As he got older, Nicholas carried other weights â loneliness, isolation, depression. The load became unbearable, and on Feb. 12, 15-year old Nicholas died by suicide. He was a sophomore at Atkins High School who loved technology, anime, memes, staring at the stars and dousing ranch dressing on his food. Most of all, Nicholas loved being with his friends, just goofing off. But that sort of behavior, the favored past time of teenagers for generations, came to a dizzying and abrupt halt last year when the rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted Gov. Roy Cooper to shut down schools across the state. Nicholas never adjusted to the sudden collapse of his social structure, his parents, Bob and Ana, said.