TESSA POV
I walked to school with Jem today. I'm still mad at Will. He's an asshole that never even cared about me. But I still care about him. And I hate myself for it. Though Jem and I are getting along really well. I think he and I might actually get to be a thing. I mean, Will is the star that can burn brightly for one day, and be put out the next. But Jem is a steady flame, never unwavering, always reliable. One day, maybe I'll be with him. Obviously, Will gave me a completely fake idea of him.
"Tessa-Tessa? Are you okay?"Jem asked. I had forgotten he was there. "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, lying through my teeth. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go out on Saturday. If you don't it's fine you don't have t-""Sure.", I said without thinking. "I- really?" he said, looking genuinly surprised. "Yes, Jem. Now what time?"I asked. "Um...6:30 on Saturday." he said nervously. "Okay, I'll come over then.", I replied.
Saturday, 6:00 PM
I chose a gray dress with a purple band around the middle with some short purple heels. I put on a light layer of makeup, and headed out the door to Jem's house. When I rang the doorbell, my least favorite person opened it. Will. "Tessa? What are you doing here?" he asked. "Jem's taking me out on a date." I replied as coldly as I possibly could. He looked shell-shocked. "Jem. My Jem." he said. "Yes, your Jem." I said sarcastically. "Look, Tessa. I-""Tessa? You look beautiful." Jem said. "Thank you." I said sweetly. "Shall we go?" he asked. "Sure."I said.
If Tessa had looked back before she got into Jem's car, she would have seen Will, a tear sliding down his cheek, crumpled on the porch's rocking chair.
The date went really well, and when we got back to Jem's house, he kissed me. Like, actually kissed. I went back into my house, and saw Nate lying on the floor, drunk. He started mumbling things, and then I realized that he needed to be in a hospital. Whatever he had drank, it was way too strong, and he had way too much of it.
When I got back to the house, I realized that I couldn't live alone. The next day at school, I told Jem what happened, he offered to let me stay with him. So I accepted. But there was only one problem. Will.
