Willard Hewitt x Reader

Cowboy Hats and Church Pews

I sighed as I opened the passenger door of my grandfathers old chevy, helping my petite grandma out of the car. She smiled up at me as I collected her purse from the backseat. "y/n dear! My coat please! It's awful cold." I smiled out of sympathy as I collected her coat off her seat and helped her put it on. She held my arm as I guided her up the battered sidewalk, getting my first look up close at the old church. the reddish-orange bricks seemed to be faded from years of heat, bleaching the sides building. Stained glass windows depicting the virgin Mary and Jesus himself shone beautifully against the glare of the hot Oklahoma sun. "Reverend Moore!" My grandmothers voice rang out to greet the man standing at the door to the church. "Ah, Mrs. l/n! Is this your granddaughter?" His voice was too happy, and rather annoying if I was being honest. "Why yes! y/n, This is Reverend Moore. You met him once when you were very small."  You politely smiled at the man and offered him your hand to shake.   "y/n, y/n l/n." He smiled and ushered you inside. I helped my grandmother take a seat near the rest of the older generation so she could catch up with her friends. Once she was finished showing me off with pride in her eyes, I took my chance to remove my jacket and placed it on the pew we were going to sit on. I scanned the room to find a goofy looking boy in an atrocious cowboy hat staring at me. He was certainly a sight for sore eyes, and I quickly found myself feeling rather warm. As an excuse to look away, I found myself fidgeting with the long sleeves of my shirt. When I decided to look up again he was still staring, which earned a punch to the shoulder from the laughing dirty blonde beside him. It looked like they were about to full on fight before the reverend walked past, giving them a stern look.  As he made his way to the podium atop the stage, I helped my grandmother sit and handed her a bible. i had always attended Church, since i was old enough to stay focused and sit still for long amounts of time. i had heard all of the stories, and even read the bible more than once but now, it's hard sitting through the same routine every Sunday. I began to stray away from listening and became more dependent on daydreaming. Before I knew it, church was over and my grandma was grabbing my attention. "y/n!" I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow "Why don't you go make some friends with the other young folks? Betty and I are going to go down to the diner to have lunch with some old friends." I forced a small smile to hide my worry of fitting in at this new, but exciting environment and nodded. "I'll be home 'round five, and then i'll fix you some dinner. Betty is going to drop me home afterwards. Be good." She pulled my face down to plant a kiss on my cheek and wobbled away.  I slid on my jacket, and adjusted the zipper just below my collarbone before I looked over at that boy and his friends again. To my surprise, the dirty blonde from before was shoving him in my direction. When he was finally close enough to make it clear they were truly here for me, I gave the brunette a strange look. His friend mumbled something to him in a hushed tone I couldn't quite hear and then wandered back to his other friends.  When I turned my attention back to the cowboy hat weirdo, he was staring with fear laced in his eyes. I snorted and couldn't help but smile a little, "i'm y/n, And you are?" He quickly straightened out his hat before holding his hand out to me. "Willard Hewitt." I gently shook his hand and smiled at him. "You know, staring at girls usually makes them uncomfortable." He froze up a little before nodding slightly, "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to spook you or anything." He scratched at the back of his neck, clearly nervous. "Don't worry about it, i'm just picking on you." He rolled his eyes at me in response, "what's with everyone and picking on me lately? I'll give you a free pass 'cause you're new around here." I nodded once, "appreciated."  His friend had returned to interrupt our pleasantries, "You gonna ask her to come with us or what? We're tired of watching you choke on air." Willard looked at the other boy as if he was going to kill him. "Jesus Ren, I was getting to that." The other boy elbowed past him and held his hand out to me. "Ren McCormack. Sorry about the hick, he couldn't talk to a woman if his life depended on it." I let out a light laugh and shrugged a bit. "I think he was doing just fine personally." Willard put his hand across Rens face and shoved him away again. "Anyways, me and a few friends were gonna head down to this neat quad trail. Figured you might wanna come along?" I placed a hand thoughtfully on my face as if I were in deep thought. "Hmm." I peeked over to see him looking a bit worried, as if I were about to say no. "I'm just messing with you, I don't have anywhere i'd rather be right now."  Willard quite literally sprinted back to his friends and I laughed as he jumped into the group with excitement "She totally said yes! I told you man!" Ren gave him a congratulatory pat on the back as I made my way over. Willard's voice was heavy with excitement, "can you believe it? I can't believe that worked!" He was jumping around again and swiftly bumped into me. "Oh jeez i'm sorry!" He seemed to be checking me over as if he had hurt me. "You're really weird you know that? Its lucky you're so cute." I flicked the brim of his hat and followed Ren outside, leaving him there to sort out the thick blush that feathered his cheeks.  Ren leaned against what had to be the ugliest car I had ever seen, which oddly suited him before he spoke. "You drive?" I nodded and he nodded back. "That works out great. Woody, Ariel, and Travis. You're with me. Think you can handle Willard for the 30 minute drive?" I glanced over my shoulder at him, then back to Ren. "Seems to me like he'd be too scared to try anything anyways." He quickly jumped to his own defense. "Hey! I'm not scared! I'm being gentle alright!" I laughed and grabbed his wrist pulling him in the direction of the chevy i had arrived in. "Sure, whatever you say baby face. We'll follow you out Ren." When I was sure he wouldn't freeze up again I let go of his hand to pull my keys out of my pocket. "i don't mean this to be offensive in any way, but i would much appreciate it if you wiped off your boots before you got it. Gram just got it cleaned and i'd never hear the end of it if i returned with her car a muddy mess." He nodded seeming to understand and got in seconds after I did, wiping his shoes in the grass beside us in the process. I started the engine and popped a CD into the stereo as Ren started his car and took off.  I was quick to follow as Denise Williams blasted out of my speakers. Willard seemed to be on the lookout for something as I sped after Ren. It wasn't too long before I noticed Ren off in the distance, I guess he wanted to race. "You better buckle up cowboy, the chevy has a habit of drifting all on its own." He clicked his seatbelt on and gave me a warning look. "You're not actually going to race a beetle are you? You'll crush it." I shrugged and shifted gears. "Hey, he started it." the car made a nasty noise as it shifted into gear and we were off, I calculated the distance between Ren and I and formulated a plan. He had too big of a lead, if we were going to win this i'd have to pull out the big guns.  I shifted again and hoped for the best as distance started to close along the long stretch of the highway, dirt kicking up between us. "Hang on tight, I doubt you country kids use nitro." I flicked the switch and was immediately thrown against my seat, I think I might have heard Willard yelp over the sound of the engine. It wasn't long before Ren was eating our dust and I flicked the switch off. "You know, I didn't really think that through." i said as I looked over at Willard. he responded, "Oh yeah? Apart from the fact you could've crashed or something?" I rolled my eyes, "yeah, give me some directions." I demanded. "Turn onto range road 42, you've still got a good 5 clicks." I nodded and opened the glove box. "Flick through the Cd's if you want." He fixed his hat and nodded before inspecting my music collection. "You've got surprisingly good taste. We all figured that you'd be into the weird shit the rest of your family seems to listen to." I mocked offense. "Hey! Leave my Aunt Carol out of this! She's always been into gospel." He threw his hands up "Alright, alright."  I turned onto the range road and followed Wills expert directions right up to a cute little farm house and shut off the chevy. Willard got out and rushed to open my door for me. I thanked him and took a good look around before a dog came thundering towards us, barking the whole way. "Oi, Dee calm down before you scare the poor girl!" Willard was quickly knocked to the ground by the massive dog as it licked his face and showered him with affection. "Alright, enough now, you're drooling all over me! Go mess with someone else!" The dog seemed to listen to him well and let him up, and I started to wonder if this was his house. Will dusted himself off and held his hand out to me. "Cmon, quads are this way. Ren'll be here anytime now. his car doesn't quite match your speed yet." I blushed a little as I took his hand and let him lead me deeper onto the property.  We wandered into a pretty huge shed to reveal 3 quads, I finally brought up the courage to speak. "So, is it safe to assume this is where you live?" He smirked at me, "the shed? No. I live in the house." I scoffed and smiled, "haha, very funny." He shrugged and let go of my hand, reaching onto one of the ledges and grabbing a few sets of keys. "I try, take your pick. We're gonna have to double up thanks to Travis and Woody." I nodded inspecting the quads. "I think i'll just stick with you if that's alright." He shuffled in behind me, brushing against me lightly. "Fine by me." He leaned over me to stick the keys in the quad I was looking at. "This one's mine." I nodded and turned to look at him, not realising how close we really were. It should also be noted, I hadn't really realised he was as tall as he is either. He sheepishly smiled at me, glancing from my lips back to my eyes a few times. I sheepishly stared back.  "Well! What do we have here?" We both jumped back and Willard managed to trip on the jerry can. "Jesus Ren, do you mind?" Woody and Travis were nearly pissing themselves from laughing so hard as they brought the full jerry cans over to the quads. "Not at all" He helped Willard up and snatched a set of keys from him as Ariel inched her way over to me.  I gave her a strange steady look as she asked me if I was actually into Willard. "Well, I think he's very handsome, if that's what you mean." we had stepped outside to let the boys do their thing with the quads. "Just, don't lead him on alright? He doesn't deserve that." I glared at her a bit, "what kind of a person do you think I am?" She stood a little taller and her voice was thick with authority. "I'm just looking out for my friends, alright?" I nodded once, "valid point. I'll be sure to update you if my feelings change in any way sheriff." She playfully rolled her eyes at me and gave me a nudge as Willard backed his quad out, Followed by Ren on another, and Woody and Travis on the last one. "Hop on n/n, I won't bite." Willards accent rang out thick while using the newfound nickname. I found myself a little nervous as I swung my leg over the machine.  Sure, I'd been quadding a few times back home. But it was always with my brother, and I was always wearing gear. I placed my hands on either side behind me and waited for Willard to start driving, but he didn't. "You're gonna want to hang on. I don't know if you've ever been quadding, but we like to get a little wild out here." I gently wrapped my arms around him loosely. "Oh, Right.." He was laughing rather loudly now, pleased to have this affect on me, He swiftly grabbed both of my wrists and pulled them tightening my grip on him as he rested my hands around his stomach. I barely had time to admire how firm the muscles beneath my hands were before he pulled out, earning a squeak from me. Ren and the others were quick to follow, and before I knew it the trees were flying past us.  We had to slow down once the trees got thicker, and the speed competition that seemed to be going on between Travis and Willard was forced to a stop. Willard seemed to be enjoying himself, regardless of not speaking a word. I admired the comfortable silence between us. While we continued on at a comfortable pace, i rested my forehead against Willard back as he drove, Travis and Woody directly behind us, Ren and Ariel taking up the rear. Before long, we reached a break in the trees and everyone stopped to take in the sights for a few moments.  The clearing was filled with lush, deep green grass and a few bushes. As it made its decline, forming a small slope the grass became patchy and thin. The sand from the Lake was beautifully pale, a small campsite remained from what I presume was another gathering much like this. Willard was the first to make the trip down with the quad after instructing me to hang on tightly.  The others quickly joined us, and we all got off to just sit and relax for awhile. Travis and Woody Pulled a few 6 packs out of the storage compartment of the quad they were using while Ren wandered into a pretty run down shed and grabbed some fire wood and a flint. I realised that we'd been quadding for quite a long time. "I'll be right back, i'm just gonna let my nanna know i'll be home a bit late." Willard nodded and gave me a thumbs up before going to the shed with Travis to pull some blankets and such out for everyone.  I stepped away, closer to the water to make my call. My cellphone didnt ring for long before my grandmother picked up. "y/n! You're still out?" My grandmother sounded worried and I immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry I lost track of time, i'm gonna be home a bit late tonight. Is that alright?" She let out a soft sigh of relief. "Not that I mind too much, But who are you with?" Tired of pacing, I sat on a boulder along the shoreline. "Willard Hewitt, Ren McCormack, Ariel Moore, and two of their friends." I hoped she didn't have any objections to my company, as I was really enjoying myself. "Hmm, the Hewitt boy is a real fine young man. I know his parents well. Wish I could say the same for the other four." her voice seemed to darken a bit. "We're on the Hewitts land, don't worry, first sign of trouble, i'll come right home." She finally agreed and I made my way back to the group.  When I returned, a bright fire was burning and drinks were being passed around. "There she is!" Ariel sounded relieved to see me. "What? I wasn't gone that long." She smiled at me. "Your rite of passage." She said, holding out a can of beer. "Oh, I really shouldn't, I don't drink." She quickly stood up from her trophy wife position next to Ren and joined me by the shed. "Don't be boring. You've gotta have at least a few drinks." I sighed and scoffed to her requests still taking the beverage. i pretended to take a a couple swigs and dumped a few ounces of the rotten liquid on the ground. Willard came out of the shed with a blanket around his shoulders and a portable stereo in his hands.  Willard smiled at me before he spoke, his tone soft and sweet. "There you are." I smiled and sheepishly . He lead me to a dark blue blanket he had previously set out. We all sat around the fire talking and joking as the sun set, not long after it made its decline I had regretted leaving my jacket back in the car. Willard was quick to notice my shivering and scooted closer. I held my breath as he wrapped half of the blankets along my back and over my shoulder. "Thank-you." I whispered, hoping that Ren wouldn't ruin the moment.  My sweet warmth had been disrupted not long after it arrived when Travis decided that the song playing was too good not to dance to. Before I knew it everyone was dancing but me. It's not that I didn't want to, i just didn't know how. Willard danced his way over to me and grabbed the ends of the blankets that hung off my shoulders. He pulled me a little closer and started swaying to the song I previously hadn't been paying attention to. "Dance with us, with me." I stumbled a bit and placed a hand on his chest to steady myself. "I'm really clumsy, I don't think that's such a good idea." He adjusted his hat for the millionth time today and smirked down at me. "I see what this is, y/n doesn't know how to dance!" I glared daggers at him before jumping to my own defense, "no need to put me on the spot like that, cowboy!" It was Ariels turn to bother me now, she practically skipped over at the opportunity to test my limits. "Fine, we'll play a little game instead!" her tone reached one of intense mischief and I wasn't sure I wanted to be a part of her next show. "I really am just enjoying the warmth of this blanket.."  "Nonsense!" Ariel gently removed the blanket and started pulling me towards all of the rocks along the shore. "I'm going to teach you how to dance, it's fun!" While she was this close, I quickly caught on that she had way too much to drink and smelled a lot like a cheap motel bar. Scared that if I pulled away, she'd fall over, I let her drag me along. Before I truly realised how high on the formation we had gotten, she started losing her balance. Ren had been calling for her trying to get her to stop messing around for the last 10 minutes. She leaned in really close and informed me that "Boys really liked it when girls got into dangerous situations sometimes."  Just as I was about to tell her how stupid that sounded, She lost her balance. It didn't take much for me to steady her, but in the process I tripped over my other foot and found myself slipping down the rock formation. Gravity was both a blessing and a curse, and in this exact moment it was a curse. I hit the ground with an audible thud which had Travis running towards me before Willard could even react.  "y/n, are you alright?" He held out a hand to help me up which I gratefully took. Willard helped to make sure I was steady whilst Ren and Woody were retrieving Ariel off of the rock formation.  I had started to walk my way back to the blankets completely oblivious to a gash along the side of my right leg. Willard quickly joined me telling Ren to just bring the quads back once the fire was out and taken care of before I was being guided to the quad. confused and distressed, i asked him what the commotion was. "Will? What's going on?" He asked me to sit down on one of the quads and looked at my leg worried as he collected a bottle of water from in the storage compartment. "I don't mean to alarm you, but you cut up your leg pretty bad." Confused, I looked from his focused features down to my leg as he poured water on it, attempting to clean it up and get a better look at it. "It's no good. It looks pretty deep. I can't patch you up down here, we're gonna have to head back to the house." He quickly peeled off the dark blue long sleeve he was wearing and tied it around the gash before hopping on the quad behind me. "Are you feeling alright?" He sounded even more concerned than before. "You haven't said a word." We were driving now, and I gently rested my head against his chest. "I feel fine, I don't feel it at all." I felt him roll his eyes playfully above me as he focused on getting us back to his house in one piece.  Before long the quad was shut off and slowly but surely, we walked into the bathroom of the house. i sat down on the counter as he began buzzing about grabbing the right supplies. I took this time to admire how fine he looked without a shirt on. I knew being a farm boy, he had to have some muscle to him, but this much was borderline ridiculous. I wasn't about to complain though, he looked like that handsome small town guy that no girl admits they want. My thoughts were swiftly interrupted by a stinging pain in my leg which caused me to scream a bit. "Ah, Ow, What the— that hurts!" He gave me a funny look. "You're fine huh? Try to be quiet. If my parents hear you they're gonna get the wrong idea." I nodded, laughing, and settled for letting out a hiss as he went back to cleaning the gash. I asked him how it looked a few times, but he was too focused on his work to reply. Instead of continuing to bother him, I settled for admiring how good he looked in this particular light. Again, He interrupted my thoughts. "Good news is, it doesn't look like you'll be needing stitches. Bad news is, you're still going to be a hurting unit in the morning." He got up off his knees and tossed out some wrappers from the bandages and alcohol wipes.  I stared at him as he continued to buzz around the bathroom in a world all of his own. When he was finally finished, he stopped to look at me once more. "You don't have to do everything Ariel says you know? She's just trying to get attention." I nodded a few times. "I didn't want her to fall and get hurt." I watched his lips twist into his signature half smile. "You got hurt instead though." I shrugged a bit. "And you fixed me up." His half smile turned into a full smile, dimples and all quite quickly. "Fair point. You got me there."  I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking right at that second, but for all intensive purposes, i'm going to blame it on my poorly thought out impulsive decisions. "Willard?" He continued to stare down at me. "Hm?" I snaked my hand along his exposed torso, over his chest, and onto his shoulder. "I know it's a bit sudden, but, can I try something?" I had to find out, if it was the adrenaline, or if I was really feeling a spark of something I couldn't explain. Willards eyes bore into mine, studying, searching for something. After awhile, he nodded.  I placed my other hand on the nape of his neck, and used my ankles to pull him closer to the counter, glancing from his lips back to his eyes. "Close your eyes." He nodded gently and closed his eyes in a relaxed manner. I nudged him a little closer with my legs until he was pressed against me before I guided his face down to mine. I took my time, inching my face towards his. Taking time to study all those scars I had been curious about earlier before I shut my eyes. My lips met his softly at first, proding and nudging out a response. He picked me off the counter, and instead used his body to pin me against the wall. I focused on the feeling of his slightly chapped lips on mine, and that's when I knew, I did feel something for Willard. I slid a hand into his hair and gave it a little tug, indicating I didn't want to stop anytime soon.

4374 words :)