#&william.

sarah had wanted to visit the william in the hospital the moment that jordan shared the news. but, she wasn't sure how much of an intrusion her presence would be. primarily, she was concerned about interrupting his rest, which seemed critical to his recovery. but, jordan had reached out pretty quickly to say that william had said she could come visit, so she got ready to do so. after a short discussion, jordan had informed sarah that she didn't need to bring anything, because jordan and the others had brought everything they could think of already. sarah stopped on her way to the hospital for a get well soon card nonetheless and put a gift card to the restaurant closest to wrensted medical center inside, in case he tired of hospital food.

once she got there, she took the elevator to the floor jordan had said will's room was on. as sarah walked down the hallway, she couldn't help but to think about how this was her mom's experience in her last weeks of life. hospitals always made her feel uneasy. sarah set the thought aside as she reached william's room, gently knocking on the door frame of his room to announce her presence, before quietly stepping inside in case he was indeed asleep.

jordan was the type of person that almost always ran just a few minutes late. she hated the idea of making someone else wait on her, of disappointing someone. but she often had her head in the clouds. she simply wasn't paying attention to what time it was. she was distracted with putting together a new, overly colorful outfit. or trying a new makeup look. of course, william knew her better than most, so he'd likely expect her to be a few minutes late anyway.

haphazardly at best, jordan closed the door to her apartment behind her with only one of her arms in her jacket as she struggled to lock the door. then, as she ran down the steps and in the direction of the wren's nest she shrugged her jacket on the rest of the way. technically, she wasn't late yet. but, she preferred to walk when she could and would inevitably end up late as a result. she was trying to save the planet, what was a few extra minutes of waiting compared to the degradation of the ozone layer, really?

a few minutes later, jordan burst into the entrance of the diner and unceremoniously dropped into her seat across from will. "sorry," she apologized with a wince. "i really need to like... set a timer or something."

"you know, i'm glad you didn't actually bring your whiteboard out into the middle of the woods for obvious reasons," jordan said to her best friend, sitting with her back against the base of a tree, not caring if the dirt below her left stains on her light colored jeans once she stood. logistical reasons, she meant. would the whiteboard even fit in his car, or would they have to drag it the entire way? "but, it is a shame because i do have some information to share." if she didn't share it as soon as possible, jordan worried she'd forget to tell him at all.

sarah was sitting on one of the logs encircling the bonfire, half of a now cold s'more in her hand, watching the flames dance in the darkness. she glanced up, quickly, at an approaching figure. it was hard to ignore someone walking toward her in her periphery these days. luckily, it was just william. "hey," she greeted him with a soft smile. she finished what was left of her minutes old s'more, before continuing. "having the time of your life, i assume?" there would be no opportunity to escape this party with a few rounds of mario kart.

sarah had expected there was a possibility she'd find william in the love letter lounge. she could only assume it was the best place for someone with a head injury to rest. she sat down on a lounge chair near him. there was a beanbag chair closer, but she wasn't confident in how well it and her dress would mix.

"hey," she greeted him, her voice low in case he had a headache. "you need anything? ibuprofen or a drink?" she offered, despite knowing that he and georgia had come together and there was no way she had left him before asking the very same question. "you look great, by the way."

sarah had expected the basement to be more crowded than it was. back in high school, the basement always seemed to be the focal point of the party. but, not today. sure, there were a few people milling about, but they were doing their own thing and left her more or less alone. their faces weren't familiar to her, which meant they likely didn't know her as the best friend of the dead girl. the music wasn't so insufferably loud down here which was just icing on the cake. not that she needed the silence to invite in the thoughts that lingered on the edges of her mind.

after a meander around the room, sarah discovered the black game cube beneath the large tv in the basement. she wiped the dust from its surface, and pressed the grey on button. sure enough, it came to life. sarah knelt down to get a better view of the cabinet beneath the television, and rifled through some of the games. pikmin, the original animal crossing, super smash bros, the legends of zelda: wind waker, mario kart double dash, frogger ancient shadow, and mario party to name a few. she wouldn't expect randy to play most of them, but it seemed his parents had just bought a vast majority of the games available in the hopes that he liked some of them.

sarah glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see william reach the bottom of the basement stairs. she knew he was as likely as she was to want some sort of escape from the party festivities. "hey! perfect timing. want to play? we could play mario kart, or mario party. i'd be willing to bet i'd win."