Nico's POV:

"You're not supposed to be out of bed." Was the first thing out of his new caretaker's mouth.

Nico rolled his eyes inwardly. When was the hospital going to give up? Did they seriously think that this-Nico checked his name tag- Willwould be any different than the countless others before him? Gods, they were so dense. This newbie was the same as all of them. Nico smirked. "Who says? You?"

"Yes, me," The caretaker told him, ignoring the jibe. "I'm your new caretaker, so I expect you to do it, too."

Nico cocked his head to the side and glanced at Will to size him up. Not that he looked very impressive,- he had sunlight-lit shaggy blond hair and pale, sky-blue eyes. He wore the standard green surgeon-like shirt along with a pair of flip-flops, which Nico was sure were not standard hospital protocol. He reminded Nico a little of Jason Grace, a cousin of his, except in a way, they were totally different. Will's gaze was soft and far away, and looked incredibly nonthreatening. He kind of reminded Nico was of a household cat stretched out in his garden. Jason was, well, the opposite of that.

Nico frowned and said, "Two."

"What?" Will didn't look like he got what he'd said. "Two?"

"Two days," Nico explained. "Though I might be being too generous. If you ask me, you probably won't last two hours."

"You're betting on how long I'll last," If Will found that comment insulting, he didn't say so. "Now go back to bed."

Nico made a face and sighed. "Full credit for persistence, I suppose." The he raised his head to look at his caretaker, eyes darkening. "Unfortunately for you, I can be persistent, too. No."

"Yes," Will insisted. "You're in no shape to be running around wearing only that."

Will gestured to his patient clothes, which, sadly, weren't black. "I know it's summer, but the air conditioning here makes the building pretty cold. The last thing I want is you getting sick. Back in your bed. Doctor's orders."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "And what if I don't? Will you chain me to the bed?"

"No," Will said. "I'm not that mean. But I will take away your dessert privilege."

Black eyes bore down at him for ages, but Will stared back unflinchingly. Nico was torn between disbelief and shock. His death-glare was famous throughout the hospital, but Will seemed to be immune. Nico stepped back.

Will nodded, then glanced around at the room. The sheets from the bed were propped on shelves, lamps, and basically any other high object, making the bed a sort of cave area. The tray with the patients breakfast had been thrown across the room, and maple syrup was dripping from the tabletop and the blinds, which were clamped shut. The rest of the syrup was strewn all over the floor. Half of the lights in the room weren't giving light- two looked like they'd been broken by a heavy object, the others were blocked by newspapers held there with tape.

Nico pitied the janitor, but not enough to regret making the mess.

Will turned around to look at him. "Well? You're not in bed."

Nico felt like he'd been slapped. Just who was this guy? Will didn't even look nervous, like most people would when facing him. Instead, he looked the opposite- calm, relaxed, and totally in control. It was like the hospital was his home turf and he wasn't scared of anything to do with it. "That's what you say? Don't you know what I can do?"

"I doubt you could do this again," Will waved at the mess. "Now, if you don't mind, you need to go rest in bed now."

Silence. Finally, as if his feet had a will of their own, Nico slowly walked to his bed and sat. Will observed him, nodding to himself. "Lie down, please. Here, I'll get your sheets."

Carefully as to not topple the lamp, Will unhooked the sheets and untangled the blankets, tossing them to Nico. He had half a mind to toss them right off again, but he wanted to see what Will would do now.

His caretaker grabbed the roll of tape that Nico had left lying around.

"Where's a stool?" Will asked, putting a line of tape around the syrupy areas of the floor.

Nobody replied.

"Um, hello?" Will turned towards the bed. "I know you're very busy being annoyed at me and all that, but you could answer."

Nico blinked. "What?"

"Where's the stool?" Will asked again, crossing his arms. "I don't really think of myself as a lazy person. Leaving all this for the janitor would be too cruel. So if you could tell me where the stool is, I'd really appreciate it."

"Uh..." Nico didn't know what to say. It was like Will could tear down all his barriers and turn his own devices against him. Why would Will want to talk to him, anyways? Didn't he know what Nico was here for?

Probably not, Nico thought bitterly. If he did, then he would have run away already. And he would run away, or if not, at least he would leave. Didn't they always? "It's in the bathroom."

"Seriously?" Will glanced at the bathroom. "Who put it there?"

"I did," Nico deadpanned. "I decided to put it to good use."

Will disappeared into the bathroom. "Because a stool in the toilet is incredibly useful."

"Of course. Are you stupid?"

"No," Will said calmly. "And that comment makes no sense. After all, what would you have done if you needed to go?"

"Went in another toilet?" Nico suggested.

"There is no other toilet."

"There is in other people's rooms," Nico pointed out. "And what are you doing?"

The sound of rushing water echoed from the bathroom. "Washing the stool so I can use it to take off the newspapers."

Will reappeared in the doorway holding a dripping wet stool. "Do you have a towel anywhere? I need to dry this."

"Why should I tell you?" Nico countered. "You're not the boss of me."

"And you're not a whiny kindergardener," Will snapped. Nico was slightly impressed- he didn't think Will could get angry. "Yet you still act like one. Now will you kindly grow up and actually answer?"

"Find out yourself." Nico grumbled. To his surprise, Will didn't press harder. He probably sensed he already pushed Nico as far as he would go.

To Nico's disappointment, Will didn't give up and continued to search for the towels, which Nico had thrown under the bed while trashing his room. He didn't stop there, either, making sure to clean up the breakfast off the floor and picking up the tray. Fortunately, Will left the blinds untouched (After 30 minutes of arguing). At least Nico had won on that one. However, he did call the janitor to take care of the rest of the mess, and when he left for his lunch shift, Nico was already determined to be as difficult as possible for his new caretaker.

Because Will was annoying. And he was determined, which made him even more annoying. Not to mention he had a habit of making Nico back down, and Nico did not like that. It was just so wrong. Why should Will even bother to stay near him? No one else did.

So yes, Nico di Angelo was going to be difficult. And Will had better quit soon, because Nico didn't do difficult second-class.

Wow. Two chapters written in one day? I feel like this isn't supposed to be normal, even if this one was more of a filler chapter than anything else. Am I sick? Thanks to everyone who faved or followed or reviewed. And speaking of reviews... REVIEW!

LAST EDITED: 10/02/15