‘Oh, I’ve heard of that place before. Actually sent in an application recently.’ Nico sent it without thinking too much about it. He yawned and rubbed his face. It was getting pretty late, though Nico had always been more of a night owl than a morning person. He hated mornings, which, now that he thought about it, probably meant applying to work at a coffee shop probably wasn’t the best idea he’d had. But it wasn’t like he had a lot of other options. He needed to get a job somewhere before his dad decided he’d mooched long enough and stopped paying his tuition and bills. He sent Hazel and quick text, just to ask how her day went, before closing his laptop and standing, stretching his arms up over his head with a satisfying pop. Will had texted him back, telling about his favorite pastries at the place and his usual coffee order. It was perfectly mundane, and Nico shouldn’t be as interested in it as he was, but he couldn’t help himself.

Maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself, but Nico couldn’t remember the last time he had a crush. Had he been this giddy last time? It felt a little ridiculous, but also…nice. It gave him something to look forward to, something other than school work or job hunting or bills or any of the other things that he was responsible for. His phone buzzed again, and maybe he picked it up a little too quickly, and maybe he was a bit disappointed when it was just Hazel sending him a meme, but no one would know but him, and he was keeping that to himself. It was getting pretty late anyway, Will would probably be going to bed soon. Nico probably shouldn’t expect a response. He was proven wrong though when his phone buzzed again, this time not from Hazel but from Will again. ‘Just started some homework. What about you?’

Once he was feeling slightly more refreshed, he grabbed his phone. He carefully typed in the number on the piece of paper and triple checked the digits. (They were very clear, Nico had much better handwriting than he did.) He mulled over what to say multiple times. Did he go neutral with something like “hi”? Or did he try to be more smooth with “hey, remember me?” No, that seemed too forward for a guy he’d only met twice. He was cute, but Will didn’t want to be weird. Besides, he didn’t want Nico to get the wrong idea right away. Trying to pursue anything while he was still stuck with Luke was the worst idea he could think of. Besides, what Will needed right now was a friend, not to try and pursue a romantic interest. He decided to go with the causal “hey, this is Will!” With a smiley emoji. Maybe that was a hair on the side of annoying with the extra emoji, but it relayed Will’s personality pretty well. Nico texting aside, now he needed to focus on doing his homework before it got too late.

It was exhausting. Being pleasant and social and acting like nothing at all was wrong. After a long day, all Will wanted to do was go home and eat some microwave food before face planting in bed. He hated having to be paraded out and about and acting like he liked it and was having a good time. His head was starting to hurt, and all he really wanted to do was text Nico. But he had to shut that thought down right away, lest Luke sense he was thinking about someone else. He really didn’t want a scene here in the middle of Applebee’s that some poor wait staff that was barely working minimum wage would have to bear witness to. No, he could smile and laugh at all the right times and go straight to bed as soon as they got back. That thought would be what carried him through the rest of this excruciatingly long dinner. It would have to be.

He sighed, feeling more than just a little pathetic. He shouldn’t long for morsels anymore, shouldn’t think about the little touches or glances that once littered their relationship. They’d been long gone for a while now, and he didn’t know why he looked for them. It was just taunting at this point. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. This was just another example in a long string of failed attempts to seem like a normal couple again. He hated it. But as far as Will could see it, he was stuck. He couldn’t exactly leave or kick Luke out. That wouldn’t end well, especially not for Will. All he had to do was play along for a little while longer and eventually he’d be able to get out of this. He just wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have to play along.

He sighed. It was a pretty miserable thought, and he knew how bad it sounded, even in his own head. But still, he was kind of stuck until further notice, so there wasn’t much to be done other than play along anyway. He rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair, just to try and look a little less happy and a little more disheveled. He was sure he’d get that way once he was back at work anyway. Paperwork wasn’t nearly as stressful as actually being a nurse or doctor in the hospital, but deciphering terrible handwriting and trying to fill in the blanks of quick scribbling made him want to tear his hair out on even the best of days. He hoped Nico was off to a better part of his day.

“Yeah, I’ll text you. Maybe I’ll see you around?” He asked, probably sounding too hopeful. Nico was cute though, he couldn’t help himself. And he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually made a real friend, and not just someone he worked in a group project with. Nico nodded before rushing out of the room and Will smiled a little bit. Well, at least his day hadn’t been total trash. He figured he’d turn around to teasing from his classmates, but surprisingly no one said anything, they were all too engrossed in their phones or desperately clinging to their coffees and sleeping with their eyes open to notice him. He grabbed his backpack and nodded before shuffling out of the room and heading back towards the hospital.

“What’re the odds we went to the same school?” Will asked, giving a tired smile. Nico chuckled and shrugged. “They have to be pretty low. And yet…” Nico knew he wasn’t going to have his nerve for too much longer, and he thrust the paper forward to Will, who looked a little startled, looking down at the paper. “Sorry,” Nico mumbled, but he wasn’t, not really. “It’s, um, it’s my number. Phone. Number.” He said awkwardly, inwardly cringing. Of course it was his phone number. He felt like an idiot as he stood in front of Will, who still looked mildly alarmed. “Just- since the, um, odds. They’re so low. We should take advantage of it, right?” He asked. Will’s lips slowly curled into a soft smile, and his tired blue eyes finally looked up at Nico, and, oh. He was so handsome when he smiled. He took the paper from Nico, his hands rough but warm. He had lots of little knicks and scars on his hands, and Nico wondered what each one was from. “You’re right. We should take advantage of it,” Will said easily, not awkward in the slightest.