His head and his heart were having a competition on which could beat the fastest when he walked into biology class. He gave a curt nod to the professor and anyone else who stared at him as he walked to the nearest empty seat.

Slumping into his chair as the teacher droned on with his lecture on tree sap, Maddy felt hot and sticky from running and his stupid hand was buzzing underneath the skin as if he'd just let go of a jackhammer. He swallowed a sigh and quickly glanced at his phone to check the time again. His eyes lit up when he saw that Dee had finally responded and was about to reply when he felt someone lean over from behind him.

Maddy's shoulders went stiff, his breathing hitched and his nose twitched. Cold, dead eyes burst through his thoughts.

“Hey, dude, you don’t look too good,” A familiar voice whispered beside him. “I’ve got an Advil in my bag if you want to take it.”

“Hey, Bill,” Maddy said slowly, as if he was testing how much he could say before his voice would crack. He kept his eyes focused on the professor when he responded. “I’m fine, just had a really long and weird night.”

“Fill me in after class?” Bill asked pulling an unopened packet of ibuprofen out of his backpack and placing it on Maddy’s desk.

With a curt nod, he picked up the medicine and shoved it in his pocket. It would only make him feel more tired if he took it now.

He had known Bill since high school, yet they never spoke until this semester. With his trusty nose, Maddy could tell Bill was also strange folk, but the two never acknowledged it. Maddy knew he wasn't supposed to discuss anything strange in front of humans, but he couldn't remember why.

Yet, he broke that unspoken rule last night when he called that cop a witch. The look he got in response from him, was enough to make Maddy cringe. He focused his attention on the professor, but somewhere between learning about the xylem and transpiration Maddy's brain wandered back to Bill.

They weren't really friends in high school for the classic reason that Bill was a jock and Maddy was a nobody. There was only one high school in Willow Creek, but it was big enough to make it easy for the two to avoid each other. Now and then Dee, who was popular, of course, would drag him out to parties where they would inevitably cross paths and Bill would give Maddy his award-winning smile. The kind of smile that had people stopping in their tracks, and Maddy as warm as freshly baked cookies as he gave a small tentative smile back.

Bill had always been nice, even when his football friends weren't, even after his car accident, and even after he lost his scholarship and was forced to stay in this forgettable town. The only difference between him then and him now, was the five o’clock shadow he let grow on his face. Dee constantly joked that Maddy would never be able to rock a beard, he had too much of a baby face.

Maddy let out a gasp and his body jerked awake as a hand nudged him.