Solangelo One Shots

Hallway Boys

Nico's POV

He scribbles on the scratched up surface of his desk with his pencil, the granite bringing a black square into existence onto its surface with flecks and shavings of pencil lid springing up from the drawing. It isn't really a drawing, now that he thinks about it, staring at the box that stands darkly out among the faint shadows of penises and swears that still haven't been completely erased from last year. It's more of a habit, scribbling on the desk like that. Because there isn't much else to do as his chemistry teacher drones on and on about class conduct that year, what their syllabus looked like. He's heard the same thing over and over and now, as a junior, the same speech he gets every year in every class is starting to get old.

There isn't anything that really gets his heart going about being a junior, besides the looming threat of the SATs in April, the prospect of starting the long process of college tours. What was once an exciting day for him, picking out his outfit the night before and picking out nice pencils at Target but this year, there's nothing. No new things, no excitement to look forward to.

Everyone else in the class is feeling it, too, the wet blanket over the room that has replaced what used to be overwhelming excitement. Leo's elbow is slipping off of the desk as his eyes close, his head resting on his fist. It's too early in the morning to be hearing the words weekend homework and syllabus; normally, Nico wouldn't even be awake.

His day brightens up when Percy leans over, a grin playing across his face. "Hey. Top right."

"What?"

"Look at the dude in the top right seat."

"Are you trying to describe a seat as top right? That's not how you describe seat placement in a classroom."

"Yeah, but you know who I'm talking about."

"But it's not top right. You could say first row, or front of the classroom, or-"

"Damn it, Nico, just look at him. It's cute hallway boy." Nico's face flushes and he glances down at the black box he's been drawing onto the desk, brushing away the granite flakes with the tips of his fingers and letting it dye them black.

"There isn't a-"

"There is too a cute hallway boy and you know it. You point him out literally every time you see him and never once have you had him in one of your classes. Now's your chance. You should talk to him." Nico laughs softly, shaking his head as he expands the square. Their teacher is talking about the course material now, the complicated algebra that they'll have to teach themselves outside of school and where they can go to find their homework.

"You know I won't do that," Nico says. "I'm too scared." Even so, he glances at cute hallway boy from the corners of his eyes, the light from above bouncing off of his sleek blond hair and giving it that shine that you see in shampoo commercials. His head is dipped to the side as he scrawls something on some piece of paper that Nico didn't bother getting, his shirt clinging to his back muscles, moving with the motion of his arm. Hallway boy leans back, stretching out his limbs and when he turns to talk to his friend, Nico is struck by the soft profile of his face, the soft glisten of sweat on his forehead. He looks so much older than Nico; the strong jawline and smooth skin. Nico shrinks into his seat just looking at him. He looks like a child next to hallway boy; how does he ever think he could possibly manage to say a word?

Will's POV

"Look behind you, but don't make it obvious," Austin says, leaning in so subtly that even their teacher, five feet ahead of them, probably couldn't see.

"What?"

"It's cute hallway boy."

"Cute hallway boy? Where?" He extends his arms behind his head, stretching his muscles as he glances behind him.