For A Moment - A Wonka AU

Chapter 16: Sorry, Charlie

The group stepped through the rubble of what used to be Willy's shop. The fire had been put out and the sun had already set, but the time was the last thing on their minds.

"I don't understand," Lottie was the first to speak. "What...what...

"What happened?" Abacus finished for her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Piper clenched her fists in anger. "The Chocolate Cartel!"

"This is just awful..." Larry sighed sadly. "I haven't been this upset since- wait, nevermind...I'm a comedian, I'm always upset..."

Willy was silent the entire time, nothing but the sound of his shaky breathing coming out of him. He sat on the remains of a fallen pillar, clutching his mother's chocolate bar. Noodle eyed him worriedly, but couldn't find any words to say.

Charlotte sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Willy...we can rebuild, and start again-"

"It's no use, Charlie..." he interrupted, his eyes never leaving his mother's chocolate bar. "It didn't work."

"It did work!" she exclaimed. "If it weren't for the Chocolate Cartel, we-"

"No, not that..." He shook his head and as he stared down at the chocolate bar, a tear fell from his eye and soaked into the wrapper. "She wasn't there, Charlie..."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Noodle took the words right out of her mouth.

"Oh, Willy..." she whispered. "You didn't actually think..."

"But I did." He looked up at them, teary eyed. "I...I guess that was all just..." He looked away. "...a stupid dream."

"Hey- no!" Charlotte said firmly. "Don't you dare say that, Willy." When he didn't respond or even look at her, she put her hand on the side of his face and turned his head in her direction. "Look at me, Willy. I need to know you're listening to me."

Willy's eyes met hers and her heart practically broke. She had never seen him, who was always so energetic and happy and optimistic and all of the above, seem so sad and hopeless. She didn't like this. She had to find a way to fix this. She wanted the old Willy back.

She heard Abacus urge the others away from, leaving the two alone in the rubble. Seeing this, she continued, "You told Noodle and I not to give up on your dreams, Willy. And now I'm here to tell that to you." She paused for a moment, but when Willy continued to stay silent, she went on, "You're Willy Wonka, for pete's sake; you make the impossible possible! You can't just-"

"Stop it, Charlie..." he whispered, shaking his head. He was too knee-deep in his own shattered dreams that he didn't seem to have the mind to listen to her. "I f-failed, and there's no going back." His voice broke and he pulled his head away from her hand, burying his face into his own.

"Willy..." she whispered, her heart continuing to shatter into thousands of tiny little pieces. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

This being the last straw, Willy was unable to hold in his emotions anymore. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he buried his face in her chest and broke down, sobbing profusely. His hat fell off to the side in the process, rolling around into a nearby pile of debris.

Her arms tightened around him and she rested her chin atop his head. She slowly ran her fingers through his hair to comfort him, like a mother to her son...or more, a sister to her brother.

She felt his hands grip the back of her shirt, as if clinging onto her. She hated seeing him so broken like this, but she knew it was best for her to just let him let it all out.