Nico

Will's eyes widened in surprise when he saw me, but now he's just… staring at me?

I put my right hand on my waist and glare at Will, irritated.

"Stalker much. I honestly cannot believe this."

I wait for an answer, expecting a smartass reply to my comment, but he says nothing, just keeps staring at me.

Maybe he really didn't expect to meet me here. I think.

I stop myself from smiling at his obvious staring and clear my throat to get his attention. When I do that, his eyes direct to my face and I arch my eyebrows, waiting for him to say something.

"Well? What are you looking at?" I ask when he keeps being silent.

Will takes some time to regain his senses:

"Uhunn... Nothing. I mean..."

This is getting weird. Will seemed almost… shy. I'd better get out of here. Since we're not at school, I'm not required to share the same space as him.

I pass by him, continuing my way back to the hotel.

"Hey. Where are you going?!" Will asks, coming after me.

He quickly catches up with me and starts walking by my side.

"I fail to see how that's any of your business." I grumpily reply.

"Ouch! That hurt," he says.

Ugh. The sound of his voice gets on my nerves!

"Oh. Shut up!" I say as I keep on walking.

He takes time to respond and when I think he will indeed shut up and hopefully go alway. I hear him say.

"Make me."

I halt my steps and turn to him, making him do the same so as not to bump into me.

"What?!" I ask, exasperated and confused.

I wait for his answer, but instead of answering me, he changes the subject.

"Which hotel are you staying at?"

"Again, I fail to see how that's any of your business."

Will lets out an exasperated sigh. And then, as usual, we get into an argument, but there's something different about it.

"I can never talk to you," he says.

"And whose fault is that?"

Unexpectedly, instead of continuing the argument, Will stops and looks behind me.

"Is that one, isn't it?" he asks, pointing directly at the hotel I'm staying at.

"How the fuck did you guess that?"

"It's pretty obvious," he says, amused.

I can see why he stopped arguing, seeing as there's only one hotel in this particular area. Wait a second…

"You are staying at this hotel too, aren't you?" I ask, disheartened.

"Yep." he answers it, looking conflicted.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I ask in a whisper to the sky.

I restart my walk towards the entrance of the hotel. Will follows me, but seeing as we're staying in the same hotel, I don't think 'following' is the right term. Nevertheless, he walks beside me on the way there.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"No."

"Why are you dressed all in black on the beach?" He asks, pointing to my clothes.

"It's how I usually dress."

"Yeah, but… we're on the beach."

"So?"

"Aren't you hot?"

I smirk. "Aren't I always?"

Will laughs, which makes me involuntarily smile.

He keeps looking at me.

"I've never seen you like this in school."

I shrug. "I wear a uniform at school."

"You could customize."

"It's not allowed."

"Everybody does it."

"I'm not everybody."

"I'm aware of that," he says as we enter the hotel looby.

"You are not wearing glasses," he states.

"Your point being?"

Will surprises me when his expression actually demonstrates regret.

"I'm sorry for breaking them… And for getting you sick. I never wanted this to happen." He says, and he seems sincere, what makes me even more confused and suspicious.

We stop by the elevators, and I press the button. While waiting for the elevator to arrive, I turn my gaze to Will.

"What are you playing at?"

"Nothing. I really am sorry."

"Are you okay? Did you suffer a heatstroke?" I ask, thinking that is the only logical explanation as to why Will is apologizing right now.

Will laughs and I get mesmerized by his charming smile until I realize that I'm staring and mentally slap myself in the face to make myself stop.

Will shakes his head and looks me in the eye as he says,

"No. I didn't spend that much time in the sun. Worried?" He asks with a convinced smile on his face.

I roll my eyes.

"In your dreams." I mock.

"I wanted to ask ..." He starts, but stops when the elevator door finally opens.

I take a deep breath, step into the elevator, and then look at Will.

"Won't you come in?" I ask.

Will is surprised by my question:

"Oh ... Sure." He enters the elevator and stands beside me.

"Which floor?" I ask.

"Fourth."

"I'm in the third." I say as I push the buttons corresponding to our floors.

The doors close and we're both alone in the elevator. I cannot help but be nervous. My heart beats faster and I feel my skin tingle.

"So ... What's your question?" I ask, curious and wanting to distract myself from the clear physical attraction I feel for him.

Will hesitated for a moment, looking insecure.

"Would you… want to hang out with me? Tomorrow?"

I turn sideways to look directly at him. He does the same. I arch an eyebrow.

"Hang out?"

"Yeah. Hang out," Will says, now looking at his own feet as I stare at him.

The door to the third floor opens, but I don't go out. I really didn't know why I was actually considering going, so imagine my surprise when I agreed.

"Okay. See you tomorrow then."

"Okay?" he asks, clearly as surprised as I am.

"Okay."

"Okay, so we meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00 a.m?"

"Okay."

I leave the elevator. Will and I stare at each other while the doors close:

"Sleep tight," he says, right before the doors close completely.

"Okay." I whisper to the closed doors, more confused than ever.

I go to my room, wondering if that really just happened. I open the door to my room. I put my mother's bag on the nightstand, and then I lie in bed, still wondering.

Tomorrow. I'll hang out with Will Solace. What was I thinking?