As a birthday treat for Jem, Will was sleeping over and the two boys pretended to be camping. They had a tent set up in the living room, gathered flashlights and sleeping bags, and drank mugs of hot thick soup for supper. The radiators were turned down low to simulate being outside but still ensuring there was some warmth, for Jem's sake.
The boys were both tired, though too keyed up to sleep. Earlier that day, they spent a lot of time running up and down and falling onto the pavement outside with Jem's new skateboard. Now, Will taught Jem how to play the card game Go Fish and they went through several rounds before they both were lulled into sleepiness by the warmth and cosiness of their tent. The boys had piled cushions, blankets and quilts everywhere, burrowed into them and fell asleep.
Will woke in the middle of the night. His eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. He was sure he heard something that woke him up, but he did not know what it was. He glanced over at Jem, and saw that his friend was sleeping soundly. The sock monkey Mr Bingo Banana Beans was resting against his head and Will grinned to see it.
He stayed quiet and listened for a few seconds. Then Jem's IV pump gave a loud hiss that broke through the silence, startling Will. He let out a breath that he did not realise he was holding. He decided that it must have been the pump that woke him, and settled down in his nest of quilts and cushions again.
He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard a sound. It was like a scratching and squeaking coming from the hallway outside. Will tensed up. He hoped it was not a mouse. He got up, pulled open the tent flap and crept out. The scratching came again, emanating from the front door. Will froze. He had no idea what to do if it was a burglar. The scratching started up again, and there was some whining sounds too.
Will ran back to the living room and shook Jem awake. "Jem! Jem! Wake up, there's something at the front door!" he whispered loudly.
Jem cracked open his eyes. "Someone at the door?" he repeated sleepily.
"Something!" Will hissed. "It's making a scratching and whining noise. I think it's a burglar."
"A burglar won't be making those noises, Will," Jem said. He sat up and began to cough.
Will shushed him urgently. "Shhh! Don't let them know we know they're there."
"Will, I'm sure it's not a burglar," Jem said. He got up and went confidently towards the door.
"Jem, wait!" Will whispered, grabbing the back of his friend's pyjamas. He rushed to the kitchen and returned holding a saucepan as a weapon. Jem stared at him. "Just in case," Will shrugged.
Jem rolled his eyes and went to the door. The scratching sound started up again. Jem unlatched the door and opened it a little. A brown and white thing poked through the opening. Will took a step back.
"Will, it's fine," Jem said, and opened the door fully. In bounded a brown and white mongrel dog, which immediately began sniffing everywhere. Will looked at his friend uncertainly. "I call him Trevor. He comes round in the daytime sometimes and I feed him. Two days ago, I gave him a bath," Jem explained. He knelt down and the dog came to him and licked his face. "He feels cold. That's probably why he came here tonight." He locked the door again and led the dog into the living room.
"You're not keeping him!" Will exclaimed, seeing Jem open the tent flap for the dog to enter.
"But he's freezing, Will," Jem argued. "Look, I'll put a blanket round him so it's clean." And Jem picked up a pink and white striped blanket and tossed it over the dog. The dog did not react. "See, it's fine," Jem said as he crawled back into the tent.
Will hesitantly moved to the tent and peered in. Jem had laid back down on his side and the dog was lying next to him, right in the middle of the tent. This meant that Will would be next to the dog too, when he got in. "Jem, are you sure about this?"
"Stop fretting, Will," Jem scolded sleepily. "I'll get up a bit earlier in the morning to let him out before Uncle finds out he's here."
"Your uncle doesn't know you take in stray dogs?" Will clarified.
"Not really. He isn't an animal person. And he thinks I might pick up infections from them," Jem explained. "But look at him!" he took the dog's head in his hands. "He's so adorable and loving and he came to us for help. How could I turn him away?" The dog looked up at Will with melting brown eyes.
Will knew this was a fight he could not win. "Fine," he gave in and crawled into the tent. Jem grinned widely at him. "But if he chomps on my neck in the middle of the night, I'm going to take it very personally," Will warned.
"He won't bite, will you, Trevor?" Jem said, stroking the dog's head. The dog licked his cheek. "Yes, I love you too."
"Ugh, stop talking to the dog like that; it's freaking me out," Will said. Jem laughed but stopped talking. Silence fell over the room. Will listened to the sound of all of them breathing until he fell asleep.
The sun was already up when Will woke. He rolled over and his hand hit something firm and warm. He was immediately confronted by a faceful of dog growling at him. Will hastily withdrew his hand and retreated back as far as he could. Jem was still soundly asleep and happily cuddling the dog. Will reached over to try and touch his friend's shoulder to wake him up, but the dog raised his head and growled protectively.
"Okay, fine, I'll leave you two alone," Will said, lifting his hands in mock surrender.
He knew Jem had to get the dog out before his uncle woke up. So he picked up a cushion and threw it at Jem's head. It connected and the dog barked fiercely at Will. Jem jerked awake and exclaimed: "What is it? What's going on?"
The dog continued to bark at Will who shouted at it: "Shut up! Stop it! Bad dog!"
Jem put a hand on the dog to calm it. "Will, what are you doing?" he asked.
"He tried to bite me!"
"Did you just throw a cushion at me?" Jem asked in amazement when he discovered the extra cushion on his side.
"I thought you wanted to wake up earlier to let the dog out before your uncle sees it," Will explained.
"You didn't have to throw things at me."
"The dog wouldn't let me touch you," Will pointed out in exasperation. The dog began growling at Will again, this time showing a bit of teeth. "See! He's doing it again!"
"He doesn't mean it, do you, Trevor?" Jem asked, caressing the dog. The dog turned and licked his face.
Will made a face. "Just let him out, will you?"
Jem sighed. "Fine," he agreed. He tried to get up but was overwhelmed by a fit of coughing. He braced himself against the dog and the dog stood protectively next to him, while continuing to growl at Will. Between the fits of coughing, Jem said: "Will, I think I hear my uncle getting up. Take the dog and put him out for me, will you?"
Will looked at his friend as though he had just grown another head. "Me?" he asked in amazement.
"Yes. Just grab the back of his neck and lead him to the door," Jem said, pushing the dog towards Will.
Will grimaced and cautiously approached the dog. He grabbed the dog's scruff and firmly dragged the dog out. The dog tried to resist and barked loudly. "Shh! Shut up. There's a good dog," Will coaxed. Opening the door was difficult, as he had to do it one-handed. The dog almost got away from him then. But he managed to get it open and he used his foot to nudge the dog out and shut the door on him.
He was just in time for the second the door shut, Jem's uncle came down the stairs. "Will, is everthing all right? I thought I heard a noise," Elias inquired.
"Everything's fine, Mr Carstairs," Will said, discreetly kicking the door where he heard the dog scratching again. "We were watching a video on my phone. About animals."
"In the hallway?" Elias asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Will looked around and decided to keep things simple. "Yes," he replied matter-of-factly.
Elias looked suspiciously at him then decided to let it go. "Okay then. Try to keep it down. It's too early for all this noise."
"Sure," Will agreed and gratefully watched as Jem's uncle went back upstairs.
Jem poked his head round the living room door. "Everything okay, Will?" he asked innocently.
Will stuck out his tongue at his friend. "This is all your fault," he said. "Now your uncle thinks I'm a nutter."
"I hate to break it to you, Will, but you really are a lunatic," Jem informed him.
"Did you have a meeting to decide that?" Will asked.
"Yup. Everyone who knows you was there. It was a unanimous decision. And the meeting's biannual," Jem said with a grin.
Will walked back to the living room and elbowed his friend. "You're the nutter. Shut up and go back to sleep. Will Herondale does not wake up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Please review!