Bonus Chapter 1- Will and Lucas

Lucas Curl stepped down from the final step of Gale Hall where he had just finished the day's final class. It was pouring down rain and with a sigh Lucas opened his umbrella as he prepared to take the thirty minute walk home.

As Lucas passed the sports field he saw two others walking towards him. One was a very pretty girl whom he vaguely recognized from one of his classes but didn't know the name of. On the other hand, Lucas certainly knew the name of the boy walking with her. William North: famous, rich, master flute player, genius and known playboy. Any girl in their right mind knew that that William would play with them but never take them seriously.

Apparently, this little fact did not matter to the girl because she had a silly grin plastered over her face and was giggling as Will whispered something into her ear.

As they neared him, Lucas, knowing that they weren't going to move, stepped off the sidewalk to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, he didn't move quite far enough and Lucas's shoulder bumped into Will's.

Will, who had been leaning far on one foot to whisper into the girl's ear was caught off balance and with a grunt of surprise fell to the ground and found himself covered in mud.

As Lucas and the girl stared down in shock at the equally shocked and muddy rich boy Lucas had to fight down the urge to laugh. He didn't have a very positive opinion of the high and mighty boy and seeing him on the ground completely dirty was kind of funny. Luckily Lucas managed to swallow the laugh as he reached down a hand to help Will.

However, William North's surprise had very quickly turned into anger. Smacking away Lucas's outstretched hand, he leapt to his feet and got right into Lucas's face. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" he snarled.

Lucas, however, wasn't fazed by the show of anger which, in Will's experience, was very strange in its self.

"I was watching where I was going," Lucas replied calmly, "You were the one who was slightly… occupied."

Will, suddenly remembering his lady friend, turned to her only to find her looking at his dirty clothes in disgust. "Umm, maybe some other time Will," she said, starting to walk away, "After you've cleaned up a little."

Will stared after her openmouthed as she walked off. Then he turned to Lucas and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Now look what you've done!" he cried.

"Actually" Lucas replied with a raised eyebrow, "I think it was the stench that drove her off. Can't blame her really. It is pretty bad."

Lucas saw the punch coming a mile away and rolled his head back to avoid most of the impact. Growing up the way he did and being as peaceful as he was, Lucas knew how to survive in a fight without anyone getting hurt. He did however allow himself to sprawl on the ground, feigning injury.

Wisely choosing not to get up, Lucas gripped his chin and looked up at Will. The other boy was already walking away, grumbling to himself while taking out his cell phone and dialing a number, presumably to get a car to pick him up.

Lucas stood and, brushing himself off, began the long walk home.

The Next Day

Lucas grunted as he dragged the large trash bag over the street to the corner where it would be picked up. It was finally Saturday but there was no rest for the weary. First came chores, then homework and then basketball with some of his friends.

When Lucas finally reached the corner and dropped the bag with a sigh of relief. He was about to walk away when he glanced over to the wooded area next to the corner and started in shock. A body was lying there, not moving!

Running over to the body Lucas cried, "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Kneeling down, Lucas turned the form over and the words were choked off in his throat as he stared in total astonishment. There lying in the damp grass with one major black eye and totally unconscious was William North.

For several seconds, all Lucas could do was stare as his mind working feverishly. It was actually pretty obvious what had happened. There was a bar a few blocks away and from the look of it, Will had gone there, gotten drunk, then into a fight and had stumbled out only to end up here, practically in Lucas's front yard.

Fingering his chin where only the day before Will had tried to hit him and smiled sourly. The universe sure did have a weird sense of humor, Lucas though dryly as he bent and gently lifted Will off the freezing ground.

A Few Hours Later

Will groaned as he woke up and knew from experience that when your hangover started this quickly it would be a bad idea to open his eyes. He tried to remember what had happened the day before.

He had gone to a bar after losing that girl thanks to that idiot freshman… what was his name. Luke? Luis? Oh well, it didn't matter. Will remembered getting in a fight with a boy older than him after he hit on the guy's girlfriend. He had been hit and had stumbled out of the bar but his cell phone hadn't been in his pocket…

Will sat straight up and instantly wished he hadn't. Pain flooded through his head and groaning, Will clutched his head until it finally stopped. Looking up, Will stared in bewilderment at his unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a plain bedroom with a desk and dresser and scare else. Problem was he had no idea whose bedroom it was. His unasked question was quickly answered as the door swung open.

A boy walked in carrying a tray, and it took Will a moment to place him before it hit him. It was the boy from yesterday who made him lose that girl after school!

"You!" he cried and winced as his own loud voice made his head hurt even more.

The boy raised an eyebrow at Will and said dryly, "Good morning to you, too. It's Lucas by the way. Lucas Curl."

Will stared at the boy in shock and then looked around the room again. "Where am I?" he asked.

"My house," Lucas replied, placing the tray on the small table next to the bed, "I found you drunk and unconscious outside of my house this morning and thought it would probably be indecent to just leave you there. Ironic situation isn't it?"

Will blinked at him and then randomly noticed that there was no mark on Lucas's face where he had hit him the day before.

"Didn't I hit you yesterday?" Will asked him stupidly. Lucas raised an eyebrow and answered slyly, "Well, you tried but when you grow up the way I have, you learn how to dodge a punch."

Will scoffed and then asked, "Do you know how I got here?"

Lucas snorted and said, "Well my guess would be since there is a bar a few blocks away you ended up drunk in front of my house… well you do the math."

Will groaned and reached for the food on the plate, saying, "I am going to get hell for this. How long has it been?"

"About six hours," Lucas replied, "You're lucky my parents are out for the day or they probably would have done something rash like call the police or something. I figured you wouldn't appreciate that."

Will nodded at Lucas but then looked more deeply at him. Here was a boy a year younger than him who he had never had a civilized conversation with before and yet, Lucas had taken him into his own home.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked softly. After all, the other boy had absolutely no reason to.

To Will's surprise, Lucas flashed him a grin and answered cheerily, "I've learned that most of time helping people can be very beneficial. It puts them in your debt and that can be useful in the future."

Will, to his surprise, actually laughed and said, "Well, thank you, I think."

Lucas nodded and then turned to leave the room. "I'll go get the phone," he said, "You should probably call someone to come get you before my folks get home. You do have someone you can call, right?"

Nodding, Will answered, a little sadly, "Sure. My butler."

Lucas stopped and looked across the room at William North with something close to pity. He had almost forgotten he didn't have any parents. However, he knew from experience that pity didn't help anyone and usually wasn't welcomed so he only nodded once and left the room to retrieve the phone.

An hour later a large black limo pulled up in front of Lucas's house and middle aged man stepped out, leaning against the car but not moving toward the house.

Lucas whistled as he watched out the window and said, "Well, you are sure being picked up in style, aren't you, rich boy?"

Will grunted and replied dryly, "Believe me, once you ride in a limo once you've done it a thousand times."

Lucas raised an eyebrow, still looking out the window and replied, "Oh I think you might be surprised, Will."

The other boy shrugged and walked to the door, opening it and said, "Well, thanks Lucas, for everything. You didn't have to. Even if it was pretty much all your fault."

"What?" exclaimed Lucas in bewildered indignation.

Will turned back to grin at the younger boy and said evilly, "Well I wouldn't have been at that bar if you hadn't messed things up with that girl yesterday."

Lucas's mouth fell open but nothing came out.

With a final laugh, Will walked out of the small house, shut the door behind him and walked out to the limo, ignoring the neighbor's curious glances with a small smile on his face.

The Next Day

Lucas sighed as he heaved his heavy backpack onto his permanently sore back. It was going to be a very long walk to school today.

His parents and sister had already left for work and as Lucas opened his front door he turned instantly to lock it. You never could be too careful.

As Lucas turned around to face the street Lucas let out a small noise of surprise and stared in shock. There, standing against a gleaming black limo and grinning slyly at him was William North.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Lucas demanded in amused bewilderment.

Will's grin widened and replied calmly, "I thought I might as well start repaying that debt I owe you. Thought you might need a ride?"