Ok, so this chapter was getting sort of long. So I had to cut it short, so this is only part one of their Disney World adventures. Enjoy!
"Please, Chiron, please!"
"C'mon, what would we even do in Knoxville?" Will clambered back onto the bus, Kayla and Lou following behind. Nico, Jason, and Hazel were all in the back of the parked bus, seemingly trying to convince Chiron to do something.
"What's going on?" Kayla asked as we walked up to them.
"We want to skip Tennessee and go to Disney World." Jason said.
"Our family owns a Disney vacation home, and Hazel and I can just call our dad and get tickets to the parks on the drive down." Nico explained.
"Wait, wait, woah, you own a Disney vacation home?" Lou said. "Aren't those things like 2 million dollars?"
"Or more. We got one this time last month." Hazel said.
"Our family is loaded." Nico laughed. Will fought the urge to roll his eyes.
"Can we Chiron?" Kayla asked excitedly.
"Please, our dad will pay for everything." Nico said.
"Please!" Lou begged. Everyone errupted into an explosion of pleas, finally Chiron gave in.
"Fine," he said, "but we're only staying for two days. We'll spend the night at the Nico and Hazel's family's vacation home." They all cheered and high fived. Argus wasn't particularly happy with the change of plan, but went with it.
"You turn here, and it's up the road, on the right. Thhhat one!" Nico directed Argus to the house. Lou, Kayla, Hazel, and Jason were all passed out in their respective beds, but Will couldn't sleep. He laid in his bunk, silently watching Nico direct Argus, his eyes tired and his movements slowed. Will couldn't help but think the kid needed some sleep. And a sandwich. Or twelve. He was way too skinny. Will couldn't remember ever caring about Nico's wellbeing prior to that week, but now that he did, it was all he was thinking about. Why was he crying when Will walked into the hotel room? Why is he so skinny? Why is he so pale? Why does he always seem so tired? Is he ok? Why does he always look like there's something on his mind, and why does that something always seem to be like something heart wrenchingly depressing? He had his blanket wrapped around himself. He looked like a little kid after coming in from playing in the snow and sat by the fire. The blanket made him look even smaller than usual, which was saying something. Nico seemed to care about the blanket more than he cared about his laptop or cell phone. Will had no clue why he would. It was an old sort of wooly blue blanket that seemed to be stretched in places and had fading edges. It looked handmade. Maybe that's why he loves it so much, Will thought.
Argus moved to switch on the lights, and Will quickly rolled over and pulled the sheet up, pretending he was sleeping.
"Rise and shine." Argus said. Everyone groaned and tiredly pulled themselves to their feet. Will rubbed his eyes, pretending he'd just woken.
"So you're sure your father is alright with us staying here, Nico?" Chiron asked, approaching him from the back of the bus.
"Yeah, so long as we don't go on he fourth floor. Those rooms are all of limits or whatever. We checked with the respective owners of each room to be sure everyone can stay in them." Nico said.
"Wait, this place has four floors?" Will asked in disbelief.
"Well, duh, we've got nine bedrooms." Nico said as though it were obvious.
"Aren't you guys a family of three?" Will asked.
"No, four." Nico said, glancing at a grinning Hazel with a small smile. "Besides its not just us. It's Jason and Percy's families too."
"You guys own a vacation home together?" Lou laughed.
"Yeah, did you think we could afford this on our own? Please, we might be rich, but we're not that rich." Nico laughed. Will rolled his eyes.
"Are your families friends?" Kayla asked.
"Well, yeah... We're cousins." Jason said.
"What?"
"You didn't know that?" Hazel laughed.
"Well none of you look much alike, if we're being completely honest." Lou laughed.
"True..." Nico said. He paused before snapping back into reality. "Anyway, for the rooms the girls are on the third floor. Hazel's room is there, Lou and Kayla, you're staying in Jason's sister's room, she has a day bed with a trundle. The guest room is on that floor too, so the Chiron and Argus are there, it had two beds. Jason and I each have our own rooms, and Will can take Percy's room. That's on the second floor."
"No, no, no, Argus or I need to be on he second floor with you three." Chiron said.
"Why? We had seperate rooms at the hotel." Nico asked.
"But at the hotel we also had keys to each of your rooms, which were on either side of ours, so we could get into the room at anytime." Chiron explained.
"Alright, that's fine." Nico sighed in defeat. "You can stay in Percy's room. I've got an extra bed in my room. Will, I guess you're stuck with me." Great. Just great.
The house didn't actually look huge from the inside. There wasn't a lot of floor space on the first level. It was the size of a relatively large apartment. It was open plan, with a kitchen that was separated by a half wall and there was a dinner table and a living room area. But, where the house lacked in floor space, it made up for with levels. Nico, Hazel, and Jason all guided the group to their rooms, walking like sleep deprived zombies.
"Your room is on the end of the hall there." Jason yawned, point Chrion the room at the end of the hall. Jason entered his room and Chrion continued down the hall.
"We're in here." Nico said, leading Will into the first room in the hall it was an average size room, and in the dark Will could just make out walls covered posters, two twin sized beds shoved against the rightmost wall, and a bookshelf in the corner, wedged between a desk and a wall. Nico dropped his bag at the foot of the bed closest to the window. He clicked on a lamp on his night stand, lighting up a small portion of the room.
"That one's your bed. I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep now." Nico said. Will nodded and dropped his bag by the other bed. Nico didn't even bother pulling back the sheets and just laid down on top with his blanket. So juvenile. Will thought.
"That light switch turns on the ceiling fan too if you get..." Nico trailed off, and Will could've sworn her saw the hint of a blush on his cheeks before he rolled over in his bed. Will held back a snicker, and flicked on the fan. He put his shoes by his bag and climbed into the bed.
It had been 4 hours since he'd first climbed into bed, and Will was still awake. He'd been tossing and turning the who time, not feeling the slightest bit tired. He rolled over and looked over at Nico's bed. The boy was curled up into a ball, covered by the blue blanket. His shaggy black hair was splayed across his pillow and over his face. White light spilled in from the windows, allowing Will to just make out Nico's face. His face looked even paler in the light. He seemed to look constantly cold, even though it was probably at least 80 degrees outside. He spoke in his sleep. it was mostly unintelligible, but still noticeable. Will closed his eyes and listened to the quiet mumbling, before the talking got on his nerves. It kept him awake, but now it was different. Endearing. Cute, even.
Wait, no, no, no, Will thought, no, not cute. Will, you've hated this guy since the 6th grade. He's not fucking cute. Don't do this to yourself. So, like any rational person, he decided to make a mental list of every negative thing about Nico.
He talks when he sleeps
He is a snobby rich kid
So are his friends
He's too skinny
He's too pale
He always looks like he's in pain
He rarely laughs
His laugh is annoying
Like he just sort of smiles and exhales loudly
Speaking of his smile
It pisses Will off
His teeth are like pure white
And they're straighter than Will
Speaking of which
Even if Will did like him (which he didn't!)
He was probably straight
And probably has a girlfriend
I mean how could he not
He's fucking adorable
Shit
I'm fucked
Will listed every bad thing about Nico di Angelo, but he still couldn't help but fall asleep listening to his muttering like it was a lullaby.
Will woke up before Nico. With the sunlight now poring ing from the window he could see everything in the room. The walls were light grey and the floorboards were black. He had red curtains and a tall brown bookshelf. The walls were plastered with posters. There was one of a punk pop band Will knew of, and another for popular solo artist of the same genre. There were a few that were for different books and movies that Will knew, and loved. There was also a Pokemon poster. Will recalled the game, considering replaying it again. On the wall Will's bed was against, there were a bunch of the same there posters all on the wall with what looked like black spray paint behind them and on the edges. Above his desk Nico had pinned up two pieces of string and clipped pictures to them with clothespins. They were mostly Polaroids that looked new, only about a year old, but a few were normal photos and looked older. Will found himself standing up to look at them. There were some of Hazel and some of Hazel and himself. A couple were of just him, but were obviously taken without his knowledge. A few showed groups of people including Nico, Hazel, and Jason, but also their other cousins, Percy and Thalia. There was one older photo including what appeared to be a younger, darker skinned, and all around healthier and happier looking Nico with a girl a few years older, wearing a green hat. There was one of three men that all looked awkward, and as though they were trying there hardest not to laugh. The middle man was taller and had a greying black beard and longer hair. He seemed stern but strangely amused. The man on right was obviously Nico's father. While they didn't look much a like, his father being taller, having much sharper features and more well kept hair, they had the same "looks so unapproachable that they make you want to approach" kind of demeanor. The man on the left was the shortest of the three and obviously the youngest. His hair had the fewest grey streaks and he just gave of a very young and friendly vibe. He had long brown hair, sea green eyes, and sun tanned skin.
"Those are my uncles." Will practically jumped when he heard Nico's voice pierce the silence. "I've got a similar picture back home. People always ask me why I have a picture of there middle aged men in my locker. They're my uncles and my dad, and they're pissy dicks that can't keep it together for one day. Last year we spent nearly the whole summer down here. That was one of few times I'd seen them all together without one of them shouting or throwing something." Nico was smiling, so Will took it as permission to smile too. He didn't want to laugh at something that was a serious topic for Nico.
"I always assumed your dad would look like either you or Hazel." Will said.
"Have you put a lot of consideration into the looks of my father?" Nico joked. Will chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head in hopes to hide the faint blush creeping up to his cheeks. "Hazel and I both look like our moms. That's why she has a different last name. We both too our mom's last name."
"Why?"
"Well, for one, our dad wanted us too..." Nico said. "My grandfather wasn't a good person, or a good father, and they didn't was to carry his name. That and a whole other thing about our housing and life situations at the time, it's a long story, that I really hate telling." Will nodded.
"What about these?" Will pointed to the posters on the wall, successfully changing the subject.
"Oh these!" Nico said, standing up on his bed to point to the different posters. "This one is for this band..." Nico continued to ramble on about emo bands, video games, and tv shows, but Will was barely listening. Nico's eyes just seemed to light up when he mentioned the posters, liked he'd been waiting years to tell people about them. He had a small smile stretching his lips and his voice seemed to speed up.
"What about these?" Will asked when Nico's babbling slowed. He pointed to the posters on the other wall.
"Oh those!" Nico jumped of his bed and ran over so he could point everything out.So juvenile. "These are Thalia's band posters." Nico said pointing out the ones with blue backgrounds and what looked like a gas mask on them.
"Jason's sister is in a band?" Will asked curiously.
"Yep, they formed in her junior year." Nico said. "She's been a music buff for as long as I've known her. She, Piper, Percy, and I used to put on stupid little performances when we were younger, younger. We were nerds."
"You still are a nerd." Will said as he inspected the posters.
"Rude."
"You called yourself the ghost king."
"...point taken." Nico laughed, ducking his head and letting strands of his bedhead fall in his eyes. His bedhead wasn't much worse than his normal hair; it still made Will want to run his fingers through it in a failed attempt to comb it.
"We should go down stairs. I think I hear them making breakfast." Will said. Nico nodded, rubbing the back of. His neck. They made there way down to the kitchen, where Chrion was handing out breakfast: those cereals in the plastic bowls, scrambled eggs with no salt, and, the best part, bacon. The milk, eggs, and bacon all came from a corner shop down the road that Will was pretty sure also sold second hand bicycles. They all sat around the TV and watched Netflix, as the house didn't have cable. After finishing his breakfast, Will said he wanted to get his stuff together, and left the room. He went upstairs to Nico's room and grabbed his bag. There really was nothing he wanted to do, he just knew he couldn't stay in the same room as Nico without staring.
"What's up with you?" Will turned and saw Lou and Kayla stood in the doorway.
"Wha-"
"We know you know what we mean." Lou said. "We can read you like an open book."
"Now spill." Kayla said, pulling out Nico's desk chair and sitting down. Lou sat on Nico's bed, and Will sat on his.
"I- I think... I don't know... But I think, maybe I-"
"Spit it out." Lou said.
"I think I like Nico." Will said. The two girls were silent for a moment before groaning, Lou burying her face in the pillow, and Kayla pinching the bridge of her nose.
"This is so like you."
"What?" Will asked, surprised.
"You makes us try to hate the poor kid for four years and now you want him." Kayla said.
"Well I thought he was-"
"Spoiled?"
"Immature?"
"Snobby?"
"Elitist?"
"Generally dickish?"
"Alright, alright." Will said. "Just, don't say anything, please."
"Of course not." Kayla smiled.
"Your secret is safe with us." Lou laughed. "Besides, I think there's a good chance he feels the same way." Will snorted.
"Doubt it. After the Thing from sixth grade, I'd hate me too." Will said.
"Will, you were 12, if he's at all mature he will have gotten over it by now." Kayla said.
"But what if he hasn't?"
"Then the douche isn't good enough for you." Lou said. "And we'll start hating him for you."
"But for now, you enjoy your lovesick escapades, you little weirdo." Kayla teased, pinching his cheek. Will waved her hand away, smiling.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
"Guys! C'mon, we're leaving!" Came Jason's voice shouting from downstairs.
"Let's go." Kayla smiled. "Hey, it's Disney. Maybe you'll find your Prince Charming."
I hope I wrote well for Will, as I have mostly written from Nico's POV in the past, so I hope that Will's POV is written to your liking. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! Bye!