AN: Trigger warning for self harm

Nico got home from school and immediately went to the room they all shared, his anxiety making the most out of him. Will had invited him…but why? Was it just so he could make a fool out of him, or did he really care? Either way, Nico couldn't make up his mind and it was killing him from the inside out.

Shakily, he picked up clothes before stepping in the bathroom, turning the shower on before sitting on the floor with his back to the door. Rolling up his sleeve to reveal all his past mistakes, he brought a razor out from the drawer and let it hover above his exposed wrist.

"What am I doing?" Nico whispered to himself. "I'm a year clean. I shouldn't be doing this."

He didn't listen to himself, knowing that the flow of blood would rest his aching heart and slow it for a bit. Maybe, with the metallic liquid, he could make up his mind about Will.

He didn't even know his last name and he was letting him do this to him.

Nico slid the razor across his wrist in one fluid motion, sighing in pleasure as the old sensation of it came rocketing back. Oh, how he missed it. This feeling…it was the only thing that kept him here. It was the only thing that calmed him down when no one else could, the thing he had tea with in the afternoon and the thing he slept with at night. How had he let himself abandon it for a year?

He cut himself again, and again, and again. God, how he missed it. He almost laughed at the feeling, but then noticed how it started to stain the floor around him.

Standing up slowly, Nico took his clothes off before stepping in the shower, the blood running from his wrists and down the drain. He watched it as if in a trance, slowly sinking to his knees.

"Nico, you almost done?" Percy called, banging on the door.

"Yeah!" Nico called, panicking again as he jumped from the shower and held the towel to his wrist to stop the bleeding. "I'll be out soon."

Nico bandaged it up sloppily before throwing his clothes on, making sure to wear a long sleeved shirt. The one person he couldn't afford to find out was Percy. If he did…Nico might as well had killed himself.

"I'm going to a party." Nico called to them. "Don't know when I'll be back. Hopefully I'll get killed."

They all laughed, thinking it was a joke. Nico always "joked" about things like that. But was he really joking?

Nico hitched a cab that took him to Will's house, which ended up being bigger than he imagined. He walked up to the door sheepishly, unsure how invited he would be. Would Will's friends like him? Part of him urged him to run away, but Nico ended up ringing the doorbell that night, which ended up being one of the things he thanked God he ended up doing. Well, in the end, at least.

Will opened the door, wearing a dress shirt and sweat pants, which really didn't go. Both were yellow, which caused Nico to visibly cringe. Will didn't seem to notice, however, while welcoming him in like an old friend. He dragged him to the group sitting on the couch, his hand on Nico's wrist the whole time.

Nico had to bite back from crying out in pain, slowly prying Will's hand off him. We he noticed what he was doing, Will let go immediately, blushing from embarrassment.

"This is Nico di Angelo." he introduced. "Nico, this is Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Grover, Selina, Reyna, Thalia, and Chris."

Nico nodded at them. "Hi."

Piper squealed, running up to him for a hug. "You're our friend now, since Will freaking Solace befriended you! It's too late to get out, so make the most of it. We sit at the table on the east side at lunch, so you better be there tomorrow."

Nico coughed awkwardly. "Okay…So, what's this party for, anyway?"

Piper pulled back. "To mourn the beginning of school, duh."

Nico decided then that he liked them, after all.

"Nico di Angelo." Nico turned to see another blonde coming forward, tripping over himself with a drink in his hand. "You're prettier in person. That's what Wi-"

Will covered his mouth with his hand, smacking the cup out of the boy's hand. "What did I tell you, Dakota? No alcohol. My dad will kill me."

"That's what you always say." Dakota responded after licking Will's hand to get it away. "But you're still alive."

He staggered off, leaving the others to laugh at a blushing Nico and a embarrassed Will.

"When have I been pretty?" Nico asked, causing them to burst out laughing again.

"Do you want some pop?" Will asked him, leading him into the kitchen before he could protest. Once they were alone, he sighed in relief and leaned up against the counter. "Sorry about them. They can be a handful, sometimes."

Nico smiled. "I like them."

"Really?" Will perked his head up. "So you don't mind being friends with me?"

Nico smirked. "Well, I didn't say that."

Will smacked his arm. "Shut up."

"Hey, do you have any more of that alcohol?" Nico asked him.

Will looked confused. "We're all underage."

"So?" Nico asked. "That's only because of where we live. So, what do you say?"

Will sighed dramatically before opening the fridge, pulling two beers out. He handed one to Nico, who took it gratefully.

Ten minutes later, they were both wasted with the party still at full blast and empty beer bottles around them.

"So, Wi-ill." Nico sang his name, staring up at the ceiling from where he lay on the floor. "You're funny looking."

Will army crawled over to him, sticking his face in his. "Why's that, emo?"

Nico laughed drunkenly, putting a hand up to Will's face and closing one of his eyes. "You're pretty. You make me feel nice."

Will waved his hand away. "Yeah?"

Nico nodded. "Why is that? Why do humans do this to each other?"

"Because." Will was fully on him then, their faces inches apart. "There is no stars without the dark."

And with that, he kissed him, sloppily moving his lips across his. Nico didn't mind, however, kissing back with too much passion. The way Will made him feel…he was lighting up.

"Will-oh," Piper stifled a laugh when she saw them. "Boys, it's time to separate."

She pulled them apart, carrying the now sleeping Will away. Then, she looked down at Nico before pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing Percy's number.

"Hello?" he answered with what sounded like a mouth full of food.

"Percy Jackson, this is Piper McLean." she introduced herself. "Nico's lying on the floor wasted, so I was thinking you should come get him."

Percy sighed into his phone. "What's the address?"

She told him and hung up, slipping the phone back into the teen's pocket. He was staring at the ceiling, mumbling about stars and the moon. She smiled in humor before having Leo take Will to his room. When Leo came back down, Percy had finally gotten there and carried the younger boy out on his back, thanking her for telling him.

Piper went to bed that night with plans on how to get the two boys together when they were sober.