❛ Tell my sister don't cry and don't be sad. Close my eyes and cross my arms. Put me in the dirt, let me dream with the stars. ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 11
battlefield

"WILLOW, I WAS surprised to hear you were coming back to school so soon," Ms. Morrell, the school's counselor, said to her.

⠀⠀⠀Willow sat across from her in her office, her arms folded over her chest as she frowned back at Ms. Morrell for a moment. She hadn't met the woman before but had seen her passing in the hallways, and the few times a year she talked at pep rallies for students to know she was a safe space for them to talk.

⠀⠀⠀Willow hadn't even been the one to approach her. She had gone into her first period, history, that she had with Isaac. A second later, she was being called over the PA.

⠀⠀⠀However, Willow should have known it would happen since Scott and Stiles had been asked to her office as well after the events of Matt's death. Willow hadn't been able to help them when all of that went down. Dealing with the police, the hospital, and her family pulled her in separate directions.

⠀⠀⠀That didn't mean she didn't feel guilty for not being there, though.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, spring break is over," Willow explained, shrugging as she kept a neutral expression on her face to keep from cracking.

⠀⠀⠀"Right," Ms. Morrell said, nodding her head, then readjusted in her seat to lean closer toward Willow. "I'm just worried seeing as—"

⠀⠀⠀"My sister died," Willow finished for her before she could, the words making her stomach tighten, but she didn't let herself show it. "I know what happened."

⠀⠀⠀"Of course," Ms. Morrell assured her, letting out a soft sigh. She looked away at the papers on her desk for a moment, then back to Willow. "Your sister, Bridgette, hasn't come in."

⠀⠀⠀"No," Willow said. She turned to look at the wall and the posters, reading over the text between the conversation. "She's at the hotel right now, sleeping. She can barely get out of bed."

⠀⠀⠀"It's okay to grieve, Willow," Ms. Morrell told her simply.

⠀⠀⠀"I am grieving," Willow snapped back at her, her heart pumping through her veins like someone had squeezed tightly around it. "But that can't be all that I do. I need to do something before I go insane because... because—"

⠀⠀⠀"You feel like it's your fault," Ms. Morrell said for her.

⠀⠀⠀Willow looked back at her again, her face to the posters, but her eyes looked at Ms. Morrell in a glare because she hated the fact the woman acted like she knew her so well. They had only met ten minutes ago, and she could already read her like an open book.

⠀⠀⠀"It is my fault," Willow corrected her, clenching her jaw and eyes back to reading to distract herself.

⠀⠀⠀"It's not your fault," Ms. Morrell told her, and Willow scoffed before she continued. "Blair used you to get close to your family, but it wasn't the only way."

⠀⠀⠀"It wasn't Stiles' fault," Willow interrupted her, turning back.

⠀⠀⠀Ms. Morrell's face fell slightly from how Willow misconstrued her words.

⠀⠀⠀"That's not what I mean," she said with a sigh. "Blair would have found a way to get to you. You said that because you and your family identify as witches, except for your father. That's why she and her brother targeted you."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes."

⠀⠀⠀"Then that makes you the victim," Ms. Morrell said with so a truckload of strain behind it to emphasize her point to Willow, to try and get her to understand. "It doesn't make you a part of their scheme any more than it does, Stiles. If you hadn't trusted her, then she would have used Bridgette or one of your friends or even just lit your house on fire some other way."

⠀⠀⠀"That's the thing, though," Willow hissed. Her hands had moved to the armrests and her fingers curled against it until her knuckles turned white. "I was the only way."

⠀⠀⠀"Why do you say that?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow shut her mouth. She had said too much, just like her mom had warned her. While Beacon Hills knew they were witches, it was the practical witch they thought them to believe. Telling Ms. Morrell that her house was covered in so many wards and shields that not even a witch from another town could pass through would be like talking to a brick wall. They all now saw Blair and Dillon as crazy conspiracy theorists that took it too far.

⠀⠀⠀There was also the other side of Ms. Morrell's question, why did Willow believe she was the one who caused Laurel's death. But then, it was a matter of if the counselor could even convince her that it wasn't.

⠀⠀⠀What Willow believed was that Blair used her for a reason. Willow was the trustworthy one, unlike Laurel. She could have used Bridgette if not because Bridgette was still dating Marisol around formal time.

⠀⠀⠀Blair knew what she was doing. She was using Willow, seducing her, making her trust her, and testing her to see if she was a True Witch like she said. It was the little things Willow didn't think about that now were screaming RED FLAGS in her brain. They turned and spiraled, and all she could do was think and pick apart every moment of their relationship together.

⠀⠀⠀She remembered at the dance how she told her, practically told her to her face who she was. Then, it was so subtle, but now it screamed in her face.

⠀⠀⠀"So, how long have you been in Beacon Hills?" Willow asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Beginning the date already?" Blair asked with a wide smile, swinging her head from one side to the other. "Well, my dad moved me here when he got full custody. I moved around the beginning of summer to live with him and my step-family. What about you?"

⠀⠀⠀"Lived here my whole life," Willow stated with a shrug. "My mom adopted me from an orphanage somewhere not here but yeah. I consider Beacon Hills home."

⠀⠀⠀"That's sweet," Blair smiled. "I haven't lived anywhere for a long time. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, but being in Beacon Hills is starting to grow on me."

⠀⠀⠀Connecticut.

⠀⠀⠀Massachusetts.

⠀⠀⠀Virginia.

⠀⠀⠀Those three states had one thing in common that Willow should have known when she said the words. The Connecticut Witch Trials, Salem Witch Trials, and the 'last known case of witchcraft' and one of the last trials were in Virginia.

⠀⠀⠀Then, there was the day in the locker room after gym that looking back now, had Willow feeling sick and sticky all over like she couldn't get this skin off of her that she wanted to peel off so badly.

⠀⠀⠀"I just noticed your birthmark. I have a thing for them," Blair explained to Willow, rolling her eyes.

⠀⠀⠀BIRTHMARK. Willow should've known. She should have fucking known, seeing as people with a birthmark or the term most used a Witch's Mark helped convince the masses that someone was a witch.

⠀⠀⠀There were a thousand more things that Blair did, stepping a toe over the line, toying with Willow to see if she'd catch on, but she never did. She never once questioned Blair except for maybe at Kate's funeral, and that should've been where she cut contact. But then, Willow knew Allison was in attendance, Allison's family were werewolf hunters, and she could only assume that maybe if something strange was going on with Blair's family, then it might be that she didn't know anything. Just like Allison, who was always kind and caring and looked out for them even though her family might kill her for it.

⠀⠀⠀Willow didn't even want to think about Dillon and the fact she had used Stiles to keep him out of the way. Stiles, who had been struggling so long with himself and his identity and finally came to a realization that he was bi. Now he had to rethink and reanalyze himself to understand who he was outside of Dillon and the trauma he caused for him.

⠀⠀⠀Willow shut her eyes for a moment, letting in a deep breath, and returned her gaze back to Ms. Morrell. She didn't know how long she had been out of it or if Ms. Morrell had even been speaking to her, but it didn't matter.

⠀⠀⠀"Can I get back to class?" Willow asked her, standing without the answer.

⠀⠀⠀Ms. Morrell sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"That's fine," she told her. Her face became crestfallen by the lack of stride within their conversation. However, she knew she pushed too hard, especially now, would only create more walls within the teenager. "If you need to leave school for any reason, drop by here, and I'll give you a pass. Can you promise me that much?"

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Willow muttered, then left.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Welp, here's Willow's thoughts on the matter at hand. It's probably been a week or two since everything has happened. Bridgette and her family are taking it hard but Willow is probably taking it the hardest because she does blame herself. 

Willow was not in Fury despite that being an episode I really enjoyed and had wanted to include but seeing when I put Laurel's death I don't think Willow would've been at the station for any reason. On her own or even because Scott and Stiles don't want to bother her at the moment.

Also hi, didn't mention it in my last chapter because you know... but I'm working on adjusting the layout and minor editing to this book possibly soon or possibly later depending on how this week goes.

SONG: R.I.P. 2 My Youth

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.