After who knew how much time had passed, the broke away from each other. It was infinitely harder than it should have been.
They sat in silence for a moment, side by side on Nico's bed.
"How's Cecil?" asked Nico, breaking the silence.
He didn't have to look over to see Will flinch.
"Nico, you know that him and I aren't together anymore."
"That's not what I asked."
Will took a deep breath, letting it filter out between his teeth in a hiss.
"He's fine. A bit irritable, but fine. He even has a bit of an accent now…"
Will trailed off. Nico remained silent.
Will nudged Nico's knee with his own.
"You're my boyfriend, Nico. You know that," continued Will. Every word sounded hesitant and careful.
For how much longer? the voice in Nico's head whispered. He tried to push it away but it lingered, echoing through the space between his ears.
"Will?"
"Yes?"
Nico turned slightly to face him. A single beam of late-afternoon sunlight had filtered through the grimy windows, lighting Will's hair on fire. It seemed to glow gold, flickering with every minute movement he made.
"Why did you break up with him for me?"
Will's eyes darted across his. The silence swelled.
"Because I had to."
"Why?"
"Because—" Will gestured idly in the air in front of him, evidently searching for the right words. "Because," he started again, this time more sure of himself. "Because I knew, from the second I saw you, that I was falling out of love with him."
Nico rolled his eyes. "That's the cheesiest—"
Will took his hands and looked at him imploringly, as if begging him to understand with the still waters hidden in his irises.
"Nico, I couldn't help it. I was drawn to you, for god knows what reason. I knew that our paths had crossed for a reason."
Nico felt as if he had heard all of this in some B-rate romance film, but he remained quiet. He could tell that Will was being serious.
"When I was with Cecil, there was something that always felt a bit off," said Will. "We never really matched."
"And we match?" questioned Nico, skeptical.
"We match," repeated Will. His fingers tightened around Nico's.
"Cecil and I would always be fighting about something. We never agreed. But you…you make sense."
Nico blinked slowly, letting the words sink in.
In the end, it was too hard trying to come up with some sort of argument. Will wanted him—Will cared about him. And Nico wasn't about to try to stop that.
But indeed, he was terrified. Terrified of things slipping out of control again. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose himself again.
And, more importantly, he couldn't lose Will.
Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of activity. I've had the worst writer's block and everything I've been writing just seemed a little off. I can't promise that there will be other chapters soon, but I'm definitely not abandoning this story. I've just got to get my creativity going again.
Thanks for being patient! I really appreciate it.
-Sid