Ex-Nemesis

CHAPTER 6: HIS MIGHT-BE CRUSH AND HIS MAYBE-NOT-ACTUALLY-A-VILLAIN NEMESIS

A/N: Thanku everyone for the reads and thanku Sunny for posting my story! I hope you enjoy!

Will walked with a slight limp to school the next day. The injury had healed, mostly, but some pain and soreness still lingered. Super fast healing and immunity against contagious diseases was part of Will's gift. By evening, there won't be a single trace left of the injury. 

Will was still puzzled over the night's events.

Did Ghost king really offer him help? Did he really save Will from that ceramic vase? Did he really catch Will before he faceplanted on the floor? 

He did... but he clearly had an ulterior motive... probably... right? 

He did deny the accusation of trying to track down where Will lived, saying that that was never his intention. 

And you believe him? The more suspicious part of his mind sneered at him. 

You DO know he's lying right? 

Will sighed. Ghost king was probably trying to trick him, taking advantage of Will's bad ankle. 

But... wouldn't it be more advantageous for Ghostie if he just finished Will off? Why hadn't he just killed Will, when he was down? 

Then, realization hit Will. 

Throughout the entirety of the three years Sunshot and Ghost king had been at odds, Ghost king... he never hurt Will.They did fight, yes, but those fights mostly consisted of Will whaling on Ghost king, and the latter dodging and nimbly dancing around Will. 

He had never thrown a punch back. 

The most he had done against Sunshot was either pinning him to the wall, wrestling him to the ground or pinning his arm behind his back. Nothing he had done ever hurt Will. 

That god awful pessimistic side of his mind spoke up: And yet, he managed to get the better of you, every single time. 

"Shut up," Will sighed to himself.

So what if the Ghost had never fought back? He was probably planning something. Scheming. Biding his time for... something. 

Because...because he was a villain. 

But still... what if he was NOT a villain.He broke into houses in the dead of the night, true, but he never took anything, never broke anything, never vandalized. 

Hell, he even scolded Will, just yesterday, for nearly breaking a vase! 

And he never fought back. He always evaded Will's blows, he never went on the offensive, he never drew that sword strapped to his back. 

Will shook his head. He would dwell on this later, right now, he had two eager best friends who'd want all the juicy details of his night. (A/N: aaand I just made it sound like he'd gone on a date? Was it intentional? Ahem.... Maybe...) 

Cecil raised an eyebrow at him, eyes trailing to his foot and Will limped slightly on his way to him. 

Lou Ellen narrowed her eyes. "Will, are you okay?" 

Will smiled at her. "Yeah, just banged up my ankle a bit last night," he said, and then rushed to reassure his friends, "but don't worry, it's mostly healed, it will be completely fine by evening." 

Cecil's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Was it his work?" 

And Will knew exactly who Cecil was implying.Will shook his head slowly. "No, it was my fault entirely." 

Cecil relaxed somewhat. 

"Be more careful Will," Lou Ellen advised sternly. 

Will nodded, his friends were worrywarts. "Um guys, do you think... Do you think Ghost king's a villain?" 

Both Cecil and Lou Ellen blinked at him simultaneously.Then simultaneously chorused, "what?"

Will let out a breath. "I mean, that guy never steals anything! He just... snoops around? He doesn't vandalize anything! And... during our fights, he never fights back..."

Lou Ellen's lips pressed into a thin line. "What do you mean, 'he never fights back'?"

Will looked at his ankle. "He just... dodges. He hasn't thrown back a single punch so far."

Cecil shot him with a question: "Well, if he doesn't fight back, then how does he win?" 

Will avoided eye contact, his cheeks slightly pink in embarrassment. He couldn't defeat the Ghost king, even if the guy never actually fought back!"He just pins me down and disappears."

Lou Ellen was about to say something but the deafening bell, signaling the start of class, screamed throughout the hallways.

Will hurried to class, and in his haste, he bumped into someone, and fell on his bottom rather hard.The other person, however, managed to catch themselves in the nick of time. 

Looking down at him was Nico Di Angelo. "Are you okay?" 

Nico, slightly hesitant, offered him a hand.

Will looked at it for a moment before grasping it, and allowed Nico to pull him to his feet (he was surprisingly strong, for all his slenderness. He hoisted Will up easily.) while he tried to contain the furious blush threatening to splash his tan face.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I...I'm fine." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Will looked up to see a slight, small, miniscule smile on Nico's face. It was nothing much, just a little, almost unnoticeable tilt of the corners of his lips.

Will was definitely blushing now. 

"It's fine," came the lilting voice, "I wasn't really paying attention either." 

A silence lingered for a few seconds, Will was trying to look anywhere but at the boy, failing miserably.

He unconsciously shifted his weight onto his injured ankle and grimaced, his facial muscles tightening slightly.Nico frowned. "You hurt?"

Will waved him off. "Nah, I hurt my ankle a bit yesterday, but it's nothing."

Nico's expression was hard to read. Finally, he raised a slender, elegant brow, and Will was suddenly jealous, because if he tried to do that, he'd end up raising both his eyebrows.

Nico spoke, his voice monotonous as always, "Really? I suggest going to the school nurse, though." 

Will couldn't really tell him that he didn't need to, because, well, he was Sunshot! Injuries healed themselves quickly! So he nodded.

Nico adjusted his bag, fiddling with the strap, Will absently noted the silver ring, set with a tiny, intricate skull, on his finger. 

"I should get to class," Nico said, ready to take his leave, "See ya later!" 

Nico was already walking away, Will blinked stupidly at his back.Did he just say... "see ya later"?

Will couldn't focus in class, the whole day, his thoughts drifted to and fro from his might-be crush to his might-not-actually-be-a-villain nemesis. 

Thinking about the former brought a dusting of red to his cheeks and it was suddenly too hot in his hoodie. 

Will was actually crushing on someone whom he had only known for a couple of days, who probably wasn't even into guys.

The thought soured his mood a bit, so he forced himself to think about the other person in his mind.The Ghost king. 

Ghostie was... 

Will was doubting what he believed in earlier.

What if his parents were right? What if Ghost king wasn't a bad person? What if his acts of goodwill towards Will last night truly had no hidden motive? 

Will was so confused. 

Ghost king was... one heck of a weird villain.

Word count: 1177