(THE EXPEDITION)
Jem, Jessamine, Henry, and Cyril, made it to Shang-hi China, after three long weeks of traveling in that period of time Jessamine and Jem had become good friends. Any of the anger or disappointment in Jessamine that Jem had felt was long gone, and in its place was a feeling of thankfulness and joy, that Jessamine had accompanied him on the trip. He did not regret the decision to let her come along. At the Institute the new family in charge, Jem was surprised to find out was a couple of good family friends, the Changs. He remembered from his childhood, and after the warm greetings Jem, went with the Changs to go discuss the new material that they found concerning the demon that killed his parents.
Jessamine was left alone for a little while, and look around Jem's childhood home. The Shang-hi institute was a very large formal type building with lots of regal red furniture, and old antique pots and vases for decorations. Jessamine also found pictures left out by the Changs of photos from when Jem was younger, before his life had been turned upside down. Jessamine thought he looked so adorable as a cute little asian kid, with dark black hair, and the olive skin tone of the Chinese. He looked so happy, and healthy. She wondered how this little boy could compare to the weak, frail Jem that she knew today.
"Wow, I didn't know that the Changs kept any of my parents, old stuff. They really are very nice people." Jem said from behind her. She had been so engrossed in looking at the photo that she had not noticed him approaching. "That was taken right after my eighth birthday. I remember that day well. I had been all panicked, because I had woken up to the smell of burning food, and I ran downstairs, worried that something was wrong and then, only to find out that our cook, Je-jing, had gotten distracted by a surprise visit from a secret admirer, and they got so caught up with each other, that they had totally forgotten about everything until every last would be pancake was burned to a crisp, and the whole kitchen had been filled with smoke. My parents were very upset at first, but after being angry for a couple of minutes, we all just broke down and started laughing. Then we helped Je-jing clean up the kitchen, and she made us all another batch of pancakes that we decided turned out even better than the first batch would have."
"Thats so sweet. Especially the fact that your parents were so nice about it. The way you talk about them they sound like two of the best people in the world. They must have meant a lot to you." Wow, Jessamine thought, the way his face lights up when he is talking about this place is really quite sweet. Wait what am I thinking. Jem? She never knew he had this much depth, and he so kind and considerate. He still treats her so nice even after all the awful mistakes she made.
"Yeah they do mean a lot to me, and this place just brings back so many memories. Things haven't changed much here. The Changs really haven't changed anything. All the furniture is in the same place. The only major change I think is the new carpet int the sitting room." Wow, Jem thought, Jess really is beautiful when she is not spending all her time sulking around. She actually has a heart, and can be kind and considerate. The things she is passionate about really tell a lot about her. A person just has to get to know her to see that. "So would you like to take a walk through the gardens with me?"
"Sure, I would love that" Jessamine sincerely replies.
All throughout the walk, while Jem showed Jessamine all the different plants that the Chinese garden had to offer. He could not stop thinking about how beautiful Jessamine's hair looked against the pale sky, and how whenever he saw her smile, it made a smile appear on his face too. These thoughts made him start to think about his relationship with Jessamine were they really just friends. He thought back over the last few weeks and he remembered all the times that they had seemed so close to having a "moment." And finally he remembered Tessa. His darling Tessa. He suddenly realized that this was his first thought of her in weeks. He had become so wrapped up with Jess that he had forgotten all the about his betrothed. That was very unlike him. It made him think, If he could forget about Tessa that easily is she really the one for him. He became to feel a sense of betrayal. He thought he loved Tessa, but if he could forget her so easily then were they really meant to be. Maybe he picked the wrong girl? Maybe the right girl for him had been right in front of him the whole time but he had just never taken the time to get to know her. The more he thought about it, the more he began to believe it was true.
After finishing his business with the Changs and having everything settled Jem and the rest of the Shadowhunters along with Cyril began the long journey back home. The closer and closer they got to the Institute, the more butterflies began to appear in Jem's stomach. He had already made his decision, and now all that was left was to follow through.
Once they arrived back in London at the Institute, Jem immediately searched out Tessa, before he lost his wits and backed out of what he desperately needed to tell her. He found her in her room getting ready to go out for walk around town.