Spencer Willis

Spencer Wilhelm Willis

Official Facecasts: Dylan O'Brien and Steven McQueen

Spencer Willis is one of the seniors of Hanover House, and seen with Justin Bancroft being one of his friends. They have known each other since freshman year. He's tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Justin implies that Spencer has a powerful father in the military (Marines), and this is probably also the reason why Spencer is to be sent to West Point after Dalton. From what is known about Spencer, he's a little more rambunctious than Justin is, described as devil-may-care, and is usually at Justin's wing along with the Junior (and presumably prefect-to-be) Danny Abbot.

According to this side-canon story, Spencer has been, for quite a while, the object of Merril Portman's unrequited affections, or so she believes. He is one of the first people to welcome Merril into Hanover in the Hanover side-canon backstory,A Rainy Story.

The illusions of unrequited affections persisted until this second part to the side-canon appeared, revealing that Merril had misheard, and that Spencer did like her and would very much like to go to prom with her. It is a spectacular depiction of Spencer's own wild moments, which is apparently characteristic to him.

Dalton-Dobry

Justin Bancroft was lurking (it had to be lurking, he seemed to dislike the "cheery" festivities and kept to the corners) in the Dalton-Dobry event, being completely disinterested. He stood with the rest of the Hanover boys, basically grumbling to himself. He saw one of the other freshmen glowering at one of the girls, and they looked like they were squabbling. Finally, the girl grabbed the boy's tie and yanked it far up his neck, making him choke, commanded him to stay there and strode off to the buffet. Justin snorted and told the other freshman boy that his girlfriend must be a pain.

To which Spencer Willis replied that the "pain" was his twin sister, Sydney. Rough, Justin told him, and Spencer just rolled his eyes saying that it was like having his mother around fussing about his uniform. Sydney returned and shoved a cup of punch at her brother's hands and raised an eyebrow at Justin and asked who he was. Justin told her exactly who he was. Sydney was completely unfazed and reported to him exactly who -she- was. That was when Hope and Charlie arrived into the event. Hope made a beeline for her friend from Royal House, clung onto Sydney's arm and giggled.

Charlie rolled his eyes and stood with Justin and complained about the festivities. Hope thinks the event is pretty. Sydney thinks its boring. Spencer wants to eat, but he hates the "prim" food. Justin suggested they break the hell out and get some decent food and asked if there was any place that had fish and chips around. Charlie said that there was a burger joint not far. Sydney disapproved of escaping. Spencer told her that if she wanted to be boring, she could stay.

Justin just shrugged and said he didn't think of her as the "salad" type. Charlie laughed at that. Sydney glared and said she wasn't and that she bet she ate more than he did. Hope said a soda would be nice. So Charlie lit a firecracker and tossed it behind the buffet table. Sydney was furious. Spencer laughed. The firecracker exploded. Everyone went nuts. The five of them escaped.

On his sexuality:

x_X Uh…well, I do think I’m a dude. Like…a straight dude. Because I like girls. And my girlfriend is a girl. I’m sorry too, if…you know, I can’t exactly explain it, considering…all this, but…that’s just how I see it. …I’m sorry, I’m really terrible at this and I did say that before. It’s just that Merril is a pretty girl. I don’t think that makes me any different from other guys who like pretty girls.

CP on the difference between Spencer and Sydney:

It’s no secret that Spencer’s father is baffled by his twin children—Sydney is the one who wants to go on to become a general someday, and Spencer is the one who doesn’t seem to want anything to do with the military at all. He knows that to not want to do these things makes him rather a disappointment—his father had such high hopes for his son.

I think it helps even less that Sydney is the stronger twin (in a fight, Sydney always wins). Spencer just feels second-best a lot of the time. Sydney was the favorite, because she did everything right, she was headstrong, and accomplished everything. Spencer, try as he might, feels that he really can only go so far.

Do you know the show Hey Arnold? It’s like Helga and Olga. Olga is the special one, the one who does everything right. And Helga’s kind of…there. But Sydney and Spencer love each other, that’s for sure. It’s just that to Spencer, well…he thinks they don’t have sibling rivalry, because compared to Sydney, there’s just no competition.

Conversation with his mother.

So one time during this year, Spencer sat down with Mrs. Willis and said, "There's...there's this girl I really really like." And she was all happy and goes, "Oh?"

And he nods and he says, "Yeah, I think...I think I'm really in love with her. Yeah I know it sounds crazy, being still in high school and all but..." and he sighs like he's thinking of something beautiful and he goes, "...but she's...she's amazing...and she's beautiful and she's perfect and...I really think I'm...head over heels, over the moon for this girl..." and he laughs.

And Mrs. Willis just laughed and patted him on the back and said she was so happy for him. And she said, "Are you going to bring her home and introduce her to me and your dad sometime...? We'd love to meet her."

And Spencer kind of falters a little, because at the same time, he's so scared. He loves Merril so much but he's so scared that his father will find things out about her and he'll say hurtful things to her and he doesn't want her to be hurt, not now, not ever again...

But he just swallows it down and says, "Yeah...yeah, I want you guys to meet her. She's...she's the most amazing girl in the world and I want you to meet the girl I'm in love with." And Mrs. Willis smiled and nodded and told him to come home on a weekend with her.

Fourth of July

Spencer crawled under his bed and was screaming, "GET HER AWAY FROM ME, JUSTIN, DO SOMETHING, YOU'RE THE PREFECT!!"

Justin replied, "She is your sister. Besides, you should be enjoying the day with your fam--"

"Nonononononononononono--"

Danny then popped in and told him that Sydney was on the phone, but Spencer yelled, "I DO NOT EXIST."

Danny replied, "--so should I tell her you're indisposed?"

Spencer yelled, "I AM A ROCK. AN IMMOVABLE ROCK."

Justin spoke up, "Danny, just tell Sydney that Spencer is busy, er...meditating on the magnitude of this holiday."

So Danny agreed and left.

Jeff then peeked in and told Justin, "By the way, Windsor's outdone themselves this year."

Justin blanched and said, "Don't tell me--"

Oliver looked out the hallway windsor, "...impressive."

Justin grabbed his phone and hit speed-dial number 2 which called Charlie who answered with, "Whaddayawant?!"

"You guys swore that you'd never come near fireworks EVER AGAIN"

Charlie innocently replied, "When did we promise that...?"

"CHARLIE!"

"Oh cool your British pants, Hanover, we've got it under control. It's the FOURTH OF JULY. This demands fireworks."

"After what happened last year--"

"WE MAINTAIN THAT THAT WAS NOT INTENTIONAL."

"That crater is still there!! Landscaping hasn't even figured out how to fix that!!"

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN BORN OF THIS NATION, YOUR OPINION DOESN'T COUNT, SO SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE FIREWORKS." then Charlie hung up.

Justin groaned and dropped his head onto the desk.

Danny was staring out the window and saying, "That shipment's got to be in the metric tons."

Ollie took the binoculars from him and said, "And not even the premade ones... I didn't think it was legal to have that much potassium nitrate in a single shipment--"

Justin put his jacket on at that point and announced, "Well, I'm betting that's for the mad scientists and the Caterpillar to manage..."

Oliver kept looking out and said, "I can't identify the twine the twin boys are carrying."

Spencer then came over and told him it was cannon fuse so Justin said he was now going over there.

Spencer and Merril as Kids

Spencer was dragged off by his dad on a bring-your-family to work day so they were at a camp. Sydney had fun, but he didn't so much, even though people tried to cheer him up by giving him balloons. So he wandered off to the pier, looking annoyed because the balloons weren't even colorful, and pretty things should be colorful at least, right?

And then there was this swirl of pink and purple that came into his field of vision, and he looked up to see a little girl with brown hair and a big smile offering one of her balloons, and it was colorful, just like she was--she was bright and pretty and said, "My auntie's in the camp, it's her birthday!" and that's why she's sharing her balloons.

And Spencer stared at her and just took it from her, "Thanks..." and she smiled and skipped off like she was this fairy heading back to the woods and Spencer watched her go. He looked up at his dull balloons and let them float away into the air, but he held on to the colorful ones firmly, like he'd never let go.

Spencer and Sydney's Intruder

When Spencer Willis was very young...he had an incident involving a firearm that he retains to this day. He himself isn't sure if Sydney remembers... because it hasn't been brought up again, and he's almost sure that his family doesn't know that he does remember what happened then.

But he does. Very vividly. Paxton Willis was a powerful man, and for one reason or another, he was bound to have enemies. In his rise towards his position now, Paxton tried to protect his family as much as he could, especially his twin son and daughter. But the strange thing was, it wasn't even Paxton's political enemies or otherwise that caused what happened:

It was just some idiot who just thought he could take advantage of a large house, empty of its owners, save for one high-school babysitter and two little children. Paxton and his wife were out late, for a ball held for military officers. They bid the babysitter the usual reminders, left the numbers where they could be reached, and told her to put the twins Spencer and Sydney to bed early.

While the rest of the night was hazy, Spencer remembered the moment when things went wrong. His sister Sydney was a good girl, she was in her bed and trying to sleep. Spencer couldn't sleep, because he was thirsty. When the sound of glass breaking came from downstairs, Spencer got up and toddled to the banister rails of the second floor landing.

He was little boy and it took a lot of steps, but when he peeked his head through the rail, he just saw the top of their blond babysitter's head backing away into the kitchen as a tall man he didn't know pointed a weapon at her. Spencer felt Sydney rustle up behind her, and the twins weren't afraid--not very much. Because they had always been safe in this house.

And there was something familiar about that metal weapon that the tall man held. Sydney had wandered down the stairs and Spencer followed her with his gaze. Their babysitter was crying. Sydney was more worried about that than anything and she was standing at the first floor when Spencer started coming downstairs. Spencer remembered a nasty sound come from the kitchen.

He only knew now that it was the sound of a head connecting with tile. Sydney made a stifled sound. And the tall man turned around. Sydney froze at the bottom of the staircase. And Spencer knew what terror felt like for the first time. Little Sydney stood, eyes wide as the man started advancing on her.

And then Spencer came almost falling down the stairs. He grabbed his twin sister's hand and ran into Paxton's first floor study. Daddy left it open tonight, he knew because earlier he peeked in and he saw the model ships he liked so much. But Spencer knew that when the door was closed in this room, you couldn't open it again, so he pulled Sydney in and kicked the door shut. Sydney wasn't crying yet, but she was standing very still and pale.

The twins sat there, afraid, listening to the sounds outside the door. Spencer ran to the phone - he had to stand on the footstool to get to it - and pressed the three buttons mommy taught him to press when something happens at home and they weren't around. A strange lady answered, and she said the same three numbers that Spencer had pushed into the phone.

Spencer said, trying to breathe, "Call mommy and daddy, there's a man inside the house and Rina hurt her head." "Okay sweetie, I'm sending people over right away, please tell me what happened." "I was thirsty and something broke. And Rina was crying. And there was this man inside the house." Spencer sniffled as Sydney stared at the door. "Please call mommy and daddy!" The door splintered. Sydney screamed.

Spencer dropped the phone. He could hear the lady on the phone saying, "Sweetie are you still there?!" The man pushed Sydney away and she fell into the leather couch. She started to cry now. Spencer realized that the man is going to him because he was near the phone. The man had that metal thing in his hand pointed at him. Spencer remembered its name, because daddy said it. "Gun." Spencer yelled when he felt the man grab him.

And Sydney, screaming threw the pearl-inlaid ashtray on the table. "Let him go!!" Things got hazy in Spencer's memory then. He just remembered grandad's ashtray on the carpet and the man moving around and Sydney screaming and sobbing. And then that gun was on the floor. The man was going for Sydney who was trying to hide. Spencer picked up the cold metal in front of him. He'd seen it in cartoons.

It looked different in real life. he didn't know what he did, exactly. He just remembered heat, and a very loud noise. It cracked through the air. It sounded awful, and he hurt himself because he went flying back. Sydney was yelling more. And then the man was on the floor. Minutes ticked by, with Sydney clinging onto Spencer and sobbing. Spencer kept staring at the man on the floor.

Spencer remembered hearing a sound, then tall police men were coming into the room. They asked them a lot of questions but Spencer's ears were still ringing and he just hugged Sydney and wanted to sleep. He wanted to wake up. They were so little that Paxton and his wife thought that Spencer didn't remember the time Spencer had accidentally killed the man that broke into their house.

Sydney certainly didn't, although she stuck a lot closer to Spencer for a while. And because Sydney stopped remembering, Spencer thought, he would pretend he didn't too. Spencer kept the fact that he remembered these things to himself. And when he realized, once he was older, that he was meant to go to war...and fire a gun at an enemy he didn't even know...

He wondered if he could even manage to pull a trigger the way his tiny self did when he didn't know what the weapon could do. The way Paxton talked about his time in active duty... the way Sydney talked about wanting to serve her country... Spencer wasn't afraid to protect the ones he loved...what was important to him but... But he wondered if he really could be sent out there to do this.

If you were the son of the general, were you really allowed to be afraid to point a gun, shoot it, and kill an enemy? When you saw each of them as a person, the way the man that fell at their floor had been a person... And how Spencer had watched the red liquid stain the carpet in the minutes that passed before the police came.

Danny and the Center

Danny volunteers to help troubled teens at the center. That includes teens who've fallen to some bad people. Danny got into the crossfire of something without knowing, and got roughed up. They had been waiting for Danny to come back before they sprung on him.

Nicky saw and he called the seniors. Justin and Spencer went after the guys that hurt Danny and all hell broke loose. Spencer mostly hauled the guys off Danny and took him aside and Justin proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of the guys who kept going at them.

The ones who ran, he didn't follow. Hanover checked Danny over and he was fine. He had cuts and bruises, but luckily no broken bones.

Oliver and Windsor

Spencer, Danny and Oliver were stopped when they were trying to leave Hanover one day. When Justin asked where they were going, Justin and Danny pointed to Oliver and they said they were taking him to Windsor. Merril asked why he was going there, and Oliver mentioned he'd been invited to joiin the science club.

Justin then said no, but Merril didn't see why he couldn't go. Spencer said that they were going along with him so they could curb any potential damage. Justin then told them to stay there while he called Charlie. Spencer glard at Danny and said, "I told you." but Danny just said it was worth a shot. Merril then gave Ollie a fresh scone and said it was good that he was making friends. Danny said there is nothing wrong with Windsor, and Wes was a Windsor.

Spencer then said, "Okay, I want you to hear yourself say that. Listen to yourself say it, go on." so Danny replied, "........okay, maybe I see your point." all while Ollie quietly ate his scone and waited. Justin on the phone was saying, "--and I want absolutely nothing incendiary near the three of them!" to which Charlie replied, "Oh for godssakes, Hanover, you're basically asking me to have them hold the meeting in Reed's room."

Justin said that was a good idea but Charlie said he'd keep watch and not let them blow anything up. Oliver then asked if they could go, and Justin told Spencer and Danny to go with him, make sure the Twins stay far away and don't let the Drew and Satoru feed him anything they made. Merril gave Ollie another scone and told him to have fun. Spencer grumbled about Windsors as they left.

On when he realized he had feelings for Merril:

Avery told me to look after Merril on her first year (when she was still freshman), and so I was the one who pretty much helped her to her feet in Dalton and all that. I don’t know how it happened. (shrugged) …it was nice being around her.

I mean, I was worried—what would she think of me? All this time I’ve been an egghead around her…she wouldn’t like me that way, no. So…(shrug) So when I heard from Danny that she thought I’d never go out with her… (rolls eyes)

On what Danny said to him before his confession:

Danny said, “Dude, I just found out something huge—turns out Merril has had a huge crush on you for over a year! And she totally thinks you hate her and she has literally zero chance because she heard you tell some guys in the courtyard that you’d never date someone like her!” (facepalm) I was such an idiot… I mean seriously, I know I can be a little dense but damn…

Steak Eating Competition

The Willis twins had a steak-eating competition. They've both got 78oz steaks in front of them (one so far anyway). They're to keep going until a) they run out of steak, or b ) someone vomits. Merril is right there judging her boyfriend. But even the Royal girls aren't sure if Sydney will win this.

Katherine said, "I don't know, Syd. He's...a boy." which Sydney countered, "A slight advantage. So what?" Justin: "...on your marks..." the twins glared at each other, "...get set..." Merril: "I can't watch." "Go!" and they began to eat. Wes glanced at Danny, "What do you think?" "Spence didn't eat dinner or breakfast for this." "He means business."

Sydney stopped to take a few breaths. Spencer's still going! Spencer won, though they both went into a foo coma afterwards.

Facts about Spencer

He isn't going to pressure Merril into anything that she's not comfortable with.
Spencer says about Merril: "I like that she hates mayonnaise and you earn her scorn if you give her any food that has mayo in it."
He watches 'Something Damaged'.
He plays both basketball and football.
Spencer is shorter than Justin and taller than Merril.
Spencer always picks the grass type when playing Pokemon.
Spencer has spent most of his life being beaten to a certain mold by his father. Hence the pressure on studies, and the fact that he virtually has no choice but to go to Military School post-Dalton.
He is a twin; his sister Sydney attends Dobry.
By even liking Merril, he’s putting himself in serious jeopardy with his father, his family, and the fact that his father’s connections would be quite floored to hear what he’s been up to, and this could pretty much start a storm.
Spencer’s father is military and one in a powerful postion, and a known hard man.
Spencer gets very disgruntled if other people start checking Merril out.
Spencer has been concussed.
He and Merril have said "I love you" to each other.
He believes that Cheetos are a basic food group.
When Sydney and Spencer fight, Sydney always wins if the fights get physical. Always.
The most romantic thing he did was one time Merril caught a cold and had to stay in bed. He waited on her hand and foot and he actually cooked for her.
He says he doesn't worry about Sydney and feels sorry for anyone who messes with her.
If he had the chance he would tell Merril's parents that their daughter is the most decent person in all of Dalton and that they ought to be pretty damn proud of everything that she is.
Sydney says Spencer is a lot happier now with Merril and he's talking a lot more, mainly about her.
Spencer has a problem with Merril wearing skirts around school because boys look at her legs (including himself) and he doesn't like it.
When people refer to Merril as a boy, Spencer says he won't date "That dude Portman. Because Merril is not a dude. She’s a girl. And if any of them had any sense of self preservation, they’ll address her properly."
Spencer watches Something Damaged, but mainly because Merril likes it, and the channel isn’t going to get changed to sports while Something Damaged is airing, that’s for damn sure.
Spencer didn’t even try, he made like one long chain and gave up when learning to crochet.
He feels worthless.
Spencer is a fairly good artist--he's pretty good with pencil and charcoal.
When given playdoh, he turned it into planet Saturn.
He is a talented artist and was the one who originally wrote 'courage' on Danny's wrists.
If he had to date Justin or Charlie, he'd choose Charlie since "Justin can be a holy terror if he wanted to. I’ve known him since we were freshmen."
Spencer certainly doesn’t want to go to any ivy leagues or take over the family business—wants to go take up art.
Spencer is expected to go to West Point, but if he wins the battle, he’ll take art elsewhere.
Spencer once broke out singing Cedric’s part in Back To Hogwarts to Merril, replacing Cho Chang with “Merril”. In the hallway. On the way to lunch. Merril wanted to physically hurt him, but she resisted and just tugged him along. She’s a prim and proper girl and doesn’t like spectacles. Yes, she liked it. She made him a strawberry shortcake for it. Which he refused to share with anyone.
Spencer got punched by an organgutan in his family jewels in the zoo once when he was 12. He cried. He had just been standing there, Sydney told him to stand there.
Sydney doesn't really disapprove of Spencer and Merril, it's more that she fears for the safety of them both. She doesn't know how Paxton will take it. As far as Sydney is concerned, Merril is a fine girl and she likes her. It's a matter of being worried about how Paxton will see it.
Spencer's face when Merril descended the steps of Hanover all dressed up for their first date.
During Nationals Brother Week, Spencer was hiding from Sydney because he doesn't want her kind of love. Merril though was unhelpful and happily waved while Sydney dragged Spencer out the door, Spencer sagging like a rag doll.
Sydney could walk before Spencer could. A toy had rolled away from Spencer and Sydney went to get it then gave it back. Spencer walked a couple of days later but fell down and banged his head on Sydney crying.
Spencer and Justin were roommates for a while.
One time, during Freshman year, Spencer said to Justin, "Can I borrow a pair of your pants?" "...my what?"
And that time when Spencer said yes, he saw some chips in the fridge and Justin said no, I've looked a hundred times, there aren't any. And Spencer had to go down and take a look and gave them to him and then they realized they weren't talking the same language again.
One elementary Halloween trick or treating, the Willis twins were fighting over a single costume, screaming the house down. Sydney won by sitting on top of her brother until he surrendered. So she got to be Major Glory.
For Childrens Day, all boys and girls dressed up as their favorite characters as a child. Spencer dressed up as the Road Runner.
Mrs. Willis buys a lot of food when her children are home because Sydney and Spencer eat a lot.
Spencer was Daffy and Wes was Bugs, so Wes hit him on the head with his gavel.
Spencer lost his first tooth by getting headbutted by his sister.
Merril knows that Spencer is always pressed for time because of the senior work, so she always tries to put a little bit of food for him in his bag before they part ways for the school day.
Spencer knows exactly what time Merril is in bed and sleeping, so he goes to her room and turns down the music which she tends to leave on.
Spencer really is more concerned about Merril what with Dalton closing. Because he knows his father's connections and stuff, he'll be all right one way or another. But he wanted to make sure that Merril would get the chance to get her dream and go to Dobry, and just be whatever she wanted to be in life. He'd really want to support her and see her get everything she ever wanted.
Spencer doesn't know how to whistle.
There was very civilized betting going on before Spencer and Merril got together. Justin won the bet. He made a lot of money.
Spencer once tried to open a jar for Merril but failed - Jeff took it from him and opened it easily. Spencer insisted he'd loosened it.
Riley walked Merril arm-in-arm to class once. Spencer wasn't thrilled but Merril found it pleasant.
On International Kissing Day, Spencer grabbed Merril and gave her a kiss in front of everyone n Hanover - everyone clapped and cheered.
When Sydney and Spencer were 7, they fought each other with boxing gloves in the yard. Sydney knocked him to the ground then kept punching him.
When all the boys got together to read scary stories to each other, Justin and Danny look like they're enjoying themselves.
Sydney used to braid Spencer's hair when they were younger while he's asleep. He wakes up with about three or four little braids and then he's mad. He looked so pretty with those tiny yellow bows at the ends of the little braids. Mr. and Mrs. Willis tend to just let the chase and squabble continue in the mornings when Spencer tries to kill his sister for it. Sydney usually won.
Justin tries to get Spencer to learn the difference between jam and jelly, but Spencer states that jelly goes on sandwiches.
Spencer and Justin taught Danny how to drive.

Jousting

All boys and some girls had a jousting competition. Everyone rode a horse, and used an eleven-foot log to try and knock off their opponents. The houses Windsor, Stuart, Hanover and Lancaster have agreed that whichever house "wins" will be served by all the other houses in a big cookout. Spencer is jousting for House of Hanover. Spencer was jousting against Riley from Lancaster. When the flag went down, Spencer hit Riley on his shield, but Riley drove his lance into Spencer’s chest. Spencer flopped like a ragdoll and was carried off by his horse.

When he got back to Hanover side, he panted and said “Dan—Dan, I can’t breathe.” So Justin began to strip his armor off. He was fine when his armor was off again, and asked Sydney if it looked good. Sydney told him that Riley was better on a horse and was very driven. Merril then started to cry and pleaded that Spencer not go back out there again. But Spencer insisted as he wants to win for her. Although Merril protested that she just wants him okay. When the flag went down again, they raced forward and they both hit each other on the chests with equal force, the lances splintering.

But Spencer flipped backwards and landed off his horse, slamming to the ground. Once more, Spencer had trouble breathing so they tore his armor off. Merril was cradling him and crying, but he just smiled and whispered “…hi”. For the second round, Spencer was up against his sister Sydney from Dobry. Spencer was telling Merril beforehand “Mer...I just want you to know before I die... that I love you, ok?” When the flag dropped, both Willis twins were yelling as they charged forward.

Spencer’s lance smashed into Sydney’s shoulder as Sydney’s lance smashed dead onto Spencer’s chest. Spencer was bent nearly fully backwards on his spine. When he made it back to Hanover side, he was groaning in pain and saying he couldn’t breathe. Justin had to yell at him to calm him down and unstrapped the cuirass. He thinks Sydney broke something but since he nearly got her, he wanted to go again.

Spencer drove his lance into her chest, and she slammed her lance into him again. They both flew backwards. Spencer tore off his horse and Sydney caught the reins just before falling over. Sydney was dragged by her horse as Spencer rolled in the dirt. Spencer believes he won despite both of them losing.