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Author's Chapter Notes:

Okay, so I'm a dork and I love the idea of Will's little sis, so I had to write this. For the record, I named her Mattie (as in Mattison) even though it's close to Madeline. Why? Because that's the kid's name, and Shawn wouldn't mind having a kid named close to his mom's name.

 

 

 

“Come on, Will!” Mattie urged her big brother, tugging on his sleeve before finally giving up and running ahead. “We’re going to be late for school!”

“So what?” Will shrugged, refusing to quicken his lazy amble.

“So…” his seven-year-old sister huffed, brushing her brown hair behind her ear as she whirled around to face him again. “So, if we don’t get a good education now, we’ll never get into college and we’ll never get good jobs and then we’ll just be two bums leeching off our grandpa because our dad is never going to get a real job, either.”

“Who told you all that?” Will snorted.

“Grandpa Henry. Don’t you ever listen?

“Not if I can help it.”
Mattie rolled her eyes, shifting her heavy backpack on her shoulders. “You’re going to be a bum when you grow up, Will.”

“I am not!” Will insisted haughtily, running a finger trough his blonde hair. “I mean, look at my hair! I’m way too adorable to be a bum!”

“Are you kidding?” Mattie snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m way cuter than you!”

“You are not!”

“Am too!”

“Are not!”

“Am too!”

The turned the corner onto Sycamore Drive. Will stopped arguing momentarily, raising a challenging eyebrow at his little sister. “There are six mailboxes on this block,” he told her matter-of-factly.

“There are seven,” she corrected him without even batting one of her large, green eyes. “You forgot the red one at the end of the street again.”

Will huffed, looking up the street even though he already knew she was right.

“Darn it,” he muttered, trying to sound bitter.

They both knew it was just an act. He was always more proud than bitter.

“If you actually listened to Grandpa Henry,” she chided lightly, grinning gloatingly. “You might actually win sometimes.”

“Shut up, Mattie.”

“You shut up!”

“I listen to Grandpa!” Will insisted. “When he’s talking about fishing or baseball…”

He started to jog to catch up with his sister, but she had stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk, her eyes wide with fear as she looked up the street, where there was a gang of mean-looking boys slowly approaching them.

Will’s blue eyes narrowed, trying to see who they were in the distance.

“It’s just Mike Helms,” he shrugged, seeing his sister’s terror. “He won’t bother us.”

“Yes, he will! He’ll punch you again!”

“He didn’t punch me!” Will snapped, his ears tingeing with red. “He…tapped me.”

“You don’t get a black eye from a tap!”

“He won’t bother you,” Will assured her, stepping in front of her to shield her. “Don’t worry, Mattie. I won’t let him.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but it was too late.

Mike and his gang of lackies had already reached them.

“What are you doing walking down our street, Spencer?” He demanded with a sneer, getting in Will’s face.

Will didn’t back down. He just reached behind him, gently squeezing Mattie’s trembling hand. “We’re going to school,” he returned coolly, meeting the bully’s eyes without revealing a trace of the fear he felt. “You know, that building with the books and learning that you never go to.”

Mike’s sneer only grew broader and meaner as he took another step towards Will, towering over the younger boy. “You got a smart mouth, Spencer.”

“Well, you’ve got a smart…” Will started, then stopped, blinking. “….You know, I don’t think you have a smart anything.”

He almost flinched, half-expecting to be lying flat on his back with a bloody nose for that one, but Mike didn’t punch him. Not right away, at least. He just extended his grimy hand, running his fingers over his palm.

“That one’s gonna cost you,” he said darkly, his eyes narrowing at the two Spencers. “Twenty bucks for the both of you. Ten for walking down my street, and ten for the smart-ass attitude.”

“Mom said not to fight,” Mattie whispered, her fingers tightening around Will’s.

Will shrugged, releasing his sister’s hand as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I don’t have twenty,” he told Mike, his voice still even. “But can you break a fifty?”

“I can break your nose.”

“That wasn’t the question. Sorry, did I go to fast? I can go slower.”

He stepped closer to the bully, their eyes locking. “Can…you….break…a…fifty?” he asked again in a slow, deliberate cadence.

Mike’s fists clenched. “You’re going to get your ass kicked, Spencer.”

Will stepped back, feeling Mattie’s fingers tighten around his shirt as she hid behind him. “I’ll tell you what,” he grinned. “I’ll make you a deal. You tell me what hand I’m holding the money in, and you can have it. The whole fifty. Plus, I’ll even let you kick my ass.”

“Will!” Mattie hissed behind him. “You’re not supposed to swear.”

“Shh!” Will shushed her, pushing her further behind. “I know what I’m doing.”

He looked back up at Mike, his face impassive. Holding up the fifty dollar bill he had produced from his wallet, he grinned. “What do you say, Mike? What can you lose? What hand is the money in?”

Mike stared at him for a moment, baffled and getting progressively more pissed-off by the moment.

“What do you mean?” he demanded, pointing angrily at the money, which was clearly visible in Will’s flat palm. “It’s right there!”

“Okay,” Will said quickly. “That’s your final answer, then? Are you sure you don’t want to think about it?”

“Wait!” Mike snapped, his brow wrinkling as his anger faded into pure confusion. “Yes!...wait….what?

“Are you sure that’s the hand the money’s in?” Will repeated, leaving both palms open. “I mean, it’s right there in front of you…isn’t it?”

“Yes!”
“Then, there you go!” Will concluded grimly, still not moving. “That’s your final answer. Right?”

“No!” Mike shot back quickly, his eyes shifting to Will’s empty hand. “I mean…I can see it, Spencer! I’m not an idiot! It’s right there!”

“Of course you’re not!” Will agreed, false, honeyed sincerity dripping from every word. “I didn’t even try to hide it! You have to be right…unless, of course, I’m putting one over on you.”

Mike glared, on the verge of just pummeling him and taking the money. “What the hell are you trying to pull?” he demanded.

Will just grinned innocently. “Nothing! If you see the money right there, it must be right there…right?”

“Right!”

“Okay!”
“Wait!”

“What?”

Mike continued to glare, his eyes shifting from the money to Will’s empty hand, then back again. “I know you’re pulling something!” he growled. “I know it!”

He finally pointed at Will’s empty hand, a sneer curling his lips. “It’s in that one, isn’t it?”

Will laughed, sliding the bill back into his pocket as he took his sister’s hand and pushed past the baffled bully.

“Sorry, dude. Better luck next time,” he waved over his shoulder.

Mattie laughed, her eyes shining as she squeezed Will’s hand. “That was great, Will!”

“See?” Will returned her grin. “I told  you I listened to Grandpa. He always says why fight them when you can just outsmart them?”



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