Addicted

16

Nico wanted to sleep. God, he wanted to sleep, but that was a constant feeling, and he was trying very hard not to focus on it. Not right now, when he was standing behind the cash register, heart pounding with pride at his small accomplishment. His second day on the job. He was finally doing something that would help him move forward and live normally. Finally.
To anyone else, getting a low paid job at a local bookstore wouldn't seem like anything to be proud of, but then again, nobody else was Nico. Just getting out of bed was an accomplishment at this point, so this was huge. A customer cleared their throat shyly in front of him, and he blinked.
"Ah, sorry."

"It's fine! Just this, please."

"Sure." Nico admired the cover of the book as he scanned it, completing the transaction with ease. "Have a nice day," he grinned, handing the book back. His stomach squirmed with glee. That went so smoothly. He was really doing okay.
He thought for a minute about how things had been lately, leaning against the back desk. The weather had been really nice, and he'd been feeling much lighter lately. Maybe it was better this way. He avoided the things that made him think about.. well, about everything that had happened that week, and even though that was both a hassle and made him a little bit sad, it was working. Pushing it away was working.
He fiddled with his hands. Everything was going well, but he missed having someone to talk to. Someone to hang out with, and text randomly, and laugh with. He never made an effort to know the people at school- there were too many, and they all knew each other- that was intimidating. He sighed. It would be okay, he supposed. He would just keep pushing like he had been. He'd worked his ass off to get a scholarship to university so he wouldn't have to spend that year in foster care, and he wasn't going to give up now. Sure, he'd had a little setback. A minor lapse in judgment, if you will. He'd let himself get distracted by his feelings, and he'd set aside his school and life, but that was a mistake, and he wasn't  going to make it again.
God, he was thinking too much again. He had another customer.

Will was sitting on his steps. It was still early enough in the day for the sunlight to rush in and paint his walls and floor, so he was basking in it before work. His phone was vibrating somewhere in the kitchen, but he was stretched out comfortably, and too distracted by the pictures on the wall to move. He supposed it was Cecil. He'd have to call again.
Will was debating. As his lazily half lidded eyes flickered gently across the wall, his mind raced. To go after him, to give him space, to move on? What was the right choice? Sure, Cecil had helped him clear up his feelings, but he couldn't help but still feel a little ashamed of himself. A little naive. How could he fall so easily? So fast? It couldn't be real. So was it really worth it to go after him?
He shifted his leg, untucking it from under his thigh and stretching across three more stairs. Time to get up. He stretched, ruffled his hair, and adjusted his shirt on his shoulders before grabbing his phone and thudding out the door. He'd made up his mind.
The drive to the university was a relatively short one.  He remembered Nico saying it was a long way away. He must have walked. Having a car had its perks, though Will rarely used it. He had enough on his plate without having to worry about rising gas prices. As he drove, his mind drifted, though his eyes stayed firmly planted on the road. There was no point to dying now, though he let his mind entertain the possibility of waking up in a hospital bed and seeing Nico sleeping dutifully at his side. So cliche, but it made Will laugh- the first real laugh in a while. It took his mind off the fact that he had no idea where Nico even was- where he lived, which buildings he frequented- not even the general area on campus. Asking around probably wouldn't help him with so many students on campus, but he'd have to try anyway. He'd try anything, because love or not, he was willing to accept one thing: he missed him. He really missed Nico, and he wanted him back.