Wandering around the grand corridors of the hospital in order to pass the time seemed like the best option to Will. Now that Kian and Elian were away and Uncle Lee was asked to rest, there was no one around to chat with him or to entertain him.
Wayne was the only other person in the room with him, but talking to that guy was somehow worse than talking to a wall. Although he was only two years younger than the alpha and the two were practically brought up by the same person, they just didn't share the same wavelength.
Will concluded soon that he'd rather roam around this building that appeared like some modern architecture picked out of a sci-fi movie. The bright lighting, the décor plants sitting in the corners, the fresh lavender smell in the air that made one forget that it was a hospital, not some fancy shopping mall. Since he rarely got the chance to visit somewhere outside his neighborhood, it was fun walking around this giant building all by himself.
As he approached the main foyer of the hospital, he noticed that the reception was now busier than it had been in the morning. It seemed like the kind of place where celebrities would've visited. The hospitals down the coast, where he grew up were nothing in comparison to this place.
Everyone that walked past him seemed like they came from money. Their clothes, their shoes, everything about their appearance seemed elegant. For the first time, Will felt like his old jacket and worn out jeans were making him stand out in the crowd. If someone happened to land their eyes on him, they'd stare with suspicion. It would've been a better idea to just stay in the ward, he wondered.
As he turned around, his body collided with that of someone, and before he knew hot coffee spilled all over his blue sweater. "Oh I'm so sorry", the somewhat familiar voice apologized right away, "I'm really sorry!", he added.
Will quickly wiped away the droplets lingering on the fur of the woolen fabric with the back of his hands to avoid the liquid from soaking into his shirt. The man's hand stretched out, offering a neatly folded white handkerchief to the boy, which made him look up. It was him again, that soccer player, Declan Walsh. He was staring back at him with wide eyes, holding an empty white coffee tumbler in his hands.
"You? How come you're here?", Will questioned, surprised. Before answering the question posed, the alpha proceeded to wipe some of the liquid on his sweater himself.
"Please take this first", he said. A cleaning lady immediately intervened and two were pushed away from the spillage area. Will took the handkerchief from the soccer player's hand.
"If you came looking for Elian, he isn't here", Will said as he continued to wipe himself off. Declan's eyes squinted into a little frown, "No, I didn't come looking for him", he clarified.
Will smiled, "Oh then you must be here to see me!", he joked. The alpha didn't laugh, just looked back in confusion.
"I'm heading back now. I'm too old to care for all this anyway", an elderly man appeared from behind the alpha.
"Dad, no. I need to collect your reports first", Declan argued. It didn't even take Will another second to recognize him. It was the football legend himself. Uncle Lee was such a big fan of his that he had repeatedly asked Will to look up for the old clips of the matches from decades ago. Except for some wrinkles and gray hair, he looked exactly like his younger self.
"Oh my god! Edmund f*cking Walsh….", Will uttered, without realizing. The old man looked his way and within seconds his annoyed frown was turned into a smile. "Oh god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-to I-I was just-", the omega panicked, but the veteran player had already broken into laughter. "Sorry s-sir. I didn't mean to swear", he explained, "I was just so surprised that I couldn't control myself".
"Don't worry so much. I'm just happy that someone as young as you can even recognize me", the older alpha joked, "And how does my son know someone as cute as you?", he asked, smiling at the omega standing in front of him, blushing and shivering.
"Oh this is Will, he lives with Elian's lover", Declan said, casually. Will's gaze turned into a frown as he turned to look at him, "Elian's partner will be more appropriate. I'm his roommate", he clarified. "Omg, Uncle Lee would freak out if he met you!!", Will excitedly jumped in his place, "Oh but he's asleep right now, but it's fine I can wake him up", he blabbered.
"Don't worry. I suggest I come later and surprise him", the old man assured the boy. Will nodded back with a smile.
Declan could just stare at two, back and forth, silently, wondering why he never got such a reaction from the boy when he first met him. He had admitted to recognizing him in their first meeting. Then how could he be so starstruck by his father, but not even in the least by someone like him, who was currently active in the sport. Though he wasn't as famous as Jayden or a few other ones in his team, he was still a prominent personality. Or at least he thought he was.
And why was his father suddenly in such a good mood now? He'd been sulking the whole time he was brought in for his regular health checkup. When was the last time he'd seen his father laugh so genuinely?
"Well I'll be leaving now", Edmund smiled looking at the omega, "See you again Will, your smile made this old man's day", he said parting his way from the two.
"Dad! I'll take you home, wait", Declan yelled.
"I'm not going home. There is a soccer team waiting for their coach. There are people that actually listen to me, unlike you!", he taunted as he continued to walk towards the foyer of the grand hospital.
"Ugh! Why is he always like this?", Declan groaned. His gaze moved back to the omega in front of him and his blue sweater with a dark patch over his chest. "I think I should get you a new shirt atleast", he said.
Will shrugged, "Nah! It's alright. I spill stuff on my clothes all the time".
"It's cold and your clothes are drenched with liquid. Just come with me for a few minutes, I'll get you something else to change into", the alpha insisted.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the two entered inside the black sedan parked outside the hospital, Will was left in awe staring at the luxury car's insides. It was exactly like the ones they show in the movies. He could help but touch every surface within the reach of his hands.
"Wow!! It looks even cooler on the inside", he exclaimed like a little child.
The negligence on the boy's part however was still bothering the alpha. "My car, my dad, almost everything related to me seems to amaze you but not me", he inquired, "How come you weren't even a little bit surprised if you recognized me the first time we met?", his tone irritated.
"Are you seriously jealous?", Will teased, but Declan wasn't amused. He still had that pouty look on his face, like he was still some teenager looking for approval. How can a man his age possibly be so childish? Will wondered. But it was still somehow adorable.
"I've never seen you play. Why should I be thrilled about meeting you?", Will was having fun provoking him, "I only remember your face because you were dating Ava Dellucci", he said, "Omg, she's like the best designer on the face of the earth. I love her so much".
Declan became silent at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. It was painful hearing about her even after several months. It reminded him of their time together. How can he be such a loser? Why couldn't he be like his friends, he thought.
"Let's just go", he said as he turned on the ignition.
*
*
*
Declan's mood had not turned around ever since their conversation in the car. He remained silent for the most part while shopping for clothes. Will felt like he should apologize but didn't know what he'd done wrong. He wondered whether it really was because he didn't show any excitement while meeting him. To be honest, he was surprised when he recognized him. He even wanted to take a picture with him, but he felt it was more important to defend his bestfriend at the time.
Without being able to talk to the alpha, he went back to casually browsing around the amenities of the fancy car he was sitting in. His fingers landed on the button of the glove box that easily fell open with a gentle click sound.
Declan didn't mind the boy touching things without his permission. That's what kids are like he thought.
A bunch of brochures fell open in front of Will. A bunch of file papers, an instruction booklet and some cards were stacked inside the glove box next to one another. The brightest of them was a white envelope with a silver border decorating it. 'RSVP', it said in beautiful cursive writing. Without even thinking twice, Will drew out the card inside it.
'We are engaged', said the heading in blue, 'Ava Dellucci and Jayden Smith invite you to join their celebration', followed in a smaller font. He turned to look at Declan, "Are you kidding me? She's getting married to that jerk?", he exclaimed.
Declan found the boy holding the invite card. "Put that back. And don't go around spreading rumors", he scolded. Will reluctantly folded it back into the envelope.
"Is that why you're so upset? Cuz she's marrying your teammate", the omega found it hard to keep things to himself.
"I'm not upset. I'm doing great. She can marry whoever she wants", Declan explained.
Will was smart when it came to such things. It wasn't his fault that he can read people too easily.
"Oh my god. Don't tell me you're still hung up on her", he giggled, "Didn't you guys break up like a year ago?".
" Ten months. And no I'm not 'hung up' on her", Declan's tone became even more irritated, "I'm fine!".
"Are you gonna go to that engagement party then?", Will asked excitedly, "She invited you for a reason".
"I don't know, okay. Just stop talking about this", he said, hoping that the boy sitting next to him doesn't bring up her name again.
Will paused for a few seconds, "You know, if you don't go it'd clearly look like you haven't gotten over her. And that would be really bad, you know. She's gonna think you are still in love with her", he began to tease him again. "I can come with you. She gave you a plus one so she's expecting you to bring someone", he offered.
Declan had enough at this point, "You know what, fine. I still love her. So being true to myself I'm not going. But thanks for your offer kiddo", he said.
Will was completely heartbroken. He was this close to getting to meet Ava Dellucci in real life but this man is such a lovelorn puppy. How can he possibly convince someone like him?
"I can help you get her back if you want", he said, making the alpha turn his head to look at his face.