Death Boy (Solangelo Mortal AU)

3

NICO

We sat outside the door to the nurse's office, Valora coughing with enough force to shred her organs. She held on to my arm, with what I assumed was instinct, when I heard footsteps stomping down the hall. I helped Valora stand up before I did, and Will stood before us. He was holding a ring of keys, and was panting after running down the four or more hallways. Valora was holding tighter onto my arm now, like she was struggling to stand. Will unlocked the door, and I led Valora to a chair. She sat down, and I turned to Will.

"Thank you." He said, smiling genuinely. I wanted to hug him, weirdly, because I knew what it was like to know your sister was slowly dying and there was nothing you could do. I smiled back in the slightest, mostly a sympathy smile.

"No problem." He turned his gaze to Valora, who was resting her eyes, before bursting into a fit of coughs that nearly caused her to fall out of the chair. 

"Let me-" Will began, trying to pick her up.

"I CAN WALK! I'M NOT A BABY!" She screeched. Tears were in her eyes as she glared at Will. "I can do it." She said slowly. I wasn't sure if she was convincing Will or herself anymore. She put her feet on the floor, wobbling as she began to cough. Will tried to take her hand and she glared at him, walking towards the back room on her own. She broke into a cough louder than I'd heard so far, falling onto her butt. I heard her sniffle. "It's not fair..." She mumbled. I offered to help her up, and she stood reluctantly. She pushed my arm away, walking into the room and pulling herself onto the bed. She crossed her arms, looking down sadly. "I want to be able to walk on my own... You promised you wouldn't carry me everywhere." Valora sniffed, wiping tears from her eyes with the long sleeves of her sweater dress. 

"I'm sorry, Lors." Will said, approaching the small resting room. He kneeled down in front of her, and she hugged him, taking him by surprise. 

"Don't do it again!" She scolded. I held in a laugh, while Will nodded. 

"Of course." He said, pulling out of her hug. She smiled at him. "You haven't coughed too much, can you take your medicine now?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Too yucky." She said, causing him to frown. I leaned in the doorway.

"Val, if you take your medicine, I'll visit you at lunch." I told her, smiling. Her eyes lit up. 

"Really?!" She asked. I nodded. She looked to Will, who had already began to stand up and walk out of the room. 

One of the small containers holding medicine and other various things had the label Valora on it. I frowned a little as he took a bottle of purple liquid out of the drawer and poured it into the small cup on the top. He brought it to her, and without a complaint, she used one hand to plug her nose and the other to pour the medicine into her mouth. She quickly downed the purple liquid, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head. "You better remember." She said.

"I'd never forget." I replied, smiling. 

"You should take a nap, Lors." Will said. She nodded, laying down. "Sleep well." He said, and she smiled. He nearly closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. He sat down at the nurse's desk, running his hands through his hair. "Thank you." He said.

"It was no problem, really, I mean-"

"Not just walking her down here Nico. Offering to eat lunch with her." He gave a wary smile. "I'll be here to, you know." I hoped he couldn't see the heat I felt on my cheeks. "Does this mean we're friends?" He asked.

"I thought of it more as even." I replied. "You probably don't want to get associated with me." I told him. He smiled.

"Of course I do. Come on, I'll be your best friend~." He cooed, smirking. He must have seen me blushing. 

"I-"

"We're friends. End of story. Now you're eating lunch with us."

"How do you even stay here?" I asked. 

"I don't have any more classes because I finished all my credits, so I just help the nurse. It's kinda like an AP credit, and I can put it on my resume." He said. I nodded, sitting down.

"You want to be a doctor?" I asked. 

"Yeah, mostly for Lors." He said, his smile wavering. I tried not to frown.

"She's gonna live, you know." He looked at me, surprised. "She's strong, and she's not gonna give up. Not li-" I stopped myself. "Never mind." He raised his eyebrow, though he let it go.

"You see it too, don't you?" He asked, "The doctors told us she'd die in a month when she was barely even a year old. She's here now, isn't she? She's gonna get through it, and if you can see it, the-" He stopped himself from using the nasty nickname that I'd gotten, and it made me feel a little happy, "Then it's true. She's gonna do it." I smiled at him, when the school bell rang. "You should probably get to class."