River's POV
THE PRESENT

I leave the building and run through the dark woods. The tall trees are hiding the sunlight, only a glimmer of it shining through the branches which no longer hold leaves from the summer. They're ripping away, blowing off in the air and swarming around me, guiding me to Will.

All I can do is hope that I'll find him there.

I sniffle as my nose runs due to the weather than makes me feel like I've just been trapped in a freezer. I'm surprised my hands haven't turned to ice.

Five minutes later, I'm at the quarry. In the distance, I can see Will's frame. He's at the edge, standing too close for comfort. The sight sends shivers down my spine and makes my eyes widen as far as they can.

Before I can even think, my feet are running against the wet grass, not stopping for a second until I reach him. I'm breathless and sweaty by the time I'm stood five meters behind him.

"Will," I say out loud.

"Leave me alone, River."

"I will. Once you get away from that edge."

He snorts with laughter and looks at me like I'm stupid. "You think I'm gonna jump? Calm yourself, I'm just...trying to calm down."

"Okay. Well, can you do that away from the edge? Please? The wind is really strong. You could slip."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I do. Because you're...my friend."

He looks over his shoulder and gives me this pained expression that cuts right to the depth of my core.

"I scared you."

"You didn't."

"I saw the way you looked at me in class. You think I'm some sort of monster."

I could laugh at his misconception. "You're wrong."

"Am I?"

"Yes. You never scared me, I was just worried about you. What happened in there?"

"Mr Peters pissed me off, you saw that."

"You were upset the second you stepped into class. Something happened. This isn't about Mr Peters, I know it isn't."

He closes his eyes and continues to stand there, refusing to step away.

"I'm angry. I don't want you to see me like this. I'll just fuck everything up, I'll say something. That's what I do."

I take a subtle step closer. "I don't think so."

An unexpected laugh echoes around us, coming straight from his mouth. "You're a good liar, I'll give you that."

"Clearly you can't spot liars if you think I'm lying."

"I always know when you're lying."

"Then how can't you see that I'm telling the truth now?"

The bright sky illuminates his eyes, making the green a lot more noticeable. They soften when they catch my gaze, linger there for a few seconds like he's making the most of the moment.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard you talk this much. It feels surreal, like I'm in a dream," he says, slightly smiling.

I can't help but smile back as I grow closer to where he stands. I used to be afraid of heights when I was younger, but that was when I was afraid of dying. But I'm older now, and the world has grown colder with me. I no longer fear the one thing I should be running from. I'd welcome it with open arms if it came calling for me.

However, seeing someone else so close to the edge makes something in my stomach drop. My world goes dizzy and it's like I need to hold onto the ground for support. I would trade places in a second if only to save them.

"I talk more once I get more comfortable with someone," I admit.

"You're comfortable with me?"

I nod my head truthfully. "I think you're the only person I know who could ever understand me."

I'm finally at the edge, my arm brushing against Will's as I glance down to the water below. The drop is too significant to fall into. The water would feel like concrete, bruising every bone and organ the body holds. Even though it's not Will's intention to fall, he could easily do so accidentally.

I don't want that to happen, so I sit down on the grass and look up at Will, my eyes holding all the hope in the world.

My hand extends like it has a mind of its own. "Lay with me?"

Will looks at the water below, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyelids blinking aggressively because of the strong wind that makes them water. He looks back at me and then to my hand which he eventually holds onto. I can finally breathe when he's sat next to me. Safe. Alive.

I lay back, and he joins me. Time passes by without our knowledge, until the sky dims and the sun starts to set. My hands rest on my stomach as I examine the explosion of colours in the sky. I think about how peaceful it would be to live in the clouds.

"You should listen to music when you get angry," I tell him. "Perhaps it will help?"

He raises an eyebrow at me. "You think?"

"It works for me. You like music, right?"

"Who doesn't?"

I chuckle. "Exactly." There's a pause as I twist my head to stare at him. He's staring up at the clouds, clearly thinking about something that's bothering him. "Will you tell me what upset you so much?"

His cheeks suck in and a shade of red blasts over his face. It's then when I realise that Will is embarrassed of the way he acted in class. If I wasn't aware of his emotions and struggles, I would most likely be embarrassed for him. But I do know that he's struggling, and I know that something happened to cause him to become so agitated. It's much deeper than Mr Peters.

"Just another argument with my parents. The usual."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No point. Won't change anything."

"No, but it's good to talk about these things. It helps."

"If talking helps, then why do you never open up? I know you're going through shit up here." He taps the temple of my head. "But you never talk about it with anyone."

"This isn't about me. Stop changing the subject."

With an amused grin forming on his face, he turns his body to lay on his side, his face completely facing me. "Okay then, I'll make a deal. I'll tell you something that's bothering me, and then you do the same. Sound good?"

My eyes narrow.

"Just tell me what's going on in there. I'll do the same," he promises, tapping on his own head this time.

A moment passes, and I try to get myself into the fuck-it-mindset. None of this will even matter in a number of weeks, he'll most likely forget whatever I tell him by the time he returns home tonight.

"Fine. You first."

The deep breath he inhales does not go unnoticed by me. I fixate my gaze on his fingers that play with the grass between us, twisting the strands and plucking them out of the ground. His hands are large and bulky, soft and smooth. Two black rings are fitted onto his fingers. There's never a day where he doesn't wear them.

I wonder how they feel. I contemplate reaching over just to touch them, but I stop myself. This isn't the time for being curious.

Will begins to speak his mind, sharing his thoughts with me. "My dad told me I was a disappointment today. That's why I flipped when Mr Peters said the same thing. He...he reminds me of my dad," he whispers, almost like he's scared someone will hear from dozens of miles away, like the wind will somehow pick up his voice and carry it back to the town for all the resistants to hear.

"Does he do that a lot? Your dad? Say things like that?"

Will nods his head, his expression growing sorrowful. "Both him and my mum do. They hate me."

"I'm sure they don't."

"They do," he assures me. He actually believes that. There's no doubt in his voice as he says the words that crush my heart and make me ache for him.

"I'm so sorry, Will. No one should have to feel like their parents hate them."

How does one live with thinking their parents hate them? It must be the worst feeling in the world.

"Your turn," he sings, immediately perking his mood back up.

"Okay." I move myself around uncomfortably and close my eyes as I open up for the first time. It's something I'm not used to, so I'm not sure what expression to pull or what to do with my hands. "Sometimes, when I'm upset or angry, I hide in my closet and pretend I'm on the train to a different location."

"What sort of location?"

"The types I read about in my books. It used to be Hogwarts when I was little. Now it's usually bright fields or quiet places."

"You did it when you was little?"

I nod my head with my eyes remaining closed. "Only when..." I stop myself from finishing the sentence.

"You can't hold back on me now. This is a truth session."

I snort with laughter. "What's that?"

"Where you open up with no filter. Nothing said in this bubble will be spoken about to another soul. Your secrets are safe with me."

A light nudge is felt on my arm, so I crack open my eyes and stare back at Will who's pinky finger is extended.

"I pinky promise."

"I trust you," I tell him, not wanting to engage in the cringey act. Everything embarrasses me, and that includes pinky promises.

"C'mon, you can't just leave me hanging. I'm not going to put this pinky down until you connect it."

Sighing deeply, I stare between his pinky finger and the determination on his face. I realise that he's being serious and that he won't give up about the matter, so I hook my pinky finger on his. I try to pull it away, but he holds onto it and refuses to loosen his grip.

"You need to lock it."

"Lock it?" I question.

He presses the pad of his thumb against mine. "There. Now it's locked."

He flips tables, has serious anger problems, has no care about getting into trouble, answers back to teachers, and is adamant on locking pinky promises. Noted.

"What was you going to say before you stopped yourself?" Will asks. "Only when?..."

I can't believe I'm going to tell him this.

"When my dad wasn't being nice to us. If he was having a bad day, he'd take it out on us. It wasn't physical abuse, it was emotional. Almost everyday until I was twelve, and him and my mum split up."

The air around us is silent for a moment while Will takes in this new information and processes it. The expression on his face is not one I'm familiar with. It looks to me as though he's experiencing every negative emotion there is. All at once.

"I'm sorry," he finally says.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I never realised. None of us did. We all ignored you and never cared to figure out why you kept to yourself. Had I known..." His voice trails off as he punishes himself.

I give him a reassuring smile. "You couldn't have known. Don't beat yourself up about it. You're actually the first person I've told, other than my family."

His eyes sparkle like I've relit his soul. "Thank you for trusting me."

I clear my throat and look back at the sky. "Your turn."

I hear him sigh deeply as he thinks. "Sometimes my heart beats so fast that I think I'm going to die. Like last night after the argument with my parents, and today with Mr Peters. It feels like I'm going to collapse."

We go back and forth, telling each other random facts about ourselves. Some are irrelevant and only little things, such as what we like to do in our spare times and what our favourite food is. Some are our deepest secrets that I will take to the grave with me. I trust that he will do the same.

"Your turn," he tells me again after informing me that sometimes he wishes he was an only child.

Opening up the way we have been feels better than I could've ever imagined. My lungs feel more open, and I get this feeling in my stomach that I'm free. It suddenly feels too good that I can't seem to stop myself from telling Will another dark secret.

"I doubt anyone cares whether I'm alive or not."

"I do," Will objects without hesitation.

My laughter is filled with sorrow. "You hardly know me."

He leans himself onto his forearms and lays on his stomach, blocking the sun out of my eyes and staring down at me.

"I know you listen to music when you're upset. I know you read to escape and because you want to feel something good for once. I know that the reason you cover your mouth every time you laugh or smile is because you're self conscious — which is crazy because your smile is unreal. Just saying. I know you dream of escaping this place and living a life that you can finally enjoy. I also know that you've smiled more in these past few weeks of knowing me than you ever have before." He pauses, staring deeply into my brown eyes. "I think I know you pretty well."

Before I can object, which I don't plan on doing because everything he said was true, Will lays back down and closes his eyes.

In a world full of people who look over me and ignore my very existence, Will Stanley sees me.

• • •

Hi, loves!
Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

If you have any questions about the story or the characters, feel free to ask!

Or you have any suggestions or ideas for any scenes you would like to see in the book, you're more than welcome to leave them.

Thank you so much for the support!
I love you all.