ONE MONTH LATER
"Rosemary!" her mom called. "Hurry!"
"I'm coming!" she called back, running down the stairs. Her new backpack weighed her down and she nearly fell off three steps if Will hadn't been there.
He turned as she let out a shriek, grabbing her arms as she flew past him. She grasped the railing, eyes wide, turning to Will.
"Thanks," she said, and walked down the stairs.
"I'll drive you, okay?" their mom said hurriedly. "You're already late, the both of you." Rosemary grabbed a bagel, nodding, as they hurried out the door, Rosemary munching on her breakfast.
"I'm going to school with Charlotte," Rosemary said excitedly through bites, and their mom frowned, looking over her shoulder at her daughter.
"Charlotte?" her mom questioned. "Charlotte moved schools."
"What?" Will asked, finally speaking. "Since when?"
"During Thanksgiving," their mom said, starting to drive. "Charlotte didn't tell you?"
"No," Rosemary replied, shaking her head, exchanging shocked looks with her brother.
"And James?" Her mom glanced at Rosemary through the rear view mirror, an eyebrow raised. The look her mom gave her made her cheeks become hot and she looked away. "No, he didn't, either."
---
"Did she tell you, Will?" Rosemary asked.
Will shook his head. "No," he said. "Do you need help going to the office? I can lead you there, if you want."
She looked at him sadly. There had been a time, a month ago, where Will would've excitedly taken her to the office, endlessly talking. But now, he seemed almost silent, and he looked around like...like...
Like he was afraid.
"Yeah, sure," she told him, and he started taking her to the office.
It took a while for the receptionist to find Rosemary's schedule. But when she got it, she found that her first class was chemistry.
"I can take you there," Will offered once again, quickly.
"Okay," Rosemary said, eyeing him strangely. "Are you feeling okay, Will?"
"What? Yeah, of course," Will said distractedly. "Why?"
"You seem paranoid."
Will rolled his shoulders, shrugging them, trying to relax himself. "Oh. Didn't realize."
She hummed. "Hey, Will?" she asked as they passed other students in the hallway. She noticed that they all stopped and stared, pointing at them. She thought it was because she was the new girl, or the Girl Who Randomly Came Back.
"Mmhm?"
"I heard oxygen and potassium went on a date. It went OK."
Will's steps faltered and when Rosemary glanced at him, she saw a small twitch of his lips. "Yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah. You know what one charged atom said to the other?"
"What?"
"I have my ion you."
Will giggled. "You're so lucky. I once told a chemistry joke...but I got no reaction."
Rosemary's shoulders shook with laughter. "Makes sense. All the good chemistry jokes argon."
Will burst out laughing, and Rosemary immediately felt proud. It had been quite some time since she had heard Will laugh. It felt nice hearing him, though. It warmed her down to the core.
"Stop it with the puns," Will started, hiccuping, "I've sulfured enough."
"What do you mean? My jokes are amazing! Yours are just...boron."
"Oh, yeah. Your jokes were sodium funny, I slapped my neon them," Will replied sarcastically.
"Okay, okay fine, how often am I allowed to tell you chemistry jokes?" Rosemary asked him, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm, expecting the answer 'never'.
Will stopped walking and tilted his head, giving her a serious look.
"Periodically."
~Lyn
Words: 574
Just a bit of fluff! And cute, innocent, happy Will is back!
Yay!
I just loved their little sibling dynamic in this chapter, it made me feel fuzzy.
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𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝...
General FictionA game against time. A story of sibling love. Would it be all right at the end? At twelve years old, Rosemary Miller had been part of an accident that had sent her into a coma for two years. Two years later, when she woke up, she wasn't the same...
