Pieces of Will (5)

Will Devlin, 1/2 of the way through fourth year
Will had just ended a relationship with a fifth year girl who was starting to get a bit stalkerish. He was not looking for another relationship—the last one had only lasted a few weeks, but she was the fourth in a string of relationships that had continued since before holiday. The first girl he had pursued, and the second was a friend of the first seeking revenge (or something—she was a bit of a nutjob). The third was an attractive ex, and the fourth he agreed to date on a whim. He regretted that decision at this point, and he was willing to take a short break from dating to recover.

However, things never happen exactly as planned.

Will was in the locker room, getting ready for Quidditch practice. There was a big game against Ravenclaw coming up, and if they won this game and the one against Slytherin, they would secure their lead. The captain, Paul, had been dragging them in for extra practices every week, although some of the team thought he was being excessive. Paul was only a sixth year, so he had another full year as a captain to win the Quidditch cup.

Paul was one of the team’s chasers, but in past years, he had been a beater. So, he liked spending time working with Will, even though everyone knew Will didn’t need the extra help.

Will never really thought anything of it—he just figured Paul was very serious about Quidditch. He was very adamant about keeping “personal life” and “Quidditch life” separate, and he took the team and the sport very seriously.

However, once they left the field, Will started to notice that Paul’s eyes spent a disproportional amount of time on him, especially when they were changing in the locker rooms.

Lots of people in the school followed Will’s relationship status. There were those who were interested in him, who were waiting for their chance. There were those who got a kick out of watching him change boyfriends and girlfriends like a normal person changed underwear. Others just didn’t have anything better to do with their time. Regardless, there were always rumors floating about, and when William Devlin was single, people usually knew it.

This was the situation that Wednesday, before practice. After a week, it had filtered out that Will was once again on the market. Will had gotten to practice early for once, because Cal had lectured him about being punctual (again). He decided to try it out for a day or two, to freak people out.

Paul was just always early.

Will took off his shirt just as Paul was walking in, and Will immediately felt his eyes gravitate towards Will’s bare chest.

“Hey,” Will said, hoping it would divert Paul’s attention back to his face.

“Hey,” Paul said amiably, although he sounded a bit distracted.

“How are you?”

“Not bad. You?”

“Could be worse.”

There was a brief silence.

“So, Devlin, I heard you’re single again.”

“You heard right.” Will had long since gotten over the lack of privacy he had. However, there was something more than curiosity that Will detected in Paul’s tone. His mental alarms were going off.

Paul walked closer. “So, you’re back to playing the field, then?”

“Nah,” Will said. “If something comes my way, I’ll go with it, but I’m not going looking for anything right now.”

Paul’s face was expressionless. Will waited for some kind of response, but one was not forthcoming.

“Why do you ask?” Will asked hesitantly, knowing what was coming. Paul was moving closer again, and his eyes had an odd kind of shine to them. Will should have been scared, but he wasn’t. Paul was attractive enough, and Will was single. He had dated older guys before.

Paul's face was right in front of Will's. "Go out with me," he said, his voice low and quiet. Will raised an eyebrow, trying not to be distracted by the close proximity of lips to his face. "That didn't exactly sound like a question, you know. I much prefer when people ask me than demand I do what they want." Words were coming out of Will's mouth, and Will's brain wasn't exactly sure what they were. Will was focusing on keeping himself from doing anything stupid.

"That's funny," Paul said. "I don't make a habit of asking for the things I want." Will backed up into the lockers. "Well, I'm not a thing, am I? Looks like you're going to have to ask."

Paul didn't really ask. In fact, he didn't say anything. Next thing Will knew, he had a mouth pressing against his, and they were kissing, and Will's brain was shutting off. Will still had his shirt off, and Paul was taking advantage of that. His hands were everywhere.

Will had the presence of mind to break things off when Paul's hands started roving south. "Pity you didn't ask," he said breathlessly. "That was fun." Will put his robes on and quickly left the locker room, knowing Paul's eyes were on him the entire way out.

______________________________________________________

ONE WEEK LATER:

Quidditch practices had not gotten weird, because everyone was so focused on the big game. However, in the locker room, Will always felt Paul's eyes as he changed. Will would have had no problem dating him if he just got over himself and asked. Paul was attractive, and a very good kisser. However, Will wasn't going to let Paul put himself in a position of power before a relationship even started.

Paul had not mentioned anything in the last week. Will expected him to act soon. The locker room was slowly emptying, and Will was moving unusually slowly.

"So..." Paul walked over. The two were alone. "Did you reconsider?"

Will shook his head. "I'm still waiting for you to ask."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be such a girl about it."

Will raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know insulting someone was a good way to win them over. Odd."

Paul looked at Will sideways, as if trying to understand what exactly was going on in that head of his. Will laughed. That wouldn't help him.

"Look, it's really easy. Just don't be a jerk and don't order me around, and I'll say yes. You just have to ask."

Paul looked like he had swallowed something unpleasant, but he complied.

"Fine. Do you want to go out with me?"

Will beamed. "Took you long enough, Newton. Sure, why not."

___________________________________________________________

Will and Paul were not a close couple. There was lots of making out, and not much talking involved, for the first few weeks. Paul tried to push things further, but Will had a strict policy--no more than make outs until after the first month.

Not that he had actually gone all the way yet, with anyone. Snogging was easy, and no-to-low guilt was involved. Anything more was a bit of a leap, and would involve getting a bit too involved with one person. Will was fine with the idea of it, but he hadn't quite gotten to that point in practice.

Paul wanted him to get to that point, and quickly.

Will didn't feel any need to rush. He knew that Paul was older, and that he had gone further. However, he didn't want that to affect anything HE did, at least, not for a while.

Things were edging more and more in that direction. The first month passed quickly, and Paul was impatiently waiting. The second month came and went, and Paul was pushing Will to move more quickly. It was a rare occurrence for Will to be the one holding back in a relationship.

However, the further Paul dared to go, the less Will realized he could hold back. His brain got more and more incoherent the further Will went, and he would find himself mostly undressed in Paul's empty dormitory before he had the presence of mind to stop it.

Within three months, Paul had worn away at Will. Will and Paul had sex. Will had enjoyed it, but the experience was lost in a combination of endorphins and fear.

They had sex a lot in the next month. Will should have been happy, but instead, he got a sinking feeling in his stomach whenever he saw Paul. He had this unexplainable, unsettled feeling, like something about their relationship wasn't entirely right. Paul hadn't gotten any happier or less impatient, despite the fact that Will had agreed to most of his demands. There were some things Will wouldn't agree to purely on principal, and Paul became moody.

Will decided enough was enough.

Within the next few days, Will ended things, and he walked away. He knew that Quidditch practices would become much more difficult, and he was glad the season only had one game left. He would have to deal with the next year, but he hoped that the summer would make things better with Paul. Paul did not seem to want to end things, and he was still stuck on the things that Will would not give up for him.

Will had never been happier to end a relationship.

Cal had been growing.
Will was so used to Cal's height before that his sudden growth spurt was painfully obvious. Not that Will really minded...
Actually, he was a bit unsettled by it all. People grew. It is generally an accepted, scientific fact. Still, not all people were CAL. Cal did not grow. Cal always stayed the same. Now, he had to go and change, and Will felt like he should be disturbed.
However, there was a voice niggling at the back of his head that said Will was paying a bit too much attention to Cal's sudden growth. It was a voice that pointed out something Will would never, ever admit.

His best friend was ATTRACTIVE.

Even worse, Will suspected that he had known it all along.

If he suspected he was interested into anyone other than Cal, Will'd have won them over and be dragging them into a closet already, but Cal was Cal. Although his body was different, Will was certain he was still the same Cal who shuddered even listening to Will talk about kissing.

Also, as sappy as it sounded, it was an absolute truth that Cal was probably the most important friend Will had ever had. He was not allowed to be interested in Cal. It would be like... wanting to kiss his brother.

Except, Cal wasn't his brother. Renee and Izzy were sisters, but Cal was always something different. Will couldn't explain it. It just was the way it was. He enjoyed trying to gross the other two out, and they teased and joked and occasionally talked about issues the other two had. Will never, ever talked about himself, though, in a serious way. His conversations with Renee and Izzy were the closest he ever came to being selfless.

Cal allowed him to be selfish. Will liked to consider it give and take, since Cal seemed to trust him with important stuff too, oddly. However, when it came down to it, Will really felt like he was being selfish. Cal was there to be HIS venting place. HIS best friend.

HIS...

Crap.

Will actually liked him. A lot.
He was never going to be able to hide this from Cal.
He was screwed.
But he was also selfish.

Will would wait for his friend. He would make him work things out. He wasn't used to actually caring about the other person's touchy-feely crap, and it unnerved him.

However, this was Cal, and if there was one thing he wouldn't stand for, it was losing his friend.

The First Time Will Kisses a Boy:

Will’s dad decided to take him to a muggle playground for the first time, to expose him to the life of a normal child. Will’s dad usually tended to avoid normal things like playgrounds; however, he was lately on an “I don’t want Will to be deprived of normal childhood experience because his parents are rich and his mother is a witch” kick. Thus, Will found himself in the backseat of the car as his dad drove to the nearest park.

When they arrived, Will excitedly climbed out and charged over to the jungle gym area. He started playing with the other kids, who were surprisingly welcoming to the stranger. They all seemed to know each other, but it did not bother Will. As long as they let him play, he didn’t care that he didn’t know any of their names.

However, when the kids all got together to start up a game of hide and seek, Will noticed something strange. There was one boy sitting alone in the corner of the sandbox. Everyone seemed to deliberately avoid him, and it made Will curious. When all the other kids ran off to hide, Will walked over to him.

“Why aren’t you playing hide and seek?” Will asked, confused. The boy jumped at the voice, surprised that someone had come up to talk to him. However, he didn’t answer at first, so Will plopped down on the ground next to him. “I’m Will, and I’m four. What’s your name? You should come play hide and seek with me.”

The boy furrowed his brow. He had a small nose, Will decided, and he liked it very much. Finally, the boy spoke. “I’m Luke, and I’m four, too. They won’t let me play with them anymore. I kissed Marty, and Jessica got mad. Jessica said I can’t play anymore.”

Will was confused, and he started to pout. “But kissing people is fun! Why did Jessica get mad? If she wants to kiss Marty, she can kiss him, too! And who even are Marty and Jessica, anyway?”

Luke smiled for the first time since Will had seen him, and it made Will happy. However, when he started to talk again, he once again frowned. “Well, Marty is that guy,” he said as he pointed his stubby finger over to a tall boy counting to ten. “Jessica is that girl,” he said, pointing to a young girl hiding behind a tree. “Jessica says no one else is allowed to kiss Marty, because Jessica likes Marty. Everyone likes Jessica, but no one likes me.”
Will decided that he needed to do something about Luke. He looked really sad, and it made Will sad to see Luke sad. “I like you,” he announced proudly, and Luke’s eyes widened a little. “You have a nice nose.”

Then, an idea hit Will all of the sudden, and he grinned a big, goofy grin. “I am not Marty, so Jessica wouldn’t care if you kissed me!” With that, he leaned in and kissed Luke, making the kiss quick and ending by bonking him on the nose with his pinky finger.

Will and Luke played together in the corner for the rest of the afternoon, until it was time to go. They ignored the rest of the group, although a girl would occasionally come up and try to convince Will to come back. He proudly told them that if they didn’t let Luke play, he wouldn’t play either, so people quit trying.

When Will’s dad came along to take him away, Will was sad to leave his new friend. He gave Luke the warmest, happiest smile he could come up with, and waved goodbye. He wanted to say goodbye, but his dad was in a hurry.

“Did you have fun with your new friend?” Will’s dad asked. Will did not even have to think for a full second before replying, “Of course I did!” He talked his father’s ear off about Luke, and made all sorts of plans of what to do when he saw Luke next time.

However, there was no next time. Will’s dad never took him back to that playground, since Will’s mother was worried he would get his magic soon, and that something bad could happen. She thought it was safer for him to be away from muggle boys.

Will never saw Luke again.

Will had always known that Izzy was pretty. He had never thought of her as anything more than a friend, because he thought she would never date him in a million years. It didn’t stop him from objectively noting that she was pretty, though. She had lovely hair and gorgeous eyes, and she was fairly tall.

She had a pretty face, but she also had brains up in that head of hers. Will wasn’t stupid, but he knew that Izzy was probably smarter than he was, and most definitely more motivated. Will knew that wasn’t really difficult. He was never the most motivated, when it came to school. However, she actually really seemed to care, and although Will teased her for it, he also found it admirable (though he would never admit that to her in a million years).

The only thing they shared in common was that they both stood out. Izzy was sharp and witty, and Will had never seen her back down to anyone. She didn’t let Will get away with shamelessly flirting. She was confident and real and blunt, and Will loved that about her.

There was a reason she was one of his best friends.

FOR ELLIE!

It was Christmas break, and Cal was not around. Cal and Renee and Izzy were all off at home, and Will was bored stiff. He knew that he could easily hit up some of his old friends from the neighborhood, or tag along with some of his dad’s friend’s kids, but he really had no interest in doing that. The more he could stay away from his dad’s snotty friends, the better.

So, he was amusing himself by sneaking around and causing trouble. It was fun after the first week or so, but then, he started getting bored again.

Will was missing his friends, so he decided to sit down and write a letter.

Dear Cal,

England is boooooringgggg. Muggles are boring. I am so bored that my brain is going to give up and break out of my skull just so that something interesting will have happened. I am dying here, Cal. DYING.

In other news, I maybe accidentally blew up a muggle fire hydrant (I think that’s what my dad calls them?) yesterday. It wasn’t my fault, though, I promise. I was bored! Wills are not responsible for their behaviour when they are bored. Luckily, I got away before the muggle cops were called. That would have been a bigger mess than it already was.

Man, Cal, you should have SEEN it. Water was exploding all over the place and the street was wet and I was drenched but that was okay. The guy walking his dog was a bit angry, and the dog went berserk, but they don’t know who I am, so it’s all good!

I’ve pissed off my mother approximately seven times so far, and I’ve only been here a week and a half! That’s an accomplishment, wouldn’t you say? I’m looking to up the ante soon.

I would ask you for ideas, but I have no shortage of them myself, and besides, you’re a fuddy-duddy.

There are no girls or boys here that I haven’t already dated or screwed. I need to expand a bit. Maybe I should run away! I could go somewhere warm and run around dating the natives. That would be perfect, don’t you think?

Of course you don’t. Pretend you do?

That reminds me! I was thinking the other day (it’s not that scary, quit making that face), and I came up with an idea! You should come visit! My parents would be incredibly uncomfortable with a boy staying in my house, but they know you’re one of my responsible friends, and they would probably be okay with it. Your parents probably wouldn’t be okay with it, but that doesn’t matter. You need to be more exciting and spontaneous, sometimes.

Excitement? Spontaneity? Coming and staying with your irresponsible, bored stiff to the point of writing letters and sounding like a lunatic so that he does not end up blowing up all of England?

It’s the logical option, and the option that saves your life, too!

Save the world, Cal.

Actually, you should come with me when I run away to somewhere warm! Come run away with me!

Your dashing adventurer of a best friend,

Will Devlin

P.S. When you respond, make sure you send it by owl, because I’m not entirely sure I won’t be in jail the next time you write me. Owl is much more likely to reach me… unless… can owls get to jail? That never actually occurred to me. They probably can’t… but my parents could bring me my mail?

P.S.S. I just realized that I completely neglected to ask how you are. HOW ARE YOU, CAL? See how I wrote that in BIG LETTERS so that it makes up for the fact that I completely forgot until now? Or at least, it does in theory. That actually works, right?

P.S.S. I miss you.

Will smiled, satisfied. It was a long, rambling letter, but that was okay. Cal was used to that from Will. It was sure to make Cal’s break more interesting, that was for sure.

He sealed the letter and tied it to the leg of his owl.