I stood rooted to my spot amongst the crowd.
Holy sons of God.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph and their cousin Bob on a skateboard.
"Tessa," Clary shook my arm, "Do you have something you need to tell me?"
I shook my head, "Do you know how many Tessa Grays there are in New York?"
She looked at me, but before she could say anything Simon replied,
"Two hundred seventeen," he said.
Clary and I stared at him with blank expressions.
"Two hundred seventeen Tessa Grays," he stated this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I Googled it." He shrugged.
Clary and I turned our attention to the stage.
Will was running his hand through his hair and smiling softly.
"It's ridiculous. She doesn't even know who I am. She probably doesn't even know I'm here. She probably left."
Clary nudges me softly, looks at me with her green eyes widened and she mouths the words, "go up there," and signals to the stage.
"No," I mouth back. "Are you crazy?"
"Maybe." And she looks back at the stage.
This time it's Cecily talking.
"Way to stay positive. You never know. Maybe she has a friend in the audience."
Clary and Simon were practically squirming in their seats, silently begging me to acknowledge myself.
Simon puts his hands under his chin and bats his eyes, "Pleeeeaaassseeeee? Pretty please with rainbow and chocolate sprinkles and cherries and Oreos on top?"
Clary does the same.
I shook my head at my friends. "No, guys. No."
"Why not?" They both whined like three year olds.
"Because he," I pointed to Will, "Is a big deal. He has his own fanbase. He has slept with who knows how many models. He is worth ten countries. You can't possibly think he'll want someone like me."
Clary tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "Meaning?"
"Meaning, I'm average. I'm not out of this world pretty and I shop at Walmart whilst he probably shops at a Whole Foods," she looks confused, "meaning. I'm not someone he- William Herondale- will fall for. Not now. Not in a million years. Plus there are two hundred seventeen Tessa Grays. It can't be me."
Both Simon and Clary exchange a look and shrug. They didn't believe the words I just said and I can't say I believed them that much time either.
We draw our attention back to the stage.
"C'mon Will. Give us a description." Gabriel begged.
"Yeah, if you want to find her mate, we have to know what she looks like," said Jem.
"Or is she too hot that you want her all to yourself," Jace said, wiggling his eyebrows, "Does she have a friend?"
Cecily slapped his arm, "Jace! Please!" she looked at Will who was staring at the floor, "come on, Will. Please."
"No." His eyes trained on the floor.
"Please."
"No."
Soon all the Shadowhunters were beseeching for a description and the same thing can be said about the crowd.
He stroked his perfectly chiseled jawline.
"Okay fine."
The entire crowd roared.
"Simmer down. Simmer down," Jace told the audience, "proceed."
He closed his eyes briefly and opened then again, "She has dark brown hair which was put into a ponytail today and these stormy gray eyes. She's pale but not too pale that she looks sickly," he smiled, "She's tall and smart too. I met her in a Barnes and Noble."
Jem interrupted, "Well actually, she was trying to leave and you grabbed her hand and practically eye fu-"
"That is enough James. Thank you. Anyway, she was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. If you've seen her please tell her that I'm looking for her."
The sincerity in his voice was almost touching, if it weren't for the fact that he was an actor so logically he could make himself sound sincere.
Clary and Simon look at me and what I'm wearing.
Shiz.
Clary swiftly lifted my arm, "SHE'S HERE!! TESSA GRAY IS HERE!!"
That little-
"Clary," I hissed. It was too late. Everyone was staring at us.
"Tessa?" Will said through the microphone and the mall went silent.
I exhaled loudly, "That's my name don't wear it out, pretty boy."
Gasps went around the food court.
"Rude."
"How dare she?"
"Does she know who he is?"
"She isn't his type at all."
Will just smiled.
I cleared my throat and stood up, "Yeah, hey, hi." I waved sarcastically, "I'm Tessa Gray. I'm not necessarily rude, just a bit really. I didn't know who pretty boy was until my good friend Clary here," I pointed at Clary, "Told me about them-the Shadowhunters and Will- today."
Everyone continued to stare at me, "And trust me, I am well aware I'm not his type. But then if I wasn't, I wouldn't be here explaining who I am."
The crowd went quiet.
Gabriel cleared his throat, "And I thought Cecy was a handful," this earned him a slap on the chest.
"Shut up, Lightworm," she said.
"That's my sister," Will whispered not so quietly, "anyway," He looked back at me, "Tessa. I have a proposition for you."
I crossed my arms over my chest, "What?"
He looked at Jem and Jace, who waved for him to go on with whatever he wants to say.
He ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled. Earning a sigh from all the fangirls.
"Will you, Tessa Gray, go on a date with me?"
This caused a bigger uproar than when I called him "pretty boy".
I was about to say no, but a look on Clary and Simon's faces and the wanting to see everyone's reaction won over.
It's only going to be a one time thing. He'll forget who I am afterwards and he'll never speak to me again.
So what the heck.
I look at the crowd, Clary and Simon, then finally. At Will.
"Sure. Why not?"
