Will was in the living room of his new home, taking a look around as the adults signed papers in the kitchen. There was a couch, a loveseat, two chairs, and a rocker. In the middle was an antique coffee table, with roses carved into the side. There were several lamps, although the place was still rather dim.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Will heard his social worker ask Mr. and Mrs. O'Carrick. Will probably wasn't supposed to hear what they were saying, but rules never stopped him in the past. He crept out of the living room, being sure to not make a sound on the creaky floorboards, and into the hallway that led to the kitchen.

"Of course we're sure," Halt said in that gruff tone of his.

"I'm just saying that Will can be quite a handful. He gets into trouble constantly, been in juvenile hall at least three times, and expelled from various schools more often than I can count." Good old Mr. Pines, Will thought. A fresh start, a great opportunity. Will called him some foul things beneath his breath before the adults continued with their conversation.

"Will just needs someone to care for him, and we will," Pauline said. Will scoffed, he didn't need to be taken care of or given hugs or milk and cookies.

"Okay then. Sign here, here, and here." Will could hear pages being flipped

After a minute or so the chairs screeched on the floor and Mr. Pines said, "Good luck with him, you'll need it."

"You do realize he can hear you, right?" Halt asked Mr. Pines and Will couldn't hide the look of shock that crept onto his face. How did he know I could hear them? Will thought.

"Bye, Will," Mr. Pines said, feeling rather awkward.

Will walked into the kitchen and said, "Later, Pines." See you in a couple of months, more or less.

Mr. Pines walked out, the floorboards squeaking with every step he took.

Will turned to his new foster parents, expecting to see the look that said 'Great! Social worker's out of here! We can do whatever we want with him now!' But instead they were smiling at him. Scratch that, Pauline was smiling at him, Halt's face was grim. Maybe it's frozen like that, Will thought sarcastically.

"Your room is upstairs, second door to the left," Halt said.

"OK," Will replied and carried his luggage to his room. It was a simple room, a bed against the far wall, a desk in front of the window, a nightstand, a dresser, and a closet. The room was painted green, a shade darker than the outside of the house.

Will flopped onto his bed and sighed, dreaming of the day he would turn eighteen. No more people telling him where or how to live, just pure freedom. And no more fucking foster homes.

Will got up and looked out the window. He could run, he wanted to run. It wouldn't be the first time, he'd done it many times before. But he had been warned that if he ran again he would be stuck in juvie for a long time, and that was worse than foster homes.

"Will! Supper's ready!" Pauline called from the bottom of the stairs.

Will took one last look out the window before making himself walk down the stairs and to the dining room, which was as dim as the rest of the house. Halt sat at the head of the table while Pauline sat at his right. She motioned for Will to sit across from her.

"So, Will, is your full name William Treaty?" Pauline asked while serving everyone mashed potatoes.

"Didn't you read the papers about me?" Will said, allowing his words to fill with sass.

"I tried, but Halt just signed them before reading them."

Halt scoffed. "It takes too much time, besides, paper doesn't tell you what a person's like. Getting to know them does."

Will shrugged. "As far as I know my full name is Will. It's not Will Treaty, it's just Will."

All was quiet until Pauline broke the ice again. "Tell us a bit about yourself."

"Nothing to tell, really." A lie? Yes, but Will thought it was better than them knowing the truth.

"Well what are some of your interests? Plans for after high school?"

Will smirked. "Oh yes, big plans. Sleep all day and party all night." Pauline looked disappointed for a bit, as Will knew she would, before she masked her expression. "Anyway, what do you guys do?"

"Pauline and I both work for Life Saving Insurance, it's not very popular," Halt said.

Insurance? Will thought. How boring, he hoped that they did something even remotely exciting on the side. Like drug dealing or bank robbing or something.

The trio finished their meal in small talk. Afterwards Will turned in early, but kept thinking about this insurance company. He could see Pauline at a desk and speaking with various people, but not Halt. He seemed too rough.

PAGE BREAK

Will woke up at seven thirty and glared at his alarm clock. Today was the first day at his new school, and he already decided that he hated it.

He crawled out of bed before dressing in jeans and an ACDC t-shirt. Jogging down the stairs Will smelled eggs.

"Good morning Will," Pauline said. "I hope you like eggs and bacon."

"I don't eat breakfast," Will said.

"You do now." Pauline gave him a look that told him not to argue.

"Fine," Will spat out the word a little harshly but sat down and ate his breakfast anyway. Halt sat at his spot, a newspaper in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. On the front page there was a picture of a small house that had been broken into. "What happened?" Will asked.

Halt looked up and raised an eyebrow. "What happened with what?"

"The front page, who broke into the house?"

"A couple of rambunctious teenagers." Will decided that it wouldn't be wise to mention that he, himself, had broken into several houses.

Will showed down the rest of his breakfast before being given a ride to school by Halt and Pauline. Redmont High looked like any other high school. Boring with its red bricks and cobblestone courtyard. Will walked to the principal's office to receive his schedule, textbooks, and locker combination. He put everything in his locker except for the stuff that he would need for first period.

"Hey, it's the new kid," someone whispered. Will turned and saw a muscular boy his age speak to one of his friends.

Will closed his locker door, deciding not to give him the time of day. But the muscular boy had other plans.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked, a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Will."

"I'm Horace." He held out his hand, but Will knew better than to shake it. In Will's experience it was never a good idea to shake the hand of someone who was bigger than him, and had a dangerous aura.

"Nice to meet you, let's never meet again," Will said, and turned to walk away but Horace grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him against the lockers.

"You're not making a good impression, shorty. To make an enemy of me would be a big mistake. You would need muscles to be able to fight me. Real muscles."

"Particularly between the ears." Unfortunately a girl passing couldn't keep in her giggle as she heard Will's remark.

Horace reeled back his fist, but Will was saved by the bell. Him and Horace glared at each other before Horace let him go, saying, "Next time, shorty." Then he strutted away.

"Great," Will muttered to himself. "First day and I already made an enemy. Must be a new record."

The quote "Nice to meet you, let's never meet again." Is a lyric from the song 'We Don't Have to Dance' by Andy Black and I claim no ownership on it. Also, there were some lines taken directly from the first chapter of Ruins of Gorlan.