To Be Human

Chapter Seventeen: Admit it, you wanted to let me in.

~William Afton~

William Carlisle Afton did not believe in love at first sight. The idea that one could simply fall in love with just one look seemed impossible. It took more than one look to fall in love. That was simply infatuation. He did, however, believe in fate. To know that someone was destined to be in his life with just one look. He believed in true love, finding the one he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. And he knew when fate brought his true love to him that he would never let them go. Because they were meant to be with him forever. William firmly held on to this belief from a young age.

William was fifteen years old, entering his second year of high school, when he believed the fates had finally aligned. He had high hopes for the year. That morning he got up two hours early and went through his entire wardrobe before settling on a purple button up. It was his favorite color but more so, the shirt made his icy blue eyes pop. He paired the shirt with black pants.

His best friend, Henry, met him at his house and the two walked together. Henry was wearing a plain green t-shirt and blue jeans. A much more relaxed look in contrast to Williams.

"What class do you have first period?" Henry asked, he had a prominent Welsh accent despite living in London since he was five years old. William liked it, it made Henry stand out more. For this reason, however, Henry did not like it. "I have english."

"Mine is chemistry. It looks like we do not have aligning schedules this year."William shrugged. Since the two had met in kindergarten they had class together every single year. They sat next to, or at least near, each other in all their classes. Just about anyone who knew William and Henry described them as attached at the hip.

"Can I see yours?" Henry asked, reaching for William's schedule and examining it. "We only have two classes together, not counting lunch. Who am I to talk to in class?"

"Now this might sound like a completely insane idea but perhaps...and just hear me out on this one; we make other friends." William suggested.

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius. That is a terrible idea." Henry rolled his eyes, handing back the schedule.

William had fully expected this response. It had been the same song and dance since they were kids.

William was sociable, he always had been. He liked making friends, though he didn't have many. He could never truly tell if it was because he liked school and because of it was seen as a geek or if it was simply because he was fat and that somehow made him a sort of social outcast. He was fully aware that both things were meant to be seen as negatives, something to be ashamed of, but he didn't agree. William liked himself as he was and he knew he would find others who did too. Others like Henry.

On the other hand, Henry was not sociable at all. He very much preferred solitude over human company. He was a very intelligent kid and had been from a young age. His friendship with William had initially been purely from a strategic standpoint. Henry was aware that parents and teachers' eyes were on him and his lack of social skills. It wasn't that he couldn't but rather, he didn't want to. Of course then there was William, who wanted to socialize but seemed to struggle. William knew that his friendship with Henry started off solely based on convenience but somewhere along the line a genuine connection was formed between the two.

"Henry, I love you. But you didn't think we would always have matching schedules for the rest of our lives, did you?"

"I mean...every year prior we did so it is not unreasonable to think." Henry mumbled. "I have one perfectly good friend, you. I don't need much more than that. You don't either. Am I not good enough?"