A/N: I had that Jason scene planned for so long, and I'm so glad you all liked it!

Now here's the thing about this chapter, initially it was two separate chapters (Wednesday/Thursday) and then I put them together and now, I'm not sure. Even as I type this I might change my mind. If it flows weird, it's because it was a huge toss up for me. But it's all the same in the end.

Wednesday II

It was starting to feel like the same old cycle. The waking, the feeling of running away, the headache coming from the sleepless nights. It was all too familiar with every waking second that passed on. Nico thought maybe, just maybe, if he got comfortable in the routine, he could find refuge from his actions. But with every event that is to pass, the consequences were always to follow.

They didn't show all at once, it was a slow burn. It wasn't crying over split milk; it was the chipping away that came from a combined small grievances that ended up becoming the catalyst for the anger and sorrow that comes from the spilt milk.

It felt like the last week was dragging on for months, that if he were to go any longer, he would die of old age by summer break.

He pulled himself out of bed by the sheer fear that is the thought of his mother asking why he was still in bed. And God forbid he stayed home. The whole world would be ending if he did. Unless you were actively throwing up, you were shot up with Advil then shoved on the bus.

He fell into the same rhythm he found each morning, this time leaving his phone behind in his room. To check his phone would be to know who had texted and if he was to worry. But to ignore it was to live in ignorant bliss.

He finished up getting ready for the day and headed off. He did run into Bianca who, half asleep still, was rummaging through the fridge. They made eye contact and she gave him a nod and a wave before pulling out what Nico couldn't' exactly make out but looked like several cheese sticks and an avocado. Nico nodded back before planning to erase that interaction from his mind.

His morning was the same espionage mission he had been playing since yesterday and all weekend online. He knew Will's schedule inside and out. If anyone needed to know where Will Solace was at any given time, you asked Nico. He could give you his exact location and a top five optional places he could be if he wasn't there. And they were always right.

This time around, he was smart. He skipped his locker and headed straight to class. He had to pass by the hall a small bit, though, and he sighed heavily when he realised his plan had been the best choice.

Will was leaning against the row of lockers beside Nico's. He was scrolling on his phone, his hair pinned back in with two butterfly clips.

Nico knew Will didn't own any of those so they had to be from someone.

He had a white tank top and a green flannel thrown loosely overtop as well as a pair of jean shorts. As much as Nico would never admit, he couldn't keep his eyes off of him. Will could wear khakis and a neon orange sweater and still look like a model. (And trust him, he has and he did.)

It pained Nico, knowing he was actively ignoring Will. He just prayed Will wouldn't pick up on the fact that it was on purpose and not just shitty luck.

He had told the blond that he had some family drama going on at home, but he can only use that excuse as to why he wasn't opening his texts for so long.

Nico forced himself to look away, to deprive himself of his allotted Will time he gave himself per day. He had enough things to worry about.

Once he got to class, he finally opened up Snapchat.

Sunshine Boy
Dude
My dad has been playing the same three chords for the past hour. If I have to listen to another round of this I am personally going to end this mans whole career.

Sunshine Boy
Thank god he stopped.
Anyways I made some tea so im doing better now

Sunshine Boy
Look
Light pollution is a real thing. I know this
BUT
The city lights give me a type of calm that I cannot describe
anyways, its late and I should go to bed and ur probably already asleep.
night

Sunshine Boy
Morning!
Hey, im making a smoothie, do you want any?
If you don't respond Im not making you shit

Sunshine Boy
Alright you missed out
No complaining saying I didn't offer.

God he felt like shit. He needed an excuse. Fuck, how to you explain ignoring all this?

You
Bro that's not fair!
Also my phone didn't charge last night and died
So its not my fault
So its urs

Sunshine Boy
That sounds fake but okay
Anyways where r u?

You
? wha u mean?

Sunshine Boy
Are you at school?

You
ye

Sunshine Boy
Oh

You
I just went straight to class to charge it
Also to do work

Sunshine Boy
Nice
look at you doing homework and stuff lately
Almost thought you were avoiding me ;)

You
Loser you can barely go 24 hours without seeing me
that's kind of gay

Sunshine Boy
Yeah it is
Hey!
are you busy after school today?

You
Yee
sorry :/

Sunshine Boy
np
just,,
Nvm

You
u sure?

Sunshine Boy
Yeah!
Ill let you get back to what you were doing
Have fun with the homework

You
I wont

Sunshine Boy
Hahaha
okay bye

It… seemed to work. At least for the moment.

Nico glanced around the classroom as he set his phone down. The room was way too bright for how early in the morning it was, even with the lights off. There were other students messing around the class, sitting on desks, laughing and enjoying the minutes before the start of school.

It was all too much. They were being too loud. Nico wanted to cover his ears and scream.

With a deep breath, he covered his head and put it on the table, hoping to settle down before class began.

…

Nico knew he wasn't doing the best job at seamlessly ignoring Will, and that was evident after Nico had ignored him all lunch, speaking over him when he tried to say anything to him. He saw the hurt in his eyes when he would steal a glance over.

The blond looked deep in thought, like he had done something wrong and was trying to figure out what. Maybe it was best to keep it that way. If Will thought he was the problem, Nico could effortlessly glide by without putting up too much hassle.

Piper kept nudging him every time he would obviously cut him off. When Will would bring up something at the table to Nico, Nico was quick to ask Jason or Hazel or even Frank a question. And when he would answer, it would be one worded or barely a shrug.

Nico would wave her off or pretend like he didn't even notice her.

But it was getting hard. Purposefully ignoring his best friend was making him irritated. Nico was constantly conflicted with himself at any given point about how to react. And he needed a reason other then the bull shit he had cooked up to keep to himself.

When the lunch bell rang, Nico was the first to get going. It was like he was counting down the seconds until the bell sounded so he wouldn't waste a single moment that could allow for Will to swoop in.

Truly, Nico's plan was stupid. Dumb. Should never have been put into action in the first place. You and I both know this. We, of stable minds, can see that the last thing you do is suddenly put massive distance between you and the person your closest with when you want to act like nothing is wrong. By all accounts, this would be the first true give away.

Ignoring, side stepping, quickly exiting conversations. These are all dead giveaways that there is, in fact, something wrong.

But among panic, rational thoughts are all thrown out. You act off your base instinct, and sometimes this instinct tells you that completely shutting out your own friends and feelings is the best course of action. To bottle everything up and pretend you are okay only to hyper-fixate on it later can lead to some very drastic swings.

And as Nico left, taking his things and leaving the table with a few more questions resting on their tongues, it was Will who was left painfully in the dark.

…..

The final bell was the shooting gun at an arms race. A war zone of depressed and desperate kids rushed to make it through no mans land and back on to home soil.

Backpack in hand and nothing but the single thought to make it out as quickly as possible, Nico pushed and shoved his way through the treacherous halls to his locker to grab what he needed and get out before he was spotted in enemy territory.

But before he could make it within a mere several feet of his locker, he was caught.

Familiar long and sturdy fingers wrapped around his bicep and left him standing in place.

When Nico turned around, he was met with the endless sea he could drown in. Those eyes were siren calls and Nico in an instant would jump overboard just to get a better view. The freckles that dusted the cheeks of the blond was the sand on the shore, each blink was the crash of the waves. Nico knew he had to hold his breath before his lungs filled up, leaving him breathless and in need of saving.

"Hey," Will spoke, his voice raised as he tried to speak over top of the loud clattering of the hall, "can we talk?" There was a waver in his voice that Nico was willing to give his life to fix. The slight glint in his eyes showed the worry that refused to budge.

People walked past them. Nico could see them, he swore. But the blur they became was just background to the actual sight.

Saturday was the last time they were this close, Will's touch burning into his skin. Nico swore he would have second-degree burns where Will gripped him tightly. There wasn't a tremble in his hands, but the shaking was from the beating of his chest. Nico was worried it was vibrating through him and Will would notice.

Will was a snapshot of perfection. And in the three seconds Nico took that lasted years, he counted forty-eight freckles, each one deserving special attention.

Will wanted to talk, but words were the one thing Nico didn't have. He had thoughts and feelings, but none that could be translated into English without being misinterpreted.

Nico wanted to talk, he had so much to say. But Will had words that framed a different picture, and those were untouchable to him. They were speaking different languages and neither could translate.

"I'm sorry," Nico said, kick-starting the sounds from his mouth to make sense. "I'm actually kind of in a rush." He shook off Will's hand and started to head towards the battlefield, knowing if he stood there long enough he was going to be hit with friendly fire.

"Nico, I-"

"Sorry, talk to you later," Nico shouted before Will could speak up.

Nico knew he left Will for dead, standing broken and defenseless in the middle of the hall. He didn't even try to follow. He didn't try to chase after him and grab his arm again. He didn't shout after him and pull him back. All the blond did was stand there as Nico continued to put distance between them.

Nico walked until there wasn't a familiar mop of blond before he ran.

Nico never ran from anything. When fight or flight kicked in, he fought. Headfirst, fist raised. But Will was an atomic bomb and all he could do was seek shelter. So, he ran. Nico ran the entire way home, only collapsing to catch his breath, gasping for air, when he sunk onto his porch.

The stairs were starting to rot, and by next spring, his father would pay some sketchy guy named Giovanni to redo the entire thing. But as he sat in the mysterious wet spot that never seemed to dry, no matter how many heat waves hit them, he didn't care. His body was shaking as it struggled for oxygen.

There was a numb shake that rushed over him. It was the feeling of gasping for air as you cried, the hiccups that came and stole all lung function. But it didn't come with tears. Nico's eyes were painfully dry.

When he finally slipped inside, he was met with his sister sitting on the couch, laptop on her lap as she typed away.

She looked up and they caught each others eye.

"You look like shit," she said, lowering the top of the laptop ever so slightly to glance over her brother. His face was red and blotchy as his breath rattled.

"Yeah," Nico managed to say, shaking his back off. Even a simple word like, "yeah" was enough to leave him winded. Bianca looked like she believed absolutely nothing he said.

"Sure, and you just normally come home completely out of breath."

"Ran here," he wheezed.

She snorted.

"Since when do you run home?"

"To feel the rush?"

"Of what?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Of life."

"Bullshit."

"Eat my ass."

"Fuck off."

Nico kicked off his shoes and tossed them inside the closet.

"What you doing?"

"Just typing up an essay for a scholarship."

"Eww."

Bianca nodded, closing her laptop.

"Eww indeed." She gave her brother a once over when he continued to stand there, watching her. "You sure you're okay?"

Nico put on the best smile he could, but his jaw was stiff. There was something unmoving in his eyes that was a dead giveaway to how much he was holding on to. His eyes lacked a shine that would be genuine and was replaced with a glossy overtone.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you bottle up your emotions to not burden others with them only to lash out on yourself any small inconvenience. And this week has called for a little more than your average pop bottle."

"First of all, fuck you. And no, I'm not bottling up anything."

"Nico," Bianca cautioned, her jaw hard as she swallowed. But Nico forced another smile before heading towards the stairs.

"Bye!"

"Nico!"

He made sure to close the door behind him, letting out a heavy sigh as he collapsed onto his bed.

He heard the sounds of cars passing outside his window as everyone was slowly making their way home from school and soon work.

Shitty is what he felt. But at this point it was a constant void that he started to recognize as comfort. It was a weighted blanket that pushed him down and he found refuge in its strength.

The mere thought of trying to apologize to Will was almost sickening. He would have to explain. No shitty home life could excuse this sort of obvious behaviour. But to him, he was becoming blind to it. To be rude and push him aside was now starting to come easier.

Before, when Will would speak to him, Nico feared offending him. Will meant so much to him that the sheer thought of making him upset sent him into a spiral.

The first fight Will and Nico had ever gotten into, Nico had genuinely cried.

It had been sophomore year when Will had just gotten a girlfriend. He had stopped eating lunch at the table with the rest of the group and was sitting with her friends.

Her name was Miranda and a part of Nico despised her. He had told himself that it was because Will was his best friend. That she was taking all his time away from him. He was Will's best friend, not her. She had no right.

When Nico had asked if Will wanted to go see a movie with him and he turned him down, saying him and Miranda had a date planned for that day, Nico practically spit in his face, making a comment about how he had no time for him anymore.

Will had asked him if he was okay, that they could just reschedule for another day, but Nico brushed him off, saying it was fine and that Jason and him would just go together. Will had thought it weird, but he didn't think to hard about it.

But for Nico, she was the end of the world. They had only been going out for two weeks when Nico declared his eternal hatred for her.

"Dude," Piper had said, dipping her fry in some questionable ketchup, "he's just spending time with his girlfriend. You don't get this mad when Jason and I are on dates."

"Yeah," he said, turning his attention away from the table where Will had his arm around her, laughing into her neck, "but I actually like you and think you're cool. I don't know her and now I don't even see him anymore." The sight made his blood boil. Sick is what he felt when he saw them. "And you actually sit at our table. If you sat somewhere else with him, yeah, I'd be a little pissed."

"Aww, glad to know you care for me."

Nico rolled his eyes as Jason mocked him with a cheesy smile.

"Yeah, don't get used to it."

"Besides," Piper butt in, bringing the conversation back to focus, "you should be happy for him. He really likes her; you should give her a shot."

"Sure, when she brings him back," he mumbled, angrily taking a bite of the shitty cafeteria chicken nuggets. He was also mad that he had to buy his own. Will always bought him chicken nuggets on Thursday's. It was their shitty tradition. Now, he was sharing shitty chicken nuggets with some random girl that got to put her hands all over him like she actually knew him.

It pissed Nico off to no ends.

What got them to the point of fighting was when Nico had lashed out at him about never having time for him anymore. Will had given him a confused look, almost questioning what he was even talking about.

"You never have time to hang out anymore," Nico had yelled at him.

They were sitting at the table; the first time Will had joined in three weeks. Nico had been building up his unplaced anger about this for too long and it was enough to set him off at any given moment. Everyone had gone quiet when Nico spoke, knowing that this was a long time coming.

He had been complaining under his breath for so long, when Will actually joined them, Nico made a comment about how she finally gave him some freedom. Will was a bit uncomfortable, but he let it slide.

But now, the small, petty comments were not enough and Nico had a mouthful to tell him that obviously had to be done in public.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have to sit here everyday to still be your guys' friend, you know," Will said defensively. No one had ever seen the two of them fight since becoming friends, so not a single word was uttered in case it caused more damage.

"Yeah, but you could put in some effort to actually hang out with us in the meantime."

Will scoffed, perplexed by Nico's attitude.

"I make time."

"Yeah, when you aren't busy making out with your girlfriend."

"You're just mad I have a girlfriend."

"I'm mad that you don't make time for us anymore!" Nico shot back.

"Actually I-" Jason tried to speak, but he was cut off.

"Can't you just be happy for me?"

"I am happy, but we never get to fucking see you anymore!"

"I don't think this is a 'we' problem," Will said, smirking, but his eyes were anything but warm.

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I can't be mad that I don't get to fucking see my best friend?"

"If you really were my best friend, you would be understanding!"

"Well, then, maybe I'm not."

"Nico," Piper said, reaching a hand over to settle her friend, worried, but was brushed off.

Will's mouth opened and then closed, as if he was trying to process what Nico had just said.

Nico's anger had been red hot. Every word out of his mouth was meant to guilt trip and hurt him. Nico felt betrayed and he wanted – needed – Will to feel the same.

"Then," Will swallowed hard, standing his ground, "I guess you aren't."

Nico huffed, his mouth never opening. A small laughter shook his shoulders as he stood up.

"Good," he said. "Glad we agree."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Neither of them moved or backed down. At this point, it was a matter of pride and Nico would die before he gave his up. Will would always let Nico win, always let him have the final say, but this time, he was unmoving.

Everyone else at the table feared to even breathe. Eyes darted between the two, the tension of what was going to happen was ridged, neither daring.

It was Nico who moved first, looking around at the table, hoping someone would join his side. No one dared to speak one way or the other. With a nod, he walked out of the cafeteria, refusing to look back.

After silence, it was Will that finally broke the tension between the rest of the group. He shook his head and started to pick at his lunch, asking the others about their weekend. He refused to speak on what had just occurred and acted as if nothing had ever happened

That night Nico cried in his sister's room, bawling his eyes out. He felt like shit. He regretted everything he said to Will, and he swore the blond would never talk to him again.

The week that followed at been rough. Neither side reaching out and no one pressed the subject. They feared if they did, they would have to pick a side and that was a splitting no one wanted to see the results of.

Each had their reasons for not apologizing first, but the stolen glances they would pass without the other noticing was enough to tell a whole other story than that of the fight. Everyone at the table notice. The way Nico would look over his shoulder, just past Hazel, to glance at the spotty view of Will sitting with Miranda. And when Nico would look away, picking at his food, it was Piper who caught the side glances Will would sneak back at their table.

Piper had even caught him one time, the eye contact held as she made him know they she knew he was watching. Will turned away as if nothing had happened, as if Piper hadn't caught him staring.

By the end of the week, Piper had had it up to her wits end with the two of them and forced them to speak.

Nico was too high on his pride to tell Will how he felt, how he had cried for days about losing him. He refused to look him in the eyes the entire time. The conversation led no where, leaving Piper with more and more early gray hairs.

But it was Will who had showed up to Nico's house that Saturday, a plastic bag full of junk food and his pride on the floor.

He apologized to Nico, explaining how Nico was right, that he had pushed their friendship aside.

They sat outside on the steps on the porch, watching as the twilight flooded the sky.

"No," Nico finally said, wrapping his bare legs with his arms. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt but the autumn air was picking up and was not friendly to bare skin. "I shouldn't have said that shit to you."

Will watched him as he traced the sky with his eyes.

"I –" Nico started, taking a deep breath in, knowing how embarrassing it was to admit he was wrong. "I was jealous that you were spending all your time with your girlfriend like I had any right."

Will smiled and shook his head.

"But you were right. I wasn't making time for the group." He nudged Nico with his knee, his green camo jacket resting on his shoulders. Nico smiled at that.

"Don't kid yourself, I was the jealous one. They couldn't care less."

Will laughed.

"I think they cared."

"Yeah, but… I was the one left alone with you gone. Yeah, they were sad, but it wasn't world ending."

"Aww," Will cooed, "I'm your world?"

"You're my pain in the ass, that's for sure."

Will cracked up as he rested his weight on his knees. Nico joined him, his shoulders relaxing as the laughter passed through him. After a moment of silence, the air between them lightening, the few stars that weren't drowned out started to shimmer.

"I'm sorry," Nico whispered, holding his knees closer.

"Me too." Will turned his head to face Nico. His smile was soft and warm, the welcoming glow Nico could never forget. His eye shined brighter than any star. Even with the streetlamps becoming some of the only source of outside light, it was enough to illuminate a whole forest if Will was present. Nico had to smile.

Will took in a deep breath and straightened his back before relaxing, facing forward.

"I promise to spend more time with you after this," he said, a soft hum melting any tension between them.

"You don't have to."

"No, I do." Will faced him. "I broke up with Miranda."

"What?" Nico asked, confused. As much as he disliked her, he didn't want Will to break up with her because of him. "Why would you do that?"

"You were right, I was putting the relationship before my friends and I was becoming obsessive. I had to take a step back and realise that it wasn't worth risking my friendship for. And besides," Will grinned, his nose scrunching up every so slightly, "I'd much rather sit with you guys at lunch. Miranda's friend's were fine, but it just wasn't the same."

Nico felt a pain in his chest, not knowing how to process what Will had said. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up, and he couldn't tell if it was from the gust of cold air that just blew by or not.

He wanted to cry again. Will was his best friend and he never wanted to be in the position where he would risk their friendship. He meant way too much to him. He loved Will, he loved him with his whole being, and he didn't know where he would be without him.

"Here," Will said, shrugging his jacket off, placing it on Nico's shoulders. "You look cold."

"I'm fine," Nico mumbled, but he didn't refuse. And the smile Will gave him was enough to put him out of commission.

"Sure, you are."

Will laughed as Nico turned his head away, feeling his ears become hot. Will grabbed the bag of junk food – a peace offering – and pulled out two bottles of pop and a shit ton of candy and the two of them sat there, stuffing their faces and chatting, as if nothing had ever happened. They stayed on the porch steps until the sky was black and Nico's mother called them in for supper.

That had been the first fight they had ever gotten into, and while they had plenty of disagreements after, nothing had ever gotten to that level of damage.

But here Nico sat, purposefully tearing apart a friendship he worked so hard to build, because he refuses to let Will in on his secret.

He was worried this whole ordeal would tear them apart worse than the first time, so instead of letting it happen naturally, he was going to do it himself. To burn his bridges before they were even built was the best way to ensure that they were never crossed.

A/N: If you aren't annoyed with Nico to all hell, I didn't do my job properly. He's so annoying, and yes, it's for a reason. I want him to start to be unlikeable.

Aight, so there's a bunch about this chapter and the next that still has me frazzled a bit. The only reason I'm posting them separate is because this chapter reached the word minimum I set for this series. I feel it flows better as one chapter, and that's how I wrote them, but stay with me as I agree on my original plan.

So yeah, next chapter is basically an extension of this one on how they flow.

But wowee! If u check on the chapter numbers, we're getting there gamers. I have a pretty solid plan on how this part is going to end in details now, so that's exciting. So yes! After this chapter, only 4 more until we start part 2! I know most people don't expose that, but I'm not like other girls. (I hated that. I'm not even a girl)

I'm so excited to see your reactions and predictions moving forward. I also hope you don't get annoyed with these little writings. It's the only way I can communicate with y'all. And its fun!

Till next Monday

Kitty