Chapter 4

I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Enjoy!

Alyss stood gazing at him, playing with her hands. His mouth felt as if it were glued shut. Alyss waved slightly at him.

"H-hi Will," she greeted. Will opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It looked as if he was speaking silent words. He could heart soft snickering emanating behind him. Alyss regarded the laughing twosome. "What's wrong with those two?" Will huffed, gathering his thoughts.

"F-forget them," he told her. Alyss let out a humored breath combined with a smile. "So uh…um…" Alyss laughed softly again, smiling at Will's failed attempts. The low snickers behind him magnified; Horace and Crowley sounded as if they couldn't breathe. Will placed a kick in Horace's foot who grunted in surprise. Jenny and Cassandra stood up.

"We'll leave you two alone," they announced. Horace and Crowley yelped as Jenny and Cassandra dragged them away from a stuttering Will and a timid Alyss. Alyss glanced at the empty seat in front of Will as if it were something large and intimidating.

"Can I uh, sit down with you?" she asked him nervously. Will's heart gave a nervous lurch. He thought about the poem he had written her in Creative Writing, the challenge issued to him by Halt, and the moment he had finally made it through a whole conversation with her.

"Yes, I mean um if you want to," Will accepted. Alyss smile did not make any attempt to leave her face. She brushed her sleek blonde hair with her hand and slowly sank down into the seat beside Will. "So uh, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to come over and talk," she answered softly. Will felt something heavy in his throat, prohibiting his answer to become vocal. "We never really got to talk this morning." Will recalled his wish, his desire that they had more time this morning.

"Yeah, I wish we had more time," Will agreed. Alyss let out a soft giggle of admiration. Will paid no attention to it. His eyes wandered around the lunchroom. Every eye of every girl was on him, jealous looks all directed at Alyss.

"So uh, Will, you never really told me what you do in Creative Writing," Alyss started off. Will's heart throbbed painfully in his chest; he tried to think of some way to bring up the poem.

"Well, we uh, learn about certain writing styles," he explained, trying to overcome his shyness. Alyss looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean by styles?" she asked him.

"Genres and types," Will corrected. "You know like novels, stories, and poetry." He prayed that Alyss would not notice the nervous tone in the way he had mentioned poetry. Unfortunately, that wish was not to come true. A great smile appeared on her face. Will started to feel thankful for Horace's avail.

"I love poetry!" she said enthusiastically. "Do you write poems?" Will's breathing slowed slightly and his heartbeat gradually returned to its normal pace. He had her right where he wanted he wanted her to be.

"Yeah, I have like a bank vault at home," Will joked. Alyss let out another soft laugh.

"I'd like to read some of them sometime," Alyss hinted. Sadly, Will was completely oblivious to her conspicuous inference.

"I can bring one tomorrow, if uh, you want me to," Will said nervously. Alyss smiled at him.

"I'd like that," she stated. Will felt a warm sensation in his heart, one that he had never before felt in the presence of any other girl. He wanted to mention the poem he had written earlier, but he decided against it. They sat their silently and awkwardly for a few minutes, searching for a new topic. "So Will, I heard you play Football." Will felt as if his tension had just been relieved. Finally a topic that he could talk about easily.

"Yeah, it's pretty much my life!" Will told her enthusiastically.

"What position do you play?" she asked him.

"I start at running back," Will replied. He thought about the upcoming game against Miller. He had never seen Alyss at a Football game; he didn't know if she would accept should he invite her to go and watch him. However, the words slipped out of his mouth at a rushed pace. Thankfully, Alyss wasn't able to comprehend his involuntary invitation. But at that point it was too late; the damage had already been done.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," she apologized. Will sighed. He wished he had better control of his actions.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come see the game next Friday night against Miller," Will invited, speaking the words slowly enough for her to register.

"Yeah of course I'll come!" she accepted enthusiastically. Will's heart rejoiced at the sound. He felt as if he could write a hundred love poems at that very moment, describing every sweet, breathtaking emotion that he could feel. Before he could say anything else, he felt a hand on his arm trying to drag him off. Will looked up to see Horace staring at him expectantly.

"What do you want?" Will inquired irritably.

"You need to see this, now," Horace told him. A serious look was on his face and Will knew that he couldn't discard this. He looked at Alyss; all the joy, all the celebration he had felt in his chest had quickly died away.

"I uh, I've got to go Alyss," he said disappointedly. "I'll see you in History." Alyss eyes had dimmed; she wished that whatever happened had never happened. Will felt the same way; wishing, longing that whatever it was didn't need to involve his presence. However, he quickly saw that if he didn't, other things would've turned nasty. George and Halt were face to face, noses pressed against each other. They looked as if they pushed any harder against each other, their noses would break. Everyone watching had formed a crowd, encircling the two of them. Will noticed George's left hand. He was left handed and preferred to hit with it. It was prepared to strike. He saw Halt mutter something to George. Will darted forward, catching George's fist before it connected with the side of Halt's jaw. George whipped around angrily, staring at Will with intense confusion. Will saw an ominous smile form on Halt's face out of the corner of his eye.

"What are you doing?" George demanded.

"Number one, keeping both of you on the team," Will replied with intensity. "Number two, trying to find out what's crawled underneath your skins." George and Halt backed away; neither was daring to take their eyes off each other. Instead, it was Crowley who answered.

"Halt decided to extend the competition to a third person," Crowley told Will. Will turned to George; he felt as if he was going to hit him himself.

"Do you like Alyss?" he asked him.

"No, I don't!" he replied angrily. "He's trying to get me to make a bet as to which one of us can win Ashley's heart." Will put his face in his palm. Halt just loved to stir up emotions in whoever crossed his path. Before Will could comprehend what happened, Halt dove over the heads of various onlookers at George. Horace's reactions were more than perfect. George felt himself on his back and Halt came down into Horace's powerful arms. He then set Halt down, keeping the distance between him and George.

"Look, you two can fight at practice later!" Horace bellowed. "At least then the police won't get involved!" George and Halt eased up, but the glares that they directed at one another had not yet died away. Halt sank away into the crowd; George was still fuming after the bell had rang.

"Why can't he just stay away from everyone else's heart?" George demanded. Will shook his head. He wondered that too. Halt had chosen this day to get involved with Will and Alyss; what was his purpose for that? He saw Alyss out of the corner of his eye walking alone, her books clutched tightly to her chest. His heart lurched at her like an untrained dog on a leash pulling to investigate everything and everyone around it. Will broke himself away from Horace and George and made his way over to Alyss. He bumped her softly to attract her attention. Alyss looked up and smiled.

"Hey," she greeted. They stared at each other for a few seconds, both were confounded and at loss for words. The only sound that could be heard from the pair was failed banter attempts. Finally, Alyss was able to break the silence between them. "So uh, what time is the game next Friday?"

"It starts at 8, but the team has to be on the field at 7:15 for last minute practice," Will explained. "Believe me, against Miller, we need every little bit."

"Are they good?" Alyss asked him.

"They were state champions the last two years," Will replied. "We lost to them last year by a field goal." Alyss looked sympathetic.

"Aw, I'm sorry," she sympathized. Her eyes widened as if she had suddenly just remembered something. "Hey, my birthday is next Saturday night, I was wondering maybe if you and your friends wanted to come?" Will thought he saw his heart beat through his chest.

"Yeah of course!" Will accepted brightly. Alyss smiled deeply at him; she knew that know birthday party would ever compare to her party.

"Awesome! I've got a pool, so, you know where that leads to," she informed him. Will laughed. They walked into History where Horace, Crowley, George, and Malcolm were standing about, conversing and laughing with one another. Horace looked up and his eyes drank in the image of Will walking beside Alyss. He pointed the pair out to George, Crowley and Malcolm. None of them spoke a word, but projected their encouraging smiles in Will's direction. Alyss dropped her books and her bag next a desk against the wall. Will stared at the desk next to her as if it were a prized jewel that he wanted to steal. He inched forward, looking like a baby first learning to walk. He could hear low snickers behind him; he shot a look behind him at Horace, George, and Malcolm who held their hands up in false innocence. Alyss noticed his behavior and experienced a conflict trying not to laugh herself. His shyness was discernible to her; she found him much more desirable that way.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" Will asked her. Alyss smiled deeply at him, locked in a teasing trance. Will raised an eyebrow at her. "Alyss?" She jumped as if she had been surprised.

"What?" She asked shocked.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" Will repeated. Alyss breathed softly, embarrassed of what Will had to see. She wanted to hide her undeserving face from him.

"Yeah, sure," she accepted, but not with her usual bright manner. Will dropped his book bag next to the desk and sank down into the seat. Alyss buried her face in her hands, desperate to hide herself from him. Will recognized this; he leaned over to Alyss, putting his hand on her shoulder. Alyss felt a warm wave come over her, a safe feeling, a feeling of comfort, a feeling of love. No other feeling that she had felt before could compare to this, even deserve to be called feelings. Alyss followed the impulse from Will's touch and she picked her head up. She regarded him with her admiring gray eyes gazing back into his lustrous brown eyes. The fleeting emotions had seized Will, taking a hold of his mind. He forgot about what he was going to say. Every person around him no longer existed; the only thing that was alive at this moment was Alyss. The sound of the bell ringing had brought Will and Alyss back to reality. Will shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at Horace, George and Malcolm. Horace gave him thumbs up sign while George and Malcolm laughed uncontrollably. Will ignored them and stared at the desk for the rest of the period. He pulled out his writing notebook and read his poem in between the silence of the teacher's lectures. Alyss looked over at Will and noticed his poem. She tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over at her and the moment his eye had fallen upon her, he closed his notebook hurriedly and stuffed it back into his book bag. A smile crossed her face as she watched Will sloppily replace his notebook. The bell rang an hour later; Will felt relieved. For the first time, he wanted to get away from her in case she had read any word of his poem. No poem, not even of the composure of Edgar Allen Poe or Emily Dickinson, had ever drawn her attention as much as Will's poem had. The only word she could make out was shyness. She hoped and prayed that it meant what she had desired for two lengthy years. Will's next two classes were painful and exhausting enough that he barely had enough energy for football practice. Coach Duncan organized a defense to replicate Miller's style of defense for their offense to get use to battling. Halt took the first snap and handed the ball off to Will. Will sprinted a yard forward before he felt three bodies crash simultaneously into his. He shook off the pain, pushing himself to do better. Halt took the second snap and tossed to Will who sprinted down the sideline like a cheetah. Right when he felt the end zone was a few yards away, his right foot caught his left leg and he landed face first on the grass. He spat and cursed, unbelieving of what was happening. The offense moved forward to the spot of the ball. Once Will made his way back to the huddle, Halt was gazing at him shaking his head.

"What is wrong with you?" he scolded. "That's two failed plays, stop thinking about Alyss and focus!" Will felt like driving his body at Halt and beat him until he was unconscious, but Halt's accuracy prevented him from doing so. The thought of defeating Halt, of being with Alyss had filled his mind and had made it extremely difficult for him to focus. The huddle broke and Will crouched down, prepared for his third run. Halt took the snap and shoved it into Will's awaiting grasp. He leaped over the dueling lineman and faced a defiant Horace. The two lowered their heads and Will drove forward, knocking both him and Horace into the end zone. A loud crack filled the air followed by a simultaneous 'ooohhh' from the on looking players on the sidelines. Will and Horace shook off the pain and their way back to the sideline. Halt clapped Will on the shoulder as they made their way to the water coolers. The sweet feeling of cold water splashing on his face relieved his stress as if he were taking off his shoulder pads. The rest of the practice seemed much more feasible; the team's confidence of defeating Miller was soaring high. Along with that was Will's confidence of finally fulfilling his most desired dream of being with Alyss.