"In the moonlight which is always sad, as the light of the sun itself is—as the light called human life is—at its coming and its going."
A/N: Hey guys I just wanted to say please, please, please continue to spread love. It's as simple as that <3
Tessa trudged back into her apartment, sopping wet and dripping water all over her carpet, although she didn't seem to notice. The blinking red digits of the clock flashed 12:07, and she decided to take a quick, warm shower to fight off the chill in her bones from standing and walking in the rain for nearly an hour. After her shower she flopped down into bed, ready to drift off into a dreamless sleep after a long and eventful day.
But her mind and body did not agree. Her thoughts were racing, swirling around her head at such a rapid pace that she couldn't even think straight, let alone sort out all her feelings. Her nerves were shot through, her heart unable to steady its beat even hours since she had last seen Will. She tossed and turned in her bed, the scene in the rain flashing behind her eyelids and causing her cheeks to warm and heart to race. She stared up at the ceiling, willing her body to calm down and her mind to ease. But all her attempts were futile.
After a couple of hours Tessa sat up in her bed, sighing heavily and running her fingers through her hair. In her past experiences, she was always significantly more tired after a night of fitful sleep than if she had just stayed awake in the first place. Even though the clock now read 4:38, Tessa decided she needed to get out, breathe in the fresh air to calm herself. She quickly dressed and laced up her shoes, hastily running a brush through her hair before exiting her apartment and snapping the lock shut behind her. She figured since she had afternoon classes that day she would be able to sleep throughout a majority of the morning and wouldn't be too sleep-deprived.
The rain had ceased, and Tessa found herself aimlessly wandering the streets, the faint hum of traffic, even at this hour, floating through her ears. She could see Hyde Park in the distance and decided to head over in that direction, as the park would be opening soon. When she got there, the park was eerily quiet and deserted, and she drifted through the trees until she stopped at the edge of the lake. The scene before her was impossibly beautiful and serene: the dying moonlight reflected off the water, and a sweet breeze gently ruffled her hair.
Tessa suddenly snapped out of her dream-like trance when she heard heavy footsteps, and the sound of someone crashing through the brush. A hoarse voice, laced with panic, began to scream almost incoherent words, but she could make out "Get back!" and "Stay away from me!"
Tessa immediately stiffened and whirled around to face the trees she had just emerged from, the footsteps growing increasingly louder. She began to panic, her palms growing sweaty as her thoughts raced. Should she scream for help? Call the cops?
Before she could have a full on nervous break-down, a hooded figure leaped over a large bush on Tessa's right, stopping a little ways away from her. Tessa stifled a scream as the figure stared at her, their head cocked to the side and hands on their knees, visibly out of breath.
"Tess?" the male voice floated over to her, and she snapped out of her frozen state of terror, rushing towards the shadow. There was only one person in the world who called her Tess.
Will's face fell into focus as Tessa stopped in front of him, and she could see his eyes blown wide with terror, his hands visibly shaking as he reached out to touch her face, as if he couldn't quite tell if she was real or a dream.
"Will, oh my god, are you okay? Do you want me to call the police... What happened?!" Tessa's voice was slightly shaking, and she rested her hand on Will's cheek, cupping his face gently, her other hand on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding violently in his chest, its pace unnaturally rapid. Will whispered something under his breath, trying to compose himself but failing miserably as he stared down at the floor, his eyes not meeting Tessa's.
"What did you say?" she questioned, her words full of concern and anxiety for Will. He looked up at her finally, the blue of his eyes piercing through the darkness, although they were clouded with fear.
"Ducks," he said a little louder, his voice rough and shaking slightly. She stared at him, an incredulous expression of her face and her mouth agape. Suddenly the words flowed out of his mouth in a torrent, and he spoke so fast Tessa had to listen closely to understand what he was saying.
"I—I was walking around the lake and suddenly there was a group of ducks, and I turned to run in the other direction but there were more behind me... By the Angel Tess, they were surrounding me from all sides and the way they were looking at me, with those beady, black, soulless eyes..." He shuddered at the memory and took a ragged breath, running his hands through his hair to hide the trembling of his fingers. Tessa was stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"Will Herondale," she said in between gasps for breath, "is afraid of ducks?"
He glared at her and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "bloodthirsty little beasts," followed with "never trust a duck," which launched Tessa into another fit of laughter.
Once Tessa had calmed herself—Will still looking at her curiously as if she were a figment of his imagination—she decided to ask the question that had been floating around the back of her mind since he had emerged from the trees.
"Why are you out so late?"
Will casually shrugged in response. "Couldn't sleep? What about you?"
Tessa smirked, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes as she shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
The ghost of a smile graced Will's lips and his gaze locked with hers for a moment, his eyes full of absolute clarity as he intertwined his fingers with hers, the warmth of his in stark contrast to the frigid night. Tessa shivered, though she wasn't entirely certain it was from the cold, but Will didn't fail to notice. He released her grip for only a second as he pulled his sweatshirt up over his head and handed it to Tessa. She opened her mouth to protest but slipped it on once another round of shivers wracked her body, this time definitely from the biting wind. His sweatshirt smelled faintly of rain and lemon soap and Tessa took comfort in its familiarity, breathing in the scent. She tugged gently on Will's hand—their fingers still laced together—and led him to a bench at the edge of the lake. They sat down together, Will immediately wrapping an arm around Tessa, and after hesitating for a moment, she leaned into his warmth, resting her head on his shoulder.
Tessa was suddenly hit with the realization that she had known Will for less than a week—she couldn't shake the feeling that she had known him her whole life, that they had been bound together by some unseen forces long before either of them could have ever known.
"Tess?" Will drew out the s in her name and his voice snapped her out of her reverie. She looked at him, his eyes sparkling with the last glimmers of moonlight, and she cocked her head to the side at his inquiry.
He seemed at a loss for words—which was almost unheard of for him—and he seemed to have spoken her name impulsively, without thinking about what he was truly going to say. He finally found the words, although he spoke softly and hesitantly.
"Maybe one day, before our shift, do you want to go out on a date with me?"
Tessa gaped, suddenly filled with the conviction that she was either dreaming or hallucinating. Maybe Will Herondale was a heart-breaker. Maybe he was a player. But she knew he was so much more than that. She knew he was brilliant and witty and made her laugh like no one ever had before; he reads the same books as her, loves the same characters she does...
He was looking at her with such a hopeful expression on his face that broke her heart; she couldn't help the smile from tugging at the corners of her lips.
"I would love that," she replied, the pure look of shock on his face making her laugh.
"How about Friday then?" he spoke quickly, a wild grin as bright as the sun making his joy evident.
"Sounds great," she said, the laughter still in her voice. He kissed the top of her head lightly before drawing back, resting his head on top of hers.They didn't speak for a long time afterwards as they watched the sun rise over London, bathing the city in golden light.
As the park began to fill with people, no one questioned the girl and the boy curled up next to each other on the bench, the world spread out before them filled with infinite possibilities.
Just a little bit of fluff (and ducks lol) for you all. Sorry for the slow updates but I'm finally done with school, so hopefully I can have more frequent updates in the future :)