Jem paced the corridor in front of Will's room. Should he go in? Would Will still be mad at him? Jem bit his lip, feeling a sharp pain. "Don't be a coward, James," Jem muttered to himself. It was nine in the evening, but Jem had snuck in the hospital. The Carstairs family was a big donor to the London Hospital – as well as the Herondales. Also, the nurses that were there kept stuttering to Jem.

Jem was fairly sure he heard: "My, my. Think he would go out with me?" around the chatter of nurses. But the nurses were tripping over themselves to talk to Jem – and Jem had no idea why. Weird.

Steeling himself from the best case scenario – which was Will embracing him as if Jem was his true brother and forgiving Jem or the worst case scenario – which was Will flinging a fruit knife at Jem.

Jem continued to pace the white corridor. He never really liked hospitals. Everything was so white and bland, it made Jem feel he was in one of those padded rooms that they stored people who were mentally unstable in. That Jem was trapped in this large place – unable to get out…

Hospitals were where you died… once you get in – you never get out. Jem shuddered, remembering how he had a horrible illness when he was younger. It drained the life out of him, slowly and painfully – and no doctors knew how to save him. Jem would always feel weak, as if he hadn't slept for a week. Dizzy, disoriented at times.

And his blood would start to thin… until there was no more blood in Jem's body. Jem was going to die at age seven. But he survived… then the big double digits came around. For Jem's present, Will had given him a strange concoction and slowly… Jem got better. Every day Jem felt weak, Will was there, being strong for him. Will was Jem's lifeline and Jem couldn't have lived without him. Forever, Jem was grateful. There was no one who understood Will more than Jem and vice versa.

Jem had to enter. He needed his best friend.

Praying to the Angel, Jem carefully opened the door. And there was a scenario Jem was not prepared for.

There was Will, lying in his bed – looking more peaceful than Jem has ever seen – and smiling in his sleep. But with him was Tessa, who had Will's cheek resting on her head, and Tessa was snuggled into Will's chest. The room was dark, yet Jem could see it all too well.

Jem had never seen either of them so happy before, so content… so warm. But yet Jem felt cold. As he stared at Will and Tessa together, his heart felt colder and colder – until it felt like ice. "They love each other. They love each other. They love each other," Jem chanted under his breath, as if that would make Jem hurt less. But no, the pain intensified even more.

The boy who was Jem's brother… William…

Will lost so much, Jem thought. He lost his parents, Ella… He couldn't lose anymore. Jem had to stay strong for Will. And Tessa… Tessa needed Will. Will was truly the only one who understood Tessa and no matter how hard Jem tried, he couldn't compare.

And it hurt even more as he realized this. Jem took a shaky breath, then another. Blinking back tears, he took another breath and he shut his eyes tightly.

Jem quietly exited with one last longing glance at the girl he loved and the boy who was his brother. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it, and looked at the ceiling, as if it would keep his silent tears from spilling. "I chose this," Jem said to himself. "I chose this."

…

Cecily tapped her pencil on her paper, humming a song to herself. "Why can't you do homework on a desk like normal people?" Gabriel asked her. Cecily was on Gabriel's bed, lying on her stomach as she did her biology homework. Gabriel, however, was sitting at his desk – his legs crossed.

"What's the fun in that, Gabe?" Cecily asked, rolling her eyes. She shoved her homework off the bed and moved over. Cecily patted the empty spot next to her, rolling onto her side.

Gabriel mocked Cecily's eye roll before settling beside her as well, facing her. Cecily smiled at Gabriel – the man who somehow… stolen her heart. Cecily pressed a kiss to Gabriel's lips, grinning into it.

Gabriel broke away shortly, smiling like Cecily was. He leaned his forehead against hers, their lips inches apart. "We're suppose to do work, Cecy."

"Do you really care, Gabriel?" Cecily asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." Cecily was about to speak when Gabriel put a finger to his lips. "Shh…" Then carefully, Gabriel rolled off the bed and creeped to his bedroom door. Cecily didn't speak, though she wanted to question what he was doing. Gabriel gingerly put a hand on the doorknob and jerked it open, jumping back with it.

And there tumbled Gideon and Sophie, who had Gideon's phone out – recording everything we said. "Brother, you're stealth skills make me want to cry," Gabriel grinned. Cecily laughed at the priceless faces of Sophie and Gideon. They looked like deer caught in headlights.

Will – who still was recovering from his broken ribs, leg and dislocated shoulder – was in the hospital. Tessa was with him and Jem, Cecily didn't know where he was. Cecily missed her best friend – they rarely talked anymore – so Cecily was determined to make a girl's night. Usually, Thursdays were their days, but now Jem knows.

Will being in the hospital didn't really bode well for Cecily. Her parents were getting more and more moody (who knows why?), Tessa was always with Will and never with Cecily – and it might be a little selfish but honestly, Cecily missed Tessa's company, and Cecily didn't even have her own brother to annoy.

But there was Gabriel, so Cecily was happy. The only up side of Will being in the hospital was that Cecily now could enter the Lightwood residence. Will was not there to berate her, or drag her out of there. Admittedly, Gabriel and Gideon were still unsure of it, but Cecily persuaded them to let her in. The Lightwood brothers were much easier to persuade than Will – probably because Cecily learned all of her persuading skills from him.

Yes, there is an art of persuading. Cecily smiled, remembering the time Will teaching her.

"Remember. You can never insult the person you're trying to take something from. Even if that person says no, because there is always a chance that the person might turn around and say yes," Will instructed.

"Come on! Please?" Cecily begged. They were twins, but Will was always the older one. Of course Cecily could do everything he could do – climb the trees he could climb, run as fast as he could – but Cecily liked being taken care of. The security of her older brother was comforting.

"No, Cecy. Also, flattery works – but never lay it on too thick. Other people would get suspicious. Just act really cutesy, and remember the rules I taught you," Will commanded.

Cecily sighed and nodded.

Will grinned at his twin, ruffling her hair. Cecily pushed Will's hand off her head, before he could make too much of a mess. "I'm eleven, Will. Same age as you. Don't even try it," Cecily said.

Will shrugged, turning around as if was pretending to leave. Then suddenly, he reached out for Cecily, touching her arm and immediately retreating. "Tag you're it!" Will shouted.

"Cheater!" Cecily hollered before running after him.

Cecily sighed. She missed her friends. She had Gabriel, Gideon and Sophie – but it wasn't the same as hanging out with the people she knew and loved for longer.

"Something wrong?" Gabriel asked, putting a hand on Cecily's. He sat down beside her, pressing a light kiss to her temple. Gideon and Sophie had already left and it was just them.

Cecily shook her head before lying down – her head on Gabriel's lap and feet dangling off the edge of the bed. Gabriel was playing with Cecily's hair, twirling it in his fingers. The silence was not awkward, nor was it uncomfortable. Sometimes, silence was what you needed to think – and Gabriel respected that. It was the rule between Cecily and Gabriel.

"I love you, you know that?" Cecily asked, out of the blue. Gabriel smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Cecily's forehead.

"I know."

"Aren't you going to say it back?"

"I have no need to, because you already know that," Gabriel said. "And a measly "I love you" is not enough to describe how much I love you."

Cecily scowled. "You just made my "I love you" sound weak."

Gabriel chuckled. Yes, they had already said their "I love you" to each other. It was easy for Cecily and Gabriel – for that was just how their relationship went. Easygoing, simple and wonderful.

There was no problem for them, at least, no big problem. They were nothing like Will and Tessa – who's relationship was so obvious to Cecily that she couldn't even block the chemistry from her best friend and her brother if she tried.

"I'm going to get us something to drink alright?" Gabriel said. Cecily nodded, as Gabriel slid out from under her, pressing one last kiss to her forehead before walking away.

Cecily took out her phone, playing Cut The Rope on it. "No! Stupid Om Nom!" she cursed. "No! No, not that rope! Stop!" Cecily shouted, standing now. She frantically swiped her phone with her finger, but the candy just wouldn't drop in Om Nom's mouth.

Giving up, Cecily sighed and dropped her phone on the bed. Suddenly, her phone buzzed, telling her she had a text message. Sighing, Cecily picked up her phone and murmured a quick apology to it for throwing it on the bed.

"Are you apologizing to your phone?" Gabriel asked, amused, as he walked back into the room with two tall glasses of orange juice.

"It's not the first time I hurt Fido, you know. I apologize every time so that Fido would forgive me," Cecily grinned.

"Your phone isn't even from Fido."

"Whatever," Cecily shrugged. "I've always wanted a dog called Fido. My phone is the next best thing." As Gabriel chuckled, Cecily unlocked her phone to see the message.

You're number one on my list. Blame Tessa.

FINALLY UP!

YEES.

Originally, the Jem part was going to be part of the previous chapter, but I decided not to because I didn't want to put a downer on the SWEETEST CHAPTER EVER.

OMGEES. I JUST GOT AN AMAZING IDEA. Maybe i should do this one for TMI... ;)

UNTIL NEXT TIME!