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"You want a kiss?" Jem repeated, unsure if he had heard her correctly.
"Yes," Cecily said. "A nice one. On the lips."
Jem looked over to Will for help. Will felt nauseous. "Cecy, he's got a girlfriend," he said.
"So?" she asked. "It's not cheating if we're not going out. I've always wondered what kissing is like."
"Cecily, this is stupid. You can't just ask anyone to give you a kiss," Will said, flailing his hands around in an attempt to drive home his point.
"Jem's not 'anyone'," Cecily said. "Please," she turned to Jem and pleaded. She turned back to Will: "Or would you rather my first kiss be with some random bloke staying at the hotel, like you?" Will choked in horror.
"What happened?" Jem asked.
"Three years ago, Will decided he was in love with a girl who was staying at the hotel and they made out 'round by the boat house, and her parents caught them and hauled him off by the ear. Mam and Dad weren't half mad," Cecily gleefully informed him.
"I thought we agreed we were never going to mention that again," Will said.
"No, we didn't," Cecily rebutted. She turned to Jem. "Well, what about it?"
"This is making me feel rather uncomfortable," Jem said. Again, he looked over at Will, and Cecily misinterpreted his gesture.
"Will, go away," she ordered.
Will threw in the towel. "Fine! Do what you want. If anyone wants me, I'll be in my room," he said. He got up, gathered his things and stalked out. He half expected Jem to call after him, but there was silence.
He went back to his room, as he said he would, and seethed. He was aware that Cecily fancied Jem. He knew that Jem knew it and was trying not to encourage it. Indeed, Will had not seen Jem do anything to suggest that his feelings for Cecily were anything but platonic and familial. But he had clearly underestimated the lasting power of a pre-teen crush.
In an attempt to distract himself from what may or may not be currently happening between his sister and his best friend, Will sat on his bed jammed on his headphones and turned on rock music loud. He had a drum set in a music room in this house, but he was not in the mood to leave his room. So, he just picked up his drumsticks and hammered away at various parts of his bed frame.
After a few hours, his phone rang and his mother told him to come down for dinner. Jem and Cecily were already at the table, and he slid into place next to Jem. "You went outside. You smell like the outside," Will noted.
"Cecily and I went for a walk," Jem said.
Will was burning to know what had actually happened, but he also was reluctant to find out. Thankfully, he was spared further conversation with Jem as his parents entered the dining room with a large strawberry cake laden with lit candles. The family sang the birthday song to Cecily, gave her presents and then tucked into a delicious pasta dinner.
After dinner, Mrs Herondale requested Will to help clean up the wrapping paper from Cecily's presents and to help Agatha take out the trash, as Cyril was away running errands. It took Will about 15 minutes to do this, as Agatha took such a long time in throwing away everything that needed to be thrown.
Jem was back in his room by then. His door was slightly ajar, and Will pushed gently against it. His friend was sitting on the floor with his vibrating vest on. As usual, violin music was playing from his phone. He smiled when he saw Will come in.
"How's it going?" Will asked, sitting down next to Jem.
"Same old," Jem said. He coughed a little as he spoke and Will looked at him in concern. "I'm fine," Jem assured him. "The vest is shaking up everything inside, so it's a bit annoying."
"Okay," Will agreed. He lapsed into silence. The topic of Cecily was a huge elephant in the room. Will felt supremely awkward. He stood and walked to the door. Jem looked at him in surprise.
"You're going already?" he asked.
"Yeah," Will said. He quickly invented an excuse. "You look tired. I probably shouldn't disturb you."
"Will…" Jem sighed. He got up and sat on the bed. He patted the quilt as a sign that Will should sit too. Will shut the door and obeyed. "Will, I didn't kiss Cecily," Jem said straight out. Will felt a huge sensation of relief at that. "I didn't feel that that was the right thing to do. We talked. I told her she shouldn't go around and flirt with every boy that comes her way, that she needed to respect herself, as it were, and wait for the right person."
"You had The Talk with her," Will concluded.
Jem blushed. "Not quite The Talk. I didn't get to the physical aspect of things," he said. "But you get my point. She's just a kid. She doesn't know what she wants. She thinks intimacy means being loose with boys, and she thinks that throwing herself at boys will make them love her. She's messed up like you, Will. I think Ella's death hit her hard too. Were they close?"
"Sure," Will answered. "Cecy adored Ella. Followed her around everywhere, wanted to be exactly like her when she grew up. You know the type. So you two spent the whole day talking in the attic?"
"Heavens, no," Jem said. "After I talked her out of kissing, we went down to her room. She said Ella used to play with her and braid her hair, so I thought I'd give it a go. We played with her dolls until the rain stopped, then we went for a walk. She showed me the cats and the baby chicks. You should be kinder to her, Will. She's aching for someone to love her."
"Of course I love her!" Will objected. "She's my sister."
"That's what I told her," Jem continued. "She said you probably love her but you don't seem to like her very much. She said it's been hard to talk to you this past year. Every time she tried, you both ended up quarrelling. It didn't seem like you had time for her or wanted her around. And you always call her a little nuisance."
"She said that?" Will asked in shock.
"Well, not in so many words," Jem admitted. "I know you're teasing but I think it hurts her sometimes. So, ease off with the name calling too."
Will leaned against the bed post and thought about this. There was only one way to sort this out. He hopped off the bed and headed for the door.
"Will?" Jem inquired.
"I'm going to go talk to Cecy. I guess that's my job as big brother," he said. "Wish me luck."
"Why would you need luck?" Jem asked.
"So I won't muck it all up," Will said. "You'll have to pick up the pieces if that happens."
"I'll be on Cecily's side," Jem said slyly.
"Traitor!"
"Just go!"
Will left Jem's room and went to his sister's room next door. Knowing what he now did, the "No Will allowed" sign felt like a slap in the face. He knocked and waited till Cecily opened the door.
"What do you want?" she asked defensively.
"I was just talking to Jem," Will began, "And I think I need to talk to you now. Can I come in?"
She stood back from the door and let him in. Cecily's room had cream-coloured walls and frills everywhere, a remnant from her earlier childhood years. At the moment, she had her stuffed toys on the rug in front of the radiator and they were all arranged in a circle.
"What're you playing?" Will asked.
"We were just hanging out," Cecily said. "What do you want, Will?"
Will shuffled from one foot to the other. He put his hands in his pockets then took them out again. "Listen," he began, "You know you can always come to me, right? If you have any problems or anything? I'm here for you."
"I guess," she said slowly.
"It's true," Will insisted. "I know I'm a horrible big brother. You should know better than to take me too seriously." Cecily was standing with her hands crossed defensively at her waist now, impatiently waiting for him to make his point. "Anyway," Will continued. "You're my sister. I love you. I don't want you to feel like you're all alone. Just come to me, if you need me, okay?"
"You're weird," Cecily informed him. "But, thanks. I'll keep all that in mind."
Will nodded awkwardly. "Anything you want to tell me? Just right off the bat? Anything you're bursting to say?"
"No. Just shut up and go away," Cecily said. "It's even weirder when you're acting like you care."
"I do care!"
"I know! You've said that. Just go back to being my annoying big brother. This is really weird." Cecily came up to him and physically pushed him out of her room and shut her door.
Will stood in the hallway and shook his head. He never understood girls, and his sister was the one he understood least, and would probably never understand.