Live and Breathe Words ~ Wessa

Part 1- The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the Season of Light, it was the Season of Dark, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had nothing before us, we had everything before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way."

"James Carstairs, I swear to the Angel, if you don't leave me alone I'll—"

"You'll what, Will?" came a cool, male voice, hinted with a slight British accent.

Two sets of whispers were coming from behind the bookshelf where Tessa was peacefully reading her book in the library, having come straight after school.

"I'll dramatically look out the window and start reciting bad poetry for the whole library to hear," the boy deadpanned.

Tessa tried to stifle her laughter, her eyes downcast at her book, where she was pretending not to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"You wouldn't," the boy—James—whispered in mock horror.

"Oh I would. I'm on a very important mission and I cannot be bothered. It seems that the beloved A Tale of Two Cities has gone missing and I will stop at nothing to find it and return it to its humble abode," the other boy, Will, stated matter-of-factly and she could hear him rifling through the books in the section, searching for the one that she happened to be currently reading.

Suddenly, a boy with messy black hair stormed out from behind the bookcase, heading straight towards the opposite side of the library. A silver-haired boy appeared as well from around the corner, an amused smile playing around his lips, looking for all the world like he was enjoying the other boy's frustrated search.

The silver-haired boy glanced over at Tessa as he began to follow his friend to the other side of the library, but stopped when he realized Tessa possessed A Tale of Two Cities in her hands.

"Oh William," the boy almost sang, putting unnecessary emphasis on the 'm' and drawing it out. "I believe I have found your cherished possession."

Will spun around, his eyes falling on Tessa as he began to walk back towards his friend.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize-I was just about to go anyhow," Tessa spluttered out, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. It didn't help that the boy was beautiful. Even beautiful seemed too mild a word. More like drop-dead gorgeous.

His piercing blue eyes settled on her as a grin spread across his face.

"Oh it's fine," Will reassured her, "I just wanted to make sure she was in good hands. I was quite concerned about her for a moment there."

Tessa was about to nod her head in confirmation, but his wording struck her as funny and she began to smile. "What made you decide the book was a her?"

"Well, the whole book is centered on the love for a woman, so it would seem almost inappropriate to call it a him. And yes, I am assuming its gender," he confided with a wink, his stunning blue eyes still boring into hers and stripping past all her defenses.

"It's my absolute favorite book of all time. I love it with all my heart."

Will bent down close to her face, so close that their breath mingled, and looked side to side for dramatic effect.

"It always struck me as ridiculous really. Men getting their heads chopped off for love," he whispered with a conspiratorial grin.

She pulled back in mock horror, her eyebrows scrunching together. "I instantly lost all respect for you."

"I'm surprised you had any in the first place," Jem muttered, leaning against a wall of books and watching this whole encounter go down with a look of faint amusement.

Will studiously ignored Jem while inspecting his nails. "As far as Dickens goes, I'm more of a Great Expectations fan."

Tessa made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. "But Estella is such a—"

"Tsk tsk no cursing in the library," Will swiftly interrupted. "You see that grouchy old woman over there who looks like she personally fosters all the stray cats in London? Well that's the librarian and she will certainly come chasing after you with her ruler if she hears such obscene language."

"Sounds like you know from experience."

Will shrugged, certainly not denying her comment. An idea popped into Tessa's head.

"Oh, by the way, I'm new around here and I was wondering what section of the library the classics are in. I stumbled upon A Tale of Two Cities before I could really scope out where everything is."

Will vaguely flung his hand in a wide sweeping gesture towards the back of the library.

"They're in the pitiful left, back corner. It's a shame they're all the way back there, for no one to appreciate. I've certainly left countless anonymous letters of complaint, politely asking for them to be moved to the front."

Although Tessa doubted the politeness of the letters, she couldn't help but smile.

"I—" Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded from her phone, which was on the table next to her, and she looked at the reminder that popped up.

"Crap, I'm going to be late for my shift!" Tessa exclaimed, and mentally facepalmed herself for losing track of time and forgetting about work. She hastily grabbed her messenger bag from off the table, shoving her phone into her bag in the process.

Right as she was about to turn away to leave, she looked back at Will. "Enjoy the book," she said, a slight smile playing over her lips, and she placed it on the table where her messenger bag had previously been. She then rushed to the entrance of the library as to not be late for her first day of work at the café she had recently been hired at.

She was about to push open the double doors when she heard a loud, "Wait!"

She turned back to find Will behind her, running a hand through his already messy and disheveled hair.

"What's your name?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling and his mouth forming a lopsided grin.

"Tessa. Tessa Gray." She pushed the doors to the library open and exited, leaving Will standing there, a wild expression on his face.