Nico's POV

There's something wrong as soon as he sees Will's text. For a split second, there's a fleeting feeling of joy, better than anything Nico has ever felt before until it comes crashing down as he starts to realize what an absolute, blatant lie the whole thing is. First, there's the fact that just a couple of hours ago, Will was sweating and stuttering at the thought of coming out to his parents. There was no way he changed his mind in such a short amount of time. And his grandparents are even more Christian than his parents, and Will is easily overwhelmed. He would cry at even the thought of coming out to everyone at the same time. Nico considers chucking his phone so hard across the room that it shatters into a million tiny pieces and he never has to read that lie again, but that might be counterproductive. He's tapping his hand on the mattress of his bed, his mind racing. There's a lump in his throat and he can't tell whether or not he's going to throw up or cry, but when he feels the tears rising up in his throat, he knows what's going to happen. 

He curls up on his side, tucking his head in between his knees as tears leak out of his eyes. He doesn't want to cry, not for the second time that day. This relationship wasn't supposed to be hard. He was supposed to be having a good time. But here he is, his back shaking with sobs, the knees of his pants wet with tears, his chest aching. He doesn't want to hurt over love anymore. 

Time doesn't feel like it exists while he cries but when his eyes are finally dry his head is pounding, every part of him achy. He reaches for his phone, pulling it closer to him with his fingers but when he checks his texts, there's nothing. No apology for the lie, no truth. All he wants is an explanation, for Will to tell him that he panicked, that he still needs more time. The lie feels worse than anything he's ever felt before. He can feel the tears welling up again and he wipes roughly at his eyes, pressing hard as if that'll shove all of the emotions deep down into his body where they can't come back up, not now and not ever. He sighs deeply, forcing himself to sit up, dry his eyes one last time, smooth the wrinkles from his shirt. He needs to clear his head. 

His mother barely looks up when he walks through the living room, tear tracks still staining his face and his hair messy on the top of his head. Within seconds she's back to her show, without questioning why her son was shut away in his room for hours, sobbing uncontrollably. There's a hole in his heart where love is supposed to be. 

He grabs his earbuds before stepping outside, the sky painted in shades of pink and orange. It's colder out now and he wraps his arms around his chest, bowing his head down to the sidewalk. The streets are empty and he's glad for that; he doesn't want to cry again in public but the music is bringing up more emotions, and it feels like a very real and very scary possibility. He sniffs, pausing to take a deep breath as he tries to steady himself. He wishes that he had never taken that pause, had instead decided to turn down that tiny street to his right. If he hadn't paused, he probably never would have heard someone call his name. 

He considers turning down the side street anyway, ignoring whoever is calling his name but he winces, turning around to see Percy across the street, a towel slung across his arm. He's only wearing a red bathing suit with a white stripe running down the side, the classic uniform of the lifeguards at the public pool. It's the abs on his stomach, tight from hours spent on the swim team, that Nico is reminded why he fell for Percy in the first place. "Yeah?" his voice is dull and he knows it, despite the fact that he tried his best to sound cheerful. He knows that he failed when he sees Percy frown and he jogs over to him, his flip flops slapping on the ground and his messy black hair falling into his face. He doesn't want to cry, not in front of Percy, but as soon as Percy looks at him with that expression on his face, the one with genuine care, the one that makes the tears spring back into his eyes. He wants to melt into the ground. 

"Are you okay?" He frowns, reaching out a hand and setting it on Nico's arm. It's supposed to be nothing more than a friendly gesture of comfort but Nico jerks his arm away, his heart beating faster. "Nico?" Percy steps closer, his eyebrows knitting together. He smells of chlorine and a hint of sweat, and Nico remembers that scent, the one he used to smell constantly. 

"Fine," Nico says, unsure of whether or not he's making sense. "Everything's fine." Every part of his brain is telling him to do something different; run, stay, talk, be silent and it's that indecision that gives Percy the chance to observe that something is very wrong, the chance to latch onto Nico and somehow hold him in that spot, trapping him as if his body is frozen.

"You know I still care about you, right? I know that things have been weird between us since we broke up, but I'd still like to think of us as friends." He rests his hand on Nico's shoulder and surprisingly, Nico finds himself leaning into the touch. "You can talk to me." Nico bursts into tears. 

Percy wraps Nico into a hug and Nico lets it happen, Percy's body still damp on his. Percy doesn't say anything as Nicos' tears add to the moisture on Percy's chest, his body shaking in Percy's arms. Percy is considerably taller than him, stronger, more muscular, and it's comforting, to be held in such a way that makes him feel so protected. "Why don't you come to my house for a few minutes," Percy says when Nico has stopped crying and his body has turned to heavy, gasping breaths. "We're right there, anyway," Nico remembers his house, the smell of Sally baking cookies, the soft scratch of a pencil as Paul grades papers. He misses it, not having to hide their relationship, curling up as snow piled on the windowsill while he watched Christmas movies with Percy's perfect family. 

"Yeah," Nico says, drying his eyes. He feels bad, breaking down in front of his ex-boyfriend, but it feels good to finally, finally let his emotions out. "That sounds great." 

Sally looks ecstatic when Nico walks through the door and she immediately wraps him in a tight hug that feels like a mother's love. She smells of vanilla, and Nico almost cries just thinking about it. He hates himself for being so emotional.  "Nico!" He isn't sure what to do for a few seconds until he hugs back, sinking into her strong grip. Her clothes are silky like they always are, her hands soft and slightly sticky from the cookie batter. He missed her, more than he realized. "How are you?" She breaks out of the hug, holding him at an arm's length with her eyes sweeping over his entire body. She frowns, and Nico feels like she's seeing all of the pain that the last few years have brought. "Is everything okay?" she glances at Percy, who steps closer to Nico, almost to protect him. "Is everything okay?" she asks again, this time directing it towards Percy. 

"Everything's fine," Percy says quickly, resting his hand on the small of Nico's back. He feels secure. "We're just gonna go up to my room and catch up." 

"Well, take up some snacks." She turns around, rummaging in the fridge, pushing past stalks of lettuce and a carton of milk until she pulls out pudding cups and coke, piling the food into Percy's arms. "Paul isn't here right now, Nico. He's teaching a quick summer class upstate, but he'll be sad he missed you." 

"I'm sad I missed him, too." It's the truth; Nico loved Percy's family. When he looks over Percy is smiling, and touches Nico's back again. 

"Let's go up," he says quietly, softly. Nico nods, pulling himself up the stairs until he collapses onto Percy's bed, his arms spread out like a starfish. Percy hands him a pudding cup and a spoon, and Nico forces himself to sit up as he takes a small bite, the butterscotch flavor exploding in his mouth. Percy takes a seat next to him, cracking open his coke with a fizz and taking a long, slow sip. "So," he says, nursing his coke in his hands and glancing at the ground. They're close, their legs touching, and Percy's body is still slightly damp. "What's wrong?" Nico takes a shaky breath, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye to try and control the tears. He doesn't want to cry again. He can't break down in front of his ex for the second time that day. But the tears well up anyway and soon they're spilling over despite his best interest and Percy is pulling him into his shoulder, letting him sob until his eyes are raw. "So," he says once Nico is done, wiping his eyes and taking a tiny bite of his pudding. "You ready to talk?" 

"Yeah," he says quietly, his voice hoarse. "Or, no. I don't know. I'm confused, I think. Really confused."

"About what?" 

"It's just that everything's fucked with Will right now because he's terrified to come out to his parents and we have to hide and it just feels like he's not really into it and it just feels like before." He sniffs, wiping his eyes and Percy offers him a tissue from a box by his bedside. "And he said that he would tell his parents about everything when we started dating because I said that was the only way I'd be able to do this but he hasn't, and I don't know what to do. Because I want to be with him, I really do, but I can't do this anymore. I can't keep hiding." He feels his eyes watering up again. He grabs a tissue, crumpling it in his hands when he's done, glancing at the floor. He doesn't want to look at Percy. 

"Have you told him?" Nico almost laughs. 

"So many times," he says with a bitter smile. "He lied to me today, too, and told me that he did it. But I know he didn't. He would never do it out of the blue like that, in front of his grandparents without talking to me about it." 

"You need to take care of yourself," Percy says. "Listen, I know you've had bad luck with relationships." His voice lowers, and his eyes flit away from Nico. "I know that some of that is my fault, and I'm sorry for that. But do what you think is right, seriously. You need to take care of yourself. And if you can't be with someone who can't be proud of being with you, then you shouldn't be with him." It hurts to hear, but Nico knows that Percy is right. "And I'm really, really sorry for all the stuff that happened between us. You know it was all about me, right?" Nico shrugs. "Hey, it's not your fault I took so long to figure my stuff out." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." 

"Octavian was an asshole, though." That makes Nico laugh. 

"Yeah, he was." He's smiling, and his chest feels warm again. 

"Will isn't, though," Percy says. "He's a really good guy. Talk to him, because I think he'll listen." Nico nods, staring at the floor. His head is spinning with five thousand thoughts, and he's never been more confused in his life. But he feels good, for the first time that day. "Anyway, you wanna stay a while?" 

"Huh?" he glances up to see Percy smiling, his blue eyes sparkling. He remembers those blue eyes well, the ones he fell in love with while they were looking at a girl with bouncing blonde hair and the brightest brain in the school. 

"Come on, I know you don't have anything going on," Percy says. "I'll get changed, we can eat the cookies my mom made, and we can play video games. We said we'd stay friends, you know, and we haven't really hung out in about a year and a half." He watches Nico smile. "You know I'm right." 

"Yeah, I guess." Percy grins, pushing himself up and rummaging around in his closet until he pulls out a sweatshirt from their high school swim team, pulling it over his shoulders before tossing Nico a PlayStation controller. 

"You wanna play fortnite?" 

"I've never played." 

"Wow, your life really sucks," Percy says with a laugh. "Don't worry about it, I'll teach you." Nico presses his back against Percy's wall as Percy shows him the buttons after turning on his tv, the game screen glowing brightly. The scent of chocolate chip cookies is drifting up through the floor and the stars are just beginning to rise outside of the window. Nico can rarely see the stars; there's something about that night that seems special. For the first time in what feels like forever he isn't worrying about relationships, and instead, he's busy listening to Percy yell into a headset at someone who's probably an eleven-year-old boy who still thinks your mom jokes are the funniest things in the world. For the first time in forever, he's able to just relax, unwind, and spend time with a friend. 

Will's POV

He couldn't believe Nico when he said that he was sick. No one gets the flu in the summer, not even Nico. And when he deflected all of Will's offers to help, left his texts on delivered, Will knew that something was wrong. He spends hours lying on top of his bed, his arms flung out on all sides as thoughts run through his mind. Part of him wants to lean into the lie, believe that Nico was sick and would text him back when he was feeling better and that his silence was in no part due to anything that Will did, but he can't force himself to believe that. He knows that Nico is lying, and he thinks that he knows why. 

He feels shaky walking to Nico's house, the air burning his skin. He feels the sweat dripping down his back and he wipes his forehead, his pace slowing as he walks onto Nico's street. He doesn't want to talk to Nico. Maybe he should have just let Nico ignore him, and talk when Nico felt ready. But he knows that it's his fault, and he knows that Nico might never feel ready. If they don't talk now, they might never. 

He dries his palms on his pants after he knocks, bouncing up and down on his toes as he listens to footsteps draw closer. His heart is pounding and he can hear the blood flowing through his body. He wishes he had never knocked on the door. 

When it swings open he's staring at a woman who looks like Nico; smooth olive skin, thin physique, silky black hair. She's beautiful, yet she looks tired, and she smells of cigarette smoke. There's something burning inside the house. "Yes?" 

"I'm looking for Nico," he says, clenching and unclenching his fist. He hopes she isn't judging his forehead beaded with sweat, pale face, shaky body. He hopes he isn't wondering why there's a nervous blonde kid she's never seen before standing on her front porch, asking for her son. 

"And you are?" 

"Will Solace," he says, his voice meek. "I'm his boyfriend." She sighs deeply, glancing inside the house, probably to check on whatever's burning. 

"He's in his room," she says, opening the door wider and holding it open for him. "You can just go in." He hasn't been to Nico's house many times. They usually spend their summer days curled up in Will's air-conditioned room while his parents are working, making out on his bed and watching movies. Nico doesn't like his house very much; he says that it's too small and dark, and constantly smells like something bad that neither of them can ever place. It overheats in the summer and freezes in the winter, and Nico has said it time and time again that he likes Will's house better. But it's just now dawning on Will that he hasn't ever met Nico's mother. Or his father, for that matter. He's never even been to his house, at an address uptown that Nico has never specified. It has never occurred to him how much of Nico's life he was missing. 

Nico's door is shut tightly and Will knocks lightly, his foot tapping on the floor as he waits for Nico to open the door. He hears rummaging, footsteps, and when Nico opens the door his expression quickly turns from confusion to disappointment. "Oh. Hey." 

"Hey," Will says with a tight smile that pulls at the skin on his face. "You feeling better?" Nico's eyebrows knit together until he remembers his lie and he nods, forcing a cough into his fist. 

"Yeah," he says quietly, glancing at the floor. "Much." They avoid eye contact for what seems like hours until Nico steps out of the doorway, opening it up wider. "You wanna come in?" 

"Sure." Will fidgets with his fingers as he steps inside, accidentally tripping over a thick book on the floor and stumbling until Nico quickly sets his hand on Will's arm to steady him before jerking his hand back, pulling it into his stomach as if the entire exchange wasn't the most awkward thing in the world. He takes a seat on Nico's bed, the mattress giving way underneath his weight and Nico sits next to him, their feet brushing together. Will feels hot and he isn't sure if it's from Nico sitting next to him if it's from the heat streaming in through the window, or from the sheer force of the nerves coursing through him. He feels slightly nauseous. 

"So, what's up?" 

"Come on, Nico, really?" Will had planned to stay calm, to just ask what was wrong but he can't, and all of his emotions start to spill out and soon, it's out of his control. "I know you haven't actually been sick and I know that you've just been ignoring me and I just want to know what's wrong because I've been freaking out about why you've been completely silent for the past three days. I love you, Nico, and I just want to know what to do." 

"What you can do is stop lying to me," Nico snaps, his face burning bright red. "I know for a fact that you never came out to your parents, so you don't have to lie about that anymore." Will's heart sinks. Of course, it was that. Of course, Nico can see right through him. "I told you at the very beginning of this thing that I couldn't date you if we had to hide, or if there were lies, and so far in the past three days, there have been both. I can't do this, Will, I'm sorry. But I can't do this if you can't be honest with your parents." He swipes his finger underneath his eye, turning away from Will. Will watches as Nico's shoulders shake once, twice, and he's never felt more miserable in his life. As he watches Nico attempt to hide his crying, he can't help thinking I did this to him. And suddenly he's searching for anything he can do to help, and one thing keeps coming up, something that makes his stomach churn and his head spin, but something that is absolutely necessary. 

"I'll do it," he says, quickly so that he can't back out. His breath feels short but Nico's back gives one last hitch before it's still, and he glances up. 

"What?" 

"I'll tell them," Will says. "I'm sorry that I lied about it, and I'm sorry that I thought we'd be fine without telling my parents but I didn't know how much it meant to you. But if this is something that you need, I can do it." He reaches out, giving Nico's hand a squeeze and Nico smiles, his eyes still shiny. 

"I can't make you do that," he says. "It was stupid of me to think that you'd just be ready, and you'd be able to do it on command. It would be easier for us to just break up. We don't have much longer to be together, anyway. We're both leaving." 

"Hey, come on," Will says. "We were going to make it work, we knew that we could. And I'm ready, really." 

"You are?" Nico sounds doubtful but there's a spec of hope in his eyes and he inches closer, their bodies pressing together. 

"Yeah, of course." He isn't sure. He might black out when it comes down to it but when he looks at Nico and thinks about what's at stake, he knows that he needs to. There isn't any other choice. "I need you there, though. I can't do it alone." His voice drops off and all of a sudden he feels more vulnerable than he ever has in his life, all of the insecurities he's been repressing for his entire life bubbling up inside of him. "Please?" For a split second, all he can hear is his beating heart, blood pounding in his ears and with every fraction of a second passed he's getting more and more nervous that Nico is going to say no. Because if Nico says no, he knows that he can't do it. But after what could have either been one second or ten years Nico leans forward, cupping Will's face in his hand and planting a soft kiss onto his lips. 

"You don't have to ask twice," he says, the tips of their noses brushing together when they break apart. Nico's hand is warm on his cheek, their knees touching and the sounds of the street on the other side of the wall. He can hear the soft murmurs of the tv in the living room but it feels a million miles away, and he wants to freeze time and stay in that one second forever. "So, when do you want to do it?" 

"Now." He doesn't feel like the one talking but more like someone is moving his mouth for him, manipulating his words. He would never say that, not unless he was delirious, but he is. Maybe he is delirious. Or maybe he's possessed. Nico's eyebrows knit together, and his mouth twists. 

"Now? Are you sure you're ready?" 

"I'm never going to be completely ready," Will says with a tight laugh. "But I want to get it over with." Nico's eyebrows rise, and his eyes are looking Will's body up and down as if searching for something specific. "You don't have anything going on, right?" 

"When have I ever had anything going on?" he says with a small laugh. He stands up and when Will follows, Nico wraps him in a hug. "Are you sure you're okay with doing it now? I feel like you're kinda jumping into this." 

"I told you, I'm fine." Will buries his face in Nico's shoulder as Nico rubs his back, kissing the top of Will's head. "Let's just get this over with." 

Nico's mom doesn't look up when they slip quietly out of the house, hand in hand. It shouldn't be cold, with the sun still peeking over the horizon but it is, and Nico pulls Will closer to him as he shivers. Each step makes the muscles in Will's legs ache and for a second he has to stop, lean against a building and bury his head in Nico's shoulder. Nico lets Will breathe, collect his thoughts and try not to cry. His breaths hurt his chest and there's a second he just wants to turn around, sprint back to Nico's house in the opposite direction of his demons and collapse onto Nico's bed. He wants to sleep in Nico's arms until he wakes up and gets to forget about the promise that he made. But when he looks up into Nico's eyes, glittering with hope, he knows that isn't an option. "You good?" 

"Yeah," Will says, taking in a deep breath. He dries his hands on his shorts, squeezing his eyes shut. Nico's hand is still on Will's arm. "Just freaking out a little." 

"That's all?" Nico says with a small smile.

"Yeah." Will is still clutching Nico like a lifeline, but his heart has begun to slow back down and he feels significantly less sweaty. "That's all." 

He was feeling better until they reached his house. He was always grateful that they had a nice house; large, white exterior, windows showing off the shadowy movements of his family members. But now it just looks threatening, as if when he steps inside the house will swallow him up and never let him go. Nico gives his hand a squeeze, staring up at the house with terror, even though it can't nearly match to Will's. He can hear his mother's cheerful voice, and his father laughs. He wonders if he'll hear that cheerful voice or the booming laugh after he comes out. He wonders if his parents will want to talk to him. He wonders if they'll still be proud of him if they'll still love him. He feels tears beginning to well up in his eyes and Nico stands on his tiptoes, wiping a tear from Will's cheek. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Nico asks quietly, his thumb lingering on Will's face. "We don't have to. We can go back to my house." 

Will shakes his head, wiping one last tear off his face before facing the door, taking one last deep breath. He gives Nico's hand a squeeze and it's comforting in his hand, the same warmth he's felt for the past few months. It's been a nervewracking thing, that his parents could catch them at any moment downtown or find the stash of condoms underneath his bed. But it's also been the best few months of his life, finally feeling that flutter in his chest that he's never felt before, the one that he didn't know a few months before but now longs for. And it's the thought of giving up that feeling, the sensation of Nico's hand in his, of Nico's eyes on his skin that pushes him to his final decision. 

"Yeah," he says, turning the knob and pushing open the door. "I'm ready." 

Hi guys, just want to start out by saying that I actually went through this again after I wrote it(shocker) just because I wrote the whole thing while I was exhausted and it's kind of amazing that I make so many mistakes usually and you guys still read my writing. But I hope you liked it, and the fourth and last part will be up next week!

Nina