Rising Dawn (Willy Wonka X OC)

Swapping Stories

The boat sets off at a comfortable pace, and I can see Will watching me out of the corner of my eye. His gaze seems to shift up and down from me to Charlie. He pulls a ladle out of nowhere and dips it into the river, drawing it up nearly full of liquid chocolate. Or, as I now like to call it, liquid happiness. He hands it to me. "Here, some of this will do you good. You look starved to death."

I see Charlie looking on earnestly and give the ladle to him. He smiles brightly and drinks his fill, licking his lips when he's done. There's only a small amount left in the bottom, but I tip it out gingerly onto my tongue. It's amazing like everything in this factory. I hand the ladle back and smile shyly, dropping my gaze. My hair falls in front of my face, temporarily blocking my view of Will and his view of me.

"That was great!" Charlie exclaims.

"That's because it's mixed by waterfall. The waterfall is most important." He's excited. I can hear it in his voice. He's already said this, but it's clearly something important to him. "It mixes the chocolate - churns it up, makes it light and frothy. And by the way, no other factory in the world-"

The most horrible girl rolls her eyes, saying, "You already said that."

There's a pause. Will takes a minute to collect his thoughts before saying, "You're all quite short. Aren't you?"

I snort loudly, my hand flies to cover my nose and mouth to stifle the inhuman sounds of amusement squeaking out. They're short?! What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

"Well, yeah. We're children," Violet scoffs.

"Well, that's no excuse. I was never as short as you." I tuck my hair behind my ear and see Will watching me. I smile, partially confused, partially amused. He grins when I smile.

"Yes you were." Mike folds his arms.

"Was not." Will folds his arms too in a challenging gesture. "You wanna know why? Because I distinctly remember putting a hat on top of my head. Look at your short little arms - you could never reach." I giggle and he smiles warmly down at me, Mike temporarily forgotten.

"Do you even remember what it was like being a kid?" Charlie asks.

Will's eyes slip downward. "Oh, boy, do I." He loses focus. "Do I?" Aaand...he's gone. Everyone else turns back around and watches the Oompa Loompas or the river or the parts of the factory whizzing by.

"What's happening to Mr. Wonka, Dawn?" Charlie holds my hand and looks on worriedly.

"What often happens to me, bud."

"But what exactly happens to you? All I know is you get distant and seem to forget where you are and I have to bring you back." He's got a fair point, I really don't talk about what happens to me a lot. Mostly because I'm not sure myself.

"Well, Charlie. Sometimes my brain goes too fast for the rest of me to keep up with. Sometimes there are memories that are too big for me to handle at once. We don't do it on purpose, it just sort of happens." I shrug. That's the best way to explain it to an eleven year old.

"Can you bring Mr. Wonka back?" Good question. Can I? I place a gentle hand on his upper arm, a reassuring and calming gesture. He blinks rapidly, then focuses his gaze on me. I offer a little smile. I don't know what he was remembering, but I do know that smiles are a good thing to see when you're coming out of it.

"What do you think about Halloween?" What an odd question. Will shifts to face me fully and waits intently for my response.

"Halloween?" He nods. "Well, I've never gone trick-or-treating. We didn't have the money for a costume." He definitely didn't need to know that. "I also usually work everyday and take care of my family every night." He didn't need to know that either.

"How many are there in your family?" Will listens attentively.

"There's Grandma Joesephine, Grandpa Joe, Grandma Georgina, Grandpa George, Mum, Charlie, and me." Why he's asking, I do not know. Do I want to know? Not necessarily. Why I'm answering, I do not know. Do I want to know? With everything that is in me.

"In one house?!"

"It's not even a big house." Or medium house. Or small house. Or a house at all. I'd call it a shack before I'd call it a house.

Will turns his body forward and mutters a quiet, "Huh." He tilts his head back, leaning against the back of the boat, staring straight up, contemplating something. Not even a minute of silence passes before he whispers in a voice so low I almost don't hear, "I used to wear headgear."

"What?" Why is this man so confusing?

"It was big and awkward and uncomfortable. I wore that thing for two years until...until..." He drifts off, eyes unfocusing.

"Will?"

He shakes his head lightly to clear it, a blush creeping into his pale cheeks. "Sorry, I don't know what...what came over me there. I-"

"No, it's okay." He gazes at me as if just realizing that I'm not going to judge him. I shrug. "It happens to me too. It's no big deal, some of us just have more demons than others." He nods, lavender eyes still fixed on mine. He lifts his hand a few inches from his lap and it hovers slightly closer to me. I hate to break the moment, but I need to know what in the world he was talking about. "So...your headgear?"

His hand falls back into his lap, and he finally breaks, looking away. "About that...well, you've told me all about yourself. I want to return the favor." I can't help but smile and shake my head at his funny way of going about that. "But...um....I'd appreciate it if that information didn't make it any farther." We share a conspiratorial look and he bursts into laughter.

"Mr. Wonka! Mr. Wonka! We're headed for a tunnel!" Charlie shouts. He clings to my arm and I turn to Will with wide eyes.

"Oh, yeah. Full speed ahead!" My mouth drops open. The dark is not good, not good at all. Fear flashes through me and Charlie's hold becomes restricting. Tightening, closing, suprpressing. Pressing down, pushing down, holding down. My entire body begins to tremble. I feel terror flicker through my eyes as I turn them upward at Will. He looks down with a gleeful smile. Gleeful, happy, satisfied, preying. His mouth drops and his brow creases as he realizes something is wrong. So very wrong. The boat continues on toward the tunnel. Toward the dark. I breath rapidly and shallowly though my mouth. My body freezes and my hands tighten on soft cloth. Darkness. Darkness is coming. Darkness is here. I am in darkness. So very dark darkness. So very lost in the dark darkness.

Tears spill down my cheeks, and in my panic, I barely notice the gentle, warm hand wiping them away.

Sorry this is so late, I've been dealing with a lot lately. Also, I just broke one thousand reads! I'm so hyped up. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Let's get it to two thousand! Share this story with your friends and anyone you think would like it!
I really hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading!
xoxo, Tilly