Tessa Gray was sitting in mental asylum, eating her lunch. She didn't have a mental disorder, but she was a guard working at the place along with Jem Carstairs, Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood, and some other guards that she rarely associated with like Bridget and Lucy…the names go on. But she mainly hung out with Jem and the Lightwoods.

It was lunchtime at the dinner hall and Tessa had her usual ham sandwich (no cheese, thank you) and some grapes. Jem, one of her best friends, had walked over to her, sitting down and attempting to relax in the uncomfortable tables.

"God, I can see why they're all insane," Jem said, grimacing, "these seats are driving me freaking crazy."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Men. You'd think they'd survive a tiny thing such as uncomfortable lunch tables."

He looked baffled. "I'll have you know that this just simply a minority—"

"Both of you, shut up," Gideon said, surprising both Tessa and Jem. He had just come out of nowhere. "There are rumors going around that we have a newbie."

The three of them grinned mischievously. "Great," Tessa said, clapping her hands together. "I love scaring the newbies."

Gideon waved his hand over to his younger brother, summoning Gabriel who immediately approached them. "Gabe," Gideon said. "You have any more information about the new guy?"

Gabriel nodded once, gripping onto the gun in his pocket with a hand. "Just saw him. About Jem's age. Dark hair. Blue eyes." He shrugged. "I pulled his file and—"

Tessa gaped. "You pulled his file?" she asked incredulously. "Lightwood, you idiot." She threw a grape at him, but it flew into his mouth and he smirked at her.

"Cheeky bastard," Tessa muttered under her breath.

"Tessa's right, though," Jem said suddenly. "You remember the last time a guard tried looking at someone's files."

Everyone was silent. What had happened was Jessamine Lovelace, a former guard, had tried looking over at a person in the hospital's files. She was caught by the head of the place, Axel Mortmain. The next day she was found dead in the girl's bathroom.

"Damn it, Carstairs," Gideon grinned. "I was having a perfectly good day."

"What're you going to do, shoot me?" Jem rolled his eyes.

Gideon laughed. "I might have to."

Gabriel said, "Are you sure about that, brother? Sophie likes the young man."

Gideon was then serious. He shook his head. "Don't talk about Sophie," he told them softly, pointing a scolding finger, and then walked off.

Everyone else was silent. They all knew that Gideon had a soft spot her. She wasn't a guard like them, but she was schizophrenic. She was nice and Tessa liked her. Gideon a bit more than liked her, even though it probably wasn't a good idea.

"Well, anyway," Gabriel said, breaking the silence. "The new kid. The name's William Herondale. It says bipolar, but there's a little note on to the side that it's not usual. Minor depression. Rough childhood." Jem and Tessa exchanged looks. These people were dangerous, but that didn't mean that they couldn't feel at least a little bad for them.

"Ah," Tessa said shortly. She took a bite of one of her grapes.

Gabriel looked back in the direction his brother went off to. "Well, I'm going to follow Gideon. He can't be completely safe in a place like this." And there he went.

Jem looked over at Tessa. "I'm curious," he told her. "Wanna go meet the new kid?"

Tessa grinned. "Of course."

Bridget walked over to Tessa and Jem with a dangerous look on her face. "Where do you two think you're going?" she asked with a distinct Scottish accent.

"Relax, Bridget," Jem said, smiling. "We're just doing our jobs."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. I'm sure you are." She crossed her arms. "We're not supposed to associate with them."

Tessa shrugged. "So? It's not like anyone's here to scold us or anything."

"Cameras," Bridget reminded.

Tessa clenched her teeth. God, she was impossible. "It should be encouraged. Show them that they're not in a completely strict environment. Make them feel a little better, at least."

Bridget sighed. No one could ever convince her to do anything, and if someone did, that was a rarity. So Tessa was extremely surprised when she just grumbled, "Fine," and stormed off.

Jem grinned at her. "Wow. Didn't think that'd work."

"Are you doubting me, Jem?"

"Not at all, mistress." He shook his head with a smile. Tessa brightened and pointed at a guy slouching against the wall, picking at his food with disinterest, his blue eyes downcast.

"You think that's Herondale?" she asked. He nodded with a 'yeah.' Tessa narrowed her eyes and noticed a guy in the dining hall jumping onto someone. "I'll check on him. There's a guy over there that's now choking Blackthorn."

Jem sighed, shaking his head. "Not again." He ran to the north side of the place. "Wayland! We talked about this already!"

Tessa exhaled sharply through her nostrils. Jace, she thought disappointedly. He was doing so well. Tessa walked around the tables and sat down next to the new guy. His eyes flicked to hers for a second. She smiled. He looked back at his food, sighing an irritated sigh.

Her eyebrows shot up.

She was still, and he was ignoring her. So that's how he was going to be, huh? "Hi," she said abruptly. "I'm Tessa."

His plastic spork mixed the beans on his tray around. "Should I care?" he asked bitterly.

She stared at him, before answering, "No, I guess not." Tessa bit her lip. "I guess I'll be leaving then."

She stood up and brushed herself off. She shouldn't have expected him to be at least a little kinder. After all, this was a freaking asylum. Maybe I should go check on Sophie for Gideon. She took the first step away from him before he said:

"Will."

"Excuse me?" She turned around. He was looking up at her. Hot damn, she thought and sucked in her breath. Tessa hadn't really gotten to see his full face, just his profile. He had dark inky locks of hair that curled slightly at the reach of his neck, and fell in front of his mysterious dark eyes that looked almost violet, and he had full lips.

"My name," he said slowly, "is Will." She nodded once, slowly. Will sighed with an exasperated look, "Can you leave?"

Tessa nodded, and spun around on her heel. She saw Jem holding off an angry Jace Wayland and a terrified Julian Blackthorn to the side. Tessa ran to help and pulled Julian's shoulders carefully and walked him to the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, hey. Jules," Tessa said, her hand on his arm. Julian, even though younger than her, was taller than Tessa. It wasn't exactly common, considering Tessa was pretty tall compared to other girls and even some guys. She had to settle for placing her hand on his lower arm. "You okay? You got a bruise on your cheek." Julian nodded once.

"I'm okay," he told her. "Can I just go to my room, now? I just wanna paint." Painting for Julian was highly encouraged. It was therapeutic for him, and he was a great artist.

"Yeah," she said. "Do you want me to get Emma?" Those two were best friends and they were almost inseparable. It was actually kind of cute.

He nodded once.

She escorted him to the hallway and radioed Gideon to go fetch Emma and bring her to the right wing, room twelve.

"Affirmative," he said afterwards. She pulled a ring of keys from her belt and found one to enter the room. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, a twin-sized bed in the corner and light shining in from a window in the top. The room was square shaped with tile floors.

"Wow," Tessa took a walk around the room, "this is really depressing."

"Tell me about it," Julian muttered.

She stood outside the room and told him, "Okay, well. I'll leave the room unlocked for Emma. I'm hoping I can trust you both…" Tessa gave him a pointed look. "I could get fired and things could get a bit stricter around here." Although she wasn't that worried. They were the most normal out of everyone there. Trustworthy enough.

"No worries, Officer."

Tessa laughed. "Oh, gosh. Please don't. Just Tessa." She turned around. "Later, Jules."

"Later, Tessa."

And she left. She spotted Gideon at the end of the hallway and walked over to him, spotting Emma next to him. He nodded to her and she did the same, pointing to where he should bring her.

And she walked off.

"So," she told Gabriel, "I got to meet the new kid."

Gabriel crossed his arms and leaned back. "That one over there?" he nodded to his right, where Will was. Everyone had to be outdoors, even if it was surrounded by this incredibly tall, supercharged gate. Lucy and Bridget were on the opposite ends of Gabriel and Tessa, and Jem and Gideon were on the sides.

"Yeah," she said. She scrunched up her nose. "He's bitter."

"I can't see why he wouldn't be. His parents were psychos," Gabriel reminded.

Tessa sighed and she adjusted her hat with one hand, "Unfortunately, as well as a lot of others in here."

Will was began engaging in a conversation with Sophie. Tessa's eyes widened. "Gabriel," she hit his arm once. "Gabriel, he's talking to Sophie." His green eyes landed on him. "Should we worry?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Keep an eye on him. If something happens, don't be afraid to approach him."

"Got it."

So she watched and Sophie looked confused. Will looked calm the whole time. She looked distant as she talked. Suddenly Will looked rather cross and said something that made her flinch. Tessa slowly walked closer and Sophie seemed horrified.

"Mr. Herondale, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to back away," Tessa said sternly. She used a softer tone when she spoke, "Sophie, can you go over to Officer Lightwood?" She didn't have to clarify. She nodded once and she walked hurriedly to Gideon.

Will shoved his hands in his pockets. "Mr. Herondale, what the hell did you think you were doing?" Tessa nearly shouted at him. Sophie was their friend. Not just because Gideon liked her, but because she was actually one of the kinder people here. And so far, Will didn't seem like someone who would be exceptionally nice to her.

He shrugged helplessly. "I was just talking to her." He has an accent, she noted. British. She just stood there, examining him.

"Well?" Will snapped. "Don't just stand there."

She took a step back and scratched her head. Not wanting to get him angry, she said, "Look, just please don't talk to Sophie without good reason. Okay?"

Will looked unimpressed.

"I'm serious." As she walked away, she reminded herself that he's done something to get himself here. Most end up here because of murder, and there's a likely chance that he's here for that as well.

Tessa walked to Sophie and Gideon. She was sitting down below him, tying and untying his shoes. He didn't really seem to mind though.

Tessa crouched down. "Hey," she said to Sophie. "You all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That guy over there is really mean though." She pointed to Will, and Tessa saw that he was already staring at them. A curious stare, but it freaked Tessa out nonetheless.

"What did he say?"

She said nothing. Sophie's eyes, a luminous dark hazel, hardened and she ran her finger lightly down the scar on her face. Tessa's jaw tightened.

Gideon noticed their conversation. "What happened?" he asked Tessa, crouching down as well with a small smile.

"New guy," she said, not looking at him. "Don't look at him. Not now, he's staring at us."

"Creepy," Gideon faked a shiver.

Tessa muttered, "That's what I thought, too."

Sophie hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the sky, her face blank. "Did you talk to him?" Gideon asked, taking Sophie's hand in his. She broke her gaze at the sky and smiled at him.

"Yeah," she said. "I didn't want to make an enemy out of him, though, so I gave him a warning."

"Which was?"

"To stay away from her and not talk to her without good reason," she shrugged. Relief flooded his face and she smiled at him. "She won't get hurt. We'll protect her." She placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before using it to stand up.

"I gotta get back to my station. See ya, Lightwood." She gave him a mock salute and he grinned, doing the same.

As Tessa walked back to her guarding point, she glanced at Will once more who was looking more agitated than ever.

Her radio came alive and Jem's voice came out of it, scaring her out of her thoughts. "Officer Theresa Gray, report your status!" She jumped and met eyes with Jem and scowled at him from the distance, adjusting her hat properly. He was laughing.

"Damn you, Carstairs," she said into the radio. "Now shut up, and let me do my job."

"The new guy's looking awfully amused. Over," he spoke. Tessa mentally groaned. She was making a fool out of herself.

"Today is not my day," she sighed. "Now can you at least be a little quiet? There are people here and I'm trying to look professional."

"Yes, and you're failing."

"Ugh."

He was chuckling. "Ugh, indeed."

She didn't know where the conversation would spiral to next. She spotted Gabriel and asked Jem, "How's Gabriel holding up?"

"Good. Kind of. I don't know." She distinctly heard him talking to him. "He said he's bored."

"Aren't we all," she said flatly. "Did you hear Wayland's gone to one of those white padded rooms?" Tessa shivered.

"He did?"

"Yeah."

"Guess he's really crossed the line this time."

"Must've, yeah." She inhaled the fresh, cool air of winter. It was nice, and she would've enjoyed it more if it wasn't filled with killers. "All right, Jem, it was nice talking to you, but we should probably get back on duty."

"See you, Officer."

"Later, Carstairs."

Someone's gaze was burning in her head and it made Tessa extremely uncomfortable. But in a way, she was used to that—staring at the security guards so it wasn't anything she hadn't experienced before. But this was different.

Tessa's eyes met Will's, only he didn't look away like most people. Of course, she thought. Was this guy just going to keep staring at her? It was seriously getting kind of creepy.

A part of her just wanted to march up to him and ask, "Would you like to take a picture? It'll last longer!" But at the same time, that phrase was used quite a bit so he probably wouldn't care. So she stayed put.

She was starting to feel really uncomfortable under his gaze. It was like a predator watching their prey.

She couldn't go up to him.

She can't. She was on duty.

But at the same time…

No, these people were here for a reason, just like him, and she had to do her job.

Tessa straightened and observed the area she was stationed to look after, holding her gun tighter against her chest. She was taught how to fight by 'the best.' And by the best that meant it was Gabriel and Gideon. Which Gabriel bragged about almost all the time.

And here they were, all friends working at the same place.

Will was still staring at her and she took a brief moment to look at him and he was leaning back against a boulder, raising his eyebrows and looking very amused. She felt the blood rush to her face and she continued examining her area. She saw in the corner of her eye him shaking his head.

She could almost hear the "tsk, tsk" sound he made.

Suddenly infuriated by him, she had to lean back against the wall and literally had to restrain herself from marching over to him. The thought hadn't even occurred to her that one of the other guards would question her. Surely Bridget. Lucy, perhaps.

Jem would ask but wouldn't stop her.

She looked around and saw him stand up and walk in her direction. He was grinning of course and crossed his arms.

"I'm on duty, Herondale. Don't distract me."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Am I distracting you? I'm very sorry, but I should've warned you that people do tend to find me a little distracting."

"Just sit over there and count blades of grass or whatever." Tessa let out an agitated exhale. "And let me do my job please."

"You didn't seem to mind after I talked to that Collins girl."

Tessa took a sharp inhale. "Don't talk about her."

"Why not?" he pushed. Why must he do this? Why was Will so determined on getting on Tessa's nerves?

She didn't look at him. "If I told you, you would only keep bothering her."

Will shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"I don't trust you."

"You shouldn't," Will said.

"Then why should I tell you?" Tessa shot.

"So then I'll have a reason to leave her alone," he replied calmly.

She considered this for a moment. She didn't trust him and he just told her that she shouldn't. And besides, why would he do such a thing anyway?

Tessa slid her gun in its holster. "Fine," she said after a while, avoiding eye contact. "Fine, I'll tell you. Sophie just so happens to be one of my friends. Happy?"

Will gave her the look her parents gave her when she confessed something when Tessa was younger. "Now was that so hard?"

Tessa groaned, rolling her eyes and continued looking over at the field and not him. "Why are you even here?"

Tessa locked eyes with Jem from the distance. He gave her a questioning look and she shrugged, mouthing I don't know!

Will had a sly smile on his face. "I just happened to notice you staring at me and—"

Tessa was incredulous. "I only stared at you because you were staring at me!"

"—I know that even though I'm incredibly handsome, it'd be nice if you could exhibit some self-control," he finished, leaning against the wall beside her.

She scoffed. "This is a lovely surprise. You're also a major asshole."

"Thanks, love, but start telling me things I didn't already know, alright?" She wanted to slap the smirk off his face.

Tessa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Hitting people in the asylum was not in my job description, Tessa reminded herself. "Look. I'll be nice. Go away before I—"

"Go to my bedroom and rip off all of my clothes?" Will suggested.

Tessa's face was red with fury. "OFFICER GABRIEL LIGHTWOOD, GET OVER HERE," she shouted in her radio. Her fists were clenched and Will actually looked surprised.

Gabriel made his way over there quickly. "What's the problem?"

Tessa was completely flustered. "This—this douchebag—wouldn't leave me alone." She gestured wildly to Will.

He raised an eyebrow. "The new guy?"

"Yes, the new guy!" Tessa looked crazy.

Gabriel stood there for a moment, observing the two. "Tessa, I think you'd better calm down."

Will burst out laughing.

Tessa stared at Gabriel. "What?"

He shrugged. "Well, I'm just saying that that's not really a good reason why you could've asked me to come here but…"

"This idiot is driving me insane," Tessa snarled.

Will raised his eyes suggestively. "In what way?"

"You—!" She looked over to her friend. "Gabriel!" She almost sounded like she whining.

"Sorry, Tessa." He bowed his head once before going back to his post. "Call me next time on a better reason."

She scowled. Tessa looked over at Will who was now, weirdly enough, sitting on the ground staring ahead. "Herondale, are you alright…?" She crouched down. He was digging his nails into his arms, hard enough to draw blood.

"Of course I am. I just so happened to be making myself bleed for fun," Will replied casually. She stared at him. "Never mind. I'm off." And he stood up, and left.

Tessa shook her head. She was distracted. She let him distract her. Never again, she silently promised. She straightened once more and was careful of her surroundings, because nothing bypasses Tessa Gray.

"Gray, what the hell just happened?" Gideon said into her radio.

She gulped. She pressed on it and said back, "I have absolutely no idea."

A/N: Was that a good place to leave it off? I don't know. Anyway, if you liked it, please favorite/follow and review so I can post a next chapter :) Can I at least get five or more reviews for chapter two? Thank you… :D

I'm not sure if this is accurate or not and Tessa thinks she's good at her job, but…

There's a chance that I might do a weekly update. Not about daily like The New Girl but weekly because these chapters are longer.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Infernal Devices or anything else mentioned in this story and I'm doing some crazy research on asylums and stuff so just please cut me some slack because I don't know anything.