“Stay with me and never leave me, for I cannot bear another day of my life to go by that does not have you in it.”
It was a seemingly ordinary day at the library.
Time had passed and the world had begun to heal. Will had started his job back up at the library (although Tessa had required him to write an essay on why he was most qualified for the position as a joke, and was dismayed to read three pages on why he was stunningly attractive and charming). Jem visited nearly every day during their shift, keeping them company or bringing them snacks, which was definitely against the rules.
During this period of time, the three of them were happy, truly happy, although they all knew nothing could last forever. It was only a matter of time, but while they still had time, they lived every moment to the fullest.
“Tessaaaaaa,” a singsong voice echoed from the back of the library and Tessa looked up from her book, a smile beginning to form on her face.
“You will not believe what I found in the storage room,” Will emerged from around a corner, hauling what looked to be a large, rolling speaker behind him.
She cocked her head to the side, blinking a few times in confusion. “What the hell is that Will?”
A wild grin spread across his face as he stopped in front of her. “It’s a karaoke machine," He dramatically whipped two plastic microphones out from behind his back, although they weren’t hooked up to anything, and Tessa presumed they were largely for decoration. She took the microphones from his hand, laughing, and he knelt in front of the speaker, gesturing wildly.
“I’m almost positive you hook your phone up to this wire, and you can just play a karaoke version of the song through the speakers,” he looked back at her, grinning triumphantly.
Tessa cocked an eyebrow, her lips quirked up to the side. “So it’s really just a speaker?”
Will looked horrified, jutting his bottom lip out in a pout, but immediately brightened. “But it comes with My Little Pony microphones,” he waggled his eyebrows and Tessa laughed when she looked down and realized Rainbow Dash was printed on the handle of both pink microphones.
“A secret My Little Pony fan I see,” she mumbled, though loud enough for Will to hear, which led him to slyly wink at her.
The two were hovering near the spiral staircase, both standing, and Will took Tessa’s hand, leading her towards him as they sat on the bottom step of the stairs. Tessa immediately leaned into his body and his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she felt herself melt into him, impossibly warm and secure and happy. They were like that for a couple of moments, a comfortable silence settling between them.
Suddenly she felt him stiffen, whirling around to face her with a devilish grin spread wide across his features and blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Angel help them all.
“Can I borrow your phone Tess?” he pleaded, his eyes wide and expression way too innocent to be masking anything short of diabolical. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously and tentatively passed over her phone. He bent down to hook up her phone to the speaker and once it was plugged in, he shot her an impish grin before tilting her phone to the side, blocking the screen from view. She halfheartedly protested and he quickly finished typing whatever the hell he was doing, switching tabs and turning the screen so she could now see. He was currently scrolling through her contacts, flying past A, B, C… He halted at D and clicked on a name, pulling up his phone to punch the number into his keypad, making the call anonymous.
Tessa leaned her head on his shoulder to see better and immediately choked when she saw the contact pulled up on her phone. Dorice.
Will noticed her nearly suffocating from a combination of choking and laughing and shot her a devilish smirk.
“She may have your number but she doesn’t have mine,” he winked and Tessa had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, even though she had no clue what he was going to do. After punching in the number, he clicked the green button at the bottom to call, putting it on speaker for both of them to hear. It rang once, twice…
“Hello?”
Will switched back over to Tessa’s phone, which was still plugged into the speaker, and suddenly music thundered through the room, already half-way through a song. Will jumped up, grabbing a My Little Pony microphone in one hand and still holding his phone in the other, and burst into singing “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift in a high falsetto voice.
“I’ve been dreamin’ bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you’re looking for has been here the whole time!”
Tessa slapped her hands against her mouth to keep from laughing out loud as Will continued.
“If you could see that I’m the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can’t you SEEEEEEEE
YOU BELONG WITH MEEEEEEEE
You belong with me…” He dramatically concluded his performance by staring wistfully into the distance, and silence crackled on the other side of the line.
A beat passed and the world was still before an unamused voice spoke. “William Herondale, never pursue a singing career and never call me again.”
And the call abruptly ended.
Whatever cool facade Tessa and Will had managed during the call immediately exploded into laughter. Will flung himself back down onto the stairs next to Tessa, and the two leaned against each other, doubling over and unable to control themselves.
When they finally stopped gasping for breath, Tessa turned to face Will, her eyebrows raised and a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.
“So Taylor Swift huh?”
Will only chuckled, rolling his eyes. “My sister Cecily was obsessed with Taylor Swift when she was younger. It still haunts me,”
Tessa grinned, but tried playing it off as an amused, unconvinced expression. “Hmmm your sister...” she casually shrugged, “Whatever you want to tell yourself William.”
He scrunched up his nose at the use of his full name, and teasingly bumped his shoulder against Tessa’s. She rested her head against him, sighing deeply and taking in the beauty and perfection of the moment. Honestly, she had never wished for anything more in her whole life. She let out a content, thoughtful hum, lacing her fingers through his.
“You know,” she pondered outloud, “If it weren’t for Dorice, I don’t think we would be together,”
She felt Will tense next to her, and when her response was met with silence, she twisted her body to see a strained expression pass over his features, his gaze staring pointedly in front of him. A serious and heavy cloud passed over the room. Her heart plummeted and began to do somersaults in her chest, and her palms grew sweaty as a beat passed, then another, then another…
His Adam’s Apple bobbed, and he drew in a deep breath before reaching down and unplugging her phone from the speaker, connecting his phone in its stead. Her heart thundered in her chest, its beat deafeningly loud in her ears, and she was certain Will could hear it pounding away.
He rose from beside her, turning to face her as a nervous, tense smile played on the corners of his lips. She felt pinned under his intense gaze, his midnight blue eyes soft and steady, his inky, dark hair falling slightly into his eyes. Will took another deep breath as a soft guitar began to thrum through the speakers, his fingers wrapped around the microphone in his hand as he once more began to sing, this time to her.
“Wise men say,
Only fools rush in
But I can’t help, falling in love with you”
He grasped her hand, pulling her up to stand, and she felt her cheeks flush and heart flutter as he continued singing. He was by no means amazing, but his voice carried a melodic and delicate edge to it, a rhythm with a pleasant lull that you could lose yourself in.
“Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can’t help, falling in love with you?
Like a river flows,
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be,”
As her shock began to wear off, she found herself swaying in his arms, her cheeks flushed and thoughts fuzzy. He gently spun her, and when she folded back into his arms, his face was mere inches from hers, and his voice had become a near whisper.
“Take my hand,
Take my whole life too,
For I can’t help falling in love with you
For I can’t help falling in love with you…”
His voice trailed off, and silence filled the space between them. No one had ever done something so beautiful for her, so heartfelt. Will’s lips were slightly parted, and there was a faint blush to his complexion, his eyes bright and filled with light and hope.
“I love you Tess,” he breathed, “I love you and there’s no use denying it. There’s no use pretending things are different, or ever will be different for me. Will you officially be my girlfriend?”
Her voice caught in her throat, and she barely managed to choke out a “yes, yes, of course” before tears blurred her vision and she was hugging him and kissing him, a wild grin consuming both of their faces. She grabbed the front of his shirt and smashed her lips against his, running her fingers along his body as he gripped her by the waist, holding her tightly to him.
She exploded into a million bits of joy and desire, flame and light, under his touch. As they kissed—wildly, passionately, and violently—Tessa was sure she had never been happier in her life.
A/N: Sorry for the late update but let me know what you thought of the chapter! The two songs were "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift and "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley so all credit goes to them for that and if you haven't heard the songs, definitely check them out :)