Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 7: Testing Confidence

"I can summon skeletons and I've gone up against Kronos, Will."

"Yes, but you also have social anxiety and crippling depression."

Nico sighed. "Yes, I think I'll be fine."

"I take it you've never been to Target before?" Will asked him.

"Nope."

"Okay, just follow the signs, they'll tell you what kind of items are in each section. If you need me, I'll be over there." He pointed to the left of the store.

"Okay." Nico was already feeling nervous. There were so many people.

"We'll meet by the front doors, then."

Nico looked around him, wondering where he was going to go. What would Will want for Valentine's day?

Nico looked down at the wad of cash in his hand. He had 30 dollars that he could spend. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an instrument section, and he remembered that Will needed a guitar pick, so he headed over there.

Immediately, Nico realized that he was in trouble. There were many types of guitar picks, and many different brands. He picked up a couple and threw them in the cart that Will had handed him when they got in the store.

He was getting ready to go down a different aisle when a cheery young woman in a Target shirt approached him. She had short dark brown hair and a nose piercing, and dark eyes. She was only a couple of inches taller than Nico, and her name tag read "Lucy."

"Hello! Are you finding everything okay today?" She asked him in a cheerful voice.

Nico froze. He was not used to random strangers walking up and talking to him. There were times when he had to talk to people when he ordered McDonald's and things like that, but he always froze when he wasn't expecting it.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Nico tried to compose himself. "I'm okay. And I don't need any help right now, but thank you."

She gave him a big smile. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." Then she walked off.

That was fun, Nico thought.

He tried to shake off his discomfort as he walked past countless aisles looking for something else Will would want.

After about 10 minutes of walking, Nico came across the stuffed animal aisle. He was about to walk past it when something big and yellow caught his eye. He walked over to find a big bright sun stuffed animal. It wasn't kiddish, though. It didn't have a face or anything like that on it. Instead, it had the words "You brighten up my life." Nico just stared at it. That pillow was the literal embodiment of Will Solace. Nico thought it was super cheesy, but for some reason, he was compelled to pick it up and put it in his cart.

If anybody found out about this, they were never going to let him live it down.

The last thing he got was a small box of chocolates, because even he knew that that was a formidable Valentine's day gift.

Nico walked over to the checkout aisle and waited in the shortest line that he could find.

When it was Nico's turn, he put his items on the conveyor belt and watched as they moved forward. There was a guy at the cash register, and he smiled at Nico.

"Hey, I like your shirt."

"This time he was prepared for a conversation. "Thank you." Nico was wearing the "My Chemical Romance" shirt that Will had gotten him for his birthday.

As the guy was ringing Will's presents up, he asked Nico, "So, you have a special girl in your life?"

"My sister Hazel and my friend Reyna are certainly special."

The man laughed. "I meant since you were buying chocolate and that pillow, I thought maybe you were buying them for a girlfriend."

"No, I'm buying them for my boyfriend." Nico said. Surprisingly, he didn't feel embarrassed to say that.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I assumed."

"That's alright."

Once he was done checking out and he had bagged his presents multiple times so that Will wouldn't see through the bag, he went over to go meet Will by the door, who was already there.

"Hey, death boy. How did it go?"

Nico shrugged. "I had to talk to people."

Will laughed. "That happens sometimes."

"Someone asked if I had a special girl in my life."

Will laughed again. "What did you say?"

"I said that my sister and Reyna were certainly special. He then specified that he meant a girlfriend. I told him that I had a boyfriend. He apologized afterwards for assuming."

Will smiled at Nico, and he blushed. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking about how I'm so lucky to be with you."

Nico scoffed. "Not in public, Will. Don't make me flustered in public."

As they walked out of the store, Nico intertwined his hand with Will's, and they walked down the streets of New York hand in hand.