Third Time's a Charm

It wasn't until the next day that Will told me he was going to spend some time with his mother since he really hadn't done that in a while. I let him have that while I roamed around his house aimlessly.

Around late afternoon, I came across Will's father in the garden. He was sitting in the gazebo, his back against one of the wooden posts and his legs dangling over each side of a panel. He was slumped over with a four pack of beer in front of him with one of the beers in his hand. I was surprised to find him here, especially with him drinking during the day.

He turned in my direction when I stepped up into the gazebo. He smiled at me and gestured for me to come closer with a beer bottle in his hand.

"I don't usually do this," he said as nodded towards the beer.

"I'm not judging," I replied with a small smile. He smiled back at me as I pulled myself up and sat in front of him.

"I was a bit stressed from work, so I thought I would take a little break from it," he said as he set his bottle down. "Would you like one?" he offered and I nodded. He reached for another one in the pack and opened it with a bottle opener that was next to it. When it was opened, he handed it to me and I thanked him as I took it.

"So," I started as I took a sip of the beer. "what kind of work do you do? If it makes you resort to drinking during the day, it must be pretty stressful," I said with a small laugh.

"I do boring business stuff," he said with a shrug. I couldn't help but see Will in him right now. The way he shrugged, the way he was sitting, and just his overall appearance.

"What time did Annabella leave last night?" I asked, trying to make small talk but also slightly worried for some reason.

"Annabella? Oh, she left pretty late last night. Around two or three?"

"Oh wow. That is late. What did you guys talk about?" He shrugged again.

"The usual. Her family, school, Travis," he said with a chuckle. "It was great seeing her again." I looked at him and he had such a familiar happy smile on his face.

"I bet," I muttered quietly as I fiddled with the neck of the bottle.

"Is something the matter?" he questioned. I looked up sharply. Did I really sound so... worried? I bit my bottom lip as I tried to think of a response.

"You hate me, don't you?" I asked him bluntly. A look of shock came across his face before he spoke up.

"I have nothing against you," he said to my surprise.

"You don't?" I questioned.

"I don't."

"Then why does it seem like you hate me?"

"I'm sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I hated you, but I assure you I wasn't trying to do that. I can't hate someone I don't know." His answer surprised me seeing as how Will instantly hated me when we first met and he didn't even know me. "But I also can't like someone I don't know," he added. "Why would you think I hated you anyway?" he asked me as he tipped the bottle back and took a swig. I shrugged at his question.

"I don't know. I know you love Annabella. And Will. I just figured you like them two together. And that I'm just getting in the way of them two. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me for that," I finished as I took a swig of my own beer.

"Like I said, I can't hate someone I don't know," he said again. I nodded at him, still stunned at how different his reaction to a stranger like me was compared to Will's reaction.

"Let's get to know each other then," I offered as I held up my beer towards his. He tapped the top of my bottle with his own and smiled at me.

"Let's," he replied.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Will's father in the gazebo. We started off talking about his job. It turned out he worked at some big-time company here in England that he practically built on his own from the ground up. With a bit of help from a friend, of course. When I had asked who the friend was, he only smiled and said that his friend was very important to him. I didn't question anymore of his friend before he started asking me about my family.

I told him about my mom and my little brother, and when he asked about my dad, I only gave him a sad smile and he understood. He said he was sorry for asking and then changed the subject. Then I started talking about my time at Kingston Academy. Of course I left out the little bits about my cutting and other health problems. I didn't think that was exactly necessary at the moment for him to know. If we were getting to know each other, I would rather he get to know me by my personality and not by my past and health problems.

It wasn't until around sunset that Will found his father and I still in the gazebo. "So this is where you were," he said as he climbed the few steps of the gazebo and walked towards me. He stood in front of me and took my hands in his own. He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips. When he pulled away, I felt my cheeks flush kissing him in front of his father. I glanced at his father and he didn't seem bothered by it. In fact, there was small smile on his face as if he approved. Will looked between his father and I and noticed the beer bottles. "Were... Were you lot drinking together?" he asked me. I giggled and nodded at him.

"You want one?" I offered. He reached over and tilted the pack over a bit.

"I would, but it looks like you two already finished the pack," he said.

"We did?" I asked in surprise as I looked at the pack too and noticed all four bottles were empty. I didn't even realize we had finished them. "Huh. I guess we did. Sorry," I said with an apologetic smile. Will only shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"You're already drinking with my father?" Will questioned. "I guess he likes you then." I turned to look at his father.

"You're right," his father said. "I do like her."

"You do?" I asked. Surprise was clearly evident on my face, even as a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

"I do," he answered. I turned to Will, mouthing 'he likes me' as my grin widened. He only chuckled at me.

"Well, father," Will started. "if you don't mind, can I whisk my beautiful girlfriend away? It's been hours since I was last with her." His father held out his hands as if to say, 'She's all yours'. I grinned at his father as Will suddenly scooped me up into his arms, easily cradling me in his arms. I thought he was going to set me down, but he only turned around and started walking away. I looked over Will's shoulder and dangled my fingers in a wave at his father and he waved back at me as Will turned a corner around the garden.

"He likes me!" I exclaimed suddenly when we were out of earshot and eyeshot. I wriggled about in his arms and he struggled to not drop me.

"Well, of course he does," he said as he tightened his hold so I wouldn't fall. "You thought he didn't?" I shrugged at his question.

One parent down, one more to go.

I thought to myself as Will continued to carry me upstairs to his room.



The next day at school during lunch, Chris and I got to talking about college and universities while I waited for Will to get my lunch. This was our final year of high school, so of course we would need to be thinking about our futures.

"Do you know what university you're going to?" Chris asked me.

"I have a few options," I replied with a shrug.

"Is Kingston University an option?" he asked. I nodded at him. Kingston University was the sister school of Kingston Academy. The university was pretty hard to get into alone, but since I went to the academy, I had a bit more of a chance to get accepted into the university compared to other students who didn't go to the academy.

"It's one of them."

"Will and I are going there," he stated.

"Are you now?" He nodded at me. "I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"What are you lot talking about?" Will asked as he stood in front of me with two trays of food. He set one of them down in front of me before he sat himself down next to me.

Before Chris could reply, I spoke up. "We were just talking about how this scrawny little body of mine turns you on. I don't know how though," I said with a big shrug. Chris broke out into a full laugh while Will's cheeks flushed pink.

"Bloody hell, Nicole!" he exclaimed. I couldn't stop the big grin from coming across my face.

"I'm kidding!" I said with a laugh. "Though it is true..." I added with a wink. Will's cheeks only turned redder. "We were actually talking about universities," I finished with another laugh. He cleared his throat and tried to make his blush go away as he spoke up.

"Universities, huh? Which one are you going to?" he asked me as he picked up his fork to start eating. I picked up my own fork as I replied.

"I'm not sure," I replied.

"I'm going Kingston University," he stated.

"That's what I hear," I replied as I stuffed food into my mouth.

Talking about college and universities made me feel a little anxious. I wasn't exactly sure what college I wanted to go to and I didn't know if Will wanted me to go to the same college as him just because we were together and so we could be closer together. I always thought of college as my decision to go to which one I wanted and I never had anyone to think about when deciding on one. Now I had Will though. I had to think about our relationship and take that into account of which college I should decide on.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. The more I thought it, the more anxious I felt and I would probably have a panic attack. I hadn't had one of those in a while and I didn't want to start to have them again. So I focused on breathing properly and on eating my lunch.



"So how was your little date with your mom last night?" I asked Will as we walked to the dorm building after class had ended that day. He rolled his eyes at me.

"It wasn't a date," he replied. This time, I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh, come on. It totally was, ya momma's boy." He only glared at me as he pressed the button for the elevator. I nudged his side with my elbow. "Well, how was it?" I asked. I didn't have the chance to ask him yesterday or earlier today, because either I forgot to ask him or there wasn't time to ask.

"It was good," he replied as the metal doors opened and we entered. He pressed the button for our floor before he spoke up again. "She wants to throw a party."

"A party?" I questioned.

"Yeah, a party. She said we hadn't done that in a while, so she's planning one for our spring half-term that's coming up. Everyone's invited."

"Is that a usual thing? Your mom throwing a party for all your friends?" I asked him as we left the elevator and walked towards our room. He shrugged at my question.

"Yeah, we actually did that a lot, then we all became too busy with school." I nodded in understanding.

"So when you say everyone..." I trailed off.

"I mean, everyone. Everyone at Kingston Academy is invited," he said nonchalantly. I grabbed his forearm before we entered our room.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Is that such a big surprise?" he asked as he opened our room door and ushered me in.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Kingston Academy is huge!"

"And I have a massive house," he stated while he shut the door behind us.

"Still!"

"It's not like every single person goes."

"Even if only half of the school goes, that's still a lot of people! Hell, a quarter of the school is a lot of people!"

"Calm down. Why are you getting your knickers in a bunch?" Will asked. I narrowed my eyes at him before I eventually relaxed.

"Sorry," I started. "I think my hormones are all out of whack today," I said with a shrug. I think I was still a little anxious about deciding which college to go to that it was leaking in our conversation. Will gave me a look of understanding before he walked towards the kitchen.

"So would you be okay with going to the party then?" he asked me cautiously.

"Yes, of course," I replied. "It sounds fun." I smiled at him and he returned the smile.

"Hungry?" he asked me as I grabbed a few things from the fridge. I nodded at him and sat on stool and watched him fix me a snack.