AN: Hi! Thanks for continuing to read. We are finally into some character studies of A and BB. For point forward, I plan to split the perspective between Syn and Jessica as external third-person observers to their environments. Usually Syn will have separate chapters for Its perspective (giving the audience a chance to parts of the story outside the OC), but to start, both are in this chapter. Also, as mentioned by a reviewer, I understand that canon A and BB are supposed to be significantly younger than L, but to me it made more sense to have them growing up together since they are all so young to begin with. It also makes the characters more relatable to Jessica, who is thirteen here.

Anyway, enjoy! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Happy Reading!

Chapter Nine

The boy wandered through the darkened hallways. His footsteps were silent, his gait relaxed as he traced the chair railing to one side on memory. It was very late in the evening; the moonlight sifting through the open doorways cast the child in stark white against the darkness. His dark hair hung loosely around his pale cheeks. His tiny form was a sack of cloth floating down the corridor in a deceptively aimless pilgrimage.

Syn followed behind as It had done every night for the past week. The child would rouse around one in the morning and complete at least one circuit of the main house before returning to bed, checking every room as he passed as though he was searching for something. Every once in a while, he would stop, stiffen, and look back over his shoulder. The whites of his eyes encircled the faint, reddened tint against his pupils in such a way that his orbs seemed to emit a faint glow. Syn would too halt in the shadow of the hallway then. The boy always looked directly at It for a lingering moment before continuing on his journey to the next room.

This was the way of BB.

Jessica was unhappy about returning to Whammy House, but it was for the best, Syn mused. Like the other boarding students, she was lodged in the West Wing, a large building connected to the main house by an addition after the War. She was given a roommate, a young girl her age from southern Scotland, named Fran, and together they were entering the first year of secondary like any other child away from home for the first time: unwillingly.

Through this unspoken understanding, there was a bond forming between the pair. Classes started in a week, giving them enough time to meet others via socials intended to welcome the new and old students alike. The Whammy boys did not attend these sorts of events, not that their absence surprised Jessica one bit as she less-than-cheerfully introduced herself to others she happened across at the gatherings.

Andrew did stop by, however, on the day she arrived at the school. The small blond boy waffled in her doorway nervously, obviously excited to see her, and the specter half-wondered if he would bound into her room and topple her with a hug like a puppy if she let him. Instead, he smiled sheepishly and said that it was very nice to have her back and that they should play chess soon to catch up.

Syn observed the goings on from the periphery. Little humans were all the same – confused and emotionally unstable. The apparition was less inclined to interact with them whilst they were in such a life stage. Instead, It haunted in the corners, reacquainted with the oldness of the space, and observed the people now residing there. Mr. Ruvie ran a tight ship in his silent, foreboding way. Six caretakers were in charge of nearly three hundred students. There was a doctor, a counselor, four chefs, and a maid service on site too. Even the teachers lived on campus during the year; now very busy preparing for the impending term.

To Syn's surprise, the Whammy boys managed to peak Its interest, if for nothing more than by their secretive nature. The three youngest members of the house were sequestered away in their own wing. One needed special permission to enter this part of Whammy House, not that the spirit would rouse any suspicion as It passed through the doors unimpeded. The eldest three now flown from the coop, what was left was Lawliet, ten, followed by Andrew and, the youngest, BB. They had their own caretaker, Miss Roberts, a cook and a doctor living on site. Their part-time tutors were spared the sheltered conditions, acquiescing that both Andrew and Lawliet would attend courses with the secondary students as well.

Each child held to his own agenda. BB was quite the night owl, sleeping late into the next day. On the other end was Andrew, who awoke at six in the morning daily, dressed and prepared for breakfast by seven sharp. Lawliet's schedule was amorphous. He seemed to drift in and out, typically focused on something other than people, never sleeping well enough beyond small naps on the floor. Syn already observed Miss Roberts nudging the boy awake and helping him to his room on several occasions.

True to their schedules, the trio did not often speak to one another. BB was painfully shy or nervous, the spirit could not tell, and he often hid in the corner of the room or on the windowsill to watch others around him. It was then that Syn noticed the youngster creep to Its corner as the first week progressed. The child was especially interested in looked up to the ceiling around the being's head; to others, it might appear as though he was staring into thin air. Syn knew he could not see It, but the little one's aura shot a bright green whenever he looked Its way.

BB also chose to follow people, in particular Lawliet. L often ignored him unless BB got in his way. There was a tenseness between them, and Syn wondered if Lawliet tolerated the younger's presence or if it was the other way around. Out of sight, BB would mimic the elder child too, posturing himself, holding things in the same awkward manner made even more awkward by imitation rather than natural movement. Occasionally, Lawliet would turn and tell him to stop because it was distracting him. Once this caused a fight, and the pair tumbled around on the playroom floor until they tired themselves and BB was left with a black eye. Neither cried about it, let alone made a single noise in all of the kerfuffle of their tousled clothing and thumping around on the floor.

Andrew was closer to BB than Lawliet. He would appear magically in the room and drag the younger off before any more fisticuffs could break out in order to play games with him. Andrew was exceptional with maths, whilst BB was exceptional with patterns and colour. Together, they would challenge each other to rounds and rounds of games until it was time for A to return to his room to work or study.

Of the trio, Andrew was the only one who stuck to any rigid schedule. He had a list of private courses, including computer programming, advanced theoretical calculus, physics, and chemistry. He housed a large computer in his room, from which he worked on a series of equations he was apparently attempting to solve. Numbers and symbols adorned his walls, his desk. Even his floor was littered with scribbled numerical thoughts.

Lawliet, on the other hand, was a voracious reader. His space was lined with books, old papers, almanacs, and maps. Unlike Andrew, he was impeccably neat. He kept a journal and jotted down things he read, his long fingers holding only the tip of the pencil delicately with his left hand. He had a large board on one side of his wall where he stuck notes with string tying one thought to another until a web of red met his hollow, black eyes. Currently, there was a map of Winchester covered by this mesh, post-it notes transcribing scenes as witnessed by the child attached to a series of tacks clustered around the village center. He would stare at it with his right thumb at the base of his lips in thought for hours.

BB was a blank slate by comparison to the other two. His room was nearly empty with nothing covering the walls or desk. He slept with a stuffed bear and thick blue blankets, but otherwise eschewed possessions. He did not like to read. He was adamant not to speak if Miss Roberts would let him, instead only observing his surroundings through wide, red-tinted irises. Always watching, his demeanor was not unlike Syn's, which is what struck the spirit oddly in the first place. Where had this child come from?

JJJJJ

Classes began.

Jessica was given a list of courses to choose from based on her entrance score. At first, she was willing herself to fail the exam, but with each ridiculous question, she could not help but make an effort, and nearly five hours later, the laptop shut itself off and the ordeal was over. She was never told the final mark, but her parents were appeased that she was granted admission to the prestigious boarding school.

The girl grumbled absently to the being skulking in the corner of her room, 'They don't even offer theatre here."

She was placed in literature, geometry, and history. She had a choice of language on offer – German, Russian, or Chinese – and a selection of science courses, extracurricular activities, and sport.

"Biology or psychology," she muttered. Syn turned toward the girl, but remained silent, "Do I really have to pick a sport?"

"They have a row club."

"How do you know that?"

"There are long boats near the dock."

"There's a dock?"

"You have not fully explored the grounds."

Indeed there was a dock. Whammy House stood on the southern side of Winchester near St. Cross Park. Secluded by a small conservatory, the property expanded several tens of acres and contained a small pond with a stream, which drained out to the River Itchen that bisected the small town. There was also a football pitch and tennis court, an indoor gym, a music hall, and gardens all beyond the great Edwardian façade of the main house.

Jessica went back to the list and frowned, "Tennis, then."

The first day was overwhelming for the girl, but she managed to get herself up and ready by seven, ate breakfast and placed herself squarely in the front of her first class. Although the course was small, the seating was assigned alphabetically with two students per table. She looked out the window to one side and waited as other students began filing in. Chatter filled the space.

Suddenly there was someone beside her, but she paid little mind. She could not be bothered. She was not quite willing to allow herself to be here, and thus, just could not fathom trying to make friends yet. So, it came as a shock when a flat, soft voice greeted her.

"Hello, Jessica."

The girl straightened herself and turned. Beside her was Lawliet with nothing in front of him save a book at the corner of the table. His owlish eyes glanced at her questioningly before returning to the front of the room. He had grown in the last year, although still small and thin. Still in the oversized white shirt and slacks. His hair was at least brushed, and Jessica imagined he was seated properly in his chair only because she was there. Yet, this did not take away the surprise that he greeted her at all.

"Lawliet," she returned after a moment, "What are you doing here?"

He glanced at her again, "This is my seat. You are Lambert, and I am L."

"Yeah, but aren't you a bit young to be in this course?"

She should have stopped herself before she let the words slip. A blush crept to her cheeks when his brow furrowed in contemplation, "It is only literature. I don't really need it, in truth, but they are discussing Tolstoy this year, and I have not yet read his full body of work."

Of course he did not need this course. Jessica wondered then, "What else are you taking this term?"

"Calculus, human psychology, Chinese, American sign language, and linguistics, but that is by a tutor as this course is not listed for boarding students," he paused before reminding himself with a nod, "And tennis."

Jessica chewed her cheek, "So we are in three classes together then – literature, psychology, and tennis."

"So it would seem."

"Do you play tennis much?"

"No." He shuffled in his seat uncomfortably, Jessica could tell he still disliked the position, "Quillish says I need to improve my hand-eye coordination."

"Oh."

The pair did not speak to each other for the rest of the week, although they sat together in the classroom and stood beside each other on the court. It was raining on the first lesson and everyone was miserable. The girl could not help continually peeking over at the odd boy. He did not write notes and instead watched the instructor intently. He answered questions if called upon, but did not readily raise his hand. He did comment, however, about Jessica's reluctance to do the same and how that would prove poorly for her performance in the future. The girl was left gawking in the hallway as the rude boy wondered off to wherever he went between each two-hour block.

The coursework was brutal. Jessica was used to homework, and even anticipated the workload to be heavier here than anywhere else. Still, she was unused to having to work for her grade, and the pile of assignments she needed to complete by the following week was startling. Quickly, she found herself isolated in the west-wing library, a layer of textbooks before her in order to make up any lost time.

Andrew came to her the following weekend, inviting the girl to come to the main house and play chess. It was a free day, he reasoned, and Jessica knew he probably wanted a break. It was not that she would argue either. A appeared tired. Still small from when they first met, his blond mop was evenly cut like a bowl around his ears. He dressed himself in a maroon jumper with a little red tie tucked beneath his V-neck and brown slacks that made him appear older if only for how different it was to everyone else's uniforms. The plastic rim of his glasses framed his bright blue eyes, his wide grin missing two baby teeth.

"How are your studies?" He asked as they crossed the threshold to the main house. For a moment, Jessica felt a little out of place again just by being there. But, A simply beamed and offered her to go upstairs, "I convinced Miss Jenny to bake some cookies for us. I shall go get them, whilst you set up the board. Is that ok?"

Jessica blushed and nodded, and they parted ways. The house still smelled as it had when she was there the year before – old and lived in. The flooring creaked slightly under her footing as she made her way to the familiar library and bee-lined for the shelf on the far side of the room. A special antique chess set was housed within the cherry box she pulled from the bottom ledge and she busied herself with preparing the match.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark flash. The girl paused and looked over toward the curtained by the large window, a delicate brow lifting. There was nothing there and she groused, "Not one moment of peace."

Slowly, a set of dark eyes paired with a shaggy main peered out from the left side of the currents. The image startled Jessica and she let out a squeak, dropping two of the chess pieces in the process.

"BB!" She cried, holding a trembling hand to her the collar of her cardigan, "You frightened me! What are you doing over there?"

The small boy remained still behind the curtain, and she surmised that he must be crouched on the windowsill. She bent over to pick up the stray pawns and straightened herself before venturing over to him and yanking back the heavy drapery. As she thought, he sat curled on the edge of the sill, dressed in an oversized white jumper and jeans. His hair had grown out to around his chin, leaving a disheveled mass in its wake, half covering his pale features in an inky curtain.

"You have a knack for hiding, I'll give you that."

BB's large eyes roamed over the girl for a long moment before he looked past her shoulder to the hallway. A smile crept to his triangular face, one that seemed off considering how timid he was around people. He looked back at her and fidgeted his bare toes against the wooden sill.

Jessica peeked over her shoulder and then to the boy again. Letting a huff go through her nose, she smiled briefly too and whispered to the nine-year-old, "Are you playing hide-and-seek with Lawliet?"

His smile disappeared with the slow shake of his head, his eye contact suddenly sharper now that he had her attention. His feet were still twitching, and he raised two fingers to call the girl forward. She swallowed, but leaned forward anyway.

When she was uncomfortably close for her tastes, when she could hear the soft ruffling of cloth against his drawn knees, when she could feel his breath tickle against her ear, he whispered back, "There is a monster following you."

Jessica stilled herself against the wave of adrenaline that struck her. Her stomach dropped and she could feel the sweat prickle on her palms. Slowly, she pulled back, her gaze wide and cautious as she stared at BB. A subtle smirk emerged on his thin lips as he returned the stare unflinchingly.

Could he know about Syn? How could he possibly know? Jessica never mentioned It to anyone. As far as she could tell, no one else could see it, not even her until she touch that damn Book. And even now, said Book was hidden back in Wycombe deep in her wardrobe where no one would find it. The girl was suddenly unsure of herself. Her heart was in her ears as she swallowed dryly again and backed away.

Then she asked, if only to test his sincerity, "You can see It too?"

BB grinned then, a true grin that suddenly made him all the eerier in the quiet library, and Jessica shakily let out the breath she had not realized she was holding.

And then the mood shifted. Andrew entered the room, causing the girl yet again to jump out of her skin. He carried a tray carefully with tea and the promised cookies, only chirping when he was able to successfully set it down on the table, "BB! You should join us for a game!"

The boy bit his bottom lip, eying the tray, before he replied, "Ok. I want crackers with jam."

"I'll get it for him," Jessica offered, heading down the hallway before either boy could interject.