Nico Di Angelo. A beautiful name for a beautiful boy. Olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. He was friendly as a kid. He tried his hardest to be nice but they made fun of him anyways. For being smart. For being funny. For being everything people wished they had the strength to be.
But they didn't know that when the little boy went home, he went home to an empty house. A mother who would come home drunk and sleep on the couch. A picture of his dead sister on his nightstand. And a razor, that was just begging to be used.
He stood there for a while, contemplating whether or not he should pick it up. Nico didn't want this. Not really. But it was all his fault. That's what they kept telling him right? That he was to blame for everything? He deserved it.
Nico shook his head and dropped his bag onto his bed. He didn't dare look at the nightstand. He didn't want to see his sister's face. He knew that somewhere in heaven, she was looking down at him, disgusted of what he'd become.
He didn't have much to eat that night. His mother was out with her friends. She'd been like that since Bianca died. She'd held herself together after dad went away to war. Even when the men in uniform came to announce that he was missing in action.
But when Bianca died it broke her. Nico grew to afraid to approach her. She was always drunk and unpredictable. She went out to clubs and hooked up with random guys. Once she even got engaged, quoting Frozen and claiming it was, 'true love.'
But she had lost herself. And it hurt Nico because he just wasn't a good enough son to keep her happy. He wasn't worth it. So why act like he was?
The next morning came around and Nico got up with the same routine he'd done a million times over. He got dressed, checked on his mom, who had somehow managed to stumble upstairs to her bedroom this time, went out the door, and started walking.
School was the same as it always was. Boring. Loud. And filled with people who had less intelligence than a rock. He was in history class when he heard the teacher say something that caught his attention.
"This is William. He moved here from Texas (idk where he's really from) and I want you all to make him feel welcome."
Nico looked up from his paper, where he'd been drawing for the last hour. A blonde-haired boy with tanned skin and freckles stood nervously in front of the class. Will. Nico liked that name.
Eventually the teacher asked them to partner up and Will was the only one left standing alone. Awkwardly. Emphasis on the awkward. Everyone was staring, waiting.
Nico stood up and made his way to Will. He smiled. "You can be my partner." They shook hands and went back to Nico's desk to work on the project.
Ever since that day, Will was Nico's best friend. Will made him laugh. Dragged him to parties even though he hates them. Stood up for Nico when he'd be bullied by the other kids in the halls.
Nico felt like he got to see sunshine and color after so long in the dark. He was happy for the first time in a long time. And for a while, the razor was forgotten.
"Nico! You coming up?"
Will was hanging upside down in the trees, smiling cheerfully at him. Nico rolled his eyes. He continued to skip rocks in the pond, ignoring his best friend.
"Hey Nico..."
Nico looked up. "What," he asked, mildly annoyed. He just wanted some peace and quiet for five minutes. Just five.
"Do you...do you like me?" Will was looking anywhere--at anything--but at Nico's eyes. He sat upright on the tree branch, and shifted, fidgeting nervously.
Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. You're my best friend." But something told him that's not what Will meant.
"Do you...love me?"
That made Nico freeze.
Love?
Will made him laugh. He was the sun. He was happy and cheered him up when he was considering taking out the old razor. He was the only thing that made Nico's miserable life worth living.
"Well...I've never been in love..."
"There's a first time for everything."
"Maybe..."
Nico avoided Will after that. It was easier that way. He walked a different road to school. He stayed out of the woods, and ignored him during class.
Inside, he was dying. Nico didn't have anything. His mom went missing. She wasn't found for a few days and finally the police found her somewhere dead on the side of a road.
It made him sick. It made him sad. And angry. It broke him. Everyone has to leave...
He thought for a moment, staring at the razor.
That's how Will found Nico on the floor in the boy's bathroom, wrists sliced open, eyes threatening to close. Nico saw Will's face. He smiled.
"Sunshine..." He said tiredly. "I see sunshine..."
