Rising Dawn (Willy Wonka X OC)

Facing Father

I smile.

The Next Morning

"I did not agree to this!" Will shouts as he walks towards me. I put on my threadbare jacket and scoff. Will has insisted on buying me new clothes several times, but every time I tell him to wait until I've healed completely. There'll be no use in going to a store if I can't even try anything on because of my broken arm.

"Yes, you did!" I tweak the collar of his coat, and spin him around, pushing him toward the elevator, but he doesn't budge. "You were half-asleep and exhausted, but you said you would go!"

I put my uninjured shoulder in between Will's shoulder blades and lean into him with all my might. He allows himself to be pushed forward until he puts his hands on both sides of the elevator, halting my progress. He looks back at me and wrinkles up his nose. "You're getting cheekier by the day."

I grin and nod, feigning amazement. "It's this factory, it has a magical effect on me."

He snorts. "Yeah...magical." I give him one last playful shove and he lets himself to be moved into the elevator. I follow and press the Out button.

"Wait!" Charlie calls from down the hall. Will lurches out to hold the door for him. What is Charlie doing? "Wait..." he pants, out of breath. "I want to come too. I want to help you face your father, Mr. Wonka."

Will ruffles Charlie's hair affectionately. "Again, Charlie, you can call me Will. We're partners, there's no need for 'mister.'" He smiles down at me. "We'd be happy for you to join us."

Charlie smiles brighter than the sun above and locks his arms around my midriff to steady himself once the elevator moves. I smile and put a hand on his back.

The elevator starts to move, and it's a few seconds before I realize Will is staring at me. His arms are folded loosely across his chest and his head is hanging contemplatively low, turned to the side a bit to watch me. His hair droops over his piercing lavender eyes casting a mysterious shadow over the upper half of his face, and I feel waves of uneasiness ebbing off of him. His eyes sparkle dangerously, and his mouth twitches into a frown intermittently. Alright, I have to say something. "What is it?"

"You have no idea what happened between my father and I, yet you still choose to believe that seeing him will fix my family issues. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to seeing what became of the old git, but are sure this is a good idea?"

Do I? Will's right, I don't know anything about his father and the reason they separated ways. I've seen the effect childhood memories have on Will, do I really want to go there? I don't know. I don't think facing my past would help me, but this might work for Will. At the very least, he'll get to see what became of his father and say "I told you so."

I shrug. "I'm not entirely sure, Will. I understand that you went through a lot as a kid, and I'm not making you do this. We can turn around now if you're really opposed to it, but I think it might help."

He nods slowly and hesitates, glancing at Charlie, determining how much he should say. "Are you sure this isn't just you wanting to see the man who was responsible, in part, for our separation? We don't need to turn around just yet, I'm ok with this...but are you? Will you be able to see him again and not lose it?"