The Mechanics of a Miracle

1- Gray

Sooooo hi... I don't know if anyone will read this, but I had the idea this afternoon and decided to go for it. This is only my second fic, so don't judge too harshly... also, I apologize in advance for bad spelling/grammar- my edit was quick! I hope you like it (:
Tessa story, present day AU, no shadowhunters etc. but otherwise will generally follow plot of CA... there will be Wessa and Jessa (sorry, I can't pick) and (eventually) quotes pulled right from the novels! CREDITS TO THE AMAZING CASSANDRA CLARE, I don't own this, except my original characters and take on the plot. Also, I wrote the first few chapters awhile ago (up to 5 or 6 I think) so the comments will be out of date (:

Tessa was sixteen, living alone in America after her alcoholic brother Nate disappeared and her Aunt Harriot passed away. There was no money to pay for the rent of her apartment, no time to go to school. There was only the deep hunger in her stomach, the emptiness in her heart, and the long hours she spent in the well-lit New York streets, avoiding the strangely dressed passer-byes and the drunken whistles and the yellow cabs and smoky cabbies who pulled to a screeching halt at the curb every few minutes to collect another teetering, sparkly, would-be night owl and drive them to or from the next hot club or crazy rave.

She guessed she could be called a night owl too, but she never dressed up, never went farther than the sidewalk. Her frigid, bandaged fingers scribbled out words on ragged notebooks and scraps of salvaged paper, and tried desperately to force the thread through the needles eye and sew just a few more patches on her jacket, to stitch just one more pencil case, or sleeve for the shiny phones that glinted so temptingly from pockets daily. Just one, and she could eat for a month... just one, and she could sleep somewhere warm... just one... But she didn't, she hadn't. She sold her simple cases and saved her meager earnings, and once a day, she indulged in a meal.

When she caught sight of her reflection in the window panes across the road, offering cigarettes and beer, bongs and sex toys and bodies, she didn't recognise herself. Her sunken grey eyes were lifeless and hollow, but still dominated her face, her cheeks were all but gone, just pale, yellow-grey skin stretched too thin over cheekbones that were too prominent and teeth that shone like pearls beneath a yellow light. She was a zombie, a ghost, a wrath. No wonder so few bought her offerings—if her face didn't scare them away, her breath would.

She was lost, caught in a darkening world with not one thing to hope from and not one thing to wish for, and her voice was gone she spoke so little, and her eyes were red she cried so much, and her hands were always shaking, from the fear, the pain, the hopelessness.

It felt forever and was only a couple weeks when a blurry shape had shaken her awake one morning. "Oy, Gray."

Tessa blinked, rubbing the night's dust from her eyes. Before her stood Aly, in all his/her grubby glory, the kid from two blocks up. "Lady's looking for you. She don't look like she's angry, since you left her building an all, but I'd be wary. Even in a good mood, she's fierce." He winked, and grabbed a few of the buttons she had left out. She had a network, not of friends per say, but they looked out for each other, in exchange for small tokens; buttons were Tessa's payment, and they were valid not for their monetary value, but because the more you had, the more people knew you were in with Gray, and everyone knew that Gray had fast feet, sharp teeth, and a punch to break your nose.

Her reputation on the streets almost made her glad her brother was a drunk. She had only ever learned to fight because when he was too out of it, she had rescued him on more than one occasion, beating his opponent and dragging his staggering, smoky ass back to the apartment, much to Aunt Harriot's dismay. Her skills had saved her life on more than one occasion, and not just when people thought she belonged to the establishment across the street. When she was starving, people like Aly would come with food, in hopes of earning a 'Tessa Token' or 'Gray Guarantee' as they became known.