Page 112 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Are you even listening to me?”

No reaction.

“Morgan!” Alden hissed, jumping to his feet.

He grabbed Will’s arm and spun him around, and then… he froze. Will could no longer control his tears. He let out a loud sob, and they streamed down his cheeks.

“W-What happened?” Blake asked, bewildered.

“Just get out,” Will ordered sternly.

“Why are you crying? Is it that serious? Did he do something to you?” Alden pressed, his voice laced with clear concern.

“Get out!” Will screamed, shoving Alden away from him. Blake took a step back, looking shocked. “Seriously, Blake, get the fuck out of my house! I don’t want to see you here! And I don’t want to do this stupid project! You can tell Lorne I bailed on you and that’s why you couldn’t finish. I’ll back up your story. Now take all this and get out!”

He expected a violent reaction, but Blake just shifted from foot to foot, clearly unsure what to do, then gathered all the things he’d brought and left without a word, glancing back at Will one last time. Will sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands.

He felt like never leaving the house again.

February 17 | Monday

Will woke up with the feeling that this would be the worst day of his life. He couldn’t have known then how right he was.

He got dressed and ready to go, then dragged himself to the kitchen to force himself to eat some breakfast. He performed every task at half his usual speed, as if he couldn’t bring himself to function properly, or as if he subconsciously didn’t want to leave the house. Then again, he didn’t consciously want to leave either, but he had little choice.

Chewing his sandwich, he glanced toward the side door. He recalled Blake’s break-in and the two guys who showed up later to replace the damaged parts. Will had thought it was a mistake at the time, but then they dropped the name Alden, and everything became clear. It was a good thing Blake had thought of it, because Will didn’t have the headspace for such details at all. Besides, it was the Blake’s fault.

Will got to school literally a minute before the bell. Hoping to avoid Oscar, he went quickly to his locker and grabbed all his books for the day. He had no intention of coming back, sensing Oscar would be lying in wait, so he rushed toward the literature classroom.

Where, just his luck, Oscar was waiting.

The bell rang just then, so Will hurried into the class, trying to ignore him.

“Will!” Oscar called after him, oblivious to the students turning to look.

Will had no intention of stopping, but Oscar grabbed the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” he said desperately. “Meet with me today, and I’ll explain everything. Give me half an hour. Even ten minutes!” he corrected himself when Will pulled away from him. “I know I was a jerk, but I’ll explain myself!”

Will smiled bitterly. He had spent hours yesterday wondering what possible explanation could make sense of what had happened, but he hadn’t come up with a single one.

“Will, please…”

The teacher arrived at that moment, so Oscar backed off, and Will finally entered the classroom and took his seat. Blake, who as usual was sitting at the front, was watching him carefully over his shoulder. Will lowered his gaze. He suspected Alden already knew what had happened.

His suspicions were confirmed in Tech class when they were called to the front. Will waited for Blake to say something about his lack of participation, but he only presented their creation. The box, covered in black lacquer, looked beautiful, especially considering it had been made in a single day. Red roses were painted on its lid. Will was impressed. Mr. Lorne, not so much.

“Nice,” he assessed with reservation. “But after what you presented last year, Alden, I expected something more. Besides, there are a few shortcomings. It’s a shame you didn’t give this the attention it deserved. B-minus.”

Will glanced at Blake. Alden did not look pleased. He had another opportunity to mention that he not only had to work under a time crunch, but also completely on his own, yet he didn’t. Will felt awful. He opened his mouth to confess, but Blake shot him a glare. Then Will felt even worse, because he remembered how he’d treated him yesterday.

It was hopeless.

Hiding in the bathroom or in less-frequented hallways during his breaks, Will managed to stay away from the cafeteria and the lockers entirely. He came to his classes at the last possible moment. It proved to be a successful strategy, as he managed to avoid Oscar all day.

When classes finally ended, Will quickly ran to his locker to throw everything inside.

“Hey, Will,” he heard Norma’s voice. He looked over to see her standing beside him. “Is everything okay?”