First of all, I would like all of you to understand that if it weren't for all of your genius ideas, this chapter wouldn't be up right now. Special mentions go out to Magis213, wdwdirectioner , ilovewdw , onepieceofcake , and annabella0731 . I am so extremely grateful that you guys came through with amazing ideas!
This chapter is dedicated to Magis213 , as they gave me the idea for this chapter! Merci beacoup!!
This is so exciting!
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"Nice shoes Angelo."sneered Sally Ringwald, the most popular girl in the 9th grade at winter park high school.
Willa subconsciously looked at the worn black converse on her feet.
"What? Your mommy couldn't afford to buy any new shoes?" She said, a fake frown etched on her face.
Willa looked away. It wasn't that she couldn't afford them, these converse were her favourite pair. Well worn and well loved.
"What's wrong? You think you're soo smart, but you can't even find words talk to me"
Sally knocked the books out of Willa's arms and pushed her up against the lockers. "Listen here, Angelo." Sally began. "You're a weak, useless, fatty. Just get out because no one wants you here anyway." She smirked.
Tears pricked in the back of Willa's eyes. One slipped down her cheek.
"Baby" Sally laughed with her posse as they sashed away.
Willa picked up the books that spilled out on the floor, tears freely falling down her face. This wasn't the first time that this had happened, nor would it be the last.
Quickly she made a break for the washroom. She locked one of the stalls and pulled the toilet seat down, taking a seat on it. There she let out all the pent up sadness. She curled herself into a ball, as small as she possibly could hugging her knees close to her chest.
'Why me?' She thought. Many days of her life were spent in this very stall, hiding away. She never did anything to deserve they way she was being treated.
The bell rang, symbolizing she was officially late for class. But she didn't move. Willa knew if she went out like this, she would get pity from teachers and mocked by Sally and her friends. That wasn't what she wanted.
Her phone vibrated from her back pocket. She slowly pulled it out.
'Sally Ringwald tagged you in a post.' It read.
Willa slowly clicked on the notification and it lead her to a page that read.
"Hey winter park high! You know that girl, Willa Angelo? Check out the hate page that I started!" Willa was shocked. She was scared of what would be on that page.
Apprehensively, she clicked on the link. There were several comments calling her bad names and telling her to die. Not a single person stuck up for her.
She turned her phone off and let out a few sobs. This bullying began in the 3rd grade, when Willa got glasses. People called her four eyes and other names that were uncalled for. Over the years, it had gotten much worse.
Her phone went off again. But this time, she didn't bother checking it.
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"That's strange." Finn thought aloud. Willa, one of his best friends from the keepers and science lab partner wasn't in class today.
"What's weird?" Asked a faded British accent from behind him.
He swivelled around to face philby, another one of his keeper friends.
"Willa's not in class today."
"I noticed." Said philby.
"She has perfect attendance though. She has for as long as I can remember. She prides herself in it." Finn stated.
"Maybe she's sick." Offered Charlene, Willa's best friend.
"Maybe. I doubt it though." Something was going on and Finn intended to get to the bottom of it.
He pulled his phone from the pocket of his hoodie and sent Willa a message.
"Hey Wills! Where r u?" He texted.
After a good 10 minutes, Willa didn't answer. So he sent another.
"Willa. This is so unlike u. I'm gonna fail science without u." Still no answer.
"Seriously Willa. I'm worried about u." Alas, no response.
Finn sighed out loud. The bell chimed, symbolizing the end of the day. He collected his books.
"I'm worried about Willa, Finn." Philby told him.
"Me too, man." Together, they walked to Philby's locker. It was next to Willa's. Philby glanced at her locker and saw a purple piece of fabric sticking out from the bottom of the door.
'Thats strange.' He thought. He shut his own locker and grabbed the lock on Willa's. He entered the number he had come to memorize, 5-7-37. Her lock popped open and inside he found both her coat and her backpack.
"Finn, look at this" he said gesturing to Willa's locker.
Finns eyes widened. "That means she's here. That's even weirder."
"I'm going to look around." Philby told Finn, re-locking Willa's locker and taking off towards the library.
Just then, Finn got a notification from Facebook. He clicked on it and saw that Sally Ringwald had updated.
'Hey Winter Park High! You know that girl, Willa Angelo? Check out the hate page I started.'
Finn's jaw dropped. "Oh no." He whispered, scrolling though the comments. He put his phone away and ran after Philby. He knew that even though he or Charlene could try, philby was the only one who could get through to her.
Philby didn't have Facebook, so he didn't get the notification. Finn came running around the corner, out of breath, startling Philby.
"Look. At. This." He panted, trying to catch his breath. He held out his phone to philby.
"Blimey." He grumbled. His British heritage only showed through when he was angry.
Philby took out his own phone, dialled Willa's number, and pressed it to his ear. It rang several times.
'Hey, it's Willa. Thanks for calling, leave a message and I'll try to get back to you! Have a magical day.' Her answering machine chimed.
"She's not answering." He informed Finn.
"We've got to find her man." Finn stated. Philby took off to the only place he could think of- the girl's restroom. That's where the girls in the movies went, right?
He knocked on the outside door, and when no one replied, he burst in.
"Willa?" He asked. He heard a faint sniffle. 'Bingo' he thought.
"Willa, I know you're in here." A shadow was cast under one of the stalls. He walked over to it and knocked on the door.
"Willa please open up."
She couldn't open the door. She was embarrassed. She didn't want philby to see her like this.
"Willa. Please." He pleaded. She sighed and slowly unlocked the stall.
He looked at her tear stained cheeks. It pained him to see her like this. He wrapped her in a hug. She sobbed into his shirt.
"I don't understand Phil. Why me?" She mumbled into his chest.
"Shh. Willa please don't cry. You're too good for them. Don't listen to what they say." He pulled her out of the stall and sat her on the counter top.
"Listen to me. They do this because they have nothing better to do. Sally has the brain capacity of a rock and obviously is blind if she thinks all the things she said are true. She's jealous. Jealous of you."
"Jealous. Of me." Willa chuckled. "Yeah okay. Why would they be jealous of a useless, ugly, fat, geek?"
"Willa. You are insane to believe those things. You're so smart. And you are Definitely not useless. Do you know how many times Finn would have to retake science without your generous help? Or how many times we keepers would have been demolished? If you weren't there to solve clues, we'd STILL be looking for Jess in animal kingdom! And don't you dare believe that you are ugly. You are gorgeous. Sally wishes she could look like you. That's why she teases you. You have what she wants. Natural beauty. You don't have to cake your face with 10 pounds of makeup to feel beautiful. You're ridiculously beautiful. I've thought that since the first time I saw you at the dhi auditions."
Willa simply could believe what she was hearing. She looked at the ground, a blush appearing across her cheeks. Did philby mean what he was saying? Or was he trying to make her feel better?
"Believe me or not Willa. But just know that I think you are smarter, stronger, nicer, more generous and more beautiful inside AND out then they will ever be." He placed a finger under her chin and tilted he head up to look at him.
"You're perfect Willa." He said, before gently placing his lips on hers. It was a short kiss, but so meaningful that Willa couldn't comprehend. In shock, Willa forgot to kiss back. Not only was this her first, but it was with her crush of 4 years.
Philby pulled away. "I know this is probably a horrible time to ask, but Willa, would you like to be my girlfriend?"
As an answer, Willa pressed her lips to his. Two pairs of eyes fluttered shut. This kiss lasted slightly longer than the last.
When they pulled apart, philby pulled Willa into a hug and rested his chin upon her head.
"I'll keep you safe." He whispered in her ear. "I promise."
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Okay, so where can I get a philby? Because I really want one. I'm sorry if this chapter want very good, the next one will be better, I hope. Thanks again to Magis213 ! Love you all!
~kingdomkeeper_wilby3
Ps. Keep the ideas coming! I love every single one and plan to use them.