Author’s Note: This story is a companion piece to my other story The Eldermoor Chronicles: Book One (it will extend into Book Two later as well). Basically, it’s just a series of vignettes about William’s life. They will be in no particular order (though they will all be dated, and if you check my website, it will be very easy to compare dates with Eldermoor), and I’m not sure how many there will be. I suspect that since so many people hate Will, there won’t be many who’ll care, but…I was compelled to write this story. So there.

Don’t read this if you haven’t read Eldermoor. I think that should be obvious, but you know. There’s always someone.

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William swung his backpack over his shoulder as the bell rang for lunch, heading out of the band room. He walked down one of the paths toward the quad, going up the stairs toward the center, where he and his friends hung out. Already sitting there, he could see his best friend Camille, her brown eyes twinkling and a smile forming on her features as she spotted him coming over.

She was sitting on the brick wall of the circular planter at the center of the quad, a group of other people who Will could give a shit less about standing next to her. They were really better friends with Alanna, his other close friend. Most of them were annoying anyway.

Will dropped his backpack next to the large pile all the others had already formed, lowering himself onto the wall next to Camille. He put his arms around her, squeezing her body in a tight hug of greeting. “I love you,” he squealed happily to her.

She laughed in amusement. “I love you too, Will,” she replied, waiting for him to release her from his arms. They had barely met two months before, but the bond between them had grown strong over such a short time. She was only the third person he had told he was gay, just a few weeks before. Well he hadn’t told her, really, but was only the third person, besides the guys he had slept with, who had found out.

Camille grabbed his hand, threading her fingers through his. She didn’t care that it made a lot of people think that they were going out—it was a good cover for the fact that he was gay, at least. People had basically stopped with the rumors that had plagued Will since the sixth grade about his sexuality.

“So are you going to tell me whether or not you saw Spencer this weekend, or are you going to keep avoiding the subject?” Camille teased, continuing a conversation from earlier in the day. Her fingers stroked over the soft skin on the top of his hand.

William blushed deeply and averted his eyes. He always got like this, when subjects pertaining to sex got brought up. Not matter how many time he had it, he was always embarrassed talking about it.

“Yeah…I saw him. On Sunday,” William said finally, glancing around at the people near them. They were all too lost in their own conversations to hear, anyway, and they had gravitated pretty far away from where he and Camille sat.

Camille rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re so bashful about this still,” she said. “I mean, you’ve told me way worse things about what you’ve done with Niall, so it’s not like it would surprise me anymore.”

William looked back at her, his features suddenly becoming sad. Camille realized her mistake immediately. “Oh…sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Will sighed, shaking his head. “No, it’s okay. I should get used to hearing his name without having a fit,” he replied despondently. “It’s not as if he answers his phone or replies to my emails anymore anyway.”

Camille tightened her grip on his hand comfortingly. “Well it’s not as if you hadn’t been complaining about the long-distance thing basically since you told me about him,” she said soothingly. “Maybe you two should just…I don’t know—break up. I mean, you do have Spencer, after all.”

“But I’m not dating Spencer, Cami,” he protested. “It’s not like I don’t care about him, but…he’s more of a friend than a boyfriend. It’s not the same.”

“A friend with benefits, you mean,” Camille mumbled.

Will raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s wrong with that?” he demanded.

“Regularly, nothing is wrong with that,” she replied. “When you have a boyfriend, something is wrong with that. Very wrong.”

“Well he said he was okay with it—which obviously wasn’t true because he’s not really speaking to me anymore.”

“No offense, Will, but if I were Niall, I’m not sure I would want to talk to you after the Spencer thing either,” Camille said softly. “Why did you even tell Spencer where you were going to be?”

William sighed. “Because I’m a complete idiot.”

“You’ve got that right,” Camille teased good-naturedly.

“Hey!” Will protested. “I’ve got better grades than you!”

Camille’s tone turned a little more serious. “I’m not talking about grades, Will,” she said gravely.

William looked down at his feet, hugging his sweatshirt more tightly around him, and taking Camille’s hand with his own. “I know,” he replied. The two of them lapsed into silence, and Camille leaned her head onto William’s shoulder as he slid his arm around her. After a second, he spoke again.

“I’m sorry I talk about him all the time,” he apologized. “It’s just—I miss him. Ever since he moved to Massachusetts, things have just been…”

“I know, Will. I don’t mind,” Camille responded. Suddenly, she looked up into Will’s eyes, her gaze mischievous. “You know that’s because you’re in love with him, right?”

“I am not in love with Niall,” William protested. It was a long-standing argument between the two of them, but she never managed to get him to admit it, though it was obviously the case.

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

Camille laughed. “Well you damn well act like it,” she insisted, poking him in the side. He squealed and grabbed her hand, pulling it far away from his stomach. He hated to be touched there.

“I do not,” he pouted. “And even if I did, what does it matter anymore?”

“That’s a good point,” she conceded, falling silent. Just when Will thought she wasn’t going to say anything else, she spoke again. “But you are in love with him.”

“No I’m not!”