Hold Me Down

chapter 6

"After you." He stands up straight, holding his hand out for me to go first.

I make my way down the corridor, trying not to freak out. My heart flutters in my chest. I try to appear composed and unaffected.

We walk together down the wide hotel corridor to the elevators.

"How long have you known Clary?" he asks me suddenly.

"Since highschool. We moved from New York to go to school here."

"So that explains why you two don't have an accent."

I nod in response.

At the elevators, Will reaches out to press the down button. The doors slide open to reveal a young couple making out. They spring apart, embarrassed to be caught. They keep their eyes trained on the floor as Will and I step onto the elevator.

I am struggling to maintain a straight face, so I stare at my hands, which are folded in front of me. When I peek up at Will, I see that he has a hint of a smirk on his face. I can tell he has a lot to say. The young couple says nothing, and we travel down to the first floor in awkward silence. We don't even have trashy elevator music to distract us.

The doors open and Will slings his arm around my shoulders and leads me out the elevators. I am too surprised to brush him off of me. The gesture causes my heart rate to pick up.

Behind us, the couple bursts out into giggles. Will grins at me. I give him a begrudging smile back.

We cross the expansive, bustling lobby of the hotel toward the entrance.

Outside, it's a damp spring day in London. There's a light fog in the air. We avoid all the tourists and traffic by heading down a less popular sidewalk.

We walk four blocks before we reach a small cafe. Will releases me to hold the door open so I can step inside.

We sit down, and Will orders us two cups of coffee.

I watch him as he does. He runs his hands through his messy hair. I find myself wishing that I could do that. I almost slap myself at the thought. I bite down on my lip and stare at the table in front of me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Will asks.

I look up at him and feel my face heat. He slides a cup towards me.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

What?

"Who?" I ask, bewildered.

"You know who I'm talking about," he says tersely.

"I have absolutely no idea," I say honestly. Who was he talking about?

"Rubbish. You're not an idiot, Tessa. Your gentleman friend. Fit bloke. Quite dark haired."

"You mean Jem?" Why did he want to know about Jem?

"Are you snogging him?"

"Absolutely not! He's my friend, Mr. Herondale," I exclaim. I could not be more confused right now as to why he's asking me these things. My head spun with possibilities.

"Call me Will." He says to me.

"He's more like family," I add. I was very confused now. "Why do you ask?"

He shakes his head. "No reason. Are you an only child?" he asks.

"I have an older brother. He's a year older and he goes to school in New York." He raises an eyebrow.

"Tell me about your parents," he says while resting his chin on his hand.

Why does he want to know this? It's so dull. It feels like he's interviewing me, the way he's firing off questions.