A/N:When I started sour, I knew how exactly four chapters were going to go down; this is one of them.

Enjoy.

Friday II

Hate is a powerful word.

You've probably heard someone tell you that when you spoke about how much you hated something or someone.

On most occasions, using the term "hate" would not be an accurate descriptor of one's emotions, but as hate is a word of passion, to truly hate something or someone is to despise it with your whole being.

Hatred comes from the same burning fire that first sparks love, the pair being two sides of the same coin. The line that is walked between love and hate is so thinly veiled by one's perception of the world around them that at any given time it can be masked by the slippery slope.

To hate the ones you love, now that is a fire that burns cold. To love and hate at the same time is to exist on both sides of the coin when you can only chose one face to sell. It tears and it rips and it screams, but what is there to do but simply exist in this state. Just like love, one cannot choose who they hate.

Hatred is the spark that starts revolutions. Hatred can bring down an entire civilization. To hate or to be hated is to have everything on the line, simply waiting for the change that will inevitably arise.

To be hated is to have control, the lead of the narrative. For all those who hate, they stand in the dark, preaching their tones to any and all who will hear, and when the power settles, only then will you see who comes out on top.

By third period, Nico had successfully managed to avoid Will, Piper, and Jason.

Now, to be fair, it wasn't so much avoiding as it was they were not actively trying to seek him out.

That morning, Piper and him crossed paths, their eyes meeting strictly for a second before she turned away. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Nico to get the memo. She was pissed for how he acted yesterday.

He didn't blame her. He couldn't even understand most of what he had done all week, much less yesterday. She probably had no idea the full extend of what was going on in his mind, but she was the closet he had to anyone really understanding him.

Nico's sight was clouded as the trudged through the halls. He avoided the cafeteria like the plague, instead heading towards the vending machines to grab something quick to eat before settling down on the staircase at the back of the school. It occasionally smelt of weed, but it was the most secluded part of the school without heading outside.

He put in his crumpled bills and made his pick. He just wanted some plain potato chips, something that wouldn't make him sick. He typed in the numbers and waited for the chips to fall. After a few seconds, they started to move forward. The machine was ancient so it took forever.

Just as they were about to fall, the bag got stuck. The machine made a few noises before going completely still.

"Fuck," he muttered as he hit the glass. When they still refused to fall, Nico hit the machine again.

Some kid walking by gave him a weird look as he cursed the machine out, hitting it again, this time with his hip. He was frustrated and hungry and he just wanted his chips. But there they were, stuck in the machine like they had the right.

He started shaking the machine, hoping he could knock it loose.

"C'mon!" he shouted as he continued to abuse the machine. Still, nothing came of it.

He was doing everything he could to hold back the pressure that was building behind his eyes. Nico didn't want to cry, but everything felt numb and nothing was going right, so it made the most sense.

"Fuck," he mumbled, taking a deep breath in to try and steady himself. But it wasn't working. The lights were too bright and his head was pounding. He just needed this bag of chips to fall and he would go find a place to scream, but he couldn't just leave them.

It was getting hard to control himself as the chips refused to budge, leading to him slowly dropping to his knees, resting his forehead on the cold glass. It felt nice as he closed his eyes. They were stinging.

"You need help?" someone had asked from behind.

Nico snapped his head up and around. Standing there was the ginger Will had been hanging out with. He knew they were friends from one of his classes, but he couldn't remember. What was her name again?

"You need help?" she asked again, raising a brow.

Fuck, she must have seen him cry. Nico stood up and wiped his face as quickly as he could. Will must have told her everything and now she was judging him. There was no way she wasn't going to tell Will how pathetic he was.

"What?" he asked, his voice staying as steady as it possibly could.

The girl – Kara? Elizabeth? – had paint streaked along her arm and smudged on her face, and even still, she looked like she had more dignity than Nico. She pointed to the machine.

"Your chips, they're stuck, right?" she asked. Nico opened his mouth to say something but his voce fell flat as he looked to where his supposed-to-be lunch was hanging. God, this was embarrassing.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Let me help," she said before walking into his space, pushing him back. She pulled out some bills from her back pocket and fed them through. She tapped the code in and the machine slowly spit out another bag of the same chips.

Nico felt awkward standing there, his nose starting to run from the sudden outburst. He chewed his lip as the second bag unstuck the first. The girl – what was her name?! – bent down and pulled his out and handed it to him.

"I hate this machine. My shit always gets stuck," she said, a small smile pulled at her lips. They were chapped and it looked like she had been picking at them during class. The freckles that dusted her face were cute, but they were nothing like Will's.

"Thanks," Nico managed to say, taking his bag.

"Rachel," she said.

"Thanks, Rachel."

With a quick smile, she headed towards the doors that connected to the main hall.

"Wait," Nico called out, "you forgot your chips."

But she simply waved her hand as she walked away. When the doors closed, Nico was left in the silent section at the bottom of the stairwell, bag of chips in hands and another sitting in the machine.

He ran his hand over his face before grabbing it. Guess he was having two bags for lunch this time.

Nico was exhausted when he sat down and opened the first bag. A part of him wanted to hate Rachel, but as he ate, that feeling slowly went away, leaving nothing but a dull ache that he would continue to actively ignore.

…

Being it was Friday, Nico had to stop by his locker to grab the things he would need to ignore his homework over the weekend. It didn't take him very long to grab everything he needed, but all he wanted to do as he zipped up his backpack was to go home. He was emotionally exhausted and wanted to sleep the next two days away.

After he shut his locker and slung his bag over his shoulder, someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the lockers again.

Nico was about to lash out at who ever it was, but as he made eye contact, the same weightless feeling flooded over him as he was met with the calming blue he was so deprived of.

Will was like a drug to him at this point, and going cold turkey was making him paranoid. The warmth he felt from the blond's touch was enough to melt him, bringing him into the sun from the dead of night.

Will's expression, however, was anything but inviting. He had a frown and his brows were pushed together. His sun kissed hair was tousled in every direction but still haloed him. Nico didn't know if the emotions bubbling up were him wanting to slam him against a locker with his fists or his lips.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked. Nico felt all air leave his body. Fuck.

Fuck.

He had to get out of here.

"I'm not ignoring you," Nico lied, trying to find the quickest way out.

"Was it something I did?"

Will looked like Nico had already slammed him against the locker and spat on him for good measure. He was a kicked puppy who so desperately wanted to know why he was in trouble. Will might have had a good several inches on him but he looked so small. Will was hurt and confused, and it was all Nico's fault.

The world passed by them as they stood there. People chatted about their weekend plans but Nico couldn't hear them. All he could do was stare blankly up at Will who was putting everything he could out there. He might not have said much but asking that was enough to let Nico know the full extent of how badly he had fucked up.

Will was asking what he did wrong. Every time they argued, it was always Will who apologized for what he must have done wrong. Most times, it was a miscommunication on one of their parts, but Nico knew this time it was entirely his fault. And here he was, basically gaslighting Will and ignoring him to the point he thought it was something he had done.

Nico so badly wanted to hate himself, to punish himself for making Will think he ever did anything wrong. He didn't deserve it. He never did. All he did was go along with Nico's stupid, idiotic plan, and now he thought he had fucked up and that's why Nico refused to talk to him.

All he wanted to do was to grab him, to take his face in his hands and tell him he could never do anything wrong. That he's sorry. That he misses him. That he needs him.

"Let me go," he said instead, shaking Will's hand off. This time it was harder than before. Will was desperate to know what was going on.

"Nico, look, I'm sorry that I-"

"Just let me go!" Nico shoved him back.

There was nothing before a look flashed over Will's face. Nico had never physically shoved Will before. They messed around like teenage boys, sometimes hitting or hurting each other, but it was never on purpose. So shoving Will was something neither of them knew how to deal with.

"Just…" Nico spit out, watching the confusion seep further on Will's face, "just leave me alone, okay?"

Nico ran. He didn't care if Will saw him run, he needed out. It was the weekend and he could hide. He just had to get home and he would be safe.

Will never followed him. He never even tried to say anything. When he left, Will had the same confused expression etched into his face he did when Nico first laid his hands on him.

Nico had surely just ruined the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. He just ripped up any chance he had at fixing his friendship with Will. He hated how he felt and how much he loved him. He hated Will for making him feel the way he did and he hated himself for hating him in return.

….

When Nico got home, Bianca was sitting on the couch, furiously typing away on her laptop. The T.V. was low but on and the curtains were pulled away, letting the sun come through. It was still gray and cloudy out, so it shaded the room in a calming somber tone.

"How was school?" she asked, not looking up as Nico threw his bag up the stairs and ran his hands through his hair.

"Fine, mom."

Bianca rolled her eyes before going back to typing.

Nico wondered into the kitchen, needing something to distract him and his stomach was screaming at him. He pulled out a juice box from the fridge and started sipping on it as he opened the pantry several times before grabbing a handful of different snack foods to try and hold himself over until he found something filling.

He had been putting around the kitchen for a few minutes before he finished his juice box. He tossed it by the sink where they held their recycling.

"Heads up," Bianca shouted, leading Nico to peak his head in, "mom and dad are out for the next little bit."

Nico gave her a thumbs up, knowing she meant it was fend-for-yourself night for supper. He headed back into the kitchen, this time not feeling any of the guilt over just shoving whatever he found into his mouth to snack on.

He grabbed one of is dad's shitty granola bars and downed it where he stood. It was messy but he managed to catch most of the falling bits. Just as he was chewing the last bite, a knock came from the front door.

He froze for a moment, then his entire body went cold.

Nico rushed to the entrance of the kitchen after tossing the wrapper on top of the counter. Bianca raised her brow at her brother's panicked look. Nico stood at the bottom of the stairs and said, "If that's Will, tell him I'm not here."

"'Kay?" Bianca gave him a confused look before he bolted up to his room. She shook her head and opened the door, huffing when she came face to face with the blond they had just been speaking about.

"Is Nico home?" he asked, something a little off about him.

Bianca shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, he's upstairs," she told him, moving out of the way.

Will nodded as he passed her and went inside. She left the door open as she went over to her laptop and shut it. She grabbed her phone and made her way back over to the door.

Will looked a little lost as he stood there awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Our parents aren't gonna be home until later, so make what you will with that. I'm heading out and I'll be back later. Bye." Bianca shut the door behind her, leaving Will standing there by himself.

When Will got upstairs, Nico's door was closed.

…

Nico was freaking out. He was pacing back and forth when he heard the door close. He wanted to see what was going on downstairs but when he heard a knock at his door, he froze.

"Nico?" came the voice on the other side. It was Will. Fucking Bianca.

"Leave me alone," Nico shouted back. His door was still shut and maybe, just maybe, if he kept that distance, Will would leave.

He had already fucked everything up, he couldn't understand why Will was even here. He should hate him; Nico knew he would if he was Will.

"I'm comin' in," Will called.

Nico stopped.

"Don't you dare-"

But it was too late. Will opened the door and stepped in, leaving it open.

Nothing was making sense. Why was Will here? Why was he in his bedroom after he told him to basically fuck off?

"Really?"

"Nico, we need to talk." Will's voice was stern, but there was a give in his eyes that told Nico everything he needed to know.

"No, we don't." He couldn't handle this. He needed Will to leave before he broke down again. He wasn't mentally prepared to see Will, much less talk. Especially about why he had been the absolute worst to him.

"No, we really should-"

"I don't want to talk to you."

Will stepped closer as Nico stepped back. Distance. He needed distance.

"Why?" he asked, his jaw hard. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"Fuck off, I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. I'm not fucking stupid."

"I didn't call you stupid."

"You might as well have."

"I just don't want to talk to you, okay?"

Will rolled his eyes. He was obviously done with whatever Nico was saying.

"Bullshit, tell me what's really going on."

"I don't want to talk to you, okay?"

"That's a lie."

"I don't want to see you; get out."

Will stood his ground.

"I'm not leaving."

"Get out of my house, Will."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on."

"Just – get out!"

The sound around them melted away. It was just the two of them, screaming at each other in Nico's room. Every twitch, every sound the other made, they were keeping note. Nico noticed each time Will's finger's twitched at his side.

He wanted to shove Will out. He couldn't handle this. It was too much too fast.

"No."

"Fuck you."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Get out of my house, Will. I don't want you here."

"And I want you to tell me what's going on with you."

"Leave me alone!"

"Nico!"

"Just-"

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?!"

"Because I like you!"

Nico felt his heart race. It was the only sound that was matching the rushing of his blood. His chest fell heavy and hard and he was seconds away from choking.

He realised what he had said only a fraction of a second after it left his mouth. Will had a perplexed look permanently etched on his face, as if he was trying to piece together what Nico had just shouted. Nico felt the fire burning from all corners of his face. His clothes were too warm. He needed air.

"Wha-"

"Get out," Nico shouted as he shoved passed Will, heading downstairs into the kitchen. Will was only a step behind him.

"Nico, what do you mean-"

Fuck.

"Nothing – get out!"

"That's a lie."

"No, it isn't. Get out."

"Why do you want me out so badly?"

"Because I don't want to talk to you – get out!"

Nico retreated behind the island counter. Nico noticed the dripping of the tap behind him and wanted it to stop, but he was too focused on getting Will out.

The blond held his ground and refused to budge. The mini hallway that led to the front door was right behind him, he could easily leave. If he wasn't going to leave on his own, Nico was going to force him.

He felt his fuck up, and this was the only way.

"Nico, can we just – " Will was cut off by a dish towel being thrown at his head. He managed to swat it away, but it only confused him more.

"Get out!" Nico's face was red as he heaved his ragged breath. His nails were white from holding his hands into a fit, the two staring at each other. Nico really did just throw a towel at him.

"Did you just throw a dish rag at me?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Why?" Will asked, completely thrown off by the fact he had an actual dish rag thrown at him.

"Because you won't get out of my house!"

"Nico, I just wanna – Dude, seriously?" Will managed to swat away a roll of paper towel.

Nico was throwing anything he could reach at Will. If he could grab it without much thought, it was hurling towards his head.

"Leave me alone!"

"I just want to know what you mean by – "

"Out!"

"I'm not leaving!"

Nico screamed, his voice cracking. He grabbed the wrapper from the granola bar and tossed it. It didn't do much other than shower Will in the crumbs that had come off earlier.

"Can you stop-"

A damp sponge was the next thing launched, Nico putting his entire body weight into it. Will grabbed it and tossed it aside, only just turning his attention back to Nico who looked like he was about to break down.

Nico's jaw was clenched and he was doing everything in his power to hold back the tears that was threatening to fall. He was running out of things to throw, his ammo becoming more obscure.

He reached behind him and threw an empty milk carton, his aim being so far off, Will didn't even have to try and avoid it.

"Just leave," he spat, each word draining him.

"No – and what do you mean when you said-"

"Get out!" He screamed. "Get out – get out – get out!" By the end, his voice was shaking.

"Nico!"

A jar lid was thrown.

"I don't want to see you ever again!"

"Can you just-"

"Get out of my fucking house!"

Empty pop can.

"Nico!"

"I hate you!"

The juice box from earlier.

"Can you just-"

"I never want to see you again."

He was sobbing.

Plastic cup.

"Please, just-"

"I hate you!"

"Nico-"

"I hate you – I hate you – I hate you!"

"Can you just-"

Will's voice was cut off by a giant thud. It took Nico a moment to register what had just happened. He watched as all the blood drained from his body when a half empty bottle of dish soap made direct contact with Will's face. It fell to the ground, the only sound in the room.

Nico instantly wanted to die. He didn't mean to throw something hard – heavy - at Will. He just wanted him to leave. But in his blind haste, he grabbed the closest thing to him and that was the bottle of dish soap. He put too much force behind it and smack Will directly in the nose. For a moment, he thought he broke it. But as no blood came, that worry was quickly replaced by the realisation of what he had done.

He covered his mouth, gasping in as he watched as Will brought his hand up to his nose, feeling if it was broken or if there was any blood.

"I'm sorry," Nico muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He really had fucked up. Suddenly, he was completely sober. The tears that had been fighting to fall now poured from his eyes.

Will stared at him as he gingerly prodded his nose, glancing down at his fingers to make sure no blood was on them. Wincing from his own touch.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

Nico wanted to run – to hide. He needed to escape. He had just hurt the one man he would never ever harm. He let his self-intitled teenage angst get the better of him and he had truly fucked up. If Will left and never spoke to him again, he would deserve it. He deserved much worse, but he deserved that at the least.

Maybe Will had been trying to patch things up when he came over. Maybe he didn't fully hate him, but now he had to. Nico had hurt him.

"I didn't mean to." He wanted to reach out, to hug him, to hold him. He needed Will to know how sorry he was.

"Fuck," Will muttered, once again testing to see if anything was coming out of his nose.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. Please, I…" His breath was shaking as he backed up, his foot hitting the counter.

"Are you done?" Will asked.

Nico's head shot up, his tears blurring his vision as he tried to blink them away. Will's brow was furrowed and his mouth was pulled into a thin line.

"What…?" Nico couldn't understand what Will was saying, why he was still there. He should be upset – furious at Nico for what he had said and done. And with physically hurting him, he should never want to speak to him again.

"Are you done, or do you want to go at it outside?"

"I… don't-"

"Because if you aren't, you're gonna have to give me a few seconds before you start up again," Will said, more annoyed than anything. Was he… not mad?

"I – I'm sorry. I promise I – "

"So, are you done?"

Nico couldn't find the words so he simply nodded. His hands were shaking as he watched Will walk around the counter, kicking something Nico had thrown at him earlier out of the way. He was almost paralyzed by fear, that maybe Will was going to come over and hurt him in exchange. Will would never lay his hands on him, but he had just thought the same thing for himself until only a few moments ago.

"Now," Will started, three feet away from Nico whose tears had stained tracks onto his face. He was afraid if he blinked, he would miss whatever Will was about to do. "Can I speak or are you going to start throwing things at me again?"

"I'm sorry – I…"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Nico could only nod. He managed to grab hold of the counter, his fingertips turning white as he tried to steady himself. He swallowed hard.

"Okay, now what do you mean by you like me?"

Nico's heart raced, something inside him was about to break and he couldn't figure out what. This was the moment he feared. Will was about to become disgusted with him. Realise that he shouldn't be his friend.

"I…" Nico tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry and it came out cracked and broken. "I'm sorry…" Nico didn't want his voice to come out in a sob, but it did. He was about to cry and apologize to his best friend for liking him. He didn't know what else to do.

Will took a deep breath in and ran a hand over his face, rubbing his nose a bit as he looked in deep thought. He was thinking something over, and Nico was scared to find out what.

"You like me, right?" Will asked, his voice steady and held no give. It was solid and calculated like every syllable had been practiced before. He must have known. There was no way he could be this calm and not have known.

Nico nodded. "I'm sorry."

"And that is why you've been avoiding me?"

Nico nodded again. He didn't trust his voice. If he tried to speak, it would be broken and inaudible.

Will took another deep breath in and looking somewhere just over Nico's shoulder.

He hated him. He had to. His best friend had ignored him for a week because of a stupid crush and then assaulted him with dish soap. He had to hate his entire being. Nico wanted to puke.

"Since when?" Will brought his gaze back to Nico's, his blue eyes were almost closed off. There was pain behind them, and Nico knew he had caused it.

"Saturday," Nic croaked, his voice almost failing him, "I think."

Will nodded, looking off again.

Nico made a mental note to take in every detail he could. He watched as each twitch pushed and pulled the small details of his face. He wanted to memorize everything about Will before he left his life completely. What he would give to be able to count his freckles one last time. To run his hands through his hair. To be close with him before he pushed him away for good.

"What I say next will depend on how you respond: so…" Will started, swallowing hard before he continued on, "do you think you could keep liking me?"

"What?" Nico was confused. Shouldn't he be pushing him away? Nico searched for the answer in Will's face, but for the first time, Nico had no idea what he was thinking.

"Do you think you could keep liking me? In the future?"

Nico furrowed his brow.

"I-" his throat was dry and he wetted his lips, "I don't know. Maybe?"

What was he saying? Was he telling Will he didn't know if he would keep having a crush on him? He had already ruined everything and now he was telling him that maybe it was a phase? God, he felt so stupid. This was beyond embarrassing, but it was something he had to do.

"Probably," he added.

"Okay," Will said, his voice shaky as he exhaled. He started to nod slightly to himself. "Okay, good." Nico watched as Will huffed air through his nose, almost smiling as he processed what Nico had said.

"Why?" Nico asked, his voice small. Will looked up, meeting his gaze. It was like the first time they had truly seen each other since Saturday.

"Because," Will spoke, his breath controlled, "I… have been waiting to hear that for so long."

Nico found himself gaping, unable to process what Will had just said. He had been waiting for Nico to tell him he liked him? That made no sense.

"I…" Nico couldn't find the words as he tried to study Will. What was he saying? What did he mean? Suddenly he felt left out in the dark.

"I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

"What do you mean?"

"Can I kiss you?" Will asked, bluntly.

Nico swore he was dreaming. He had to. Someone needed to pinch him so he could wake up. He needed to wake up and apologize to Will for being an asshole because there was no way this was actually happening.

Will Solace, the man who had been plaguing Nico's dreams, tearing himself up over because of his feelings for, just asked if he could kiss him?

"What?" Nico asked, needing to know what he actually said.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked again. He had heard right. Will had asked if he could kiss him.

Nico studied him, trying to understand what was going on. It wasn't this easy. It couldn't be. The blond's face was dusted with a blush he couldn't actually believe he was seeing. Will knew he had just verbally (and physically) assaulted him, right?

"You want to kiss me?" Nico clarified, still not believing.

"Yes."

"Are you stupid?"

"Probably."

Nico couldn't feel his body. He was watching himself open and close his mouth like a fish.

"So, can I?" Will asked once again, looking less confident with every growing second.

There wasn't much space between them, maybe a foot or two. But it was greater than any canyon in existence.

Nico wasn't sure exactly what happened, but the next thing he knew he was pulling Will in by his neck, crashing their lips together.

It wasn't the best first kiss. No where's near good. It was sudden and messy and there was a lot more teeth than there should have been. Will's lips were a bit rough, like there was just a little bit more dry skin then he thought. But Nico just needed to make sure this was real and this was happening. He needed to kiss Will, see if he would push him away.

But instead of being rejected, Will quickly readjusted himself, thrown off by being suddenly pulled down. Will smiled as he slipped his hands around Nico's neck, his thumb gently rubbing Nico's jaw.

Will pulled away first, leaving Nico scared he had fucked up, but all he did was fix his footing and lean back in. This time, it made much more sense. Their noses didn't bump into one another and Will had lifted Nico's chin higher up so he wasn't so strained.

Will let his left hand draw a line down Nico's neck, earning a shiver from the smaller boy as he traced it down his chest and settled on his waist, pulling him closer.

Nico had never kissed anyone before. He had expected it to be like it was described in books – in movies. But being kissed by his best friend, there was a moment he thought the books could never find enough words to perfectly describe the way their mouths fit together. He wished he could as Will's body pressed up on him was a puzzle piece he never realised he was missing.

It wasn't long before Will pulled away, this time more hesitantly, leaving Nico breathless.

Nico had just kissed a boy in his kitchen.

Nico just kissed his best friend, Will, in his kitchen.

And Will had kissed him back.

Nico decided that if it was a dream, he would stay asleep forever.

When Nico's eyes fluttered open, he was shocked to find Will still standing there, his hand still cradling his cheek. He leaned into it, letting himself be taken away by his warmth. He had made a lot of mistakes, so how did he still end up here?

"Okay," Nico muttered, "wow."

Will chuckled, his face looking relaxed for the first time in days.

"Man of many words."

"Fuck off."

"Yeah? Want me to still leave now?"

"I really don't," Nico admitted. He didn't care if it made him look weak or lame, he some how had the one thing he never thought he would be allowed. Like hell he was going to let go now.

"Okay. I wont."

Nico met Will's eye and broke out into a smile. He couldn't help it. Will quickly followed suit. The two boys were smiling, fighting off a wave of giggles as they held each other, neither able to fully understand what had just happened in the past ten minutes.

"So, wait," Nico said, his brow drawn together in thought, "I thought you were going out with that Katie chick."

"Katie?" Will questioned, his brows scrunching together as he searched for what Nico was talking about. "Katie - Katie - Gardener?"

"Yeah."

Will smiled.

"No, I was just fucking with you," Will said. Nico frowned. "Though, she did ask me out."

"Oh."

"Jealous?"

Nico blushed as he pouted.

"No." He paused. "But you said-"

"Nico," Will chuckled, "I haven't bern dating anyone for a reason."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Nico swallowed hard as he tried to find a way to say what he was thinking.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"How - how long have you liked me?"

Will blushed and looked away, a smiling growing wider on his lips.

"I, uh… April," he admitted. Nico didn't think three months was that bad. "Last year."

Oh.

"Wait, are you serious?"

Will nervously laughed.

"Yeah, but it's fine."

"So, when I asked you the whole…"

"I kinda used it as an excuse…"

"Solace."

"What?"

"What the fuck? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Okay, you can't say that. You just had a mental breakdown because you've liked me for a week."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"That's different."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Nico said, as if it was clear as day, "mine wasn't over a year."

"I did handle it better than you, though."

"Shut up, Solace."

Will laughed before he pulled Nico close again, resting his nose on the side of his cheek. He took a deep breath in before burying his face into the side of Nico's neck.

Nico could feel his body leaving him one again. Nothing was feeling real. Obviously Will was deeper in, but just the thought of seeing this through was enough hope for Nico.

"So."

"So," Will replied.

"What do we do now?"

Will reluctantly pulled back, this time settling back against the island. Nico instantly missed the heat of Will and debated moving forward with him. But he was stubborn and stayed leaning against the counter like before.

Will was chewing his lip.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Nico let his voice trail as he felt his face heat up. God, was he ever going to get used to that? "About this…"

"Us…"

"Yeah."

Will looked deep in thought before he met Nico's eyes. "You seem to have an idea."

Nico let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

They both smiled.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" Will asked at the same time as Nico said, "Do you want to make out?"

There was a moment pause as the two of them registered what the other had said.

"No, you're right," Nico said, feeling his face catch fire, "yours was definitely the better idea."

"Make out? Really?" Will chuckled, crossing his arm as Nico turned to look away.

"Shut up," he muttered.

Will laughed and it made Nico's heart soar. Without leaning forward too much, Will grabbed Nico's hand and held it between them.

"You know," he started, earning Nico's eyes to subtly fall back on him, "we can do both."

Nico inhaled sharply. The twitch of Will's brow was enough to send Nico's heart into cardiac arrest. He had a sly grin on his face. Nico's tongue jutted out to wet his lips as he suddenly found his mouth very dry.

"I hate you," Nico muttered, but pulled Will with him as he headed to the stairs.

"No, you don't," he laughed, happy to follow the shorter teen upstairs.

….

When Bianca got home, she noticed Will's shoes still by the door. She looked around before putting her keys on the counter and kicking her own shoes off.

She glanced around the living room quickly before making her way to the kitchen. She scoffed when she saw the state of the room. Things were askew everywhere she looked. What really confused her was everything that was on the floor was mainly by the pantry.

She shook her head as she headed up stairs, ready to yell at her brother for trashing the place. She didn't make the mess so she was not going to clean it.

When she got to his room, his door was opened just a crack. She gave it a quick knock before pushing it open.

Bianca had to bite her lip and try and hold in her laughter when she was met with a very dishevelled Will and a very pissed off Nico who was yelling at her for just opening the door without his permission. It was obvious what she had just walked in on, Will adverting his eyes as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He couldn't look her in the eyes. Good.

"…can I not have an privacy in this fucking house?"

"Shut up," she waved him off, which only made him madder, "the kitchen's a mess. I don't know what you did, but you better clean it up before mom and dad get home."

"Get out!" Nico yelled, his face almost as red as Will's.

"Also, if you haven't eaten, I was thinking of ordering, want anything?"

"Can you just leave?!"

"Pizza? You good with Pizza? Will?"

Will gave her a thumbs up but still couldn't look at her longer than a second.

Nico had thrown a pillow at the door and barely missed. Bianca laughed as she got an idea of what might have happened earlier.

"I'll order Pizza. It was nice seeing you Will," she called before Nico had pushed her out of his bedroom. She laughed the entire way downstairs, grabbing the menu from their usual place and calling. At least the Nico-Nightmare was over and she could go back to teasing him. It was nice to have her little brother back.

A/N::D

Was it worth it?

I've had this written for so long and I keep tweaking it cuz I had a very specific image in my mind for how this goes and I think I did it.

I'm actually plotting out the sequel Bitter rn and what I can tell you is two things: it's gonna be about seven ish chapters long and it will be rated M for specific content warnings. There will most likely be a week break between this fic ending and Bitter starting. I might also throw in a story part between sour and bitter for random tiktoks and scenes from their social media's as I want to incorporate it in more. Give them a full social media presence. But more to come next week.

I really hope you have been enjoying this fic for all this time. It's made me really want to get back into writing more fan fics and some personal projects. Hopefully this was the shove I needed to do so!

Please let meow your thoughts and feelings! Especially since this major development!

Remember, we aren't done yet! Close, but not yet!

Kitty