Battle Wounds: Solangelo Soulmate AU

SIX

WILL POV:
Waking up with fresh cuts littering my arm has always been concerning, but today it was even worse. My stomach drops and feel nauseous now that I can place a face to these self-inflicted wounds. Adding to the gnawing in my stomach were the bruises and scrapes that littered the rest of my body as well, and knowing that I was the cause of those made it ten times worse if that was even possible.

The whole day I wanted to talk to Nico, but I knew he'd just run away. I tried a few times but he just acted like he didn't hear me and walked away. I was hoping to catch him somewhere alone where he might be more willing to listen to me, and it would be harder to ignore me. By last period I had decided I wouldn't be that lucky and would have to talk to him on the bus or when we were all getting off.

The gods must have been on my side today though because during the last period when I went into the bathroom lo and behold, Nico was in there.

"Nico!" I exclaim in excitement.

His head snaps up and his eyes lock with mine, and a hard cold expression falls on his face. If anyone besides him gave me a look even remotely similar I would normally run the other way, but I couldn't give up this chance. I knew he could probably kill me if he wanted to, but whether he'll admit it or not, he knows we're soulmates and I have to hope that was enough to keep him from beating me up.

"I've been trying to talk to you all day," I say.

I wouldn't have known he had a black eye if we weren't soulmates, he hid the deep bruise so well. The only way you could tell was if you looked closely and saw that it was slightly swollen. Even the cuts were expertly hidden, though still noticeable.

My mom sometimes when she has time in the morning will cover the bruises for me like she did yesterday, but I've had to go to school with them on many occasions. It makes for interesting conversation.

"Good for you," he snaps, chucking a paper towel in the trash can aggressively. He starts to head towards the door but I step in front of it. His eyes narrow menacingly. "Get out of my way."

"No, we need to talk," I say confidently, not breaking eye contact. His eyes are a beautiful deep chocolate color with flecks of gold and green.

"No," he growled, "move."

I stand my ground, "No, we need to talk."

He rolls his eyes but seems to realize he can't scare me into moving away and backs up a few steps. "What do you want, make it quick."

Now that he was there standing in front of me I didn't know where to start, but before I knew it the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Are you okay?"

He looked taken aback but quickly regained his composure and became a blank unreadable stare, "I'm fine, now are you done?"

"No, I know you're not fine," I said rolling up my sleeve. "And I have the black eye and the bruises on my ribs."

He turned a shade paler which didn't seem possible, but he managed to keep his face in the same position. "Oh you're still going on about this," he rolls his eyes but it looks forced. "Just give it up dude."

"No, because I wanna get to know you."

He furrows his eyebrows and a look of confusion and shock takes over his previously hard and unreadable expressions, "Why?"

It seems like a genuine question, not a rhetorical one, like he didn't understand why anyone would want to get to know him. It made me so incredibly sad.

"Well, besides the fact that you're my soulmate. You just seem like a nice guy," I say, feeling my cheeks flush. I didn't want to say that I wanted to help him because I could tell a guy like him wouldn't take that very well. And I also couldn't just tell him I thought he had to be the hottest, most beautiful guy I have ever seen in my life and just last night I had a dream about kissing him. He probably wouldn't take that great either.

He scoffs, though I notice his body language changes slightly to something less defensive, "Now I know you're mistaking me for someone else, no one has ever used the word nice to describe me."

"Well, I just did," I say my confidence returning. I feel oddly protective of him although I just met him. "I know you claim not to believe we're soulmates, but I just wanna be your friend okay?"

He raises an eyebrow, he seems to be considering it before a cold sad gloss falls over his eyes, and his hard demeanor returns. "That makes one of us, can I go now?"

"Please, just give me a chance. I'm less annoying when I'm not trying to force you to hang out with me and you do it willingly," I tease.

"I don't need a pity friend, I'm just fine on my own," he snarls.

"I'm not a pity friend, I just want to get to know you," I try to assure him.

"I don't need a prince charming to come and save the poor loner kid, I'm good by myself. So can you please just fuck off," He tries to push past me but I grab his arm and stare him right in the eyes. He flinches away from my touch, shooting me a slightly frightened expression before he schools it, and I let him back away.

"I'm not trying to be a prince charming and save you, but a friend isn't gonna make you weak. Everyone needs someone sometimes."

"Not me," he glares. "Now leave me alone."

I moved in front of him again, I wasn't gonna let him get away this time. I could see him starting to panic though which made me feel bad, "I'm not trying to freak you out, but I'm not letting you leave until you agree to at least let me talk to you without you running away from me."

He sighs, "You're a pain in the ass."

"I've been told that a few times," I snicker, "So is that a deal? You'll give me a chance?"

He sighs again, "Fine, but don't get your hopes up sunshine, I'm no fun to be around."

"Sunshine?" I couldn't help but smile.

"Not a compliment, I hate the sun," he says shouldering past me leaving me smiling like an idiot.