A more primal side of Niall was excited for the weekend to come. Unless he was confusing things: the group chat, which had done nothing but be a constant source of notifications, had a general tone of the fun to come being less a nostalgia fuelled memory-fest and more lets get drunk and probably have as much sex as possible. He was excited, nervous, and absolutely boiling with self-doubt.

A part of him hoped he would get some attention, only a select few wouldn't, but another part contradicted this. If nothing happened and it really was just a fun weekend with friends, would he be disappointed or satisfied?

Or worse: if something does happen, what if they laughed? Or didn't like what he had to offer?

He poked and prodded scrupulously at his own body as he stood in front of the mirror, dissatisfied. His milky-white skin gave him a pallor closer to a hospital patient as opposed to the usual sun-kissed Adonis he saw in the media. Niall was slim. The musculature of his more active years had all but totally faded. The scruff of his hair stood in its varying shades of brown at messy angles, and the eyes that he always remembered having used to sparkle, now seemed a faded, copy and paste, blue.

The thought that perhaps this was why Jacky cheated and left, suddenly seemed to have a perfectly cut out spot in Nialls mind, causing him to let out an exasperated breath as he exhaled a swell of sadness. It was a type of loathed understanding that bullied its way into the foreground. Always.

This is a bad idea.

After having his self-esteem thoroughly pummelled by his own ego, Niall slumped over to his laptop. He'd sent off three resumes so far today. Currently on a streak of four weeks without a job, if the lack of company didn't send him crazy, the day to day jobless monotony will.

The mobile to his left vibrated. Assuming it to be the group chat once again, he meant only to give it a brief scan but he found his fingers frozen in place as it was a single name that had popped up. Will.

'Hey'

Luckily Niall didn't have to answer before it became evident that Will had started typing once again. It was strange. In school: Will and Niall were apart of the same friend group sure, but they barely spoke. He'd always judged them as slightly more than acquaintances but not quite yet friends. Will was the loud one. Earning laughs and friends as easy as breathing. To Niall: Will was the stereotypical "popular guy" at school and then some. A different somebody on his arm every month or so. Whether that somebody was a boy or girl didn't seem to bother anybody at the time. Will was just too likeable. Smart. Kind. Confident and funny.

Niall was almost the complete opposite. Quiet. Subdued and solitary. If it wasn't for the friend group that adopted his introverted ass he probably wouldn't of had any friends at all. Something he was unknowingly grateful for.

'Do you need a lift to the lake house this weekend?' The message popped on the screen.

Agonising hesitation ensued. It would save money, but Niall didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage of the free ride. Was he being presumptuous in assuming it was free in the first place? He worried over what he should do, and then worried he was taking too long to reply and then would be considered rude. A thousand thousand torturous emotions seemed to knot their way through his chest in his contemplation's and he couldn't for the life of him understand why. Surely it couldn't solely be nerves?

'That'd be great, thank you!' He responded, practically throwing the phone to the table in shock horror. Immediately questioning whether his enthusiasm was too much.

Will, however, leaned back into his chair. A relieved chuckle escaping his lips as a fluttering of disbelief shivered down his arms which hung down at his sides. He couldn't believe it. Was it really that easy?

This was a victory. However small, he was certain to make it count as one.

To Will, Niall was the one he was never able to catch. Ever since Niall gave up his calculator for Will, knowing that he would fail the mathematics exam without it, Niall was smitten. The reluctance of his touch, so light as if it were never there at all, as if he was scared he would cause damage by the slightest gesture. The ashen blue of his eyes, like a sky in the depths of winter promising to snow, glittering with silent contemplation as the world spiralled on without him.

Of course Will at the time had tried every school ground trick in the book. He made special effort to talk and include Niall in everything. He dated the best looking girls and boys at the school in an attempt to make Niall jealous. He'd even dazzled him with cheeky flashes in the locker rooms. All this peacocking and all it could muster was a sideways chuckle from Niall. No silent, or otherwise, longing for attention. No secretly wanting glances caught in his direction. All of it was naught.

Will had tried everything. Aside from asking him out directly anyway. He remembered the day he had finally drawn the courage to do so. Courage was something he rarely lacked. He remembered his heart beating so hard he could feel his pulse through his lips. Knuckles were white enough to be confused with violent intent, yet the palms were clammy. It was their last day of school. The last day of school. Nothing after this unless you wanted to go to college or university, which Will had already been accepted into.

Will had ended up walking twice the distance he was meant to that day. He kept walking back on himself as the fear of rejection raised its heckles like a vicious alley-cat defending its territory. Hissing with yellow eyes and fangs from the dark as it scrapped after bones almost picked clean.

He had seen Niall standing outside the gates of the school. There was no going back now, thought was pushed to the side as instinct took over. Testosterone took over. Will was determined to show his worth, to have Niall, to be everything he wanted him to be and more. He could do this. Will drew nearer and nearer to his prize when he stopped suddenly.

Niall was kissing someone else. Fluttering eye lashes, and closed mouths. Innocence in full blush, cheeks redder than blood, a creeping smile peeking from the joined lips. Inexperience showing in all its glory as he fiddled with hands he didn't know what to do with.

All Will could do: was watch. Hollow. Like someone had tried to have his insides carved out with a rusty ice-cream scoop, only to get caught somewhere between the top of his chest and his throat. He had been too late. Someone had got there first. He was too late.

Ever since then, as he grew older, the friend group grew apart as friends are want to do, life goes on. Will had always reserved Niall as "the one that got away." Namely because of his own failure. And so: he moved on, never expecting to even see Niall again aside from the occasional post on social media. Will didn't even consider sending him a message when he had seen that Niall and Jacky had ended their relationship. For Will, that boat had long sailed into the dark of the ocean. Far beyond where the moon could reach. Even when they met at the party, he was unknowingly pleased with himself about how things were normal. No pain, no heartbreak. Nothing.

That was until the kiss.

That damned kiss. It was like finding something lost that you didn't know you had missed until it was found. It flowered in his chest cavity, peeling at the hardened flesh as if plants blossoming through the ice at the first sign of spring.

This time Will couldn't forget. Will wasn't even sure if Niall was in to guys, but something about the kiss assured him that he was, and by the grace of whatever gods that be: Will was determined to not let this second chance go to waste.

A/N: Woo I was not expecting to have another chapter out so soon considering I had just started really, but I got struck with the writing itch and just had to do it. I promise the entire story isn't just going to be inferred backstory xD
I just wanted to develop the characters a bit more is all. I hope I did that.

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