Chapter 2- You Are My Fake Will

I heard Will leave and I felt myself drifting away, slowly, peacefully, into unconscious.

BOOM. BOOM BOOM.

My eyes snapped open as loud cracking and booming sounds came from somewhere. I don't know where. Where am I?

I looked around. White walls, white bedding... what? Am I back in the psychiatric ward again?

I groggily sat up, my limbs aching. I sat up, rubbing my head. My hair was shaggy, my signature style from when I was 14.

"What?" I stood up, leaning heavily on a bedside table and slowly making my way towards the door of something that doesn't even exist.

Then out the hallway, then on the porch. The sky was bright with fading fireworks and I shielded my eyes.

"Nico?" I looked down, to the steps, to find Will staring wideyed at me.

"Will?" I tried to rasp. My voice hardly worked.

"Oh my gods," He whispered. "You're so not real. This is so not real,"

"Will," I tried again, my voice sounding slightly less deathly.

I tried to walk towards him, forgetting my limbs were sore, and fell, face first. He only just caught me. I must have just been dead weight to him as he hefted me up. I leant heavily on him.

"Neeks. You're... awake?" I could feel his warm arm around my waist, holding my up, his other hand resting softly on my cheek.

"Y-yeah. But... this can't be real. No way is it real?"

"What?"

"Demigods don't exist. This camp doesn't exist. I must just be hallucinating,"

"What... Nico?"

"They said this wasn't real. They drilled it into me!"

"What?" Will held me, tight and looked at me uncertainly. "What are you talking about? Nico you've been in a coma for 2 and a half years,"

**ITALICS***

The day I told Will that I thought I was crazy was the first day I've ever truly had someone look at me in disappointment. I remember turning to him.

"Will. You know how I see ghosts?" He was writing up paperwork on his desk, and I had free time to roam the halls.

"Yep,"

"Well I think my brain was just messing up. I don't think I actually see ghosts anymore. I think I'm crazy," His eyes, again, flashed with something I didn't quite understand and he sighed.

"You know. Crazy people don't actually know they're crazy. As you said, you know you are crazy. Therefor you are not, crazy,"

"Did you just quote Pirates of the Caribbean?" I knew that because in my... hallucinations... Fake-Will had made me watch it over and over again.

"Yes. Because it's true,"

"I doubt that,"

"You're not crazy, Nico. Misguided and sad, maybe, but not crazy," He lightly socked me in the shoulder. "But we're working on it, right?" He smiled at me and I felt my heart swell. I wanted to kiss him, all over. In every single place, but I knew he'd just get into trouble.

****END ITALICS****

So dropping a bomb on me like that was not fun. At all. This figurative bomb made my head hurt, I could feel a migraine crawl it's way from the back of my head to the front, right over my temples.

"This isn't real. We aren't demigods. I-I-I was hit-t-t by a car. Or bus. I didn't see. Will tell me you remember that!"

"Nico..."

It was the opposite way round, now. Everyone was crazy but me. Everyone else thought that they were demigods. They should be in psychiatric wards... not me!

"And... and you were my doctor and we kissed for the first time outside my room and you explained you have heaps of siblings and and and and,"

"Nico!" Will gripped my arms. "You're in shock. Let's get you back to bed," He hauled me back to the fake-infirmary and placed me on a fake-bed. Fake-Will smiled gently at me and pushed some of my hair back. He kept making soothing sounds and eventually I felt myself drifting off.

I awoke the next morning with Will sleeping in the chair beside me. Chiron was sitting in his wheelchair, looking down at me.

"I'm glad you're awake Nico,"

"What... why?" Will jolted awake and almost startled me. Almost. I gave him a long look and he smiled sheepishly.

"What do you see, Nico?"

"Uh... Will's bed head. His eyes all groggy from sleep. His stupid goofy smile?"

"No. Look at me. Tell me what you see?"

"Um... you have brown hair? You're sitting in a wheel chair? You have a blanket over you?"

"... but Nico-"

"Don't Will. He's tired. Leave him be,"

"But-"

"We'll talk later, Nico," He wheeled off and Will looked at me with a soft glint in his eye.

"Hey," He whispered.

I had a sudden thought. If I'm hallucinating, does it matter if Will is fake or not? His smile was the same. His big blue eyes. His hair was still curly and wild- yet perfect. If I can't see my Will now, why don't I just kiss this one?

Because he's fake?

But he's still Will. Very much so. I bet if I kissed him, he'd put his hands on my belt loop, or in my hair. And he'd smile into the kiss.

"Hey Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?" He breathed out, a sigh. Almost in... relief?

"I thought you had forgotten me,"

"Never,"

He leaned forward and captured his lips with mine. His hands snaked to my belt loops on my hips and tugged me forward slightly.

It was exactly the same. It's actually uncanny, how this fake doppelganger of my Will could kiss exactly the same, how he looked exactly thr same. His hands, did exactly the same.

How?

But then I remembered. Hallucinations are from my imagination. Of course it would be the same.

I gripped the front of his shirt and smashed our chests together even more. If that's possible.

We finally broke apart, and Will smiled at me. He pushed his hands through my hair and pecked my nose.

"I missed you, I know you didn't miss me, seeing as you were in a coma, but... I did. I really did,"

...

I got out of the psychiatric ward by admitting that past 20 years or so were all hallucinations. I figured if they were hallucinations, and it felt like 20 years of fakeness, then these dreams will fade away and I will see my Will again.

So I did as expected, pretended to believe that camp was real- when it's really not. I got visits from Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper. Hazel, Frank and Reyna travelled over to see me. I smiled when necessary and nodded and held Will's hand.

A month passed, two, three- four! Why am I not going back? Why am I so utterly alone?

"Will?"

"Hmm?" He was sitting in his doctor's chair in the infirmary, a stack of papers next to him.

"Have you ever... felt alone?" He looked up from his papers and shrugged.

"Sure. Once Lou and Cecil left me behind in capture the flag, by accident and I was stuck on Zeus' fist. Like, literally stuck. Hermes' team accidentally shot me with a massive glue grenade," I smiled but shook my head.

"No, like no one loved you or someone left you behind,"

"What? Why? Do you feel that, Neeks?"

"No," I lied, "Just answer,"

"Yeah. When Lee and Michael died I felt that. When you left me for two years, just lying in that bed, your heart beating, your brain working, all your vitals in check. I felt lonely and afraid and confused. You were only hit by a few stray arrows by a monster raid. You shouldn't have gone into a coma that deep. I felt like you left me for whatever you were dreaming up in your brain,"

That wasn't a dream, Will. This is.

"Come on Nico, it's a special day today,"

"What? It's not New Years is it? After spending six months in this place, it gets difficult to remember the date,"

"How would you know it's been six months?"

"Has it?"

"No,"

"I was just guessing," I shrugged. Will rolled his eyes and I mentally slapped myself. Fake-Will. Well, at least at that time I thought he was fake. I know better now.

"Well it's the 28th today!"

"... yay?"

"Do you not know your birthday?"

"My what now?" Hades had never told me my birthday, since Bianca died I doubted that it mattered.

"You didn't know it's your birthday today?"

"... well... no?"

"That is purely disheartening. Okay, here. I thought you'd want this, I remember seeing you play that game, and remember my brother Lee played it all the time. This was his uh... deck,"

He produced a tin box about a ruler length long and wide, and about my hand deep, it was painted with bright yellows, oranges and reds. I opened it up to find Mythomagic cards all stacked neatly, each stack died together with a rubber band, then about three or four figurines.

"He organized them by strength, I think. I didn't really listen when he explained, but I want you to have them,"

"But your brother is-"

"I know. Have them," He smiled at me, "Happy Birthday,"

I knew how hard it is to give someone something, when it's from a dead siblings. It doesn't matter what the thing is, it's sentimentality.

I put the box down and launched off my bed, giving Will a bear hug, that neither of us were ready for. He teetered backwards slightly and only just managed to stay upright.

"Thank you," I whispered against his curly blonde hair.

Just a word from the wise, italics means flashback. I just wanted to say thanks to my reviewer ;) even one review means a lot.

I also wanted to say thanks to by good buddy We're-all-mad-herex13, she/he (don't know if they're okay with me saying anything personal on here...) really helped me realize some stuff, and just a big shout out to them! Go check out the story, it's Twilight and all, I ain't into vampires that sparkle but they are an amazing writer!

Also, I'll be updating my other story, This is not what Life is Like, We're-all-mad-herex13 made me realize to keep going on that, no matter how many reviews I do or don't get, so yeah, go check my fanfic friend out, if you want!

Also PLEASE review! It makes my day, and honestly, makes writing easier, I don't know if that's weird or not but whatever :)

To end on a good note, I'll be updating soon!