Will Selznick

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Valerie peered our the car window, “….where are we?” Valerie trusted Natalie completely when it came to most things, but driving and navigating was not one of them.

“This is the right address,” Natalie said, double checking the handwritten note she held in her free hand.

There wasn’t any sign of a house: only tall trees towering over them as they headed down a gravel road. It felt like they’d left Virginia Beach altogether. Eventually a house did come into view, nestled amongst the trees.

Natalie was meeting a boy from her class to work on a project. Bobby had been supposed to drive Valerie and Seth home from school but he and Valerie had gotten into a fight and so (unsurprisingly) when 3:00 rolled around, he was a no show, meaning they both had to tag along with their sister.

“Are we going to get murdered?” Seth teased, following his sisters to the door. He was still laughing when a boy about Natalie’s age answered the door. He was scowling. Seth’s laughter stooped abruptly. He looked terrified.

“What’s with the kids?” He asked.

“Oh, sorry! Owen, this is my sister, Valerie, and my brother, Seth. I’m so sorry, is it okay that I brought them? I should have called to tell you. But they’ve got their own homework to do. I promise they won’t get in the way! They were supposed to grab a ride with Bobby … but he ended up not being able to …”

“She’s just being nice,” Valerie interjected, still bitter about the entire situation . “He ditched us.”

“That kid’s an ass,” Someone said. The Connors turned to see a young man a few years older than Owen make his way into the living room. “Hey, I’m Will. Owen’s brother.”

Owen and Natalie got to work on their project (and by that, I mean Natalie pulled out her binders and poster board and markers and Owen groaned). Meanwhile, Will has given Valerie permission to raid their kitchen for whatever she could find after Seth complained he was hungry.

“Won’t your parents mind?” Valerie asked.

“No, no parents,” Will said, “This is my place,” Valerie couldn’t help but note the pride in his voice as he announced it. “I just bought this it and Owen came to live with me. Since then our parents have kind of …”

“Done their own thing?” Valerie finished the sentence for him. “Yeah. Our’s too.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile. There was a pause, as he considered how to change the subject. “So how do you know Bobby?”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh.” He paused, “Uh, sorry for calling him an ass.”

Valerie laughed, “No, it’s okay. He is one, most days. I guess I just put up with him because he’s not as much of an ass as my sister’s boyfriend.” That wasn’t exactly true. She put up with him because he hadn’t always been like this with her. She was holding on to those good memories, kidding herself that one day it would be like that again.

“Uh, yeah, I heard your sister was dating Max. I was expecting … “

“Someone different?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s way too good for him.” Valerie said, crossing her arms. Bobby hadn’t always been like this, but she’d never seen anything good come from Max.

“Someone around here should show you the ropes.” Will said.

“Are you offering?” Between Bobby, Max, and Seth crushing hard on Rachel Lloyd, Valerie often felt like they’d landed in with the wrong people since moving here.

“Me? No. I’m not really the welcoming committee type. And my kid brother isn’t either.”

“Really? Wow, I didn’t get those vibes at all.” Valerie teased.

The trek from Will’s to Valerie’s wasn’t exactly arduous.  Traipsing across one lawn to the next, (as he did almost every day,) could hardly be called a trek at all.  It wasn’t all routine, however, as attested by the suit he wore and the bouquet of red roses clutched in one hand.  In truth, this get up put him ill at ease, but he carried it off well, notwithstanding.

Knocking on the Connors’ door, it opened almost instantly.  “Oh, Natalie, hi,” greeted Will, softly.  “Uh, is Valerie there?”

“She is, but…” Natalie paused.  “Hang on a second.  Wait here.”  Leaving the door open, she turned and disappeared back into the house.  Will waited where he was, feeling a bit awkward as he hovered in the doorway.  He was frankly relieved when Natalie reappeared.  “Come on in,” she told him.  “Valerie’s in her room.  Go on in.  I’ve got to run.  Looks like my date’s here,” she added, smiling at someone over her shoulder.  Placing a sisterly kiss on his cheek, she hurried past him and Will shut the door behind her.

Slipping into Valerie’s room, where Natalie had left the door open, he rapped on the door with his knuckles before entering.

“Come in,” he heard Valerie’s voice.  She sounded oddly choked up and Will felt a rush of concern as he stepped inside.  Valerie was ensconced in bed, looking awfully small wrapped in the down comforter.  “Hey,” she greeted.  “I’m feeling sick, is it okay if we arrange our date for another night?”

Forming a soft smile, Will nodded.  “Absolutely.  I’m actually a little relieved.  When I heard you, earlier, I thought you were crying…so I’m glad you’re just stopped up.”  Valerie started laughing, only to finish off coughing.  “That sounds nasty.  Why don’t I stay, just till Natalie gets back?”

“You don’t have to do that!  Go out!  Have some fun!”

“What, and leave you here to die alone of some dread disease?”

“Shut up,” said Valerie.  Beginning to cough, she reached out for the cough syrup.  Will handed it to her, and a glass of water when she was finished.  “You should go,” she said.  Will nodded slowly, unwillingly.  It seemed, lately, they’d seen less and less of each other.  No one was to blame, especially for this, but Will wished it were different.  He wished…

Valerie’s voice cut in on his thoughts.  "Although…” murmured Valerie, groggily.  “If you wanted to stay…”  Will’s smile was small, as he nodded, and she pulled the covers back, patting the spot beside her.  “You may as well get comfortable,” she said.  Quickly, he divested himself of his shoes and slid into bed beside her, holding out his arm for her to get under.  Valerie snuggled close, resting her head on his chest.  “Sorry if I throw up on you.”

“Eh, I grew up with two brothers and very little parental supervision.  It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Wow.  That was probably the least sexy thing you’ve ever said,” she chuckled.

“Hey, you were the one who threatened to vomit on me,” responded Will, laughing, running his fingers through her hair.  He could feel her smile against his chest.

“And now you live with your brothers,” she muttered.  She seemed half-asleep already.

“I do.”

“And Drew.”

“And Drew,” he agreed.

“Full house,” commented Valerie.  “Has he ever thrown up on you?”  He couldn’t tell it she was teasing or not, but he laughed anyway.

“Honestly…it’s probably only a matter of time.”

Valerie chuckled, snuggling a little closer.  “You want to watch a movie?”

“Sure,” he said.  “Whatever you want to see.”

“Ohh, you should not have said that,” teased Valerie.  “Now we’re definitely watching an Austen flick.  It’s that kind of day.”

“Since that medicine seems to have had a pretty big effect on you, and you probably won’t remember me saying this,” he joked.  “I don’t mind telling you that I’ve actually read every Austen novel.”

“Oh my God, who are you?”

He laughed.  “I’m your sick-induced hallucination.”

“Right.  I’ll remember that.”

“You better,” he teased.  Will smiled, running his fingers through her hair.  “This is way more comfortable than the night I had planned.”

“What did you plan?”

“Come on,” Valerie said, “You owe me fries.”

The bar was crowded with locals. It was one of the few spots in town where the tourists tended to ignore: passing it up for something a little more flashy. Her uncle liked it that way: he liked it when this place felt more like a small town; when it felt more like the place he’d once called home.

This bar was home to Valerie. She’d grown up in the apartment upstairs with her uncle and siblings. It had been cramped and chaotic, but she’d been happier there than she’d ever been in their five bedroom house back in Hartford.

These moments were few and far between anymore: everyone had grown up. But there were still these nights when all the people she loved most in the world came together here and shared a beer or two.

Will laughed, following behind her as she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bar, “Um, no. That doesn’t count. See, what actually happened there is: I let you win.”

“Oh, you let me win?” She teased, looking over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Like there’s any way you’d ever be able to beat me at darts. C’mon.”

“Okay, fine. so you let me win at darts; I guess I’ll let you get the fries.”

Will smiled, “I’ll buy, but it’s because I feel sorry for you, not because — “ Suddenly he went still.  

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Valerie asked.

“i don’t like the way he’s looking at you.” Will answered, his eyes fixed on someone beyond her.

“What?” She followed his gaze to the corner of the bar where Lex Porter was seated, accompanied by a bottle and an empty glass. Lex was looking back at them. Valerie caught his eye for a moment, but just as quickly she turned away.

“Ignore him,” Valerie said, stopping Will by placing a hand on his chest. “It’s not worth it.” Will’s gaze was still fixed on Lex, but the tension eased some under her touch. “Hey, he’s just trying to cause trouble,” Valerie said, turning her back to Lex and looking up at Will. “Don’t let him.”

Will exhaled, frustrated. “I just — “

“ — I know.” Valerie said, stopping him. “Let it go.”

She grinned, “Hey, you gotta stop worrying about it, because if he comes over here, I’ll kick his ass.”

Will managed a laugh, “Yeah, I know you will.”

D- “What’s wrong Gilbert?”

okay so we’ve agreed that since the divorce, chris has been living with will and owen and drew

also it’s a three bedroom house and owen was the last person to go live with them, so owen’s been crashing on the couch b/c he was only there “temporarily” but yeah he moved in and he never left 

it sounds like both owen and chris are always telling will that they are just there temporarily but neither of them are actively pursuing other housing and the fact is that all the selznicks just love living together <3

will and chris basically ended up being owen’s parents/worked together to raise owen (chris as the mom, will as the dad lol ;DDD) 

as far as timelines go: chris and karen divorced in 2013; karen had her affair before valex which was in the summer of 2012 

anyway, i’m guessing that chris has been living here since the divorce of 2013???

owen was pretty unstable from like 2011 to 2013 after he broke up with cassie and i think he lived on his own/did some jail time during that period and he probably would crash on the couch some at will’s, but for the most part he didn’t start getting his act together until 2013 sometime (most likely after chris divorced and moved in with will and owen realized that he had to shape up not only for himself, but for his bros who already had enough they were dealing with) and yeah then he came and crashed on their couch for good and hasn’t left haha 

@fordtrainers