Coffee & Curses {AN INFERNAL DEVICES MODERN AU}

*one*

"JEM DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE CALC HOMEWORK WAS DUE?" Will shouted from his bedroom, sprawled on his stomach with his face inches from his computer.

There was no response.

"JEM?" Will shouted.

Still nothing.

Will groaned and rolled off his rumpled sheets, rubbing a hand over his face. "I know you can hear me, this dorm isn't that big...I swear if you're wearing those noise cancelling headphones again after I told you they were dangerous..."

Will trudged into the kitchen, expecting to find Jem sitting at the table, wearing those infernal headphones of his that, in Will's opinion, could be the recipe for disaster. What if Will was suddenly confronted with a murderer in his closet? Jem wouldn't hear him being violently murdered, and then, only then, he would maybe throw the things away.

But Jem wasn't there, nor was he in his room, or the bathroom, or either closet. He hadn't heard him go out, but, then again, he had been so absorbed in his English Lit essay that he could have easily missed it.

Will wandered out into the hallway. Really, he could just text Jem, but he figured that it would be good to get out of the dorm a little, as he had been holed up in there all day. He heard voices coming from the stairwell, and one of them sounded suspiciously like-

"Oh! Hey, Will," Jem grunted, hefting a plastic box that's lid was barely snapped on.

"Hey," Will said, flattening himself against the wall so Jem could get past. "Um, what's with the, uh, box?"

"New neighbor. I ran into her as I was heading out, and wound up helping her haul all her stuff up to her room." Jem said, and Will noticed that one of the rooms a couple doors down was flung open, with a mess of boxes and piles of sheets scattered inside.

Will frowned. "Does this 'new neighbor' have a name?"

"Yeah, it's - oh there she is - Tessa!" Jem waved to a girl dragging a pink and gray suitcase up the stairs.

She had light brown hair, pulled back into a low ponytail that was starting to become undone, which she either didn't notice or didn't care about. Her jeans were ripped at the knees and only went midway down her calves. What were those kinds of pants called again...? Capris, that was it. Her black t-shirt said 'I"D RATHER BE READING".

Instantly, Will knew they could relate. He, too, would also much rather be reading than be in any social situation. His impression of her introverted-ness only increased when, instead of saying hello as she passed, she gave him that sort of grimace mixed with a smile that you did to acknowledge people you didn't know and didn't particularly want to talk to.

As much as he tried not to, Will found himself doing the grimace/smile back.

He watched her as she walked down the hallway to the open dorm, and dump her suitcase onto a bare mattress. Jem waited in the doorway, and as she came back out, he said, "Anything else?"

"Um, no, I think I got it," Tessa said. Her voice was quiet. "Thank you, though. That was a big help."

Jem smiled, a real smile, not a grimace. "No problem. We, um, we live right down there, at 407, so if you need anything, both of us would always be happy to help."

Which was when Will cut in, "He would always be happy to help. I, on the other hand, might be reading, or performing a dramatic soliloquy, in which case, do not interrupt me."

Tessa laughed, albeit a bit nervously. "I wouldn't dare interrupt you if you were performing a soliloquy. What kind of monster do you think I am?"

"A very pretty one?"

Tessa's cheeks flushed, and Jem rolled his eyes. "Ignore him. He flirts with everyone and everything, so I wouldn't take it too seriously."

The girl laughed. "I won't."

Will winked at her. She let out a short, breathy laugh that was more like an exhale and shook her head slightly. Her phone made a noise in her back pocket, and Tessa pulled it out.

"Oh! Sorry, I've got to go... I'm meeting my brother for lunch." She went to close and lock her new door, then jogged back down the hallway. "Um, nice to meet you, Jem! And you," she said to Will, starting down the stairs.

"Will!" Will called after her.

She waved, and was gone.

---

Tessa had to use the Google Maps app on her phone to get to where she was meeting Nate for lunch, but even then, she considered it a feat that she got to the place at all. London was going to take some getting used to...

Nate wasn't there yet, even though he'd texted her 20 minutes ago saying he was on his way. Tessa supposed he could've gotten held up in traffic, or the tube was malfunctioning or something. Taking the tube was another thing she had yet to experience.

The door opened and Nate walked in, looking scruffy and un-put together, as if he'd rushed here at the last minute. Tessa waved him over and he slumped into the booth across from her.

"Hey," she said, as he took a menu from the waitress. "You okay? You look a little... frazzled."

"Frazzled? Who uses that word anymore?" Tessa her eyes at this. "I'm fine. Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, I know you're busy."

He nodded, and said, "Yeah things have been crazy... But, hey, what about you? Did you get settled into your dorm yet?"

"Not quite, I still have a lot of unpacking to do. Sophie's in class all day, but she said she'd help out later if she could." Sophie was a friend of Tessa's from high school; when she'd heard Tessa was coming to the University of London, she had practically screamed Tessa's ear off over the phone in excitement, and had somehow arranged for them to be roommates. It was really nice of her, since Nate couldn't afford a bigger apartment than the one he had now (which, he said, was barely big enough for him, and that Tessa would absolutely hate staying over there), and she didn't know anyone else here.

Nate nodded again. His eyes were distant.

"You sure you're okay?" Tessa asked him again.

"Geez, Tessie, I'm fine." He snapped.

Tessa decided to let it go, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay."

The waitress brought their drinks, a coke for Tessa and a sprite for Nate. She took their orders for food and left.

"When do you start classes, again?" Nate said.

"Tomorrow."

Nate made a grunt indicating that he'd heard her, and didn't try to continue the conversation. Tessa did her best to keep them talking, asking him questions about what kinds of things were happening at his work that made him so busy. Nate worked at some sort of software company; even now, Tessa didn't quite understand what it was he did, exactly, and he only bothered to give her vague explanations. They were working on something new, he said. They needed all hands on deck.

The minute they were both finished with their food, the conversation having already dwindled out, Nate stood abruptly, saying, "I better go. Sorry, I just... Well, it was hard getting even this much time off, so..."

She waved him off. "It's okay, Nate. I understand."

Nate left, the door dinging behind him. Tessa sighed. She loved her brother, but she was starting to get tired of his recent moodiness and coldness, and wished he would go back to the loving brother she remembered from when they were kids.

She paid the bill, for both of them, and set off to figure how in the world the tube worked on her own.