Clary's POV

I had been talking to Will about Jace for what seemed like forever, though the topic occasionally veered off course to some trivial topics or basic questions about ourselves. I found out Will has two sisters and one of them lives in the area. He's been friends with Jem for what seems like forever. He's 22 and going to be starting his junior year of college in the fall. He lives in the area, so he talked about the difference of the summer tourist season and the rest of the year. I had no idea how much time had passed. I ended up finishing my iced coffee only to order another one. My scone was long gone and I had also finished a small cup of New England clam chowder. Will had indulged in a soup and sandwich combo and also had a strawberries and cream scone after my incessant recommendations. It was actually really nice visiting with him. Besides his Jace like arrogance, which took no time for me to adjust to, he really was easy to talk to. We were laughing and talking like old friends. We just seemed to click. Maybe it was because he joked and teased like Jace and I retaliated similarly. He didn't seem to mind one bit when I snapped at him, I often felt like he was goading me, but not in a bad way, just all in good fun. Though Will was attractive, I wasn't attracted to him, not like that anyway. There was no awkwardness between us so it just made hanging out a breeze. Will never even seemed put off that I spent the majority of the time talking about Jace. Will seemed to be sincerely trying to help me analyze my relationship.

"So let me see if I've got this straight. Izzy's take on relationships is the best way to get a guy is by making him jealous by flirting with every other guy you see. Then he'll see you in a whole new light or some such thing." I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. That's about right."

"I don't see that working. It's not like you're trying to get his attention, you already have it. Also if Jace really is completely in love with you, that won't work, it will just hurt him. Sounds like you really don't want to do that. Well, it will likely also piss him off based on that fight at the club you told me about, he seemed more than capable of beating the shit out of most unsuspecting pawns, so either way, I'd strike that idea down." I nodded.

"Now Alec wants Jace for himself as a back-up plan." I cringed and glared.

"That is NOT what I said. Plus he has Magnus now."

"You didn't have too. Plus, hence back-up plan. It's just Magnus tends to get distracted by things that sparkle, and Alec doesn't sound all that bright and shinny the way you described him. He comes across as a wall flower. I'm sure he worries somebody else with catch Magnus's twinkling eye." I was glaring pretty hard. Not that he was completely off base, with Alec's faded predominately black and brown wardrobe he didn't exactly sparkle, and he did often fret about how he didn't know what Magnus saw in him, but Will was still talking about my Alec and there was no way I was going to let him continue down that path.

"You're on thin ice pal." Will shot me an apologetic look and put his hands up in a mock surrender.

"Sorry, I forgot who I was talking about for a second there. It's like talking shit about somebody's sibling, they may rag on them all the time, but it crosses a line if you do. I know you two are tight. No disrespect. Moving on then…Maia wants you to have an arranged marriage?" I laughed. He paid such close attention.

"Yep. That's pretty much it."

"Seeing as she doesn't like Jace all that much I'd suggest you strike that one too." I shook my head slightly and smiled amused.

"Simon wants you to join the convent?" I laughed pretty loud at that one.

"I don't remember talking that much about Simon, but sure, he probably does. He hates Jace, so I'm not taking his opinion into consideration."

"Well definitely shouldn't be in a convent depriving the world of your sexy body. That would be as ridiculous as me joining the priesthood. God gave us these bodies and he expected us to use them." I was laughing so hard my eyes were tearing up.

"So all your friends struck out, which means I'm going to give you some counter advice based on everything you've told me…" Will's phone range and he held up his index finger gesturing, just a second as he answered it.

"Hey Jem…No you'd never guess where I am or who I am with." He raised his eyebrows up and down at me suggestively.

"How the hell did you know that?...No I didn't know you knew one of the baristas here…She works here?...I can't believe she text you a picture, that's like stalkerish…Wait. What time is it?..." I looked at my phone it was already 4:00. Holy crap! I was here with Will for like four hours. That went by fast.

"I totally lost track of time…No I'm coming…I'll be there…Do we need another player?...I'll text you." Will put his phone down on the table.

"Hey do you play tennis?" I rolled my eyes.

"Not well." He smirked.

"That's perfect I'll pair you with Jem. I want to win for a change." He laughed.

"Hey you were just telling me how to fix my life." He smirked.

"Right. Well I can't fix it in one day. I'll need more time to observe. So we'll need to spend some more time together." He winked at me. I shook my head playfully.

"My advice for right now is…I think you should just set a deadline, say Saturday July Fourth, that's the big reason everybody came up here right?...Well if he is really a player, and he's not ready to change his ways, he won't be able to keep it in his pants for a week, he'll at least trip up even if he doesn't actually score. A cute girl walks by, he'll start flirting with her, his hand will grab an ass accidentally, he'll come home with lipstick on his collar, he'll do something to show he's already working on a contingency plan. Just trust me." Will shot me a quick exaggerated toothy smile, and looked up and away. I couldn't help but laugh.

"However, if he is still declaring his everlasting devotion to you, Kaelie's not in the picture, I'd say he's being sincere and he's ready for a relationship with you. Also, it wouldn't hurt to take a few days, well just shy of a week I guess, and just study him. You can learn a lot about a person if you're actually looking. There really is a difference between caring for somebody and playing somebody." I scrunched my face. I wasn't really sure if I liked his plan or not.

"What happens at the end of the week when we go our separate ways and he forgets about me?" Will snickered and rolled his eyes.

"Do you worry all the time? You can't mitigate for everything, but if he really has been in love with you the last two years, and he really does want to commit to this thing, I imagine he's one step ahead of you there. I know I'd be. I know if it were me, I wouldn't let you just go your separate way. That would give you time to breakdown all the foundation I just spent all that time building." Will looked down at his watch.

"If you need to stop at your cottage and get ready we should head out." I ignored Will's last comment.

"But wait. How will I know?" Will stood up and shook his head.

"Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. Stop overanalyzing everything. We really should go though." I shook my head.

"I never said I was playing tennis."

"Perhaps not directly, but see we already have this connection, I knew you'd say yes, and you knew I was telling you we had to go play tennis." He was looking at me like he just had some sort of revolution. I chuckled and started to pick up my garbage.

"Oh and Clary."

"Hmm?."

"I'll try to help you out with Jace, but you have to help find me a girl." I rolled my eyes.

"I can't believe you have any trouble finding girls to date Will." He smirked as he pulled at his cell phone. He passed it over to me opened it to a picture of him and Jem with a girl in a somewhat plain white sundress. She had light brown long curly hair and light eyes, maybe blue, hard to tell in the picture. She was standing between Jem and Will, at a bar it looked like, and they each had an arm around her neck. They were all smiling. She wasn't done all up, but she had a natural beauty that was apparent even in the low quality picture. There was something about her…

"Her." Will said as he looked down at the picture and tapped his screen.

"Who's she?"

"Tess." He said her name with such fervor and I think this was the first time I'd actually seen Will smile a genuine smile. I looked closer at the picture. Oh My God!

"Tessa? Tessa Gray?" Will's face changed quickly to a quizzical yet excited expression.

"Yeah Tessa! I don't know her last name. You know her?" I rolled my head back dramatically and closed my eyes. Did I know Tessa Gray?

"Oh you could say that. If that's Tessa, and I haven't seen her in years mind you, she used to go to my school, until I moved when I was fifteen and changed schools. I kind of had a thing for her brother when I was little." I cringed a little at the thought of her older brother Nate. He was a year ahead of me in school, Tessa was in my grade, not that we really hung out that much. We all did preschool together; Tessa and I did it for two years, so Nate was in the same class for my first year. Nate and I just became the best of friends. Then for the summers, after he got out of half day kindergarten, and in the afternoons of first grade and second grade we were in daycare together. We played all the time. By the time I was in second grade, he was in third, then all the girls chased him at school, quite literally, and I got the biggest jealous crush on him. We stopped hanging out at daycare and school, cooties you know, and then I pursued him subtly for a couple years, then he just kind of got pushed in the back of my mind, well mostly, but when we moved when I was fifteen, that's when I really just forgot about him. Until now. There was one other complication though and wasn't it convenient she wasn't far away. Will was looking at me gapped mouth like I just told him he won the lotto.

"Oh you're already head over heels for her aren't you?" Will smirked.

"Well it's a little complicated. I met Tess at a club around here a couple years ago. She said she vacationed here every year with her family. We kind of lost each other in the club and then I hadn't seen her the last couple years. I ran into her Saturday night at Pandemonium. We spent hours talking and hanging out, but then she wouldn't tell me how I could contact her. She said fate would bring us together if it was meant to be. I guess that makes you fate…" Will smiled a huge toothy smile. I frowned.

"I don't know how to get in contact with her either. I don't really know if I can help you with this." Will smirked as he took back his phone.

"Yeah. Well I have faith in you. But, if you're no help with Tess, and we're both still single after the fourth, then you owe me a real date." Will winked.

"A real date? How would that be so different than this? Sorry handsome I'm not interested in you like that." Will smirked.

"Well beautiful, that's because I haven't turned on the charm. I'm being respectful to your very intimidating husband wannabe." I laughed.

"Husband wannabe?" He chuckled.

"Yep. Dude asked you to marry him. I totally get it's one of those things where you really can't believe he meant it, like when a guy asks you to marry him in the middle of coitus." I started laughing. Does that even happen? I wouldn't even know what coitus meant if Simon didn't love the TV show Big Bang Theory. Who says coitus though, really?

"Still, I think I've got a new nickname for him." Will looked mischievous. I didn't even want to think about it. I rolled my eyes.

"How do I know you're not going to sabotage this all?"

"Well that's a good question. A less scrupulous fellow would definitely do just that, but Clary you already know me well enough to know I'd never do that. Jace scares the shit out of me…Just kidding I could hold my own…probably…no, I just want you to be happy. I use to be a player in high school, but I'm about to be a junior in college, my player years are well behind me. Consider me helping you, me trying to make amends for some of those girls I hurt. Plus I'm not really interested in you that way either to tell you the truth. I feel like we've kind of got this connection, but it's not romantic or anything." I nodded. I was totally agreeing with him. Though, there was something about Will, an unspoken candor, I already knew he was completely being sincere, and I trusted him. It was like he had wisdom well beyond his years.

"Though, I figure there has to be something charming about you. You must be holding back, I mean you think you may have turned a high stakes player into a man ready to settle down with one chick." I whacked Will on the arm.

"Did you just insult my mad skills at making men swoon over me?" I joked. Will laughed. He threw the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically and leaned back.

"No, I'm just hiding the fact I'm on the verge of losing consciousness as you speak." He chuckled.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do about Tessa, but that's it. Deal." I muttered lazily. Not that I thought anything would ever happen between Will and I. I already felt like we had known each other our whole lives. The thought of dating Will right now was as weird as the thought of dating Simon. Ew! Though, I did want to help him find Tessa. She was really sweet, well most of the time anyway; she could be abrasive if she wanted to. I could kind of see then together.

We had walked to my car; we had agreed that Will would just follow me back to the cottage so I could quickly change. I had my door open and was just about to climb in. Will was waiting just a few feet away.

"Oh and Clary. One more thing-" I hesitated just before I sat down and looked over at him.

"Hmm?"

"I get the feeling that part of why you're so crazy about all this is that you're afraid of love?" I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. Why could he understand me so friggin well? Oddly it wasn't unnerving. Will shot me a knee buckling sexy smirk. God where did that come from? I couldn't help but laugh. Based on his one eyebrow raised scolding look, it wasn't the reaction he was looking for. If I had even a spark of interest in him that might have made me faint, but I found it just funny. Maybe he was being sincere when he said he was holding back, but I really didn't think I was at risk of swooning.

"I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all." He recited in a very alluring voice. My breathe caught. I knew my cheeks were flush and I was smilling a big dorky smile. I was such a sucker for poety. I took a deep breath and shook my head. Yeah he could be a lot more charming if he tried, much more charming. Still wasn't doing it for me though.

"Tennyson?" I murmured somewhat breathy. Will chuckled.

"Yeah. Girls always swoon over that stuff." I burst out laughing.

"I'm sure they do." He gave me that scolding glare again.

"Sorry…I'm not so sure I agree with that quote though: 'Tis better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all." Will nodded.

"Well that's not the whole quote. I find it's hard to disagree with it when you look at the whole quote. I feel it when I sorrow most. Death. If you've ever lost somebody that you loved, to death, you know without a doubt, that it was better to have had them in your life, no matter how long or short, that you are happier for the memories they left you with, than you would be if they never existed in your life in the first place. No matter how short of a time they were in your life, you wouldn't trade it to take away the pain you experience when they are no longer in your life." I looked down. My lips were quivering, my eyes were filled with tears, I was sniffling. He was right though. I missed my mother, I missed my stepfather. I missed them every single day, but I wouldn't wish I never had them in my life just so I wouldn't feel this way right now. I was lucky to have my mother and stepfather for as long as I did. Will grabbed me in his arms for a big hug. It was more like a hug Simon would give. It was comforting to a respect, but not completely reassuring, not like Alec's hugs or Jace's, not anything like when Jace hugs me at all.

"Sorry Clary. I didn't mean to make you cry." Neither one of us said anything for several minutes. I pulled myself together again and wiped away my tears. I pulled away from Will and he dropped his arms around me, I was chuckling a little in the process.

"It's not your fault. You're right. What you said, it's true…You just wouldn't believe how much I've cried this past weekend." I shook my head. Will smirked.

"Do you need to stop at a pharmacy and pick up some Midol or something?" He said very patronizingly. I whacked him on the arm. Yeah he was so obnoxious, in that friend that knew you forever kind of way.

"Men!" I snapped. Will chuckled.

"You say that like it is a swear."

"It should be." I spat.

"I know it's hard to resist latching onto my body, but next time you want a hug you don't have to burst into tears, just ask." Will said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. Oh my goodness. So cocky. Will looked at his watch again and his eyes widened quickly. He gently punched my shoulder.

"Buck Up. We really have to go." I nodded. What words of encouragement.

We climbed into our respective cars and headed back to the cottage.


Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it when I sorrow most;

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.