Nico made a fool of himself sitting at a table for two, intensifying his ridiculousness with the depressing posture he had adopted. He barely kept his eyes open and rested his left cheek on top of his pale hands, that were placed one on top of the other on the table with his elbows extended to opposite ends of the table.
He was seriously starting to consider doing what he had been planning to do a few minutes ago. Go to the Playground to tell the bunch of brats, that have no respect for others, to fuck off. Every single laugh or shriek of theirs played over and over in his head just as if it were a gong, producing sharp and volatile pain.
Even if he was hungry since he arrived at the establishment thirty minutes ago, he rejected two waitresses that came over to take his order, telling them he was waiting for someone. The first one reactivated her radar of potential clients who give large amounts of tip. The second one smiled, saying: "Don't worry, girls take ages to be ready". Nico answered: "First it's not a girl, and second, it's not a date".
He snorted at the moment a sneeze was coming, almost choking on his own mucus, that instead of being shot out from his body as it should happen, got through the wrong way.
Nico's tolerance levels were clearly lowering. Why the hell was Will taking so much to arrive?
Ten minutes before eight, he accepted Will wouldn't come. Nico walked with his head down towards the exit and night welcomed him with freezing air currents. Prepared man, he was wearing the jacket that a was a couple of sizes bigger, that blocked the majority of them, keeping his body warm except for his face and fingers.
"Nico?" Someone stopped him a bit later, putting a hand on his shoulder. Nico raised his face to see the person, angry. "I'm so sorry! I came running. Thought you had already left."
Then Nico's pulse experimented a drastic change. He hadn't had Will's face so close before, neither heard his voice or felt his touch. He wasn't hoping for it, but at that moment he was unfairly surprised by his emotions. Nico wasn't even sure of what Will made him feel, he just knew it was something he usually didn't feel around others.
Will had his blonde hair tousled as if he hadn't bothered to fix his hair before leaving his house. His eyelashes, blonde and curly, stood out in his broad-featured face, tanned and full of freckles at the center of it. He had a fluid voice that covered every letter of a word and it had a gentle tone even to Nico's sensitive ears. As for his touch, the warmth of his hands trespassed Nico's clothes, feeling it on his skin.
However, that didn't save him from getting pushed backwards by Nico, who was looking at him disapprovingly with his intense and night-dark eyes.
"Why did you stand me up for an hour?"
Will blushed, it was hard to tell though, his cheeks and the tip of his ears were red from the cold. He wore a beige sweater, an orange scarf and a pair of baggy jeans in good conditions.
"I had an issue at home. Your last email, my sisters... agh. You didn't read my reply, didn't you?" Nico shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Lets not talk about it today" Will sighed and offered him a warm smile. "Forgive me. I'll pay to make up for arriving this late."
The order was made five minutes later. As a coincidence, the waitress that tried to cheer Nico up attended them. Before walking away, she gave them a complacent gaze that was, either ignored or not received.
"Do you still order Happy Meals?" asked Will surprised, laying his hands on the table. Nico saw that all his movements showed the moral and ethics education he didn't receive.
"It's for the toy" Nico explained, arching a bushy black eyebrow. "Have a problem with that?"
"Um, no" Will tilted his head. "But you do know they are for kids, right?"
"I'm a kid trapped a teenager's body" Nico answered, and then, sneezed. Will gave him some napkins, which Nico used immediately to blow his nose. His next words sounded as if he were a clown or holding his nose. "I'm also a collector".
Will had to cover his mouth to hide his smile.
"Collect toys. Is it one of your hobbies? I've always thought you look more like a gruff guy, you know, dark."
"And I am," Nico said, wrinkling his chin while he breathes, making sure he keeps snot out. "You think a dark gruff guy can't collect toys? Sorry to disappoint you, hottie sunshine."
Will smiled, shaking his head. He created that email two years ago when his little sisters bothered him by telling him puberty made him look good. Obviously, the name wasn't his idea.
"Not at all death boy, on the contrary. I'm very pleased. Actually, I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind, to teach me how to play Mythomagic. Unlike you, I'm a teenager without childhood that wants to know how it feels to be a kid."
Nico stared at him. The tip of his nose was red from the constant friction with the tissues. Will found it adorable.
"We're kidding, right? Just ordered a Happy Meal to bother you. It's been years since I last played Mythomagic. Lost the cards."
"I wasn't kidding" Will whispered, "not completely."
At that moment, the waitress arrived with their orders. Two Happy Meals with apples instead of fries and orange juices instead of sodas. Will stopped Nico from adding any extra sauces. Nico, at first reluctant to obey, discovered that it was still delicious; maybe not as usual, but tasty enough.
While eating, they talked about Mythomagic. Nico's eyes shone while telling Will about his favorite cards and powers, and the great amount of points that are achieved by making an appropriate tactic, and how he had once been champion in a local tournament. Will listened to everything with genuine attention. Minutes passed with great speed.
They decided to end the meeting when Nico's voice was hoarse. There was a small pile of used and crumpled tissues. He was happy anyway. He'd been so focused on their conversation that his sickness became unimportant for a few moments.
They agreed on meeting again. This time Will would choose where to go. They also promised to at least wave to each other in Biology class.
When Nico was about a block from his house, he found a folded sheet of paper inside the Happy Meal box.
He remembered Sofía's email. The girl didn't lie. This was Will's letter, and... a Tylenol?
One of the sides of the folded letter said:
This will help with the headache. For the rhinitis, I recommend a Zyrtec 5 mg; you should check it with your doctor first though.
Nico smiled slightly and opened the letter.
***
Hi guys, guess who has a laptop again?? Thanks, safeterra for helping me!!
- Car 🧡
YOU ARE READING
It's curious the way destiny plays. Two peculiar people among others and related to each other can live in the same space for an hour each week and not know of the existence of the other. Until there is a break in the routine of one of them and the...
