December 20 | Friday #16
“What?” he snarled, convinced it was Liam. Liam was the only one who hadn’t been on his ass today about the great plan titled get rid of your best friend.
But it wasn’t Liam. It was Oscar, who looked confused by the aggressive reaction.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Will said quickly, embarrassed by his outburst. “I didn’t know it was you.”
“It’s okay,” Oscar replied cautiously. “I can see you’re not in a good mood.”
“Just a little stressed, it’s nothing major,” Will assured him with a forced smile. “What’s up?”
“You’re done with classes, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought maybe I’d walk you home. You live on Maple Row, right?” he asked, and Will nodded. “I’m going to visit a friend who has a house in the neighborhood. Of course, I don’t want to impose…”
“You’re not imposing,” Will assured him. “That would be great.”
On any other day, it would have been wonderful, but today his foul mood was ruining his enthusiasm.
“Ready to go?” Oscar asked as Will closed his locker.
“Sure.”
When they left the school, Will said contritely, “I’m sorry again.”
“It’s fine.”
They walked in silence for the next few minutes.
“I heard Danny got the internship at KC. That’s amazing,” Oscar said at one point.
“Yeah. Amazing,” Will repeated weakly.
And again, silence. Why were their conversations always so damn forced and awkward?
Will just didn’t get it. Oscar was a really charismatic and well-liked guy.
Will couldn’t say either of those things about himself, but he certainly didn’t have a problem holding a reasonably interesting conversation.
What was happening between them looked like a clumsy attempt at socialization between two people who had spent their entire lives in total isolation.
“Is this it?” Oscar asked when they reached Will’s house.
“Yeah.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
Oscar walked on.
Will watched him for a moment, then couldn’t take it anymore and called out:
“Oscar!”
Oscar stopped. Will ran up to him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Oscar, despite his clear confusion, immediately kissed him back. When Will pulled away, he was red as a beet, but he still looked Oscar in the eye and said with determination:
“Tomorrow, four p.m., the Mirrors café. Works for you?”
“Yeah,” Oscar confirmed, stunned. His lips formed a charming smile.
“Great,” Will said, then hurried home.
He was so embarrassed he didn’t even look back. His hands were shaking, but at least he felt like he was taking control of one aspect of his life.
And thank God for that, because everything else seemed beyond saving.
December 10 | Tuesday
Will watched as Danny packed a few sandwiches, some instant ramen, and two candy bars into his backpack.
“Are you leaving town or something?” he asked. They hadn’t exchanged a word at home yesterday.
“No, I’ll be back late,” Dan replied, not even looking at him.
“Going straight to work?”
“To my internship.”
Will felt a wave of discomfort wash over him.
“Don’t internships usually start in January?”
“Mine starts now. They’re gonna pay me for it, so it’s not a problem, right?”
The conversation ended there, as Dan started getting ready and then left without a goodbye.
They started at the same time today, so normally they would have walked to school together, but apparently Danny still didn’t want to see Will.
Will, in turn, had no desire to trail behind his roommate, so he waited a few minutes before leaving the house.
Or rather, he’d intended to wait a few minutes. He was so angry that everything kept slipping from his hands, and in the end, it probably turned into more than ten, because when he got to school, the bell had already rung.
He was walking down the deserted hallway, wondering if he should just skip first period, when Blake suddenly emerged from around the corner. Will bristled at the sight of him. He had a feeling what he was about to hear, and he was right.
“Have you done it yet?” Blake asked.
Will walked past him without a word.
“Did you hear what I asked you?” Alden followed him, sounding irritated. “Did you tell him to move out?”
“No, and I’m not going to,” Will replied coldly. “He’s my friend. I’m not going to leave him homeless.”
“It’s for his own good. Don’t you really get that?”
“I’ll handle it.”
“You can’t even handle yourself, let alone fucking KC!” Blake seethed. “You’ll bring trouble on yourself. And not just on yourself.”
Will gave a pitying laugh.
“Stop pretending to be concerned and just say you’re worried about your own ass,” he retorted harshly. “At least then you’ll be believable.”
“Listen to—”
Blake grabbed his arm, probably intending to stop him, but at that moment, a violent jolt of energy shot through Will’s body, shocking Blake and throwing him several feet back. Blake landed on the floor, looking confounded.
“Don’t even try it,” Will hissed, stepping closer to him.
“We’re not friends, and you made it clear that’s not going to change, so don’t throw around empty threats disguised as good advice, because it won’t do you any good.
You don’t get to tell me what to do. Especially when it involves people I care about. Got it?”
Alden was probably too shocked to react in any way, which Will used to make a hasty retreat. Instead of going to class, he basically made one big loop and left the school.
At four o’clock, Will met Oscar at Mirrors.
“Hey.” Oscar walked up to the table where Will was sitting. He hung up his jacket, then sat down across from him. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Will asked. “We had plans.”
“Norma told me that Blake told her you weren’t in class,” Oscar said, and Will barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. God. They were such a pain in the ass. “She asked if I knew anything. I thought maybe you felt sick and it wasn’t going to happen.”
Will felt an almost uncontrollable urge to tell Oscar that he often thought the exact same thing about their relationship, and not just about a single date. In the end, though, he decided that taking his anger out on innocent people, especially Oscar, was a terrible idea, so he let it go.
“Is everything okay?” Oscar asked.
“Yeah,” Will replied as usual, forcing a smile, but his expression immediately fell.
He was tired of pretending. And tired of treating Oscar like they were distant acquaintances who sometimes saw each other in passing and exchanged a few words out of politeness.
“Actually, no. Things are totally fucked.”
Oscar raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by this unexpected display of honesty.
“What happened?”
“First of all, my best friend is starting to hate me.”
“Danny?”
“Yeah, Danny.”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks I’m jealous of him,” Will stated bitterly, swallowing hard.
“And I’m just worried. But I can’t tell him why, because it’s a huge secret.
And the people I have around me now are just unbearable.
” Oscar shifted uncomfortably. “Not you,” Will assured him immediately, realizing how that sounded.
“The others. They’re driving me crazy. I feel like I’m from another planet.
I wish I could turn back time, because if I could, I’d do everything completely differently.
Actually, the worst part is I don’t even know what exactly I’d change, because I feel like I have no influence over my life.
I’m not participating in anything, I’m not in control of anything, things just happen, and I… ”
Oscar rose slightly and, leaning across the table, pressed a lingering kiss to Will’s lips. Will felt himself turn red. When their lips parted, he cleared his throat quietly, partly pleased, partly embarrassed.
“I guess that’s the most effective way to stop someone from whining,” he finally quipped.
Oscar chuckled.
“Really?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to test it again.”
Oscar smiled playfully.
“I’d be happy to,” he announced, before kissing Will again.
Will eagerly took part in this experiment.
December 20 | Friday
The holiday break had arrived, and its biggest perk was that Will didn’t have to endure Blake’s scathing looks.
He also had more time for Oscar, whom he’d been seeing a lot of lately.
They texted a lot, too, and somehow they never ran out of things to talk about.
It was a shame Will hadn’t come to the incredible realization sooner that to get close to someone, you had to open up, be honest, and act natural.
Shocking! Of course, he was already waiting for the moment when that realization would come back to bite him in the ass, when Oscar would notice that electricity started mysteriously acting up in Will’s presence and he’d have to smile and play dumb.
Although, there was a chance it wouldn’t come to that.
He’d been more in control of himself lately.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. He wasn’t really in control at all, since he still hadn’t managed to use his abilities intentionally, but those uncontrolled surges of energy were happening much less often. That had to be a good sign.
Unfortunately, any positives were overshadowed by the situation with Dan.
They barely spoke to each other, and when they did, they either exchanged a few necessary sentences about household matters or started arguing.
Will didn’t want to share Blake’s paranoia, but he was getting more and more worried.
What if Danny really did start reporting to KC, and not because he was being manipulated, but of his own free will?
First thing in the morning, he went into the kitchen to make breakfast. Dan was there, too. He was humming happily under his breath, frying something in a pan.
“Hey, Will,” he said unexpectedly. Will froze, staring at his friend in shock. “I can save you half of the scrambled eggs.”
“No, thanks,” Will replied guardedly, starting to make himself some sandwiches.
Will glanced at Dan, who looked different. He had shaved, styled his hair, and smelled like someone who had spent far too much time in the bathtub. Danny seemed to be in an excellent mood.