Previously…

When she got home, she ran up to her room and shut and locked the door, ignoring her brother calling after her. She made a frustrated sound into her pillow, and wept.


Will seriously considered leaving his sister in that library while he drives home. It was the worst thing anything anyone could've done for him, and what she did was pure evil.

Cecily was paler than usual. Gradually she turned around and faced Will, looking like she was in the middle of a wince. He couldn't stay mad at her, she was his sister. He decided to be mad at the idea instead of her.

But that still didn't make the hurt inside of him go away. Watching Tessa leave like that, absolutely terrified of the idea of being in the same presence as Will was probably the worst thing that he ever experienced in his whole life.

"I…" Cecy tried to say… "I didn't… I mean…" She frowned.

Will put his hands in his pockets and gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Let's go home?" Cecily nodded but continued stammering, not sure what to say and Will just kept patting her back comfortingly.


Tessa shook her head. She forced the tears to stop. She had to be strong. How could she let herself be so weak? She was pathetic. She disgusted herself.

She went to her bathroom and pulled out all the tissue paper by the sink she could manage and wiped the tears off her face until no more fell down. She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face. Her eyes were swollen and she cursed herself.

You're okay, Tessa convinced herself. You're fine. Everything's all right. No guy like him would ever be…friends…with me anyway. He's not worth it. She started to believe it, and she took in deep breaths and exhaled through her nose. She was starting to feel calmer.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she flinched. Tessa's eyes looked up at the mirror to see her brother standing behind her and looking worried.

"Tessie," Nate said calmly, stroking her arm soothingly, "are you alright?" She turned around and nodded. He put his hand on her face.

"Stop it," he then told her, making Tessa tilt her head, suddenly surprised. "You always hold in your emotions. You don't let them out. It's not good for your health."

She shook her head. "Having them there is not good either," she said, raising her chin up stubbornly.

He rolled his eyes, but then grew serious. "Look. I'm supposed to be the wiser older brother here. I barely ever see you cry. When I did, you were a little mini Tessa. This isn't right."

Tessa held in her breath. Are you saying that you want me to cry and be sad? she thought with a huff.

"No," Nate said.

Oops. Did I say that out loud?

"I'm saying that you should every now and then let your emotions run loose," he continued. "I might even have to take you to a therapist."

Tessa glowered, "Don't you dare."

He laughed and pulled her in for a hug. It was kind of awkward, considering they were in a bathroom and there was a mirror there and they saw their reflections hugging, which was honestly kind of weird but the brotherly affection was there, and Tessa appreciated it.

When he let go, Tessa sighed. She felt more at ease.

"You want to eat something?" Nate asked, nudging her arm with his. Tessa wasn't really that hungry, but thought it might be good for her.

"Sure," she answered and they walked downstairs to the kitchen.


The doorbell rang to the Herondale house.

Cecily stood up from the couch and yelled, "I'll get it!" so her brother could hear. She unlocked the door and swung it open and no one was there.

She sighed, a bit agitated, and murmured, "Stupid mundies." As she was about to close the door, she noticed something she hadn't before. She crouched down and picked up a tin box that was striped with red and white.

"Hmm," she hummed and picked it up. She closed the door with her foot and placed the box on the coffee table in front of her couch. "William!" she shouted. "If you could please come down—" The sound of footsteps cut her off. Seconds later, she found her older brother standing right before her.

She gestured to the box.

Will stared at it, and then at her, but then shook his head and began walking away.

She pulled on his wrist and dragged him back down. "This was on our front door," she told him. His eyebrows rose with mild interest.

"Ah."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Open it," he urged. "If you're making me stay here, you might as well open it."

She gingerly took off the lid and blinked. She looked at her brother and saw that he was a bit surprised also.

"Biscuits," Cecily said with a tilt of her head.

Will took one in his hand and twisted it with his fingers. "Apparently." He brought it to his mouth and Cecily cried out. He dropped it in his hand and it fell to his lap. "What?"

"Don't eat it!" Cecily told him, using the tone she would've used if she was scolding little children. "Who knows, it could be drugged."

Will rolled his eyes. "You're mad." He took a bite and chewed slowly. Then he brightened. "They're good." He took another one. "And addictive."

"Like drugs," Cecily said under her breath.

He gave her a pointed look. Then reached for another and gave it to her. "Try."

Reluctantly, she took it and started eating it. She had to admit, they were tasty.

Cecily looked at her window and sighed in contentment. It wasn't very cold outside. The wind had dropped to a minimum and the weather was nice. It made her want to go out.

Then she saw the bush rustle. This was…odd. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to, of course, but it wasn't even that windy. There was a shadow by it—Nonsense, Cecily thought. There shouldn't be a shadow. It's all her imagination. Just because the weather was nice didn't mean that it wasn't cloudy.

Cecily ignored it and turned on their television and watched it with Will, also ignoring the nagging thought in the back of her mind that maybe, it wasn't her imagination.


Tessa, after a long, long time of contemplating, thought that maybe she should apologize to the Herondales for leaving so abruptly. It was extremely rude of her, she decided, and Will probably had no intention of talking to her. And like Cecily said, they wouldn't talk to each other and maybe Tessa could mend the wounds for both of them.

Maybe she could even be extra nice and bake chocolate chip cookies. She could put them in a cute little basket or something.

Yeah. Lots of people would like that.

And maybe she could give the rest to her brother. Tessa smiled to herself and began to look up recipes for chocolate chip cookies.

. . .

After about forty-five minutes, Tessa put on her oven mitts took the out the cookies with a smug smile. Her brother came down from the stairs and said, beaming, "I smell cookies."

"You smelled correct," Tessa replied and laid them out of the table, turning on the fan. "Most of the batch belongs to the Herondales, but the rest are for you." She was certain she owned some sort of basket. She looked around the kitchen.

"None for you?" Nate asked, taking one and burning his hand with a loud "OUCH." She laughed as he frantically went to the sink and poured cold water on it.

She found the basket with a feeling of success. She put it on the table also and sat down on a chair. She shook her head.

Nate sighed, looking disappointed. "Tessie…You made these. I'll give you one. Taste." He shoved a cookie up her face. She didn't realize she still had her oven mitts until she reached for it. She kept them on as she grabbed it and took a bite. They were good, and practically melted in her mouth.

"Mmm…" She put them in the basket while they were still hot, leaving a portion of them still on the tray. "They're all yours, Nate," she said as she swung the basket over her shoulder and started walking to the door.

"Be back soon," Nate told her, his mouth full of cookie. Tessa grimaced, but ignored him and opened the door and began walking across the street.

She hummed a song that her mother used to love. It made her sad, thinking of her mother, Elizabeth Gray. She reached for her clockwork angel with her other hand, but paused midway as she found herself in front of their door.

Then she was filled with anxiety.

What if they didn't want to see her after she left them? Maybe they didn't even like her anymore. The idea made her feel horrible and she considered running back to her house, but it was no longer an option because she knocked on their door.

It didn't open immediately, but when it did, it revealed a bored-looking Will. When he saw her, the remote control that was in his hand fell to the ground as he looked at her in astonishment. He didn't seem to notice. Tessa's heart clenched. He tried to mask his features, but his astonishment shone through. "Tessa," he said in a surprised tone. "What're you doing here?" His voice cracked a little.

Tessa attempted a smile. "I felt bad about running out earlier, so I made you both cookies…" Her voice became quieter at the end. She held up the basket in her arm. He didn't look at it and kept his eyes on hers. Her heartbeat quickened the longer they looked at each other.

She took the time to notice that his black hair was disheveled (Tessa suddenly found an urge to run her fingers through it) and that his blue eyes that she always found fascinating lost a bit of life in them. He had faint dark circles under them from lack of sleep.

Him too, she thought sadly.

It was all interrupted when his younger sister showed up. "Tessa!" she said albeit with much cheerfulness. "You're here!" She looked like she was going to leap in her arms.

"Yeah," Tessa said quietly. Will snapped out of gaze and looked over at his sister.

"Come in, Tessa." She seized her wrist and brought her in. She brought her down on the couch and practically made her sit down.

"Where should I put this?" Tessa asked, outstretching her arm to reveal the basket.

Cecily's eyes landed on it. "What's in it?"

"Chocolate chip cookies," she replied, handing over the basket, "for you and…Will." Her voice became a whisper at his name. He was standing in the kitchen and his eyes seemed to slide over to her at the mention of his name.

"Oh, thank you!" Cecily exclaimed. "That's funny, we'd gotten biscuits earlier." She pointed to a tin box sitting on the coffee table. "Do you want one? They're really good."

Tessa could swear the same box was delivered to her. Her eyes flashed with recognition. That same exact box was sent to her and her brother. "Really," Tessa said, approaching the box. "My brother and I had gotten cook—biscuits not too long ago." Her voice was filled with suspicion.

Will looked up at this. "Really? That's…peculiar."

She nodded. "Yeah… It wasn't either of you?"

Cecily and Will shook their heads.

Tessa placed a hand on her hip. "Hm. Interesting."

There was a moment of silence. The only sound there was the sound of Will filling a glass with water. He handed it to her which she took with a quiet, "Thank you." He nodded without looking at her.

"Perhaps it's something they do to everyone in the neighborhood?" Cecily shrugged, reaching for one of the cookies Tessa made.

It seemed reasonable enough. "Maybe," Tessa said, although a little unsure. She finished the glass of water and Cecily took the glass from her, taking it to the kitchen. "Well, I'll go home now I guess. See you guys at school. I hope you enjoy the cookies."

She started walking towards the door, but Will abruptly said, "Wait, Tessa!"

She turned her head and looked at him with twinge of hope. His hand was on her shoulder. His touch was warm and the rest of Tessa's body felt cold and at a loss.

He looked hesitant. And then finally, "Thank you." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he said nothing more.

"Oh," Tessa mumbled, slightly disappointed. She fumbled with her fingers. "Good-bye, Will. Cecily." She nodded her head to each of them and went straight home.


A/N: I actually really like this chapter. Yay, I added more reason for you guys to be suspicious now! More plot, it's all good.

I don't usually make cookies since that's what my parents like doing (that and I'd rather stay alone in my room on my computer or some sort of technology in the dark) so I asked my father, "Dad, how long does it usually take for you to make chocolate chip cookies?"

Then he looked at me in amusement. "Why, do you want me to make them for you? Is that what you're asking?"

I sputtered, "Wha—no! I mean—well, if you want to…"

He snorted. "Honey if you want me to make them for you…"

I groaned in frustration. "No! Don't, I'm just curious."

He blinked. "…Do you want them, or do you not?"

"I don't!" I told him insistently. "Please don't."

"Then why are you asking?" he shot at me. I wasn't going to say for a story I'm writing because come on, it would sound kind of stupid. A story about baking. Not that it is stupid, it's just that it would sound stupid for me considering I'm not the kind of person.

"I'm just curious, now if you could please tell me."

He shrugged. "It usually takes about 40-45 minutes."

"You could've just said that."

Then he begins talking to me saying that I do want cookies when I don't (well, it wouldn't be bad. I'll take them if you want) and I just grew frustrated and shouted, "NEVER MIND."

This is my life.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Infernal Devices or anything else mentioned in this story.