Rising Dawn (Willy Wonka X OC)

Daddy Issues

Swear word warning! The word is a****le, just after Augustus doesn't share with Charlie. If you don't want to read it, then don't.

I catch Mrs. Beauregarde give Violet a look that probably meant Go suck up, and for some strange reason, I begin feeling very defensive about Mr. Wonka. Who is she to assume she is more entitled than me...I mean...everyone to get close to him. She wraps her arms around him suddenly and I see Mr. Wonka tense up. He half turns with a look of disgust on his face and throws me a silent Help! with his eyes. I smile at his predicament and how uncomfortable he is with contact. I mean, I would probably react the same way if that girl hugged me.

She finally releases him and steps back with a smug look. "Mr. Wonka, I'm Violet Beauregarde."

His attention goes back to her and his lip curls as he says, "I don't care." It's the little things he does. The sarcastic gleam in his eye, the odd laugh, the snarky comments aimed at those who deserve them. I hold back another giggle and chide myself on being so frivolous.

"Well, you should care." Gum snap. "Because I'm the girl." Gross smacking. "Who's going to win the special prize." Torturous squelching. "At the end."

Mr. Wonka looks like he wants to tear his ears off and scoop his eyes out. I have to say, I do too. He seems to remember himself though, because he isn't terribly rude when he responds, "Well, you do seem confident, and confidence is key."

He glances at me covertly and turns to move on when the rudest girl in all of England steps directly in his way. She gives him a wide smile that I think was supposed to be charming but ended up making her look like the Cheshire Cat. He recoils and steps back. "I'm Veruca Salt." She gives a little curtsy and smiles bigger if that's even possible like she's wearing several smiles at once. So that's where my smile has gone to all these years...

"Funny, I thought a veruca was a type of wart that got on the bottom of your foot." He smiles, proud of himself.

That's what I thought too. "I mean, he's not wrong," I mutter loud enough to be heard. Mr. Wonka gives me a delighted, appreciative look. Veruca gives me and him a dirty, offended look.

The disgusting Augustus steps forward, shoving more and more chocolate into his cavernous mouth. "I am Augustus Gloop. I love your chocolate."

I can barely understand him because of the obstructing treat, but Mr. Wonka must have heard him just fine because he responds, "I can see that. So do I! I never expected to have so much in common."

I roll my eyes and grip Charlie's shoulder, pulling him close to me. Is awfulness in children contagious? Mr. Wonka turns around, giving up on going farther without completing introductions. He spots the technology kid. "You...you're Mike Teevee. You're the little devil who cracked the system!" Mike gives him a wary look and skeptically folds his arms. Mr. Wonka glances at Charlie saying, "You're Charlie." He fixes his eyes on me and mutters, "And you're...Dawn." He whispers my name quietly as if saying it any louder might make me disappear. He reluctantly draws his eyes away from me and surveys the parents. "And you all must be their pa-"

He gets stuck, and I am instantly curious. "Parents?" Mr. Salt fills in.

"Yeah, moms and dads," Mr. Wonka responds in a small voice. He seems to crumble in on himself as his eyes go glassy. "Dad...dad?"

We all wait and watch him awkwardly. A sudden thought comes to me, I bend down to Charlie. "Is that what I look like when I...you know, space out?"

Charlie squints and tilts his head. "Yeah, pretty much. You usually close your eyes though."

Huh. I step forward, past the confused faces of everyone else and put a tentative hand on Mr. Wonka's shoulder in a gesture not unlike one I would give Charlie. He starts out of whatever he was thinking about and looks at me, wide eyed and vulnerable. I've only known him for fifteen minutes and already I'm helping him out of some intense emotions. He becomes awkward, and I can tell he's trying to think of something to say.

"Do I look old enough to be Charlie's mother?" I ask, feigning offense. I hear a light titter of high society laughter behind me. He splutters for a moment before seeing the look in my eyes and realizing I was teasing.

He nods to me gratefully, then smiles mischieviously. "Well, if you're not Charlie's mother, then you must be his grandmother."

My jaw drops dramatically and I gasp, "Well, sir, I never!" He bursts into laughter and I smile. His eyes light up so when he laughs, like there's nothing wrong with the world, like everything is alright because he can still laugh. He settles down and for the first time, I really get a good look at his eyes. They're purple! They're a gorgeous deep lavender that could make any girl swoon. Not me though! Of course not me. I just find them intrigueing and beautiful. He looks at me with genuine interest, so I answer the unspoken question in his peculiar eyes. "I'm Charlie's sister actually."

"Huh." Is all he says. He looks to everyone else behind me and declares, "Well, let's get a move on then, shall we?" He leads us farther and I trail him at a respectable distance. I walk with an arm around Charlie to keep him close. This man may be a genius, but he's probably a mad genius.

"Would you like some chocolate?" Augustus kindly asks Charlie beside us. My heart swells. Maybe I misjudged him before, liking chocolate isn't so wrong.

Charlie's eyes light up. "Sure!"

"Then you should have brought some." The boy grins wickedly and turns away. Anger flashes in my eyes and I feel my face flush. He's the worst of them all. It's one thing to not share, it's another to pretend to share and then become the biggest asshole on the planet and do that to my little brother. My breathing picks up and I glare daggers at the deliberately ignorant boy. Mr. Wonka heard my breathing change and turns around with a concerned expression on his face. He sees me glaring at the glutton and looks at him, confused. I duck my head and push the anger of injustice down, down, down. With all of the other bad feelings that I keep inside of me.

Mr. Wonka squints and cocks his head to the side at me. I give him nothing else, and he turns around still unsatisfied after another second. The hallway begins to get smaller and smaller. This factory is just amazing. I can't stay irritated for long, my vexation with the German boy dissipates and wonderment and excitement take its place. I can tell with just one hand on Charlie's shoulder that his whole body is coiled like a spring just waiting to release. Excitement lights up his face, and I nearly smile seeing him like this. Chocolate is close to Charlie's favorite thing in the world. Again, I thank my lucky stars that Charlie found that Golden Ticket.

The increasingly bijou hallway finally comes to an end with a tiny door. We're all hunched over as it is, and I have no idea how we're going to fit through that door, but I trust Mr. Wonka. Woah, woah, woah. Did I just think that? I've known this man for nineteen minutes, and I trust him? I don't trust anyone. I shuffle silently and adjust the coats still cradled in my arms.

"An important room, this. It is a chocolate factory, after all,"Mr. Wonka muses. That wasn't mysterious or encrypted at all.

"Then why is the door so small?" the snotty girl, Veruca, asks. She folds her arms and frowns, apparently giving up on the charming act.

"To keep all the great big chocolatey flavor inside." He titters and I nearly join him. A shy, amused smile alights my mouth. His lavender eyes twinkle as they linger on me, holding in belts of laughter. He gives me a strange look of intrigue and admiration. I can't help but...wait! Admiration? It is times like these that make me wonder what is going on in that mind. That genius mind. That beautiful, genius mind.

I know, it took way too long for me to write this. I apologize.
Thank you for reading! You're awesome!
xoxo, Tilly