Hi guys sorry this is up late again, I had a much busier week than I thought but I hope you like it!
Will's POV
"So you're not gonna be here for the long weekend?" Austin asks, frowning as he sits up in his bed.
"Nah, sorry," Will says. "My parents want me home since I'll have a couple of days. They think they don't see me enough."
"Weird," Austin says, laying back down and flinging his arm over his head. The soft golden sunlight bathes his face, and his swim shorts hang out of his dresser drawer. The campus in late October is always covered in a sheet of crisp leaves from what the trees had shaken off throughout that month, and the hot tubs that sit adjacent to the swimming pool are always open, even on the weekend. Will knows that his friends will spend the weekend lounging in the final rays of sunlight that peek out before winter, watching Percy try to 'perfect his dive,' whatever that means, and taking their lunches out to the green before it gets too cold to be outside. Will feels a stinging ache of loss as he thinks about the time he'll be giving up. But, of course, he has something much better planned for the weekend. "They were the ones who sent you to a Christian boarding school halfway across the country."
"Yeah, they're weird like that," Will says, shoving clothes into his duffel bag.
"You know, Nico's going home for the weekend, too," Austin says. "Kinda sucks that neither of you is gonna be here. We need Nico to bully Octavian. And we need you to, you know- do that Will thing. Work that Will magic."
"And what is that Will magic?" Will asks, grinning as he zips up his bag. It sits so innocently on his bed, as if it isn't bursting with a secret that threatens to destroy him on a daily basis.
"You know," Austin says, scratching his head. "You're very good for moral support. And I think having you around eggs Nico on. Which is nice for me because I get to watch him bully Octavian."
"Well, you'll have to do without us for the weekend," Will says. He checks the clock; thirty-five minutes until his imaginary bus leaves for his imaginary trip back to Texas. He'll have to hurry.
"Are you and Nico, like, riding the bus together or something?" Austin says. "Don't you guys live close to each other?"
"We're just taking the same bus out of town," Will says. "After that we go our own separate ways. And I have my lonely trip back to Texas."
"You know, it still doesn't really make much sense to me," Austin says. "Like, you've got a pretty long trip back to Texas, right? And then you have to come back, too. Wild."
"My sister has something tomorrow night, too, so it kinda worked out," Will says. He slings his bag over his shoulder, and his heart pounds in his chest. He wants to get out of this stiflingly hot dorm, where he can feel the sweat dripping down his neck and Austin won't stop asking questions. "And Nico is only a couple hours away, so it makes sense and stuff."
"Why are you talking about Nico?" Austin asks, flipping onto his stomach and grabbing a comic book from his nightstand.
"Because you were-" Will sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. "Never mind. I'm gonna miss my bus if I don't head out now. I'll see you Sunday night."
"See you Sunday night," Austin says, grinning at Will. "Don't be too sad you're gone. Rememer you're coming back."
"Oh, don't worry," Will says. "It's pretty much impossible to forget." Will leaves Austin lounging on his bed, comic book in hand with his face washed in sunlight. Admittedly, he'll miss the long weekend, spending time with friends and dancing through the hallways without the feeling that he's being watched. As he makes his way through the hallway, listening to the music pumping through stereos or the sound of a movie in the common room, he almost wishes that he was in on this collective experience of spending a weekend trying to break the rules and dart around punishment, try and get as free as possible. But, then again, the kids in the dorms and the kids in the common room don't get what he has; a getaway, one where he knows he won't be watched and he won't be judged. One where he knows he has reached total freedom, away from anyone who could hurt him.
