Hollywood Hills and Suburban Thrills

Admittedly, seeing William again after six days had a numbing affect. There was nothing else in the world except us as we danced to "Wonderwall" and I could feel his torso brush against mine every now and then, sending little jolts of life through my deadened spirit.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he breathes, his mouth dangerously close to my ear, and I could only nod in response.

He reached behind his neck and unhooked my hands, lacing one of his hands in mine, before pulling me through the throng of people and toward the door.

We reached the parking lot, the tepid evening LA air reaching my skin and making it tingle. For it being almost the middle of July, it was unusually cool outside, but still slightly warmer than Chicago, so the warm air felt good.

But William was still pulling me away from the club and now the music was dying away slowly until it was only a low buzz behind us. Will was quiet beside me, his head hanging slightly, and once again I found myself wondering what he was wondering.

"Are you okay, Will?" I ask, leaning forward to look into his eyes. They shot up from the sidewalk to meet mine and he smiled weakly at me.

"I'm fine now that you're here." He says softly, his brown eyes twinkling with genuine happiness despite the dim street lights that were our only source of light at the time. And I didn't really know what he meant when he said that, but I smiled nonetheless and looked ahead of me again. Then he spoke up. "What are you doing in California, Dani?"

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I was capable of—I had been avoiding this question since I had landed in LA six hours earlier. But there was no use in lying to him; he could see right through me anyway.

"I just needed to get away for a while." I say with a sigh. "Just a little time away from home."

"But California?" he prods in evident disbelief. "That's pretty far from home, don't you think?"

The questions were starting to get to me. "I could've gone farther away, Will." I half-snap. "Anything to get away from…that." Will looked down at his feet and I felt a pang of guilt for yelling at him. "It's a long story, Slim." I mumble.

He looked up at me again. "I've got time." He whispers.

I looked around at the Hollywood hills that surrounded us and the suburban houses that were coming up on the horizon—all the lights were out in the house. "I don't think this is the right place." I say.

Will sighed and then tightened his grip on my hand (which he still hadn't let go), pulling me along down the street to the corner of a busy intersection. And then, he waved a hand frantically, signaling a cab to stop in front of us.

"Will, what are you doing?" I ask when he opened the door for me, gesturing inside the car.
"We're going somewhere to talk," he replies coolly but I caught a hint of desperation behind his words. He forced a smile. "Just trust me."

I looked at the seat for a moment before climbing into the taxi and pulling Will in with me. He came willingly and slammed the door behind him. Will leaned to the driver, whispering something in his ear just low enough for me not to hear. The driver smiled, nodded, and turned back to the road.

The cab swerved back into traffic, narrowly missing a blue Toyota, and sped off toward the horizon. I sat back in the seat, a little tense, and watched the dark Las Angelas scenery pass me by. Will's hand laid in mine between our thighs on the cheap leather seats and I felt it squeeze around my fingers slightly, but I didn't look at him.

The cab ride was quick and before I knew it, the cab was slowing down and then it stopped suddenly, causing me to lurch forward slightly. Will leaned forward and paid the driver, murmuring for him to keep the change before getting out of the cab and pulling me behind him. I had barely shut the cab door when Will started pulling me, almost jogging himself, toward something—or somewhere.

"Where are we?" I ask, looking around and trying to familiarize myself with the surroundings. I could smell salt water in the air and it felt a little chillier than it had at the club.

"The Pacific ocean." He replies, looking at me with a smile as he pulled me to a small cement barrier, and then I could see it. The dark water, quite tranquil for the time being with only small, non-menacing waves crashing delicately on the beach. Will pulled me forward a few steps again and then we were walking in sand.

"Would you consider this the right place?" he asks carefully beside me. I bit back a sigh; this was the perfect place. He knew me too well.

"Yes." I mutter and we continued to walk in silence for a moment. I knew he was waiting for me to start, so I took this time to prepare myself, and then, I took the plunge. "My mom kicked me out of the house." Will stopped walking suddenly, pulling me around by the hand that he was holding, and looked at me hard in the eyes, waiting for an explanation. I swallowed. "She found out that I was at Warped Tour that day…with you and your band." He seemed at a loss for words, so I tried to elaborate. "She has sources. Friends everywhere who will gladly do her dirty work just as long as she doesn't spread little white lies about their lives. It's a sick game she plays." I tried to laugh, but it came out as a stifled sigh. "So she yelled, screamed, explained to me just how ridiculously naïve I was to put myself in an environment like that, and then when I started to fight back, she kicked me out. No car. No money. Just what clothes I could carry on the plane with me."

Will was speechless, his eyes still boring in mine, which were now salty and starting to prickle. And then, he gently pulled me into a hug and I let the tears in my eyes flow out onto his shirt as his cologne flowed into my head, making my thoughts turn to mush.

"I'm so sorry, Dani," he whispers to me, running a hand down my spine while the other was one my neck, holding me close.

I sniveled, trying to straighten up. "It's alright. I just…thought you had the right to know that I won't be in Chicago much anymore."

I could feel him stiffen in my arms and suddenly his arms didn't feel so comforting—more like restraining.

"What do you mean?"

I pulled away slightly. "I can't stay in Chicago anymore, Will. Not if I don't have anywhere to live." He waited, his brown eyes questioning. "I'm going to New York City to live with my dad for a while. Only until I can afford my own apartment."

He stuttered. "Don't." he says and I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Don't. You can stay with me in Chicago. You can't go to New York and then come back to Chicago for college. That's ridiculous."

"Will, you don't have to--…" I start but he cut me off.

"No. I want you to, please." He was almost begging now.

I was wordless now. "Will, why are you pushing this?"

"Because I don't want to lose you." He says after a short pause.

"Lose me? Will…what?"

He swallowed and took a deep breath and then, in one swift and completely unexpected movement, his lips were on mine and he was kissing me softly.