Young Writers Society

Wilson looked over at Blake with a shared expression of mild disbelief but shrugged. If Arthur didn't want to break the awkward silence, she had no problem doing it.

"So! Arthur. What do you like to do? Any hidden talents?"

"I run the school math club," Arthur replied, and Blake gave a groan that was a mix of exasperated and frustrated when he noticed how warm the tone suddenly was. This resulted in Puck turning around and fixing him with an absolutely murderous stare - likely because he thought Blake was ashamed of having a nerdy brother.

"Hey, hey! Math's cool!" Wilson said, giving Blake a pat on the shoulder. "Blake likes math... or... I mean, math is cool, yes? Yes. What kind of math do you like, Arthur? And what about you Puck? Do you like math? Are you in the club?"

Blake looked between Wilson and the other two, who had now both returned to staring ahead instead of staring back at him. He frantically gave a shake of his head. He did not like math in the slightest, and he really didn't want to pretend that he did - even if it was for the sake of getting his brother to treat him like the sibling he was.

"I like all sorts of math," Arthur answered.

Puck gave a little stretch up ahead. "I'm not too big of a fan of it myself, but I had to support Pres. So I am in the club, and I'm somehow the vice president-"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Blake interrupted, exasperated. "A spirit can't go to school!"

Puck turned around and gave him another funny look again. "And why wouldn't I be able to do that?"

"Because!" Blake vaguely replied, then realized he needed to be more specific if he wanted to get the point across. He thought things through for a moment, then answered, "Because you'd need the legal documents to join the school in the first place, it's pointless when you already have all the knowledge from being around so long, and there has to be a hundred different things that would you bug you over the course of the day!"

Puck crossed his arms and mused over this.

"Those are some fair points - I'll give you that," he answered. "But I'll also let you know just how easy it is to circumvent them. Forgery and knowing the principal makes the first part easy, you'd be surprised how much someone can learn even when they've been around for awhile, and, for the last one, I bring up the principal yet again."

He pointed at Arthur. "She's his aunt."

Okay. So she was wrong about Blake liking math. Honest mistake. But they quickly found something different to argue about.

Wilson put a hand on Blake's shoulder and gave him a little pat. She wasn't about to remind him audibly of the conversation they'd had earlier about being more open-minded, and she knew it would take more than a few hours for his brain to switch gears, so she was patient.

"That's awesome that you get to go to school, Puck," she said with a smile. "Education is important, and I'm sure it also means you get to see Arthur more! Which must be nice!"

"Oh, yes," Puck agreed, getting a downright mischievous look on his face as he agreed with Wilson. "I get to spend lots of time with Pres." He looked over at his boyfriend and gave him a big grin. There was definitely a hidden meaning to what Puck was saying, but Blake didn't even try to find it. He just wanted to see his parents again. He'd stay quiet and just follow his brother's lead until he saw them again, and then he'd go from there.

"So uh, we're going to see your guys's parents then, yeah?" Wilson asked, just to confirm.

"Not yet," Arthur replied.

"Not yet?" Blake asked. "Why not-"

"Because we're in Britain," he answered, cutting his brother off, "and they live in America. We're here with my aunt on a field trip with the math club."

Wilson blinked, then smacked her forehead. "Oh right! Wow, I forgot!"

As she brought her hand down, the looked over to Blake with a small look of realization, then smiled.

"Think of that. Time can forget things. Seems kind of fitting actually."

The rest of the walk was just as miserable as the start of it. Blake's brother continued to try avoiding him and treating him horribly, and Puck, for the most part, complied. By the time that they had reached the building they were supposed to be heading to - it appeared to be a simple hotel - Blake had stormed on ahead and thrown open the doors before Arthur had a chance to. It was a childish thing to do, but it felt good to see the look on his brother's face as he entered the hotel's lobby.

Wilson looked over at Arthur and Puck with a smile - a mix of amusement and apology. "Seems like you both have a flair for the dramatic," she quipped.

Blake gave Wilson an almost offended look when he glanced over his shoulder at her and the other two, who were currently walking into the hotel lobby. He was faced with the reality that he had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go, so he just stood there with his arms crossed until Arthur and Puck took the lead again. "We can find our aunt in Room 203," Arthur said, heading up a small flight of stairs.

Blake waited for Wilson at the bottom of them.

Wilson smirked a self-satisfied smirk as she hurried up beside Blake. With a small shrug, she teased: "What? I was just saying."

Blake folded his arms and gave her a slightly annoyed look, then hurried on up the stairs after Puck and Arthur; he knew that she would be following right behind him.

She hurried up the steps, eventually walking beside him.

"Sorry," she mumbled with a little grin.