~~This chapter is a bit different in the sense that its a bit longer and it only follows one point of view. but don't worry I will dedicate the next one fully to Nico x)

Disclaimer: I own nothing blah blah blah, all goes to its respectful owner, Uncle Rick rules.

Song: Lua by Bright eyes

Playlist for Fic: /spacedustdreamer/mortal-music

Enjoy~~

Will stared wide eyes at the teary eyed boy across from him. A moment of silence passed before he repeated his question, hand still on his shoulder "Are you okay?" He was genuinely worried about him. His thumb gently passed across his shoulder in a soothing way as he softly tightened his grip, and, silence. "Nico?" The Blonde reached up with his other hand to brush away his tears but his own hand was met with the sharp slap from a paler one. Nico batted his hand away at the last second.
"Crap!" He cursed almost silently and stood up abruptly, fists clenched at his sides, staring wide eyed at the floor, tears still falling. Will watched him in shock. The clock on the wall ticked by, Will counted its rhythm, still watching the boy; 12, 13, 14, 15..
Nico furiously wiped at his eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears, still muttering curses under his breath. He seemed to swap between cursing in English, Greek and Italian, which stuck Will as strange but he didn't bring it up.
"Was my singing that bad?" It was too late by the time he realised what he had said. Nico froze and glanced at the Blonde from the corner of his eyes. It looked more like a glare though which caused Will to erupt in a series of drabbles and stuttering sentences, "It's just I know I'm not the best singer in the cabin! I mean my guitar is a bit rusty- I don't have time to practice often because I'm usually so busy in the infirmary, should I practice more?"
Will stared in horror as Nico covered his face with his hands, it could have been his imagination but he swore that the frail boy was shaking. Oh Gods! He'd really messed up now, Will had caused Nico to start sobbing! "Don't Cry, if it's that bad I'll practice more! I'd hate to have this effect on you- I mean, on people every time I play. I'm supposed to make people feel better, not make them cry! I-"
It was then that laughter filled the cabin. Nico wasn't crying, at least not through sadness. Now he was laughing. That's why he'd been shaking, he had been trying not to crack up at the other boys sudden burst of anxiety and guilt.
"How in Hades are you responsible for a whole cabin?" He cackled as he wiped at his cheeks again, removing all evidence of tears.
Will felt a slight pang in his heart at his words, but he knew it was a joke or sorts, and it was better than having a crying boy stood across the room for him. Laughter was much better than crying. The hurt didn't last a second compared to the shock though. There was something astonishing but also kind of sweet about this particular young man's laughter. It kind of reminded Will of a solar eclipse. Beautiful, amazing and rare, but he was slightly sceptical as to whether or not he should be witnessing it or if he was even worthy.
It seemed strange for him to cherish such a moment, but in all honesty those fourteen and a half seconds that he had witnessed Nico di Angelo laughing, had been the best moment of his entire week. He smiled and put down his guitar then opened the draw of his bedside table, pulling out a granola bar. "Here," he threw one bar over to Nico, who surprisingly still managed to catch it, his reflexes were pretty sharp. No wonder people were so wary of him, despite obvious aesthetic reasons..
"Whats this?"
"A granola bar."
Nico looked unimpressed, "you know what I mean."
"We've already missed a sizeable chunk of breakfast so I thought you could use a healthy snack. Something to keep your systems running." He tore the wrapper off his own bar and too a bite.
"My systems are just fine, thanks" He spoke as if he would throw the bar back to him but instead he sat back on the bed and copied Will's last action. "Why do you have these? How did you get them?"
"Favours," Will replied "Sometimes I have to do overtime looking after patients so that means early mornings and late evenings. It only makes sense that I have things like this handy. Just to stop me from running on empty."

Not a moment later Will stood up again, carrying the bar between his teeth as he approached a speaker of sorts. After rummaging through a box that was placed beside it he pulled out a tape, which he put into the speaker. One of the kids over at the Hephaestus cabin had sorted this particular player out for the Apollo cabin as a gift of sorts. It had been built right back to basics, eliminating all threats of detection from monsters. It was especially handy for the kids who wanted to learn songs by ear, which required them to listen to the same song over and over several times. Some of the more musically talented and more experienced kids could play a song after hearing it once. The only problem was that every song they wanted to hear had to be transferred over to tape, which was a lot harder to do than it seemed in this particular generation.

The tape he had put in the player was a copy of the an album by a called Bright eyes. They were a bizarre band at best, always seemed to be changing, but Will respected that. Why restrict yourself to one genre when there was so much out there to enjoy? He subtly glanced behind him back at Nico, who was still eating his makeshift breakfast and seemed to be watching the world go by through the window. Taking hold of the granola bar between his teeth again, will took another bite, saving it from a heart breaking fall. No bar would be left behind today, not if he could help it.

Will proceeded to lean against the desk slightly, ankles crossed, shoulders relaxed. There was a fascinating quality to his current companion. Even when he wasn't purposefully hiding away Nico seemed distant and independent, he didn't need help with anything and was content that way, but it made Will even more curious. He noticed that even though the pale boy was sat in the direct morning sunlight he still looked almost transparent, like the shadows in the room were following him, trying their hardest to pull him away and hide him from the greedy eyes of the rest of the world.

Nico seemed to sense two particular eyes watching him and looked up. For a moment he looked almost younger, innocent, his big dark eyes and subtle yet feathery lashes paired with those sharp features and dark hair which framed his face lazily, as if he had rolled out of bed not moments ago, all worked in perfect harmony and made him seem like some sort of wondrous gift to the universe. But it lasted a split second. Nico barely blinked before his eyes seemed to age a hundred years with the sort of cliche pain that people write books or songs about, only much, much sadder. His eyebrows creased slightly and it seemed that his whole being was suddenly dedicated to scrutinising Will, as if judging whether or not he was a threat or just an annoyance. Will hoped it was at least the latter, as that was his best option.

"Are you trying to make a medical analysis of me or something?" Those dark eyes stayed locked onto the Blonde boy, who was suddenly coming back to his senses.
"No, I just-" Will pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Sorry, I was zoned out. I didn't sleep too well last night." It wasn't exactly a lie but it still felt that by saying those words he had admitted that he had been kept up all night by those particular eyes.
"Me Neither." Will looked up again, thinking that for a second he may have seen some colour creep into Nico's complexion, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Standing up almost silently Nico made his way over to the door and Will felt almost disappointed. "Can I drop by another time to see you?" Disappointment revoked.
"Sure, anytime. Plenty granola bars where they came from," Stupid comment. But Will swore he heard a slight exhalation from the other boy. A silent laugh of sorts.
"See you later, Solace." and with that Nico was out of the door, gone from the cabin but leaving behind a swarm of butterflies in Will's stomach.

~~Thank you so much for so many lovely comments! I still don't know how this site works very well so I don't know how to reply to you all but I love you all so much! thank you from the deepest darkest depths of my heart! there's some love there, if you get a torch and have a looksee I'm sure you'll find it. I wrapped a bow around it for you :3

I'll write a new chapter when I am free, if anyone has a song recommendation that they want in this fic then let me know! :) ~~