Addicted

12

Nico woke up in a bed he had grown oddly familiar with, and he groaned. I thought I was finally gonna go... getting drunk... what a stupid idea. Now I have to face Will. Ignoring his pounding head, he brought a hand up to his face and dragged it down in frustration, before sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He pulled his hair into a short ponytail and stood up. I have to pack. I have to go back to school. In a frenzy now, he started pulling his few belongings out of drawers and off the countertops and throwing them on the bed. I'll just take what I can carry. Goodbye, art supplies. He sighed.

The door creaked open behind him and Nico jumped, but didn't turn around. "Nico? What the hell is going on?" Will spoke the harsh words in a soft tone, almost sounding betrayed. Nico willed himself not to look at him, not to notice his rumpled clothing from lack of sleep or the way his eyes didn't open all the way, still tired. Instead, he pulled his sweatshirt on and pretended not to have heard him. Will stepped a little closer and sat down on the floor. "Okay, um. It's okay if you don't want to talk, I guess, but- ah, I'm really confused, you know? I, uh, I thought we were doing so good. I thought, you know, we were friends or something." Nico squeezed his eyes shut, grabbing his toothbrush from the bathroom. "And, um. And yesterday, you kind of just... I don't really know what happened, at all, and all of a sudden you were drunk and, and I don't know if you remember what you said, but-" Oh, Nico remembered. "-but you said you couldn't handle the guilt or the pain, and I mean, were you suffering somehow? Why didn't you tell me? I just want to help." He paused, before resuming bitterly. "Ah, but then I suppose my help wouldn't do much, since I'm apparently the cause of this hurt. Anyway, I won't stop you if you want to go. I just wish you'd open up a bit. I thought we were getting somewhere, but I guess I was wrong." He stood up and walked out of the room, and the guilt sitting on Nico's chest was suddenly fifty times heavier. I guess I have to talk to him. I'll talk to him before I go.

Downstairs, the air was heavy. It pushed down on Will, and he slid to the kitchen floor. He hadn't been able to stand for very long today, it seemed. Get up. You need to make Nico breakfast. He may be being unbearable right now, but he still has to eat. Will tugged his hair a little, debating. Yeah. Maybe he'll feel better after he eats. He stood, leaning on the counter, and opened the fridge. Then, after a minute of staring blankly inside, he closed it, wrapping his arms around his stomach. What the hell is going on? Why do I want him to be okay so badly? Why am I so upset that he's upset with me? I'm tough! I've lived alone for years, I work at a nightclub, I'm a badass! I shouldn't be so shaken! Light footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, but Will didn't notice, panicking even more. His breathing sped up, and he inhaled deeply, trying to push clean air into his lungs. His shaky grip around his torso tightened, and he squeezed his eyes closed, still breathing harshly.

"Will?" Nico stood, eyes wide in alarm, at the bottom of the stairs. "Will!" He ran forward, pausing before the other boy. "Can I touch you?" A short nod, so quick it might not even have happened. "Okay, it's okay. Come on. Let's go to the couch." Nico guided Will until he was sitting down, then rubbed his back slowly. "Hey, you're okay, right? It's okay. Here, let's count." He began to count from 1, slowly, until Will started to respond, counting with him. When they were done, Will wiped his eyes and stood up. "Alright. Thanks. I'm fine." He said, coldly, and started to go back to the kitchen.
"Wait!" Nico grabbed his sleeve. "Please sit down. I have to talk to you." He tried to ignore the sigh that left Will's lips and the way he scrunched his eyebrows in stress before sitting back down on the other side of the couch. "Hurry up."

"I'm leaving. It's fine, it's been a week anyway, and this is what we agreed on, right? Anyway, um, I'm going to start from the beginning, and when I'm done you'll probably want me out of your house anyway, so please don't interrupt and make this harder than it already is." Nico took a deep breath.

"Yesterday was the first time I've ever gotten drunk." Will's eyebrows furrowed again, but he stayed quiet. "Actually, it was the first time I've drank, ever. I know I always used to hang out at the bar and ask for drinks, but I never actually drank them. I, uh," He exhaled. "Actually, I only used to come to see you." Will couldn't hold himself back. "Me? But-"
"Shh! I'm not done. I would just come to see you, 'cause you know, I've been in love with you for a while, and then I'd leave. I know, you had no clue who I was. Creepy. Such a creepy thing to do. Anyway, that night you took me home, and then you offered to let me stay here for a while, and I did the stupidest thing ever and said yes. I totally took advantage of you, staying here while knowing what my feelings for you were. Honestly." He hit his head with his palm twice to emphasize his point. "Anyway, it got to the point where I realized, you know, how unfair it would be if you realized that I was doing all this stuff with you cause I wanted to be closer to you. Ah, so I'm leaving now. I won't be seeing you again." Nico stood up and shouldered his backpack, leaving Will alone in stunned silence. "I'm going back to school, so don't worry or anything. Not that you would, I know what I did was disgusting."

Then, he turned around and left, breathing in the hot morning air as he shut the door behind him.