Chapter Summary: Surprisingly, it evokes a laugh from Will even though it isn't supposed to be funny. Their eyes meet again and Nico finds himself cracking a grin and then they're both laughing, and for a second everything feels like it can be all right again. Maybe after the next week this will all blow off and they can both go back to living their separate lives and forget that anything ever happened that Friday night.

But that's not how it works.

Status: Chapter 5 of ?

Author's Notes: Have I seriously not updated for almost a month? It only felt like a few days. Time flies when...you always have a new paper or test to write lol

I wrote this at 2am. Edits have been made but errors may have slipped by!

STRANGE THAT YOU'RE NOT HERE WITH ME

When Nico closes his locker and hikes his bag over his shoulder, he's confronted by the people whom Will had been sitting with in his last class. He frowns but doesn't try to push past them in an attempt to get away. "Hi," he says, hand reaching to scratch the inside of his right wrist hard.

He can see the dark bob of Reyna's head far behind them in the hallway, talking to someone else. She can't see what's going on now; he's on his own.

"What's up with you and Will?" one of the girls wearing shorts is saying with her arms crossed. His eyes trail down to look at her long pink nails and he involuntarily takes a step back, the cold mindless fear trying to slam against him once again.

He shakes himself out of it and sees that she's frowning at him. "What do you mean?" he asks, keeping his tone neutral and calm. Maybe if he seems uninterested enough then they will think there is no reason to be hounding him like this.

"You know what we're talking about. Don't make us spell it out," the guy who had glared at Nico in class says.

In all honesty, Nico does not know what they are talking about nor does he want to find out. He shakes his head. "I'm afraid I can't understand cryptic language," he says a little too dryly for his own good. "But I can promise you that William and I do not talk, and we're also not going to be friends any time soon." He feels a little bolder and more scared at the same time, and he decides to take his chances in the open school hallway where everyone can see them. "Excuse me," he says, nudging past Will's friends and leaving them behind.

He should have expected it.

He feels the telltale seizing up of his own muscles in defense before rough hands grab the back of his shirt and yanks him backward into the group of angry friends wanting to tear into his skin for even daring to look at Will Solace much less speak to him. He's pulled roughly enough that the collar of his shirt chokes him when he's thrown against the lockers – the back of his head hitting it hard enough to create a sound that draws attention from nearby students who then decide to suddenly find interest in Nico. His mind blanks, and then it happens again. No, no please. I don't want this. Stop. STOP.

But this time he completely freezes, staring at the icy blueness that burns into him.

"We asked you a question," the person who pulled him back in demands. "Maybe if you stop running away from them, people will stop assuming things," he sneers, disgust apparent in his voice. He doesn't say the words, but he has a way with saying something without saying it and for some reason this is much worse than the spoken words. Nico opens his mouth and then closes it, wanting so badly to muster up courage he does not have and then march out of here. He cannot even tear his eyes away from the pale boy in front of him, mentally rather than physically holding him against the lockers. Something churns in his stomach and there is a lump in his throat – he feels like he's being stripped of any sense of security and left bare for them to poke at his ruined flesh.

He wants to glare right into the ice-chipped eyes and tell him crudely to go away, but it feels like his heart is pounding against his throat and he's afraid that he might throw up if he opens his mouth. Instead, he grips onto his inner wrist, scratching his nail down harshly enough tear at the first layer of his dead skin.

There is a dull ringing in his ears, and he thinks perhaps if he just takes a deep breath and begins to walk away then this will resolve itself within a matter of seconds. But someone is saying something, and cold fingers grip onto his hand. The ringing stops, and his entire body clenches up. The pale blond boy in front of him is saying something, and for some reason, he looks eerily similar to Will. His lips are moving and his eyes are narrowed with hostility, but Nico cannot bring himself to wrench his hand away from the invasive cold touch.

And then he is gone, icy hands torn away and Nico sucks in a deep breath, only just aware that he hadn't been breathing. The inertia fades, and Nico is left standing in the hallway while unfamiliar faces surround him, judging him for things he can't control.

He wraps his arms around himself, desperately trying to regain warmth again but the touch has made itself persistent – seeping through his skin and into his bones. He needs to walk away from this while he has the chance before it gets worse, but when he looks up, the same blue eyes are staring back at him. He shrinks back automatically before realizing that it is not the same person who had been taunting him.

"Nico? Hey, it's okay now," he's saying, blue eyes dark with worry. He notices the crowd of people are slowly being to shuffle away but aren't making it far. "Octavian isn't going to bother you anymore, okay? God, I'm so –"

Reyna's voice could have been heard on the other end of the hall, and they both look up when they hear her demanding tone. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Solace?"

And now, only now does Nico feel his heart soothe over. She storms down the hallway, covering three steps in only one, dark eyes narrowed in on Will and his gaggle of friends who have stuck around to watch the freak show.

"I'm not doing anything," Will defends himself, turning away from him to face Reyna. "I'm just trying to help –"

"You have already done enough damage," Reyna says, stopping just a few feet away from Will. Her tone is quiet, but the dark rage in her voice speaks tones more than volume ever could. "Nobody needs your help, so stop forcing it on people."

Will doesn't say anything else, but Nico can see the set expression of his jaw and he knows that if this doesn't stop, then unwanted and misunderstood drama will splatter their entrails all over the school hallways.

"Reyna," Nico begins, but his voice fails him and it is completely drowned out when Reyna makes her accusation based on blind anger in a hallway where all eyes and ears have narrowed in on them.

"I thought you were an okay person until I found out what you and your friends did to Nico that Friday night. And yes, it's still assault even if you didn't go all the way."

"Reyna, no. That's not what happened –," but Nico is completely cut off by the sudden roar of chatter that explodes rather than diffuses through the filled up space. Reyna gives him a pained look – torn between apologizing and the hardened expression of excusing this as something 'the world needs to know'. These accusations are heavy, and he doesn't know how to feel about them – he clearly, very clearly, told her that Will Solace was not a ringleader in the orchestrated event, so he doesn't understand why she is piling this on him. Nico's not naïve – he knows that something could have happened between the time Will stole him away from the girls and when he woke up. He could have easily taken him in that bed and Nico would have been none the wiser – but something's not right about that story.

He thinks he can see teachers in the background walking toward them, and he knows this is beyond salvaging in the chaos that had followed Reyna's words. He wants to be angry with her, but he can't even muster the energy, so instead he looks at Will. Their eyes meet and Will looks away; it easily can be interpreted as guilt but there is just something so tired and weary in his eyes. Before he can think better of his actions, he tugs onto Will's sleeve and pulls him through the doors into the stairway. He hears Reyna shout his name, but she's drowned out by the nonsensical prattle of enthusiastic vultures, and the door slams shut, dragging the two of them into the silence of the muffled buzz.

His hand falls to his side and he doesn't even look at Will before he takes the stairs to an alternative route to an exit. He hears the telltale shuffle of footsteps signifying that Will is following him quietly.

It is a quiet walk but they reach the back exit that is blissfully free of students. He has no doubt that phones are going off with messages of the accusation Reyna threw at Will. In the back of his mind, he wonders if someone video-taped it on their phones. He stops when he's standing outside of the door, soaking in the warm sunlight and ridding himself from the freezing feeling of Octavian's hands.

"Nothing happened between us when you were passed out, I swear," Will blurts out, and Nico looks over to see the blond boy wringing his hands. "I would never do something like that – I don't know why your friend doesn't believe me – oh God, I promise that I would never hurt you like that." He's beginning to babble, and he stops Will by holding his palm up before he goes any further.

"Maybe it's stupid of me to say this, but I don't think you're the kind of person who would take advantage of me like that." The moment that it leaves his lips, he realizes that it does sound utterly stupid, and he throws in something else just to fix up his statement. "You're not even gay." The add-on sounds more forced than he expected it to be and a self-deprecating laugh bubbles up for a second before dying before it even escapes his throat.

It's quiet between then and Nico sneaks a look at the other boy who is looking at the distance pensively. "Yeah," Will says noncommittally. "I just – I'm sorry. I know you wanted to keep this quiet and now the whole school knows and I don't even know what's going to happen."

"I'll put in a good word for you if you feel like your scholarship to Harvard is at risk," Nico says dryly. "But they'll have to decide whether I have the Stockholm syndrome or not first."

Surprisingly, it evokes a laugh from Will even though it isn't supposed to be funny. Their eyes meet again and Nico finds himself cracking a grin and then they're both laughing, and for a second everything feels like it can be all right again. Maybe after the next week this will all blow off and they can both go back to living their separate lives and forget that anything ever happened that Friday night.

But that's not how it works.

Their laughter dies off, silence falls over the two of them, and they cast their eyes away from each other. "It's not that," Will says quietly. "To be honest, I don't really care about whatever reputation I have: both in academia and socially. I just want… No one's taking this seriously, okay? And yeah, I know your friend is latching onto whatever she can attack: it's part of human nature to find something to blame. I feel like…everything is dissolving. Like everyone wants to point fingers and then go home."

"That's exactly what Reyna wants to do, and I'm sorry that she called you out," Nico says.

Will lets out a frustrated sigh. "But that shouldn't be the point. Yes, I think the people who did that should be sought and charged, but it shouldn't be only about them. It's also about you and what you went through, and everyone is treating that like it's not as important." He turns his eyes onto Nico. "I don't want to assume your mental health because I don't know anything about it, but just…take care of yourself, please?"

The pleading strikes a chord within him and he wonders just what Will is trying to do. There's something trembling inside of him at those words, and he has to look away from him before he speaks. "Okay," he says, unable to find any other acceptable reply.

"So is this you letting me help you?" Will asks, bringing up the question from the morning. "I know I was being forceful earlier… But if you want me to go away, then tell me, and I'll leave you alone." There's reluctance behind those last words, but Nico feels a little bit lighter when he realizes that Will is consciously presenting him with choice when everyone else had been denying it from him within the past few days.

"Well I'll have to think about that," Nico says, feigning thoughtful seriousness. He sees the way that Will's expression drops and then rectifies his statement. "I'm only joking. It would be nice to talk to someone who isn't hounding me at all times." He thinks of Hazel's permanently worried expression, like she thinks he's so fragile that he'll break with a single touch. Admittedly, he has let himself become a victim to those pitfalls, but he wants to be treated like a capable human being, not delicate glass to be stored away. "That's a yes," he clarifies.

Will smiles brightly – all relief, and happiness, and something else that Nico can't pinpoint. "I'll give you my number. If you need to talk about something, just text me." He's a little eager sounding and he notices that Nico sees this. "It's confidential – I promise I won't tell anyone. If I do – I give you full permission to sue the hell out of me," he offers.

"Are you my therapist or something?" Nico is asking out of humour when he hands his phone over to him.

"Hopes set on being a doctor," he says while he puts his contact into the phone. "Stereotypical, I know, but it's kind of my passion. I know – it's weird for an eighteen year old." He shrugs and looks away, seeming a little self-conscious.

"I like this," Nico blurts out without any preamble. His heart jumps at his own sudden declaration, and he feels daft but continues anyway. "I like talking to you. It makes me feel…real again." He doesn't go on, but he knows that Will understands him when he sees the other boy's thoughtful expression.

Before either of them can get in another word, he hears the high-pitch honk of a car and he turns to look at the street to see a Hazel's car. He's not surprised to see Reyna in the passenger seat.

"Looks like you need to go," Will said, stiff sounding probably because he's seen Reyna. "See you next time."

Nico doesn't even say goodbye or turn back, unsure of how he feels now. The past few minutes with Will had left him feeling all right again, but now he's being faced with Reyna, and he can only think about what she said in the hallway in front of other student just earlier.

When he gets into the backseat of the car, Reyna is the first one to start talking. "What were you doing with William?" Her voice is cool and controlled.

"I didn't know you became my mother over the past hour," Nico replies in an equally cold tone, and he realizes just how pissed off he is at Reyna for throwing Will under the bus in front of all those people. "And Will didn't do anything."

"So you're going to believe everything he says now," Reyna scoffs. "Has it ever occurred to you that he could be brainwashing you?"

There is truth in her words, and a part of Nico can understand but then again another part of him simply cannot. "Oh? So where were you when I was almost – almost raped?" He doesn't like the way that the word sounds so casual when spoken out loud but was so difficult to get out in words. "Were you there to pull them off me? Or were you the one who was downstairs flirting with a girl who doesn't even want you? Get over yourself."

He's going too far, and he can almost hear the click of Reyna's teeth when she snaps her mouth close. She doesn't say anything and a silence elapses in the car.

"Let's talk about this later," Hazel finally says from the driver's seat, having been a bystander in the argument so far. "We're going to see Bianca today, so let's just focus on that right now," she says in an attempt to play the peacemaker.

Neither Reyna nor Nico are happy with this, but they let it slide by in the tension-filled silence that follows.

They have been sitting quietly in the waiting room for the past few minutes. Hazel's efforts at small talk yields next to no results from the two of them. Finally, the torture is over and someone calls them over to the reception desk. Nico is the first one there to accept a makeshift nametag from the tired receptionist.

"One at a time. Twenty minutes is the maximum per person," she recites before directing them over to the room number they were assigned to.

"Nico, how about you go first," Hazel offers kindly, even though all three of them know that this visit holds the most significance to him.

He doesn't reply, but he's the first one to enter the room when they reach the door.

A dark-haired woman sits on one of the plush couches while a nurse stands off to the side. The nurse smiles at Nico when he enters. "Looks like your brother is here," the nurse says kindly to the woman. "I'll be in the nice room. Just press the button on the side of the couch if you need me." With that, the nurse leaves and the two of them are left alone.

It's been almost a year since Nico's seen her, and he has no idea what to say. She looks exactly the same as last time – dressed in all white, dark-haired luscious and pulled into a neat braid. Her eyes are bright, and she's smiling. "Nico!" she says happily. Standing up, she walks over to him and gives him a big hug and he fights the learned urge to push her away. Instead, he focuses on her clinical scent, blocking out the smell of flowery perfume. "How long has it been?" she says when she pulls out of the hug to look at him.

"It's great," he lies and manages to smile back. There's something so wrong about lying to her like this, and he wants to break down in front of her and tell her all that's happened within the past few days. He wants her to comfort him like the times she did when he was a child, soothing a hand down his back and telling him that he's going to be okay. For a second, he really is about to lose it and tell her what's really going on, but then she begins speaking and he realizes his circumstances.

"You'd never guess what happened this week," Bianca begins excitedly, eyes alight with enthusiasm. "I found an abandoned wolf pup when the Hunters were up north for some investigation into the Laistrygonians' current activities. Artemis let me keep her."

She holds up a small blue pillow in her hand and coos at it. "Isn't she cute? I know you have a weakness for these things."

A part of Nico wants to scream – there has been no progress from before. The doctors promised him – they swore that she would be better soon last time. Instead of screaming, he forces a smile and then pets the pillow. "That's great," he says with less enthusiasm than he had hoped, but Bianca doesn't notice. She stares down at the pillow with an enamored expression.

Nico watches silently. He doesn't remember when it began, but Bianca had started having delusions sometime before he turned eight. He's not one hundred percent sure what happened, but he knows it was something bad enough for Bianca to repress her memories enough to fabricate an entire world around her. At least, that's what the doctors have told him every time he asked about her condition. The air feels colder all of a sudden, and he wonders if he'll be exactly like Bianca if he can't handle the thought of what happened to him on Friday anymore.

It's Bianca's voice that pulls him out of the train wreck his thoughts are heading for. "You don't look so well, Nico," she finally says, looking at him in concern. He's jolted out of his thoughts, suddenly alarmed that she's noticed. When she's accidentally broken out of her world for even just a moment, it could trigger a panic attack.

"I'm fine. I'm doing fine!" Nico says, making his voice upbeat. He takes a step back from her. "Looks like it's time for me to go," he says even though his twenty minutes are barely over. "I'll see you next time, Bianca. Stay safe on those hunts." He doesn't like reinforcing her illusions, but he's not a doctor, and he doesn't want to say the wrong thing and trigger a breakdown.

She gives him a sunny smile. "Just remember – don't hold grudges. It's dangerous for a son of Hades."

He doesn't know what to say to that so he returns a shaky smile before exiting the pristine room.

Author's Notes: so yes, i have been reading gakkou gurashi but that part with Bianca surprisingly has always been planned and not spontaneous

Reviews would be great, of course! :)