Chapter 3:

Nico Sort of-Kinda-ish-Maybe Gets a Date

Nico wasn't sure if he could handle performing Romeo and Juliet with Will. Take their first practise as an example.

"We've pretty much already decided we're going to be Romeo and Juliet respectively," Will was saying as he flicked through the play. "I read it through and marked all the interactions between those two characters as I went."

He suddenly looked up, a blush on his face.

"That sounded so much nerdier out loud," he groaned. Nico hurriedly put up his hands.

"No no, it's okay. I – um – actually did that too." He held up his sticker-tagged book. Will grinned brightly at him.

"Alright then, Juliet," the Apollo kid said, "let's give you your Romeo."

Nico hid his pink face behind the book. Will apparently didn't notice, instead rigorously flicking through the pages.

"Romeo moping, la la la… Invited to the ball, whoop de do… Juliet and the Nurse trol lol lol… Mercutio being stupid, hum de dee… Ah ha!"

Nico looked up. He'd already found the page and was reading over it. Will excitedly pointed to the script in his hands. "Found it!"

"Good on you, Solace," Nico teased. "I've only been waiting a century."

"It's actually only thirteen years Juliet waits for Romeo," Will nodded seriously. Nico rolled his eyes.

"She doesn't even know him that long," he retorts. "She pretty much doesn't wait for him at all."

"And therein lies my point. Juliet's impatient. So are you." The little shit then proceeded to wink at Nico, making his face flush. Nico threw his play at Will's head.

"Hey hey hey!" Will protested. "Juliet doesn't throw books at her Romeo!"

"Yeah, well Nico throws books at his Will."

Nico clapped a hand over his mouth, his ears reddening. Will whipped around to look at him, pleasant surprise on his face, before he started wiggling his eyebrows.

"So… I'm yours now, hmm?" he asked, grinning like a moron. Nico took his hands away, scowling.

"Are we doing this or not," he snapped, crossing his arms. Will held his hands up, still beaming like the freakin' sun.

"Yeah, yeah, we are. Here's your book." He handed Nico the fallen play.

"Right," Nico grunted, opening it to Act One Scene Five. "You start, Solace."

Will made a show of clearing his throat before looking down at his play and then gazing lovingly at Nico. Nico felt his face grow hot again. Will didn't even seem to be trying.

"What lady's that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?" he asked dreamily, blinking lazily at Nico, who was rooted to the spot. Will then changed persona into a confused staffsman.

"I know not, sir," he replied to himself. Skipping back to where he was as Romeo, Will took on that dreamy, love-struck look again, and stared at Nico unabashedly.

"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"

He then went off on a long spiel about how beautiful Juliet was. Nico watched him in fascination. He could literally feel the waves of adoration coming off Will like it was a tangible tsunami of butt-kisser-y. Will started edging closer to Nico, looking him directly in the eye as he spoke the last few lines.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

"It's the middle of the day," Nico muttered, not stopping himself. Will laughed.

"Lighten up a little, di Angelo," he snorted. "We're never going to get this assignment the grades we deserve if you're going to be a stiff actor."

For some reason Nico felt a little stung by that.

"I haven't even said anything!" he protested. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? I can tell by your demeanour that we have a lot of acting lessons to do."

Nico scowled.

"You want acting? I'll give you acting." He took a step back, waiting for Will to deliver his next line. "I'll give you Juliet."

Will looked a little stunned for a moment, before he smirked.

"Fine by me," he replied. "Let's do this thing."

Then he took on that lovey-dovey look again and walked slowly up to Nico. Nico inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a second. I am Juliet. You can do this, di Angelo. Don't let Bianca's acting classes go in vain.

Nico turned around and pretended not to notice the prowling Romeo nearby. He felt Wills' breath on his ear and inclined his head slightly.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this. My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss," Will said, his delivery flawless.

I am Juliet.

Nico glanced down at his play, checking the lines. Then he looked around at Will and schooled his face into an expression of delight.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much," he replied softly, his voice taking on a tone of lightness that surprised Nico as much as it did Will. He gently took Will's free hand and caressed it. What? Shakespeare demanded he act.

"Which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch." Nico leant in mischievously, a kind smile on his face. "And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

He whispered the last line in Will's ear, and Nico actually felt a shiver pass down the Apollo kid's spine. Will didn't react for the longest time.

"Oi, Solace," Nico hissed. "Keep going."

Will jerked himself, roughly pulling Nico too. His face, which Nico hadn't been able to see before, was bright red and he stuttered as he said his line.

"H-Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

Nico nodded solemnly, beyond amused by this entire thing. And he thought Shakespeare hated him!

"Ay, pilgrim," he replied, glancing down again, "lips that they must use in prayer."

Will said something else, but Nico was a little preoccupied with the rapid heartbeat he could hear through the other boy's orange shirt. It sounded like someone had started abusing a bongo drum, hitting it fast and loud every time. He didn't really hear Will give his line, but Nico noticed when he wasn't talking anymore, and hurriedly said his next part.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Will, this time not stuttering, replied with, "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged."

They were then both really, really quiet. Nico's eyes flickered down and saw two words that almost made his legs give out.

'They kiss.'

"Well," Will coughed after a moment. "Um, what do we do now?"

Nico moved away from him, his face no longer what he now referred to as Juliet-Nico but back to Regular Nico.

"It says they kiss," he deadpanned, and then felt heat run his face again. Will looked equally embarrassed, and Nico felt a small pang in his chest. He then cursed himself. He had no right to think of Will that way what was he stupid? The guy had already said he liked someone else.

"Well," Will joked, "are we going to 'kiss by th'book'?"

Nico looked down and realised that was a line in the play.

"Probably not," he decided, missing the flash of hurt on Will's face. After all, Nico thought he was being teased.

"But that scene's definitely a, uh, good idea." He looked up at Will. "I think it worked pretty well."

To this Will scoffed.

"Pretty well? Di Angelo, where the Hades did you learn to act like that? Here I was thinking Juliet wouldn't be any fun."

Nico looked affronted.

"Excuse you, Solace, I'm plenty fun." Will rolled his eyes.

"I've not seen you have fun once," he argued.

"I'm capable of having fun without other people." Nico crossed his arms. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Well I make it a goal to see you have fun, Nico." He tapped his chin thoughtfully before his eyes brightened and he gave another grin that the Apollo kids were famous for: a blinding smile that caught the sun.

"There's a leave weekend coming up!" he said excitedly. "Where we can go into New York and stuff. You and I are going together."

Nico opened his mouth.

"No arguments."

Nico closed his mouth.

He felt excited, scared, happy, worried and anticipative all at the same time.

"Fine," he replied, closing his play just as the horn to signal the end of class burst through the trees, telling them to return and get their things. Will punched the air and ran out of the forest of trees, his legs taking him faster than Nico thought was humanly possible.

Nico sighed as he started out of the clearing too, rubbing his face.

"Juliet was in love with Romeo long before they were paired together," he murmured to himself. But this time he wasn't referring to the play dangling from his hand.

Those oblivious little shits *shakes head* I was in the mood so here you all go. Join me in the Solangelo trashbag of eternal ignorant fluff.

Jasmine Out!