Death would be better than this humiliation, Will decided. At least it was quicker. But as his unfortunate existence had incurred, he had to embarrass himself in front of his entire class, also managing to do so in the one that he and his crush shared.

To be honest, Will's was the kind of life many people pined for. Sure, he didn't get to see his dad to much, but they managed to catch up on Sundays, when his dad would get an off from work when there wasn't an emergency, and he was totally close to his mom.

But sometimes, Will felt an acute sense of disappointment, which, inexplicable and uncalled for, left him confused and unsettled. He was unsure what cause to attribute it to, as he seemed to have it all - friends, a great relationship with his family, a rather luxurious house and extracurricular activities which satisfied his physical and intellectual ambitions. These recurring periods of discontentment continued to occur and finally, as the ache of loneliness made itself familiar with Will, he decided to put it down to 'shitty teenage hormones'.

Okay fine, so maybe he was being melodramatic, and maybe he knew perfectly well what had caused these spurs of longing to lodge themselves in his chest, but did he have to feel so alone? And it didn't help that besides being gay, he had to be crushing on one of the most sought after guys in his grade, and the one who was most obviously not homosexual.

Nico di Angelo had ensured the rapt attention of the whole school on him effortlessly with just a mysterious aura and a model gorgeous body. Will wasn't the only one who seemed barely able to resist swooning.

Usually Will was a laid back guy; good-natured, his life's motto had to be hakuna matata, but looking at Nico, Will seemed to have slipped into an alternate universe, his heart hammering and palms sweating as he saw Nico slip into the empty seat behind him. Will would like to say they hit it off immediately, but he was never that lucky, and it would be a wholehearted lie. They only exchanged one dialogue, and between Will's stuttering and Nico's annoyance, it didn't count for much.

That was two years ago. Now a sophomore, Will didn't know any more about that brooding Italian than when they had first met. As Vice President of the student body and an avid extrovert, Will made an effort to welcome any newcomer, as well as to familiarize himself with the student's interests. But the only thing Will could pick up on Nico was that his well toned body was just as distracting as his sexy-ass voice.

Will was jarred out of his thoughts by a freakishly hawklike woman who was currently fixing her penetrating gaze on him, as if willing him to move so she might pluck him up and drop him in some crevasse, preferably an impenetrable one. Needless to say, Ms. Delarosa wasn't too popular among the handful of Literature students she taught.

'Well? Do you have an explanation for why you felt it was unnecessary for you to carry a backpack to school, or shall I allow you to continue gaping at me like an open-mouthed tree frog?'

'I uhh...'

Another thing about Will - he was a tad forgetful. As in 'I forgot to bring my backpack to school because I was looking for a matching shoe' forgetful. He had informed his mom, and she was on her way, but until then Will had ended up being on the answering side of many glares of piercing disapproval from teachers.

'Cat got your tongue, has it?' Ms. Delarosa remarked scathingly, 'Well I suppose detention will do you some good.'

And Will burrowed into his seat, face burning as he tried in vain to ignore the eyes of fellow peers which were turned on him. Will closed his eyes and sighed.

'Now class, I'd like you to complete your critical commentary on Patricia Beer's The Lost Woman. I expect it to be five pages in the very least, typed and single spaced - you know the drill. Hand in tomorrow.'

It was going to be one of those days.