Sweet Charlotte

「 eleven: wistful workings 」

Their interaction at school the next day was vastly different.

After a hefty scolding from his parents about skipping school and being out all night — apparently they had noticed that his was car missing — school the next day was obligatory for both Seth and Willow. Luckily for them, however, they didn't mind.

Truthfully, while Willow wasn't remotely looking forward to returning to school, Seth was. He was curious about what his dynamic with Willow was now. More so, and less excitedly, he wondered if people were going to see her differently after her collapse.

He shouldn't have been surprised that he was in for stark disappointment.

Nobody in their math class batted an eye when Willow walked in at normal time, positioning herself in her seat as if nothing happened.

Class passed by fairly normally and Browning, now having returning from her day off, was back teaching the class. Seth had to assume she'd been filled in on the classroom's incident from the day prior, as she pulled Willow aside at the end of class to 'check up on her.'

It made Seth wonder if all the staff knew about her illness. How many of them needed to know? More importantly, how many of them did Willow want to know? She seemed fairly quiet and to herself, and even when she had been berated by him she still kept her lips sealed. She didn't actually tell him what was going on until she needed to, and at that point he'd already figured it out.

He passed her in the hall as he and his crew started toward the back of school — the 'cool' spot to eat. As he passed her, he smiled faintly waved. She just smiled, adjusting her book bag, pulling her jacket tighter around her, and continuing to her normal eating area.

"You know her?" One of his buddies asked.

He smirked and rubbed his hands together passively. "Yeah, you could say that."

While generating the intrigue of his team thanks to Willow was fun, what he didn't expect was for Willow to use his team to generate intrigue back. As they were coming back from lunch, Seth making a mental note to check in with Willow about their next session when he spotted a figure at her locker — one that he recognized.

It was already strange enough to see Willow openly socializing at school, as it was clear to everyone who knew her that she was really only there to get her diploma and get out. So, who was it that she was speaking with at her locker? And more importantly, why did Seth recognize him? As he drew closer, as he could see who it was, and felt his pace grow suspiciously slow.

Aeron Jackson, one of the younger members on the team — and one of the cockiest nonetheless — had been benched a few games ago for smack-talking the referees and threatening to fight other players from the sidelines. He seldom got to actually play as the coaches assumed he was too much of a liability. According to them, he couldn't be kicked off the team for 'being a jackass,' so they were all just stuck with him. Now, here he was, standing at Willow's locker.

His swooped black hair made Seth cringe. It reminded him of the rebellious phase he himself had gone through in middle school, but that Aeron was still trapped in. Given by his pierced ear and the tattoo on the back of his neck that said "tolerate," Seth knew he was right.

When Aeron first approached, Willow was equally surprised as Seth was.

"Long time no see," he said, propping himself against the locker to her left. Luckily for her, given the way her locker was opened, she couldn't see his face, and thank God. She didn't want him to see the horrified ways her eyes widened as she recognized him.

Bitterly, she slammed her door shut. "Yeah." She responded, hoping her curtness got the point across.

"It's nice to see you back," he prompts, trying to probe conversation out of her.