February 17 | Monday #18
“We are talking! No, wait. This isn’t calm, and it’s not going to be. So…” Will’s voice started to break. “It’s over. Not that you’ll care, since you obviously didn’t take this seriously, but still.”
“Will, I’m sorry!” Oscar looked like he was about to cry. “It was just one night! I wanted to have some fun, I met this guy… I really don’t know how it happened.”
“Well, I do.”
“Will!”
Will ran back into the main room, then pushed his way through the crowd, trying to get to the exit. Liam was still waiting there. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t know what.
They walked in silence most of the way back. Will was barely holding back tears, and Liam kept glancing at him, clearly on edge.
Finally, they reached Will’s house.
“Thanks,” Will whispered. “It was…”
He automatically wanted to say fun, but the word got stuck in his throat.
“Want me to stay with you?” Liam asked.
“No. To be honest, I’d rather be alone right now.”
“He’s an idiot. Don’t worry about him.”
Will shook his head, smiling sadly.
“I’m the idiot. I don’t know what possessed me to imagine something could come of this. He’s really out of my league.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter. Goodnight, Liam.”
“Will…”
“And thanks for letting me see it.”
Having said that, Will went inside and closed the door behind him.
And then he broke.
February 16 | Sunday
Will had no idea how he was going to show his face at school tomorrow.
For now, he lay buried under the covers, crying and trying not to think, which only made him think more.
He’d silenced his phone because it was ringing non-stop.
He had a few calls from Liam, a dozen or so from Norma, and several dozen from Oscar.
He’d gotten a lot of text messages too, but he hadn’t read any of them.
The only one of the three he wasn’t furious with was Liam, but he didn’t feel like talking even to him.
At one point, a knock sounded at the door.
Will glanced at the clock next to his bed—it was half past eleven.
It could be some persistent salesman. Or Oscar.
Or Liam. Or anyone else, but after a moment’s thought, Will concluded that the answer didn’t really matter, because there wasn’t a single person he wanted to see right now.
Or whom he would let see him in this state.
The knocking grew louder. In fact, it escalated into pounding. Will frowned and sat up, feeling a flicker of unease. He couldn’t imagine Oscar being determined enough to make such a racket.
Silence fell. Will let out a quiet breath, concluding that the pest, whoever it was, had apparently given up, but then…
He heard a loud crash.
Will jumped to his feet. Grabbing his phone, ready to call the police or Norma depending on what he saw, Will was sure someone had broken into his house. Racing downstairs, Will saw the front door was intact and immediately headed for the kitchen.
When he saw the intruder, his panic turned to anger.
“Did you just break down my door?” he snarled in disbelief, looking at Blake.
“I had to,” Alden replied. “I thought something had happened to you.”
“Like what?”
“How should I know?” the vampire snorted, irritated. “Did you get carbon monoxide poisoning? Pass out from alcohol poisoning? Electrocute yourself to death? You’re the one who wasn’t opening the door, so don’t act like I’m the crazy one!”
“Yeah, because people who don’t open their doors are the crazy ones,” Will sneered. “Did it not occur to you that I might not have been home?”
“But you are.”
“But I might not have been!”
“You couldn’t have been, because I could smell your annoying scent!
” Blake announced angrily. “Why didn’t you just open the door?
It’s almost noon, why are you still in your pajamas?
” he asked reproachfully, studying Will with a watchful gaze.
“You’re not going to tell me you were sleeping, are you? ”
Will sighed heavily, with no energy to argue.
“What are you doing here, Blake?” he asked, his voice full of resignation.
“Our project is due tomorrow. Are you aware of that?”
Will shook his head. He had completely forgotten.
“Because as I recall, you were supposed to organize our meeting,” Blake pointed out. “I put it out of my mind, and now look where we are. We’re in a hopeless situation.”
“You want to do it now?”
“When else? During the break tomorrow? I brought the materials. Wait here,” Blake instructed, then walked out through the open door, which was hanging pathetically on one hinge.
“Where else would I wait?” Will muttered under his breath, putting his phone down.
A moment later, Blake reappeared with several wooden planks of various sizes and a large shopping bag. He shot Will a look that was both pointed and critical. Will cleared the dishes from the table. He hadn’t been in the mood to clean up yesterday.
“What are we making?” he asked, putting the dishes in the sink.
“A small box.”
Will turned to look at Alden in astonishment.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Blake grumbled, irritated. “We don’t have time for anything fancy, okay? Just help me get started so you feel like you did something, and I’ll finish it at home.”
Will spared him a comment.
“For God’s sake,” Blake said suddenly, looking disgusted. “We don’t have time. If you start talking to your little boyfriend, I’m leaving.”
Will glanced over his shoulder, not quite understanding. It took him a moment to realize that Oscar was calling him. His phone was on silent, but Oscar’s name had appeared on the screen. Will swallowed hard and started washing the dishes, trying to compose himself.
Blake sat down at the table and began to lay out the things he’d brought.
“Answer it,” he said at one point.
Will spared him a glance.
“Answer it, you hear me?” Alden urged him. “He’s calling again, so it’s probably something important. Or he wants to let you know he’s coming over, which also isn’t a good idea. Either way, you can talk to him for a minute. I won’t be mad.”
Will snorted at the gracious permission.
“Are you deaf?” Blake hissed.
Will started drying the dishes.
“And he’s calling again! Are you going to answer or just ignore him?”
Will bit his lip nervously, not responding.
“I’m assuming you two had a fight, but that’s no reason not to answer when he’s calling this many times in a row. It really could be something serious. Or he just wants to apologize, which isn’t so tragic, don’t you think?”
Will remained silent.
“Why are you so stubborn?”
Tears started to well up in Will’s eyes. He’d been polishing the same plate for a while now.
“You should appreciate that someone’s taken an interest in you and treat them better.” Blake’s words were like a punch to the gut. “And not get offended like a child just because someone said something you don’t like.”
Will’s hands started to shake.
“You won’t get anywhere with that attitude,” Alden continued, still clearly unaware he was treading on extremely thin ice. “You’ll just push him away.”
Silence.
“Are you even listening to me?”
No reaction.
“Morgan!” Alden hissed, jumping to his feet.
He grabbed Will’s arm and spun him around, and then… he froze. Will could no longer control his tears. He let out a loud sob, and they streamed down his cheeks.
“W-What happened?” Blake asked, bewildered.
“Just get out,” Will ordered sternly.
“Why are you crying? Is it that serious? Did he do something to you?” Alden pressed, his voice laced with clear concern.
“Get out!” Will screamed, shoving Alden away from him.
Blake took a step back, looking shocked.
“Seriously, Blake, get the fuck out of my house! I don’t want to see you here!
And I don’t want to do this stupid project!
You can tell Lorne I bailed on you and that’s why you couldn’t finish.
I’ll back up your story. Now take all this and get out! ”
He expected a violent reaction, but Blake just shifted from foot to foot, clearly unsure what to do, then gathered all the things he’d brought and left without a word, glancing back at Will one last time. Will sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands.
He felt like never leaving the house again.
February 17 | Monday
Will woke up with the feeling that this would be the worst day of his life. He couldn’t have known then how right he was.
He got dressed and ready to go, then dragged himself to the kitchen to force himself to eat some breakfast. He performed every task at half his usual speed, as if he couldn’t bring himself to function properly, or as if he subconsciously didn’t want to leave the house.
Then again, he didn’t consciously want to leave either, but he had little choice.
Chewing his sandwich, he glanced toward the side door.
He recalled Blake’s break-in and the two guys who showed up later to replace the damaged parts.
Will had thought it was a mistake at the time, but then they dropped the name Alden, and everything became clear.
It was a good thing Blake had thought of it, because Will didn’t have the headspace for such details at all. Besides, it was the Blake’s fault.
Will got to school literally a minute before the bell. Hoping to avoid Oscar, he went quickly to his locker and grabbed all his books for the day. He had no intention of coming back, sensing Oscar would be lying in wait, so he rushed toward the literature classroom.
Where, just his luck, Oscar was waiting.
The bell rang just then, so Will hurried into the class, trying to ignore him.
“Will!” Oscar called after him, oblivious to the students turning to look.
Will had no intention of stopping, but Oscar grabbed the fabric of his shirt.
“I’m sorry,” he said desperately. “Meet with me today, and I’ll explain everything. Give me half an hour. Even ten minutes!” he corrected himself when Will pulled away from him. “I know I was a jerk, but I’ll explain myself!”