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“Tractors are, like, basically the same as stick-shift cars, right?” Nico asked one afternoon, lying on the floor of his best friend’s bedroom with his phone held aloft over his head. He was swiping through picture after picture on a car dealership website, essentially window shopping for the vehicle that would become his high school graduation present at the end of the month.
Will snorted, spinning around in the chair at his desk - because some people did homework on Friday afternoons, for some stupid reason - and flicked a pencil at Nico. It bounced harmlessly off of his stomach. “Why do you always think I’m so much more country than I actually am?” he teased. “I haven’t lived anywhere near a farm in almost five years, and why would you even think that I’ve ever driven a tractor?”
Nico pushed himself up on his elbows. “I’ve literally seen pictures of you driving a tractor. Don’t test me.”
“Fine.” Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s the same basic principle. Why?”
Nico turned his gaze back to his phone. “I found this Jeep that I like, and it’s a stick.”
Will shrugged. “Cool. You know how to drive stick?”
Absolutely not, but what Nico said instead was, “Duh.”
“We should take it for a test drive,” Will suggested. “You gotta make sure you like it before you tell your dad to buy it for you.”
“Maybe another day,” Nico said quickly, his anxiety spiking.
“Suit yourself,” Will told him, already turning back to his homework, “but don’t wait too long, or else somebody might buy it.”
Nico showed up at Will’s again the next day, having brought himself over on the bicycle that was now tipped over in the front yard. He let himself in without knocking - the Solace family dog, Mellow (a yellow lab also known as melon, mello yello, and on rare occasion ol’ yeller) never failed to bark whenever someone knocked, so Nico had been told countless times to show himself in.
Will was just coming out of the kitchen in a pair of bright red basketball shorts and a camo-patterned shirt, a combination that would’ve looked horrible on anyone else. But, of course, Nico just had to be in love with his best friend, so naturally he thought Will looked good in anything. (Sometimes Nico wished for the crush to fade just so he didn’t have to try to justify some of Will’s outfits, even if it was just to himself. That boy could not be trusted to dress himself.)
“Are you busy?” Nico asked
Will pulled a spoon from his mouth, dipping it into the yogurt cup in his hand. “Can I finish my yogurt?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Do you wanna come test drive that Jeep with me? Like, right now?”
“Can I--”
“After you finish your yogurt. God, Solace.”
Will grinned, and stuffed another bite into his mouth. He finished the snack quickly, and shoved his feet into a pair of Crocs before he followed Nico out the door. After both climbing onto Nico’s bike, with Will standing on the back wheel’s pegs and holding tightly to Nico’s shoulders, they took off toward the dealership downtown, just a short bike ride away.
Nico was surprised they even let eighteen-year-olds test drive cars without an actual adult present, though Nico knew that flashing the name di Angelo around town did more for him than he would like to admit. When the salesman finally passed over the keys, though, Nico held them out to Will. “You should try it.”
“What?” Will asked. “Why? It’s your car.”
Nico rolled his eyes, hoping to mask his nerves with annoyance - so, basically his default setting. “But you are going to be spending just as much time in it as I am. I want you to feel comfortable driving it, too. Just take the keys already.”
Will accepted them, and allowed Nico to lead him out onto the lot, toward a sleek, black Jeep Wrangler. Once they were both inside and Will had started the engine, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to try it first? I mean, you should really know whether or not you like driving it.”
Nico shook his head. “My dad and I came up here last night,” he lied easily, “and I liked it well enough. But I want to make sure you like it.”
Will grinned. “You’re such a weirdo.” He put the car in gear and started to drive.
They’d driven around together before, of course, when walking or bike riding wasn’t going to cut it for the trip they were planning to take, and one of their parents was able to give up a car for the day. Nico loved watching Will drive, mostly because he had a great opportunity to watch him while Will was otherwise occupied, and couldn’t really notice just how thoroughly Nico was studying him.
“What?” Will asked like he always did whenever he glanced over and caught Nico already looking back.
“Nothing,” Nico said quickly, and turned to inspect the dark interior of the car, familiarizing himself with it. “You like it, right?”
“Sure,” Will told him, switching gears and kicking into high speed. “It drives nice, shifting is pretty smooth, and the clutch doesn’t stick at all.”
What the hell is a clutch? Nico thought, but kept his mouth shut, nodding along instead. “You could see yourself driving it pretty often?”
Will laughed. “Why does it feel like you’re trying to saddle me with this car? It’s your present, Nico. Do you like it?”
“Of course I do,” he said, which meant, I like seeing you drive it.
“Then that’s settled.” Will turned the wheel, cutting their test drive short and heading back toward the dealership. “I think you should buy it.”
“Sure.” Nico’s heart started pounding in his chest. “Yeah, you’re right. I should! I’ll text my dad right now.”
He pulled out his phone, but rather than going for his messages, he youtube searched how to drive a stick.
The next weekend, Nico arrived at Will’s house again, this time accompanied by his sister Hazel, waiting in the driver’s seat of their father’s car.
“Come with me to pick up my Jeep,” Nico said when he found Will in the living room, a textbook open across his lap. “And stop studying on Saturdays. What’s the matter with you?”
They climbed into the car and were dropped off at the dealership a minute later, Hazel already off to do whatever freshly-licensed sixteen-year-old girls did with their free time.
“Wait here,” Nico told Will once they’d found the Jeep, now parked in a different section of the lot to let other shoppers know that it was no longer for sale. “Dad already signed everything, so I just have to grab the keys.”
As Will loitered in the lot, Nico ran inside, grabbed the keys from the salesman, and rushed back, calling out, “Think fast!” as he threw the keys directly into an unsuspecting Will’s chest.
“Ow,” Will complained, catching the keys before they could hit the ground. “Why do I have these? Don’t you want to drive it home?”
Nico was already stepping toward the passenger door. “I told you, I want to make sure you’re comfortable driving it. Besides, it’s not even a mile drive back to your house. What’s the fun in that?”
Will shrugged, and climbed inside.
Later that night, after Nico had sufficiently prevented Will from getting any homework done whatsoever, Will started yawning. “I need to sleep,” he said. “I’d tell you to spend the night, but I have an early shift at the bakery tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Nico said, clearly having not thought his plan through, “right.”
“But, hey, now you can finally get your fancy new car home,” Will said, giving Nico’s shoulder a shove. “Drive safe, alright?”
Nico nodded slowly, and got to his feet. Before he could take a step toward the door, he blurted out, “I think I’m too tired to drive.”
Will jumped up after him. “Really? But you’re always wide awake at this time of night. I can grab one of the energy drinks I keep hidden in the back of the fridge, if you want to be up all night. Or I could just shake you really hard and yell in your face like they do in movies,” he suggested, and grabbed Nico by the shoulders before he could react.
Nico laughed, and shoved Will away. “No, I’m fine. I mean--”
“I get it,” Will told him, “new car anxiety, right? It’s different from what you’re used to, and driving at night is always a little weird. But it’s barely a five minute drive - you’ll be fine!”
“I… I don’t know, Will, maybe I should just stay here tonight--”
“C’mon, it’s like you’ve never driven a stick before!” Will laughed, and Nico tried to suppress a wince. A second later, Will said, “You… have driven a stick before. Right, Nico?”
Rather than admitting to one truth, Nico’s mouth decided to supply another: “I think you look hot when you drive.”
Will’s grin went lopsided. “Right back at you, but that doesn’t answer my question.”