* * * * AN * * * *

Sorry this took a while,

but when the motivation's not there; it's not there.

Your comments really help though,

thanks so much and I hope you like this chapter.

I decided to make Will and Jem massive fanboys.

Just cause.

Also, sorry if a bit of Jessa bothers you,

but this fic is about Tessa making her choice;

in a way.

You're all wonderful.

* * * * /AN * * * *

Tessa did manage to hang around long enough to finish her breakfast, a totally delicious combination of flavours, aggravatingly new to her. And Will, ever the gentleman, claimed that he would walk her to the hotel, waving down her protests by claiming she was bound to get lost. He was so distant though, on the journey, and Tessa opted to treat him in the same manner he was addressing her until he snapped out of it. It was a good idea, she thought, in theory, but when applied made for a very quiet company.

Will opened a shabby door in a row of run-down terraced houses and beckoned Tessa in after him. The inside of the building was so different to the crumbling exterior that Tessa's mouth dropped open. The front room was, while cramped, so very quaint and friendly-looking, Tessa felt instantly at home. She heard a chuckle from behind and turned to see Jem, rosy cheeked, watching her. She smiled and was on the verge of asking after his health when Will pounced on him.

"Jem, how are you? What was it? Was it the worst..? I feel utterly at fault I knew that would be too much for you, I-" Tessa didn't think she'd ever seen Will let his wall down so much, and it dawned on her just how close these boys were.

Jem shrugged his friend of with a huff. "I'm fine, you daft thing, nothing to worry about." He turned to Tessa. "Though I was sorry to cut our game short, I didn't mean to ruin the fun. I trust you made it home in one piece?" Tessa found herself noting how Jem's eyes sparkled with life as he addressed her, before his words sunk in and it occurred to her she would have to go into the whole explanation.

"Actually.." She began, with no idea where she was going with it.

"Actually," Will interjected, "Tessa's home is no longer fit for her." He cut Jem a look as if to say he would explain later and Tessa felt a rush of gratitude towards him, ever giving the appearance of knowing just what she needed. Well, except when he ignored her for no evident reason. "And I said it would be fine for her to stay here."

Jem looked concerned, but saw fit not to voice his worries. "Of course, that's no problem at all. You stay as long as you like, Tessa - I live here too so I can show you the ropes." He had on a wide grin, and Tessa found herself comparing the boys, and being glad of Jem's bubbly consistency while Will was so unpredictable. As if to demonstrate her musing, Will turned with a gloomy look on his face, murmuring something about not being needed here, and exited swiftly. Jem laughed. "Don't mind him; he can be a bit of a Gaius but you get used to it." He laughed at his own reference, exiting the room in his graceful way and leaving Tessa feeling both lost and bemused. He poked his head back around the doorframe and inquired "wouldn't you like the tour?". Tessa giggled and followed him.

Tessa found herself getting easily lost in Jem's friendly nature, losing track of time as he showed her around and she met Henry's parents, who supposedly ran the hotel but really left most of the work down to Charlotte and Henry. Though on first meeting them she had thought they were a little cold and hostile, she saw that both Charlotte and Henry were genuinely lovely people once you got to know them, and were perhaps simply a tad shy. Henry had a loud and playful nature while Charlotte was caring and considerate, making sure Tessa felt right at home – it was evident Will had filled them all in about her previous circumstances. She hated to notice their pitying looks, feeling unutterably stupid that it had taken someone else's action to make her realise what a monster her brother had become. But how could anyone understand, unless they had been in such a position? Most would surely assume that anyone choosing to stay with a person who hurt them must be so foolish in all aspects of life, but there is something about the nature of love that can blind a person to another's faults.

Charlotte broached the topic of work after a few days, informing Tessa that should she wish to earn some money – though there was no pressure for her to – they were always looking for new employees and could certainly find things for her to do. At that Tessa just had to embrace the other girl, as she had seen enough to know that there was hardly any work for even the current staff and they were fairly strapped for cash seeing as it was approaching the off-season. Charlotte stiffened at first in surprise, but soon responded by squeezing back. Tessa felt she had made another friend. Jem and Henry took time to show her how to clean and make up the rooms, and Tessa was exhausted each night as it was, embarrassingly, more physical labour than she was used to.

The hotel seemed to be a sort of meeting point for friends of Jem, Charlotte and Henry's, and Tessa met more people in the following weeks than she had since her move to London. Although staying in a lot, she found she didn't really mind, what with the colder weather and all these interesting new people coming to what she supposed to be her new home; at least for the time being. Will was there nearly every night, still being infuriatingly remote. Tessa fought nevertheless not to be brought down by his stubborn fickleness. She instead grew closer to Jem, and also got along much better with Charlotte, Henry and Cecily by the day. Sophie, Gabriel and Gideon were also frequent visitors, as well as a collection of Cecily's other friends, of whom there were apparently very many.

About two weeks after Tessa's arrival, Henry's parents went out for the night, and Cecily seemed to take this as her cue to invite all her friends, friends' friends and acquaintances over and get off-her-face drunk. Tessa was introduced to more people, alcoholic mixes and drinking games than she would have thought it within one species' imagination capability to come up with. She joined in with beer pong, as she figured that couldn't get her too drunk, but she severely overestimated her competence at the game. More rounds than she could count later, she staggered from the table, announcing "I'm done" to raucous booing from her fellow players, who had been enjoying their endless winning streaks, thanks to Tessa.

She collided quite hard with Jem, but didn't feel anything – she supposed that was the alcohol, and that she would suffer it in the morning, along with a pounding head at the rate she was going. Jem chuckled.

"Are you sober?! We must change this!" She all but yelled in his face, turning towards the drinks table, but he took her wrist to stop her.

"I actually don't drink." He admitted.

"Me neither." She frowned. "Before tonight, that is." He laughed again, and, deciding she needed some water, led her to the less-crowded kitchen. The only ones in there were Sophie and Gideon, who seemed rather flushed as they swiftly moved apart from one another. Tessa giggled and whispered subtly to Jem "if those two don't get together I'll eat my hat" which seemed hilariously funny, despite being her own joke. She dipped her head at Sophie, whose face was as red as Henry's hair.

Jem ran her a huge glass of water as Gideon and Sophie scuttled from the room, and though he had to practically force it down her throat; he still managed to maintain the gentle exterior that she was yet to find a crack in. Jem had that glint in his eye again as he asked her to dance, which turned out to be a rather pathetic attempt – at least on Tessa's end – to slow-dance to a blaring disco-beat. It ended, however, in a fit of giggles induced by Tessa's two left feet, sending her sprawling onto the floor on top of him.

Although what happened next came as a total surprise, the alcohol in her system hindered her desire to stop it.

Although she saw Jem only as a good friend, her lack of kissing history made her curious.

Although she was still consumed by her convoluted feelings for Will, this was the boy in front of her, putting his feelings on the line, letting her know he wanted her to be his. And while Will was beautiful and passionate and all things that entranced Tessa, if there was one thing he was not it was dependable.

These were the factors which led Tessa, in her state of intoxication, to allow herself be kissed on the kitchen floor of her temporary home, by a boy who was perhaps next-best to the one whose lips her own seemed to perpetually crave. It wouldn't occur to her until later that night, as she lay in bed having sobered up slightly, that someone who had been properly kissed for the first time only a few hours ago ought to be recalling how that had felt, rather than fixating upon the 'kiss' she wasn't convinced was even real from a fortnight previously, which may as well have been a decade based on how their relationship had since deteriorated, she noted with a sigh, and surrendered to lethargy.