Between The Line || EstWilliam AU

Thirteen

Est sat at the dining table, flipping through a stack of papers, his brow furrowed as his eyes scanned each page. He had asked William for his latest mid exam results after dinner, and now he was finally seeing them. The numbers didn't look good. In fact, they were worse than he had expected. His stomach twisted as he stared at the poor grades.

William leaned back in his chair, slouched with his arms crossed, avoiding eye contact. He knew what was coming—Est's usual lecture about taking school seriously, about how he needed to concentrate in class, do his work, and put in some effort. It was nothing new.

Est let out a deep sigh, the sound heavy with frustration. "William, what happened?" he asked, his voice calm but tinged with disappointment. "These grades... they're not good. You said you were doing better."

"I am doing better," William muttered, though even he didn't sound convinced. "I've been concentrating in class and doing the work."

Est's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at William, his expression unreadable for a moment. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, his voice soft but firm.

William nodded, though his gaze remained fixed on the table in front of him. "Yeah, I mean... I try."

Est didn't respond immediately. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He had been through this cycle so many times before—William's poor performance, his half-hearted excuses, and the inevitable promise to do better next time. But the truth was, he didn't see any improvement, and it was wearing him down. It was exhausting to care so much for someone who didn't seem to care about themselves.

After a long pause, Est spoke again, this time his voice lower and more controlled. "William, I need you to be honest with me. Are you really concentrating in class? Are you doing your assignments?"

William hesitated for a second too long before nodding again. "Yeah, I am."

Est's jaw clenched, and he exhaled through his nose, clearly not satisfied with the answer. He had hoped for something more—some acknowledgment that William was struggling, that he needed help. But instead, he got the same empty assurances.

"I'm not asking to judge you," Est said quietly, trying to keep his frustration in check. "I'm asking because I care, William. These grades... they're not just numbers. They're a sign that something isn't working, that you're not getting it."

William stayed silent, the tension in the air thick between them.

Est looked at him for a long moment, his eyes filled with a mix of worry and exhaustion. He didn't want to lecture William again, didn't want to be the one always chasing after him to do the right thing. But he couldn't just sit by and watch him fail, either.

"Alright," Est said finally, pushing the papers across the table toward William. "Let's go over these. I want you to sit down and correct every question you got wrong."

William blinked, surprised by the sudden request. "What? Now?"

"Yes, now," Est replied firmly, though his tone softened slightly. "I'm going to help you, but you need to put in the effort too. No more excuses."

William stared at the papers for a moment, clearly not thrilled about the idea. Normally, he would have pushed back, come up with some excuse or thrown in a snarky comment to deflect. But tonight, something in Est's tone—maybe the exhaustion, maybe the concern—stopped him. Instead of arguing, he just let out a quiet sigh and nodded.

"Fine."

Est nodded in return, pulling a chair out next to William and sitting beside him. He opened the first page of the exam and pointed to a question that had been marked wrong. "Let's start here. You got this one wrong about inertia—do you remember what inertia is?"

William shrugged. "It's like... when something keeps moving, right?"

Est smiled faintly, though there was still a weariness in his eyes. "Kind of. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. So if something's moving, it'll keep moving unless an outside force acts on it, and if something's at rest, it'll stay at rest."

William nodded, listening more intently than Est had expected. He wasn't fighting it this time, wasn't throwing up his usual walls. Est felt a small flicker of hope, though he was careful not to let it grow too much. They still had a long way to go.

"Okay, so let's work through this problem again," Est continued, pointing to the question. "This one's asking about the forces acting on a car. Can you walk me through it?"

William frowned at the page, clearly struggling to remember the details. But instead of giving up, he leaned forward and began to talk through the question, albeit hesitantly. Est guided him patiently, offering explanations where needed and encouraging him to think critically about the answers.

They worked through the rest of the exam together, one question at a time. Est could see the effort William was putting in, and while the younger boy wasn't enthusiastic, he wasn't completely checked out either. It was something, and for Est, that was enough for now.

As they reached the final question, William slumped back in his chair, clearly tired. "I hate this," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Est chuckled softly. "I know you do. But it's important. You don't have to love it, William, but you do have to try."

William didn't respond right away, his gaze focused on the now-corrected exam in front of him. He could feel Est's eyes on him, waiting for something—for any sign that he understood how much Est cared. And though he wouldn't admit it, he did understand. He just didn't know how to show it.

"Thanks," William mumbled after a long pause, his voice quieter than usual.

Est glanced at him, surprised by the rare moment of gratitude. He smiled softly, his frustration ebbing away for the moment. "You're welcome."

The room fell into a comfortable silence after that, the tension easing as they both sat quietly. Est knew that this wasn't a solution, that William's struggles weren't going to be fixed overnight. But it was a start—a small step in the right direction.