Nico was done giving thought to it; that always resulted in him chickening out or surviving. But tonight was the night. He was done with this thickening nightmare some called a life. Tonight, he was going to escape; he was going to fly. When he got to the roof of the building, the last thing he expected, however, to find was another boy who had his heart set on exactly the same thing.
"You don't look like a boy who would consider something like this." Nico said as he came up behind the boy, sitting down beside him on the ledge and letting his feet dangle like a child. Without asking, he picked up the bottle of alcohol the other had brought.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, not at all surprised to see him. "It's the blond hair, isn't it? Blonds are supposed to love this world."
"No, they're just supposed to be too stupid to see how much it's messed up." Nico replied. "But I don't believe that about them. I was talking about more how you're tall and muscular; every girl's dream. You must be popular at high school. What would you have to feel bad about?"
The other boy's face grimaced. "Look, I didn't come here to have chitchat. I came here to end it, once and for all."
"So did I." Nico swept the hair from his face, the wind blowing it right back. "This will be my fifth, and last try. I'll make sure to die tonight, even if the fall doesn't kill me. I've got a knife in my pocket just in case. I'm speaking to you, however, because I want somebody that understands me to be my last conversation."
"My name's Will." he replied, lips moving to reveal the whitest teeth Nico had ever seen. "What's your's?"
"Nico," he looked down at his hands, picking at the dry blood beneath the fingernails. "What's your story?"
Will laughed without humor. "Why would it matter? It's going to end in the next hour."
"I want to hear it." Nico insisted. "I want to know I wasn't the only one…that went through…this."
"Well, it looks like you went through a lot more self destruction than me." Will commented, staring at Nico's skinny frame. And he was right. Nico's bare arms were lined with scars, both opened and closed, some bleeding. His fingernails were coated with blood, hands tinted red. His eyes had scratches around them, as if he had tried to dig them out. Around Nico's mouth, pieces of skin were missing, as if he had ripped them away.
Nico smiled cruelly. "Yeah, it looks like I did. God, how it helped. I blasted my music until I couldn't feel a thing."
"See, that's the thing." Will's expression turned from hopelessness to anger. "All my life, I was so intent on taking care of myself. Brush my teeth after everything I ate, everything. I would never listen to anything loud and never went without a buckle. I've never eaten anything bad for me. I was always intent on being a doctor."
"Then why aren't you?" Nico asked. "You've had a perfect life! Go live it!"
"You don't understand." Will turned expressionless, shoulders slumping. "All my life, I've been expected to be the best. If I got one B on my report card, I would be grounded for a month. Wasn't aloud to have a phone, wasn't aloud to have girlfriends. I wasn't living. The pressure became too much."
Nico shook his head at Will. "Why didn't you just run away?"
"Why are you trying to talk me out of this?" Will asked. "Do the same thing to yourself."
"Oh, I can't be saved." Nico reopened a scab on his arm, sighing with pleasure as it began too bleed. "I wasn't born for this world. I was a mistake. The world hates me. I bet it loves you, though. It will cry for you tonight."
"What makes you say you're un-savable?" Will asked. "What did the world do to you?"
Nico grimaced from memories. "Too much. It started when I was so young. Life isn't supposed to hurt as much as it did."
"Does." Will corrected, his old grammar habits coming back. "As much as it does. You're still alive."
"Not for much longer." Nico emptied the bottle of alcohol and threw it off of the building, watching as it broke into a million pieces. "My life, like your's, will end tonight. I'll finally be able to rest."
"I grew up on a farm." will said suddenly, looking at Nico as if he had thought of something. "I grew up on a farm!"
"And I grew up in the ghetto. Your point?" Nico asked, not looking over at him. Instead, he busied himself in picking the open cuts on his face, tearing the skin off with a smile.
"My point, Nico, is I think that's what's wrong with me." Will sat up straight and tucked his legs under him. "My parents grew up working on the farm, I grew up working on the farm. That's why they expected so much out of me."
Nico slowly clapped his hands together sarcastically. "And you didn't understand that before?"
"Oh my god, Nico!" Will faced him, eyes sprouting tears. "They love me. They…they actually love me. They wanted me to become a doctor and get off of that farm!"
Nico smiled sadly at him, obsidian eyes twinkling in the moonlight. Softly, Nico brought his damaged hand up to Will's perfect face, wiping one of the tears.
"See?" he said quietly, whispering just above the wind. "You're savable. You're going to live a long, happy life. Go, enjoy it. You're wasting it, sitting up here with me."
Will looked ready to jump up, but looked into Nico's eyes and changed his mind. "I can't leave you here alone."
"I told you, Will." Nico swept his eyes over the city lights, taking in the beauty of it all. "This is my last night here on earth. I promised that. Nobody will care when I'm gone."
"I will." Will reclined once again, swinging his feet over the side. But this time, he did it hesitantly. He was scared to die. "Nobody should die alone."
Nico looked at him with mournful eyes. "You do belong in this world. You're a great person. Maybe you can change it, make it a better place. You need to try."
"You could help me." Will face brightened. "We could change the world together! We can travel to Europe and-"
"No, Will." Nico clenched his fists. "I told you: I am dying tonight. You can't stop me. I don't belong here. I shouldn't have been born!"
"Fine, Nico. I understand." Will took hold of the boy's hand. "Than at least tell me your last name. Because I'm going to remember you."
"Nico di Angelo." the broken boy looked even worse, eyes staring into Will's pleadingly. "Now please, let me go. I just want to go. I'm so tired. This world…It's drained me for everything that I had."
"I said, nobody should die alone." Will's face looked hurt, but determined. "We're going down, together."
"No!" Nico pulled his hand back. "You're growing up and becoming a doctor and changing the world!"
"Not if you're not there with me." Will took his hand again. "You've already changed the world, Nico. Now I can die knowing that my parents loved me."
"You are not dying tonight." Nico grounded out each word. "You're going to go home and hug each of you're parents until they can't breathe. You're going to tell them how much you love them."
"I can just right that down." Will replied. "I'm going with you. I will die with you tonight, Nico di Angelo. We will both get peace."
Nico looked at him, finally giving up. He had no more fight left in him. "Fine, okay. I'll die with you tonight, William Solace. Together?"
"Together." Will answered, standing up. Nico did the same, and at once, they hugged each other, bringing each other into their arms. And then, together, they jumped.
