Swell (Complete)

Chapter Forty-One (Part Two)

"I need to pull myself together,
If we're talking about forever,
Then this room just got a little bit smaller."

....

His fingers intertwined with Adora's as they stood on the dunes and looked out over the deep, blue ocean.
Dark grey clouds met the sea on the horizon and smatterings of lighter clouds floated towards the shore.
Fog.
It made him close his fingers around hers tighter, and she leaned into him.
"I love fog." She whispered gently.
"Why?"
"It keeps things muted."
"Things like what?" He leaned back and looked down at her with a frown, her eyes shimmered back at him.
"Will?" Suddenly they were shaking, the sand underneath them was sliding over the edge. "Will! Help!"
He struggled to find his footing as the shaking grew violent. Adora's screams were all he knew.
"Will?"

He jerked upright, his chest burning. A hand left his shoulder and he looked around his bedroom in confusion.
Marti.
No Adora.
"Are you OK?" Marti was wearing different clothes, why had she changed?
"Yea, I... Just a nightmare." He wiped his face and stifled a yawn.
"You've been asleep all night. Mum's left some breakfast for you, you have an hour before you need to be at your exam."
"What?"
He'd slept all night? He couldn't remember waking up from his nap. He couldn't remember dinner. Had everyone let him sleep right through?
Panic twisted his stomach as he remembered the last minute study session he had planned before bed.
He had slept through it. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"It's been such a hard time lately, you looked so exhausted yesterday, we decided to just let you sleep." Marti gave him a loving smile.
"We?"
"Yea, we're all worried about you, Will. Mum, Dad, Tom, even Adora sent me a text last night." Marti put a hand to his forehead and he frowned against her palm.
"An hour?"
"Yea." She ran her hand through his hair and tilted her head.
"Dammit." He gently pushed her off his mattress and flicked his covers off.
"I'm sorry, we all thought it would be better for you to get a good night's sleep." Marti stood in the middle of his room as he moved and started to put his guitar in his case.
"Yea, thanks, I know; love. But I have to hurry now." He closed the case and kissed her cheek. "Shower, food, cram session and then music. Wish me luck."
He left Marti in his room as he hurried down the hallway to the bathroom.
Will tried to ignore the pounding in his head as he sat at his desk and waited for the exam to start. He couldn't remember a time he had felt more anxious, trying to squeeze in a few minutes of study had only made him feel less prepared.

Tom had tried to reassure him, but it was easy for Tom to be flamboyant in business, he somehow had the shop smarts naturally.
Will saw too many options and got lost trying to follow them all at once.
He felt paralysed when the supervisor told the classroom it was time to begin.
He held the pen to the page and watched it tremble.

'Will! Help!'

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block Adora's screams from his head.
'Adora, please. Wait.' He begged silently. He couldn't focus on her now; he needed to focus on the questions.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Focus.

His hand was aching again, and he missed a few questions he had planned to go back over but time had run out.
Will sat outside in the overcast weather as recess filtered around him. He felt sick with fear of failure, sick with a lie to his twin that he'd done fine.
He had blanked on so many questions, and he hadn't finished.
He was due to go to the music rooms so they could rehearse before their assessment tomorrow, but he feared seeing Adora.
The worst of his exams was over, at least for six months.
He couldn't avoid Adora today, this was the last chance they had to get their songs right.
He dawdled to the music room and stopped outside the piano room. He could hear female voices inside and a count in before the piano started. He stood on his tiptoes and looked in through the small window. He saw Rae standing on one side of the upright piano, and Adora's legs up against a wall as she lay on the floor.
He lowered himself down and listened to the song outside the door.

"Be my friend,
Hold me,
Wrap me up.
Unfold me,
I am small,
I'm needy,
Warm me up...
And breathe me."

He felt his fists clench as he listened to the lyrics in Adora's voice. It was softer than he was used to hearing.
The violin echoed the melody and when the three girls mixed their instruments together it expanded in his chest.
"It's pretty awesome isn't it?" Kurt's hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped and smacked his elbow against the wood. The music beyond the door stopped and Will swore as he started to rub his elbow.
"Yea, it's sweet. What is it?" He asked, stepping back from the door as he heard the handle move and it pulled open.
"Breathe Me, by Sia." Kurt smiled and then looked into the room. "We're here ladies! Sorry Audrey, it's our turn now!" He jumped into the room and started to pull Rae out with a laugh.
Adora stood up and wiped herself down as if she had been in sand. "Morning, Will. How did your exam go?" She put a hand on the pianist's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "You've got them all down." She reassured the blonde girl before taking her bag and stepping out of the room.
"I should pass." Will answered as he followed Adora, Kurt and Rae into the bigger rehearsal room.
"Comforting." Adora gave him a tight smile and Will shoved his hands into his pockets after pulling the door closed.
Flashes of her face as she fell blinked before him and he clenched his jaw. Nightmares.
Just nightmares.
They weren't on a cliff, the sand wasn't falling out from underneath them, they were on solid ground, and she looked as tired as he felt.

The session with Audrey left her energy lacking, but Adora set up her microphone and tried to realign her thoughts.
The truth was that Breathe Me was one of the songs that had gotten her through her father's death, and now she was trying to figure out how she was going to get through Gus'.
An accident trying to save someone was a far cry from suicide and she'd been struggling with anger and grief and the healthy part of her had been grateful for her cousins staying so close.
The unhealthy part was itching at her scars.
Music with the band would be a welcome distraction if she could focus on their set list.
They played through smoothly several times, but she couldn't shake herself into the room. Rae and Kurt talked about the dance playfully between songs, she absently participated and tried not to let her eyes get stuck on Will.
Despite the ache from Gus' death, she still imagined going to the dance with him, and their shared loss made it hard to even fathom how she might have asked him.
The door to the room opened and everyone stopped as Dodge stepped in and gestured towards her.
Adora lowered the microphone and felt her body start to tremble. She knew that look on his face.
"Adora, we need to talk." He didn't even try and smile. All eyes moved to her and she put the microphone in the clip on it's stand.
She walked to the door and Dodge took her arm gently and stepped into the hallway.
"Is Mum alright? Iain?"
"Their fine." Dodge nodded.
"Brett? What?" Her voice shook and she felt her skin pinching.
Dodge bit his lip when she mentioned Brett and she felt her chest start to move faster.
"Oh no. Not Brett..."
"No. No, I'm sorry, I didn't..." Dodge wrapped her in his arms and she closed her eyes and just leaned into him.
"What is it, Dodge?"
"I just spoke to Tara, Gus didn't kill himself."

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A/N:

So, I just realised I've gotten over 10 chapters ahead of WattPad and I started writing the climax chapters this weekend! I am FREAKED!

Please let me know how you're enjoying (or not) the story!