[color=ed145b][b]NICO LEHMANN[/b][/color]

Nico had barely regained his composure when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. And then he felt his stomach sinking when he turned to see who it was, though he already knew.

Mikhail.

[color=f6989d][i]Not good. Ah, shit. Act natural…?[/i][/color]

[color=ed145b][i]And what the fuck is natural for you?[/i][/color]

[color=f6989d][i]Smile or something! God, I forgot he was here. This is so awkward.[/i][/color]

The corners of Nico’s mouth stretched horizontally.

[color=f6989d][i]Tilt the corners upward! Smile better![/i][/color]

He added more facial muscles to the smile.

[color=f6989d]“…Mikhail!”[/color] Nico hesitated slightly in the greeting as Mikhail brought up Asswipe and insisted on fighting him later.

Before he could respond, however, a girl bumped into Mikhail, blurting something about needing help looking for a friend and Nico let slip a small sigh of relief. He and Mikhail had been pen pals for several years and Mikhail had recently confessed his feelings for Nico in a letter that Nico had taken almost a month to respond to.

Romance had never been high on Nico’s list of life priorities. He generally thought girls were cute and probably would have enjoyed the company of one as a friend, but dating was an entirely different beast that he was absolutely certain he didn't have the willpower to wrangle. He had texted his brothers in the group chat the day he had received Mikhail’s confession, asking for advice on how to respond if he didn’t reciprocate the feelings, but the conversation had been something of a mixed bag: 


[hider=NICOBUTT'S SUNBROS]
[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] if u date him & he pisses u off ill throw him in the LHC!!!

[b][color=a2d39c]Lucien:[/color][/b] He’s asking how to reject him. Which means you should shut up and let me handle this.

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] no!!!!!! EN OH no!!! u suck ull prolly tell nicobutt smthng inhuman like “I’m Lucien and I’m a callous jerkface so you should just tell Mikhail to fuck off.”

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] how was tht? good impression?

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] im awesum

[b][color=a2d39c]Lucien:[/color][/b] Nico, just tell him to fuck off.

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] wow i fcking knew it!!!!

[b][color=a2d39c]Lucien:[/color][/b] If you don’t reject him properly, he’ll harbor lingering feelings for you until the mental pressure exceeds his capacity to withstand, at which point he’ll pursue you with a single-minded fervor that can only be cured by death.

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] wtf where do u even get that stuff

[b][color=a2d39c]Lucien:[/color][/b] I’m almost certain of it.

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] Just tell him the truth, Nico. 

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] and then be totes prepped for the awkssssssss and turlte because ur going to the SAME SCHOOL :3c itll be awesum tell me deets k?

[b][color=82ca9d]Lucien:[/color][/b] Don’t tell Elliot anything because he’s useless. Just tell me. I’ll figure out something.

[b][color=bc8dbf]Elliot:[/color][/b] lulz u gotta handle it on ur own nicobutt cuz lu will kill him
[/hider]

So Nico had told the truth and Mikhail had asked to remain friends in the following letter. After rejecting his romantic feelings, Nico could hardly reject his friendship, too, so despite Lucien’s furious advice on the subject (“Lingering feelings will only lead to death!”), he had agreed to remain friends with Mikhail.

And now Mikhail was greeting him like nothing had happened and Nico could only feel like a true shitter for still taking advantage of Mikhail’s friendship and general support even after all of that. Maybe Lucien was right.

[color=f6989d][i]It’d be so much easier if he hated me. It’d be infinitely easier. Lu and Elli, too.[/i][/color]

With Mikhail distracted by the girl, however, Nico had a small chance to fix his demeanor, hiding his discomfort as much as he could. When Mikhail suddenly gestured to him, Nico looked blankly at the hand for a moment before looking up at Mikhail, clearly conveying with the confusion on his face that he hadn’t paid any attention to what Mikhail had been saying.

He then looked at the girl.

Maybe Mikhail had been introducing him.

[color=f6989d]
[i]Smile. With the cheeks and the eyes and stuff.[/i][/color]

[color=f6989d]“Hi!”[/color] he raised his voice. [color=f6989d]“My name’s Nico!”[/color]

[color=f6989d][i]That was a little loud. Yeah, that was definitely a little loud.[/i][/color]