Disclaimer: Udeday, Iyay ouldshay, ikelay, otallytay itewray ayay olewhay apterchay inyay igpay atinlay! Atthay ouldway ebay osay oolcay! Utbay Illyway Onkaway andyay allyay ethay estray illstay on'tday elongbay otay emay. Apcray.
Oh, and for the record, it's about the second week of May by now in this story. That was mostly for my benefit, so I don't go writing about snow and Christmas and stuff. Also, I have no idea how the British school system works so I was just planning on having Charlie's summer holidays begin around the middle of June? Unless anyone knows differently. On with the story!
A Taste of His Own MedicineTrue to his word, Willy did indeed act friendly towards Wendy for the next several days, talking to her about the weather and asking after her health in an extremely polite but decidedly creepy way. Wendy stoically ignored the chocolatier, giving him the silent treatment and acting as though he didn't exist. Willy was unfazed. He figured that if he kept this up long enough she'd probably crack, and as it turned out, he was right. Kind of.
Dinner at the Bucket's house had become a very interesting affair. Willy had snagged a seat directly across from Wendy, and for the entire meal he would chatter away about nothing in particular to the unresponding woman. While Wendy showed no outward appearance of annoyance, it was clear to the entire family that Willy's constant attention was wearing on her nerves. The question on everyone's lips was, "When will she finally snap?"
Sarah Bucket was also at her wits' end. She couldn't figure out why her sister was being so stubborn against Willy's attempts at friendliness.
"Wendy, why are you being so pig-headed about this?" Sarah asked wearily, clutching her teacup. Wendy shrugged.
"I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, Sarah," replied Wendy smoothly, taking a sip from her own cup. "It's a free country. I can ignore whomever I want."
"Willy's just trying to be friendly," Sarah tried to convince her sister.
"He is not. He's just doing it to spite me," said Wendy mulishly. Sarah rolled her eyes and decided not to get into that argument again.
"Well, you still can't ignore him forever, Wen," she pointed out reasonably. "You're going to have to talk to him sometime."
"But then he'll win!" Wendy cried. Sarah groaned and massaged her temples. Some times it felt as though she was the older sister, and Wendy was the younger, more immature one. "Although I do want to end this thing," Wendy continued. "I mean, at first it was just irritating, but now it's disturbing. Like I've got a stalker or something."
"Then what do you propose, Wendy, seeing as you don't like any of my ideas?" Sarah asked, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. Really, whenever Wendy was around, it was as though she had another child to take care of.
"Not sure yet, Sar, but I'll think of something. I always do," she said, smiling. The smile slid from her face as she gazed out the window. "Oh shi- er, shoot!" she amended hastily. "Got to run, dears." Giving Sarah a quick hug and blowing kisses to the rest of the Buckets, she burst through the door and dashed out of the Chocolate Room, sometimes pausing to duck behind a bush or tree. Wondering what could have caused her sister's odd behavior, Sarah took a look out of the window.
"I should have known," she muttered, grinning. "Hello, Willy."
"Hiya, Mrs. B." Willy said, striding through the door. "I was just wondering if you knew where Wendy was today? If I didn't know better I'd say she was hiding from me," he said with a soft giggle.
"I have no idea where she could be," lied Sarah smoothly. "Perhaps she's gone out for a bit."
"Oh, 'kay. Well, thanks anyways," he said, shooting an odd look at the grandparents. Grandpa Joe was covering Grandpa George's mouth with his hand, though muffled protests could still be heard.
Old people were weird, Willy thought. "See ya later, alligator!" said Willy out loud, exiting the small house with one last glance at the struggling seniors.
As soon as he had left, Grandpa George clamped his teeth on Grandpa Joe's finger. "Ow!" Grandpa Joe exclaimed, yanking his hand away.
"Well, you shouldn't have been trying to shut me up anyway," growled Grandpa George. All four grandparents starting bickering loudly (though Grandma Georgina was arguing hotly about how expensive asparagus was these days). Sarah drained the rest of her tea, silently wishing that it had been something a bit stronger instead.
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That night at dinner, Wendy showed up as usual, looking a bit less frazzled than normal. In fact, she had a downright smug look on her face as she took her regular seat. Sarah had a feeling that Wendy had, indeed, thought of something, though she was dreading finding out what that something was.
"So, Wendy," started Willy in what Wendy had called his eerie-psychopath-stalker voice, "how was your day today?"
Instead of just staring down into her plate and pretending she hadn't heard a word he'd said, Wendy tried a different approach.
"Why, Mr. Wonka, I had a terrific day today!" she chirped brightly, staring Willy straight in the eye. "Thank you so much for asking! Let's see, I took Frankie for a long walk today, and you know, he's just so great at making all those reporters and fans and stuff leave me alone, he's like a bodyguard! What else did I do today? Well, I unpacked some of my knick-knacks I collected on my travels; luckily none of them were broken…" And she went on and on and on, until everyone at the table felt like smacking her one. Willy was quite unnerved. No matter what he said, he wasn't really that fond of people, and having this lady give him her undivided attention was severely creeping him out.
"…and I practiced my oboe and I worked some more on this big project that I've started. It's coming along quite nicely." Wendy finished off her (exceedingly) long tirade, panting slightly. "And what did you do today?" she asked, gazing at him intently.
Willy just stared at her with fear blatantly written all over his face. He gulped anxiously. "I, um, I…gotta run," he said hastily. "Heh heh, I just remembered, I hafta go…check on something. Sorry I couldn't stay for dinner, but I really must go…thanks anyways!" said Willy, grabbing his hat and cane and exiting the house at a near run. Everyone sitting around the table gave Wendy a Look. She bit her lip as she stared back at them, fidgeting under their glares.
"What? I was just giving him a taste of him own medicine!" she said defensively.
"It's different, Wendy," Sarah began in a calm, explaining sort of tone. "I doubt anyone's said that much to Willy all at once in ten, fifteen years. Of course he'd spook, he's not that's used to it."
"But he's been around you all for a while now," said Wendy, "Wouldn't he be used to people talking to him and stuff?" Sarah and Jacob exchanged glances.
"Not really," said Jacob carefully. "We…try to give him space and privacy, and not push him too much. Willy's not a people person, you could say," he added with a rueful smile. "Charlie's the one who he really enjoys talking to."
Charlie. Wendy glanced nervously at her nephew. "Oh jeez, Charlie dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…" she trailed off, not sure how to continue. He smiled at her.
"It's really all right, Aunt Wendy," he assured her. "I don't blame you; you didn't know Mr. Wonka would react like that." But even as Charlie said this, she could see disappointment in his eyes. Wendy sighed.
"Well, I guess I'll go track him down and apologize. Try and get this whole mess cleared up, you know." She got up from the table began her search for the chocolatier. Charlie smirked as she left and the adults at the table all shook their heads in unison.
"Charlie lad, you have got those two wrapped around your finger," chuckled Grandpa Joe.
"I don't really think it's fair to take advantage of them like that," admonished Sarah. "But at least you have some control over them. Honestly! Those two are so stubborn," Sarah said, grinning.
"You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife," Grandpa George boomed not-so-subtly. Jacob spewed his iced tea across the table and Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe snorted in agreement. Grandma Georgina just smiled and nodded. Sarah cocked her head and looked at Grandpa George, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" spoke Grandma Josephine. "Back when I was a kid, if a boy liked a girl he'd tease them to no end. Willy never really grew up, so he's teasing and messing with her to get her attention." Sarah had to admit she had a point, but still wasn't sure that Willy…liked her sister. It was a bit farfetched, but Charlie piping up with a query of his own interrupted her mulling.
"Mum, what's sexual tension?" Sarah looked over at her husband, who blanched and tried to make himself invisible. The look in her eyes plainly said, "You handle this or you're sleeping on the sofa tonight." Jacob sighed, resigned to his fate. Clearing his throat, he looked at his eleven year old son apprehensively.
"You see, Charlie, when a man and a woman like each other a lot but don't want to admit it so they end up fighting and screaming at each other a lot, that's kind of what, um, sexual tension is," he explained awkwardly. Sarah coughed to cover up a laugh and hoped that Wendy was having more luck in her chat with Willy.
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She found him sitting by the riverbank, well secluded in a little copse of peppermint trees. He seemed to be breathing rather heavily and looked like he was about to throw up. Wendy felt her stomach squirm with guilt.
"Hey, Wonka," she said, sitting down next to him. Willy jumped about a mile, surprised by her sudden appearance.
"Oh…it's you," he muttered. "What do you want?"
"Sorry for freaking you out like that at dinner," said Wendy crisply, getting straight to the point. "I just wanted you to know how weird you were acting towards me. I didn't mean for you to practically hyperventilate."
Willy snorted. "I would not have hyperventilated."
"You looked like you were going to."
"Well…maybe a little," he said grudgingly. "But it was your fault, practically jumping on me like that!"
"Yes, and I said I was sorry," said Wendy evenly. "And I think that we should agree to end all of this competitive nonsense once and for all."
"You know, that's smartest thing I've heard you say all week," Willy agreed, grinning. Wendy was not amused but decided to let the comment slide.
"So," she said, sticking out her hand. "Not friends, not enemies…acquaintances?"
Willy offered his hand tentatively, not relishing having to have physical contact with Wendy, but he ignored his misgivings and shook her hand limply. "Acquaintances."
And thus a non-friendship was born.
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A week after Willy and Wendy's discussion, and things were back to normal in the Wonka factory.
Well, as normal as things got with Willy Wonka around.
Charlie and Wonka were in the middle of testing a very thin sugar paper that was safe to eat, and very useful for writing notes to friends in class (provided you wrote with nontoxic ink). The only problem was that it had a tendency to melt and get sticky all over everything, but Willy thought that if he applied the same method he used for his non-melting ice cream it could fix the problem.
Charlie was in the middle of telling his mother all about it after school one day when Wendy came in and started rummaging through the cabinets, looking for something.
"Can I help you?" asked Sarah somewhat sarcastically. Wendy shook her head.
"I'm fine, dear. Just going to make myself a little snack and get back to work," she replied, taking out sandwich fixings.
Charlie suddenly realized that he hadn't seen his aunt much lately. She hadn't been down for meals, so a concerned Sarah had started sending an Oompa Loompa with a tray of food for her. As he peered at his aunt, he noticed that she looked rather tired, and she had light bags under her eyes.
"Have you been asked working on that 'big project' you hinted about a while back?" he asked, interested. Wendy grinned.
"Perhaps," she said mysteriously, slathering mustard on a piece of bread and then slapping a few ham slices on it.
"What is it?" asked Charlie eagerly.
"Yes, we all would like to know," Sarah chimed in, looking expectantly at her older sister.
"Can't tell you. It's a surprise," said Wendy, taking a large bit out of her sandwich.
"The best kind of prize is a surprise." Willy bowed deeply to the small house's inhabitants. "Afternoon, dudes and dudettes."
"Well put, Wonka," Wendy said, shoving that last part of her sandwich in her mouth. "Sorry I can't stay to chat, folks, but I must be off. Work to do!" And with that, she bounded out the door. Willy raised an eyebrow.
"Was it something I said?" he asked. Sarah shook her head.
"No. That was, I think, the first time she's been out of her room in three days. I wish I knew what that project was, though…it seems to be sapping up all of her time," she said in a slightly worried tone. "And she doesn't look as though she's getting enough sleep."
"Mothers," said Willy in an exaggerated whisper, rolling his eyes. Charlie snickered. In a regular voice, Willy added, "Pssh, don't worry. Sometimes I go for days without sleeping when I have a really good idea and I don't want to lose it. She's probably just on a roll or something." He awarded Sarah a small grin then wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders. "C'mon, Charlie! I think I got the mixture for our eatable paper right this time!" he said excitedly, and the teacher and student left to continue working on their new invention.
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It was nearly one in the morning, and Willy couldn't sleep.
This in itself was nothing unusual; he didn't need much sleep and was prone to getting up in the middle of the night and wandering around his factory, usually the Chocolate Room. He liked to walk down by the chocolate river. In the synthetic moonlight it was eerily beautiful, and sometimes he brought along a mug and would have a cup of hot, melted chocolate to help him settle down. In fact, sometimes he got his best ideas strolling around the factory during the wee hours of the morning.
This night as he was walking, however, the chocolatier was nearly brained by a flying notebook. He managed to duck just in time and the notebook flew harmlessly into a tree. Willy thought he probably knew the cause of the airborne notebook, and a few seconds later a hushed yell proved him right.
"Urgh!" Wendy said softly, running her fingers through her hair in a sign of exasperation. Willy stepped out of the shadows in front of the surprised woman. He handed her the offending notebook.
"So, what'd that thing do to you?" he asked, taking a seat across from her on the ground. Willy thought that he ought to be at least civil to Wendy and try to get to know her a bit; he still wanted to prove that he wasn't completely antisocial. As he tried to look interested, Wendy took a deep breath then let it out slowly.
"You kind of scared me, just materializing in front of me like that," she said, taking the notebook and trying in vain to smooth out a few bent pages. "And it's not what this notebook did to me, it's what I did to it," Wendy said with a sigh.
"Which was…?"
"I filled it with stupid, pointless, boring RUBBISH!" she said angrily, tossing it to the ground again. To Willy's extreme horror and dismay, Wendy sniffed and her lower lip began to tremble. No, he thought. She wouldn't… But to Wonka's great relief she did not start crying.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Willy said.
"It IS!" she protested. "It's horrible. All of it! And I'm never going to be a wr-wr-writer!" Wendy's eyes filled with tears and her voice got all trembly.
Willy gulped. He really didn't have a clue on how to handle this, but he was never one to leave a damsel in distress in…distress. "Hey, take it easy," he said, trying to be consoling. "No need to be so hard on yourself. I mean, when I first started making candy, do you think all of it was delicious at first? No! Sometimes I got some really horrible tasting chocolate, but I kept trying, and look at where I am now! The best candy maker in the world!" Willy said with a grin. Wendy gave a huge sniff and offered a wobbly smile.
"You, know, I think you're right," said Wendy.
"Course I am." Willy nodded, as he knew that he was always right.
"I'm really sorry…I just felt so down in the dumps," she continued. "But I feel a lot better now. It was probably just writers' block anyways. Thanks for being so encouraging, though. I really needed that!" She reached over to give Willy a hug, but he backed away hastily, an alarmed look on his face. Wendy grinned.
"Sorry, I forgot about the no touching thing." Wendy gathered up her notebook and pen, then stood to leave. "Thanks again." She skipped out the Chocolate Room, humming happily. Willy shook his head. Girls were weird.
A/N: Lol, I realized that I had put chapter 7 in my author's note last chapter, so sorry about that! I'm a little absent minded. Woo for the REAL Chapter 7! And when I started writing this chapter, it kinda pulled me in another direction. So I didn't really get to add in some of the things I wanted, but I put in something I needed. Heh, that's life, I suppose. I hope Wonka wasn't too OOC in this chapter. I felt he was a little bit off. I dunno; tell me what you think, R&R! Speaking of which…what lovely, long reviews I got for last chapter! Willy gives you all a big hug, and Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delights as well! And as always, ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Wicked Seraphina: My most esteemed reviewer and fellow Willy fanatic, thank you! Hoo boy, do I agree with you and Wendy! That was slightly inspired by the total idiots at a haircut place who took off like three inches when I just wanted a trim. DAMN YOU! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I always look forward to hearing from you!
Forensic Photographer711: Ha! I ramble on forever, too. Yay, glad you liked Chapter 6! Yeah, Sarah is totally cool Supermom in my story. w00t!
PucktoFaerie: Glad you liked the fight scene, that was prolly my favorite part.
Maleficent Angel: Oh, yes, they are a lot like each other. But they have their differences, which will probably be important later on. OMG, I had the idea of an Oompa Loompa betting table and I could not let it go. They made quite a profit, to…
Lady Tarja: Well, my bro thought it was, so I read it again and was sickened by how Mary Sueish it was, so I changed it. Romance will come eventually, but with Willy you can't rush things. I TOTALLY agree with you about the book 'n' movie, and I do know what you mean. Hope this update is soon enough; though I love peanuts I also love mah Willy!
Jacksmybitch: Glad you think my story kicks ass! Here is another chapter for you!
Elizabeth: Girl, where is my WONKA PLUSHIE!1111oneoneonetwothreetenmillion Your praise makes me soooo happy! If Wendy ever gets too MS, or Wonka too OOC, please tell me! Lotsa peeps lurrrrrved the fight scene, yay!
Ok, I have several stories that I want you guys to check out! –shameless plugging of wonderful stories- Okies, "Circus of Life", "Being a Big Brother", "Merlot", "Confectionary Secrets", and "Endorphins". Yeah, some of my reviewers, you might find your stories up here! Just wanna say I care…
And, because I am too lazy to write a blog or anything, I will pour out my soul to you guys. I recently had the most awful misfortune to find what is probably the WORST MARY SUE EVAH. I can't tell you the title, but it was horrible. It made me puke blood and cry tears of hate. Wicked Seraphina knows what I'm talking about. So I want you guys to take a stand against Mary Sues. Protest at your local library or bookstore; write a letter to your congressman. THE EVIL MUST BE STOPPED!