Hey everyone!

Hazel hugged Nico. "Take care of yourself," she said.

Nico grinned as she stepped back. "Don't worry, I will," he promised. "Be sure to visit soon?"

Hazel grinned. "I won't need to," she winked, and then leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Don't tell anyone – it's still a plan in progress – but Frank and Reyna are organizing the first disco for both camps with Chiron. It should take place sometime in the next month or so." She stood back.

"Seriously?" Nico couldn't believe it – he was actually excited about something. "When? Where? Here or Camp Jupiter?"

Hazel put a finger to her lips. "Don't know," she mouthed, and then turned and walked up the hill to where Frank and Reyna were waiting for her, next to a black SUV parked next to Thalia's pine tree.

"Iris-message me!" Nico called as she got in the SUV.

Hazel shot him one last nod and waved, and then the car doors closed. Reyna got behind the wheel, beeped twice, and then the SUV pulled away from Half-Blood Hill, heading towards New York. The three of them would take a plane from JFK International Airport back to San Francisco.

Nico watched after them for a while, and then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." It was Will. "You'll see her again real soon, you know."

"Yeah," Nico grinned. "That's true." Will had a knack for making Nico's melancholy go away.

"Anyway." The son of Apollo tapped his nose mysteriously. "We still on for heading into the city?"

Nico hadn't forgotten – the idea of going anywhere with Will, just the two of them, was thrilling. "Absolutely. When?"

"If all goes well, the day after tomorrow. What do you say?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Will raised an eyebrow, impressed with Nico's enthusiasm. "Hold your horses, son of Hades. We still need to get our stuff together – get our weapons and stuff in order, in case we get attacked or anything, you know?"

"You're in good hands," Nico promised. "Did I mention I can raise skeletons out of the ground?"

Will laughed, and Nico's heart went ka-thump. "Sure, man. Okay."

~~ Page Break ~~

"Okay, let's go."

Jason watched as Nico and Will got into one of Camp Half-Blood's many pickup trucks, with Will at the wheel. His forehead was creased in worry. "I don't know, guys. Two demigods alone outside of the camps, in one of the biggest cities in the world? There's still a lot of monster activity after the war with Gaia. Did you guys hear about the rogue Cyclops in Moscow who – "

"Jason," Nico said, "appreciate the concern, but we're heading to New York, not Moscow. And haven't you got some more shrines to plan?"

Jason glanced down at his notes. "Well, Kym's shrine is done, so next we've got Boreas to worry about and – hey!"

Nico and Will had peeled away and were shooting toward the city.

Manhattan amazed Nico. He'd been here before, of course – this was where the final showdown against Kronos had occurred – but now it was normal and bustling, not enchanted and churning with demigods, monsters and Titans as the mortals slept in their cars.

He and Will parked the pickup truck and went to explore the city.

"I can't remember the last time I was here, besides the Titan War," Will remarked.

"You hardly ever leave Camp Half-Blood, do you?"

Will shook his head sorrowfully.

"Then you're in for a treat. Nico here is going to show you the town."

And he did. They went to Rockefeller Centre and watched and laughed as baffled foreign tourists tried to find their way around the city. They visited Times Square and stared at the flashing neon billboards – not that they could make much sense of them, being dyslexic demigods. The afternoon found them sitting in Central Park, enjoying the sunshine.

"The sunshine's so weak," Nico complained. "Isn't there anything you can do about it, son of Apollo?" He looked up hopefully.

"What kind of almighty demigod do you take me for?" Will muttered, and Nico laughed.

The fast-approaching winter meant that New York had turned very chilly, and the sun was setting. Soon, they'd have to leave and get going – night time was party time for monsters, especially monsters with demigod scent in their nostrils.

"I can't believe the war has been over for months," Nico breathed. "Makes you appreciate what you have, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." With a start, Nico realized Will was looking right at him. There was an unfamiliar twinkle in his eyes that Nico hadn't noticed there before.

Suddenly, Will was leaning in. Nico couldn't breathe, couldn't move, there was nothing to do but stare as Will got closer and closer, and then suddenly he was pushing away, scrambling backwards and panting.

Will sat back, looking confused. "What – "

"Don't." Nico's voice was very small. "Please."

The confusion in Will's eyes started turning to hurt. "But every time I tested it, you seemed to feel the same way I did – "

"I – "

"What's wrong, Nico?"

Nico paused. "I don't know how I feel."

There was silence, and then Will's voice grew harder. "You don't know how you feel?"

"I don't think of you as just a friend anymore," Nico whispered. "But I can't do this."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll leave me!" Nico blurted out. "There's no way you could like me. You're one of the most popular kids at camp, son of Apollo, funny, silly, and so, so cute; and I'm me. Son of Hades. Everyone thinks I'm a freak."

"This again!" Will threw his hands up in frustration. "Nico, when will you accept that nobody feels that way about you anymore? You've earned everyone's trust, and anybody who isn't an idiot knows that the fact that Hades is your father doesn't matter."

"Still." Nico's voice trembled. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but he forced himself to say it anyway. "I can't accept that you like me. I'm just not ready to be hurt again."

"So you're too scared of rejection to open yourself up to me. And you expect me to hurt you in the end."

When Nico didn't answer, Will stood up. His expression, joking and open just a few minutes before, was now cool and distant. "It's getting dark. We'd best head back to the pickup truck."

All Nico could do was follow.

I've spent some time mapping out roughly where I want this story to go, and I think I have some idea by now :) For now, leave me some reviews!