Finally Friday was there. Will had spent evenings preparing the game, feeling so nervous he'd tossed and turned all night. He was wondering if the others would like it — especially because his friends in Hawkins had shown less and less interest in the campaigns he devised. Ivory had invited three others, but he didn't know who.
Would Onyx join the game? The question kept coming back to him. Ivory told him that she could persuade her brother to play, but she had never mentioned him again. Maybe it was for the best if Onyx wasn't around, he always felt so strange when the boy was close and he didn't want others to notice — and he certainly didn't want the boy himself to know it.
Despite these thoughts, he was disappointed when he was awaited by three other students by the end of the day. Kim, a Korean boy with huge glasses who could talk about dinosaurs for hours; Mandy, who had never looked him in the eye, and Simon, a boy that somehow reminded him of Dustin, causing a strange sense of familiarity.
"You all know Will, right?" Ivory said.
He startled when she grabbed his hand.
Simon nodded enthusiastically, Mandy glanced briefly at him and Kim was distracted by a tall blonde who walked by and almost bluntly ignored the staring boy.
Ivory squeezed his hand. "I'm so excited! Shall we go?"
Will nodded a little dazed. Actually he wanted to pull his hand away from Ivory's, but her grasp was quite compelling and he was afraid to piss her off. Therefore he let her, although there was a nagging feeling in his stomach when she kept holding his hand while they walked to her house. Yesterday had been the first day he'd gone to school without crutches, but now he wished he would have used them a little longer.
Once they reached there house about five minutes later, she finally let go of his hand to open the door. Quickly he shoved his hands in his pockets. Shame made him feel hot all over, and awkwardly he looked into another direction. After opening the door, Will went inside. Just like the others he took off his shoes and entered the living room in his socks. There wasn't much in the room they entered. There was some furniture here and there, but most tables and other surfaces were empty. It even felt like their footsteps were echoing. There were no pictures on the walls, nothing around here told them something about the people living here. Except for the book shelves — Will believed books always said something about one's personality. Curiously he walked towards them. There were many books he'd read too, and he thought of all the times he had seen Onyx read during their lunch breaks. Without really realizing what he was doing, he stretched out his hand to caress the spines of the books. For a moment he believed he heard music, just like the time he had walked past the music room. His cheeks heated up at the memories of that day. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel Onyx's hands on his hips.
Will felt another presence next to him. For a moment his heart skipped a beat when he saw a flash of black hair when he turned around — then he realized it was Ivory.
"Come on, let's begin!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him along as if he wouldn't be able to find the table by himself.
Will put his bag on the table, zipped it open and took out the equipment. Opening his notebook, he took out the character sketches.
"I made a basic character for each of you, that's easier while playing for the first time. There is a bard, a druid, a ranger and a Barbarian."
Will explained the strengths and weaknesses of each character, waited until they had divided the roles and let them come up with a name for their characters.
They obviously needed to loosen up a bit, especially Mandy didn't seem to know whether she liked it at all or not. Will tried not to be discouraged by her, and he started to set out the scenarios. He had worked out a story in which four pirates had failed to commandeer a vessel, where after they had been dropped off at a desert island with only a broken compass, a revolver with one bullet and a piece of moldy cheese.
Easily, Will took up the role of the storyteller while he described all the obstacles they came across. With their dices they took fights with giant crabs and swarms of rabid seagulls. Even when his public was still holding back a little, Will felt the adrenaline rush through his veins. He had missed this, and he smiled at Ivory, grateful for the chance she had given him.
The front door opened, footsteps came closer. Immediately Will fell silent and he stared at the doorway. It didn't have to be him, it might be Ivory's parents as well. He held his breath when seeing a movement. It indeed was him.
Onyx stepped into the living room. His black hair was messy as if he had rode his bike without a helmet, and looking absent-minded, he ran his fingers through it. His glance wandered almost carelessly across the group, eventually resting upon Will. He got really warm and murmured a greeting.
Now, the others looked over their shoulders too.
"Hey." A brief smile crossed Onyx's face and he walked closer to the them.
Will's heart did overtime when the boy came to stand next to him, leaning over the table to see what exactly they were doing, by which his hand rested upon Will's shoulder as if he was afraid to lose his balance otherwise.
Will couldn't help he began to breathe more rapidly. He could feel every individual finger on his shoulder. Nervously he stared at the tabletop. Luckily he wasn't wearing his D&D costume, like he had done often with his old friends. He had been afraid that the others — and especially Onyx — would find it stupid.
"So this is the famous Dungeons & Dragons," he said, squeezing Will's shoulder so suddenly the boy almost jumped.
"Yes. Umm... We were in the middle of a fight with an enormous crab and it's Kim's turn to attack the beast." His cheeks flushed in shame; he really must sound like a moron.
Kim looked at his character sketch. "I will use my sword." He rolled the dice. Twelve.
Will glanced at his notes. "You hit him!" He tried to put the same enthusiasm in his voice as before, wrote down two bars to take away two health points. "You chopped off one claw, making the blood stream out of the wound, drenching the sand. In the distance there is a howling — wolves! Wolves are attracted by the scent of blood!" He took a few pieces and scattered them across the playing field.
Next to his ear he heard Onyx chuckle while he pulled back his hand. "Good luck with the wolves, kiddo's."
Kiddo's. He believes it is stupid.
Will swallowed, suddenly close to tears. From the corner of his eye he saw that Onyx walked to the couch. Instead of going to his room so he would no longer distract Will, he decided to read a book on the couch.
Will took a deep breath, took up his role as story teller again and tried to distance himself from Ivory's brother. He continued the story, and slowly he sunk deeper into the world he created and forgot about Onyx most of the time.
After two hours, the campaign came to an end. Ivory clapped her hands delightedly. "That was so cool!" She looked at the others. "My boyfriend is amazing, isn't he! I can't believe you came up with this all by yourself!"
Will stared at her. Did he hear it right? Did she say my boyfriend? He wasn't — right? He would have known that, right?
Restlessly he moved on his chair while the others scattered compliments as well. Getting up, she placed a hand on his shoulder like her brother had done; then she sat down on his lap.
Will gulped, his eyes wide. What in the world was happening to him? She wrapped an arm around his neck, looked him in the eye and kissed him on the lips.
Will panicked as he felt her lips upon his. He didn't want to kiss her! By reflex he tried to pull his face away, but since he was seated on a chair he couldn't get away from her, and she pushed her lips even more fiercely against his mouth. He was so overwhelmed that all his limbs felt numb, too heavy to take action.
Ultimately, she pulled back her face and smiled at him.
Embarrassed, he looked away.
She giggled quietly. "He is still a little shy," she told her friends.
Will said nothing. He didn't dare to tell her he didn't want to be her boyfriend. He had a good time today, and he had a feeling that he was on his way to make some friends which he didn't want to ruin by disappointing Ivory now.
"I uh — I have to go home," he said. "It's — it's late."
She pouted. "But you can have dinner at my place?"
Will's eyes shot aside, his heart almost exploding when Onyx caught his glance immediately, a concerned look in his eyes.
"No," he muttered. "I uh — I don't feel well. Sorry."
"I will give him a ride home."
Will's legs felt like they were made of jelly when he heard Onyx's offer.
"You — you really don't have to," he stammered.
"It's really no big deal. It's Ivory's turn to cook anyway."
Wronged, Ivory crossed her arms in front of her chest. "He is my boyfriend. I'll take him home if he feels sick."
"How?" Onyx huffed. "You're gonna walk him home? The sooner he's home, the better."
Will intertwined his fingers. Right now, all he wanted was to leave; he was confused and he suddenly really felt sick.
He didn't even know whether Ivory was giving in or that Onyx was simply ignoring her, but the boy got up from the couch and walked to a small hallway, from which he returned a minute later with two helmets in his hands.
Hesitantly, Will took one. He was almost too nervous to say goodbye to the others, but he muttered a greeting nevertheless while shoving his belongings in his bag.
For some reason he didn't dare to look at Ivory, and when Onyx turned around, Will quickly followed him.
"You really don't have to do this," Will said quietly after closing the door behind him. "I — I'm okay. Maybe I just needed a bit of fresh air."
"You shouldn't walk too much, and I never say no to a ride. Now come on, sorcerer." He lifted the corner of his mouth and winked, then he mounted his bike.
Will's cheeks flushed as he sat down behind him. He wrapped his arm around Onyx's waist and noticed how his fingers were trembling because of his nervousness. He had thought back to their first ride a lot of times, but he never thought to be on this bike again.
It was only a short ride; about five minutes later the bike pulled up in front of his house. Will glided off the Harley and looked awkwardly at the older boy.
"Umm — thank you," he murmured.
Onyx smiled. "No problem." He got off his bike as well, leaning against it while shoving his hands in his pockets. "I wanted to have a word with you anyway."
Will stared at him in disbelief. "W-what? About what?"
Would he start to lecture him now, threatening to hurt him if he didn't treat his little sister well? Just like everyone else he probably believed that Will was her boyfriend.
"There's an exhibition this weekend, on medieval weapons that have been found nearby. You'd like to go there with me?"
Will's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Was he serious? He couldn't be serious, right? He had to be joking, or maybe this was a test...
"You don't have to," Onyx said quickly, although his smile seemed a little disappointed now. "But after seeing your drawings and after hearing your story today, I thought you might like it."
Will had the feeling he was on fire and he started to panic. What was he supposed to say?
He really wanted to go to that exhibition with Onyx, but the prospect made him anxious as well. And what would Ivory think of it?
But you're not Ivory's boyfriend, Will. She has no say in this.
Or was he wrong? Was he really her boyfriend, had he somehow agreed with it and was his memory failing him now?
"Will..." Suddenly, Onyx stood so close there were just a few inches between their chests. Shyly, he looked up but he didn't dare to look him straight in the eye. "It's okay to say no to things you don't like. You know that, right?"
Will flinched. Was he referring to his sister's words now?
"I — I like to go," he said quietly, almost whispering. "I — I just don't get why you'd want to go there with me."
Onyx shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't know who else to take, it's not like a lot of young people are interested in history. Plus..." Raising his hand, he ruffled Will's hair like his brother used to do when he was teasing him. He smirked. "I'm sure you can tell me some cool stories when we're looking around."
"I — I'm not sure I can," he murmured.
His grin widened. "All true artists are unable to see their own talents." He winked. "I'll pick you up at 11 tomorrow, okay?"
"O-okay," Will floundered.
He took a deep breath as if that would help him to get rid of the jitters in his stomach.
That was going to be another sleepless night.