I'm really enjoying writing this Fanfiction; it's much more light-hearted than other stories I'm writing so that's nice. :)

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You have got to be kidding, was my initial thought. It was quickly followed by an empty silence and my inability to think actual words, much less process them.

The house we would be staying under was the same one as Will Trenger's. I was staying at Will Trenger's home.

In. His. Home.

The letter in my bag suddenly felt as if it weighed tons.

Will nodded in acknowledgement. "Hello."

His eyes found mine, his expression bored. I didn't do anything. Didn't return the hello. In fact, I was certain my mouth was hanging somewhat ajar.

Someone pushed my shoulder. "Handsome, isn't he?" Edith asked me and that pulled me from my reverie. I quickly shook my head. And then regretted it. And then regretted regretting it. "That's not what I-"

"Help us unload the truck, Will," Calvin said and his son complied, turning around without another look at me. I wanted to smack my head against the wall, but Edith couldn't spare me the chance, having swept me up the stairs and to a bedroom located at the end of the hallway. "This is your room," she said and waved me in.

It was nice. Much better than nice, actually. If I were to compile both of my rooms Id ever lived in, it still wouldn't amount to this. Big windows decorated the wall, a large desk occupied the area to my right. Pushed in the corner sat an attractive bed swathed in a purple comforter. "Please make yourself at home," she said.

That'd be easier to do if I didn't feel as if I were walking on glass. Everything here was so neat, I was sure my presence would show up in a stain somewhere.

"Come down when you're ready," Edith added with a smile. Then she left me to my consternation.

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I spent a good five minutes screaming into a pillow. Nobody could hear it and it left me breathless and somewhat satisfied. How had everything come to this? My embarrassment over the letter seemed painfully trivial in comparison to what had happened since.

Due to the pillow screaming, I didn't hear the knock on my door until around the fifth one. I quickly stood up, getting a head rush, and straightened myself out before answering it.

I'd expected Edith. Instead, I got a very indifferent-looking Will, holding a box in his hands. "Where do you want this?" He asked.

I really wanted to know where my thoughts went when he was around me. Probably the same place lost hair bands go. I shook my head. "What?"

He pushed past me, nearly knocking me to the side and dropped the box in the middle of the floor. "You packed too much in this," he drawled, heading back out. "The bottom fell out. Twice."

Shoot.

"Sorry." But I didn't think he heard me as he left.

By the time I came down for dinner, my throat was raw from the screaming. I tried to clear it which made it worse and finally left it alone. In the dining room, I found the Trenger family sitting around a large oak table, the face of it hidden by a bowl of spaghetti and its side dishes.

Regardless of how bad of a day it was, the food, at least, wasn't burnt popcorn.

"All settled in?" Edith asked me, spooning a good amount of food onto my plate. The smell had me swallowing saliva. "Yeah," I said. "Thanks."

She moved to her own seat and I waited until everyone had started before I gave into the ravenous hunger I felt. I caught dad's look that told me to slow down and I listened. It took effort, though.

"So," Calvin began, green eyes falling on me. "I hear you're in the same school as Will. Is that right?"

Well, crap. "Yeah," I nodded.

"How do you like it there?"

On the plus side, My grades weren't captious towards any particular school I'd attended. They were consistent in any and all subjects. On the downside, however, that consistency remained to be very low and my grades overall were suffering an agonizing, educational death.

"It's nice," I said.

"Do you have a subject you're interested in?" Calvin asked.

Did lunch count?

I shook my head. "No. I'm still....trying to figure it out."

"My daughter isn't as studious as your son," Dad said, motioning to Will who I believed had made it his objective not to look at me once during dinner. "She's short on patience."

Benedict Arnold. "I like it when I understand the material," I offered. I didn't include that that just happened to be, well....never.

"We all have our strong suits and weaknesses," Calvin offered helpfully. I was hoping he'd drop it and let this topic die along with my future grades, but after experiencing today, I doubt it would let me off the hook so easily.

"If you're struggling, feel free to ask Will. I'm sure he'd be glad to help."

I refrained from flinching. Judging by Will's expression, he was about as willing as Lucas had been in giving me his room. "No, that's okay," I quickly said. "I'm not too bad."

A blatant lie.

"I heard your dad owns a pretty successful Cafe," Edith gratefully changed the topic. "You must have a knack for business if it runs in the family."

Hah. I covered my scoff with a drink a water. "Not really."

"Do you like to cook?"

Before I could answer, Dad shook his head. "We can't afford it."

"The supplies?" Edith asked.

"The fire extinguishers Lu goes through."

I glared at Dad, even as Calvin chortled. I heard a low chuckle and was surprised to find Will with a small smile on his face. This didn't please me, though. Out of all the things to humor him, it had to be that?

"I'm getting better," I said defensively.

"One time for her birthday, she was dead set on making her own pancakes," dad launched into the tale. "I'll admit, the batter had relatively no shells in it but the oil she'd used was garlic. So you can imagine her expression when she bit into strawberry-and-whip-cream topped garlic pancakes."

I squeezed my eyes shut, wanting to fold into the chair and disappear. To my disdain, I didn't. "Anyone can mix up oil."

Dad didn't hear me. "I cracked a tooth on her cookies, once. Had to go to emergency dental care that night."

Whatever good-natured reputation these people had fabricated about me was very quickly crumbling away, leaving a cooking hazard in its wake. "The oven had been broken."

"What about the burnt eggs?"

"I didn't want to give them to you raw."

"The rice?"

"No measuring cup."

"The noodles?"

"I never once heard the word stir. Not. Once."

By this point, Calvin was laughing pretty hard, as was Edith. Even Lucas looked somewhat bemused. Finally I looked at Will who's expression very clearly read idiot.

"I'm just not good in the kitchen," I said, scrambling to salvage some grain of my dignity. "I'm better with...."

With....

I wasn't helping myself.

"My daughter is very level-headed," Dad said. Yes, finally. Something good. "She keeps a positive attitude. We have a strong relationship."

It may have been slightly tainted now, but I nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I would like to thank you, Lucas," dad added turning to the youngest Trenger. "I know it's inconvenient giving up your space and I just want to thank you on her behalf. Im sure neither you nor your brother were expecting us."

"I was expecting dad's friend and his son," Lucas replied. "I didn't know Lewis was a girl."

I mentally whimpered. This just kept getting better and better.

Dad chuckled. "Oh, that."

I quickly turned to him, almost knocking over my water. "Don't."

He ignored me. "My late wife was a fanatic of Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis."

No. No. No. No.

"Her name had been Carol, so when we found she was pregnant, our first thought was Lewis. I was sure we were having a boy so we agreed on the name."

Nail. Hammer. Coffin.

"So, wait," Lucas said, raising his eyebrows. His dark eyes sparkled in the light of this information. "You were named after a male writer?"

"Technically two." Dad corrected.

"You didn't bother to pick out a feminine name just in case?" Lucas asked, earning him a scorn from his mother. Dad didn't take a offense and why would he? I was the one getting offended.

"As soon as we saw her, the name stuck," Dad explained.

"So...." Lucas drawled, "your daughter looked like a boy?"

"Lucas, stop," Edith bit. "Ignore him; I think he must be nervous around someone pretty like Lu."

At that, a deep chuckle sounded and my eyes landed on Will who had that hint of a smile of his lips.

"Will, do you have something you'd like to add?" Edith asked her son.

He shook his head. "Definitely not. I'll be upstairs." He snatched up his bowl and disappeared into the kitchen. Lucas followed after.

"I must've missed a chapter in that parenting book," Edith mused.

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I didn't sleep well that night. In fact, I barely slept at all, having been feeling like a cat in water knowing William Trenger was directly across the hall from me. If I kept quiet, I was sure I could hear him breathing.

When morning came, I found myself running down the stairs, tripping once as I went. My stupid alarm clock had failed at its purpose in life, having not woken me up when I set it to. This resulted in my nearly tripping down the stairs, grabbing a piece of toast, and darting out the door with mumbled apologies. "Catch up with Will!" Edith called after me and I nodded.

It was freezing outside and I was thankful Id at least remembered my coat, zipping it up to my chin. Then I was running again, and stumbling because I must've been born with two left feet. I pulled my phone from my pocket, having heard a text message.

YOUR HOUSE WHAT?!

Liz.

I pursed my lips and hurriedly replied, an endeavor in itself when coupled with running. I was about to hit send just as I slammed into something hard.

I looked up.

Will's back was to me and I instantly moved away.

"Watch where you're going," he said.

"Sorry."

He just resumed walking then, and, not knowing where I was headed, I followed after. My curiosity bloomed and I couldn't resist asking, even if the only reason was to shatter this very uncomfortable silence.

"You don't have a car?" I asked. His parents were financially stable after all. "Aren't you seventeen?"

"I don't have a car," he said, words falling flat and lifeless from his lips.

I jogged up until I was beside him, casting him a sideway glance. "Why not?"

"Because I don't."

"Don't you want one?"

He sighed audibly and stopped, forcing me to swivel around. He took a step closer to me. "Look, I know all about your family's situation. But more than that, I know that this arrangement is temporary and therefore neither you nor I should feel compelled to interact with each other." He took another step and I felt myself move away.

"For this to be as minimally bothersome as possible, I ask only one thing; don't hang around me." His green eyes narrowed, black hair falling across them as he stared at me. "I don't want you close by at home, at school, and in public whatsoever. Do not come within an eight yard radius of me, all right?"

Well then.

"Oh, and one more thing," he doubled back and got in my face again. "If you breathe one word to anyone about us living under the same roof, I will make your awful grades the least of your worries."

I swallowed as he turned his back to me again. Before I followed, his head snapped to me and I paused, trying to estimate the distance between us.

Oh. Eight yard radius.

Effective now.