The days began to blur together again, as they always seemed to do when Nico couldn't keep his mind still. He walked through London quicker than he usually did; as if part of him hoped that he could put distance between himself and his thoughts this way. It was a futile attempt—he should know by now that distance couldn't separate him from thoughts and memories.

No matter how he looked at it, Will undoubtedly wanted to get closer to him. This conclusion was fairly easy to reach. The more complicated question did not have such a simple answer; what did Will see in him? Nico's life was a mess and his appearance reflected it. Just looking in the mirror was enough to bring his spirits down—what did it do to those that looked at him?

But, strangely enough, Will never looked at him like everyone else did. Will didn't avert his eyes hastily and walk the other direction. Will seemed to look past the dark circles under his eyes and the tangled hair that was perpetually unruly. He looked past his eyes, like he was seeing some kind of light inside Nico that was invisible to the rest of the world.

His pocket buzzed and Nico fished out his cell phone, the screen bright with a notification. Jason was calling him.

With a sigh of resignation Nico pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me, Jason."

"I know who it is, I have your number in my contacts," said Nico wryly, never breaking his brisk pace.

"Oh…right," said Jason. There was a pause, and Nico hoped that Jason wasn't about to hang up on him.

Nico opened his mouth to speak when Jason's voice came back to him.

"Look, I'm going to do a little Christmas shopping and I want your help."

"You want my help?" said Nico incredulously.

Jason laughed, the noise sounding strange through the phone.

"Yes, I want your help," said Jason. "I need to get Piper something nice and I have no ideas."

Nico took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, creating a misty cloud in front of him.

"I think you called the wrong person," said Nico seriously.

"Nico, stop being stupid. Just meet me at the mall in half an hour. I'm going to hang up before you say no. Be there!"

The line went dead and Nico pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the screen in surprise. Jason really had hung up on him. That was a first.

Nico swore under his breath but began his trek to the mall nonetheless.

The mall was bustling with people, which immediately made Nico's skin prickle. He had always preferred solitude and tried to avoid large groups of people whenever he could.

He wove through the crowd, muttering apologies here and there when he accidentally bumped into someone.

At last he spotted Jason up ahead. His blond hair was partially covered in a dark gray beanie and he wore a large jacket and sweater. He spotted Nico and waved enthusiastically.

"You're late," said Jason, his voice tinged with feigned annoyance.

"Cut me some slack, I was halfway across town when you called," said Nico, sticking his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"It was a joke," said Jason, ruffling Nico's hair affectionately. Nico shot him a murderous glare but said nothing.

"Nico, lighten up," said Jason, taking Nico by the arm and dragging him into a brightly lit department store.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Did you really want me to help you pick out a present for your girlfriend?" he asked, glancing up at Jason.

Jason had stopped at a rack of dresses and started thumbing through them.

"Kind of," he said, not looking at Nico.

"What do you mean kind 'of'?" said Nico, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.

Jason looked at Nico, pausing his search through the dresses.

"Well, I do need help, but that's not the only reason why I wanted to see you," he said, somewhat hesitantly.

Nico crossed his arms, waiting.

Finally, Jason turned to face him. An excited smile had spread across his face, one that Nico knew meant no good. Jason leaned forward a little and when he spoke, his voice was low.

"You're with Will Solace now, huh?"

Nico felt his cheeks bloom crimson and he turned on his heel, marching away.

"Wait! Nico—come back!"

Nico was already halfway across the department store when Jason grabbed the back of his jacket with enough force to make him stumble.

"Let go of me!" hissed Nico, terribly aware that his expression gave away far too much.

"Only if you promise not to run away," said Jason seriously.

Nico struggled for a moment longer, cursing Jason and his grip-strength.

"Fine," he snapped, whirling around to face the older boy. "Would you like to explain why you just said that?" he added, his heart beating wildly.

Jason looked startled by Nico's reaction. "Well, you two were talking and then you went back to his apartment…"

A rush of sound filled Nico's ears and it was all he could do to not strangle Jason in the middle of the store. Already they were starting to attract more than a few curious glances from the other shoppers.

"How did you know about that?" he demanded, for once staring right into Jason's eyes.

Jason took a hesitant step away. He obviously hadn't anticipated Nico's reaction.

"Well, I was at the hospital getting some bloodwork done, and when I came out I saw you and Will together."

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment, forcing deep breaths into his lungs.

"And how do you know Will?" he asked, his voice a bit more even now.

At this Jason laughed a little. "Believe it or not but we were in the same book club—"

Nico held up a hand to silence him, his head still spinning. Jason ignored him and kept talking.

"So…you two are together? I've gotta say, I never would have expected it, but I'm a strong believer in the whole 'opposites attract' philosophy. In a totally heterosexual way I—"

"Shut. Up." said Nico. His voice was dangerously quiet.

"—I mean if I was going to date another guy I feel like I'd go more for personality, but again, in a totally heterosexual way, he's pretty attractive. Like, he's got really good bone structure in his face, you know? And—"

"SHUT UP."

The store went silent. Everyone paused their shopping and stared at the two of them. They must look so strange together, thought Nico fleetingly. The tall blond hero-type and small delinquent-looking kid with fire in his eyes.

Nico rubbed a hand across his face, wishing he was far away from here.

Slowly the shoppers lost interest and went back to perusing the products. Jason was silent for once, as if just now he had realized that he'd made a mistake.

"Will and I are not together," said Nico the words sticking in his throat. "We just met. We were just hanging out."

"Oh," said Jason softly. "Oh."

"Have fun picking out a present for your stupid girlfriend alone," said Nico, his words razor-sharp.

He turned and started walking away, half of him hoping that Jason would chase after him and apologize, half of him—the half propelled by anger and denial—fiercely proud of the look he had put on Jason's face. He knew it was only a matter of time until this feeling wore off and the guilt crept in, but until then the darkness inside him howled with glee.