I own nothing.

"You know Uncle Johnny?"

Aiden snorted. "Barely. He comes in the house about as often as you do."

"Okay, must you point out how much you apparently loathe my presence at every opportunity?" Aiden rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. "Your Uncle Johnny was one of my best friends growing up. We'd been friends since we were toddlers, and I'd gone to every birthday party of his since we were three. Do you know what his theme was for that birthday party? The Rescuers Down Under."

"The Disney movie?"

"Yep. So here was this genuinely good kid, playing pretend, reading things like James and the Giant Peach, doing fine in school. Then his dad died. Mrs. Stevenson remarried this guy named Brad, who by the way, was actually kind of a dick. Not as much as Johnny made him out to be, but yeah, he was in fact a jerk. So thank your lucky stars you ended up with a Charlie, and not a Brad." Aiden looked at Will without any sign of hatred. Now he was just listening.

"Brad being there changed Johnny. Not all at once, but the way you're changing. At first he just turned a little darker, just making his mom worry a little bit. Just like Heather. Then Johnny got all involved in drugs-"

"And where were you during all of this?"

"Right alongside him. But I didn't even have a damned reason to ruin my life. I just did it because it was 'fun'. Because Johnny was doing it. Uncle Tunny too, to a lesser extent."

"Uncle Tunny who's missing a leg?"

"Uncle Tunny who's missing a leg. That's part of the story, if you'll listen."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Will couldn't help but smile a little. This is definitely his genes. "So we all got into drugs and alcohol and all that jazz. Started failing and not caring. Soon enough we were seventeen. Johnny was restless with this town, your mom and I had been together nearly a year, and Tunny was along for the ride really. Johnny wanted to leave, so we planned to. Do you know what happens next?"

"You all go into the city and have the time of your lives?"

"Nope. Johnny and Tunny go into the city. I stay home with your mom."

"Why?"

"She found out she was pregnant."

Aiden looked surprised, but tried to appear indifferent. "With me?" Will nodded. "You stayed home from this great adventure, just to stay with my mom?"

"Your grandparents always claimed there was nothing but lust between your mother and me. Don't listen to a word of that. We had something no one else in the town had. It was love, friendship, and rebellion all wrapped up in two people. You don't get that often. Of course I stayed with her."

"Do you still love her?" Will jumped out of his memory. "Do you still love my mom?"

"I don't think-"

"If you want my trust," Aiden cut in, "you have to tell me the truth. Do you still care for my mom?"

Will stared at Aiden. "Aiden, when you really love a girl the way I loved your mom, you'll know. You'll know that I'm here because your mom is the most complicated, frustrating subject in my life, but I'd do anything for her. That's a special kind of love. It's not defined as romantic or friendly. It's that I love her enough to let her live her own life, and I can be happy for her. That's different than the love she has for Charlie, and the love she has for you. I'm not even sure if it's love. That's why I expect you to not bring it up to her, ever. If it is love, it's very precarious. Got it?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah, I got it." He cleared his throat. "So Johnny and Tunny went to the city?"

"Yeah. Tunny didn't stay long. The city has so much more propaganda than you can imagine, and Tunny got sucked into it all. He signed up and moved out. That's how he lost his leg. Meanwhile, Johnny was all over the place. I wasn't there, but from what I understand, his personality split."

"What?"

"He turned into two people. The self-confident, narcissistic druggie on the street. The young man that used to watch Rescuers Down Under. They were two people, but they were both Johnny. Guess which one found a girl?"

"Johnny, of course."

Will chuckled. "Clever. It's kind of a trick question anyway. The druggie, the one Johnny referred to as St. Jimmy, got the girl. But Johnny was the one who kept her around. It was Johnny and his girl, and from what I understand, she was a perfect sinner. She had two sides too, but she kept them in check. She was bright enough to know that Johnny had to lose Jimmy, and tried to help. She wanted Johnny to get rid of the drugs. It almost worked."

"What ruined it?"

"St. Jimmy. He left the girl, and pulled Johnny away too. That's what it took for Johnny to kill St. Jimmy, losing that love and realizing whose fault it was. But there was no getting the girl back."

"What was her name?"

"We don't even know," Will sighed. "Johnny did his best to forget her, and maybe it's for the best. He's a wreck living with the little memory he has of her. If he remembered more... I don't know what he'd be like."

Aiden looked at Will thoughtfully. "So what's the moral of the story?"

"Don't be Johnny. You have no reason to slide into this. So, more accurately, don't be me. Talk to your mom and Charlie. Keep up with school. Choose good friends. Don't be a mess." Aiden nodded.

Will started to get up, but hesitated. "At the same time, don't be fake. Faking St. Jimmy ruined Johnny as much as anything."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Be the kid you are. If it means Nirvana, fine. If it means whatever's on the radio, that's fine too. Hell, go ahead and listen to Broadway."

Aiden smiled. "I don't think Broadway will be on a playlist anytime soon."

"I don't know. Before she got with me, it was certainly in your mother's bones."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah. Your mom's got pipes only the stage can handle."

"She hasn't sung in a long time."

"Ask her about it." Will got to the doorway. "You and your mom probably get along a lot better than you know."

"What makes you say that?"

Will laughed. "Well you and I got along better than expected, didn't we? This wasn't a disgusting ball of gag-worthy feelings, was it?"

"I guess it wasn't too bad."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep in touch, kid." Will closed the door, and started to leave.

There were Heather and Charlie on the couch.

No rest for the wicked.