Workload

William is typing vigorously away at his keyboard. His fingers fly across the keys, they are swift and the odds of them missing the correct target are close to none. His pale blue eyes are locked to the screen in front of him, with dark, well present bags beneath them. The dim exposes the face of the young man, painted in freckles. It's reach can only give site to the files and notes scattered on his desk, barely. He had been too pulled in by his work to switch the lamps on as the sun fell.. The faint clicking of his keys and occasional ruffling of papers are the only sounds that can be heard from William on days like this. Paperwork stacked in piles on his desk, reports to send, emails drafted.

William had been at it since 6 this yesterday and he's been going strong since, only breaking for the needed bathroom visits and coffee runs. The sixteen year old was dedicated to his work, it had become his life, yet he hadn't yet grown to schedule workload of being a full time researcher. Nor has he gotten used to the jabbing pain in his stomach from skipping his meals, or the sting of his eyes, pleading for sleep. He's been trying his best to ignore the aching demands of his body and finish the report, but that sting in his abdomen was making that almost impossible.

"Ughh." The small framed boy groaned, before arching over his desk and gripping his aching stomach. He let his head rest on desk, while continuing to cling to himself. The combination of the throbbing migraine, sore back and hunger pains, the thought of dozing off didn't sound so bad. Anything was better than this current state of exhaustion and malnutrition. The teenager didn't fight when he left his body drift off, he couldn't of even if he wanted to.

"Will."

"HUH." William jerked up for his desk, awaking from the help of a calm, deep voice and a light tapping at his shoulder. He swore he just shut his eyes for a moment, but something in his gut told him different. He wiped away the tired from his eyes, assisting to help focus and clear his sleep ridden site. To his relief it was still dark, so he couldn't of been out for too long. After calming his anxieties, he turned from his chair to see his savior, he wasn't surprised to see those sunglasses in the dim light.
"What time is it?" He questioned, still worried about how much time he's just thrown away for his work.
"A quarter to three." The man in shades leaned over, switching on William's desk lamp. The sudden brightness stung William's eyes, making him wince at their sudden presence
.
"Thank you for waking me up, Albert." His eyes were squinting, still adjusting to the light.

Albert was a man of very few words, just as William is and that was a large reason he has allowed himself to this friendship. The similarities were just right, canceling out complications that could arise. They had the same ideas and morals, they both had devoted their full attention to the company, and though William would never admit it, Albert's intelligence was just as impressive as his own. William had found another worthy of any form of personal relationship. As a child, William was content without friends, he liked it better that way. He never saw him ever to be able to bear another person for long enough to be consider friends, but Albert had become not just a friend, but a best friend. It was oddly pleasant.

"I have something for you, William." Blue eyes looked up at the eighteen year old, confused. He watched with childish curiosity as the other turned around to retrieve something placed on the lab table behind him. Albert was not the kind of person to go about getting others things, William was taken back by the action. Even more so when Albert once again faced the wide eyed co-worker, with his hands holding a Styrofoam take-out box.
"Here. You haven't eaten today."

William raised an eyebrow at him for a moment, but the man stood unmoved with his arm extending out the box. William cautiously took the box, then placed it on his lap. He looked back up at Albert, giving him one more suspicious look, then he lifted the lid to peek at the content.
"Chinese," he grinned at the site of the food, then returned his gaze back to the older teen."I adore Chinese food."

"Mhmm." Albert uttered before he turned away to leave the lab, and for reasons William cannot explain, his leaving gave him a sting of sadness. It dropped the grin from his lips to watch his friend go. The closer he grew to the door, the heavier the dread became and he even grew a little anxious.

"Albert, wait." Albert stopped at the command, with his hand wrapped around the door handle.
"What is it, William?" He stood still facing the door. William wasn't quite sure how to respond. He had never had a time where his emotions had controlled his will. He stayed silent, struck with a case of being dumbfounded. "William."

"U-uh, I apologize." He paused to force the lump in his throat down with a swallow."Are you hungry? This is a lot of food, I'm sure I can share it with you." Wesker's silent pause, which he had grown used to, made him uneasy in this moment. Nervous, even.

"You need it more than me, I've eaten today. Anyways, you could do with some extra nutrition. You've got some growing to do if you ever want to be able to reach the higher shelves in the lab." A hint of a humorous tone could be heard in the normally lifeless voice.

"What is that supposed to mean?" William spit, only to get a chuckle from the older boy. "What are you implying?! I’m short?"

"I'm not calling you tall, no." Albert turned his head back, with a wide grin taunting the short fused, William Birkin.

"You're being very immature, Wesker." William turned back to his desk, slamming the box on the desk. More laughter escaped the other, only making William more frustrated. "You're a child, Albert, a child!" William hissed as he threw his head back. The anger flushed red against William's cheeks and the site of them made Albert laugh even more.

"What is so funny!? Is this what you do, bring people food and then laugh at them?" William turned back to his computer and ignored the laughing coming from the other teen.

William is not affected by such childish attacks and comments, maybe as a child, but those things have ceased to bother him for years. the poking at his height was far from the source to his anger. The older boy's laugh had signaled the release of epinephrine and for blood to leave his stomach to retreat to his muscles, which made it temporarily shut down and cause a tingling sensation. Butterflies.

The hormonal effects of his body were affecting his sense of control and it has shown to be frustrating. It made the highly-regarded researcher feel as if he was like every other teenage boy, struck with hormones that drove their actions. William saw himself as different, special. He was better than them all.

Despite the frustration indirectly he had towards Wesker, when he left the room, the boy eyed the food he had sworn not to touch in his fit over his ego taking a hit. As he started, he pondered how much work Albert had put into getting him the food and how he had gone out of his own way to make sure he got fed. After careful thought, a flattered, guilty hand took the box. With a heavy sigh, the boy opened the box, a smile growing across his face.