Chapter Text
Nico had been working at the store now for a couple of months. Every day, Will was there; he’d go home giggling and kicking his feet. The ghosts would all look at each other knowingly, and deceased couples would smile and reminisce about the times they were like that. Sometimes they would ask who the lucky girl was, but Nico never answered. He didn’t think Will was lucky to be liked by a ghost, and he definitely wasn’t a girl. Though he doubted the ghost would be very open-minded about his sexuality.
—
It was nearly noon Nico was currently manning the store on his own, sitting bored at the counter while Will was away for a lunch break. No customers had come around, so he was sitting on his phone, staring at Will’s contact, trying to commit the number to memory while also fighting off wanting to call him.
Ding dong
Nico glanced up at the door, nearly jumping out of his seat and throwing his phone when he saw Will. The golden boy smiled warmly with a bag of fast food in his hand. Nico’s heart did somersaults every time he looked at him like that.
“Hey! C’mere, I wanna show you something.”
Nico got up from his seat and followed Will out of the shop. Will set off in a jog, and Nico was chasing after him through winding dirt paths and back alleyways.
When Nico finally caught up to him, they were in a large field of sunflowers. Will’s eyes seemed to be as radiant as the pedals of each flower.
Without warning, he grabbed Nico’s hand and ran through the field, zigzagging down a narrow path like he’d been here a million times before. He brought Nico to the top of a hill overlooking the flowers. The sun was setting, the sky was a mix of vibrant pinks and purples that glimmered off of Will's eyes like fireworks in the night sky.
Everything was perfect. Nico never wanted this romantic moment to end. ‘Nothing could possibly make this better’ he thought to himself. Then Will leaned in and gently kissed him. ‘I stand corrected.’
Nico blushed a bright red, his brain short-circuiting when Will pulled away.
Will smiled innocently, the blonde also blushing, though Nico guessed it wasn’t as bad as he was right then. His face felt so hot you could cook an egg on it.
Just as Will opened his mouth to speak, Nico heard a blaring noise. He glanced around, but Will didn’t seem to hear it, so he pushed it aside.
“What?”
Will chuckled, “I said-“
He was again cut off by a string of beeps. Nico wished he could shut off whatever was making the noise. He wished he could return to this. To them.
—
The world suddenly went black.
When Nico opened his eyes, he found himself in his room, on his bed, alone.
His alarm clock was consistently ringing, reminding him it was time to go to work. Nico never wanted to throw it more than he did right then and there.
He grumbled, mentally cursing himself for ever thinking that was real. For believing Will would ever kiss him.
—
Nico got up groggily, getting changed in his usual black clothing before walking downstairs. He had recently painted his nails black, though the nail polish was starting to chip away.
Some of the ghosts had something to say about how it was too feminine for a young boy such as himself, but Nico just ignored them. He liked it, and most of the girls offered to help him next time so it wouldn’t be such a botched job.
He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, pulling a cinnamon bagel out of a Thomas bag and sealing it with a plastic chip clip in the shape of a crinkled French fry. He popped the bagel into the toaster and waited with a plastic tin of spreadable cream cheese and a butter knife.
As Nico ate his bagel, he pulled on a black jean jacket and a crochet beanie one of the grandma ghosts had made that he didn’t have the heart to not accept, even though it had been made with a bright red yarn.
Black went with everything, it’d be fine.
He left a note on the fridge saying he’ll be back soon and checked off on a little notepad that he was at work. They never liked it when he was gone for long, especially not the ghost children who like to have him help set up their tea parties.
He walked out of the house and locked the door behind him, walking to the convenience store and stopping to look down a back alleyway he remembered from his dream. He knew there was nothing but a dead end and a garbage can back there, but he couldn’t help but think: what if?
—
When he made it to the shop, Will was nowhere to be seen. He checked the back, but he wasn’t there either. Nico could feel his heart start to drop, but he didn’t want to give up just yet.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Now the panic was really starting to set in. Where was he? Why hadn’t he mentioned he might be out today? Was he just coming in late? Nico didn’t have any answers and it was starting to piss him off.
When the back door opened, Nico nearly jumped out of his seat until he realized it was Will’s grandpa, the owner of the shop.
“Nico,” The old man greeted warmly, walking with a cane.
Nico smiled in response. “Hey… where’s Will?”
“Oh, he went back to the city. Now that I’m better, I can run the store without needing him to take my place.”
Nico had to keep a smile plastered to his face despite wanting to scream. “Oh… that’s good, I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Likewise. It’s good to see you’ve been working hard. Will told me all about your progress.”
Nico smiled nervously, the only thing running through his mind a repeated: he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone…
—
The rest of the day, Nico’s mood had plummeted; he was moody the whole day because his friend was gone. Will’s grandpa either didn’t notice or didn’t want to ask. He handled the customer service as usual while Nico kept restocking and calling in the orders of what they were out of.
By five in the afternoon, he clocked out.
The walk home had never been so gloomy.
When he made it home, the ghosts all could sense his mood, and if they couldn’t, then Nico going into his room, flopping face-first into bed and screaming into a pillow definitely tipped them off.
A few minutes later, Alice was sitting on the edge of his bed with her hands in her lap. She looked over to him and moved a strand of hair out of Nico’s face. “What’s wrong, dear?” Nico hadn’t realized he was crying until she ran a thumb across his cheek to try and wipe his tears away. “Is this about that girl?”
Nico shook his head. “He’s not a girl.”
Alice’s eyes widened, she seemed surprised, but her expression settled into a friendly smile. “It’s a boy?”
Nico nodded, waiting for her disapproval, but it never came.
She chuckled warmly. “Y’know… When I was alive, there was this beautiful girl who lived across the street from me. Brunette with lovely green eyes.” She recounted, and Nico listened closely.
“Did you like her?”
Alice nodded. “I loved her. She was the sweetest person, but a girl liking a girl was unheard of, so I never told anyone.” She took Nico’s hands in hers. “Dear, he’s very lucky to have you. Don’t let him slip through your fingers.”
“But he’s gone. He left. I-I didn’t even get a goodbye.” Nico argued, wiping his face.
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll find each other no matter what.” She promised, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, which felt cold but warmed him all the same. “Now quit your sulking and go find that boy.” She said with a smile.
Nico nodded. He wouldn’t let Will go.
Not without a fight.
—
Nico raced back to town, running past the shops and cafes until he got to a small neighborhood where he knew Will’s grandfather’s house was. He stopped occasionally at intersections, trying to remember which winding road Will brought him down when he visited once. He turned left and right, every path looked the same he started to wonder if he was running in circles. Then he saw it – a small house at the end of a cul-de-sac with a pastel yellow door and an absurd amount of yard decor. Nico couldn’t help the grin that showed up when he saw that Will’s mom’s red car was still parked out front, the back open as they packed their bags about to leave.
Nico quickly went to the house, nervously knocking on the door until he heard that familiar voice that sent butterflies fluttering through his stomach.
“Coming!” Will called out, unlocking the door and opening it to see Nico. He beamed when he realized this wasn’t a dream, and Nico couldn’t help but throw himself into this boy’s arms. “I thought you left…” He said.
Will hugged him tightly. “We got held up. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“No goodbye?” Nico asked, and Will winced a little.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we were leaving so soon. I thought I had another day.”
Nico stared up at him and without thinking or planning just leaned forward and gave Will a tiny chaste kiss on his cheek. Just a little peck. Will’s cheeks became a pretty pink hue.
“I love you.” Nico blurted. He didn’t want to lose this boy. He couldn’t.
Will looked surprised, his eyes going wide like a cartoon character. Nico was afraid he’d said the wrong thing. What if Will didn’t feel the same? How could he have been so selfish? What if he just lost his best friend because of some stupid outburst-
Will kissed him. A quick peck on the lips, but Nico could’ve sworn that moment lasted forever.
Will started blubbering apologies.
“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking- uhm, I-I didn’t mean it. Well, I did mean it, but I didn’t mean-”
Nico kissed him again, a closed-mouth chaste kiss that he never wanted to pull back from. When he finally had to let go for air, Will was bright red, and Nico could only imagine what shade of crimson he was.
“I love you too,” Will said, reminding Nico of what he blurted out what seemed like years ago.
Nico couldn’t help but be reminded of his dream from last night, what if this was just a dream again — His mind playing tricks on him? What if this dream was wasting his time and Will was packing up the car right now hoping Nico would come looking for a goodbye.
What if Nico lost his chance?
“Really…? Why- how would you love me? How could you love someone like me?”
“Someone like you? You mean someone who’s completely amazing?” The blonde chuckled, a sound that managed to fill Nico’s stomach with butterflies every time he heard it.
“Will…” Nico muttered, sounding like he wanted to argue but didn’t have the heart to. “This is real? You’re not lying to me or- or you’re not some dream?”
Will smiled kindly, hugging Nico without warning. “I’m real… I don’t want to leave you.”
“But?”
“But I have school. I can’t stay here… but I’ll come back. Every chance I get, I’ll come back. I promise.”
Nico didn't like the idea of Will having to leave and hugged him tighter. “Okay… but you better come back.”
“I will, promise.”
Nico nodded and leaned in again. Will looked like he couldn’t help but smile and closed the space between them.