The Fall of the Aftons

046: William Afton

"Henry!" William shouted, his voice full of anger. Henry burst out into laughter at his reaction. "What in the bloody world is wrong with you?! My life just flashed before my eyes!"

Henry only laughed harder. "I'm honestly just glad I caught you," he admitted. "I wasn't certain if I'd be able to!"

Henry had been holding William up close to the ceiling so he could install the lights into the ceiling. But, out of nowhere, Henry dropped him and caught him.

"Put me down!" William shouted, irritated when his face started to burn. "You're carrying me like a bloody baby."

Henry smirked. "No, thank you. It's fun seeing you so embarrassed." He laughed more when William made a noise that fell somewhere between the lines of a growl and a groan. 

"Henry, what if someone sees us?" William whisper-shouted. His face warmed even more at the thought. He couldn't have anybody find out. He didn't want to be shunned by society. He had already been shunned by his mother and stepfather.

"There's no one here but you, me, Michael, and Terrance. We're fine," Henry countered. He laughed even more when William made a copy of his previous noise.

"I hate you," he grumbled. "And I'm uncomfortable. My neck hurts now because you're making me scrunch it up, you bloody jerk."

Henry somehow managed to shift William into one of his arms, then used his hand to move William's head and neck. "Is that better?" he asked as he shifted his friend back into both of his arms.

William tried to cross his arms but failed. "Yes. Thank you," he murmured. "I still hate you, though."

"I love you, too, you goofball," Henry responded, laughing at his joke. His words made William blush. "Are you feeling okay? Your face is flushed." He felt William's forehead for a fever.

"Henry, you're carrying me like a baby--I'm embarrassed, so my face is going to be red!" William exclaimed as he scowled at his friend.

Henry only laughed more.

"What are you two doing?" Terrance asked as he stepped into William's view. He had a very suspicious grin on his face.

Henry laughed more. "I'm embarrassing him because I feel like it," he answered

William scowled again.

Terrance chuckled. "Well, you're definitely succeeding at that. Your face is bright red, Uncle."

William glared at his nephew, then looked to Henry. "Would you please put me down now? We still need to get the lights up. And just so you know, this time, I'm carrying you."

Henry scoffed with a mischievously smug grin. "No, you're not. I'm going to continue carrying you. It's my turn to show you what it feels like when somebody is lifting you to the sky."

"Nooooooo," William whined. He went partially limp in his friend's arms out of annoyance. "You're just going to drop me again!"

Henry shrugged, nearly dropping William in the process. "That's a chance I'm willing to take--especially now that I know I can catch you."

Terrance walked away with a goofy grin on his face, rolling his eyes.

~ ~ ~

William woke with a start and immediately sat up in his bed. Did that scream come from Michael or Terrance? Or did it come from his dream? He couldn't tell. He figured he should probably go check, but he didn't want to leave his warm bed. The switch on his fan was stuck, which kept it on all of the time. It left his room freezing in the crisp fall.