Of Heartbeats Lost and Found - Oneshots

3. Chasing Butterflies - Part 2

Nico, in fact, was not in love with Will. He was pretty certain Nico hated him.

The dark-haired man avoided him at all costs after that day. Whenever they walked past each other on the way to classes, Nico glanced at him and sped past. He was used to at least a smile. And they couldn't meet up, which had been the case for the past month as well but this time he had a feeling it wasn't because of school work.

As an adult, Will Solace had learnt a lot of things. One of the most important being to never put Nico di Angelo on the spot emotionally. He would always do what he thought was appropriate and never express his actual emotions.

While there were exceptions, this was true most of the time. But it was the very thing he had forgotten in a blissful moment of being in love.The concept of being in love with Nico was not so foreign. Will always had a soft spot for him even when he was unsure of Nico as a person.

Another thing Will had learnt as an adult was that he needed to improve his own emotional awareness.

Nico always brought out the worst (—and by that, he meant best) in him. His protests against any ridiculous emotions he discerned in his heart for Nico dimmed when they were together. Even if he didn't fully understand them, his feelings for Nico had always been the ones he disliked the least. And to find that after two years of dating, he was in love, was not something wanted to protest. In the rush of feelings and more feelings at the fact that he didn't even consider repressing them, Will blurted it out. Because it felt right on his lips and he knew it was true. But mostly he felt it was true, as stupid as that was.

Of course, Nico being the traumatized people-pleaser he was, he said it back without hesitating. And Will wasn't wrong for assuming Nico was telling the truth after all they had been through together for two years and entrusting each other with every detail about their lives.

But, no. Nico was avoiding him as much as Will wanted to avoid the truth.

Nico wasn't in love and he might never be. He probably only stayed with me because he didn't know how to break up without hurting my feelings.

As much as that was an exaggeration, Will knew he needed to make up for it in some way. Will would talk to Nico and tell him there was no rush and that he would be there for as long as Nico wanted him to be until he figured stuff out.

So he cornered Nico after classes exactly a week after Will had confessed his feelings. Friday evening, with a grimace, Will rushed to meet Nico outside his last class and tried not to look conspicuous.

"Hey."

"Hi." Nico's eyes were wide and Will didn't need to search his wrist to know his heart was racing. Will had never approached him during the day time without previously specifying. And all of the people around them were bound to make this a hasty conversation at best.

"Walk with me?" Will knew this would be best—not only to avoid people but also to dissipate some of Nico's nervous energy (excluding that which he now felt around Will).

"Yeah, what's... up?" Nico looked at his feet as they moved toward their hostel. They took the long, winding path. There was a shortcut to get there faster but a lot of people used it and they could use some time.

"Nico, I know you don't love me."

"What?" Nico stopped in his tracks and the panic in his eyes caused an immeasurable pain to seize Will's heart.

"I—I know I pressured you into saying it. And it's not an excuse but I was just sort of blinded in that moment and just overwhelmed by emotion." Will looked at him and glanced ahead. Nico continued walking with him.