So I got a couple messages asking me to continue this story! it meant so much to me! it may seem small to a few people to have only a few message motivate me so much, but it means the world to me! 3

so here is chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or concepts. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan!

everything belongs to its rightful owner.

Song to listen to alongside this chapter: East by Sleeping at Last

Playlist for fic: /spacedustdreamer/mortal-music

~Enjoy~

Will stared up at the ceiling above his bed, eyes wide, fingers gripping onto the sheets and heart racing. Whilst he was used to waking up every day at the crack of dawn (It was a 'blessing' most Apollo kids had to live with) he found himself up before anyone else, and way before the sunrise. If he was honest, he had struggled to sleep at all, which was ridiculous considering that the campfire hangout had not ended until past curfew. It was Annabeth who had hurried everyone along before the patrol Harpies could catch them out. Will should have had no problem sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes he found himself thinking back to the same dark eyes.

Eventually, he decided he couldn't take another minute of restlessness and swung his legs over the side of his bed. The other snoozing Apollo kids around him seemed oblivious to his movement, or the sound of creaking floorboards as he walked, bare feet padding quietly, to his clothes, eager to get dressed and do something, anything to shake him out of his trance. He picked up a bow, which was hung lazily on the back of a chair. Its weight felt heavy in his hands. He hadn't really enjoyed archery since..
With a final glance at his sleeping half-siblings, the blonde zipped up his jacket and stepped out into the cold morning air. He didn't pay too much mind to closing the door quietly. A firework could be going off inside their cabin and they probably wouldn't wake up, but as soon as the tiniest ray of sunshine touched the skies, they would be up in a flash. Typical Cabin Seven behaviour really.

It wasn't long before Will was shooting arrows at a target, with almost perfect aim every time yet not much more than expected of a regular camper. He didnt have his fathers skill in the sport. Even though he wasn't as skilled as his siblings in archery he could at least land the arrows on the target every time he picked up a bow, but on this particular visit he was distracted and missed the bullseye, and board, more than he would care to admit. Each time an arrow fell short of the target it was thanks to a familiar memory swimming in his mind. The subtle glow of the fire the night before, crackling its own melody that paired perfectly with the guitar he had been holding in his hands. And a boy sat on the other side of the flames. He kept drawing arrow after arrow, shooting at the target then collecting his arrows only to repeat the process again almost mechanically by the time the sun had risen. Others had began to fill the grounds as people made their way to the dining pavilion so he decided to take advantage of the morning rush and headed back to his now empty cabin. He went to the showers to set his mind straight.

By the time he had gotten out of the water stream and was once again dressed in clean clothes he had come to a few conclusions.

One: Nico had been staring.. Or glaring..? At him at night last night. This could either be because he disliked the boy.. Or Will could have had something on his face last night.. Or Nico was interested in the music.
Two: Will had been staring back. It was a weird move, not usually something he would do but he kind of enjoyed the rush of it all.
Three: Nico was a distraction and there was no way Will would be able to go about his usual duties. He had to talk to him again today to figure out something. Anything.

With ninety seven points still left to mentally revise, Will was pulled out of his daydream by a knock at the cabin door. He ruffled his blonde hair again in an attempt to rid it of any droplets of water and walked to the door, only to find the last person he expected, but the only person he hoped to see stood on the other side of his door.

-(page break)-

The two boys stared silently at each other from either side of the doorway, they seemed frozen in time, unable to say or do anything. It felt like they had been stood there forever before Nico cleared his throat and wet his lips, as if he was about to speak. No words followed.
Will stepped aside "Do you want to come in?"
"Sure" Nico stepped into the cabin, hands in his pockets as he looked around at the walls.
It was quiet and awkward and both boys knew it.
"Isn't there a rule that two campers can't be alone in a cabin together?" Stupid question. Will had been here longer than Nico had. He should have known the answer.
"No.. that's about boys and girls." The shorter boy corrected him, sounding almost bored as he approached a desk and pulled an arrow out of the oak surface.
"Oh, that's good," Will seemed to match his tone to Nico's.
"I liked your singing last night, Solace." It wasn't exactly the way he wanted to start the conversation but time was ticking along and soon people would be wondering where they were. He didn't want people knowing that the powerful and fearful Son of Hades had been visiting another camp member to admit how captivated he had been by him. His voice got quieter and wavered slightly, "I was wondering if you'd show me more?"
There was a moment of silence that lasted a bit too long for him to stand. Suddenly the door behind him felt really inviting, but then floor boards creaked and there was the familiar sound of air brushing past metal strings and a hand grasping a wooden surface. Glancing behind he could see Will had picked up his guitar and was walking to sit onto his bed. Blue eyes stared up at Brown ones as Will patted the area on the bed in front of him. Nico's heart seemed to leap out of his chest as he walked over slowly to sit on the other end of the bed.
"Heard of Sleeping at Last?" The blonde asked as he crossed his legs and adjusted a few strings.
Nico shook his head, his eyes following the other boys hands. For a kid who had spent most of his life at camp and had probably been worked to the bone, but his hands seemed nimble yet also strong. There was a comforting delicate way about how he touched and held things.
"This is a song called East"

The young man's chest seemed to rise and fall as he took a breath before his fingers passed over the strings with great accuracy, creating beautiful sounds that seemed to fill the cabin and bounce off the walls only to sound a million times more beautiful in their echo. And then he began to sing. Oh, how he could sing. That distinctive voice of him that brought back memories of the night before. Nico's throat seemed to go dry, his palms grew sweaty and his chest ached. This was the feeling, the reason, he came to see this boy because of. In the sea of people that lived in the camp, this kid seemed to radiate something special in everything he did. He seemed to glow with warmth and talent and beauty. Especially in this moment, he literally seemed to be glowing. It was strange but he had this aura about him that made him seem to catch the light that streamed in through the window.
And the words. The words he sung seemed to pull at Nico's heart. To hear them roll off his tongue gave them so much more emotion than he could imagine had ever been heard before.

Suddenly the music stopped and Will was staring at his visitor with wide eyes and furrowed brows. He looked overly concerned and almost stunned as he hesitated before reaching towards the other boy, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Nico, are you okay?"
Confusion swept over Nico as he blinked a few times "yeah, I-" his voice sounded strange, almost tight, forced. A coldness swept down his cheeks and Nico raised a hand to his face to find tears falling from his eyes.
Will Solace's singing had brought him to tears.

How humiliating.

Please leave a review to let me know what you do and don't like guys! I will probably post another chapter soon if people want me to. Love you all 3