Reckless

Chapter 1

Will Fray stands still astonished from the random visit from his long time friend Hadley Q Ridgeway.
Her long name wasn't all she had going for her, there was also her well known stunts and elaborate planning. That's what part of the reason Will stopped talking to her at the end of junior year- of course she wasn't the only problem and he did stop talking to everyone. But she was always off in a secluded corner frantically writing her next plan down, in her small leather bound book.
Will couldn't stop staring. He left over the summer, moved his uncles house at the top of Old Fell's hill. His uncle was in the navy and barely ever came home.  The house was perfect for Will and no one knew where he was, there were only rumors.
"Will, darling, do keep your mouth shut. Are trying to attract women or frogs." She gently tapped the bottom of his chin and walked into the house, with her usual proud stride.
"Hadley, wh-" Will started in a voice that came off more agitated than usual.
"Will, don't use that tone with me." She said plopping down on one of Will's uncles old recliners.
"You are not my mother, Hadley." Will says coldly like he has been talking since he ran away this summer. Rumors had flown all around about why he left, some say he got Maggie Hamilton pregnant. But he wouldn't have even kissed a cheerleader, especially one named Maggie. Others say he was changing genders and didn't want to have people around while it happened. The truth was something much more lame in the gossip world but the biggest thing that had ever happened to him in his small, pathetic life.
"If I was your mother, I would let you talk to be like that. Your mother is a bic-" Hadley's poetic voice draws him out of his thinking, something he had been doing a lot since he came to his uncles house. Of course soon school would start again and he would have to make that daily trip down to his small town to finally finish high school. Then Will evaluates what she said, it was often that Hadley could distract someone from what she actually said by almost singing her words.
"Hadley!" Will whips around from looking into the kitchen.
"Okay, yeah that was rude. But it was also true." She says hoisting herself up to her feet and pointing to Will correcting him.
"Okay, Hadley. Why are you here?" Will grips her shoulders and looks her in the eyes.
"I got an acceptance letter for Yale..." Her voice lower than Will had ever heard before. "My parents want me to go but I don't want to go. At first I thought I would just have to but I can do whatever I want. And now I know exactly what I want." She pauses looking down sheepishly.
"And that is?"  Will sighed, and for about a second he believed she had changed from her usual sociopathic, bubbly self.
"You." She leans in as if to kiss him. Until at the last second she pulls away and jumps up in a circle.
"Haha, Just kidding. Oh I got you so good." Hadley laughs her loud laugh. A laugh that Will has missed in his months of solitude.
"Really, Hads?" Will says accidentally saying her nickname.
Hadley stops dancing. "Hads, I missed that." She stops for a few seconds. "Anyway, listen Will I need you. Yes I have had thousands of crazy adventures, 1245 to be exact." She plunges into one of her infamous monologues  "But see that is so planned and I am done with planning. Will, I have been to 176 parties, but I have never crashed a single one. How many parties have you crashed?"
Will started counting on his fingers, Hadley pointed at his hands.
"See,see, to many to count! Help me out, Will. This is senior year, and I am guessing you know that there is some party tonight. So come on let's crash that ish!"
Will shakes head "No, no Hads. Get out."
"What, no. I am staying with you."
Will shakes his head and pushes Hadley to the door.
"Fine." She turns to Will standing I think he door frame. "Then I guess I will just tell everyone you lied about Landen Madison-the quarter back- cheating on Sarah Partridge-the head cheerleader."
"Oh so you are blackmailing me now. See if I care." He says pushing her out the door.
"Oh but what if I said that you did that to get with Landen not Sarah." An evil smirk crosses her face.
"That's a lie."
"No one would think your best friend was lying." She walks back inside and with a twist of her long auburn hair. "Plus there is this rumor going around..."
"You wouldn't."
"Try me, William. Try me." She steps close and stares at Will. Unblinking. Then shoves him playfully.
Will sighs and turns around, griping his head and curling his fingers through his thick blond hair.
"So basically, My choices are have you stay with me, and take you to parties. Or have everyone think I am gay."
Hadley looks up, pretending to ponder.
"Yes, yes, I believe that is right."
"What about all your other friends they can't help you?" Will asks pacing his uncles living room.
"Oh like who, Landen and Sarah. You tried to break them up! You know how heart wrenching it is to watch your best friends true love flaunt around with that little shiztermister Landen."
"Hads, I don't even like her anymore. And what about Rachel?"
"Would you like some help back." she says holding Will's arms.
"Back from what." He asks confused.
"The friendzone that you just tried to escape." Hadley says as if Will was trying to flirt with her. It only came off like that because his often harsh voice softened.
Will tried to collect his thoughts, Hadley can make anyone be lost for words.
"Hadley." he says condescendingly. "Do you really thi-"
"William, everyone is allowed the right to be an idiot.. but you dear abuse the privilege." She taps Will's head.
"Rachel?" Will changes the subject.
Hadley sighs thinking of her rouge best friend.
"Did you know that designated drivers are the loneliest people. I never got drunk once throughout all those 176 parties. I have done a study it is true." She saunters to the kitchen and jumps on the counter. Will follows close behind her.
"Rachel, has a slight, minor, drug addiction. "
"What!"
Hadley sighs. "Yeah she is in Blue Fountain. "
Blue Fountains was a notorious teen drug addiction rehab facility. It cost millions of dollars.
"That doesn't sound minor."
"Ehhh."
"And your boyfriend."
"Oh you mean Bitchell. Yeah I think you can guess how that went." I know what she meant. They broke up.
"Remember," Hadley moves to a different subject. "When I took you to your first party and you got hammered." She says singing the last part.
"Yeah, and then we played truth or dare and I had to dress up in a dress and kiss Landen."
"Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh," she holds out the word pulling something up on her phone. "Ah ha." She flips her phone to me and flash me a picture of freshman me kissing Landen while wearing Sarah's homecoming dress. "That would be convincing evidence. " she smiles lightly, referring back to her previous threat.
"You always liked Blackmailing."
She smiles and laughs. Behind her bubbly exterior was an evil mastermind. Those who crossed her, they might as well say goodbye to a quite life and say hello to humiliation in the sickest of manners.
"Come on, Will." She twirls around me. "You always were one for a scandal. Think of what they will say. 'I hear Ridgeway and Fray are back at it again.' 'I hear they live in the same house.''Oh, well I heard that they ar-'" she starts but I cut her off.
"You don't really want people to think that, we are-" Will tries to navigate the uncharted seas in Hadley and his relationship.
"Oh no GOD NO!" She wipes her ears. "Make the thought go away. Oh dear Willy, I only am saying what they might think."
Will shakes his head. "Only what they will think" he mocks.
"Shut up! Now are you in or out." She puts her hand in a fist out in front of Will. "Come on." Will stays back. Can he really say goodbye to his quite life in solitude. Yes, he did go to parties and have fun but there was more to his sudden disappearance. "Will," her eyes fill with sadness. "Come on, I will even make it Fray and Ridgeway. If you want."
He slowly reaches until his hand bumps the top of her's.
In unison they chant a sons they made up as children:

"Ridgeway and Fray
Sonny and Bay
William and Hadley
We win the day."

Hadley laughs and whips her arms around Will.
"Hads, one condition." Will says it stone cold like he was suddenly back to the way he was before Hadley walked into his life again.
"Oh, no" she whispers sarcastically.
"We need a new theme song." He laughs.
"Agreed." She jumps and screams, Will takes his hand and pulls her to the door for the night ahead. "I mean it was cute when we were five but like how'd we even get Sonny and Bay? Like those aren't our middle names."
"Well, we had to make something up. Carlton and Quill-ton match nothing. Especially Quill-ton." Will opens the door where rain has started to come down.
"Don't make fun of my middle name. Quill-ton is a name for smart people."
"Quill-ton is stupid."
Hadley rolls her head with exasperation. "Whatever, DD lets go."
"DD?" Will stops.
"You have had your chance to get wasted, now it is mine." She says sauntering off to the car.
"You couldn't have picked a worse night, right before Senior year starts."
"Au contraire, dear William. I couldn't have picked a better night."