Solangelo One Shots

Summer of '69

Request for @ssaturated! All you need to know is that Nico and Will dated for a period of time back when they were in high school, which was in the late 1960's but they broke up and never saw each other again, but now they're at their fifth high school reunion and seeing each other for the first time since high school. Also, the italics are a flashback. Enjoy!

Will's POV

I could see him even through the crowd, a white strobe light illuminating him standing awkwardly in a black suit, glancing around the gym for someone to talk to. It was obvious that he hadn't seen me yet, and I preferred it that way. Even five years later, I wasn't sure I could face him. Our relationship hadn't ended on bad terms in the slightest, but even now I could never get over the crushed look on his face when I had broken it off. My eyes flitted back over to him, watched him tuck a stray strand of black hair behind his ear. I couldn't do this, stand here and wait until he saw me. All of a sudden the gym felt hotter, as if the temperature had been risen twenty degrees. I needed to leave. 

I slipped out the back door, to the wide open field at the back of the school. Even thought it was dark outside, I could remember the gentle warmth of sunlight from years ago on my back, Nico's hand wrapped in mine. It was silent as I crossed the field, the thick blades of grass soft underneath me as I settled down on the ground underneath the willow, staring up at the cloudless sky, the stars glittering like diamonds. All of a sudden I was transported, brought back to the summer days and summer nights Nico and I would spend underneath the tree, talking and laughing, giving no thought to even a second in the future. 

There was a bright summer sun shining down on us, flooding through the branches of the new willow tree, which were waving in the wind. I was aware of Nico's head resting on my chest, a pleasant, welcome weight. I could feel his  body pressing up against mine, his hair between my fingers. Somewhere a bird chirped, and a light breeze ran across the tops of the bright green grass and over our bodies. It felt like bliss. I turned my head, giving a small smile to Nico. 

"What?" he asked. 

"Nothing," I sighed. "Just happy." 

"Why are you so happy?"

"Because I'm here with you, idiot," I laughed, pressing a kiss into the top of his head. It smelled like vanilla, like the fumes of fresh cookies wafting out of an open window. 

"Hey, that reminds me," he said, sitting up. "I got you a present." He reached behind the trunk of the tree, pulling out a thick bouquet of flowers, tied together with a bright yellow ribbon tied into a flashy bow. "Well, I didn't buy it for you. I meant I got here half an hour early and picked these for you." 

"This is the best present I've ever gotten," I said, leaning over and kissing him. 

"Hey, don't do that here!" he protested, although I could see him fighting back a faint smile. "You know that we could get expelled for just being together, right?" 

"Who cares about them," I said, kissing him again. "We'll get expelled together, and then we'll travel the world together, or take a road trip. It doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you."

My fingers trailed across the flowers, small yellow dandelions dotting the field like sprinkles on a cake. I remembered that bouquet clearer than I remembered anything. I could remember taking it home, clutched safely in my hand and putting it in a vase as soon as I got home. After a few days they had wilted but I had kept them for weeks even after they were long gone, because each time I looked at them, they served as a reminder of that day, of Nico's body up against mine. On a whim I plucked one of the flowers from its stem, tucking it behind my ear. The soft petals tickled my skin and suddenly I felt like I was in high school again, carefree with Nico by my side. That summer, the summer of '69 had been the best of my life. Ever moment stood out in my brain like a photograph, each moment as precious as the last. Of course, being the summer that I had gotten together with Nico, it would make sense that it was the best one I ever had. 

There was someone watching me, I could tell. I sat up from my spot underneath the willow tree, frowning as I scanned my surroundings. The field was clear, but in the array of trees surrounding me I could hear the crack of a stick, and a mumbled curse after. I stood up, my hand on the rough trunk of the tree as I tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. Behind a tree I spotted it, the tip of a black haired head poking out from behind the thick trunk of an oak. "You can come out!" I called. "I'm friendly, I promise." I heard feet shuffling on the forest floor until a boy came out from behind the tree, about my age and looking like a deer caught in the headlights. I immediately recognized him, Nico Di Angelo from my social studies class. We had never talked but sometimes I thought I could feel his eyes staring at me from across the room. Or maybe it was just me, hoping that he was staring. "You can come sit under here with me, if you want," I offered. "It's nice. The sun hits at a nice angle, but it's not too hot." 

"Thanks," Nico said, staring at me skeptically as if I was going to do something. He sat next to me, his shoulder up against mine as we shared the thin trunk. 

"So, what were you doing back there?" I asked. I was half hoping that he would say he was looking for me, trying to get up the courage to talk to me. 

"I was- I was just," he said, his face going pale and beet red at the same time. We looked each other in the eyes, and somehow I knew that there was something between us, something that I couldn't explain. 

"There's no one else here, you know," I said. "You can talk to me." 

"I was just-" he paused, taking in a breath. "I just always wanted to talk to you, and I never have before. I wanted to say hi." There they were, the words that made my heart pound and my cheeks turn pink. It had been a hunch at first, but now I was positive. there was no way Nico was straight. I inched my hand to the right, so that it lightly bumped up against Nico's. He looked shocked at first, his ears flushing and his eyes widening but as I moved my hand to cover his any nervousness melted away into an expression of pure happiness. Neither of us spoke, only watched the  wind rustle the grass and birds flit across the field. Neither of us said anything because we didn't need to talk to know that what had begun was the start of something beautiful.

The summer of '69 was the best I've ever had. I could remember the exact day a week after he had come out of the woods, when he had kissed me out of the blue. I could remember the laughter and the smiles of the summer, the happiness that came along with dating Nico. I could remember how I slowly got to like him more and more until one day, I finally realized that I loved him, underneath a firework lit sky on the forth of July, Nico lying next to me with his hand in mine, completely oblivious to the fact that I had just realized that I loved him. I remembered running around the backs of buildings with him, giggling at our secret relationship, sneaking around our parents to visit the field, the one littered with dandelions and memories. I could remember the adventures and the quiet days in the field and in the middle of the memories I remembered him, his smile and his laugh and his love for passion and romance. I missed him, I realized. I didn't think I had thought about him but I had, every day. Every day I had kept him in the back of my mind, envisioning his smile but it wasn't until now, five years later after I had broken up with him that I realized how much I missed him. 

I jumped when the door opened, sitting up against the tree and watching as a figure stepped out of the shadows, first unrecognizable but once he took a few steps in I could see a black suit and a shaggy mop of black hair, a bouquet of dandelions wrapped neatly in a yellow bow in his hands. As Nico came closer he smiled and the smile made my heart hurt, the smile bringing back hundreds of memories I had tried to bury for such a long time because I had convinced myself that I didn't need the memories, but I was wrong. I needed those memories more than everything. 

Nico was standing in front of me, holding the bouquet in two hands. He was smiling, a look of almost relief in his eyes. "I always wanted to say hi to you," he said, handing me the bouquet. "I don't know why it's taken me this long." I took the flowers, breathing in the scent, the petals tickling my nose. 

"Hi,"I said. "I'm friendly, I promise." He smiled again, this time wider and this was the smile that brought me home, the smile that brought me back to the summer of '69. 

Hi guys, I hope you liked that one! I'm sorry if it turned into mostly gibberish at the end, I'm exhausted right now. 

Nina