Chapter Six:

Willy fell asleep that night with a smile on his face. The day's events had worn him out a little bit, but he was content with what he had discovered: someone loved him. He had never felt such warmth before in his usually cold and cruel life. This night, he had a dream about that cold and cruel life...

"Willy... Willy... get up, you lazy boy..." a cold voice said.

Little Willy stirred, rubbing his eyes, and he felt a tugging on his shirt. It was his father.

"Today is the day you get your braces," he said, his eyes glinting maliciously.

Willy gulped. He didn't want those braces... they looked very painful. "N-n..." he stuttered.

"What was that, Willy?" sneered his father.

"N-no!" said Willy. "I d-don't want them!"

"It's not a matter of whether you want them or not," his father said coldly. "It's about my son having perfect teeth, like mine. What would the townspeople think if they saw the son of Wilbur Wonka, the dentist, with horrible, cavity-filled, yellow, crooked teeth? Nonsense!" He grabbed Willy's hand tightly and pulled him out of bed.

"I d-don't care what they think," he said fearfully, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I don't want them!"

"Too bad, you're getting them."

"B-but... D-dad... don't you... don't you love me?" he cried.

His father paid no attention to him and continued to lead him to a room in their house, and on the table next to the patient's chair was a horrible metal device.

"Sit," he ordered, and frightened Willy obeyed. His father picked up a sinister-looking tool and the headgear, and he said, smiling evilly, "Now, this shouldn't hurt... much."

Willy closed his eyes as he heard the tool whirring and getting closer to his face. "No..." he said weakly.

The whirring noise grew louder still.

"No... M-mother... help... help me!"

He woke up suddenly, panting heavily. Willy glanced nervously around the dark room, as if expecting something to pop out of the shadows and attack him. He discovered that he was sweating profusely as well, and the feeling of sickness returned with full force.

"Willy?"

The voice made him jump; but it was Jenni who opened the door, looking at him with concerned eyes. "Willy? What's the matter?"

"Oh..." he panted, "n-nothing..."

Jenni came to his side and held his hand, discovering that he was shaking horribly. "Don't lie, Willy."

"I... I... I had a dream..."

"About what?"

"About... my... my father..." he cried, and he started to sob loudly. Jenni took him in her arms, and she hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, Willy," she said softly. "It was only a dream. It's not real."

"Y-yes, it was!" he sobbed even more loudly. "It... it was about the t-time I got my b-braces..."

Jenni could once again only imagine how horrible they were in reality, and she sighed. She had hoped that he would have improved by tomorrow, but at the rate things were going, Willy was probably going to end up in worse shape than ever. Why did he have to have that dream tonight!

"Willy... it's okay... your dad's not here right now. He can't hurt you..." she said soothingly. "And... I'm here for you."

Willy looked up at her, tears shining on his pale face. "T-thank you..."

"You're welcome. Now... I don't know if you can get back to sleep easily, can you?" she asked.

He shook his head, and suddenly, he felt uncontrollably nauseous. He moaned, and Jenni loosened her grip on his body.

"What's wrong now?" she said, looking alarmed at his pallid profile.

"I... I... feel like I'm going to throw up," he said weakly.

"Oh dear," she said, and she got up at once, leaving the room. This left Willy confused for a moment, but then she returned with a glass in her hand. "Drink some water, it'll make you feel better."

He obediently took the cup and started to drink it slowly.

She smiled kindly at him. "Better?"

He nodded, then set the cup aside. "I'm sorry to have bothered you so late..." he said softly. She wiped a single tear off his face with her hand. "It's nothing. I wouldn't want you to be sad and alone, especially at this time of night..."

Jenni got up again. "Well... good night..." she said, and she headed for the door.

"Wait!"

She turned around and Willy was looking very alert. "Don't... don't go... please..." he said, his voice starting to break.

Her heart pounded; she couldn't leave him here now, not after an obviously bad nightmare. An idea suddenly hit her. She walked back to him. "I know what to do." She bent down to reach the underside of the bed and pulled out another bed. It was a bit dusty and rather old-looking, but she grabbed one of the pillows off her own bed and set it on top, then took a blanket from nearby.

"There," she said, laying down on the bed. "Now, if you need me, I'll be right next to you. And you'll still have your space," she laughed, and Willy couldn't help but smile a little. He felt safer with her in the room and the knowledge that if something happened to him again, she would be right next to him, and his fears slowly ebbed away as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

In the morning, Willy awoke to hear birds chirping happily outside the window. He felt more energetic than he had the entire week, then he suddenly realized once again that he wasn't at his house: he was at Jenni's. He peered down at her as she slept, and a smile spread across his face. He thought that she was incredibly beautiful, and he wanted to talk to her, but he was hesitant about waking her up. After all, she had done a lot for him the previous day, and she was probably exhausted. Nevertheless, gathering his courage, he bent down and kissed her cheek.

When he pulled away, Jenni opened her eyes, saw him watching her, and smiled.

"Good morning, Willy," she said, yawning. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

She hoisted herself up and sat on the bed next to him. "I'm fine, too. So... since it's Saturday, do you think we should head to work?"

Willy stopped. "What day is it?"

"It's Saturday. Why?"

His face turned the palest she had ever seen. "Because... because..."

"What?"

"Because today is the day my dad is coming," he said, horrified.