OMG thanks for the reviews dearest readers :') They mean so much to me.
Here is the next chapter!
It killed Nico. It killed him to see that Will and Hazel were so heartbroken over his lies. Sitting in the darkness of his room, Nico pulled his blanket around his shoulders and sniffled, replaying the last few hours in his mind.
After Will had left, Hazel had stormed into her room, locking the door against Nico's pleas. His parents were out of town, so he and Hazel should have been stuffing their faces with snacks, snuggled up on the couch watching the Walking Dead, but instead he'd screwed everything up. Nico leaned back against his headboard and wiped the tears from his eyes angrily. He was so stupid. He somehow had managed to hurt the people who cared about him the most in his own selfishness.
The realization hit him with the strength of an earthquake. Did he really fake the illness to protect Hazel? Or was he just jealous that Will had been flirting with her? Nico buried his face in his knees and gave a choked sob. At the sound of his door opening hesitantly, he brought his head up with a snap.
Hazel was standing in the doorway, her face obscured in shadows.
"Hey," Nico said uncertainly.
Hazel walked into his room slowly and glanced at the window. In the thin shaft of moonlight, Nico could see that she had been crying and his heart broke into even tinier fragments. She came and sat on the edge of his bed, and Nico wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them and wrap her up in his arms.
"I'm so sorry," Nico whispered.
Hazel stared at the frame of four-leaf clovers on his wall. "I don't understand, Nico," she said tiredly. "What did you mean when you said you did this to protect me from Will?"
Twisting the blanket in between his hands, Nico explained about how he had thought Will was a player, and that he was afraid of losing Hazel like he'd lost Bianca. "I just overreacted," Nico admitted, "I just drew so many parallels between you with Will and Bianca with Ethan. When I realized that Will wasn't so bad, I was in far too deep with my lies. It was wrong, I know, but...I love you, Hazel, I truly do. I would never ever willfully hurt you."
Hazel was silent, and those few moments were the longest of Nico's life. Then she looked at him with shiny eyes. "That's incredibly sweet and even stupider of you, Nico." She laughed lightly. "But I guess I can't stay mad at you for wanting to protect me." Nico felt relief blossom in his chest. He opened up his arms and Hazel curled against him. It felt so good, holding her close again, and Nico resolved to never let anything come between them again.
Complete honesty, Nico thought.
"And to be honest," he murmured against her wild hair, "I was jealous that Will was hitting on you and didn't even seem to notice me." Hazel snickered.
"Oh he noticed you," she said.
Nico half-smiled, then froze, "Do you think he'll forgive me?" he said brokenly. Hazel twisted around so that she was facing him. She gently stroked his unruly midnight hair.
"He really likes you Nico," Hazel whispered. "If you apologize, I don't see why he wouldn't, especially since you only did it to protect me." Nico's lips flickered upwards. Hazel was much too good for him. Pressing his forehead into her shoulder he thanked fate for gifting him with such an amazing sister. He would apologize to Will tomorrow in class and hopefully, just hopefully, it would all be okay.
Nico was a bundle of nerves as he waited in music class for Will. His apologies were ready, but Will didn't come into class until about halfway through, and he slid into a seat by the far corner, avoiding everyone's gaze. They were still going through evaluations, however, Nico found he couldn't focus on the students at the front of the class. He stared unabatedly at Willl's hooded form, hoping that Will would look up and meet his gaze.
"William Solace," Mr. Pan called. Nico winced as Will got up and shuffled to the front of the room, throwing back his hood. Will looked terrible, his eyes were slightly puffy and ringed with darkness, as if he had stayed up crying last night. His hair was askew and his mouth was pulled down in a frown instead of his usual sunny smile. Despite this though, Nico still thought Will looked like a god.
"Whenever you're ready, Will."
Will paused for a moment and turned to grab a guitar. Nico was surprised, he didn't know Will played any instruments. From what Will had insinuated, he had no musical talent whatsoever. Then Will began to strum the guitar and in a raspy voice started singing.
Just yesterday
You were a part of me
I used to stand so tall
I used to be so strong
Your arms around me tight
Everything, it felt so right
Unbreakable, like nothin' could go wrong
Now I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hanging on
Nico was shocked. Will was always caterwauling like a dying cat around him, he had no idea that Will could actually sing like this. As Will continued, his voice cleared and began to flow in a soulful tune, although his eyes looked completely dead.
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these shattered eyes
I told you everything
Opened up and let you in
You made me feel alright
For once in my life
Now all that's left of me
Is what I pretend to be
So together, but so broken up inside
'Cause I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hangin' on
Nico felt the guilt clawing at him, sure that Will was singing about him, although the blonde boy refused to meet anyone's gaze. He stared at the ground and spit out the words harshly.
Swallow me then spit me out
For hating you, I blame myself
Seeing you it kills me now
No, I don't cry on the outside
Anymore...
As the last notes simmered in the air, Will stood up abruptly and put the guitar on the ground. He left the music room without a second glance. Everyone sat in shock, unsure of how to react. While Will's performance had been exceptional, it had opened a little window into the sheer amount of pain he was in. Nico swallowed the lump in his throat, as the door swung shut with a sense of finality.
"Go talk to him!" Hazel begged. Nico slammed his locker shut.
"He won't listen to me," snapped Nico, his chest tightening to the point where he wasn't sure if he could breathe. He remembered looking for Will in their other classes, calling him, sending him text message after text message, all to no avail.
"No one can contact him, no one has heard from him in three days." Hazel said, "I'm afraid he's gone and done something stupid."
Nico froze. No. Will wouldn't do that. Will was Will. Sunny and able to rebound from anything. He wasn't stupid and mopey like Nico. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees and Nico suddenly felt dizzy.
"I'll go over to his house after school," he managed. Hazel pulled him into a hug.
"Good luck."
Nico breathed in deeply, and knocked on the bright yellow door of the house he had frequented so often for the last five months. The door swung open to Will's mother. She smiled brightly at him, and Nico could see where Will got his smile from.
"Why, hello Nico!"
"Uh, is Will home?"
Will's mom narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Will told me that he was staying over at your house for the last three days to work on a school project."
Nico shook his head mutely, suddenly terrified. Where was Will?
Will ran, legs pumping, wind rushing through his hair. He didn't think, he just ran. His stupid, traitorous heart hammering to the beat of his ragged breaths. There wasn't anyway to win. Being himself led to bullying, putting on an act drove his only love away from him. He didn't know what to do anymore. He felt the air sting his cheeks and realized that tears were streaming down his face. Stop crying, he told himself. But even his body was betraying him. He kept pushing, even as his legs burned and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.
He's not good enough for anyone.
Choking on nothing, Will nearly collapsed as he entered familiar territory, miles away from home. He stumbled forward, moonlight painting everything in a cold silver, and closed his eyes, falling forward.
A rush.
And then nothing.
Soooo...I'm a jerk and left off on another cliffhanger :P On the upside, only one more chapter, probably (which will be the most exciting one)!
The song Will sang was "Behind these Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson *slightly edited* for those that are interested, by the way.
Please R&R :)