Avalon High (BXB)

8: Will Is King Arthur?

I'm at another football game, sitting next to Miles again, as the girls are cheering. "We're number one, you're number two. We're gonna beat the socks off you." They say, as we all cheer and clap for the Knights. "No one thought it was possible, but the Crusaders have just tied the game up. We're even at fourteen, late in the fourth quarter." The announcer says, and I see the guys huddle up and break, and I hear Miles groaning, and I look at him, as he's having another one of those headaches. "Uh oh." He says, and I glance at the football players, and back to him. "What?" I ask. "That's gonna hurt." He says. "Ready! Down!" One of the players say. "Let's go, Will! Let's go, Will!" Jen exclaims. "Fifteen, thirty six, set, hut!" The player yells, as the guys start moving, everyone but Lance. "Oh, no. Shit." I say, and see Will throw the ball and gets tackled to the ground, as I gasp. "Wagner dropping back." Announcer says, and I see the other team Quarterback start running to the touchdown. "What a hit! Intercepted at the forty yard line. He's at the ten, the five." Announcer says, and he makes the touchdown. "Touchdown, Crusaders. I can't believe it." Announcer says, and I see the team and Lance running over to him, and Lance takes his helmet off, and Will stands up, taking his off, as it looks like they're arguing, and they walk to the sitting area, as Lance bows at Will. "Did Lance just bow at Will?" I ask, looking at Miles. "I don't know." He says, as we look back at Will, as he sits down. "The only chance the Knights have now, is for the defense to block the extra point, and run it back for a TD." Announcer says. "Go, Knights, Hold that line. Defense one more time! Go, Knights, Hold that line. Defense one more time!" The cheerleaders exclaim, and we see the Quarterback kick the ball into the goal. "The extra point is good!" Announcer says, as the other stand cheers, and I see Lance all angry. "No one thought it was possible, but the Knights have been upset by the Crusaders. With this loss, Will Wagner and his teammates have to beat the undefeated Dragons next week if they want a ticket to the state." Announcer says, and I see Lance walk over to Will, as Will throws his helmet down, and stands up, as Will shoves him onto the ground, and I stand up, and run down the bleachers, as they begin fighting. "And it looks like the teammates aren't so happy as they go one on one againsg each other. Wait, who's this interfering?" Announcer asks, as I see Will get punched in the face, hard, falling down, and I right hook Lance in the jaw, and kick him to the ground after dodging one of his hits by ducking like King Arthur, as he's groaning. "Leave Will the fuck alone." I say. "And it looks like whoever the kid is seems to have knocked down Lance. What a shot!" Announcer says, as I hold my right hand out for Will, and he takes it, and I pull him up. I'm walking back to the field with an ice bag in my right hand, as I see Will is on one of the benches, and see he turns to his left. "Hi, Will. Are you ok? I brought you an ice bag for your eye so you don't swell up and go blind." I say, and sit next to him, handing it to him, as he takes it with his right hand, and holds it over his right eye. "Not really. I'm pretty sure Lance let me get sacked on purpose and then purposely did it himself. He wanted me to get hurt. Hey, how the hell did you take him down, anyway?" He asks. "You, me, and the entire school wants to know. Probably learned in subconsciously while watching a King Arthur movie." I say, and he gives a light chuckle, putting his arm over my shoulders. "Here's the thing. And this isn't easy. I just.." I say, and get interrupted by Marco. "Hey there, jock. Way to take a hit like a bitch. Points for you though, for knocking Lance on his ass." He says, as we look at him. "Dude, get the hell out of here." Will says. "Can't. Your Dad said you would give me a lift." Marco says, and Will looks back to me. "Can I call you later? You can finish what you were going to tell me?" He asks, and I glance at Marco, and back to Will. "It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Looks like you hurt your arm, too?" I ask, and he nods. "Keep that ice on. Come on, I'll help you up." I say, putting my hands on his waist, and help him up, and we walk over to Marco. "Be an actual nice person for once and make sure he doesn't fall in the school parking lot." I say, as Will takes his arm off, and starts walking off. "You need to stop trying to seduce him with whatever your planning." He says. "Seducing? I'm not trying to seduce him, it's called being a friend." I say, and see Will almost fall, and run over to him, putting his right arm over my shoulders, and see Marco run over. "Know I'm only doing this because I don't plan on being grounded for leaving him in the street to get ran over." He says, putting Will's left arm over his shoulders, and we make it to his jeep, and I help Will get in. "Make sure he gets home safe. I mean it. Or you're gonna end up just like Lance." I say to Marco. "Whatever." He says, and drives off. I'm at home, as it's nighttime, and I'm sitting on my porch, thinking about all the shit that happened today, and hear a bell jingle from a bike, and look to my left to see Miles, as his bike has a light on it, and he gets off, putting the break on, as I sit up. "Miles? What are you doing here?" I ask, standing up, and walk over to him. "You need help." He says, taking his helmet off, walking over to me. "How do you know I need help?" I ask. "I just know, ok? Isn't that enough?" He asks, setting the helmet down in a chair, as it's in his right hand. "No, actually, it's not enough. How do you always know things are going to happen before they happen? Like the shoelaces, the ice, the stuff at the football game, showing up here. I think you knew about Jen and Lance before I did! What are you, psychic or something?" I ask. "Don't say that word, Arthur." He says. "It's ok, Miles. You can tell me." I say. "No, I can't. I can't tell anyone." He says. "I'm not just anyone. I'm your friend. If you tell me something, no matter what it is, I'm going to be there for you. Because that's what friends do." I say, smiling at nodding. "I just.. I'm already enough of a nerd, Arthur. The last thing I need is something else making me different." He says. "Sometimes being different is what makes is great." I say, and there's a long pause, as I smile, and he sighs. "Ok." He says, and takes his bag off, tossing it to the floor with his right hand, and sits in front of me. "So, I've been seeing things, like flashes of the future, ever since I was a little kid. Only now it's gotten stronger. Now it feels like I'm being hit in the head with a brick." He says. "And tonight? What happened to make you come here tonight?" I ask. "I saw myself sitting here with you, reading the book." He says. "Book? What book? The Order of the Bear?" I ask. "Yeah. It has a secret page." He says, and I stand up, running into my house. "What about seeing the past?" I ask. "What?" He asks. "When I first met will at the fountain in the park, I saw me holding a chalice in armor, handing him the water from getting it at a waterfall. And then track practice, the football team looked like Knights holding their swords together. And then he walked in and they all held shields. And then he gave me a rose, and I saw King Arthur's and Guinevere's Wedding." I say. "Maybe you're King Arthur." He says. "Hillarious. It's just from all the reading my parents made me do." I say. We're in my parents study, as he's opening a page with a small pocket knife in his right hand. "Watch out." He says, and I step back, as he slides the knife past the book, and turns the page, to as it is a secret page, and I gasp. "I've been through this book, like, a billion times. I never saw this." I say, grabbing the book, and turn it around, facing it to me. "Thanks, Miles." I say, and we smile at each other. "Oh, and I know you and Will kissed." He says. "Wow. Thanks." I say, and look at the new page. "The King returns again as what he looked like at the meeting of the Moon's shadowing and a million fall stars." I read, and look up at him. "What the hell does that mean?" I ask, and he shrugs. "Maybe the Moon's shadowing is an eclipse? And a million fallen stars.." I say, and he glances out the window. "A meteor shower?" He asks
"That's it! A meteor shower. So maybe King Arthur's return is when an eclipse and a meteor shower happen on the same day." I say, and he shakes his head. "No. It can't be. That only happens once, like, everyone one thousand years." He says. "Oh." I say, and look at the book again. "Hold on. Total eclipse, meteor shower. Ok, so it looks like every one thousand years is next Friday." He says, and I look up at him, as he's holding his phone in his right hand. "The night of the big game? No, it can't be." I say. "Maybe I read it wrong." He says, and looks back at his phone. "Let me see." I say, as I grab it with my right hand, reading the page to myself. "It's right here, in plain English! Eclipse! Meteor shower! Same day!" I exclaim, smiling, and look up at him. "Arthur is coming back." I say, nodding, and stand up, setting the phone down. "King Arthur is coming back." I say, and he smiles at me, and turns the book to him, flipping through the pages. "Beware Mordred, Arthur's half brother and sworn enemy who is tasked to destroy Arthur before he even knows himself to be a King." He reads. "Destroy Arthur? As in, permanently?" I ask. "No, Arthur. Just a lovely enchanted sleep." He says, sarcastically, and I grab the book after closing it, with both hands, and we start running to Dad's office, and sit down in front of him. "Dad, quick King Arthur question for you. It's for our research paper." I say, and give the book to Miles, without looking away from Dad. Ok. Say King Arthur did come back, and Mordred came back to destroy him. What would he do?" I ask. "Well, the legend said that Mordred would try to make Arthur's world fall apart. He would try to make Arthur lose faith in himself and his destiny, and he would cause infighting amongst Arthur's knights." Dad says. "And he would try to crush Arthur's spirit so completely, he would lose the will to go on." Mom says, as we all look at her. "Nice guy." Miles says. "I don't know how Mordred would do it today, but fifteen hundred years ago, he did it by telling Arthur that his wife Guinevere was in love with Lancelot. Mordred is also the child and half brother of King Arthur from Morgause. Arthur was so upset and betrayed.." Mom says, and I interrupt her. "He lost all faith, he didn't have the strength to go on. I know." I say. "What's up, kiddo?" Dad asks, as I look at him. "What you just said. It's happening. Its Will. Will is the reincarnation of King Arthur." I say. "I told you, Paul! It's really him! I knew it! I told you we were right to move here!" Mom exclaims, as I look at her. "Woah, wait! We moved here because of the prophecy?" I ask. "Uh, a little bit." She says. "And you already knew it was Will?" I ask. "I had a hunch. Which you just confirmed." Mom says, nodding. "Of course, we won't be sure until he wields Excalibur." She says. "And where is he supposed to get that?" I ask. "It says here any sword in King Arthur's hand becomes Excalibur." Miles says, as we look at him. "Pardon?" Dad asks. "Any sword in King Arthur's hand becomes Excalibur." Miles says. "I know." Dad says. "But I thought it was cool." Miles says. "Very cool." Mom says, as I look at her. "Now we just have to keep an eye out for Mordred." She says. "Oh, stop. This is ridiculous." Dad says, and we look at him. "Even if this were real, which it isn't, if Mordred was here, it'd be very hard to spot him. Unless, of course, Will has an evil step brother." Dad says, and laughs, and we give him a serious look. "I was kidding. Will has an evil step brother?" He asks. "Evil doesn't even begin to describe Marco." Miles says, as we look at him. "I need to do some research." Dad says, and stands up, walking off. "So that's why Marco, I mean, Mordred, didn't want me to tell Will about Jen and Lance! He wanted to be the one to ruin Will's life!" I exclaim. "Joan! I need you! I need thbr book about the thing." Dad says, running back in. "Don't worry, sweetie, we'll do some more research and do everything we can to help Will stay strong." Mom says. "Now would be good." Dad says. "Wait! I've been having flashbacks. Could I be Percival?" I ask. "I don't know, maybe." Mom says. "Marco said to stop trying to seduce his brother. I though Morgan Le Fey told about the affair." I say. "It's said she did." Dad says. "That's why Marco didn't want me saying anything." I exclaim, and see Mom and Dad run off, and I look at Miles. "I'm Morgan Le Fey. Wait.. then that means Marco isn't Mordred. Marco is protecting Will by pretending to be evil." I say.