Jem was sat playing his violin, his eyes closed in concentration. His music had always soothed him, and helped him to forget about his dependence on yin fen.
He heard the door open.
"Hello Will," he said, continuing to play. He knew it wasn't Charlotte or Henry: they always knocked. He heard the slight shuffling of feet.
"Hello James," Will replied uncertainly. Jemma reached the end of his piece.
"Call me Jem," he said, setting down his violin and turning to face the awkward boy in the doorway. "How can I help you?" He asked mildly.
"Well, I couldn't sleep, and I heard your music. It's really good." Will looked like the words were almost being dragged out of him. Jem couldn't deny that he was a little taken aback; since the newest addition to the London Institute had arrived, he'd been hostile towards everybody. The only exception was when he agreed to spar with Jem, and even then he had suspected that it had had something to do with his ill health.
"Thank you," said Jem. "Can you play an instrument?" Will shook his head.
"No," he said. "But I can do this." He stuck his tongue out and rolled it. Jem laughed.
"I'm impressed!" he said. Will laughed along with him. Jem sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him.
"So how are you liking the Institute?" he asked. Will sat next to him.
"It's okay, I suppose." Will replied shortly. Jem frowned.
"Don't you like Charlotte and Henry?"
"Charlotte and Henry are nice people." Again, Will didn't seem to want to go any further into the subject. Jem decided to drop it.
"I suppose it's strange to live in London after living in Wales for so long!" said Jem. Will nodded.
"Everything is so loud here! And there are so many buildings. There are no open spaces." He looked at Jem. "Have you been here long?"
"I've been here a while, but not ages. It's not that different from where I used to live really; I lived in a city, so the main thing that's changed is the language and the food." Will nodded.
"It's odd, isn't it? That one minute you can be somewhere that you've been for your whole life, and all of a sudden you're not there." Jem nodded.
They sat in a silence for a second before Will picked up Jem's violin and bow.
"Do you think I could play this?" he asked. Jem laughed.
"Not without knowing how to!" he said. Will dragged the bow across the strings, creating a horrible screeching sound. Jem took the violin and bow from his hands.
"That was awful!" he said. Will chuckled.
"Well, what am I supposed to do for fun here?" Jem thought for a second.
"Have you seen the library yet?" Will's eyes lit up as he shook his head. "Well, come on then!" The two boys raced out of the room, not seeming to care that it was the middle of the night.
In her room, Charlotte rubbed her eyes and sat up sleepily.
"Henry, dear, what on earth is that racket?" she asked.
"Just the boys, dear." Henry mumbled sleepily.
"The boys? But Will is so-"
"They'll bring out the best in each other. Like eggs and bacon." Charlotte was so used to his odd analogies at this point that she didn't even question it.
"Well, I hope so," she said, settling back down into bed. "That boy needs a friend."
"Like eggs and bacon."
