WHAAAAT? ANOTHER CHAPTER LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER THE ONE BEFORE IT?
HAPPY 2016 EVERYONE!
I hope you had a wonderful New Years.
Maybe this chapter will help brighten your day because today was the first day back to school after winter break for a lot of people.
LETS DO A DISCLAIMER BECAUSE I KEEP FORGETTING!
Me: HEY NICO
Nico: *grumbles* whaaaat
Me: SAY THE DISCLAIMER
Nico: No.
Me: Pleeeeeease?
Nico: No.
Me: I'll release the Hermes Hell Spawns on you!
Nico: OKAY FINE. TwoLlamas does NOT own PJO. Now please don't let those Hell Spawns anywhere near my cabin again.
Me: No guarantees... *runs away*
ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
The Apollo cabin was unusually quiet, and Emma, a new camper, lay sprawled on her bed watching the final episode of 'Attack on Titan' for the eighth time.
'The animation studio is taking their sweet time making season two,' she thought sullenly to herself. The cabin door flew open with a bang, and she looked up to see a distressed Will storming in and laying on the floor. Emma became disinterested in her half-brother very quickly and went back to her show. She could hear him start to rant over the sound of Armin's screams, but she was going to let someone else handle him.
About fifteen minutes later the credits started to roll and she turned Netflix off. She internally sighed and went onto Instagram, posting a picture of a sad looking anime child and commenting span style As she was pulling her earplugs out, she realized Will was still ranting.
"I don't know how he can be both an idiot AND adorable! It's not even physically possible for there to be such thing as an adorable idiot. I can't stop thinking about him, or his cute laugh, or his smile whenever he eats a Happy Meal. I mean, I barely ever see him smile, and what is so happy about a Happy Meal? What does McDonalds have that I don't?! I want to ask him out, but he doesn't like to be touched, or talked to, or acknowledged! How do I approach him, and would I have the courage to even look him in the eye? Just the sight of those dark brown puppy dog eyes makes me melt like butter! What should I do?!" Will looked up off the floor in Emma's general direction. Emma, now slightly interested, turned around to see who Will was talking to, only to find the cabin empty. Unbeknownst to her, her siblings had fled the cabin at the beginning of Will's rant, abandoning her. She slowly turned to face Will, who was looking at her expectantly.
The girl gulped, adjusted her glasses, and twirled her short blond hair. "You want my advice?" she asked. Will nodded.
Emma took a deep breath. "Well," she started. "You make it sound like he doesn't express a lot of happy emotions, but have you ever tried to REALLY make him laugh or smile? Humor is a good conversation starter, but don't be awkward, because being awkward makes everyone uncomfortable. And don't be overexcited or jumpy, act cool or casual, because that makes the person you're asking on the date calm about the situation. Don't seem desperate." Emma looked up to see Will's reaction.
The boy's eyes brightened and he jumped up off the floor. "I never thought about that!" he exclaimed. "Now I can ask Nico out with confidence!" Emma blanched.
'We were talking about di Angelo?!' She screamed in her head. When she thought about it, Nico would probably be scared and uncomfortable no matter what Will did, and Will could get... Overexcited sometimes. Emma got up from the bed and tried to grab his arm.
"Wait, Will, there might-" she was cut off by a bone crushing hug, causing Emma's face to slowly turn from red to purple and eventually blue. When Will finally relinquished his grip, Emma fell to her knees, gasping for air.
"Thanks sis!" And with a wave, Will was gone. Emma stayed in her kneeled position for about five minutes, long enough for her half-sister Cookie to come back to the cabin, blaring the song 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' by Chelsea Grin. Cookie stopped on the doorway looking at Emma, took a step forward, but seemed to decide against it and walked over to her own bed. Cookie turned off her music and put her phone away, and when the looked back at Emma she deadpanned (the girl hadn't moved at all). Cookie cleared her throat and said a silent prayer to any God willing to listen.
"So..." She drawled. "What happened with Mr. Sunshine?" Emma looked over at Cookie and stood up, walking to stand in the cabin doorway. She was looking off at something, and Cookie got up to join. Cookie saw Emma's eyes trained on the shrine for Hades. Cookie glanced at Emma curiously.
"O-oh my G-gods..." Emma stuttered. "W-what have d-done?!"
~~~~~
Chloe looked up from her laptop at Alec and KK, making them both start to tremble slightly. It was rare that they did a job for Chloe, usually it was the twins or the Hermes Hades Spawn, but it was news that the boss would want to know, and they were eyewitnesses. Besides, if profitable, they could earn a reward.
Chloe closed her eyes and massaged her temples. 'I really should be thinking about an early retirement...' The fourteen year old girl thought to herself.
She fixed the younger children with a glare and closed her laptop slowly. Lacing her fingers together, she gave the children an evil grin.
"You can one hundred percent assure me that the information I have just been given is completely accurate; no lies or potential 'kinks'." The kids nodded quickly.
"We're positive!" They said together. Chloe nodded her head, and the once evil smile turned to one of pure innocence. The children blinked at the sudden attitude change.
"Your camp thanks you for your service and attentiveness. I believe this calls for a reward." Chloe pulled out two tickets to the musical 'Les Miserables', which was opening in a theatre not too far from the camp. The siblings squealed and pounced on the tickets, looking at them in awe. Then Alec got a confused look on his face.
"Can we go? Will it be safe for us there?" He asked. Chloe's smile got even bigger.
"Jason owes me a favor, so don't worry about that. Let me handle all the details." She opened up her laptop and started on a new spreadsheet, but noticed when she glanced up that the two kids were still there.
"You can leave." She said. The kids nodded and ran out of Chloe's office in the Big House, all the way arguing over what character they thought was better (KK: Young Cossette, Alec: Jean ValJean).
Chloe's innocent smile soon faded away, and was replaced by the evil looking grin. She flipped out a cell phone and pressed speed dial. Holding the phone to her ear, she noticed that it only rang once.
"Hello?" A voice asked. Chloe leaned back in her chair.
"Joey, darling, I've got a job for you..."
~~~~~~~~
Will could not have been more confident. The sun was shining (Thanks Dad!), the birds were chirping, and the sky was a robin egg blue. Will was finally going to ask Nico out, and nothing in the world could stop him. The boy pulled out his phone and opened up iMessage.
'Meet me at the pier in 5. -Will' he texted. He looked down, read the message twice, looked at the contact name (Nico LOL), and pressed send. He waited for about two minutes, when a reply dinged on his phone.
'K'
Will's fists pumped in the air and he does a crude happy dance, causing several passing campers to look at him with concern. Not caring, Will raced to the pier.
When Nico showed up, he had his hands in his pockets and his Stygian Iron sword strapped to his waste. He gave off the appearance of casualness (well, casualness in Nico's case). Dark brown eyes met light blue.
"What do you need Solace?" Nico asked.
Now, Will had probably made twenty different scenarios of what was about to go down (most of them ending with him embracing Nico in a passionate kiss), but whatever he had planned was gone now, and the Son of Apollo froze up. After a minute or two Nico started to look worried, then uncomfortable.
'Aw shoot, he looks scared,' Will thought. 'What do I do?!' Emma's voice ran through his mind, telling him to make a joke. The son of Apollo took a deep breath and hoped to Hades that his blush wasn't as bad as it felt. "S-so did you hear about the constipated mathematician?" Will stuttered out. Nico gave him a confused look.
"No..."
"He worked his problem out with a pencil!" Will said with a very unstable looking grin. Nico's eyes got wide and he started to look weirded out. Will had to do something soon, so he made another bad judgement call. "It was a No. 2 pencil." He finished. Nico's jaw dropped, and it seemed like he was trying hard not to run away from the son of Apollo. Will blanched, 'Oh Gods, what did I just do?!' He was brought back to reality when Nico started to turn away.
"Well, if that's all you wanted to tell me-" Nico started, but was interrupted by Will.
"Wait!" Nico stopped and looked at Will. Will once again heard the voice of Emma, and this time she was telling him to be casual. Will balanced one foot on his knee and reached an elbow out to lean on the pier railing, only to realize too late, there was no pier railing. Letting out a small cry, the son of Apollo almost went face first into the lake, but one of his flailing arms was caught by Nico, who quickly pulled him away from the edge.
Will looked down at Nico, who's face now looked scared and angry. The son of Hades reached up and grabbed Will's shoulders (even though it was a bit high for him) and forced him down eye level with himself.
"What has gotten into you Solace?! Your acting like a soldier who took a hit to the head by Clarisse!" Will's blush was now at its maximum limit, taking up most of his cheeks, forehead, and ears. As he opened up his mouth to reply, an agitated scream was heard from a nearby bush. The two boys jumped as Joey and Scarlet emerged from the bush hefting a video camera. Both of the girls seemed irritated at Will. 'Hades let me die,' Will thought to himself.
"Just ask him already!" Joey screamed, Scarlet nodding beside her. Nico looked sharply at Will.
"Ask me what?" He said. Will looked down, avoiding the son of Hades' gaze.
"W-well," he started. He was cut off but a snort and some agitated mumbling/screaming. Joey turned to Scarlet.
Her expression got dark. "Sis," she said. "It looks like they could use some help." Scarlet snickered.
"I couldn't agree more." The brunette twirled her index finger in the air, causing it to illuminate. The boys both deadpanned as the girl pointed it at them, releasing a barrage of red sparkly beams. They quickly realized their situation and hit the deck (literally), covering their heads. Just before Scarlet had a chance to shoot one of them directly in the heart, a voice rang out across the lake.
"What is going on here?!" Percy walked onto the pier, standing in front of Will and Nico's huddled forms. Scarlet lowered her hand and Joey walked over to face Percy from the shore.
"There's nothing to see here Jackson, we're on official business." Percy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Official business from whom?" He asked.
"Chloe!" Charlotte screamed from a tree near the lake. All eyes looked up to see her and Alexandra leaning on a branch, looking down at them all. Lexi hefted her phone.
"Chloe posted about 'the question' on her website. She wants it to be a live action video." Will paled considerably.
"I heard about that too!" A voice said. Everyone jumped (except Nico) when Shannon emerged from the shadows her hell hound Harris created. "That's why I came down here," she said with a grin.
Will groaned and put his face in his hands, "Is there no privacy around here?" He asked no one in particular.
"Nope!" Ethan and Daniel chorused from the beach. The son of Apollo looked like he was about to cry. Nico looked up and inspected Will's demeanor.
'I feel bad for him,' Nico thought. 'Not only was he trying to ask me something and failed (miserably), but it was caught on camera and seen by other campers.' Nico put a hand on Will's shoulder, causing him to look up in surprise. Nico gave him a soft smile, and Will's heart turned into silly putty.
"Hey, why don't we-" Nico was cut off by a loud boom, followed by a cracking sound that resonated throughout the pier. Before Percy, Nico, or Will knew it, both the pier and themselves were submerged by the lake. Nico struggled in the water because of the weight of his sword, but he soon was pulled to the surface by Will, who had an iron grip on the son of Hades. Percy was fuming, and all eyes were on Weasley and OJ, who were laughing like idiots on the beach.
When the two finally calmed down, Weasley looked at Nico and Will. "Sorry you guys he said." OJ nodded.
"Yeah," she continued. "Only Percy was supposed to be on the bridge." Nico rolled his eyes, but Will noticed that he was smiling for the second time that day. While the two swam to the shore, Percy beat them there, getting out of the water and running at the siblings.
"Hades Spawns!" He screamed. "When I get my hands on you, you'll have to tell me first hand what Elysium is really like!" And with that, the two were chased throughout the camp by Percy, leaving everyone in silence.
Joey turned the camera off, and her and Scarlet left, feeling cheated that they didn't catch a kiss scene on tape. Lexi and Llama retreated farther up the tree, taking about someone called 'Mettaton Ex' and 'Swagnus Chase'. Shannon and the boys walked back to camp, Harris hot on their heels. The only ones left were Nico and Will, who were sitting dripping wet on the beach.
The sky wasn't bright like before, but clouded and dark, drops of water starting to fall. Will pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in his arms, feeling like a complete failure. The rain had started, and it was pouring down, but it made no difference to the already wet demigods. Nico glanced at Will, and reached over to hug the taller boy.
Will looked up, tears in his eyes, and gazed in awe at the boy sitting next to him. He hugged Nico back, leaning forward and putting his head on the boy's head. After a minute or two Nico pulled back and looked Will in the eye. "What did you want to ask me?" He asked. Will, feeling like there was nothing left for him to lose, was honest.
"I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me, but it's okay if you say no." Nico had a dead pan expression and Will sighed. 'I knew it...' He thought. But then, Nico started to chuckle, then giggle, then outright laugh to the point that he had tears streaming out of his eyes. Will had an incredulous look on his face.
"W-what's so funny?!" He said. Nico couldn't stop laughing, and it was scaring Will (even though the boy had the prettiest laugh Will had ever heard. It sounded like tinkling bells...).
Nico looked up at Will, "You mean, all this time, you were just trying to ask me out?" Will nodded.
"Yes...?" He said uncertainly, blushing. Nico cocked his head to the side, and both boys were thinking about how adorable the other was.
Nico stood up, getting pelted by more rain, and leaned down to kiss Will on the cheek.
"I would love to go out with you." He whispered. With that, Nico straightened up, refastened his sword to his belt, and walked away. Will sat there, staring off at him with a hand pressed against his cheek.
"He said yes," Will whispered as he stood up. Then the boy's eyes brightened. "HE SAID YES!" And at that moment no one could deny that no matter how silly Will Solace looked, it was the perfect time to go dancing in the rain.
THIS LINEBREAK IS FOR SOLANGELO
All the Apollo campers heads shot up when Will burst into the cabin from the storm raging outside. Emma raced up to him, Cookie following at her heels (Emma filled her in... And Cookie filled the rest of the cabin in for her), and grabbed Will by the shoulders.
"What happened," she asked. "What did he say?!" Will gave her a dreamy look and whispered something that sounded like 'swe shaud pes'. Emma's heart started to race.
"He said yes?!" She said in a louder voice, capturing the attention of all of their siblings. Will nodded.
"HE SAID YES!" The Apollo cabin screamed as one. People jumped up to hug Will, clap him on the back, and congratulate him. Emma hugged Cookie and started wondering if her advice really had been that good (it hadn't). Cookie got out her phone and started playing the song 'Helena', and soon the whole cabin was singing along.
"What's the worst thing I can say? Things are better if I stay. So long and goodnight; so long and goodnight!"
YAY SOLANGELO! Of course the Hades Spawns would blow up the pier... See you next chapter!