Two Boys Learning

10. Not Worth It

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around--"

"Ash," Will interrupted mildly. Ash looked at him. "If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to break your nose."

Ash blinked, then grinned.

Will arched a brow. "That's not meant to be a joke."

"I know," Ash said happily, turning away.

Will stared at him in confusion. What in the...

"Hey, fag," a nasal voice called. "I thought I'd find you sitting next to Shack Boy."

Ash whipped around, his eyes wide as he stared at Will. Don't listen to him, he mouthed, but Will ignored him and turned. 

"At least I have the guts t sit next to someone," he sneered. "Why are you sitting alone, huh? Don't want anyone else to whoop your ass just as hard as I whooped yours?"

Tristan flushed. For a moment, Will thought he saw Riley instead of Tristan. He narrowed his eyes, shaking himself out of it.

"Whatever, fag," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"Will," Ash groaned. "You know he's only being this sucky because he feels bad about himself. Come on. Use your thinker, not your stinker."

Will stared at him, then scoffed, smiling faintly. "That's literally worse than Vanocolate."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Nothing is worse than that."

"Riley thought it was hilarious," Will said absently.

"Who?"

Will blinked, then realized what he'd said and looked away. "Someone. He's dead now." He swallowed. "My dad killed him."

Ash didn't respond. When Will glanced over, Ash was staring at him hands, his face paler than normal. Will noticed a bruise on the back of his neck and reached back brushing his fingers lightly over the purple-blue blemish. "What happened?"

Ash flinched away. "I--uh. I banged my head on my bed. My cat got stuck. It's nothing." His eyes darted to the side.

He's lying, Will realized, confused. Why would he lie about that?

~ ~ ~

"Alright, class. It's already late, so why don't we get to our rooms and unpack?"

Ash looked up from his book. They'd been sitting in the parking lot for almost an hour while Mrs. Sukiyaki went in and got their rooms ready.

There were a few groans as people got up and stretched, but Will didn't open his eyes. He was leaning against the hotel wall, his earbuds in his ears. Ash tapped him on the shoulder, and he cracked an eye open.

"Time to go," he mouthed, grabbing Will's backpack as well as his own. He jerked his head towards the entrance, where kids were starting to trickle in.

Will sighed and stood, stretching. His back popped.

Ash grinned and held out Will's backpack. Will took it with a grunt, and Ash led the way to the entrance.

They were assigned room 704, on the top floor. They had an incredible view of the ocean, only a few miles away, and the pool far below glittered in the setting sun. They'd been driving for hours, which didn't make sense because they were only supposed to be going a few towns over. Then again, River Heights was in the middle of nowhere.

Will dropped his bag on the floor, and Ash tossed his own in a corner before face-planting into the bed nearest the window. He sighed contentedly.

"I could get used to this," he mumbled to himself, low enough that Will wouldn't hear him.