Through Heaven or Hell (William Macbeth X Female Reader)

You're Late

Will lightly knocked on Mary's door, the newly-bought vase in his hands. He knew that he probably could've handed Mary the bouquet as it was and she would've been happy, but he wanted the flowers to live a little longer. He wanted to color to remain in Mary's room for a long, long time, long after Will himself was gone. Or maybe even...

No, he wouldn't accept that. Mary was definitely going to live longer than him. She, at least, could get medical help for her problem. Will, on the other hand, could not.

"Come in," came Mary's familiar, musical voice. The sound of it cut through Will's thoughts, putting them to rest.

Gently pushing the door open, Will presented the flowers in lieu of a greeting.

Mary gasped happily, clapping her hands lightly. "Black, you shouldn't have!" A delighted expression filled her face.

Will smiled at his sister's response. "So I guess that means that I did something right?" For once, he added silently, cynically.

"Of course you did!" Mary exclaimed happily, She reached out and lightly caressed one of the flower's petals. A gentle look of peace and happiness filled her face. "When have you done anything wrong?"

She took this moment to glance up at her brother, a smile on her face.

He looked away, unable to look her in the face as he thought of all the things he had done.

Everything, he wanted to scream. I've never done anything right! Never! He wanted to scream the words until he lost his voice and then he'd scream some more. He'd scream until he was coughing up blood. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he just wanted to jump off a building and splatter against the ground.

I've deserved death from the beginning! You're the one that should be saved! You're the light and I'm the darkness. I need to die!

But he swallowed his feelings and pasted a smile on his face. "Thanks."

Mary hummed quietly and brushed her hair from her face. "Anyway, why were you late?"

Will startled slightly at the words. He looked back to see Mary's piercing green eyes on him, watching him carefully. "Huh?"

"You were late." There seemed to be a worried edge to her voice. "Did... something happen?"

Silent, he wondered what she meant by that. What did that 'something' mean?

"Oh!" he exclaimed as he understood. She meant if he had lost control - if the monster inside him had taken over. "No, nothing like that. I just ran into somebody I knew and got sidetracked. That and it took a while to get the flowers themselves."

Mary leaned back slightly, staring up at Will. "Why would it take so long to get the flowers?"

"Uh... " Will tried to remember why exactly it took so long. "Well, they, uh, each have a specific meaning and it just took a while for the owner to find them." He shrugged.

"Really? What do they all mean?" She gave him a fascinated look, curiosity bright in her eyes.

He stared at the mass of flowers and racked his brain for the meanings. "I, um... well, I sort of forgot. They all mean comfort and strength or whatever." His eyes paused on that pale, pale pink flower. He reached out and touched it lightly, the petals' coolness spreading over his finger. "The peonies... they mean healing," he added quietly.

(Y/N)'s favorite flower, he thought, a warm glow spreading through him as he thought of the vibrant girl.

Mary regarded Will with a considering look on her face. She was clearly trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Do those mean anything to you?" she finally asked, meeting her brother's eyes. "I mean, other than healing - I know what they mean in that sense. I also know that your favorite flowers aren't peonies." She raised a brow, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Will froze at his sister's words. He knew Mary didn't exactly like (Y/N) - she probably couldn't get over the fact that (Y/N) got to spend more time with Leo than she did - so he knew that he shouldn't tell her. But he couldn't think of a realistic lie.

He settled for just telling a vague truth. Hopefully Mary wouldn't read too far into it.

"I-it was just some c-cute girl's favorite flower. I'm just th-thinking of how she reacted when she s-saw them." Will cringed at his stammering and his poor explanation. It was too specific. There was no way that his sister didn't notice both his stutter and his story. He could feel his cheeks going red in embarrassment.

Mary narrowed her eyes slightly. "It was (Y/N), wasn't it?"

His face went even redder. How could she tell so quickly? Oh God, she just went straight in for the kill!

"N-n-no," he stammered unconvincingly.

"You're lying." Her face relaxed slightly as she gave a soft chuckle. "Calm down, Black. (Y/N) seems like a nice girl."

Will was taken aback. She seemed to have changed her mind about (Y/N) so quickly! He wondered what had happened to make her like the crazy girl.

Then her face grew mischievous. "And you think she's cute!" She leaned forward, cupping her chin in her hand, a grin tilting her lips upward. "That's so sweet!"

Sighing, he hid his face in his hands. "Oh, shut up," he muttered, feeling embarrassment settle in his stomach like a weight.

"For the record, I think she thinks that you're a sweetheart too." There was a note of laughter in her voice.

"No she doesn't," Will groaned into his hands. He tried to ignore the pang of sadness at the thought of not being close to (Y/N). "She just thinks I'm weird."

A loud laugh startled him from his pity party. Looking up, he saw Mary shaking her head as if she had just been told a stupid joke.

"You're kidding, right?" she finally said after she had calmed considerably. She grinned at her brother like she knew something he didn't. "Didn't you notice? She clearly likes you back."

Will scoffed, but he couldn't quench the small ray of hope that slipped in through the cracks. "She wouldn't do that. She's not that stupid."

Oh please, please, let it be true.

"Oh, shut up, Black. She is blatantly flirting with you. You're just too blind to see that." She lightly tapped the rim of his black, wire-framed glasses, making her point.

Rolling his eyes, Will looked past Mary and stared out the window. The sky was choked with dark gray clouds. It felt like Will's mind, like his emotions, his depression.

"Looks like it's going to rain," Will commented lightly. He was clearly trying to change the subject and Mary knew it.

She sighed, but she still played along. "It does, doesn't it? I bet you wish you brought an umbrella." She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. Glancing out the window, a small frown filled her face. "It seems like it's always about to rain lately. I wonder why?"

"That's a good question," Will replied with a faint smile on his face. Even as he said it, however, he felt dread fill him, like a weight in his stomach. He knew that this weather didn't mean anything good was coming. As of late, he could feel Despair stirring even more than normal.

In the back of his mind, he could practically hear what Despair was thinking.

Soon...

(A/N): I almost forgot to post this aahhhh. I'm so sorry! I got like no sleep last night and... ugh.

Anyway! I hope this was good! I'm honestly getting excited for what comes next! All right, I'll see you later!