Will had an archery class at 10, every morning. He was supposed to be one of the ones demonstrating for younger campers, being not only a senior camper, but also a child of Apollo, but spent most of his time... not demonstrating.

He might hand out the bows and practice arrows. He might take the arrows off the targets. He might take the occasional shot, but he wasn't gifted at archery like some of his siblings (most of his arrows ended up just off the target, but a few had almost hit some of the other campers).

Thus, he often hated his 10 o'clock sessions. And the 1:30 ones he took on Fridays.

"Get up, Will."

He pressed his face into the pillow. "Mmphff..."

Then someone yanked the pillow away from his head.

"Hey! Don't do that- Nico?"

The dark haired boy looked back at him, clutching the pillow. "Get up, Will."

Why's Nico in my cabin?

Then:

Why am I in Nico's cabin...?

Then he remembered.

"Wait. Did I fall asleep here?"

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Everyone thought you were missing. I was woken up by Jason telling me to organise a search party. I can't believe you didn't wake up; you sleep like the dead. I've only just managed to wake you up and I've been trying for forty minutes!"

That didn't make sense. Why would Jason be organising a search party just because he wasn't in his cabin in the morning? Everyone knew that he was an early riser...

"Why was Jason organising a search party?"

Nico looked at him, clearly confused.

"... Uh, because you didn't show up for your archery session? And everyone thought you'd gone into the woods and not-"

"What?" Will sat up straight. "What do you mean, I didn't show up for my archery session? What time is it?"

Nico looked concerned now. He cleared his throat, and then looked at a tapestry of three men being forced into an oven.

"Will, it's half past twelve. You went to sleep, and just... slept. You're pushing yourself too ha-"

"HALF TWELVE!" Will yelped, "Why in Hades didn't you wake me up?!"

"I just said. Also, you didn't wake up through Jason's shouting, so..."

Will sat and glared at the Italian. He'd missed an archery session in which he... probably hadn't been need actually, but still...

And he was wasting time in the extravagantly decorated cabin 13 when he should be in the infirmary (though there were next to no patients), helping out.

Then a thought struck him.

"What day is it?" He asked suspiciously.

Nico avoided his eyes. "Friday."

Will bit back a curse. He wasn't supposed to be in the infirmary- he had another class in forty-five minutes!

Pushing back the bed covers (Nico's bed covers, he thought, and went slightly pink), he slid his feet into what turned out to be Mike's shoes (he thought they'd seemed a bit large last night...), and tried to leave the cabin.

Nico blocked his way.

He tried to go round him, but he moved so that he couldn't.

He tried again. The same thing happened.

"Nico," he growled, "let me through! I've got another session in half an hour!"

"Actually, you don't." The reply was short and clear, and he didn't understand it at all.

"What?"

Now it was Nico's turn to go pinkish.

He could feel his voice rising. "What did you do, Nico?"

This time the response was quieter. "I cleared your day for you."

Will just stared.

"Uh, I decided you needed a day off. I told Jason that you could do with a break, and that you were overworked, and he just... took it from there..." his voice tailed away. He was looking nervously at Will, who didn't feel so angry at him any more. At himself, sure, for being weak and scared and for sleeping in, but not so much at Nico.

Then a thought struck him.

"You didn't tell him, did you? About what I said in- in that box?"

Nico glanced at him, worry staining his dark eyes.

"About my... weakness. About the dark." The worry faded away to a strange mixture of relief and... offence?

"I wouldn't do that! But, I'm, it's not just today Jason cleared you for."

"It's not, is it?"

"No. Excluding the possibility of another armageddon, you should be free all weekend!"

Will snorted. Nico tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't. It wasn't really funny, but within seconds, they were sitting slumped against the door, shaking with laughter.

Finally, Nico spoke up. "So, you are going to hang out with me this weekend."

Will pretended to think about it, but inside he was jumping at the chance to spend more time with the quiet, pale boy. "And do what, Death Boy?"

"Nothing. We will do nothing together this weekend. And don't call me Death Boy."

"Sounds good," said Will. And he meant it.