Intimacy Equals "Into Me See"
Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters.
Time Period: Four years after the end of the second season. Will, Matt, and Cornelia are eighteen. This fic is set during the summer before their freshman year of college. In other words, it's the summer after they've graduated from high school. It takes place a few weeks before their freshman year is set to start.
Author's Note: This fic is not complete. The content below is only the first part of the story. I'm not finished with the second part yet because, as you will see, this fic deals with some deep and complex emotions. Writing stories that portray a character's inner-conflict is never easy for me. I devote a great amount of time to ensuring that those pieces are written solidly and believably. In other words, I put a lot of thought and effort into my deeper stories. Expect to see the second chapter soon.
In a flash of vivid white light the W.I.T.C.H. girls and Matt folded back to Shell Beach. Will exhaled an immediate sigh of relief as her feet sank into the grainy sand. It was soft beneath her toes, a familiar and inviting pleasure. In that moment she longed to revert to her normal form so she could feel it slide through her flip-flops and graze against her bare feet.
With this sensation in mind, she held the Heart of Candracar aloft and used it to close the space-fold. Then she allowed the Heart to change her fellow Guardians back to their human forms. Her own transformation became obvious when she felt smooth cotton clothes on areas that had just been exposed. Then there was the desired feel of sand against her toes. She moved her feet about for a bit, reveling in the sensation until she heard Cornelia's voice.
"You'd think they're out to kill us or something," she scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.
"Tell me about it. I'm beat," Taranee agreed. "And I still have to work tonight. There's no getting out of it. Can't afford to snooze on the job. I have tons of college applications to pay for this year. Those are expensive!"
"No offense, but I don't think the Candracar elders care about your mountain of college apps, Tee. They think we have more important things to think about like, I don't know, running to them and fixing all the universe's problems," Irma said.
She rolled her eyes for emphasis and looked at the other members of the group before adding, "She really does have a mountain of college apps. Seriously. The pile of papers in her room makes Mount Thanos look dinky. And it's only the summer. That's saying something."
"This is Taranee we're talking about. Right, Little Miss Braniac?" Hay Lin asked. She giggled and winked in the Fire Guardian's direction.
"There's nothing wrong with being prepared. Don't come whining to me when you don't get into your top choice schools because you didn't apply early," Taranee retorted, flicking her eyes at Irma. "That'll be what, Irma? Two colleges?" she asked with a devious smile.
"Hey, just 'cause I'm only applying to two schools doesn't mean that my standards are low. You're the one who's ambitious and picky about a school. I just wanna knock out my core classes. I can do that anywhere."
"Irma's right," Matt chimed in. "It doesn't matter where you do your gen eds. Heatherfield University's gonna be fine for us." He motioned to himself and Will.
"Yeah. It's a good school," Will affirmed. "She can get 'em done there and transfer if she wants."
The redhead gave a nonchalant shrug and turned away from the group. She shifted her feet a little more and stared out at the rich azure waters. Calm waves lapped at the shore, temporarily engulfing the shoreline before receding and shrinking back again. The sun beat down on the water, making it shimmer like white gold.
Will savored the warm wind that skimmed over her as she watched the flow of the water. The wind teased her hair, blowing it back and away from her shoulders. The smell of ocean air permeated her nose. She inhaled it, allowing it to bring her into tranquility. Will wanted to forget about everything, to direct her attention away from the anxiety-inducing mission the group had just experienced (and would probably endure for the rest of the summer).
So she stood there and tried to enjoy her surroundings. This proved to be a challenge, however, because she found herself thinking about how much she missed her beach excursions. They had been minimal this summer due to her W.I.T.C.H. related duties. She had gone once with her mother and Dean at the beginning of the season, and another time with Matt's group of friends (as well as her own) but, for the most part, she had been forced to neglect the simple, ordinary pleasure. Instead, Will had devoted her time to confronting (and rectifying) the issues that Candracar assigned her.
If she was honest with herself, addressing the onslaught of conflicts was starting to feel like a chore. The missions restricted her like a steel t-bar that had just collapsed on top of her. Will was able to revel in leisure time when the Veil was safe and the parallel dimensions were calm, but eventually, something or someone would tug her back. She was bound to that t-bar and nothing could change that. The rulers of Candracar and the Heart acted as her impenetrable, permanent tether-whether she liked it or not.
Yes, she felt tethered. She felt tethered when she just wanted to swim.
Will lifted the Heart so it was at eye level and stared at it. The crystal's rosy glow seemed to glint in the sunlight. The sight of the Heart now made her muscles tense. A mild heat began to rise in her stomach. Her knuckles cinched around the chain, turning white from the force of her grasp.
Will dangled the object and allowed it sway like a pendulum in front of her face. The crystal felt light in her hand as she did this. Its weight caused lazy swings that she could easily track with her eyes. She vaguely wondered if it was weightless enough to be tossed into the water and glared at it.
Before she could give this idea further contemplation, a pair of arms embraced her from behind. The fragrance of musky aftershave replaced the scent of ocean air. Large hands splayed out on her waist. Her glare vanished. The physical contact elicited ease. It made her body relax and brought her temper down to a simmer.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Matt asked, his voice a murmur.
"My thoughts are worth more than a penny," Will replied playfully, sinking back into his body.
"How 'bout I give you ten pennies?" This time he sounded sly.
Will snickered in way of response. She lowered the Heart and loped it around her neck by its chain.
"A dollar?" he offered.
When she didn't satisfy him with a reply, he squeezed her middle, applying a gentle pressure to her body. Will didn't know whether this was intended to comfort or restrict her, but she assumed it was the previous and snuggled closer to him.
"You looked like you were deep in thought. What's wrong? I'd like to know," Matt whispered. "You were like, a million miles away from us."
"I – I-" Will stammered.
She wanted to confide in him, but not when her friends were present. She didn't want to worry them or deal with their flood of questions. Beyond that, Will wasn't ready to answer those inquiries. Not right now. She didn't want to face resentment or the severing of precious friendships that she'd had for the past six years.
The thought of losing W.I.T.C.H. to her opinions was enough to make her eyes feel heavy with tears. She mentally cursed, biting the inside of her cheek and willing them to stay back. A breath of relief came forth when they obeyed her.
"Yeah?" Matt prompted her, pulling her back to the present.
"Yeah, what?" Will asked, feeling dazed and confused.
"I asked what was wrong."
"Oh. Right."
She covered Matt's hands with her smaller ones, lacing her fingers in his. After a minute of wondering how and when she would tell him, an idea came to her. "I'll tell you when we get back to campus, 'kay?"
"Sure. We can hang in my dorm and talk," Matt offered.
"Sounds like a plan." Will squirmed, shifting about in his hold until she was facing him. A smirk overtook her face. "Don't worry about me too much."
She was surprised when he smiled at her instead of retaliating with a sneer. "I'm your boyfriend. I'm allowed to worry about you."
Matt leaned in. He brushed his nose across Will's and pecked her. She was just about to return the affection when a voice stopped her.
"Aren't you two adorable?"
Will inclined her head in the direction of the voice and found herself staring at Cornelia. Her lips parted to form a response, but the blond spoke again.
"Seeing you guys act like that makes me miss Caleb," Cornelia said with a groan. Her voice wasn't dissimilar from a whine.
"Go visit him in Meridian before you leave for school," Matt suggested.
"But not before we hang out one last time," Will piped up.
Her lips sank into a sudden frown. She didn't like the thought of being separated from Cornelia during their college careers. Not after all they'd been through together and not after forming such a close bond with her. The Earth Guardian had become a surrogate sister to her over the years. Will knew that she would miss Cornelia greatly when she wasn't home in Heatherfield for the holidays.
"Let me guess… you'll do anything but shopping." Cornelia's quip tugged Will from her reverie.
"Yeah. No offense, but shopping with you is a nightmare, Corny," she snickered.
"Hey! I liked shopping with you that one time, Wilma."
Will cringed at the use of her full name and glowered at Cornelia.
"It was fun. Too bad you didn't like it. It was your loss." The younger girl flicked her waist-length hair behind her.
A chuckle spilled from Will's lips. Beside her, Matt snorted in laughter. Will didn't doubt that they were thinking the same thing: Typical Cornelia.
"It'd be fun to chill at your house and go out to lunch," Will stated, making her preferences known. She hoped that Cornelia would comply with her wishes.
"I'll see if I can pencil you in. I'm kinda popular, you know," Cornelia joked, causing Will to shake her head and roll her eyes. "Sure thing, girlie. Of course I wanna spend time with you before I leave. I'll let you know when I figure out a good day."
"Great." She smiled.
"Well," Matt started. He released Will. She hesitantly moved away from him. "We should head back to campus. Let's go tell everyone goodbye."
"Okay," Will agreed, grinning as Cornelia approached her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She curled an arm around her friend's waist in turn.
The trio strode away from the water and turned to the rest of the group. Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin were now immersed in a conversation about a VMJ concert that W.I.T.C.H. had attended during Will's eighth grade year. They watched as Irma did an impressive imitation of a drunk father who had neglected to chaperon his daughter and had taken to flirting with the mothers of various teenage girls.
Irma stumbled about in the sand and slurred her words, resting her hand on Hay Lin's shoulder as she "sweet-talked" her. The Chinese girl shrank away from her, half-grimacing, half-giggling, and failing to maintain her act. Taranee was holding her stomach and chortling at the sight.
Will could hear Matt and Cornelia laughing beside her. The half-assed skit made her cave to her own mirth. It only halted after Irma stopped acting. Irma's antics were then replaced with marks of praise and validation from the others (including Will herself) and eventually, a long stretch of silence.
The unexpected lull provided Will with an opportunity to speak up. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before saying, "Me and Matt have to go. We've gotta get back to HU."
This seemed to disappoint Hay Lin because her lips sagged into a pout. "Aww. That's too bad. I was kinda hoping we could hang out."
Will tensed at her words. She felt bad about leaving her friend, but she also had more important matters to be concerned with. She frowned. "Sorry. I'll have to take a rain-check, H.L. We could do something later this weekend if you want."
"Sure. That'd be great. Call me, Willie, and we can set something up." Hay Lin engulfed her in an enthusiastic hug that Will had to reciprocate.
"Will do," she promised, clutching Hay Lin close. She pulled away after a minute and allowed Hay Lin to rejoin the group.
Will then bid the others good-bye, giving each girl a tight hug. A mixture of emotions began to swell in her body as Matt took her hand and led her away from the beach. She glanced back at her smiling and waving friends as a means of diversion, but then she wondered what they would say if they knew of her internal war.
Shaking her head, Will rid herself of these crippling thoughts. Now wasn't the time to dwell on this. She could think about her issues later when she was in Matt's dorm. She could talk about them then, too, and unload everything that was racking her brain.
Taking a deep breath, she devoted what little energy she had left to squelching her troubles and focusing on the present. It took a few minutes to accomplish this, but once she did, Will squeezed Matt's hand and enjoyed the quiet stroll to her car.
(Long) Author's Note: I wrote this fic as a birthday gift for my best friend Lightning Eterna back at the end of February. She supplied me with the interesting theory that the girls would eventually become resentful of their powers and missions if they continued to deal with massive issues in the mystical part of their lives. Lightning asserted that this would take a large emotional toll on Will in particular because she's the leader of the group. As a result, she would most likely want to live a normal and content life and be free of the Heart's burdens. Lightning wanted me to explore what Will's feelings would be in this situation. Lightning also thinks that the elders of Candracar would take the girls for granted four years down the line because they're used to having the Guardians fix all of their problems. It would become routine/second nature.
I have to say that I agree with Lightning, and not just because she's my best friend. If I look at that scenario from a realistic perspective, it only makes sense that the girls would get sick of saving the world and would feel annoyed that they're not receiving credit from the elders any longer. I also agree about the elders taking W.I.T.C.H. for granted due to reasons that I already stated up there. ^ By the way, it was very fun to include the other girls in this piece as well as touch on Will and Cornelia's bond. Their friendship is definitely my favorite out of all the bonds amongst the W.I.T.C.H. girls. ;) :D x33333
You guys may or may not be thinking "WTF?" in regards to the title. Allow me to explain, please. I first heard the quote, "intimacy really means 'into me see,'" when I was at a meeting for the Psychology Club (yes, I'm a nerd. Shut up!) at my college in February. We had been discussing Valentine's Day, intimacy, and different types of love when a professor contributed that quote. I found it interesting and I have to say that I agree with her: just because you're not having sex with someone doesn't mean that you can't be intimate with them. Intimacy is so much deeper than sex. Some people refer to their friendships as "intimate friendships," after all. ^^
In the second part of this fic, Will allows Matt to "see into her" when she expresses her frustrations over Candracar. Matt will see Will demonstrating anger, vulnerablity and confusion. Being that open and raw with someone is a form of intimacy in my opinion. There will also be a scene that leads up to Will and Matt making love. Please note: The actual act will NOT be shown. So, you'll be subjected to both kinds of intimacy. ;) ;P
In short, the themes in this fic match up very well with that awesome quote. I can't think of anything else that I could possibly call this.
A note to The Demon's Reflection: I apologize for not including Mr. Huggles in this fanfic. He won't appear in the following chapter either because Matt wouldn't be able to bring him to college. That would probably be against school regulations. I'll be sure to include him in a future fanfic, though. I promise. :)
Expect another W.I.T.C.H. fanfic next. I'm not sure if it will be the second part of this story or not.
Thanks for the support as always, guys. Love you all! :) x3333