little bird // r.keene

iv. reports.

A WEEK EARLIER

Will sat at his and Wren's table for the whole visiting hour, he figured she was running late, or got side tracked, or was too busy getting into trouble to be on time.

He wouldn't put it past her to manage all three. Nothing she hadn't done before and profusely apologised for when she eventually arrived slightly out of breath.

But only, this time she never showed. Will waited and waited. Each and every minute feeling just that little bit longer than the last. Eventually every friend and family member trailed out of the visiting room when the hour came to a close, leaving their counterpart alone in the white room- only, Will's had never arrived...

When there were only two boys left with visitors, Will couldn't bear it anymore. He refused to be the last one there so he promptly stood from his chair and tucked it back under the table gently before leaving the room.

He lay on his bed the rest of the afternoon, his back pressed against the wall and legs crossed at the ankles. The copy of 'Lord of the Flies' Wren had given him was resting on his chest, he had tried to read it to divert his mind from meandering down different reasons why she hadn't shown but he just couldn't focus on the words properly so every sentence he read didn't properly stick in his mind.

Will came to the conclusion that it was futile to even try and distract himself.

There were maybe half a dozen other boys in the room with him of course, some playing cards, some sleeping before dinner, others watched the TV which was screwed to the wall on the far side of the room but Will just remained deep in thought and he came to one conclusion.

Something bad had happened.

Today was her first day back at school. Something must have happened. Something went wrong.

"Hey, Larson!" A voice snapped him out of his trance and Will tilted his head to see Archie Fenton looking over at him. Archie and Will weren't friends so to speak- they had talked before and sometimes played cards on occasion but they didn't know a whole lot about each other. All Will knew was that he was a 15 year old kid from further up the city with short dark hair and had been done for theft- and that was all he needed to know.

"What?" Will snapped, tilting his head back forward when he realised it was Archie, he never had anything that interesting to say anyway. Sure, he was a good person to have about, but his small talk was terrible.

Always complaining about the weather when it was perfectly sunny out or accusing someone of cheating at cards when he was just a sore loser.

"You're gonna wanna see this, man." And at that, Will tiredly swung his legs off his bed and pushed himself off his mattress. He took three strides and put two hands on the back of Archie's chair.

"What is it?" Will asked, looking at Archie, who pointed at the TV.

"Ain't that your girl?" Archie said simply and Will's heart dropped to his stomach. His eyes snapped to the cold light of the screen and sure enough, there was footage of kids trailing out of the school behind a stretcher going into an ambulance. It was a pretty good shot of the entrance to the school, close enough to see the kids' faces and surely enough- sat on the steps outside the door- was Wren. She had a flat expression, her arms wrapped around her waist and slightly hunched over as if in pain with her eyes fixed on the ambulance.

"Fuck." Will said firmly, "Turn it up man." He uttered to Archie, who did as he was told, Will turned his head to the rest of the room, "Yo, everyone shut up!" He half yelled and since Will was the tallest and had been there the longest out of everyone in the room, he had gained some respect from the younger boys, they did as instructed and the room's volume simmered down.

"Earlier today at West Valley High, a karate fight broke out, seemly between two local dojos. Witnesses from the scene say it was roughly 20 against 20 and began by an accusation over the school's intercom system." The news anchor said flatly, "Furthermore, the fight concluded when one student, Miguel Diaz, was kicked over the railing and landed on the staircase a story below. His attacker, Robby Keene, fled the scene and is currently trying to be located by the LAPD."

Will's throat felt like sandpaper, he clenched his jaw and continued to grip the back of Archie's chair until his knuckles turned white.
Wren had told him Robby was a good one. Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe Robby was just like Will.

"Police urge anyone who is aware of Keene's whereabouts to come forward." A picture of Robby was shown on the screen beside a picture of Miguel. Will took a long steadying breath, trying to sooth his hammering chest but all attempts at steadying himself were shattered when Wren's picture joined them on the screen.

"My god." Will whispered, Archie threw him a look over his shoulder but Will's eyes were fixed in the screen.

"Witnesses have come forward and told our reporters earlier today that Miguel Diaz's injuries may have been a lot worse if it weren't for another student: Wren Evans." Will's mouth felt open slightly, his brows drawn together.

"Sources say Evans, also the All Valley Champion of karate and was involved in the fight alongside Diaz and Keene, was by the railing and grabbed Diaz, holding onto him for a moment and allowing him to land on his feet instead of his back. As a result, confirmed by paramedics at the scene, saving his life." The photo of Wren was the only one on the screen now, it was her school picture. She was happy and smiling.

And wearing one of Will's old buttoned shirts.

"Unfortunately, Evans was unavailable for an interview." The news cut to another story and Will finally let go of Archie's chair, he turned with his head down and walked back to his bed and sat down on the edge, resting his elbows on his knees.

The rest of the boys weren't sure what to do, it's not like they were scared of Will like they were Shawn, who was the second tallest boy in the place and had a reputation for making their lives miserable. But it was because they respected Will and his space that they kept their mouth shut.

Most had seen Wren before, after all, she visited Will every session these last few months- All, expect today.

Archie switched the channel over and pressed his hands to his knees, pushing himself to a standing position. He motioned for the other boys to continue with what they were doing and they simmered back into what they were doing prior to the news report. Archie made his way over to Will and delicately sat next to him.

"She's okay." Archie told Will firmly, "Your girl's a hero, Larson."

"She shouldn't have to be." Was his response and it was true. For he had seen her face when she was sat outside the school on the steps. Will could do nothing about it and that broke his heart. He wanted to hold her, stroke her hair, whisper in her ear that everything was going to be fine- just as he had done when Rue died.

But all he could think about was the image of her he had seen outside the school when she was sat on the steps. She had been alone and in pain. She had been in shock. And suddenly an unwelcome and gut wrenching thought skimmed his mind, so much so, Will screwed his eyes shut and lowered his head:

Not everyone sees two of their friends die in front of their eyes.