All Will Solace wanted was a regular summer vacation before being sent off to medical school. Was that too much to ask for?
It started off as any normal summer vacation would. His parents let him stay in their little summer cabin near the Long Island sound, just so that he would get used to living on his own. Every other week or so, they would come to check up on him or call to see if their little boy was doing alright. Will would reassure them that he was doing just fine, and that no, mom, he didn't need them to stay with him for a little while.
It was normal until that one particularly cool night in mid-July. Will had been up late, binge watching lame cop shows and musicals. Never a show about both, however. That would be atrocious.
The blond had heard crashing and snapping just above the volume of the little TV in his living room. Will froze in place and slowly turned his head to look out the window. It was exactly 2:47 in the morning which meant it was just a shade lighter than endless void outside. Will really wasn't the type of guy to go waltzing around the forest at 2:50 a.m. That just screamed "every cliché horror movie ever" in his face.
But his curiosity got the better of him. Will paused the movie he had been watching and untangled himself from his blanket. When his bare feet hit the wood floor, he flinched the slightest bit; he wasn't expecting it to be cold.
The blond padded over to the lamp, switched it on, and proceeded to look for his hoodie, a flashlight, and his flip flops. When he located all three items, he walked up to his back door, peering outside into the darkness. Will tightly gripped the door knob, biting his lower lip.
"I am an adult," the blond whispered to himself. "I am mother freaking eighteen years old. I should not be scared of going into the woods...alone...at three o'clock in the morning..."
With a moment of hesitation, Will turned the knob and power walked out into the darkness, frantically turning on his flashlight. The smell of strawberries invaded his senses, as the fields down the road were solely for harvesting strawberries. The only sounds that were audible that early mid-July morning were the far off hissing of the ocean and the annoying clacking of Will's flip flops.
As the blond entered the forest, he swung his flashlight, and it landed on a broken branch, barely hanging on to its tree. Will shone the beam higher up on the tree with the same result; broken or missing branches. He shone the light on the trees surrounding the one that had been mangled, and they too had branches that had snapped or fallen.
Will's heart fluttered frantically in his chest. What the hell had broken all these branches? His curiosity was piqued, and yet at the same time he wanted to run back to his summer cabin and forget the whole thing.
But yet he willed himself forward, bracing himself for what he was about to encounter.
As Will rounded the corner on the little path, he was surprised to see a pair of combat boots. Those boots were attached to legs clad in grey skinny jeans, which in turn was attached to the torso and upper body of a boy about the same age as Will.
The guy looked like your average seventeen year old punk, minus the fact that a large pair of feathery wings were sprouting from his back.
Will dropped his flashlight, and it rolled a little ways away from his feet. After staring for a brief moment, he scrambled to grab the flashlight. When he steadied his shaking hand, he shone the flashlight on the boy before him.
He was clad in a torn black dress shirt, tattered grey skinny jeans, and intricate looking black combat boots with buckles and the like. Blood and dust covered the bare skin that Will could see through the tears of the boy's clothing. Scratches were also visible on the boy's face. Will then shone the beam of light on the boy's wings. One looked a little bent out of shape, and the feathers on both wings were matted with blood and dirt. Will could get over the fact that he had wings, but what was weird was that they were only partially white; they were like a gradient. They were black on top, shades of grey in the middle, and white at the bottom.
The blond shook his head to clear his thoughts. This boy needed medical attention. Lucky for him, he landed in the right forest. But before Will turned to grab some supplies from his cabin, he carefully picked his way around to the boy's head. Will slipped out of his hoodie, folded it, crouched down, and gently placed it under the boy's head.
Now that Will was closer to him, he could see dark circles under his closed eyes. His dark hair was in tangles, and framed the boy's face in an elegant sort of way, even if he was all banged up. Staring for just a moment longer, Will rose to his height and hurried back to the cabin to grab the first aid kit he kept in his bathroom. As soon as he located the kit, Will quickly made his way back to the winged boy.
When he had returned, he gasped. The boy's wings were now fully black, however he had not moved from his spot on the ground. Furrowing his brow, Will carefully picked his way around to the boy's head. The raven haired boy shifted in his unconsciousness, but otherwise showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.
Will set to work, carefully cleaning the torn skin on the boy's face, torso, and arms. The raven haired boy cringed and sometimes stirred when the alcohol was applied to his cuts, but he remained in unconsciousness.
To get better leverage, Will moved from behind the angel's head to his side, his knees just barely grazing the other's torn shirt. With shaking hands, the blond gently unbuttoned the scrappy remains of the boy's dusty dress shirt. Will carefully pulled the sleeves from his arms so that they could be properly treated.
The blond bit his lower lip as he got a better look at the angel's form. Sure, the boy was skinny, but if he looked closely, he could see the slight smoothness and roundness of developing muscles. His hips were sharp, his pants clinging to his frame.
Will let out a shuddering sigh. "Stop checking him out, stop checking him out," He muttered under his breath as he began to clean the cuts on the boy's arms. "You're trying to help him, not trying to seduce him..."
Suddenly, pressure was felt around the blond's wrist, and Will gasped as he realized it was the angel who had grabbed him. Surprised, Will dropped the cotton swab that had been in his hand. He looked at the angel's face, his blue eyes met with startled onyx eyes. The angel's eyes flickered between the blond and his surroundings, then back to Will. Will watched as the boy's features hardened, as if just realizing the amount of pain he was in. He started to curse under his breath, tears welling in his eyes.
"Hey, uh," Will started awkwardly. "Do ya think you could let go of my wrist?"
The boy's eyes flicked to Will and did as asked. His eyes screamed "Who the hell are you, and where the hell am I?" but the boy said nothing. Instead, he tried to sit up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Will eased the boy back down, pressing a hand lightly to his shoulder. The raven haired boy locked eyes with him, the panic starting to die from his gaze. "Settle down there, tiger."
"I was...they threw me out...I didn't..." The angel started to ramble utter nonsense, his chest heaving as he fought himself to breathe. Suddenly, he picked his head up and turned it, trying to look at his wings. In an effort to help, Will shone the flashlight on them. The boy's breathing only became more profound, and he placed a hand on his bare chest.
"No...I-I can't, I can't-" He shifted his gaze to Will, who sat in stunned silence. The angel cringed as he shifted again, his bent wing more than likely broken. He tried to catch his breath, but sobs wracked his small, pale frame.
The blond's eyes widened, his chest aching. This boy-this angel-had appeared from seemingly nowhere, injured and unconscious, and now he was sobbing in such a heart wrenching way. Will made to move closer to him, but the angel whipped away from his touch.
"Don't touch me." His voice was full of remorse and coldness. His onyx eyes bore into Will's blue gaze, and Will retracted his hand.
"If you don't mind me asking," Will started, swallowed nervously, and then continued. "What happened to you? And...I never got your name."
The angel dropped his intense gaze to the dirt below him. "My name? My name is...it's Nico. Nico di Angelo. And...I have been cast out of heaven for being enamored with a mere mortal."