1. Chapter 1 (2/2)

"what do you think?" susan settled her arms in a runner's stance.

"you wanna a chase, old woman? i'll give you a chase!" will leered, taking off and running out of the small kitchen. she could hear the thudding symphony of her mother's footsteps behind her.

"i'm not old!"

"yes, you are!" spotting their red couch, will sprinted behind it, leading susan around the piece of furniture in continuous laps. "i'd like to see you catch this swimmer!" she taunted.

"they say the best things come with age, dear!"

"psh! don't give me that!"

"i'll give you whatever i want."

"and i'll run from you 'til your legs fall off."

"you'll get tired eventually."

"no, i won't. i have good endurance," will hollered.

"prove it! prove that your endurance is so great, little miss tough stuff!" susan yelled back, advancing on the girl.

so she did. she darted around the living room until susan was coughing and gasping for

eath and needed to collapse on the couch. as will plunked down next to her mother and the cushions gave beneath them, she couldn't help but feel victorious. her mom may have been a pro at enforcing rules, but will had her own unique way of exerting control: physical torture via exercise.

author's note: i've always hated the w.i.t.c.h. fanfics that characterize susan as will's antagonist for no valid reason. i also hate the fics that include constant and relentless bickering in will and susan's mother-daughter relationship. i feel that it is an unbalanced and unrealistic dynamic. sure, will and susan have their fair share of arguments and power struggles during the era of the show, but susan is the only parent that will can go home to at the end of the day. as a result, i think they'd be very close. hence why i wrote this fanfic: to demonstrate their bond and rebel against the normal fanon depiction of their relationship.

i already know that i could get crap for my opinions on will and matt's sexual relationship in their adolescent years (or lack thereof), so i'm going to explain my stance. yes, will and matt are both teenagers filled with raging hormones and they're in a committed relationship. however, people seem to forget that will has had issues with her father. when a girl doesn't have a proper father figure it often impacts her relationships with boys. some girls seek the validation that they didn't receive from their fathers in the form of physical relations with boys, while others may put a lot of care and thought into that decision (the one regarding who they do and don't have relations with).

i personally can't see will being emotionally ready for that type of relationship with matt in her teenage years for that exact reason. she would need to conquer her demons before being ready for a step that big. i can't see her going to the extreme i just mentioned. (sleeping around, that is.) it doesn't make sense to me. on the other hand, i can't see her waiting until marriage either... probably just 'til she's college age and "an adult." waiting until marriage would be too conservative for her.

i also don't think she'd be mature enough for sex at that age and seeing the occasional pregnant girl at sheffield would freak her out. (i don't doubt that girls at private schools get pregnant.) as would taranee's potential informational lectures about stds. :p