Third Person
Nico was sitting in the corner. He hadn't told anyone what was happening to him. He hadn't told anyone he was dying. Since Will had died, everything had changed for Nico. He was quieter, he was always alone. Where as, when Will was here, he had been happier and more social. Unfortunately, these changes happened for a reason besides Will's death. Nico was dying. But not of a physical wound, or an illness. No, Nico was dying of the one thing Nico never thought was even a possibility. He was dying of a broken heart. He had been in love with Will. Anyone could see it. But no one could see the aftermath. Not Percy, not Annabeth, not Jason, not even Reyna or Hazel. Nico had been feeling his own life force leaving his body, but it hadn't left yet. Nico was broken out of his thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Come in," Nico croaked. He couldn't cry now. Not now. He held back the tears. Someone put their leg in and he was surprised at what he saw when she stepped in. It was Thalia.
"Hey, Nicky. I heard about Will. Just wanted to make sure that you weren't doing anything… Stupid," She said, and at that, Nico lost it. Thalia quickly shut the door and walked over to him. She sat down beside him and held him. That's what he liked about Thalia. She never asked you talk. She just held you. Finally, after a long silence of nothing but Nico's sobs, Thalia said something. "Nico, I never did hear how Will died. I'm sorry if this hurts, but could you tell me?" Nico nodded.
"W- we were walking, and then- then he just fell on the ground, screaming in pain. I felt his life force going away. I didn't know what was happening. All I remember is people coming to get us. Later, I learned that Will had the rarest brain tumour in the world. It's incurable. I think the Apollo cabin called it Neuroclassre. Will, h-he never told anyone. He was scared people would treat him differently, knowing that he could die at any sudden moment. That's what he told me in the hospital. Will said he only knew because he was doing a scan on himself and he found out. He said attacks like this had happened before. Never this big, though. He died a few minutes later," He said slowly. Thalia looked troubled by this
"Nico," She started, "Tell me something. Why didn't Will tell you? Didn't he trust you? I mean, I'm not questioning his feelings for you, but I just wanted to know why,"
"I never actually thought about that," He admitted, "I guess maybe he didn't want me to worry? I don't know, but it was probably a good reason,"
"Ok, well, I just came to check on you, make sure you're doing better. I'm gonna just leave you to your thoughts. Bye," She said, then walked out, closing the door behind her.
He sighed. He couldn't tell anyone. He felt like he was going to die today. But at least he would see Will again. The thought made him crack a small smile. But then it disappeared. Everyone would be so upset. Because he died and because he didn't tell them. But he had to be with Will again. He had just turned 15 when he got with Will. And now he was 23, and completely and irrevocably in love with Will Solace. But it came with a price. Nico had always known that if Will died, he would die. Just like Percy would if Annabeth died. But he never imagined that they would die so young, after all they had been through, after what Nico had been through.
He thought about how most of the dreams had stopped when he and Will had been together. They had come back when he died. Now he was haunted by the shadowy nightmares of Tartarus and the look of pain on his boyfriends face when he fell to the ground, twisted screams of pure agony ripping out of his mouth. He saw his body writhing on the ground, twisting and turning as the cries of agony tore through Nico's heart. He remembered that scene so vividly. Now all of these nightmares plagued his mind, when he was asleep and wide awake. Tartarus had been imprinted on his mind, the days of torture always there, but they seemed so distant, so petty, when he thought of Will and his screams, because nothing could have prepared him for that.
He had realized that there were things worse than Tartarus in the world. It was the person you loved more than anything in the world dying that was completely unbearable, and seeing it, knowing you can't stop it. Nico had learned that. It was the worse thing in Nico's mind. Knowing that you would die a few minutes from now, or 5 years from now, leaving behind a lover. He realized that Tartarus was horrible, and that no one should go there, but it was so hard to think about that when he thought about what Will went through, knowing he had a disease that was incurable. It scared him. It truly did.
He felt his eyes droop lower and he realized. This was it. He was about to die. Blinking back the tears, he smiled. He was going to see Will again. He knew the nightmares wouldn't stop, and life in Elysium would not be perfect, but he didn't care. It wouldn't be Camp, but there would be a Will Solace, and that was enough for him. It sounded silly, but he needed Will, so he would go to Will. Will was enough. He would see the others someday, but for now, he had Broken Heart Syndrome. And it was about to go away. So Nico closed his eyes, while closing his fist around the drachma in his pocket, and let the darkness carry him to DOA recording studios.
Annnnd we're done! I think I did pretty good. For an amatuer, anyways. I just love Solangelo, the news was talking about Gay Rights, so here I came. I just love these one-shots. I wanted to bring out a softer, more scared part of Nico, so I did this. I just don't think Rick looks into his characters enough. I mean, he's a great writer, and I love the books, obviously, but he just doesn't look in them enough. That's my only problem.
Please read my other story 'The Blessed Ones' and leave a review on this and that.
World Peace will not solve all the world's problems,
PothenaIsMyLife