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"Five," she said. Her lips and cheeks were flushed, but her gaze was steady.
"Five?" he echoed blankly.
"My rating," she said and smiled at him.
"Gabriel, as I've been saying the entire way here, you've got it wrong-"
"Move aside, Tessa," said Gabriel grimly, as he gently pushed her to the side of the Herondale's front step.
Tessa sighed and held up her hands in defeat. "The only person you'll embarrass is yourself."
"No, the only person I'll embarrass will be Will Herondale," he said as he shoved the doorbell hard at least a dozen times. "When I punch his face in and he cries for mercy."
Tessa rolled her eyes. "I can't say I know him well but I very much doubt that."
Gabriel ignored this. He hit the doorbell of the small townhome again. Hard.
"Come out you, bastard," he muttered. "Come out you sick son of a-"
The door flew open.
"Son of a what now?" a voice that was most certainly not Will's asked, sounding a mix of annoyed and amused.
Gabriel's mouth fell open.
There on the doorstep was not Will Herondale at all, but a girl.
She was very disconcerting. With long black hair tied in a loose braid and blue eyes that shone with an intense satirical gleam she reminded him a lot of all the things he hated most about Will Herondale, even in jean shorts and a faded t-shirt. But this Will Herondale was. . . incredibly pretty?
He didn't realize he was standing there staring with a twisted expression of horror and awe on his face until Tessa tugged his arm.
She had a bemused expression on her face and a hand on her hip. "What were you saying about punching his face until he cried for mercy?"
Gabriel paled and turned back to the girl with a weak, what he hoped was a smile. "Erm . . . Is Will Herondale here?" he asked, his voice cracking.
She shook her head, leaning against the door with a hip. "Nope. He left early this morning without saying a word. You can't really ever know what Will's doing these days." She looked bitter. "But you could come in and wait if you liked. I'm guessing you're from his-" Her eyes darted past Gabriel to Tessa before going wide with shock. Her eyes became an O.
"You're Tessa Gray!" she nearly shouted, looking stunned.
Tessa smiled slightly, looking a bit self conscious. "Oh, yes. That's me."
"Please!" the girl said, looking close to bouncing out of the doorway with excitement. "Come in!"
Gabriel didn't look at Tessa before following the girl inside eagerly. He heard her laugh behind him as someone shut the door.
"Hey, buddy, watch where you're going will you?"
William Herondale ignored the jibe, keeping walking. He was in one of the dirtier sides of London, his phone at home, money in his pocket, and no clear method of self defense against any attacker. The danger was intoxicating. And he wanted to feel intoxicated.
He walked past a series of homeless people lining the streets, all staring at him greedily. He walked lazily, not the brisk pace that the few nicely dressed people in that area took, with their phones out in obvious easy access, 999 a dial away. Will smelled the stench of the area with a sick sort of delighted loathing. He kept walking.
The E-Z Convenience store was not a place of luxury but a place known for a selection of quality items that, to put it plain, mainly consisted of drugs. And it was Will's destination.
The bell dinged, announcing his arrival.
The convenience store was small, shelves of instant soups, ice cream bars, drinks, beer, lining the walls as well as people quite unlike Will. He knew he looked like a preppy boy from a well to do family. He wanted to be anything else at the moment. A heavily makeuped woman who looked as though she'd tried the paint equivalent of botox much too enthusiastically, looked up at him from the counter. He took a breath and approached her.
"What can I get you, toots?" she slurred, chewing on the end of a toothpick.
"A pack of Malboros," he said in a blank voice, slapping a few bills on the counter.
She looked up at him through eyes coated with liner. It reminded him of his girlfriend. "You get an ID, kid?"
"The extra in that stack is my ID," he slurred boldly, shoving the bills towards her.
She cocked a drawn in brow before shrugging, tossing him a pack of cigarettes and turning away.
As he walked out the doors, many eyes followed him, as did a single, thin hand. It grabbed his shoulder.
He turned to face a girl, who couldn't be more than 16, looking up at him through makeup that clearly was designed to make her look older. He could see through that. She was young. And frightened. Yet she was approaching him anyway.
"Have anyone to stay with tonight?" she asked boldly, holding her hand on his shoulder blade. Her brown hair was tied up in a messy bun; she wore a skintight red dress with various stains.
"You mean have I hired a prostitute for tonight yet? No. And I don't plan to."
Her face went red with anger. "How dare you say-"
"The truth?" he asked bluntly. "Look, kid. I might be screwing up my life here but that doesn't mean I like other younger-" he empathized the word, making her flinch. "kids screwing up theirs. Think before you grab random men's shoulders."
He turned away and started walking but she caught up.
"It seems pretty hypocritical to say that when you're clearly the type," she stated, walking briskly beside him.
"'The type'?"
She nodded. "The despairing type. What happened to you to make you that way, huh?"
He stopped walking.
It hurt to think that the first thought that came to mind was Jem holding Tessa Gray's hand, looking up at her with an expression that shot a round of bullet's through Will's gut.
He hadn't stayed around to listen to their plans of leaving town after that.
He would get drunk for real, he would smoke, he would even do unthinkable- He wouldn't go to New York.
He pulled out a cigarette and flicked on his lighter. He inhaled deeply and had to fight against the immediate urge to cough. Disgusting. He took another whiff.
"Where are you going?"
He turned around to stare at her. Her hair was coming loose from the bun across her face, her eyes worried.
"Home, I guess." He didn't know where he would go.
"I'm coming," she said firmly, starting walking.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the shoulder. "No, you aren't. You're going to stop wandering around looking for a way to destroy your life and get somewhere better. Somewhere that isn't my house."
He took a long drag on the cigarette and imagined it polluting his system. He could feel it burning his lungs, making his insides feel tainted, spreading what he imagined as a dark, spiteful smoke through his entire body- Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
He didn't look to see if the girl was following him as he walked along the dark streets homeward, didn't look to see that she was indeed, following him with keen eye, watching him with the look of a girl who couldn't help herself.
He made it home after a long draining walk and four more cigarettes than a first time smoker should smoke. His lungs burned but he felt accomplished.
At least until he walked into his living room and saw Cecily sitting with Gabriel Lightwood and Theresa Gray, all three staring directly at him.
"William Herondale, I have a bone to pick with you, you-"
"Will, why. . . do you smell like smoke?"
"Hello, Will."
Tessa's final comment, a quiet, bitter sounding greeting sent him reeling.
"Gabriel, it's always nice to see a friendly idiot," he began, pretending to examine his fingers. "Cecily, I smell like smoke because I just smoked a pack and Tessa-" he cut off glancing at her. "Hello to you too."
The room sat still for a moment.
"Will-" Cecily cut in, staring at him with a furious expression. "You knew Tessa Gray and didn't tell me?"
"Well 'know' is a bit of a vague word for it. And to be honest, the explanation is none of your business, Cecily."
She opened her mouth as if to respond angrily but then her eyes darted to the sofa and she swallowed it.
He smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Is this an intervention?"
Gabriel Lightwood stood, looking resigned. "You could say that. Except I expect it to be a bit more violent," his eyes darted to the girls staring up at him. "Er- That is, if there weren't girls here I'd-"
Will's eyes twinkled darkly. "Harbouring a soft spot for Tessa Gray are we, Lightworm?" his voice sounded sharp as knives even to his own ears.
Gabriel blanched, glancing back at Tessa. "Tessa? Absolutely not. I didn't ask her to follow me around-"
Tessa shrugged, a slight smile on her lips. "It's true."
Will moved a step towards him, fake smile falling away. "Then what are you here for, Lightwood?"
Gabriel's gaze darkened. "Well, speaking on people who are clearly in love with Tessa, you're my sister's boyfriend and you're running away with another girl." He clenched his fists. "And if you think I'm going to let that pass you're an idiot."
Will laughed. "Well, I don't know who you got your information from but it must've been someone with not much of a brain."
"Listen, Herondale-"
Will let out a cold laugh. "And you think Tatiana would care if I was?" he said bitterly. "That girl has been in love with me since she was in the nursery, I doubt she could muster the strength to break up with me if I-"
Gabriel's face was steadily turning a darker hue of purple as Will spoke so it was to the relief of several bystander parties that Cecily's brows chose that moment to draw together suddenly. She stood. "There's someone at the window!" she said loudly, pointing.
All eyes went to the window simultaneously. There, peeking through the side of the curtains, stood the girl Will had met not two hours before.
"Who is that?" Gabriel asked, expression bewildered.
"A prostitute," said Will plainly. "She followed me back here, I assume."
Suddenly Gabriel didn't seem to care that there were girls there. There was just enough time for Tessa to see Gabriel's furious expression and she and Cecily to scream: "NO!" before Gabriel threw himself at Will and a loud crack resounded throughout the room.
Hey guys! Wow this chapter looked longer to me when I was writing it. Am I missing a chunk? Sorry I've been kind of off my game lately (we're taking my brother to college this week so it's been kinda hectic). Anyway, as always, I love love love comments, so please keep me updated on what you think of the story! Keep reading and, as always, follow if you like what you're seeing!