"No way. Seriously?" Will laughed. "You mean to tell me that your middle name isn't Darkness or Death Boy? No 'I'm Nico di Angelo and black is my middle name, just like my soul and wardrobe choices'?"
Nico shrugged and grinned. He'd been doing a lot more of that lately, Will was glad to note. The two boys sat in the lush green grass of Camp Half-Blood, bathed in the light of the dying sun.
"Mario. As in the video game character? You're Nico Mario di Angelo," Will said, disbelief coloring his tone.
"My sister's middle name was Maria," Nico laughed. "I think my mother hoped that by giving us at least close middle name, we'd grow up to be close too. Well, it worked. We were always together, playing and running around and generally making things difficult for our mom. She didn't mind, though. She always said we were her two little angels." His deep brown eyes grew wistful.
Nico really was an angel, Will thought. He almost said it aloud, but wasn't sure how Nico would take it. As time went on, Will's fondness for Nico had grown larger, until the skinny dark-clad boy with the slightly messy black fringe had taken up a permanent residence in the back of Will's mind.
"What about you?" Will had gotten lost in his thoughts, so Nico's voice startled him.
"Grayson." Will covered his face in his hands as Nico snorted. "I know, I know, just like the book. My mom really likes reading, okay?"
Nico cracked a smile and chuckled.
"Okay, that makes me feel a little better about mine."
"Oh, shut up!"
While they were laughing, the sun vanished behind the forest, and the twinkling stars came out. Will smiled, his vision from ages ago coming true. It was him and Nico and the stars. Except this time, Will noticed that Nico was even more beautiful than the view of the sparkling nighttime sky.
"Being around you makes me happy and I just want you to be happy too." Will's words from a few days ago echoed around in Nico's head. I make him happy. The thought warmed Nico's heart and made him unable to stop smiling. He cares about me. But what was Nico going to do? He couldn't keep denying that he was fine being just friends with Will, because he wasn't. When they were together, it was all Nico could do to not stare at him. He craved Will's touch, and whenever they brushed hands his heart jumped a little. Eye contact for more than a few seconds made him blush and turn away. He kept imagining those soft-looking lips, and Nico couldn't help being distracted by the strong, muscular body that was next to him whenever they were near. He had to do something. It took all he could to act normally around Will, to pretend his heart didn't leap whenever the handsome archer was in his sight, to act like he didn't have a massive crush on his best friend. Gods, what am I going to do?
Hazel was with Frank, taking a romantic walk down by the beach of Camp Jupiter. The river was quietly rippling, doves were cooing in the trees, Frank was rubbing her shoulders to keep her from getting cold, and all was wonderful. She was about to whisper in his ear that perhaps they should find a more private area, when all of a sudden she heard a crash coming from behind them. She whipped around, reaching for her knife, peering into the evening light, when she heard Frank's confused voice. "Nico?" he gasped incredulously. Hazel dropped Frank's hand and raced over to where her half-brother was lying on the sand, coughing. "Hey… Hazel," he smiled faintly, before collapsing.
Nico woke up to Hazel standing above him with her arms crossed, a glare in her eyes. "You messed up my date with Frank, little brother, so this had better be good."
"Hey, don't call me that! And it's good to see you too, Hazel."
Giving up on her death stare, she smiled. "So what is it? I assume you didn't drop in just to see me."
"Ah, but I did!" Nico exclaimed. "I missed you. Plus, I had to make sure Frank's been treating you right. It's my duty as your brother," he said seriously.
Hazel rolled her eyes, waiting.
Nico sighed. "Okay, fine. I came to ask your advice on something new to me and… kinda big."
She gasped in delight. "Oh, Nico, what's his name? I'm so happy for you!"
"Um…" he blushed furiously. "Will. Will Solace. Remember the healer from the Apollo cabin? But I have no idea what his sexuality is and I think he thinks I'm straight and I don't know what to do… he's perfect and I'm not and I don't want things to end badly between us. I mean, sometimes I catch him staring at me when he thinks I'm not looking, but that could just be nothing. I have no clue what he even thinks of me!"
"Nico, tell me everything he's said to you since you two met. We'll figure out if he likes you back." His sister replied, a glint in her eyes.
A while later, Nico thanked and gave a farewell hug to Hazel, waved to Frank, and shadow traveled back to Camp Half-Blood with determination in his eyes.
END CHAPTER FOUR
