The bell rang and Will turned to look at Nico. The boy had already packed up his books and was headed for the door. Nico glanced back at Will just as he was about to leave. Will flashed him a smile and Nico looked away quickly and walked out. Will thought he saw a faint blush on his cheeks and smiled wider.

Will made through the rest of his morning classes in a daze. He couldn't seem to get Nico's gorgeous brown eyes out of his mind.

At lunch Will took a seat next to Lou Ellen and Cecil. Will gazed over at Jason's table. He could see Jason but not Nico. There were too many tall boys over there, and Nico liked to sit in the corner where it was difficult to see.

"Who are you staring at?" Lou Ellen asked, and followed Will's eyes to Jason's table. "Ooh, is Nico over there?" She hadn't forgotten Will's crush since the first day he mentioned him last year, nor had she let up on her teasing.

"Is he still on that?" Cecil said frowning. He was a little disappointed that his friend had turned into such a hopeless romantic.

"I talked to him this morning. And Friday night." Will told them.

Lou Ellen squealed so loudly that several people turned their heads.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" She said, hitting Will. "And what did you guys get up to Friday night?"

Will sighed. Lou Ellen had a tendency to jump three steps ahead. "Nothing, I just ran into him at a restaurant my parents took me to, and we made plans to play Apotheon" He almost didn't include the last part, knowing that Lou would have a field day with that information. When Nico had challenged him to prove his videogame prowess it felt like a tentative step towards friendship, and he didn't want to read into it more than what it was.

"Sounds like you've got a date." Cecil said with a chuckle. He had a bad habit of encouraging Lou Ellen on whatever subject she was teasing Will about.

"When is it?" Lou asked.

"Saturday. And it's not-"

"Oh my gosh I am so excited for you!" Lou Ellen said loudly. "Where are you going? Do you have breath mints? Do you need condoms?"

"Lou!" Will covered his face, turning red from embarrassment. When she quit bombarding him with questions, he waited a moment then lifted his head.

"Sorry," she said. Will's face was still pink.

Cecil was roaring with laughter, both at Lou's questions and Will's reaction.

Once Cecil caught his breath, he told Will, "Chill, dude. We're just teasing you because you two so obviously like each other. And we want to help you. And it's fun." His devious smile worried Will.

"I just—it's not like that. I don't even know if he would want…" Will trailed off. He thought for a moment, then added, "He was the one who invited me to play Apotheon though."

Lou slammed her hands down on the table, "Oh my gods Will, he's totally in love with you."

"You really think he likes me?" Will's voice was soft. He felt like if the answer was no he would break into a million pieces.

"Ugh, Cecil, you talk to him." Lou grumbled. She loved Will, really, but he could be thick sometimes.

"Dude you just told us that you guys have plans. What more do you want?" Cecil asked.

"That doesn't mean anything," Will said, shaking his head. "People play videogames together as friends all the time."

"Yeah, but this is Nico di Angelo we're talking about." Cecil replied. "He generally doesn't talk to people, yet alone agree to hang out with them."

"He talks to Jason Grace." Will remembered, frowning. Did Nico like Jason as more than a friend? Heck, they could even be dating already and Will wouldn't know. Have they been dating this whole time? Will was about to start hyperventilating as he imagined one heartbreaking scenario after another.

"That's different." Lou Ellen said confidently. Will wanted desperately to believe her. "For one, Jason's straight." Will calmed down a bit at that. So he definitely wasn't dating Jason.

"Secondly, I think it helps that Jason never knew Bianca. Jason can just be Nico's friend and not focus on the fact that Bianca's gone."

Will took a deep breath. Remembering the tragedy that Nico's been through helped him put his own feelings in perspective. "But none of this means he likes me. I mean, he didn't sit by me in class. Plus, how do I even find out if he's into guys?"

Cecil frowned. "Aren't you supposed to have gaydar or something?"

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes and pushed Cecil. "Oh, honey. Have you seen the skinny jeans he wears? No straight boy wears jeans that tight."

Of course Lou had spent extensive time observing her friend's crush ever since she had been made aware of it. Nico did a good job of blending in with the shadows, so most people didn't give him a second thought.

Will blushed, picturing Nico in his skinny jeans. Those jeans were pretty damn nice.

Lou Ellen giggled. "See? I'm always right."

Will raised an eyebrow. "That has yet to be proven."

"All in good time." Lou replied with a wink.

Will contemplated that. For once his friends were actually helpful. And he was really nervous around Nico. If it was possible that Nico liked him back, how would Will… act on that?

Gathering his courage, Will spoke while looking at the table. "So how do I let him know that I'm, um, interested?"

"Well subtly is safest, but with your massive crush I doubt you could pull that off. The best thing you could do right now is just be yourself and get to know him, and try not to be too obvious about your crush."

"Gee, thanks."

"And if that goes well, then you need a gesture to indicate that you're interested. Nothing too forward. But not something that could be mistaken as casual."

Will's head was spinning. Were they trying to help him or tell him riddles? "What kind of a gesture?"

Lou thought about that for a minute, then her eyes lit up. "Ooh, I have an idea."

She leaned over and whispered into Will's ear. Will smiled.

"What?" Cecil asked.

"You'll see," Lou Ellen replied with a smirk.