WILLOW'S POV

I had spent all night and a lot of time in between classes designing a poster for the arcade and coming up with ideas on how to boost business. I was good with art so I had made a really good poster, at least that's what the kid seated next to me in Math class had whispered to me. All that was left to do was make a graphic design of the poster on a computer, make lots of copies and distribute them. It was not going to be an easy task reviving the arcade but I was never one to give up especially on something that mattered to me.

At the end of the day I was about to head over to go pick up Charlie when I remembered he was supposed to be dropped off at the arcade. I'd already talked to his teacher in the morning when I dropped him off and smoothed things out. She had seemed happy that I had listened to her except I hadn't done it for her but for Charlie. I headed directly for the arcade instead excited to show what I had been working on to Jack.

I found Jack and Charlie arguing over who was the best avenger by the comic book section. Jack was definitely all for Thor while Charlie argued that it was Iron Man. Charlie liked Iron Man because he had overcome a bomb blast,living with a mechanical heart for years. He was also a tech genius billionaire just like Charlie hoped to become one day.

"You're both wrong. It definitely Captain Marvel."I announced as I walked in to alert them of my presence.

They both turned around to look at me with annoyed faces.

"I have my own opinion but you both know I'm right, girls rule. After all without her they would have lost in Infinity War."I declared.

"They won because Iron Man sacrificed himself."Charlie argued.

"Thor gave Captain America the original hammer which aided him in the fight as we all know that without that hammer Cap would have died in minutes."Jack added.

"So are you for Captain America or Thor because I'm a little confused?"I asked.

"Thor, definitely Thor."Jack insisted.

"Okay enough arguing, let's all agree that they are better together than apart that's why they are called the avengers."I finalized ending the whole argument.

Jack and Charlie agreed with me but I knew it was only for the moment. I was okay with that as long as they didn't do it in my presence, I was very argumentative and would defend Captain Marvel with my whole being. She was the original avenger and that to me showed just how awesome she was.

"Charlie how was school today?"I asked my little brother.

"It was good, Alex gave me his red gummy bears and I gave him an oreo."He answered.

"That's good bud, I'm happy you are making friends. How about the ride here?"I inquired concerned.

If he hadn't liked it we would go back to the original plan even if Miss Genevieve didn't approve.

"It was not so bad. I like it when you pick me up but at least I get to come to the arcade earlier."Charlie replied.

"Well I am happy that you're okay with it but anytime you feel uncomfortable, you tell me and we'll go back to me picking you up okay?"I requested him.

"Okay."He answered with a smile.

I kissed his forehead before approaching the counter where Jack had retreated to.

"Ready to get to work?"He inquired noticing my presence.

"Definitely."I replied getting the rough sketch poster out of my bag.

I handed it to Jack whose eyes widened in surprise once he got a good look at it.

"You little miss are full of surprises, this is wonderful. Did you do it all by yourself?"Jack exclaimed.

"Yeah I like art and besides posters are easy as there's not a lot of details involved."I explained.

"Don't downplay yourself like that. I can barley draw a decent stick man. This is perfect."He praised.

"Thank you but the hard part will be actually getting the graphics done so it looks a little bit more professional."I said.

Jack stared at it for a little while longer, gnawing at his lower lip lost in thought.

"Henry can do that, he's good with all that computer stuff."Jack said after pondering over it.

"Henry as in Matthias?"I asked just to make sure I had heard him right.

"Yes but he hates being called Matthias so better stick to Henry."Jack affirmed.

That name brought up all sorts of negative feelings in me. I had managed to avoid both him and his brother all day at school and succeeded. I'd even had my lunch at the library again. I had never been one of those people who ate in the library but it seemed like that would be my new normal at Maple Ridge. I found that I actually didn't mind eating at the library, it was quiet, peaceful and allowed me to do my homework while I ate.

"Why would he help?"I asked.

"Henry loves this place as much as I do if not more. He'll do anything to make sure it doesn't close down so he will definitely help."Jack assured me.

"Just don't make me ask him."I pleaded.

"No need to, he comes here everyday after school. I'll ask him them."Jack replied.

On hearing that my heart started doing summersaults and not the good kind if there were any. Jack had just indirectly informed me that I would be spending all my working hours in close proximity with Henry. We didn't get along, how were were supposed to co-exist under the same roof. I remembered that during our first visit at the arcade I'd beaten Henry's aka unseen_teen's high score in one of the games. It all made sense now, he had highs scores in all the games which meant he was pretty good. He also had to have put a lot hours to get all those high scores thus explaining his daily visits to the arcade.

I refused to dissect all new details I was learning about Henry as they would probably change the way I viewed him. He had to remain a bad guy otherwise all the mean things I had said to him would not be justified. I would find away to get avoid him so that we didn't build any kind of bond. I didn't need any more complications in my life and both Brown twins screamed trouble. Better stay away for my own good.

"Away from that, I've been meaning to ask you if you have any other rooms here like a storage room or is this the only room?"I asked Jack.

"I have two actually, a storage room and an extra room but that's mostly empty. The store has some things but it's mostly crap."He answered.

"Can I see it? Your trash could be my treasure."I suggested.

"Sure why not."Jack replied with a shrug.

Charlie was nose deep into a comic book meaning he would be occupied for a while so I followed Jack towards the back. He fished out his keys and opened a rusty looking brown door. Feeling the inside wall for the switch he flicked it and the lights turned on revealing the room covered in dust and cobwebs.

"How long since you've been in here? This place looks like it was plucked from the scene of a horror movie."I asked Jack walking further inside.

The room was actually bigger than I thought it would be.

"A while."Jack said with a nervous chuckle.

Everything was covered in white sheets so it was hard to know what was under there. Opening the only window I could see to let some of the dust out and allow some light in, I began unveiling everything what was hidden under all the sheets. It was mostly just old video games but something different caught my eye. I gasped as I unveiled the treasure hidden under all that dust.

"Why do you have a popcorn maker hidden back here?"I asked uncovering it completely.

"I bought it a few years ago, burnt the first few rounds of popcorn and realized I couldn't really use it so I put it back here."Jack explained.

"That's a lame excuse but I understand. Do this games work?"I enquired pointing at the rest of the games.

"Yes there are just the least used so I put them back here to create more space."Jack replied.

"We are going to put the popcorn maker out front, don't worry I'll make the popcorn so you don't burn anything."I chided.

"Ha ha very funny."Jack retorted.

"Jack why don't you sell some of these games to settle your debt? They are vintage so they will fetch a very good price."I suggested.

"Really? I thought people didn't really care about these anymore especially people from this town."He answered.

"Probably but you can sell them online. There are collectors out there who buy these games for a good price."I explained.

"You think you can arrange that?"Jack asked.

"Of course, it is after all why you hired me. Don't worry, I've got this handled."I assured him.

Jack nodded a grateful smile gracing his lips. We moved on to the extra room and it was empty except for an old couch and a vending machine.

"Jack you're literally sitting on a gold mine here but don't worry, by the time I am done, even you'll think you've walked into an alternate universe."I clapped excitedly.

I had so many ideas of how I would transform the arcade to be a place where every teen and kid wanted to hang out. If everything panned out as I imagined it then Jack would be able to pay his debt in no time. The cleaning and rearranging would be a bitch but it would all be worth it in the end. Jack and I left the room so that I could start working on selling the machines in storage online.

"I'm feeling hungry so I'll go get a pizza what toppings do you guys want?"Jack asked after working in silence for a few minutes.

"Anything as long as it's not pineapple and no pepper please."I requested reaching into my bag for some money.

By the time I lifted my head up to give Jack some, he had already left. I shrugged thinking I would just give it to him when he came back. Deciding that sitting was not helping at all in planning on how to rearrange the place I got off the stool and started doing laps around the whole arcade. It was actually a huge place with a rustic feel to it. Some music, lively mood and it was all totally redeemable. Neon lights would also definitely help a lot.

I walked around a lord of the rings game and ran smack into a hard chest. I took a step back using the game to stabilize myself before I fell. I looked up and a set of electric blue eyes hidden under a hood were staring back at me shocked. We maintained eye contact for a few moments before Matthias side stepped me and walked away. A game started behind me alerting me of where he had gone.

I had never been one to care if I got along with someone or not but when it came to Matthias it bothered me that we didn't. He had screwed me over by not telling me about the job and refused to tell me why. After my not so kind words to him in the driveway I had expected an apology at the very least but I got nothing. Matthias meant a lot to Jack and since we couldn't avoid running into each other at the arcade I thought that we could at least try to be civil around each other. I was not doing it for me, no way, I definitely didn't need to be friends with someone so broody, I already had enough negativity in my life as is, I was doing it to maintain the peace and for the sake of our mutual friend Jack.

With that thought in mind I turned on my heel and approached him. I tapped him on the shoulder to alert him of my presence before stepping into his line of sight. He looked startled to see me which was to be expected as the last two times we had interacted, it hadn't ended so nicely.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to bust your balls again. I want to call a truce. I don't know why you are who you are, a dick I mean especially to me since I don't think I've done anything wrong to you but it's obvious we can't avoid each other especially here. I don't want Jack to see us butting heads as it'll put him in a hard position since he cares about you and I want to keep this job so truce?"I asked holding my hand out for him to shake.

He looked at my face then my outstretched hand and back to my face. I thought he was going to blow me off but he surprised me when he held out his hand and shook mine. I smiled and even though I knew it was no big deal to him, it was to me because I could finally stop stressing over running into him.

"Before I forget Jack told me that you're good with graphic design and I was wondering if you could help me out with a poster I made for this place?"I requested.

He nodded with little hesitation which led me to think that he would be willing to help out more. I needed all the help I could with reviving the arcade.

"You don't talk much do you?"I asked noticing that since I met Matthias he'd never actually addressed me directly.

The only time I heard him speak was during the lunch we shared with his family. P

He didn't reply which was to be expected.

"Is it select mutism or do you just not like to talk?"I questioned further.

"Why talk if no one really listens."He replied shocking me.

The weight of his words hit me like a brick wall and it got me thinking more. I had no idea why but something about Matthias called out to me. Maybe because I knew that deep down we were kindred souls who were trapped in a life they couldn't get away from. I refused to try and dissect that thought because as much as people could bond over happy moments, bonds made through pain were much more powerful. I didn't need to go around making any unnecessary bonds that would make leaving Crescent for good hard.

"Good talk, I'll just go get the rough draft of that poster for you."I choked out awkwardly before leaving him behind.

There was a lot of pain behind Matthias words and he seemed like he really needed a friend but that wasn't going to be me. I had no idea how to be anyone's friend, I was never around people long enough to make such bonds. Charlie was all I had, and he was definitely not good comparison for how a good friend should have been. I prayed that Matthias would find that friend that he needed, it just wasn't me.

Jack came back twenty minutes later with an extra large pizza. He insisted that Matthias join us so we all sat at the only table in a arcade sharing a pizza. Jack and Charlie argued on about superheroes, Matthias typed away on his phone while I doodled nonsense on my notebook. Matthias and I kept exchanging odd glances throughout the meal and I was so happy when it was over. I gave Matthias the rough copy of the poster before Charlie and I left for the day. When business boomed I would work longer hours but at the moment there was no need to stick around longer if there was nothing to do.