Rumored Nights

Alice lay in bed in the darkness of the night staring up at the ceiling.

The house echoed with empty silence, all its inhabitants gone but her.

In the time Alice spent with her family she had come to love them even more, so much that the eight missed calls were worth it.

Even she needed her space though, letting her mother and sister follow Ryan back in hopes of meeting his girlfriend.

With the house empty for the first in days, Alice found it hard to sleep in a so suddenly quiet house.

The symphony of the night became her lullaby, the rustling of leaves, chirping crickets, and trees creaking in the wind.

But what she assumed was the tapping of trees was actually William climbing up to her window.

Despite Melanie and Mike telling him he should leave her be, William had to see Alice.

He had to talk to her, finally explain everything that begun this unraveling and hope for the best.

If it ruined Alice's happy little bubble, well then he'd gladly let the two butcher him.

She was just drifting off to the shores of sleep when there was a knock at the window, his knock.

Blood drained from her face and left her body feeling hot, every inch of her suddenly shaky with needle pricks of fear.

There was a knock on the window again, causing Alice's heart to spiral into a hiccuping beat.

"Alice... please let me in..."

She heard his voice and knew she'd leave the comfort of her warm bed for the cold of the room, for Bill.

When she saw his face, pale in the moonlight and tinged with pink from the cold, her nerves from before vanished, a wave of calm suddenly engulfing her as she opened the window.

"Thank's for letting me in." Was the first thing out of his mouth as he climbed through, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

"Why are you here?" She asked, nearly having to force the bitterness into her voice.

He sighed, wanting to pace the room and let all of his adrenaline fueled nerves out, but he was here on a mission.

"I owe you an explanation for what's happened recently." He rushed, burying his hands deep in his pockets. "More than an explanation."

Alice watched him try to pace himself, though biting his lip quickly broke that calm charade.

"Why don't you start with the kiss?" She suggested in a whisper.

In slight surprise from her bluntless William took a pause, not quite prepared for this new side of Alice.

"I liked you, and I wanted so badly to tell you but I couldn't because I was afraid to lose you as my friend." William took another deep breath, intent on explaining everything the best way he could. "But I was impulsive, and stupid, and I freaked out and lost you anyway."

Alice felt the room suddenly drop in temperature from the first words he uttered.

"You really did like me?" She asked, shocked.

Looking away as he ruffled his hair, Bill nodded. "Yeah."

"The why the hell didn't you say something?" Alice exclaimed, now suddenly pissed beyond reason. "If you had said something from the start none of this would've happened! And what about that girl, Avery? If you liked me why go out with her?"

The scene he had expected was finally taking place, though William was unsure of what to do despite whatever futile planning he'd done before.

Regardless, he now had to own up to his stupidity.

"Avery was... a mistake. After I kissed you I didn't know what to do and I found her number in my pocket, I just didn't want to feel so rejected and it wasn't supposed to be anything, but I realized she made the best distraction from you so I went with it."

Alice sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"What would she say if she knew you were here right now? God... you are such a..."

"Asshole, yeah you mentioned that." He murmured. "And I don't think she would really care, she broke up with me over a week ago."

Alice would've lied to William if he asked, but when he said that her heart did a little flip of triumph.

"Good for her." Alice muttered, looking away.

Bill sighed, trying his best this whole conversation to say nothing against Alice, though it was becoming harder and harder.

"So what took you so long to finally talk to me?" She asked after some draw of silence.

He shrugged his shoulders again, now allowing himself to pace.

"I went out with Avery for all the wrong reasons, so I figured I should stay with her for the right ones. I was a shitty boyfriend to her anyway but the least I could do was to avoid the girl I was in love with for her."

Even as he said the words he tried to stop himself, but if he had been digging his grave all night that would've surely thrown his body in.

With a slip of the tongue he had admitted to Alice that he was in love with her.

He wished desperately he could see Alice's expression through the darkness of the night , but all he could see was her silhuette on the bed.

What he didn't expect was for her to suddenly laugh.

A laugh that turned from amused to hysterical in a matter of seconds.

"Alice? Alice what is it?" He asked as she flopped back onto the bed.

They hadn't spoken in months, they'd both been stupid, and although she couldn't stand to be around him, William ran to Alice's side.

He could just make out the dazed smile on her lips as he sat beside her.

"You... you said you were in love with me." She laughed, finding the irony of the whole situation much more amusing that William.

Unlike her though he didn't know both sides or her feelings for him, seeing it only as her laughing at him and not at the world.

"You know I didn't come here to be laughed at." He muttered darkly, getting up off the bed. "Not after I tell you I'm in love with you."

As he crossed the room to the window Alice followed, grabbing his arm in sudden desperation to stop him.

"I wasn't laughing at you." She blurted out, the laughter gone from her eyes, replaced with honesty.

"Then what was it?" He yelled, everything he'd pushed aside finally reaching the surface. "I come here to finally tell you everything cause I couldn't take not having you in my life anymore! That despite the fact Mike and Melanie will probably kill me for being here I had to see you!"

Stunned to silence, and deep down the old her knowing he needed to vent, Alice watched on as unsaid emotions fell through him.

"Do you know how hard it is loving your best friend's sister? Knowing you can never do anything because you're not supposed to see her like that? And even still , going each day reliving that kiss, wishing I could change that whole day..."

William's voice dropped to a low murmur as his eyes bore through hers.

"You've taken over so much of my thoughts I can hardly take it. I'm not sure which memory is worse, remembering every happy time I ever spent with you, or seeing you half naked passed out on the bed with that bastard. And no matter where I go, I see you. I hear your laugh when someone else laughs, and your smile when they smile. You can't stand me, I get that, but understand nothing hurts me more than being without you."

Alice stared at William and he stared back, slightly out of breathe but with no less emotion in his demeanor.

"I know you're happy now, and you've got so many more people that love you that I wouldn't make a difference, but I had to tell you." William surmised in a sheepish mutter.

He had perhaps dragged her down to his level of misery with his rant, leaving only guilt and defeat weighing him down in her room instead of leaving like he desperately wanted.

It was then Alice realized she was still holding his sleeved arm, and made the small move down his wrist to touch the slight cold of his hand.

She laced her fingers with his using all the courage she had left in hoping he wouldn't push her away.

Catching her by surprise though his fingers gripped hers as he looked down at her with confusion and longing.

If William could come here and say all that, she thought, then the least I can do is tell him the truth.

Moving closer to him, Alice did what she'd been longing to do for so long, leaning toward him as she murmured.

"I was laughing at the fact all of this could've been prevented if we'd told each other the truth, that you love me, and I'm in-"

But she cut herself off involuntarily and pulled away with the sound of the front door opening downstairs.

The unmistakable jingle of keys triggered the thought in her head, that her mom was back home early.

William recognized it as well, letting Alice tug him toward her closet.

Like so many times before he hid there, waiting for her mom to say goodnight before he could come back out.

He was just shutting the door as she jumped under the covers, faking sleep like a twelve year old.

The footsteps had reached her hallway, steadily toward her door.

Something in the back of her mind tugged at her, saying this was wrong, but the soft knock at the door drowned it out.

A small sliver of light fell into her bedroom from the hallway, growing bigger as the door opened.

As it became bright behind her eyelids, Alice peeked open to say goodnight to her mom, only to see Luke walk into her room.