Previously…

Tessa sighed and they both went into the parking lot where Sophie's car was, and they drove home.

Tessa approached her brother in the living room. He had a glass of liquor in his hand with a lime in it. She sat down on the couch. She was scowling.

"So," Tessa said. "Club Pandemonium." Her voice was flat and emotionless. Nate's eyes widened and he downed the glass.

He smiled uneasily. "Tessie…"

"It's a club. As in an actual club. How could you not tell me this?" Tessa demanded. In all actuality, she wasn't really all that upset. It's just that that day had been rather tough on Tessa so she was acting kind of moody. She didn't mean to be harsh, but could she help it?

Nate was silent.

Tessa shook her head. "Never mind." She stood up and was starting to walk away but her brother stopped her by saying her name. She stopped and turned around.

He asked, "Could you get me some ice?"

Tessa made a frustrated noise and marched upstairs to her room, locking the door. She wasn't going to read this time. If she read, she would be reminded of Will. She texted Cecily earlier but she was out somewhere with her mother (which was a first). Maybe she could hang out with Jem?

Perhaps.

The more she thought about it, the more it started sounding like a better idea. She needed calm, and Jem was practically the definition of calm and level-headed.

She snatched her phone from her back pocket and dialed in his number. He answered almost immediately. "Hello?" his voice came through.

"Hi Jem, it's Tessa."

"Tessa," his voice sounded cheerful, "how are you?"

Not great. "I'm good." She twirled a piece of her hair. "Hey, I was just wondering if you want to go somewhere and just hang out. If you want," she added hastily.

She heard him chuckle. "Sure, of course. Do you have a place in mind?"

Tessa hadn't really thought about that. "Um…no. Hadn't really thought that far, sorry."

The noise of footsteps climbing up the stairs sounded through her room. Tessa mentally cursed. Her brother was probably coming up to check on her.

"We can just go to my house or something," Jem said. "No one but me is there."

"Okay," Tessa said. "Are you suggesting something, James Carstairs?" she teased, albeit half-heartedly. The day had kind of worn her out and she just wanted to get out of the house.

Jem laughed. "Not at all, Miss Gray." She was grinning but it subsided as Nathaniel Gray stepped through the door with a raised eyebrow. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Bye, Jem." They hung up and Tessa looked up at her older brother.

"Jem?" Nate asked. He looked thoughtful, as if he were remembering something. "Oh! The nice one?"

Tessa smiled faintly and nodded. "He's picking me up in about twenty, more or less."

Nate smirked. "What, are you going on a date or something?"

Tessa's face went red in less than a second. She shook her head furiously, "N-no! Why're you here?"

Nate sighed. "Because I wanted to apologize." He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry for not telling you—but it pays well. How did you find out?"

"Cecily's birthday party is there," she answered as casually as she could. Hurry up, Jem, Tessa thought impatiently. She just wanted to get out of the conversation and Tessa was starting to feel like she was suffocating.

"Oh?" Nate grinned. "This might mean that I can embarrass you, yes?"

"NO."

He scoffed. "Fine, I won't." He started walking away. "I'll leave you alone now. Bye, Tessie…!" He shut the door and left Tessa alone, smiling just a little bit.

Jem came by quicker than she thought. He rang the doorbell and Tessa ran to the door, but her older brother beat her to it. He was grinning at Tessa and she thought, Great. Another grinning idiot I have to deal with. Then she was hit by a pang of hurt, for she had just unconsciously reminded herself of Will.

As soon as they left, Nate shouted, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" which caused Tessa to walk back and slap his arm and then returned to Jem.

They entered his car and they just talked for most of the time. Tessa already felt better. There weren't many cars around since it was a school day so they got there quickly.

When they had arrived, Tessa spotted a clean white house standing alone. "No neighbors?" Tessa asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. We kind of wanted to be alone."

"I see," Tessa said. "I like your house."

"Thank you." They walked inside and the whole interior was remarkably clean and just neat. There was hardwood flooring and the walls and furniture were black and white. There was a wide dark brown bookcase against the wall by the door. There weren't many books there was a fair amount.

Tessa felt like she was in some sort of futuristic house judging by the whole appearance. It was fascinating.

"Wow," was all she said. He smiled at her and they sat on the white couch in the center of the living room.

Will saw the whole entire thing.

Cecily was out shopping with Linette Herondale and Edmund was working. He'd finished his homework ages ago. So there was really nothing to do.

So instead he began writing poetry for fun. He wasn't writing whole-heartedly so it didn't really come out that great. Of course, he was writing on his desk, which was right next to a window. So in the middle of his writing, he saw his best friend stepping out of his car and approaching Tessa's house.

Just thinking of her name made Will miserable.

He had scheduled a meeting with Magnus Bane who could surely help him. It was almost as if Will was cursed, and everyone he loves just gets hurt. Ella is a great example.

But then he realized how stupid he was after a long session of contemplating at night. Tessa was fine until he opened his mouth and started talking on the balcony. Now she probably hated him. He wouldn't blame her if she did.

But the main question was—why was James Carstairs, who was practically Will's brother, with Tessa Gray?

She was blushing and Will gritted his teeth, unconsciously breaking the pencil he had in his hand. He cursed.

He really hated his life.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I really wanted to update today. OKAY so I'm working on this other fic for TID and I really like it so far. Instead of an AU, it's in Victorian London just like in the books. I'm really proud of it and I'll probably post it when this story's done as well as my others because I really need to catch up on them.

I'm really sad though because one of my favorite fanfics on here is gone. Some of you might know it, it's called Down the Rabbit Hole and it has to do with the seven deadly sins and it's just simply brilliant. But I can't find it and I'm just really upset about it.

(And yes, indoor soccer is stupid and not encouraged. But it's insanely hot outside where I live—people have been passing out from the weather and some go to the hospital because of third-degree burns from touching the cement outside—and so we couldn't really go outside.)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Infernal Devices or anything else mentioned in this story.