Coffee & Curses {AN INFERNAL DEVICES MODERN AU}

*three*

A/N: Sorry this is so late!! I kind of hit a block midway through the chapter and just kept putting it off... But I finally pushed through! Huzzah! Anyways, hope you enjoy :)

Tessa regretted her decision as soon as she stepped into Gabriel's dorm.

What had she been thinking?

Actually, she knew what she'd been thinking. She'd wanted to prove Will wrong. And, if she was honest with herself, she wanted to see what a college party was like....seeing as she never been to one.

It was exactly how she'd imagined it in that she felt extremely out of place and awkward: Suddenly her t-shirt felt too nerdy, her hair too plain, her face naked. She'd never worn make-up before, other than the occasional mascara and concealer (which she'd done both of tonight), and she felt like a little kid trying to fit in with their older siblings.

By far, the worst part was that she didn't know anybody. Back home, when she was invited to outings and birthday parties, she'd always had at least one or two friends to follow around and glue herself to. But she couldn't do that now.

You don't seem like a... party girl, to me. Will's voice popped up in her head.

But I could be, Tessa countered in her mind.

But one did one do at a party? Drinking was out of the question, more because it just made her feel weird than anything else. It wasn't like it was illegal here, as Will had pointed out.

Was she just supposed to... talk to people? Like, just go up to someone random and have a whole conversation?

Ha. Unlikely.

Tessa was about to turn and leave, when a loud bout of laughter caught her attention. One of the laughs sounded familiar-

"Tessa?"

Someone tapped her once on the shoulder. She turned, and, of course, there was Will, in jeans and black t-shirt that matched his hair. His blue eyes stood out brightly in the dark, neon-lit room, even though they were an odd, dark shade. They had a weird sort of gleam in them, and Tessa realized that he was probably drunk.

"Uh, hi," she said, embarrassed to have been caught by him after basically swearing she wouldn't be here.

"I thought you said you weren't coming," he said, his words slightly slurred and dragged out.

"I... changed my mind. Well, I don't know, I mean, I was about to leave..."

"NOOO! Stay!" He grabbed her by both shoulders. "Guys!" He shouted, to no one in particular. "Help me convince this girl to stay!"

Tessa laughed, but it came out strained. As much as she liked Will, she didn't necessarily want to hang around while he was drunk.

When no one responded, Will shrugged. "Don't worry, they'll warm up to you."

"I... don't think they really care. Or heard you."

"Well, still. You're here now, why not make the most of it?" Will seemed so sincere, Tessa couldn't help but say:

"Alright, fine. Just for a little bit."

"YESSS!" Will pumped his fists in the air. "Okay, c'mon, lemme show you something..." Tessa allowed Will to drag her over to a meager-looking bookshelf, which had beer can and dirty paper plates balanced here and there on the edges of the shelves.

"You like books, right?" Before Tessa could nod, Will continued, "Of course you do, you're an English Lit major, pftt." He smacked his forehead with his hand. "Anyway, I made up this game a while ago, when one time I got so bored I literally COULD NOT THINK. So basically, what you do is, you pick a number, like ten-ish through maybe forty or fifty." He paused. "Got one?"