I could not believe Solace had asked that! I just rolled my eyes. "Solace, you dork."
I cast him my special grin, and my world was his for a few seconds, until Hazel broke our bubble. "How 'bout we go down to McDonalds?"
McDonalds! I love McDonalds! Will says I am cra-zy for liking something so unhealthy ("Nico, we are not going there again. Doctors Orders!"), but, I don't give two hoots. "Yes!" I squeaked, my face apparently 'lighting up'.
Will laughed loudly. "Now, that was cute."
'Okay, Will Solace just called me cute,' I thought. 'What the Hades is going on?'
"Oh, shut up, Solace. Thanks, though," I replied, turning bright red.
"Let me put on something warmer, "Hazel laughed, not actually moving from her place on Frank's lap.
Dad shoved some notes into my hands. "Here, son."
I flinched at the contact with my father. I shoved the money in my pocket, before slipping my cold hand into my best friend's warm grasp. "Thanks, dad. Are you going to eat with Persephone when she comes back from work?"
Hazel put her mouth to Frank ear, then she made a questioning face. He nodded eagerly. She gave me an evil smirk and my stomach clenched in fear. "So, three things that name Nico light up: sword fighting, McDonalds, and Will Solace."
I turned bright red. It was truly true, but I disliked that fact she knew. "Oh, shush, Hazel. It's true, but, shush."
We both turned red, but I was more embarrassed than he was, as I think. Hazel ran upstairs before I could chase her. Suddenly, I got the most irresistible urge to tell Will something, so I pulled him into the 'book nook'.
I sat down heavily on a beanbag. I brushed my hand against Will's. "Look, I…" I trailed off, feeling like an idiot.
He gave me an encouraging smile. "What is it, Nico?" he asked.
I gave a defeated sigh. "What Hazel said about you making me light up… It's true. You understand me better than anyone. If anyone teases me about being your friend, or vice versa, I don't care. Alright?"
There was so much more I wanted to say, and, in comparison, what I said sounded pathetic. Yet, he touched his forehead to mine again, and my insides melted. "Why would I forget?" he grinned. "You might just be my best friend."
I chuckled, touched by his words. "Why might just be my best friend, too."
I jumped when I heard Hazel's voice. "Nico, Will, where are you?"
In a moment of panic, I reeled away from him and stood up. "Pretend we're tidying up!" I whispered, starting to tidy.
"We're just tidying up in here!" I lied smoothly, giving my smile to Will. I took his sleeve and pulled him out of the room.
We walked around the corner to McDonalds. As we walked into the warmth, I stood on my toes to whisper into Will's ear. "Thanks for understanding me. You're a great friend."
He ruffled my hair, just like Mama used to. "Likewise, Nico," he replied. "Thanks."
I stuck my tongue out at him, but I immediately regretted it as he flushed for some reason, and looked as if he wanted to bang his head on a table.
"Hello!" the girl chirped. "Welcome to McDonalds! What can I get you?"
I put my hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Hazel?"
The girl at the register frowned as Hazel and I waited for the normal mistake to be made. "Are you two siblings?" she asked. "Half-siblings?"
After years of being mistaken as a couple, someone saw that we weren't one! "FINALLY!" we yelled. "Someone sees the resemblance!"
Will looked more confused by the second. "What?"
"Oh, we always get mistaken as a couple when we go out together."
Will grinned manically. "Plausible."
I gave him a playful punch, smiling fondly. "Oh, shut up, Solace."
I saw 'that' look in the girl's eyes. The one Piper got. "So, are you two a couple?"
I looked at each other, raised our eyebrows, and flushed. Hazel did the much-anticipated eye roll. "No, sadly, they're not a couple… Yet."
I slapped her, irritated. "Oh, shut up. No, we're just best friends. You lot order, 'cause I'm gonna go find a table. C'mon, Will."
'Why did I say that out loud?' I thought.
I picked one of the taller tables and sat down. I rolled my eyes at my thoughts. "I swear Solangelo is a ship name."
Will chuckled. "True. I can't believe you actually said 'best friend' in public."
I shrugged, trying to hide my awkwardness. "It's true."
We laughed together. "We're both utter goofs," I stated.
Will chuckled. "You got that right."
Then Piper walked out the employee door. I gave Will my special smile, before turning to Piper, a lazy smile resting on my face. "Pipes!"
"Hey, guys!" she grinned.
"Hey, Pipes."
"Hi, Piper," Will greeted formally.
I rolled my eyes. Honestly, I do it a lot with Will around. I cast my special smile in his direction. "Hey, who's the girl at the third register to the right/2
"Lacey, why?"
Will butted in before I could open my mouth. "She thought we were a couple."
Piper raised an eyebrow. "You are, aren't you?"
I rolled my eyes, my gut flipping when I saw Will grinning at me. "Oh, shut up."
Two boys walked in, chatting. I cast a look at Will. "Shit."
He winced. "Uhhh…" he scrunched his eyes closed. "AH!"
Piper just looked at him. "What the…"
He sighed. "Never mind. I don't have the best history with him is a…"
"Hey, Solace."
Will didn't even both looking. "Luke, please, fuck off."
"What, too embarrassed in front of your…" he began, an evil smirk on his face.
"Shut up!" Will blustered, his face burning up.
I gripped Will's hand hard. "Don't listen," I whispered, rubbing my thumb on the back of his hand. "He won't get the satisfaction of you don't react."
He nodded tightly. "Luke, go away."
Octavian, clearly not wanting there to be another fight, yanked Luke's sleeve lightly. "Luke, c'mon," he ordered, quietly and firmly. "C'mon…"
I giggled quietly at his muffled last word. What I thought it was seemed such a ridiculous thought at the time, but, now, it seems normal and average.
Luke did this we-ird smile, following Octavian away. Okay, when I say 'we-ird', I mean genuine. Then it clicked.
"Oh…" I began.
"…No…" Will followed on.
"Way!" we exclaimed together.
Will pulled a hilarious face. "No, they are not…" he muttered.
I was trying not to laugh. "Yeah… yeah they are…"
Hazel skipped over with Frank and Bianca. "Got the fo-ood!"
I grinned at Will, using my 'special' smile. "Great."
oOo
I spotted Rachel and Reyna walking towards us. "Hey!" Reyna cried.
"Hey, Reyna!" I grinned.
Will suddenly realised who it was and waved at Rachel. "Rache!"
Rachel rolled her eyes, her moderately pale skin being brought out by her glowing tomato-red hair. "Reyna in-sis-ted that we eat here. Honestly, the unhealthiest place on earth?" she exclaimed.
"Glad we're on the same page," Will grinned, smiling at his good friend.
Will hated McDonalds? Why on earth would he agree to come, then? "You hate McDonalds?"
He shrugged. "I'm practically a doctor. How could I not hate it?"
I shrugged as well. "I don't know, really… It's just that you didn't object."
"Well, you seemed to like it, so I decided to put up with it," he replied.
That's so sweet! I can't believe he did that! Of course, nowadays, he'll never go with me unless it's a special occasion. "Oh, erm… thanks."
Rachel poked Reyna and pointed over to a group of little girls. They were People Guessing! It's something I do a lot: you imagine what the people are like, what their names are, and what their lives are like. Apparently Will does it sometimes, so we sometimes sit in the park near his place doing People Spotting. Then, Rachel saw Octavian. "Well, looks like they got back together."
She confirmed all of our suspicions.
I got a slightly painful jab on my arm. I turned to where Will was pointing and almost gagged. "Oh… Shit."
"No-o-o way," Will sighed. "That is not happening."
I chuckled. "Oh, it is, Sunshine."
Will leant into my head. "Your 'special smile' is the best thing I can see."
It was such a stunning and unexpected compliment that I flushed bright red and hid my face in my arms. He was probably teasing me (as of nowadays, I know he was), but it was certainly a strange time to do it. "Wi-ill!" I moaned quietly.
"What?" he asked, still whispering. "I'm not allowed to love someone's smile?"
I turned as red as Rachel's hair. "St-st-stop it, Solace!" I stuttered, utterly mortified that my crush was being flirty with me.
Suddenly, he laughed, breaking the tension in between us. "I'm just messin' with ya, Neeks!" he chuckled. "Your smile is sweet though."
I gave him a light shove. "You're terrible like that, Sunshine," I snapped. "Thanks, though."
We both burst into gales of laughter. Then, I looked over to Octavian and Luke, along with Will. Luke was waving his hands around and turning heads, until Octavian kissed him to shut him up. I stayed looking at them kissing, but I seriously wished I hadn't. It looked very sexual and that, again, turned a lot of heads. They kept looking over to me and Will, Luke pointing and making small gestures, while Octavian was taking his turn in waving his hands like mad and shaking his head wildly. Luke pointed right at Reyna with a serious expression. Octavian stumbled up and gave Luke a jokey punch before heading over to us.
oOo
"Hey, Reyna."
She jumped a little, turning to him. "Octavian?" she half-yelled, incredulous.
"Look," he sighed. "I'm sorry about your arm. I honestly don't know what came over me."
She gave what looked like a pained grimace. "I…" she faltered. "I forgive you."
He gave a blinding smile, his purple braces glinting in the bright light. "Thank you!"
He turned to me. In a scared panic, I winced slightly, still a little terrified of him, due to the years of blatant bullying. "Nico, I'm sorry about threatening you in history. And Luke's sorry about insulting your mum. He really didn't mean it."
I raised an eyebrow and my lips peaked upwards. "I forgive you, Octavian. Tell Luke I forgive him, too."
It was the hardest thing to say. To just… forgive someone. My mum would've wanted it, so I had to do it. He gave me another grin. "Luke and I had the most gigantic argument on Wednesday and we didn't speak," he explained. "So… well, that's why we were both pissed."
For some reason, I was still terrified of them, even thought he'd apologised. Years of tormenting do that to you. I gripped Will's hand harder. I always seemed to be holding his hand! No matter what Will tells you, I was emotional when I said that we had a 'soulmate connection'. Alright, I can be a soppy romantic if I want, but I have a reputation to uphold!
"Alright…" I stuttered, helplessly. "I'm sorry, but… I don't know how to react."
He gave me a teasing smirk. "Feeling's mutual, Nico." The joke's on him. He wasn't smirking when he saw who was calling him. "Fuck."
I had a feeling that I knew what this was. His dad was homophobic and he and Rachel hadn't come out to him yet. I was friends with Octavian for a little bit, until I found out he was blackmailing my sister into voting for him in the student vote. That's how I know him, so, I'm not a creepy stalker.
"H… hey, Dad…" he stuttered, confirming my suspicions somewhat. "No, I… Who said? I know, but… Rachel! Why aren't you mad at her?! That's sexist! I… Please! No! If you… I swear to…" He gazed at the 'dead screen' with a look of horror on his face, for what seemed like forever. Then he turned his eyes up to look at Rachel. "Dad found out. He heard it from someone who has a kid at our school who told him."
Rachel picked up her hairbrush and threw it at Octavian. Will reached for her hand with his right, still gripping my hand with his left. "Rachel…" he began, trying to comfort his friend. She turned and basically hissed at him. "You moron," she hissed at Octavian. "You used me as a defence and now dad won't let either of us into the house!"
His eyes flickered with pure hatred and anger. "What would you do, Rachel?"
She reached out for his wrist. I saw Will and Octavian flinch for some reason, but she stopped when Reyna but a hand to her shoulder, muttering something incomprehensible. "I'm sorry," she murmured, looking panicked. "What are we going to do?"
He grabbed her hand, and rushed out with her. "Sorry, but we need to go somewhere else to talk."
oOo
That is my definition of an awkward silence: Everyone absolutely shocked senseless, no one being able to explain what just happened, the only people able to explain having quickly fled from the scene, in the middle of a loud public place. Thankfully, or not-so-thankfully, Luke Castellan turned up. "What in Hades just happened?" he asked.
I dug my nails into Will's hand in total blind horror. He squeezed my hand back and my heart fluttered. "Well…" I began. "I assume it was you that forced Octavian to apologise?"
He began to talk, futilely. "What do you…"
I cut him off almost immediately. "Will and I both saw what you two were doing over there. This lot are so painfully oblivious they won't know what I mean, so, no need to worry about that."
Luke shook his head slowly, doing that horrid rueful grin I had come to know and hate. "Good call, di Angelo, good call. So, what happened?"
"Octavian apologised, then he got a call from his dad, I think, then he said his dad found out about something-or-other, Rachel yelled at him for using her as defence, saying that her dad wouldn't let either of them into the house, then she apologised, and they went somewhere else to talk."
"Oh, noooooo. Seriously?"
His deep blue eyes made contact with my purple ones. They looked so dangerous, compared to the blue eyes of my best friend/crush I loved so much. I was point-blank terrified of Luke, so I edged a little closer to Will. He rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of my hand to calm me down. I felt my palm warming up with all the heat his hand was giving off, and I'm rather sure my face was heating up as well. All my anger dissipated and I leant backwards onto his shoulder.
Luke gave us a genuine smile. "Thanks. Tip: don't try to contact Rachel until tomorrow morning."
Will opened his downright dangerous mouth to snap at him. "I think I know that, Castellan."
I futilely tried to tickle his palm his with my fingers, twisting our hands into an unnatural position.
"Thanks. Are we even?" I asked.
Luke gave me a curt nod. "Even."
I nodded back. "Even."
Our hands connected and we sealed our truth inside it. After only 45 minutes in McDonalds, I had gained all of that.
oOo
"Hey, Nico."
I jumped a little when I heard my crushes voice.
"Yeah, Solace?"
"Do you want to come over to mine tomorrow? We need to do the Catherine Parr bit of the vido and we've got the poster to do."
I gave Will my special smile, trying to make him smile. "I'd love to. What time?" I asked, feeling like an idiot for pouncing that last question onto him right away.
"It's about a… hour and a half for a walk, so, that's out of the question, maybe the bus?"
I nodded, reaching for my friend's hand while we walked down the dark yet brightly lit high street. Solace is probably going to mention the 'soulmate connection' thing at this point, but, please see to the McDonalds scene for my thoughts on it. "Sounds great. I'm not a morning person at all. I'll wake up early for you," I teased jokily, slapping myself for being so flirty. "So, maybe… eleven? When I get to yours, I mean. The ride's about forty-five minutes, so I'll wake up at ten."
He chuckled and my heart melted. "Aww, Nico di Angelo can't get enough of me!"
I shoved him, almost onto the road. "Hush your mouth, Solace."
We found each other's hands again and gripped tight. Then, a few lines from a song I recognised as 'The Fighter' trilled from his phone. He quickly answered the call, blushing bright red.
He tugged his hand from my grasp so he could hold his phone to his 'good' ear, but I slipped around his other side so I could grab his other hand. He rolled his eyes. No, not me, him. For once!
"Hey, Le," he sighed. A red blush crept up his cheeks, having only just faded. "Dear Hades, Lee! For the last time: he's not my boyfriend!"
My heart dropped. Lee was talking about me. Will was so disgusted by the idea of being my boyfriend it made him embarrassed! Of course, now I know he was embarrassed because he had a crush on me. It should have been perfectly obvious at the time, but love does strange things to the mind.
"Since when did you snoop on my phone calls to Cecile?" he asked, seemingly hopping from topic to topic. He flushed bright red. Whatever Lee's answer was to his rhetorical question was certainly not what he wanted to hear. "Oh, be quiet, Lee. It's true, but be quiet."
Will just brought something to my attention. We both said and say that a lot, don't we? Yes we do, Will. Yes we do. I was wondering what was 'true', until he jerked the phone away from his head as Lee's voice burst from the phone. "He admitted it! Kayla, you owe me five bucks!"
Will chuckled awkwardly, biting his lip. I was still grasping his hand, so I squeezed it to reassure him. He jumped topics again, saying, "Wait, who's in that car?" he paused. "Yeah, I do need a lift. How far away are you?"
He sighed when the question wasn't answered, mouthing 'brothers' and shaking his head. "Yeah, I did. It's 100% true…"
It was driving me crazy! What was 'true'?! Of course, now I know that it was that he had a crush on me, but he wasn't about to spill it in the middle of the street, now, was he?!
"Kayla! Finally, someone sane!" he flushed again. "Thanks, Kay… Address?"
He looked at me in a half-panic. I gripped his hand tighter. "It's 13 Tartarus Road, Sunshine."
He snorted. Man, how I hate the name of our road! "Tartarus? AS in the death pit of the Underworld?"
I didn't bother to remind him that he was still holding the phone to his ear and that he probably sounded a complete and utter twozzle to Kayla, who could only hear him, not me. I squeezed his hand. "Oh, be quiet, Sunshine."
"Sorry, just asking Nico. It's 13 Tartarus Road… Yes, you did… You're asking that so I don't have to embarrass myself by saying the whole thing aren't you?" he sighed, realising he had said that out loud. "Be quiet. The answer is yes, though. Absolutely. 100%... Cool. Bye!"
I tapped Will with my free hand. "Who was that?"
"First it was Lee, but he was teasing me and not letting me get to the point. Kayla wrestled the phone off him. She was teasing me a little too. That's what the 'you admitted it' thing came from."
I nodded, not wanting to push him further, tightening my grip on his hand.
oOo
"Bye, Sunshine," I smiled as I closed the door.
"Bye, Angel," He replied, dashing down the path as I banged the door closed.
I turned around to see Hazel grinning at me. "So cute. Angel and Sunshine, eh?"
I held up my hands in defence. "It's our last names. The meanings of them."
"Oh, yeah, his name's Solace, isn't it?" she smirked. Still adorable."
I rolled my eyes. The joke was on me, though: As she walked away, she shouted, "I expect to be in the front row at your wedding!"
As I ran up the stairs to my room, I yelled "Shut the fuck up!"
oOo
I did my one piece of art homework, which I assumed Solace was doing at that very moment. Now, why did I care so much about him? I wonder why? Cue me rolling my eyes. When I finished it, I read a little more of Twilight, then picked up my phone.
DeathAngel: Hey, Sunshine
SolaceShine: Hey, Angel. What is it?
DeathAngel: Yay, another perfect texter! XD
SolaceShine: What, I hate improper grammar! At least I'm not the only one. LOL
DeathAngel: Rich, Solace, real rich. Fast typer, too.
SolaceShine: Touché, Angel. Right back at you. ;-p
DeathAngel: I'll assume the 'touché' was autocorrect and you didn't actually put the accent on.
SolaceShine: It was. So, what do you want?
DeathAngel: What, I can't just text my best friend?
SolaceShine: You're getting WAY too much pleasure from saying that, aren't you?
DeathAngel: I've never officially had a best friend before, per-se, so I like saying it.
SolaceShine: Alright then! Are you bored or something?
DeathAngel: Yeah. Done all my homework at lunch today, expect from one piece I just did. Hazel and Frank and making out in the next room.
SolaceShine: WAY too much detail! I don't care, to be honest.
DeathAngel: They're making out way too loudly at that.
SolaceShine: LOL
DeathAngel: Got anything for me to do?
SolaceShine: Me? XD
DeathAngel: OMG WILL! You have a dirty mind! Then again, so do I.
SolaceShine: Sorry. I couldn't resist. LOL. We're both dirty-minded.
DeathAngel: Pretty much, yeah.
SolaceShine: Oh, I've been meaning to ask if you're free next Wednesday after school?
DeathAngel: Yeah, why?
SolaceShine: We've got two 'teacher training' days at the next of next week so we obviously don't have to go to school…
DeathAngel: Your point is…
SolaceShine: I'm having a sleepover with Cecile and Lou. Do you want to come?
Ohh, sleepover! The last sleepover I went to was with everyone. Jackson, Annie, Grace, Pipes, Zhang, Haze, Valdez, and RA-RA. All. Of. Them. Candyfloss, marshmallows, prototype cannons, feather pillows, and orange-juice-soaked newspapers. Oh, not forgetting blood and blue food dye. Absolute. Total. Bloody. Chaos.
SolaceShine: That was stupid. Telling you who's coming before asking you. Derp. ;-p
DeathAngel: I'd love to! Wait, your dad didn't flip because you're inviting a girl?!
SolaceShine: My dad doesn't care. After all, no one's going to get naked with everyone else watching, are they?
DeathAngel: LOL!
SolaceShine: Do you want to invite someone along?
DeathAngel: …That was unexpected. Let me have a think.
SolaceShine: Sorry.
DeathAngel: No problem. What about Piper? She knows Lou Ellen quite well.
SolaceShine: Sure! I'll tell Dad. Wait a second.
"Hey, Dad," I said, running into the living room with my phone in one hand.
"Yes, Nico?" he asked. "How was McDonalds?"
"Great, yet, a little traumatising, to be honest," I grinned. "Luke and Octavian, the two that used to bully me, apologised, then something-or-other happened on the phone to Octavian's dad, then he and Rachel stormed out."
Dad raised his eyebrow. "Really, Nico? Did you enjoy it?"
"Yeah!" I grinned, over-enthusiastically. "Thanks so much!" I kissed my father on the cheek, before rapidly pulling back.
"Okay, what do you want, Nico? Money? You don't just kiss me on the cheek and want nothing in return," he smiled.
I ruffled my hair. "Well, Will invited me to his sleepover next Wednesday. Can I go?"
"Of course!" he replied. "Is this the same young man that calls you Angel and you call Sunshine?"
"HAZEL!" I yelled, bright red. "Yes, it is."
"Hazel needs to learn to keep her mouth shut," I muttered as I rushed back upstairs, a goofy smile on my face.
SolaceShine: Dad's cool, Angel
DeathAngel: When did that nickname start?
SolaceShine: When I realised that 'Angelo' translates to 'Angel'
DeathAngel: Sweet of you for noticing. I'm glad I can come. What are we doing?
SolaceShine: Well, Truth or Dare and a bunch of other stuff. You'll never guess what!
DeathAngel: What? I guessed what?
SolaceShine: You're annoying. You're lucky you're so cute.
DeathAngel: ?
SolaceShine: Sorry. In a goth/emo way.
DeathAngel: You're lucky YOU'RE so cute, Solace. Otherwise you'd be dead by now. So, what is it?
SolaceShine: Beforehand Percy Jackson's having a little get-together at his mum's flat. I assumed you were invited so we're going back to mine after that. Were you invited?
Confused, I checked Seaweed Brain's chat. Yep, there it was. I replied to Percy's message, switching back to Will's.
DeathAngel: Yeah. Oops, had his chat on silent 'cause he was spamming me. LOL!
SolaceShine: #smh. Gotta go. We have this stupid family tradition where we play board games every night. Wish me luck in Monopoly!
DeathAngel: Good luck! That's four hours of your life you'll never get back. LOL. By the way, do you like your brother?
SolaceShine: Typical sibling stuff, but, otherwise, yeah.
DeathAngel: From what you said, he sounds like the typical older brother TWAZZOK!
SolaceShine: Nice insult. Don't worry, I won't tell him.
DeathAngel: You'd better not. Good luck. Bye!
SolaceShine: Bye!
I sat around reading for about ten minutes, until I finished my book, which was 'Twilight'. I didn't want to start the next one because I always stay up really late to read if I start a new book at night. I sat on my bed daydreaming for five minutes until the door opened, soundlessly.
"Hey, Neeks, have you got your flowers for tomorrow yet?" Hazel asked, sticking her head into the room. "If not, you might want to go grab some."
It was 8:00 and it was cold. No way was I going now. "I'll get some on the way," I promised.
"Didn't you organise to go over to Will's?" she asked.
I bit my lip - hard - in a moment of sudden realisation. "Oh, crap." I picked up my phone.
DeathAngel: OMG, Will, I'm SO sorry! I completely forget that I have to go my weekly stint down to the graveyard!
SolaceShine: Hey! Everyone targeted me and I went bankrupt straight away. We've only been playing for 15 minutes!
DeathAngel: I do a little trip down to the graveyard at 3 every week. I usually take the bus down your way and go to the graveyard near you. I might not be able to come
SolaceShine: Remember, you'll already be at my house, and it's only a ten minute walk. You can go on your own or I could come with you.
DeathAngel: Really?
SolaceShine: I won't stop you.
DeathAngel: No, you'll come with me?
SolaceShine: Of course! If you want me to, that is.
DeathAngel: Thanks so much! SolaceShine: No problem.
DeathAngel: No, seriously, thanks so much
SolaceShine: Gotta go help Austin. Vicky owns half the board and she's just laughing and watching as we DIE
DeathAngel: I like her
SolaceShine: LOL. Bye
DeathAngel: Bye
I was excited for the next day.