FicWad

A/N: This is a The Academy Is... Fic. There's just no category for them so I'm posting it here. Rating/reviews are appreciated. (And get me to update faster.) Hope you enjoy it.
-XO'Keefe.




The day was dull and cloudy with a touch or restlessness. The sun had called in sick again for the fourth day this week and in its place, leaves fell, crumpled and crunchy alone the sidewalk like a reminder of what the air could do. The wind only managed to pick up chills and send them down his back as he walked, in that rather awkward manner he seemed to walk in. It was just him, tall and lanky and he made his way down Rosley’s avenue and stared ahead as if he actually had a real destination instead of just trying to get away from a cramped Tour bus.

“If the sky were to suddenly open up, there would be no law, there would be no rules.”

William stopped short of where he was headed, semi frozen and wheeled back around, brows furrowing as he raised an eyebrow to someone, obviously a girl, sitting on the curb. There she was. Just…speaking to the air before her, her voice light and calm. There was a pause in him, and he questioned his desire to push back his hood and take a seat next to the stranger. Nevermind the fact that she was talking to herself, he was more interested in the fact that he could finish her sentence. He pushed back his hesitation.

“There would only be you and your memories.” His voice was soft and low and he spoke the words and took a seat on the curb next to her. Now we were past something William would ever do but he wasn’t even controlling his actions at this moment, he was just speaking because he felt the need to. It made no sense at all and yet all the sense in the world.

The girl, with a slight jump, turned to face him only to show him wide eyes. She stared at him for a moment before nodding .“Yes,” she smiled up at him and gave a confused but content look. “Fan of Richard Kelly?” she inquired. He studied the look on her face. It was evident she knew something, but he would not ask.

“Fan of the mysterious.” He corrected her as if he’d known her for a lifetime instead of forty seconds. “And talking bunnies.”

“They often seem to have something interesting to say,” she agreed, a smile tugging on her lips. It was difficult not to grin but she managed.

“Do you often talk to yourself as you sit on the ground?”

“Do you often walk up to strangers and finish their sentences?”

“Not often at all,” William said with a smile and held out his hand. “But I couldn’t resist.” The girl stared at his hand for a moment before reaching out and shaking it. The two stared out at the empty street for a long moment before she turned back to him. “I wasn’t talking to myself,” She clarified. “I was simply reminding myself.”

“Reminding yourself?” He smirked up at her with a curious smile and it was when she paused to think of how she wanted to word her answer that he finally noticed her. All of her. The tan skin and dark eyes. It was a wonder he hadn’t caught her brightly color hair before because who possibly miss the electric purple she had all over the top? It suited her, though. Almost as if it were natural. Her hair wasn’t too long, just past her shoulders. It hung choppy but straight. She could feel him studying her even though she was gazing at the ground. She had a nice smile he concluded as he watched her almost blank look transform into a small grin. She lifted her eyes to meet his. “What’s important.”

What’s important? …What was important? The question/statement made him pause and stare at her. What was important? Was the fact that he had sat down to talk to a complete stranger important? Or was what really mattered the fact that he was enjoying their peculiar conversation? How about the fact she could have been anyone? Maybe she had a gun on her. Maybe she was psycho. Maybe she thought he was crazy for sitting down. Maybe he was. Maybe he analyzed too much. “Care to share?” He broke away from his thoughts, determined to hear her answer.

“I’m not completely sure,” She answered honestly, her tone quiet but amused. “Maybe you could tell me?”

The answer made the boy chuckle delightfully. He had actually been waiting for her to say something material or overrated. “I was actually hoping you knew the answer,” He replied and turned his attention back to the empty street.

“Now if I knew the answer, I don’t think I’d be sitting here, reminding myself.” There was sarcasm in her voice, though anyone who knew her would have expected it. “I imagine I’d be pursuing the things that fell under its category.”

“Touche.”

“I try.”

“Its been a while. Were you purposely sitting here?”

She raised her hands to play with the end strings of her scarf. “If by purpose you mean waiting for my best friends who forget me, then yes.” Third time this week? Yes, sir. These kinds of scenarios often made her question why she was best friends with her best friend. Oh yeah. Those moments. The funny ones where you laughed so hard you cried. They happened a lot when they were together. It just so happened her friend tried boys like she tried the flavor of the week and people like are often easily distracted.

“Its cold out here. I would be pissed.” It came as an amusing surprise that she didn’t seem more angry.

“Yeah, well. There are more important things in life,” she replied with a small nod. “Having to wait in the cold doesn’t really make a difference.”

The boy gazed at her, his hands clasped together. She was odd. Kinda. Like, she was but she wasn’t? The thought made his head spin. He really didn’t know much info to judge her but that was the impression he got.

“Interesting things happen when you’re alone,” She continued, half to herself, half to him. He sat up a little straighter and raised an eyebrow. “That they do.”

“I should probably start walking home,” was her reply and it was a slight disappointment for him.

“Perhaps you should. There is a thing as too much interest. Some people go overboard in the dark.”

“I think I’ll manage.”

“My name’s William,” He told her as she stood in her spot and tightened her scarf around her neck.

“I know,” she smiled down at him and turned before he make sense of her words and ask. He watched her walk away in an curious silence and she was already twenty feet away and turning the corner when he stood up, rather quickly. “Wai--” He smiled after her, not bothering to finish his call. Her body disappeared around the edge of the building as he stood and lifted his hood back up. But who was she?

She spent a lot of the walk home in a daze. It went mostly like ‘Did I just meet William Beckett?’ on the inside but on the surface, she was calm and collected; her features slightly expressionless as she slowly walked; not very bothered by the prominent cold. She couldn’t help it, she was human, she was a teenager. It just so happened that she had emotions too and like every other person, had people she longed to meet in her lifetime and it just so happened that William was one of them but that was not at all how she had ever imagined it, and trust me, she had thought it over plenty of times. She didn’t know whether to be more surprised because she had met him, or because he had sat down next to her, or because she had been so calm and quiet the entire time. Naturally being shy was one thing but she had honestly expected herself to give in and go fan girl on the boy. And yet, at that moment, when he took his seat and she looked over to (and trust me, she was geeking on the inside) she had had no desire whatsoever to beg for his autograph, or ask stupid questions. This was different for some odd reason. It didn’t seem right to talk about something like touring and being famous because that wasn’t really what she was interested in. She was more fascinated by his random introduction and vague, yet alluring demeanor. He was not the boy she had always expected him to be. Not to say that he was the complete opposite or anything. She quite liked the vibe she had gotten sitting next to him. In those ten minutes, she hadn’t felt like she was meeting William Beckett, famous singer of The Academy is…she had felt like she was meeting William Beckett, human in every way.

Let’s not get hasty though and forget that she too was human. And eighteen. And a fan. So yes, she was still grinning from ear to ear and replaying their encounter to herself. Holyshit. Yeah, that’s more like it. Holyfuckingshit, I just met William Beckett. He just sat down and started talking to me. He looked pretty. Yeah, that’s what a lot of her thought process contained. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t made it a point to tell him her name. Despite his lovely and fascinating attitude, she felt like talking too much, even saying her name would ruined it. “Stupid,” She mumbled to herself and glanced up to make sure she was still on the right track. And what else was stupid? The fact that she hadn’t stayed. Because no way would she ever meet William Beckett again in her life. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes and huffed. Sometimes, she wanted to smack herself.

William looked around, the wind bustling leaves around the empty street like a colorful tornado. He was just a bit torn between had just happened and why. Now, he was an outgoing boy and all, but it just wasn’t in his nature to go and talk to random people. Why her? She was no one special. She was average. A random girl on the street but such a simple line had caught his ears and for some reason he couldn’t fight the urge to meet her. Though, he didn’t really meet her, did he? She kind of met him. “Damn,” He muttered lowly at the realization. He didn’t even know her name. Not that it mattered. He would never see her again. The boy started back in the direction he had came from and shoved his pale hands into the pocket’s of his hoodies. How was he supposed to know that he would dream of her that night?

He did. First in flashes. Then Over and over again, where he couldn’t see her face; only hear her voice quoting such a simple line that most people he knew would never get. It wasn’t that big a deal. Just a shared interest. But when she said it, it almost seemed like she an epiphany. Like she was truly discovering some secret no one else knew and he every time he heard her voice he wanted to grab her, turn her around and demand to know what she knew and why he didn’t. But he just couldn’t seem to wrap his arms around her. He would reach for her, hands outstretched and they would fall only inches short of her. Like a silly game they were playing, only it frustrated him more than you can imagine. Then slowly, as time went on, he could envisioned her face again. Aw it clearly as if he’d pushed paused. She would smile shyly, her eyes wide, stuck on surprise and she would speak but this time no words would come out. Or maybe they were and he just couldn’t hear them? Her lips moved but someone had turned down the volume. Every second that he stood there, he grew more desperate trying to figure out what she was telling him.


William’s hands curled around the deep blue comforter, tangled around his lanky, half naked body. He tugged hard on it, as if determined to pull something on from the depths of nothing but the only response from the silence was the low, desperate whine that escaped his lips. He kept tossing and turning, every which way but not matter what position he moved to, he could no understand what he was trying to see. Or rather, what he was trying to know.

“Tell me your name,” He begged her, voice low and pitiful.

“Now, now, William. These kinds of things are much too of value to just give away.”

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion as he followed her down the street, his feet hurriedly moving to catch up with her, despite the fact that his legs were longer. “Huh?”

“William, please. Didn’t anyone ever tell you, its rude to just stand back and watch when the sky is about to open up and all the secrets of life ore going to come tumbling down!” She looked serious as she told him this and it puzzled the boy. “Someone has to catch them!” She continued. “Someone has to understand them!”

“But I don’t even know your name…” That was all he wanted. He just wanted to know who she was.
What’s in a name? He laughed at the thought. Why was the purple haired girl’s name such an important issue? “Please,” He suddenly asked again, this time grabbing her arm. “Tell me.”

“If I told you then there would be no more reason.”

“Reason for what?!” His despair grew by the second. She wasn’t making any sense, damnit, all he wanted was to know her name.

“Reason to watch movies, of course.”
Now the boy’s face grew hot as he continued to tumble within his tiny bunk, his mattress groaning beneath him. Shiny beads of sweat formed at his temple and steadily dripped down his face. Across the bus from him, in his own bed, Adam groaned in his sleep and cocked an eye open to half gaze at his best friend. A guy could only sleep so much before his band mate started groaning and whining, and not in a good way.

“My, my, it sure is hot, huh?” He tugged on his collar. For a small moment, he forgot why he was there.

She didn‘t look up, she just kept walking. “On the contrary, its quite cold.” Why wouldn’t she stop walking? Couldn’t she, for just a moment, stop and answer what he needed to know. Couldn’t he at least get to know her? He found himself frantic to know the most random things about her. “Wait, please, just--Just, talk to me! Don’t--uh--don’t, just, why are you leaving?!” He reached out for her again, unable to move his feet. “Come back! ….Come back!”

“William?”

“Come back,” He said again, a little louder. He refused to just let her walk away.
“William? William!” Someone shoved him.

“What?” He cried out, suddenly sitting up his bunk, darkness blanketing his sight and everything else. His heart beat wildly against his chest and she searched for all the air he had lost in his lungs and Adam stared at him; clearly alarmed. “Are you okay?”

His eyes rolled around for minute, incomprehensive of what was going on and why it felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I--I’m good…I mean, I think…What?”

More staring. “You were having a dream…or a nightmare, or something…” Sisky gruffly told the taller boy. “You sounded freaked out and you were moaning in your sleep.”

A dark shade of red crawled over William’s face. “Oh…I’m sorry.”

“Its cool…you okay?”

“Yeah,” William nodded again. “I’m fine…I just…She never told me her name.”

“Huh?” Was the response he got from a sleepy eyed Adam.

“The girl I met today, I don’t know her name,” William clarified.

“Ah…Do you know where she lives?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, maybe you’ll see her again.” Turning on his side, Adam dragged the blankets back over himself and fluffed his pillow.

“Maybe…” A sigh escaped William’s lips. “I really hope so…” he mumbled the last part to himself before copying his friend and turning the other way.