My best love was chocolate. But then you came along

The gates of sweetness

"Daddy, why can't we go in?" A girl with brown hair, Veruca Salt, inquired.
"It's 9:59 dear." Replied her father.
"Make time go faster." The nerve of this girl. I rolled my eyes and whispered to Charlie,
"Be nice to them. Just not too nice." He grinned in response. I glanced back at Mr and Mrs. Bucket standing in the crowd with Grandpa Joe. They all smiled and nodded their heads encouragingly to me. Just then, the gates opened and some speakers called out,
"Please, come in." That voice. I knew that voice. Grasping Charlie's hand, I calmly walked through the gates. The other children practically ran inside.
"Walk forward." We did as we were told as the speaker talked on. My gaze, however, was on the doors. What lay beyond? What does it hold? Would it-
I was startled out of my daze by the door sliding away to reveal a red curtain. This proceeded to reveal a contraption of dolls dressed as cooks and bakers and they all started singing. It was quite catchy and I found myself tapping my foot to the beat. Then something went wrong and everything went... creepy. I particularly didn't like it when a dolls eye fell from its face. I heard the sound of clapping,
"Wasn't that magnificent? I was worried about that middle part, but that finale... wow!" I turned to see,
"William!" As soon as he saw me, William became very flustered.
"H-hello (Y/N)." He said nervously.
"You know each other?" Asked Charlie. I studied William for a moment, then smiled,
"Yes, I know him. I didn't know that he was Willy Wonka." I confirmed. I looked at Willy, about to say more, but Veruca interrupted.
"Then shouldn't you be up there?"
"Well I couldn't watch the show from up there now, could I little girl?" Willy responded. He stood there nervously, awkwardly trying to remember what to do,
"Good morning, star shine, the earth says hello!" He said, smile fading. He glanced anxiously at me and I gave him a reassuring smile. He pulled out some flash cards,
"Good morning, dear children! Welcome to my factory. I am Willy Wonka; I shake you warmly by the hand." He almost stuck out his hand, then pulled it back with a grimace as he caught sight of Violet smacking her gum.
"Come along, let us start the tour." He turned on his heel and went through the charred remains of the contraption.
"Don't you vant to know our names?" Questioned Augustus.
"Don't see how it matters, just drop your coats anywhere." He said as he walked through, dropping his own to the floor.
"(Y/N)." Said Charlie.
"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze.
"You're humming the song." He stated. I groaned,
"Its so darn catchy." I didn't notice the slight smile on Willy's face as he glanced back at me.
"Its quite warm in here." Mr. Teevee remarked.
"What? Oh yes, my workers are from a very warm climate- they just can't stand the cold." My brow creased at this. Could he? No he couldn't, but maybe...
Violet, out of nowhere, grabbed Willy in a tight hug. He gasped and recoiled into himself at the touch. She drew away and smiled, clamping that disgusting chewing gum of hers,
"Mr. Wonka, I'm Violet Beauregarde." She smiled as charmingly as she could at him.
"Oh?" Willy squeaked, "I don't care."
"Well you should care, cause I'm the kid who's going to win the special prize at the end." Violet snobbilly replied.
"Well you do seem confident and confidence is key."
Veruca stepped in front of Willy and he froze, like he was expecting another hug.
"Mr. Wonka, I'm Veruca Salt, very nice to meet you sir." She gave a toothy smile and a curtsey.
"I thought a veruca was a type of wart you got on the bottom of your foot." Willy giggled. I let out a snort of laughter; just noticing his eyes dart over to me with a smirk on his lips.
I liked him a lot more now.
Willy started forward before being stopped once again by a fat boy stuffing his face with chocolate,
"I'm Augustus Gloop, I luv your chocolate!" He said with a German accent. Willy seemed to try and hide his disgust as his eyes flicked over the boy's frame.
"Oh really? So do I. I never knew we had so much in common." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He then decided to save himself some time and turned 180 degrees to Mike,
"You. You're Mike Teevee; you're the little devil that cracked the system. And you." He turned to Charlie, paused, and said, "Well you're just lucky to be here aren't you." He suddenly seemed confused as he looked at me.
"Oh, I'm his sister." I smiled. He visibly relaxed and gazed into my eyes. I stared back, admiring the deep purple colour of his orbs. They were so... beautiful...
We must have lost ourselves a bit as someone cleared their throat.
"Oh, and you all must be their p-p" he seemed to struggle with himself to form the words.
"Parents?" Mr. Salt said helpfully.
"Yeah, moms and dads..." Willy drifted off. Poor man, he must be having a flashback. Stepping closer after a few moments, I lightly touched his shoulder with my finger. To my relief he didn't tense or jerk away. He just looked at me and I smiled gently at him, gesturing for him to continue the tour. He flashed me a grateful smile before finally walking forward more than a few steps. That's when I noticed Mrs. Beauregarde glaring at me.

Another chapter done! Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate you doing so!