"And where do you think you're going? "
"To raise an army of the undead, obviously!"
"Oh, no you don't! You are in no condition to-"
"It's been three weeks Will! I'm fine! Stop following me around like I'm about to faint any second!"
"You are going to faint any second if you don't rest!"
Will Solace, a son of Apollo, was relentless in his pursue to make sure the son of Hades got some much needed rest. Nico di Angelo was many things, even patient when he needed to be, but the Apollo healer was really pushing it.
"Hey, wait!"
Nico stopped and turned to face Will. He always felt strange whenever he was with Will. Just seeing him filled Nico's stomach with butterflies, which he didn't understand why. However, he had to admit to himself that Will was a pleasant sight to see. Will has a body like a surfer, much like his father, Apollo. He has shaggy blond hair and sky blue eyes. He looks similar to Jason Grace, except for the surfer-body and with longer, messier hair. Will also has an athletic build. He was dressed casually in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and shorts. His expression was nothing short of unconcealed irritation. He huffed and crossed his arms as he stared back at Nico.
Nico didn't dress to impress either. After his aviator's jacket and skull-pattern shirt were torn to shreds in his spectacular adventure in Puerto Rico, he was forced to wear an embarrassing tropical Puerto Rican shirt, with decorated parrots and palm trees, and with Isla del Encantorico written on it. Will had to admit that seeing the Ghost King wearing a bright, tropical shirt like he was about to go vacationing at a resort was an enlightening experience. He can only imagine how humiliating that must have been for Nico to wear such a thing. But alas, all great experiences had to end sooner or later. After the war with Gaea was over and everything had settled down, Nico replaced his Puerto Rican shirt with a Camp-Half Blood shirt. Nico was all ready to tear that embarrassing shirt to shreds and burn it, but Coach Hedge had stopped him. He said Nico should keep it as a souvenir, which only made Nico want to tear it up even more. So in the end, it was decided that Coach Hedge would keep it in memory of his journey with Nico, and his bravery throughout the war. Nico didn't argue. He just let Coach Hedge take it. As long as that vile clothing was out of his sight, he would be fine. He still wore his black jeans with his Stygian iron sword strapped to his side on his chain belt. The pure ebony blade that can raise the dead, and emits the aura of darkness and death. He also wears a skull ring that he received from his father, Hades. Other than that, Nico had unruly, messy pitch-black hair as if he just got out of bed. He had olive green eyes with dark spots under them, like he hasn't slept well in a few days. His skin was ghostly pale, and his cheeks were sunken in a little. Nico looked much worse during the war, and it hurt Will seeing him like that. After the war, Will demanded Nico to stay at the infirmary for at least 3 days to heal and get him looking less like death incarnated with a serious sarcasm disease, and more like a healthy, living human. Although his sarcasm hasn't lessen a bit in the slightest, Nico looks a hundred times better than he did then, and that's all thanks to Will. To be honest, Nico had to be one of, if not, the most stubborn patient Will has ever had. It certainly wasn't helping the fact that Nico stood here and continued to be stubborn.
Nico sent him a glare that would have made anyone, save maybe Percy or even Jason, freeze on the spot and break out in a cold sweat. However, Will didn't so much as flinch and, instead, held his gaze.
What's with this guy?
Everybody is scared of Nico. Everybody feels uneasy or nervous around him. And they should be. He's the son of Hades, God of the Underworld. He can summon an army of the undead whenever he wanted. He can rip apart the ground and have the condemned souls of Asphodel suck the very life out of anyone and drag them to Tartarus in the blink of an eye. He's the epitome of death and sorrow. No one would even want to come within ten miles of him. No one...except Will.
"What do you want, Solace?"
Will looked at him with an annoyed expression, but Nico could see the worry in his eyes.
"Don't give me that attitude! All I'm trying to do is help you, and here you are just pushing me away and shrugging off my efforts at helping you." Will waved his arms around in an exasperated fashion.
"I didn't ask for your help."
Only after saying that did he realized it came out a little too harsh. Will had a hurt expression on his face, and Nico mentally slapped himself for that. Then he questioned why he even cared. Since when did he care if he acted cold towards someone?
"Fine...if that's how you feel." The hurt was apparent in Will's voice as he dropped his gaze to the ground. That made Nico feel even worse.
Will turned around, and began to walk away. Nico cursed himself.
"Wait!" Nico said, and was there a slight hint of desperation in his voice? Impossible.
Will stopped and turned around to face him. Nico didn't understand why he felt guilty, and it irritated him. He shouldn't care so much...but he did, and that just irritated him even more.
"I'm sorry."
Will blinked and just stared at him. He just kept staring and staring at Nico for what felt like hours. Nico guessed Will didn't hear him, so he tried again.
"I said I'm sorry."
Again, Will just kept staring at Nico without uttering a single word. Nico's patience was wearing thin. Will's blank stare was nerve racking. If he didn't say anything, Nico was going to lose it.
"Say something!", Nico all but screamed at Will, which seemed to have the intended effect. Will seemed to snap out of the dazed state he was in. Will shook his head before he finally looked back at Nico.
Without saying anything, Will just walked towards Nico and raised his hand to place it against Nico's forehead, as if checking his temperature. Nico flinched at the contact and stepped back. The touch sent a warm jolt through his body that he didn't know how to react to.
"What are you doing?!" Nico shouted at Will, being caught off guard by the sudden contact.
"Sorry. It's just...are you okay?" Will asked with a confused, yet worried tone. His expression was no different.
"What? Of course I'm fine! Did you think I was dying or something?" Nico questioned sarcastically. He just went out of his way to apologize to this guy, and
what he gets in return is a blank stare, physical contact, and a stupid question. This is one of the many reasons why Nico didn't apologize to people. All he gets in return is sheer stupidity.
"Well...I just didn't expect you to apologize for being a selfish jerk," Will answered. He didn't bat an eye as Nico sent another death glare at him.
Selfish jerk? Is that what Will thought of him? That Nico was nothing more than someone who would just take advantage of people and only think about himself?
'Does he really think I'm that ungrateful and shallow?' Nico thought to himself.
"Hey are you okay?" Will questioned him again, noting Nico's sudden quietness. Nico hardened his gaze at him. Will held his gaze, but felt bad for some reason.
"I'm fine." Nico stated coldly, emotionlessly. He turned around, and started heading back to his cabin. He fully intended on leaving Will standing there like an idiot without so much as a look over his shoulder. He was done with his nonsense. He just wanted to go back to his cabin and do anything if it meant getting away from Will. His presence was making him uneasy, and Nico hated it.
"Wait, Nico! Where are you going?" Will yelled at Nico as he saw him walking away, without so much as a glance back at him. Will felt even worse. He didn't mean to make Nico feel bad or anything. He just wanted to help him. He thought about following him, but decided against it. Nico wouldn't be in the mood to talk. Will finally decided to leave him alone, and turned around to make his way back to his cabin. When he turned his head back to see Nico, he was already gone.