In The Spotlight - Solangelo

Chapter Ten

A/N: Woah, 100 views?! Thank you so much guys, for reading this and stuff. I actually didn't think I'd ever get that many views. THANK YOU!!!

I skipped school the next day.

My dad didn't seem to mind. I wasn't necessarily a bad student, so missing a day or two wouldn't affect my grades too much. Besides, I didn't have Performing Arts that day, which at the moment was the only class I cared about. Not because I enjoyed Performing Arts, or because I wanted to do well in it, but because I didn't want Will to fail because of me.

I spent the day listening to music in my room, reflecting on the events of yesterday. Did I love Will? I was beginning to think that I did, but I couldn't admit it to him. I don't know why I couldn't. Will obviously liked me - he had announced his love for me in front of the entire cafeteria.

Oh, god, he announced his love in front of the entire cafeteria! What if he... what if they... He basically just came out in front of everyone. Things spread quickly in that school, so I could assume the entire school knew. What if people gave him a hard time for it? What if they didn't accept him? What if they... What if they hurt him? The reason I still haven't told anyone besides Bianca, Thalia and Jason was because I was afraid of what they would think of me. Afraid that they wouldn't accept me. I hadn't even told my dad.

I have to talk to Will tomorrow, I decided. I have to let him know that at least I accepted him.

Like that was ever going to happen.

I didn't see Will the next day.

Ok, that was a lie. I did see Will, multiple times, but I immediately evacuated the general area whenever I caught a glimpse of him. I didn't mean to, but I found myself purposely avoiding him. This went on for a couple of days. I sat under Thalia's tree at lunch, took different, lesser-known routes to get to my classes, and I skipped the few classes that we had together.

However, this couldn't go on forever.

As I speed walking down the corridor to leave school for home, I heard someone shout my name. I stopped. Oh, God, why did I stop? Now I'll have to talk to them...

"Nico!" they shouted again.

I turned around. It was Will. Of course it was Will. And, damn, he looked even hotter than before. His golden hair was soaking, so I assumed he must have just been swimming. His slightly wet skin seemed to be sparkling.

"I, uh, mm," I spluttered.

"Have you been avoiding me these past few days?" he inquired, moving closer to me. "I feel like you've been avoiding me."

I didn't know what to say, so I ended up muttering something like, "I, uh, I'm s-sorry, I, uh..." He was right in my face now. "I mean, um... I'm really sorry, I just... I couldn't..." I found myself staring at his lips.

"Look, I've been meaning to talk to you, but you keep disappearing whenever I've almost found you." Suddenly, I felt incredibly stupid. He had been looking for me. And I had been running away. He knew that I had been running away from him. "I'm sorry about the other day. I don't know what got into me. We've only known each other for a few days. I'm still kinda confused about my own feelings for you. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, or anything."

There was a deafening silence. I could feel everyone else in the hallway staring at us. Again. This time, I didn't want to run away. This time, I knew I had to face this head on.

"It's fine," I managed to say. "Honestly, it's fine. I just need time to think about it. You didn't make me feel too uncomfortable. It just... it took me by surprise. I'm sorry for running away."

Will took a sigh of relief, then gave me a warm smile. "Thank God. I was actually starting to worry about you." He took a step back, and the rest of the students in the hall continued on with their business. "So, Percy's taking part in a swimming competition at the weekend, and my friends and I were wondering if you wanted to come watch him."

"I, uh, I don't know..."

"I can give you until tomorrow to decide."

I nodded. "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya." He walked off, leaving me all alone with me thoughts.