[ON HOLD!] Oblivion [Solangelo]

2 | Oh No, He's Hot

- If you spot any mistakes feel free to correct-

Nico didn't know why he ever agreed to watching Percy's stupid little aquarium for him in the first place.
Although it was fun to have Percy follow him around for hours, begging for help (in the least creepy way possible) making his friend suffer was not worth it at all.
Jackson was probably off doing his ridiculous camp act with Grace at that very minute, while he was stuck in the deadly silent shack at the end of the pier no one ever bothered to explore. The only sound he could hear, besides his shaky breathing was the eerie trickle of water somewhere and a couple of filters in the fish tanks.
While on most occasions, the silence would be comforting - it now just gave Nico more time to think.
Nico hated thinking.
Because when he turned to his thoughts, all he could hear was the sound of screeching wheels and a scream. Such a chilling scream, etched into his mind for as long as his meaningless existence stretched. It was all he could think about, all he could dream about. The way the window shattered as they went rolling down that hill, the metallic taste in his mouth, Bianca-

A small bell above the door rang out softly, yet it snapped Nico back to reality with a jolt.

Great, just what he needed. A customer. Probably some sort of annoying tourist coming to laugh at the pathetic excuse of a building at the end of the rickety old pier that ran the length of the beach. He quickly turned to face the back wall, pretending to busy himself with a list of bills that Percy had left strewn across the table behind the till. All he could hear was quiet footsteps.
Nico turned his head ever so slightly to squint at the visitor.

He could tell the guy was American at first glance. Maybe it was the way he held himself, quite sure of his actions. Of course Nico had seen many Americans, and they were all just the same. Heck, most of his friends were from the 'great US of A'! Not that it really mattered.
He soon became distracted by the messy curls of blonde that fell in just the right places around the guy's head. He had a lanky figure, and he used it to his advantage, peering up at tanks of tropical coloured fish and strange creatures. He seemed to linger at the crabs, placing a hand flat against the glass. Nico spotted a little patch of freckles just above his knuckles, that seemed to spiral down his hand. They were also present on the back of his neck, where the locks of hair had parted to reveal lightly tanned skin.

Nico didn't realise he'd been staring for so long until the boy turned to face him, immediately grinning. He looked nice when he smiled.
"Hey, how much is it for one of these little dudes?"
Okay, cool, he had a nice voice too. Yup, Nico could deal with that, Nico could act straight in front of this incredibly attractive guy. In all honestly, he was quite glad for this distraction - this block from his thoughts. So he let himself mentally drool.
"One second," he mumbled to the boy, turning to look through the prices list that Percy put out for him. He internally cringed at the way his Italian accent leaked out into his speech. Nico really hated his voice. Perhaps it was why he didn't speak much, or maybe that was simply because people irritated him. It was a wonder he even socialised at all. Percy and Jason had spent almost three months trying to ease their ways into his life, let alone introduce him to all their friends. Everyone else seemed to steer clear of him, and those who made conversation would be eventually brushed off. That was just how things were.

"Uh, well it says here that two crabs are twenty Euro but I don't know what one costs because I don't even work here and-" Nico realised he was on the verge of rambling and stopped himself.
"Yeah, sorry."

The boy was still smiling, for some odd reason. It made Nico uncomfortable, but at the same time it made him want to fling himself into the stranger's arms and melt into his chest. Which he ignored, because it would be weird and Nico wasn't pathetic like that and he didn't like people and he most definitely didn't like this guy. He didn't even know him, for Hades' sake!
"Ah, it's fine. I'll buy two, I'm sure my flatmates won't mind," he chuckled, " I mean they didn't even know I was buying one in the first place and- oh! I don't even have a tank either! What an idiot!" He seemed really dejected.
Nico felt himself pipe up again, involuntarily.
"Uh, I think there's one I can give you for free out back. I don't think Percy will mind.."
"Oh thank you! Thanks so much that's so kind and-" the guy continued to babble out thanks, before thrusting his hand out across the counter.
"I'm Will by the way!"
He gave Nico a lopsided grin.
Nico instantly smiled back, his face hurting slightly. He didn't smile very often.
"Nico." He replied quickly.
Then he made his way into the storeroom. The wooden floor creaked slightly underneath him as he picked out the cleanest looking tank he could find. He threw in some of the coloured gravel you're supposed to line the bottom with, and a small container of food. As he made his way back to the ever-smiling Will he wondered why he was even being friendly towards this complete- well not complete stranger. They were on first name basis at least.

After Will had paid for the crabs, and Nico had put them into a small bucket for him, the blonde made his way towards the door again. Nico couldn't help but feel a little lonely as he watched him leave.
"Thanks again Nico!" Will said, as he clutched all his equipment. Nico simply raised a hand in response.

And like that, Will was gone.
"Will," he whispered, liking the way it sounded.
He hoped Will returned soon.

After a few moments, the silence returned, along with Nico's thoughts. He slid down to the floor, leaning against the wall and letting a sob wrack his small frame. The afternoon dragged on after that.

[I hope this was okay. I wrote these both at the same time but only had time to edit one. I'll update again tomorrow and hopefully the story will get moving. Again, any feedback is appreciated! - Lily ]