TESSA POV:

Tessa was elbow deep in a bowl with flour everywhere and kneading pizza dough when the phone rang. "Aunty, could you get that?" Tessa called, and went back to her dough. It had been a good week, busy but good. Romeo and Juliet was only weeks away and it was starting to come together. What had made the week especially good though, was Jem. Jem was so easy to get along with and had almost been filling the space Will had taken up.

"Tessa, honey, it's for you," her Aunt said, entering the kitchen. "It's Clary, should I tell her you have your hands full?"

"It's okay, tell her I'll be a sec."

Tessa quickly ran her hands under the water before taking the phone off her Aunt.

"Hey, Clary."

"Tessa! Look at channel 3."

"Why?"

"Just do it, now!'

"Okay, gimmie a sec!" Tessa said as she pointed the remote at the TV and stood in front of it, drying her hands on the apron she was wearing.

"-The Welsh Prime Minister is to meet with representatives of congress this evening, discussing the new ties between Wales and-"

"What am I looking at, Clary?" Tessa asked confused, then suddenly her heart skipped a beat as the camera cut to a pair of startlingly familiar blue eyes. Will appeared on screen and Tessa remembered what Jem had told her about Will's mother being Lynette Herondale, Prime Minister of Wales.

The shot changed and suddenly Tessa's blood ran cold. Will was sitting next to a pretty blonde girl. He wasn't just sitting next to her, he was holding her hand and she was leaning into his side.

"With the recent return of Master Herondale, the childhood sweethearts have recently announced their engagement-" Tessa felt the air suddenly escape her and she stumbled, falling backwards to collapse of the sofa.

"Tessa, are you seeing this? Or should I say him?" Clary said from the other end of the line.

He was engaged. To be married. With another girl. No, not just a girl, a freaking princess.

"Tessa?"

"Hey, yeah, I'm here."

"Did you know about this? His Mum is a freaking Prime Minister and now he's engaged to some princess?"

"Jem told me about his Mum, but," Tessa was still trying to comprehend it. Why would he flirt with Tessa if he had a girlfriend? Was he leading her on or did he really only see her as a friend. A deep and sorrowful pang went through Tessa as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"I have to go, but I'll text ya later, okay?" Clary said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, sure. Cya." Tessa hung up the phone. She stabbed the off button on the remote and threw it across the room before burying her head in a cushion to stifle the sudden sob.

A few hours later, Tessa was distracting herself with study, when her phone buzzed from her bed. Glancing at the clock, Tessa was surprised to see it was after 10pm and put her biology notes back in her ring binder, satisfied at how long she had managed to keep her mind busy, away from the thought of –

Will: Hey Tess

He had text her, for the first time in days. She felt a small escape her lips before she remembered; he was freaking engaged. What a wild concept to grasp, they were only seventeen after all. Tessa put her phone back down and crawled into bed with The Notebook, then remembered why she had started reading it, threw it across the room with a slight grimace, and picked up Great Expectations instead.

Twenty minutes later her phone buzzed again. Tessa couldn't help but peek at it.

Will: I miss you, cutie x

This was why Tessa had been confused. And was still confused. All the flirting and flirty banter, the small comments and compliments sprinkled here and there. Just enough to make her feel special. He had even started sending "x's" and calling her pet names. You don't do that with friends, do you?

Tessa picked up her phone and typed a reply: Hey, what's up.

He replied instantly.

Will: Just thinking about you, hby? X

Another message came.

Will: Send pics, bby? X Tessa furrowed her brow and shot upright in bed.

No, no, no, Surely this was not happening, she thought. This was not Will.

Tessa thumbed a reply: What?

Will: You know what I mean ;)

Tessa: Will, I saw you're engaged?

Will: Oh yeah… that's sweet tho, just don't tell the press XD.

Tessa could not believe what she was reading, had someone taken his phone? Was this some sort of sick prank? He had played her, she was his side chick and that's all she had been. Tessa's fairytale endings and naïve hopes and dreams crashed and burnt in that single moment. In the next, she typed a reply, then preceded to block his number.

Tessa: You're not the person I thought you were.

It was a Monday morning, 8:03 to be exact, and Tessa was walking to meet Clary before school. Will had gotten back from Wales the day before. Music blasted through Tessa's earphones and for the first time in her life, Tessa could actually relate to the lyrics of the song. Lyrics about players, girls who got used and were too naive to see the truth.

Will.

She couldn't believe him. What. An. Idiot. And that made Tessa an absolute fool for thinking otherwise, for choosing to see the right in him. For thinking they had something special and that he actually liked her. Ha! Tessa was so full of emotions she felt she might burst. There were snakes coiled up inside of Tessa and poison flooded her veins, fuelling her with a powerful, spiteful energy. Tessa walked in pace to the beat if the song and turned the volume up as loud as it could go.

About 10 minutes later, Tessa arrived at the café where she was meeting Clary for their Friday morning caffeine fix. Clary was already there, surprisingly on time and had her own earphones in which she took out when she saw Tessa. Tessa did the same and turned down the volume on her IPod as she could still hear the music faintly blasting through the earphones.

"Good morning," Clary said, cautiously looking at Tessa.

"Morning," Tessa forced her facial muscles into a small smile and they fell into step, walking up the path to the café.

"Want to talk about it?" Clary asked, not needing to say what it was. Tessa could see the pity in her eyes and although Clary meant well, it only made Tessa feel more pathetic. After blocking Will, Tessa had skyped Clary and told her everything. She had let out all of the confusion and the anger and the sadness and Clary had comforted her into the early hours of the morning. A five-year crush. Maybe that was why they called them crushes, because that's what they did to you; crushed your naive and vulnerable heart into dust.

"It's okay," Tessa said; she couldn't comprehend the thoughts swarming through her sleep-deprived head to even string out a coherent sentence about it. "Tell me about your art; how's that going?" Tessa asked instead as she held the coffee shop door open, the aroma of fresh coffee welcoming them into the warmth of the café.

Clary blushed slightly and it was only because of her fair skin that it was noticeable; a pink flush colouring her cheeks. "I've found a direction, but I don't know if it's… going to work."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I want to use a subject for a part of my board, and there's someone specific I want to use, because of their particular features." Clary said, the colour on her cheeks darkening as the girls moved up a place to become the front of the cue.

"A mocha and a caramel latte please," Clary said to the expectant barrister, reciting their usual order and handing over a note; they took turns paying each week.

The barrister had frizzy blonde hair that was pulled into two space buns; she took their order with a warm smile and gave them the correct change. Clary and Tessa then fell into the unoccupied sofa to wait.

"Wait, so a human subject?" Tessa repeated, picking up the conversation again.

"Yeah,"

"Who?"

"Um,"

"Clary, tell meeeee."

"Fine, Jace." Clary said in a small voice, a rosy red in full bloom on her cheeks. Tessa raised an eyebrow, then instantly lowered it, realizing it was a mannerism that she had picked up from Will.

"Do explain," Tessa said in amusement.

"I don't know, I've just always wanted to draw him. I've been experimenting with gold colours lately and it's just given me this vision," she sighed and bit her lip. "Do you think there's a chance he'd let me draw him? It's… kind of weird, isn't it, especially considering our history and all."

"I'm sure a Herondale wouldn't turn down the offer to do some modeling," Tessa said. They stood as their order was called and said thanks to the lady with space buns as she handed over their coffees. Tessa took a sip of her mocha; not the best she'd had from the café, but good enough considering the busyness that morning. The café was steadily becoming more popular, especially with the students from Alicante High who were catching word of it. As they left, Tessa was about to suggest to Clary that they might need to find a new café for their Monday morning caffeine fixes, when they rounded the corner and walked straight into the gang. The guy gang.

Will was in the dead center of the pack, his features blank of expression. Clary must have noticed the slight falter in Tessa's step, as she looped an arm supportively through Tessa's and gave her a sidelong look; don't let him get to you.

The gang saw Clary and Tessa and stopped when they were standing in front of them, blocking the sidewalk.

"Morning ladies," Jace greeted, followed by a nod of acknowledgement from Alec, and a smile from Jem. Will remained expressionless, and Kaelie – who as usual, was stuck to Jace's side, let out a high-pitched giggle and glared at Clary and Tessa. A look of annoyance passed over Jace's features as he looked at Kaelie.

"Excuse us, you're blocking the way," Clary said sharply, glaring right back a Kaelie.

"How rude, not even a polite hello?" Will spoke, looking right at Tessa as she turned her attention to him. His ink black hair was tousled and stirred slightly in the brisk wind, hands buried in his pockets, a careless stance. Arrogant prick.

Will smirked, raising an eyebrow - that damn eyebrow quirk! "What did you just call me?" He asked, amused and Tessa realized that she must have spoken aloud.

"Nothing," Tessa muttered, tightening her told on both her coffee cup and Clary's arm as she tried to collect herself and keep her anger in check. Breathe, Tessa. He's just an idiot; don't let him get to you.

"He's not worth it, let's go." Clary said, speaking Tessa thoughts as they moved forward, in an attempt to cut through the gang in front of them.

"Will, don't," Jem said sternly, but suddenly Will was standing in front of her, a smug look on his face as he looked down at her through thick, dark lashes. "I don't get what your problem is, Tessa. You had your chance."

Tessa couldn't control the fiery rage and hurt that sharply rose up inside of her. Everything she'd been bottling up over the past few days suddenly rose to the surface, like the cork had suddenly popped, spewing its messy contents.

"I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my ass," Clary burst at him at the same time, in one movement, Tessa took the lid off her coffee cup and hurled the innards at Will.

As if in slow motion, she watched as the toffee brown liquid became a misshaped mass suspended and moving through in the air. Then time sped up again as Will yelped in surprise and the hot coffee hit him. The others jumped aside a moment too late, unsuccessfully avoiding the stray splashes. Will stood before them, coated in coffee that satisfyingly dripped from his arms and once-white shirt. His face was in shock as he looked up from himself to stare at Tessa with wide, alert eyes. Man, did it feel good to shock Will enough to, for once, be speechless. Tessa knew she had the upper hand and that in itself was satisfying.

Jem grinned and let out an entertained little laugh, which he attempted to hide with a cough. Kaelie's mouth formed a perfect "O", but for once, no words came out. Alec was paused in a crouch looking from Will to Tessa, mid retying his shoelace. Jace's mouth quirked up at the corner in amusement as he eyed Tessa in what looked like approvement.

"Excuse us," Tessa said curtly, licking the foam off the lid of the coffee cup she was till holding, and cut through the gang who parted to let them pass, still appearing to be in a daze.

"Might I just say; that was beautiful." Clary's green eyes glittered in glee and she grinned, giving Tessa's arm an approving squeeze as they again fell into step. Tessa and Clary continued their walk to school; the gang left watching after them in a mixture of disbelief and amazement.