Safe With Me

|9|

•Will•

It's happening. It's actually happening. Nico di Angelo is in the passenger seat of my dad's car, next to me. Focus Will, it wouldn't look very good if you got into an accident.

"You look great, Nico," I said, stealing a glance at him. "Eyes on the road, Solace," he said. "But you look nice too." I smiled.

Actually no, I continued smiling. I hadn't stopped smiling.

"So where are we going Sunshine?" He asked. I laughed at the nickname. "It's a surprise," I stated, smirking. A groan was audible from my right.

"You know I don't like surprises William." I laughed again,"My grandma is the only one who calls me William.And this is a good surprise."

"Okay, fine."

The rest of the ride was filled with small talk. I pulled into the parking lot of this nice Italian restaurant. I jumped out of the car and ran to Nico's side, opening the door for him.

"Thanks," he said softly. I nodded. We walked to the front door of the restaurant and I led him inside. From the looks of it, he'd never been here. It was outside of the city so it would make sense.

"Do you have a reservation?" The hostess asked me. "Yeah, uh, Solace," I said nervously. "Right this way please."

•

Dinner was great. We had pasta and garlic bread. The bread was so good. We talked about random stuff. I was a little sad it had to end, but the date wasn't over yet. I parked the car in a spot in front of an ice cream place. We are back in the city now.

"We're getting ice cream?" Nico asked, excitement in his voice. I laughed and said,"Yes we are." His smile was like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Nico ordered double chocolate fudge and I ordered strawberry. He looked so cute, all excited about something as simple as ice cream. It made me happy to see him like this, carefree and calm.

Generally he is very tense and guarded. You don't see this side of him often. I liked it.

(A/N:correction Will, you love it. Jk we aren't there..........yet.)

We walked out the ice cream shop and Nico started towards the car. I held out my hand and said,"Walk with me?" He nodded and took my hand, his face flushing.

The sidewalks of New York City were fairly empty. Which rarely happened. Even with the cold wind and three inches of snow on the ground, it's usually still busy.

"So, tell me about Italy," I said. He smiled to himself, as if recalling a fond memory. "Well, I was born there, but you knew that. I lived there for a while, but was still pretty young when we moved. Bianca and I lived in D.C. for a while, then we went to a boarding school in Maine with this monster of a principal. Then we came to New York. It was good for a little while...." He trailed off.

"Enough about me, tell me about California, Solace."

I smiled, thinking of my friends across the country. "Well, I was born in Sacramento, but moved to Los Angeles when I was three. I had lots of friends, Dakota and Gwen were my best friends though. I lived there for fourteen years, then moved here, simple as that," I finished, looking over to Nico.

Nico was telling me about it this book he had read and loved. It was so cute, watching him geek out. We were walking back towards the car. "Anyway, guy gets the guy, happy ever after."

I cut him off my leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. I pulled back and stared nervously at him. "What was that Will?" He asked with a guarded look.

Uh-oh, shit. He didn't want to kiss me. "I-Uh, sorry, I've just been wanting to do that all night," I stuttered out. Smooth, Will.

He rolled his eyes. "If you're going to do it, do it right." I was about to ask what he meant but he grabbed the collar of my jacket with both hands and crashed my lips to his. Woah.

"Yeah," I breathed,"I like that better."

He smiled and leaned against me, his head only reaching my chest. "You are such a dork Sunshine," he said into my chest.

"Shut up Death Boy."

We walked back to the car, hand-in-hand. The drive was silent and I went to ask him a question, but I turned to find Nico looking out the window.

"You okay?" I asked him. He smiled at the passing scenery and it reflected on the window's glass. "Better than you know."

I pulled into my driveway and texted my mom, letting her know I was taking Nico home.

I walked to Nico's side and gently opened the door. He smiled and took when he took my hand I pulled him out of the car.

Once across the street Nico let us in and we walked down to his room.

"I guess this is where I leave you," he joked once we reached his doorway. "Unfortunately," I replied.

I leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. My plans changed when he grabbed my chin and redirected me towards his lips.

It was short and sweet, but electrifying as ever. I pulled away and kissed his forehead, following through with my original intention.

"Goodnight, Nico," I whispered.

"Goodnight, Sunshine."

I walked up the stairs where Mr. di Angelo was sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey Will, if you've got a minute, take a seat." I looked at my watch. It was 10:30, I still had a half hour till curfew.

"Sure, what's up?" I asked.

"I'd like to talk to you about you and Nico."

First day of school was ehh. I don't know anybody so it was kinda boring. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. But, I love this chapter and it was so easy to write. Later -Morgan