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Ch.7 Picture perfect

Will got home late that night and explained to his parents that he had been out with his friend all day and he had planned on calling home but his friend didn't have a working phone but he promised not to stay out so late again, then he went upstairs and got ready for bed, after the long day he had had, he was feeling more tired than usual.

…

The next morning Will woke up feeling a little groggy but got out of bed to get ready for the day. Tomorrow Nico's dad came home so they couldn't play together for a while after today and Will was planning on making it as memorable as he could.

The first thing on his list was to find his camera so that Nico could finally have photographs of his own. Will dug around in his closet until he found the camera and made sure that there were batteries inside so that it worked and also checked to be sure that they were not dead. There wouldn't be much point if the camera didn't even work right?

Next he looked for the limited edition Mytho Magic figure that he had gotten for his last birthday, he just knew that Nico would want to see it. So once again he rummaged through his closet, Will wondered if he'd had his room as neat as Nico's, if he would be able to find the figurine faster. Finally he found it and placed it in his backpack then went down stairs for breakfast.

He ate his breakfast as fast as he could and told his parents that he was going to his friend's house again today.

"The one without the phone?" his father asked.

"Yup, that one." said Will, he had of course told his parents about his new friend but didn't tell them his name or where he lived, after all it was still a secret that Nico was the supposed ghost that lived in the haunted house at the end of the neighborhood that everyone avoided. Luckily Wills parents trusted him enough not to pry into his life for every little detail and trusted him to make good decisions on his own.

"Alright but take my cell with you this time so that we can know if you'll be out late again." His dad said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and passed it to Will who put it in his backpack with everything else.

"Thanks! I promise to call before coming home, don't worry!" and with that he sped off from the house and made his way over to Nico's house.

…

When Will got to the house next to Nico's he did his usual sweep of the area so that he could be sure that no one would see him climbing the tree to crawl in through the third floor window. After he was sure that the coast was clear he secured his backpack and started climbing. Once he got to his usual branch he pulled out his walkie-talkie and called Nico. "Hey Nico! Open up, I've got a couple of surprizes for you!" he watched as the curtains were drawn back and Nico opened his Window.

"Surprizes?" he asked as he helped Will climb in through the window.

Nico closed the window once Will was inside and watched as he took off his backpack and set it on the floor and pulled out the camera to show Nico.

"Check it out! I found my camera; I thought we could take some photos so that you can finally have your own!" he grinned as he showed Nico how it worked, "This is how you turn it on, and this is how you take pictures." he handed the camera to Nico so that he could try it out. Nico stood back and pointed the camera at Will.

"Smile!" he said and Will's grin grew into a bright smile. After Nico took the photo he handed the camera back to Will and he showed Nico how to view the photos.

"Not bad for your fist try!"

Nico felt proud of himself. "Why don't you take a picture of me too?" he asked.

"Sure!" Will said as he went back to picture mode. "Stand over there and give me a big smile!"

Nico did as directed and Will took the picture then showed it to Nico. "There, what do you think?" he asked as Nico examined the Picture.

"My smile isn't as good as yours." Nico said as he compared the two pictures they had just taken.

"That's okay, we'll just have to take more pictures so that you can get better is all." Will said reassuringly making Nico laugh.

"Okay."

Will looked down at his backpack remembering what else he had brought along. "Oh and I brought something else too!"

Nico leaned in closer wanting to see what it could be and his face lit up when he saw Will bring out a Mytho Magic figurine. "Is that Hades?" he asked excitedly and Will nodded.

"Yup! I got him for my last birthday in a limited edition set, he's usually really hard to find." Will said matching Nico's enthusiasm.

"I have almost everyone but I haven't been able to find Hades yet." Nico said as he held up the figurine to get a better look at it, then a look passed over his face that Will couldn't quite place but it was gone as soon as it had appeared so Will didn't focus on it too much.

"I also have my deck from last time so how about a battle?" Will asked and Nico happily agreed.

"Okay!" Nico went over to his nightstand to get his own deck and they set up on the floor by the closet so that they could stretch out while they played.

…

Of course Nico won every battle but on the fifth one Will was finally winning and he was so proud to finally have the upper hand against Nico.

"Just a couple more moves and you could actually beat me this time Will." Nico said as he looked at the cards in play.

"Oh I know I'm going to beat you this time so watch out!" Will laughed Just as he was getting ready to play his next card though they heard the front door downstairs close and they both froze.

"My dad's home! Quick hide, he would be mad if he found you here!" Nico and Will grabbed Will's backpack and the walkie-talkies and threw them into the closet and Will jumped in too and hid behind a stack of boxes while Nico closed the door and rearranged the cards they had been playing with to make it look like he was just making new strategies like always.

When the bedroom door opened Nico's dad stood there and Nico was glad that the window was closed and that there was no trace that Will had been there, his breath hitched as he saw the Hades figurine sitting next to him where he had placed it when they had started their game, he quickly hid it in his pocket as his dad walked in. "Hello dad, you're home early. Was work okay?" he greeted his dad like he usually did so that he wouldn't be suspicious.

"Work was fine, have you had your lunch yet?"

Nico shook his head. "Not yet."

Inside the closet Will watched Nico talk with his dad, Will was surprized by the lack of family resemblance between them but didn't really think too much about it. Will's Heart nearly leapt out of his chest as his dad's cell phone beeped letting him know there was a new text but luckily at that moment Nico's alarm clock went off letting him know it was time for lunch and Will sent out a silent prayer that it had covered the sound of the cell phone.

"I guess it's time for lunch now, will we be eating together?" Nico asked his dad, his own heart beating faster in his chest because he had heard the sound of Will's phone but luckily his dad hadn't.

"No, I just came home to pick something up, I'll be home later so be sure to clean up after you've had your lunch." he looked at the cards on the floor. "And remember to pick those up when you're done with them."

Nico nodded. "I will."

With that Nico's dad left the room closing the door behind him as he went. Once the sound of footsteps had faded away Nico breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down to start to sort through the cards on the floor and picking out Will's for him. They waited a few more minutes until they heard the front door close again signaling that his dad had left and then Nico opened the closet door and let Will out.

"That was really close." Will said. Nico passed him his deck so that he could put it away and Will put his walkie-talkie back in his backpack as well. "I guess I'll go home then, since we don't really know when your dad will come back." Will said and Nico nodded reluctantly.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." he reached into his pocket and brought out Will's Hades figurine and tried to hand it back to him but Will just smiled and shook his head.

"You keep it; think of it as a sort of good luck charm." he wished he had his camera out when he saw the smile that lit up Nico's face then. "I'll see you next time, and the next time we battle I'll be the winner for sure!" Will said as he went the window.

"We'll see about that!" Nico said as he helped Will back out onto the tree branch and watched him climb down, it had become so easy for him to climb up and down that tree and Nico kind of envied him for that, he still worried that he might slip and fall but at least Will was always at the bottom to catch him. "Goodbye Noble knight see you next time." Nico called down once Will had reached the ground, Will looked up and waved.

"Goodbye Fair princess until we meet again!" and then he did a dramatic bow and they both laughed. Nico closed the window and the curtains and Will headed home for lunch.

On the way home Will wondered if maybe Leo would be up to hanging out today and maybe they could have a battle now that his skills had improved. Will made sure to cross the street and slightly alter his rout home to make sure that no one would figure out that he had been at the haunted house.

Will didn't notice the driver of the black car that sat around the corner the next block down but luckily for him the driver hadn't noticed him either.

Duh duh duh! I couldn't resist sorry XD

So what do you think about the close call there? I'm hoping to have more involving Minos coming up soon in case anyone was wondering. I'm so glad so many people like this story and I'm sorry I took so long updating but here you are!