Nico left the infirmary after lunch, crossing the green from the big house back towards the cabins. Sunlight fell across him shoulders, grounding him, making him feel present; he shuddered when he thought that just a few days ago, he had almost become a ghost. He lifted his eyes to where the Hades cabin stood, a dark, ominous presence, shadowed even in the heat of day, and felt a slight chill along his spine.
Is this what people feel when they see me? A dark, unfriendly presence? No wonder they edge away when I'm near. He saw a flash of blond across the lawn, and his head snapped up, almost involuntarily. It was one of Will's siblings, laughing at a joke Katie Gardener had told. Who did you think it was? Will? Why would you even care if it was Will?
Because he needs to stop pestering me, he thought, sighing. Even as a thought, it was half-hearted. He looked at the Hades cabin again with distaste, and flopped down on the benches by the campfire.
His mind wandered to the conversation he'd had with Will before he'd left the infirmary.
"Hi." Will handed Nico a few pills and a glass of water, smiling when Nico handed back the empty glass. Nico's eyes flitted away from Will, to a painting of Persephone on the wall, holding a bunch of flowers. Is it possible, he thought wildly, that Will's smile is so bright, he could made daisies bloom in the night? Will's pen scratched on a clipboard, taking a note, and Nico shook his head. Where did that though come from?
Will was still smiling as he turned around, but instead of returning the gesture, Nico stood up. "Bye," he replied, moving toward the door.
"Wait." Will's arm blocked his path, and Nico bumped into it. He felt a strange jolt in his stomach. Pills, he said to himself. It's the pills. "I'm not sure you should go just yet. I think staying a little longer might be a good idea."
"What? Why? You said three days, Solace. It's been three days. I'm fine. I'm healthy." Nico looked fiercely at Will, swallowing the words he didn't say: "You make me feel... confused. Uncomfortable and yet at ease. You're messing with my head. I'm probably not better, but I need to sort my thoughts out, and I can't think when you're around."
"I don't know, Nico... I feel like-"
Nico cut off Will's words more harshly than he'd intended. "If it's just a feeling, Will, there's no reason for me to stay. I'm not sick, and I can sleep just as well in my cabin as I can here."
"Are you sure? I really think you're not better yet..." Will sounded concerned, and a little hurt.
Nico pushed past his still outstretched arm. "I'm fine, Will. Really."
He shifted his back on the wooden bench of the amphitheater where he lay, watching clouds drift across the sky. Holding his hands up above his face, he examined them, silhouetted against bright blue. They were pale, like ghosts of spiders, he thought with a sigh, dropping them back down. His right hand rested on his stomach, and his left hand hung off the edge of the bench, into the small bit of shade underneath. A cold feeling danced across his fingers. Lifting his hand, he watched as his fingers solidified into pale flesh. His fingertips had turned to smoke in the shadows.
It didn't surprise him. He'd been fading a lot less after Coach Hedge's sports herbal medicine had started to kick in and he'd spent a few days in the infirmary, but he wasn't healed. Not completely. He wasn't sure if he'd ever really heal all the way.
He knew he should have told Will. Saying he was fine was a lie; but at the same time, he knew what Will did to his stomach, and his head, and he wasn't certain he'd ever be fine while Will was watching over him, either.
Pushing himself into a warmer patch of sunlight, he curled around the hand that had turned to smoke when in the shadows, and fell asleep.
Will slipped out of dinner a few minutes early, looking for Nico when he realized Nico hadn't shown up for dinner. Will headed toward the cabins under a sky that was fading to inky blue and scattered with stars, intending to pull Nico's moping self out of the Hades cabin to eat something before dinner ended. He stopped short, however, when he passed the amphitheater, noticing a small shape curled up like a cat on one of the benches.
Stepping closer to the younger boy, a small smile played on his face upon seeing that it was, as he'd thought, Nico. Gently, Will eased him into his arms, and walked towards the Hades cabin with Nico curled against his chest, deep asleep.
