and we continue…

Will's point of view

The only thing I've been able to think of all day was how Nico ended up in my bed. Kayla says he shadow traveled there in his sleep but how? The worst part is that my arm was around his waist, and that we had been cuddling all night. And just a few minutes ago, Nico had yelled, "Ti amo," whatever that means. I'm guessing it was probably something embarrassing, because why else would he leave so quickly?

So I'm just laying in bed trying to figure all this out, when I hear a knock on the cabin door. I hear the door open and Kayla say, "Oh hey Percy. Hi Annabeth."

I hear Percy's voice respond, "Hey Kayla. Is Will here? We just wanted to talk to him."

"I'm here," I call out.

"Can you come with us to my cabin?" he asks.

I get up and follow them there. I take a seat on one of the beds and look around the cabin, waiting for Percy and Annabeth to come inside. On the ceiling, there's a beautiful herd of of miniature hippocampi, and in one corner, I see a spring of water. Finally, they both take a seat in the bunk across from me.

"Look, I've never been fond of small talk, so just let me get to the main point. Do you like anybody?" Percy asks.

"Not really," I reply. Why would they pull me out of my cabin for this? No way in hell am I gonna give them the answer to a question like this. Not even my closest friends and siblings know my sexuality.

"Come on, who?"

"No one."

"Please, we won't tell."

"I just can't."

"Is it because of you're gay?"

I feel my eyes grow wide and my heart beat quicken. I swallow some air, and decide to play dumb. I lean back, and ask, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you like someone, and we wanna help you get the guy."

"I don't like anyone, and if that is what you wanted to talk about then I better leave." I get up and head towards the door.

I'm about to open it when I hear Percy whisper to Annabeth, "Such a shame. I guess we can't tell him that Reyna is gonna ask out Nico tomorrow"

I spin around and find myself yelling, "WHAT?! Since when did Reyna like Nico? I thought she didn't like anyone, because he may not know it yet, but Nico is mine!"

I cover my mouth. My face is on fire. A smile starts to form on Percy's lips as he raises his eyebrows. "Your Nico, huh?"

"You should tell him," is all Annabeth says.

I get up and leave for real this time. I basically run out the door. And guess who I run into on my way to the Apollo cabin? The one and only: Nico di Angelo. My face grows even hotter. I hope the darkness around us hides my blush. Nico starts to smile, but then stops himself and looks away.

"H-hey Nico. How's it going?" I try to act normal, but it's really hard after you basically just admitted who you liked, and that very person was right in front of you.

"Fine. Why are you coming out of Percy's cabin?" he says looking behind me.

"Oh well, just t-talking to Percy and Annabeth, a-about...stuff," I reply, speaking the half truth of what really happened.

"Cool," Nico says, glancing at the cabin again, then back at me.

"Yeah," I say. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you, what does 'ti amo' mean? You yelled it at me earlier".

"Oh. It's nothing," he says. Was it my imagination, or did his ears just turn pink?

I take a step towards him, studying at his face. We stare at each other, and strangely, the silence isn't awkward. I look at him, and his dark, brown eyes look up into mine. My gaze drops to his lips, and I bite mine. I don't realize how close I am to him until I can faintly feel his breath on my face. I snap out my daze. I can't do it. I can't kiss him. Not here, probably not ever. He would probably hate me forever. I would rather be forever friend zoned than be left heartbroken. So, I speak. "Ok well, it's getting late, and I should probably turn in for the night. I don't feel like being eaten by harpies tonight."

"Ha, yeah," he replies.

We leave in opposite directions, and as I walk, I am stuck wondering how the hell am I ever gonna get over him.

Nico's point of view

Why am I such an idiot? I felt myself leaning in towards him. I had been trying to kiss him. Thank the gods he said something that woke me from my trance. It was too close. If I had kissed him, it would have been a one sided kiss, because like hell he would feel the same way. I toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep. So, I decide to take a walk outside to clear my head and calm me down. The fresh, cool air is a relief. I look around the camp, now completely covered in darkness. I can't go back to my cabin, it's too stuffy in there, and I need to breathe. So, I climb a tree and sit on a branch up high, out of sight. It's so relaxing up here. I feel my eyelids grow heavy, so I close them. A few seconds of relaxation wont hurt me.

I wake to the sounds of distant laughter and the clanging of metal. People in camp are already up and about. My eyes are still partially closed as I start to roll out of bed like I do every morning. I feel myself hit the ground and hear a loud crack, realizing I hit a grass floor instead of my black carpet. What the hell? I think, now fully awake. That's when I remember that I, for some stupid reason, decided to sleep in a tree. I look up. It wasn't that long of of fall, but I must've fallen at a weird angle. My arm hurts. It's probably broken. I should get it fixed, so I head over to the infirmary, because, well hey, I'm still able walk.

I open the door, and see that only Will is inside, rushing around, setting things up. I am suddenly self conscious of how I look. I'm still in my boxers, and I'm wearing a faded pink t-shirt that I only wear to bed so that nobody could ever see me in it. Gods, this is embarrassing.

"Um, hey, Will?"

Will looks over and his eyes widen a bit. "Oh gods what happened you? Come on."

Will's point of view.

"Okay, explain how you managed to break your arm," I tell Nico as he sits on one of the medical tables. I start to treat the wounds. It's nothing serious, thank the gods, just a broken arm, and a bloody knee. I feel my face grow slightly warm when I realize that he's only wearing his boxers, and how close I have to be to him to treat his arm. Nico starts to explain that he went for a midnight walk to clear his mind, for what he didn't say, and about his nap in the tree. I finish treating his wound, and he just looks at his bandaged arm and moves it around as he finishes his story. While he talks, I just stare at him, observing every detail of his face. His messy black hair, his bone structure, the paleness of his skin, his dark eyes, those irresistible, perfect lips. When he does finish, he looks up to meet my eyes. We're suddenly nose to nose, an neither of us look away.

I smile when I see his face turn as red as mine. I lean in towards him. He's still blushing, but his eyes start to close. He leans in more, and I put my hand on the table, coming in even closer, filling the remaining space between us. I feel our lips press together, and I feel the mixture of our breaths. And for that small moment, nothing else matters.

I pull away, and I see his eyes open with shock, mine do too, because I never would have imagined that I could ever do what I just did. After a few moments of staring at each other, I finally say, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now."

I look down, a bit embarrassed, but then Nico places his hand on the back of my neck. "Me too," he says, before pulling me into another kiss.