Before he knew it, the first day of term arrived. Nico dressed carefully in the dull light of his apartment, wrapping a thick scarf around his neck and running his fingers through his hair. It wasn't as good as a thorough brushing, but it was better than nothing.

Outside, the clouds had decided to clear for the time being, allowing swatches of brilliant blue to peek through the endless stretch of gray.

Nico made it onto campus easily, his new backpack bouncing between his shoulder blades with every step. The feeling was strange, but somewhat comforting.

The university was buzzing with students, the sidewalks crowded with laughter and conversation. Nico took it all in, still in awe that this was his reality now. He was a student, at a university in London. A few months ago he never would have believed it.

Someone bumped against his shoulder, and Nico turned to mutter an apology. The words stuck in his throat.

"Reyna?" he said in surprise.

She grinned slyly and fell into step beside him. She wore a plum colored sweater and black knitted beanie, her dark hair pulled into a loose braid over one shoulder.

"The one and only," she replied, looping her thumbs under her backpack straps. "You didn't think you'd see me again, did you?"

"I hadn't really given it any thought," said Nico honestly. His mind had been much too scattered lately for him to think much about Reyna, though he was happy to see her again.

"Well, you're not going to get rid of me that easily," she said. "You off to your first class?"

Nico nodded, pulling a scrap of paper out of his pocket. He had written down today's classes so he wouldn't forget. "English Literature."

Reyna smiled wider. "Me too."

Nico felt a surprising wave of relief. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was glad that he knew someone here. He had never been the most social of people, but he also didn't appreciate the constant isolation that he usually endured.

"So, how've you been?" she asked.

Nico shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Not much has been happening."

"Same with me," said Reyna. "Ever since New Year's I've been kind of dead."

"I slept until 5 pm the day after," said Nico.

"I slept until 6," she said with a sideways smile.

Nico felt a strange warmth for this girl he barely knew. Maybe he had finally found someone who felt the same way as he did about social events.

They walked in silence for a moment, navigating the crowds of students together. It was a comfortable silence, not one threaded with awkwardness.

"Have you seen Will since?" she said.

His steps faltered for a moment—only a moment.

"Uh…no," said Nico, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice. After a pause he added, "I think he might be mad at me."

Reyna turned to him in surprise.

"Why do you think that?"

Nico watched his feet.

"I don't know. I just got that vibe."

Reyna's gaze was far away. "If he is mad, it might be my fault."

Nico blinked quickly.

"Why would it be your fault?"

Reyna shrugged and readjusted the straps of her backpack. "Well, I kind of ruined your New Year's kiss, for one thing."

Nico contained the disbelieving sound that caught at the back of his throat—barely.

"I don't think that's why he'd be mad," said Nico, refusing to acknowledge the implications of this sentence. "He wasn't going to…kiss me."

"No?" said Reyna, surprise widening her dark eyes. "He looked like he was going to."

"Were you creeping on us the entire time?" said Nico tiredly, yet a faint smile curved his lips.

"A little." She laughed. Nico liked the sound of it.

They arrived at their classroom—a tall, sprawling building made from weathered stones. He followed Reyna inside and they took their seats in the back of the room. The classroom filled slowly, and surprisingly, no one shot him looks of disgust or horror. For the first time, Nico felt like he was exactly where he was meant to be.

The rest of the day passed in a strange blur. Everything was new, yet surprisingly familiar. Even in a foreign country, school was school. Complete with books, homework, and note taking. It was easy to fall into the rhythm of things. Far easier than it had been in high school back in America, with everyone staring at him or whispering things behind their hands. Here, no one seemed to care that Nico hadn't properly brushed his hair in who knows how long, or that the dark circles under his eyes probably wouldn't ever go away. He was a student, minding his own business, and no one bothered him. It was refreshing.

His last class of the day was art.

As he took his seat in the art studio, he couldn't help but remember the first time he had come into the studio. That was the first time he had seen Will.

Nico turned to look towards the door without thinking, then turned back just as quickly. What was he doing? He tried to convince himself that he hadn't been looking for Will. He barely knew him, for Christ's sake. He couldn't keep doing things like this.

"Oh hello there, stranger."

Warm and bright and splendid, there he was, sliding into the empty seat beside him. Will.

"Hi," said Nico, his heartbeat flickering slightly. "You surprised me."

"Sorry about that," said Will, running a hand through his hair before reaching into his backpack to pull out a battered sketchbook. Nico tried not to stare.

"I didn't know you were going to be in this class." Lies.

Will glanced up at him and smiled. "I'm full of surprises."

"But…why are you in a beginning art class if you're a junior?" asked Nico, wincing at how blunt the words sounded.

"Because he sucks at art, that's why."

Nico looked over to see Reyna taking the seat opposite him.

"I do not suck at art," Will protested, folding his arms.

"Will, everything you draw looks like it got stuck in a vacuum."

Will made a loud, indignant noise, but before he could retaliate, a middle-aged man stepped to the front of the classroom and began to speak.

"Welcome everyone," he said. "My name is Mr. Brunner, and I'll be your professor for this course."

He had a low, smooth voice. Rumbling slightly, like it had been softened over tumbling stones.

"I don't want to waste any time. Let's do a brief warm-up sketch, shall we? Just to see where we're all at. Turn to the person sitting next to you and sketch them. You have ten minutes."

Nico hesitated, torn between Reyna and Will.

"Sketch the boy," said Reyna. "He needs to see some decent art for a change."

Will pouted but turned toward Nico nonetheless.

"Alright then," said Nico.

"Make me look pretty," said Will, opening his own sketchbook and beginning to sketch enthusiastically.

"If you say so…" said Nico.

It was then that he looked at Will, really, really looked at him, like he did with anything he sketched. He paused for a moment, pencil motionless, as he looked at Will. This close, he could see the freckles dusting the bridge of his nose and cheeks, the creases around his mouth and eyes from smiling. And his eyes…even fixed on the sketchbook they were so incredibly blue, like polished sapphires.

Nico set to work. It had been so long since he'd sat down and drawn anything—fleeing the country didn't leave much time for idle sketches. But it felt good drawing. This, he had forgotten, was his talent.

"Alright, time is up!"

Nico blinked. He hadn't noticed any time passing. This had happened before, back home. He had once gone eight hours without pausing, totally and completely engrossed in his work.

"If I do say so, I did a great job," said Will proudly, turning the sketchbook to face Nico.

Nico blinked.

"That's…me?" he asked.

Reyna began to laugh, the sound filling the hushed classroom.

"What's so funny over here?"

Nico froze. Mr. Brunner had appeared beside them, looking down at them with a rather perturbed glint in his eye.

He plucked the sketchbook from Will's hands and examined it critically.

"Solace, we've talked about this," he said. "You possess no artistic talent whatsoever."

Will seemed to take this in stride, his posture straightening ever so slightly.

"Well, if you don't put forth time and effort you'll never get better, right?" he said cheerfully, obviously unaffected by Mr. Brunner's rigid demeanor.

"Son, you've been in my class for three years now," he said tiredly. "You're not getting any better."

Behind him, Reyna seemed to be choking on stifled laughter.

"With all due respect, Mr. Brunner, you'll just have to get used to my terrible art," said Will. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I suppose," said Mr. Brunner, though he smiled, ever so slightly. "Now, what do you have there?"

Before Nico could react, Mr. Brunner took the sketchbook from his hands. Nico felt a thrill of unease prickle down his spine. He hated watching people look at his art. Always had.

"Boy…this is phenomenal," breathed Mr. Brunner. "You did this in ten minutes?"

"Yes, sir," said Nico quietly.

Will strained forward to see it as well. Will gasped gently.

"Nico!" he exclaimed. "You never told me you could draw like that!"

Nico, being the modest soul that he was, never striving for praise, shrugged.

"But why did you make Mr. Solace's freckles look like stars?"

Nico blinked. He felt, all too clearly, Will's eyes, wide and vibrant, on his.

"Uh…I don't know," he mumbled.

"Artistic interpretation!" said Mr. Brunner loudly. "You may just be the best artist to come through my studio in a long time."

! Any predictions?

PS: thanks for reading my story! It makes me really happy ^-^