Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or its characters. All rights go to Rick Riordan. I own only the plot.

Nico stepped out of the closet after Drew. He was trapped. Utterly, completely trapped. He could see no solution to his problem. He and Drew had stared at each other for a minute, before Drew had smiled and reached for the doorknob. She knocked over a bucket in the process, but no one seemed to hear. So now Nico was here, contemplating his life decisions.

Nico went through the whole day without really paying attention to the people around him, or his classes. During free period, Nico saw Will Solace. He was surrounded by people, but it seemed to Nico like the only people he was really good friends with were a girl with dark hair with lime green streaks in it and a boy with sandy brown hair. Upon closer inspection, Nico saw that the girl had striking green eyes and a slightly upturned nose. Her features were sharp and gave her a rebellious air. She was wearing a dark green, wide strap tank top and black frayed jean shorts. A pair of worn black Converse adorned her feet. Her hair just barely reached her shoulders. She was rolling her eyes, but smiling, at something Will said.

The boy's hair was unkempt. Looking closer, Nico could see natural highlights in it. His eyes were a couple shade darker than his hair, and they contained a mischievous glint in them. Like the girl, he had sharp features. His ears were slightly pointed, as were his eyebrows, giving him a bit of an untrustworthy appearance. He was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Like Nico, he was wearing a pair of black Vans. He was laughing at something the girl said.

And then there was Will himself.

Nico knew that Will was tall, but seeing how he towered over all the people around him really made Nico realize just how tall he was. Looking at him now, Nico thought that he must have been at least 6'1". Nico was quite short in comparison, about 5'10". Really, that was fairly tall, but Nico felt short looking at Will.

Will.

Cerulean blue eyes. They were...captivating. Nico felt like he couldn't look away. They were always shining with happiness. Nico didn't know that so much joy could be contained in someone's gaze, but Will managed it. Nico had to keep himself in check every time he looked Will in the eyes for fear of getting lost in them.

His hair was a beautiful gold color. It curled gently, and it looked so soft. Nico wanted to run his hands through it. It contrasted wonderfully against his tan, freckled skin. His jaw was chiseled, his teeth a blinding white, his lips a soft pink. His arms looked really strong, and Nico wondered what it would be like to be wrapped in them.

Woah, di Angelo, he thought. Those thoughts stop right there.

At that moment, Will looked up and saw Nico. His smile faded as a determined and even stern expression overtook his features. Will excused himself from the group and walked over towards Nico.

Nico was frozen in place as Will approached him, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Hey, Nico." Will was standing in front of him, smiling.

"Hey, Will."

"Nico, listen. I-I think you and I need to talk."

Nico was quiet. Will proceeded to ramble.

"I know that we hardly know each other, but I want to know you. I know that you don't like people talking to you, about you, or really people in general, but I think this is really important and-"

"Will," Nico interrupted. "What is it you want to talk about?"

"Come over here."

Will led Nico over to an abandoned hallway. "Look, I-I heard you and Drew. Talking. In the janitor's closet."

Nico's heart stopped then and there. Cold dread and horror filled his stomach. "What?"

"Nico. What exactly did Drew make you do?"

"N-nothing. She didn't make me do anything."

"You and I both know that's a lie."

"But how do you know?''

Will looked a little sheepish. "I saw her drag you in. And I kinda sorta listened outside the door."

Realization flooded Nico. "You made that noise."

Will nodded. "I dropped my book when I heard what she said. And I left when I heard the bucket fall."

Nico's mind was racing. Will knew. He didn't know all of it, sure, but he knew enough to scare Nico.

What happened to the days when Nico had nothing to fear? Oh, right. They disappeared the day Nico found out he had arrhythmia.

"Nico," Will whispered. "What did she do? What is she making you do?"

"I...I can't...Will, I can't!"

"Nico," Will begged. "Please tell me. I know that this seems like prying, but I can see how much this is affecting you. Please; if you tell me, I might be able to help you. We can look for a solution together. Just tell me exactly what her deal was. I want to help, Nico."

"Why?" Nico whispered, distressed. "Why do you care so much? We hardly know each other."

"Would you feel more comfortable if we knew each other better?"

"Yes," Nico lied.

"Then let's meet up after school. You can ask me anything you want to know, within reason, and I'll ask you questions, but you'll only have to

answer if you're comfortable with it. Then by the end of this, if you're not away from Drew, you can decide whether you want me to help or not. Just promise that you'll ask someone for help at the end of it, even if it's not me."

"...I'll meet you at the front doors."

Will smiled a breathtaking smile. "Great! I'll see you then. Interact with Drew as little as possible today, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Sunshine."

Will grinned. "Sunshine?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Nico shrugged. "Because you look like the greek god Apollo."

Will's smile could have powered a small country. "Well then, I guess I'll see you later, Death Boy!"

Will ran off before Nico could say anything, leaving himself to wonder just what he had gotten himself into.

Nico, much to Drew's annoyance and inevitably Will's eventual pleasure, had managed to keep a good amount of distance from Drew. Of course, he couldn't completely ignore her, but for the brief moments he was in her company he did (small) coupley things. He held her hand for a total of twenty seconds, and he even carried a couple textbooks for her. Finally, the day was over. Sighing, he closed his locker door and made his way to the front doors to meet Will Solace.

Will was already there when Nico arrived. "So," Will began, "I was thinking that we could go to that cafe downtown. It's rarely even remotely busy, so we'll be left alone there and no one will overhear."

"Okay," Nico said, not really caring. The sooner this was over with, the better.

They exited the building and Will pulled out a pair of keys from his pocket. "My car is right over there," he said. "We can-"

"Oh no," Nico interrupted, smirking slightly. "I agreed to this, but we're doing it on my terms. This way." Nico led Will over to his motorcycle. The blonde approached it carefully, as if afraid it was going to bite him. Nico realised Will had probably never been on a motorcycle before.

"You have a license for this, right?"

Nico snorted. "Of course I do. Despite what everyone seems to think, I don't break the law just for the fun of it."

"...I'm going to ignore what you implied about you and law. How do you…?"

Will looked faintly embarrassed, and Nico realized that Will didn't know the first thing about motorcycles, and, because he was not turning this into a scene from one of those cheesy romance movie his half sister Hazel watched, Nico made an offer. "How about you lead the way in your car and I'll follow you on here?"

Looking relieved, Will nodded and left. Nico put on his helmet and climbed on his motorcycle. He wondered why Will wanted to help him with his...problem. Nico's immediate thoughts were that Will wanted something from him. But, while Nico didn't know the guy very well, he didn't think that was the case. Will Solace seemed way too genuine for that. Nico groaned internally. Will Solace. The guy was admittedly attractive. He had curly blonde hair and eyes the color of cornflowers. His skin was tan, and it made the freckles across his nose and cheeks stand out. Nico didn't think he did any kind of sports- not competitively, at least- but he was fairly muscular. Not like Percy or Jason, but still impressive.

Nico mentally slapped himself. He had to stop thinking these thoughts. He was not, in any way, even remotely attracted to people he had just met. Especially if said person was Will Solace.

A car horn startled him from his thoughts. There was Will in front of him, driving a red pickup truck. The window on the passenger's side was rolled down. "Ready, Death Boy?" Will called.

Nico revved the engine of his motorcycle in response, following Will to the cafe, and quite possibly to his doom.

The cafe they had arrived at was, as Will had promised, low on business. The employee behind the register had on headphones, and she didn't even notice Nico and Will walk in. There was no one else there.

"Did you want anything?" Will asked, looking like he was hoping Nico would say no.

Nico shook his head. "Even if I did, I don't think anything short of an apocalypse could get her attention."

They chose a table in the back corner, far from the register, despite the lack of people. There was an awkward silence, then Will spoke. "So. Ask away, I guess."

Nico took his time studying Will, wondering what he was thinking and what question to ask. Will looked a tad bit nervous, but then again, Nico would be too if he told someone that they could ask him any question. Finally, Nico spoke.

"Let's start simple. Any siblings?"

Will visibly relaxed, for obvious reasons. He laughed a little. "Oh, yeah. Lots. They're all my half-siblings though. My dad has been known to 'get around'. Let's see- there's Kayla, she's two years younger than me, and she's really into archery. Austin, he's Kayla's age, and, like, a prodigy on the saxophone. I think he has some videos on YouTube. My sister, Kyra, is four; my brother, Justin, is seven. Both of them are really loud and rambunctious. Monica, she's ten, is a sculptor. Then there was-"

Will's smile, which had been present throughout his speech, rapidly faded. The light in his eyes dimmed. His whole demeanor changed, growing solemn. "Anyway," Will said, after a moment, "that's my family. Next question?"

Nico found his behavior odd, but decided not to press for now, if only because he hated it when people pressed him for information. He asked, "What do your parents do? Your dad is a doctor, right?"

Will nodded. "Yeah. He's a neurosurgeon. My mom is a musician in California-"

"Wait," Nico interjected, "your mom lives in California?"

"Yeah, she isn't one for responsibility. She was nineteen when I was born. She was not capable of taking care of a child. So, I live with my dad."

Nico noticed that Will seemed a little...bitter? Resentful? It made Nico feel bad for bringing it up, but it also spiked his curiosity. Will resonated happiness; it was hard to think of the guy as anything but happy. Now that Nico thought about it, every time Will said my dad, he had seemed irritated and annoyed. Nico wondered why. But Nico didn't want to take advantage of Will's offer (at least not that much), so he asked another question.

"What career are you pursuing?"

Will seemed grateful for the change of subject. "I want to go to medical school. I'd like to work as a doctor in the ER."

"That's...admirable," Nico said. "And ambitious."

Will beamed. "It'll be worth all the money and school."

Nico looked at his phone to check the time. They had been at the cafe about an hour. "I gotta get going, so how about you ask me your question?"

"Sure." Will agreed. "What do you want to do, Nico?"

Nico thought about it. As he stood up, he said, "I want to go into forensic science. Bye, Will."

Without waiting for a response, Nico left.

A/N: Leave a review and tell me any questions you want Nico to ask Will! I can't promise every question will be used, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading!