Opposites Attract

Will Finally Gets It

Getting home, I realised it was probably high time I spoke to Will about a few things. So with a quick hello to Mum and Dad, I headed upstairs, got changed for work and then walked across the landing to Will's room.

The door was slightly ajar, but I knocked anyway.

"Come in."

I wandered in and he was busy fluffing the pillows on his bed and smoothing out the sheets. His weights were all stacked neatly against a wall and all his school work was stowed away (albeit scruffily shoved in his rucksack which was hiding under the desk). Regardless, I hadn't seen his room this tidy in years! When he turned around and saw it was me, he paled slightly.

"I thought you weren't talking to me," he mumbled.

"I wasn't. And I'm going to tell you why."

"Can you make it reasonably quick, only Gwen will be here in five minutes for tutoring," he said.

I rolled my eyes, sitting down on his bed and taking delight to the way his smooth masterpiece was now creased and crumpled where I sat.

"That's exactly my point, actually, Will," I said.

"What is? Gwen tutoring me is why you're not speaking to me?"

"No, how you've been treating the rest of your friends because Gwen is, airquotes, tutoring you is why I'm not speaking to you."

"I don't follow. At all."

"Will, when's the last time you spoke to Ethan, or Magenta?"

"Erm, I don't know? Like in Hero Support class? I don't really know them, Rosie."

"Okay, when's the last time you spoke to Zach? We've known him for a good few years."

"Erm-"

"And when's the last time you spoke to Layla? Layla, who we've been friends with since we were like a year old. Our best friend. When's the last time you spoke to her, Will? Like actually spoke to her, not at her about Gwen Grayson?"

"Well, I-"

"Will you've just completely ditched all your friends, all your real friends, since getting Hero status. You don't sit with them at lunch anymore, you don't talk to them in the corridors, hell the only reason you probably speak to them on the bus is because Gwen's not on it. Even then you speak about her. You don't know how anybody is; not Zach, not Layla, not even me. And you keep ditching poor Layla!"

"I only did that once."

"Will we both know you've done it more than once, but you shouldn't have done it at all! Layla is your best friend! She's heartbroken that you dropped her as quickly as you did! It's not fair, Will- you're not acting in the right way, and you've really upset people, Layla in particular."

He fell silent, then he sighed and sat next to me on the bed.

"It's just that I'm always with Gwen because we're in every class together, and after the first couple of times she dragged me past your table at lunch, I just sort of went with it. They'd make all these comments about the guys only being sidekicks if I mentioned sitting with you."

I sighed; "Will can't you see they're trying to drag you away from your friends?"

He looked at the floor.

"Will, you mean so much to everyone, Layla especially."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because it's true!"