Will awoke Sunday morning to the sound of a slamming door. He checked his phone and sighed. He knew there was no real reason for Nico to contact him yet, but he couldn't help hoping.

He quickly got dressed and went downstairs to grab breakfast. A note on the counter indicated that his mom went shopping and his dad would be home for supper. Oh well, he could fend for himself for the day. He grabbed an apple from the fridge and went to the living room to turn on the tv.

After flipping through channels to find something to half-watch (really he just liked the tv on for background noise) he unlocked his phone and opened his messages. There was nothing new, but his thumb hovered over the groupchat he had with Lou Ellen and Cecil. He wanted to talk to someone, but what was there to say? That he gave Nico his number and nothing else happened? That could wait til he saw them at school tomorrow.

Nico. Nico di Angelo with his dark eyes and messy hair and sultry smirks. Gods, Will just wanted to know what he hid behind those expressive eyes, and what he could do to get him to really, truly smile. What it would feel like to run his fingers through that wild, pretty hair.

Will groaned as he felt a pang in his chest. It was killing him, waiting to hear from Nico. Maybe he could stop by his locker in the morning and offer to walk him to class? Would that be too much? Well, Nico could always turn him down if he didn't want him there and he would leave him alone, Will reasoned. Besides, now there was a reason to look forward to Monday.

Will got to school early so he could meet Nico at his locker before class. As he stood at his own locker gathering his books, he thought about what he would say to Nico. Other than hi. Will was normally a talkative person, but being around Nico made him nervous. Will prayed to the gods that by the time he got to Nico's locker he will have something to say besides 'I really like you.' He had a feeling that randomly blurting out something like that wouldn't help him make any progress with Nico.

Will was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice when he passed by Nico's locker. The boy was standing on his tiptoes trying to reach a rather thick textbook from the top shelf of his locker. Will smiled when he noticed.

"Need some help with that?" He asked.

Nico turned to look at him, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"No, I've got it. Thank you, though." He grabbed the book with one hand and pulled it off the shelf, nearly dropping it in the process. His blush got even deeper, and Will noted how it contrasted nicely with his pale skin.

Wow, Will thought and simultaneously forgot that he should probably say something rather than just staring at Nico.

Will felt his face heat up as a blush tinted his cheeks.

"So," Will said, "do you want to walk to class together?" Well, that was slightly better than 'I really like you,' right?

"Sure," Nico replied shyly, glancing at Will through his long, thick lashes. They had History first period anyway, they might as well walk together.

"So how was the rest of your weekend?" Will started as they walked through the halls. Nico shrugged, which was equally adorable and frustrating.

Will frowned, wondering how he was going to get Nico to talk to him.

"Is that an Apotheon shirt?" When he finally tore his gaze away from Nico's face, Will saw that Nico was wearing a dark t-shirt with the image of a palace in red. Will recognized the game's depiction of Hades's Palace in the Underworld.

"Yup." Nico sounded surprised that Will had recognized it. "The new version comes out this week." He was referring to Apotheon 2: Battle for the Underworld.

"I know! I've been waiting for it forever. I'm probably going to play it all weekend. After I finish my homework, of course."

Nico's lips quirked up into a brief smile. Will's heart nearly stopped. Gosh, that boy made dark and brooding extremely appealing, but his smiles were to die for. A few people in the hall turned to watch as they passed. Nico di Angelo smiling? That was new.

"Maybe we could play it together. There's a multiplayer mode." Will suggested.

"Sure." Nico paused, raising an eyebrow, "if you're any good."

"Hey! I am excellent at it, thank you very much."

"Prove it to me on Saturday, Sunshine." Nico replied as he walked into their classroom.

"That I will." Will shot back as he went to take his usual seat at the front. He was slightly disappointed when Nico didn't sit next to him and instead walked to the back of the room.

He sighed and settled into his chair, preparing to spend the next 50 minutes listening to the teacher. At least History was somewhat interesting.

A/N:

I literally googled 'mythology based video games' and found Apotheon. Also the sequel is totally made up.