Work Text:
William had never felt this way about anyone. When a couple showed up on TV, he would gag. When he saw his dad giving his fake mom, Sheila, a kiss? He felt sick to his stomach. Even at the bee, he rejected any idea that he liked Olive. Sure, she was smart. And sweet. And kind. And anytime she laughed her eyes would crinkle and that made William's body feel all warm and tingly But, he didn't like her like that. And she didn't like him like that either. So why did he want to be near her so much?
Olive giggled and raised the turtle up a bit, "See? That's where your dad found you!" she chuckled, pointing to a shallow area in the water. The nickname made his face flush. They joked about the other being the other parent of their pets all the time, but in a more casual conversation? It made him feel fuzzy. William smiled, "He better be grateful. I think I got salmonella after that," he said, shuffling on the grass. Olive chuckled, "Barf!" she chirped. The lake wasn't far from William's house and, well, when Olive said she loved turtles he had to go and get her one. Though diving into a lake wasn't the smartest idea. "It's true though..." he said, rubbing his arm. Olive booped the turtle's nose, "He is grateful! Aren't you, Anemone?" she asked cheerfully. She used her thumb to nod the turtle's head slightly. "I still don't know why you didn't use a net or something..." she added, stifling her giggles. William groaned, "I didn't think of that and now I feel stupid!" he mumbled. Olive shuffled closer, "You aren't stupid!" she exclaimed, though her voice grew quieter with every syllable. She leaned her head on William's shoulder, "You won the bee, remember?" she cheered.
William's head drooped down onto Olive's, "Well, being smart and being good at spelling have no connection!" he explained, waving his hands around frantically. Olive placed one of her hands on one of William's and squeezed it, "Sure, not like you got a super hard word and still nailed it," she said, rolling her eyes. He sighed, she was right, "I guess you have a point..." he murmured. She placed the turtle into his enclosure that they had brought with them and pumped her fist into the air. William tapped a finger on his knee, "Uh, Olive?" he asked, lifting his head up slightly. She smiled, "Yeah, Barf?" she replied. His face flushed again. Heat prickled at his skin, "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." he muttered. "You okay?" she asked. He nodded, "Fine! Fine, I'm fine!" he chuckled nervously. She raised an eyebrow, "You look like you just ran an marathon. Your face's warm!" she said, pressing a hand to his cheek. William's heart fluttered. "Olive, uh... well, never mind. It's stupid..." he stammered. She cocked her head, "There are no stupid questions!" she said. He inhaled deeply, "That's actually not true but... uh, what do you think the others would think if they say us..." he asked, looking away in embarrassment. Olive's eyes widened and a soft blush crept across her cheeks, "Well... Chip would be freaking out and pointing at us. He'd probably make fun of you. But, I don't think the others would care since we're just friends... why?" she answered gleefully. William nodded, though he felt his throat tighten when she said they were "just friends", even if he didn't know why. He didn't like her like that. "I guess Chip's getting into my head. He said he's 'always watching', which is stupid because does that insinuate he watches me bathe? If so, he has something to discover about himself," he rambled, accidentally exclaiming the last part. "Barf! That's gross!!" she exclaimed, chuckling softly at the end. He shrugged, "It's true!"
Olive squeezed William's hand affectionately, "Y'know in my dictionary how I have words marked?" she said. William nodded, "Yes, you have 'turtle' circled with hearts around it..." he smiled. She chuckled, "Well, I have some words in there highlighted that remind me of you! Like, uh... 'weltanschauung'! Or 'hasenpfeffer'!" she giggled. William snorted, "I remind you of rabbit stew?" he asked, holding back his chuckles. Olive rolled her eyes, "No, dummy! It was one of your spelling bee words!" she giggled. "You remember my spelling bee words?" he asked, his eyes widening in shock. She nodded, "Yeah! I also have 'crepuscule' highlighted!" she added. William groaned, "Don't remind me, I can't believe I had to ask for a definition!" he pressed his other hand to his forehead. Olive rolled her eyes, "Oh, c'mon, Barf! You can't know every word ever! You still spelt it right!" she giggled. He turned away dramatically, "Oh, but it was terrible!" he pouted. She punched William's arm gently, "Stop it!" she giggled. He laughed, and snorted. Olive pressed herself closer to William and hugged him tightly. He blushed. Olive's hand hovered over the glass tank that held her beloved pet turtle, which was decorating with water, rocks, plants, and anything she thought a growing turtle might need. "Do you think Anemone's family misses him?" she asked. He chuckled awkwardly and adjusted his glasses, "Well... saying yes would be a bad answer since it would create guilt that we took him away from his family. On the other hand, saying no would be a somber answer, showing how his family didn't love him. But, we are his family so I guess that it doesn't matter," he explained. Olive nodded, "Uh-huh... so?" she asked. "So?" William repeated. "Do they miss him?" she asked. "I doubt it, they probably haven't noticed his disappearance, since they're turtles," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. She nodded. "That makes sense. You're really smart, Barf."
William shook his head, "Not really, I just do my homework, nothing smart about that..." he replied, scratching the back of his head. Though he loved the praise, especially from Olive, who's opinion he cared about deeply, he did his best to deny it anything to remain humble. Even though he was the best at anything. She giggled and leaned in to plant a kiss on William's cheek. Unfortunately, he turned his head in her direction at the same moment. It took them both a second to notice the fact their lips right next to each other. She had barely missed. Olive pulled away quickly as soon as she realized what she did, "Oh my god, I am sososososossorrryyIdidn'tmeantoIjustwantedtogiveyouakissonthecheekandthenyouturnedyourheadandIdidn't-" she rambled, her words practically sounding like gibberish. Her face was a light pink which was nothing compared to William, who looked and felt like he had a fever. "Uh... it's fine... you know! It was an accident and we didn't actually kiss so..." he mumbled. Olive looked away, "I'm so sorry, Barf..." she apologized, clenching his hand in hers. He chuckled nervously, "It's fine, really..." he reassured. She hugged him tighter, "Thank you..." she whispered.
"I called it!!" someone yelled. The sudden noise made William jump and Olive scoot away from him nervously. Sprinting down from behind them was the rest of the spellers. Leaf was waving a camera and Chip was giggling like a little girl. "We caught you! I knew it! Didn't I tell you guys I knew they liked each other?" Chip exclaimed. Olive chuckled, William groaned. "We are just friends!!" he exclaimed. Chip laughed, "Uh-huh... sure. Leaf?" he teased. Leaf handed him the silver camera. "We have evidence! I'm gonna go show your mommy!" Chip laughed, batting his eyelashes. William stood up and grabbed the front of Chip's hoodie, "Delete that!" he demanded. Chip dropped the camera and wagged his finger at William, "Pssh... no way! This is proof!" he chuckled. "You know what, fine," William said calmly, releasing Chip from his grasp. "Huh?" Chip tilted his head. "Will. No. Buddy... you're my friend!" he added, hands shaky. William smiled, "Hey, Leaf?" he called. Leaf smiled giddily, "Hmm?" he hummed. William adjusted his glasses, "Remember when Chip said he needed to 'moisturize' so he asked you for some lotion and then you gave him some of Marigold's?" he asked, his grin growing bigger by the second. Chip's jaw dropped, "Dude! Dude! I... Shut up!" he yelled, pushing William with less force than needed to push a shopping cart. William dragged Chip by the ear to the edge of the lake and shoved him in with ease. "Take that!" he exclaimed. Everyone gasped but then realized Chip was kind of an asshole and had it coming.