River's POV
THE NEXT WEEK

I wake to the sound of rain pattering on my window. My eyes crack open, staring at the beautiful stream of rain that races down the glass.

Will is still on the phone, fast asleep with his head buried in his pillow. I rub my eyes and smile at the sight that immediately brings me comfort and makes me feel that everything will be okay.

We often call each other and fall asleep on the phone, mostly because it helps us to sleep easier and makes us feel safer. Now I can't imagine not having Will on the phone with me. When he's not there, I toss and turn in my bed and struggle to find comfort that will help to ease my eyes and allow me to rest.

Life just seems easier now that Will is a part of it.

There's a sound on his side of the phone, and then suddenly a pillow collides with Will's head, instantly waking him up.

"What the fuck!" Will groans out, glaring the best he can with his swollen, tired eyes.

"Time for school, lazy bugger. Get up," Ryan's voice calls out. He makes himself seen in the camera and gives me a small wave, showing off a cheeky grin. He's only wearing sweatpants and has a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.

"Morning, River."

I clear my throat and smile awkwardly. "Morning."

"Damn, my muscles look great this morning," he says to himself, staring in the camera and tensing them.

"Get the fuck out," Will tells him.

Ryan doesn't seem to be offended by Will's choice of words. Instead, he bounces on the bed and wraps the covers over Will's head before he farts.

I accidentally grimace my face as I watch them both play fight.

"Ryan, you're grim." Will coughs and gags under the sheets, trying to kick Ryan off him. "I hate you."

"Love you, too," he teases further before he finally gets up and claps his hands together, seemingly proud of his work. "Get up, or you're missing your ride."

Will extends his middle finger and sits up in bed, running his hand through his messy curls that somehow look better in the morning.

Once Ryan leaves the room and closes the door behind him, Will turns to me and instantly smiles. "Got rid of one annoying little brother, now I've managed to get a new one."

I giggle and lift myself up onto my forearm. "You definitely act like brothers," I agree.

Will smiles. "Gotta love him for it. Did you sleep well?"

I nod my head. "Did you?"

"I did." He yawns, stretching out his arms. "See you at school?"

"Okay." I smile, waiting like I usually do.

"You've gotta end it," he tells me, laughing because he knows the drill.

"You end it," I say.

He drops his head into his hands, allowing his shoulders to bounce as he laughs out of annoyance.

"You."

I shake my head. "Not going to happen."

Sighing, he leans closer to the camera and extends his hand to hover his finger over the button that will disconnect us. "I hope you know that I always feel guilty after ending it."

We both smile cheekily at one another before the call ends and my screen goes black. I stare at it for a while, suddenly feeling empty and cold.

It seems that music and books are no longer my lifeline.

Will is.

* * *

Isla passes me half of her orange when we all sit down at the table in the cafeteria.

"Thanks, Isla."

"Got any of that chocolate you usually bring in?"

I nod my head, reaching into my bag to pull it out and split it in half. I place it in Isla's hand.

"Cheers," she says, smiling softly. "Brains ate most of my food this morning."

"Hungover," he explains innocently, lifting his shoulders.

Isla rolls her eyes in response, but it seems to excite Brains for some reason. He grins at the sheer sight of it.

Will eventually joins us five minutes later. He seems annoyed and stressed out as soon as he takes a seat beside me, but tries his hardest to lift a smile.

"Everything okay?" Ryan asks before I have the chance to.

"Yep. Peachy-perfect," he sighs, clenching his jaw.

Everyone forgets about the situation and begins to engage in conversation about a party they're attending on the weekend. I was invited, but I rejected the offer because I didn't want to drink again or be in a sea of loud people who had no control of what they did or said.

I continue to stare at Will, scanning over his features and taking note of the way his hands ball into fists under the table.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

Will itches his nose and finally looks me in the eye. "Nothing."

Will and I have no secrets. We always tell each other everything, so I don't understand why he's not telling me what's bothering him. Although I shouldn't feel this way, it actually bothers me. It causes anxiety to pulse through my veins and squeeze my heart until I'm struggling to breathe, because what if it's me? What if I'm the problem? Surely he would tell me if that was the case.

"What happened between you and Evie?" Lola asks as she joins us at the table with a food tray in her hands.

"What?" The colour drains from Will's face.

My heart sinks.

"I saw you talking in the corridor just a minute ago."

"None of your business," Will snaps.

Lola raises her eyebrows, looking the least impressed. "Honey, you do not want to talk to me like that. Trust me."

"Yeah, whatever, Lola."

"I'm serious, Will. I won't back down to your bullshit."

Will shakes his head and grits his teeth.

"Clearly something shady is going on between you and Evie if you're getting all defensive."

His eyes darken. "There's not. Evie's just pissing me off."

"How?" I ask before anyone else can. It's like I have no control over my mouth or the things I say. All I can think about is how Will's acting towards the subject.

When I speak up, Will's features immediately soften. There's no more anger stored up inside him. "She won't leave me alone...keeps trying to get back with me."

"Why didn't you say?"

"I didn't want you to worry. I don't want her to ruin things between us."

I reassure him with a smile as I reach my hand over and intertwine my fingers with his. "She won't."

"Want me to talk to her? I'd love to give her a good slap," Lola expresses, scowling in Evie's direction.

Everyone speaks in unison when they say, "No," and try to warn Lola that she'll probably get kicked out of sixth form if she tries to start another fight.

I glance over at Evie who sits on a table with her new group of friends. She's staring at Will and I, a slight grin rising on her cheeks.

Usually I would keep my head down and try to stay out of her way, but she's been pissing me off for weeks and I've had enough of her childish behaviour. I smile sarcastically and then lean closer to Will so I can give him a single kiss. Will smiles against me, his mood immediately improving when my lips are against his. I pull away and gaze into his eyes that speak a thousand words. My thumb caresses his cheek before I lean back in my seat and look back to Evie who's grin has dropped completely.

I try to ignore her for the rest of lunch. She isn't worth my time or energy. Only the people surrounding me on this table deserve that.

* * *

I'm placing my books into my locker when I suddenly feel someone's presence beside me. I don't even have to look in their direction to know who it is.

I sigh in both annoyance and exhaustion. "What do you want, Evie?"

She says nothing. She simply leans against the locker and smiles innocently. It's only when I close my locker and give her my full attention when I see it for myself.

"What?" I ask.

She reveals the hand she hid behind her back, and then extends the clothing in her hand to show off a large T-shirt. It's old and worn and crinkled, with a branded logo that has worn away to basically nothing.

"Give this back to Will, would you? He left it at mine on the weekend."

My blood runs cold and my head begins to hurt. I can only hear ringing in my ears along with the sound of my heavy heart that I'm sure will die at any moment. It feels like someone is squeezing it with their hands, slowly crushing it to nothing.

"You're a liar," I say, my gaze fixated on the T-shirt.

Evie shrugs her shoulders. "I don't care what you believe, just give it back to him." She slams the shirt against my chest, leaving me to lift my arms in order to catch it.

It smells like him. My eyes brim with tears at that realisation.

It's not true.

She takes a step closer, looking over her shoulders to make sure no one is within enough distance to hear. "You didn't really think someone like him would go for you. It was never going to work, was it?"

I'm too choked up to get any words out.

Will wouldn't do that to me. She's lying.

"You're just not meant for each other," she whispers, placing her hand on my shoulder to make it seem like she's supporting me. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts to hear."

Liar. She has to be lying.

I trust Will.

"I'm just trying to help you," she soothes.

I have to leave before she can witness the tears streaming down my face. I refuse to show that she's affecting me in that way. I have to get away from her, from this place, from everyone in it. I need space, I need air to breathe, I need time to think, because right now I'm not in the right headspace. Before I do anything or make assumptions, I need space, air and time to think.

I get what Will means now, when he says his heart beats so fast that it feels like he'll die. That's exactly how I feel right now.

That I'm going to die.

Ryan is at the end of the corridor, growing near to me. I can't stop. I need to get out of here.

His smile drops when he realises the state I'm in. "River? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asks in a soft voice that only makes me want to cry ten times harder.

Will has changed me. He's brought out this vulnerable side to me. A side that cries and lets out the emotions I feel. I guess that's a good thing. It's what I've wanted for years. But now that it's finally here, I just want it to go away and remain locked up deep down inside me somewhere.

"River?" he repeats, growing more concerned.

But I don't stop. If I do, I'll break down right here and now.

Ryan tries to hold my arm to stop me from leaving, but I shrug his hold away and finally escape from the building that is closing in on me.

He continues to call out to me, saying things that don't come together in my head to make sense. Everything is a blur.

As soon as I'm sat in my car, I let out a deep breath and pick up my shaky hands to start to the engine. I drive to the only place I feel safe; somewhere that always helps to clear my head.

As soon as I'm at the quarry, I look over the edge and stare down at the water that has frozen over into thick ice. The grass beneath me is covered with small specs of ice, crunching as I take each step.

I breathe all the air into my lungs and exhale it in one large breath, feeling my heart return to its normal rate where I'm able to feel alive again. The sound of the trees and leaves moving in the wind help to relax my mind. Now that I've calmed down and I'm in a place where I feel at my safest, embarrassment overcomes me. I start to realise that I might have overreacted slightly, just like I always do when things become too much.

I shouldn't have let Evie get to me like that. It's obvious what she's trying to do, but I won't allow her to succeed. She won't ruin what Will and I have.

Ever.

I need him. He needs me.

"River," a familiar voice calls out from behind me.

I gasp and spin around on the spot, not bothering to wipe my tear stained cheeks.

Will.

"River, what's going on?"

I wipe my eyes and draw in a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I talk to him. Ryan must have spoke to him, and he immediately knew where to find me.

"I just had to get out of there," I explain.

"Why?" He takes a slow step forward.

"Evie."

His face falls. "What did she do?"

"It's what she said."

"What is it?"

I trust Will. I don't think he would ever do what Evie said he did, but anxiety is the curse that forces me to doubt that.

Reaching into my bag, I pull out his shirt and hold it out on display.

"She said you were with her on the weekend...that you left this at her house," I tell him. "I trust you, Will. I know you didn't do it. I just need to hear you say it. I'll believe you."

His face crumbles. "Of course I didn't—I would never. Evie's had my shirt for ages, I completely forgot about it."

I nod my head and smile sympathetically. "I know."

"Is that what this is about?"

Another step closer.

I shrug my shoulders, suddenly feeling stupid. "Sort of. I guess I..." My voice trails off, getting lost in the wind that carries it miles away from us. I'm unsure whether to tell him this. I feel pathetic.

"What? You can tell me anything."

"I know," I whisper, tears still falling. "I guess I've just always been so scared that one day you're going to see me the way the rest of the world does."

Will gives me this soft smile that is full of the love and care he holds for me. "I'm only ever going to see you the way I should see you. For who you are. Fuck the rest of the world. It's just you and me, smiley."

Me and him.

Will extends his arms, smiling with the inner corners of his eyebrows pulled up. He's waiting for me to accept his offer, as a way of showing that I believe him.

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I exhale a deep breath and finally smile.

I take a step forward to go to Will.

And then I slip.

My body flies back, and I'm falling.

I'm falling off the edge.

I'm really falling this time.

It's no longer part of my imagination.

It's real.