Harbour Lights

And that's exactly what they did; they moved on.

It was easier than expected, actually, and a week had hardly passed before they were pretty much how they used to be. They were inseparable: they wasted their days going to the beach and surfing, and the two of them had gotten enough sun to guarantee a death from skin cancer (thank god for sun screen, though). They were rarely at home, and most of their meals were eaten in Will's Jeep, with the top down and the sun scorching their backs.

Chante and Adam enjoyed their renewed relationship – it was mostly because they were glad to see their friends happy again, but they couldn't deny the teensy tiny fact that it benefitted them, if only a little bit. Now the foursome could do activities together, like double-dates, and Chante and Adam wouldn't have to worry about being too couple-y in front of them. The French girl and her blue-haired singer were constantly holding hands or calling each other lovey-dovey nicknames or kissing…that is, until one day Will dumped his cherry slushy over the them during a rather grotesque make-out session, declaring that if they didn't stop raping each other in public then he would puke in each of their faces repeatedly and then officially ban them from Ogunquit.

They stopped after that.

Adam and Chante were probably the only ones who were glad to see Will and Marilyn back together, however. The rest of Ogunquit…well, the gossip had never been so fiery. Especially since Evie, the angry ex-girlfriend, was fueling the flames.

It hadn’t always been this way.

When Marilyn was in high school, she had been generally liked by most people. Sure, there were a handful of jealous girls that wanted her to die because she was dating Will, but that was just about it. She was quiet and a little shy, but she was friendly to those who got to know her and she also did quite well in school; therefore she earned the reputation of the "good girl."

All of this changed, though, when she left. People started hating her. They didn't care that she went off to Europe to study abroad; everyone leaves home at some point, they could understand that. They just loathed her because she had left Will behind. Will: the popular guy, the guy that every girl wanted to be with, the guy that every boy wanted to be; Will, the guy everyone loved. (Well, maybe not the adults – he was a "no good trouble maker" in their eyes; but to his high school friends, he was the king.) No one wanted to see him so torn up. For the first few months he didn't allow himself to have any fun anymore, he just sulked all day…and that's when the shit-talk about Marilyn had begun.

How dare she leave him like that? What sort of a person does she think she is? That bitch.

Then Will started having fun again. But this sort of "fun" wasn't the endearing sort, the sort that the old Will used to have all the time – this was the get-shit-faced-at-parties sort of fun. It was at these parties when Will tried drugs for the first time.

Marilyn was blamed for this.

So when Will took Marilyn back, everyone was a bit more than upset. People talked about how stupid of a mistake that was, how Marilyn was just going to hurt him again. But as the weeks passed, that didn't happen. And it was pretty obvious that Will was much happier now that he was with Marilyn. Everyone saw this, and a general consensus passed through the town that perhaps Marilyn wasn't such a bitch, after all. Maybe she could be forgiven. Maybe, if she made Will happy, then they could be happy for them, too.

And they were.

With the gossip gone, Marilyn had never felt better in her life. All of the trash talk used to be her not-so-silent conscience; when she did something, no matter what it was, the sharp whispers would say something nasty and she would be reminded of her mistakes. And no matter what she had done this time, whether it was innocent or not, their words always found a way to make her feel guilty about it. In everyone's eyes, she was always wrong. She was always being criticized, always being pushed down. But now it was like a crushing weight had been lifted off her chest, and she was finally free again. Free to do what she wanted without worrying what new rumors would spread around. Free to just live without being watched.

And thus, for the first time in two years, life was good.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Will, I don’t want to go to the beach today. We went yesterday."

"But it's so fun!"

That morning, Marilyn had made the deadly mistake of giving Will coffee. Now he was currently bouncing up and down the room, jumping on tables and breaking things for no good reason. He suddenly stopped in the center of the room, munching on an M&M he found on the carpet. (At least, it looked like an M&M. Marilyn made a mental note not to kiss him until he brushed his teeth.)

"We also went the day before yesterday," she explained to him. "And the day before that. And the – "

"All right, all right, I get it," he huffed, slumping on the couch next to her. "I'm just so…ugh…bored…" He flopped over, his head landing in her lap. Apparently, his caffeine-induced energy had subsided.

"And how does that make you feel?"

"Empty. And cold. I want to die."

"I think I have your diagnosis," she said, nodding her head very matter-of-factly.

"What is it, doctor?"

"Testicular cancer. You're going to die. Sorry dude."

Will fell into a thoughtful silence. "That would suck," he said.

"Yes, it probably would."

"I'd be like…a girl. Shit." She hit him on the side of the head. "I'm just kidding," he laughed and sat up to wrap his arms around her. "But don’t worry, if I turned into a girl I would totally go lesbian for you."

"How ever so thoughtful of you."

"I try," he shrugged.

She smiled, "You know, you really haven't changed that much at all." He raised an eyebrow curiously. "When I came back from England, I thought that you were a completely different person," she went on. "But now I've sort of just…rediscovered you. You're still my Will."

"And you're still my Marilyn," he said. "Your boobs got bigger, though."

"…And your maturity levels haven't changed, either."

At that moment, Adam and Chante burst through the door. As usual, they did not call in advance to let anyone know that they were arriving. "Hey!" Will shouted at them. "You could have just walked in on us having sex, you know."

"Will, you should never have sex. Ever," Adam said gravely. "You never know when a kid's going to pop out."

Will looked horrified. "Dude, I never want kids," he whispered. "Those things poop everywhere."

Chante and Marilyn exchanged a look and rolled their eyes. How was it possible that the Y chromosome was capable of containing so much stupidity? "Believe it or not," Chante chimed in, "we came over for a reason."

"If Adam's here to eat my cookie dough I'm going to have to kick his ass," Marilyn retorted.

"Cookies?" Adam shouted excitedly and disappeared into the kitchen. Marilyn sighed and shook her head.

"So…" Will said slowly, "did Adam knock you up or something?" Marilyn hit him again. Hanging out with these boys was more like babysitting. At the same time, though, Marilyn couldn't complain; this was how Will used to be. Funny, immature, rude…it was all in his nature. He just hadn't been this way around her because, well, before he actually hated her. But now the true Will was finally shining through.

"No, actually, it's about the band," Adam called from the kitchen. He walked out, chomping down on a spoonful of cookie dough while grinning, "And I have some good fucking news."

Will frowned as Adam went on, "We got signed, man! By Navy Records."

"Navy Records?" Will asked incredulously. "But – but they're good."

"I know," Adam said enthusiastically. "The tour starts in three weeks and goes until November."

Will's smile faded as the truth dawned on him: "So that means…we're leaving."

"Yep, so you better start packing, baby," Adam said, oblivious to Will's paling face, "because we're going on a road trip."