To everybody: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! As always, thank you to everyone favoriting, following, and REVIEWING MY STORY! YAAAAY! Please accept the cookies handed out by Nico and Will.
His first thought: What just happened?
His second thought: You've got to be kidding me.
At first, he could only gape at Will, the handsome, confident son of Apollo, as he sauntered with his hands behind his head as if he had no care in the world. As if he hadn't just sent Nico's world spinning from orbit, chasing after his own path to get back in line before he could fully absorb the shock of Will's collision.
And then the words: "Yep, I thought so."
It was like a knife in the gut and Will was twisting it. Nico tried to avoid thinking about why Will had such a huge impact on him, but the reasoning was obvious. Nico was just stubbornly refusing to accept it. Instead, he had a score to settle.
"Will Solace!" he spat, marching after the son of Apollo the moment he was actually capable of moving. "You better explain yourself or I swear there are worse things than Tartarus!"
Will didn't stop walking, but he glanced back at Nico, his expression unreadable. "What do you need me to spell out for you?" he asked innocently. Nico's jaw clenched and he quickly stepped in front of Will, blocking his path.
"Everything," he hissed. "That."
It took all of his willpower not to blush at the thought of that.
To his surprise, Will's ears turned red and he ran a hand through his hair.
"I thought... I wasn't sure if you were-"
"Gay?" It sounded almost foreign on his tongue, but Nico knew with certainty that it was true, he just hadn't directly said it to anyone yet. "Yeah, I am. And so suddenly that's okay? It's okay to-to... do that?" He motioned as he spoke, waving an arm at the scene of the crime. Will tilted his head to the side, frowning.
"I'm sorry, Nico. I wasn't thinking, but it never really occured to me that you'd be upset..."
The little butt-tard had the audacity to act innocent. A shadow fell across Nico's face and something churned inside of him- he didn't even know what it was- and the ground beneath his feet trembled.
"Of course I'd be upset! Why did you do that, because it sure didn't sound like it was because of any interest in me!"
Yep, he was certain that he was blushing now, but he couldn't let his embarrassment overwhelm him. Will didn't deserve to get away with a move like that without Nico putting things in perspective.
Will's eyebrows rose. "Wha-?"
"'Yep, I thought so?'" Nico said, echoing Will's words. "What was that about?" He could feel his anger swelling, and it felt as if one prod at it could make it burst.
"I'm sorry. It's just… I-I didn't know.." Will's voice was hardly a whisper.
"Didn't know what, Will?" Nico's eyes narrowed to slits.
Will didn't get the chance to reply. He was interrupted by a shrill, "Well, if Nico isn't gonna do it, then I will!"
Drew strode up to Will and slapped him across the face, and the guy might as well have been two feet shorter than Drew rather than almost a foot taller.
"That's for Nico," she stated. "And that-" She slapped him again, splitting his cheek and leaving a thin gash of blood. "-is from me." With that, she tossed her hair and ambled away, swaying her hips dramatically. Will watched her walk off, raising a hand to his cheek.
"Hmph." He wrinkled his nose. Nico's glare was about to drill holes through his head.
"You were saying?"
"Blood," Will murmured when he pulled his hand away from the gash.
"Yeah, it's blood. Get over it."
Will made a face that said, Seriously? "Di Angelo, I deal with blood everyday. I'm perfectly capable of 'getting over it.'" He shook his head. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"
"You sound exactly like your dad."
"Well, at least my saying that is justifiable."
"No, it's not."
Will sighed.
"Now explain what that was all about, Solace."
Will looked down at his feet and bit his lip. His eyebrows furrowed as if he was in deep thought.
Nico had two burning questions: What gave me away? He was ashamed that he even thought of it, as if he was trying conceal the fact that he was, indeed, gay. Then again, maybe he was. He shook the thought away.
The second question: What are Will's feelings? The kiss had only left Nico more confused than ever, and Will's reaction only made everything harder to comprehend.
"I didn't know if I… if I liked you like that," Will finally whispered. "Or if you were..." He didn't finish, yet he seemed to force himself to meet Nico's gaze, and his sparkling blue eyes locked onto Nico's gaze, not letting him look away.
The words slipped before Nico could catch them.
"But do you like me?"
"Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!" Apollo wailed. "Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!"
Will whipped around and marched up to Apollo, covering the gods mouth, his eyes burning.
"Do that one more time, and I will not let you talk for a week. Got it?"
"Woah," somebody else said. "Go easy on the guy. He seems pretty upset."
Will stiffened. "Rachel," he said uncertainly. "Hey…"
The red-haired girl grinned. "How're you doin'?" she asked. "Long time, no see, Will." She glanced back at Nico. "Ditto."
"Hey," Nico greeted, his voice stiff. "What are you doing? Food's the other way."
"I couldn't just go without saying hi to my friends!" she said, jogging toward Nico and pulling into a hug. Nico sighed and she eventually released him, her smile broadening. "You've improved," she noted before turning to Will. "I've got two questions," she stated. "One, being who's the homeless guy, and two, which is whether or not it's safe to hug you because that guy's giving me a dirty look."
Apollo stuck his tongue out at her. Rachel returned the gesture.
Will smiled and walked up to Rachel, pulling her into a hug. "That would be Apollo," he said. "I'm surprised you don't recognize him."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "He looks and smells different, to say the least."
Will laughed. "True."
Funny how easy it was for Will to act so nonchalant while Nico felt like his stomach was twisting.
"So, uh, how long were you standing there?" Will asked, managing to look somewhat uncomfortable. Rachel shrugged.
"Not long. I just passed by Drew on the way up here. She seems ticked off. So, Will, what'd you do?"
Will's jaw dropped. "What'd I do? Why do you suddenly assume it was me?"
"Dunno. Maybe because she slapped you."
Will's face paled, and Nico felt his face grow red. How much had Rachel seen?
She smiled. "Besides, she did have a crush on you. You kissing Nico probably didn't help that."
Will could've been made out of wax for how still he was. His eyes grew stony and he stared past Rachel. "Oh. You did see that."
Her face became more concerned. "I figured my timing was bad," she said, tugging on the bottom of her shirt, "but things weren't looking so good between you two. Plus, I needed to talk to somebody I actually like from Camp Half-Blood." She raised her eyebrows. "So, are you two a thing, or what?"
Nico made a rude noise from the back of his throat, glaring at Will. Will gave Rachel a look that practically had the word Sorry spelled across it. "We may have to work things out," he said slowly. Rachel nodded.
"Well, let me know when everything's set in stone!" She winked and sped off, leaving Will, Nico, and Apollo to discuss their feelings.
Nico waited for Will to speak, but the son of Apollo remained silent for what felt like days.
"It wasn't fair to you," Will said eventually. "Not to you, and not to... Drew, I guess. I'm sorry. I... That was a bad decision and I was way out of line. Please, don't... don't hold a grudge. I'll try to make up for it. I'm sorry."
Please, don't hold a grudge. A grudge. The fatal flaw of Hades' children. Nico released a deep breath.
Did he have feelings for Will? Maybe, but Will couldn't know that. Not yet. But from now on, things would be far different between them. Nico wouldn't forget the kiss. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he actually enjoyed it. He never felt so wanted, needed, by someone before.
But Will's words still danced across his head. I thought so. What did that mean? Did he not know for sure if he liked Nico, or was he just seeing if Nico liked him?
Or was he even gay? Did he realize that -by kissing Nico- he wasn't?
"Fine," Nico grumbled. "No grudges. But I have some questions." He felt his face turn red again (he seriously needed that checked out- shouldn't he at least have some control over whether or not he looked like he swallowed ten peppers?), and Will nodded, running a hand through his golden hair.
"Yeah, I thought you might."
Nico crossed his arms. "Are you gay?"
To his surprise, Will blushed and glanced at his dad. Apollo didn't pay him any attention as he began following after Rachel. Rachel spotted him coming and waited for him to catch up, and when the pair was out of sight, Will turned back to Nico.
"Um... yeah. I am."
"You never came out?"
Will scoffed bitterly. "Try didn't know. Until now, at least."
"How could you not know? You're almost, what, seventeen or something?"
Will began pacing, seeming beyond flustered. "I've considered it for while, but I was just... I don't know." He looked back at Nico. "But then I realized that I liked you. More than I have felt towards anybody, really."
"You sound sappy."
Will laughed, but there was a tone of sadness mixed with it. "Yes, well, sorry that I'm sappy, di Angelo. You'll just have to get over it."
Nico shrugged, trying to appear unfazed by what Will had said, but the news made Nico's heart dance.
"And di Angelo-"
"I have a name." He looked up and saw Will's eyebrows raise. "It's Nico," he clarified.
Will grinned. "I prefer Death Boy."
"That's not for you to decide."
"Don't tempt me to call you Death Boy, Death Boy."
"Narcissus."
"Screw you."
Nico smiled before he could stop it, and Will seemed to brighten up.
"Well, I should probably apologize to Drew. I kind of upset her. Quite a bit actually."
Nico suppressed a sigh. "Yeah, no kidding. I'll catch up with you later."
Will's easygoing appearance faltered. "Where you heading?"
"Shrine to Pluto. Bye." He turned and marched up to shadows cast by a wall before he could see Will's expression.
"Nico, don't shadow-"
Nico slipped into the darkness.
A lot of fluff and anger in this chapter, I know. I hope you liked it! If you did, review and tell me why! If you hated it, I would LOVE for you to tell me why- it makes me better! Also, tell me of any errors you may have seen! Thanks, and happy holidays!
