i was trying to read in the park and your stray football fucking knocked me unconscious + solangelo???????????
Nico sneaks another peek at them.
Heâs not staring, okay? Heâs just really fucking annoyed that these guys chose this time to play a very loud and annoying game of football in the park.
He just wants to finish his completely boring copy of The Great Gatsby so that he can actually begin writing his stupid essay on âMoral Ambiguity in Fitzgeraldâs Great Gatsbyâ and be done with English Lit. forever.
(Okay so he has two more years of high school to finish. Whatever.)
He just wants to read his extremely dull book. He does not want to be distracted by shouts of, âYes!â, âKick his ass, Kayla!â and âScrew you, Austin!â
And if the sounds that distracted him were mostly emitted by an extremely cute blonde haired cheerful senior whose friends call him Will, then that was his business and his business alone.
He also did not choose this time specifically because of the fact that this specific senior hung out with his friends every Saturday morning at the park, shut up Hazel.
He turned back to his book.
When I came home to West Egg that night I was afraidâŚ
Thump.
â
Did headaches always hurt so much? Nico thinks fuzzily.
He pries his eyes open and a golden head swims into view.
âNico? Are you okay?â the golden head says.
Itâs a very pretty head.
âYou look like strawberries smell,â is the first thing he blurts out.
The head shoots him a slightly confused smile. It turns backwards for a moment, and Nico is disappointed for a second before he realizes that the back of the head is also very nice. The hair looks really soft and shiny. He kind of wants to run his fingers through it.
The head turns again and recognition jolts him back into awareness.
He sits up and scrambles backwards so fast his back ends up hitting something very cold and hard.
âGod dammit.â
The boy before him winces in sympathy.
âYou okay?â
Nico gives him a look that hopefully says âobviously notâ and not âI want to climb you like a tree.â (Hazel says he always gets that way when Will is around but he doesnât and sheâs wrong. Doesnât hurt to be careful though)
Will gets up, and offers Nico a hand. Nico accepts it and pulls himself to his feet quickly, scrambling to get dust and leaves off himself.
âUh, what happened?â he asks as he bends over to pick up his book from where itâs lying on the ground.
Will doesnât respond and NIco turns to face him. He looks a bit dazed.
âAre you okay?â
He seems to shake himself before he looks at Nico again, and then offers him a sheepish smile.
âI, um- accidentally hit you with my football? Sorry. Iâm Will, by the way. Hi.â
Resisting the urge to say he knows, Nico scowls at him. This was not how his day was supposed to go. Heâs obviously not going to get any work done here. But he canât muster the energy to feel really angry right now. His head is throbbing and all he wants to do is go home and take a long nap. Maybe order McDonaldâs.
âIâm honestly really sorry. Does your head hurt a lot? I could give you a ride to the ER. You got hit pretty hard, you should probably get it checked out,â Will says earnestly and honestly, he needs to stop being nice because Nico doesnât have the capacity to be grumpy right now.
âIâll be fine. Iâm going to go home, my sister can drive me,â he says.
Will frowns at him. âDid you drive here? I canât let you drive in this state.â
Nico shakes his head. âIâm fine. I walked.â
Will continues frowning. âAbsolutely not, Iâll drive you home, come on.â
âNo, uh- thatâs really not necessary. I donât live very far,â he tries to protest.
âNo way. Come on, my carâs that way.â He plucks The Great Gatsby from Nicoâs hands and begins to walk, leaving him no choice but to follow.
He hurries to catch up and they walk silently.
âMy name is Nico,â he says suddenly, realizing he never introduced himself, then winces at how awkward it sounds.
âI know,â Will responds, grinning brightly.
Nico scowls.
Will asks him about his family, then his hobbies, then his taste in music and when they reach Nicoâs house, he says, âIâll see you around?â hopefully.
Nico isnât sure what to make of him.
Will is loud and rambunctious and not cute at all, okay?
Heâs not.
