Solangelo One Shots

Fine Line

Sorry this wasn't up earlier, my wifi went down for a bit but it's back now so here's part three of the fine line series. Enjoy!

Nico's POV

Two and a half months is more time than Nico had ever thought it would be. Two and a half months of trying to avoid Will if they ended up in the coffee shop at the same time, of unfollowing him on social media and ignoring the box of poems, letters, and stories hidden deep within the closet. Those two and a half months felt like an eternity. But in those two and a half months, time spent trying to distract himself with books and movies and any other world he could throw himself into, he starts to forget about Will. 

It starts out slow; he stops expecting to feel Will's arms around his waist when he wakes up in the morning, and he stops expecting that good night text that always made his heart flutter. But soon, the memory of their relationship fades away, and Will is reduced to fleeting daydreams that show up in Nico's unoccupied mind, and the memory of the night underneath the canyon moon that seems to stick to his brain like glue. It's impossible to completely pretend it never happened; he might always have feelings, an aching "what if" that makes his chest feel tight whenever he thinks about it. But they fade away until Will is nothing but a painful memory in the back of his mind, and he begins to fall out of love. 

June and July hurt, he can't deny that. June and July were spent in his bed, mourning the death of his relationship, eating ice cream and watching tv shows from his childhood in his dark room. He doesn't reach out to his friends, doesn't call or text, doesn't spend time with them. But when the early days of August come, along with boiling heat and sweaty nights spent tossing and turning, he finds himself healing. Enough, at least, to start to spend time with his friends again, to start shopping for his college dorm room and to start to get his old life back, the one that had been snatched away by heartbreak. 

He's watching tv when he hears a ding. It's probably Percy, he tells himself. With another stupid question about what kind of clothes he's supposed to bring to California, or what flavor cake he should get for his birthday party. But it isn't Percy, or Annabeth asking what she should get Percy for a birthday present, or Leo screaming about something that he accidentally caught on fire. It's Will- his name is painful to see on the screen, and it hurts Nico to see the hearts that he never got around to removing from Will's contact. He purses his lips; he could look at it. But it took him two months to even start to heal, and even a glance at a text from Will could set everything back. He deletes the notification and makes himself a sandwich. 

The next day he hears another ding. At this point, he's praying that it's one of Percy's stupid questions; he would kill to answer a question about whether or not Percy should buy plastic kazoos as a party gift. But it's Will again, the same pink hearts next to his name, the same painful flood of memories. He could block Will, but he won't. It would feel too complete a transition, too drastic of a step to take. He shuts his phone off completely, buries it underneath his covers. Maybe Percy would be willing to hang out, or Leo needs help with one of his most recent "inventions." He leaves the house with his phone still tucked underneath the covers.

Will's POV- four years ago

"What if he doesn't answer?" Will asks, glancing at Austin. 

"Dude, he'll answer," Austin says. "You both know you like each other. Just text him- everyone knows he wants to go to homecoming with you. He literally told Percy." 

"Listen, if you don't text him, I will," Austin says. "You're being so stupid. Just text him." Will's fingers hover over the keyboard; he can see his previous texts to Nico above it. Texts about their geometry test, about how much they hate Octavian, about whether or not Nico has read the latest chapter of Of Mice and Men that Will is four chapters behind on. They're friend texts; nothing more, nothing less. If Nico says no to going to homecoming with him, it'll be humiliating, to say the least. Will will never be able to live it down. "Will come on," Austin says gently. This is a new one; Austin is never serious, about anything. Will frowns at his phone, finger still just above the keyboard. "You know he likes you and if you don't ask him now, you'll always regret it."