Mind Over Matter..Chapter Four(pt 1)

                             Chapter Four: Saturday Night Free
         William woke up to sunshine pouring in through his window, right into his face.
         “I really need to put up the curtains today,” he muttered, rolling over and pulled the covers over his head.
         “William?  Are you awake?” Mr. Baker’s voice asked from the doorway.
         “Yeah, unfortunately,” William mumbled in reply.
         Mr. Baker laughed.
         “Well when you decide to join us downstairs, your mother and I need some help unpacking the last few boxes.”
         “Alright.”
         Mr. Baker left and William listened to his footsteps retreat down the stairs.  William remained under his covers for another ten minutes before sighing and throwing them to the end of the bed.  He placed his socked feet on the floor and sat on the side of his bed with his head in his hands.
         “Did last night really happen?” he wondered.
         William glanced over at his running sneakers that he had thrown towards the closet and the jogging out fit that he had tossed over a chair.  He gripped his hair tensely.
         “Oh yeah.  It happened.”
         The question was now, what was he going to do about it.  Callie said that he couldn’t talk to her in the day, so he assumed that it meant Alexander was with her the whole time during the day.  He couldn’t see how her parents didn’t get sick of him being around so much.  But William knew he had to talk to her again before the weekend was up.
         William sat on his bed for a minute longer before going to his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a blue sweatshirt.  He quickly got dressed and walked downstairs to the family room, where his parents where tearing boxes down and throwing them into a pile.
         Mr. Baker stood up straight and wiped his brow, looking at his son.
         “You are going to want some shoes, William.  Your mom dropped a glass vase and there are still shards on the floor somewhere.”
         “I wouldn’t have dropped it if you hadn’t have popped that awful stuffed rat in my face,” William’s mother accused her husband.
         William snorted in laughter.
         “Was it Aunt Meg’s vase?” he asked, trying to cover up his laughter when his mother glared at him.
         “No thankfully it was that cheap vase that your father’s mother gave to us before we finished packing.”
         “Thankfully?” Mr. Baker said, looking at his wife with a raised eyebrow.
         Mrs. Baker turned to her husband.
         “Oh honey, you know what I meant.  It’s easily replaceable that’s all.”
         William raised his eyes and grimaced at the spot his mom had just gotten into and decided to take that moment to retreat back upstairs.  He turned and quietly started sneaking back up the stairs.
         “Brush your hair while you are up there William!” his mother called after him.
         William grinned and hurried up the stairs.  He quickly put on a pair of shoes and stood in front of his dresser, looking in the mirror.  His hair definitely betrayed that he had just woken up.  He ran a comb through the tousled mess before heading back downstairs. 
         His parents were still bickering playfully about the broken vase so William decided to grab something to eat.  He rummaged in the refrigerator for a minute before retreating to the counter with the fixings for a sandwich.  Putting together the sandwich, he put the extra things away and pulled out a carton of milk.  He poured himself a glass and put the carton back before grabbing the sandwich and the glass and leaned in the doorway that led to the family room, watching his parents.  Finally, Mr. Baker threw up his hands in defeat and withdrew the argument.  Mrs. Baker laughed, cheered happily, and gave her husband a kiss for his hard argument.  William rolled his eyes and returned to the kitchen to set his glass in the sink.  When he walked back into the room, his parents had gone back to work.
         “Alright,” William said, enthusiastically, “what can I help with?”
         William and his parents worked through the afternoon unpacking boxes.  When they sat down to dinner, the unpacking had been finished.
         “So, what are your plans for tonight?” Mr. Baker asked William as he passed the chicken to him.
         “I guess I’m going to a party at a friend’s house,” William shrugged, taking a piece of chicken.
         “Where?” Mrs. Baker asked, looking up from her plate.
         “Tommy’s house.”
         “What kind of party?”
         “I don’t know.  A teen party I suppose.”
         William winced as he realized he had said the wrong thing as his mother’s eyes grew worried.  Mr. Baker jumped in quickly.
         “Now Misty, don’t you start.  You know William has been to a party like that before and he has stayed smart.”
         “That’s right Mom,” William agreed, “I left that last party when it started getting dirty with drink and—other stuff.”
         Mrs. Baker looked from her husband to her son, then sighed.
         “I know, I know.  I supposed I was just hoping that we would find a town that didn’t have things like that going on.”
         William laughed but quickly silenced himself.
         “That’s a town you may never find Mom,” he smiled.
         “So are you taking anyone to the party?” Mrs. Baker changed the subject.
         “No,” William said quickly.
         Suddenly he thought about Callie.  The party would give him an excuse to talk to her tonight.
         “Well, actually,” he corrected himself, “I might ask a friend to go.  If she’s not busy.”
         Mrs. Baker looked at William curiously.  William quickly held up a finger and shook his head.
         “Don’t even think about it.  She’s just a friend.  That’s it.”
         William’s mom raised an eyebrow at him but quietly returned to her plate.  William looked outside and saw that the sun had sunk beyond the horizon.  He wiped his mouth with his napkin and pushed away from the table.
         “In fact, I think I am going to go see Callie now,” William said, excusing himself,  “Even if she can’t go, I have to ask her something in person.”
         “Alright.  See you later.  Be home sometime before five in the morning if you don’t mind,” Mr. Baker joked.
         “Don’t get lost and be careful!” Mrs. Baker warned.
         “Will do,” William called from the kitchen, dropping his plate into the sink.
         William ran upstairs to grab his phone, wallet, and jacket.  He turned off his bedroom light and went back downstairs, pausing at the key holder on the wall to grab his keys before going out the front door.
         It wasn’t before William was halfway into town when he realized he had no clue as to where Callie lived.  Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Tommy’s number.
         “Hey William,” Tommy said, picking up, “What’s up?”
         “Hey Tommy.  I have a favor to ask.”
         “Which is?”
         “Do you know where Callie lives?”
         There was a pause on the other end of the line.
         “Are you serious?”
         “Yes, I’m serious.”
         “Why would you want to know where she lives?”
         “To stalk her,” William said sarcastically, starting to get annoyed at the twenty questions.
         “Okay, okay!  Take it easy.  I was just wondering.  She lives two blocks away from the house you moved into.  It will be a red brick two story.  There’s a winding driveway that goes up to the house.  You can’t really miss it.”
         “Great, thanks.”
         “Are you bringing her to the party?”
         “I might, if she’s not doing anything.  Is that alright?”
         “Yeah, that’s fine.  I’m just surprised.”
         “At what?”
         “Someone is paying close attention to her besides Alexander.  It’s just, odd.”
         William chuckled.
         “Everyone needs a new friend,” he replied, pulling into a parking lot to turn around.
         “Yeah, I guess.  So I’ll see you soon?”
         “Give me a half hour to forty-five minutes.”
         “Will do.  Later man.”
         William closed his phone and laid in on the seat next to him.  Driving back towards his neighborhood, William thought out different ways to talk to Callie.  Each one becoming more awkward than the next, he finally had to give up.  When he reached his neighborhood, William slowed down to look for the house Tommy described.  He was almost to the intersection to signal the end of the road when he spotted the twisting lane up to a large red brick house.
         “Good grief,” William exclaimed as he turned into the drive, “That’s not a house, that’s a mini mansion!”
         William parked behind Callie’s truck and nervously stepped out of his.  As he walked up the lighted path to the front porch, William was trying to keep from convincing himself to change his mind and leave.  He quickly hopped up the steps to the front door and rang the door bell before he could think otherwise.  A dog barked from somewhere inside the home and a light flicked on in the entryway.  A short, red haired woman opened the door.  William immediately saw where Callie had gotten her pretty features from.
         “You must be here for Sydney.  She’s in the shower at the moment but You can come in and wait,” she said politely.
         “Actually no ma’am.  I’m not here to see Sydney,” William said respectively.
         “Oh?”
         The woman looked at William curiously.
         “No.  I’m here—to see—um—is Callie home?” William stuttered nervously.
         “Excuse me?” the woman asked, startled.
         William’s ears started turning red.
         “I came to see Callie,” he said, before adding quickly, “If that’s alright.”
         “Oh, of course it’s alright.  I’m sorry, come in, come in!”
         The woman held the door open for him and William stepped into the entry hall.
         “I will go and get her.”
         “Thank you.”
         The woman paused to stare at William curiously before leaving.  William shifted uncomfortably and looked around him, never moving from his spot.  The entry hall was lit by a large glass, electric chandelier which set off the well polished, dark wood walls.  The floor was a sleek marble.
         William didn’t have to wait long before he heard footsteps returning.  Callie bounced gracefully into the room, excited.  The red haired woman stood in the door way from where they had come from, with a shocked look on her face.
         “William!” Callie exclaimed happily, “What are you doing here?”
         “Can’t friends visit each other?” he joked nervously, aware of the woman’s eyes on him.
         Callie noticed his nervousness and looked at the woman.
         “It’s alright Mom.  This is William Baker.  He’s one of my friends.  He was born in South Carolina!”
         “Lived,” William corrected.
         “What?” Callie asked, looking at him.
         “I was born in Indiana.  I just lived in South Carolina and moved from there.”
         “Oh!  Right.”
         “That would explain why you don’t have a southern accent,” Callie’s mother spoke up.
         William looked at her as she walked over to him.
         “It’s nice to meet you William,” she said, as she held her hand out formally, “Callie doesn’t get many visitors and we don’t see her friends anymore.  It’s nice to see one that decides to be different.”
         William chuckled and shook Mrs. Rivers’ hand.
         “Why thank you.  It’s overrated to be normal after all,” he grinned.
         “Indeed.”
         Callie was getting impatient with the conversation.  She was curious as to why William had shown up at her front door.
         “Um, Mom?” she said, glancing meaningly at her mother.
         Mrs. Rivers’ laughed and turned to leave.
         “Alright, alright.  I’m going.  It was nice to meet you William.  I hope we see you again and more often.”
         “It was nice to meet you too Mrs. Rivers.  And I plan on being around for a while, so I wouldn’t doubt if you saw me again.”
         Callie waited for her mother to leave before turning to William.
         “What are you doing here?” she hissed.
         “I didn’t have your phone number so I thought I would make an appearance instead.”
         “Why?”
         “To—,” William broke off and looked towards the door way that Mrs. Rivers had retreated through.
         Callie waited for him to speak again.  William turned his head back to her.
         “Would you like to go to a party?” he asked.
         “A party?  Really?”
         “Well, I can understand if you don’t want to.  But I wanted to ask anyways.  Maybe it would be a good chance for you to have some fun this weekend.  If you’re interested.”
         Callie’s face lit up.
         “Are kidding?  That would be awesome!  I’d love to go!  Let me go talk to my parents real quick.  Actually,” Callie grabbed William by the wrist and dragged him behind her, “Come with me!”
         “What?” William gulped.
         Callie ignored him and dragged him through two rooms before ending in a fair sized library.  Mr. Rivers was shuffling through some papers and tapping away on a computer and Mrs, Rivers was lounged lazily in a chair, reading.
         “Mom,” she acknowledged before pulling William towards her father.
         William swallowed hard.  This was not what he was expecting to happen and he wasn’t sure he was going to live through it.  Mr. Rivers looked like a tough man that didn’t take any nonsense from anyone.
         “Daddy,” Callie said quietly.
         Mr. Rivers looked up from his computer.  William could see that his eyes twinkled with humor and relaxed a little.
         “Okay, so he’s not all no nonsense,” William thought, relieved.
         “Hey sweetheart.  What are you up to?  Who is this young man?” Callie’s father asked in a deep but strong voice.
         “Daddy, this is my friend William.  He just moved here from South Carolina.  But he’s an Indiana native like you!”
         “Is he now?” Mr. Rivers asked, pushing his chair away from the desk and standing.
         William’s eyes widened as he looked up to see into Mr. Rivers’ face.  He was clearly reaching six foot eight easily!
         Mr. Rivers walked around the desk and held out his hand.  William shook it firmly, trying to prove to himself that the man did not intimidate him.
         “Nice handshake,” Mr. Rivers said nodding approvingly.
         “Thank you, sir,” William replied, hoping the worst was over.
         “Daddy, mom,” Callie said, looking at each person as she said their name, “William invited me to go to a party tonight.  Is it alright if I go?”
         “A party?” Mr. Rivers asked sternly and looked at William, “What kind of party is it?”
         William remembered the way his own mother became concerned when he said the wrong thing.  But he decided to be fully honest and say what he was thinking.
         “Well sir, to be honest, teens are holding the party.  So what goes on is random and uncertain.  However, I promise to keep Callie safe and if anything starts going on that shouldn’t, we will leave.”
         Mr. Rivers raised his eyebrows at the sincerity of William’s words and looked over at his wife.  Mrs. Rivers nodded slightly and returned to her book.
         “Do I have your word that nothing will happen to my daughter?” he asked, leaning down so he could stare William in the eye as he had done to Callie the night before.
         William did not flinch at the big blue eyes that were staring him down.
         “You have my word, sir.”
         Mr. Rivers stood up straight once more.
         “Then I see no reason why Callie can’t go.”
         Callie squealed and hugged her father.
         “Thank you Daddy!  We will see you later!”
         Callie dragged William out of the room before he got a chance to say goodbye.  She stopped him at the base of a staircase and told him to wait while she went to grab a jacket.  Callie quickly flew down the stairs, pulling on a jean jacket.
         “Okay I’m ready!  Let’s go!” she said excitedly.
         Callie led the way out the front door.  She didn’t give William a chance to move and open the truck door for her, she popped open the door and jumped inside.  William chuckled and shook his before entering the driver’s side.  Callie clicked her seatbelt into place as William started the truck.
         “So whose party are we going to?” she asked.
         “Tommy Johnson,” William replied, putting on his own seat belt.
         “Oh,” Callie’s face fell.
         William picked up the change in her mood.
         “Do you not want to go?” he asked.
         “No, no.  We can go,” Callie said quickly, “Just know that his partied never stay innocent.  I don’t think he means for it to happen that way, it just does.”
         “Oh.  Great,” William muttered, suddenly wishing he hadn’t agreed to go.
         “But really all you have to do is make an appearance.  Say hello and stick around for a half hour or so.  After that, no one will notice that you have left.”          
         “You say that from experience,” William grinned.
         Callie snorted.
         “I’ve been to a few parties like his.  They are all the same.  Pointless and boring unless you have no decency at all.”
         “I see.”
         The truck was silence for a few minutes as William headed into town.
         “There was a different reason you came to my house tonight wasn’t there?” Callie said, breaking the silence.
         William stared straight ahead at the road in silence.  Callie waited patiently for an answer.
         “Yes,” William finally answered quietly.
         Callie waited for him to continue.  William was debating what to exactly tell her.  He decided to risk it all.
         “I didn’t leave the park when you told me to last night.” he started, slowly.
         Callie froze, but William kept going.  He was on a roll and he wasn’t about to stop now.
         “I wanted to see who made you so terrified and run like you did.  Not to mention, I had waited too long to take of anyways, without being seen.  So I dove into the bushes.”
         “I see,” Callie said, quietly, “And did you see what you wanted to?”
         William thought for a moment.
         “Wanted to, no.  Thought I might, yes.  But to hear your boyfriend—,”
         “He’s not my boyfriend,” Callie cut in, sharply.
         William stopped for a traffic light and looked over at her.  Callie looked defiantly back at him.
         “He’s not my boyfriend,” she repeated, shaking her head firmly.
         “What—,”
         “I can’t tell you.  That’s part of what you have to figure out.”
         “Oookay,” William replied, confused as he accelerated.
         “Just trust me on this.  I may say he is later, but hear me now.  He’s not.”
         “Anyways,” William said, getting back on track, “To hear Alexander claim you so firmly—,”
         Callie snorted and William glanced at her.
         “Sorry.  I’ll be quiet,” she promised.
         “It just upset me.  I always hated it when I saw boys do that at my schools.  No one has the right to claim someone.  They are free human beings.  And he acted like he owned you!”
         William gripped the steering wheel angrily until his knuckles turned white.  Callie said nothing.  She wasn’t sure if he was finished yet.  There was silence in the truck as William parked on the side of the road in front of Tommy’s house.  He figured it would be easier to leave that way, since he planned on leaving the party early.  William shut off the engine and sat quietly for a moment.
         “He seems to have short temper sometimes,” Callie thought, looking at William.
         “He’s singled me out,” William said finally, looking straight ahead.
         “Singled you out?  What do you mean?”
         “He’s worried I might mess something up.  He’s got a couple of his friends keeping an eye on me now.  He said he wants them to get “under my skin” and find out about me.”
         “Oh no,” Callie said, worriedly, “William, I am so sorry.”
         William fell silent again.  This time, Callie only let him stay that way for a minute.
         “What are you thinking?” she asked.
         “I’m thinking that I’ve been in this town for less than two weeks and I have not only gotten myself on a boy’s watch list, I’m helping the girl that he claims with a problem I have no clue what it is yet.”
         “Oh.”
         “What have I gotten my self into?” he asked himself aloud, leaning his head back against the head rest.
         “Something definitely not normal and apparently possibly dangerous,” Callie replied, softly, not knowing if she was supposed to answer or not.
         “I see.”
         Callie was certain William was going to change his mind and moved to get out of the truck.  William lifted his head and looked at her.
         “Where are you going?” he demanded.
         Callie looked over her shoulder.
         “I was going to leave,” she replied.
         “Why?  Because I asked aloud what I was getting into?”
         “William, I can’t ask you to stand up to Alexander to help me.  You don’t even really know me.”
         “I already gave you my word that I was going to help you.  I don’t go back on my word.”
         William stepped out of the truck and walked over to the passenger side.
         “Besides,” William grinned, as he opened the door for Callie, “No one said I had to stand up to Alexander.  I just have to stay out of his way for now.  Later I might have to have a confrontation.  We will see.  As for the not knowing you, that will come with time.  That’s how a friendship works.  Getting to know someone and trusting them over time.”
         Callie hopped out of the truck and turned to look at William.
         “So, you’re going to take a chance on me?” she asked.
         William raised an eyebrow and leaned against the door he had just closed.
         “I don’t get you,” he said exasperated, “First, you want me to help you.  Now you are trying to convince me to not help you.”
         “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Callie said, quickly, “I’m just—I—I think I’m trying to test you.”
         “Test me?”
         “Yes,” Callie said biting her lip, “See, I’ve had a couple other people that at first wanted to help.  But after only barely getting to know me, they just disappeared.  They didn’t want to be around me anymore.  And it wasn’t even Alexander’s fault.  I’m just not willing to take a chance and wait to see what happens.”
         William looked down at the ground then looked up at Callie, grinning.
         “Well that just sounded like a challenge,” he teased, “You want to see if I can handle being your friend and stay around?”
         “Pretty much yeah,” Callie grinned.
         “I accept your challenge,” he replied, bowing mockingly, “But I should warn you.  I don’t drop my friends as easily as others.  So you might have a hard time getting rid of me when you need me.”
         “Don’t you mean when I DON’T need you?” Callie giggled.
         “I thought about saying that, but that can sound scary if you think about it.”
         “Well, true.  But I wasn’t really paying attention to that anyways.”
         William heard his phone ringing in his pocket and pulled it out.  It was Tommy calling.  Chuckling, William let it ring and put it back into his pocket.
         “Tommy is either wondering if we made it yet or if we are going to ever go inside,” William grinned.
         “Well then I suggest you don’t keep him waiting,” Callie said.
         “After you,” William said, pointing a hand up the sidewalk towards the house.
         “Oh why thank you sir,” Callie said, over doing the formality and made a show of walking up the sidewalk to the front porch.
         William laughed loudly and jogged to catch up to her.  No one answered the door bell when William rang it.
         “The music is pretty loud,” Callie pointed out.
         “Yeah,” William agreed.
         “Should we just walk in then?”
         “I would assume so.”
         William slowly opened the door and poked his head inside.  He was quickly grabbed and yanked inside.  William made sure to grab Callie’s arm and drag her with him before he disappeared through the doorway.  The door was shut behind them and the two were plunged into semi darkness as the porch light was turned out.  Only strobe lights, black lights, and disco balls were lighting the three main rooms on the house’s main floor.  Everywhere else was thrown into darkness.  There were people everywhere as Callie and William made their way to the room that held the refreshment table.  Callie’s lab partner Sophie waved at her and motioned for to join her at the table.  Callie waved and started to walk off when William grabbed her arm.