Will was already being to reliase how important having a vehicle was. Walking along the sidewalk back home was proving to be a long and arduous journey, and he didn't want to run the whole way as to make people suspicious about him. Having a car made getting around so much easier and in a way that no one would notice. Will let out a sigh as he saw the familiar suburb of his home come into sight.
He was already beginning to stress from the all the the things he needed to do. He had only been living this new life for a short while but he had done too much already. It was time to slow down and focus on himself. And if it wasn't enough he still indulged himself in his violent tendencies. It was much like going on a junk food binge, at the start it's a feeling he could feel as if it was heavenly but shortly after immense regret came in a crashing wave.
As he was walking along the road he spotted Fiona's house but something seemed off. A large moving truck was parked outside along with a bunch of furniture lined along the driveway. A bunch of movers were going back and forth between the truck and the house, each carrying boxes and large loads with them a bit at a time. Will felt a pit settle in the bottom of his stomach as he walked over to investigate.
Fiona's father, Daniel, was standing outside instructing and giving directions with his hands to the movers on what needed to go where.
"Careful, don't scratch that couch. It cost me more than the job you doing for today" Daniel said as he pointed and waved about to the movers. Will tried not to laugh as he could already tell the movers were irked at being told what to do for their job and went on with their job, ignoring the man flailing about.
"Uncle Daniel" Will said catching Daniel's attention to turn around and face the child.
"Oh hey kiddo" Daniel responded. The words didn't match his face twisted in an apperance that was clearly unhappy to see him. This father was quite suspicious of the boy hanging around his daughter.
"What's going on?" Will asked trying to sound curious and innocent. It was pretty obvious to him but having a child's appearance made it easier to guilt information out of an adult and he fully intended to take advantage of it.
"Ah well..." Daniel said but stopped as he tried to figure out how to explain to a child, it was always awkward to explain as an adult. At that moment a woman's voice interrupted the two.
"Will!!!" a mature woman's voice called out in a excitement. Auntie Veronica was carrying a full box of kitchen cutlery as she approached the two men. Setting down the box she gave a quick hug to Will. The cold shoulder she gave her husband as she already saw him starting to bully her future son in law when she was coming out of the house.
"So what brings you here Will?" Veronica asked with a smile. She was always happy when it came to this young boy, she felt he truly had excellence just sitting beneath the surface. Time and experience were surely going to sharpen this diamond in the rough.
"Are you moving away Auntie?" Will asked. He felt it was necessary to dig deeper as he didn't remember that Fiona moved away in his previous life. It left a twisted knot in his gut from worry, worry that he had already affected the future out of his predictions. It could mean that everything he knew might change horrendously.
"Well since the school is closed and we had been on the waiting list for a long time at this other school, North Shore High I think it was so we thought it was a good time to move closer there" Daniel said relenting under the investigative nature of Will. 'And further away from dangerous boys like you' Daniel thought smugly.
But his words were instead a breath of relief for Will. This was going to happen but he just changed how it was going to start. Will felt firm that he should make sure that he affected the future as little as possible while taking the most advantage of his knowledge. Hopefully karma would be nice to him in the future. Otherwise what was the point in having the knowledge if went ahead and threw away the chance to use it.
"Well, I think it might be a good idea to say farewell to Fiona" Auntie Veronica said giving Will a wink. Taking the hint Will ran inside the house, staying out of the way of the movers coming to and fro. Daniel sighed having lost his opportunity to keep the boy away from his daughter as he saw the small child run inside. He already knew this kid was going to be a big obstacle between him and his daughter in the future. Although she may be sad at losing a friend at the very least it meant he had more time with his daughter before another boy would think of sinking their claws into her.
Though he wanted to console himself with having his wife close, she was clearly having none of it. Giving him a huff Veronica picked up her box and went back to packing, leaving her husband alone with little to do.
Will had already dashed up the stairs, barging into Fiona's room. The loud sound of the door flung open surprised Fiona as she jumped from the noise. The room was mostly empty aside from a few boxes which she was filling with her own personals.
"Will?" Fiona asked confused at seeing him as she was leaving. It certainly left her a little surprised as she knew he shouldn't be here at this time. Will however was just looking at Fiona, his eyes ramrod focused on her face. And so he started to approach her. Fiona stood upstill curious at what the child was going to do when he stopped in front of her and hugged her tightly.
"I'm going to miss you" Will murmured but it was loud enough to hear. Fiona smiled at Will being childish and patted him on the head to comfort him as he kept his arms wrapped around her.
"It'll be alright. It's not like we won't be seeing each other again" Fiona said trying to reassure the boy clinging onto her. Usually she would be happy to push him off herself but it was a farewell and she wasn't truly a heartless person, just driven towards her goal in her life.
Will smirked as his face was hidden from Fiona's view. 'It will be an excellent surprise seeing me sooner'
But the two had to break the hug as Will looked over Fiona, his planned partner to be in the future if everything went his way. But it would make sure no one else would get their hands on her until it was time that she was ready to have him by her side.
"You should go home" Fiona said as she was standing awkwardly with Will obviously not intending to make a move to leave. Will came up with an idea on the spot and saw some paper and pens still lying on the floor. Grabbing the two bits he scribbled and handed over the paper to Fiona.
"My address, please write to me" Will said smiling Ashe gestured for Fiona to take the scrawled note. Fiona took the paper and smiled back. The two had a last hug before Will decided to leave Fiona to her packing. Saying farewell to the Hudson family he walked up the street and back home. As he walked through the entrance of the house he was suddenly rushed at and picked up off the floor.
Will resisted his reaction to immediately hit out at the speeding bullet of human flesh that was his mother. Holding him in a tight hug, Will patted her back a few times to ease the pressure.
"I'm sorry Will. I just got to know your friend is already leaving" Rachel said with tears in her eyes. 'It looks like she already spoke with Auntie Veronica before'. Will thought as his mother tried to reassure him but was instead holding back tears in her eyes.
Will could only smile at his mother's words.
"It's okay mum, Fiona promised to write to me" Will reassured his mother. With the amount of hugs and speeches it felt more like a funeral was going on than a temporary parting in the last hour.
"If you are happy then mother doesn't have to worry" Rachel said as she let her son go. Putting her hand on his cheek she observed him carefully and was satisfied he seemed alright. Leaving her son she went into the kitchen for a moment. Will felt tense and worried that she was planning to cook again without supervision. But to his relief, his mother came out with a plate of steaming pancakes and places them on the table. It was great he didn't have to rush to put out a fire and that despite not being around to keep an eye on his mother and burn their home down.
"After all your help, mum's gone ahead and tried it out. Quick have a taste before it goes cold" His mother insisted and already plated up the food for Will. Will had to gulp as he willingly put aside the dangers of consuming his mother's cooking. With a heavy heart he cut a piece and gave it a taste preparing himself for going to visit the hospital yet again. He knew the appearance looked fine but he had learnt his lessons quite a few times.
But to his surprise the food didn't taste awful or threatened his health on the spot. It was fluffy and light as he begun eating his food voraciously. His mother had already laid condiments down as he hurriedly drenched his plate in maple syrup and finished off the plate with ease.
"So how was it?" His mother asked as she watched him finish off the last of the food. She was beaming and Will couldn't recall the last time he saw his mother so happy.
"It was amazing mum. I'm so proud" Will said giving his mother another hug, he was definitely proud for her. Proud that his student learned how to cook finally and the hope they could improve the expected age of living in this household. The sound of the front door opening broke the hug and his father walked through and saw the meal the two were having. His initial happy face was replaced with a sullen expression seeing only one of the pancakes was left.
"You started without me" Max complained as he pulled out a chair and snatched the pancake away. Shovelling it into his mouth before anyone else could steal it. Will was dumbfounded by the sheer possessiveness his father was showing over his partner's food. But Rachel was just laughing at her husband, giving a kiss as a consolation to his injured heart. Will looked on at the family and warm feelings in the room, where the joy was hard to contain in the family. Will felt.that urge to once strive to protect this family he had no matter what hardships lay in the future. It was then he barely noticed the occasional pain he had from his chest finally eased and left him in a euphoric mood.
Here ends Arc 1 of the novel.