*Huge A/N at bottom*

Nico's POV

I spent the first week being stunned by the emptiness of the camp. After that, I had taken to hanging out with Leo and Calypso, because they were some of the only people there. A certain Goddess also spoke to me concerning more important matters. Grover, Percy's satyr friend, became something of an acquaintance to me, and Jason visited every once in a while, although he spent most of his time with Piper and her dad or building shrines. Hazel told me that she'd visit once a month with Reyna and Frank. Percy and Annabeth were spending the first half of the year at his mom's house, and the second half at her dad's house.

I had Iris-messaged Will twice so far. We were both in our rooms, doors locked. It was kind of sad, because I wanted to at least be able to punch him in the shoulder when he made a really bad joke. Instead, I had to settle for my Death Glare, which didn't seem to be effective. It was probably because the intensity was diluted through the message, because I was definitely not going soft. He told me about his school, and how he and Cecil got to kill their least favorite teacher, who turned out to be a monster, and I told him about how it was in CHB during the school year. There were a few campers with no family to go back to, and we all became friends, lest we be completely lonely and isolated for around nine months. Strange how easily I can just call someone a friend now. Although to be honest, I could probably deal with being alone for a couple of months.

Chiron told us that we weren't required to train, but I did anyways. I sparred with an Ares girl named Kaylee Stormguarde. She kicks my derrière every time, but I bet her five drachmas that I could win by February.

I also learned a bunch about first aid from Alex Light, an Apollo boy with an ironic last name. Will is going to be impressed next summer.

Weeks turned into months, and my schedule stayed the same. Leo became a good friend, but things were getting boring. When Christmas Eve rolled around, I broke out my old aviator jacket, which would soon be too small. I decided to visit Will via Shadow travel, but my arrival was slightly less exciting when my ankle got twisted. Actually, I should be surprised that I easily traveled a thousand miles. But I shrugged it off. His mom, who was a nurse that looked almost exactly like Will and Apollo (except female), saw me randomly appear in her yard and flipped out until I explained that I wasn't a monster, but a demigod. Will healed me while ranting about how I shouldn't put so much strain on myself and to be careful and blah, blah, blah.

I was only planning on staying to say hi, possibly sneak into his room and talk about more serious things, but his mom asked me to stay for Christmas Eve's dinner and I politely agreed.

"Will, honey, show Nico your room, won't you?" She asked him, bustling around the kitchen. We shared a smirk and stepped into his room, closing the door. There were posters from a few different popular music artists, but I rarely kept up with that sort of thing. His bedspread was bright yellow.

"Does that thing glow in the dark?" I demanded, pointing at it. It offended my eyes. To my amusement, I had already grown almost as tall as Will, as I noticed when he stood directly before me.

"I've missed you," He sighed, locking the door to hide us from his mother, and I linked my fingers behind his waist while he brushed a few stray strands of hair out of my face. Holding me close, his clear blue eyes shone like the sky on a cloudless summer day, the kind that you believe will never end. That it will be forever. "Have you been okay? I hope you haven't been moping around camp."

"I've been fine." I frowned at him. I wasn't that negative!

"Good. Uh, is it okay if I…?" He turned pink, and I realized that neither of us knew how to behave. Sure, I usually didn't appreciate being touched, but this was Will.

"It is," I agreed softly, and he kissed my forehead, and then my nose, and they he planted his lips on mine. I lifted my chin, making his lip move to my throat. He faltered, uncertainty playing on his face.

"I'm sorry, I still don't really know what I'm doing, Angel."

"Angel?"

"Uh, you know, di Angelo, Angel?"

"What a joke." I snorted. Irony. The struggle was real. "Anyways, I'm still fourteen! Or ninety… never mind. I don't know what I'm doing either!"

Will kissed my jaw, and I pulled his mouth back to mine, the awkward tentativeness fading somewhat.

"You're so amazing, Nico." He sighed, tracing some sort of design on my cheek. His mom knocked on the door and we jumped away from each other, Will trying to fix his hair and me trying to pull down my shirt, which had gotten tugged up a bit. "One second, Mom!" He called. Glancing at me, his eyes bugged out of his head.

"What?" I mouthed.

"Oh my gods I'm so sorry I didn't mean to we're screwed!" He hissed, all in one breath without pausing.

"What?" I breathed back.

"I-" He swallowed hard. "Left a mark?"

I angled myself so that I could see my reflection in his window and managed to locate it. What the actual f… something-Hazel-would-not-approve-of.

"Tell her that I left really quick to go do something," I whispered. Seeing him nod, I shadow traveled out of there at the speed of light, returning to Camp Half Blood in a flash.

I dashed to the Aphrodite cabin with shadows still winding around my legs, unable to believe how low I'd sunk. I might just kill Will Solace. As in, honest to Gods murder.

"Minnie! I need help! I'll tell you everything later." I wailed.

The only girl that was still inhabiting the cabin came out of her room, shivering in the cold winter air. "Di Angelo? What-?" She saw it. "Oh. Someone's been naughty. Who is she?"

"Please, is there a way to cover it up?" I asked urgently. She got a determined expression. An Aphrodite girl on a mission could be a scary thing. Especially if you knew Piper.

"Stay right there."

Five minutes later, she'd put concealer, or foundation, or whatever it was on the purple splotch. "You can't even tell," She said proudly. I thanked her and made her swear secrecy repeatedly on the River Styx.

I shadow traveled straight into Will's dining room, almost landing on him. He grabbed my hand to catch me as I swayed, light-headed after using my powers so much.

"Stop doing so much underworld-y stuff!" He complained, his hand passing through my chest for just a second before I completely solidified. Concern shifted his features. Seeing his mom staring at him, he explained, "I was his doctor when he almost faded."

"Faded?" She squawked.

"Yeah. I brought the statue of Athena across countries and continents with a Roman Praetor girl and a violent satyr to save the relationship between the Greeks and Romans, causing them to team up and help destroy the Earth Goddess, Gaea. After this guy threatened my friend, I got so angry that I basically killed him and turned him into a mindless ghost. So I started turning into shadow when I used too much power, which I had been for a few weeks. It was only after that that it got really bad. Don't worry, though, my powers have become incredibly weakened now." I said nonchalantly in one breath as Will infused me with healing magic. His eyes laughed at my bored tone.

"And this was during the Giant War that Will told me about?" She asked, earning a lot of respect from me for sounding unaffected.

"Yep, just this summer."

"How did you become friends?"

"I think that it was when we bumped into each other on our way to stop the insane Roman auger from killing the Greeks."

"Naturally," She laughed. "Feel free to sit down. I know it's not much, but it's usually just Will and I."

I eyed the large ham. Not much? "No, this is amazing, thank you so much Ms. Solace."

"It's nice to have a guest around." She responded brightly.

We ate mostly in silence, until Will's mom decided to start conversation again. "How old are you?" She asked.

"I'm fifteen in January, actually."

"Oh, Will is going to be sixteen in May." She commented. Will and I glanced at each other. "So, Nico, what do you plan on doing once you're too old to go to camp?"

"Uh, I actually might want to be an ambassador between the Greeks and Romans, I guess. I don't have any steady money income, an address, or a family."

"Oh dear, I'm very sorry. What happened?" She looked terribly sad for me.

I blushed as Will hissed to his mother, "Don't ask him that, he'll feel obligated to answer and it'll make him feel awful."

"It's fine," I told him gently. And so I told my secret boyfriend's mother my general life story, as Will listened and ate in silence and she stared, pity and horror warring on her face. I only left out the part about being homosexual and crushing on Percy. Wouldn't want to throw her off with that fact out of nowhere.

After a few minutes, she found her voice. "I'm so sorry. It's a miracle you can even function with that much trauma at such a young age." This only made me feel more awkward.

I smiled tightly. "Things have been getting better for me." Will's hand found mine under the table and squeezed it tight.

"Will wants to be either a doctor or a music artist. I suggested doctor, of course. Those singer types tend to be oddball fags. Will's not much of a singer anyways. Didn't get any of Apollo's talent other than healing." I'd stopped listening by then, unbelieving of what I had heard.

With that one word, everything shattered. "What?" I asked, reigning in my shock and hurt. Will's face was white.

"Oh, I'm sorry if you support their rights or whatever, in my "old fashioned" opinion, it just isn't right. I don't know why anyone would make that choice." It was clear that Will didn't know that his mother was homophobic.

Before I could say anything, Will blurted, "Apollo isn't really specific, he's bi."

"Yes, but…he's a god." She said, sounding less certain. I could tell that she already knew this, though.

I stood up, having finished my food. "Well, it's been great to meet you, m'am, but I really must get going," I said in a fake apologetic voice, "Thank you for having me, and have a Merry Christmas."

"Thanks, Neeks," He said weakly, his eyes flat. I gave him a little nod.

"Bye."

"Feel free to visit soon," Ms. Solace said energetically, unaware of the unease and emotional baggage she'd left in her wake.

I told Minnie everything, as promised, and made her swear not to tell anyone. Again. She agreed, looking at me pityingly. I. Was. So. Tired. Of. Pity. Something dark stirred in me as my anger swelled. But I shoved it down. I needed to change. I had to learn how to control my emotions in a better way than this.

"I'm really sorry, man." Leo sighed, hand on my shoulder. "I don't know what to tell you." I'd told him and Calypso about the fag comment but not about Will and my relationship with him. Leo was a good person, but it wasn't the time or place.

Callie's (what she now asked me to call her) dark, almond shaped eyes glowed with warmth. I couldn't believe that she'd been exiled to Ogygia, since she was such a sweet person. She gave me a little hug, sympathetic. Once she knew more about me and I knew more about her, we were starting to become good friends. Two previously lonely people. "I know how it feels to be judged, and to be attacked emotionally. We all have." I nodded, grateful. She hadn't even batted an eye when I said that I was homosexual.

"Yeah, don't let it bother you." Leo added, glad that Callie had taken the reigns. Like me, comforting people wasn't his strong suit. We were alike in that way. He was more comfortable with machines, and I was more comfortable with the dead, although I hated myself for it.

"Thanks. It's not like it's a tragedy, but it's a mood-killer."

"Let's go and join the Christmas Campfire! I rigged it so that it's red and green for tonight only." Leo grinned, looking eerily like one on Santa's Latino elves. Without giving me a chance to protest, the two of them grabbed me by the arms and practically dragged me there.

There were only around thirty people in the camp, but Chiron still made a speech. We roasted marshmallows for a while, speculating about what would happen this summer. Everyone agreed that a peaceful summer was highly unlikely, but we all wished for one after the last two. I felt very out of my element in a situation like this, surrounded by people, but I managed to socialize a bit, hopefully without seeming like an emo asshole who hates everything.

Leo punctuated the serious conversation with a shout as he realized that the marshmallow he'd just put in his mouth was on fire. I snickered along with everyone else, earning a few glances. They were still getting used to my improving demeanor.

"Time for Christmas carols!" Alex announced, standing in the middle to lead like a conductor. The flames began to rise higher, the eye-scorching colors burning my retinas. In a different situation, I would've questioned how Leo made fire unnatural neon colors, but for today I let him have his moment.

"I hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too," Everyone sang, their voices harmonizing surprisingly well. Except for me, that is. I just blinked, clenching my jaws together. Leo elbowed me.

Fine, I would do it. For Will, because he made me promise to join the campfire songs. The things I did for that boy. "Come on it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you," My voice sounded higher than I'd expected, causing me to falter, cheeks burning. But no one looked at me weirdly, so I just continued, trying to stay quiet and hard-to-hear.

At the end of the song, everyone started grinning and laughing at themselves like a bunch of silly children. Even I cracked a smile, which I quickly smothered. "You were pretty good," Callie whispered to me.

"Yeah, right. I probably sounded like a dying cat." I mocked myself good-naturedly.

She denied it, but I insisted that she didn't have to make me feel better about myself. When we were all dismissed back to the cabins, I took out a drachma and headed over to a little fountain in the corner with a light shining over it, making a rainbow. It looked a bit ridiculous in the dark Hades cabin, to be honest, but I thanked Iris for making the cabin all the brighter. And Leo, for building it.

Now it was time to try something new that Percy suggested. Feeling a bit stupid, I pronounced in an official-ish voice, "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Will Solace in Tampa, Florida."

"As you wish," I heard a playful, female voice giggle, and Will's face fizzled into view.

A/N: So, um, sorry for taking so long? *dodges tomatoes* Yeah, I'm sorry that this wasn't all that great. The thing is, I have this entire story mostly typed out on my Pages app - 33,000 words and everything, and if I were to change too much then I'd have to go and change details for all of those pages of text. And that might take a looong time. This was originally two chapters, but I decided that I at least owed you people this. I will now acknowledge the fact that this is slightly OOC *bows*. So, here's the time when you guys decide what happens with this fic. Long chapters and updates every week or so, or shorter chapters and … this is hard to attain… BIWEEKLY updates! Whoa, look at me, making deals that I may not be able to keep! Seriously, though, I do try. I just got distracted with other stories and… school! You guessed it! Here's a million dollars (or whatever currency you have in your country)! *Throws fistfuls of cash* Thanks for reading and generally being epic for actually being here at chapter 6 of BlazingFlames22's ramblings and excuses, and stay awesome ;)