Kissing Boys (Solangelo high school AU)

Chapter 21

I made it through my classes and to lunch, Will and I walked closely together to the table where we all sat. Our hands brushed a few times, though I didn't think he noticed. We got our lunches after sitting our stuff on our chairs so we didn't have to carry backpacks in the lunch line.

"You know," Will started, getting both of us trays "I'm really glad that we live close to each other."

"Why is that?" I asked.

He smirked "Because I love seeing you."

That was as close as I would ever get to hearing him say I love you.

"I l-love seeing you too," I whispered.

We got our food and paid, then sat down. Jason and Annabeth were already there, debating something for student council.

"Hey you two," Annabeth said without really acknowledging that we were there "But really Jason, it would be better for the winter formal to be a practical thing so it's easier to find decorations."

"But everyone does a theme like snow, why can't we think a little out of the box, not much, just a little," Jason sighed.

"How about we just come up with a few different themes and let the other students vote," Annabeth suggested.

I looked down at my lunch, I really needed to eat, I was still weak from being sick so I needed to get whatever I could in me. It was just a tiny bowl of mac n cheese, I could do it.

"Yeah, I think that'll work," Jason said.

I picked up my fork and took a bite. It tasted like trash in comparison to even the Eggo waffles Will had fed me.

"School lunch kind of tastes like shit," I laughed, turning to Will.

He was beaming down at me "Yeah it really does."

"I'm sure even your cooking would be better than this," I joked.

"Probably," he laughed.

I continued eating and dropped one hand on my lap. Annabeth and Jason were still arguing when Percy and Piper showed up.

They sat down and Will scooted his chair closer to me. I got the sudden urge to hold his hand, to lace our fingers together and never let go. He beat me to it. His left hand grabbed my free hand and interlocked our fingers. Our hands were under the table so nobody could see, but I still got a little embarrassed.

"Nico, you okay dude, you look a little pink," Jason asked.

"Huh? Oh I-I'm good."

Will smirked and squeezed my hand "Well, it isn't a fever, I checked for that."

"That's good. Hazel would be pissed if he somehow got sick again," Jason said.

I laughed slightly, making Jason grin from ear to ear.

"Aw, you're so cute Nico," Will whispered, squeezing my hand again

My heart felt like it was gonna explode, why did he keep doing that?

"Hey, you guys have the dance forms for taking a student from another school, right?" Reyna asked, sitting down.

Annabeth nodded "Why? Who are you taking?"

"It's a surprise Chase, can I have the paper?" She half laughed.

Annabeth dug through her backpack and pulled out a release form.

"So, when is the winter formal even?" Will asked.

"The tenth of December, so it's the night that break begins," Jason said "You gonna take someone?"

Will shrugged "I could just drag Nico with me and have him be my date."

Percy smirked "Really?"

Yeah, really?

Will nodded "I mean we're kind of neighbors and he's my best friend."

Oh that made sense I guess.

"I-I mean, how many people are g-gonna be there?" I asked.

My anxiety got the best of me; the thought of people packed into the small space of the school's gym kind of scared me.

"We can hang out by the food, or in the hall if you want. But, what do ya say Neeks, be my date?" He asked.

The group's eyes were on me, I didn't know what to say. I just nodded.

Piper smirked "You two are so adorable."

I covered my face and just sighed. He rubbed circles on my hand with his thumb.

People continued with their conversation, Will and I kept holding hands. God, I loved that.

The bell rang and we all cleaned up, then headed to our classes. Will walked me to Art, then grabbed my hand as I was going inside.

"You okay?" I asked nervously.

Maybe he had figured me out.

"Yeah, I was just wondering, what color do you wanna wear for the formal?"

His hair was almost yellowish, so the complimentary color for that was purple.

I shrugged "Y-you'd look cute in dark purple."

His face flushed "Oh! Really? Thanks! Yeah! That's good."

He said goodbye and hurried to photo. I smiled and sighed, walking into art.

We were working on picking our next projects. We got to choose the medium, but our subject had to be a person, I kind of wanted to paint Will. He'd be fun to paint.

I went up to the teacher and asked for a canvas.

"You haven't painted anything big for a while Nico. I'm glad you are now though, I love your work."

I smiled slightly "Thank you," and took the canvas.

I got the primary colors and realized that I didn't have a reference picture.

I took out my phone and texted Will: Send me a picture of you, I need one for a reference for something.

He replied pretty soon after: Like, a good picture or what?

Yes, a good one ya dork

He sent me a picture of him standing at the beach, all tanned, holding a surfboard next to him. His hair was much longer and he was wearing a surfing shirt. He was definitely younger in the picture, because he still had those cute baby cheeks.

Thanks, I texted back.

Anytime, dork.

My heart fluttered, I loved that we could talk like that.

I got a pallet and put each color on it, then black and white.

I started planning the layers, the base was gonna be blue, then I'd move to the background, the sky and water, then the sand and Will. I grabbed a pallet knife and started mixing the blue and yellow, more blue than anything to get more of a beach feel. I added white to that and covered my canvas in the color.

As I was painting somebody walked in the class, and my heart felt like it was going to stop.