Solangelo One Shots

Bridging the Gap

Nico's POV

It's a Thursday night when Nico hits the road. His bag is thrown in the back with nothing but a couple of shirts and a toothbrush inside. Where he's going, he won't need much. 

He was lucky to get his parent's permission to take the car. They've been almost like helicopter parents ever since he got his license, flitting around and making sure he had a first aid kit, his license, a copy of their insurance plan just in case anything happened. But after a lot of begging, a couple of fights at dinner, and a particularly well-worded text on his part, they agreed to call him out of school and let him borrow the family mini-van, and he's off. 

He turns on music as he drives, the loud beat of the drums and the rough singing contrasting to the quiet outside, the stars glittering above him and the empty streets. You have to finish your homework before you go, his parents had said. You have to eat dinner with the family. He had complied through gritted teeth, crammed mac and cheese into his mouth as fast as he could as Hazel blabbed on about some science test she has tomorrow. It had been eight-thirty by the time he was on the road; at this rate, he won't get to John Hopkins until one in the morning. And yes, he has an arrangement with Will's roommate and yes, he knows that Will will be happy to see him no matter what. But still, it's late, and it's dark. And Nico has always been terrified of driving at night. 

He's on the interstate after a panic-ridden, heart-pounding merge. There isn't anyone coming but he's still wary of his surroundings, waiting for some giant monster truck to fling him to the side of the road or crush him underneath its wheels. His mom's 2015 Kia Sorento isn't meant for that. But soon, he eases into the driving, and the pounding in his chest subsides. He eases into the beat of the music, the thrumming of the engine all around him, uses the sight of the trees blurring into one to calm him. He's never driven five hours alone before; he's only had his license for six months. But soon he'll see Will, and that's all he needs to feel okay. 

Will's POV

It's a Thursday night and he's bored in his dorm room. Austin is gaming, screaming through his headset as he kills something on his screen. Will had always thought it was strange to bring a gaming console and a shitty flatscreen to a college campus, but after living with Austin for six months, he can see why Austin brought it. It's basically his life. "Hey, you wanna, like, go out and do something tonight?" Will asks, picking up his head. They've got a long weekend, and he doesn't want to just stay in like he always does. "Find some party, search the city for something to do. This is a rare occasion- we could be out all night if we wanted to." 

"Let's stay in tonight," Austin says. "I'm in the middle of something, anyway." 

"Come on, I'm so bored," Will says. "I never do anything anymore." Last year, he and Nico would spend every night together, dancing through the streets until their feet ached and laughing until they couldn't breathe. His world lost a little bit of color when he left Nico in New York and even though Nico is planning on college in Baltimore next year, it still hurts to be so far away. He needs something to distract him from the loneliness blooming inside of his chest that grows stronger and stronger every day. 

"You probably won't be bored in a couple of hours," Austin says, giggling lightly into his mic. Will frowns. 

"What?" 

"You'll see in a couple of hours," Austin says. "That's all I can tell you. It's a surprise." 

"I feel like I should be worried," Will says. "Should I be worried?" 

"No," Austin says. "Just wait.  A couple of hours." Will rolls his eyes, sinking back down against his pillow and pulling out a book he has to read for class. Part of him thinks that Austin is lying. Nothing is coming, Will tells himself as he flips through the pages of his book. Nothing exciting, nothing that will bring him out of the boring rut that college has dragged him into. Just another weekend spent doing homework and mourning memories from high school he never thought he'd miss.