Swell (Complete)

Chapter Eighteen (Part One)

"Do you remember me? And what we used to be?
It turns out your word is broken now
Cause you always seem to let me down."

....

Will couldn't ignore the awkward feeling during the beginning of music class.
Adora wasn't there yet, Brett wouldn't be in class for a while, and that left him with Kurt and Rae.
He had managed to push away the discomfort of being around another violinist and he was constantly reminding himself that Rae was not Liss and that they were in a band together, not a relationship.
It seemed to him that Kurt and Rae were an unofficial couple though, and instead of feeling like a third wheel while Adora wasn't in class, the two were doing their best to keep him in their conversations.
Talking about the playlist and the possibility of playing during the end of semester dance.
The three of them were half way through a song when the door to the classroom swung open.
"I'm so sorry! We lost track of time." Adora flushed as she hurried in and dropped her bag on the floor.
"We gathered." Rae smirked. "Did you have fun?"
Adora sat on a table and tried to start catching her breath. Her cheeks continued to stay flushed and she put a pale hand over the pink skin. "Uh, yea. Gus took me to the hospital and we just hung out with Brett."
Will frowned at the mention of a strange name. "Gus?"
"Brett's cousin." Adora answered, getting off the table and kneeling beside her bag to unpack her microphone.
Will frowned.
"He's going to be helping Brett recover." Kurt saw Will's confusion. "He comes to stay during summer a lot, we know him pretty well and he's studying physical therapy."
"Ohhh. Well, that makes sense." Will smiled and nodded as he watched Adora set the microphone up in the stand and plug it into the amp.
There was a light around Adora that Will hadn't seen before; there was more energy and smiling.
It was beautiful and he wondered if it was what had made Tom try so hard to convince her to date him.
Will didn't have much of a voice during the music class, but he walked out with Adora at the end of it.
"You enjoying all the lead guitar parts?" She asked him as they approached the front doors of the school building.
"It's still early. I will definitely be practising more now." He smiled down at her.
"Well, I'll start picking up the rhythm again to make it easier. We should try and do some sessions with just the two of us, guitars and the mike, would that help?"
"Probably, the session or two I had with Brett and the one the three of us had did."
"Awesome! I'll check our planner tonight and send you a text." Adora returned the smile and ducked under his arm as he held the door open. "I'm going to go back to..." Her voice trailed off as he stepped out behind her and saw Iain straightening up from a lean on the rail of the stairs.
He felt his muscle tenses and his jaw clenched as Iain met his eyes and quickly looked back to his cousin.
"Dodge suspended me." He said simply.
"Good." Adora's voice had instantly changed from the excited musician's tone. "He should."
"Yea, I know. I was an idiot, I just..." Iain looked back to Will. "Is Tom alright?"
Will swallowed a lump and looked at the concrete under his shoes. "A few cuts and bruises. They'll heal before he wants to pretty himself up for the dance."
Iain let out a short laugh. "I'm glad I'm more a lover than a fighter."
"What do you want?" Adora was as short as his laugh.
"I wanted to apologise and let you know my punishment. Dodge is also sending me extra homework."
Will felt the awkwardness in the air between the relatives, he wasn't even comforted that there was no nepotism in the school despite Iain being the headmaster's brother.
"I thought I'd take you and your bike home."
"So you can misconstrue something else I say?" Adora's attitude was snappy and a harsh comparison to the Adora Will had been watching during music.
"No. So I can apologise." Iain's voice was dejected and Will almost felt sorry for him.
"I'm meeting Gus."
"Gus is here?"
"He arrived this morning, to help Brett.
"Ah, right, that makes sense."
The small talk wasn't getting any more comfortable between them and Will felt the most out of place he had felt the entire time they had lived in Wheeler Falls.
"Iain!"
The male voice made both Dodgers' faces break their seriousness and Will felt relief sinking into the pit of his stomach.
A tall blonde was coming towards the front steps of the school, a broad smile on his face.
Until he spotted Will; his gait faltered for a few moments as he stared and then the smile returned. "You must be Will? The only newbie I haven't met." He reached them and extended his hand. "I'm Gus."
Will gave Gus a small smile as he nodded and shook the offered hand. "Yea. That's me."
"Wow, you guys are identical, hey? Well, except for Tom's swollen noise..."
"I should be going." Will forced a smile and looked around the near empty front yard of the school grounds.
"Well, it was nice to meet you." Gus put his hand into his pocket and gave Will a nod goodbye.
"Yea, see you." Will was grateful to be leaving the cousins with Gus. As small as Adora was, he felt she would have no qualms about slapping Iain if he stepped out of line again.
Maybe Gus would be able to smooth things out between them. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Gus standing close to Adora as she walked to the bike rack, Iain was still standing on the school front steps.
It didn't look as though Gus had been much help.

Will was surprised when he saw the full extent of damage on Tom's face when he entered the lounge room at home. His nose was swollen and there were a few white strips across a cut on his forehead.
In a way it looked like a lesser version of Brett's face.
Marti was sitting beside Tom on the couch, a laptop open on her lap as they stared at the screen. "Maybe just get another Lancer?" Marti said before she looked up and saw Will sit in the armchair.
"Hey, you're home late." She smiled.
"Music, and I met Gus, and Iain tried to beg Adora for forgiveness. He was suspended." Will gave his sister a small smile and looked to his twin. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright, I think my pride is more damaged than my body." Tom gave a half smile.
"Of course." Will chuckled. "Car hunting?"
"Wait, go back, Dodge suspended Iain? For how long?" Marti put the laptop on the coffee table.
"I don't know. Adora's still pretty pissed, its kind of funny seeing that little thing hold so much anger." Will smiled. "I wouldn't want it to be directed at me though."
Marti huffed and Will could tell she wasn't satisfied with his answer.
"What did you think of Gus?" Tom picked the laptop up and put it on his lap.
"He seems alright. Wait... He knew me, when did you guys meet?" Will frowned.
"He was at the hospital." Marti answered. "And he was at school at lunch to get Adora. I don't think I like him much. Rae and Kurt..."
"Marti, you barely met him, you can't make judgements on the short meeting we had at the hospital." Tom sighed.
"I'm not, I'm going by what Rae and Kurt told me. They have hung out with him over summers, they've seen him use Adora." Marti's teeth clenched and Will frowned.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Adora told me they used each other. It was a summer fling, Marti. She enjoyed it as much as he did." Tom spoke up before Marti could.
Will looked between his siblings in confusion. "A summer fling? Gus and Adora were together?"
"Yea." Marti grumbled, leaning fully back into the couch and folding her around across her stomach. "I think the only person who didn't know was Brett. Gus wanted it secret from him."
"Why would he want that?" Will was starting to feel like the outsider in his own family from all this isolation he was giving himself from trying to make solid friends in their new town.
"Brett's madly in love with Adora. Have you not seen it?" Tom laughed a little and looked at Will with dismay.
Will looked at the coffee table and thought back to the times he'd seen the two best friends together in music. Their relationship seemed seamless, much like Marti and Liss' had been. "I guess not." Will muttered.
"What about a Jeep?" Tom turned the laptop screen to Will and showed him an ad black Jeep.
"Actually, I think that would suit you, Tom." Will gave a small smile. "I'm going to go and do some homework, I've gathered all of the music solos now Brett's not at school."
"Rock on, brother." Tom held his hand up, his thumb holding his two middle fingers down so that the two outside fingers were sticking up.
Will chuckled and stood up. "Yea, thanks. Good luck car hunting."