"Near to You"

By singyourmelody

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I promise!

Chapter 1: I'll Be Seeing You

"I'm home!" William Beardsley yelled as he opened the front door to his enormous house.

"Will!" Helen screeched, almost dropping the box of holly and glass ornaments she was holding. She ran and gave him a quick hug. "It's so good to see you. Your father has missed you so much! Let me go find everyone else. Kids!" she called up the stairs.

Within two minutes the entire rest of the family was standing in the kitchen, and, let's be honest, spilling into the living room. "Will!" they each exclaimed excitedly when they saw him. As the chorus of "You're back," "How are yous," "What's college like," overwhelmed him, William Beardsley only had one thought: It's good to be home.

After dinner, William, Dylan, and Christina helped clear the table and do the dishes.

"So how many chicks have you met, Will? Be honest, I can handle it!" Dylan exclaimed piling the dishes high next to the sink.

Christina replied for him, "He does do other things, like, I don't know, study, while he's there, Dylan."

"Nobody special yet." Will shrugged.

"Phoebe's got a boyfriend." Dylan said.

"Oh, really?" Will responded.

"Yup, he's European, of course, and all rugged and manly. She said she might even bring him home for Christmas! I hope he has some friends. Or brothers. Or even next of kin!" Christina said dreamily.

"That would be so great! Think what we could do with some rugged European men, Dylan. All manly and accenty!" Will feigned excitement, while his tone dripped with sarcasm. Dylan laughed.

"Shut up! You missed a spot, Will." Christina responded, handing him back the dish.

"So when is Phoebe coming back?" Will asked later that night as he unpacked his suitcase into his dresser drawers.

Dylan kept flipping through his magazine on his bed and said, "Tomorrow, I think. No doubt she'll have the Brit on her arm and a snotty European attitude to match. Look at me, I've seen the world, I've sipped tea with the Queen and eaten those crumpet thingys," he finished in a fake girl voice.

"Tea with the Queen, Dyl? Really? C'mon, I think she'll be the same Phoebe she always was." Will responded.

Dylan looked up from his magazine pointedly at the back of Will's head. "Or at least you hope she is, right?" Will stopped unpacking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Will said as he turned to face Dylan.

"Nothing, nothing, man. Never mind." Dylan turned back to his magazine, a small smirk appearing on his face. He knew he had struck a nerve.

It was only four hours later, but Will couldn't remember a time when he had ever been so hungry as he stumbled half asleep into the kitchen. Even though Helen had made dinner, he was starved. It's probably her new "Leafy Greens and Beans" diet that she has everybody on. He pulled out some bread and the peanut butter and jelly.

He was just beginning to ponder the finer points of making the perfect PB&J sandwich as he munched, when he saw headlights outside of the window. Peering back from behind the curtains, he saw a slim redhead struggling with two suitcases, a backpack, a laptop case, and an enormous carved elephant. He opened the door to help her as the cab pulled away.

"Phoebe?" he whispered.

The girl looked up for just a moment before completely falling on her butt. Will laughed, grabbed a coat, and hurried outside.

"You know, when you come home, you are supposed to actually make it inside."

"Haha, Mister Condescending. Help me up." Phoebe responded sticking out her hand.

Will reached out and grabbed it, fully noticing the sudden tingle he felt in his fingers and the nervousness in his stomach and—

"Oomph!" Will said as he landed next to Phoebe in the snow.

"Welcome to the Ground, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times," Phoebe said laughing.

"Glad to see you didn't leave your witty sense of humor in London with all those stone-faced Brits. Lord knows they could've used some of it" Will joked, his face suddenly turning serious. "It's good to have you home, Phoebe."

"Um, thanks Will." Phoebe said a little disconcerted by his serious demeanor. She looked down at their hands that were still joined.

"Oh, sorry!" Will said, dropping her hand quickly. "Let me help you get this stuff inside."

Once in the house, Phoebe dropped her suitcases and headed straight for the half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting on the counter.

"Food! Oh, Peanut Butter, how I have missed you, let me count the ways," she said taking a bite. Will gaped at her.

"What? Oh, was this your sandwich?" She said, a glimmer in her eye.

"Well yeah. But more than that, I can't believe you lived in a place with no peanut butter for four months!"

"It was hard. I don't know how I did it actually." They laughed, both thinking about how peanut butter was Phoebe's favorite food.

"Well, it's a very good thing you're back then!" Will said. Phoebe's eyes locked with his for just a little too long. She finally looked away and gave a small laugh.

"Should we get your suitcases upstairs?" Will asked.

"Nah, leave it there for tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to be home until then anyway. And I'm really tired. Jet lag and all that."

"Well, it is two o'clock in the morning. You're supposed to be tired." Will said as they headed up the stairs. "Goodnight, Phoebe" he said, opening his door.

"Night, Will," she said disappearing into her own room.

As Will lay on his bed, trying to fall back asleep, he thought of two things. One, Phoebe was back and he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. And two, she most definitely didn't bring back a European manly man with her. Which, for some reason, was a very comforting thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Thoughts? I've got a pretty good idea where I am going with this. Let me know what you think!