Chapter 10
Dislcaimer: I don't own anything.
Weeks went by in similar fashion. Nico avoided Will as much as he could. Oddly enough, he found hanging out with Jason or Percy wasn't nearly as bad as it was before. They could almost sense his unwillingness to be around Will. Nico knew he was hurting Will's feelings. He saw the puppy eyes and felt the heat of his hatred. It was almost enough. It was almost enough for Nico to cave, but he knew what would happen if he did. He'd build up these hopes and be crushed as soon as he heard mention of that cursed dance.
In the month he'd been back on his feet without a chaperone, he'd gone to the girls' school every weekend. Hazel always found time for him, but only for thirty minutes or so. Most of the time, he hung out with Reyna. She never mentioned Will, and that was all he wanted – to forget the blonde haired beautiful boy. He'd almost gotten caught many times. The only technical reason he should have been here was if his whole team sparred with Reyna's team. It happened every couple weeks, but many times he claimed they were there to spar that evening. Somehow, he just kept getting caught.
The majority of his time was spent training, though. Instead of joining the guys at the bonfire, he snuck in extra practice. He wasn't going to find himself in the infirmary again. If he had to spend three days with Will again, Nico wouldn't come out alive. He especially didn't want his hands all over him again.
Nico found his mind wandering back to that night. Apollo confirmed his previous thoughts - that he didn't need to take Nico's shirt off. But Nico had, surprisingly, gotten over his self-consciousness after he sprouted up sophomore year. The only thing he had a problem with was the touching. Gods that kid knew how to touch him. Everywhere, just right, in a way that drove him crazy. Nico didn't appreciate being touched in the slightest, but he had begrudgingly grown close to Will, and he knew it was necessary. But he never imagined how good it would have felt.
A blonde figure brought Nico out of his thoughts. He was about to bolt into the woods, but then he saw the black glasses resting on his face. Jason Grace. And he had his arm awkwardly around the shoulders of a tall, tan boy named Jake Mason. Nico knew Jake Mason. He was a very attractive guy with big hands. For all of the school year, he'd lived in the infirmary. Will checked up on him a lot. Nico knew this. He also knew how hot he was when he had worked in the forge, back before he got squished by one of the defective war machines they were building.
Nico wanted to bolt again, even if he wasn't Will.
He didn't, mainly because he knew Jake had just been cut out of his casts last month and he didn't want to chance him breaking his bones again. That, and Jake had been working out like crazy and it showed off.
"Nico, look who I found!"
Jason could be as dumb as Percy half of the time. Jake Mason was one of the few openly gay students at school. It wasn't that Nico was afraid of his peers shaming him. Somehow, he had ingrained it in the back of his head that if too many people heard about him, word would somehow go all the way down and reach the underworld, where his father surely lied. Nico felt immediate waves of shame at that thought. He'd already been left behind by accident; he didn't want his family to have a reason for him not to join them someday wherever they were.
"I'm sure it's hard to run from you when he still had torn ligaments." Nico sighed. His eyes slid over to Jake. He regarded him cautiously, still remembering his un-admitted jealousy. It didn't matter now, no matter how much he'd flirted with Will in the open. Will was going to the dance with Lou Ellen. Clearly, he'd been worried about the wrong sex, let alone person. "Back from death?"
Jake grinned. "Partially. So your heater is broken?"
Nico's head fell into his palm where he slowly muttered, "I wasn't aware." Then he glared harshly at Jason. "I'm sure you never mentioned this to Leo, either?"
Jake frowned and Jason blushed redder than when he tripped and cut himself with his sword in front of the girls' swords team, including Piper. "Didn't he hurt his leg?"
Jake scoffed and rocked back on his heels. "Uh, you don't need your legs to reach inside and reconnect a couple wires."
"We don't know that's the problem," Jason supplied, looking with annoyance at Nico for not covering him up. Nico knew exactly what he was doing, however, and loved seeing him blunder and stumble around blindly.
"When has it ever not been the problem? I ended up replacing all the faulty wires four months into freshman year because they kept short-circuiting." Jake explained, looking from Jason to Nico awkwardly. Just to make things even better, Leo strolled out of their cabin at that very moment. He was whistling a happy tune and texting on his phone. When he saw them, he paused and walked over.
"Guys, does this red match this red?" Leo asked, head turning like he as trying to put together the defective device that had crushed Jake. He showed them two pictures. One was a screenshot of the 3 second long snapchat picture Piper had posted. Half of the body was in the picture in a shimmering brown dress, and in the other half was the mirror she stood in front of. Calypso was in the back, frowning at the camera in her cocktail red dress. Nico had to squint to compare the two and came up with nothing.
"Most people get swaths or something," Jason snorted. "She'd probably get one for you, if she knew you were going to go as her unofficial date." He burst into laughter immediately.
Nico rolled his eyes. "Says the guy who is wearing a gold suit."
Jason crossed his arms. "Reyna is wearing silver. We didn't want to match too perfectly. She scares me."
Nico was relieved to hear that. Whatever their friendship was, they rarely talked about relationships. Once or twice, Nico would mention how careless Jason was of girls' feelings, and once or twice Reyna would punch him. It worked well. Still, he didn't want her getting her hopes up. From the sounds of it, they'd somehow agreed on boundaries.
"Did you get to look at the heater?" Jason prodded.
Leo frowned. "The heater isn't broken."
"Good! You fixed it!" Jason swung his arm around Leo and looked at Jake. "Seems like we don't need you after all. Sorry, dude."
Jake frowned, not totally believing everything he said. "Okay…have any of you seen Will recently?"
Leo nodded. "Yeah, he's in the infirmary. It's funny to see him moping. He goes into overdrive, like some medic-whirlwind."
Nico could see a hint of a blush on Jake's cheeks. "I know. It's cool, right? Anyways, you might want to ask Piper. See what she knows about the two colors. Or Will. He's always been good with colors."
Yes, seeing as he wore every single one of them in an entire day.
With his hands clenched, Nico watched Jake scamper off to see Will. It was silly that new jealousy flared up inside his chest. It was double the pain, he supposed. He knew he preferred Lou Ellen to Nico, and soon he'd prefer Jake to Nico, too. In the least, Jake would have his hands on Will's arms, or vice versa, and Nico wouldn't.
He blew it off. Who cared? He didn't want innocent touches by accident from Will. He wanted purposeful, lust-filled touches. Anything less was simply a delusion.
"You're pathetic." Leo snorted, slapping a hand to Nico's shoulder. "If you like the guy, just tell him!"
Nico seethed, whirling on the two boys with all his pent up anger he'd built solely for Solace. "What's pathetic are you two! You," he jabbed his finger harshly into Jason's chest, "are too chicken to even speak to Piper, instead hiding behind a girl who is actually interested in you and spending your free time trying to hook me up! And with Jake Mason, of all whiny, let-me-fix-it brats? I already have to deal with Will and his incessant need to 'fix me.' Then there's Leo who pines after every girl he comes into contact with, especially the ones who shut him down! Can't you get the message? They're not interested! You know who else is uninterested in both your time? Me!"
Nico shoved through their shoulders, nearly knocking Leo off his feet in the process. He walked past the cabin, past Percy and Annabeth making out behind the cabin, and deep into the clearing. He found a tree worthy of climbing and hauled himself as far up that was manageable. Half of him hoped he'd fall off, wished it even.
He was, as many new clichés suggested, simply done with everyone and everything.
. . .
And that was exactly where he found himself the night of the dance.
He'd started out earlier that evening in emergency dress shopping with Hazel, Frank, and Reyna. Hazel hadn't expected Frank to stumble his way through eloquent proposal of asking her to the dance. It was Reyna who noticed Frank was wearing an old beat up navy suit to Hazel's black dress. Frank begged Nico to come along with them to buy him a new suit. He said he couldn't handle Reyna's piercing gaze as he tried to create a conversation with Hazel. It was clearly much harder for him to do so now that they were going together as dates.
"What do you think, Nico?" Reyna kicked his leg. Nico scowled, yanking an ear bud out of his ear. Frank was moped out of the dressing room, led by the hand of Hazel. She was beaming.
"You look lovely," Hazel gushed. It was odd hearing her level of excitement put into those words. Reyna scoffed.
"More than that. Come on, Levesque! Use your modern words," Reyna smirked. Hazel's cheeks burned and she excused herself as she stood near the window of the store for the extra chill. Frank gulped, looking nervously between Hazel and his reflection in the mirror.
Nico shrugged. "Looks good," he muttered. A suit seemed overdressed for a high school dance, though if it were up to him everyone would be wearing ripped jeans and torn black shirts.
Reyna nodded approvingly and disappeared back into the suits section. Frank sighed. "Nico, why don't you come along? Hazel won't last more than one dance in a row with me. I'm sure she'd love to dance with her brother…you're the only real family she's got." Nico stared at his hands. He didn't say anything. He didn't want to sound ungrateful of the girl's sudden familial bond with him, but it was almost insulting to him. He didn't want to replace Bianca. He just wanted her back. "Besides, I'll need somebody to help me stop Leo from spiking the punch bowl."
Nico raised an eyebrow. Frank smiled, flustered. "Right, you'd be the first to approve of it…"
Reyna appeared again. "Do you trust me?" Nico, in that one moment, certainly did not trust it. It wasn't the many times she'd double teamed him with Annabeth while sparring, or the scars he got from her sword when she didn't use her sparring sword, nor was it the resting-bitch-face she always sported that made him instantly distrust her. It was the intimidatingly black tux in her hand that did the job.
"No." Nico protested with a groan. "Not a chance, Ramirez."
"It's Ramirez-Arellano," she corrected and shoved the clothing into his chest. "And you're trying this on."
"I am not."
"Nico, you don't have a choice."
Hazel noticed their raised voices. She inched over and her eyes lit up. Then she started tugging on his arm. "Oh, please, Nico! Try it on."
He groaned. "If you stop touching me and promise to leave directly after…I'll try it on."
That was how Nico found himself staring at a black suit in the mirror as Hazel fixed a tie around his neck. He scowled. Why did they have to dress up anyways? It was silly. He was annoyed by it and he wasn't even going.
"Nico, you look hot!" Reyna shook his shoulders. Nico elbowed her side. "You're going."
"In my nightmares, maybe," he hissed and swatted Hazel's hands away. "Let's leave now."
"But-,"
"I'm taking my shirt off in five seconds whether or not you're in here."
Hazel's hands shot away like bullets and she nearly fell running out of the dressing room. Reyna pursed her lips. "You're a dick, ya know?"
When she was gone, Nico looked in the mirror again. He felt like spitting on the suit once before he changed. When he left the shop, he had a churning feeling in his stomach. The sky was darkening as they spoke. It made him feel a little more comfortable despite the flurries of snow growing heavier by the second.
The four of them walked back to their cabins before they froze to death. The guys had it worse considering they had to cross a river. Nico decided not to ask Frank for a lift like he had with Will. Somehow, Frank wasn't nearly as appealing. Besides, he had half an idea that he'd turn into a bear and go ravaging through the woods with a flopping Nico on his back. That wasn't a pretty picture.
It was an even worse picture when Nico stepped back into their cabin. The warmth wrapped around him and pulled his eyes directly to the boys ahead of him. Frank pushed into the bathroom and started stripping immediately. But Nico's feet turned to solid obsidian right where he stood. Will was anxiously pacing in front of the mirror, trying to fix his tie. His black suit was nearly identical to the one Nico tried on in the store, and he suddenly had an urge to go back and buy it, if anything than to just say he and Will matched for one night.
Will's eyes were busy, swarmed with more stress than Nico could say he'd ever recognized in them before. "Doesn't anyone know how to tie a tie?"
Nico stood there. Will had been hot to him before. He'd been cute. His smile could even come off as sexy, too. But never had Will came off a gorgeously attractive. He'd always been attractive, but this was a stunning, classy attractive Nico knew he'd never earn the status of deserving in his entire life.
Percy stumbled into Jason as he yanked on a shoe. Nico hardly noticed, but Will did. He turned towards the boys, still fumbling with his tie. His hands stopped when he saw Nico. There was that pained look of unknowing and frustration. His shoulders dropped, and his spoke his name without words.
Nico fell into the doorframe, arms crossed as he debated how to leave without breaking the boy's soul in his eyes one more time. Distancing himself had never hurt so much in his life. If it had been up to him, he'd had tugged on that damned suit and went to the stupid dance with Will.
Then, a girl stormed into the room, knocking Nico nearly off his feet. Of all people, it was Calypso in her shimmering silver gown. Her hair was neatly braided with stray strands framing her face. Even though she was going to be one of the few girls with dresses reaching the floor, she looked beautiful. That was very evident on Leo's face as he gaped over the goddess fuming in front of him. Leo was still half dressed, trying to find his black vest with red flames on it.
"I – I thought you – wearing…red," Leo slurred as drool threatened to fall from his lips. His eyes took in the girl's form again, which seemed to be glowing with anger. Her hands were clenched and she had her eyes only set on Leo. "B-but you – oh just wowwww."
"Well? Are you planning on going to the dance naked? Hurry up!" Calypso hissed, crossing her arms defiantly. Jason had the nerve to ask the obvious question.
"Weren't you supposed to be going with your boyfriend? Odysse-?"
"Shut up! I'm going with Leo. Right Leo?"
He nodded like a child staring at sugary candy.
Nico felt the need to puke. He looked back at Will. The boy was smiling slightly, like the sight of the couple made him a little happier. Nico didn't know why he had to be so intrigued by the blonde. They were so opposite. How could anyone find comfort in knowing that Leo was falling over his feet for a girl who'd ditched him until now?
Nico almost crashed through the door right into Annabeth and Reyna. At this point, Annabeth had been struggling to hide her symptoms. She did a good job at it, though. Only Nico would know the reason she was constantly taking breaks or constantly excusing herself, most likely to vomit. She wore a surprisingly orange dress that had enough 'poof' to hide her stomach even if she were five months pregnant.
She looked paler than she'd ever had before. "Don't look at me like that."
"I told you we should have let Piper put on a little blush," Reyna muttered. Reyna's dress was silver, but it was much different than Calypso's dress. At this point, Nico was tired of viewing dresses. He walked past them briskly, desperate to get away.
And that was how he found his legs dangling fifteen feet above the ground.
Nico glanced at his wrist. In all his days and weeks of solitude and mourning, Nico hadn't even had an urge to draw a new tattoo. Nico hands numbly grabbed the pen from his pocket and, without a thought, began drawing on his wrist. It was a quick design, and his mind went into that state where he wasn't truly seeing what he was doing. He looked, but it didn't come together until he pulled his hand away and dropped the pen.
On his wrist, in light faint black ink, rested a sun. It was a sketch, but it was exactly like Will's tattoo on his shoulder had been. "I'm fucked."
"Such sweet sentiments." Nico almost fell out of the tree. He glared down at the ground below, as if his voice along wasn't recognizable. Will was squinting up at him patiently, arms crossed. "How'd you get up there?"
Nico lied back against the trunk of the tree, forcing his gaze upward. He didn't speak.
Will sighed loudly. "I don't know why you've been avoiding me, di Angelo. It's not cool." That's all he had to say about it. It's 'not cool.' Nico clenched his jaw. "Don't make me get my outfit all dirty by climbing up there. You know I look hot."
Fuck yes.
"Fine."
And then Will was climbing up the large tree. It was full of thick yet narrow limbs, and Nico had found a perfect spot where he could turn in any direction and lean his back against a limb. But he didn't move and make room for Will. He really expected Will to tear his sleeve, whine about it, and mope back to the cabin. It was surprising to have the boy right under his butt, poking him to move. When Nico didn't move, Will lifted the boy's legs up and slipped underneath them.
"If we fall, it's on your fat ass," Nico mumbled crossly as he refused to even glance at Will. His mind was too focused on where his feet rested. His open ankle could feel the crisp fabric of his suit pants high on his thigh, and Nico's mind was racing. He refused to show it, no matter how unfocused he was.
Will grabbed Nico's wrist, gaze locking on the scantily drawn sun. He smiled wistfully, like it was drawn at a different time. Will didn't drop Nico's hand, and his wrist was slowly becoming electrified. He could feel his blood churning with new energy, his brain slowly becoming a jumbled mess of static fuzziness.
"So you don't hate me."
Nico's breath faltered as Will rubbed a thumb along Nico's skin. Will pretended not to notice the way Nico's body relaxed under his touch. He felt their energy doing a ballet, one so eloquent he couldn't dream of breaking it.
"Reyna showed up with a black suit. And, since black is your color, I figured…why wouldn't he wear it? So. Why wouldn't you wear it?" Will's voice was quiet, resigned. He felt like he'd done something so wrong he no longer had the right to push Nico for answers.
Nico finally managed to move his head in Will's direction. He seemed so distraught over a seemingly simple question. "Why are you here? Lou Ellen will be waiting."
Will's frown was gentle. "I want you to go to the dance with me."
Nico snorted. He yanked his hand away. "Yeah? Well, I don't want to."
Nico stood and began to climb. He couldn't stand there and listen to his games. He was two limbs above, but then Will climbed up to meet him. At this point, both boys were standing, nowhere else to go, face to face. Will's lips lifted in a slight smile.
"Then just go in general. Reyna only has the suit for tonight. Don't waste her money."
Nico remembered back when he could have rented a suit every night of his life and his father wouldn't have even noticed the difference in their bank account. Will tilted his head as he considered the option. "How are the nightmares?"
Nico leaned back against the trunk. Will countered by crossing his arms over the branch that separated them. "Shitty as usual. Haven't woken anyone up, though, have I?"
Will grimaced. "That's not the best goal in life." Nico shrugged. He glanced at the ground below them, then at Will's outfit. He had dirt all over the elbows and knees. Nico almost felt bad. "My mom called."
"What?"
Will's shoulders sagged. "She, uh, wants to talk to me about my father." Nico blinked, forgetting his vow of disbandment from the sunshine boy. He leaned forward, stepping right up to the tree limb. Will's eyes were churning, more than they should have been. "She's been keeping in contact with him all these years. Didn't think to mention that to me…he wants to meet with me."
Nico felt his chest tighten. "Are you going to?"
Will's chin rested in his hands. "I can't do it alone. I don't know the first thing about him. Am I supposed to just grab a coffee with him and make small talk?" He snorted. Nico frowned. He leaned against the tree then, close enough that Will's hands skimmed his ribs.
"Take Lou Ellen."
Will looked insulted by such a suggestion. He looked up at Nico through his lashes. "She'd started giggling as I'd start crying. Hell no." He paused. "Besides, nobody knows."
Nico knew he'd hate himself for saying his next words, but there was no way he'd let Will's eyes look so sad, not when he was dressed so nicely. "But you told me…" Will didn't say anything. His sad eyes just kept tugging at Nico's heart. "Would you go…if I went with you?"
Instantly, Will stood up. A surprised smile graced his face, replacing the cloud of darkness shading his bright blue eyes. "I thought you hated me."
Nico said through gritted teeth, "Nope." It was the truth. It was the opposite, actually. Nico wanted his distance. He needed it. He couldn't survive so close to Will with him physically so out of reach. But Will's world was on the verge of collapsing. To him, this meant more than a estranged father. This meant he was meeting somebody he may turn out to be just like in his life. This meant he would know what was to come. This meant he would know the face of the man who abandoned him. This meant his entire perspective on life could possibly change. He needed somebody.
Will grinned. "Then will you go to the dance? You'll already look better than me and my dirty suit." Nico's heart tightened. He knew he should say no. He knew he'd regret it. And yet, there was that charming smile that melted his insides.
"Fine."
A/N: Well…this was slightly better than a filler chapter. I'm not a hugeee fan, but I always love Nico bonding with people other than Will just as much as I love him bonding with Will!
Confession: I never really thought out this story like 100%. I planned to the dance and a little after. So when I say that it's coming to an end, don't worry. It should be around fifteen to seventeen chapters. Sometimes, I feel like I just throw one thing after the other with these two with little overall plot. It's not one of the best thought out stories, but it's been one of my favorites to write!
Also, I LOVE THE REVIEWS! Thank you guys so much! Now, what do we think is gonna happen at the dance? So many options. I want to hear them all! Tell me! Five reviews and we'll get the next chapter up! Love you guys!