100 reasons to love our lives

The dying dancer

Nico

Danger seemed non-existent when I had my face buried in Williams chest.

It wasn't like I would be cuddling him all the time; only when I needed comfort and warmth.

Which was, admittedly, all the time.

At some point, my three new whatever-they-were left us for ourselves, still bickering about that club thing. I already was scared of February, because Kathleen had promised us that she would introduce us to the world of clubbing.

I wasn't antisocial, but definitely not socially active enough to be excited for that.

The sun was setting, and we sat with our backs to a tree, our limbs intertwined, as if we would fall apart if we would let go of each other.

He had comforted me like that after I told him about the misery in my room. ”You can just sleep in my bed tonight“, he had suggested.
”But wouldn't I disturb Heinrich?“, I had asked, and he had shaken his head. ”Not at all, I'm sure of that“, he had promised.

It was tempting, to just leave that thing be and spend the night in my boyfriend's sun-tanned arms. I could stare at his sandy hair, curled at his ear, his beautiful, ice blue eyes and the tiny freckles over his nose and back all the time, reassuring myself that perfection still existed.
But then again... My luggage still was in that room.

And I was curious.

Why did it smell so miserable in that room? If anyone could even call the pure misery a scent. In my head, I went with that word, because I couldn't see, hear or taste that mysterious... whatever it was. And just like a bad scent, it blocked my lungs, causing me to breathe flat and only with courage.

Strangely I couldn't quite remember how it felt, right now under that tree. Will's touch was like a protection field, keeping me from any kind of harm.

”I think I'll stay in my own room tonight“, I told him. ”I want to find out what it is.“
”I'll come with you“, Will promptly said, but I shook my head. ”No, you better sleep in your own bed. I will manage that alone.“
”You don't have to-“, he started, but I interrupted: ”But I want to. It's... kind of exciting, actually.“
He raised an eyebrow, so high it seemed to hide behind the strands falling into his face.
”Yeah“, I explained, focusing on his t-shirt. ”I thought my life would be boringly mortal now.“

Not quite the whole truth. I was torn between choosing; either a human or a demigod life. And I still had two years to make my decision; therefore, two years of boring human lifestyle.

Nothing to be stressed about now.

Something I could be stressed about right now was the scent of death in my bedroom.
”Fine“, Will sighed in defeat. ”I trust you to not die.“
”Thank you“, I said and closed my eyes again, enjoying the sunset on my face as long as possible.

~~~

Now that I was prepared, I wasn't half as overwhelmed as I had been before.
My heart still doubled its speed.
My lungs still screamed in pain.
My mind still fell into panic mode.
But my body moved, slowly, closing the door behind me. As I turned on the light, my new bedroom fell out of its own reality.