Solangelo in High School

Four

// Will's pov \\

I woke up at 6am and started getting ready for school. I really wasn't ready for it again. I had zero motivation to get up and go to school, but my mom came into my room and shouted at me to get up. Guess there's no escaping it today. Damn.

I had to rush around as I'd spent so long lounging around in bed. I showered quickly. Then I slipped on some skinny jeans, a Dan and Phil shirt and a pair of black dr martens before grabbing my backpack, an apple and slipping out the door. I checked the time and sighed happily. I was in no real rush to catch the bus this morning.

When the bus arrived, I was one of the first people on so I wasn't forced to sit next to Nico. A girl sat next to me but I didn't talk to her. I spent most of the journey staring out the window.

Despite the fact I wanted to talk to Nico so badly, I held myself back because it was so obvious that he didn't want me around. What was his problem with me anyway?

Fortunately, I made a couple of friends that day: Lou Ellen, Cecil, Emmy and Hannah. That meant I didn't feel so hopeless and lonely. They all seemed like really nice people. I was glad I met them.

I didn't see Nico all day, not until I got back on the bus at the end of the day. He didn't look like he'd been physically hurt by Octavian and his little gang during the day. However, I did know about what happened before they got on the bus this morning.also, they still could've said stuff to him, or maybe they hit him in less-obvious places. I sat in the seat two rows behind Nico on the bus. He was listening to music and leaning against the window, his feet on the empty seat next to him, his eyes closed. I stared at him all the way to my stop.

I was sad when it came to my stop and I had to get off. I was actually quite enjoying watching Nico as he listen to his music. He did a really cute thing where he moved his head in time with the music and mouthed along with the words to a select few songs, most likely his favourites. From what I could gather by his lip syncing, I could tell he was listening to Fall Out Boy, just like when I sat next to him on the bus.

After dragging myself off the bus, away from Nico, I walked the long way back to my house. I spent the extra time I was walking to think about everything, not just Nico but school in general.

When I finally walked in, my mom was in the kitchen and I could smell dinner. I went to ask if she needed any help. She said no. I asked where dad was. She said he was coming home late. I climbed the stairs to my room.

// Nico's pov \\

My alarm was my worst enemy. Waking me from a mercifully dreamless sleep and telling me it was time to face the horrors of real life.

It took me a while, but I managed to drag myself out of bed and make it to my bathroom to take a shower. I set the temperature of the water to much lower than a normal person would have it to wake me up. It worked. I showered and got dressed in my usual clothes, my shirt today had Baymax from Big Hero Six on it and the quote "Bah-A-La-La-La" that Hazel had bought me for my birthday. I grabbed my backpack and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Hazel must've already left for school (she gets a lift with some friends). I nodded my head in greeting to Seph then left for school.

Earbuds in, I headed to the bus stop. When I got to the bus stop, Octavian was already there with his gang. I gulped nervously. Instead of walking any closer and risking my neck, I stopped walking and waited for the bus where I was. Unfortunately, Octavian noticed me and he came over to me.

I didn't look at him, I stared down at my shoes. To get my attention, he ripped the earbuds out of my ears. I refused to let myself wince, or look up at him. "Oi, faggot -slap- I'm talking to you." My face stung where he struck me but I didn't want to give him the pleasure of knowing it did.

I let myself look up at him. His smirk was unbearable to look at. So were his piercing blue eyes. Unlike Will's soft, calming blue eyes, Octavian's were cold and hard. They looked like he was thinking about the best way to kill you. I felt sick to my stomach.

After Octavian told his bodyguards to beat me up for not talking to him, the bus arrived. I had to sit through the whole bus ride with bleeding cuts on my face. My face was their favourite target because it ps the most obvious place and I have to live with the embarrassment of actually being beaten up.

I hid my face at every stop so all the other people who got on wouldn't see how bad it looked. I tried even harder to cover my face when it got to Will's stop. I didn't need him seeing me this way - a bloody mess.

I got off the bus when we pulled up at school and rushed to the bathroom to wash the cuts on my face out. Fortunately for me, they clotted pretty quickly so it didn't take very long to fix them myself, plus no awkward trips to the nurse.

Classes, as usual, were horrible. I sat through most of them, panicking about a teacher picking on me and not knowing the answer. School is just one major anxiety attack. Home wasn't much better.

Could life just give me a break? For once? Just once?

// Will's pov \\

Nico di Angelo. How do I even begin to express how I feel about you. I had no idea I could feel this way about a person! You're absolutely amazing. It hurts me every time you come into class with a split lip or a bruise on your cheek. If only you'd let me get a little closer. Maybe, just maybe, I could help you with this Octavian business and you could be happy. How great does that sound? If only you'd let me talk to you...