NOT LIKE THAT

William paced around his room. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of going out with Nathaniel after school.

"Hurry up, William! Come down and eat breakfast."

William hurried downstairs. He had gotten up earlier than usual because his dad had wanted to make breakfast for him.

"Police are still looking for the suspect behind the murder of 17-year-old Trent Louis. The police informed us that there will be interrogations held in the school nearby.-" The TV was shut off with a sudden click.

"That's enough news for today. Let's eat breakfast."

William looked at his father. Judging by his face, William could see that his father was uncomfortable with the recent events that have happened nearby.

-

The investigators had finished half of the interviews with the students who may know something yesterday, and they planned on getting done today. William didn't understand why he felt a sense of dread come over him when he realized soon would be his turn to be interrogated.

Will put his head on his desk and looked towards Nathaniel.

"Nat..." He mumbled under his breath. He smiled at the cute nickname he learned the other day.

William was honestly excited about his outing with Nathaniel. He was going to be able to have a break from everything that was going on.

He figured out he had been staring a little bit too long when Nathaniel caught his gaze. Nat smiled sweetly, which made Will's heart soar- wait uhm no it didn't...Fuxk.

-

Adam King stared down at his desk, it was filled with notes that held slurs and threats. He had found them in his locker last period. He knew most of the entire school hated him at this point, so he kind of expected this.

He sighed and put his lunch over the scraps of paper, probably torn out of notebooks. He always seemed to have caught people quickly shoving pieces of notebook paper into the vents of his locker door. Adam looked around the empty room. He usually ate lunch in the classroom; it was much quieter than in the lunchroom.

He heard footsteps walking down the hall. He looked over only to see William being escorted to the interrogation room set up a few classrooms down. "Stupid Dog," Adam hissed through his teeth.

Adam had already been investigated. He was at home alone studying that day. Yes, Adam King likes to get good grades.

-

William felt himself shake with every step he took. He couldn't do this. This was too much, but he didn't understand why it was too much.

"Why am I feeling this way? It's not like I did these murders." He thought as they approached the investigation room.

William walked into the empty classroom. They'd cleared this class just for the officers. Two officers sat at what would've been the teacher's desk. Two chairs behind it and one in front. One of the policemen looked up and motioned for him to sit down.

"Hi there, I'm Officer Reeds," Officer Reeds said. He pointed to the man next to him, "And that's Officer Phane. We're here to ask you a few questions. If you could sit down, we can start."

William hesitated and then slowly walked to the seat in front of them.

Officer Reeds locked his hands together and leaned back, looking at William strangely, "What's your name, son?"

"William, William Turner."

The second officer looked up, his brows raised, but only for a second. He looked back down at the pile of papers in front of him.

"Ahem, well then William. Where were you the night of the 5th?" Reeds asked, posture still very relaxed.

"Urm, I thi-"

"It's okay; take your time."

"Alright... well, I'm pretty sure I was at home with my dad. Yeah, I was at home."

"Ya sure?"

"Yes? I think so, yeah."

Reeds nodded, sitting up. Officer Phane pushed two pictures forward, "Do you know either of these people?"

William studied the two pictures. One was a picture of a boy he recognized as Trent. They had the same science class. Officer Phane noticed before William could say anything.

"You know him?" Phane leaned towards him.

William gulped, "Uh, yeah. His name's Trent, he's in one of my classes. We've worked together before."

Officer Reeds chimed in, "Were you two friends?"

He looked at him, "No, not really."

Reeds just nodded again, "Do you know who she is?"

He was gesturing to the second photo. William shook his head.

"Do you have any idea who may know them?"

William shook his head again, Reeds nodded slowly and took a deep breath before speaking again, "How's your father doing Will?"

"Um, he's okay."

"Good, good."

William looked at the officer, "Do...Do you know my dad?"

Phane crossed his arms against his chest, "We wouldn't be asking if we didn't kid."

Will made a face that made Phane smile slightly. "Scurry on back to class boy. We're all done here." Phane said, waving him away.

"Okay..."

William stood up and left, feeling more nervous than he had when he came in.

He closed the door and was about to walk away when he heard them start talking again. Despite the trouble Will could get in, he pressed his ear to the door and listened.

"Jeez, poor kid." Reeds sighed, "Can't even imagine what he.. and his dad are going through."

"It's been over ten years." Phane said blankly.

Will heard one of the officers sit up suddenly, then Reeds said, "That's not something you can just get over. The kid watched his own mother die and Turner had to deal with the aftermath. You saw his face when we brought her out. That isn't something that goes away."

William felt lightheaded. Phane said something in response but Will couldn't hear. He stumbled away. He felt nauseous.

His footsteps quickened. He felt himself sway with every step he took. His stomach twisted, and his head was foggy; he couldn't think clearly. He felt so tired, and he just wanted to leave.

His mind cleared as he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. A sudden feeling of deja'vu washed over him.

"Wills are you okay?" A familiar voice said as they reached out their hand to him.

William looked up to see Nathaniel. His expression showed a look of worry.

"Uh- oh yeah I'm okay. I was just lost in thought," he said as he took Nathaniel's hand.

"Are you excited for later?" Nathaniel asked with a smile.

"What are you…Oh! Yes! Of course!" William cursed himself quietly. How could he forget the thing he'd been looking forward to all day?

Nat smiled more, "Come on, I'll walk you back to class."