Between The Line || EstWilliam AU

Three

Est had always known that William was difficult—he'd been that way ever since they were kids, specifically after his dad died. Since then William tend to throw tantrums, lashing aggressively and it's hard to control. Growing up with William was like dealing with a constant whirlwind of chaos. But to Est, William wasn't just a troublemaker; he was like a younger brother, someone Est couldn't help but care for despite the constant headaches. Lately, though, things had been getting worse. William's attitude had soured further, especially when it came to school. Est noticed the way William disrespected teachers, refused to study, argued with his classmates and seemed more interested in goofing off with his friends than learning anything.

In public, William had a reputation, and it wasn't a good one. Est could hear the whispers, even though he tried not to. Every day after classes, students would gossip in the hallways, talking about how William had gotten into trouble again, how he mouthed off to teachers or skipped classes entirely. Est had overheard students complaining about how "spoiled" William was, how he only stayed in school because of their parents' sponsorship. It hurt to hear those things, but he couldn't deny that William's behavior wasn't helping.

"Did you hear about William again?" Est had heard someone murmur behind him in class one day. "He made a prank to a girl in his class, and Mrs. Parks gave him detention. Honestly, he thinks he can get away with everything because of his family."

"He's a brat. No wonder no one likes him," another voice chimed in. "If he wasn't Est's 'brother,' the teachers would've kicked him out a long time ago."

Est stiffened at those words but didn't turn around to respond. It wasn't the first time he'd heard people talk like that about William. Every time, it cut a little deeper, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control William's actions or change people's opinions of him. He wanted to defend William, to explain that he wasn't all bad, that there was more to him than the bad reputation he'd built—but he knew it wouldn't matter. People had made up their minds.

The worst part was that the teachers weren't much different. Many of them had given up on William, writing him off as a lost cause. But Est couldn't let that happen. Even though William didn't know it, Est had been trying to keep him out of serious trouble for months. He used his own good reputation—his straight A's, his perfect behavior in class—to convince teachers to go easy on William.

When Mrs. Parks had called William out in front of the entire class for his bad behaviour for the third time in a row, Est had stayed behind after the lesson, quietly pleading with her to reconsider the harsh punishment she was planning.

"I understand he's difficult," Est had said softly, standing in front of her desk after the room had emptied. "But maybe he's just struggling more than he lets on. I can help him. Maybe we can give him another chance?"

Mrs. Parks had sighed, her eyes softening as she looked at Est. "You're a good student, Est. But your 'brother'... he doesn't care. I don't know what more we can do for him."

"He listens to me sometimes," Est pressed, knowing that wasn't entirely true but willing to say anything to ease William's punishment. "I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he won't do it again next time. Please."

In the end, Mrs. Parks had relented, reducing William's detention to just one day, much to Est's relief. He hadn't told William, of course. There was no need to let William know that he was constantly pulling strings behind the scenes to save him from harsher consequences.

But the cycle kept repeating itself. William would act out—whether it was talking back to a teacher, skipping class to hang out with his friends, or refusing to complete assignments—and Est would have to step in, smoothing things over with the teachers. Every time, Est hoped that William would change, that he'd start taking school more seriously, but William seemed oblivious to the damage he was causing.

Even though William respected Est more than anyone else, he still pushed the limits. At home, he'd sulk or roll his eyes whenever Est tried to lecture him, but he would at least listen—if only for a few minutes—before going back to his usual ways.

"Why do you care so much?" William would grumble whenever Est asked him about his homework. "I'm doing fine."

"No, you're not, Will," Est would say, his voice patient but firm. "You keep getting detention, and you're failing classes. You need to start taking this seriously."

But William would just shrug. "It's fine. I'll be fine. You worry too much, Phi."

Est knew he worried too much. But how could he not? William was his responsibility, even if William didn't see it that way. Every time William got in trouble, Est felt it like a personal failure. He was supposed to be looking out for him, guiding him—but it seemed like no matter what he did, William refused to change.

One particularly bad day, William had mouthed off to a teacher during a science lab, throwing sarcastic comments about how useless the lesson was. He'd knocked over a beaker on purpose, spilling chemicals across the table, laughing it off while the rest of the class stared in disbelief. The teacher had sent him straight to the principal's office, and Est had overheard students snickering about it in the hallway.

"William got sent to the principal again. What a shock," one of them had said. "Can't believe they keep letting him stay in school. Must be nice to have connections."

Est's fists had clenched at that, but he kept walking, trying to push the anger down. It wasn't worth arguing with people who already hated William.

Later that afternoon, Est had found William sitting on the steps outside the school after his punishment had been doled out. He looked unbothered, scrolling through his phone as if nothing had happened.

"Detention again?" Est asked, sitting down next to him.

William shrugged, not looking up. "Yeah. Whatever. It's not like they're gonna kick me out. I'll just do my time."

Est sighed, rubbing his temples. "Will, you can't keep doing this. Don't you care about your grades? About your reputation?"

William finally glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you care so much about reputation? You act like it's the most important thing in the world."

"Because it is," Est said, his voice sharper than he intended. "What you do now affects everything, Will. Your future, how people see you, everything."

William rolled his eyes. "I'm not like you, Phi. I don't care what people think about me. If they don't like me, that's their problem."

Est stared at him, frustration boiling beneath the surface. How could William be so careless? So indifferent? Didn't he realize that Est had been cleaning up his messes for him all this time?

"William," Est began, his tone more serious, "I've been talking to your teachers. Every time you get in trouble, I'm the one who convinces them not to go harder on you."

William looked surprised for a moment, but it quickly shifted back to indifference. "Yeah, I know. That's why I don't worry about it."

Est felt his heart sink at those words. "You can't keep expecting me to save you, Will. One day, it's not going to work anymore."

William stood up, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Well, it works for now, doesn't it?" He shot Est a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, Phi. I'll be fine."

Est watched as William walked away, feeling a heavy weight settle in his chest. He couldn't keep doing this—couldn't keep bailing William out, only for him to end up in trouble again. He cared about William more than anyone, but at some point, William needed to realize that actions had consequences.