Chapter 2

"So, I was browsing Internet Explorer the other night," Will said when he sat down on the bus that morning.

Nico immediately turned his way with a smile, saying, "Internet Explorer? Who actually uses Internet Explorer these days?"

"I do," Will said defiantly.

"Of course you do." Nico rolled his eyes.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, it's just so you." He waved his arms towards Will, another classic Nico gesture Will had observed over time; he expressed himself through his hands as much as his words.

Will shook his head. "Using Internet Explorer is so me?"

"Yes," Nico said, blatantly. "There are so many better things out there now. Firefox, chrome, you name it, but you're so stubborn."

"Am not!"

"You're like, what did you call it? Newts Law?" Nico asked. "You know, the one where objects hate change, where they won't change their path of motion unless they're forced too."

"Do you mean Newton's Law of Inertia?"

"Yeah, that." He laughed. "You follow the law perfectly."

"The law's referring to people and objects' physical states, it doesn't apply to personality!"

"Whatever."

"Anyway," Will said. "I was browsing the Internet when I came across an interesting study."

"And what was it about?" Nico asked, incredulous.

"It just happened to be about people falling asleep on buses or trains," Will informed.

"Oh, really?" Nico shook his head, turning towards the window, where the sun still hadn't peaked above the seemingly endless High Rises.

"Yes." He looked at Nico pointedly, who was turning back towards him with his eyebrows raised. "And it said that people fall asleep on buses so easily because the sounds and rhythm are similar to those of the womb, so they're soothing."

Nico laughed.

Nico's laughter was the most beautiful thing in the world, he'd discovered. It was precious, like finding a treasure he'd lost the map to.

"So you're saying I fell asleep on the bus because it felt like I was chilling in my mother's pregnant stomach?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, wow." Nico said. "How many weeks has it been? Seven? Eight? And I'm still getting teased about this."

"No way, it can't be that many."

Nico shrugged. "Doesn't feel like that many."

Will tracked back, counting the weeks, and realised it had been precisely 8 weeks since that fifth Monday.

It was unbelievable.

Unacceptable.

The semester went by in the blink of an eye, and Will felt strangely sad, scared even.

He was hit by a foreign fear, a fear that everything would come to a close with the semester, that everything would change.

He quite liked his current routine, and it was ending all too soon.

He never thought he'd see the day when he wanted to extend the semester, not cut it short.

In High School he was stuck with the same routine all year long, and he'd been excited for college, when things would constantly be changing, constantly giving him fresh starts.

But nooooo, this had to be the first year he liked his routine.

Life's so fucking ironic.

He looked up, and Nico was watching him.

He didn't want two more Monday's to mean the end of this. The end of him catching Nico watching him. The end of him watching Nico, and blushing like an idiot when he got caught.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked.

Will shrugged.

"Everything okay?" He was no longer smiling.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just distracted."

"Oh… exams are coming up..."

"Yeah..." Will sighed, wishing exams were the cause for his problems, but the world just wasn't that kind. "The semester went by so quickly…"

"Yeah, it really did."

It zoomed by so fast everything was a blur, but Will remembered every detail of their Monday morning bus rides clearly.

He remembered the first bus ride after Nico had fallen asleep on him, and all the Mondays after that. Every Monday, every moment until the moment they were currently living.

He remembered, he remembered, and he remembered.

Will Solace never imagined he could smile as wide as he did when he saw the boy had saved him a seat on the bus the Monday after they'd spoken. After they'd locked eyes for a few seconds, Will had looked to the side and noticed a black school bag resting on the seat next to the boy, and he could've sworn the boy's expression turned sheepish as Will blushed and smiled.

The bus ride was pretty mundane after that. Will was nervous, playing with the hem of his shirt. The boy was looking out the window most of the time, while Will desperately tried to think of a good conversation starter.

It hit him, suddenly, that he knew nothing about the guy.

"Hey," he said. The boy whipped around to face him. "What's your name?" He laughed. "I never know how to bring that into a conversation… it just sounds awkward."

The boy smiled. "I know… I feel like I need to know someone to have the right to ask their name, but by that point it seems like there's no good place to fit in the question." He looked back to the window. "My name's Nico. Nico di Angelo."

Will smiled. "It suits you."

The boy, Nico, looked back into his eyes. He always seemed to be searching for something inside of Will. It made his stomach feel like waves crashing into the shore.

"You never told me your name either," Nico said.

"Oh, right! I totally forgot." Will laughed, trying to let go of the nerves. "I'm Will Solace, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Nico di Angelo."

The boy shook his head with a small smile. "Oh, no, the pleasure is mine." His tone was dramatic, adorable.

Will felt like he was contracting one of the deadly diseases they were studying in Biology.

"Maybe we'll start at the same time some mornings next semester, too," Nico said, breaking Will away from the past.

Next semester.

Time. Time wasn't up yet.

He nodded. He prayed.

He remembered their second bus ride after the sleeping incident, too.

"So, how're you finding college so far?" Will asked. He hated talking to new people, he always asked such stupid questions.

"Eh."

Will laughed. "Tiring?"

"Tiring," Nico affirmed.

"Making you question your future?" Will asked.

"Making me question my entire life." Nico looked at him as if to say, "Is that all you've got?"

"Feeling like a bear whose hibernation season has been disturbed?" Will said, smiling.

"Definitely." Nico nodded vigorously. "It's only just started to snow and I wanna claw at everything that disturbs me."

"Relatable." Will smiled. "I'm definitely pretty close to lashing out."

"Oh." Nico laughed. "Should I be worried? Should I move to another seat?"

"Depends… are you going to fall asleep on me again?" Will narrowed his eyes, mocking.

"That depends too… are you going to rip my eyes out as I sleep?"

"Well…" Will pretended to ponder the question. "Maybe if you drool on me."

"I don't drool."

"C'mon, Nico, everybody does."

Nico laughed. Will watched the twinkle in his eye dance around. He felt like he was drunk on the sight of it, drunk on Nico's laughter.

"Okay, fine. I drool. But I didn't realise I had cooties."

After that conversation had become easier between them.

Will really did hope they'd start at the same time next semester, but at the same time he didn't want things to stay as they were now.

He loved their interactions, yeah, but if there was always the security of seeing each other in a week, then things would stay constant.

Will loved constants, they were comforting, but just like constant functions with random peaks, the smallest of strains can unbalance everything.

The bus slowed to a stop, and they walked to school together in silence. Will was too caught up in his thoughts to blurt out something stupid like usual.

He was frustrated, and distracted by self-hatred caused by his incapability of asking a boy on a freaking date. It really shouldn't have been as big of a dilemma as he was making it, but another Monday passed with no progress.

As they approach the heavy double doors of the University two weeks later, Will could only think three words: This. Is. It.

Then Nico's hand was on the handle, and Will needed to stop that hand from turning the handle.

Before Nico could leave him with a simple wave like usual, Will said, out of breath, "Hey, Nico?"

He felt like he was standing at the top of a mountain, and there wasn't enough oxygen, and there was nothing he could do about it but calm down, and that's the one thing his chest just wouldn't allow him to do.

"Yeah?" Nico let go if the handle, turning back towards him.

Will sighed, gripping at the thoughts in his head, trying to find the right words to use to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

"This is the last Monday," he said finally, his voice soft, delicate, like he could shatter at any second.

Nico exhaled loudly, like he was deflating. "Yeah…"

"It's kinda sad, huh?"

"Don't get sentimental, Solace." Nico looked to the side, following the strands of grass, climbing each strand like his life depended on it.

"C'mon, gimme a break." He laughed lightly, and looked to the floor. "Can I at least have a hug as a farewell?"

Nico's eyes flicked back to him. "A hug?"

"Yeah, a hug. To say goodbye, you know…"

Nico shook his head, but opened his arms awkwardly and stepped towards Will. Will wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"You know, you're being a little dramatic considering this isn't actually goodbye, right?" Nico whispered as he settled in Will's embrace. "There are still three more semesters until we graduate."

"I know, but what are the chances that we'll actually run into each other on this ginormous campus?"

"The chances would be a lot higher if you give me your number," Nico stated simply, as if he was telling him the sky was blue, the sun was bright, the day was young. And now, apparently, their relationship was too.

Will's arms stiffened, then he let them drop to his sides, looking straight into Nico's chocolaty eyes. He felt like he could eat Nico's eyes, they were so delicious. Will's feelings were strange when Nico was involved.

"Uh…" Will said. "Really?"

"You know, we don't have to be on a bus to get along, idiot." Nico rolled his eyes.

Will laughed. "I suppose not…" He looked at the school towering above them. "This way I won't always be worried about a certain grumpy Italian drooling on me."

"That's too bad, you're a pretty good pillow," Nico said, smiling. He tapped his chin like he was deliberation something. "And I have a sneaking suspicion that you liked it."

"What?" Will exclaimed. "I did not!"

"I was joking." Nico smiled. "Maybe."

"Hey!" Will punched his arm lightly, teasingly.

"Just give me your phone already," Nico said, laughing.

Will complied, and Nico added himself as a contact, saying, "Text me and I'll add you too."

"Sure thing." Will smiled as Nico pushed open the door. "See you around, Nico."

"Obviously." Nico looked at him as if to say duh. "I can't survive College without a pillow."

"Hmph." Will mock pouted. "Is that all I am to you?"

Nico shrugged, smiling crooked, leaving Will to wonder like always.