𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿

53.. hysterical and useless

Bea left the room, the door shutting behind her with a soft thud.

The room fell into a comfortable silence as the girls continued to settle in, the only sounds being the rustling of bedding and soft murmurs of conversation.

After a few moments, Thèrèse broke the silence.

"You know, I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. We finally have a safe place to sleep. No Cranks out there trying to eat us, no worrying about the next meal. Maybe we can finally catch a break."

As Bea walked down the hallway towards the bathroom, she passed a corner and came face-to-face with Will.

The boy's eyes widened slightly in surprise at her sudden appearance.

Will gave her a sarcastic grin. "Well, well, if it isn't the smart one. Heading to the bathroom all alone? You sure you can handle it?"

Bea stopped. "Uh, you are?"

Will's smirk widened. "The name's Will. I'm one of Casper's men. And you're... one of the new girls, right?"

Bea nodded, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets.

Will studied her for a moment, his gaze traveling up and down her form. "You don't really fit the image of the typical Right Arm grunt. Too soft looking. What are you, the token female for the group or something?"

Bea huffed, scowling before walking away. She doesn't have time for this. She needs to pee.

Will watched her walk away, his smirk still plastered on his face. "Hey, wait up!" he called out after her, amused by her reaction. "I was just kidding. No need to get all grumpy."

Bea didn't even respond, going straight into the girls' bathroom. It's not like he can come in there.

Will chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Feisty one, isn't she?"

He stood outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall in a casual manner. He waited, his smirk never leaving his face.

Bea waited for ten minutes, expecting him to be gone before walking out the bathroom casually.

As she finally opened the bathroom door, she found Will still standing there, looking relaxed as ever. His smirk widened as he saw her exit.

"Well, that took a while. Hoping I'd get bored and leave, huh?"

Bea left.

Will chuckled, enjoying the fact that he was getting under her skin. "Oh, come on, don't be like that. I was just having a little fun."

He pushed himself off the wall and fell into step beside her, walking down the hallway as if they were old friends catching up.

Bea did her best to ignore him as they walked down the hallway, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with him sauntering next to her, wearing that insufferable smirk.

Will continued to speak, clearly enjoying the fact that he was annoying her.

"You know, you really should learn to lighten up a bit. The world's gone to hell, and we could all use a good laugh every now and then. Especially a pretty little thing like you."

Bea didn't even bother to speak to him. He made rude comments about her sick little sister, threatened her friends. Yeah, not her type of men. She shoved her hands back into her jacket pockets.

Will seemed unfazed by her lack of response. He had pegged her as the quiet, bookish type and was determined to tease her out of her shell.

"Geez, you're really stoic, aren't you? Can't even crack a smile, huh? I bet you were the teacher's pet growing up. Always raising your hand to answer the question, always following the rules. A real good little girl."