Prologue
Nico first met Will when he was nine years old. He had been sitting in the front lawn of his house, Mythomagic cards scattered around him though they lay abandoned as he was far more interested in watching the happenings of the house next to him.
There were new neighbours moving in, and Nico was extremely curious of them. He had seen a light blue car park in the garage, and then the moving van in the driveway and had promptly forgotten all about his playing cards, instead looking across as men moved furniture into the house.
They were very bright people, was what Nico concluded about the family. The furniture was bright, the clothes they wore were bright and the way they spoke was the brightest of them all. Nico, at his young age, thought he had a pretty good life, but never had he seen such sunny smiles before.
There was a woman, with thick chocolate coloured hair and eyes like sweet peas, and there was a man with shimmering hair and eyes like the clear skin. And there was a boy, with pale curls and honey skin, who sat on the far end of the porch, watching the world around him with obvious interest.
Somehow, the boy must have caught Nico staring, for the next moment, his face was tilted in Nico's direction and Nico could feel the boy's eyes on his skin. Blushing, embarrassed at being caught, Nico scurried into his house, picking up his Mythomagic cards on the way. He glanced back at the door, seeing that the boy was with his mother, who smoothed down his hair and kissed the top of his head.
It was not until nearly a week later did Nico actually meet Will. The blond boy was lying underneath a tree with pencils and paper, but glanced up after a few moments of Nico watching him curiously from his own porch. Nico could see his smile from where he stood, and blushed as he waved Nico over.
Nico sheepishly walked over to him, wondering if he was about to be yelled at for staring like a weirdo. But instead, the boy patted the ground next to him and smiled. Nico saw up close that he was wearing thin framed glasses and his eyes were twinkling brightly.
And Nico swore that there was nothing in the world bluer than his eyes.
"Hi," Nico said timidly, shuffling from foot to foot in his awkwardness. The boy's smile dimmed slightly, the colour of his eyes darkening to the colour of the deep sea. He pointed to his ear and then shook his head, almost apologetically. Nico frowned, trying to work it out- and then it clicked and he gaped.
"You can't… hear?" He asked questioningly. The boy looked at him intensely, as if trying to read what he had said, and then slowly nodded. He pulled out a blank piece of paper and scribbled on it with purple pencil.
'I'm Will,' it read. Nico grabbed a green pencil and wrote back, grimacing as he noticed his writing was a lot messier than Will's.
'I'm Nico' he wrote back. Will smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners and they brightened, as if he was surprised
'How old are you?' Will wrote to him and Nico wrote back.
'9. What about you?' Will squinted down at the paper, tucking his bottom lip between his teeth. He poised his pencil, ready to write.
'I'm nine as well.' He wrote. Nico hesitated, wondering if his next question would be what his mother would consider rude. Will noticed his hesitation and nudged him softly, prompting Nico to begin writing.
'Have you always been deaf?' He asked, and then looked away, just knowing that Will would be mad at him, because that really was such an insensitive thing to say, and why on earth had he said it?
He started when Will tapped his shoulder. He glanced at the blond boy and saw that he was pointing at the paper, where, to Nico's immense surprise, he had hastily written a paragraph.
'Yeah, I've been deaf since I was born; I have this thing called Usher Syndrome. I'm pretty clumsy, but that's okay. I'm also starting to go blind, my doctor says I'll probably be fully blind by the time I'm thirteen, maybe even older.'
Nico stared down at the paper, horror building within him at the thought. He glanced up at Will to see that he was watching Nico's reaction carefully. Nico was suddenly very aware of the fact that Will had been outside all on his own- did he have any friends? It was true that he had only just moved into the neighbourhood, but he had been playing outside a few times. And while Nico wasn't exactly the best person at making friends himself, he still hung around a few of the other kids.
Did the other kids know that Will had Usher Syndrome? Is that why none of them had played with him?
'I'm sorry,' Nico wrote back to him. 'I shouldn't have asked.'
'It's okay.' Will wrote back, and he smiled gently. 'It's better to read the question than have to explain it awkwardly.'
Nico pondered this for a moment and concluded that it was true. This then made him ask another question.
'How are you gonna talk when you go blind?'
Will grinned at him and held out his hands to Nico, palms up. Nico frowned, confused, and slowly raised his own in an imitation. Will gently took his hand and traced a finger along his palm lightly. For some reason, Nico felt a blush creep up his neck as Will carefully drew lines on his hand.
Will let go a moment later and grabbed the paper. 'You know how when your deaf, people use sign language? Well, since I'm going to go blind, I learned to sign on people's hands so I can still communicate with people when that happens.'
Nico swallowed, taking that in. Will seemed to accept that he would be blind almost emotionlessly, but his smile always dimmed slightly at the thought.
'Teach me how to sign?' Nico asked. 'I want to be able to talk to you still when that happens.'
Will's eyes lit up with joy, and Nico swore, again, that he'd never see anything bluer than them.
They became best friends very quickly. Will, Nico had found, was very talkative, despite the fact Nico had never heard his voice. He would constantly write notes to Nico, and teach him to sign when Nico finished school (Will was homeschooled, Nico was told) and he would constantly have something interesting to discuss.
Over the next few years, they were nearly inseparable. And when Will's vision trickled down to nothingness, Nico was there for him.
And then there was the day that Will had to leave.
"It's not fair," he signed rapidly against Nico's palm, his hands trembling as he tried to hold back tears. Despite all the stereotypes that said otherwise, Will's eyes did not turn milky, but had remained the same brilliant blue. And Nico frowned deeply as they twinkled with unshed tears, Will looking at him but not seeing him.
"I can't hear, I've never been able to hear, and now that I'm not being able to see it's like they're trying to take away my hands. They won't sign to me; they put my hands to their cheeks and try to make me hear. But I can't hear, I've never been able to hear. And now they're sending me away to this school where everyone can see but me and I'll still be a freak and you won't be there."
Nico's hands shook badly as he signed back. "I'm sorry, I've tried to get them to let you stay. I'm so, so sorry Will. You're my best friend and I love you, and I'm sorry."
The tears spilled down Will's face silently. His father grasped his shoulder and Will jumped, clinging to Nico's hand. He knew he'd have to leave soon.
"Promise me- promise me you'll sign to me again. That I'll have you back in my life."
I promise. That was what Nico had signed back hastily as Will was led away to his now old blue car, to be taken half way across the country, to go to a school where he'd feel secluded and alone. Nico clenched his fists and promised himself that he'd keep his promise, because he didn't want his last memory of Will to be such a sad sight.
Because in that moment, there was nothing bluer than his eyes, except for the feeling in Nico's heart as he looked at them.
Author's Note: Hi all! This was out a lot quicker than I thought it'd be! I hope you all like the prologue (It's kind of short, but it is the prologue, so I guess it's okay?)
LOVE YOU ALL!
