After several nights of huddling by the fireplace on the furniture in the sitting room, leaky pipes causing mold in some areas of their apartment, and not being able to sleep in their bedrooms much because of the cold, Ms. Lovat's contractors finally pulled into the driveway of the apartment building four days later. William had roughly a week left before his new job started, and in that time, the two boys had been busy filing enrollment forms and paperwork for getting into the local school. The headmaster was a very empathetic, caring individual, and he made sure to give them plenty of time to get their paperwork filed. As the brothers were getting their breakfast cooked and their morning plans squared away, Joey saw the contractors and excitedly pointed it out to William. The older brother sighed in relief and welcomed the technicians in happily. The men made their introductions and were swiftly seen getting to work. However, due to the nature of their work, it was recommended that the brothers be out of the house for the day. William did not like that one bit, but Joey was much more willing. The brothers vacated the flat, and stood out on the front porch for several minutes, before Joey asked, "Well, what now?" William shrugged, not expecting this minor turn of events. Joey beamed up at William and said, "It's time for an adventure!" William sighed and spoke, "You can go on an adventure if you want. I think I may go visit the neighbors or go for a walk or something." Joey groaned in protest, to which William glared. Joey silenced himself and quickly left William's sight. Apparently William had not wanted to go out of the house at all. Joey couldn't really blame him. The growing pressure was mounting due to the upcoming job and beyond that, school starting again. Joey decided to go visit Coraline, seeing as how Wybie's home was a good walk away. The rain had picked up outside once more, creating a solid rain that wasn't particularly hard, but very cold. William was seen on the porch, lying back with his eyes shut on a small chair, so Joey thought twice before bugging him. The young boy knocked on the door to be met by the blue-haired girl, who was apparently happy to see him. The two conversed briefly, Coraline asking Melanie if a visit was okay, and Coraline ushered Joey in, vanishing down the hallway and into the living room. Joey followed suit, where he saw what appeared to be some sort of automatic racetrack built. Coraline was watching the cars swiftly bank on the curves of the tracks, apparently enthralled by the motion. Joey smiled and took a walk around, looking at the painting on the wall. "The apartments aren't particularly exciting are they?" Coraline responded, "You get used to it and over time you learn to appreciate it." Joey nodded and sat down with the teenage girl, the two observing the cars race against one another on the track as Melanie and Charlie were seen and heard calling to one another, apparently doing their work on their computers.
Coraline spoke after the car track had grown a bit dull, saying, "Where's William?" "He didn't feel like really doing much so I think he's taking a nap on the front porch. It's chilly out there so I don't know why he isn't at least visiting the neighbors. He seemed so calm yesterday after visiting that old well." At his words, Coraline had the slightest glimpse of what looked like fear in her eyes before quickly suppressing it. Joey noticed but didn't say anything about it. He continued, "He likes working with his hands and exercise. He says it calms him down." Coraline nodded and smiled, "Well that's a good thing to hear. Too many lazy people these days." Joey laughed as he observed the fog-covered windows, seeing the rain come down a bit harder than before. He knew William was likely dry and well-protected on their porch, as his older brother enjoyed the sound of the rain on the roof. Joey said, "The contractors finally showed up at our place, and they are supposed to be fixing the pipes and heating system. We don't know what exactly they are doing in there because we were asked to leave." Coraline wiggled her fingers and spoke, "Oooooohhh. Sounds like a big conspiracy! Maybe they're actually stealing all your stuff!" Joey laughed, and said, "They could steal William and I'd be okay with it." The blue-haired girl laughed heartily at that, before speaking, "Nah, we need Mr. Universe around for whenever we build on the camp site." The two shared another laugh before Mrs. Jones came around the corner, smirking and looking at Coraline, "I hate to interrupt the laughter, but please try to keep it down. Charlie and I need to get this catalogue finished. By the way Coraline your boyfriend's here." Coraline gasped and dramatically crooned, "Moooooom! He's not my boyfriend! He's my man!" Coraline put her hand to her forehead and fake swooned as Wybie walked into the room with them, saying, "Oh my goodness, he's so handsome and I can't handle it!" Joey admired their relationship, seeing it as healthy and filled with fun. As Melanie left the three teens alone, Wybie plopped right down beside Coraline and had a grimace on his face, apparently not feeling the best. Coraline noticed and gently held his hand, looking concerned, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Wybie shook his head, "Oh it's that asshole Richard again. I had to get some stuff from the school this morning and I ran into him while on my bike." Coraline looked fiercely protective and spoke, "Someone hit MY man?" Wybie shook his head. "No no he didn't hit me but he and his gang did shove me and push me around a bit. Grandma doesn't need to be out in that kind of weather. She isn't getting younger you know." Coraline understood. Richard Melbourne was the local school tough guy, never having lost a fight and having been held back three times in the 8th grade. He was pleasant and well-known with the ladies but he was lacking in the brains department, having difficulty learning. At 16 years old he frequently made a habit of bullying the other people in the school. He was also a troublemaker, having been to juvenile detention twice. That was how he gained his fame. Coraline wasn't exactly the most popular teen in school, but she did have some admirers for what people called her "looks" and toughness. She never really understood why. She thought most of the guys were just jealous that Wybie was her boyfriend. Wybie however, was socially awkward and not many people even acknowledged his existence. He was Richard's favorite target and frequently had been punched and slapped by the bigger teen. Wybie had learned to stand up for himself in recent years, pulling all sorts of scientific pranks on the older teen. Wybie never did win in a fight against Richard but he didn't stand around and let the older teen push him around anymore. Coraline gently stroked Wybie's hand with her thumb, comforting the young teen and saying, "Don't you worry, one day he'll get his what for. I've told you time and time again, Wybie." Wybie sighed and nodded, before speaking, "I saw William heading out up the hill towards the woods. I was kind of surprised because the rain is nasty outside. Any idea of what he's doing?" Joey shrugged, not ever really knowing what William would do next. Coraline cut in, "Well, I don't know about you guys but I am super bored. I want to do something." Wybie then rose a brow, "No, we are not playing cards again. You cheat." Coraline feigned a hurt look and gave him a shoulder punch. Joey laughed and Coraline said, "No no. I just don't want to keep sitting here." The teens then decided to turn on the tv and just relax, talking and making random comments about how gross someone's hair looked or how ugly the picture quality was. It was a pretty standard hangout session, not much happening. Hours passed as the sun began to set. Wybie and Coraline were now tired and Joey himself wanted to get back to their apartment. To his relief, the contractors were gone. William himself was comfortably resting on his bed back inside, a soft smile on his face as the contractors had done an impeccable job repairing their appliances. It was now tolerable in the bedroom, and Joey thought that the bed felt like heaven. He excitedly rushed to William's room and it too felt nice and warm. William looked over and spoke, "Hey, Short-Stop. What brings you here?" Joey smiled and said, "It feels so nice! The vents are working and everything!" William nodded and closed his eyes, happy to be lying on a warm bed instead of sitting on the furniture in front of the fireplace. It was far more comfortable. The older brother cracked his neck and spoke, "Well, I have some news for you. I went for a walk to the store and actually ended up seeing the headmaster of your school. We had a pleasant talk and it seems that everything has aligned up almost perfectly. The same day you go to school is the same day I do. I start my job that same day as well. We are in for one heck of a schedule change. We must start getting ready for school earlier." Joey groaned, not really wanting to think about school, especially that Richard fellow, but, he had no choice. Wiliam was the older brother and was Joey required to listen to him. "Nevertheless, our schools are not that far apart, so if you need something I can walk there within 15 minutes." Joey nodded and didn't say anything, fully understanding. William spoke again, "I got us some school supplies, they are sitting in the kitchen. My retail job is likely going to take a lot of my time. I do not know if I will be able to walk you home from school except for my off days." Joey nodded, having a bit of a sad look on his face. He wouldn't get to see his brother nearly as much with this job. William glared at him, and Joey erased all expression from his face. This wasn't the time to be sad. William nodded, "Ever since "that" incident, we are going to have to grow up a lot quicker than we would like to. You will be an adult sooner than later." "I know Bro. I know." William himself closed his eyes and sighed, speaking, "It's still daylight, so why am I so tired?" "Joey responded, "You've been walking in the cold an awful lot. Are you sick?" William rose a brow in response, "I doubt it. This turnout coat is so heavy it is impossible to get cold in it." Joey chuckled and nodded in agreement. William loved that coat, as it was the only gift left from their grandfather. William cleaned that thing so frequently it was ridiculous. Joey would never tell him that though. Joey was about to say something, but stopped short once he saw how tired William really was. His eyes had circles under them. Apparently William was also having mixed feelings about going back to school. Joey got up and left the room, letting William rest. His older brother graciously accepted the offer and was heard snoring minutes later.