Nico di Angelo could not wait until he started college.

There were only a few things that he hated more than the stupid social life of high school students, where he was of course, at the bottom of the pyramid while the popular jocks were far up there. So when he finally pulled out his car in the parking lot of his new apartment, he was mildly excited.

Just mildly.

Because Nico di Angelo didn't do those crappy things widely known as emotions.

He inserted his keys. The sound of the door being unlocked was like the first notes of a freedom song. Nico pushed the door open, and saw someone was already there in the common area of the 2-bedroom apartment.

A tall, skinny guy with blond hair turned his head from the TV screen. Once he saw Nico, the blond stood up and smiled at Nico.

"Oh, you must be the other tenant," he said as he made a beeline towards Nico. "I am Octavian. Pleased to meet you," he said, pulling Nico's hand to shake it.

Nico never believed in love at first sight. He believed in annoyed at the first sight. And that was exactly what he was feeling now.

Octavian was smiling at him but Nico could see how fake that smile was. Nauseating.

Octavian's fingers were long and thin and felt like overcooked spaghetti between his. Nico pulled his hand abruptly.

"Nico," he said. "Nico di Angelo."

He didn't bother saying pleased to meet you too because no, he didn't find meeting this guy to be a pleasant experience.

So why bother saying so?

Thankfully, a voice calling from the still opened door saved Nico from any obligation to continue the conversation.

"Nico?"

Hazel stood in front of the door.

"We just got here and Frank parked his car next to yours," she said.

"Oh, that should be okay," Nico said.

He noticed how Hazel's eyes moved to Octavian who was standing next to him.

"Oh, yeah," he said, turning his head to Octavian. "That's my sister. Hazel."

Octavian raised an eyebrow skeptically, like he didn't really believe in what Nico just said. Nico didn't really care, though. He's used to getting that kind of reaction. The contrast between his pale skin and Hazel's dark one was something that made people ad that questioning look whenever they said that they were siblings.

Hazel also had gotten used to it too, but of course, she handled it better than Nico. She took two steps forward and stretched her hand out to Octavian, along with a friendly smile.

"Hello," she greeted him. "Are you Nico's roommate? I am Hazel, pleased to meet you."

The smile returned to Octavian's lips. Still a wide one, still a fake one. And at the border of a flirtatious one.

"Hello, I'm Octavian. And yes, I am your brother's roommate."

"Hazel, Nico?"

Frank stood by the door, his bulky figure almost blocking half of the light from the window. Hazel quickly took a few steps to stand next to him. Octavian stared at Frank for a second or two before looked back at Nico. There was a strange, borderline mocking expression in his eyes.

'Don't tell me that this is your brother?" Octavian asked.

Nico snorted and shook his head. "Nope. He's Hazel's boyfriend."

Gosh, how glad he was that Frank was indeed her boyfriend. Telling it to Octavian was like giving him the first warning to stay away from Hazel.

Frank nodded at Octavian as his hand curled around her waist.

"Hello. I'm Frank," he said along with a polite smile.

There was a strange expression on Octavian's face as he stared at the couple. But Nico did not waste his time just trying to figure out what did the expression mean.

"Frank, Haze, can you help me unloading my stuff from my car?" he asked. "Come on," he said walking out of the apartment.

He could still hear Hazel saying we'll be back to Octavian before she came out of the apartment and trying to catch up with Nico's wide steps.

"Octavian seems nice," Hazel said as she took out a canvas bag from the backseat of Nico's car.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

Hazel hummed. "He looks friendly," she said.

From the corner of his eyes, Nico could see Frank furrowed his brows, looking a bit skeptical with Hazel's verdict. Nico snorted.

"First impression is not always the correct one, you know," Nico said.

"Maybe, but still, my first impression of him is he's friendly," Hazel said.

Nico almost rolled his eyes. That's just how Hazel was. She always saw the world through rose-colored eye-glasses, which was a huge contrast to Nico who always skeptical about everything.

Hazels' always-positive attitude (that was on the borderline of being too naïve) only made Nico love her even more and protect his little sister from everything, even though they were only half-siblings.

Nico loved Hazel as much as he loved Bianca, his other sister who was now studying in another college.

But still, Hazel's opinion about Octavian would not change Nico's.

Will Solace has always liked first days of school. And to be honest, Will liked schools. He liked taking classes, he liked learning something new, and he liked to know that he was on his way to being a doctor.

What he didn't like was only the pressure of getting good grades.

But yeah, Will liked school. Especially when studying could keep his mind occupied. It's nice to have some breaks, of course. But long breaks only made Will would spend hours lying on his bed, over-thinking about stuff that he knew he shouldn't have to worry about. At least not yet.

So Will was happy to get back to his apartment that he has been sharing with Austin since last year, when the two of them were still freshmen. He was happy to come to his classes, jotting down important dates in his planner based on the syllabus.

He was happy. Excited.

It was around 10.30 in the first Monday of classes when he just got out of his first class of that day. Will was making his way to the building where he would have his next class when a voice called his name.

"Hey, Will!"

Will made a 180-degree turn and saw Percy coming towards him. He greeted Will with a wide grin and his green eyes twinkling.

"Hey, Percy! How's your break?"

"It was great," Percy said. "I worked in the City's Aquarium during Summer, and I even had a chance to visit Annabeth in her home in San Fransico."

"That's great," Will said.

"How about you?"

Will shrugged his shoulders. "It was nice. I went back to Tennessee and had a summer job at the clinic in my town."

"Great," Percy said. "Hey man, speaking about job. I was actually looking for you."

Will raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Percy nodded. "So, Paul asked me whether you would be interested to work again. You know, if you have the time and you want to?"

Last year, Will had a part-time job in a coffee-shop owned by Paul, Percy's stepdad. He enjoyed the job. Paul was really nice and the other workers were also great people. It was a bit of juggling with his classes, but he managed. And a bit of extra money wouldn't hurt, right?

"Sure! I'd love to," Will said.

"Great. So, can you come to the coffee shop this afternoon to talk things out with him? He said he would be there after work in his office, at around 5.30, until around 8?"

Will ran his fingers through his hair. "Sure. I think I can drop by there at around 6.30, maybe?"

"Cool!" Percy grinned. "I got to run to my next class now. So, I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah, sure."

Percy waved at him before disappearing among the other students.

Will hasn't walked far away yet when his phone vibrated. He fished it out from his pocket, smiling to see the text from Mitchell, his best friend, asking him whether they were in the same division for the next class. Will replied, telling him that yes, they were indeed in the same division as he continued walking to the building.

First day of the new semester, and so far, it has been great.

Will, was happy.