Beautiful Things - Solangelo

1. An old friend

(Will's POV)

'Will, wake up!' My mom calls from downstairs.

'I'm already awake!' I reply.

I always wake up with sunrise.
What's of course absolutely not annoying at all.
No.
It's so awesome.
Who needs sleep anyway.

I stand up from my bed and start to get dressed.
Today is going to be my first day at the new school since we moved from my hometown because my dad got offered a job here.

I already miss my friends.
I don't want to go to this school and I don't want to live in this city.

My mom says I should see everything more positive, and I really tried, but what please is positive about leaving the place you were completely happy at for sixteen years?
I was absolutely happy at my old home and I had great friends.

And now I have to start all over again.
I'm gay, and my old friends were all fine with this, but I don't want to explain everything again, I don't want to be friends with the people here, I wanna go back home!

When I'm dressed I walk downstairs and say goodbye to my mom.
My new school is just five minutes away from this house, so I can just walk there, what's good because I hate buses.

The town is kinda pretty, I guess, and we live in a nice area, but it just isn't my home and it will never be.

I'm pretty early at school, so after I got the code for my locker and my time table I luckily have enough time to look for the room I have the first lesson in.

It's social studies.
Well, if the teacher is good it will probably be okay.

After a while other students start to crowd in front of the door and then finally also the teacher appears.

Happily our teacher, Mr Riordan, doesn't forces me to introduce myself to the whole class, he just tells me to sit down on an empty seat.

Most seats are already taken, but in the back of the room is a blank space next to a black haired boy where I, mainly because of the lack of alternatives, sit down.

The boy looks up when I start to put my books on the table
'New?'
He asks.
He's - well really hot.
I don't know if I could articulate myself while he's looking at me, so I just nod.

He also looks familiar in some way, but I don't really know why, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't forget someone like him.

He isn't even my type; he's all in black and wears eyeliner and piercings, and usually that all would probably scare me instead of looking attractive, but I can't help.

The lesson starts, but I can't concentrate, I have to look at the boy next to me all five seconds, what he obviously noticed, since he's smirking really proud.

I try to focus on Mr Riordan, but, even I guess his teaching isn't even bad, most students seem to like him, everything I can focus on is the boy next to me.

After a while everyone starts to talk and I have no idea why.

'What's-?'

'Oh, you can talk.'
The black haired boy says with a sarcastic smirk.
'But since you're obviously not that well with listing' he chuckles 'I'm gonna tell you that we have to work something out about this with the person next to us.'
He's pointing on a worksheet in front of him.

'Okay, so we're just gonna-'
'Are you kidding me? How boring are you? Of course we won't do this now, this is the best chance to talk you'll ever get in class.'
'But, shouldn't we do what we're told to?'
I ask carefully, absolutely aware of the fact that I sound incredibly boring.
I just don't want to get in trouble on the very first day at the new school. Actually, if I can, I would like to avoid trouble at all and just be invisible until I can go to college.

Sadly I'm absolutely fascinated by this boy and I'm pretty sure that he means trouble.
And just the way he pushes his hair out of his face and smirks makes me know that this won't stop me from being fascinated.

'So, you're new?'
The boy asks again
'Yeah, we just moved here. I'm Will, by the way, Will Solace.'
For a short moment he looks shocked his eyes widen and he seems to see me in a completely different way.
But then this moment is over and he smirks again.
'Well nice to meet you.'

In this moment the bell rings and he runs out of the room without another word.

What the fuck was this?

I slowly get up and leave the room too, half way through the corridor a girl tabs my shoulder.
'Sorry, I hope I'm not annoying and of course it's all your business, but you're new and - well, stay away from Nico, whatever may happen it won't end well for you'
The girl looks pretty nervous, but I actually don't care about her

'Nico?'

'Yes. Nico di Angelo, the boy you sat next to. See, I know he looks good and all, but he usually means trouble so -'
She seems to notice that I don't listen to her anymore
'- whatever'
She runs down the hallway but I don't care about her, absolutely not.

Nico di Angelo

That's why the boy looked so familiar-
I had a friend, my best friend, once who was called like that.
I didn't see it at first because his whole style was so different and because he got older and I hadn't seen him for a long time, but now that I knew, without doubt, this was my former best friend Nico di Angelo.

We have been best friends through pre- and elementary school, but then he and his father moved and even we tried to keep contact we lost it after a while and I have no clue what happened to him since then.

Obviously he knows who I am too, that would explain why he left so fast - well, at least kind of.
He left because he realized who I am, but... didn't he want to talk to me?
Was he angry because we broke contact?
Or more, because I broke contact? Because it was my fault, I know that, it's just.... well, it's a long story.

He changed so much, I mean, holy cow, he was always such a happy, innocent, geeky little boy and I never thought that he may change one day, when I thought about him, what I did, I always imagined that little boy he used to be years ago.

And oh shit, not that it would have been hard enough to have a crush on a boy like him, no he also has to be my ex best friend.
Nice.
Absolutely nice.
I hate my life.