Addicted

18

Nico was paranoid. Now that he knew that Will was looking for him, he was on edge every moment. His leg bounced rapidly in class, and he kept throwing glances out the window at the bookstore, chewing on his lip until Travis flicked him with a "Dude, stop. You're gonna bite it off." 
Nico heaved a sigh. He was grateful for the other boy's presence, really. Travis grounded him, kept him in reality. Without the boy's stupid jokes and constant prodding, Nico would have gotten lost in his head a few too many times. He had thought he was getting better, but the image of Will asleep in his car, unknowing as Nico paced  next to him in the parking lot, wouldn't leave his mind. What did he want? To get closure? To tell him he doesn't like him like that? Maybe it was worse. Maybe he was really freaked out and wanted to report his location to the authorities. Maybe he wanted a restraining order. Oh, god, what if-

"Hey, I've got the register for a bit. Go take a water break." 

"Oh. Okay." Travis's hand hit his shoulder in a reassuring pat, and Nico let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Leave it to Travis to snap him awake once again. Water was exactly what he needed. His throat felt dry, and he had given himself a headache from overthinking. Nico slumped into a chair. He dropped his head into his arms, somehow exhausted even though it was only 9 in the morning. A few minutes later, Travis opened the door to the break room and sat at the table with him. "Connor took over," he said quietly. His curls bounced over his eyes, and he blew them out of his face. Then silence took over, except for the rhythmic tapping of Travis's shoe, and Nico's quiet humming. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken words, but still comfortable. Eventually, though, Travis's ADHD took over and he puffed his lips out. "Dude, what's going on?" Nico looked up and stopped humming. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're acting really weird. I know we, like, don't know each other that well, but I dunno, I'm kind of worried about you. You're always checking over your shoulder and you keep freaking yourself out. Does it have anything to do with that guy who was looking for you? You know, a couple weeks ago?" Travis was now also nervously biting his lip, a habit Nico noticed he must have picked up from him, even with his constant scolding.  He sighed, and reached up to flick Travis's shoulder. "You'll bite it off," he remarked with a soft grin, and Travis relaxed a little, returning the flick and the smile. Nico leaned back with a deep breath.

"Yeah, so." Butterflies ricocheted aggressively against the inside of Nico's stomach. "It, uh, it is about him." Travis kicked his feet up onto Nico's leg as he spoke.  The butterflies subsided. 

"Who is he?" 

"Ah... my friend." Nico sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Who I'm kind of in love with." Travis raised his eyebrows. "I see. A lover," he sighed dramatically, tipping his head back. 

"No, not a lover. Not an anything. We were.. friends. But I'm not even sure if he thinks that was real."

"So why is he looking for you?" 

"We, ah. We had a falling out? I kind of told him that I'd been in love with him the whole time we had been friends so... I don't know. It felt like I was taking advantage of him. I lived in his house for a week and he had no idea. That's so creepy." Nico slumped even further down. 

"Crap, dude." Travis exhaled. "That's intense. What'd he say after you confessed?" Nico looked up. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No. I left right after. I came back to school. Then I saw him like a week later in one of the university parking lots. He was sleeping in his car."  He watched Travis's eyebrows lift again, and then suddenly he was being flicked. "You're such an idiot! I shouldn't have covered for you when he came in." 

"What? Why?" Nico rubbed the spot on his forehead where Travis had hit him- without mercy, too- and whined. "I don't want to see him again just to be called a creep or whatever. I came back to move on." 

"Hm. Yeah. He's so totally in love with you." Nico froze. 

"Um, no. Definitely not it. He's probably trying to find me so the cops can carry me away." Nico groaned again, throwing his head back. "Dramatic." Travis scoffed, swinging his feet off of Nico's lap. "Wish I had a dramatic love story like that. You gotta talk to him." He stood, stretching his back. "I'm going back to work. If that guy comes back, I'm telling him you work here." He grinned, and with that the door slammed shut again and Nico was alone. 

"God, fine." He huffed. If he had to, then he would talk to Will. If only to tell him to stop following him around.