Wednesday, August 27th

It had been an exhausting day. Nico was trudging along dejectedly to his dorm after his Economics class finally ended, THIRTY MINUTES after it was supposed to. The Doctor decided it was his duty of the day to enlighten the class, or more specifically Rose, while the rest of the miserable bastards left in the room did an impressive job of becoming background decorations, on the importance of comprehending the basic fundamentals of theoretical time travel in the soon to be future, present, or past, depending on the dimension it would evolve from.

Whatever the hell that means, all Nico knows is that he was glad he checked out that extra book Calypso recommended, because as lost as he was now, he couldn't imagine where he would be if he didn't have it. He guessed that probability is stuck in an alternate dimension. Heh, get it?

... Nico also decided he needed to get out more.

His very bones were aching with exhaustion, a methodical pulse of numbing pain, leaving him to move his limbs sluggishly with monumental effort and his tread to become a weary shadow of what walking should actually look like. He was fairly certain his body was tilted to the left in a comical slant, but he ran out of shits to give after the day he had.

The past week he had been at SOCU, everything had been almost... easy. Although he was still horrified at the putrid colors the majority of the students on campus chose to wear and was assaulted by Dan, David, Dash, whatever the black haired kid's name in his English was, every class period and sometimes when he catches him passing through the lobby of the dorm building, he still found himself rather... enjoying it.

He had actually made friends, and within a week of being here no less, his roommate, though a total stoner and tree hugger was not a complete pain in the ass, he liked most of his classes, and there were places to get food around every corner. It seemed like college life was going to be easier than he thought. He was feeling good, confident, happy.

And then it fucked him over. He was sure that this day was forged by the fates in the pits of Tartarus with all intents and purposes to kill him, slowly and with as much pain as possible.

He was late getting up. Extremely late. As in his eight o'clock English class was halfway through that day's whole damn lesson plan by the time Nico managed to pry his eyes open.

When Nico busted through the classroom doors, in his sister's sweat pants he stole and wore to bed with the word 'juicy' written across his ass and one of his skull t-shirts that he had had since he was ten and thus left a good two inches of skin showing under the hem, Mrs. Dodds was viciously glaring at him for interrupting her mid-sentence and the class was already almost done with the lesson.

He might as well have stayed at his dorm for all he got out of showing up for that class, but he was hopeful that maybe he would be there to catch something at least. It turned out that 'something' he got for showing up was the near constant pestering of the black haired boy that chose to sit next to him because 'he was fun to mess with'. And mess with him he did, the cretin. He was either talking his ear off, poking his sides, slipping him notes, or telling highly sexual jokes in order to 'get a rise out of him'.

... And yes, that was one of them.

When class ended, the little shit followed him all the way to his next class, doing his best to be the biggest pain in the ass possible, until Nico finally cut him off at the Centaur statue and told him in no uncertain terms to fuck off. Which he did, after near tackling him into a hug that set Nico's teeth on edge.

He refused to look where he knew his friends were sitting and sat in the darkest corner of the room, glaring at anyone who dared to come too close. Even Percy seemed to take the hint and retreated after only taking a few steps in his direction, the malice in Nico's glare enough to make him flinch. That was probably the only good thing that came out of this whole fucking day; that nobody really messed with him after the whole Don-what's-his-face daily catastrophe. He took a nap for the entirety of the period and woke when the bell rang to a pounding headache, a dry mouth, bad breath, and pissed beyond belief. So even his respite from his shitty day was polluted with a bad aftertaste.

Then he had to endure the fiasco that was Econ. Enough said.

Now here he was, fiddling with his key card outside of his dorm, wanting nothing more than to collapse right where he stood and sleep until the sun decided to implode and destroy all that is life on earth, preferably with him being the first victim. He finally got the key into the slot and pushed down on it with such enthusiasm that minstrels were sure to write beautiful archaic songs about the ecstasy that was in his relief.

And then the heavens opened for Zeus himself to send a specialty bolt made out of pure ironic cruelty and puppy dog tears to strike him right on his posterior like the cherry on top of this hellacious day; he promptly broke the key card right in half, lickety-split, bam wham thank you ma'am, and go fuck yourself seven ways till Sunday, he really hates his life.

He had no earthly idea how he did not break down right there in the hall to shrivel and die because of how pathetic his existence is. He didn't even feel like crying anymore, just achingly numb and so done. If there should be any reprieve forthcoming, please let it be in the form of Percy mercifully being in the dorm and not making him wait hours for him to return because he doesn't think he has the energy to move to go get help.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying to dislodge it but only making it more pronounced. Praying to whatever deity that was listening that he would be allowed this one act of amnesty, he rapped his knuckles against the door and tried to stay standing straight. He almost cried in relief when he heard the scrape of metal signaling the knob was turning.

"Percy, thank-"

"Hey, Nico."

That... was not Percy.

Unearthly azure eyes, sparkling with mirth, were peering down at him from underneath unruly bangs. He was looming in the doorway of Nico's dorm room, wearing one of Nico's sweaters, and with a one of Nico's most prized books open in his hand. Now admittedly, any other day and the sight of Will in his clothes and looking so comfortable in his room was a sight that he would gladly welcome.

Unfortunately for them both, Nico had had enough for the day and honestly he just didn't have the energy to put up with Will's confusing flirtations. No, he could not do it. He leveled the fiercest glare he could muster while being practically dead on his feet and forcibly shoved his way past the annoying, beautiful little shit still beaming at him from the doorway, flouncing his way to his bed, plopping his ass down, hopefully for the night, and aggressively started to take off his shoes.

"Please tell me why the hell you are in my room, oh, and how you got in here, before you kindly escort yourself the fuck out." Nico carelessly threw his shoes over by the doorway, not exactly aiming for Will's figure still lurking by the open doorway but not exactly making a conscious effort to stop them from landing rather harshly against his shins.

Will finally closed the door, except his body was still in the room and not outside of it. The blue eyed man skipped over the shoes tossed at him and sat right next to Nico on the bed, brushing up against his shoulder. Thankfully he didn't go as far to push their hips together, because Will's presence in his room, lounging on his bed nonetheless, was doing dreadful things to Nico's mood, rapidly improving it even, and he would rather keep the negative aura about him for a little longer.

He scooted his way farther down the bed, only by a few inches so it wouldn't be too noticeable, but Will noticed anyway. Nico was staring determinably at a pair of discarded socks on the floor, trying to ignore the way the other boy shifted sideways until they were brushing shoulders again. Less subtle now, he threw himself all the way on the other side of the bed, shoved against the wall, and scoffed.

Will was not taking the hint, or perhaps he got what Nico was trying to do, but was choosing to ignore it. It was most likely the second, because he flung himself right back against Nico, pressing them together from their ankles to their hips, hips to shoulders, trapping him against his body and the wall. Well, there goes Nico's bad mood, burned away with the blush mounting on his cheeks.

Trying to keep some semblance of composure, Nico tried to pretend this was something that friends do all the time, press against and invade each other's personal space. How was he supposed to know if this was actually normal and he was just blowing it out of proportion? It's not like he ever had any close friends to act like this with. Bianca didn't count, so maybe it was a normal interaction to engage in social cuddles with people one considers more adequate to interact with than strangers.

But then again, he was fairly sure that wasn't the case because that was most definitely Will's hand on his upper thigh and he most certainly had Will's tongue down his throat last weekend.

Oh, and apparently his hand was a cat because the only word Nico could think of to call what Will was doing to his thigh with his hand was kneading, and that action was too close for comfort to a certain part of Nico's anatomy that was far too interested for its own good. The amount of air Nico was swallowing was threatening to overwhelm him, choke him, but he couldn't stop. He needed it to keep his head clear.

"Are you going to answer my question or not?" Nico tried to put as much venom into his voice as he could but it came out weak even to his own ears. "And why the ever living fuck are you wearing my clothes?"

Will chuckled and rubbed his hand methodically from Nico's upper thigh to his knee and back, something that was either meant to soothe or arouse, he wasn't sure, but it was doing a good job of the last one. He ignored Nico's question and instead leaned in close and purred in his ear. "Why, Nico. You're being really wordy today, aren't we?"

Nico shivered with equal measures of excitement, and frustration at the other boy's refusal to acknowledge his questions. By some miracle, hopefully because he finally saw the very real fire Nico's eyes, he decided to cut the crap. He leaned back away from Nico's personal bubble and took the hem of the sweater he was wearing, stretching it out in front of him to look down at a knitted man in a black and white striped suit, wild hair flying, laughing manically next to a young, black haired girl in a dramatic red dress.

"This? It looked comfy. Silly, but comfy." Will was raising one of his slim eyebrows at him pointedly.

Blood flooded under the surface of his cheeks but he tried to hide it behind a scowl. "What? It's a good movie, fuck nuts. And just because it looked comfortable doesn't mean you had any right to put it on." He knew he was being defensive, but fucking sue him, he had a bad day and the boy that was causing him so much distress in the past week was still playing coy. Nico just wanted to know what he wanted from him, because this little tête-à-tête was draining on him.

Will just grinned at him like he hadn't just called him something offensive and had been persistently trying to throw him out of his room. No, he thought he still had the right to look mischievous and sexy, the self-confident idiot. "I see. You want me to take it off then?"

Nico's dark eyes widened as he realized the seriousness behind those words, mouth gaping, forming protesting words, but Will didn't wait for an answer before he pulled the sweater over his head. He dropped the now inside-out sweater next to them on the bed, falling back and propping himself casually up on his elbows. "Is this better?"

Nico opened and closed his mouth a few times, gaping at him like a fish. It wasn't that it was the first time that he had seen the other boy topless, but it was still just as sexy and jaw-dropping. His six-pack was pronounced but not overly so, just enough for it to be noticeable, wrapped sinfully tight in sun-kissed skin. Those biceps begged to be squeezed, bit, licked, sucked, whispering him to fall and let them catch him in their strong embrace. In the middle of his lean 'v' stretching out from his hipbones, just under his bellybutton, was a light patch of whisky hair disappearing into his jeans. Nico had never before understood why it was called a 'happy trail' before, but he thought that maybe he finally got it, because oh what a happy trail it was.

The wobble of a deep chuckle alerted him that he had been staring far longer than appropriate. He could see Will leaning closer and closer and for a moment, he was frozen. He was just too close. That's it; he just needed to have some breathing room.

He stood on shaky legs and tried to control his breathing, breathing out a laugh that was meant to be nonchalant, but it felt more stilted and awkward than when he was forced to be a lost boy in a play in the eighth grade. He was about to make a witty remark about how it would be better if he found someone else to bullshit around with when he felt large hands, easily larger than his own, frame his hips.

Gasping, eyes wide and eyebrows in his hairline, he wasn't frozen this time. He tried to jerk away from the other boy's grasp but the hands just held him tighter, pulling him back and making him stumble slightly. His hands felt numb at his sides, like they wouldn't allow him to wiggle his pinky let alone raise his hands to claw at the ones locked on his hipbones.

The only thing he could do was stand there, breathe roughly, and try to suppress the shiver that was threatening to roll down his spine. "Wh-what are you doing?" The hands pulled him closer, and he blamed it on shock that he just stepped with the pull until he felt warm breath on his lower back.

"Juicy, huh? I'd say so, but then again, I've only been treated to a..." Will's thumbs brushed the top of his jeans, hitching the shirt slightly up on their return, "Let's say, curtained, view. But I'm sure it would be breathtaking when the curtain goes up."

Nico felt heat rise up to the tips of his ears, spreading down his neck. He had never before been exposed to such blatant flirting, but then again, he had barely been flirted with before at all. What was one supposed to do in these situations? Was he supposed to pull away and protect his honor, go with it, give back as good as he got? Was sarcasm still an appropriate response?

It had never been this way with Alex. The blond had always being frank with what he wanted and when he wanted it. He had never flirted with Nico and gods forbid given him a compliment, especially on his looks. Especially on his ass, which is what he was 99% sure Will was doing. Quite the opposite actually, always telling him how chubby he was getting from all the food he made, slapping his ass and mocking him for how it would jiggle.

It turned out to be a real problem for him later on, and it only got worse after Alex had broken up with him. He stopped cooking; only doing it when he had to, lest the temptation to eat became overwhelming. But it didn't matter. He was just like his mother used to be, Bia had told him, releasing all of his sorrows and stress by eating and eating and eating.

He would come home from school and nitpick everything he had done wrong and hate himself for all the things that Alex had said that must have been true. He was too slow, never smart enough to interest anyone in an actual conversation. Alex said that was the reason he was his only friend. He stumbled over his words and blushed too much. Alex said it was a miracle he hadn't been beaten to a pulp because of what a bumbling idiot he was, he was right. He tried to stand up for himself against the bullies, refusing to be their conquest of the week, but it just left him with even more bruises. Alex said he needed to learn his place, that maybe the additional bruise he left on the back of his thighs would teach him to stay down. He hated the brown belt Alex said he got from his father the worst because it was the thinnest and always stung more, but that was Alex's favorite.

The next thing he knew he was sitting in the kitchen surrounded by empty bags of chips, melted ice-cream containers, a half spilt bag of jelly beans, and countless spoons dipped in various cans and jars. He told himself that he didn't remember doing it, that it was an accident and that he couldn't control it, but he knew that he was just lying to himself. Because when he was throwing it all back up in their second floor bathroom, the only thing on his mind was if Alex would praise him for doing something right for once. He knew he would do it again, and he didn't plan on stopping, even if the words out of his mouth contradicted his intentions.

When Alex had left him broken and humiliated, it was so much worse, because all he could think about was what he could possibly do to make Alex come back and tell him it was all just a misunderstanding and that he loved him and to please take him back. His ass jiggled too much, his thighs were too meaty, there was too much fat hanging off of his hips, his arms were gigantic. Everything was just too much.

So he stopped eating. No one noticed for a long time. His father was never home and even when he was, he rarely spared a glance in his direction, nothing new there. The kids at school never paid him much attention as it is, and after Alex had shunned him, the rest of the school found it just as easy to pretend that he didn't even exist. If the teachers noticed, they didn't say anything. Why would they say anything about the weight loss if they never reported the bruises?

Bianca had left home by then, thinking that Nico was finally making friends and that Alex was his prince charming, because that's what he was in Nico's eyes. He had never told his sister about the beatings and insults because he thought they were unimportant, and that he deserved them. But when she came to check on him after the breakup, she was horrified that she could barely recognize her own brother.

She took him immediately to the hospital and demanded he be looked at. He had become extremely malnourished and dehydrated, with a high fever and low blood pressure. His olive skin had soured to a sickly shade of yellow and his thick locks of hair were becoming thin and brittle, breaking off at the slightest brush. His bones were sticking out of his body in harsh angles, his skin stretched too tight.

They had him admitted directly. He was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, which is a lot more serious than people like to think it is. It wasn't that he didn't feel like eating, because damn was he hungry, but it was more his will to not eat despite his hunger pains. They also told him he developed a minor case of generalized anxiety and depression, but it was hard for him to tell them that those particular developments had probably been there for far longer than he started to punish himself by not eating. But then they might ask questions, and it was hard to differentiate from the bruises he got from school and Alex and the scars he has from his father.

No matter how much he needed professional help, when his father found out he had been hospitalized, well. He decided he wasn't paying. They could only keep him so long and his father made it abundantly clear that he wanted Nico out of their care. When his father said jump, they asked where the nearest cliff was. He didn't blame them. His father wasn't a man you say no to.

Bianca was furious at their father and at Nico himself for not telling her what had been going on. She took him back to her house and called all of his teachers to let them know that he had a medical emergency and that he wouldn't be coming to school for a while. His father had nothing to say about it, at least from what Bianca told him.

He stayed with Bianca for a little over four months before he wanted to go back home. He wasn't cured, far from it. But he missed home. So Bianca moved in again, at least until he was functioning. No matter how he protested she refused to take no for an answer, despite her leaving home the year before was the best thing she had ever done for herself. She said he was more important; he had never felt more worthless.

She stayed there with him two years, even got him involved in the community center where he became a big brother to a sweet kid named Carlos. But it was still hard. He remembered late nights with his sister holding him, begging her to just let him be. Crying over how much he ate that day and what Alex would think if he saw him. It was pathetic but he didn't care.

He slowly got better. Eating more, not feeling the need to count calories, no more throwing up every time he saw himself naked in the mirror. He started to see the chips in Alex's armor, all the things that were imperfect or wrong about their relationship, and he started to see not everything that happened was his fault. The kids at school didn't beat him because he need to learn his place and it was their way of letting him fit in, Alex didn't abuse him because he wasn't good enough for him and it was the only way he could make up for it, and his father didn't neglect him because his mother's death was his fault and everything that went wrong since was because he was still there when she wasn't.

Bianca moved back to her own home at the end of his junior year after he convinced her he was fine to be on his own. She still visited constantly and called every chance she got, but it was nice being on his own again. He had most of his normal eating habits back but he would always eat considerably less than what was considered normal. His skin and hair got their natural glow and bounce back and he even developed a healthy exercise routine, although he would probably never have more than basic tone.

He feared the worse when he went back to school for his senior year. The one thing his father hates worse than his own son would have to be a bad reputation, so despite him wanting nothing to do with Nico, he still hired an in-home tutor for him. Because if he was going to have a disappointment as a son anyway, the least he can do is be educated. But he was actually going back for his final year, and he had no idea what to expect. That was a lie, he knew what was coming; insults, name calling, daily beatings, a daily dose of humiliation in whatever form they could think of for the day. He didn't even want to think about what Alex would do.

What happened was not what he was expecting. No one messed with him. Sounds great right? By no one messing with him, he meant he was invisible again. No one talked to him, they looked right through him. Even the teachers interacted with him as little as possible. It was so much worse than the beatings. He almost missed the ache that came with the bruises.

There was a harsh sting on his left side, drawing his attention down. Will was looking up at him with his teeth clamped over the flesh of his hip, smirking and with mirthful eyes. He inhaled sharply and finally twisted away from Will's grasp. He felt like he was going to throw up after that merry trip down memory lane.

"What do you want?" The other boy's bright eyes dimmed at the harshness in his tone but he still smiled up at him patiently. Nico tried not to feel guilty. "Well, wanna hang out?"

After the day he had and that pleasant little experience with the ghosts of his past? Hell no he didn't feel like 'hanging out'. He wanted to curl up on his bed with a tub of Ben & Jerry's and take a nap until classes the next morning.

The full force of his puppy eyes was draining on his resolve though. He would feel too guilty if he just flat out told him that he didn't want to hang out, so what was a guy supposed to do? "Sorry. I, uh, already have plans. I'm going to the library."

Will shot up off of the bed and stalked across the room to wear his actual shirt was laying across a desk chair, tugging it on over his head. "Great! I'll walk you over there."

Well, shit. Now he had to actually go to the library. It could have been worse, he supposed. At least this way he can actually get some work done and there were some more books he wanted to check out.

Will was waiting for him by the door, holding out his shoes for him. Nico grumbled to himself as he yanked them from his grasp and shoved his feet in them. He breezed past the boy and headed out of the dorm room, making a beeline for the library. The faster he got there, the faster he would be alone. He knew he should probably be happier about the extra time he was getting to spend with Will and for the effort the boy seemed to be putting into courting him but he was just in a gods awful mood.

He enjoyed spending time with the bright eyed bad boy and he wouldn't mind getting to know him even more. He wanted to know more about Will's family, about what all of his tattoos mean, why everyone seemed to like him so much. He also very much wanted to know what the other boy's cock tasted like, but he supposed he should know all of the basics first.

Will caught up with him shortly after and slung an arm over his shoulder, a move that could be platonic or romantic, so he let it slide. They walked in companionable silence to the library, a few people calling out greetings to Will and sending Nico either jealous or confused stares. He tried to ignore it and kept his head down but Will just waved right back and acted like he was close, personal friends with everyone that passed. He kept asking them things like "How'd your sister's move to Boston go, Malcolm?", "Tell your uncle I said to lay off the telemundo, Butch", and "Is Ernie still being mean to Princess? Cats are just territorial, Lou."

Does this guy know everyone, Nico thought. Or had he just slept with them all? That last thought felt bitter in his mouth. "Mr. Popular, huh?" Will gave him an odd look out of the corner of his eye, half amused and half something Nico didn't want to hope for. "I just make it a point to know people, Nico. Everyone is important."

He didn't know what to do with that so he just kept walking, this time with a lump in his throat and disappointment boiling in the pit of his stomach. What was there to be disappointed in? Will seemed to be an all around great guy, even if he did sleep around a bit. He acted like he generally cared for everyone and there was nothing more attractive in a guy than genuine kindness.

But he was still disappointed. He was ashamed of himself for one, for being jealous of his concern for other people when he should have been pleased with it. But he was also disappointed because what if that was all Will was trying to do? Getting to know him, because that was just the kind of person he was. But what if he wanted more?

His relief almost overshadowed his remorse when they reached the library doors. He wiggled out from under Will's hold and turned to him with only a slightly strained smile. "Well, what do you know the library?" Nico placed a hand on the door knob and sent him a smile over his shoulder. He was half way through the door when he turned around to tell him bye but he collided with his shoulder instead.

The force was enough to knock him backwards but Will reached out to catch him in his arms, leaning them both halfway through the door in a dip as if they were dancing. Nico stared at him wide eyed and Will just laughed and leaned in a little more. "We just keep ending up in these situations huh?"

At the cocky eyebrow raised in his direction he regained his senses and scoffed at the blue-eyed boy that had his arms around his waist. "Uh-huh, it's fate, I guess." He responded sarcastically. When he just nodded his head, still smiling stupidly, Nico slowly looked between Will's eyes and the floor. "You gonna put me down?"

His summer sky blue eyes widened and his mouth tilted up mischievously. Nico wasn't sure he wanted to know what he was about to say, but he was saved by a loud cough behind them. "Excuse me, boys. Other people have to use those doors, you know?"

They both gasped in shock and turned to look in the direction the voice came from, where Will promptly dropped Nico on his ass. The dark eyed boy flailed without the arm's support and landed harshly on his backside, using his hands to catch his fall to prevent his head from receiving the impact. He groaned annoyed and glared up at the boy who dropped him. "What the hell, dude?"

Will gave him an apologetic look while he helped him up, Calypso chuckling in the background. They stepped back from the door and three different people walked in after them, looking at them amused, one refusing to look at them at all. You would think all of the embarrassment Nico has gone through in his life would make him used to awkward situations, but every time he felt his blood flood his cheeks he knew it wouldn't be the last. He also knew that his pale skin would never let him hide it, either. Maybe he should start wearing blush...

"Hey, Calypso. And how is the lovely lady this evening?" Will swooped down to deliver a kiss onto her hand, but she just smiled knowingly at him. "Oh, Leo is doing just fine. I'll let him know you asked."

A laugh bubbled out of his throat, but he masked it in a cough when the Latino came around the corner. "Eh! I heard that, ya know?" Leo was obviously making an effort to keep the smile off of his face and his tone annoyed, but he was also failing miserably. He came to stand next to his girlfriend, crossing his arms in front of him.

Will spread his arms and gave the couple a small bow before taking Leo's hand and giving him a kiss as well. "Well, a beautiful lady should know when she is being asked after, shouldn't she?" Leo pulled his hand away and slapped him in the shoulder with it. "You charmer."

Nico didn't know what to think of their interaction with each other. Back at his school in L.A. you would be beat to a pulp for insinuating someone was a girl. But here they were, acting like it was normal for them, something that happened every day. It was strange, but... he kind of liked it. An echoing voice in the back of his head sneered; you would like that, wouldn't you? He really was having a bad day, wasn't he? He hadn't heard Alex's voice in weeks.

He tried to sneak past the three friends as they were still snarking at each other, but of course the little shit noticed right away. "Okay, guys. I'll see you later. Got a hot date!"

"I'm not his date!"

Will laughed lowly in his ear. "Still hot."

Nico elbowed him in the gut and walked off in the opposite direction while he was busy clutching his stomach. It didn't matter if he found it flattering; he didn't have to take it so easy. "If you're joining me, you better keep up."

Nico collapsed onto his bed with a heaving sigh. He was dead on his feet after the day he had. Never before had he had such a rollercoaster of a day. It started out to be one of the worst days he had since he was in high school and then completely flipped to be one of the best in his entire life.

No matter how much he tried to maintain his sour mood, Will knew exactly what to say and do to make him smile and laugh against his will, slowly sucking all of his negative emotions from his body, which had to be the second form of sucking Will was best at. Well, the third really, he was assuming. And then again, he was only guessing as to the first one, but the second one... well, Nico was sure his lips had never been bruised in such a pleasurable way before.

They were seated at a table near the back of the library, each with a book open in front of them. Nico was reading a boring as hell textbook about cubic polynomials for his college algebra class and Will was reading a Disney picture book... upside down.

Calypso had enough of telling them to quiet down, don't disturb the other library-goers, stop making pyramids out of the books. Yes, that last one was Will. So, she had banished them to reading quietly at a table or leaving before they gave her grey hair.

It was hard to concentrate on mathematics when there was a gorgeous boy in front of you trying to look so serious while reading an upside down picture book. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was resting his chin on his hand, his index finger under his lower lip and his thumb perpendicular to them. Hah! Perpendicular, see, he was trying. But the other boy was just being too adorably dumb for his own good.

He wasn't dumb, though. He was actually quite smart. They talked for hours about everything from politics, which they both were not interested in but still felt was important, their favorite b-rated movies, they both had a particular fondness for Fright Nightand Tremors, to their plans for the future.

Will was studying for a degree in Astrology and was working at a mueseum in the mythology exhibit, but what he really wanted to do was open his own aquatic life reserve where they would take in injured or endangered sea life and care for them, sending them back into the ocean or to other wild life refuges when they were better. That's why he had taken business classes early on. The way his eyes would light with barely contained joy when talking about all of his plans and how much good he wanted to do, it melted Nico to the core.

Nico told him about how he wanted to become a writer because of his mother and how he always wanted to travel the world. He told him shyly about how he wanted to write poetry in different languages because he believed language is the one uniting factor of the world, even if they don't all speak the same one. Will was real quiet after he told him that so he started apologizing and telling him to forget about it because it was stupid, but Will just took his hand from across the table and kissed it, shaking his head as if Nico was something he just couldn't figure out.

He was almost certain that there was hardly a topic they did not broach in that library. When it was getting late and they were still browsing through bookshelves, stealing looks at each other through empty spaces, Will reached for the same book as him. Both of their hands were brushing the spine, Will's on top of Nico's, but Nico didn't see anything but those mesmerizing eyes coming closer to his own.

Then there was warmth on his lips and Will's eyes were shut so tight so he thought he better close his too.

Their lips barely moved, just glancing off and coming back in for more, small pecks that left Nico's head spinning. He didn't dare to breath, only feel. He felt something finally break within him and he realized that he wanted this. He wanted Will kissing him and touching him and moving against him, whispering sweet nothings and pulling hot moans from him. But he also wanted to hold his hand and brush his bangs from his eyes, cook for him, take care of him when he was sick, laugh with him over buttered popcorn at the movie theatre. He just wanted Will, all of him.

He exhaled roughly and grabbed the sides of the taller boy's face, firmly mashing his lips more forcibly onto his own. Will reacted quickly to his change and pressed Nico's back into the nearest bookcase. His lips were achingly sweet on his own, molding them together just to wrench them apart and fit them together again, sucking on his bottom lip as if he wouldn't rather be doing anything else in the world. As chaste as they kept it, it still felt more passionate than all the kisses he had received in his life combined.

Just as he was about to become bold and swipe his tongue over the seam of Will's lips, there was a loud cough right by their ears. The two boys broke apart red faced and panting and shot matching looks of guilt at the exasperated girl glaring at them. "Seriously? Last shot guys, get out of here, please. Before I lose my sanity!"

Calypso stormed off with a mountain of books piled in her hands to muttered apologies. Nico glanced at Will from under his eyelashes, surprised to see an equally admonished look on the boy's face. "Well," he cleared his throat "I better get back and get some sleep, then."

Will had walked him home like a complete gentleman, with his arm tucked into the crook of his elbow real old fashioned like and he even got a quick goodnight kiss. He was soaring above the clouds, too ecstatic to even be floating on cloud nine. It felt like his first date.

He had just turned on his side to go to sleep when there was a knock at the door. His heart was threatening to jump right out of his throat but he managed to stand on shaky feet and open the door.

Will was standing there, excitement and nervousness dancing in his eyes, as he shuffled from foot to foot. He didn't give Nico a chance to speak before interrupting him. "There's going to be a party, this Friday night, down at the zoo I'm working at. It's kinda like an afterhours staff party, but everyone is going to be there. You should come."

Nico blinks at him owlishly and nods along to what he's saying. Is this a date? "Yeah, sure. I mean, I'd love to, uh, love that. I'll be there." Will's smile grows until it's threatening to split his face right in half and he does this jumpy up and down thing, which Nico assumes is his happy dance. "Really? Awesome! It's at seven, I'll see you there. Bye, Neeks!"

He ducks in to press a lingering kiss to the side of his mouth and then he is striding down the hallway, whistling a merry tune.

Nico closed the door and sat at the edge of his bed, the sound of Percy's snoring the only sound in the room.

Holy shit, did he have a date?