I'm doing a series based on the album Fine Line and I'm really excited!! I feel like a decent amount of you have already heard it but if you haven't I'd really recommend it because it's very quickly become one of my favorites. Anyway, this is going to be three parts with the song title I think best fits the theme as the title. If you look hard enough, I've tried to sprinkle in some little references for you to find:). There will be a couple of flashbacks and those will be marked, but it will always switch back to the present day at a POV change so as long as it doesn't say it's a flashback, just assume it's present day. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Nico's POV

There's something to be said about waking up early. Sure, it's not the most popular thing, and it's often associated with grumpiness and bumping into things as you shuffle around in the dark, trying to pull on a half-decent outfit. Nico usually isn't the type to wake up early, more often than not opting to wake around noon, if he has the choice. But this morning, when he wakes to the gentle rays of the sun, Will is there, curled up next to him in a ball, with the light making him glow gold. He looks like a greek god, chiseled and perfect and golden. No, Nico won't be waking up early again any time soon. But at least this morning, as he stretches out his limbs and takes a sip of the lukewarm glass of water sitting on his bedside table, the morning offers him the best view in the world. 

As it turns out, Will sleeps almost as much as Nico does, and Nico is given the rare opportunity of a spare moment to just sit in his thoughts and mull. That morning, the topic at hand is how it used to be, the insecurity that followed him around wherever he went, slipping in between his kisses with Will and making him question his every move. How it almost ripped apart their relationship before it had the chance to flourish, how it had almost destroyed Nico as a whole. 

It had been such a prevalent part of his personality; it had been this inescapable thing that stuck to him like a leech. And even though pushing through it had been painful and quite frankly terrifying, the aftermath gave him everything he wanted. A stable relationship, a beautiful boyfriend, four years of romance he wouldn't trade for the world. Nico almost laughs at who he used to be, as he bathes in the warmth of the morning. He almost gave everything up. 

Will shifts in his sleep, murmuring something unintelligible. His eyelids flutter but he stays asleep, giving Nico the opportunity to memorize his face for the millionth time. Once, there hadn't been anything remarkably special about it. Yes, it was the kind of face that made heads turn in the hallway, but there wasn't really any value to it, at least not for Nico. But now there are four years of memories attached to it; freckles like the stars on the night of the canyon moon, hair the color of the sunflowers Will had given him on their first anniversary, lips sweet as the watermelon they'd eat as summer rushed towards them, laughing and dancing in the warmth. It feels as if their entire relationship had been like that; sweet and warm and perfect. Golden. Nico considers himself lucky. The luckiest boy alive. 

Will shifts again and this time, his eyes crack open and he regards Nico with a sleepy, emotionless expression. "Hey," Nico says, leaning down and kissing Will's lips softly. "Morning." 

"Morning." Will's movements seem jerky, almost robotic and when he sits up, blankets pooling around his waist, he doesn't look at Nico. There's something off, like when the flavor of something bad sticks with you for the rest of the day and holds your tastebuds hostage. Something that shouldn't be identifiable but is. "Hey, listen," Will says, rolling out of bed. The light rains over his body and Nico is once again taken by surprise how one person can be so impossibly beautiful. Will's awkward movements and lack of eye contact almost don't mean anything to him. Almost. "I know we were gonna grab breakfast this morning, but I just remembered my mom wanted me home early to help her clean. Sorry." His lips are pursed and he pulls on his shirt, brushing dust off of it. 

"Oh," Nico says. His heart sinks in his chest and suddenly everything is thrown off; the feeling of warmth, of the most beautiful love he's ever experienced. Suddenly he's an insecure freshman at homecoming again, feeling completely over his head with a boy he never thought he could land. "You couldn't ask her for, like, two more hours?" 

"Sorry, Neeks, duty calls." He kisses Nico's cheek but it's a quick peck, something a mother might give her child on his way out to go to the park with his friends. It isn't the grand-gesture kiss Nico had hoped for, the sorry I have to leave at eight in the morning kiss or the this is proof that there's nothing wrong with our relationship kiss. It's a nothing kiss. 

"See you tomorrow?" Nico calls out hopefully as Will laces up his shoes, pulling them tight. Will glances back at him and there's something in his eyes that holds an unimaginable sadness. It isn't something cruel, but something almost regretful. It's worse than being cruel, and Nico feels a shiver go down his spine.

"Yeah." Will's words sound half-hearted and Nico knows that they don't convince either of them. "See you tomorrow." He leaves and Nico is stuck staring at the place where he disappeared, the air in the room already closing around the hole that he left. 

There had once been a time where their love was beautiful and shiny and new. When every word spoken was like one out of a fairy tale, and excitement made their hearts burst. Nico had tried to pretend that their relationship was still perfect, that they were still the golden couple that made heads turn in envy of what they had. But the familiar tendrils of insecurity sneak in and without even realizing it, he's questioning his every move. Nico had once cherished their relationship with every ounce of passion he had but now, Will won't even let Nico adore him. 

Will's POV- Two Years Ago

It's been a long time since Will has felt truly free. There's always been the weight of school and studying on his back; this massive burden that makes him feel like an old man. He won't regret it when he's thirty-five and a rich doctor, he knows, but now, it's painful. 

This is the first time Will feels truly free. Green blades of grass sway in the wind, the sun smiling down softly on him and Nico. No one has been on the playground for years but the equipment has kept up their beauty; the sun sizzles on the metal of the slide, the swings rocking ever so gently back and forth. A colony of ants march by their feet but the ants don't bother them and Will and Nico don't bother the ants. They coexist in perfect harmony and the world breathes in sync like every living creature let out a breath at once. It's a perfectly picturesque afternoon in late June, and Will has the most beautiful boy in the world at his side. 

"You have watermelon juice on your chin," Will says, reaching over and wiping it off of Nico's chin with his thumb. Nico grins a watermelon-y smile, a seed stuck between his two front teeth. He's always had a bit of a gap there- Nico always claimed it made him look like a child, but Will loves it. 

"Yeah, stupid, I'm supposed to," Nico says. "People who eat watermelons neatly are gross." 

"I eat my watermelon neatly."

"Yeah, and you're gross," Nico says with a sly grin. The watermelon seed is still lodged between his teeth and he runs his tongue across it, nudging it gently. He's staring at Will as if wondering what to do until he takes a chunk of watermelon, dragging it across Will's cheek until he has a dripping red mess running down his face. Nico gives him a self-satisfied smirk. "There. Now at least I have some respect for you." 

It's sticky and normally, Will would find it gross. But it's cool in the boiling summer air and he can smell the watermelon scent on his face. "Oh, gosh, you've saved my life," he says in a mock-high voice that makes Nico laugh. "Whatever can I do to repay you?" 

"I can think of one thing," Nico says. He inches closer and the ants march past his knee, scurrying out of his way just before Nico wraps his arm around Will's neck and kisses him hard. He tastes sweet like watermelons, of the freedom of the summer and excitement of what the rest of their relationship will bring.

Nico's POV

The swingset creeks sadly in the wind as they approach the playground. It had once been so beautiful; sure, it wasn't often used and sure, it burned hot like lava in the summer and cold as ice in the winter. But it had been their place, the place their elementary school teachers would take them during recess because their school was too broke at the time to afford an actual playground, the place where they had slurped up watermelon juice in the heat of the summer and kissed so hard they thought their lips might fall off. It's in disarray now. The elementary school raised money to buy their own playground, and that winter had been too cold to visit their old stomping grounds. Once spring came around, they were both too busy with shopping for dorm room decorations and planning graduation parties to come back. 

"We haven't been here in a while," Nico says with false bravado. 

"Yeah." Will scratches the back of his head, staring down at the grass. A colony of ants marches past their feet but they're slow as if time has withered away their youth second by second. "Listen, I think we need to talk." Nico should have seen this coming but somehow, it takes him by surprise. There had been a time when they were golden and now, they're nothing. He nods- if Will is going to dump him, he can start the conversation. "I love you. You know I'll always love you." 

"I love you, too," Nico says feebly. Maybe if he says it enough, Will will change his mind. But Will just smiles sadly as if it hurts to hear. 

"But I've been thinking." That's what they all say. The tendrils of insecurity wrap around Nico's heart and squeeze tight. "I'm going to college all the way across the country, and you're going to Massachusetts, and it's just so far and I feel like I haven't really lived, you know? Like I love you so much and everything, but-" Will keeps saying that he loves Nico, and it's getting old. "But I think I need to take this next part of his journey on my own. Because I can't flourish if I'm committed to another life across the country." He's biting his nails as if he's terrified of Nico's reaction. What's Nico supposed to say? No? 

"I get it," Nico says. He's trying really, really hard not to cry. He's not sure if he's going to be able to hold the tears in any longer. "We need to live separate lives." He was ready to commit. To handle long distance for four years, move to California as Will did med school and Nico got a job on the west coast. He was ready for the shiny ring, the house with a golden retriever. He had thought that he had found true love, for once in his life. The insecurity squeezes harder, and his heart stops pumping as much blood as before. 

"So you're not mad?" 

"No, Will." It's almost funny, to imagine being mad at Will. In their four years, they had rarely argued. He doesn't want to end that streak now. "I'm not mad." Not mad, just heartbroken."

"Oh, okay," Will says. He looks surprised but relieved. Nico wonders if it's a relief to be rid of him, or if Will will stay up sobbing for months straight as Nico knows he will. "Do you want me to, like, walk you home?" 

"I'm good." Nico isn't sure what the protocol is after a breakup. Are you supposed to fight? Walk home together? Talk like nothing happened? Nico wouldn't know. Will was his first real relationship. He had hoped his only real relationship. 

"Do you want me to leave you here?" 

"Yes, please," Nico says. His throat is starting to close up. He will not cry, he will not cry, he will not cry. 

"Okay," Will says. His voice is hoarse as if he's on the verge of tears as well. He isn't allowed to be sad. It's his fault, and he can deal with the consequences of his actions. That's breakup Nico talking, the one that wants Will to get rejected from med school and hit by a bus. But the Nico that's still wildly in love with Will just wants to make it better. "See you around?" 

"Yeah," Nico says. A single tear slides down his cheek but he hopes that Will can't see it in the darkness. "See you around." He gets one shoulder squeeze. One shoulder squeeze that ends a four-year relationship that made Nico feel as if he had found true love after so many years of yearning. 

Will leaves Nico in the park just as he asked. He leaves quietly, hands tucked to his side, head bent low. He looks ashamed, and Nico is happy. But as soon as he's out of sight, Nico is hit with the realization that he is alone. Alone with the ants and the swings and the moon above. Alone with the knowledge that Will isn't coming back. 

Hi guys, I just wanted to remind you all that the writing contest deadline has been extended till the thirty-first, the rules are in the little conversations thing in my bio and I hope some more of you guys enter! Anyway, I hoped you liked it, and part two will be up in two weeks!

Nina