Sami, up early before she needed to get to work, headed towards Common Grounds when she walked passed a newspaper stand and stopped dead away. She snapped a copy off the shelf and read the front headline, face getting red from anger. Tossing a few crumpled bills at the man working there Sami took the newspaper with her and dug for her phone in her purse.

"EJ," she screamed into the phone when he answered, "What the hell is in the newspaper?"

"You know I can't understand you when your voice gets that high," EJ sighed into the phone while wincing, still half asleep. "Now what are you yelling about?"

"The newspaper," Sami said through clenched teeth, in no mood for EJ to be messing around. "It's about Will."

Sonny, flipping the sign from closed to open in the Common Grounds window, unlocked the door and yawned. His sleep was plagued by the same nightmare he always had except now it included watching Will sit in front of a fire with some stranger.

'I really need to get over that dream,' Sonny said as he jumped up and down a few times trying to wake himself up. 'Will loves me and Paul. Paul loves me and Will. I love Will and Paul. Everything will work out eventually.'

As customers started coming in and things started picking up Sonny noticed a lot of strange looks being sent his way. 'God,' Sonny thought feeling weirded out as he handed over a large drink, 'It's almost like after that stupid article came out. A weird mix of pity and curiosity.'

When another rush of customers came inside Sonny became distracted and easily put the oddness of the looks behind him.

Paul woke up shivering. He had kicked his blankets to the end of the bed. He had gotten used to Will being like a space heater pressed against him during his sleep. It was almost instinct now to toss the covers off of him while he slept.

'I hope Will comes home soon,' Paul thought as he wandered into the bathroom. 'Everything is different without him.' Sure Paul enjoyed spending time with Sonny but it wasn't the same without Will.

'In such a short amount of time our whole lives changed. I was so excited to have Will. To finally touch him and kiss him the way I wanted. I never took the time to decide if Will was settling into everything the way I was, the way Sonny was.'

Paul stared at himself in the mirror. Taking in his reflection Paul sighed. 'Is this the face of someone who promises his boyfriend the entire world and rips it away? I cheated on Sonny. And I used Will to get myself off when he was drunk. I promised the both of them I would never hurt either of them again and I kept Will a secret. And I told Sonny and made him keep a secret from Will too. Am I the type of guy that hurts his boyfriends over and over?'

Walking away from the bathroom Paul couldn't stop his brain from working. 'I need to find a way to prove to Will that I'm serious about changing. If I can prove that to Will than I'll also be able to prove it to Sonny too.'

Seeing his phone on the counter charging Paul frowned, 'And if I'm serious about this I know exactly what I need to do.' Unlocking his phone and pulling up a recent contact he put in Paul sent a message to a person he really, really hated.

EJ growled into the phone, "What do you mean my father planned this? My father is dead!"

"I'm sorry but Mr. DiMera specifically gave me instructions to have this printed in the event of his death," the lawyer told EJ apologetically.

"Why didn't you inform me of that when we met," EJ loudly complained, "That seems like something I might be interested in knowing!"

"That was part of the condition, Sir," the man responded coolly. "You know better than others how secretive you father was."

"Get it recanted," EJ ordered. "I don't care what I have to pay you call the newspaper and get a retraction printed now!"

"Very well," the lawyer sighed before being hung up on. 'Of course,' the man gripped before making another phone call.

EJ threw his phone on his desk before putting his head in his hands and closing his eyes. 'How could this keep happening? The newspaper was supposed to be handled. Oh wait,' EJ grimaced, 'I let Victor handle the newspaper. Of course this would happen again.'

Inhaling and exhaling slowly EJ opened his eyes and opened his desk drawer determinedly. On the top was the DVD his father had given William in his will. EJ deliberated for one moment before finding his laptop, turning it on and putting the DVD in it. EJ knew Chad and William had watched a copy of the DVD before but EJ was suspicious. 'What are the odds of Father knowing I would take this copy and leaving another one behind?'

As EJ pushed play upon seeing the menu screen he leaned forward in his seat, chin resting on the tips of his fingers. He inhaled sharply when he saw his father's face on the screen.

Stefano, smiling knowingly, greeted, "Hello Elvis. I wonder exactly how long it took for you to take this from William."

EJ closed his eyes and hung his head, 'Even in death Father is always one step ahead of me.'

Will came out of the library yawning and wondering exactly why everyone was staring at him again. 'It's not like anything new could have possibly happened with me,' Will mused.

Putting his hand over his mouth Will widely yawned once more. By the time he had gotten home from the party it was way past midnight. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep before his alarm woke him up. He wished he could stay in bed, actually he knew it was what was best for his head, but he couldn't.

Will had a few lectures and a study group to go to. He only had a few more weeks until the semester was over. 'Then I'll have plenty of time to rest and recover and figure out everything,' Will hoped.

Will headed over to the Starbucks on campus. He felt guilty going there but he was in desperate need of coffee and Common Grounds was on the other side of town. 'At least when Sonny and Chad open that second spot it will be nearby for times like this,' Will thought as he walked inside and stood in line.

He was glad that Sonny and Paul were done sending him presents, 'But I could do with delivered coffee right about now. Anything to get away from the weird looks everyone is giving me today.'

"My son," Stefano said over the screen on EJ's laptop, "I know that you have never approved of my vision for William but I hope you understand why it was necessary. You care for the boy and in my own way so do I. I would never accept someone or go to such lengths for them if I did not.

"Hopefully by the time you are watching this my plans have already gone into effect. I wish that I had more time with you my son. There was much left you had not yet learned. One I hope you will learn after the end of this video.

"You must always be one step ahead of everyone be it friend or foe. Which is why I hope you can understand why I did what I had to do to William. Every plan that I made, every pawn that I acquired, each nightmare I caused was all for the betterment of our legacy. I knew just as well as you did that William Horton was never going to follow my directions without cause. I never would have gotten him away from Salem and his little friends without the blackmail material you provided me. I never would have gotten him to Tuscany without Chad's machinations. And I never would have turned him to the DiMera side, the right side, without my training program.

"Actually," Stefano chuckled slightly, "I was quite proud of the plan I put in place despite my setbacks. And the training," Stefano smiled arrogantly, "I knew it would be difficult to completely get him under my control. I could not use any of my previous techniques that I had used on others before. William is not to be a dangerous weapon. William is meant to be the face of our new generation, the new direction our empire is venturing. Yes," Stefano nodded, "William will be much more than any other weapon I have ever made.

"I never really knew," Stefano smiled in amusement, "How exactly I would get Samantha Brady's son under my control but he gave me the tools himself. Seemingly alone in a DiMera Towers apartment wrapped around his lovers he exposed his very weakness. William, so pliable and in need of direction, showed me exactly how he would be moved to follow my rules."

EJ paused the recording to take a few deep breaths. Every horrifying word his father was saying made something disgusting swirl within his stomach. He knew exactly what his father was talking about. EJ knew without a doubt that his father intended to use William's dependence on others, his desire to have someone care for him and give him directions, and force him into believing what his father wanted. 'The very thing that William used to help himself recover from my father's and Ian's attacks were going to be the very thing that hurt him in the end.'

Exhaling weakly, stomach feeling queasy, EJ hit play.

"However," Stefano continued, "I couldn't rely on William staying lost in his own head, his own need for guidance, forever. Which is why I was so pleased to remember I had a recording of poor Ian's truncated evening with William. I knew nothing would keep William under quite like a reminder of what could happen if he were to disobey me.

"Now, Elvis Junior, my son," Stefano paused slightly, looking as if he were having a hard time getting out the words, "I always intended for you to follow in my footsteps. And while I love you, as I love all my children, I cannot help finding you to be a disappointment. I tried so hard to completely turn you, to make you believe what I wanted to believe. But every time I thought I succeeded you thwarted me. There was always someone there preventing you from fully committing yourself to this family. You are too soft hearted, too weak. You might think yourself to be like me but I assure you, you are not," Stefano sniffed almost looking like he smelled something disgusting.

"Which is why I am placing all of my hopes on your brother, Chad. I know that he will not disappoint. He is not blinded by his love. That evening in the mansion with Ian proved everything I suspected all along. Chad did what he had to do to protect William. You were too concerned with hurting William's delicate emotions to pull the trigger. That is why I knew you would never be the person I needed you to be. You can kill as many friends of William's as you want but you will never be the man I need you to be.

Stefano sat up straighter in his chair before ending, "I am sorry it had to be this way my son. But do not fear. You will continue to live a profitable life with your family at your side. And William will still be there for you even if he is not exactly the way you left him. Goodbye my son. I am certain now that you will live the life you have always wanted and not the life I wished upon you."

Neil and Brian sat down across from Paul at an empty table at Common Grounds. 'This better be good,' Brian thought as he crossed his arms and stared blankly at Paul. 'If he pisses me off I might just tell him all about Will's date last night.'

Paul shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't want to be here but he knew it was necessary. 'You can do this,' Paul thought as Sonny came over with a few drinks and sat down next to him, 'For Will you can do anything.'

Sonny passed out all the drinks and looked at Paul. Paul had briefly explained why he wanted to meet Neil and Brian before the two showed up. Sonny just wasn't sure how this was all going to go. He wasn't sure if the four of them would ever get along.

Clearing his throat Paul said, "I asked you to meet us here to talk about Will."

"Really," Neil replied after swallowing his coffee, "Here I thought we were talking about business ventures."

Sonny gave Neil an unamused look. "Look," Sonny sighed, "We know that you two are pissed off at us. Hell, we're pissed at ourselves for hurting Will."

"Again," Brian said helpfully.

"Yes," Sonny gritted his teeth, "Again. And since we want this time to be different between us that means attempting to fix things with you two as well."

Paul closed his eyes, trying to focus, 'You can do this. You have to do this. Just think of getting Will back.'

Opening his eyes Paul explained, even though it was painful to admit, "The four of us are all important to Will. We all care about him," Seeing the look Sonny gave him Paul amended, "In different ways but we do. Will is important to us and you guys. And I know that he would like it if we at least tried to get along."

"OK," Neil nodded knowing Will would indeed appreciate it. But Neil wasn't entirely sure Sonny and Paul were what Will needed. 'Now or ever.'

Biting the side of his cheek and making a face Paul added, "Sony and I we know that we fucked up. And we don't want to do that again. We don't want to hurt him again."

"And how are you planning on doing that," Brian questioned curiously. He understood that it took a lot for Paul to arrange this meeting. But Brian wasn't entirely sure Paul or Sonny had what it took to deal with Will forever.

"By listening to him," Sonny explained, "We talked and we heard everything that he said. We also know some of the things that we need to fix. And we've been trying."

"By giving him presents," Brian lifted an eyebrow at Sonny knowingly. "I don't think Blondie's going to appreciate being bought."

Ignoring the nickname Paul replied, "We know he wouldn't. And that wasn't what we tried to do. Ugh," Paul rolled his eyes, "Fine maybe we don't know exactly how to win him back."

"You'd probably start by acknowledging that you need to earn him," Neil pointed out starting to get upset. "Not win him. He's not a possession. He's a person."

Sonny wanted to argue with Neil, 'Of course we know he's a person. We're not idiots.' But he refrained. He knew Neil and Brian were just as protective of Will as he and Paul were. And maybe he could learn to appreciate that but that would take time. Right now he didn't want to argue.

"Look," Sonny told them firmly, "We want Will back. And we're willing to do whatever we need to for Will to trust us again. Any action he wants us to do, any amount of time he needs to make a decision, we'll give him."

"Maybe we haven't done such a great job of it lately," Paul admitted, "But we love him."

"What if he doesn't want you back," Brian asked, "What if you can't prove to him that you all belong together? What will you do then?"

"That's not an option," Paul informed them. "It doesn't matter if it takes days, months, years; we know that Will belongs with us. Not to us," Paul said quickly, "We don't want to own him or, or decide every decision he makes. We want to protect him and love him and provide for him. Even if it's not in the same ways we did before. And we're going to prove it to him, his family and ours, the two of you, everyone."

"Well," Neil took another drink, "You certainly talk big but I guess I'll have to wait and see if I believe you or not. Because I seem to recall being in this position before. Sitting around wondering just what in the hell Will sees in you."

Brian looked between Sonny and Paul cautiously. He knew that everything they said sounded good but he didn't want them to put their all into Will if they weren't serious. He didn't want to see Will hurting and upset.

'And Will's been different without them,' Brian remembered last night how Will easily interacted with his friends. How Will laughed and joked and flirted. 'He's confident now that he isn't relying on anyone else. He's better. And I don't want him to go back to the way he was before.'

"How do we know you're going to treat him the way he deserves this time," Brian demanded. "How do we know you aren't just going to toss him away again?"

Sonny pressed his lips together and looked at his hands clutching onto a mug, "Because we learned our lesson. I learned my lesson. I know that I can't take Will for granted anymore. Will depended on us to help him; he trusted us. And we failed him because we were insecure and, and scared. But we won't do that again."

Sighing heavily and looking up between Brian and Neil Sonny said, "We know that we made Will a lot of promises that we didn't keep. That we jeopardized almost everything for nothing. If we would have just talked to Will everything could have been prevented. And I never want to do that to Will again. I don't want to make him feel that way again."

"Which is why," Paul reached over and squeezed Sonny's knee, "We need the two of you to keep an eye on things."

"Meaning what," Neil asked as he adjusted in his seat.

"Meaning," Paul continued, "That if you think we aren't doing right by Will or that he's not happy we need you to tell us so that we can fix it."

"You're asking us," Brian asked a bit incredulously, "To tell you when you're doing things wrong? Seriously?"

"Yes," Sonny nodded. "We know that you'll be honest with us and won't let us get away with anything."

"And not because we don't trust Will to tell us if he's upset," Paul clarified, "Because we know that he would. This is us attempting to get along with you. And me working on my jealousy."

"Oh really," Brian smirked looking Paul up and down, "So it doesn't bother you at all anymore that Will kissed us?"

"Tried to kiss you," Paul stated quickly, needing to focus on that important detail, "And I didn't say I was over that. I'm trying to control my impulse to punch you in the face every time I see you."

"You do know that I have kissed Will before," Neil asked trying not to smile, "Several times in fact."

"Seeing as how I found you shoving him against a wall before he even came out," Sonny rolled his eyes, "Yeah I'm aware."

"Well I think it's something we should talk about if we all want to really get along," Neil shrugged. "Everything's awkward enough as it is we don't need that hanging over our heads."

"And what is that," Paul snorted, "The fact that you two want to fuck our boyfriend?"

Brian gave Paul a blank look. "Something like that yeah," Brian retorted. "I'll admit that when I first met Will I wanted to play around with him. The whole virgin thing didn't thrill me but once that was gone I knew he'd be worth taking for a spin."

Sonny grabbed Paul's thigh to get him to not react to Brian's blunt explanations.

"And sure," Brian added, "Neil and I have moments where we like to talk about what it would be like to be with him."

"You bought that video too," Neil reminded Brian.

"Oh yeah, that one's fun," Brian smiled before shaking his head, trying to focus, "But Will and us? We're strictly a platonic thing. He's our friend and he's a sweet kid but neither of us want him that way."

Neil put his arm around Brian, "Exactly."

Sonny looked at Neil skeptically, "So if Will was completely available and wanted you neither of you would be interested?"

"Of course we would, we aren't dead," Brian laughed, "But it's not like we're gunning for him. There's a difference between thinking he's hot and wanting a relationship with him. We, unfortunately, know that he wants to be with the two of you anyway."

"He does," Paul asked looking a bit uncertain. 'Did he tell them that or what?'

"Yes," Neil wanted to laugh at Paul's face. "Are you seriously afraid he wouldn't? He's so far gone for you two it's ridiculous."

"Really," Sonny felt a smile creeping across his face as he slowly sucked his lower lip in his mouth. "That's um, yeah, that's great."

"You two are as embarrassing about this as Blondie is," Brian sighed with an exaggerated eye roll. He still wasn't completely certain everything would work out exactly the way Sonny and Paul said they wanted it to. But it couldn't hurt to help them out a bit. 'Especially now that I get permission to call them out on their shit.'

"If you tell anyone I told you this," Brian confessed, "I will deny it but I think I know exactly how to show Will you're serious about him."

"What is it," Paul asked warily.

Brian smirked while leaning back in his chair, "Oh just you wait."

Adrienne sat down across from Lucas at the Pub with a small smile. She didn't know why she continued to meet with him. Adrienne didn't know why she was helping Lucas come to terms with having a queer child when she was trying to get said child away from her son.

'Should I tell Lucas that Sonny and Paul broke things off with Will,' Adrienne wondered before deciding not to. 'I don't think he's ready for that yet.'

"So I was doing some thinking," Lucas said after greeting Adrienne. "About what you said-why it bothers me that Will likes men. And I think I might have got it."

"Oh really," Adrienne asked curiously. "What do you think?"

"I think it has to do with the fact that I never really knew anyone who was gay," Lucas explained, "Well actually Sonny once told me I must have I just never knew anyone that was out. Anyway," Lucas shook his head to clear it, "I think that because I've never known anyone I've never had to think about it before. About what being gay actually means.

"And I love Will," Lucas continued, "I know that I do, more than anything. And I know realistically that Will being attracted to men doesn't change who he is. But a part of me," Lucas looked at Adrienne imploringly, wanting so badly for her to understand, "A part of me feels like maybe the reason Will's gay is because Sami and I must have done something wrong."

"What," Adrienne looked at Lucas, forehead wrinkling in confusion. "Lucas I don't understand. You think Will's gay because of something you did or didn't do?"

"Well I told you," Lucas attempted to explain, "That I don't get how he could just suddenly decide he likes guys. And Sami and I made so many mistakes with him. We jerked him around and moved him from house to house and every time he was settled we did it again. All of Will's life he's never had anything stable. And when he was younger he acted out all the time. He did anything he could to get our attention."

"Lucas," Adrienne shook her head sadly at him, "That's not how it works. Will isn't gay because of anything that you did. And he never suddenly decided he was gay. He's always been gay Lucas. He just didn't understand how he was feeling. This isn't a cry for attention."

"But he had girlfriends," Lucas argued, "And he never once gave any indication that he was attracted to any of his guy friends. The only time I ever thought anything was when I saw him around Sonny or Paul."

"Sonny and Paul," Adrienne refrained from frowning at that name, "Had nothing to do with Will being gay. Maybe they had something to do with Will finding the courage to come out but that's it. Lucas," Adrienne reached forward and grabbed his hand. "All that you need to understand about your son is that he likes men and you love him."

"I do," Lucas nodded, looking Adrienne in the eyes, "I love my son. And I don't want him to hate me anymore."

"Then you have to find a way to show to him that you can change," Adrienne squeezed Lucas's hand and let it go. "Show him that you can be supportive."

"OK," Lucas smiled, "I will. And Adrienne," Lucas told her, "Thank you for talking to me about all of this. I know it's bound to be hard hearing me say all these things."

"I get it," Adrienne leaned back in her chair, "I never had any of these doubts about Sonny but I can see why you do."

"Well still," Lucas shrugged light heartedly, "I appreciate it." 'Now if I could only find a way to get Will away from EJ I'd be all set.'

Will sat down in an end seat in his last lecture of the day. Everyone was still staring at him oddly and it was beginning to get on his nerves.

"Hey," someone said sitting down next to Will.

Turning his head Will noticed it was one of Paul's fanboy baseball players. He couldn't remember the name though, 'Grady, Greg, I don't know.' Will gave the guy a half smile, "Hi."

"What's with all the looks," Gray asked Will noticing everyone was whispering about Will.

"I don't know," Will shook his head and sighed. "But it's getting old."

Gray glared at someone looking in their direction and smiled proudly when they cowed away. 'Ha,' Gray thought smugly. 'You want to bug Paul Narita's boy you'll have to get through me.'

Will grabbed his stuff out of his backpack and resisted rolling his eyes. 'I guess this is better than when Paul would follow me around from class to class.'

Tori meandered through the town square in a warm coat. She wasn't used to the weather in Salem. She much preferred the refreshing sea breeze in San Francisco. Tori meant to stay only a few days in Salem, just long enough to knock some sense into her wayward son but it was almost a week later and she still hadn't purchased another airline ticket.

'I can't leave until I know that Paul is taken care of,' Tori thought as she paused to check her phone. She hadn't spent much time with Paul since her arrival. He managed to fit in a small visit almost every day of her trip but it wasn't much. She knew he was busy with work but she had to be certain that horrible Will Horton was gone from his life before she left.

Despite what Paul said Tori couldn't reconcile the Will she read about with the one Paul described. 'How else would you label a young boy that managed to seduce a happily engaged couple?'

Adrienne left her meeting with Lucas feeling accomplished. She still believed Will wasn't good enough for her son but she felt proud of herself for helping to reconcile Lucas with Will. 'Will needs to work with his family and work on himself not drag my son into his messes. Especially when Will doesn't even know what or who he wants.'

Adrienne decided to take a trip to Common Grounds and headed across the square. Not watching where she was going Adrienne bumped into a woman that was standing in the middle of the walkway.

"Oh excuse me," Adrienne said a bit embarrassed that she was so focused that she didn't pay attention where she was going.

"No, no," Tori responded, putting her phone back in her purse, "It was my fault I shouldn't have been standing in the way."

Taking a look at the woman she bumped into Adrienne tilted her head to the side, trying to remember where she knew this woman from.

Tori, looking at the blonde woman, looked at her straight faced before nodding once, "Adrienne Kiriakis."

Adrienne blinked a few times before her memory caught up with her, "Tori Norita. I didn't know you were in town."

"No," Tori took in Adrienne calculatingly before deciding Adrienne must be in the same position she is, "But I think there is a lot for us to discuss."

Paul didn't want to admit it but Brian was right, 'God damnit I hate it when Brian's right.'

Sonny crossed his arms, "I really don't think Will's going to appreciate getting even more attention on him."

"He will for this," Neil insisted. "Brian and I? We know Will. It's what he's wanted all along. And you said you'd do whatever it took."

"I think we should do it," Paul turned to Sonny and said emphatically. "It really would be exactly what we need to prove to Will that we're serious. That we take our relationship seriously."

"OK," Sonny relented still not entirely sold on the idea.

Neil, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, pulled it out. Back when the article about Will, Sonny and Paul first came out Neil signed up to receive alerts if anything else regarding Will managed to get published. Reading over the alert he received from the app he installed from the local newspaper Neil groaned, "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"What," Brian asked leaning over and looking at Neil's phone. Mouth opening Brian frowned, "Oh for fuck's sake."

Neil opened the link and read over the screen quickly before holding his phone out for Sonny and Paul to read.

"What the fucking hell," Paul hissed grabbing Neil's phone and bringing it closer.

"Who the hell would do this," Sonny questioned loudly, "This doesn't even make any sense!"

"Who else went out of his way to make Will's life hell," Neil asked sardonically, "Even from beyond the grave the asshole won't leave Will alone."

Paul, pulling out his phone, was ready to call Will when a noisy crowd walked into Common Grounds.

"It's not every day you see three grown woman fighting in the middle of the square," one of the people commented while laughing.

"Seriously," another one responded, "What were they even arguing about? Something about the newspaper?"

Sonny and Paul looked at each other before turning to face Neil and Paul, "Sami," they all said at the same time before standing up.

"Lauren, I'll be right back," Sonny yelled as he pulled off his apron, grabbed a jacket and headed out the door after Paul, Brian and Neil.

Adrienne sat across from Tori with a peculiar expression on her face. 'I know I'm not Will's biggest fan but he's not a monster like Tori seems to think.' Adrienne had only met Tori one time. Right after Sonny and Paul got engaged Adrienne and Justin went to San Francisco. They all went out for an extremely awkward dinner. Adrienne got the distinct impression that Tori wasn't quite impressed with Sonny. 'And I knew she wasn't happy Paul was going to come out.'

"Tori," Adrienne said as soon as Tori stopped ranting about Will, "I don't think you've heard the whole story. That article wasn't anything close to the truth. And I think you're mistaken about the type of person Will is. I have my own issues with Will but he certainly isn't that bad."

Tori crossed her arms and set her jaw. She knew Adrienne and her had very different ideas about parenting. That much was clear on their first meeting. But Tori didn't think there was any way Adrienne could stand up for this joke of a relationship.

Looking down at the table they were sitting at Tori saw a newspaper left behind. Blinking curiously Tori unfolded the paper when she saw a familiar name across the headline.

Flaring her nostrils Tori slammed the paper on the table in front of Adrienne, "Then how do you explain this?"

Adrienne spread the paper out and started reading, the frown on her face getting deeper and deeper. "This has to be a mistake," Adrienne said slowly. "There's no way this could be true."

Sami stormed out of the newspapers office. EJ told Sami to write the reprint personally so Sami decided it also needed to be delivered personally. 'That newspaper will never mess with my son or my family again,' Sami thought victoriously as she stomped across town. 'Not after the way I verbally ripped them apart.'

Holding a freshly printed newspaper in her hand, needing to see in person that nothing would be changed from her story, Sami pulled out her phone. She hadn't been able to get ahold of Will. She knew he had class but she wasn't sure if he had seen what happened yet. Judging by the looks she was getting tossed left and right Sami was certain Will was receiving the same if not worse. 'God only knows what Chad's dealing with.'

Entering the square Sami spotted Adrienne sitting at a table with a woman she'd never seen before. 'Oh thank god,' Sami thought desperately. 'Someone that will understand.'

"Adrienne," Sami called as she hurried over to the table and collapsed in an empty seat. Kicking off her too high heels and rubbing at her sore feet Sami sighed, "You would not believe the bullshit I had to deal with today."

"Sami," Adrienne turned her gaze on her friend, 'Or at least I thought she was my friend.' "What the hell is this," Adrienne pointed to the newspaper on the table.

"That is garbage," Sami snorted before reaching into her bag and pulling out the new article. "This is the truth. I can't believe those idiots thought they could get away with this again. I thought they learned their lesson."

Adrienne took the new paper and read the headline before shaking her head. "Sami," Adrienne grabbed the first newspaper again, "This isn't an article; this is an announcement. Announcing that your son is engaged to Chad!"

Sami felt a bit shocked looking at Adrienne practically scream at her, "Which Will isn't doing. This is all Stef-"

Adrienne spat out, "I saw Chad try to kiss Will! I saw him! And now Will's on a break with Sonny and Paul and suddenly this comes out in the paper."

"What the hell are you talking about," Sami demanded. Her defenses were already high due to the morning she had to endure. Yelling at newspaper editors and being forced to write a retraction stating that no her son is not marrying his friend. So to hear one of her only friends begin screaming at her was a recipe for disaster.

"I'm talking about Chad putting the moves on Will," Adrienne stated firmly, "And now this. I was just trying to convince Tori that Will wasn't easy when this happened."

Sami narrowed her eyes, "What did you just say?"

Tori who had been eyeing Sami judgmentally from the moment she flounced over to their table. It didn't take her long to deduce that this young woman before her was Will Horton's Mother. 'I should have known he would have a mother like this,' Tori cleared her throat, "I do believe that this thing," Tori gestured toward the original newspaper, "Only proves what I've been telling Paul from the beginning: Will Horton is nothing but a no good, attention-seeking whore."

Sami's mouth dropped open and she gasped. Taking in the woman before her, realizing from what she said and how she looked that this was Paul's mother, Sami was ready to explode.

"You take that back," Sami hissed in warning.

"How can she," Adrienne shook her head, "Don't you see? This is exactly why I tried to keep Sonny away from Will."

Sami sat up straighter, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I should have trusted my instincts from the beginning," Adrienne informed Sami, "That I knew Will would hurt my son and ruin his relationship."

"Excuse me," Sami scoffed. "Will ruined Sonny and Paul's relationship?"

Tori interjected, "Who else would have managed to separate them? You don't know how much my son wanted to marry Sonny."

"Oh," Sami snorted, flipping her hair out of her face, "I know. I know all about Paul's feelings. He told me everything. And if anyone is the one who ruined their relationship it was Paul when he cheated on Sonny with Will."

Tori crossed her arms, "My son would never do anything of the sort. If anything I'm sure it was your son's fault."

"Right," Sami smiled viciously, "Please explain how exactly it was Will's fault when Paul was the one that molested him in his sleep?"

Tori leaned across the table, "My son would never do that!"

"Well why don't you ask him," Sami screamed, leaning closer to Tori. "No, better yet I'll just show you what your son did since he took a picture of it!"

Adrienne, looking around at the few people in the square stopping to stare at them, attempted to hush Sami. She knew Will would hate anymore of this story getting out. And while she was upset with Will she wouldn't want that secret being revealed. 'Oh god,' Adrienne remembered something, 'Is that what Chad's trying to do now?'

Tori stood up and slammed her hands on the table, "You don't know what you're talking about! If anything your son must have gone after him. I saw those pictures of Will in Paul's uniform online before they were taken down. I think we all know there's no way your son could ever, ever not want whatever Paul did to him. I'm sure he wanted every disgusting minute of it!"

Sami stood up as well practically leaping across the table before Adrienne reached out to stop her, "You," Sami pointed her finger at Tori, "You shut the hell up! You don't know anything about my son."

"I know enough," Tori attempted to compose herself, "I know all of the men he's rumored to have slept with. And that one," Tori looked at the picture of Will and Chad from the newspaper, "Was one of them."

Tori shrugged her shoulders, "In fact, I do remember another name on that list. Wasn't your boyfriend one of them? I'm sure it must be difficult defending your son when you know he's been sneaking into bed after you. Then again from what I've heard about you around town the apple didn't fall very far from the tree."

Sami's face became completely blank. Every bit of emotion or anger she felt suddenly washed away from her features. But inside? Every single frustration big or small Sami had felt over the past month from watching her son being held at gun point from his would-be rapist to the horrible manicure she got last week at the salon was rippling along her insides ready to burst free.

Adrienne looked at Sami strangely. 'I've never seen her look like this before,' Adrienne thought suddenly filled with dread.

Almost without her permission Sami's hand reached out and smacked Tori completely across the face. Before her hand even felt the sting Sami reached out and tackled Tori to the ground screaming and hissing rapidly, fists and fingers clawing and smacking with everything in her.

"You're crazy," Tori shouted trying to get away from Sami but giving up and smacking out at the blonde. Finding strength within her she didn't even know she possessed Tori rolled Sami Brady over and started fighting back. She was sick and tired of this town and all of its citizens especially those involved with Will Horton.

Adrienne immediately started shouting, "Are you serious right now? Stop it." Reaching out in order to separate the two Adrienne lost her balance and somehow found herself on the ground with someone clawing at her. Smacking the arm off of her Adrienne reached out in frustration and yanked on a few strands of long blonde hair.

Will walked out of the lecture with the strange baseball player on his heels. No matter what Will said he couldn't shake the guy. Rolling his eyes Will pulled out his phone and frowned at the number of missed calls he had, seven from his mother alone.

Just as Will was about to call her back he saw Chad's name pop up indicating he was calling. Will answered quickly, "Hey."

"Where are you," Chad demanded rushing quickly towards Common Grounds. 'Shit, shit, shit. We have to fix this.'

He was half way to work when he realized everyone on the street was staring at him. Rounding a corner and taking in the newsstand Chad almost tripped over his large feet when he saw a picture of him and Will with the headline:

Horton, DiMera to marry in family villa in Tuscany.

Before he even finished reading the rest of the announcement Chad turned and ran towards work pulling out his phone and calling Will.

"I'm just getting out of class," Will responded before stopping.

Gray, sticking closely to Will, bumped right into him when he paused. Hearing a male voice over the phone Gray moved his head closer listening in.

"Get to Common Grounds right now," Chad ordered as he found a large crowd in the square. Hearing a few familiar voices Chad dropped his head in frustration, "Fuck, nevermind. Get to the square."

"What's going on," Will demanded as he jogged towards the parking lot ignoring Paul's fanboy following behind.

"Well now it's Sami," Chad explained as he pushed through the crowd. Making it to the front Chad groaned, "I think she just met Paul's mom."

Author's note:

I think Tori had that coming personally.

And Stefano is pretty much a giant, smug asshole. Poor EJ getting left a recording detailing all the disgusting things that were going to happen to the person he considers a son with an added bonus of, 'hey you were a giant disappointment' thrown in too.

Thanks for reading!

Up next: Everyone reacts to the fight in the middle of town

PS I kind of miss writing smut. Who is up for a flashback or a fantasy of what could happen?