TWO.

MORNINGS AT NUMBER 13 Alberta Avenue were chaotic, jumbled things. They flew past in a blur of spilled milk and car keys tossed through the air and sharp elbows in sides to reach the bathroom mirror.

Today, though, everything was still. At least it was for Will, who was still in bed. Under her comforter the sounds of dishes clinking together and heels clacking against the hardwood floor faded away, leaving only the faint sound of her breathing.

Will craved these small moments, when she could be alone. When everything was quiet. With the warmth of her blankets and the pale sunlight filtering through her blinds, she was content. It was when she would eventually be forced back downstairs to her family and high school that this moment would feel hopelessly out of her grasp.

It wasn't that Will liked being alone. She loved her family and friends (well, friend). It was just that they were pieced together from a thousand different emotions, and sometimes Will couldn't stand to feel all of them.

The electronic ping of a text message interrupted her thoughts. Will groaned. She slid a hand out from under the covers and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. She squinted at the screen until the jumble of black shapes sharpened into letters.

( 1 unread message from jones bbq and foot massage! )

jones bbq and foot massage
the heavens are bleeding and the sun is scouring

take a will pill
good morning to you too michelle

take a will pill
either you've been reading sylvia plath before bed again or we have a physics test today

jones bbq and foot massage
are you saying that i'm not always this poetic and imbuing with despair

take a will pill
poetic no but you definitely imbue with despair

jones bbq and foot massage
nice

jones bbq and foot massage
speaking of despair

jones bbq and foot massage
my mom can't give you a ride to school today

take a will pill
it's fine

take a will pill
i fully plan to resent you forever but it's fine

jones bbq and foot massage
cool and also yes we do have a physics test today

take a will pill
thanks for that reminder of my impending doom

take a will pill
you're like one of the riders of the apocalypse, just leaving misery and pestilence in your wake wherever you go

jones bbq and foot massage
aw sweet

jones bbq and foot massage
oh gtg see you at school

take a will pill
see you at school

Will turned her phone off and set it facedown on the mattress next to her, her head falling back against the pillow again. She let her eyes flutter shut, grasping for every thread of peace and sunlight and silence that remained. Will guarded this feeling of calm in her chest, then opened her eyes and called out.

"Liz!" She was met with silence. "Liz!

Will yelled, louder, "Liz! I fell and hit my head against the corner of my desk! There's so much blood! I'm starting to feel dizzy and cold and-!"

There was a muffled thud and the sound of something clattering to the ground. Liz appeared in her doorway, eyes wild and searching, her chest rising and falling rapidly from racing up to Will's room. Half her hair hung in perfect curls around her shoulders, while the other was a frizzy mess. When she saw Will, who was curled up under her comforter with her skull very much intact, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. She crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

"Will! You have to stop telling me you're in mortal peril every time you want me to come up the stairs!" Liz huffed.

"But it works so well every time," Will grinned.

Liz marched over to her bed and snatched a throw pillow off the tangle of blankets smothering Will. She smacked Will over the head with it. Will let out a yelp and covered her head with her arms. She looked at Liz, who scowled at her and then tossed the pillow to the floor.

"You better hope all your limbs stay attached to your body, Will," Liz warned, shaking a finger. "Because next time you tell me you're bleeding out or whatever, I'm not budging. Sisterly love be damnned."

Will couldn't fight the smile that snuck across her face. She grabbed Liz's hand, and looked up at her with what she hoped were wide, pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Liz. I won't do it again," she promised.

Apparently her smile made her look untrustworthy, because Liz raised an eyebrow dubiously. Or maybe it was because Liz and Will both knew she would probably do it again.

"I don't believe you," Liz said.

Will batted her eyes. "I cannot lie, for it is a sin and Jesus will be disappointed in me."

Liz rolled her eyes, but there was a faint smile on her face and she hadn't pulled her hand from Will's grasp.

"You've spent fifteen years disappointing Jesus, why stop now?"

Will let out a fake laugh. "Oh Liz, you crack me up! You're so funny! Also wonderful! And-"

"Okay, you can stop. What do you want from me?" Liz said.

"I just need a ride to school. That's it, I promise," Will said in what she hoped was a persuasive voice.

There was a beat of silence.

"Okay, fine," she relented. "But I'm dropping you off in the seniors' lot, not by the football field where you and Michelle go."

Will grinned. She sat up in bed and bounced on her knees before wrapping Liz up in a hug around her midsection. Liz muttered an oof into her hair.

"You're messing up my hair," Liz protested, but when Will pulled away there was a smile on her face.

"Your hair already looks pretty messed up to me," Will teased.

Liz reached up to feel the untamed side of her hair, her eyes widening.

"Oh no, I forgot to curl the rest of my hair!" she wailed. "This is a disaster!"

"A tragedy the world will never forget," Will nodded sagely.

"Oh, shut up," Liz said, but not unkindly.

She turned and hurried out of the room, pausing briefly to call out to Will over her shoulder.

"We're leaving in fifteen! Be ready or you can walk!"

Will jumped into action, pushing back her comforter and swinging her legs over the side of her bed. She allowed herself a few seconds to yawn and stretch her arms over her head. She rubbed the night before from her eyes with the palm of her hand.

Then, Will stood up, suddenly and startlingly awake. She had broken down her morning routine into a science, a strange kind of dance. Now, she repeated the steps she'd spent so many mornings rehearsing, spinning around her room. Will scooped up piles of loose paper, plucked pens off the floor, and swept heavy textbooks into her backpack.

Then she darted to the mirror, where she wrestled to pull her wild tangle of curls back and out of her face. Sometimes she thought her hair was living, breathing thing of its own without any regard for her. Even now, tendrils managed to spring loose, falling down the back of her neck or around her face.

Will didn't stay too long to examine her reflection. Staring at herself only reminded her how vastly different she was from Liz, how undone she was in comparison.

She pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, and a jacket for the chilly morning air. She slipped her feet into a pair of sneakers, then slung her over stuffed backpack over her shoulder. She groaned at the weight, but headed down the stairs, her feet stamping out a loud pattern against the hardwood.

"Morning, Will," he mother greeted her over the top of a mug of coffee. She was already polished to perfection in her crisp blazer and carefully styled hair. "I think someone stole half your jeans. That, or the neighborhood squirrels have developed a taste for denim."

Will looked down at the ragged rips in her jeans where her skin shone through. Admittedly, the jeans had seen better days, but Liz wore ripped jeans too, which Will knew meant they were in style.

"Well, Liz buys her jeans pre-ripped. I'm more authentic," Will said, grabbing the carton of orange juice from the fridge.

"You look authentically homeless," Liz said.

"Those jeans are all baggy," Adrian added, as he entered the kitchen, kissing her mother on the cheek. "I thought teenage girls liked to wear tight pants to annoy their parents."

"They're boyfriend jeans," Will protested. "It's a style. Ask Liz!"

Liz nodded. "It is a style."

"But you don't have a boyfriend," Doris said, eyes crinkled with laughter.

"Yeah, the most action Will has ever gotten is being licked in the face by the Muñez's dog," Liz teased.

"Well, we'll be expecting a ring any day then," Adrian grinned. "Or maybe a bone."

Will threw up her hands.

"It's eight am! Can we at least choose a godly hour of the day to make fun of me and my wardrobe?" she pleaded.

"Actually, we should get going," Liz said reluctantly, glancing down at her watch.

Liz reached down and tossed her a zip-loc bag filled with cereal to eat in the car. Will missed it of course, and was forced to stoop down to grab it. Adrian chuckled.

"I always forget how clumsy you always are," he said, amused.

"Not always," Will said, thinking of afternoons spent throwing punches and kicks that sent Schultz into the mats below.

"Right," her father said, and smiled at her, just subtly enough to be secretive.

This was a smile that was meant to be carefully guarded. It was smile about the secrets they shared. When Will looked back to the kitchen, she found Liz watching the two of them carefully. Will wiped the smile from her face.

"We have to go," Liz said abruptly. "Come on, Will."

Will darted around the counter to give her mother a kiss goodbye, and followed Liz out the front door, waving to her father. The icy fall air smacked her in the face, and she was suddenly grateful for the jacket she tugged tighter around her. Liz's breath hung in the air in a frozen cloud of ice.

They got into Liz's car, the small, bright red one she had gotten as a gift when she passed her driver's test.

Liz pulled out of the driveway. As soon as they began to drive towards the city, she turned up the heat and the radio. The remnants of their jokes in the kitchen fizzled out. There was something about car rides to school in the morning when the sun was a pale sliver and the streets were asleep that made conversation seem unnatural.  The rest of the drive passed in silence, save for the tinny pop music pouring out from the speakers.

Will watched the houses slowly get more crowded until they became buildings and then became skyscrapers. She leaned her head against the window, wondering what it would feel like to be so high. To soar from rooftop to rooftop, fog in her fingers, leaving the world behind.

"We're here," Liz said, pulling into the parking lot and jolting Will back into reality too soon.

She got out of the car, wincing as she tugged her heavy backpack back over her shoulders. Liz locked the car behind her. Will watched as a huge, sunny smile spread over her sister's face as she greeted a group of fellow seniors. They talked and exchanged laughs, and Liz followed them into the school. And suddenly, Will was standing alone in the parking lot.

She always thought it was curious how there seemed to be two Liz's. Liz At Home, who was her sister, and Liz At School, who felt like a stranger. At home she wore sweatpants with embarrassing sayings on the butt and ate cereal with peanut butter and fell asleep on Will's shoulder when they watched movies. But Liz At School was a shining version of Liz with all the rough edges sanded away. She was in charge of too many clubs to count and wore outfits that made Will's classmates whisper with envy. She was adored by many and known by all.

And she seemed to forget that Will existed.

Liz wasn't cruel. She just spent all her time putting up posters and curling her hair and laughing with the captain of the football team, and there was no place in all of that where Will fit in. Will belonged with one Liz and not the other, and the two Liz's never seemed to be able to coexist.

Most people forgot Will existed anyways.

"William! Hey, William!" a voice called out.

But not all people, Will thought, a smile already spreading onto her face.

She turned to see Michelle, waving her arms.

"My name is Will," she yelled back. "And it's not short for William, for the last time!"

Michelle was walking towards her, fingers wrapped around the straps of backpack. She always walked slowly and carefully like she owned all the time in the world. Half the time, she moved slowly because her nose was stuck in a book.

"Sorry, what did you say, William?" Michelle said, cupping a palm around her ear.

Her friend's hair was a tangled mess that rivaled her own, and she was wearing a blindingly yellow backpack over a black blazer with weird brass buttons down the front. Will glanced at her white, ruffled button down shirt and combat boots and grinned.

"Man, nobody told me it was Dress Up Like A Pirate day," Will said with mock disappointment, snapping her fingers. "I have this adorable sword that totally would've gone with my swashbuckling pants."

"Yeah, guess you missed the memo," Michelle said sarcastically. "We're doing Dress Up Like A Survivor Of the Nuclear Apocalypse day tomorrow, though. And judging by your pants, you're already dressed."

"It's good to know that you haven't stopped being an asshole since yesterday," Will said cheerfully.

"Hey, watch your tongue, young lady."

"Oh no, are you going to make me walk the plank?"

"I might smack you with a plank."

"Before you do though, I have this parrot that would look so good with that outfit, Davy Jones."

"Is that the bell ringing? I think I hear the bell ringing."

Michelle turned her head towards the entrance of the school, eyes narrowed in mock concentration.

"I can't hear anything," Will said. "But nice try."

Michelle folded her arms over her chest, shooting Will a glare that could've scorched the ground beneath them.

"Hey," Will said, grinning and poking her in the shoulder. "I'm just teasing. I actually think your outfit's awesome. I'm even pretty sure I have those boots, actually."

Michelle rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Thanks. I like your shirt, by the way."

Will opened her jacket, ignoring the bite of the crisp fall air to show off the design. She struck a slight pose as Michelle scanned it. It was a print of Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing a crown with blocky letters spelling out "Notorious R.B.G." underneath. She'd bought it on a visit to her one of her father's major warehouses in Washington D.C. earlier that year.

"I knew you'd appreciate it," Will smiled.

This time, the bell really did ring. The high, metallic shriek pierced her ears and made her wince. Slowly, the crowds on the steps and in the parking lot dissolved as people passed through the double doors into Midtown. Will groaned, but dutifully followed Michelle into the hallways. Instantly, the smell of fall, wet leaves and gritty ice, was buried under the thick heat from the radiator and the scent of chemicals and pencil shavings.

"What's with the face?" Michelle said, pointing her chin in Will's direction. "You're looking at that locker like it besmirched your family's honor."

Will realized she was scowling.

"I have Physics first period. I'm allowed to look angry."

"Oh, is it anger? I was going to guess constipation."

"Ha ha, Michelle. So, did you use your vacation days to take a break from guarding the gates of hell to come bother me, or did you just get a permission slip from Satan?"

"It's a part-time job. The hours aren't ideal, but I get great dental insurance."

The warning bell rang again, making Will jump. Kids waved goodbye to their friends, ducking into their classroom and slamming their lockers shut. Will turned to Michelle with a grimace.

"That's my cue to head off to my untimely death. See you at lunch?"

Michelle nodded. "I have pick something up from Ms. Malhotra's, so I'll be a couple minutes late. Think you can handle Peter and Ned on your own?"

"I can ignore Peter and Ned as always, yes."

Michelle turned towards the math wing, spinning around to give Will a wave. Will touched her fingers to her temple in a quick salute. As soon as Michelle was out of sight, Will let out the deep sigh that had been building in her chest ever since she'd gotten out of the car.

Here was the truth: Will hated high school. So did every other teen on the planet, but she didn't hate it for the same reasons. Will didn't mind being unpopular, or the intense academics, or even the suspiciously green mac n' cheese they served in the cafeteria.

But Midtown Tech trapped her. It had been slowly pulling on her seams for the last two years. For six years, Will had to be homeschooled by her father because she couldn't control her powers in school. Now, Will had a better grip on things, but the halls were still suffocating. Will felt the constant ache of everyone. She could feel the traces of their emotions everywhere, even in the surface of the yellow locker she leaned on.

The problem was that high schoolers communicated with feelings, not words. Teenagers felt things deeper than anyone. They gave off overwhelming amounts of envy and lust and anger and euphoria and love.

Will had seen an electrical storm once, from the window of a plane. She'd watched the sky ripple and boil over with light. Lightning was soundless, but Will could've sworn she heard the light roar as it hurtled towards the ground. It was a bizarre feeling, watching something that felt so close, when she knew the air and clouds battled for dominance miles away.

This was how how high school felt when she allowed herself to feel it. It was a sky pierced with light, raging beneath her skin. Especially on bad days like today.

But Will had taught herself to be the passenger on the plane, watching from a distance, untouched. She closed her eyes briefly, concentrating on her own self. She listened to the beat of her own heart, felt the edge of the locker pressing into her own shoulder, felt the pulse in her own stretching fingertips. She was Will, and her mind belonged to herself.

She pushed off the wall and headed to class.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: i don't know why this is so dramatic and extra she's just going to school. why am i like this. sorry that nothing really happens in this chapter except for willchelle (my fuckin brotp). i had to split it into half because it was just so ridiculously long, but next chapter we'll have some action with my bois peter and ned

also, unrelated:

does anyone else think the shadow on tom's perfectly sculpted chest looks like johnny bravo? idk i've been thinking about this a lot let me know