A/N

I've had a life change experience and it has affected my writing- in some ways- and I am inspired and wrote this chapter out of pure joy and inspiration- from you guys amazing reviews too. So, sorry if things are jumbled an rushed, but I had this jolt and I've just been writing for the past few hours. So R&R and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Cassandra Clare owns everything else

Excuse the grammar

Tessa lay on Will's chest, soon moving it to rest in the crook between his shoulder and chin, on his neck. A tear threatened to escape from her eye, but she willed herself not to cry at that moment. This was probably the last time- for a while at least- that she would be able to lay with Will this way and she would not ruin it by balling her eyes out as if she were a hopeless fool. So instead, she bit down on her lip and moved closer into him.

It was most likely- not it was- improper to be laying against Will that way, in a loving way. However, she did not care at that point in time and had decided she would just tell Gabriel the truth. She wanted to be with Will, both of them knowing that it would be their last moment to touch one another.

They both knew it without even speaking to one another. They both knew, before anyone mentioned it, that they were giving up what had been going on. Although they could not define what really was going on, they concluded that it had to end. The quiet, stolen glances they shared, the forbidden kisses they shared, the soft touches they exchanged, the longing, the want, the words they exchanged, had to be over. At one point in time and they had decided that night, that the time had finally come.

After Tessa had asked the question about why they always ended up compromising positions, ultimately causing one another pain, and Will said he did not know, they both laid down next to one another. They were not alone in his house, but they did not care. Will lied down on his bed, bringing Tessa into his arms. She laid her hands on his chest and burrowed her head into him.

They had not kissed, touched or even confessed their love for one another. There was no words, for ten minutes they lay there. No matter how much Will or Tessa wanted to kiss, hug affectionately or whisper admit their feelings, they did not. They simply enjoyed the others company, fully aware in the morning that they were going back to their normal lives- without either one in it.

It pained Tessa to know that they were not going to be friends anymore. How could they? They both knew that the idea was stupid and ridiculous; both knew that they only agreed to be friends to get closer. And how was that healthy for either of the two. It would only cause hurt and sorrow for them.

It was not easy for Tessa just to break up with Gabriel. No matter how many reveries and dreams she had about doing so, she knew that it was going to be hard. Even if she did love Will more.

Everything was confusing, and Will knew so. He knew, and had decided to let her go, for real this time. And Tessa would let him go too, for real this time.

"I want you to find somebody," Tessa whispered into the silent air that surrounded them both as they lay. She knew before she even said it, that she was not for it. The idea of Will finding someone and loving her as much as he loved her was repulsing. The words were like poison, but she had to get them out. She had to let him know- not that she was giving him permission, he was an adult.

Tessa felt Will's chest rumble with a deep chuckle, the feel warmed her. "You know you don't sound convincing." He said, after a short while. "I can tell that the words are like poison to you. They're repulsing you, aren't they?"

He knew her, better than anyone else did. It amazed her how he knew exactly what she was thinking. It amazed her so much that she did not say anything for a while. However, when she finally did, the words were barely audible. He only heard her because she was close.

"I don't care how unconvincing I sound." She said, creating circles with her index finger on the right side of his chest. "And the idea of you finding another love does repulse me. But, I'm going to be with Gabriel, figuring things out. The-"He cut her off.

"I know what you're about to say. You were about to say that I should find someone else to distract me."

He was almost correct. "No, Will." Tessa sat up and stared down into his deep blue eyes. "I was going to say that you should find another girl that will treat you right. It would be cruel to find another girl and use her only as a distraction. It would be unfair to her." She forced herself to avert her eyes from his inviting lips, which were slightly parted.

Will lifted himself up on his elbows, looking into her gray eyes that had to be filled with undeniable sadness. "Alright, I'll find a gray eyed, brown haired, slender, and beautiful bookworm of a girl at a library. How does that sound?"

"Your being a smart ass, William."

"Oh, you're swearing and saying my full name in the same sentence, must mean you have a problem with me. " Will sat up fully, a small lopsided smile on his face. Amusement glowed brightly within his eyes and Tessa could not help but feel slightly hopeful.

"I'm serious Will; find someone that you'll love." The hope died within her as she spoke. She looked down at her hands. "Find a girl that you'll love just as much as you loved me." The tears threatened to spill even more.

Will grabbed her hands and took him in his.

"Love."

"Excuse me," Tessa said, a tear falling without her permission. She would have wiped it, if only Will had not been holding her hands in his warm ones.

"I'm in love with you. Don't you ever say loved, I will always love you." He brought a hand up to wipe the tear that had fallen.

"Don't, I have the strong urge to hug and kiss you now. Touch me and the urge will strengthen."

Will smirked, "control it Tessa, you have Gabriel and if you jump on me now, you'll regret it and the actions will leave you in guilt." He released her hands and brought his thumb down from her cheek.

"I never regret what I do with you."

Will looked up at her with his sad blue eyes; want in his whole expression. Tessa could basically feel the desire coming off him. He wanted her, in that moment. And she wanted him. However, if they were letting one another go, then sleeping together would only confuse and make thing even messier than they were.

Kissing him would even complicate things more. That was from experience and they did not want to experience that again.

"So we really are doing this?" Will asked, lying back onto his bed, obviously fighting his emotions- hard. "No more being in the friend zone. No more accidental touches or kisses. No more admitting our feelings, no more "friend dates"." Putting air quotes around the words friend dates.

"No, we need space." The word was frightening and horrifying at the same time. Tessa hated it and she hated having to act it out with Will.

He stood and walked over to his closet. He began to look through things and pulled something out. It was a book and Tessa tried hard to decipher what it was.

"You gave this to me, before we broke up." Will handed her the book and sat down beside her. "I read it and then you told me to keep it because you had already purchased another edition."

Tessa giggled softly and took the book from his hands. "You took two months to read it. I had an urge to read it and I could not find it, until I realized you had it. That day I was already going to the bookstore. So I decided why not."

He smiled. "Frankenstein didn't appeal to me that much. I found myself stopping and having to reread a chapter or a page."

"Just like A Tale of Two Cities."

"Hey, in my defense, I actually found satisfaction in it after I reread it a couple of times."

Tessa giggled, forcing herself to calm down before she spoke again.

"Thank you, Will."

He nodded and then they stared at each other. Blue crashed with Gray, sadness met with pain. This was it- not forever, but for a while. Who knew how long Tessa would be able to look into those beautiful eyes. He was friends with Jem, but she could see Jem without seeing him. She could avoid his place. He was also the brother of Cecily, but perhaps she would not be at the house when he was.

Whatever the situation was, she was going to avoid Will. She could not see him, be near him. There would be too much pain and angst. They both had to keep their distance, for both of their goods.

"You should go," Will said. He shut down, one of his talents.

Will had closed himself off; it was like locking up a shop. There was no emotion his eyes, or voice. But, there was nothing Tessa could do at that point. She had made her bed, now she was going to lie in it. She was going to keep to her words. She was going to be just as emotionless as he was. Tessa was going to shut off her feelings for him, just like he was going to do.

With the book in her hand, Tessa got up from the bed and walked to his door.

"Bye, Will," then she walked out, not pausing to hear his parting words.

She was utterly magnificent. With her sparkling blue eyes, button nose, full lips and dark hair, she was a dark angel. Her cheekbones high, skin smooth and a perfect body gave people a reason to say she was perfect.

No, he was not in love with her. Jem did not know nearly enough to give her his undying affection and adoration. Sure, she made his heart skip a beat when he saw her. Sure, she made him feel anxious and wonderful when he looked into her blue eyes. And sure, she made him warm. But, surely he was not in love with her.

It was purely admiration, for her flawless looks. Anyone would feel that way when they were to see her. What he felt was only physical affection, nothing more. Jem would not allow himself to be in love with another girl. He fallen before, and landed on his face. It was a disaster, at least to him it was. The girl he fell in love with did not even notice him- besides on a strict friend level.

He had met the first girl two weeks before Will had. It was at a Starbucks. Tessa- the girl- needed to complete something online and could not find anywhere else to get Wi-Fi, therefore, she went to Starbucks. However, there was no space where the Wi-Fi was. Finally, he invited her to sit across from him, where an empty seat was.

She thanked him and as she worked, they started up conversation. Introductions ensued and soon they were venting to each other about classes and lousy friends. Jem barely spoke about Will, did not even mention his name, but often commented about his best friend.

Her and Jem exchanged numbers after their chance encounter and Jem knew he was falling. Slowly, her was falling for her soft brown locks, profound gray eyes and great personality. He just knew that he had to have her.

And he thought he had her, right where he wanted her. They had meetings, almost every two days. They talked on the phone, sometimes into the early mornings. They texted one another at all times. He flirted and hinted to Tessa that he had an interest in her, that he wanted to take things further.

Nevertheless, the day came when she eagerly told him of a hot boy she met while at the library. He then realized that maybe he should have tried harder and pushed further. It was too late, though. Another man already swept her off her feet. She was gone.

What made it even worse- besides the fact that she kept updating him on her and her new boy- was that Will had introduced him to his new girl. When he found out that it was Tessa, his heart broke and it took everything out of him to support them and give them his undivided attention.

It broke even more as the weeks continued on. When they started to go out, they often tended to kiss passionately when they were around him, they whispered things to one another- often they were sexual innuendos- and annoyingly quoted books and poems. And the whole situation drove him crazy, the only release being his violin.

Jem swore never to fall in love again; for fear that, he would experience the same heartbreak or something similar to it. That was why he kept his admiration at a distance. Cecily was not going to know how he felt and she would definitely not break his heart with her fiery tongue.

However, her lips were enticing and her body was utterly-

"Jem, are you even listening to me?" Will asked, waving his hand in front of his best friend's face.

Will took a swig of his alcoholic drink and bit down on his lip. Jem looked around and began to remember where he was.

The booths, dark walls, low lighting, pool table off to the side, absurd decorations on the wall, bar stools, and baristas mixing drinks for the few people that had no sense and decided to come and get a drink at 12:09 in the afternoon.

Right, they were at The Devil's Tavern. It was Will's idea to go out and get drinks in the afternoon, seeing as neither of them had classes. Also, he felt the need to drink and felt as though the alcohol they had at their place was not nearly strong enough to wipe him senseless.

"Yes, I hear your venting." Jem said, taking a sip of his Pepsi. He was never much of an alcoholic drinker and had decided not to start at the Devil's Tavern. "I heard you talk about Tessa for the past ten minutes." Jem was not in love with Tessa still, but he certainly did not really want to hear about her and Will's problems.

Will s was inebriated enough for him to slur his words or to be talking nonsense, but he was slightly tipsy, Jem could tell.

"I mean I really want her. But I know-"he paused and thought about something"- I can't have her. Have you ever felt his way, James?"

In fact, I have. I've wanted Tessa longer than you have, but of course you had to come and sweep her out from under me. Just like you've always done. That was what Jem wanted to say, but knew that he would not be a good friend if he told Will that he had secretly harbored passionate feelings for his ex-girlfriend.

No, he was supposed to be there for his friend. It would be right to help and guide him towards being happy. So, he bit down what wanted to say and instead said, "No, I have never felt that way. But I'm going to make sure that you don't feel this way."

Will took a swig of his drink, slammed the glass down and motioned for the barista to give him a refill. "I'll pay," he told the girl who looked at him with a seductive glare. He did not catch on, which made the girl grab his glass pour him more alcohol, with a disappointed look.

"How are you going to do that?" Will asked.

"Remember that time in high school when we drunk your dad's supply of wine-"the one time Jem drank "- and we replaced it with vodka, knowing that the drink would make him equally happy?"

Disappointment still etched into her dark face, the barista gave Will the drink who barely noticed it, at first. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Jem realized then that it was a bad metaphor, but he stuck with it. "Alright, I'm just realizing that what I said was a terrible metaphor, but I'm sticking with it." Will raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyway, that's how your situation is."

"How's my love life- barely existent one at that- with Tessa like replacing wine with vodka?"

"Think of Tessa as wine. You had her and then lost her." One look at Will and he regretted saying what he said. "Sorry, but its true and you need the truth right now. Anyway, vodka is another girl. She will make you equally happy, perhaps even more." Jem's grin grew wider.

Will had been about to take a sip of his drink, but paused. "No one can make me as happy as I was with Tessa." He said sourly, finally taking a sip.

Jem had gotten used to Will's sometimes-sour-voice and continued with his persuasion. "Fine, but at least look for another girl. Don't wallow around in your self-pity and depression over Tessa. She's going to be with Gabriel. And you two will cross paths, even if you don't want to. And one of those times, she's going to have Gabriel by her side. And you can have another girl by yours."

"Make her jealous again?"

"No, we both know how that turned out. So, you're not going to go down that street again." Jem lightened a bit as he saw Will perk up a bit. He hated seeing his friend in grieve. "You're going to have a genuine interest in the girl. When you cross paths with Tessa and you have your new girl with you, you won't try to make Tessa jealous because you will truly want to be with the girl."

Will chuckled lightly. "Words of wisdom, from my best friend."

"I know what's best, thought I told you this before."

Both boys laughed and then they were plunged into silence. Jem was about to ask how Will felt about his plan, but Will built him to speaking.

"Tessa told me the same thing." He stared at the bottles behind the counter. "She told me to find another girl, someone who I can love as much as I love her."

"See, two people have given you great wisdom. Now use it."

"I don't know how I can do it."

"Of course you do. You're William Herondale. When you look at a girl, they start to strip. You made a stubborn girl like Tessa fall in love with you. Surely there is another girl out willingly to take you all."

"Thanks, Jem. I guess I'll have to start at some point. I refuse to watch Lightworm be with Tessa." Will spoke with the utmost disgust about Gabriel. This made Jem laugh.

"Just don't become the old Will." Jem said, reminiscing back to the days when Will had a girl almost every week.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Will feigned in mock horror, placing his hand on his chest.

"I mean-" Jem began, grinning at his best friend "- don't revert back to you old ways and start having one night stands and then try to have a relationship with them."

"That's not the old me. The old me had one night stands and refused to have relationships with them."

"Like that any better," Jem said, not believing that they were actually having this conversation. He stared off and caught the cute barista staring at Will. He was looking down into his drink, oblivious to the beautiful girl gazing at him.

The girl looked to be the same age as Will and Jem. She had dark skin, curly black hair and a slender, long body. In fact, Jem would not mind-

No, he was supposed to be helping Will. He forced all admiring thoughts about the girl from his head and nudged Will in the shoulder.

"What happened, why'd you do that?"

"That girl has been staring at you ever since we first got here." He pointed to the girl who nervously turned away and began to attend to another customer. "She's been giving you indications that she's into you for a while. Mate, she's given so many signs."

Will looked at her and Jem could tell the girl had peeked his interest. Smiling in triumph, Jem knew that Will thought the girl was just as hot as Jem thought she was. His best friend smirked and Jem realized that he was putting on that "sexy face" that he used to use when he picked up girls. Jem could tell that he had not used it in a while, because it took time for him to rearrange it.

The girl looked up and smiled at Will, they locked eyes and he motioned with his index finger for her to come closer. She walked over, obviously switching to show off the slight curve of her small hips. Will licked his lips slowly. Jem was disgusted, a lot. However, he knew that Will had finally opened himself up to meeting people.

With a small smirk on his lips, Jem got up off his stool and inched out of The Devil's Tavern, letting his best friend move on.

As he walked, he felt his phone vibrate within his pocket. He took it out and brightened at the contact. His heart gave a leap.

Cecily: Hey, wanna come over?

He had nothing else to do. His next class was not until six that night. What could be the harm of going over? They were friends. Sure, Jem did not want to fall in love. But, he made sure was not going to when he went over. In plus, Gabriel and Tessa could be there. Perhaps Sophie would be there too.

Jem: Be there in a few

Cecily sent a smiling emoji back and Jem walked faster down the street, ignoring the incredulous stares he got from people as he walked with a stupid smile.

Cecily stared down at her phone. She had retyped and deleted the same words for the past day. The message that she had typed when she took a picture of Will and Tessa, was deleted. She could not go through with it. After staring at the screen until it went black, she had concluded that she would think it over.

Not only would she be ruining Tessa, she would be ruining her brother and Gabriel- as she thought about it. If Gabriel was sincerely into Tessa, then what Cecily would send him would not be taken lightly. It would take a while for him to recover, it would devastate. And what good would that do, besides the fact that she would be right there for him to have a shoulder to lean on.

That night, as she lay in her bed, with Tessa next door, she contemplated on her feelings for Tessa. She had known her for a while and had come to believe that she was an honorably nice person. How could Cecily believe otherwise? Sure, she fooled around with Will while still going out with Gabriel. But, what girl would not.

She hated to admit it- the thought sickened her-, but her brother was handsome, Gabriel was hot. Any girl would be confused about what to do. Their feelings would be complex and distorted. They would not know what to do.

At least that was what Cecily believed. Tessa was confused, things were complicated and two boys were pining for her affection. However, lucky that sounded, Cecily knew that it was taxing and hard. Even if Tessa may love Will more than Gabriel, she still had feelings for the other boy.

This was the logical Cecily. This girl thought before she did stupid things. And that was exactly what she did. No, she did not send the message. Instead, she balled up her jealousy and anger and deleted it, the words, not the picture. She still kept the picture.

And as she stared at it, the afternoon after she took it, she began to come to the conclusion that maybe sending the message was the wrong thing to do. That maybe-

The microwave beeped and Cecily stood. She dropped her phone on the couch and walked toward the kitchen. Once she grabbed a cup of soda, a bag of leftover bread and her heated up spaghetti, she made her way back into the living room.

Upon walking in, she was met with an angry-faced Sophie who was holding Cecily's phone up. Cecily froze. Why did have to type the words, past the picture to a message and leave her phone unlocked. She mentally slapped herself.

"You took a picture of them?" Sophie exclaimed, holding the phone up more, even though Cecily could see it clearly.

Cecily set her food down and walked up to Sophie- who she thought was supposed to be at class. She decided that it was the wrong time to ask why Sophie was home. "I can explain."

"This is Tessa and Will's business alone." Sophie set the phone down and crossed her arms. "You have no business in outing them."

Cecily began to become annoyed that Sophie had looked at her phone, trespassed. She was also annoyed at the fact that Sophie was telling her what business was hers and what was not. Therefore, she defended herself- and not in a logical way.

"Is it so wrong to think that Gabriel deserves the truth? He should not be with a girl that uses him, that lies to him." Cecily said, throwing her hands in the air as emphasis.

"You're right, but that doesn't mean you have to rat on your brother and Tessa."

"What was I supposed to do, huh? Let-"Sophie interrupted Cecily, annoying her even further.

"Talk to Tessa, have you thought about that? Don't make yourself innocent, Cecily." Sophie walked closer to her. "You don't cause you best friend and brother pain. Talk to them; ask her if what she's doing is right. You don't do this, though." She pointed toward the phone.

Cecily was silent for a few seconds. Sophie was right, but she already knew it. "Sorry, I-" She paused and thought about what she was about to say "-I know. I was going to send it last night. But, I decided to think about it. I-I-jealousy overcame me. I like Gabriel and to see his girlfriend being that way with another person, just… made me upset. It made me mad knowing that Gabriel could be with someone who was only interested in him."

"Cecily, he's your best friend's boyfriend."

Cecily let her emotions take over for a second. "I know," she exclaimed loudly. However, she realized she raised her voice and spoke lower. "I'm sorry, Sophie. I just-I don't know."

"Look, I can tell Tessa really likes Gabriel and that she'll give him a chance. She won't be with both boys, that's not who she is." Sophie placed her hand on Cecily's arm. "Find someone else, someone who isn't your best friend's boyfriend." Sophie smiled, causing Cecily to do nothing but return the expression.

She looked down at her phone and grabbed it. While still in the company of Sophie, she deleted the message and picture. After a short hug, Cecily decided to text somebody.

She had to let go of Gabriel. He was not hers, and maybe he would never be, which meant that she had to find somebody else. And she already knew who it was.

Cecily knew Jem felt something her. She would be lying if she said she did not want to reciprocate the feelings. But, Gabriel had always been in the way. Not that time though, she would give Jem a true chance. And Will would be pleased. Also, Jem could be a good boyfriend. He was hot, played an instrument and had genuine interest in her.

Cecily smiled as she texted Jem, knowing that he would be her new chapter.

Tessa knocked on the brown, wooden door of Gabriel's flat. He shared it with Gideon, he once told her, since she had never been in it.

Anxiety coursed through her, as she waited for Gabriel to answer. She looked at her phone. The time read 4:30. That meant that he had just come in from one of his classes.

Tessa had been out of her classes for two hours. And in the meantime, she had changed out of her jeans into a mint green skater skirt, leaving her cream blouse on and putting on matching flats instead of keeping on her other ones. She had brushed her hair, left it out and applied only a few swipes of mascara.

Finally, the door opened and Gabriel stood there. His brown hair was ruffled; the red t-shirt he wore hung loose on him and the boxers he wore hung low, exposing a bit of tan skin. Tessa sucked in her breath before biting her lip.

Gabriel obviously was not expecting Tessa, which made her feel bad. His cheeks flamed red and he opened his door wider. Timidly Tessa stepped in, seeing his place for the first time.

"Sorry, that I did not call or text." She said, taking her shoulder bag off and setting it on the table next to the door. Her heart beat fast as she walked into what must have been his living room.

"It's Ok, I guess I should always be prepared. " He began to walk down the hallway that led to a series of doors. "You can sit down, I'm gonna change into some jeans." Gabriel turned and walked into his room.

Tessa looked around and admired how neat the flat was. With two guys living there, she imagined it to be messy and disorganized. Instead, there was a bookcase with books that were neatly lined up, a couch, recliner, coffee table and a flat screen in the small living room. The kitchen was connected and only separated by a counter and doorframe. She peered into it and saw modern cabinets and a modern tabletop. The only furniture happened to be a table, chairs, fridge, and stove. It was cozy and small- as was the whole flat.

Cautiously, she sat down on the sofa, tucking one leg under her as the other was placed on the floor firmly. She looked up and saw that Gabriel had been watching a movie, which she was not familiar with. A bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch sat on the coffee table, spoon in it. A slender cup, of what looked like, wine, stood next to the bowl.

Tessa grinned at how cozy Gabriel had gotten despite only being home for less than thirty or so minutes.

"Yeah, I'd gotten comfortable." Gabriel said, walking in with jeans on- much to Tessa's disappointment. My class was exceptionally stressful today." He turned the television off and picked up the bowl, leaving the cup.

"How was it stressful?" Tessa asked, feeling more comfortable about barging in on her boyfriend. She laid back and gazed out the window, wondering how he got such a nice flat with a good view of London.

"My professor is piling all this work on us. We have this essay due along with a research paper." He sat down, close to her and out his hand on her thigh, his other supporting his head.

"Need help, with the essays or something?" Tessa asked, although she had plenty of work to do herself. She just thought that it would be nice to offer, knowing that he would do so if the roles were reversed.

He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "I'm fine, Tessa, but thank you." He pulled away and lay his hand back down on her thigh, sending shivers through her body. "Never mind me, how are you? How was Jem's performance? We've been texted the whole day and you have yet to tell me how things went.

Tessa froze, slightly, suddenly thinking about Will. She snapped out of it and remembered that she was supposed to be done with him. Thinking about him only caused her more pain. And she could not feel that way when she was in the presence of her boyfriend.

"It was beautiful. He's really talented. You should come and see him some time. I think he's playing somewhere next Wednesday, we can go together." Tessa suggested.

Gabriel nodded in agreement and studied her face for a moment. Tessa shrunk slightly at his stare and was about to ask what was the matter. However, he spoke up.

"What's the matter?" Gabriel asked, moving closer to her. "You look like something's the matter." Obviously, Tessa could not hide her feelings well.

Therefore, instead of lying, she confessed what happened the night before. After, she stared into Gabriel's green eyes, wondering what he would say, hoping that it would be something positive.

"You did that, for me?" He questioned.

Delight welled up within her. She grinned and looked down at her hands, shyly. "Yes, I had to give you a chance. It wrong to be with him and lie to you."

"So, you both agreed to not be friends, in order for you to fully focus on me?"

"Yes, I'm devoted to you. I'm all yours."

Tessa suddenly felt a wave of confidence surge up within her. She suddenly wanted to prove that Gabriel meant something to her, that he was hers for a moment. So, she positioned herself on him. Her long legs straddled his waist. She scooted further onto him and sighed when he placed his hands on her bare thighs, stilling her in place.

"I don't know how this will play out. I don't know whether I 'll be with Will or if you'll be with Cecily." Gabriel began to protest, but Tessa smiled and paced a finger on his lips. "Don't ask me how I know, I just know. But, let's not worry about that. Let's just focus on the now and worry about what the future holds, when it comes." She did not know where this courage came from, but she welcomed it and took advantage of the feeling.

"I want you," Gabriel whispered against her lips. She relished in the feeling of how soft they were.

"Then do something about it."

And all thoughts were wiped from Tessa's mind as she kissed her boyfriend. All she was focused on was the feel of his lips and the great sensations that his hands caused when they slid up from her thighs to her waist.

He pulled her closer and kissed her with more urgency. The kiss had first been gently and controlled. However, in a matter of seconds, it transformed into something less controlled and rougher. She welcomed the transformation and met his kiss with as much power as his.

Soon his tongue slid out his mouth and slipped into hers. She moaned- loudly- as his tongue collided with hers. She tasted cinnamon, alcohol and Gabriel. Pleasured, she began to battle with his tongue, digging within her for more confidence and fortunately found some more.

As their tongues fought together, she moved her hands from his neck to his shirt, which she eagerly ripped off. When their lips brook apart, she hurriedly tried to get the shirt off, so she could feel his mouth. Hungrily their lips pressed against one another as the red t-shirt was disregarded and thrown to the floor. Returning the favor, Gabriel's fingers excitedly tore at the buttons of Tessa's cream blouse. Annoyed that it was not coming off fast enough- and that she could not feel his hands on her skin-, she helped him and soon her shirt was on the floor.

Gabriel ripped his mouth from Tessa's and stared at her bra and the beginnings of what was under it. She blushed, suddenly aware that she was nearly half-naked. She had not noticed since all she had been focused on was kissing Gabriel.

Only one person had seen her this way, only one person had touched in there. Angrily, she forced thoughts of Will out of her mind and instead plunged herself into the situation she had gotten herself into.

Without another word Gabriel started to kiss her neck, Tessa wrapped her arms around his back and racked her nails down it, trying to find purchase on something. As he kissed her neck, Gabriel moved his hands to where the bra was clasped together.

Slowly he undid it and cast it to the side. Then, she felt the hardness of Gabriel's chest with the softness of hers. She gasped, earning a response from him.

"Are we moving too fast? I'm sorry," Gabriel whispered huskily, pulling away.

"No," Tessa pulled his back.

Gabriel- evidently deciding that he could not stay away from her any long- connected his lips with hers again. He began to lay her back on the couch. And as he did so, she moaned, becoming conscious of his hand, which had started to crawl up her thigh, under her skirt.

The Morning After

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was about to swing her legs off the bed, when she felt something. The sheets, she felt the sheets against her bare skin. And it was just on her legs because she was wearing shorts. No, she felt it against her bottom and back and stomach and-

She turned to her side and saw that she was not alone, another naked person laid next her. That was when the events of the previous night came back to her. Everything came back to her, like a huge wave, it hit her. It all happened to fast.

The previous night was not supposed to happen; at least not that early in their relationship. She moaned and prepared herself for the confusion that was to come.

A/N

I'm back from my trip and revealing chapter. Will is moving on, but to who? The girl at the bar or someone else? All will be told in the following chapters. Also, Tessa and Gabriel seemed to be doing well, for now. And Jem and Cecily….

Thank You for the guys for the reviews. As you can see, Cecily is not that evil anymore. I decided that I did not really want Cecily to be the b**** of the story. Although, she's going to have her moments. But yeah, she's gonna redeem herself, sometime. And Gessa is still alive- but for how long? We'll see. And about Cecily and Jem, I guess we'll find out in the next chapter, or chapter after that…

Until my next update- enjoy your summer

-MyParade