Will You Ever Stop Falling For Me

Chapter 1

Will arrived at the festival beaming. He was finally free for a week. His first week alone, without his family. He had high expectations of this event. He wanted to make new friends in the city he'd live in from the start of the school year. He got off the bus with his huge backpack and looked around him. He immediately saw the main stage with the immense screens and the towering speakers. He sighed. The next thing to do was to set up his tent. He noticed a free space between a caravan and a green eight-place tent.
 
“Is this place free?”, he asked a man in the cabin right in front of him.
 
“What? Oh, hum, yeah. You can pitch your tent here.”
 
Then he went back to his magazine and didn’t even bother to offer his help.
 
Will had been struggling for at least fifteen minutes when he finally succeeded in planting the first peg. And only two minutes had passed before someone tripped over the rope and fell on him, making him fall in turn.
 
“I'm really sorry!!”
 
William couldn’t even recognise the gender of this person. And he wouldn’t ask them, either. They had pink hair and brown eyes.
 
Wow, he thought. He had never seen someone with pink hair that looked so fine. It wasn’t a flashy pink, like Barbie. No, it was soft like a rose. He noticed that the stranger was still on top of him.
 
“What’s your name?”, he asked.
 
The stranger didn’t answer. Will tried another approach.
 
“Do you like it?
-         What?
-         Being on top.”
 
They immediately blushed, and rose instantly.
 
“I'm sorry!!”
 
Will laughed. He definitely liked this person.
 
“No problem. You can sit on me whenever you want”, he said with a wink.
 
The stranger was offended.
 
“Stop saying things like that! I don’t want to do anything with you!”
 
They ran away, redder than a peony.
 
Will kept laughing and laughing for at least ten minutes. Then he laid down on the grass next to his tent, the his arms behind his head, and looked at the sky. The sun was high in the heavens. He closed his eyes and listened to the surrounding sounds. There was a blackbird tweeting in a tree nearby, kids shouting, a distant melody. The first concert had begun. He rose again and felt a little dizzy. A minute later, he was fine.
 
He finished pitching his tent a dozen of minutes later. Then, he took his wallet and his smartphone out his backpack and left the rest of the bag in the tent. He came closer to the main stage, hoping to get some drinks. The closer he went, the more people there were. He was making his way to the drink stand when someone collided with him.
 
“Ouch, careful!
-         Sorry!”
 
William looked at the person who just bumped into him and spilled the entire content of their cups on his tee-shirt. It was the same person who had already fallen in his arms earlier.
 
Were they a girl or a boy?
 
He couldn't tell. He stopped them as they were running away.
 
“Wait! What's your name?
-         Why do you want to know?
-         I want to learn more about the person who bumped into me for the second time.”
 
The boy –or the girl– huffed and murmured:
 
“My name's Aaron. Are you happy now?”
 
So they were a boy huh...
 
William smiled and held a out his hand.
 
“I'm Will. Nice to meet you!”
 
Aaron looked away but still took William’s hand.
 
“I- I'm really sorry for... for spilling the cups on you... do you want me to lend you a tee?”
 
He finally raised his eyes towards the tall blonde-haired guy. He was definitely tall. Probably 6’1... or more... Aaron was so short in comparison! And he was handsome... really handsome.
 
“... though I don’t think I have one in your size...”
 
Will laughed. A clear, sparkling laugh, like a chime.
 
“I'm sure I can manage!
-         ... Ok... then... would you mind... following me to my tent?
-         Of course, since you asked so nicely!”
 
Aaron couldn’t help but blush. He turned his head away to prevent William from noticing.
 
They didn’t speak for the entire walk.
Will kept looking at Aaron. This boy really intrigued him. He had feminine traits, and he was so short!
 
Why did he look that much like a girl?
 
“Aaron?”
 
He didn't respond. William tried again.
 
“Aaron?”
 
The androgynous boy finally turned to him, his eyebrows slightly arched.
 
“What?
-         Are we close to your tent?
-         Yes. It's two metres away, the blue one.”
 
Will looked in the direction Aaron pointed.
 
“Oh, I see it!”
 
He reached the tent first and Aaron opened it.
 
“Wait for me here. I’ll be back in a minute.
-         Ok!”
 
Will waited for exactly three minutes and forty-one seconds.
 
“Here, for you.”
 
Aaron held him a large black tee-shirt with bloody scriptures, and white skeletons on it. A hard rock band probably, William didn’t know a lot about that kind of music.
 
“Do you listen to that?
-         Not exactly but I thought it was cool, so I bought it.
-         It is cool indeed.”
 
Will doffed his wet tee-shirt and looked at Aaron without paying much attention. The boy was looking away and Will noticed his face was a bit red.
 
“Are you ok?
-         I'm fine.
-         Are you sure?
-         Put on this tee please. I don’t want to see...”
 
He muttered something and Will came closer to hear what it was about. Aaron jumped away.
 
“Don't come that close! And put on that damn shirt for God's sake!”
 
Will couldn’t help but laugh.
 
“Ok, ok, I didn’t know you were that shy!
-         I'm not shy!”
 
He crossed his arms.
 
“I just need personal space...”
 
He pushed William away, as the tall guy hadn't moved at all.
 
“...and you're still shirtless...”
 
Will finally put the tee-shirt on. It was a bit tight but not as much as he’d expected.
 
“Do you always wear oversized clothes?
-         Yes.
-         Lucky me then!”
 
This comment squeezed a smile out of Aaron.
 
“Oh, I didn’t know you could actually smile!
-         Stop it. I’m not that grumpy. Let's come back to the stage, it's almost my turn.
-         Oh... so you’re a musician? What type of music do you play?
-         We have an alternative style. I don’t think you would like it.
-         I'll come anyway. I can't say I don’t like something before actually trying it!
-         If you want...”
 
A boy came running to Aaron.
 
“What are you doing?! We are on stage in ten minutes!”
 
He looked at William.
 
“And who's this?”
 
Then he turned to Aaron again, smirking.
 
“Don’t tell me...
-         He's not. Stop embarrassing me Xian.”
 
The Asian boy –Xian, apparently– looked at William again and pointed a finger to him.
 
“Whoever you are to him, don’t mess with my best friend.
-         I'm...
-         He's a perfect stranger. I just lent him a tee cause I spilled the drinks on his.
-         Oh...”
 
He stared at William again, examining each detail of his appearance.
 
“Mmh... Tall... Handsome... Nice hair and pretty eyes...”
 
William felt his cheeks getting warmer at each of those comments.
 
“Are you trying to evaluate my handsomeness?
-         I am indeed.
-         Why?
-         Because my friend there might get interested in you.”
 
Aaron got angry.
 
“What- No! I'm not-!”
 
William interrupted him.
 
“Ok.”
 
Aaron shouted.
 
“What- Ok?! What do you mean “ok”??
-         I mean that I don’t mind. You can fancy me if you want. I won't mind.”
 
This time, Aaron blushed obviously.
 
“I won't “fancy you”! You’re... you’re not my type! At all!”
 
He took Xian’s arm and led him away from Will.
 
“Let's go back to the stage. We start in a minute.”
 
He was almost running, and William followed them in large strides. They arrived right as the rest of the band was about to start.
 
Aaron grabbed his guitar and Xian his trumpet and they joined their friends.
 
William was left alone.
 
“Get interested in me huh?”, he whispered to himself.
 
Then he made his way through the crowd to be right in front of this intriguing pink-haired boy he just met.
 
Aaron noticed his gaze. In fact, Will hadn't looked away from him at all. Not a single time. And Aaron wondered if he was serious when he said that he wouldn't mind. He found him attractive, it was true, but he didn’t want to trust a stranger so easily. And he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Will was obviously straight, he certainly had a girlfriend. He was probably just being polite, or the type of boy who's friendly and flirty with everyone.
 
What if... what if Will was actually in love with him?
 
He shook his head. He had to concentrate back on the music. It was almost time for his guitar solo. It was a tricky part so he had to be fully focused.
 
Now it was his turn. He closed his eyes to avoid being distracted by anything. Or anyone.
 
He played and a concert of applause followed. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Will. Will who smiled with the most joyful smile he'd ever seen. He heard his name. It was time to come back to the concert. There was still one song left. A cover of ‘Enchanted’ by Taylor Swift.
 
The whole band was singing along with the main singer. Strangely, the song didn’t sound the same as usual. Maybe it was because they were outside, without any reverberation. And maybe it was because there was this boy singing along in the crowd.
 
The song ended and everybody cheered the musicians. Will was out of sight. Aaron was relieved he left, but at the same time, he was a bit sad. Deep inside, he wanted to see this boy again. And he did. Will reappeared a moment later, when the boys were packing away their instruments.
 
“Phew, you're still there, thank God. They wouldn’t let me go on the stage...
-         What are you doing here?
-         I wanted to congratulate you. You played so well!”
 
All the team had gathered around them.
 
“Is he your b-
-         Shut up! He's just a stranger, I bumped into him before the concert!
-         He's handsome isn't he?
-         What's his name?
-         He can speak, ask him directly... And there’s absolutely nothing between us, understood? Nothing.”
 
William felt his heart tighten a bit but he said nothing. That was true. There was nothing between them.
 
“Ok, ok! Don’t get angry, we're kidding!”
 
Aaron grunted and said to William:
 
“Your tee must have dried now. I'll accompany you to get it back.
-         I know the way...
-         I don’t want you to sneak around my tent all alone.”
 
Will smiled.
 
“All right then, come with me.”
 
They walked the way back to the tent in silence. Will tried to break it twice or thrice but Aaron simply didn’t respond so he stopped trying. The pink-haired boy rushed to the tent, took the tee-shirt and gave it to William.
 
“Here’s your shirt.
-         Thank you.”
 
He started to undress.
 
“Don’t do that in front of me!”
 
He huffed and opened the zip.
 
“Go into the tent. You can change there.”
 
Will entered the tent. It was so hot inside that he thought he would suffocate and die in that tent.
 
“Are you ok?”
 
A voice came from the outside. Aaron.
 
“I'm fine”, he grunted.
 
“Are you sure? You don't sound ok...
-         No, no, I'm alright”, William mumbled.
 
“I'm coming.”
 
Either he hadn’t heard him or either he didn’t want to listen but Will suddenly felt a body close to his. He froze. He was shirtless and he didn’t want to embarrass Aaron as he had already reacted angrily to him being shirtless.
 
“Are you ok?”, he repeated.
 
“I'm fine. It's just a bit hot in there.”
 
Aaron sat on the floor, next to William.
 
“Yes it is. Let's get out.
-         I'm still shirtless...
-         Oh. I'm- I'm sorry... I- I will let you get dressed”, he muttered.
 
He went out of the tent as quickly as he entered, his face as red as a poppy. Will put on his tee-shirt again and went out in turn.
 
Aaron was waiting for him outside.
 
“Where did you put my tee?
-         Oh... It's here.”
 
He handled the tee-shirt to Aaron.
 
“Thanks.”
 
A moment passed without them saying a single word. Then Aaron gathered his courage and spoke.
 
“What are you planning to do this evening? I mean... you can hang out with us if you want... If you're alone...”
 
Will looked at him wide-eyed and Aaron feared he had been presumptuous.
 
“I accept! I had nothing to do tonight after all, so it will be great meeting new people. Plus your friends seem really cool.
-         Yeah, they are.
-         Tell me about them. No...”
 
William leaned slowly towards Aaron until his lips almost touched his neck and smiled.
 
“Tell me about you.”
 
Aaron stood back.
 
“I- I- I-”
 
Will laughed.
 
“I was kidding! Though I'd really like to learn more about you and your band. When did you start playing music?
-         About a year ago, I can’t remember the exact date.
-         Only a year ago?? You are so talented! I mean... not only you of course!
-         Yep, but I started playing the guitar when I was six.
-         And how old are you now?
-         Seventeen.
-         Oh, so you’re younger than me!
-         Ah?”
 
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
 
“I'm nineteen”, said Will.
 
He smiled.
 
“But let's talk about you.”
 
He came towards Aaron and moved his lips closer to his. The pink-haired boy turned his head away.
 
“I- I should go back to my friends.”
 
William was confused. Did he just try to... to kiss him? He understood Aaron’s reaction. Honestly, he would have done the same. He was even more confused as the person he wanted to kiss was a boy. Even if this boy looked like a girl, he was still a boy. And William wasn’t interested in men.
 
He wasn't, really?
 
So why couldn’t he look away from this boy during the concert? And why did he have only one person, and one wish in mind?
 
He looked around to see if Aaron was still nearby. He wasn’t. Will was completely alone.
 
He sighed. He hoped Aaron wouldn’t tell anyone, because if he did, that was the end of seeing him. And that thought was absolutely unbearable.
 
He heard someone walking behind him. The footsteps came closer. He turned his head in the direction of the noise.
 
“William?”
 
It was Aaron. What was he doing here?
 
“Aaron... I'm really sorry for what happened just now.
-         What? What happened?
-         You don’t remember? I... I tried to... to k-
-         Oh... that...
-         I’m sorry.
-         That’s ok.”
 
William couldn’t see Aaron’s face, but he could bet he was blushing. The boy turned to him again.
 
“Would you like to come with us? We’re having a little party on the beach.
-         I'd be glad to join you!”
 
He rose and followed Aaron to the beach.
 
All his friends were there. Aaron introduced them to William. There were Xian, Aaron’s best friend, that Will had already met, the twins, Fred and Peter, and a tanned guy named Alyo.
 
“So, when did you guys met?
-         School trip”, they all answered at the same time.
 
“Ooh, lovely!”
 
They all laughed.
 
“What?!”, said William, half-amused half-confused.
 
“That’s so Brit'!
-         Aren't you British too?
-         I'm half-French half-Italian, explained Alyo.
-         I was born in the UK but my parents are Chinese, said Xian.
-         We’re from Northern Ireland!”, added the twins.
 
William turned to Aaron who hadn't spoken for all this time.
 
“And you?
-         I’m Irish.
-         That's cool!
-         Mmh, yeah, if you want...”
 
William looked at the band, not knowing why Aaron reacted like that.
 
“Wh-
-         He’ll tell you when he’s in the mood.”
 
Will looked at Aaron again. The young boy seemed to be lost in his thoughts.
 
“I'm sorry if I killed the mood. That wasn’t my intention at all.
-         It’s not your fault. He's often like that.”
 
Xian leaned towards William and said in a whisper:
 
“Family issues, if you know what I mean...”
 
He knew indeed. His parents were... Well, his father put so much pressure on him and his brother that the two children didn’t have a minute for themselves. Everything had to be perfect at home, and at school. Else, their father took his leather belt and hit them with an edge. When he was really drunk, he’d hit for no reason at all. William’s little brother, John, was only seven and he lived with an intense fear of other people. In fact, he barely spoke, except to Will. Their mother was simply too inconspicuous and afraid to help her children. She was covered in bruises and blenched every time she heard a noise. She was like a shadow, so quiet and skinny that Will feared she may disappear one day, without any sign, like she had never been there.
 
“Will?”
 
A voice pulled him from his thoughts. Aaron.
 
“Do you want to swim with us?”
 
Without him noticing, they had all undressed and they were now looking at him. Aaron held out his hand to Will, he took it and got to his feet in less than a second. He noticed that his new friend hadn’t taken off his shirt. He took him aside.
 
“Aaron, can I ask you why you don’t doff your tee-shirt?
-         You can. But I won’t answer.
-         Why? Is it because of me? Because of what I did earlier?
-         No... It’s just...”
 
He looked away, his arms crossed. He was obviously embarrassed by something. Maybe he had bruises, maybe he was in the same situation as William.
 
He suddenly lifted Aaron’s shirt and the latter stepped back promptly.
 
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!”
 
All his friends had turned back to them. Xian came closer.
 
“What happened?”
 
Aaron looked away and didn’t answer. Xian caught Will's collar.
 
“What did you do to my best friend?!”
 
He stood back and clenched his fist.
 
Much to William's surprise, Aaron intervened and threw himself between Xian and him before the blow reached its goal.
 
He took the fist in the middle of his right cheek and the impact projected him to the ground. Xian and William dashed towards him.
 
“Aaron!!”, they screamed at the same time.
 
He rose slowly, pushing away the two boys who tried to help him.
 
“Aaron!”
 
This time, it was an exclamation of joy. Aaron frowned.
 
“I don’t want to see either of you two for at least a day.”
 
William looked down. So did Xian.
 
“Sorry...”, said William.
 
Aaron smiled.
 
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, you know that, Aaron”, apologised Xian.
 
Aaron frowned again.
 
“It’s not the fact that you hurt me, it is the fact that you tried to hurt the...”
 
He turned his head away. But it was too late: Will had noticed that his cheeks had become a bit redder than before. And that it wasn't due to the blow he just received.
 
“... to hurt a friend”, Aaron finished.
 
Will smiled.
 
“You didn’t have to protect me you know? I am big enough to look after myself.”
 
Aaron crossed his arms.
 
“So what? I don’t have the right to protect the people I like?
-         And what if it wasn’t Xian? What if it was hostile guys? What would have you done? You couldn’t even stand Xian’s blow!
-         I... I-”
 
He was searching for his words.
 
“You see? You can't protect yourself.
-         I don’t need you!”
 
He ran away, trying to hide his tears. William followed him the best that he could, shouting his name, and they ended up arriving at Aaron's tent.
 
“Why did you follow me?”
 
William didn’t answer. He came closer to Aaron.
 
“What are you doing? Answer me!”
 
Will grabbed Aaron's chin and made him turn his head.
 
“Let me see where he hit you. Does it still hurt?”
 
Aaron nodded shyly. Will took a clean tissue out of his pocket and moistened it with a bit of water. Then he applied it on Aaron’s cheek and tapped delicately to ease the pain.
 
“Thank you...”
 
William had moved his face closer to Aaron’s. Again. He had put his hand on his left cheek, the one which didn’t hurt, and slowly, tenderly, he had brought his lips closer to his.
 
A firework exploded in the sky at the exact moment their lips touched.
 
Suddenly, William moved back.
 
“I'm- err... I- I'm sorry! I didn’t mean to... It- it’s not what you think! We were just...”
 
Aaron stood there, not knowing what happened.
 
“I should leave now. Good night Aaron.”
 
Aaron looked at him leaving the place, without realising what just happened.
 
“So, I guess that I won our bet huh?”
 
Aaron turned to the person who had spoken.
 
“What the heck are you talking about Xian?
-         He kissed you, didn’t he?
-         No, he didn’t. He just helped me cleaning the bruise you gave me.”
 
Xian smirked.
 
“Oh... I see... if he did nothing, why did he leave so suddenly, and why was he so embarrassed?
-         I don’t know! He’s a bit weird, that’s all! Please leave me alone now.”
 
He started entering the tent.
 
“Have you forgotten that I share the tent with you?
-         Can you share with someone else please? Just for tonight...
-         I'll see what I can do. But I can’t promise anything! Good night pretty boy!”, he said with a wink.
 
“Good night Xian-xian...”, replied Aaron.
 
Once the door closed, he started to undress. He removed every layer, revealing his body to himself alone. He hated it. His body. He looked at his chest and felt the tears emerging at the corner of his eyes. He’d never get used to it. He hated every curve of his body, every single part of it. He quickly dressed up and sat on the mattress.
 
He only thought of Will, and of the kiss they shared. His first kiss...
 
He took the tee-shirt he had lent him. He smelled it and felt a bit soothed. Then, with an urge he couldn’t even explain, he pulled off his current tee-shirt and put on the one he lent to Will.
 
He heard someone coming around midnight and he pretended he was sleeping. It was surely Xian, he probably couldn’t share another tent.
 
“Are you sleeping?”
 
He grunted.
 
“Ok. I leave you alone then.”
 
Xian left.