Chapter 8
"So, Will, Nico. This is your final project?"
Mr. Brunner had one brow raised. The teacher fumbled with his glasses, slightly lifting them.
Nico grinned uneasily, "Uh, yeah. You see the diagram shows that-that, Will?"
Will rolled his eyes, a smile forming onto his face, "We wanted to capture a visual representation of the reaction...we also took pictures, which we included in the powerpoint, but-"
"I understand," said Mr. Brunner, "it's amazing."
"Wait, really?" Asked Nico in disbelief.
"Yes. The amount of time in which you put this together is astounding."
"Hell, yeah!" Yelled Nico.
"Language," said Will...and Mr. Brunner.
Nico laughed and wrapped an arm around Will. Not even two seconds later, his arm dropped.
The brown eyed boy cleared his throat, "I should get going."
"Wait a minute," said Mr. Brunner, calmly
"Yeah?" Asked Nico.
"I want you both to join the Science Olympiad team. Since you didn't try out, I gave you a test assignment. So, the spots are open if you want it."
Will's heart soared. But then he remembered exactly why he didn't sign up in the first place.
"Don't you guys go on out of state trips?"
Mr. Brunner smiled, "Why yes, William, we do."
There was no way on earth that his dad would let him go on a trip out of school, let alone out of state.
"I'm in," said Nico, "considering that Will's joining too."
You know what? Will was going to do this. Screw his dad. Screw the bruises. Screw the pain. Screw everything.
"I'm in too."
"Great. All I need is a permission slip," said Mr. Brunner.
The bell rang. School was over.
Will was going to get that permission slip signed even if he had to go through his dad beating him up. Mr. Brunner handed them both a permission slip, and told them to turn it in by the end of the week. They walked out of the room together.
Will spared a glance at Nico. What were they? Was Nico just messing around with him, or did he actually like Will? He could feel his cheeks reddening.
"Will."
He turned to face Nico, nervous of what he would say. But Nico didn't say anything, he just pulled Will into a kiss.
Alright, then. Will wanted to have an actual conversation, but-
"Nico di Angelo, getting it on!" Yelled someone from across the hallway.
Will immediately pulled away to see Percy and Jason speed-walking towards them.
"What the actual fuck," whispered Nico.
"I swear, Nico, if you don't watch your langua-"
Percy and Jason reached the two and began pestering Nico with questions.
"Okay, now can you introduce me?" Asked Percy.
"Are you guys official?" Asked Jason.
"Wait...did you guys…you know..." Started Percy, raising his eyebrows.
Jason glared at Will, "If you hurt him, I'll beat you up."
That was especially funny, because Will already had enough of that. He hadn't even noticed that he was gripping Nico's hand like a madman. Nico began rubbing soothing circles across Will's hand, trying to calm him down.
"Shut up!" Interjected Nico.
"We're just trying to make sure that Will here isn't trying anything with you," said Jason.
Will began to feel overwhelmed. Really, really overwhelmed. Like his heart was going to explode out of his chest and fly away. And not in a good way. He squeezed Nico's hand tighter. When did he stop being able to have a normal conversation?
"I'm fine," hissed Nico, "if anyone's not fine it's- nevermind. You guys need to relax."
Nico continued the circular motions on Will's hand.
"I'm glad you finally found someone that's your type," joked Percy.
Will found himself drifting away from Nico, walking towards the school's exit. He could hear people calling his name, but he just couldn't bring himself to look behind him. His eyes were begging for sleep, he needed a shower, and he wanted a decent meal. Was that too much to ask for?
Yes.
He was outside, grimacing at the feeling of the cold air. Everything appeared in slow motion as he walked.
"Will!"
Will shut his eyes, "Stop!"
Nico walked over to Will and took off his jacket. He gently laid a hand on Will's shoulder.
"Look, I'm sorry about my friends. You don't need to talk to them. Take my jacket, it's cold. C'mon let's go inside."
Will stared at Nico's outstretched hand, feeling tears prickle his eyes. Why the hell was he crying now? It didn't even make any sense. Nothing made any sense!
"I…"
Nico sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Will, I need you to be honest with me. What's going on?"
He could feel the wind against his skin, and the light rain. He could see Nico staring at him with concern.
But all he said was, "Help me."
Nico dropped his jacket and hugged the blonde boy tightly.
Will swore he could hear Nico whisper, "If only I knew how."
When Will got home, his door was unlocked.
He walked inside, and gasped at the sight of his living room. Everything was completely trashed. The lamp that he was so used to seeing on the counter was shattered on the floor. The chairs and sofas were overturned. The vase full of flowers was empty, the colorful tulips strewn all over the floor. All he could think was: What happened?
"Dad?" he called out.
He was probably going to get a terrible beating, but he didn't care. He hoped nothing bad happened when he was gone. He hoped his dad wasn't hurt.
No answer.
Will slowly walked up the stairs, hearing the familiar creak at the third one. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
He walked into his dad's room, and he could see his dad staring out the window.
"Dad?"
"Where were you?" Asked his dad, shakily.
His dad sounded...scared? No, Will must be wrong. His dad was never scared of anything.
"I-I was at my friend's house."
His dad turned, facing towards Will.
"Will," he said, "never do that again."
"I'm sorry," whispered Will.
And all of a sudden, Will didn't feel so afraid anymore.
AN: Sorry about the late update! I'm working on getting rid of my Writer's Block. Just know that everything going on in this story is not what it seems. ;)
