Having left the house without his coat or phone or wallet, Will had no choice but to wander the streets, hugging himself to try and keep warm. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he just wanted to find somewhere quiet where he could be alone and possibly disappear forever. Throwing himself off the bridge or in front of a moving bus were definitely options he was considering.
He spotted a cigarette lying on the ground. The tip was still glowing, as though its previous owner had lit it but had to throw it away before he could finish it. Will picked it up and inhaled. But instead of the warm, lightheaded, "top of the world" feeling he usually got from cigarettes, it tasted muddy and gritty. He began to cough and he tossed it away.
It was getting colder, and there was the feeling of rain in the air. Will pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and trudged along. Eventually, he came to Hyde Park. There was a big Christmas fair going on in the park and Will got carried along by the crowd.
It was warmer inside, as the press of bodies and the numerous stalls blocked the cold wind. Will's stomach growled when he smelled the aroma of delicious food. He had no money with him, so all he could do was stare longingly until the crowd pushed him along.
Then, he spotted a tourist throwing away a pulled pork sandwich after taking only one bite. Will immediately reached into the bin and pulled out the still-hot sandwich. He saw the tourist looking suspiciously at him, and shifting her handbag to a more secure position. He scowled at her and moved away with his prize.
He finished the sandwich in a few minutes and washed it down by trawling the cup-return booths, where people who had bought hot drinks were to return the cups. He watched for tourists again, knowing that they bought the hot cider and mulled wine just for fun and usually did not like it enough to finish the whole cup.
He was just reaching for another cup when someone grabbed his wrist. Will immediately twisted his arm round and grabbed at his attacker, just like how Jem had taught him. But his attacker moved too and caught hold of him.
Will was about to start shouting for help when he heard: "Will?"
He looked up at his attacker and was flabbergasted to see that it was Jem, dressed in a grey duffle coat and a rainbow-coloured scarf. "Will, what are you doing?" his friend asked.
"Nicking the cups; what else do you think?" Will joked.
Jem's eyes narrowed. "You don't even have a coat on. You must be freezing." He took off his scarf and handed it to Will, who took it gratefully. "Did your parents let you come?"
"What are you doing here, Jem?"
"Visiting the Christmas fair," Jem replied simply. "Uncle and Colette are making out in the haunted house. I didn't want to stay and watch."
"That's gross," Will agreed.
"Will, what are you doing here? I thought you were grounded."
"I decided that I had enough of being an upper-class twit, and shall live a life of crime and become the king of the London criminal underworld. So I'm trawling the fair to try and jump-start my illustrious career. Did you know how many tourists I could've robbed already?" Will declared.
Jem shook his head and pulled his friend over to a quieter corner behind all the booths. "Will," he repeated seriously. "Enough madness. What are you doing here?"
Will withered under his friend's glare. "I had a row with my father," he admitted. "And I left the house. I didn't know where else to go and I ended up here. I didn't have any money so I… I picked up whatever people left behind," he ended, hanging his head in shame. "I'm not proud of it, but I don't know what else to do."
"You should go home," Jem suggested gently.
"No!" Will exclaimed. "I can't. I won't! It's horrible in there, Jem. Everyone hates me. I can't stand it for a moment longer."
"Oh Will," Jem sighed. Then he grabbed his friend's arm again. "Come on, we've got to find Uncle. This is beyond me."
"No!" Will shouted again, struggling against Jem's firm grip. "He'll make me go home. I don't want to go home!"
"No one's going to make you go home," Jem assured him exasperatedly. "But you can't just run away from home and expect no one to notice."
"They noticed alright," Will said bitterly. "I made quite a scene at the dinner table. They didn't bother to do anything."
"Then it wouldn't hurt for you to talk to my uncle. Don't worry, he won't bite. And Colette will be around as a buffer."
Will gave up the struggle. "Fine," he huffed. He followed Jem through the fair to the carnival section, where the haunted houses and rides were. Jem planted himself in front of one of the houses, took out his phone and called his uncle. The two adults came out within minutes.
"You know, you finding him does nothing to lessen Mr Herondale's impression of you as a 'bad influence', Jem," Elias noted.
"Actually," Will piped in, "My dad said he misjudged Jem and says he seems like a good and responsible boy." Jem beamed in sudden pride.
"Nevertheless," Elias continued. "You can stay with us tonight, but you'll have to call your family in the morning and sort things out."
Jem's eyes shone. "He can stay?" he asked hopefully. "That's brilliant! There's space in my room. I can move the cushions up from the living room for him."
"You will do nothing of the sort," Elias told him firmly. "We've got a perfectly good spare room."
"I thought Colette was using that," Jem interrupted slyly.
Colette blushed hard. Elias quickly said: "She'll be staying with me. Will can use the spare room for the night. Come on, it's time we were going home."
The two boys had no opportunity to talk on the way back to Jem's house as the train was crowded with people leaving the fair. When they got off at Ealing, Jem led the way back eagerly. Will had never seen his friend so excited before. He rushed up to his house and unlocked the door, holding it open for the rest of them to enter.
"Are you still hungry, Will?" Jem asked as he took off his coat and hung it in a cupboard under the stairs. "We've got lots of pot noodles."
"Noodles sounds great," Will said.
"I'll get it," Elias interjected. "Jem, you have to do your therapy."
Jem seemed crestfallen but obeyed his uncle and went up to his room. Colette went with him. Elias led Will into the kitchen and put on the kettle. He opened a cabinet and let Will choose from a very extensive collection of Pot Noodles in all kinds of flavours. Will picked the beef and tomato flavoured one.
"Do you want me to call your parents?" Elias asked. "They must be wondering where you are."
"No!" Will immediately replied. "I doubt they'll worry. I'll call them in the morning."
"If you say so," Elias said. "Well, I think you know your way around the kitchen. I'm going to go check on Jem."
Will was left alone in the kitchen as the older man left. It was peaceful in the house. Even the whistling of the kettle didn't sound as harsh as it usually did. Will poured out the required amount of water and then carried his noodles into the living room. The room was not large but it was cosy, with the curtains drawn over the windows. There was a short Christmas tree in a corner decorated with all sorts of mismatched ornaments. Gaily wrapped presents were placed under it.
He inspected the presents. There were the gifts from Jem, with the recipient's name written in his friend's neat narrow handwriting. To Will's surprise, there was one for him too. It was a book; he could tell by its shape. But it made him feel happy to think that Jem had gotten him a present.
After he had eaten his noodles, he went upstairs to find Jem. The boy was sitting at the window seat and was wearing his very bulky blue vibrating vest, which was attached to a machine. Will had seen Jem with this vest on before – it would vibrate and loosen the mucus in his lungs so it was easier to get out.
There was violin music playing from Jem's phone. He looked miserable, but when he saw Will, he grinned and waved at his friend.
"Hi Will!" he called.
"How's the robot-ification coming along?" Will asked, sitting down on the edge of Jem's bed.
Jem laughed. "Exterminate!" he exclaimed. His voice sounded strange, sort of mechanical, like when you try to talk into a moving fan. He began to cough as he got so caught up in laughter.
"It's the Daleks who say that, not the Cybermen. You really must watch more TV, Jem," Will corrected. He waited for Jem's coughing to subside before asking again: "Seriously though, how's it going? Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
Jem shrugged. "A little. It was the cold air. My chest hurts. It also itches. But it's only for about half an hour. I have the music on to keep my mind off it. And you, my personal jester."
Will frowned but Jem continued to grin. "What are you so happy about?" Will asked.
Jem blushed. "It's stupid," he said. "But you being here is the coolest thing ever! I've never had any friends stay over before. I'd always wondered what it's like to have a sleepover. Like, staying up all night talking and playing games and stuff."
"That's what girls do. Didn't you have sleepovers when you were a kid?" Will inquired.
"Nope," Jem answered. "Chinese kids aren't really big on things like that. And their parents thought I was sick and they didn't let their kids come anywhere near me. My parents sometimes set up a tent in the living room and let me pretend I was camping, but I've never had a proper sleepover before."
"And this isn't a sleepover now," his uncle's amused voice came from the doorway. "We're letting Will stay for tonight, but tomorrow you'll have to call your parents and work things out. That's the deal."
Elias came in, switched off the machine and helped Jem to unstrap the vest. Jem tried to breathe deeply but coughed so badly that Will grew frightened. But it passed, and Jem seemed completely normal. "Oh Uncle, can't you just let me pretend for one night that I'm having a sleepover?" Jem pleaded, picking up the conversation as though nothing happened.
"You can pretend all you want. But you have to take your meds and get into bed," Elias ordered. "Once you're in bed, you can exchange signals through the wall with Will all night for all I care. Just don't wake up the neighbours."
This is one of my favourite chapters. I hope you guys liked it too. Please review!
And if you haven't noticed already, I've put up a short multi-chapter story called To Be Thankful, in honour of Thanksgiving. Go check it out and review too. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. :D
