Chapter 9: the Kiss that Marked the New Year
Thank you for the reviews! You guys give me life! I would totally shout you out but I can barely type right now! (I don't understand my new tablet.)
Also, thanks to Jillessa! She's fabulous!
To that one reviewer whose name I can't remember: XD you think Tessa is JUST coming out of her shell?
In this chapter, Italics means flashback.
The music pounded from inside the house, a sort of smooth classic rock that was so old it was a joke. Iz laughed and slammed the front gate open, and I followed reluctantly, sighing and worrying about what was to come next. This seemed more of Clary's scene, with the loud music, lots of people, colorful hair. To be honest, I'm more of a ballroom and nature person.
And then I walked in.
This party was perfect. I still could hear the goofy guitars from inside but the courtyard was dressed in soft colors, with twinkling Christmas lights still up and people kissing and smiling, all around the area. Wide windows covered an area so you could sort of see inside the house, people dancing crazily on the dance floor, but laughing, handing as much fun as they could. In
In the very middle was a gorgeous antique table with a cooler carved out in the middle, filled with light beers and assorted drinks. Surrounding that, rows of shimmering masquerade masks covered the area. I looked around. Everybody had these gorgeous masks off, but in their hands or tied around their necks. Suddenly, even Isabelle had one, and it made her look even more flawless.
"Oh, how amazing!" I exclaimed, spinning to Izzy. She was moving towards the open door, slowly, like she was waiting. When she heard me, she twirled to me, her dress puffing out and giving her a sort of ethereal look, which was gorgeous all the same.
"I know." She smirked and ran inside, elegant like the party around us. I'd barely noticed that the music had stopped until it started back up, some sweet love song I didn't recognize, and it made me feel like I was in a movie, my fingers trembling as I reached for a mask.
"That's not yours." A silk voice, a voice I'd been forgetting for a month reached my ears, carrying across the whole courtyard, yet directed towards me. A beautiful voice to a beautiful man.
"Tess." he continued, and I looked up, seeing waves of depth in his eyes.
"Tess, right? Are you reading A Tale of Two Cities?" Will's voice boomed out of nowhere, making me fumble and fall from the tire swing, landing on my back and flinging my book off onto the trampoline.
"No," I snap sarcastically, scrambling up and on the trampoline to get my book, "I just tear covers off of classics and glue them onto my books. It's fun." I spit out the last word right while picking it up, making sure it isn't damaged or anything.
"Fun?" a wicked grin split his face as he climbed up to the edge of the trampoline, and I watched him, feeling a sinking sensation in my stomach.
"Totally." I glared at him unsteadily, scared to see where he was going, and what he was going to do.
"You mean—" he stepped onto the trampoline, laughter shaking his muscular frame, "like THIS?" He launched himself in the air, flipping dramatically high in the air.
"No!" I squealed, running to get off before it was too late. Nope. Will 'whooped' as he landed, flinging my feet out from under me and sending me flying into the air. "William!" I laughed out, landing flat on my ass and bouncing back up a little.
"Was that as fun as murdering classics?" Will asked innocently. I stood up and charged towards him, though it probably looked more like a weird dance. It is truly impossible to run on a trampoline. He burst into laughter, but right as my hand was an inch from his shoulder, he grabbed my waist and picked me up, probably to do some magical acrobatic trick I couldn't do myself, but I knocked him off balance and we both went tumbling down.
I was shaking with laughter, and he was bursting at the seams with it as well. We were nose-to-nose, forehead to forehead, breathing the same air, inches away from each other.
And somehow I kissed him.
And somehow my mouth opened.
And somehow he was on top of me.
And somehow he got up and shook his head angrily, apologizing to me over and over and heading home instead of inside.
And somehow, I ran to Clary's room, all the way across the street, and cried all night with her, while she got me to come to play Truth or Dare with her.
I spent the whole time wondering, 'what is Will thinking right now?'
And I knew, somehow, I had fallen in love with him.
"Tess?" this wasn't Will, but it made no difference. Jem wasn't stuck in the back part of my mind, not at all. He was right there next to Will, but different. Jem gave me butterflies and made me want to do nothing but play with his hair in the moonlight, kiss his lips like nothing else mattered.
Will, on the other hand, gave me flesh-eating moths and made me want to make out violently and… other things. Will was an open flame, Jem was my shelter. And they split my heart equally.
"J… J… Jem…" I sputtered out, trying to cover my cheeks, knowing they'd be a warm scarlet. He chuckled and grabbed my hand from the mask, pulling me over to him.
"I have a mask just for you." He smiled and reached into some drawer in the table. His sleeve caught on a splinter and a little piece tore away, but he smiled at me with pure sunshine. In his hands he held a mask of red with black embroidery, elegant and perfect.
"It's… its perfect!" I beamed up at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, only for a second. Of it were anybody else, no doubt I would be suspicious, but this was Jem. I almost, ALMOST, kissed him right then and there. Just because he was Jem, and that was all the reasoning I needed.
"Really?" he blushed and held on tight before letting go and tying it on. He stepped back, looking at me with what I could only describe as wonder. For the first time that night, I saw him. His silver eyes were bright and full of light, shining as he looked at me.
His cheeks were flushed and his skin was glowing. He looked healthy. He had on jeans and a button shirt with a fancy blazer, just like every other guy, but he was so slender, it was tight on his shoulders and loose on his stomach. I bit down the urge to tear it off, for that would have been terribly importer. He smiled again and gently held my arm, guiding me to the house.
"Where is Will?" I asked, because ever since I realized they were dating, I'd never seen them apart, and I'd started to think they were inseparable. Jem looked at me quizzically and shrugged, but smiled nonetheless.
"Who knows where Will goes? I think he's in his room avoiding everybody. This is more of Cecily's idea of a party. Will practically wanted to throw a ball. He's so old-fashioned, I swear he was born in the 1800s." I pictured Will dressed in an old-fashioned outfit, hat and all, and found myself flushing.
Then, I pictured Jem like that with him and found myself crimson. I chuckled weakly, not really remembering the joke. And then he swung the door open.
More twinkling lights covered the room, lining the foyer up beautifully. They lined the stairs and arches, then dangled in strips above the hall that I knew led to Will's room. Really, the room was sort of small, just large enough to do its job. Two arches lead into the dining room and the kitchen. I knew up the stairs there are tons of bedrooms, maybe bathrooms, and the living room. But right then the party was in the dining room. Or should I say dance floor?
I peeked at Jem's face, fitting perfectly with the beautiful love songs. He met my eyes and removed his hand from my arm, reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket. He pulled out a silver mask and tied it on quickly, his fingers dancing on the back of his own head to fix the stretchy strap. He stops fumbling suddenly and slides his hand into mine, then leans so close I can smell him. Peppermint and candy canes pop into my mind.
But I didn't stop to think about Will. Instead, I leaned close while he whispered into my ear.
"May I have this dance?" he grinned, not waiting for an answer, as he placed his hand in mine and pulled me to the dance floor. We slow danced for countless songs, and I loved every second. When I accidentally stomped on his foot and he smiled, when I stopped to sneeze and he smiled, when he got hair in his mouth and tried to keep dancing but ended up messing me up so I just got it for him and he smiled, when he smiled for no reason.
And I felt not just safe and warm, but like everything was falling, collapsing, tearing to pieces around me, and he was keeping me there, grounded.
Like every cliché, we were alone in a crowded room.
"I know you." A silky came from right behind me as I lifted a smaller of boxes of books up. I was fumbling with my gloves underneath, trying to keep from dropping everything.
"Most people say 'hi', you know…" I muttered tossing the box a little to hold it better. Books are heavy. I heard him laugh, but I tried to push it back in my mind.
"Theresa Gray?" I turned sharply, dropping my books in the process. How… Nobody knows that name.
Back when Jocelyn was planning not to marry Luke, just live forever with him, and the only kids were Clary and Jon from Jocelyn's previous marriage and Clary was only 7 and Jon was 8, they wanted another kid, somebody a mix of the two of them.
Luke ran a bookstore and Jocie ran an art shop that my foster parents lived above, so they both recognized me, and when they found out I was an orphan, they didn't even pause to invite me into the family. Almost immediately, they got pregnant with Olivia and Parker then got married, and everyone got their names legally changed to Garroway, including me. But for the thresh months in between when they invited me into their family and they got married, I went by the last name 'Gray'.
"How do you know that name?" I asked, flustered. He looked familiar, but I didn't know many people. He paused, then laughed.
"I'm James. I guess the pictures you saw of me looked a bit different." He chuckled again. "Imagine me with darker hair," he continued, but I already got it.
"Jem!" I laughed with him and went in for a hug. I'd met him when I was about 10. He was my old pen pal. Our last message had been almost three years ago, when he started talking about his love for his best friend. He never said who. It had gotten awkward for me, since I might have had the tiniest of crushes on him, though I had only seen pictures. "I can't believe it's you!" I squealed, squeezing him tight. He laughed and hugged me back before he pulled away. He looked very different than the pictures. His cheekbones were sharper and he was a lot thinner. Unhealthy, almost. His eyes were almost white, and his hair was bright silver and shimmery.
"It's me." He said simply and smiled, leaning down and hugging me once again.
And once again, love hit me like a rock. A solid, heavy rock.
I knew I was blushing, but I didn't try to hide it. Instead, I put my head on his shoulder and continued swaying.
"Hey?" someone asked, while James ran his hand down my arm and pulled me back.
"Yes, Jem?" I said, but I knew his lips hadn't moved.
"Will," the person corrected, and I turned my head slightly to see him standing behind me.
"Yes, Will?" Jem responded for me. He was smiling easily, but my stomach tightened.
"May I join in on this dance?" Will questioned, and I turned to see him. Join in? Jem spun me around to face Will completely, and then he buried his face in my neck from behind, grabbing my hand and waist to continue dancing.
It felt startlingly familiar and natural, just like Jem himself. Then Will grinned and stepped forward, so that our chests were touching. He pulled my free hand held his side and his held mine. Then, we shifted more so that James was pressed tight against my back and Will was pressed into my front, and both of them had one of my hands on each, one hand on me, and their free hands holding each other's waist, trapping me like a prisoner.
A very warm and happy prisoner, though. Somehow, we danced like this comfortably, right up until people were counting down from sixty.
"4" Jem whispered into my ear, then softly started kissing up my neck, open-mouthed, causing all of me to tingle and arch into Will.
"3" William said, smirking softly before climbing up the other side of my neck, leaving me weak-kneed, and hoping I wouldn't fall.
"2" I added, overcome with butterflies but still managing to be brave enough to wind my hand in Jem's hair and Will's at the same time. Loud popping and confetti littered the air, but all I noticed was the disappearance of warmth from one side of my neck.
My heart pounded in my head as I saw his lips heading for mine. I just let my eyes close and held onto his hair tighter. Then his mouth met mine, and the New Year truly started.
Who do you want Tessa to being kissing? It makes no difference to the plot, so y'all can really chose.
-This is the infamous Jillessa Heronstairs here ;) and I hope Tessa will be kissing them both! That would be super awesome! Jillessa for ages, dears! You readers better be loving this story, and reviewing, because it is frick fracking amazeballs. It's a pleasure to Beta for this fantastic writer, and ya'll better be enjoying the story. :) I know I am. So yeah. Just wanted to say the little bit... And to all you readers, comment who you want Tessa to be kissing! And say both! Just for me! I don't know how that's going to work out... But the writer of this story is fantastic! She'll find a way! :) ;) Bai!-