Unordinary: New Student

45: Jogging with William

Stephanie's POV

My eyes flickered open, and I found myself staring up at the dark ceiling above me. I looked around. This isn't my room! I thought, confused. Oh right, I'm still at John's place. I yawned, sitting upright on the couch I had fallen asleep on.

 I glanced down at the floor next to the couch and saw William and John sleeping on a few blankets. Carefully, I maneuvered around them as I headed toward the kitchen, glancing at the clock. 5 o'clock? That's pretty early. Maybe I should go jogging. It had been a few days since I'd jogged, with everything going on. That morning seemed like the perfect day to start again.

I grabbed my navy blue uniform jacket off the chair at the table I had left it on. Throwing it on, I frowned at my uniform skirt. Not the best running outfit, I thought. Although, it can't be helped. I was about to head out the door when William stirred.

"Huh, Stephanie?" William asked, yawning. "Where are you going this early in the morning? School better not start this early, or I'll file a complaint to the principal."

I laughed quietly. "No, no. I'm going jogging."

"Well, in that case," William stood up, stretching. "Can I join you?"

"Sure." I replied, waiting as he finished stretching and put on his shoes. "Let's go to the nearby park."

We stepped outside, and I watched as my breath turned into white steam in the cold air. I led the way to the park, William following just behind me. Our footsteps were the only sound I could hear as we crossed streets, dodged cars, and weaved through alleys. "There it is," I said pointing at the park across the street from us.

Once we got there, we decided to take a break on a bench. As my breathing evened out, I turned to William. "Isn't this refreshing?" 

"Yep," came the reply as he leaned backward on the bench. "I usually run like this to keep in shape. What about you?"

"It clears my head." I said truthfully. "I can focus on jogging and take my mind off stuff."

"Is there something you're worried about?"

"Well," I blinked at him, surprised. "yes. A few things are bothering me. Nothing serious, though." I lied.

"I see." William scratched his head. "Do you mind telling me about how John's been doing, then? I have a feeling he didn't tell me everything, and I'd like to hear about him from you."

"Of course," I replied, thinking. "First off, John really is a nice guy. He treats me and Sera really well. We have a lot of fun together. At school, he's courageous. Even though he's posing as a cripple, he still steps in to help people who are getting bullied. He's an all around nice guy and thinks the best of everyone." Or... he did until Arlo happened. 

"That's nice to hear." William said, looking more relieved. "But is he getting bullied?"

"Yeah, he is." I admitted.

"I don't get why he's even posing as a cripple in the first place." William sighed. "I mean, the first thing I taught him was not to let others think he's weak. And now he's completely disregarded that by doing what he does."

"He probably doesn't trust himself to control his power." I said slowly. "I... I think I know what happened at his old school. He snapped, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did." William replied with another sigh. "He attacked and injured half of his graduating class. Impressive, but scary."

I shivered as I remembered the look in John's enraged eyes at the Turf Wars field. "I glimpsed it once. It was pretty scary." I agreed. 

"I hoped John would turn over a new leaf here. You know, start fresh?" William sighed.

"And he has," I reassured him. "He has and he's trying to keep it that way. And he has me and Sera as friends."

"Yeah." A smile crept up William's face. "That's true. Can I trust you two to keep an eye on him?"

"Of course," I smiled back at him warmly. "We'll try our best."

***

We made our way back to John's house after a bit more jogging. When I opened the door, I saw John at the table, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. "I'm finally finished!" he let out a loud yell of triumph, rising from his seat. 

"John?" I said, a little confused as I stepped into the house. "What's going on?"

"Oh," John said, turning and seeing me and William. "Morning, Stephanie. You too, Dad. I've just finished up my homework."

 I walked closer to the table, examining his paper. "Uh... John?" I frowned. "You know we're supposed to answer all the problems in fractions, right?" I turned the paper over, revealing a whole side of unanswered questions. "And you know there's a back side, right?"

John turned a shade paler. "Ahahaha... I'm so screwed..." Groaning, he stuffed in into his bag. "Whatever, I'll finish it up at school or something." he said grudgingly.

"Okay then." I laughed. "Ready to go to school?"

"Yeah..." he mumbled unexcitedly. 

Seraphina suddenly walked down the stairs into the kitchen. "What's all this noise?" she yawned, rubbing her eyes. 

"Just us getting ready for school." I answered.

"Oh." She looked at William and me. "Why are you guys sweating? Did you go somewhere?"

William nodded. "Stephanie and I went out for a quick jog before."

"Wait, you jog this early in the morning?" Sera stared at us like we were crazy. "What's wrong with you?"

 William laughed. "When you're an old fart like me, you gotta do everything you can to keep in shape. It's a dangerous world out there, and all I've got is my body!" She looked teasingly at Sera. "Want to go with me next time?"

"Nah." Sera turned, heading into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

John turned to William. "Dad, I gotta run. But there are eggs in the fridge. Oh, and there's an amazing sandwich place a few blocks from here. Sera will show you! I'll see you later!" He rushed out the door, leaving me behind.

"John," I sighed. "Wait up!" I murmured a quick goodbye to William and Seraphina, then I was out the door.

***

TIMESKIP TO THAT EVENING

We were gathered on John lawn as a taxi pulled up onto the side of the road. William grunted as he shoved his bags into the trunk. As he dusted off his hands, John looked a little put off. "Come on, you flew all this way just to spend one night?"

"Well, I wasn't planning to stay. I just came to check up on you, remember?" William reminded him.

"Yeah, I know, but..." John stared at the ground.

"I'm working on a few different projects right now, so my editor won't let me leave for long." William explained to us. "I just wanted to make you didn't do anything crazy."

"You still don't trust me." John pouted.

"No, I don't," William assured him with a big grin. "But I'm happy to know I can always depend on your friends." 

"I gotchu." Sera replied smugly while I just laughed.

"Come on, kids, give me a hug before I leave!" William pulled us all into a bear hug. I had to say, it was all pretty wonderful. John's pout melted away. Sera smiled like she'd never smiled before. William was laughing hard as his arms closed around us. And I was grinning broadly, closing my eyes and melting into the moment. I felt like we were one happy family.

When we finally broke apart, William stared straight into John's eyes. "John, don't forget what you promised. The longer you wait to tell Sera, the worse it'll get." he whispered.

"I know, I know." John's face hardened, and so did his demeanor as he switched back to a defensive front.

William looked like he wanted to say something more, but stopped. "Alright, then. Take care kids!" He waved one final time before entering the taxi and driving away.