The bottom of the sofa was officially an undeniable headache. Definitely. My poor eyesight came and went as I attempted to focus on one of its threads, one knotted into a generic pattern of thousands. It was in this miserable state I slowly came to the realisation that the added throbbing in my head was probably because I was hanging upside down over the edge of said sofa, my hair spilling into a rippled pool on the floor.

This was how Crystal and Tulip found me. Their vocalised reactions were along the lines of;

"What the-"

"You still do that when you need to think, huh?"

"Yes," I spluttered. I awkwardly shifted my weight off the sofa and tumbled into a mess of limbs on the floor. My legs landed across the coffee table and with a grunt, I managed to skitter off only to tumble into a mouthful of hair. "Uck!" I spat, pulling strands out of my mouth.

"Still no idea how to get out of that gracefully either." Crystal sighed with a little laugh. She picked up the canvas shoes I had thrown off by the door and tossed them in my general direction. One hit me in the chest and the other ploughed into the wall behind me with a heavy clump. I spun onto my knees and skidded over on all fours to check the wall.

"You know we have to leave this place mint right?" I said aghast. I trailed a finger over the mark before trying to rub it off, burning my thumb with the effort. I was getting my deposit back whether these two quckafudgers liked it or not.

"Get your shoes on and come upstairs. Tarryn, Uri and Vick should be there. Zed and Sky too."

Huh. Good to know. While they were in New York for college too, it was a big place and we'd only met once or twice. I'd liked Sky, though I felt like a giraffe standing next to her petite frame, but her soulfinder Zed had eyed me distrustfully from the first few moments. Sometimes I wondered did he have an idea of what had transpired between Will and I. I shook the worries off for later and followed the girls out.

Everyone was already settled and scattered around the living room and simultaneously glanced up at our arrival. What a stupid name for a room. Are we dead everywhere else? And am I a bath when I'm in a bathroom? Or a bed-

"Willow!" Sky greeted me. She was perched on the couch with Zed, his silence speaking for itself. I uneasily greeted them both and went to sit beside Tulip on the floor by the TV. Crystal joined Xav in the armchair while Will, Tarryn and Uriel had pulled over chairs to make a loose circle. Victor paced outside of all this and he continued talking, acknowledging us with a curt nod.

"From what we've gathered at present her name is Nicolette Byers, aged nineteen from Omaha. First year of an undergraduate degree and only known legal medication taken was Feroglobin B12," Vick rattled off as he paced behind the sofa. Uriel and Will nodded. "And fifteenth to be hospitalized because of the illegal substances under the overall S.C.S., Savant Circle Schema, which after this incident is confirmed to have arrived here."

"Are they the same as D.C?" I asked curiously. I'd told Vick about them before with the promise he would look into it.

"Yes, each college has a branch with this one under a 'D.C'," Vick replied. He glanced at Sky while continuing to pace. "Any status update on Julliard?"

Sky shook her head, her blonde plait flicking in her face. "No, not that I can see."

"Probably laying low after that bust in Boston," Zed said with a wicked smile. He took obvious delight in this and judging from Xav's own smirk, he took no less pleasure than his younger brother.

"That may have been one of the biggest busts but the rate we shut them is still lower than the rate they open up." Uriel said grimly. Tarryn rubbed his shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze before he continued. "We take one down and a fortnight later the college down the road has one!" He swore which even raised Zed's eyebrows.

With gusto, several voices began talking at once on what to do, everyone speaking over one another with the discussion growing more heated by the second. I crossed and uncrossed my legs while Tulip began to pick at her nails, something I knew she only did when she felt uncomfortable. Frustrated I looked around. Did they have any plan? Go from college to college and hope to stop the students in charge? What would that do when there were much bigger powers at play? It became ridiculously annoying as they looped around the same ineffective ideas while it was clear a completely new approach was necessary.

"How about forget taking them down from the bottom?" I snapped. I felt all the eyes in the room swing towards me, one with the power to set my skin alight. I focused on Vick. "You're not getting much out of the ones you have so how about stop wasting your time bringing them in. They only know so much, precious little it seems."

"There are liaisons too who know more and actually deal with someone they only know by the title 'Boss'" Vick said. "But the majority are nothing more than platelets in the blood. The liaisons are red blood cells and this 'Boss'," he nearly growled. "The damn artery."

"Here, sit Vick," Uriel said as he pulled up a chair. "We'll get them. Just getting this 'Boss' would help."

"These rings could go on for years and spread to other countries if the situation gets too hot for them here." Victor muttered sitting in the offered chair. "We've nine deaths because of this single range of drug and now another in hospital."

I heard Tulip gasp and I knew my own face had frozen in shock. Was Nicolette, a girl with family, friends and a life, just the next number? "How do we find the top though?" Tulip whispered to me. I shrugged and had a look around. Crystal was grimacing and everyone else wore variations of the same expression.

"We just need to find the man at the top or some very close to it." I said for the group to hear.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Will asked me leaning forward. His eyes fixed on me with such intensity even Vick would want to look away. And for a second it made me incredibly uncomfortable. How should I know? Set surveillance around the country or look through databases on the criminals who had similar deeds under their belts? I was just hoping Vick would simply stop exhausting his resources trying to kick the pebbles from under the castle to knock it.

But Will, however easy going he may be, had a lot of pent up emotion and it looked like he had found it an outlet. But why should he be the only one to let loose? Did he realise just how much I longed to be home already so I could forget all about him? But no. I was on a leash that kept me in his orbit. "How would I know?" I retorted matching his tone.

"Well, you suggested it! You think Vick thought 'Oh, let's waste time chipping away at this case for months instead of cracking it' just for fun?"

I think Crystal cleared her throat to try and regain calm but Will had me riled up worse than a soaked cat. "Geese, I would think he started with the footmen to gather intel which is fine by me," I said raising my hands. "But he needs to perhaps focus his forces on catching a smaller number higher up now."

"Are you seriously questioning an FBI agent?"

"I was just suggesting he move on!"

"Do you not think we would know when to move on!?"

"Apparently you have no clue whatsoever!" I nearly shouted. I was standing at this point and Will was out of his seat.

"We barely know anything about the suppliers or the liaisons or this guy other than the number we brought in who call him 'Boss'. How the fuck can we move on?"

"Well you frigging need to. You guys are getting absolutely nowhere!"

"Like you're helping!" he shouted

"And you are, really? Christ if ever the 'amazing' Benedicts had an un-necessary link…"

"How are you to judge? You don't even have a real family!" he spit. I sucked in a breath to retort but that was a lower that low blow. With each line we had spat, we'd gotten further in each others faces to the point where we were nose to nose and I was this close to lunging at him. This close. I could feel the warmth of his every breath as we glared at one another, only further infuriating me.

"Enough!" Victor roared. Zed pulled Will back by the shoulder. I bared my teeth in delight like a feral animal but Crystal hurried to block my vision and she, Xav and Tulip dragged me out to the hall. I shoved against them but the trio were ridiculously strong. I saw Will struggle against Zed and caught a glimpse of Uriel grabbing onto him before the door shut in my face.

"What the fuck Willow?" Crystal cried. Her face was flushed and the usually soft planes of her face were tight with anxiety. She stepped back from me and so did Tulip and tried to get eye contact but I only used this to push out from Xav's hard chest towards the door.

"Christ calm down Willow," Tulip pleaded as she spread herself across the door, gripping the doorknob tightly. Her eyes were blinking back tears determined to fall. "This is not you at all! You never even gave out to me when I broke your new phone Christmas last year."

"Or when I burnt a hole through your only school skirt back in Cheltenham." Crystal said. She frowned and looked over her shoulder at Xav. "Just last week he asked you where were your three bears and you barely blinked an eye." She caught either side of my head and forced me to look into her glistening eyes. "What is wrong Wills?"

Defeated, I went limp in Xav's arms and suddenly burst into tears, letting out a high keen of pain to add to the spectacle. Xav quickly released me but helped Crystal let me down on the floor. I wanted to protest but I beyond words and all I could do was let out great shuddering sobs that shook my entire frame. I could feel my face flushing red and my eyesight was diminishing rapidly behind an ever growing wall of tears that collapsed and rebuilt itself by the second. I think I saw Xav slip back inside but I was beyond trying to go in and tear a chunk off of Will. How did we actually get here? Maybe this is why soulfinders tend to stick together; the other option was to get as far away as possible or have this destructive relationship. I wanted to go home so badly my sobs renewed in intensity and I felt the rubbing on my back increase speed.

I was just a hiccuping mess teetering on the edge between calm and hysteria when Xav emerged quietly from the apartment. He made a little motion with his head to Crystal. "Whatever you have to say-" hiccup, "Say it here." I tried to order.

"Meeting adjourned for today and perhaps you should sit the next one out Willow." Xav said folding his arms.

"What about Will?" I snapped. The venom in my voice took him aback.

"Well that would probably help none with some of the things you said," Crystal said sourly. "But seeing he had completely lost it to…" she turned to Xav.

"Pretty much what I showed you," he said tapping his forehead. "Absolute fury. I've never seen Will like that. Ever. Seriously. Never riled over anything."

"What. Happened. With. Him," Crystal pleaded with me. I stubbornly shook my head.

With a sigh, Tulip knelt down beside me. "Here, we'll go downstairs, I will get you hot chocolate and we can talk about it later when you want. When you are ready." I think she addressed Crystal next. "You probably know better than me that she will talk when she wants. Whatever it is we can fix it."

"How about I buy her one down the street?" Crystal offered.

"Sure." Tulip agreed. Crystal took Xav's hand and they went down the stairs. Tulip began to get me up but I shook my head. She frowned and tried to catch my eyes. But I was waiting.

When their footsteps faded to nothing I began to get up. Tulip quickly helped. "There we go," she said. "Ready?"

I remained mute. But I sent a specific telepathic message back through the door.

I truly despise you, with every single part of me Will Benedict.

Author person again,

Pretty please follow or favourite or review (whatever tickles your peach) because I love seeing your reviews or when you bestow the honour of favouriting or following. Promise to update more if you do! And...

We just hit over thirty followers! Ah, THANK YOU Jensenoliver who was the thirtieth and Justlikesstories, the thirty first! Spurred me to update tbh :)

Hint time for the big 20! Two important visitors arrive and the secret Willow and Will hold causes even more problems. Stay tuned :)