Sing Till My Heart Bleeds

by PercabethRox2435

Will loves singing, so when he's forced to take part in a singing contest, he hopes that he can make it through the competition. But what happens when his mentor turns out to be a jerk? Will he manage to still go through with the competition? Or will that be the ending of his singing? AU Humans, one-shot, rated T for swearing and explicit content

Sing till My Heart Bleeds

A/N

Hey Guys. Hope your Quarantine days are going by smoothly.

Anyways, for this fanfiction, I'd like to point out some things. First, I don't own any of the characters or songs. Second, most of the songs can be found on YouTube under the name Nightcore. I absolutely love their songs. Second, I'm not going to stress about how each performance goes, unless it's necessary.

Hope you enjoy this story. If you do, please read my other fanfics.

Yours,

PercabethRox2435

OoooO

If there was anything Will was sure of (there were very few things he was sure of), it was the fact that he loved singing. It was something he just loved. Whether it was singing in the shower, or while he was cooking for his siblings, he just enjoyed it. He would play a song on his Spotify playlist, and begin to match his pitch to the song.

Honestly, he didn't know when his passion for singing began. But he was sure his dad was somehow related to it. Ever since his death, Will felt like singing would be the only thing to keep his father's presence maintained. So, he sang every chance he got. It began with him singing in private, then letting his siblings hear him. But then he got bolder with the praise he received, and tried singing for his high-school's talent show. Needless to say, and much to his surprise, he won. After that, he pursued his medical degree, but sang every opportunity he got.

He thought nothing about his singing though for a while. He was happy to keep it as a hobby. But then his siblings, Kyla and Austin, and his best friend Cecil, signed him up for a singing competition. It was a nation-wide event, and Will began sweating, especially when his video was selected and he was asked to come for the official auditions in the coming week. At that, all he could do was glare and his younger siblings and Cecil, and pack up for the journey. The event was held in California, so it was going to be quite the journey from New York, where he stayed.

He practiced as hard as he could, not really expecting to pass the auditions, but not wanting to give up without a fight. Honestly speaking, he had not expected to get a standing ovation from the judges. Next thing he knew, he was asking his senior doctor for a leave, and settling down in his hotel. His family came along with Cecil, the following week.

The first day of the event, they were all supposed to sing a song of their choice. Based on their singing styles, they would be paired with a professional singer. Then for the rest of the competition, they would have to try and get maximum scores, all the while passing the challenges the judges would throw at them.

The rules appeared simple enough to Will. He just hoped his professional singer would take pity on him, considering he never had a teacher or a guide to help him with his singing.

When the first day of the competition rolled around, Will couldn't stop sweating or fidgeting. He had practiced his rendition of Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley, and tried to pray to the gods above that he'd at least make it through the first few weeks. Then even if he was eliminated, he'd feel proud of getting somewhere.

When he was called on stage, he took a deep breath in and scanned the crowd. He was trying to spot his family, but instead met a pair of brown eyes staring at him. His eyes seemed to be saying 'what are you waiting for', but his lips where pulled up in a smirk, that seemed to be mocking him. That expression was what calmed Will, allowing him to sing his song to the best of his abilities. When he was done, the judges thanked him, telling him that they would call him once the rest were done. He thanked the judges and headed off-stage. When he left, he met two of the contestants he'd be-friended. One of them was a black-haired guy, Percy, if he remembered correctly. The other was a caramel haired woman called Piper. They both crowded around him, asking him how it went. "It was fine", he responded while rubbing the back of his neck. "They told that they'd call me towards the end."

The two participants groaned at the prospect of having to wait longer for their chance to come. At that moment, Will saw Cecil waving at him, so he wished them luck and went to meet his brown-haired friend.

"Dude", Cecil remarked out loud, "You killed it!"

"Your lying, there are better people out there."

Cecil rolled his eyes at his attempt to be modest. "Dude I don't care what you think, but trust me. You were on fire."

Will smiled at his friend, "Thanks Cecil."

Cecil ruffled his hair, "Thank me by buying me a burger. I'm starving and am craving a hamburger."

OoooO

In the end, Will was paired with the mysterious brown-eyed guy who he saw before singing, Nico Di'Angelo. When he heard Nico singing 'Crazy in Love' by Beyoncé, he felt shivers run down his spine. Then when the judges paired him with Nico, he felt this tiny spark of hope light up in him. Maybe he could win this competition.

But all those thoughts drained out of him when Nico turned out to be a self-centered jerk. When they reached the room assigned to them, Nico immediately shut the door and faced him. With a smirk, he said, "Your singing needs a lot of work. You keep on breaking out at the end, and I honestly wouldn't have paired with you, Sunshine. But sadly, I have no choice but to continue helping your sorry ass get through this competition."

Will was normally a calm and collected person, but there was something about this Di'Angelo person that set his nerves off. With a cold laugh, he smirked at Nico, "Yeah well Angel, I have no interest in pairing with you either, but for the sake of the competition, let's just go through with this."

Nico then narrowed his eyes at him. Then with a deep breath, he nodded and agreed.

They decided that they would sing mashups. The first song they decided on was a mashup of 'Circus', by Britney Spears, and 'Tag, You're It' by Melanie Martinez. Will just hoped he'd make it through the practice without choking his mentor.

OoooO

It would be pointless to say that they did a great job when they performed. Despite the fights they had, and the self-centered way Nico behaved, they still managed to get a song ready, and Will hated to admit it, but he and Nico sang really well together. Maybe it was Nico putting in the effort to match his pitch to Will's, but he honestly put no effort to do the same.

In the end, he and Nico got a score of twenty seven out of thirty, highest along with Percy and his coach Annabeth. After that it was Piper with her coach Jason, getting a score of twenty-five, following them was Leo and his coach Calypso (score of twenty-three), and finally Frank and his coach Hazel (with the same score).

All in all, they all got a score above twenty, which to Will was pretty impressive.

It was going well, until a certain someone acted a little too obnoxious.

Will was practicing his lyrics for their upcoming A 'Capella performance. Since it was international A 'Capella day, the judges had informed them that they would have a boys versus girls competition, which wouldn't affect their scores in way. It was kind of like a special in the program. That was followed by Percy and Jason asking them if they could do a mashup of Imagine Dragons, since that band were their favourite, and co-incidentally, the judges wanted to ask said band to judge one of the challenges. Maybe their performance might actually make them come.

So, they decided that Leo would begin by singing Thunder, followed by Jason singing Gold, Will singing Thunder, then Percy singing Demons. After that Nico would sing It's Time and finally Frank would sing Shots. They would then go back to Leo singing on top of the world, Will following by singing I Bet my Life, Nico with Whatever it Takes, and finally, Percy with Radioactive.

It seemed perfect for them. Excited, they promised to meet the next day to practice their song.

Unfortunately, though, as Will was practicing his lines, Nico kept on interrupting him, passing comments and snickering each time Will got stuck on a line. It made Will so angry, he could help but burst out.

"What is your fucking problem? I haven't done anything to you ever since we met. Can you just shut up and let me try and practice?! I don't mind hearing your views after I'm done, so please shut the fuck up and let me practice in peace."

Satisfied with what he said, Will was about to sit down, when Nico lost his cool. "I'm just trying to help. Unfortunately, though, you don't seem- "

"Maybe if you tried politely mentioning- "

"But it's just that your perfect Angelic way of behaving makes me so mad. It's like you have no clue what sort of evil is out there? How can you live so sheltered? I have seen the brunt of the world and don't need your Angelic presence to tell me otherwise!"

At that point, they were so close, Will thought that he could easily kiss Nico. When he saw Nico's eyes move to his lips, images of a smirk and cold eyes made him jump away from him.

He cleared his throat. "Let's go back to practicing", he said, not meeting Nico's eyes.

But that didn't make him miss the look of disappointment in said eyes.

OoooO

Their A' Capella performance for so good, the judges later mentioned that the band had agreed to come. The girls too, did a good job. They sang 'Cheap Thrills' by Sia.

Throughout practice, and even their performance, Will began avoiding Nico, only coming to him when necessary.

It was only after the performance, that Nico cornered him on the terrace. "Solace", he said, eyes piercing through him. "Tell me what happened then." Will nervously chuckled, "What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about."

Nico sighed, "When I was about to kiss you, you jerked back suddenly. You can't lie by saying that you aren't gay. I asked Cecil yesterday, and he said that you've had a boyfriend previously. So, what happened?"

Will looked in Nico's eyes to see any signs of him pranking him or lying to him. When he saw none, he sighed and sat down, gesturing for Nico to do the same.

"When I was in high-school, I had a boyfriend Jake Mason. He was sweet and everything at first. We walked home together, and he was nice to me. But he was a jock and I was a nerd; I should've known it was bound to fail. He got caught up in maintaining his social status, and started dating me in private, but somehow his friends came to know. They started teasing him, and he in turn took out his anger on me."

Will then removed his shirt, and let Nico see the various scars near his stomach and chest.

"When I tried to get through to him, tell him that it was fine as long as we loved each other, he ran away. The next thing I knew, he came to my house, drunk beyond measure, and maybe on drugs, with his lackeys. They thrashed my house, grabbed hold of me and made several cuts. I didn't tell anyone of the verbal abuse I received earlier, too scared and ashamed of revealing my sexuality and ruining the small group of friends I had. By the time I started to lose consciousness due to excess blood lost, my dad entered and tried to reason with Jake."

He looked at Nico, expecting him to look at him with disgust or fear, instead seeing him giving him a look of concern.

"I was unconscious by that time, but when I came too, the doctors told me that I was safe and needed an organ transplant. Being a medical enthusiast, I asked them to tell me whose organs were donated to me, so I could thank the patient party or something. That's when…. that's when they told me…."

"It's okay Will", Nico said while putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No, no I need to complete. They told me my dad had died that night, and in the ambulance, before loosing consciousness, asked the health officials to save me, first me." By now, he started sobbing, tears dripping off his face as he remembered his dad's sacrifice in a way. "He saved me, at the risk of his own life. My mother agreed to organ transplant. She said he'd want to. Plus, the doctors said he was too far gone to be saved. Now all that haunts me is Jake's cold expression and my dad's terrified look."

Nico's eyes had this hard look to them. He pulled Will to himself, and Will flung his arms around Nico's middle. Through sobs, he said, "Now you understand. I'm not as sheltered as I appear. I put on a mask each and every time."

Nico appeared to be at a loss for words. Instead, he tried to convey his message by pulling Will closer to him. Will got the message loud and clear, 'I'm here for you and won't leave you.'

After a few minutes, or hours, Will wouldn't have cared either ways, Nico started speaking. "When I was in high-school, my sister Bianca was a senior, while I was a junior. We lost our mother when we were very young. So, we stuck by each other. That worked till my sister reached her senior year. After that she left me behind for a group of girls, who called themselves the 'Hunters of Artemis', or some crap like that. It was also around that time, when I realized I was gay, so naturally, I had no friends, not to mention I was perpetually grumpy and trying for a whole 'badass' look. Anyways, I was going to a store to buy milk, as my dad was into some illegal business and was never home, and my sister started hanging out till late with her friends. As I entered, I realized this guy, who was following me from school, entered too. I was shit scared, but told myself I didn't need anyone. I wish I knew better."

Will put his hand on Nico, trying to tell him that it was okay and he didn't have to be scared. He too wouldn't be leaving him either. Thankfully, Nico seemed to get the message.

"As I picked up the milk, I could sense the guy a little behind me. So, I turned, and saw him with a gun in his hand. I don't exactly know what he holding the gun for, maybe he was an enemy of my father, maybe he was going to try and force me to buy drugs, I honestly don't know. At that very moment, I heard the door jingle open, and I heard my sister. I tried to call out to her, but the man covered my mouth. He threatened to kill me if I made a noise, hence I kept quiet. Unfortunately, though, my sister came there at that moment, behind the man and signaled for me to be quiet. I thought it would be alright, but I was wrong. As if sensing a presence behind him, the man turned. At that very moment, Bianca and her friend attacked the man, then she screamed at me to run. I wish so many times that I wasn't such a coward. As soon as I ran out, I heard two gun-shots. When I rushed back in, I saw my sister and the man lying in a pool of their blood, her other friend shouting at me to call the ambulance. But I knew, knew she was gone."

Nico took a deep breath in. "My dad became cold and distant to me. People began avoiding me. I felt like I was becoming one with the shadows. I've felt that way till I saw you." At that statement, Nico looked into Will's blue eyes. "You seemed like an Angel, Solace. With your sunny blond locks and happy carefree expression. You angered me, but at the same time, you were pulling me even closer to you. I think that angered me even more." He laughed at that.

"I don't know about you", Nico continued, "But when we were singing together, it felt so effortless. I was hoping, wondering…. you don't necessarily have to agree, but I need to ask- "

Will looked up at Nico's earnest expression and knew that Nico would never leave him or hurt him. After all, he was equally as broken as him.

"Nico", was all Will said before leaning even more closer, and kissing him. Kissing Nico felt so natural and so easy, he felt like he could do it for the rest of his life.

When they pulled apart, Nico laughed. "This feels like something straight out of one of those teen novels." Will couldn't help but agree with him.

OoooO

After that, it became even easier for them to practice, and finally, they were one of the three groups selected for the semi-finals. The other two were Percy and Annabeth, and Leo and Calypso.

For the semifinals, he and Nico decided to sing a mashup on 'All time low' and 'Trumpets', feeling like the lyrics matched them. Will singing the All-Time low part, by Jon Bellion. Nico in turn sang the Trumpets part, by Jason Derulo.

Annabeth and Percy sang a mashup on Payphone by Maroon 5, and Telephone by Lady Gaga. Annabeth sang Telephone, while Percy sang Payphone.

Finally, Leo and Calypso took the stage with their duet on Senorita.

In the end though, Leo and Calypso got eliminated, much to the shock of the audience. But the two just smiled and confirmed Will's growing suspicion, that the two were dating. They announced the next day, that they would be opening a school for kids to learn to sing, with the money they won.

When the day of the Finale arrived though, Will was super nervous. He and Nico would be singing a song that would signify them together. He absolutely loved the idea that Nico put forth. This song would declare them as a couple, and he was nervous to see the reaction of the crowd, and most importantly his family.

As he came on stage, he saw Nico look at him, putting his thumb out in a 'best of luck' way. Then the music began, and he and Nico began singing together. They sang a mashup on 'Crazy in love' by Beyoncé and 'Take me to Church' by Hozier. He felt like those lyrics were made for him and Nico. He was crazy in love for Nico. They'd been through so much by themselves, that they deserved happiness together. They ended the performance with a kiss that made the already crazy audience scream out more.

After their performance, they met Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, while Percy congratulated Nico and him on their amazing performance. They made small talk, which was difficult for poor Percy, considering how nervous he was. When the host called their names, Annabeth put her hand in Percy's, soothing his nerves, and said, "Come on Seaweed Brain. Let's rock the stage!"

They ended up singing 'A thousand years' by Christina Perri and Steve Kazee. Will honestly felt like that song suited those two. He didn't know what happened between them, but the look Percy gave Annabeth throughout their performance reminded him of Nico's expression on him. They too ended their performance with a kiss, as if sealing their relationship with the promise that they'd love each other for a thousand years. The crowd wept after their performance, and Will knew that those two would win. Nico looked at him and told him to not worry, even if they did win, Nico had no doubt that it would be a close call. Will simply agreed, leaning into Nico some more.

OoooO

In the end, Percy and Annabeth did win. But as Nico had predicted, it was a close call. Nico and Will ended up with a bonus prize of half a million on top of the million they'd won in second place, as they were a crowd favourite throughout the show.

Will was satisfied, as he felt that the amount, they won was close to the winning prize of three million.

Now, a year after the competition, he and Nico moved in together, having made a few albums together and dating throughout the same.

It was during that year, when Nico made the suggestion that Will accepted immediately.

The two were lying in bed after an intense make out session, Will underneath Nico, panting cheeks pink. Nico himself was panting and looked at Nico with these soft eyes that made Will feel like he was melting into a puddle.

"Will", Nico said after he recovered. "I was thinking, why don't we make an A 'Capella band."

"Huh", Will asked. It took him a few minutes to get his brain working, especially after a heated make out session like the one they currently had.

"Do you remember the song we all sang after the finale?" Will nodded. It was truly a memorable experience, especially since they all were in tune and everything.

"So why don't we make an A 'Capella group. I'm sure we'd become famous as we were recently in that competition."

"But how do we contact all the others? I only have the numbers of Percy and Piper."

Nico smiled. "I have the contact information of Hazel and Leo. So, what do you say?"

Nico looked so adorable at that moment, with wide earnest eyes, determined to get through to Will, that he knew Nico would get his way every time.

OoooO

A year after that, 'The Olympians' released their first cover. The ten members went on to becoming one of the few successful A 'Capella groups, and Will didn't regret anything.

So, I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot. I'm sharing the link to all the covers below. I repeat, I don't any of the songs or characters.

Hallelujah: /y8AWFf7EAc4

Crazy in Love: /izlbGQOjGd8

Mashup of Circus and Tag, You're It: /ZdZWTYzFTBU

A' Capella performance (boys): /2-8q7WH4qwk

A' Capella performance (girls): /qbDwcRgFBtw

Semifinal performance (Will and Nico): /x05tBIokckE

Semifinal performance (Percy and Annabeth): /uZvcKMPY7L8

Semifinal performance (Leo and Calypso): /Pkh8UtuejGw

Final performance (Will and Nico): /mzPLneG290k

Finals performance (Percy and Annabeth): /WQjGcNBuv30