Six Years Before

                                    

                                          
"Happy thirteenth birthday, Cecy!" I exclaimed, excitedly.
                          
She giggled happily and embraced me tightly; I was quite jealous of Cecily -- I was dying to become a teenager and for a moment, I wished that she and I were the same age. However, I had been very excited for this party as I had gotten Cecily a very nice gift. My mum had taken me to the jewelry store, and I had bought Cecily a pretty gold bracelet that I knew she had been wanting. 
                          
"You look so pretty, Tessa." Cecily smiled at me, looking at my blue dress. 
                          
"So do you." I complimented her. 
                          
Cecily grinned and then she grabbed my hand and pulled me into her house. She pulled me down the stairs and into the Herondale's basement, where the party was being held. It was there that I saw Will, and my happy demeanour faltered a little. Cecily and Will were having a shared birthday party this year, and I watched as he laughed with Jace and another boy who I didn't know. Something in my heart tightened at the sight of Will and I looked down at his gift. 
                          
I had been unsure about the gift I had gotten Will, but I liked it, so I knew that he probably would too. Even though Will and I did not get along very well, we seemed to like the same things. I wasn't sure why Will and I did not get along; all I knew was that he made me angry like no one else could. I knew that I had to go up to Will and greet him, and I begrudgingly stalked over to him. Will looked down at me as soon as I approached him and something in me jumped; Will was very handsome, I could not deny that. 
                          
"Happy birthday, Will." I told him with a small smile. 
                          
"Thanks." He returned the small smile and something in me jumped again. 
                          
Jace was then suddenly smirking. "Aw so cute, you and Tessa are matching, Will."
                          
I blushed and looked at Will; he was indeed wearing a blue shirt that matched the blue of my dress. The blue of Will's shirt made his eyes look even bluer and I admired them for a second; I had thought that Will and Cecily had beautiful eyes. 
                          
"Shut up, Jace." Will shoved him. "You're just lucky Clary isn't here."
                          
I wasn't sure who Clary was, but I left Will and Jace as they started to wrestle with one another. They were always doing that with one another, and Linette would always scold them and yell at them; Cecily and I would only laugh. I found Cecily again, standing with Jessamine Lovelace and I greeted her kindly. There were many kids at the party who I didn't know, but Cecily remained by my side the entire time. 
                          
"Tessa?" A voice then said from behind me . 
                          
I turned around to see Gabriel Lightwood standing there, and a smile crossed my face. I also blushed slightly; Gabriel was very handsome and I had a small crush on him. 
                          
"Hi, Gabriel." I smiled. "Cecily didn't tell me that you were going to be here."
                          
Gabriel and I spoke for awhile and he made me almost double over in laughter. I had caught Will looking at Gabriel and I quite a few times, and he had not looked happy. I knew that Will didn't like Gabriel and I also knew that he must be angry that Cecily had invited him to their party. When Gabriel left to go talk to Cecily, Will walked over to me. 
                          
"Do you have a crush on him?" Will asked me suddenly. 
                          
I blushed right away, knowing that he meant Gabriel. "Why would you think that?"
                          
"You don't have to admit it, I can see it all over your face." Will rolled his eyes, sounding annoyed. "I shouldn't be surprised that you would like Lightworm though."
                          
I glared up at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
                          
Before Will could reply, however, Cecily came bounding up to the two of us. 
                          
"Stop fighting with Tessa, Will." Cecily scolded him and then she looked over at me. "Do you want to sleepover tonight, Tessa? My mum said it was alright."
                          
I beamed. "Of course, Cecy."
                          
Will groaned. "You two aren't allowed to put makeup on me again."
                          
Cecily and I giggled at that and I recalled the time Will was referring to; Cecily and I had begged Will to let us put makeup on him the last time I had slept over. We had made him look like a clown and even Edmund had laughed for a long time. 
                          
"Yes we are, William." Cecily told him bossily. "Come on, Tessa, I want to open your present!"
                          
I let Cecily pull me away from Will then. Cecily opened my gift and I was very pleased to see that she had loved it, just as I had hoped she would. The party ended not long after that, but I noticed that Will had disappeared for the last half of it. I had not given him my present yet and I sought out Linette, asking her where Will was. She told me that he was up in his bedroom and so I started up the stairs. When I reached Will's room, however, he was not in it but I saw that his window was open. Will's window led out onto their roof and I knew that he must have been sitting up on the roof. 
                          
Will did that sometimes, although I wasn't sure why, and I myself hopped out of the window. Sure enough, Will was sitting on the roof, a book in his lap. I suppressed a smile at the sight of him reading; he was the only person I knew who liked to read, like me. Will noticed me at once, looking up. 
                          
"What are you doing out here?" He asked curiously. 
                          
"I didn't give you your gift." I told him. 
                          
Will shook his head as I came and took a seat beside him. "You didn't have get me a gift."
                          
I laughed to myself and thought about how very unlike a thirteen year old that was of him. Will had always been mature for his age though -- well in everything except for fighting with me. 
                          
"Of course I did. It's your birthday, Will." I told him as I handed him the gift box. 
                          
I felt a bit nervous as Will unwrapped the present, suddenly doubting what I had gotten him. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought I was weird? Not many people liked these sorts of things, but I had thought Will would. I watched Will, nervously, as he took the lid off of the box and looked down at the contents. 
                          
"Wuthering Heights." Will spoke in surprise, as he took the book out of the box. 
                          
I fidgeted with the hem of my dress, suddenly feeling very insecure. "I read it a month ago and I really liked it. I know that it's a really hard book to read and that you might find it boring, but I thought that you--"
                          
"I love it." Will told me then, cutting me off. "I've always wanted to read this book. Thank you, Tessa."
                          
My cheeks suddenly felt warm and I couldn't deny the happiness I felt that Will had liked my present. "You're welcome. I thought that you would like it since you like all of the same books as me."
                          
He turned his head to look at me. "I do. Actually, I have something for you too."
                          
I felt puzzled as Will set down Wuthering Heights, and handed me the book he had been reading before I had come onto the roof. I took it in my hands and saw that it was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. 
                          
"Keep it." Will told me then. "I've already read it before and I didn't like it that much. You might like it though."
                          
A small smile came to my mouth then. "You know, you're not supposed to be the one giving gifts on your birthday, Will."
                          
Will looked amused and averted his gaze away from mine. "I suppose I'm not."
                          
I studied Will then for a second; his curling black hair was blowing slightly in the wind, and his bright blue eyes were staring straight ahead, looking lost in thought. Something in my heart twisted at the sight of him and I quickly looked away. Will and I sat there in silence for a few moments, and I found that I never wanted to leave this roof and Will.