Boys in the Wild(p2)

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Hi guys, part two to the last update! Hope you like it!

Will's POV

His feet hurt, and it's getting colder. It's getting darker and Nico has been consistently shivering for the past hour, and he feels as if they've been walking forever. He just wants to get back to the cabin and go to sleep. Beside him, Nico wraps his arms around his chest, his lips tinged a disturbing pale blue. It's not that cold out. But maybe a combination of the thin sweatshirt and the cold weather and the fact that Nico is one of the smallest high school juniors Will has ever seen can justify the way his entire body seems to shake. "You okay?" Will asks, periodically glancing at Nico.

"Yeah," Nico says, kicking at a pile of leaves sitting on the ground. They crunch, and on further observation, Will sees a thin layer of frost over them, ice crystals lining the outer edge. Since when was there frost in October? Will stomps them underneath his feet, hearing the quiet crackle. Maybe it's the combination of the trees blocking out the light of the sun above and the wind that screams through the trees, bouncing off of the lake that ripples a couple of hundred feet away. At least, Will hopes the lake is only a couple hundred feet away. He feels as if they're wandering around in a circle, lost in a sprawling expanse of trees with no escape. "I just want to get back to the cabin." His body is visibly shaking and tentatively Will sets a hand on his back, waiting for the inevitable pull-away. It doesn't come and Will pulls him into his side, their body heat creating one single cloud of warmth. "Thanks."

"Yeah. No problem," Will says, wincing immediately after. He has a boy in his arms, a boy huddled to his side for warmth, a boy who smells shockingly of pine and peppermint and when he thanks Will for his touch, all Will can say is no problem. He's going to stay single for life unless he can find something better to say than no problem.

They step into a circle of light, the moon shining through a crack in the trees. It's warmer there, the grass soft underneath them, and Nico sighs, tipping his head back so his face is bathed in the light of the moon. "Let's stay here," he says, his voice airy. "Five minutes. I feel like I've been walking forever."

"You wanna sit down? There's a spot over there," Will says, gesturing to a tree with a thick trunk and bare branches to let in the moonlight.

"I've never wanted to sit down more in my life." Nico slumps against the trunk of the tree, sighing heavily and letting his head hit the bark. Will slides down next to him, and he takes Nico shifting to sit up as an invitation to slide his arm around Nico's waist, pulling him tight. As they sit against the trunk of the tree, Nico's body in Will's arm and the breeze coming to a gentle halt, Will feels truly warm. As if he could stay in that clearing for hours, feeling the rise and fall of his body in sync with his breaths. Nico rests his head on Will's shoulder, and for a second, Will isn't sure if they're allowed. It feels taboo to be sitting this close to a boy this attractive, to be able to count the freckles on his nose if he tried hard enough. But Will likes it and, based on the way Nico is nestled into Will's body, Nico likes it just as much as Will does. "This isn't weird for you, is it?" Nico asks. "Like, we don't have to touch, if you don't want."

"No, no, it's great," Will says, his face flushing. Suddenly, he's too hot. "I mean, it's not great, or anything. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just- it's nice." He and Nico are wearing twin blushes, but neither of them moves from their spot. It's the nicest thing in the world, Will thinks, to have someone this close. To hold someone in his arms, to be able to feel the heat of their breaths. And it's even better that it's Nico pressed up against him. He can feel Nico's hair brushing against his neck, smooth and soft. He wants to tell Nico about the emotions being unburied in his chest, about the way his heart palpitates any time Nico gets close. But it's weird, to have such a strong attraction to someone, so soon in a friendship. At least, he thinks it is.

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