, since I plan on City of Infernal Games being finished by May, I'll have chance to upload one of the following. I'm swaying towards the 2nd one.
Speaking of City of Infernal Games, I can't upload tonight as I haven't had a chance to re-type it, since, you know, I LOST EVERY FILE ON MY COMPUTER! THIS ISN'T JUST MICROSOFT, OH NO, THIS IS MY WHOLE GODDAMN MAIN SETTING ON MY COMPUTER. Sims? Gone. Microsoft? Gone. Photos and videos? Gone.
Grrr. I have Heronstairs story and the other one because they were on my pen drive (thank-god, they're both over 30,000 words) so YEAH!
OK, on that POSATIVE NOTE, I'll end it. Bye!