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Amber looked down at the floor, facing forward away from him more. She sighed and shook her head before turning to finally meet his eye. She stared at him for a moment before tilting her head slightly.
“And why wouldn’t I? Don’t you think you deserve a chance?” she asked, her eyebrows drawing together before she slowly shook her head again and looked away.
William stared at her in surprise. What was she even saying? Was she right in the head? Did he think he deserves a chance?
“No,” he finally answered, his voice soft despite the fierce conversation. “I don’t.”
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“Well I do. I think you deserve a chance, whether you really want one or not,” Amber said calmly, meeting his eyes once more and holding it.
“Why?” William repeated, not breaking eye contact. “Why do you always have to be the one to tell me that, when the people I want to hear it from don’t? Why do you say that when people who say they care flinch if I so much as raise a hand?”
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Amber bit her lip, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh. When she opened her again, she wouldn’t catch his eye.
“I don’t know, William. Does it matter?” she asked quietly. “At least I care enough to say it, right?”
“That’s the question, Blue,” he clenched his fists, never looking away from her face. “Why do you? What have I done to make you care?”
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“I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter, does it?” Amber said shortly, shaking her head. “You know what? I’m going to go to my room, and we should just forget about this whole conversation.”
“Doesn’t matter? Forget about it?” William repeated bitterly. “Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, Blue, but it does to me. It matters to me. What you just said matters.”
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“Why does it matter so much to you that I care? You don’t like me, so it shouldn’t matter, should it? I’m just a nuisance to you, someone living in the one place you thought you would have to yourself,” Amber said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Do you know how it feels to want to hear those words from someone, but you hear them from the person you dislike?” Why couldn’t Caroline ever utter those words? Why couldn’t she look at straight in the eyes and tell him she didn’t fear him? “But you know what? You’re right. It doesn’t matter. Forget it.”
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Amber looked up at him steadily. No, she didn’t know how that felt, and he knew that. But she was pretty sure she knew who he wanted to hear it from.
“Well, it’s too bad I’m not Caroline, then, isn’t it?” she muttered under her breath as she turned around to walk to her room.
William froze at her comment, his breath hitching. She knew who he was talking about. She knew.
“So you know,” he breathed in deeply. “I wonder what gave it away.”
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Amber shrugged without turning around.
“Who knows? Maybe it was the way you look her, like she’s the light of your life. Or the way you talk to her, like anything could either bring her closer or draw her away from you. Maybe it’s the way you act around her, how you’re so much gentler around her than you are to anyone else. No one acts like that around a sibling unless they’re all they have left.”
His eyes softened and he was glad she had her back towards him.
“Five years,” he said to her, though he didn’t know why he even said that. “I’ve been in love with her for five years, but she thinks it’s been two. The only time she can properly talk to me is when I have my hands in my pockets, because to her, that means I can’t raise a hand against her. I’ve never yelled at her, never treated her harshly, but because of my problems, she thinks I will. She says she can’t date me because she wants to focus on her career, but we both know it’s because she’s terrified of me.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this—telling you something I wouldn’t talk about, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going out. I’ll be late.”
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Amber hummed in acknowledgment as she reached her room. “Sure. Have fun or whatever with that. I’m not cooking, so you’ll have to feed yourself if you’re hungry.”
William chose not to reply, merely going into his room. He returned after grabbing his guitar case and without a word, he walked out.
He didn’t return until after midnight.
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[Time skip: Saturday evening… Sunday morning(?)]
It was late, Amber knew that much. She didn’t know how she got home, just that she did. And that she wasn’t driving. And that her dress was feeling really tight at the moment… But she had to wait until she was at least— Oh, she was inside now! Perfect!
She tugged at her dress after dropping her things on the floor and kicking off her shoes. It was really constricting, especially when she tried to breathe. Why wouldn’t it come off?
William was watching a match on the TV. His team was battling Silver’s during the Winter Tournament and his manager had collected videos of their matches and given them to each member separately. He was just about to finish watching the second when the door opened and Amber emerged.
He looked up for a brief second, but it was enough to catch her trying to take off her dress. William’s eyes widened a fraction.
“What do you think you’re doing, Blue?”
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Amber’s wide eyes looked up at William, and she shrugged. “My dress is uncomfortable. I want it off. But it’s stuck,” she explained as if it was obvious. And why wouldn’t it be, right? Did it look comfortable to be in?
William groaned loudly, covering his face.
“You do realize your room is just a few seconds away from you, right?” He said in exasperation.
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Amber pouted at him and stopped tugging on her dress. “But… It’s stuck now. A few seconds is too long…”
“It’s not too long, Blue,” he covered his eyes. “You don’t do that in front of males!”
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“But I can’t get it off! It’s stuck!” Amber whined, tugging at the tight, black fabric.
“Then what do you want me to do?” He stood up. “I’m going to my room, God.”
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Amber frowned and quickly walked stumbled closer to him. “No, no! Help me! Please! Or else I’ll be stuck in this thing forever… Evil dress…” she muttered the last part under her breath, looking down at the offending clothing.
William sucked in a deep breath before he turned around towards her.
“Fine,” he breathed out. “Just the zipper. You will not strip while I’m here.”
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Amber giggled and turned around. “Okay!”
William sighed heavily, walking over to Amber before he pushed her hair out of the way. He was too close to her, but at that moment, he just wanted to get this done with. William found the problem quickly.
“Your hair’s stuck,” he muttered, trying to get it out. When he succeeded, he pinched the back of the neck so when he pulled the zipper down, her back wouldn’t be visible. He slowly pulled the zipper down, carefully as if more hairs would get stuck. He breathed down on her neck, sighing when he was done.
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Amber shivered a little at the feeling of his breath on her neck. That tickled…
“Thanks,” she giggled, turning around and looping her arms around his neck with a grin.
William blinked when she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried to step back.
“What are you doing, Blue?” He muttered, staring down at her.
