This is my hundredth update, which is honestly insane. Thank you so much for sticking with this book for such a long time, it means a lot! Also, this will use a little bit of language, just a warning.

Will's POV-2006

"Avenge me, Will," Nico gasped, falling to the rough ground with a look of utter shock written across his face. "Avenge my death." One hand desperately clawed at the air while the other clutched at the hilt of the sword in his side. Will dropped to the ground, shaking Nico's shoulders as tears welled up in his big blue eyes. 

"Nico, Nico don't die!" he gasped, fingers digging into Nico's skin. "Please, Nico, stay with me!" The hand in the air dropped to Will's chest as a small, watery smile spread across Nico's face. 

"Avenge me, Will." With a lung rattling gasp he drew in a last deep breath before his hand dropped from Will's chest, falling to the wood chips scattered across the bustling playground. Will sat back on his haunches, tugging the sword out from where it had been wedged between Nico's arm and side. The cardboard was flimsy in his hands from hours of slashing and stabbing at the air. 

"You're a really good actor, Nico," he said, smiling down at the black haired boy. Nico cracked open and eye, smirking as he pushed himself up. Wood chips clung to his back and he brushed them off, letting them rejoin the hundreds of thousands coating the playground.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah!" Will beamed. "You could be one of those people on Broadway, the ones with the loud singing voices. Mom's always taking us to those, she says we should appreciate the theater more."

"That would be cool," Nico mused. "You really think I'm good?" 

"I think you're amazing." The smile spread wider across Nico's face as the bell rang in the distance, calling the first graders back to the stifling classrooms. "We should do this next recess," Will said, handing Nico back his sword. "It's really fun playing with you."

"I like playing with you, too." From across the playground one of Nico's friends called out to him, beckoning him over and Nico waved goodbye, running across to reach his line. "See you tomorrow!" Will raised his hand in farewell as his friend moved further and further away from him, and a small pang of sadness pierced his young heart. But Will knew that he would play with Nico the next recess, and the next, and all the ones after that, and that was good enough for him.

Nico's POV-2014

They were staring at him again, pointing, laughing. He could hear them from all the way down the hall, their chuckles as they smirked at his long black hair, his dark clothes. He couldn't quite make out their muttering but he had heard their words enough times to know what they were saying. How can one person be that emo?  Doesn't he know that all of that black makes him look disgusting? I just don't get it, why would someone choose to be that ugly? No matter how many times mean words were thrown his way, how many giggles and whispers followed him down the hallway, each one seemed to sting more than the last. 

He almost skipped play practice because of them. They were clustered in front of the theater doors, feet pressed against the walls and arms crossed over their chests, making them appear larger than life. He didn't want to walk past them, didn't want to hear their hisses but the play was in a month, and what were they going to do without their lead man? 

His steps were slow, almost sluggish as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, his head bent down to the ground as he tried to avoid as much eye contact as possible. Maybe if he didn't make eye contact, they would ignore him. And if he didn't make eye contact, no matter how many mean words left their mouths, they would never be able to see how much it hurt.

His plan shattered before him when Michael jutted out his foot, stopping Nico in his tracks. He looked up into mean green eyes, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. 

"Where you heading?" he asked slowly. "Not to play practice, I'm sure. Because only gays go to play practice and you're not gay, are you?" Nico tried to stammer out words but they died in his throat. Michael glanced around at his friends, a look of mock surprise on his face. "Unless- unless you are gay? Is that it, emo boy? You wanna suck Willy's dick?" Nico glanced up, eyes pleading but Will glanced away, hands shoved into his pockets. "Hey, Will!" Michael laughed, turning back to his friend. "Have you heard the news? Emo boy over hear wants your dick!"

"I'd never let anyone suck my dick," Will said. He still wouldn't make eye contact with Nico. "Especially not emo boy." Nico bit back tears, sucking in a shaky breath. He had never been able to place the point in their friendship where it had gone sour but at some point Will had begun to change until he bore no resemblance to the boy he had once knew, the boy he had played pretend with on the playground so long ago.

"I have to go," Nico said, brushing past them. Even after the door shut behind him, even through the thick oak he could still hear the giggling and although Will had changed so much in the past eight years, his laugh had always stayed the same.

Will's POV-2018

He was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he stepped onto the playground, the wood chips crunching underneath his feet. The moon hung in the sky as if suspended by a string, the glowing orb flooding the playground in a pale white light. He smiled as he stared at his surroundings, the slides winding down from the play structure and the rusted monkey bars that he would cling to when he was younger, giving his hands callouses and dirt stains. He was smiling, the late August air warm on his bare arms as the memories came rushing back, faster and faster. He wished he could remember that day nearly fourteen years ago, the day he had first stepped onto the playground, bright eyes with a teenage mutant ninja turtles backpack clinging tightly to his body. He wished he could remember the happiness that came along with his youth, the friendships he had made that had faded away throughout his years in middle school and disappearing completely once he hit high school. Now the memories that had once shone so brightly in his mind were gone, replaced with worries of the next day, of his drive up to the school he would be spending the next four years of his life at. Worried at the thought of leaving this place he had grown up in for such a long time, severing his connection to his childhood and all of the memories that came with it.

The thought made him shudder so he took a step, grabbing onto the chains of the swings and sitting down, his feet scraping the ground. It was strange to think that there had been a day when he had barely been able to reach the ground, his feet dangling inches above the wood chips. He smiled at the memory, at the feeling of warmth it brought into his veins. He was excited for college, of course, excited for the parties, the friendships, the experiences. But there were times he wished he could go back to the simple days, the days running around screaming at the sky and stabbing friends with cardboard swords. He missed them, more than it should be possible for a person to miss something so he pumped his legs, bringing his swing higher into the sky and letting his feet brush the clouds. 

He stopped swinging when he heard footsteps. He frowned, letting his feet bring him to a gentle halt as he squinted at the darkness, eyes straining to see who was crossing the playground. When the person drew closer he could see a thin frame, pale skin and shaggy black hair that curled at the base of his neck. His mouth fell open as he watched Nico draw closer and when they were close enough to properly see one another Nico raised his hand in greeting, a small smile dancing across his face. After years of watching his friends torment him, a bystander to ruthless laughter, Nico was still willing to say hello. "Do you want me to go somewhere else?" Nico asked, a quiet sadness filling his eyes. "I have a feeling we're here for the same reason, and I don't want to interrupt your reminiscing."

"No, no, it's fine," Will said, shaking his head. There were days where he was still shocked by Nico, by the transformation he had made from junior to senior year. His hair no longer fell over his face, his body was no longer swathed in black sweatshirts that disguised his frame and made him look lump-ish. He had cut his hair, had begun to wear more than one outfit, had begun to smile. They might have been small changes, things that wouldn't have made a difference on most people but they had made Nico appear angelic. "You belong here just as much as I do, maybe even more. Come on, sit down." He patted the swing next to him and he watched as Nico's smile grew, the swing rocking gently underneath him. His foot pushed him back and forth, his hands wrapped around the chains. "When are you leaving for college?"

"Tomorrow." There was a distinct lump in his throat, Will could hear it in his voice. "You?"

"Same. It's a little scary, isn't it?" Will said with a nervous laugh. "We're leaving behind everything we've ever known. Sometimes I think it might just be easier to be a first grader again, stabbing each other with cardboard swords."

"I remember that," Nico laughed. "We were such dorks back then, me and you. It was fun though. That was what got me into acting, you know."

"Really?" Nico nodded. 

"Something you said to me all those years ago, about how you thought I was talented. You believed in me, and you thought I was good at it and it probably wasn't much to you but your words carried me through everything. Even when the entire world was telling me to give up I didn't, even when it was almost impossible and tomorrow I'm leaving for acting school. So thanks, I guess, for helping me not give up, even when everyone else was against me." Guilt in his chest weighed heavy like a rock as he remembered the mirthless laughter of his friends not so long ago, the way he played along with them without hesitation. 

"Even when everyone bullied you?" The words caught in his throat, his hands fidgeting in his lap as he stared at the ground. The wood chips were the same as they had been all those years ago and if he focused hard enough, it was as if he could look up and be in first grade again, Nico on the ground with a cardboard sword clutched between his side and his arm. "Even when I was horrible to you?"

"It wasn't you," Nico said quietly. "It wasn't all you, anyway. Besides, it wasn't like you were special. Everyone bullied me, it wasn't your fault."

"I should have been there, though," Will said. "I was your friend and then you went one way and I went the other, and I never looked back to see if you needed a friend every again."

"Well, you're here now," Nico said. "And you're apologizing, and that's enough for me. It wasn't your fault your friends sucked." Will laughed. 

"They really did, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did." They both glanced up, blue eyes connecting with brown and in one glance years of memories were shared, lost memories from time spent apart. "I missed you, Will."

"I missed you, too. I missed this."

"Us against the world," Nico grinned. 

"You ever think we can go back to that?" Will asked. "To that simplicity, our pure friendship? Or is there too much time lost to ever get back what we had?"

"Maybe it's been to long," Nico shrugged. "Or maybe, the time lost doesn't matter. We can have our old memories but we can make new ones, too." The swings creaked as he swung closer, their bodies brushing up against each other. Just as their swings began to move apart from one another Nico grabbed the chain of Will's swing, pulling them together. Nico's knuckles were white as he fought to hold Will in place and Will did the same as they sat in silence until Nico surged forward, pressing his lips to Will's. It was a strange feeling, Nico's lips against Will's but he liked it, the electricity that crackled between them. On a whim Will let go of Nico's swing, grabbing ahold of Nico before they could fall away. Will's hands were in Nico's hair, his black locks soft and silky underneath his fingers. Will's eyes were closed but he could feel Nico smiling, happiness radiating off of him. There were years lost between them, years of uncomfortable glances forced smiles. But none of that mattered anymore because from there on out, they would make their own memories.

They had long since slipped off of the swings, the wood chips at their backs and their fingers intertwined. It felt right, Will supposed that after everything they were together, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. He could hear Nico's soft breathing, the gentle flutter of his eyelashes, the twitch of a leg or an arm. He could smell him, a comforting scent of pine that reminded him of home. He felt like he was home, with Nico at his side on the playground that had raised him. After so many years of separation, they were finally home together. "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens when we both leave?" Nico asked quietly. "I'm going to California, you're going to Boston; we're going to be miles away. What are we going to do about us?"

"Maybe we should have gotten started sooner," Will laughed. 

"I wish. I wish this has started forever ago." Nico's tone was wistful, as if looking back on memories never made, a happier timeline that had never existed. 

""Well, we're together now. And I don't care how far away we are from each other, we'll be fine. We'll text and call and FaceTime, and I'll see you on vacations. I missed out on years of you, Nico, I won't miss out on any more." Even in the darkness, he could see Nico smiling.

"I'll miss you, Will."

"I'll miss you, too. But we need to appreciate this because even though soon we'll be far away right now, we're together." Nico inched closer to him, his head on Will's chest and as the uncertainties of the future loomed over them they were safe in each other's arms, using memories of the past to hold themselves together.

I loved writing that one so much. I want more of my one shots to be more like this, I think. Also, would you guys mind if I started swearing a little bit in these? Nothing excessive, just like what was in this one? I feel like it's hard to write an authentic middle/high school experience without a little bit of swearing, so please let me know if that makes you uncomfortable! Anyway, I hope you liked that one!

Nina