Nico's POV

He wakes up with a cool breeze in his hair and sand in his mouth. He sits up slowly, brushing the grains off of his face and staring at his surroundings. Will's arm had fallen limply to the ground when Nico sat up and his eyes are shut, a shadow of a smile still on his face. Nico stretches, standing up and slipping around in the sand as he watches the activity around them. The beach is already bustling with people, the sun already high in the sky and it's so loud he can't hear himself think. He's surprised they were able to sleep through it but then again, he figures, they needed their sleep. 

"Hey." He squats down next to Will, shaking him gently. "We should get going." Will groans, cracking open his eyes and staring at the clear blue sky for a few seconds, his arms still spread eagle on the ground. 

"What time is it?" he asks and falling off of his body as he sits up. Nico can't help but notice the sleep lines running up and down his arm, where Nico's body must have pressed into the skin while they slept. Immediately, he feels his face heat up. 

"Dunno, but we should go. We parked the car illegally, right?" 

"Fuck." Will scrambles to his feet, wiping the final grains of sand off of his body and stretching. The warm light of the sun frames him and for a split second, he looks like a god. "Yeah, we did." They grab their clothes and sprint to the car, the pavement burning their feet as they run across it with their shoes clutches in their hands. Thankfully the car is still there when they arrive, bathed in shadows in its spot on a shady street corner. They're breathing heavily when they sit inside, and it only takes one glance at each other to start them laughing. 

"That was a close one," Nico says, his face flushed a pale pink. "We could have been stranded if we had gotten towed." 

"Yeah." He's quiet for a second and they can hear laughter from far away, and the distant sound of waves lapping against a sandy beach. "That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, though, would it be? Stuck in Cali with my best friend?" 

"All our stuff is in here. Also, I wanna get to LA." 

"True." Will starts the car and the rumble that he's heard so much in the past week and a half sends shivers down Nico's spine and triggers a wave of excitement inside of his body. 

"Is it my turn to drive? Or yours? I can't remember." 

"It doesn't matter," Will says, pulling out of their space sharply and joining the throng of cars beeping and jostling for a spot on the packed streets. "I'll drive for now. You can drive the next stretch." 

"Sounds good." He props his feet up on the dash, peering over the tips of his toes at the crowd that seems to be swallowing them. He watches people walk up and down the sidewalks, carrying briefcases or backpacks or laughing with friends. It's strange, knowing that he'll probably never see them again but for a brief moment in time, they're connected in some odd way that he knows he'll never be able to describe. He watches one girl go, with bouncing pink hair and tattoos running up her left arm. She's smiling, and Nico wonders what it could be that's making her so happy. But the car gives a jolt and she disappears from sight and even though Nico feels the strange pang in his chest from a lost connection, when he glances at Will, none of it matters. 

------

They branch out by going to In-n-Out for lunch even though they still haven't had breakfast because neither of them has ever seen one before. "I'll be eating this for lunch every day next year," Will says with a ketchup-filled grin, biting into his burger as he maneuvers the car around the streets of a tiny town Nico doesn't know the name of. 

"Yeah." Nico's heart sinks. "That'll be nice for you." He's trying to keep the resentment out of his voice but he knows he's doing a bad job when Will frowns, glancing over at him with a spot of mustard on the left corner of his lips. 

"Something wrong?" Nico feels like hitting himself. 

"No, it's nothing. Just tired, I think." Will laughs. 

"I don't know how you can be tired after sleeping on the beach for ten hours, but take a nap if you need to. We've got another five hours 'till LA." 

"Yeah, maybe I will." Nico sinks down in his seat, his head resting against the cool window pane. Will is humming along to their playlist, his fingers drumming against the wheel. It sounds good, despite what Will might think, and Nico smiles as he listens. Maybe he should be asleep to make his lie seem more believable but he isn't tired at all so he lets the movements of the car bump his head around on the glass. Besides, even if he's tired, his brain is too busy whirring to shut down any time soon. 

------

If Nico had thought that San Francisco was crowded, it was nothing compared to Los Angelas. They can barely move the car once they're inside of the city so they park it in the first garage they can find, wincing at the twenty-five dollar charge and step out onto the sidewalk. "There it is," Will says, standing up on his tiptoes and peering over some of the lower building tops until he can see the UCLA campus, the tip of a brownstone building rising over the rest of the city. Will turns to Nico and the wide grin on his face makes Nico's heart sink. "Two months and I'm gonna be on that campus." 

"Yeah," Nico says, his voice dull. "It'll be nice there." 

"Hey, cheer up," Will says, slapping Nico on the back. "You'll have a great time at Boston University. It's a good school, I'm shocked you got in." Nico laughs but it sounds hollow as if he's faking it. "Besides, I'll be back for every vacation. You're still gonna be my best friend, and it doesn't matter who I meet in California." 

"Yeah, I guess." Nico knows that he doesn't sound convincing, but he doesn't care. Will keeps talking but his voice sounds as if it's underwater, and Nico stares at the ground as they walk. 

"Hey, can we grab dinner on the campus?" Will asks with his face bright. "It might be nice to check it out a little more while we're here, and it's right there." He points ahead of them with the brick buildings standing out against the flashy lights of the rest of the city. "There are a ton of fast food places, I saw them the first time I was here. I'm kinda in the mood for Chinese." 

"Yeah, sure." Nico feels as if he's repeating everything that he's already said before. "Let's go." 

They order their food at the Panda Express and sit down in one of the empty booths, tapping their feet and drumming their fingers against the table as they wait for their food. At some point in the past hour, a sense of awkwardness had settled between them, and Nico isn't sure what to do about it, or where it came from. Of course, there's a possibility that it's simply because of the fact that they've spent so much time together, and they're both tired. But it's more likely because they both know that in two months Will is going to be flying across the country and not coming back to New York for months at a time, and that's just too much for Nico to bear. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Will asks when he comes back to their table with their food, Will's orange chicken dripping with sauce and pieces of pork peeking out from inside of Nico's rice. "You look kinda sad." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Will heaves a sigh as he sits down, leaning closer to Nico and giving him a soft smile. 

"Nico, come on. How long have we been best friends? Eight years? Nine?" 

"Ten, I think." Nico feels something bubbling up in his throat.

"Exactly. I can read you like a book, Nico, and I know that something's wrong. So come on, what is it?" 

"I'm just gonna miss you, you know?" Nico says, sighing shakily. He feels his eyes welling up and he bites his lip, doing his best to push the tears back in. "All the colleges you got accepted to, and you had to go to the one all the way across the country." He laughs bitterly. "You really just wanted to get away, huh?" 

"Nico, come on, it's a great school. You know that. I got in, it was an amazing opportunity. I couldn't not go. But we've been best friends for forever, and I'm never going to forget about you." He reaches over the table, squeezing Nico's hand softly and for a split second, he feels as if he's in a different world, his face heating up and his heart fluttering in his chest. But then his face heats up too much for his liking and he knows that he's beet red so he gently pulls his hand out from underneath Will's, digging into his rice. He isn't sure if he's imagining it, but Will might be blushing, too. "You know that I love you. You're the best friend I've ever had, and nothing's ever gonna change that." He frowns, and his gaze seems to intensify. "You believe me, right?" 

"Yeah, of course." He doesn't even convince himself and Will is still frowning but he sinks back into his seat, taking a bite of his orange chicken and even though they drop the topic, Will still won't take his eyes off of Nico. 

That night, they get the cheapest hotel they can find, after exploring the city and popping in and out of tourist attractions that are brimming with people. They watch some of the bad late-night talk shows until Will passes out, his mouth parted slightly and his hair fluttering with his breath. But for the umpteenth time that night, Nico can't sleep. He watches the tv, the harsh light washing out his face as he fights to drown out the thoughts that seem to be consuming him. 

------

Nico's exhausted the next morning and Will offers to drive so as soon as the car is rumbling underneath him he's asleep, his head bouncing against the window pane as he fades into sleep. A few hours later he feels Will shaking him awake and as soon as he opens his eyes he's met with flashing neon lights and he can hear yelling, distant but still present. "We shouldn't stop," Will says. "I wanna get to the Grand Canyon earlier rather than later. But I thought you'd wanna see Vegas." He raises his eyebrows as he stares out the window and Nico pushes himself up in his seat, his eyes opening wide as he stares at the lights. 

"It's kinda gross," Nico says. "Why would anyone wanna spend so much time here?" 

"You wouldn't get it," Will says, laughing. "You're still eighteen, you have another three years till you can legally gamble." 

"Hey, stop acting like you know so much about it," Nico says. "You're younger than I am." 

"Technically, yes," Will says. "But mentally, I still think you're five. Not to mention you're gonna look thirteen for the rest of your life." 

"Hey, shut up," Nico says, slapping Will on the arm. "I look sixteen, my mom said so." Will laughs as he threads the car through crowded streets, and Nico finds himself staring at Will, watching the lights illuminate the dips in Will's sharp cheekbones, the light dusting of freckles across his nose. There was a time where they were both just twelve-year-olds, wearing their Minecraft shirts from Wal-mart and shoving cookies into their mouths, the frosting catching at the edges. But at some point they both grew up and Will's hair got longer, and he shot up and muscles began to ripple underneath his sleeves as he got good at archery and suddenly, Nico didn't know what to do. Part of him wishes that they were still twelve, trying to guess what boobs looked like underneath the shirt in his room listening to Bruno Mars. Because when they began to get older and Nico realized that he didn't care what boobs looked like, and he began to realize how attractive his best friend was, everything became a little bit more complicated.  

------

He nods on and off for the next four hours of the car ride, waking up occasionally and eating some of the snacks they keep in the back of the car and listening to a few songs before dozing off again. He wakes up for good once they're at the campground, dragging himself out of the car and helping Will pitch the tent as the sun sets around them. "Looks good enough, right?" Will says, his hands on his hips as he stares at the lopsided tent, one of the poles barely connected to the ground. 

"Yeah," Nico says. "We should get going, anyway. I don't want it to be too dark when we get there." They climb into the car and it climbs up the hill four miles until they're at the Grand Canyon, the sun just setting over the slit that runs along the Earth. 

"Holy shit," Nico whispers, his mouth dropping open as his eyes sweep across the scene. "It's beautiful." The land is red and orange and pink and brown, and there's a stream running across the bottom, starting and ending in places that Nico can't see. The stretch of land on the other side of the canyon is green with a light layer of grass and it looks brighter underneath the glow of the setting sun as if it has a tint of gold. Nico feels himself sinking and he has to sit down so his legs stop shaking and Will sits next to him, pebbles cutting into their skin underneath them. He takes in a shaky breath and Will wraps his arms around Nico's shoulders, patting him lightly. Nico can feel his body trembling and he's fighting to control the tears but he can't and one of them slips out from the corner of his eye, running down his face. "I don't know why I'm crying right now," he says with a soft laugh, fruitlessly wiping one tear off of his face as more roll down his cheeks. "I don't know what's going on." 

"Do you wanna stay here for a little while?" Nico sinks into Will's grip, hugging his knees to his chest. 

"Yeah. I think that might be nice." He sniffs deeply and Will squeezes him gently, smiling. 

"Do you wanna talk about anything?" 

"I dunno." Nico tilts his head up to the sky, letting the tears drain back into his eyes as he watches the sun set. The colors have begun to sink down to the skyline and stars have begun to appear, more of them than Nico has ever seen before. "Everything is changing, and I don't like it. I miss middle school. I miss us in my room, eating candy and watching Spongebob. I miss not having to worry about the future, or what's going to happen to our friendship." He's crying harder, his body shaking and Will pulls Nico closer, wrapping his arms all the way around Nico's body. 

"Listen, I know everything's changing," Will says. "It's just a new beginning, though. And like I said, I'm still gonna come back for holidays. Every single one. And I'm never gonna forget you, either. Yeah, we're not gonna be together 24/7 like we usually are. But that doesn't mean we're not still gonna be best friends. You're my favorite person, and that's not gonna change." 

"Okay." Nico nods, wiping the tears off of his face and staring out onto the grand canyon. While Will was talking the sun had fully set but he can still see the colors of the canyon, and in the silence of the night he can hear the stream flowing below him. 

"Do you want to stay here?" 

"Yeah." He feels as if he's sinking into Will's body and it feels right as if he's meant to live in Will's grasp. Will is rubbing Nico's arm, his head resting on Nico's. When he focuses outward onto the scenery and sinks into Will's body, everything seems almost the same as it used to be and he's able to forget about the future that's looming over him, getting scarier and scarier by the day. 

Nico isn't sure how long they sit there; it could be minutes, it could be hours but they both start to get tired so they push themselves up and drive back to their campsite, the tent blending into the dark night. They stumble into their tent and collapse onto their sleeping bags and when Nico turns to look at Will he can just barely make out the features of his face, the only light that of the stars that just barely peek through the tops of the trees. "You better now?" Will asks, his voice disembodied in the dark. 

"Yeah." If he's being honest he isn't completely sure, but he doesn't want Will to know. He doesn't want to be the reason Will feels guilty about going to California. "I was just a little freaked out." 

"Happens to all of us," Will says, reaching out a hand in the dark and resting it on Nico's arm. They stay like that for a few minutes as Nico tries to make out the tiny details of Will's face in the dark. "We should go to sleep," Will says finally, pulling his arm back and tucking it inside of his sleeping bag. "If we're going to get to New Mexico tomorrow, we need to be up early." Nico listens to him shift inside of his sleeping bag, a strand of blonde hair falling to the floor of the tent. "Night, Nico." 

"Night, Will." Nico is surprised that he's able to drift off easily, Will tossing and turning until he's finally still but his dreams are plagued by shadow monsters that loom over him, tearing Will away from him and leaving him hopelessly, utterly alone. 

------

They pack up early in the morning and Nico starts the car, pulling away from the campsite. There are dark bags underneath Will's eyes and he's sluggish, leaning his head against the window pane and crossing his arms over his chest. "Wake me up when we get to New Mexico," he murmurs, his voice thick with sleep. 

"Do you wanna grab breakfast first?" Nico asks. "I saw a McDonalds." 

"Nah," Will says. "I'd rather sleep." Before Nico can think of a response Will's breath slows, and Nico frowns as he watches him, an expression of turmoil on Will's face even as he sleeps. 

Before they leave the town Nico pulls into the drive-through, getting himself a muffin and a coffee for the road. He orders an Egg McMuffin for Will, too, along with an orange juice. He might want to eat later, even if he's sleeping. Then he pulls away from the sleepy town and shoots out onto the highway, each mile drove bringing them closer and closer to home. 

------

At some point, Will wakes to eat his food and talk to Nico for a little while but he sleeps for most of the drive to New Mexico, and over time the look of turmoil turns to one of serenity, and Nico feels himself relax at least a little bit. If his observations are right, the trip has been an emotional journey for both of them. 

Nico wakes Will up once they're in New Mexico and they grab pre-made sandwiches from a grocery store that they see before driving around, looking for a place to stop. They settle on Acomita Lake, laying a blanket out across the sandy beach and staring over the lake, watching the sun bounce off of the glossy surface as they eat. Will seems to be lost in thought, laughing weakly at Nico's jokes and he wonders if maybe, just maybe, Will was thinking about the same thing that Nico was. And he wonders if maybe, just maybe, it would be best for the both of them to tell Will how he feels. It might be good, to be honest anyway, he tells himself, chewing on a piece of ham as he draws circles in the sand with the tip of his finger. It might be good to finally voice the feelings that had been brewing inside of him for years. But if he did, and Will didn't feel the same way, he'd mess up everything so he pushes the feelings deeper inside of him, cracking another bad joke and hoping the feelings would go away, as he'd been doing for years. 

"We should take a nap or something," Will says once they're done eating, wiping his mouth and washing his hands in the lake. "We have a lot of driving ahead of us. How long till we get to Tenessee?" 

"Like, nineteen hours." 

"Fuck," Will says. 

"Wake me up at some point, okay? I don't want you driving the whole way." 

"Yeah, sure." Will squints, peering across the water. The land around them looks like a toddler colored green over a brown sheet of paper, patches of grass dotting the land surrounding the pond and Nico is sweating, even in his shorts and tee shirt. "We can just take a nap in the car or something," Will says. "I'm not sure if I can stay awake that long without a little sleep." 

"You didn't sleep well last night?" Nico knows what the answer is going to be and it's further confirmed as Will's eyes flit to the ground, and he scratches at his arms. 

"Not really. I had a lot on my mind." 

"Oh." They're quiet, and Nico can hear the waves lapping up against the beach. "You wanna talk about it?" 

"It's not that big of a deal," Will says with a fake smile. "Just some run of the mill worries." He stretches, staring at the blanket. "Do we have to clean this up now?" 

"You can sleep here if you want," Nico says. "I'll make sure you don't get murdered." 

"You're not gonna sleep?" 

"Nah, I'll have plenty of time in the ten hours I'm not gonna be driving." He kicks his shoes off, stretching his toes out until he can feel the cool water on the tips of his feet. "Get some sleep, you look tired." 

"Thanks," Will says, giving him a small smile before stretching out against the blanket, piling some of it up and using it as a pillow as his eyes flutter shut. Nico watches as he falls asleep, his chest rising and falling in a rhythm that calms Nico down. The light from the sun makes Will's face glow gold and it's all Nico can do not to tell Will how he feels because, in that moment, no one has ever looked more beautiful. 

------

Nico swims while Will sleeps and he only wakes him up when the light begins to get low and he's dried off, the final rays of the sun sucking off the water. "We should get going," he says. "You good to drive or do you want me to?" 

"No, no, I can drive," Will says, pushing himself to his feet and grabbing the blanket, shaking off the grains of sand. "I can grab a coffee if I really need to but right now, I'm good." He shoves the blanket in the back with the rest of their things, tiny trinkets that they've collected over the course of their trip and fast food wrappers that they didn't have a chance to throw out and he pulls away from the lake, the wheels sending up plumes of dust as they drive. For the first hour of the drive Nico isn't tired but as the scenery speeds by at the speed of light, Nico feels himself growing sleepier and sleepier. They're in a tiny town that Nico doesn't know the name of when Will reaches into the backseat, pulling out a blanket and spreading it over Nico, patting his shoulder gently, his hand lingering for just a split second longer than normal. "Get some sleep," he murmurs, and when his hand falls off of Nico's shoulder he feels a distinct sense of loss, a feeling of cold. 

"Yeah," Nico says, his voice thick with exhaustion. "Yeah, that sounds good." Will laughs softly but it sounds quieter as Nico's consciousness begins to fade away and within minutes, he's asleep. 

Dreams of Will dance through his head as he sleeps, memories of the past and hopes for the future, regrets of all of the things that he never said. It's a fitful sleep and he wakes up multiple times; when he does the world around him is pitch black and the only thing he can hear is the rumbling of the tires on the highway. He isn't sure why Will turned off the music and he doesn't ask. Maybe it's to hear his own thoughts. Nico had that problem a few times that trip. "What time is it?" he says sleepily during one of the times he's awake. His eyes feel heavy and he reaches a finger into an inner corner, pulling out some of the strange substance that always seemed to collect in the inner corner of his eyes. 

"Go back to sleep," Will says, smiling softly at Nico from the driver's seat. The world outside of him is pitch black and Will is the only thing Nico can focus on, not like that isn't normal at this point. It feels surreal in that car, and Nico isn't sure if he'll remember it when he wakes up next. 

"Yeah." Nico nods. "That sounds nice." He lets his head drop back against the window pane and the last thing he hears before he nods off is Will's quiet humming, and the last thought that runs through his mind is I love you...

------

They're in a city when Nico wakes up for good, the sidewalks bustling and the noise loud. Nico is surprised that he didn't wake up before. "Where are we?" he asks groggily, pushing himself into a sitting position. While he had been sleeping he had slid down into a slump but somehow the blanket still stayed covering his entire body, as if someone had periodically been pulling it up every time it began to slip. 

"Arkansas," Will responds, turning onto a side street and stifling a yawn behind his hand. When Nico looks closer he can see that Will looks exhausted yet again, the bags underneath his eyes back. There's a cold coffee sitting in the cupholder. 

"Will, what the fuck," Nico says. "That's way past the halfway point. How long have you been driving for?" 

"Like, fourteen hours." 

"Will!" 

"Sorry for letting you sleep," Will says, pulling over and stepping out of the car. The buildings that are towering over them blocks out the sun and suddenly, Nico feels cold. "You didn't wake up and you looked really peaceful, and I didn't want to ruin that. Honestly, I'm impressed. There were times I thought you were dead." 

"Shut up and get into the passenger seat," Nico says with a small laugh, a laugh that's somehow ruined by the weight in his chest. "We're getting a hotel in Nashville, and I'm paying, and you're sleeping for twelve hours because I feel really bad that you drove for fourteen hours. Got it?" 

"Yeah, I get it," Will says with a laugh. The sound lights something up in Nico's brain, sends a signal to his chest and there, on a side street in a city he's never heard of, he can't not say it. This feeling that he's had for years and years suddenly spills over, and he can't contain himself. 

"Hey, I like you." His heart is pounding in his chest and he feels himself flushing and he's staring at Will, searching his face for a response, an expression, anything that would tell him what was going on inside of Will's head. 

"Yeah, I like you, too," Will says as he begins to climb into the passenger seat. "You are my best friend, after all. I kinda have to like you." 

"No, Will, I like you," Nico says, grabbing onto Will's arm just as he's sitting down. A silence fills the air between them and when Will looks over at him there's shock written all over his face, and Nico knew that that was the expression he had been looking for a minute before. "I like you like you." He can't help but cringe inwardly. He sounds like a middle schooler but he pushes forward. "Like, I want to spend a lot of time with you, and hug you, and kiss you, and I want to stay up till three in the morning talking to you, and tell you everything." He feels hot and sticky, and he feels a tear welling up in his eye as Will is silent. Around him he can hear horns honking and people talking but their conversation means nothing to him, because there's only one voice that he wants to hear. "Will?" 

Hi guys, so I just want to say that I'm sorry if the quality of this isn't the greatest but I honestly hope you liked it because it took me literally five hours to write hehe whoops. Every part in this series takes a while but it's been really fun so far, so I hope you guys are enjoying, and the last part will be up next week!

Nina