Getting Wilder ✔️

BONUS: Wilder POV

We stared at each other for a while before we started giggling. Even though I was laughing, I felt an unexplained pang in my chest. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Nico didn't seem to reciprocate anyway. I had hoped he would be jealous, but he hadn't called. Hadn't stopped me. Maybe I was overthinking things. 

Plus, it would just be so much easier with Kiara. I knew how my dad would react if he knew of the thoughts I was having about Nico and guys in general. 

"Goodnight, Wilder!" she beamed at me, "see you in school!"

I nodded, gulping and forcing my feelings down my own throat. My lips still tingled with the touch of hers. It had felt nice, yes. But wasn't my first kiss supposed to feel magical?

Or was that just Disney?

I sighed and turned away, finding my feet leading me towards the Evans household. Maybe telling him about my first kiss would finally make him jealous enough. I knew I was being petty. Pathetic. But I needed to know for sure that he didn't feel for me like I did so I could actually move on with the facade of my life. 

I reached up the familiar front porch and rang the bell. The moment that I did, I heard a loud volley of barks and smiled to myself. Of course, Arfie already knew who it was. The door opened after a while Kailey stared at me. She held a sour stick in her hand and grinned at me. "Hey, Wilder!"

"Hey," I said. I opened my mouth to ask something else before Arfie bounded towards me and started jumping. I crouched down and ruffled his hair, cuddling him and rubbing his belly as his tongue lolled out lazily.

"He's in his room," she said before I asked and sauntered away. I rose to my feet and shut the door behind me, making my way up the staircase and to Nico's room. I felt unexplained anxiety in my stomach. In all honesty, I didn't know how to cope if he didn't like me. But I figured I could worry about that later. 

I knocked on the door and a moment later his voice answered, making butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"It's open!"

I opened the door and saw Nico leaning back in his chair near the desk and gazing at me. Only the dim night lamp was on, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow. His eyes seemed to darken momentarily before he pulled his chair back near the desk and started typing furiously on his laptop. 

"Er...hi,"

He didn't respond, deliberately taking a long time to save his word doc and shutting his computer with a painfully slow pace. I sat on the bed, shuffling my foot nervously on the ground as he finally turned his revolving chair to face me. 

"How was it?"

I was surprised to hear how hard his voice sounded. A flicker of hope kindled in my heart. There was a slight edge to his voice. Was it jealousy?

"It was fun. We went to Brewed. Had some coffee, Belgian chocolate and a croissant."

He scoffed. "That's the worst combination I've  ever heard."

I stared at him. His jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed. "Er...they are all individually good so together they tasted good as well."

"Good," he said, rising to his feet and shutting his laptop with a bit too much force than necessary. I gaped at him as he started pacing around the room, fixing his books on the bookshelf so they were straight, wiping the dust off the photo frames mounted on the wall with his sleeve. Even though his room didn't really need organizing.

"What else? Was she nice?" he asked, finally standing still to glare at me.

I seemed to shrink under this gaze and smiled sheepishly. "Uh..yeah. She is really cool."