A/N: I'm back again! I'm trying to update more often, now that summer is here! I probably won't be writing for a few days. My birthday was on July 10th and we have a bunch of stuff coming up afterwards. But I'll try my best to get something up. Let me gaze into my crystal ball…ah, I see Queen's coming up in your future…interesting…oh, and reviews will be coming your way…I hope
Disclaimer: I keep forgetting to put that I don't own anything. Geez…you'd think they'd get it by now!
Stella Maynard: You're my only reviewer! Thanks so much. I was getting worried because I had no reviews for the last chapter. I wouldn't feel sorry for the twins either and I think you were talking about Madison (The one you felt sorry for and now you don't). I'm glad you like Matt because he's supposed to be the good brother everyone turns too. Lots of stuff about Will in this chapter. I hope you like it. Please keep reviewing!
The last week home was winding down quickly. Will and Emily were still at odds, Matt was no longer on speaking terms with Melanie or Madison, and Harry avoided Nan and Jerry whenever possible. The house remained divided, although Nan and Jerry tried their hardest to keep everyone on civil conditions, but war broke loose often. Will spent as much time with Brooke as possible, a lot of the times to spite Emily. Today, he had to say goodbye to her because she was leaving for her annual vacation at Grandmother's before school started. They met once again in the dusky spot near the crystal brook, where time seemed to always stand still for just the two of them.
Will informed Brooke about his argument with Emily. Not because he thought she should know, but mainly because he needed to get it off his chest. Brooke was not at all sympathetic because she disliked Emily very much, and after hearing about this quarrel, Brooke felt like she could never like Emily.
"I can't believe she would try to plant those thoughts in your mind, Will. I always knew Emily was a wild one. Did you tell your parents? Did you punish her? If she was my child, I would have given her a spanking on the spot," said Brooke, infuriated.
"Brooke, I know what she said was a little judgmental, but that's no reason to hurt her." Although Will was very angry, he had a large soft spot for Emily.
"You're not telling me you agree with her, are you?"
"Well, no, but she was just looking out for me. Listen, let's just forget I mentioned it. I want to spend our last day together without fighting. I'm really going to miss you. The Taylor's are a great host family. I know your students will be great. Carmody turns out some great minds."
"I don't want you to leave. Has Alex talked you into joining the Army? I want to know, so I'll be prepared for whatever you tell me."
"Alex still wants me to join up with him. I guess when I turn 18 in September, we'll bring it up again."
"September! That's only a month away! Will, have you even told anyone?"
"No. Just Alex and Ally know, but they won't mention it until I do."
"Who is this Ally anyway? If we're going to get married, I at least want to know who you're socializing with."
"Ally, Alex, and I are close. You knew that Brooke. I asked you to come to the reunion with me to meet everyone, but you refused. You could have met them then."
"Are you blaming me, Will? I told you I just didn't want to spend two weeks with your family."
"If we are going to be wed, they'll be your family too."
"IF we're going to be married? What is that supposed to mean? Are you not sure because you were very confident when you asked me!?!?!"
"Brooke, that's not what I meant, but you're going to have to make a few sacrifices if we are going to get married. I've made a few for you already. I mean I practically risk my life to come over to your home. I tried to get your parents to like me. You know, Emily is right! You haven't even made an effort to get to know mine! Do you think you are better than me or something?"
"Don't tell me you're going to listen to that little prat! I can't believe you are saying these things about me. My parents just don't want me to associate with your family. There's nothing I can do about that!"
"You don't have to listen to them!!!"
"I can't believe we are doing this."
"I can. It's about time too. Maybe we need to give each other space."
"Do you not want to get married?"
"Well, that's not what I said. I'm going to Redmond, any you're going to teach. We should learn to live away from each other for a little while."
"Fine. If you want space, you can have all you want. Just promise me you won't go off to war without telling me first. And write me often about Redmond. I'll miss you."
"Have fun at your grandmother's house," said Will, coldly. No matter how much either of them denied it, the relationship was severely damaged. They both wanted to make it work, but it was obvious that it wouldn't. Brooke would go back to her cosmopolitan lifestyle, while Will pursued his goals. He watched Brooke walk off until she was just a small blur. The crystal clear water flowed rapidly and the wind blew the veil of green above him swiftly. When he finally got up to leave, looking back at that shadowy space, a new page had turned and the beginning of his life was about to begin.
Emily was sitting in the parlor catching up on her reading when Will came in the front door. She ducked down, hoping Will wouldn't notice she was sitting there, but it was too late. He made his way into the room and sat next to Emily on the sofa. After a long silence, Will sighed and looked at Emily.
"I'm sorry."
"What? Why are you sorry?" asked Emily, a little dumbfound.
"About what I said the other day about my relationship with Brooke. We had a fight today."
"Oh. I hope it's not because of what I said… I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have been so cruel."
"No. You were right though. Brooke doesn't care about our family. We said goodbye and we're going to give each other room to grow and breathe."
"So, basically, you aren't going to see her for a long time."
"Sounds about right."
"Well, I'm sorry, Will. But you are going to Redmond with Alex and it'll be nice for you to get some time to yourself, don't you think?"
"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about something else too… promise me you won't tell anyone.
"I promise."
"Only Alex & Ally know—"
"—that you are going to enlist when your birthday comes," finished Emily. Will, however, was very shocked that it was that obvious to anyone.
"How did you know? Did Alex or Ally tell you? Did you go through my letters?"
"No. Everyone knows it, including Mum and Dad."
"How do they feel about it?"
"Mum's upset, but she'll never get used to letting her children go. Motherly instinct, you know. And Dad understands that you need to serve, but he doesn't want you to go either. It's obvious, Will. Anyway, Mum says she's baking apples. I'm going to go help her," said Emily, as she snapped her book shut and got up to leave. Will remained in the parlor until Jerry came home.
"Will, what are you doing in the parlor by yourself? Is something wrong, son?"
"Why didn't you tell me you knew? I've been trying so hard to keep it from you because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. All the time I was suffering, you never said anything to comfort me."
"What are you talking about?"
"About war. Me going to war. Emily said you knew it."
"Well, not officially. Remind me to thank Emily for finally getting you to talk about it. It was always in the back of my mind that you'd hear to Piper pipe and decide to go, but I hoped you wouldn't listen, Will." Jerry sat down beside Will and sighed. His son was a man and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "I have a feeling this is not what is really on your mind, though. Do you want to tell me or should I just sit here and wait until you do?"
"Brooke and I had a quarrel today and she's leaving to visit her Grandmother. It was about the argument I had with Emily. I told Brooke she didn't care about our family and that she was selfish about our relationship. It was horrible. And Alex is always waiting for me to hurry up and turn 18 to join up with him. I'm afraid to leave Harry as the man of the home, everything is all wrong," ranted
"One problem at a time! Firstly, I'll still be the man of the home, Will. And speaking man to man, insulting Brooke probably won't win you any points. If you really want to join up, you know your Mother and I won't stop you because we can't. It is your decision to make. Just between you and me, we didn't like Brooke anyway."
"I'm still engaged to her!"
"Oh, then forget I ever said anything. Son, women are very complex. You have to be careful what you say."
"You would know, wouldn't you? I just wanted to let you know that I want to go to Redmond before joining up, even if it is only for a few months. I want to be able to spend the rest of the year here. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, I want to be with the family during the holidays because I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. And I want to know what Redmond is like too."
"Will, you've got a good head on your shoulders. That means you take after my side of the family. Don't tell your mother I said that. The family will be very happy you are going to stay for the holidays. Let's go eat dinner. Tomorrow is your last day at home, so I'm going to stay home and send you off," said Jerry as he and Will walked towards the kitchen.
The next morning, Will had to leave for Redmond. The others would be heading for Queen's two days later. It was sad for the parents, but not the rest of the children because they would soon be leaving also. Jem, Faith, and their children came to Clarence House to see Alex off with Will. Bags were hauled in and out, mothers were crying, children were talking excitedly about a new school year, the house was buzzing. Nan and Faith prepared a festive breakfast and packed a few care packages for the boys. Now, Jem and Jerry were putting the bags in the car, while the others waited to get a seat inside. Nancy also came by to say a rather tearful goodbye to Will. Jerry had to pull her off of him, lest she accidentally break any body parts. The train station was filled with people leaving for Redmond too. Therefore, farewells had to be quick. Alex pulled Lindsay and Sarah away first, while Will took Harry, Matt, and Emily.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Alex," said Lindsay, who was in tears. He pulled her into a hug and reassured her he'd be home before she knew it. "I'll miss you too, but I'll come back. Be a good teacher and be kind to your Newbridge pupils. Write me often. Bye, Lindsay." Alex gave her another squeeze before moving over to Sarah. Lindsay moved over to Will, leaving Alex and Sarah to bid their adieus alone. Sarah, who was much braver than Lindsay, was actually having a little trouble keeping herself composed. There was really nothing they could say to each other. Sarah and Alex were always close. He was her big brother, her protector, her friend. He helped her with her studies, played football with her, and saved her from Lindsay so many times, and now he was going to college, where he would probably grow apart from her. It was just so overwhelming. Tears started to pour out and as much as Sarah tried, she couldn't stop them.
"Don't cry, Sarah. I'm never too far away. And I'll come visit whenever I can, plus we'll all be home during school breaks. I promise we'll see each other soon," assured Alex, as he embraced Sarah.
"It's just…you'll be away…and you'll forget about me…and you'll never want to speak to me again…you'll be too busy…look at me, I'm crying like a baby…and I never cry…never…" Alex could barely understand any of Sarah's sobs because she was just blubbering.
"Sarah, just because I'm going to Redmond, doesn't mean I will love you any less. And I won't forget about you, how could I? I love you. I won't be too busy, and if I am, I'll make time for you. I promise, Sarah. You can hit me on the head if I don't keep my promises. Don't cry. I'm going to miss you, but I won't be gone forever."
"Promise?"
"Of course. I love you. Tell me everything about Queen's. And don't go chasing any fellows now. I'll have to track them down and deal with them myself."
"I won't. I love you. Take care. Write me too. I'm going to miss you so much. Don't forget about your lonely, little sister."
"Like I could. Come here." One final, fierce hug and that was that. Sarah felt better, but it still hurt to see him go. "I almost forgot. Emily and I wanted to introduce you to someone. Emily, bring our surprise over here." Emily emerged from the ocean of people with a very pretty girl by her side. She had silky golden-brown hair and a creamy complexion. She was so poised and graceful. Who was she? Who was this beautiful lady who made Alex's heart skip a beat?
"Hello. I'm…uh…I'm…"
"Alex. Your name is Alex," whispered Emily.
"Right…uh, my name is Alex. It's nice to meet you. Uh, who are you again?"
"I'm Megan Hughes. Emily dragged me here today. She said there was someone I 'absolutely had to meet'."
"Really? Well, she didn't mention it to me."
"I thought I'd surprise you. Well, I have to go. Have fun at Redmond, Alex. Keep an eye on Will too. I love you," said Emily as she gave Alex a hug. Sarah smiled at Alex and gave his hand a little squeeze before she followed Emily off into the crowd. Alex finally met the famous Megan and they spent the remainder of time getting acquainted. Will was being smothered by Mother and everyone else. All around them mothers were sobbing, fathers were patting their sons on their backs, and the eager students couldn't break free from bone-crushing embraces. Will and Alex eventually broke free and gave everyone another quick goodbye. Sarah and Emily noticed Alex and Megan getting along very well. He bent down to whisper something in her ear that neither of the two could make out, but it did make Megan blush wildly. Will came by to say goodbye to Emily. They had done the serious stuff the night before, so Will tried to keep the mood light.
"Well, this is it. I'm going to miss you, Emily. Keep her in line, Sarah. By the way, great matchmaking job. Alex and Megan really seemed to hit it off. I have to go now. I'll write as soon as I get there. Just to check—"
"I'm going to be at Summer's Landing and Sarah will be at Diamond Loch with Beth and Kate. I know you're going to be at Remington Hill. Go now. Write us. You're going to miss your train, silly." Will smiled and hugged them fiercely before Alex made him let go. Everyone watched as they boarded the train and slowly it started to move. Most families started to leave, but Sarah and Emily stood at the end of the platform and watched as the train faded away into the distance against the lovely blue skies. Tomorrow was a new day…
A/N: Talk about drama. Sorry about the ending. I could've done better, but I just can't think today. Anyway, I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. It really makes my day, even if it's just short. Please review.