These characters belong to the wonderful Mr. Rick Riordan.
chapter three:
Nico's pov:
It had been almost a month since Nico first began working at Cafe Rosalyn. No matter how hard he tried, Nico couldn't help having feelings for Will. Every time Will smiled, which was quite a lot, even for a son of Apollo, Nico could practically feel his heart breaking. It was alright, though. Nobody would find out, and Nico was sure these feelings would pass. But when?
Will's pov:
The date was December twenty fourth, Christmas Eve. After spending so much time with Nico at work, Will thought it was only fair to invite him to the Christmas party he was hosting. Technically, it was more of a get together, since the only people attending, other than Will and Nico, were Cecil, Lou Ellen and Kayla. He was excited because he hadn't seen them in so long, and because they hardly knew Nico. The decorations were already set up around the house, the presents placed underneath the tree, and the eggnog and hot chocolate was heating up on the the stove. Now all he and to do was wait…
Nico's pov:
Nico picked up a shirt carefully and inspected it. It was fine, other than the fact that it was about as un-Christmas-y as you can get. He usually wasn't one to spend a lot of time picking out clothing, but Will's party thingy seemed important, and it was the only celebrating Nico would be doing this holiday.
He began to dig through his closet, throwing things down just as fast as he picked them up. Nothing seemed right for the occasion. After a couple minutes, though, Nico saw something sticking out from beneath the remaining clothing. It was a sweater. Black, like the rest of the clothing it his closet, but instead of a skull, there was a snowflake pattern on it. Nico picked it up like it was the thing that would one day save his life, and whooped joyfully. The sweater had been a present from Hazel last christmas, something that had made them laugh, and he'd completely forgotten about it until now.
Nico pulled on the sweater, and looked in the mirror. His outfit consisted of the Miracle Sweater, black jeans, his aviator jacket and boots. He mussed up his hair a bit and grabbed his keys, it was time to go.
Will's apartment was not that far away from Nico's. It was far enough, though, that Nico decided he should probably take a bus. The nearest bus stop was at the edge of the park, and Nico jogged there, trying to keep warm. Only one other person was at the bus stop; a middle aged woman with grey streaks in her hair and bright green eyes. She was holding a handbag in one hand, and a pastry bag in the other. Nico noticed that she kept looking over at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention.
Weird he thought, trying to act like he hadn't realized what she was doing. She got on the same bus as Nico, but got off a few stops earlier. Nico got a strange feeling from her, and drew the conclusion that she was probably some kind of monster.
As he waited on the bus, Nico texted Hazel.
NicoD: hey ill be busy tonight w/ friends so i wont respond to your texts. merry christmas eve!
A couple minutes past without Hazel texting him back, so she was probably doing some Christmas celebration with the other people in New Rome.
Finally the bus arrived near Will's house, and Nico got off. He looked down at the address Will had texted him, then started walking right along the snow covered sidewalk. The apartments on the block were all made of brick and looked pretty ancient, and the gardens and trees beside them were well maintained and very nice, in a simple, old fashioned kind of way. If it weren't for the cars and lights ringing the buildings, Nico would have felt like he was stepping into a memory.
After a minute or so Nico reached Will's home. He rang the buzzer.
"Hello?" Will's voice rang through the phone.
"Hey Will. It's Nico. I'm downstairs."
"Oh hey Nico. I'll ring you up. See you soon!" The phone clicked and the door opened. Nico hesitated and took a deep breath. Then he walked inside.
I just wanted to thank all the people who left reviews; it's really nice knowing that people are out there enjoying my stories. Thank you! Also sorry about the short chapter, I'll try to post a longer one next time.