Will slid into his seat next to Austin at the lunch table, hitting him with the classic "wrong shoulder" tap. Watching with glee as Austin whipped to the left, Will burst into laughter at the other's age-old reaction.

"Man, you gotta stop falling for that, it's too easy," Will chuckled. "What is that, six days in a row now?"

Austin playfully smacked Will on his left arm, grumbling as he responded, "I'll stop falling for it when you start growing up, asshole."

"For someone who dresses so sharply every day, you'd think you were at least half as sharp up here-" Will retorted, tapping his temple.

"Anyways," Austin interrupted, shoving Will lightly with his right shoulder, "you will NOT believe what bullshit Simmons was spewing this morning in US History."

"Was he on another pro-life rant? Y'all are still going over the 1970s, right?"

"No, listen, listen-" Austin exasperatedly gestured with his hands, trying to garner his friends' attention as Will quirked an eyebrow inquisitively. "I wish you guys were there, shit was absolutely wild."

"I- what the heck did I miss?" Will replied, confusion woven into his query as he glanced quickly over to see how Nico was doing.

"So you know how he's pretty much just a shitty human being all around but doesn't care because he has tenure?" Austin asked, Will and the girls nodding in response.

"Gods, he's the absolute worst. He's super creepy towards the girls too," Kayla butted in, neon green-tipped strands of hair bobbing as she shook her head in exasperation.

Putting on a terrifyingly toothy smile, Kayla grabbed Will's hands and pulled them close enough to her face that he could feel her breath between his fingers.

"Okay so imagine him coming up to you like this and grabbing your hands out of the blue, but like, with really sweaty and cold hands." In a nasal tone, she murmured, "Wow… your hands are so small and smooth, I bet you give amazing massages."

"Eww," Will responded, grimacing as Kayla rubbed the backs of his hands with her thumb repeatedly.

"And then he just- He kept rubbing my hands for like another minute in the middle of our project planning!" Kayla exclaimed, an incredulous expression wiping away the creepy smile. "Like, sir, I understand your marriage is falling apart and you probably haven't gotten your dick wet in years, but I'm seventeen and you're like 50 and gross. Please leave me alone!"

"Bleeuch," Lou Ellen exaggeratedly gagged, sticking out her tongue. Her bright green eyes scrunched up in disgust. "I don't even want to think about him doing the nasty with ANYONE, much less Kayla."

"Speaking of doing the nasty," Kayla said, smirking at Will as she pulled him in closer with his hands. "When are you going to make a move on that cute boy you've been blowing up the group chat about?"

"Shut-" Will started, before whipping his head around to look for Nico, finding him slouched up against the nearest cafeteria wall.

I really hope he didn't hear that, Will worried, but then realized Nico was probably too far away to pick out their conversation with all of the background chatter.

Nico's achingly beautiful dark eyes watched him warily from the other side of the mostly-empty cafeteria table. The lustrous sheen of his glossy black hair reminded Will of the odd raven that would turn up outside of Manhattan, gliding soundlessly under overcast skies. His slim, slightly upturned button nose was the only part of Nico's face that stood out at all, the rest shadowed by shaggy black locks or hiding behind the fluffy flaps of his worn leather jacket.

"… That's him, isn't it," Kayla grinned, gaze subtly flicking to Nico's isolated form before looking back at Will, who appeared completely enraptured by the half-Italian leaning up against the wall.

"Yeah, that's Nico." Will admitted as he rolled his eyes at Austin's quiet but sing-song reply of "Ooh, Will's got a cru-ush," before turning back towards Nico.

He looked so small standing there by himself. Sure, Nico wasn't super tall, and pretty skinny, but Will had never seen Nico seem quite so… lost.

Did I ask too much of him? Will was struck with the sudden realization, recalling Nico's hesitation from earlier, and a wave of guilt washed over him.

"Is he planning on joining us for lunch?" Austin asked with his mouth full, halfway through a massive hoagie.

Lou Ellen finally looked over at Nico, sizing him up. She looked at Will pointedly and opened her mouth to comment before Kayla leaned in closer to the other three teenagers.

"Is he okay? He looks… stressed," Kayla mentioned, and turned back to Will only to notice that his expression had clouded over with guilt. He pulled his hands out of Kayla's grasp, already having resolved himself to walk back towards the boy he had mindlessly abandoned.

I can push myself as far as I want to because I can handle it, Will berated himself, pursing his lips. But I can't keep doing this to Nico. He deserves to be comfortable at least. I've got to start checking in with him.

Will paused for a moment in front of Nico, who seemed completely overwhelmed and out of his element. Nico seemed like a completely different person when faced with more than just one or two people around him, and Will had noticed the stark contrast.

Like shining a sunbeam through a crystal prism in a dark room to reveal the unseen rainbow in light, when Will was alone with him, Nico became more animated, more spirited, and expressive. But in the deluge of light pollution and crowds in school, it seemed as if he became transparent, like glass.

"Hey, Nico," Will started, scanning Nico's face. Nico jerked up in surprise as if he hadn't even noticed Will walk up to him. Scrambling for words, Will blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Are you okay?" Immediately, he regretted opening his mouth.

Obviously, he's not okay. Gods, that was so stupid. You sound so stupid. You know what you want to tell him.

"You can come sit down if you want," Will continued as he looked over towards his friends, trying his best to salvage the situation. "But if you're uncomfortable, don't feel like I'm forcing you to meet them."

I should have checked to make sure he was okay with it first, he's not just some object I can parade around and show people.

Nico visibly shrunk down even more and blinked up at Will, who felt his chest flutter as he realized just how close they were standing.

"N-no, I'm fine," Nico stammered out, shaking his head as he started mumbling in a quieter voice. "Sorry- I don't know, I'm not… really good at meeting new people."

Will's guilt crept even higher up his chest, a frown carving itself into his face. "I'm sorry if I pushed you to come out here," he apologized.

Give him another option. You know you'd rather spend time with him anyway, the squad will always be there another day.

"If you'd rather not do this today," Will continued, "I don't mind going back to the library with you. I got too excited and didn't ask you what you thought today before leading you over here."

"No, no, it's fine-", Nico started.

"Please just tell me if I'm putting you in an uncomfortable situation," begged Will, wanting to make sure Nico knew it was okay to say no. "I promise I won't be mad, I just-"

Suddenly, Will felt a cold, tight grip on his forearm, and he looked down at Nico's hand on his arm, before looking back up at Nico's intense stare. Will willed himself to not shrink away as Nico cut him off.

"Hey."

Will watched as Nico's expression softened, frown lifting and brows unfurrowing, as he continued.

"I didn't say that I didn't want to, just give me a moment."

Will, relieved, exhaled as he asked, "Did you want me to wait with you somewhere until you're ready?"

Nico smiled softly, melting Will's heart all the more. "Go back to them," Nico said, "And enjoy yourself, I'll hop in when I'm ready."

Relieved, Will nodded, walking back to the table and sliding back into his seat.

"Is he doing okay?" Kayla asked.

"Is he gonna join us?" Austin prodded, elbowing Will in the side. Will glared at Austin momentarily, before grinning and playfully elbowing him back.

"Yeah, he said he'd hop in when he's ready," Will explained. "He gets anxious about meeting new people."

"Don't think we don't see that stupid smile plastered on your face." Lou Ellen said with a smile, Will suddenly becoming aware of his own wide grin.

"Shut up," Will laughed, trying very unsuccessfully to hide his smile.

"Dude, you're in SO deep," Kayla giggled. "I don't think I've seen you this infatuated with anyone before."

"Stop it," Will said, glancing back at Nico furtively, afraid he would overhear.

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Austin asked. "If you don't, I might slide in, he's cute."

Jokingly, Austin pulled out his phone, only for Will to snatch it away.

"I swear, if you-" Will threatened as Austin, laughing pushed Will down onto the seat to the right, grabbing for his phone as Will lay flat on the two cafeteria seats, Austin on top of him.

Will heard a stifled inhale and a set of footsteps running away and pushed Austin off him to see Nico running out of the cafeteria.

Confused, Will handed Austin's phone back, as he moved to grab his bag.

"Sorry guys, I'll go see what's up," Will apologized, dashing out of the cafeteria behind Nico.